Cafe Presse

I wasn't sure what to expect of Cafe Presse, having heard mixed reviews, but after last night... I'm in love. Their wine by the glass is affordable and delicious. I tried about three different wines and they were all lovely. The Cotes du Rhone was a favorite. We had their assiette de fromage, and I enjoyed all of the cheses on the plate, which I feel is not always the case with cheese plates. Next, we had their gâteau au foie de volaille with cherry compote... oh my god. SO good. The cherries were perfect. The terrine was smooth and creamy and the best I've ever had. Then, for the main course, we had the quail.... and we weren't disappointed. The quail is nearly boneless (save for the leg and wing) and served with sautéed potatoes, apples, sweet onions and a creamy sage-white wine sauce. I read that on the menu, thought it sounded good, but then was totally blown away by how delicious it was. It was an explosion of flavor. They truly did an excellent job on this dish. To finish the meal, I had an aperitif-- a glass of their tawny port. It was the perfect end to the meal, and left me feeling warm and happy. Cafe Presse is a really cute little space. You will be close to your neighbors, but it wasn't something that bothered me or that I really noticed much. The service was friendly, informative (we got some good recommendations on wines) and quite pleasant. On a rainy winter evening, the cozy, muted lighting lent a good atmosphere to the room. I wold love to return for a coffee and breakfast sometime, but I know I will be back soon for dinner or drinks!

(photos taken from yelp.com)

simple pleasures

I've been cooking quite a lot these days. Plenty of soup, of course, because it's the time of year that makes me yearn for a big bowl of hearty soup. Many repeats from last year--I made the cauliflower red lentil soup I wrote about last winter and it was better than I remembered it! This time I also took a couple of pictures.

If you weren't already aware, cauliflower is actually a very nutritious vegetable. I have, in the past, thought of it as one of those things that I just enjoy eating that has no special benefit to my health, but I was wrong. It's high in dietary fiber, folate, and vitamin C, and comes in other colors besides white (orange! purple!). It is part of the same family as broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, and cabbage! Basically, it is delicious and good for you, and so are its bretheren. That is the end of my "cauliflower is wonderful!" lecture. The recipe for this soup can be found here: http://thingswinonahaseaten.blogspot.com/2009/03/la-dolce-vegan.html

Sometime last year, I discovered that I did not, in fact, know how to successfully make an omelette. Every time I tried, I got impatient (hunger will do that to you) and it ended up being a scramble. I like a good scramble, but there is something so satisfying to me about food that is actually wrapped in other food (dumplings, burritos, pie.... you get the picture) and besides, omelettes that have been properly executed are such a pretty thing to have for breakfast! I had a small amount of exceptionally tasty gruyere in my fridge recently that I wanted to put on or in something, and remembering my successful foray into omelette making, I whipped up a simple 2-egg omelette with the remainder of the cheese. Basically, the "secret" to making omelettes is patience, and a large enough (and well buttered) pan. Gruyere is a great cheese for omelettes, as it melts well and is flavorful. I didn't have any fresh veggies to toss in, but cheese and eggs are delicious enough on their own, I think!

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite fall holiday, as it incorporates cooking, eating, drinking, and spending time with loved ones, but without the near-obligatory gift giving of Christmas. I like giving and recieving presents, but don't like the idea that one has to buy many and often pricey gifts to show their love. Bake me a nice pie instead.

Anyway, this year I was able to get off work, but my relatives were all out of town except my Mom, who was terribly ill and not up to getting together. Love and togetherness prevailed, and I spent my Thanksgiving with friends, who got together to eat, drink, cook, and play Super Mario for Nintendo Wii. Alice's excellent idea was to roast two chickens which had been first stuffed with herbs, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, lemons, shallots, and garlic--butter stuffed under the skin of the breast, fresh chopped herbs sprinkled over the bird, and lastly, the entire thing covered with pancetta. It was pretty amazing, and the resulting chickens were delicious and tasted faintly of bacon.

In addition, we had a green salad with chevre, orange bell pepper, anjou pear, spicy/sweet roasted pecans, and a sesame vinagrette dressing. Carbohydrates were not lacking. Jon made sweet potatoes mashed lightly with pumpkin spice soy milk, which made the potatoes taste faintly of christmas. I used a recipe recently featured on my friend Aubrey's blog for sage and garlic mashed potatoes, and they were smooth, creamy, and flavorful. The recipe can be found at the following link, along with some beautiful pictures.

http://drumbeets.blogspot.com/2009/11/sage-and-garlic-mashed-potatoes.html

Of course, there was a pumpkin pie with plenty of freshly grated ginger and my dad's famous pie crust recipe--all of which disappeared by the end of the evening.

