Long-time readers of this humble little blog know about The One True Cobbler® (accept no substitutes). Last night Julian suggested a variation on the recipe: Using mango as part of the fruit filling. We had a mango that I’d forgotten to incorporate into a curry. The ratio of mango to peach was about 1:1. I also used a little ground ginger as the seasoning. The mango was quite ripe; as a result, it turned into mush during baking. No matter, Julian approved of this gemisch.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/09/09/gilding-the-lily/
Sep 07
Lightning
Seattle doesn’t get much violent weather. Tornadoes are rare and hurricanes are non-existent. Tonight we’re getting a hellacious thunderstorm. The University of Washington football game is on weather delay due to the storm. To add insult to injury, the power’s out at the stadium. We’re currently getting the storm here. With luck, we won’t have a power outage.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/09/07/lightning/
Aug 31
Safety Always
I was the blood-borne pathogens safety officer for my department when I was teaching in North Carolina. I was responsible for keeping students, faculty, and staff safe from sharp objects and body fluids used in our research studies. As part of my duties, I went on “toe patrol” in the labs to make sure students were wearing closed-toe, closed heel shoes. In my current position, I work with physicians and nurses to assure the safety of patients undergoing heart and vascular surgeries.
Unfortunately, my career focus on safety doesn’t always extend to my home kitchen. Last night I was roasting some eggplant and peppers for a gathering of the usual Friday Night Follies crowd. The eggplant was taking longer to soften than I’d hoped. I inadvertently touched the top of the oven opening with my right arm, leaving a small first-degree burn. Then I accidentally knocked a knife off the counter. The blade caught the side of my sandal-clad foot, leaving a small cut that bled profusely. I stood, stork-like, trying to stop the bleeding until Julian came and bandaged me up.
A few recommendations based on sad experience:
- Pay attention. Don’t be distracted by other things. Focus on the task.
- Respect the knives. Make sure the handles aren’t hanging off the edge of the counter to keep you from bumping them on the floor.
- Respect your fingers. Keep the ones on your non-dominant hand curled under as you chop vegetables. Be careful hand-washing your knives.
- And maybe wear shoes in the kitchen.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/08/31/safety-always/
Aug 25
A Night at Book Larder
Every large city needs a decent cookbook store. New York has Kitchen Arts and Letters and Bonnie Slotnick Books (both extolled in this post). Portland has Powell’s Books for Home and Garden on Hawthorne Street. Vancouver had Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks, now of blessed memory (see last paragraph of this post). Seattle has the Book Larder. I confess that I haven’t frequented this store very often, as it’s in the Fremont neighborhood. As any long-time Seattle resident will tell you, I-5 presents a formidable barrier. There are limited streets that go over or under this road. And since Fremont is hipster central, parking can be problematic. Nevertheless, I’ve been to Fremont three times in the last month courtesy of Book Larder.
The first time was for a Book Larder- sponsored pretzel-making class at Sea Wolf Bakers. Our friend Bruce had signed up for this class, but he had to go out of town and asked me to go in his stead. It was great fun to fling flour in a real bakery. I want one of their steam-injected ovens, even though one would take up most of our garage. I took home pretzels, pretzel dough, a Sea Wolf Towel, and other baked goods.
Pretzel rolls. A little over-risen, but tasty.
The second time we went over on a Sunday afternoon to shop and for me to sign up for a book talk. Julian got this book, which appeals to his perfectionist side.
I got these three books. I’ve already made the red lentil and butternut squash soup out of the first book.
Melissa Clark writes regularly for The New York Times food section.
Last Wednesday I attended the book talk. The author, Judith Dern, is an acquaintance of mine. Her book is part of a series on the history of food and drink in various cities. The store was packed with fellow foodies. We’ll definitely visit the store more frequently, parking places permitting.
A potential bus commute book.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/08/25/a-night-at-book-larder/
Aug 25
In Search of Pasta Fazool
Julian’s father had a stock response when we’d ask him what was for dinner: “Pasta fazool.” He wasn’t particularly fond of the soup, he just liked saying its name. There was also an Olive Garden just outside his condo complex. This was a frequent dining destination when we’d visit them, as Julian’s stepmother was not an adventurous eater.
One hole in Seattle’s dining scene is non-chain, white-tablecloth Italian restaurants. These were special-occasion places when I was growing up. Oswego has Vona’s and Canale’s, which sit a block away from each other. Each has their proponents. Ithaca has Joe’s, which has gone through several iterations since I was an undergrad. Syracuse has Grimaldi’s and several others.
