Super Blue Smoothie, Amaranth and raw food

A is for Amaranth. A little while ago I had some amaranth instead of rice or other carbohydrate with dinner. While it was cooking however, I noticed that it was not like I expected; what I had expected was some sort of quinoa like texture loose individual grains. That is exactly what it was not. It was more like malt-o-meal or perhaps even a bit like grits. So instead of eating it next to a big bunch of stir fried veggies with savory sauces, we saved it for dessert. And it could not have been a better choice on our part. We ate it with cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered ginger, sprinkled the top with a little sugar, drizzled it with just a touch of dark agave, and man was it good. (sorry about no pic, I am still in the process of buying a new camera). While it was good just like that I can dream up many other ways to enjoy this incredible tasting food. Oh, I don't know, cream and fresh berries would be been ridiculously delicious as well. And from what I understand, amaranth is incredibly healthy also. In fact, I think it can help prevent gray hairs.

Check it out, make it a staple in your pantry, start consuming mass quantities post haste! I think it is so much better than malt-o-meal (and so very much more nutritious). It will be my Fall/Winter breakfast of choice this year, bar none.

Super Blue Smoothie

From time to time I end up concocting some crazy super food smoothie, and usually I add in whatever I have on hand at the time. But in this particular instance I had visited Whole Foods and bought some dried blue corn and I have no idea why. I mean, why would I do that? I have no idea what to use it for besides grind it up and try to make tortillas with it, and just between you and me, that was so not going to happen.
So I decided to add it to a super food smoothie. I realized that it was hard, I mean like way too hard. Even though my blendtec could have made it into a fine dust powder, those fine dust powdered blue corn particles would still have been hard as diamonds and therefor potentially hazardous to my health. After contemplating what to do about it, I decided to boil the corn in just enough water to cover it. It made the corn softer and the water that was left in the pot turned blueish, so I used that in the smoothie as well. I am certain some sort of antioxidant anti-aging something or other was in it.

Super blue corn smoothie: blue corn, coffee, goji, blue berries, maca, raw cacao, red pepper flakes and chili powder. I put it all in my blendtec blender and let her rip.

The end result was a nice, masa kind of tasting spicy drinkish thing that was overall a pleasant to consume. It was very high energy; I drank one in the morning and then did tons of yard work, rode my bike to Seattle, and back, and was not even bothered by hunger pangs.

Rice, eggs, beans and garlic stuffed olives

Here is a run down of what is in that bowl overhead. It was a great meal, in fact I made it twice in one day.

I cooked the rice w/ garlic, ginger, curry powder, salt, pepper, butter, juice of one lime, coconut milk and tomato sauce. The re-fried beans I used came with roasted Chile and lime already in them (found those at Whole Foods).
I topped it off with one fried egg, some cinnamon (that I added on top of the rice, so the egg is over it), and four garlic stuffed olives (in my opinion olives and garlic are two of the top ten super foods on the planet).

Let me tell you, it was tasty and probably could fetch at least $7.99 on a menu, if not more, and people would be highly satisfied with it as a meal. Or a place could charge less and serve the working class students of the world, like a real bohemian place ought to.

Now for the random bits of the blog:

And can someone please tell me why this looks so darn addicting?

A newly discovered band for me with a great name, The Drums. Here is their song called "Book of Stories".

Yet another list of places that need to be checked out

Apparently The Dahlia Bakery has some great peanut butter filled cookies that are all the rage. This might require a bike ride into Seattle to try one.

Of course, Sweet Iron has been on my "bike into Seattle to grab some breakfast and then ride home" list and I have yet to do that. But I have been biking lots, so we shall see.

Proletariat Pizza (proletariat means working class) in White Center is fast making a rep for itself on the pizza front in Seattle, and for those of you who have read my blog all along, you know I have a certain weakness for this form of food. Actually, I am checking this place out next week, stay tuned....

Crap, I hate waiting so long to post. Because then I create a back log of places and ideas to blob about and to be honest, this is what I (and by default, you dear readers) get with my super awesome non existent system.