(Pictures from friends' iphones)

Roasted

I have been eating so many tasty things.

It is winter now, and I have been craving veggies! Yesterday I roasted a bunch of organic beets in the oven with olive oil and salt, then ate them with much lip-smacking delight.

Today I cut up two small yams, french fry style, and again, roasted with olive oil and salt. Both vegetables are sweet enough that it felt almost as though I was eating dessert.

Things I love: prosciutto.

This week has kind of turned into a "can I put prosciutto on that?" sort of week. This is something that I am very happy about. I ate a pizza with prosciutto, fig, and basil (delicious), but perhaps the most exciting was yesterday's prosciutto extravaganza. Is there anything that isn't improved by being wrapped in prosciutto? Probably not. After buying 1/4 pound of prosciutto di Parma at Whole Foods, my partner in the appreciation of cured Italian meats and I proceeded to pair it with not one, but two delicious cheeses: mimolette (which caught my eye because of its bright orange color), a semi-hard, aged French cheese, and Mt. Townsend Creamery's trailhead tomme, which was softer than the mimolette, mild, and tasty. Also, there was a perfectly ripened plum and pear, half a loaf of Campagne bread, and a 74% cacao Theo chocolate bar. We tried every configuration of these items, all while enjoying a surprisingly good bottle of rose (Belleruche cotes-du-rhone m. chaputier rose, 2007) that we had chilled previously. It was probably the best snack I have had in weeks, not only because of the excellent food, but because of the delightful company.

Huckleberry

I feel like I blog about cupcakes with some regularity. I guess it is because I really like cupcakes, and because Cupcake Royale has a cupcake of the month that is particularly delicious pretty much every month--and every month my hajj is not to Mecca, but to Ballard, where I drink coffee and savor the newest offering at my favorite cupcake place. Today, after what felt like ages of anticipation, I finally had the huckleberry cupcake, the deliciousness of which was matched by its beauty. The frosting was a gorgeous fuschia/purple with bits of huckleberry in it, and the vanilla cupcake had bits of huckleberry in it as well, lending a dull purple color that was very pleasant and tasty (and moist!). The frosting was sweet, with just enough tartness added by the berries. I savored it for a long time, eating half of it, drinking my latte, then finishing the cupcake--smacking my lips with relish. If you want one... you have until the end of September to acquire one. I highly recommend you do.

Exploring Trader Joe's

I recently moved, and have been, as a result, poor. I don't like being poor. I like spending money on things like food, going out, clothes, travel... the usual!
However, I am taking it all in stride and experimenting with cheaper eats. Today I tried Trader Joe's pasta shells in white cheddar sauce--aka, Mac n cheese in a box. I found it to be less tasty than Annie's white cheddar sauce with bunny shaped pasta, but perhaps that is just nostalgia. I did like the way the small pasta shells clung to my wooden spoon like limpets on a rock, though.

it's been a while...

Rest assured, I have been living the lifestyle of a foodie all summer, per usual. Just haven't had time/energy to write about all the delicious things I have been eating... Because I have been spending so much time eating those things.

Last night's dinner party was really lovely. We started with Mt. Townsend Creamery camembert with campagne bread (from le panier, natch) and fresh sliced peaches and a bottle of delicious Malbec, then had moist, delicious roasted chicken, lemony roasted veggies (I used lemon juice and lemon zest), asparagus, and couscous with a (sweet) late harvest Riesling.

pizza, again

This weekend was the cheese festival at Pike Place Market. At lunchtime, I avoided the bulk of the crowd, going back to DeLaurenti for another slice of their pizza.

This time, it was goat cheese, arugula, roasted garlic, roasted red pepper pizza. Just sit and think about that for a while. It was probably even more delicious than you've imagined.

I felt as though I was celebrating the spirit of the cheese festival by eating a pizza that had a slab of goat cheese on it, which was infinitely better than battling throngs of pedestrian tourists, slack-jawed in wonderment and delight at the cheesy deliciousness. Also, it was 75 and sunny in Seattle, so I couldn't be bothered to hang around downtown. All in all, a gorgeous weekend.

Chocolate Scorcher

It is no secret that I love Cafe Verite and Cupcake Royale. The Ballard location is one of my favorite places to go and study--can you blame me? Amazing stumptown coffee, delicious cupcakes, friendly & cute baristas, good music, and art? What's not to like?!

