Second, I accepted the mission to do research on the elusive Filipino donut. After several trips to several Asian bakeries, no dice. However, those of you from Fort Wayne who know the Calhoun corridor Marialyn's been referring to lately might be interested in knowing that in Seattle there is an entire part of town like that street. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_District,_Seattle
It's actually more dilapidated than the wiki article makes it look, which to me only adds to the charm. During the daylight hours at least. Y'all come out and visit and we'll take you there. I have scoured the ID, and the Filipino donut continues to evade.
Lots of berries where we live: blackberries grow like weeds, we're near a blueberry farm, and last year a friend of a friend had a cherry tree and were letting the cherries go to waste. Shame! So we picked a bunch, froze a bunch. I've been eating these pie cherries on oatmeal for breakfast with nuts and chocolate chips. Last Sunday we had a church potluck, so I baked two cherry pies. I was recently inspired by a local woman who has dubbed herself The Pie Goddess (and sells her wares here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-panini-enumclaw). One particularly debauched pie has a butterscotch crust, so when I made my cherry pie I just dumped a lot of cinnamon in the crust as I mixed it. Easy and awesome.
So the wife has requested beef, mushroom, and barley soup. Done. I'm a big believer in dry-rubs, and my family has long bought Sutter's prime rib seasoning now sold here: http://www.arenspub.com/Winners-Meats/3134/. But we use it for more than just prime rib, I'll use generous amounts of it on a chuck like this one:
Assemble leeks, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and barley...
And if you add it all together you'll have a great soup...
To enjoy on your patio with beautiful people.
Gav, by the way, is modelling his new Seattle hippie hemp hat. Proof that we are not persnickety. Peace.
I looked up the dictionary definition of both "persnickety" and "curmudgeon" before using them and decided they both described me! One definition of persnickety is "snobbish", which I admit to being when it comes to food. I'm a snob in that I won't (well, almost never) use processed foods. I feel fresh ingredients are cheaper and much better in quality and tend to feel superior to anyone who doesn't share this view. On the other hand, I've been known to get a craving for a good chili dog... I don't want to offend other contributors so maybe I should look for a different word. Suggestions?
ReplyDeleteYou're pictures are really wonderful. I'm sitting here with a cup of coffee gazing at your cherry pies, and I can almost taste them. Thanks for posting!
Well, I was teasing, being persnickety about the persnickety : ) I guess I was also thinking about the "uptight Seattleite," something that is both a phenomenon and a fictional advice column. See: http://www.seattleweekly.com/columns/uptight-seattleite-284118/
ReplyDelete