Humble Pie

I've been driving by Humble Pie every day to and from work since it was first being built, but hadn't realized quite what it was.  The view from Rainier Avenue only reveals the pizza oven, not the beautiful courtyard they've created.

Driving by one day recently, I thought I saw our neighbor, Matt - one of a few guys living in a house across the street - working there.  Like us, the first thing they did after moving to the street was to tear out the lawn and plant vegetables and fruit trees... so I knew they were good people.  They've taken care of our chickens for us in the past, and are great neighbors.

I took some zucchini over to Matt soon after seeing him at the restaurant, and confirmed it was him.  I also learned the restaurant has chickens, which sold me.  Today after Hilo's annual check up, we checked it out.

They have lots of picnic table style seating with shade umbrellas outside, plus seating inside for rainy days.  The courtyard is surrounded by raised planters full of edibles, and a huge chicken coop with (I counted) nine hens who are super friendly - they ran over when I came to take their picture, undoubtedly disappointed that I wasn't giving them treats.  The tagline of Humble Pie is "people * planet * pizza", and there's definitely a clear focus on those three.

The menu itself is full of locally sourced, organic ingredients, and they've got draft beer and wine (and non-alcoholic options, of course).  There were lots of interesting pizzas to choose from, like one with field roast and red peppers, but we went for the Mushroom, Egg and Arugula pie.  I'm fairly sure the guy making our pizza is also one of Matt's roommates, though I've never met him.

The crust style is thin and crisp, baked in a big wood-fired oven out back.  This particular pie didn't feature any sauce, and the arugula wasn't dressed nor wilted, so the net result was a little drier than your usual pizza slice.  The egg was definitely the star.  We wondered if they come from the hens, or if the ladies can't keep up with demand.  The yolk seemed lighter than the ones our girls produce, but that may be because they forage for bugs and greens all day.

One of the perks was that since the seating is outside, bring Hilo along didn't raise any feathers... since he could care less about chickens.  It's always nice to find a spot we can dine with him, and it doesn't hurt that the restaurant is staffed by neighbors and clearly focuses on sustainability.  We'll definitely be back and have already told a vegetarian family member about the field roast pizza.

Memento: We Love Chocolate!

Last night was the penultimate round of our current season of Memento - the cooking club Dan and I belong to.  David & Carolyn hosted this round with a theme appropriate to February: Chocolate!  The theme was in part decided or at least inspired by their kids, Logan and Zoe, who have been asking for a chocolate themed memento for years.

They started us off with trio of chocolate.  First, flatbread with a subtle but delicious white chocolate baba ganoush.  Next, a gluten free crostini with dark chocolate and fleur de sel - the first really intense taste of chocolate that gave my napkin a workout.  And last but not least, roasted carrots with chocolate balsamic vinegar dipping sauce (that now necessitates a trip to Pike Place Market to procure our own bottle.  

Next up, Lizzie and John delivered an silky smooth white chocolate parsnip soup with homemade dill oil and cocoa dusted macadamia nuts.  It was so good it may have converted some parsnip haters to fans.  It was one of my favorite items of the night. 

In honor of our sugar/alcohol/meat free January, Dan made a strawberry banana smoothie from homemade almond milk, chocolate/stevia egg white powder, libido enhancing maca powder, and chia seeds.  All served in a dark and white chocolate rimmed glass.

I paired that with an arugula and red butter lettuce salad with clementine and red grapefruit, homemade cocoa butter goat cheese, cocoa nibs (for crunch) and a homemade strawberry/white balsalmic "shrub" (sipping vinegar) & sunflower oil dressing.

Flying solo tonight due to a family medical situation, James served a creamy Brie cheese, chocolate and pear panini featuring local ingredients.  It was served with a little mâche greens and some crispy basil chips with Hawaiian sea salt I made last year and gave to he and Marcy.  It was a perfect serving size and the chocolate and Brie tasted so wonderful together, their creaminess balancing with the crunch of the pear and bread.

The second entree was the first to include meat, and it was done wonderfully.  Beef short ribs and Portabello mushrooms in a chocolate rosemary and tomato sauce.  Melt in your mouth goodness.  They were paired with horseradish mashed potatoes and sautéed carrots.

Finishing out our decadent chocolate meal was a white chocolate sphere hiding chocolate mousse and heart shaped Chez panisse Ginger snaps shaped like hearts, with poached pears.  I loved the cookies with the mousse - and scored a few extras.

As our final courses were enjoyed, snow was accumulating outside, so we wrapped up quickly to get people home safely.  Looking back, I see pears, balsalmic vinegar and root veggies (carrots, parsnips and potatoes) showing up repeatedly, weaving both adjacent and disparate courses together, sharing that responsibility with the chocolate, of course.  It made for an excellent night of food and friends.  And anything that could travel (sorry - no smoothie) was packed and sent home for Marcy to enjoy.