Anyway, the Blind Cartographers recently played in West Seattle at The Shipwreck tavern which is conveniently located right next door to The Heartland Cafe, so I ate there. The Tater Tot casserole was outstanding, had not had a dish like that since I was growing up in Sioux City, IA. Great food for a great price. Well worth the trip any day. It's like a little slice of home right in West Seattle. Yet another great reason to move there (speaking of which, Ballard, West Seattle or Columbia City? Debate...).

Raw Food

I realize that I need to get really super healthy super fast (5 K coming up and a few bike rides and triathlons next spring), and I think one of the ways to do that is incorporate more raw foods. Particularly raw fermented and cultured foods. So I am going to start making Almond Coconut yogurt and keeping it on stock (as budget allows). It can be used as a base for smoothies or just a few spoonfuls to get going. It also works well as a base for cream based salad dressing. Recipe thanks to this guy.

Raw Almonds, soaked for 24 hours water and then drained

1 cup almonds
1 cup young coconut water and water
+ the appropriate enzymes, probiotcs, etc. Check them out.


Put it all in a blendtec and let her rip!

Also, if you do not know about "of Montreal" (they are playing the Paramount in Oct) or Joanna Newsom, well, here is you chance to check them out.

You should also start reading up on: Sir Isaac Newton, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. These peeps is smart yo. Also, they are very inspiring.

Joshua

ps. wordle my blog, it is great.

pss. the kitchen at Brouwer's is serving a plate called the Teaser that is amazing. Go get it now before it leaves the menu. I ate at Ocho as well and man that place has great food as well. No camera, no pics, but I can say that all three things I ate there were off the hook (is that an appropriate phrase still? Or should I say something more like "If there was a hook, this would surely not be on it"?).

Sunday Morning Muffins

Yeah, I made muffins on Sunday morning, so what?

I had the good fortune to have some garden fresh zucchini's and it was either muffins or bread.


Here is the recipe I used (I used nutmeg, cinnamon, and walnuts. Oh, I also used 1 & 1/2 cup white flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup oats. And I used 1/3 cup butter and substituted the rest equal parts vanilla yogurt, 1/3 less fat cream cheese, and apple sauce. Also, I added 2 tsp pf HealthForce SuperFoods MacaForce). Man, I really get out of control sometimes when I alter recipes. I only experiment to make things more healthy and healing for the people who eat it. It is just one of my ways of showing appreciation and acknowledgment to people in my life.


The outcome? The muffins turned out pretty darn good, I must say. Despite the fact that I had made both the wet and dry mixed components before realizing I had exactly zero muffin papers for the tin. So that created a mid muffin making grocery store jaunt to get those. I was able to pick up a coffee while out also, so all in all it turned out to be a great thing.

Post training Snack

1/2 avocado
1 can tuna, drained
4-5 olives stuffed with garlic
salt & pepper

Also, here are some links I have been meaning to throw in the blog:

To Read:

Wondermark

Goats

To eat/drink:

Boka
Tulio
Canlis
Rob Roy
Ocho
Monsoon
Vessel

These are all places I sampled when I attended Voracious. BTW, great event for the money, I highly recommend it. Also, buy the tickets as soon as possible, it sells out. As for the goods sampled, these places were pretty darn good.

Oh, and when you're in the mood for chocolate, eat Dalene's Raw Ecstasy bar not this.

Will It Blend?
Raw Superfood Smoothie

Grape Fruit (peeled), ginger, garlic, pepper, goji berries, blue berries, macaforce, earth, cats claw, 1/2 jalapeno, raw cacao powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, juice of one lime, half a cucumber, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, fist full of cilantro, celery, and a couple of stalks of whatever this is.

This

Minimal Acceptable Amounts of ginger and garlic to be used in my smoothies

It blended!

It turned out a bit thick, so I had to use a spoon to eat it, but it was tasty, zingy and zippy. And really really energizing! So this, some pumpkin seeds, a coffee and a zucchini muffin is what will sustain me today.


Joshua

p.s. Shipwreck Tavern, West Seattle, Aug. 28th, 10pm.

The Roommate who sheds a lot

West Seattle Food-down

Ari, however you spell his name, reads my blog! Someone all the way over in Michigan or Wisconsin...well far away anyhow reads it! Course it seems he never comments (which, by the way, has me seriously thinking about moving this over to Wordpress so I can track views and what not) just like most others who peruse this web page frequently, but really that sounds like more work than I am willing to put in at this time for now.

