Seattle for a day!

A few weeks ago I went to Seattle for a job interview. Not only did I get the job (that's for another post), but I also got to explore the city a bit. Being the cupcake connoisseur that I am I had an itching desire to go to Trophy Cupcakes, a very popular Seattle bakery. The owners had made an appearance on the Martha Stewart Show, and I had tried a recipe of theirs that turned out very well. Unfortunately, when you've been in a car for 3.5 hours and your stress level has been through the roof for the last 35 hours, you aren't thinking too clearly. In my case, I forgot the name of the bakery. We ended up going to Cupcake Royale instead. Oops! I guess I have so many cupcakeries ingrained in my head that they can easily get mixed up. All mistakes aside, here is my take on Cupcake Royale:



Although the special of the month was Lime & Coconut, my boyfriend and I opted for different flavors. I chose the Salted Caramel and Eric picked out Carrot Cake. The cashier offered us the carrot cake for free since she had a "less-than-perfect" version (the swirls of the frosting were not up to Royale par), so we got a red velvet cupcake as well.

We chose a seat in the back of the large room, which was very white but decorated with a lot of colorful paintings. A lot of people were there on their laptops, doing homework with coffees by their side. I didn't see any empty cupcake wrappers on their tables though...


So here are my problem with the cupcakes at Cupcake Royale. First, the tops fall off immediately upon trying to peel the liners off of the cake. That's a big no-no for me. I want to be able to taste the cake, the top of the cake and the frosting all in one bite. Next problem: the cake was so moist that it crumbled in my hands before I could get it to my mouth. Moist is good; too moist is not good. However, when I took a bite of the top of the cupcake I liked what I tasted. The frosting was a little sweet, but not too sweet like most powdered sugar-based recipes. I guess I'm used to a french buttercream or swiss meringue buttercream. Before I could taste Eric's cupcakes, they were gone. I asked them how he liked them, and he replied "they were okay". That certainly didn't stop him from eating them though!


I particularly liked the slogans on the plates:

After a quick peek at their apparel and a chuckle at this t-shirt, we headed out to our next adventure: beer!

Just up the street we spotted Elysian Brewing Company. We decided to grab a quick drink before we began the trek back home. The inside was very spacious, and there was a lot of seating. You could see the brewers working their magic behind the glass windows, which was exciting! There were also a lot of flags stating years they won 'Best Brewery in Seattle', legitimizing the place a little more.

I'm a porter/stout kind of girl, so I ordered the Perseus Porter. It was delicious! Eric got one of the IPA's, which he enjoyed as well. The service was a little slow, but considering we needed to hang out for awhile before driving it didn't bother us much.

What a great day in Seattle. A good interview followed by a cupcake and beer coma - and I didn't have to drive!

Surfin' the food net

Pardon my lack of posting in the last few weeks - I could share with you a list of excuses as to why I have been absent from this wonderful blog...but I prefer to spare you the pathetic lies and just give you some good food news.

When I first began my baking endeavors, I looked to the internet for sources, ideas, inspiration, etc. I stumbled upon all sorts of great websites, blogs and twitters and my list has continued to grow throughout the last several years. Here is a long list of some of my favorite winspirations (web inspirations; clever, I know):



Blogs
David Lebovitz (Paris, France)
Bake at 350 (US)
Building A Bakery (Las Vegas, Nevada)
CakeSpy (Seattle, Washington)
101 Cookbooks (San Francisco, California)
Get Sconed! (Portland, Oregon)
Vegan Shizzle (Portland, Oregon)
Stumptown Vegans (Portland, Oregon)
King Arthur Flour (US)


Twitter
PDXHappyHour (Portland, Oregon)
PDXFoodCarts (Portland, Oregon)
BobsBakers (Milwaukie, Oregon)
Forkfly (Portland, Oregon)
Glutenfreee (Portland, Oregon)

Websites
Try Vegan PDX (Portland, Oregon)
My Sweet and Saucy (Long Beach, California)
CakeCentral (US)
Tasting Table (US)

There are plenty more, and I will share them with you as they come! Happy surfing!

It's time to try something new (or old)

Do you like beets? How about broccoli? Asparagus? If you answered no to any of them, be honest...when was the last time you tried them? If it was as a child maybe it's time to give it another shot. I'm guilty of this too, for years I didn't eat avocado or mushrooms because I didn't think I liked them because I didn't like them as a kid. Now I love both! You can also have a false sense of dislike if you've never had whatever it is prepared well.

Last week at the farmers market I picked up some beets. The only thing I really remember of beets was that my grandmother ate them when I was very young (like 4 or 5) and I didn't like them. For years I haven't touched them, but they looked so beautiful with their deep purple color I decided I owed them a fair shot. I carefully searched for a recipe. I do love how in this age of the internet I don't have to take a shot in the dark with a recipe, I can rely on others experiences and feedback to find a trustworthy recipe. My favorite recipe site, allrecipes.com, had several recipes for beets but one stood out for the number of good ratings it had. I made Roasted Beets and Sauteed Beet Greens. The verdict: I still don't like beets. Haha! But at least I tried! My husband actually enjoyed the greens, I found them to be bitter.

