Social Snacks + Sausage, Polenta, and Greens

After work today, I was invited to my old team's Thursday social. I brought some sweet bread made with plums (which I paired with plum wine), and we also had some delicious chocolate almond peanut butter bars, which had a disturbing amount of butter in them (in a very good way). I had a hard time stopping eating the bars, but eventually had to make my way home to cook up some dinner.



We picked up some anduille sausage from the Skagit River Ranch booth at the market, and also got some swiss chard and hazelnuts. I threw it all together in a pan (well, in a specific order I guess), along with the remaining carrots, while baking some polenta. I used the carrot tops along with the chard for the greens, which had a very carroty flavor to them.

'Lobster' Melts

For a quick dinner tonight, we made unaccompanied lobster melts, using a faux lobster on focaccia with cheese and jalapenos. Not much to say other than that Dan found he prefers the fake crab to the fake lobster.

Dinner & a Show

After work today, I met up with Dan and our friend Ruth for some dinner before we headed down to ReBar for the latest Brown Derby production. (This time, they were parodying the Dolly Parton classic film, 9 to 5). We met up at Machiavelli on Pine Street.

When I arrived, Ruth was sitting in the tiny bar area waiting for us, sipping some of the house white (Gallo, I believe) - which sounded like the perfect, cheap option to cool off. Dan soon joined us and indulged in the jug wine, after which we headed up to the dining area.



If you've never been, Macchiavelli is a consistent, often packed spot right on the edge of Capitol Hill & Downtown Seattle. Dan & I went there on one of our first dates, but it's so packed on weekends that we rarely go. But it being a weeknight, and one of the closest spots to ReBar, tonight it was perfect.



To go with our dinner, we stepped it up to a $19 bottle of Barbi Secco 2006 white, which we all seemed happy with. Ruth had the Spinach Ravioli ($10.95), Dan ordered the Conchiglie della Casa ($9.50), and I went for the Gnocchi ($10.95). We all cleaned our plates, and drained the bottle, which I take as a good sign that the food & drink was enjoyed by all.



After dinner, we headed down to the show and laughed our asses off.

Zum Zum

Today was day two of my new job, and without any leftovers for lunch, I decided to treat myself to a little Zum Zum.



Cafe Zum Zum is a Downtown Seattle lunch spot that serves delicous Pakistani/Indian curries for a great price. They consistently draw a line of people out to the sidewalk. Beyond the great food, I think the secret to their success is a simple menu with really only one option - but with endless variations. You can get rice, a warmed up tortilla (a cheap version of naan), and one or two curries for around $5. Or, you can get 'salad' (chopped iceberg lettuce), a warmed up tortilla, and one or two curries for $4.91, including tax - which is what I always go for. Zum Zum has a strong following, including many of my coworkers, and many complain about Zum Bloat: the feeling of overfullness after eating all that rice and curry. I find their salad variation is satisfying without being too much, and the tortilla is plenty of starch. Although they have a variety of chicken and lamb curries, I always stick to the veggie ones (which are also cheaper). My favorites are the spinach potato curry, the split garbanzo curry, and the garbanzo potato curry - though the black eyed peas curry is also great, and often the daily special for $3.99 (plus tax).

Palak Paneer

Tonight I made my first attempt at cooking one of my all-time favorite dishes: Palak Paneer (aka Indian cheese & spinach). I think I overcooked the cheese a bit, and the spinach tasted a bit too much like iron and wasn't flavorful enough - but it was still enjoyable.

Huli Huli and Mac Mac

For my second whole chicken attempt, tonight I roasted a handicapped poulet (it was missing a wing) in the Huli Huli style - a Hawaiian recipe that's a staple at luaus. In addition (to keep the Hawaiian theme alive), I made up some steamed rice (two scoops each, of course) and what I call Blond Mac Mac Salad. At Dan's suggestion, I added chopped macadamia nuts to the mac salad, along with some white carrots we picked up at the market - producing a nutty, all cream colored macaroni salad.