This month's cupcake of the month (which I have sampled twice... no, three times, I think) is no exception to the deliciousness that they're rolling out on a regular basis.  The chocolate cupcake base is moist and tasty, but the real treat is the frosting, which is a chocolate cream cheese frosting that has a blend of spices including garam masala in it, topped with shavings of Theo's ghost chile chocolate. Ghost chile is the world's hottest chile, and hails from the Assam region of India. It provides the cupcake with about a 30 second burn of spiciness, in the best way, but isn't too much for my pansy ass to handle. 

downtown lunch

I am constantly trying to think of new ways to fill my belly when I am working downtown and through laziness, forgetfulness, or a combination of the two, have forgotten to bring anything for lunch. Today, I stumbled upon a gem.

I have been to DeLaurenti's many times to get sandwiches, cheese, cookies, wine, you name it. I have never tried their pizza, until today. I wandered in the door, peered over at the fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza, and saw a marvelous looking slice that practically danced in front of my eyes, so great was my hunger.

This slice of pizza, which I procured for about $3, was topped with gorgonzola, pear slices, arugula, golden raisins, and deliciousness. My coworkers watched jealously as I ate it, proclaiming its deliciousness after each bite. One coworker was moved to go out in search of this divine pizza, only to return empty-handed, as they had no more of this variety available when she got there.

My only regret? That I did not get a picture of the pizza in all its glory.

Roasted chicken, potato salad, and carrot cake--a sunday dinner

I haven't roasted a chicken in over a year. I was nervous that I would somehow fuck it up, that it would be overcooked, undercooked, unseasoned, too salty... you get the picture. Luckily, I am a pro when it comes to roasting chickens (thanks to lessons from Dad) and it turned out to be delicious, tender, and perfectly seasoned.

This is my general procedure for roasting a chicken, augmented occasionally by different herbs depending on season and accompanying dishes.

I first wash the bird and remove the "extras" packed inside. Next, I rub the bird down with olive oil, squeeze the juice from 1/2 of a lemon inside the bird, and rub some sea salt and freshly ground pepper inside the body cavity. Then, I cut a couple of slices of lemon and stuff those inside the bird, followed by several chopped garlic cloves (the more the m

errier, in my opinion). Before placing the bird in the oven, I sprinkle a little salt and garlic powder on top, then cook to perfection. Voila!

As for potato salad, I had to again defer to Dad this time, emailing him for his famous potato salad recipe. This is truly kick ass potato salad, so feel special that I am sharing the recipe. Directly quoted from his email is the recipe/instructions for the potato salad:

"Cook about 5 whole, medium potatoes slowly, yukon golds are nice and nutty. Refrigerate them, cooling completely prior to cutting. I chop up celery and onion in about equal amounts, each about 1/4th the volume of the diced potatoes or to your liking. You can always add, but not subtract. Slice about 5 red radishes. And dice up several smal

l sweet pickles. I add some of rhe liquid from the jar, as well. Celery seed is nice to add, salt and pepper to taste. Boil 5 eggs and refrigerate at the same time as the potatoes. Cut them up and add toward the last. Now turn in some mayonnaise. add till it approaches creamy, don't overdo it. Again, you can always add more. Refrigerate overnight for the best flavor infiltration."

The potato salad was, of course, delicious. It was weird, making it. I have never actually done it, that was always Dad's thing. Since he is in Japan, I had to make my own. It was quite popular, and at the end of the night I think everyone had eaten two help

ings, at least.

To finish off our sunday dinner, I made a carrot cake! It was my first time, and I hadn't stopped to think how labor intensive it is to make carrot cake. It is no easy task to grate 3 cups of carrots, but I managed it without developing carpal tunnel or sustaining any grating-related injuries. Success! The cake was moist and delicious. Such a great summer cake! I loved the pecans in the cake as well.

delicious.

Stirfry

Stirfry is one of my favorite things to cook and eat. I am always tweaking the sauce, trying different things, and generally attempting to create delicious concoctions involving plenty of fresh veggies. Lately I've been using fresh orange juice and zest, a lot of freshly grated ginger, minced garlic, fish sauce, and some sweet chili sauce all together to make a light but delicious sauce that makes for a zesty and delicious stirfry. Some of my favorite veggies for stirfry are broccoli, bok choi, red peppers, sugar snap peas, and carrots, but really, you can toss in anything that you like and it would be delicious. I also added some extra firm tofu to my stirfry and served it over jasmine rice. Delicious.

