Summer Sampling

This has been a busy time for me. I graduated mid-June, went to Hawaii immediately after that, and got a job as a mechanical engineer in downtown Seattle early July. Also, I am currently between apartments and have been eating out much more than I should. So instead of a recipe or event, I’m posting a random sampling of the summer drinks and eats that I remembered to photograph. I tend to remember to document drinks more often, but please don’t be alarmed- I do eat much more often than I drink.

My Graduation Cake

1. Travel

I’ll start with the plane ride to Maui. My sister and left Seattle the day after graduation. We mixed up pineapple juice, limes, guava juice, and some tiny bottles of Hawaiian sugar-cane vodka to start our tropical vacation. Drink arrangement pictured with my sister’s commemorative Liz Taylor LIFE magazine.

Tropical Plane Ride

2. Dad’s Teriyaki

There was a time in my Dad’s life where he lived in Hawaii and played in a band at the Navy base on Oahu. He was so broke that he would go several days eating only avocados taken from trees for a meal. But on occasion, his Hawaiian friends would barbecue a feast of meats that had been marinated in sugary teriyaki for days. Now, when he visits Hawaii, my Dad always makes teriyaki in this way. One day I’ll have to post a recipe, but this time I’ll just put up a picture of the best teriyaki I’ve ever eaten.

Chicken and Steak that Tast Like Candy

3. Poke

Poke is another of my Dad’s Hawaiian food obsessions. Poke (pronounced “poke-y”) is a broad name for a Hawaiian fish dish that typically contains raw tuna, seaweed, sesame oil and salt. It can also be made with different ingredients and boiled octopus, mussels, or raw salmon. There are many recipes for poke, and the deli at grocery stores in Hawaii have a large selection of choices. My family and I ate poke for lunch every day we were in Hawaii. Cold poke and beer on a beach in Maui is the best afternoon meal I can dream of.

Hawaiian Deli Aisle- Bunch of Poke

Tako (Octopus) Poke

Mussels Poke

Lunch- Cold Beer and Poke

4. Gelato

I think I’ve made it clear that I enjoy ice cream and frozen yogurt. In case you were wondering if I also like gelato, here is a picture of some amazing coconut and hazelnut gelato that I devoured in Maui.

Oh No! Gelato!

5. Tropical Blues

We left paradise after a week. My sister and I waited for our plane and got one last tropical drink at the restaurant in the airport.

The Saddest Piña Colada Drinker on Earth

6. Northwest Drinks

After returning to the Northwest, I visited my best friend Kristina in Portland. She greeted me with a crazy new haircut. We did a lot of eating and drinking, but I only remembered to photograph a few things. I don’t recall the name of the restaurant of origin, but this basil martini was refreshing on a warm day.

The Girl is Brave

Basil Drink

Looking Serious

7. 50 Plates

I love happy hours. There are so many food and drink specials in the northwest that you can spend a day going from one happy hour to the next without interruption. Kristina and I went to 50 Plates, a Portland restaurant, for their happy hour. They had an abundance of inexpensive small plates and fancy $5 cocktails. I had a Ramos gin fizz, which is made with whipped egg white! We also had chicken and waffles, a favorite of mine, as well as french fries, hush puppies, macaroni and cheese, and a baby Monte Cristo sandwich. The Monte Cristo, like french toast filled with cheese and ham, was exceptionally decadent and topped with a bit of cherry syrup. The entire meal was deadly delicious.

Ramos Gin Fizz

Fried Chicken and Waffle Sandwich

The Monte Cristo

A Deadly Meal

8. Burger Heaven

After returning to Seattle, I still had a week or two before starting my new job. One day I went for lunch with my friend Brittany to Lunchbox Laboratory, a burger restaurant near South Lake Union. It was heavenly. They offer a choice of several different patties on their burgers: Kobe beef, lamb, black bean, or the Dork.  I got a “Dork” patty, made of duck and pork. It was fatty and juicy and delicious; I intend to go back any chance I get. Britt got a black bean burger with bacon on top, which just makes perfect sense.