I am excited to try something entirely new that I found at the grocery store yesterday. Garlic scapes are the buds of the garlic plant and the tag tells me they have a taste and texture somewhere between asparagus and artichokes with a mild garlicky-ness. I love garlic, asparagus, and artichokes so I figure I can't go wrong here. Looks like they are most popular for turning into garlic scape pesto. I'd like to try eating them whole first, though. Still trying to find a good recipe, if you know of any, let me know!

If it's been a while since you've really tried something, it's probably time to give it another go. Be sure to find a trusted recipe. Nothing worse than bad preparation to solidify your dislike of something. And don't be afraid of the new and unusual, too!

A Winery with a Smiling Face

Last week I wrote about the People's Farmer's Market and guess what...? This week I went again. I had my vegan dawg and Jonny had the vegan beer brat. Both were delicious and piled high with our choice of condiments. After I finished my very satisfying vegan beast of a dawg, I saw wine! Hmmm, maybe a tasting? Yes, yes it was! Klickitat Canyon, "where the grapes speak for themselves" had three different wines for all to try. This winery is located in Lyle, WA. and the grapes are grown in the Columbia Gorge. First, I tried the Pinot Noir, with it's bold, sour and thick taste I was sure it was going to be my favorite. Then, I tried the Ruby Red Table wine and it's drinkability was amazing. I tasted a woodsy, tangy zest, ending in a rather sweet tenure. Lastly, the Syrah was poured, I could really taste the dirt in this wine. The lovely representative explained to us that the grapes are not washed of their natural yeast, what looks like dust, that is apparent on them while they grow. This lack of washing adds intense fermentation and a very tasteful end product. We purchased a bottle of the Ruby Red Table wine considering it was the cheapest, $10.99 and the others being $25.99 we passed on for today. I will go back and buy the Pinot, no matter what the price. It was delicious!

We were told that no two bottles will taste the same, basically because nature just isn't that consistent. Klickitat Canyon being USDA Organic, prides themselves in, "nothing but the grapes". The wines are unfiltered and contain no added sulfites. I was very satisfied with the complexity and drinkability of these wines. I suggest them all! The befriending wine pourer invited us to try all of their wines at the winery. She spoke of the skilled vintner and the wineries authentic practices. All the more reason to drink their wine and visit the winery. After navigating the website, I have found that the owner is quite educated and just seems incredibly interesting. So, buy Klickitat Canyon's wine at the People's Co-op for certain, or check at your local grocer. I hope you all will enjoy a glass of vino this evening or in the near future. Support organic wines, it is the way wine is supposed to taste. Just grapes!

Farmers Market finds

I, too, enjoyed a trip to the Farmer's Market yesterday. I was thrilled to find out Oregon City has a mid-week market; I'm unable to hit up the Saturday market because of work. The weather was a bit dreary and I came near the end of the market as a stop on the way home from work, but it did not disappoint. Still plenty of fresh produce, flowers and other goods available. My mother in law, who works for the county and was working at the information booth at the market, told me a few farmers had canceled because of weather. I'm not shy, I'm a true Oregonian and a few raindrops don't scare me.

I've learned a few things about the market. First, always do a loop before buying anything, ask questions about the food and other goods and scope out prices. Don't be afraid to ask about farming practices, farmers are usually happy to share. You probably won't see any "organic" labels there because of the cost of organic certification, but that doesn't mean the food isn't grown organically, so ask. Also, the Farmers Market is a good place to hook up with farmers who offer CSA subscriptions.

Here's my haul from yesterday's market:


A huge gorgeous bouquet of fresh flowers, 3 potted herbs for my garden (variegated marjoram, Italian parsley, and globe basil), 2 pints of fresh strawberries, asparagus, beets, and two bottles of wine from local King's Raven Winery.

To Market, To Market to buy a fat....not a pig.

Having Wednesdays off, I always try to plan things that work well in the middle of the week. For those of you who know me, I like to cook grand meals on my days off, so it is very necessary for a mid-week grocery pick-up. Every Saturday morning while I am rolling bread at work, I day dream of being at the farmer's market. So today on my trip to New Season's I passed by the People's Farmer's Market. Located in front of the SE People's Co-op, it is a small, no bigger then 10 tent market that has just what you need. I had to stop when I heard the laughter and music and saw the obvious charm.