So Friday the 16th was an eventful day, lots of food and drink tasting and a little walk/hike on Alki , and some reading of Cryptonomicon. I have been a fan of Neal Stephenson ever since I read Zodiac, a pretty darn good eco thriller. I have a fondness for these types of things (eco thrillers and saving the world and all that jazz), like the Audi A3 Super Bowl Green Police Commercial. After I saw that I wanted that job really bad. Course I want one of those cars as well.

But anyway, let's get on with the reviews, shall we?

First I visited Two Beers Brewing and had a beer and chatted with owner/brewer Joel. I have visited Two Beers before, and have enjoyed their beer on tap at such well known places as the Bothell Main Street Ale House and the Montlake Ale House. Always good, always refreshing, they just consistently make and serve a darn good beer, in my humble opinion. Joel is having some decent success in ...ask him some questions here and have a q & a.

I then rallied over to Elliot Bay Brewing in West Seattle to drink some of their potion and try their food offerings to the food review blog gods.

Should I walk along Alki here or after the Italian meal?

Then it was off to Cafe Revo for a nice Italian meal and some wine.

...or not!

What a day that would have been, but alas, best laid plans and all, right?

Well, what actually happened was I did meet Joel and all that. I then tried to go to Naked City Taphouse but they do not open until 3pm! What? I am starving now and need a beer as well! How could you?

So, guess what? I can not recall what I did then. Crap. That is what I get when I do not update on a as I go basis or even, * gasp* more often! The thought, the sheer brilliance of it is a bit...well blinding and all that. But not only do I owe it to you dear, dear reader, but to myself as well. I am sure some day in the far off future my memory will begin to fail me even in some greater capacity and I will be reduced to reading these very same pages to fill in the gaps on my pothole marked memory.



So I planned a picnic and had the crazy idea of making PB&J in a ravioli form and serving it with a strawberry goji berry type sauce that is sort of kinda like jelly I suppose. More sauce like, no knife needed to spread it all over.

My take on a summer time picnic PB&J

Ravioli (used Whole Wheat flour), stuffed with honey roasted peanut butter that has been mixed with maca, a twist of salt (just one really) cinnamon and nutmeg, boiled, slightly broiled to give the cooked pasta a caramelized toasted bread bend to it. The sauce is homemade strawberry goji berry goodness.

Let me just say, making these guys was a total pain in the ass. Probably due to the very affordable ravioli die I was using in my vain attempts to be frugal. The next time I make ravioli I will use white flour instead of whole wheat and maybe even use a high end machine to churn them out.

The Product

The Drink

Not sure what to call this here combo, it was good (well, I liked it at least). Not as good as my watermelon, gin blend (dubbed the Wet Ruby) but good non the less. I did use that Ginger People drink thingy, but I would have liked to have juiced my own ginger juice, that would have been awesome. Man I miss my juicer.

The Helper

Joshua

ps...dang! I missed July, like that *snaps*! And now when I wake up, some mornings smell like Fall.

Dear Summer,
Our affair was much too short for my liking. Please come back to me.
Forever yours truly,
Joshua

Fortune

Fortune (according to Merriam-Webster) is as follows: a hypothetical force or personified power that unpredictably determines events and issues favorably or unfavorably (there are other entries but this one,1, will do).

I have had the good fortune, thankfully, of going to check out the Georgetown Music Fest (or is it called the Seattle Weekly's Artopia? They clearly take place the same weekend, within the same 3 block radius, and both offer music. Confused much? Welcome to my world)this past weekend to catch some live music and I ran into a couple of old friends I had not seen in some time. The weather turned out to be great also.

All in all, that weekend was pretty damn sweet.

The Best Comics in the GPNW?

I went to the GTMF to see and hear Ladyfriend and The Black Whales. I got to the GTMF early, not knowing what to expect for parking and crowd size. Parking was easy, and the crowd was not large yet. So I wandered around to check out the lay of the land, you know, where the beer gardens, portajohns, music and food vendors were. I was glad to find out that Fantagrahics was local to GT. At first blush, this was after all my first time to be in GT (Georgetown), it seems I was falling for it hard.

I wandered across a busy street to what appeared to be the food vendors area, but to my surprise and delight, it was the GT Farmers Market. Lots and lots of fresh good food, and some raw food!

