Thai Tom

Most of my friends and family know that Harvey's in the hospital. We've been in Seattle for five days so far. I've tried all the food that I want to within walking distance.

As you might guess, the cafeteria food is not anywhere near the top of any list I've ever made of delicious food. However, the hospital espresso isn't bad at all. Pretty good, actually. And, to be fair, cafeteria breakfast was just fine...but breakfast is hard to mess up, I think.

All the meals I've had outside of the hospital have been within walking distance. I've eaten a couple of meals at University Village (Elemental Pizza and Boom Noodle) and I had a couple of meals at Agua Verde Cafe. All were good...my favorite of those was Elemental Pizza, but I would happily go to all of them again.) 

Today I decided to venture a little further than walking distance for a good meal. I did a phone search and found a couple of places that piqued my curiosity, but ended up at Thai Tom (they apparently don't have a website of their own.)

When I found it, I saw that the sign said open, but it was dark and I couldn't tell much from the outside. When I opened the door -- there was a-whole-nother world inside!

The restaurant was long and narrow. It held an L-shaped counter with bar stools. Behind the counter was a stove, a table, a fridge and there must've been a dishwasher and sink that I couldn't see from where I sat. Against the other wall were four tables for two. 

The host greeted me quickly and motioned for me to sit at the counter. Being sensitive to "space issues," I asked if I could sit on the smaller end of the "L"... He said "yes" but looked as if he questioned that decision. As soon as I got there, I realized why. I could feel the flame from the stove. The cook was flingin’ pots around and pouring sauces and throwing ingredients. I moved back to the recommended spot – squished between two people.

The cook didn’t stand still even for a moment. The flames on the stove leapt left and right calming down only every-so-often. The cook's assistant did his own dance as he prepared condiments and took away dirty pots (which he passed to the dishwasher/drink-maker/refrigerator-loader/retriever)... All three people behind the counter had developed a rhythm and things were flowin’.

I had entered an entirely different universe than the one I left at the hospital. And, it was a wonderful escape. I lost myself in the mayhem and almost forgot that my husband was in the hospital.

After not-very-many-minutes, I received THE.VERY.BEST Pad Thai I have ever eaten -- not to dry, not too wet. It held within it the perfect combination of garlic, peanuts and spice. My mouth was happy.

A small crowd gathered outside the door and worked their way inside. The host fussed at them and said, "Wait outside!" When questioned, his reply was, "Get out! I will call you."

Sure enough, seats opened up and those "youngsters" found a spot at the counter or at a table. They must’ve known that the food was worth the scolding.

In the meantime, people, who I guessed to be the owners, came in with supplies. The hustle didn’t stop. Food ordering, flame hopping, people gathering continued. And, it all happened in a teeny tiny space.

When it was all over for me, I left and, as I was walking out the door, the host called in the next party. I turned to the other two people waiting outside and said, "That was fun!" They laughed. I figured they knew what I meant.

If you're ever in the U-District, FIND Thai Tom (4543 University Way). Be prepared to wait if it's "prime time." Take cash.  Savor the food. Enjoy the show.

Recently, I started buying eggs that come from locally-raised, pastured chickens fed with non-GMO feed. 

This is the poached egg I get because of that.

Isn't it beautiful?!

Pound Cake and Fish Packets

Yesterday I made my favorite pound cake. It is RICH, RICH, RICH and OH! so delicious.  I got the recipe at a recipe shower before I got married from one of my mother's friends. Mama used to make a really good pound cake, but (don't tell Mama) I like this one better.

But the very sad thing is, it didn't really turn out so well. I think I over-mixed it. Sarah says that the flavor is good and she didn't mind the texture, but I know it's not quite right. But who the heck wants to try again and use six more precious eggs and another 1/2 pound of butter and a 1/2 pint of cream? Not to mention the valuable White Lily flour.

So I guess we'll eat it anyway. It'll probably do well toasted.

ANYWAY!

I also made some fish packets for dinner. The title of the recipe says "tuna" but it says you can use other types instead. I used Lummi Island salmon.

This dinner was yummy I thought. Served it with brown rice and we were all satisfied. ☺

I got this recipe from my Eating Well magazine -- and I also found it online here.

It was really pretty before I cooked it.

I forgot to take a photo when I plated it. And, when I remembered, it wasn't pretty anymore. But, everybody liked it. Always feels like a successful dinner when everybody eats what I cook without making faces or leaving a ton of food on their plates (this includes the 50 year-old little boy I married). ☺

Not sure what's for dinner tonight, but I want sumpthin' good.