coconut milk ice cream

I own some kind of odd kitchen appliances, both because I sometimes splurge and buy things for special cooking projects, and because my dad, who also loves to cook, likes to buy me fun things like an ice cream maker. I recently tried some very tasty ice cream that was made with a coconut milk base, and I thought it would be interesting to try it out at home. I used the following recipe:

2 cans coconut milk
3/4 cup undutched cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar (to taste, I didn't want it too sweet and this turned out well)
1 tsp vanilla extract

I whisked the cocoa powder in with a little bit of coconut milk, then mixed in the remaining ingredients in no particular order. I poured it all into my ice cream maker and watched as it turned to delicious ice cream before my eyes. The texture, upon coming out of the mixer, was perfect, like frozen yogurt. After being re-frozen, however, it was more difficult to scoop and crumbled a bit--but was still absolutely lovely. I want to experiment with other flavors, and see about maybe adding a little soy milk next time, to see if that makes it less crumbly for scooping.

Molly Moon!

I went out for ice cream with Anna and Spidermike last night in Wallingford. After a lovely walk from the U-district and an equally lovely dinner at Sea-Thai, we decided that it was perfect ice cream weather.

Molly Moon should be around the corner from my house. Or maybe it shouldn't be, because I would go all the time. I had strawberry balsamic ice cream and vivace coffee ice cream, and was pretty much in ice cream heaven. It was so delicious. I have had strawberries with balsamic vinegar together before as a wine pairing, and loved it then, so I knew I had to try this ice cream and it was so good. I wanted to buy a pint to take home, but had self-control. Luckily.

In addition to the scoops of ice cream I had, I got to try my friends' ice cream--honey lavendar (so delicious and refreshing), salted black licorice (very salty! not sure if I liked it as much, but I don't love licorice), and maple walnut (what I call an "old man" ice cream flavor). I tasted two of their sorbets--pomegranate curry and chocolate mandarin. The pomegranate curry was so interesting and zesty, though I don't think it was a flavor I'd really want a whole scoop of. The chocolate mandarin, however, almost made me change my order... it was that good.

I just have a whole lot of love for Molly Moon, right now.

bread, bread, and more bread.

This is the massive pile of bread my roommate and I brought home from the Essential Bakery bread dumpster. Faced with such a daunting load of carbohydrates, we decided that there was only one thing we could do--make bread pudding. Not just any bread pudding, but whole wheat bread pudding! This is something I have never done. Technically, it is two things I have never done, both the bread pudding making and also with whole wheat bread. I kind of wished I had some rum in the house, but as it was too late to go to a liquor store, we stuck with milk, eggs, butter, raisins, brown sugar, and some tasty spices--cinnamon and nutmeg.

The resulting product, while not being especially beautiful to look at because it is, after all, bread pudding, but was delicious, warm, and a wintry treat that kind of made me wish I had a hot toddy to go with it. Again, next time.

We still had a lot of bread, which we continued to consume in a variety of ways, including a favorite... dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The morning after the bread pudding experiment, we made french press with a most amazing Stumptown coffee, and I made french toast with a sourdough fremont loaf. French toast is something I don't make often, but every time I do, I wonder why it has been so long. I want to experiment with another french toast recipe in the near future that I found that had anise in it. This time, however, I made rather traditional french toast with a little vanilla and nutmeg in it.

Another important thing I learned over the couple of days that followed is what a difference it truly makes to have a good bread knife.

alligator stomp

Yesterday was full of winning edibles.
Heather and I went to the store in search of milk for our coffee, and a cheese-bearing temptress persuaded us to buy some aged sheep's milk cheese ($12!) which Heather, Sarah, and I consumed with much gusto, accompanied by a sliced honeycrisp apple and a baguette.
Later in the evening, Heather and I went to a zydeco dance party where we found a large crock pot full of jambalaya. I think that parties should more often include crock pots full of jambalaya, because this one was a hit. I had a lengthy conversation about the various similarities between jambalaya and paella. I am still wondering if there is any real correlation between the two dishes.

La Dolce Vegan

Last night I cracked open one of my favorite cookbooks, "La Dolce Vegan", and decided to make cauliflower red lentil soup, described by the cookbook as "a gorgeous and hearty soup that is great on its own, or served over rice". Not particularly feeling like rice, I decided to just try it out as a stand-alone soup, and I was not disappointed. Recipe is as follows, though I stuck to the amounts rather loosely because I wanted more soup.

