Pumpkin (Winter Squash) Curry Soup
It’s soup time! Although the fall weather here in Seattle is still fairly warm and sunny, the shadows are long and there’s a tinge of crispness in the air, even in late afternoon. The perfect remedy for the cooling weather is soup.
If you’ve been to your local farmers’ market lately you’ll have seen the piles of winter squash – so many beautiful shapes and colors! I love to use it many ways but the following recipe is one of my favorites. Once you have the pumpkin roasted, it comes together in a snap. It’s just as good on day two or three, as the first day, and it freezes well. You’ll see some ranges in the ingredients list. The instructions include how to choose the amount you need.
Café Besalu
Café Besalu sits in a quieter area of Ballard. A few blocks north of the hubbub of Market St and Ballard Ave you’ll find an unassuming block of businesses quietly serving the local community. Parking is still free on this section of 24th Ave and it’s generally easy to find a spot within a block of the bakery.
The first time I tried to visit this little gem, I was disappointed to find it closed. The second time, they had just closed and were in process of the end-of-day cleaning. Persistence paid off, however, and in subsequent visits I’ve sampled several of their delicious items. The number of options is limited but everything is packed with flavor. I can honestly say I’ve loved everything I’ve tried and everything has been beautifully crafted. On a recent trip I left with a cheese brioche, a chocolate-hazelnut (flourless) cookie and a peach pastry – sort of voul au vant, although they called it something else that slips my mind. I have yet to try any of the quiche but one of these days I’ll drop by for lunch and that’s what I’ll choose. While the pastry choices change with the seasons, the perfect French technique remains constant.
On nice days grab a table on the sidewalk or you can choose an inside table if you’d like to stay awhile. Just make sure you note their hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Café Besalu
5909 24th Ave NW
Ballard
Seattle
206.789.1463
The Tin Table
The Tin Table moved into the OddFellows Building on Capitol Hill a few years ago. You probably are familiar with the building as the home of long-time tenant, The Century Ballroom, or the streetside OddFellows Cafe.
The second floor location of The Tin Table may not have street appeal but that hasn’t kept it from becoming immensely popular and with good reason. On a recent Thursday I met friends there for an early dinner. When we arrived a couple of people sat at the bar, another in a cozy nook off the main entrance, but the dining room was empty so I was surprised when we asked for a table and ended up in the back room. Not that the back room is bad, in fact it’s a nice quiet place to dine with friends and the windows keep it from being claustrophobic. That lull in the dining room seating was only temporary. I could hear the tables filling as we dined and by the time we left there wasn’t an empty table.
Read more…
The Oxbow Project
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs have always intrigued me, although I’ve yet to sign up for one. There are a couple of reasons for that: being single and eating out several times a week I’m concerned I’d waste a lot of the produce; I really enjoy browsing through my weekly farmers’ market, talking with the producers and “spreading the wealth” by purchasing from several booths, not just one. But I still think about CSA every year. So I jumped at the chance to experience what it was like to participate when a friend of a friend who’s working with Oxbow Farms asked if I’d be willing to accept one of their small boxes and then blog about what I did with it. (Please see my Review Policy page.)
On Thursday, August 16th I stopped by marigold and mint in Melrose Market to pick up my box. Oxbow sends out a newsletter each week to their subscribers so I knew what would be in the box but I was still anxious to actually see it. Oxbow recommends this small box for 2-3 people or as a subsidy for a larger family growing some of their own produce. I think that’s a good estimate. At $21/week it’s a great way to keep fresh vegetables in the house and to be introduced to some new items, too.
Read more…
Smoked Salmon Crostini
This recipe is part of a series of posts. Please see The Oxbow Project for full details.
This is a variation of one of my go-to appetizers. A few ingredients, super easy to prepare and loved by most everyone, it’s pretty perfect. Although I call it an appetizer I’ve been known to make it my entire meal on more than one occasion!
From the Oxbow CSA box: Dill, onion
Smoked Salmon Crostini
- Rustic baguette, sliced thinly on the diagonal, lightly toasted
- Homemade or purchased ricotta (or substitute cream cheese)
- Fresh dill, chopped
- Green onions, thinly sliced
- Capers, drained
- Smoked salmon, I like lox style salmon for this but any smoked salmon or smoked trout is good
- Additional dill for garnish
Make sure the ricotta is well-drained.
