Taste Five Archives | The Taste Tourist

Taste Five – Joy the Baker Cookbook

March 5, 2017 by Kimberly 1 Comment

Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

Magic

According to the old proverb, March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb – and this first week of March certainly lived up to that prediction.

The snow, which surprised us all on Monday morning, continued throughout the week, along with gusty winds that made for a stormy start to the month. While March in the Pacific Northwest can often be a bit rough on the spirit, this week’s weather was actually quite magical.

And I have to say, there’s also something quite magical about baking on a winter day.

As the snow flurries continued, I spent the week tucked in my kitchen – awash in flour and butter, cinnamon and sugar, chocolate and cream – baking from the Joy the Baker Cookbook – and enjoying the opportunity to cajole just a little more brightness from this winter.

In the foreword to her cookbook, author Joy Wilson writes, “If you have the power to coax something beautifully sweet out of your kitchen, it’s as though you have a magic wand in your hand.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Here is this week’s Taste Five. …

Taste Five – Weeknight Wonders

February 26, 2017 by Kimberly Leave a Comment

Pork Tenderloin With Sweet and Sour Cabbage And Dried Cherries

Balance

Although I aspire for “balance” – both in the food I eat and in my life – at times I struggle, as I tend to lean more toward the “all or nothing” side of the fence.

So, I was especially drawn to this week’s cookbook and to author Ellie Krieger’s “usually-sometimes-rarely food philosophy” and her golden rule that “no food is ever off limits.” In the introduction to Weeknight Wonders, Ellie writes, “The idea is that there is no need to deprive yourself or go to extremes to be healthy. In fact, extremes are usually unhealthy and trap us into a dieting mentality. Rather, balance is key.”

I enjoyed preparing meals from her cookbook this week, and of taking on the new challenge of preparing healthy dinners on a busy weeknight. As Albert Einstein said, “To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

Good advice – whether “moving forward” means taking on a challenge, doing things differently, or simply trying out new recipes.

Here is this week’s Taste Five. …

Taste Five – Theo Chocolate

February 19, 2017 by Kimberly 2 Comments

Theo Coffee and Cream Chocolate

Chocolate

I have loved chocolate for as long as I can remember, and while my tastes have changed a bit since I was a kid, my love for chocolate hasn’t. While I still enjoy my childhood favorite – the classic Reese’s peanut butter cup –it’s been fun expanding my horizons, and so many of my favorite food memories seem to include chocolate.

Popping into Rococo Chocolates off King’s Road in Chelsea, London and entering an entirely new world of taste. Sitting in a hotel room overlooking La Grand Place in Brussels and nibbling on my first “real” Belgian chocolates. Discovering Fran’s gray salt chocolates when I moved back to Seattle.

And now Theo Chocolate.

I enjoyed cooking from Theo Chocolate – last week’s “cookbook of the week” – immersing myself in the world of chocolate and learning far more than I had expected – a fun way to celebrate Valentine’s week.

As Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz stated, “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”

Here is this week’s Taste Five. …

Taste Five – My Kitchen Year

February 12, 2017 by Kimberly 1 Comment

Lemon Panna Cotta

The Pantry

Last week started off with the arrival of snow, followed by icy conditions that kept us blanketed in white for the first part of the week. As the snow moved on, a blustery storm moved in, complete with driving rain and gusty winds.

Perfect weather for staying in. Perfect weather for cooking at home. Perfect weather for turning to the pantry.

I’ve always loved the word “pantry” – packed with nuance and imagery…conveying sustenance, comfort, and possibility. In My Kitchen Year, author Ruth Reichl writes of being snowed in at her upstate New York winter cabin. As the snow continued to fall, isolating her from town, she looked toward her pantry, ultimately creating magic with the simple ingredients she had on hand.

My own foray into cooking this winter has included frequent visits to our local markets, lengthy ingredient lists in hand, as I tried new recipes. But on that snowy Monday morning, after thumbing through Ruth’s cookbook in search of recipes to make, I followed her example…taking stock of the supplies available in my pantry – excited by the potential.

As the snow and rain raged on, it felt good to stay at home…to turn to my own pantry, to make do with what was on hand, and to spend the week cooking these simple but satisfying recipes.

Here is this week’s Taste Five. …

Taste Five – The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

February 5, 2017 by Kimberly Leave a Comment

Food and Football

On Sunday we celebrated the pinnacle of the American football season – the Super Bowl – and I spent the days leading up to it prepping recipes from this week’s cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holiday’s.