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-almond-milk-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-189996

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/06/cocktail-101-how-to-make-shrub-syrups.html

Sesame Chicken with Zucchini "Noodles"

I recently mentioned that Dan's been working his way through the Best of the Best from Hawaii Cookbook while doing our meal planning.  It's a simple, comb-bound cookbook that's taken the best recipes of dozens of cookbooks - many of them from church groups, Junior Leagues, and other community groups - and compiled them together.  The result is a great cookbook with a really wide range of recipes, from Naan to Mochi, Baked Potatoes to Lomi Lomi Salmon.

Tonight we tried out the Sesame Chicken recipe (originally from Another Taste of Aloha).  The recipe was a little vague about the amount of cornstarch (one of the pitfalls of this cookbook is that the recipes haven't all been fully vetted), but I think I went through at least a cup getting every piece of chicken completely coated.




Since the recipe lacked any vegetable component (unless you're counting green onions, which I'm not), I decided to make use of some of the fresh zucchini from our garden.  I considered frying it, but chose instead to make zucchini noodles - a trick I came up with when I got a new kitchen tool.  I needed a new strainer, and spotted a great deal on MyHabit.com for two strainers and a peeler for $13.  I have another peeler or two, but I really like this style.  And it turned out to have a cool feature...



On the flip side of the peeler are little teeth that instantly julienne vegetables.  Playing around with it, I discovered it made noodles when run along a peeled zucchini lengthwise.  The noodles are so tender that they're tasty raw - so tonight I put them on top of the brown rice before piling on the chicken.  I've lightly cooked them in the past, too, and think they would be excellent pickled.  With the bounty of zucchini we get every year, a tool that can transform it so I can use it in new ways is priceless.  It'll also make preparing green papaya salad a breeze.

(It doesn't look like this specific peeler is available on Amazon, but this OXO Good Grips Julienne Peeler looks very similar.)



Sesame Chicken
6 Chicken Thighs, boned and cut into 1-1.5 inch cubes
Cornstarch
Peanut Oil
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 Sugar
1 Tbspn Toasted Sesame Seeds
1 inch Fresh Ginger, finely grated
2 Green Onions, finely sliced

1 tspn Sesame Oil

1 Green Onion, chopped

Coat the chicken thoroughly with cornstarch and refrigerate for at least one hour.  In a saucepan, mix soy sauce, sugar, sesame seeds, and ginger.  Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved.  Stir in sliced green onions and sesame.  Coat chicken again lightly just before frying.  Deep fry the chicken pieces in peanut oil at 350 degrees F for 3 minutes, or until light golden brown.  Drain on paper towels. Toss chicken in sauce and serve over rice, spooning additional sauce on top.  Garnish with the chopped green onions.

It's TEOTWAWKI and I Feel Fine

Last night was the End of the World as We Know It, and I woke up feeling a little tired, but otherwise okay.

To be more specific, it was the TEOTWAWKI themed Memento at Gerald and Robyn's place up in Lynnwood (my old stomping grounds!).  Given the types of proteins I anticipated I'd be eating, and the amazing longevity of our first appetizer, there was some reason for concern I might not feel fine this morning.  In fact, when I told my boss about the party, he thought it sounded like we must all be trying to kill one another.

Dan & I arrived 30 min early (bad form) because I was worried about traffic.  Living on the South side of Downtown Seattle means that any event, however small, completely locks up the freeway between roughly the West Seattle Bridge and Seneca, thanks to I-5 going from 5 lanes to 2.  Sporting events, community events, accidents... just about anything causes a major backup.  In fact, I'm pretty sure anyone braking at any point in that area leads to a 20 minute delay.  But I digress.

Our early arrival, though rude, turned out to be a blessing - as it gave Hilo (who was invited) time to make peace with Bella and Magnus.  He eagerly ran into the house before I could stop him, leading to him in the house while Bella and Magnus looked on through the glass back door.  This did not lead to happy feelings on the part of Bella, who surely felt her home was being invaded and she wasn't there to protect it.  So when she did come in, she and Hilo had a bit of a scrap, with Magnus trying his puppy-best to get in on the action.  After quick action by all the doggy parents, we got them under control, calmed down, and reintroduced slowly in the back yard - where growling and snapping turned into running and playing.  Crisis averted.

Dan & I loaded in the insane amount of canned goods and gear we brought to serve dessert.  I was ready for no power, no light, no running water, no utensils... you know, TEOTWAWKI.  Thankfully, our uber-prepared hosts had already foraged up knives, forks and spoons for everyone, and plenty of gas lights - so I was WAY over prepared.


After all the other guests had arrived, we got started.