I know the owner of this company, but it had been some time since I was in touch with him, but it was nice to run into him and catch up. Plus, the raw food he makes is ridiculously good and all raw and vegan. Out. Of. Control. Kind of like this.

Ladyfriend

I went to the Ladyfriend stage/flatbed truck and found myself presented with a great find; there was a beer garden directly across from them. That is actually where I took this picture from. I got to the garden early, the beer was just starting to flow and I was a little unsure if I was at the right place. So I asked the person pouring the beer and the other patron in the garden if they knew if this was the stage Ladyfriend was playing at. The other patron said yes it was, she knew because she was in the band. So I introduced myself to Taylor and she went to the stage to perform.

Aside from the fact that there was some damn jet show going on at the Boeing Airfield and some crazy jets flew by overhead, Ladyfriend's set was great. I mean, just listen to their song "Backyard Seance", it is cool and catchy all at the same time, or at least I think so. Another excursion where I find great people who make great music.

I then made my way to another stage to see a band called Black Whales perform. They played at a much large stage/beer tent. In fact there were two stages. And another friend I had not seen in some time. Crazy day.

Black Whales

I first found out about the Black Whales a few months ago when I was searching for local entertainment/bands for a school club book release event I was planning. I really liked their song "The Diamond Divide", but unfortunately they were not available to play our gig. So I saw them play live at the GTMF.

Strong musicians all around, their new songs, or at least the songs I did not recognize from them I considered new, were different, but still well crafted and played. I think the newness of the songs had the crowd just appreciative of them, but when they busted out Diamond Divide, the crowd started to bob and weave to the beat.

Megasapien

I stuck around to finish my beer, but really what I was there for was to listen to the power duo that is Megasapien. They started playing and I started listening and was like "Who the hell are these guys?". The drummer is good, damn good. Pretty much they are straight ahead rock, and they use a Mac for some added sounds here and there (like at the end of their set when they were playing the Superman theme song while they broke down. It was a nice touch). I will say this, their live performance blows away their recordings online. Their live show brings more energy and a stage presence that adds lots to their songs.

Magically Delicious

So I get lazy when it comes to cooking for me, but still require putting minimal effort into making something better than stock. For instance, frozen cheese pizza. Not my usual M.O. to say the least, but I think it turned out pretty good, for frozen pizza at least.

Pre-baked

Take one stock bare bones frozen cheese pizza, add more cheese of your choice (obviously), some greens (spinach or in this case I used mixed baby greens), seasonings such as: salt, pepper, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and fresh pressed garlic. Lots and lots of garlic. I used 8 cloves. It could have used more.

Post Baked

Of course, some your might say I ruined it in the end because I drenched it in La Victoria Red Taco Sauce. But what can I say, I was in the mood for spicy.

I will say that I am not lazy all the time when it comes to cooking. For instance, an upcoming potluck picnic I am making come home made peanut butter toasted ravioli with this bad boy.

So I have some guilt about always reporting about cool bands I have seen and giving no preview of upcoming things that people might like. Well, I now have the opportunity to present something some of you might like and even enjoy. If you like the movie Amelie, that same director has a new movie out called MicMacs, and it happens to be playing at The Egyptian Theatre. I have yet to see this, but plan on doing so this week or weekend sometime.

Also, I am really dying to check out emmer&rye on Queen Anne. Local seasonal food paired with some good drink selections, what is not to like?

What else might you, or dear reader, like? How about The New Pornographers playing with The Dodos & Imaad Wasif at the Showbox @ the Market on July 31st?

Or maybe a new funny show? (this might offend some people, it airs on Adult Swim at night).

Have a great day in the Sun everyone, I know I will.

Joshua

It must be the shoes.

The Tin Table and a show at The Crocodile

Tin Table

Okay, so school is done for a whole week. Bonus, I only have to take 6 credits over the Summer! Man, talk about some serious blogging time that I will have. What that really translates into is getting to hike, eat, listen to music and write.

So to celebrate these events, and because I believe in the Universe giving signs for a reason (I mean how else do you explain ads for the Tin Table that just keep showing up in front of my face, and I got an email coupon for $50 of food/drinks for only $25. So I bought it.) I ate there on Saturday.

