We figured it was time to try another recipe from our latest Jay Solomon book - fast becoming one of my favorite cookbooks now. This is the same book that I made the gratin from a while ago. He uses a West Indian recipe and recommends replacing some of the water for the rice with 1/2 cup of coconut milk to enhance flavors. Both the beans and rice were heavy on thyme (I like it way more than I realized!) and cumin (yum! nothing like fresh-ground cumin to enhance the aroma!). We threw in 1/2 cup of wine from one of the many bottles we brought back from BSM into the beans - good idea! I'm now curious about what kind of flavors wine adds to the food. Using a wine vinegar often imparts tartness accompanied by this aftersweet, but wine seems more complex.
Once the rice was cooked (the coconut milk was a killer idea), we mixed the beans and rice and let them simmer for ~ 10 minutes for the flavors to blend - and they did, quite happily!
Corn Maque Choux - Ok, I'm still trying to figure out how to pronounce this, but I'll eat it any day:
1 can corn (couldn't find fresh corn at MM that day)
1/2 bell pepper - chopped
1/2 sweet vidalia onion - chopped
1 tomato - chopped
1 tsp butter
4-5 garlic cloves - minced
Saute onions and garlic in butter till brown
Drain the water from the corn and keep aside
Throw in bell pepper, corn and tomatoes - let this cook for ~ 15 minutes
Add some of the drained water and let it simmer for 5 minutes
Add salt, pepper and a (big) dash of hot sauce
(I might try this with minced jalapenos next time around)
Friday, June 8, 2007
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Happy Ethiopian food!
Queen Sheba is a happy place. Even if they have lame overpriced bottles of wine. It is a major desi hangout place, I remember hitting it for dindin every couple of weeks back when it was the only ethiopian place I knew in Seattle.
We headed up there after the Obama talk to have dindin with Autumn and Jeremy. We ended up with our staple - a couple of the veggie combo platters and a salad - usually quite yummy, and they kick it up with chopped jalapenos! But this time around, it was lame, seriously lame. A bunch of iceberg lettuce with wonks of tomatoes and little else - and seriously oversalted. They replaced it right away, but the second one wasn't that much better either. It doesn't seem to have the chopped onions anymore - sucks!
The platter was great, as always - even better with their house hot sauce. The lentils and peas were yummy, the cabbage was incredibly flavorful. The greens were a little bland, but still decent. The best part of the meal was the injera that lined the platter - it soaks up the flavors and juices from all the entrees and tastes simply divine! :)
I was poking around reading about Ethiopian food and read that the injera is literally used as a tablecloth for a meal - crazy!
And I just saw this great recipe archive that seems to have a ton of african recipes.
We headed up there after the Obama talk to have dindin with Autumn and Jeremy. We ended up with our staple - a couple of the veggie combo platters and a salad - usually quite yummy, and they kick it up with chopped jalapenos! But this time around, it was lame, seriously lame. A bunch of iceberg lettuce with wonks of tomatoes and little else - and seriously oversalted. They replaced it right away, but the second one wasn't that much better either. It doesn't seem to have the chopped onions anymore - sucks!
The platter was great, as always - even better with their house hot sauce. The lentils and peas were yummy, the cabbage was incredibly flavorful. The greens were a little bland, but still decent. The best part of the meal was the injera that lined the platter - it soaks up the flavors and juices from all the entrees and tastes simply divine! :)
I was poking around reading about Ethiopian food and read that the injera is literally used as a tablecloth for a meal - crazy!
And I just saw this great recipe archive that seems to have a ton of african recipes.
Sorella - *bleh*
Biking to Madison Park left us famished. The problem was that we were craving brunch and the few brunch eateries there stop serving at 1 pm! That is plain wrong - they need to learn from all the great places up on Cap'Hill that dish out brunch till 3 pm!
So, after much fruitless wandering, we landed up at Sorella's - this pizza/pasta place near the water. Looked decent, pizza sounded passable, so we went in there. The guy who handled our order was plain weird - he seemed extremely flustered, even though the place was not packed and tried to rush us through our order. Autumn wanted one of her "custom" italian sodas with little fizz, lots of cream and flavoring. And he didn't seem to think she needed more cream!
Autumn: "I'd like extra cream in my soda"
Guy: "Oh, our sodas come with a lot of cream."
Autumn: "But I'd like more cream in mine."
Guy: "I don't think you'll need more."
Hmm ... wait, so he knows what she wants better than her now?
Autumn: "Well, I'd like some extra cream in it anyway!"
Guy: "I'll bring your soda. And if the cream isn't enough, I'll get you a couple of little containers of half'n'half!"
Give up, Autumn! Just drink that soda. Well, Jeremy will drink it anyway! And he did :)
So, back to our order. We're starving, so we order a 1/2 pesto, 1/2 cheese pizza. And the hummus appetizer that sounds yummy. Except it doesn't quite taste that great. The bread is awesome, the hummus ... tastes like store-bought. And swimming in a plate of oil. *bleh*
Ok, pizza is finally here. Hmm ... slathered in cheese. Not great. Not much to write home about.
Scratching Sorella off our M'Park restaurant options.