Mix the ricotta with the dill, green onion and capers. Spread the cheese on the baguette slices; top with a slice or two of smoked salmon; garnish with a little bit of dill. Eat and enjoy!
Related Posts:
Fresh Zucchini Salad with Lemon Dressing
This recipe is part of a series of posts. Please see The Oxbow Project for full details.
A few weeks ago a friend and I were at The Walrus and The Carpenter and enjoyed a delicious zucchini salad. I loved how they’d made long zucchini ribbons and the salad embodied the freshness of summer vegetables. I couldn’t remember exactly what was in the salad so I created my own version.
I used a slicer to make the zucchini ribbons but a mandoline would work just as well if not better!
Swiss Chard and Mushroom Tart
This recipe is part of a series of posts. Please see The Oxbow Project for full details.
For this tart I started with a Mario Batali recipe and made a few modifications. After making it, there are additional changes I’d recommend and I’ll note them at the end of the recipe. I really liked this recipe and if you have lots of chard or kale it’s a great way to use it. I think it would be good with spinach, too, or a combination of greens.
Roasted Potato and Green Bean Salad
This recipe is part of a series of posts. Please see The Oxbow Project for full details.
A few years ago, at one of my first Outstanding in the Field dinners, I had a salad that I’ve wanted to replicate ever since. The salad itself was rather simple, kind of a riff on a potato salad. What made it memorable was a perfectly cooked and peeled, farm-fresh, medium-boiled egg. When my fork cut into the egg the yolk oozed onto the salad adding another element to the dressing. It was delicious! I wondered how in the world they’d manage to perfectly peel all those fresh eggs, especially since they were only cooked to medium so not as firm as a hard-boiled egg.
A year or so ago I found a blog post that talked about cooking eggs in a pressure cooker. Bells rang, birds sang and I knew I’d found my answer. I researched and bought a new pressure cooker, a Fagor Duo
The key is that once cooked, you need to run all the eggs under cold water for a few seconds and crack the shells immediately. This releases all the steam and stops the cooking. Then you can go about shelling each of the eggs.
Dill Pickled Green Beans
I’m trying something new this year. I had so many green beans, plus a few I’d gotten in an Oxbow Farm CSA box (more about that box soon) that I decided to try pickling them. I’ve made pickled cucumbers many, many times – although not recently, and I love dill pickled green beans so it seemed like a great idea.
As I started my preparations I suddenly started thinking about botulism, a concern when canning anything that is not acidic. Not a pleasant topic but one that needs consideration with green beans. It’s more of an issue when you are just canning beans but pickling them, since vinegar provides acid, reduces the exposure. After checking a few things to make sure I was following good procedures I got to work.
The hard part about pickling veggies is that you have to wait at least three weeks for the pickling to do its magic on the vegetables. So these will go into the pantry for a few weeks and then I’ll be able to check them to see if I like the recipe I concocted. In the meantime, they’re pretty to look at!
The Capital Grille: The Generous Pour
Tuesday night I joined several other food bloggers for a taste of The Generous Pour at The Capital Grille. This event pairs some special wines with your meal for a flat $25. While we had an orchestrated meal due to the nature of the event, normally you’d work with your server to choose wines that complement your food choices.
The event runs through September 2 and features nine wines from several wine growing regions. Many of the wines are from lesser known regions or grapes so it’s a great way to increase your wine knowledge and broaden your perspective. If you are not feeling adventurous, don’t worry. There are also wines you’ll recognize like a gorgeous Bordeaux and a Pinot Noir from Russian River. My only complaint (if I actually had one…) is the Northwest is not represented. Since this is a national event I would have loved some great Washington or Oregon wines to gain exposure with diners in other areas of the country. Maybe next year the Northwest will be represented.
We started the night with Lunetta Rosé from Trentino, Italy. This is an elegant sparkler made in the Prosecco-style. Lots of strawberry flavor it was delicious with the amuse, smoked salmon on an onion pita crisp. Two appetizers were accompanied by an oaky Chardonnay and Simčič Rebula, an interesting wine from Slovenia.
Read more…