Oh Saturday, how eventful you turned out to be. So I had my whole day planned, eat at the Tin Table, see a rocking show at the Crocodile, ride my bike home. I mean, what a perfect way to include three of my favorite things?

Folks, I literally live between the 2nd and 3rd bus stop in Redmond of the 545 bus. I had never encountered a bus that had a full bike rack (they can hold three), until Saturday. Really, I was amazed. First of all the weather was amazing, second of all one of the bikes and the bikes owner had paper race tags pinned on them, so clearly they were in a race or event of some sort.

So I was faced with a situation; leave my bike and catch the bus and not be late for my reservation or wait for the next bus and be late. I chose to lock up my ride at the bus stop and hop on. Well, so much for my master plan on how to get home after the show.
(As I was writing notes for my blog on my bus ride, trying my best to capture the essence of the day, I noticed that 520 is kinda shitty in some places. Or maybe it was the shocks on the bus?)

I got there and the place was empty. Which was great, I got to talk to the bartender (who also works at Ocho in Ballard) and tell him the ingredients that go in my newest, and possibly all time, favorite drink:

The Brain Duster
1 oz Rye Whiskey (preferably 100 proof)
1 oz Absinthe
1 oz Vermouth, Italian
1 dash Angostura bitters
mix well with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass

This drink, of which I had two of, does an amazing job of living up to it's name. The bartender and I chatted a bit about different choices of rye and absinthe, and I am interested to try a few different places and see how they make them.

I ordered the fish tacos off the menu, and they were great. Perfectly done fish bits; not too dry or moist, smothered in a red sauce of some sort that was wicked good. Copious amounts of cilantro and some Cole slaw.
My guests and I had to move seats once as the table we were seated at was reserved for 7pm, so we moved to a bar seating area by the windows. The windows were cracked open some and the fragrant odor of fresh cooked waffle cones was wafting in from Molly Moon's below. So we ordered some dessert: The lemon blueberry brioche pudding and New Orleans style beignets.

Overall, the place was great: I liked the location, the decor (although, sad to say not one table made of tin) and the food was great. One issue, the music they were playing was not in line with the overall ambiance of the place, I hope they change it.

The Crocodile

Okay, you may have noticed like I have that some of the bands I like (and by like I mean support monetarily and in person) play at the Crocodile in Seattle. Often apparently. Not that I mind, I like the excuse to make a day of it, with food and drinks and all. Fortunately some of my good friends were accompanying me this fine evening, so that made it even better.


The opening band was called Skeletons with Flesh on Them which I am guessing it means people are just that, or maybe there is some deeper meaning to their name, I'm not sure. In any case, they are great. I heard them first on KEXP awhile back. They have a very nice, pop-ish sound reminiscent of other popular NW rock acts like Pretty Girls Make Graves (RIP), Modest Mouse, etc. Highly recommend them.



The second band, whose name is awesome, Math and Physics Club, was a little subdued live. A kind of alternate 50's light rock with awkward endings. Clearly they are talented, maybe it was the sound levels or an off night or who knows. Or perhaps it was because they were tucked between other bands that were loud, punchy, pop? Who knows for sure, and even then can they say?



The last band, Aqueduct, pretty much stole the show. Or more accurately, took it with force. Pop hooks galore and a heaping dose of enthusiasm coupled with some vaguely familiar songs made for a great, great show. I mean, I am not even sure I can explain to you, dear reader, how much they rocked without sounding like a brain hemispheres fused idiot set to redundancy. I am surprised that they are not more popular. I mean, they do play biggish shows, go on tour, and had at least one song on a soundtrack to a movie.

Great sound, good crown interaction, they rocked, and man the cymbals sounded great! I love, love, love the sound of Zildjian K's. It's great because I need new cymbals myself and had no idea what kind to even look at. Listening to samples of cymbals online is hardly accurate or telling. So I was resigned to going to several music stores and hitting cymbals and then trying to imagine what they would sound like in comparison to my drums. But after seeing several live shows where the drummers sounded great, and noticing they were playing Zildian K's, the deal is sealed.