As is Memento tradition, our hosts kicked us off with an appetizer course.   On our plate were two halved eggs - one bright purple, and one more natural in color - along with a couple spigs of lettuce and some shriveled brownish things.  The first, "normal" looking egg was a deviled egg made from a hard-boiled egg that Gerald & Robyn rubbed with bacon fat and buried in salt for the past month.  You'd never guess it, as it tasted as fresh as any hard-boiled egg I've had.  The yolk was spiced up with a little wasabi, and it was garnished with some sesame seeds.  It was paired with a pickled egg that included Thai bird chilies in the pickling liquid, and was the spiciest of the three offerings on the plate.  (If memory serves, beets lent the egg it's vibrant color.)  The shriveled brown things turned out to be smoked Hood Canal oysters, foraged here in the area.  Rounding out the spicy trio, they had Sriracha in their marinade.  I likened the texture to between beef jerky and pepperoni stick - drier than the latter, but still soft.



Next up, the guests of our hosts served a charcuterie plate with a rabbit terrine, cured meats, cheese, cracker, an olive and some homemade mustard.




The salad course was provided by Marcy & James, featuring greens from their own garden.



SPAM made an appearance on our first entree plate, thanks to Jason & Anna.  It accompanied whole smelt, cured lemon peel and greens, garnished by a chive flower, early strawberries, and cherries.



The second entree featured alligator meat, sea beans (a favorite of mine), mushrooms, and potato buds mashed potatoes.

Our dessert (which I failed to photograph), was presented in a pint sized mason jar - a trifle of layered spotted dick cake, devon custard, dulce de leche caramel, treacle sponge cake, blackberries, Hostess Twinkies, and home-canned rhubarb jam.  Everything in the trifle came out of cans, with the exception of the Twinkies.  The caramel was made by slow cooking a can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of boiling water over the gas grill.



To wash down the rich dessert, I made two caffeine free-drinks, non-alcoholic drinks:  "Coffee" made of the roots of dandelions (dried and then roasted), and an herbal tea made from dried English Plantain leaves, dried apples, dried pineapple weed flowers, and apple mint.  All but the apples were foraged on my street.  The tea and coffee were steeped in large glass jugs all day, sitting in a solar oven, and served in little 8 oz jelly jars.  I found I really enjoyed the dandelion root coffee, which surprised me (since I don't like coffee).  It was smokey but not bitter, as I'd expected it would be.  I really should have found a way to filter out the leaves in the tea, as it was off-putting (whereas the dandelion root sank to the bottom of the jug).  Reportedly, English Plantain leaves have an anti-inflammatory effect, so perhaps it will help my headaches.

We got the surprise news that Gerald & Robyn are moving to Arizona later this month, as Gerald got a great job offer and Robyn's able to work remotely from the new city.  We're all going to miss them terribly.

Splitting a Burger @ Quinn's Pub

Dan & I had plans to meet up with Ruth at Quinn's Pub for a bite before seeing 'Women In Peril' at Annex Theater. Ever since they inked the date on the calendar, we've been dreaming of a Quinn's burger.



Sadly, Ruth fell under the weather this week, and couldn't join us. But the play's director, our pal Jason, was able to come by and share a drink with us.



I enjoyed The Conquistador - a tequila/rum cocktail with honey and habanero - which had just enough heat to warm your throat, but no enough to make your lips burn. And the tequila/rum combo was surprisingly delicious, rather than overwhelmingly boozy. I guess I've been a sucker for a spicy cocktail lately. I figure, if a bloody mary can have tabasco and horseradish sauce, why not put some heat in a tequila drink?



Even though we'd both been dreaming of their burger, we did the sensible thing and split one.



We ordered it rare and for the first time in my life, the chef cooked the burger REALLY rare. It was borderline tartare in the middle - pink and delicious. We cut it in half and each devoured them, pausing only to shove some of their hand cut fries into our pie holes...



... or to scarf down some of the delicious grilled asparagus we ordered as a side.



The service and the food were impeccable, and even though Ruth couldn't join us, we had Jason as wonderful company. And Jason's show - a campy parody of all those 90's Lifetime movies starring folks like Judith Light and Meredith Baxter Birney (and often Aiden Quinn) - was a perfect end to the evening.

Ginger Salmon & Zucchini Fritter

This year, we started our garden with a couple raised beds planted with broccoli, a variety of greens, carrots, onions, gourds, cucumber, yellow squash and zucchini.

It came as no real suprise that the zucchini has completely taken over.

I'm not sure if I should've cut it back at some point, but it now has vines reaching over 10 feet, and has completely filled the area where I plan to build our chicken coop.



