Summer

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Seattle: Home of the 78-minute summer
By Scott Sistek

Story Updated: Jul 20, 2011


Two women seek shelter under an umbrella from the steady drizzle at the Bite of Seattle on July 17, 2011.
While Sea-Tac Airport only reports temperatures on the hour, the University of Washington Atmospheric Sciences Department keeps a minute-by-minute log of the weather station atop their roof on the Seattle campus. And since the UW is in the heart of Seattle, while the airport is more like the lower-left shin, I figure this could be an accurate representation of what a true Seattle person would have felt this summer.
The mission: Find out how many minutes it's been at 80 degrees or warmer this year-- what I would call a true warm summer day in Seattle.
The answer: 78 minutes.
Or, breaking it down: 12 minutes on July 2, and 66 minutes on July 6.
(The official Sea-Tac record books say Seattle has had three days at 80 or warmer, the warmest being 84 degrees on July 6. The UW's warmest day was 81 on July 6 with the other day at 80 and the third at 79. Check out Cliff Mass' timely weather blog on how the 3rd runway could be skewing Sea-Tac's temperatures.)
For those that say: "C'mon, you know 80's a pipe dream around here. I'd say 75 degrees is a more accurate 'summer representation,' " I'd first reply, "Wow, these past two summers have really warped our perceptions of a normal Seattle summer." Seattle (at Sea-Tac) does averaage 25 days a year at 80 or warmer.
But my second reply would be, "can do."
It turns out, we've had a whopping 18 hours and 48 minutes of temperatures above 75 this summer -- hey, it's more than 2/3rd of a day! Never mind that some cities like Dallas haven't been below 75, day or night, since June 23rd.
(On the other hand, Paine Field in Everett has yet to reach 75 this year. Their highest temperature has been 74.)
Actually, much of the rest of the nation has been suffering under one of the hottest summers they've seen in ages. The Pacific Coast has been the only safe haven for excrutiating heat, so maybe staying cool isn't such a horrible thing.
But we realize that there are a lot of sun fans out here who realize hot weather is rare enough in a normal summer, much less this one. So next time the temperature climbs to 80 degrees, run -- don't walk -- to your nearest beach. It might be all you get.
Oh, and bring a jacket if you're out past 8 o'clock.
Get timely updates and other neat tidbits about Seattle weather by following me on Twitter @ScottSKOMO or on Facebook.

Marshmallows

Joe has been begging me for a few weeks to make s'mores but the weather hasn't been cooperating enough to have a fire in the fire pit. Well here it is the 4th of July already and so I told him I would make marshmallows because I saw Alton Brown make them. I thought I would give it a shot... Oh my gosh they are so good and so easy to make if you haven't made them before give it a shot!
Ingredients

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray

Directions

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.