Also revealed at the show it was the Three Imaginary Girls 8th anniversary, so that was cool. Apparently, one of them was there, or at least that is what David Terry said. Or is that what she said? Anyway, a big THANK YOU goes out to those girls, they have been rocking the Seattle scene for 8 years, here is at least to another 8 more!

Yours Truly

The Tractor and Voracious

Voracious Door Stamp. Yes that is a Martini. It was indeed time to get my drink on.

Dear fellow blog readers,

Hi! Hope you all are doing well, it has been sometime hasn't it? Well, I don't mean to expound upon the obvious, but I have been kept fairly engaged recently hence the late blog update. Please forgive me, I will try to be more dutiful to you all.

So awhile back I visited The Tractor Tavern in Ballard , WA where I saw a few bands play that you should all really know about. Well, two of them at least. The first band, Doctor Doctor, was not band per se, I think they were par for a rock band. My opinion of course, but you should check them out for yourself. The next band was Spanish for 100 (which I think is a pretty clever name) was great, I really thought they sounded like a sort of cross of Vampire Weekend, Modest Mouse, and them. Be warned, Spanish for 100's recording quality online is not what they sound like live(Hmm, much like another band I know of). And then there was Slender Means (another name I really like) who blew that place out. I mean, these guys are pretty good. (No pics, my camera is being recycled as we speak because it ate batteries as fast as you could put them in it. So I am in the market for a new one. Suggestions are gladly accepted).

After the show, my compatriots and I we a bit peckish and realized other than the hot dog cart on the sidewalk, there were some slim pickins in Ballard for late night grubbing.

We ventured forth and found sustenance, but in light of that evening wheels have begun to churn...

So you may have heard about this little food thing in Seattle called Voracious. It is a Seattle Weekly column, blog, and annual event the weekly hands out awards for this and that. But more importantly, the event has food, good food and lots of it. And, as I found out, drinks galore! The ticket was decent, only $25 for entry and all the good food you could stuff in your face and pockets and open bars as far as the eye could see. And the venue, it was held at The Paramount (a great place where I saw The Shins play) and if you have never been there, you should go. The words I would try to use to describe it's ambiance, it's feel, would not due it justice. The closest thing I can do, dear readers, is tell you that it reminds me of a theater in my hometown of Sioux City,Iowa called The Orpheum. I remember going to see many great movies in the Orpheum, like when my grandparents took me to see The Swiss Family Robinson as we brought our own homemade popcorn in a big brown paper bag. Or that time my dad took me to see Tron there, and they had the Tron video game in the lobby. Every time I step into The Paramount, the nostalgic feeling of what it was like at The Orpheum is there for me. Old yet modern, filled with lots of lost history, and you just know whatever is going on inside is going to be so worth it just from the ambiance the building provides, the buzz, the juice the place has. Places like this are very much alive in a sense. Just like the recently refurbished Columbia City Theater.

This is indeed what I would classify as a true America bargain. However, as in all things in life, there were some places that clearly brought their "A" game, and some places there were clearly mailing it in, resting on their laurels as it were.

Scotch (well, what was left of it) and Cupcake

I mean, seriously, how can one place be serving Fillet Mignon, to order, on a separate plate and another place *cough* Uli's *cough* that was serving their product Ala weekend Costco style? I mean, yes I understand, you make a damn fine sausage, that is why you are a staple in Seattle. But even a little effort would have been nice. What you did was kind of a slap in the face, which part of me can kind of respect. Like giving a little finger to the fancy pants places, but still, I wonder how all the people in attendance took it.

What were some of those other places you ask? Well, I tried many, but only want to comment on a few. Boka, for instance, was serving (well, what I think they were serving) a de-constructed potato chip. A slice of potato (raw or very lightly cooked) with toppings that made it taste like a really good version of a fully loaded potato chip you get in a grease filled bag. Expect, this had a really nice subtle flavor profile, and no grease. It could of used more salt, but then again I think that about most things. (Although, thanks to Joe, I have been reminded how good a nice coating of fresh ground tellicherry black pepper makes everything better. Even popcorn. Try it, you will be amazed).

The other place I really liked was a little, unassuming fish fry place. That is right, fish fry. Catfish Corner was serving up fresh fried catfish and hush puppies, and I think it was the best food I ate that night. Not overly coated or spiced, fried to golden perfection, along with the smartersauce (their version of tartar sauce) they were serving made for just really great food. The people working their booth were nice and friendly.

