Aug 14

Feeding Between the Lines, BBQ Edition

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, many of our friends have food allergies, intolerances, and aversions. This can make menu-planning a bit of a minefield. However, last night’s barbecue at Casa Sammamish was a high water mark. Most of the main offerings accommodated everyone (or we had alternatives).
Julian wanted to barbecue some ribs for the crew. We’d made a recipe with Thai mango sauce from Hugh Carpenter’s Ribs cookbook, and thought it would be suitable for the feast. The sauce was naturally gluten- and egg-free. We left out the garlic from the recipe to allow the allium-intolerant person to try them. We also purchased some hamburger and portabello mushrooms in case the ribs were too weird for the kids. I made a fennel salad with orange and teardrop grapes (purple seedless grapes that are shaped like tiny icicles). Others brought allium-free salads and guacamole. We had gluten-free burger buns for the intolerant/allergic kids. The mom of said children made gluten-free, egg-free peanut butter cookies. (Fortunately, we don’t have any peanut allergies in our group–yet.) And we even had a zucchini-free meal to satisfy Julian and the other summer squash-averse men.

As is typical at these get-togethers, nobody starved. We had plenty of beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages for everyone. The conversation was abundant. We watched some of the Olympics, mostly on CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Company). We sent the remaining gluten-free buns home with the kids and their parents. Best of all, we have leftovers of the ribs, barbecue sauce, and salad for tonight’s dinner.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/08/14/feeding-between-the-lines-bbq-edition/

Aug 08

Weekend at Mount Baker

If your idea of a good day hike is encountering busloads of tourists going to the souvenir shops, go to Paradise at Mount Rainier or Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. Mount Baker National Forest is a more rustic experience. Most of the hiking trails are unpaved. Access to the trailheads is not for the faint of heart–or vehicle. You will encounter joint-jarring boulder fields, mountain streams, and snowfields in August. However, you’ll see some phenomenal scenery that the bus tourists can’t access.
Mount Baker is better known as a ski resort. Because of heavy snowfalls, its ski season is longer than resorts farther south in the Cascades. Summer is a quieter time in the National Forest. The lodge and lifts are closed. The Highway has some cringeworthy switchbacks and shoulder-less stretches, especially east of the ski area.

We drove up to Mount Baker Friday night after work. We set up at the Blue T Lodge on the outskirts of Glacier. The Blue T is next to the Chair 9 Restaurant and Bar, which boasts the “Last or First Cocktail” depending on what direction you’re traveling on the Mount Baker Highway. After a fine breakfast at Graham’s, we went to the Ranger Station to get a trail recommendation. We chose Lake Ann.

Lake Ann, the destination for our hike.

Lake Ann, the destination for our hike.

The Lake Ann trail starts as a downhill stroll through the forest until you reach a valley of wildflowers–and mosquitos. From then it’s a long slog up a boulder field. You also have some streams to ford. Finally, after a short stroll on a snowfield, you see the lake. You can also see the glacier on Mount Shuksan, Mount Baker’s sister mountain.

Mount Shuksan, and its glacier.

Mount Shuksan, and its glacier.

As a National Forest, dogs are welcome on the trails at Mount Baker. Not so in the National Parks, unless the dogs are for service purposes. We saw canines on the trail ranging from chubby chihuahuas to German shepherds. We also encountered many hikers with kids of various ages and enthusiasms. One toddler was not happy to be in his dad’s backpack. Then we saw a couple with four little girls, three of whom could have been triplets. These kids were troopers. They passed us at one point, and the girls weren’t whining in the least.

The hike was pretty strenuous for us, since we hadn’t been on a real death march for two years. We drove back to Chair 9 and devoured a pizza, then both of us crashed after dinner. Julian had leg cramps all night. I slept like a rock.

We highly recommend staying near Mount Baker the nights before and after a long day hike. You’ll be able to get an early start. Your legs may be hamburger, especially after the Lake Ann down and up slog. You’ll find numerous condos for rent during the summer, plus a few restaurants in Glacier where you can carbo-reload. Save your driving until the next day.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/08/08/weekend-at-mount-baker/

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/07/29/bothells-bouncing-back/

Jul 18

Iced Tea Season at Last!