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin seeds (I only had ground, but the taste is great)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 1/2 cups vegetable stock

2 cups cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 medium tomatoes, chopped (I realized too late that I had no fresh tomatoes, used canned diced tomatoes and it worked fine)

1 cup red lentils

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced (skipped this ingredient)

1/2 tsp salt 

In a medium soup pot on medium heat, cook onions in oil until translucent. Add ginger, garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, and turmeric and saute for 2 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. Add stock, cauliflower, tomatoes, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until veggies and lentils are cooked. Stir in the cilantro and salt, remove from heat, and let sit 5 minutes before serving. Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

The resulting soup was hearty and flavorful, and the red pepper flakes gave it just the right amount of spiciness without it being too hot for me (I am notoriously bad at eating spicy things). My roommate and I ate it, smacking our lips and dipping crusty bread into the soup. He, a total omnivore, is pretty convinced now of the deliciousness of vegan cooking. This is a recipe that I can't wait to make again. 

oh, Anthony Bourdain....

Last night was an epic night for my kitchen. I didn't take any pictures--I couldn't tear myself away from the intense cooking experiment that was taking place.
Calder and I roasted a duck. We made duck a l'orange, actually. We used Calder's Anthony Bourdain cookbook and it turned out marvelously, though it was pretty time-intensive. I just want to say that Anthony Bourdain's style of cookbook writing is full of amazing and I really want this cookbook for myself, if only so I can read through it and chuckle at his instructions, notably on one page "fuck the health department! leave the steak out of the refridgertor until it is room temperature". This, and other colorful descriptions are peppered liberally throughout the cookbook, which provided plenty of amusement between chopping, pouring, stirring, etc.
Anyway, not only did we roast a duck, but we made duck stock which turned out quite well, and which I happily have leftovers of to cook something else with. It was suggested that I made risotto with this duck stock, which sounds like an excellent idea to me.
The orange sauce for the duck was perfect and delightful--not too sweet, but a pleasing, slightly tangy, rich without being overpowering, and again, delightful compliment to the roasted duck. As a side dish we had mashed turnips and yukon gold potatoes which were mashed with butter and a few tablespoons of duck fat, and served with roasted pear puree. It was very tasty, and I learned (from the internet!) that in France, turnips are traditionally paired with duck. I'm so authentic! Who knew?
Heather brought a tasty baguette and a bottle of pinot noir, which was excellent. My relationship with pinot noir is bordering on being a religious experience, and I take it kind of seriously. Heather knows this, and never fails to get tasty bottles of wine at our favorite wine shop at Pike Place Market--Pike & Western.
And then I spent the rest of the night in a food coma.

hot buttered pretzels

Last Sunday, my roommate and I decided to have a tiny soiree influenced by our study abroad trip last spring in Vienna. We made weiß Wein gespritzt (white wine spritzers) and I baked pretzels!
The pretzels were pretty quick and easy to make, and came out of the oven piping hot, soft, and beautifully brown. A quick brushing of butter on top of them, and they were ready to be gobbled up (and were, quickly). Not a bad way to spend a Sunday evening. I want to bake more breads, and experiment with different yeast doughs. It's always much easier than I imagine it will be, and turns out so well.

A far superior chocolate cake recipe

So, because of a stronger than ususal chocolate craving, I decided to make more chocolate cupcakes, this time using a new recipe--just for kicks. I got it on epicurious.com, and it is the most amazing homemade chocolate cake I have had yet.

3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans.
Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.


I again made caramel to drizzle over the top of the cupcakes, and learned that using buttermilk in the first batch of caramel made all the difference. It was much better with buttermilk! But good either way. These cupcakes were so good that an unnamed person ate three of them. No lie.

black magic cupcakes with caramel drizzle

I am apparently the cupcake queen right now. My friend Sofie was doodling in her notebook during class, and she drew a picture of me holding a plate of cupcakes. This is how my friends imagine me. I like it.

When you bake red velvet cupcakes, you invariably end up with buttermilk that is left over and which can go forgotten in the refrigerator until it goes bad. Not so at the lovenest. I made it my mission to figure out something else I could bake with buttermilk, and as I was having some friends over last week, I settled on more cupcakes, and used the following recipe (sort of)

Black Magic Cake:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans or one 9x13 inch pan.
2. In large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.
3. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on a wire rack. Fill and frost as desired.

I actually don't own a cake pan, or I might have just made a cake, but who doesn't love cupcakes? They turned out really well, they were slightly tangy from the coffee and the buttermilk, and instead of making or buying a frosting for them, I made a caramel drizzle and had fun (and made a mess) pouring it over the cupcakes and allowing it to cool. It was perfect with this cake, and I would be interested in trying it again sometime because it was such a nice alternative to frosting.

playing catch-up

The problem with failing to blog about delicious things I have cooked/eaten in a timely manner is that food is best described when available to refresh your memory as well as your palate. Oh well.