Have a happy day!

Sunday Lunch and Dinner

When I was a child, my mother fixed three meals everyday. Sometimes they were small meals, but she fixed three meals and we all sat at the table for each meal.

I'm different. 

Food is provided for three meals a day, but most days everyone is responsible for putting breakfast and lunch in their stomachs. I take care of dinner. Sometimes we sit at the table together for breakfast and lunch, but often we eat when we feel hungry...and it's not always at the same time. 

It's not very June Cleaver of me, but it's the way I roll.

So, yesterday, when everybody got home from church, people started comin' up with their lunch plans. S & H made ramen and Thai iced tea. I had leftover ful (Here's a recipe...slightly different, but similar to the one I prepared) with pita crackers. Harv decided on a grilled cheese sandwich. Not just ANY grilled cheese, though. It was a grilled cheese with an extra layer of cheese on top of the sandwich, too. 

He was very pleased with his creativity and wanted me to take a photo for the blog. (I added the parsley for some food stylin'.)

The colors are nice, huh?

For dinner last night, I had a craving for a lamb burger. I had never had a lamb burger until I had one a few years ago at Boundary Bay Brewery. It is so yummy! One of the great things about their burger is that it's served on a pretzel bun from Ralf's. One of the other wonderful things is that it's prepared simply -- lettuce, tomato, onion and a little mayo. They don't have a deep fryer so the burger can come with either a salad or some chips. I always get chips, but I have always believed that it would be delicious with sweet potato fries.

So, anyway! Last night that's what I wanted, but I didn't really want to go to Boundary Bay to eat it. So! I bought some ground lamb and made my own. Here's the thing, though. I went to the Co-Op to get some pretzel buns, but they were out. MUST HAVE LAMB BURGER ON PRETZEL BUN. 

Now, most of the world realized that yesterday was St. Patrick's day. And, evidently, all bars/pubs/etc. pretend that they're Irish on March 17th. But, I kinda forgot. I suppose especially since it fell on a Sunday and students didn't have to worry much about gettin' pinched for not wearing green.

And, like I said...I had to have some pretzel buns. So... I went to Boundary Bay to see if they'd sell me four of 'em. It was a little bit shocking to find the place unbelievably crowded. Men in kilts, lots of green, lots of green beads, wonderful music and a fair bit of beer.  But I forged ahead and found a waitress. I asked if I could just buy 4 buns "to go" and she said I could! (I think they must be more expensive that way than if I had bought them directly from Ralf's, but I NEEDED 'em.)  I'm not sure that BB would want to get into the business of selling pretzel buns "to go" so I encourage you to plan ahead and either buy from the Co-Op Tuesday - Saturday or go directly to Ralf's...fresher there anyway!

My lamb burger did not disappoint. And, I served it with sweet potato fries (did not cut my own) and a ranch dipping sauce for the fries. I LOVED it. Everybody else liked it fine. And, they even ate some fries.

I will be making this again. You can count on it!

Last night's pizza

Last night, we had pizza again. I used this crust recipe again except I divided it in half and put it in round pans...and I saved one crust to make into a pizza later.

Then I made it almost like I always do with Trader Joe's pizza sauce, sausage and red bell pepper. Didn't have red onion so I used a shallot. Was worried I might not have enough meat on the pizza so I added chopped bacon sprinkled with brown sugar while cooking it. I topped it with Italian blend cheese and, for color, added chopped parsley.

My girls thought it was the best one yet out of that crust.

The big, fat drag about making your own crust is that it takes a couple of hours for the dough to rise -- once in the bowl, once in the pizza pan.

But... we ate at home. With what was in the house. 

I like it when that happens.

This past week we ate a little bit

Last Saturday, my friend, Catherine, hooked me up with a local egg lady. Catherine went to her little farm and got us some eggs from free range chickens that were fed with non-GMO feed. This is what they looked like BEFORE we cooked 'em. Aren't they pretty?

Harv ate one right away and this is how beautiful the yolk was in the pan.

After he cooked it, it looked like this on his plate.... And, he said the yolk was richer and the egg just generally tasted more substantial and delicious.

A few days later, Sarah made an egg for her breakfast. Kind of omlette-y and oh, so delicious! Cute, too!

A little later in the week, I made some really interesting AND delicious Bacon Chard quesadillas. I found the recipe in this month's Eating Well magazine. You can find the recipe here.  Everybody enjoyed them. Isn't it fun when taste buds grow up? I'm LOVIN' it!