So, after much fruitless wandering, we landed up at Sorella's - this pizza/pasta place near the water. Looked decent, pizza sounded passable, so we went in there. The guy who handled our order was plain weird - he seemed extremely flustered, even though the place was not packed and tried to rush us through our order. Autumn wanted one of her "custom" italian sodas with little fizz, lots of cream and flavoring. And he didn't seem to think she needed more cream!
Autumn: "I'd like extra cream in my soda"
Guy: "Oh, our sodas come with a lot of cream."
Autumn: "But I'd like more cream in mine."
Guy: "I don't think you'll need more."
Hmm ... wait, so he knows what she wants better than her now?
Autumn: "Well, I'd like some extra cream in it anyway!"
Guy: "I'll bring your soda. And if the cream isn't enough, I'll get you a couple of little containers of half'n'half!"
Give up, Autumn! Just drink that soda. Well, Jeremy will drink it anyway! And he did :)
So, back to our order. We're starving, so we order a 1/2 pesto, 1/2 cheese pizza. And the hummus appetizer that sounds yummy. Except it doesn't quite taste that great. The bread is awesome, the hummus ... tastes like store-bought. And swimming in a plate of oil. *bleh*
Ok, pizza is finally here. Hmm ... slathered in cheese. Not great. Not much to write home about.
Scratching Sorella off our M'Park restaurant options.
Wooooo - biking!
Finally! First bike ride of the year! We mounted our bikes and headed off towards Madison Park with Autumn & Jeremy earlier today. We checked our route down there and back and yes, it seemed hilly, but we could do it, right? Well, I conveniently forgot that I'd just done 16 super hilly miles on saturday and my legs were quite tired. And that showed. Real soon!
Just the ride down to Madison Park from Pike isn't really all downhill. There were a couple of steep hills we needed to conquer before we finally started flying down the mountain - felt *so* good. That's one of my favorite parts of biking- the wind rushing in my face! So, we headed down to Madison Park Cafe for brunch - we'd heard good things about their food and were starving. So we go in, sit down, guzzle some agua and wait ... the waitress comes up and says "We've been really busy, so we're out of potatoes and spinach and ..."! What?! No breakfast potatoes?!! That sucks! So, we leave and scrounge around for another place to eat. We finally land up at Sorella's (we'll save the details for later!), finish up a very mediocre brunch and start biking back.
*wow* The hills seemed steeper on a full stomach! So, we weaved our way around, trying to find a flat side street to break the arduousness of the hills. We wrapped around the hill, up McGilvra to avoid directly cresting it - and it definitely helped some. My gears still seem a little flaky - got to figure out what's going on with that.
Pretty short route, but hard and fun, lots of fun!
Just the ride down to Madison Park from Pike isn't really all downhill. There were a couple of steep hills we needed to conquer before we finally started flying down the mountain - felt *so* good. That's one of my favorite parts of biking- the wind rushing in my face! So, we headed down to Madison Park Cafe for brunch - we'd heard good things about their food and were starving. So we go in, sit down, guzzle some agua and wait ... the waitress comes up and says "We've been really busy, so we're out of potatoes and spinach and ..."! What?! No breakfast potatoes?!! That sucks! So, we leave and scrounge around for another place to eat. We finally land up at Sorella's (we'll save the details for later!), finish up a very mediocre brunch and start biking back.
*wow* The hills seemed steeper on a full stomach! So, we weaved our way around, trying to find a flat side street to break the arduousness of the hills. We wrapped around the hill, up McGilvra to avoid directly cresting it - and it definitely helped some. My gears still seem a little flaky - got to figure out what's going on with that.
Pretty short route, but hard and fun, lots of fun!
BSM - *yesssssss*!!!
The perfect birthday eve meal. Seriously, it couldn't get any better than this. And we got to see Vee and Martin for the second time in a week! Wooooo!! We finally got around to taking Bobbie and Nami up to BSM after months of threatening to drag them there. And Daria came with us too. *so* much of fun!
So, this is among our top 10 restaurants. *ever*. Even outside of the fact that our friends own the place :) I've had midnight cravings for the nudi ravioli - seriously mindblowing! And that is the only restaurant where I tried a steak - loved it!
We started off with a li'l snack - a thin tortilla chip with a pineapple-mango-onion-something else salsa that was fabulous - a perfect starter! I can still taste it in my mouth. And then the signature Bistro San Martini - *so* tasty!
We then ordered the asparagus (Daria and I can *never* resist fresh asparagus :)) and the ravioli. And Martin brought us a plate of stuffed tomatoes - *so* yummy! And then we sampled the cucumber soup - I'm not a fan of cucumber soup - ever since I had the weird cold cucumber -puree (aka soup!) at Ray's Boathouse, I've been semi-turned off on cucumber.
I got my usual veggie-surprise entree - roasted yams, potatoes, asparagus, beans on a bed of risotto with the trademark potato chip on top - *divine*! I couldn't eat it all there, so we got it boxed, but I quickly ate up the leftovers once we got home :) Pupp and Bobbie got the scallops - I tried one and it was really tasty, I might have to try it again sometime soon. Nami got the oven roasted chicken and loved it, Daria was pretty much drooling over her food, I didn't remember what she got, Pupp says she got the lamb chops. :)
Dessert was just one piece of the decadent Naughty Chocolate Cake with a hint of cayenne - delightful! And I even got a candle :)
We love that BSM - feels like home - fabulous food, lots of love and friends all around.