Huli Huli Chicken

The Sauce
1/4 cup catsup
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup broth
1/3 cup sherry
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbspn crushed fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tspn Worcestershire sauce

Mix all Sauce ingredients in a bowl. Brush the sauce all over the chicken, then roast in a 325 degree oven for about 90 minutes, basting frequently with sauce and juices.

Islander & HouseWarming

Dan & I had planned to meet with a couple friends for dinner before heading to our friend Heath's housewarming, but they ended up unavailable. We decided to go out to dinner anyway, and headed to an old favorite we haven't visited in awhile - the Islander.

We kicked things off right with a Mai Tai for me and a Mango Ginger Margarita for Dan.



Then we ordered a few appetizers to share for a light dinner. First out to the table was the Mango Ahi Poke. Not exactly your Auntie's poke, but a fun nouveau twist on the favorite. Dan & I both liked the mango addition.



Then we moved on to some edamame - boiled salted soybeans that are super satisfying when you have 'busy hands' like me.



Finally, we dug into the soft-shell crab summer rolls, which were really great and reminded me how fun it is to make summer rolls.



After another round of drinks (I switched to the Margarita, too), we walked down the street to Heath's place. We were some of the first guests to arrive, partly because many people were stuck in a rehearsal for the upcoming production of 9 to 5 at ReBar. Our good friend Spencer (Heath's boyfriend) took us up to the rooftop deck, to take in the great view. Soon enough people began flowing in - and straight up to the deck.



On a visit to the restroom, I realized that all the food Heath had prepared for the party was left alone down in the apartment. There was way too much to bring up on my own, so I made up a plate with a little of nearly everything: pickled okra wrapped in cream cheese and ham or tofurky, deviled eggs, olives, nuts, and some crudite. I headed back up to the deck and made my way around the party serving people - and the food disappeared fast. So I just got into a pattern of making up plates, then walking around the room. I think some people thought I was actually a cater waiter. For whatever reason, I had a blast. I got to present food, talk about food, and be social all at the same time. After a while, a 12yo girl at the party with her parents showed interest, so we worked together on the plates before I walked them around. And when we got to the dessert trays, she did all the layout on the plates and even the first round of serving. We had a blast. Once the food had made all the rounds it could, I ended up sitting down with her folks and talking. Her mother and I laughed and laughed as we talked, and her father invited Dan & I over for dinner sometime, so they can show us what Venezuelan food is like (they're both originally from there).

I should cater waiter at parties more often.


A plate of food at H

What the heck is a Pluot?

What do you get when you cross a Plum and an Apricot? Well, it depends.

If it's genetically ½ plum and ½ apricot, you get a Plumcot. If it's ¼ plum and ¾ apricot, you get an Aprium. And if it's ¾ plum and ¼ apricot, you get a Pluot. Which is what we got when we went to the Tiny's Organics (E. Wenatchee) booth at the market. That's Dan in the red polo shirt, patiently waiting his turn and loading a paper bag with hybridized fruits.



We also picked up some ordinary, untampered with, run of the mill plums, but the pluots were what we were most interested in. Neither Dan nor I had ever eaten one, though we had recently become aware of the various plum/apricot mixes, since both are in season right now.



The reason we bought them is our now weekly sweet bread baking ritual, to give us easy, tasty breakfasts during the work week. Today we chopped up the pluots (it took about 3-4 to get 1 cup) and used them in my favorite breakfast bread recipe, which I've made previously with peaches (per the recipe) and most recently with apricots. Other than switching out the fruit, I also adjusted the ratios of spices. Instead of 1 Tbspn ginger powder, I did 1 tspn each of ginger, nutmeg, and clove.

The Pluot bread is by far my favorite of all the variations so far. It was very moist, and the pluots were pomegranate red, like little jewels in the bread. I can't wait to try their peacotums.

Ti Amo Treat

Tonight we made a plan to take it easy, and order from Ti Amo Pizza & Pasta. Dan had one of their gigantic calzones ($9.50), while I opted for the eggplant sub ($8.25). We also ordered some mozzarella sticks ($5.95). Although the prices per entree seem steep, they're enough to feed two people. (The picture below is of half my sub.) If you're like us, you eat half for dinner and the other half for lunch the next day - making it very economical compared to eating out for lunch in Seattle.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

It seems like we make this all the time, but looking back, it's only about every other month. And each time, we change the original recipe a little bit.