The closest thing we have to one of these restaurants in our neighborhood is Grazie. There’s a second outpost near Sea-Tac Airport, which I didn’t realize until I checked the website. We go there a few times a year, and were last there two weeks ago. It has the usual pasta, parmigiana, and veal dishes. I’ve never seen pasta fazool on the menu, though. Service is good. We got a very obsequious waiter on our latest visit. He did recommend crab cannelloni for Julian, which was excellent. I had the bolognese, which was also good. We wound up taking leftovers home.
The other gaping hole in Seattle’s cuisine is Jewish delis. I’ve already bemoaned that in this post. According to this article from Seattle Met, this may be changing. Unfortunately, none of them are near our usual stomping grounds.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/08/25/in-search-of-pasta-fazool/
Aug 18
Sunday Brunch with Otters
This morning I looked out the living room window and saw four otters on the river. They were enjoying a fine brunch of what I assumed were crawfish. I must have watched the quartet dive and surface for 15 minutes before they swam to the far shore in search of more food.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/08/18/sunday-brunch-with-otters/
Aug 16
One Thing Leads to Another
Ah, the joys of home ownership. If one thing needs repair, it usually cascades into several. See my previous post, The Homeowner Begets. We’ve had an annoying problem with dishwasher odor, even after we’ve run a dishwasher cleaner. If plumbers are going to come fix one thing, we may as well have them fix several items. The master bath sink, washer taps, and hose tap all had a leakage problem. They were fixed, along with installing a cap on a gas tap on our upper deck.
The plumber’s visit got Julian thinking: Wouldn’t it be nice to have a single-basin stainless steel sink with a restaurant-style faucet? On last week’s trip to the hardware store, we gawked at sinks and faucets. We haven’t pulled the trigger – yet.
But wait! There’s more! To access the faucets for the washer, we had to take off the folding doors to the laundry alcove. These doors were warped when we moved in (or so we thought), so we decided to replace them. The doors we bought were damaged when we opened the packages. Julian exchanged one, but the new one came without the installation hardware. He spent hours on the phone haggling with the manufacturer and the hardware store. He finally wound up with two that were reasonably intact, but required painting. So our garage turned into a painter’s studio. Last night we installed the doors. Julian’s cursing could have been heard two towns away, but they finally fit in place. The problem is they look just as warped as the original set. It turned out that the track for the doors was installed improperly.
The plumber added another potentially expensive insight on his visit. The garbage disposal is over 20 years old and probably merits replacing. The assault on our bank accounts continues…
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/08/16/one-thing-leads-to-another/
Aug 09
A Night at the Opera
This post has nothing to do with the Marx Brothers or Queen. I went to the dress rehearsal of Rigoletto last night. Our friend Bruce volunteers with the Seattle Opera. Since his main date was out of town and Julian wasn’t up to go, I joined Bruce.
The Seattle production of Rigoletto is set in a more modern time than 1840’s Italy. Some operas can get away with such a treatment. Rigoletto, unfortunately, can’t. The plot is sadly dated. Rigoletto, the main character, is a hunchback who is the object of derision. His patron, the Duke of Mantua, keeps him around because he tells jokes. The Duke is a lecherous cad who’ll seduce anyone with two X chromosomes. The Duke’s entourage kidnaps Rigoletto’s daughter so she can be the Duke’s latest conquest. I think the opera would have been better in its original setting.
To be fair, the music was excellent and the singers were first rate. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the story.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/08/09/a-night-at-the-opera/
Aug 07
A Plethora of Pepperoncini
I have four varieties of pepper plants on the upper deck this summer: One hot (mirasol), the other three less so. The two padron plants are doing well. The mirasol is slow, but steady. It has two peppers that are nearly ready to pick. I started the Japanese variety from seed late, and they haven’t blossomed yet. The big surprise is the pepperoncini plant. It’s going berserk. This morning I went out and picked these off the plant. These are destined to be pickled.
One plant, one morning’s harvest.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/08/07/a-plethora-of-pepperoncini/
Jul 24
Recent Acquisitions
It goes without saying that no trip to Portland is complete unless we stop at Powell’s Books. Because there was a blues festival downtown when we were there, we went to the home and garden branch on Hawthorne Street. I showed admirable restraint and walked out with four books, one of which Julian bought for me. The four from Powell’s are at the top of the stack.
More sources of inspiration.
The bottom book was purchased by Julian on Prime Day.
I used the Georgian cookbook for a cold leek and walnut salad on Sunday. This was in response to a suggestion from Julian. Unfortunately, he meant the leek recipe in Memories of Gascony. No matter. I’ll get to it eventually.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/07/24/recent-acquisitions/
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