So, this is among our top 10 restaurants. *ever*. Even outside of the fact that our friends own the place :) I've had midnight cravings for the nudi ravioli - seriously mindblowing! And that is the only restaurant where I tried a steak - loved it!
We started off with a li'l snack - a thin tortilla chip with a pineapple-mango-onion-something else salsa that was fabulous - a perfect starter! I can still taste it in my mouth. And then the signature Bistro San Martini - *so* tasty!
We then ordered the asparagus (Daria and I can *never* resist fresh asparagus :)) and the ravioli. And Martin brought us a plate of stuffed tomatoes - *so* yummy! And then we sampled the cucumber soup - I'm not a fan of cucumber soup - ever since I had the weird cold cucumber -puree (aka soup!) at Ray's Boathouse, I've been semi-turned off on cucumber.
I got my usual veggie-surprise entree - roasted yams, potatoes, asparagus, beans on a bed of risotto with the trademark potato chip on top - *divine*! I couldn't eat it all there, so we got it boxed, but I quickly ate up the leftovers once we got home :) Pupp and Bobbie got the scallops - I tried one and it was really tasty, I might have to try it again sometime soon. Nami got the oven roasted chicken and loved it, Daria was pretty much drooling over her food, I didn't remember what she got, Pupp says she got the lamb chops. :)
Dessert was just one piece of the decadent Naughty Chocolate Cake with a hint of cayenne - delightful! And I even got a candle :)
We love that BSM - feels like home - fabulous food, lots of love and friends all around.
Dare to believe?
We were at Obama's Seattle kickoff meeting last friday. I've never been to any political rally or event here, so it was pretty exciting. We're obviously democrat, but somewhat idealistic - we want change, we crave change, lots of positive change. We want reform - in healthcare, schools, taxes, the works. We want action on global warming, the Iraq war, the oil crisis, what not! And being an immigrant, I can't help but crave for healthy cross-nation relationships. Yes, quite idealistic :)
We were told that the event was starting at 5:30, so we ran in hoping to snag a decent spot. It was our first time at WaMu theater in Qwest Field - not a bad location. The swarm of general attendees (including us) stood in the main area in front of the stage while the pricier tickets sat farther behind on the sides. The place was quite packed, Seattle in general seems quite sympathetic towards Barack, so that wasn't surprising.
Anyway, the event started off with a welcome address and some entertainment -a little unexpected, but sounded interesting. They started off with some high energy african music and dance - really fun. The performers were pretty good, the crowd loved it! And then, this kid from Tacoma came on stage with his guitar - and started belting out some really morbid songs about death and hopelessness (?!!) - and he wasn't even a decent singer! *such* a relief when he finally went off stage!
Finally, Barack came on - very personable, warm and welcoming - guess being at your best is also made easier in such a friendly crowd! :) I was first drawn to Obama when he made that inspiring speech at the 2004 DNC. His earnestness and intensity struck a note that has seemed like a rarity for a while - I don't remember the last time that kind of sincerity resonated in a politician. I think his biggest draw is how he draws people together - seems like bringing the society and community together is the best way to actually force change - the whole "government of the people, by the people, for the people" thing. He touched all the subjects that matter to us, did not necessarily outline his path to getting there, but did deliver the message about the disparity between where we are and where we should be.
Obviously, he needs to start detailing his strategies and vision, where do we go and how do we get there. But this definitely seems like a decent start!
We were told that the event was starting at 5:30, so we ran in hoping to snag a decent spot. It was our first time at WaMu theater in Qwest Field - not a bad location. The swarm of general attendees (including us) stood in the main area in front of the stage while the pricier tickets sat farther behind on the sides. The place was quite packed, Seattle in general seems quite sympathetic towards Barack, so that wasn't surprising.
Anyway, the event started off with a welcome address and some entertainment -a little unexpected, but sounded interesting. They started off with some high energy african music and dance - really fun. The performers were pretty good, the crowd loved it! And then, this kid from Tacoma came on stage with his guitar - and started belting out some really morbid songs about death and hopelessness (?!!) - and he wasn't even a decent singer! *such* a relief when he finally went off stage!
Finally, Barack came on - very personable, warm and welcoming - guess being at your best is also made easier in such a friendly crowd! :) I was first drawn to Obama when he made that inspiring speech at the 2004 DNC. His earnestness and intensity struck a note that has seemed like a rarity for a while - I don't remember the last time that kind of sincerity resonated in a politician. I think his biggest draw is how he draws people together - seems like bringing the society and community together is the best way to actually force change - the whole "government of the people, by the people, for the people" thing. He touched all the subjects that matter to us, did not necessarily outline his path to getting there, but did deliver the message about the disparity between where we are and where we should be.
Obviously, he needs to start detailing his strategies and vision, where do we go and how do we get there. But this definitely seems like a decent start!
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