A few of the vendors included wild mushrooms, Myriad farms, bodacious flower bouquets, Fressen bakery and a fabulous mother-son tamale operation. There was a strumming guitarist, a vegan hot dog cart and smiles all around. While the rain poured down my friend and I noshed on a monumental mixed vegetable tamale. Topped with their fresh and spicy tomatillo salsa, I was in heaven. Each tamale was a more than fair price of $3.00 and the friendly cook offered five different kinds: chicken, shitake, jalapeno cheese, spinach cheese and vegetable. I conversed with many friendly individuals and was able to finish my mid-week shopping inside the co-op. If your abode is in or near SE I recommend this store and weekly market.

The People's Farmer's Market is held every Wednesday afternoon from 2 pm-7 pm. This is the perfect time if you get off work later in the day or like me, just get a late start. Bring your bags, cash and be ready for some good deals! No worries if you forget cash money you are able to get cash back on debit purchases in the store. Hmmm... I think next Wednesday I will try the vegan hot dog topped with caramelized onions and mustard. MMMm... can't wait till then!

Using up leftovers with pizza!

Today at work while rolling dough and doing various bakery tasks, I thought about dinnertime. What should I make? Lately I had been thinking a lot about Track Town Pizza, one of my favorite pizza joints in my college town, Eugene. My old boyfriend and I would go there after school on a weekday for their all-you-can-eat pizza buffet (I know, I know). During our eating frenzy I would always be stationed at the pizza drop-off point, waiting for the bbq chicken pizza. It was delicious! The combination of the sweet bbq sauce, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses and green onions made for a delicious bite. I had to stand there and wait because it went QUICK. Sometimes, I even had to fight for a slice! No joke.

Nowadays, I am vegetarian. The chicken on the pizza never tickled my fancy, but I did enjoy the sweet/savory je ne sais quoi that bbq chicken pizza offers. So today at work I decided that I would make a bbq tofu pizza. I looked up a recipe, and saw all the things that I had to buy: onions, cilantro, tofu, etc. I got a little nervous. Just recently I found that I got a job I applied for in Germany, so my goal is to save save SAVE for the next few months before I leave. And the thought of buying all these things when I have plenty of stuff at home made me a little uneasy. So I resolved to make a bbq pizza and use whatever I had on hand at home.

What a great idea! I had two very close to moldy green bell peppers, a couple cloves of garlic, PLENTY of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Chipotle Sauce and endless amounts of white and whole wheat flour for the crust. My adventure began! I made a crust using a recipe from allrecipes.com. It's a very popular recipe on the site, and for good reason...it's delicious!!! It proofed perfectly and wasn't too dry or too chewy.

While the dough was proofing, I scoured the fridge.

I chopped some garlic, green peppers and cheddar cheese. All of it was on the verge and needed to be used ASAP. I also found some Morningstar Farms Veggie Bacon in the freezer, so I zapped that in the microwave and cut it up to add to the pile.

I rolled out the dough, threw some cornmeal on the baking sheet and went to work. After putting it all together, I baked it for 18 minutes. And voila! A beautiful, delicious meal made from on-the-verge-of-moldy stuff in my fridge.

...and not to be enjoyed without a Drifter from Widmer Brothers.

Yes....Vodka in Pie Crust!

When I read about using alcohol in pie crust of course, I was intrigued. A chef is always on the look out for a good pie crust. There is something about pie crust. You think your recipe is the best, but how do you know? Then you wanna try a different method, or add a little something else. I am proof of that.

I have always been a shortening girl when it comes to pie crust. Slowly, I have changed to coconut oil, similar to shortening, just a bit healthier and less processed. I've done the ice cubes in the water thing and love it, but definitely don't do the vinegar or eggs. The simpler, the better. Its usually not the recipe that makes a tough, chewy not so good crust, it's the hands behind it.

My favorite piece of equipment to use when making the perfect pie crust is the food processor. The pulse of the sharp blades cut the fat in quickly and the clear cylinder provides for accurate observation. Do not use it for large batches though, wet dough tends to settle at the bottom. Stick to small batches when using this method. When it comes to adding the liquid, whatever the volume is it needs to be cold and incorporated quickly. Gluten is not able to form as quickly with the fat, but when the liquid is added and there is motion, it is a continuous multiplying formation. When using vodka for half the liquid in a crust recipe, you will find that the dough is easier to roll and the finished product is flakier then ever.

Don't worry the alcohol burns off during baking. No fear, you will not feel like your sipping vodka on the rocks with a dusting of flour. Gluten cannot form in alcohol. It is actually the ethanol in the alcohol that inhibits gluten formation, but you get the picture. Bottom line, the less gluten, the flakier the crust. Vodka provides enough moisture for the flour mixture, without the ability to create gluten. Still be quick when incorporating your liquid. Time matters. It is tried and true, and ready for you.... to try it! Take your precious passed down recipe and add a bit of vodka. Even grandma will approve of it after she tastes it. P.S. I am going to try this with bourbon and get back to y'all.