Locally Made Delicious Seattle Chocolate!

 

Last Tuesday was the perfect Seattle day.  I went to the U district and found a cute little coffee shop with free wifi that served pretty good coffee (and gave out free toast, it was good but seemed a little strange to me).  For you coffee snobs (and I say that with love as I am one too) it was Cafe D'arte coffee. I sat there, writing and enjoying the Seattle scene for about 2 hours.  I had a friend to meet at the UW so I made my way up there, stopping at a bookstore on the way where there was debate going on about what was better, french or italian roast coffee.  It was all I could do to contain myself from hugging them and yelling "I'm Home!!" I can't help it.  I love Seattle.

I wandered to the university to meet one of my dearest friends in the whole world and grab a bite and then walked her back to her next class.  One of her classmates had gone to a benefit and had stacks of these cute little chocolate bars.  He said he didn't like chocolate (gasp!) so he shared with us.  This chocolate is dark, just the right amount of bitter and melts slowly on your tongue.  In a word- perfect.  As you can see the packaging in the photo is a little wrinkled, I ate most of the bar before I bothered to take the photo.  

You can order their chocolate at www.theo.com and buy it locally most anywhere in Seattle.

Cooking in Mom's Kitchen/ Sweet-Sour Chicken (or tofu)

There are few things as fun to me as making food with people I love.  Tonight and tomorrow I have the honor of cooking food with my Mom in my parent's kitchen.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, my Mom is an amazing cook.  She usually makes this recipe with chicken but it is equally amazing with tofu.  It is adapted from an old, well loved copy of a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. 

Sweet-Sour Chicken (or tofu)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• a sprinkle of sesame seeds
• 2 lbs chicken or 1 16 oz package of firm tofu

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and water.  Add sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and pepper.  
2. Cook ingredients over medium heat until the mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat.
3. Brush over chicken or tofu placed in one layer in a shallow baking dish (skin side down if chicken).
4. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, turn chicken or tofu over, bake an additional 30 minutes, until cooked through. Sprinkle with sesame seeds the last 5 minutes of baking.

Enjoy over rice with stir fried veggies on the side.

Eating in LA

After living in LA for five years I think I can count on one hand the number of restaurants that we keep going back to again and again- not just for the food, but for the people and the atmosphere (and the fact that we can walk or bike to them from our apartment).  I've had lots of great meals here in LA but the places we go back to are simple and inviting.  Hopefully I'll make it to all of them at least once more before we go.

They are:
1) Mao's (the long life green beans are the stuff dreams are made of)
2) Lula's (mostly for great happy hour drinks)
3) Library Ale House
4) Hinano Cafe (cold beer served in frosty mugs + sawdust on the floor + free popcorn= heaven)
5) Holy Guacamole! (the taco stand)

Looking into the future it will be fun to find new neighborhoods and new places to keep coming back to.  But I will always remember the great times I've had here.

Cooking With Whats on Hand/ Sauteed Swiss Chard

My Mom is my all time food hero.  She has this amazing ability to look at what is available and design an entire meal around it.  Me?  I am a planner. Big time.  I like to use recipes and make lists and stick to them.  However, this weekend we packed up everything and we drive out a week from today so buying groceries seems pointless and I have all these ingredients that need to be used.  So this week I will be attempting to channel my Mother's amazing skills- last night went pretty well, sauteed swiss chard over polenta (swiss chard recipe below, another great recipe from my friend Heather).  Time will only tell what the rest of the week will bring.  Beyond challenging my cooking skills this is a great lesson for me- I tend to try to plan every element of life and our upcoming moving and travel doesn't allow for planning so I am learning to let go a bit and trust the universe to bring what it will.

Sauteed Swiss Chard (Thank you Heather)- serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch Swiss Chard (Rainbow Chard is best if you can get it)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• a handful of raisins
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• a splash of Sherry
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. wash the chard, tear off the leaves and chop the stems into small pieces
2. heat oil in large pan and add onions, garlic and chard stems, saute until soft
3. add the raisins and the sherry, cook until the raisins are plumped and some of the alcohol cooks off
4. add the chard leaves, cover the pan and cook until the leaves are wilted
5. remove from heat and add the pine nuts

Mustard Croutons

I remember an article in the Seattle Stranger years back... it was a weekly column called "Stupid Stupid" and it was one of the funniest things I've ever read.  So simple and yet genius!!

Stupid Stupid Crouton

"Look at this stupid crouton. Who would want to eat such a stupid crouton? It's not even food. It's just stale bread covered in salt. You'd be better off eating a cracker; at least that's food. All this stupid crouton does is sit on top of a salad, and if it wasn't there you wouldn't even miss it. Look at it. Look at this crouton. Stupid, stupid crouton."

This crouton recipe, however, is more than bread and salt- it is delicious, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and just enough flavor to compliment any salad or soup it tops.

 

Mustard Croutons (loosely adapted from 101cookbooks.com)

Ingredients:

-crusty bread, cut into small cubes or torn into pieces

-a few glugs of olive oil

-a squeeze of mustard (any kind but yellow: dijon, whole grain, honey)

-salt and pepper

Directions:

-preheat oven to 350F

-mix bread pieces with olive oil and mustard until well coated

-spread bread out on a cookie sheet

-sprinkle with a little salt and pepper

-bake 10-15 minutes, flipping pieces halfway through, until golden brown

 

Honey Roasted Figs (thank you Heather)

I can thank my dear friend Heather (of the food blog Mange Mange) for this delectable dish.  Figs have always been a bit of a mystery to me- I love them when I have them at restaurants but never buy them because I have no idea what to do them but this recipe couldn't be easier and is the perfect end to a long day.

The flavor is delicate and earthy, with just enough sweetness.  We enjoyed them over Vanilla/ Almond ice cream and they were divine.

Honey Roasted Figs

Ingredients:
-a basket of figs
-a sprinkle of cinnamon
-a squeeze of honey
-a pinch of salt

Directions:
-preheat oven to 400 degrees
-slice figs in half or quarters, removing the tough stem at the top
-combine all ingredients in an oven safe dish and roast for 20-30 minutes, until they begin to caramelize.

Enjoy them on their own or over vanilla ice cream

Coming Soon!