When I lived in Texas and North Carolina, iced tea season lasted from March to November. Here in the northwest, it’s abbreviated because of the cooler climate. Last week I declared it iced tea season, to great rejoicing. However, we needed tea suitable for iced tea.

As I have said time and again, iced tea is to be black, strong, unsweetened, and unsullied by other flavors. Unfortunately, I live amongst too many Philistines here in Seattle. Even the venerable Perennial Tea Room in Pike Place Market will sample tutti-frutti iced teas. This is the equivalent of the snickerdoodle coffee that a cookware store in Greensboro used to hawk–and which made Julian gag. Luckily, amazon.com happens to sell Luzianne, the ne plus ultra of iced tea bags. Since Julian had to order some other stuff, it was no problem to add a box to the shipment.

Put some south in your mouth--but don't sweeten it.

Put some south in your mouth–but don’t sweeten it.

There are many ways to get from teabag to a tall, cold glass. One can brew the tea the traditional way, by boiling water and letting the tea steep a few minutes. If you really want a strong brew that can stand to be diluted by lots of ice, this is the way to go. Sun tea caught on in the 1980’s. I often make refrigerator door light tea: Put the teabags in a pitcher of cold water and chill overnight. Cold brewing extracts less of the tannins that can make tea too bitter for some palates.

Once the tea is dark enough, fish out the teabags and pour some over ice in a glass. If you must, you can add a spritz of lemon. Don’t sweeten it. Save those sugar calories for more important things, like peach cobbler. For the full effect, drink the tea underneath a ceiling fan or in front of an air conditioner and complain about how ungodly hot it is. Ah, summer!

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/07/18/iced-tea-season-at-last/

Jul 17

Acting out of Fear

After the attack in France last week, one of my best friends encouraged me to avoid Nice later this year. My mother asked yet again, “You’re really still going to France?” Mercifully, my sister did not ask the same thing when I talked to her today. I know they’re speaking from concern for our welfare. Where does the acting out of fear stop, though? Folks moved out of NYC after 9/11 out of fear. Paris has had a drop in tourists since the attacks last year because of fear. Probably Disney World has had a fall in attendance after the Pulse night club massacre, not to mention the alligator attack, because of fear. I could walk out the front door of our condo and be hit by a meteor, but I’m still going grocery shopping this afternoon. I refuse to huddle in a bunker in Montana and eat canned pork and beans just to be “safe”. If you let fear control your life, those who profit from fear (be they terrorists or a certain political candidate) win. I’d rather act out of faith, hope, and love–with a dash of prudence thrown in to keep my mother calm.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/07/17/acting-out-of-fear/

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/07/16/the-hard-part/

Jul 16

Say It Ain’t So!

We were downtown on our monthly coffee run (for Julian, not me). We made another stop at the Spanish Table, one of our go-to joints for good, cheap wine and ingredients for paella. The first clue that something was amiss was a sign that the deli case was for sale. Then I saw the sign above the wine: The store is closing at the end of August. Steve Winston and Sharon Baden, the longtime owners, are retiring. The Paris Grocery, the sister store down the block, will remain open and carry some of the items from the Spanish Table. I may have to go back next month and pick up some last-minute provisions (or cookbooks) before it closes.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/07/16/say-it-aint-so/

Jul 09

Experiments with the New Equipment

So the induction range (with convection oven) and the new microwave are installed. Before we left for Portland, we didn’t have much time to play. I brought a cold home with me and called in sick on Wednesday, so both of us did a bit more experimenting. Here are our initial observations.

They're so shiny! That didn't last.

They’re so shiny! That didn’t last.

The stove heats water for my tea very quickly, in about half the time as our old electric burner. Our teakettle is rather lightweight, so it skitters around the burner if I’m only heating a small amount of water.

One of the best features of the oven is an extendable rack, which makes it easier to get a cookie sheet out.

The heavy induction pans work well (they don’t skitter around the burner). To keep food from sticking, you heat the pan wicked high before you add the oil/butter. I tried this with my morning omelet today and the butter nearly burned on contact. But the eggs didn’t stick.