Valentine's day weekend was nothing to sneeze at in terms of delicious things. The day itself was spent pleasantly drunk--as Valentine's day should be. I had a lovely night owl pumpkin ale at the Elysian brewery, which was quite tasty and truly pumpkiny. I don't remember a time when I have enjoyed a pumpkin ale quite so much! For dinner, both Sara and I ordered the cider braised pork chops (not sure why, as I don't usually really like pork chops) with mashed potatoes that must have had some kind of magical butter or gravy or I don't know what (both because of intoxicants that night and because time has passed) and also German-style purple cabbage. Honestly, we could have almost shared one entree, so large were the portions, but it worked out well for other people at our table, as we were unable to finish everything but willing to offer bites to everyone else.

Sunday morning (after a night of dancing at the Lo-fi!) was Heather's 24th birthday celebration, which was hosted at her house in the form of a tasty, communally cooked brunch. I brought orange juice and cava (for mimosas!) and also some red velvet cupcakes that I'd whipped up which, if I am allowed to pat myself on the back, turned out really well! I am on a new kick of trying to bake more sustainably, which means, for starters, not using cupcake liners. Every little bit helps, right? The cupcakes were bright red, and delicious. My only regret is not having enought time to make frosting for them from scratch, but c'est la vie.

My favorite brunch item, and indeed, my new favorite muffin, was the creation that Calder pulled together in a very crowded kitchen--bacon, gruyere, and scallion muffins.

Calder doing his thing

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Bacon-Gruyere-and-Scallion-Muffins-10835

I love all of those things, and was excited to taste a savory muffin, as I don't remember the last time I have eaten a muffin that wasn't sweet. The muffins, aside from being slightly labor intensive, looked fairly easy to cook and I am tempted to have my own small brunch get together soon just to have an excuse to make them myself.
My job at the brunch was to make pot after pot of french press, and this gave me the opportunity to "supervise" the creation of the muffins, brioche french toast, fritatta, and sweet potato fries, to name a few things. I also got plenty of coffee, and mimosas (a good reason to hang out in the kitchen if there ever was one).

Happy Birthday Heather!

Julien Offray de la Mettrie

I am studying for a midterm in my European studies class, and reading the works of various philosophers regarding enlightenment ideas, which is kind of exhausting but interesting. I thought the following bit of text was really cool, and it's about food! So I'm going to share it.

"The human body is a machine which winds itself up, the living image of perpetual motion. Food nourishes the movements which fever excites. Without food, the soul pines away, goes mad, and dies exhausted. It is a candle whose light flares up the moment before it goes out. But nourish the body, pour into its veins invigorating juices and strong liquors; then the soul, taking on their strength, arms itself with a proud courage, and the soldier whom water would have made flee, now made bold, runs joyously to the sounds of drums. Thus a warming drink excites the blood which a cold drink would have calmed. What power there is in a meal! Joy is born again in a sad heart; it infects the souls of table companions, who burst into the friendly songs in which the French excel."

Cardamom Banana Cupcakes

I like entertaining. I have a hard time having people over at my place without cooking or baking something, even if it is not my original intention.

Last night we had a small group over for movie night (we watched 8 Femmes, a strange but entertaining French musical murder mystery) and I decided at the last minute to make some cupcakes, because who doesn't like cupcakes?

I have been wanting to make something with cardamom because it is a lovely spice, so when I found this recipe online, it sounded perfect. The cupcakes themselves turned out well, not too sweet at all, which I found enjoyable. The cupcakes would have been lovelier still if I had been able to find bananas that were super ripe (brown!), and I think I will try it that way last time to see if it makes the difference I think it will. I used more cardamom than the 1/2 tsp that the recipe called for, and they were spicy, the texture of the cupcake was lighter than I thought it would been when spooning out the batter into the muffin tin. It looked like banana bread batter, but did end up being lighter than that when the end result came out of the oven. I frosted them with a cream cheese frosting that I whipped up by hand. I much prefer making my own frosting because I like being able to control how sweet it is (I like it when it is NOT loaded down with sugar). We weren't able to wait for the cupcakes to fully cool, so great was our cupcake lust. Instead, the cupcakes were consumed when still warm, with the frosting spooned liberally onto the cupcakes and licked off of fingers as we messily consumed them.