Speaking of nice people, lots of great people there. I am sure all those free drinks and free good food (well, not really "free" but you know what I mean...) probably loosened everyone one up. It is like I stated in a previous blog, good food is about bringing good people together and celebrating, and that is exactly what this was. I hope to be attend it for years to come.

On a closing note, I just want to thank you readers. I know I have not been the most punctual of bloggers, however this is something I truly enjoy. Now that the quarter is almost over and I am only taking 10 credits over the summer, I hope to get back on my blog more often. Oh, that reminds me , the Creative Arts Club I am part of at Cascadia Community College is having their 2010 Arts Magazine release event on Wednesday, June 2nd from 3pm - 7pm on campus at Mobius Hall. If you show up, there will be sandwich boards up to provide directions. There will be live music, Greek food, art presentations, and copies of the magazine all FREE!

Italian food and Simplicity

Bowl full homemade of goodness

Recently, I had the distinct pleasure of having some incredible, made from scratch, Italian food. I have never been to Italy (or Europe, yet) but I have to confess that in the past I was somewhat of a food network addict and watched that channel often. I hardly dared to ever recreate anything that I saw. Sometimes I visited the web site to swipe recipes and translate them to my own liking, but never directly tried to recreate something from those recipes.

I do make a pretty good red sauce of my own concoction, but usually I skip the making pasta part and just roll with some store bought goodness (thanks America's Test Kitchen). I always figured it was the sauce that made the pasta anyway. And while I may be correct in certain aspects in my train of thought, it is now incredibly clear to me that having both home made red sauce and good fresh hand made pasta is, how do I say, a culinary delight of the highest order.

Apparently Italians eat their pasta separate from their meat (beef, lamb, what have you), so that was how we enjoyed the evening. The sauce that was used on the pasta was the same sauce the beef cooked in for who knows how long. It had good, deep flavor and roundedness that can only be coaxed out of food with time and deliberate love and intention.

The pasta itself was tender, wide, and thick, with just enough topography to have the sauce cling desperately to its sides and not slip off when the fork is half way between your mouth and the bowl. It was perfect.

The beef, I'm not not sure of the cut, the brand, or about the recipe used to prepare it. I do know that it was delicate, moist and , like the sauce, had flavor that was deep and rich, but not over powering on any note. It was the kind of beef you could eat for dinner for days, no months, on end and never get tired of it. So, it was much like the pasta.

Dessert was the real Italian deal. Authentic almond biscotti (direct from Italy in fact I think) that we dipped in some after dinner wine (of which the name escapes me). Espresso and some more wine made the night fly by, and before we all knew it, the new day was upon us.

I dare say, with all due respect to my mother, it was the best birthday meal I have had since, well, my mothers home made lasagna. Many thanks for good friends. Next meal is on me (I mean the cooking, not literally).

Simplicity

It seems the more and more I explore the craft of food, the saying "less is more" is very true. Basic good, local and fresh ingredients, mixed and made with love and care always outperforms any and all other foods, period. A simple beet salad, lentils with curry, a glass of vodka straight from the freezer; small and simple delights will never lose their appeal.

The sun has begun to poke it's head around, and I am glad. I am ready to start hitting the trails again, ride my bike everywhere, and get back to letting you all know about the hiking around here. One of the main reasons I enjoy doing this is that it makes me look to new areas to hike in and around. So I get to see new areas, and hopefully you get to read about hikes that not everyone in the GPNW has already been on or blogged about. And the trails I do end up hiking on that have been done before, I hope that I can see it or present it in a new way to you.

Jamie Oliver has a new campaign going called Food Revolution. He is on an education trail to empower people in eating well (which usually also means better tasting also) with a focus on children and school meals. It is a great cause and I encourage you all to sign his petition on his sight.

Popcorn built the Aztec Empire

It's a"maize"ing

(ugh, sorry about that)

I love me some popped corn. Especially when it is cooked proper like; in a big pot with salt, pepper, oil and butter. Of course I occasionally add other spices as needed; like oregano or Lawry's. If I end up using coconut oil to pop the corn in, I add curry as well as salt. What you end up with is some very tasty coconut curry popcorn that is as addicting as it sounds.