Thankfully, it's also producing great zucchini. We've been eating it roasted and grilled, but I wanted to try something a little different tonight. A little searching online found me a variety of zucchini fritter recipes, which I adapted a bit to create zucchini pancakes (a couple eggs, 1/2 cup flour, some seasonings, and one grated zucchini, squeezed to remove excess liquid). I put them atop some steamed rice, and topped them with pan seared salmon from Loki Fish Co, cooked in sesame oil in which I fried slices of ginger root.



We've still got plenty of zucchini (muffins will surely be in the mix soon), but I'm a little perplexed by what our plant is doing now. It's still producing normal oblong, dark green zucchini near the center of the plant - but the fruits forming on the vines are like pumpkins - big, spherical, and (so far) light green. Has anyone else seen this before? This one's about 10 inches in diameter already, and growing fast!

Kalua Pig Sliders & Albacore Poke

We've been lucky to find the Fishing Vessel St. Jude represented at the Columbia City Farmers Market lately, and this week took advantage of their sashimi grade Albacore.

After thawing, I opened the vacuum pack and was struck by how great the fish smelled... or rather, didn't smell. Good fresh fish doesn't have any "fishy" smell, as that smell is a result of exposure to oxygen that begins to deteriorate the flesh - akin to fruit turning brown or rust forming on metal. The albacore was firm, beautiful in color, and smelled almost sweet, if anything.

When we bought the fish, we decided to make a poke (pronounced po-kay) - a Hawaiian dish consisting of cubed fish and various other items. We've had a lot of variations on tuna poke, as well as octopus (tako) poke, and even a seared beef poke. It's definitely a favorite of both Dan & I in all it's incarnations, and seemed like a good way to use the beautiful albacore.

I cubed the tuna and tossed it with some chopped onion, green onion tops, yellow heirloom tomato, nori seaweed (to replace the usually present ogo), black sea salt, and both sesame oil and tamari soy sauce, then let it rest for awhile in the fridge.

We paired the poke with a couple Kalua pig sliders made from leftovers from the freezer.

Toasted Sesame Rice Crusted Salmon

Although I've switched to not posting every day (for now I'll primarily be focusing on new recipes, special events, and new restaurants), I did want to share this discovery, which loosely falls under the new recipes category, I suppose.

For dinner tonight - which consisted of the classic salmon/potato/veggie trio - I wanted to try something a little different. I tossed a handful of rice and a couple tablespoons of sesame seeds in a dry skillet and toasted them until brown and aromatic, then ground them down to a powder. I added some salt, pepper and onion powder to the mix. Then I mixed one egg white with a tablespoon or so of cornstarch, dipped my salmon pieces (skin and all) in the egg white mixture, then dredged them in the ground mixture and pan seared them on both sides. The crust was really effective and flavorful, and really transformed the salmon.

Tandoori Chicken

Dan & I picked up a whole frozen chicken from Tiny's Organics last week while at the Columbia City Farmers Market, and decided to give it the Tandoori treatment.



I only have a few Indian cookbooks, most of which focus on vegetarian fare, and none contained a recipe for Tandoori anything - so I did some searching around online. I ended up combining a few recipes into one - including the recipe for making your own Garam Masala I learned from the cooking class I took with Ruth a year ago - and making some divergent decisions from all the recipes I ran across. I couldn't see throwing away perfectly good chicken skin, so I opted not to remove it. I also decided to keep the bird whole, rather than break it down before cooking. Contrary to how I normally cook, I did add the red & yellow food coloring to try to give the chicken that distinctive red color - though you can see that even two teaspoons of coloring didn't do much.

I cooked the chicken with some potatoes and carrots, though they needed more than an hour of cooking for some reason, so I had to pull the bird out and put the veggies back in. We served it all with basmati rice, of course.



Tandoori Chicken
1 whole chicken
1 medium cinnamon stick, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tspn whole cumin seeds
1 Tbspn coriander seeds
1/2 tspn cardamom pods
1/4 tspn whole cloves
1/2 tspn fennel seed
1/4 tspn grated nutmeg
1 tspn black peppercorn
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbpsn grated ginger root
1 tspn cayenne pepper
2 tspn salt
1 tspn yellow food coloring
1 tspn red food coloring





Dry roast the cinnamon, cumin, coriander seeds, cardamom, cloves, fennel, nutmet and peppercorn in a dry pan on a low flame, till you begin to smell their aroma. Remove from heat and allow to cool.



Slash the meat of the breasts, thighs and legs diagonally about 1/4 inch deep.



Grind the cooled roasted spices together in a coffee grinder to make a smooth powder.



Combine spice powder with yogurt, lemon juice, onion, garlic, ginger, cayenne, salt and food colorings to create a paste.



Coat the chicken (inside and out) with the paste. Cover and marinate for for at least 8 hours.

Place chicken in a roasting pan and bake uncovered in a 450 degree oven for 60 minutes.