I also made tacos last night, and when I found myself with hunger pains later in the evening due to heavy concentration on my German paper, I rummaged in the kitchen looking for leftovers. The sole remaining taco shell was broken in half (lengthwise) and so I made an open-faced taco. For future reference, the open-faced taco is extremely difficult to eat without getting it all over you. It is delicious, but inferior to actual tacos in that actual tacos lend themselves to the possibility of being eaten without simultaneously ending up all over your lap.

miso soup

Sometime last week I decided, while shopping at Uwajimaya, that I really wanted to make some miso soup. I bought dashi miso (is it cheating to use that instead of regular miso paste? I don't think so), some seaweed, and went home to easily concoct my miso soup. I lightly sauteed some extra firm tofu in a little sesame oil, added the miso paste to very, very hot water, then tossed in a liberal amount of seaweed and tofu, and some chopped green onion on top. The resulting soup was awesome, and just what I needed.

vegan dinner party

Thursday night, having the privledge of a night off work, I decided to embark on a new soup adventure and involve a couple of friends in it. I know I make a lot of soup, I can't really seem to help it, these days. In fact, the next two things I am planning to make are soups!
This time, it was butternut squash, red lentil, and ginger soup. This was another puree, it had onion and tomatoes in it as well, and it was just perfectly gingery although processing the butternut squash was somewhat obnoxious, it was definitely worthwhile. The recipe called for two inches of grated ginger, though if you just can't get enough ginger you could probably use more if you wanted. In addition to the soup, we had a white corn/edamame salad with rice wine vinegar and sesame oil dressing that was a very tasty cold salad and went quite well with the soup. We also had a bottle of 337 Cabernet Sauvignon, which wasn't bad but also wasn't great. I wouldn't get it again, I don't think.

salt caramel cupcakes!

I had a religious experience at Cupcake Royale today, and it is all I can do to not just run back there and buy tons of these cupcakes to give to everyone I love. I was tempted to buy one to go, but resisted.
I walked into Cafe Verite, ready to get my usual red velvet cupcake and an americano and do some intense studying with Heather, when I saw something different in the pastry case. The cupcake flavor of the month was salted caramel. Now, I love salted caramel, I can't get enough of them, and without a moment's hesitation, I ordered the cupcake and carried it back to our table. Heather, as it turns out, had already eaten one, and gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up on my cupcake choice.
This cupcake was divine. Magnificent. Excuisite. I am told that Cupcake Royale recently changed their chocolate cake batter, and the cupcake was great on its own, but the frosting! It tasted just like werther's caramels, wasn't too sweet, and complemented the chocolate perfectly. On top of the frosting were chocolate shavings and a generous dusting of fleur-de-sel. I found cupcake perfection.

eating my way through January

This weekend was chock full of tasty things, as all weekends should be.
I went to a really nice potluck at the frat haus on Saturday night, and there were many other guests who brought a nice variety of dishes and booze and good company. I was a little stressed out that day because I decided at the last minute to make falafel again, having made it the previous night with the intention of bringing it to the potluck. I was worried that it wouldn't be as delicious the 2nd day, so I rushed to the store at 7pm (potluck started at 8), and ran around my kitchen chopping, blending, and frying things, but the falafel turned out really well and I was pleased with it. I got to the potluck just in time to dish up a plate full of exciting things like macaroni and cheese (which I am pretty sure was made with beecher's cheese), tabouleh, chickpea & spinach curry, roasted sesame eggplant, falafel, veggie tart, and vegetarian chili. I think I actually ate more things than that, but there were so many dishes that looked good, I was overwhelmed and had a hard time deciding. Also available at this party were a number of different caramels from Theo's chocolates, which is where Becca works. I ate many different kinds of caramels, and was really into the sage caramel.
Sunday night I made a vegetable stirfry, and was going to concoct an almond sauce (like peanut sauce... but with almonds) in order to not kill my roommate, who is allergic to peanuts, but ended up making a while new sauce instead. I juiced two oranges (minneola I think), zested them, added sweet chili sauce and fish sauce, and then grated a ton of fresh ginger into that and gave it a good stir. I used onion, garlic, broccoli, sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, carrot, and red bell pepper as my veggies, which didn't leave any room in my pan for tofu, so I opted to just leave it out. I sauteed everything in a little bit of canola oil and a bunch of sesame oil, which I am very into right now because I love the flavor it lends to vegetables that cook in it. The stirfry ended up being very tasty, and VERY gingery, which is great because I adore ginger, especially in the winter. It was just what we needed, a huge helping of fresh vegetables, and tons of cold-fighting vitamin C.