On Tuesday, Harv and I went to Seattle so he could have a CT scan. We had to be there early and then we had 3 hours to kill. I posted a Facebook status and asked if anyone knew of a good restaurant for breakfast near the University district. Jennifer gave me this idea... And, she said that Guy Fieri from the Food Network had been there. I don't get the Food Network, but I've seen him before. He's pretty memorable. And, he likes diner type places. 

We found the restaurant and ordered our breakfasts. Mine was Greek sausage (which I think I would just call gyro meat), scrambled eggs and an English muffin. I joked with the waitress 'cause Harv always gives me a hard time about being very specific in my ordering. (It's rare when I get something off the menu without seein' if it can be tweaked to my particular preference.) Anyway, she and I agreed that when you wanna eat something, you want it the way you want it.  And when she brought our meals, she asked if I liked orange marmalade. I said "I do!" She replied, "Somehow, I just KNEW it!"  (She's my good friend, now!)

I always like to make my scrambled eggs and meat into a sandwich.

Harv's meal was even more "standard" than mine and included some spectacularly, deliciously salty bacon.

Yesterday, my friend, Shelley and I went out to lunch at Ciao Thyme. She had resisted going there 'cause she doesn't like thyme. (Silly Shelley!) After I reassured her that all of their meals did not include thyme, she came along. ☺

I ordered a really yummy salad with kale, spinach, chicken, goat cheese, nuts and a delicious cherry vinaigrette. Flat bread on the side.

Shelley ordered a lamb meatball flat-bread thing-y. I LOVE lamb, but I have a thing about meatballs. But Shelley was smart. She ordered it and then just broke up her meatballs. It also included an eggplant chutney, goat cheese, pickled onions and arugula. I kinda wished that I had ordered that. It was so smart to break up the meatballs!

And, our dessert? This yummy pudding that had layers of deliciousness and included chocolate chips, caramel sauce, and orange rind.

One of the things that makes Ciao Thyme interesting and fun is that guests sit at common long tables  accessorized with bins of utensils, napkins, etc. and sprinkled with cute little floral adornments. It feels like community in there. Community is a good thing. Kinda relates to my admiration for meals and restaurant atmospheres that exude love.

Throughout the week, our family has been snacking on one of our favorite seasonal goodies -- Robin Eggs.  We like to eat a few and we like to make them into "Robin Egg Lipstick."   Blue makes the most dramatic statement.☺

So you see? The week has been full of food. Some better for us than others, but all somehow connected with love and community.

Don'tcha just love that?

Mediteranean Specialties

Yesterday I didn't know what I wanted for dinner. Everybody in my family, I believe, would be fine with making EVERY Friday "pizza night." And, I like (some) pizza, too... But come on! EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. of the year? No... Uh huh. Ain't gonna happen.

I thought and I thought and then it occurred to me... Kibbe! From Mediterranean Specialties! YES!

One of the many blessings in my life is that my path crossed with the family who owns Mediterranean Specialties. I met Nahla in approximately 2000. Nahla's daughter was in preschool with my girls. And, when I met Nahla and found out she was from Lebanon I told her how much I LOVE Baba Ganouj.  She brought me some the next time I saw her at preschool! That was the beginning of knowing the WHOLE family. Nahla's sister, Marie, and her husband, Marco had just opened the store and I started going every now and then for coffee or some delicious tidbit...

Mmmmm. GOOD!

The store has expanded a bit since the early days...they moved to a bigger spot. They have special groceries that people all over town come to buy. They serve a very delicious cappuccino and AMAZING baklava (the Lebanese kind -- not the Greek). Some days they serve Shwarma (YUM!). Soup, couscous salad, tsatziki, hummus and Baba Ganouj, gyros, spanikopita. They sell olive oil produced on the family land back in Lebanon. And, they sell wine.  The menu and inventory is way greater than I can list here. You should go check it out. Like them on Facebook.

Anyway!

Turnip pickles! YUMMY!

I went over yesterday and got kibbe, tsatzki, Baba Ganouj, pita bread, and some turnip pickles that Dorine made...far superior to the canned ones. When I got home, I made a little salad, heated up the kibbe, and voila! A delicious dinner that IS kinda like take-out, but it's BETTER 'cause we know for sure that it's made with lots of love...

And, you know what I think about food made with love. :-)

If you haven't tried them, do it! You will wonder how you lived so long without it.  And, tell 'em Carrie sent you. ;-)