The Glorious Dork

The Lady and her Veggie Burger, Added Bacon

 

So, this post ends about three weeks ago. Not surprising, because that is also the time I started my new job. Hopefully I will soon get used to working and make time for food blogging. Until then, I hope you are also enjoying this delicious season!

Cupcakes with Browned Butter Frosting

Cute cupcakes made by a fellow student for my "Women in the Action Fim" class

I haven’t posted in a while, but instead of discussing that, I’m just gonna talk about cupcakes. The other day a fellow student made some very cute cupcakes for one of my classes, and this inspired me to bake a few of my own. I decided to do something very classic but with a bit of extra flavor. Normally, I would argue that cupcakes should not be anchored on the frosting. The frosting on bakery cupcakes is often excessive and overly sweet, while the cake is too dense. However, I have found a frosting recipe that demands to be displayed in a thin but powerful layer on a plain vanilla cake: browned butter frosting. Before this frosting, I had only ever used browned butter as a topping for my Grandmother’s German raviolis (called “käse knöpfle” or “cheese buttons”- look for the recipe in a future post) and it’s such a distinct flavor that there is no substitution or accurate description. It is called “beurre noisette”, or “hazelnut butter” in France because of its color and aroma. It is not difficult to make, but it has a flavor that transforms the recipe. The frosting was so successful that I may try browned butter in a few other baked goods, substituting for regular butter.

Fried Chicken & Waffles

Extra Crispy

Have you ever eaten fried chicken with waffles? You should probably do that now. Here is how.

Waffles (are magic)

Waffles are magic. Let me give you an example. It was a lovely summer day in the Swedish countryside. My sister and I rode rented bicycles to visit a castle (called Krapperup Castle!) about 15 miles from our lodgings. By the late afternoon on our ride home, we were tired and hungry. We didn’t expect to find any restaurants in this sleepy rural area of the country; it was mostly just us and the wheat fields. But on this ride home we saw a sign advertising waffles and jam. Neither of us had seen the sign on the way to the castle, but we were eager to stop. We rode up to a small cottage cafe and sat outside after ordering our waffles. Moments later we received thin, crispy, heart-shaped waffles topped with jam and fresh whipped cream. These phantom waffles were the best I have ever eaten.

Tomato Braised Pork Chops

I first learned a variation on this from a Marcella Hazan recipe called “Braised Pork with Sage and Tomatoes”. I could have also called this post “Italian Pork Chops” or “Pork Chops and Spaghetti” or “Spicy Tomato Sauce Pork Chops”.  I make it slightly different every time. These pork chops are, most importantly, braised in tomato sauce. Braising is an excellent way to transform any tougher cut of meat into tender recipe.  Braising meat is also easy and nearly foolproof; plus it doesn’t take many ingredients to give a ton of flavor to a braised dish.

Lamb of God Cake

This Easter I went to my parents’ house in Tacoma to carry on some traditions. Like all good traditions, these were food related.

Yogurtland Capitol Hill

Yougurtland (and others like it) has taken a concept directly from my dreams and food fantasies. It’s self-serve frozen yogurt with an obscene amount of flavor choices, complete with a massive toppings bar. Plus you pay by the ounce, so I make a game out of guessing the number of ounces before I pay. These little miracle businesses combine self-serve, buffet-style variety with frozen yogurt(!) and toppings(!!). I might come back every day.

Baseball Season

Food and Baseball

So, I went to a Mariners game last night. I love going to baseball games. Of course, I don’t really follow baseball at home, and I don’t know many of the obscure rules. But baseball is my favorite sport to see live. It’s is easy to follow, it’s cheap entertainment and it’s an excuse to eat unhealthy food in huge quantities.

No Knead Bread

No Knead Bread

I’m going to start with one of the most over-blogged recipes that exists (I bet you didn’t even know that was a thing!) It’s the no knead bread from The Minimalist column that ran in 2006.

Eat This Post

New Recipe

There are three trillion food blogs on the internet (probably). I don’t care. I am doing this out of obsession with food. I am hoping this will help me document all the amazing food I eat so I can come back and relive the experience.

I cook often. I bake more than I should. I eat out whenever I feel like spending money that I don’t have. I talk about food with anyone who wants to listen. So, I will try talking to the internet now.