Although there are no heating elements and burner pans to clean, the cooktop is pretty finicky. Only certain cleaners work. In addition, the black top shows lots of dust if you don’t use it for a long weekend.

While I was home sick on Wednesday, I tried my hand at making Syrian sesame bagels using the convection feature. This is a recipe from Bernard Clayton Jr.’s The Breads of France. I made them once many years ago, but haven’t since. For 24 mini-bagels, the recipe calls for 1 cup of butter. The dough comes together easily in the mixer and rose quickly, despite the large amount of fat. Unlike regular bagels, these do not get boiled prior to baking. Clayton recommended turning the oven temperature down 50° if using convection. I wound up leaving them in the oven a bit longer than the recipe indicated because they didn’t brown much. However, they came out well. Julian and my officemates enjoyed them.

Syrian sesame bagels, also known as ka'achei sumsum.

Syrian sesame bagels, also known as ka’achei sumsum.

More experiments to come, particularly with convection. The problem is that I don’t bake as much as I used to because so many of my friends have genuine wheat, gluten, or egg allergies. However, Julian is still in need of regular cobblers and other goodies.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/07/09/experiments-with-the-new-equipment/

Jul 09

More Portland

On Sunday we took the light rail up to the NW 23rd Avenue shopping district. There are shops of all sorts, including a cookware store called Kitchen Caboodle. We bought some non-metal utensils there to use on the new cookware for the induction range. Lunch was at Kornblatt’s Deli, which did a decent pastrami. I looked above the deli counter and saw two suspiciously familiar menus. They were from the Rascal House and Wolfie’s Delicatessen, two now-defunct places in Miami we used to frequent when visiting Julian’s parents. Memories of matzoh ball soup past…

We went back to the hotel and drove up to the Rose Gardens. We should have walked there from 23rd Avenue, but we didn’t realize how close we were. Julian had visited the gardens many years ago, and got a great photo of downtown Portland from the gardens. Unfortunately, pesky trees now blocked the view. He only brought his cell phone on this trip, which was most fortunate; otherwise we’d still be there.

After the Rose Gardens, we drove to Ikea. (Did I mention that Oregon has no sales tax?) We were afraid that the new induction range-compatible cookware he’d ordered wouldn’t arrive for a few weeks, so we bought a bare-bones set of pots and two larger stockpots. As it happened, there was a slip in our mailbox when we got home indicating that the cookware had arrived. Oh, well…

Dinner that night was at Paley’s Place. We bought the cookbook several years ago for its planked salmon recipe, which has been our standard main dish for guests. I had corn chowder and rabbit with hand-cut Russian noodles (Vitaly Paley is originally from Russia), while Julian had a green salad and duck with cherries. I had ice cream and sorbet for dessert, and Julian had the crème brûlée. A most pleasant repast.paleys

On the way back to Seattle, we were going to stop by Mount St. Helens. Neither of us had ever been there. Unfortunately, the volcano cam on the website showed nothing but fog. We wound up driving home and attending our friends’ July 4th cookout. It’s good to have options.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/07/09/more-portland/

Jul 09

About Last Week

“People have become educated, but have yet to become human.”

— Abdul Sattar Edhi

I saw this quote in a New York Times obituary for this gentleman, who was the Pakistani “Father Teresa.” It sums up my feelings this morning. Just when the horror of the Orlando shootings had dissipated slightly, we had two police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota. Then came the massacre of five Dallas police officers at the end of a peaceful march. Last week’s events were captured on cell phone videos and streamed around the world. When will we learn?

When will we learn that “those people” (fill in the blank) have children, parents, and neighbors just as we do?

When will we learn that “those people” also have the same rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

When will we learn that violence only begets more and escalated violence, as it did on Thursday night?

When will we learn that unfettered access to semi- or fully-automatic firearms was not the intent of the authors of the Second Amendment? (The 1789 equivalents were cannons, and I don’t think the Founding Fathers believed that every farmer on the frontier needed one.)

Dallas Police Chief David Brown is no stranger to losing fellow officers and family members to gun violence. He was quoted in this op-ed piece from the Dallas Morning News today:

“We’re not going to let a coward change our democracy,” Brown said. “Our city, our country [are] better than that.”

May it be so.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/07/09/about-last-week/

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