This time around, we used some jalapeno tuna we bought from a local cannery, a bit of white cheddar from Appel farms in Ferndale, and the rest of the peas leftover from the paella. I kinda messed up and put the cheese and chips on top at the beginning, then didn't cook it as long normally, but it still turned out great. I think that's the beauty of a casserole - even when you mess it up, it's good.

Beer, Cracker Jacks, & Garlic Fries

This is my last week at my current job (moving to a new team on Monday), and my great boss took the whole team out to a Mariner's baseball game this afternoon - and bought us beer and food. I initially tried to be both thrifty and reserved, and got a Miller Lite and some Cracker Jacks (the prizes are sad these days).



But during a second beer run, our boss returned with a stack of garlic fries baskets for everyone, and one of the baskets ended up in my lap. I must've smelled horrible by the end of the night. Oddly enough, they serve the fries with a couple slices of apple on the side. I'm not sure if it's a nod to the local producers, or if eating apple slices after several cloves worth of garlic is supposed to diminish the garlic breath. Something to look more into, I guess.



Although the Mariners lost it in the end to the Red Sox, we all had a blast at the game. I was super rowdy (surprise, surprise), and my friends Yarrow and Jen bought me a giant pink foam #1 finger to wave - which landed me on the JumboTron TV!

Mostly Local Paella

Tonight we put together a paella using some anduille sausage, clams, hazelnuts, cherries, onion and peas from the farmers market, plus some arborio rice, garlic, veggie broth, and some canned tomatoes from the pantry.

I started with a recipe we've made before, but then just improvised on some of the ingredients. I swapped out the clams for the shrimp, threw the cherries & hazelnuts in with the tomatoes, and left out the red peppers.

I'd forgotten how spicy this recipe is! If I ever make it for company, I might need to dial down the cayenne and chili powder a bit. I think the clams kinda got lost in the shuffle of all the other flavors, and it might be better to use a seafood broth instead of veggie to heighten that flavor. But I loved the cherries and nuts in it.

Apricot Glazed Pork Loin & Potatoes

Continuing my exploration of local meats, we picked up some pork chops from (you guessed it) SeaBreeze Farm and prepared it for dinner tonight.

We covered the chops in some apricot jam, then cooked them out on the grill for about 20 minutes - until the inside hit 160 degrees. I also chopped up some new potatoes, tossed them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted them at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes. And while all that was going on, I chopped up some apricots, and sautéed them with a little brown sugar, which then went on top of the chops after they'd rested about 5 minutes.

For my first attempt at pork in years, I think they turned out pretty good. And I'm in love with simple roasted potatoes now. So easy and yet fulfilling.

Raspberry Oat Muffins

Dan generally likes something sweet and easy to eat on the go for weekday breakfasts. With so much seasonal fruit available right now, we've begun making one of two recipes with whatever fruit or berries looked good at the market, and sharing the results as our breakfasts through the week.

The first of the recipes is a breakfast bread, which we've made with apricot and peaches, and will surely be trying out other fruits (and maybe even squashes) as the seasons change. The original recipe is one I've used repeatedly.

But this week, we went for a new recipe, from a new cookbook. Because of our love for the Best of the Best from Hawaii cookbook, we decided to order the Washington version. Dan found this Berry Muffin recipe, which we made up with some raspberries we bought from SeaBreeze Farm. Dan suggested a bit of oats on top, so we adapted the recipe slightly. They were delicious, if I do say so myself.

Fruit Muffins
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbspn baking powder
1 tspn salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups fruit or berries
1 Tbspn brown sugar
1/4 cup rolled oats

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar and stir to blend. Combine melted butter, milk, and eggs. Stir into dry mixture until just blended. Fold in berries/fruit very lightly and carefully. Spoon into well-greased muffin tins. Sprinkle tops with remaining brown sugar, then with rolled oats. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes a dozen muffins.