Food Highlights

(Warning: Long post, no knitting. Run-on sentences and poor grammar abound)

I really enjoyed staying in downtown Seattle for a few days. I was able to walk to Pike's Market several times and lust after the sweet smells coming from Pirosky's. On the last day I watched a tiny women roll out a counter-top full of dough, use a paint scraper to spread out a paste of cinnamon on it and twist the strips into twists. I finally succumbed to the green apple roll on my final day and brought it home to Hawaii. Of course the fresh fruits and vegetables were there to pick and choose. The peaches were just coming on and were sweet and juicy. These odd flat peaches seem all the rage now, and I know they are tasty, but hey, call me sentimental, but I like 'em round...less fuzz and seed and more peach!

My friends rotated staying at the hotel with me so one could watch the aging but still personable Ms. Ebony. As Margaret is a late riser, I usually walked across the street to Ralph's for coffee and yogurt and knit on Gaia while watching the interesting characters walking up and down the street. Seattle dress is very casual. Many people rushing to work had back packs, jeans and hoodies, with only an occasional suit. There were also the street people...some reminding me of the drug dealers from the Wire, and some just plain down and out and a bit crazy and scary.

Tom Douglas has 5 Restaurants in downtown Seattle all walking distance from my hotel. I ate 3 times at Lola's, once a the Palace Kitchen and once at the Dahlia Lounge. I didn't do Etta's or the Serious Pie this time around. I was hoping for mushrooms as the last time I ate at the Palace, the morel mushrooms abounded. Alas only chanterelles were in season, but not on the menu. I really enjoyed the beet Skordalia at Lola's and the scallops and corn hash at the Dahlia Lounge. My friend Margaret got hummus fries with her lamb burger. She also raved about the bran muffin from Lola's. I wan't that corn hash recipe. It looked pretty simple to make and was sooo good.

Near Fremont, I got hooked on the most wonderful coffee at Cafe Ladro. Medici...a mocha with orange zest. So yummy! Can't find it here, so I'm experimenting with my own. Would help if I had some chocolate syrup.Their pastries are little works of art and taste good to boot.

Tilth was a cute little restaurant with wonderful place settings. The cutest potato chips came with my burger and I conjured little people with a little mandolin slicing away. I can't remember the name of the
Italian Restaurant but it was a very tasty and generous pasta dish. (update, the restaurant was named Rialto. Margaret loved her lamb shank meal!) I ate twice at Anita's. She has crepe dishes that were very yummy and great salads. Like many of the restaurants I went to, she also had very nice wine.

I had lovely fried oysters at Cutter's in Pike's Market and also at Anthony's in Point Defiance. I always go to Chinook's at least once while I'm in Seattle. I had the crab Loui and it was perfect! The boat from Deadliest Catch was in the Salmon Bay, looking out from our table, along with these Canadian geese.










The best of all was all the fresh fruit and vegies. The black berries in the yard were so sweet and I loved picking a basket and eating them with just a bit of whipped cream (I now call this Chantilly a new word I learned at Anita's). The Sakuma Farm blue berries and strawberries I picked were so plump and fresh, the huckleberries so pretty and tart...they made lovely crisp and so yummy with ice cream. I also ate tay berries and boysenberries for the first time, and of course couldn't resist a piece of that marionberry pie. Margaret's back yard in Seattle was full of plums just getting ripe. I picked bunch and tried making sugar free jam for the first time. Only two of the four bottles sealed, but the jam was a success.




My host on Camano Island introduced me to a Danish treat...Æbleskiver.
Her pan is handed down in her family and made of cast iron. The one at Williams Sonoma is teflon....hmmm. Wonder if it will work on my glass cook top?





Another new and dangerous (to the waistline and arteries) is D'Affinois. This is a creamy, delicious brie-like cheese The Bay Leaf in Coupeville always stocks. I better pray I can't find it here in Honolulu;)









At the Sakuma Farm, I was treated to a great feast! The fruit dip was one of the highlights and one of the guests was caught spreading it on her bread...hah! It turned out to be a very sinful mix of marshmallow creme (yes that Kraft stuff made of who knows what), cream cheese and orange zest. I cannot tell a lie...it was yummers!




OMG, and how could I forget the wonderful smoked salmon from Pure Food Fish Market in Pike's Market?