le panier

One of the better ways to start your morning, should you happen to be in/near Pike Place Market, is with a trip to Le Panier, a fantastic French bakery whose butter-scented air lures in many tourists and locals alike. If you are lucky enough to get there before the crowd (8am on a Saturday in this case), you will have ample space and time to peruse the pastry cases before carefully selecting your flaky, delicious treat. I love their féuilletes, which are pastries with a variety of savory fillings. I am a huge fan of the broccoli, but I just love broccoli in general. The puff pastry is somewhat delicate, and flakes fall off as you bite into it--perfection.
My latte was excellent, as always. Le Panier uses Caffe Umbria espresso beans, and has adorable baristas. When I get a latte to go from le Panier, I sprinkle a little cinnamon on top, and it's heavenly.

Falafel!

Last night I was feeling decidedly vitamin-C deficient, and thirsty. I juiced two tangerines (and these were extremely juicy, fat tangerines) and slurped the pulpy, tangy juice as I was cooking.
I have been wanting to make falafel for a while, for many reasons--first of which being, I love falafel. There was a tasty-sounding recipe in a cookbook I recieved for Christmas, so last night I went for it. I mixed chickpeas, turmeric, onion, parsley, garlic, flour, salt, and orange juice (should have been lemon juice but my lemons went bad), blended them down in my food processor (that wasn't really large enough for this job, poor thing), and then fried up some falafel patties in olive oil. The falafels turned out really well! I ate two of them and nearly danced with excitement at the idea that I can now make my own falafels whenever I want. I think chickpeas are going to make it onto my regular list of grocery items.

Soup on Sunday

I had a lovely lunch date with Erica and Laura at Solstice Cafe in the U-dist on Sunday. At first we were disappointed to learn that the Ugly Mug Cafe (one of my favorites) was not open, but then realized that it meant we had the opportunity to have tasty soup at Solstice.
Tomato Basil soup is the only soup I have ever seen or had at Solstice, and it is tasty and makes me happy every time. There are many ways to spend $4, and this is probably in my top 10. The soup is a hearty orangey-red, with nice big pieces of basil--though not so many as to overwhelm you. The soup is also served with tasty bread, and this time the bread had caraway seeds in it! Solstice was, as always, filled with students working dilligently (or not so dilligently as the case may be), and we grabbed the last table available.

cafe verite

Latte--Stumptown hairbender espresso. Cow milk. Sugar in the raw.

Cupcake--red velvet, cream cheese frosting. Red and white nonpareils. 

This is pretty much my usual at Cafe Verite/Cupcake Royale. I'm a fan. I am currently without headphones and am reading the NYT, listening to the cafe's music (usually pretty good, no exception today), milk steaming, people talking, and feeling the occasional cold shock when the door is open too long.

It's a beautiful day in Ballard.

Soup!

I really, really like making soup. Especially when it is chilly outside. I like making huge pots of soup and freezing some to eat at a later date, or having people over and feeding them warm, nutritious, delicious, soup. Winter is great, I don't care what anyone says about the weather, it makes me want soup and I am down with that.

I made two tasty soups this week from these good vegan cookbooks I have by the same person--Sarah Kramer. I have "The Garden of Vegan" and "La Dolce Vegan!" and have made a lot of things that turned out really well from them.

The first soup is called garden carrot soup with fresh ginger, and it was light, but filling, and had really amazing layers of flavor. I sautéed carrots and leeks in sesame oil (!) which really added something awesome to the final product. I could taste the sesame, and it wasn't overpowering, but kind of gave a hearty undertone to the soup. There was also a yam in the soup, and nutmeg, and fresh grated ginger. It was completely lovely--a pleasing shade of orange, smooth and flavorful, and delicious. I will definitely make it again. 

Last night I had some friends over for dinner and I made soup again. This time it was coconut curry red lentil soup, which I have made twice before. It turned out a bit spicier this time because I added more curry, but I liked it a lot. Good for the sinuses! It has onion, potatoes, a yam, curry paste, coconut milk, celery, and lentils, of course, and is a most excellent soup. The last time I made it, it was a really beautiful color. This time something in the proportion of ingredients was off, because it was less of a creamy orange color and more split-pea colored, but I also used french lentils instead of red lentils because I discovered I was out of the latter. Of course, it matters most of all that it turns out edible and it was proclaimed delicious by all at the table (which it was). I definitely think presentation is important. Next time I'll add more yam, maybe. I like not following recipes. I want to cook more things with lentils in 2009, because I like lentils a lot.