Earlier in the week, over the course of a dinner out with friends, we were discussing the upcoming game between New England and Atlanta, and then our conversation veered on to a more reflective question. What is it that we love so much about the sport itself? There were a variety of answers… the strategy, the athleticism, the traditions, the adrenaline rush, the teamwork, the shared passion, the anticipation.

But most of all, the answer that everyone agreed on – the one that resonated the most – was the sense of community that surrounds the game.

On Sunday, as we gathered around a friend’s bar, sipping on margaritas, snacking on an array of appetizers, excited for the Super Bowl to begin…I was struck by how often food plays a central role in those same moments.

It’s running into a former classmate at a Friday night high school game – standing outside the concession stand, hot cocoa in hand, catching up and laughing over shared memories. It’s tailgating at the University of Washington amidst a sea of purple and gold tents – sharing barbecued ribs, spicy wings, and a cold beer with friends. It’s dressing up in your Seahawk’s gear, hitting the grocery store for chips and dips before the game – reveling in the intensity that grips Seattle during football season.

Food and football – an American tradition.

Here is this week’s Taste Five. …

Taste Five – Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes

January 29, 2017 by Kimberly 2 Comments

Slow Cooker Pho

LAYERS

This week I made my first pho, a dish that I’ve never contemplated making at home before… one full of diverse ingredients, each of which lends a special note to the final product.

Roasting an onion and ginger until slightly charred. Adding a layer of rich beef broth and short ribs. Infusing the broth with star anise, cinnamon, and cloves. Topping it off with fresh basil, mint, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime. Eating the final product and reflecting on the dimensionality of all these layers of flavor.

It occurred to me as I was cooking this week’s recipes – rich with so many complex flavors – that the same is true, not just of recipes, but of people and cultures as well.

It’s the layers that make them all so interesting.

Here is this week’s Taste Five. …

Taste Five – Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook

January 22, 2017 by Kimberly 4 Comments

The Process

I have a tendency to focus on results, to work hard toward meeting a goal, to want to get to the finish line. But this week reminded me of an essential truth…that sometimes the most significant moments are to be found, not just in the end result, but in the process as well.

As I started thumbing through the pages of this week’s cookbook, I was intrigued to read that the Macrina Bakery and Café was named, not for its founder Leslie Mackie, but rather for Saint Macrina – a fourth century nun who was known for “working to improve the life of her community.” That resonated with me, as I’m fortunate to work with an incredibly talented and passionate group of educators, who are absolutely committed to making a difference in the lives of our students.

I liked the idea of baking for my colleagues this week, of giving back a bit…especially as this is also National Baking Month. With that in mind, I spent last weekend immersed in a sea of butter, sugar, flour, and a myriad of ingredients that transform the simple into the sublime…dried cherries, almonds, golden raisins, dark chocolate, fresh ginger, orange zest, and molasses.

As I packed up all my creations on Sunday night, exhausted and yet excited to share them, I reflected on what a gift this weekend of baking had been…

It was the physicality, the pleasure of touch…the seesaw of the knife as I chopped roasted almonds, the gentle give of a cookie cutter sinking into shortbread, the rhythmic kneading of scone dough – oddly meditative in its own way.

It was the sights…dried dark cherries plumping up in a bowl of warm water, pale yellow ribbons of butter and sugar swirling together in the mixer, shimmering sugar crystals topping golden-toned scones.

It was the smells emanating from the kitchen… bright notes of orange zest, bittersweet chocolate melting into butter, hints of spicy ginger and molasses.

It was the process of baking – the creativity, the serenity, the sensory engagement – that was every bit as special as the end result.

Here is this week’s Taste Five. …

Taste Five – The Can’t Cook Book

January 15, 2017 by Kimberly Leave a Comment

Strawberries and Ice Cream

Back To Basics

There’s this incessant urge that hits me after the Christmas and New Year celebrations are over. As reality sinks in, I’m drawn toward getting back to the basics…eating a little healthier, taking care of neglected tasks, resuming everyday routines. After the frantic pace of the holidays, it feels good to focus on the fundamentals – to keep it simple.

Cooking from Jessica Seinfeld’s The Can’t Cook Book was the perfect fit this week. As the original cookbook that started off my kitchen journey, revisiting it was a poignant reminder that cooking – just like life – doesn’t always have to be extravagant or complicated.

Here is this week’s Taste Five.
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Taste Five – The Silver Palate

January 8, 2017 by Kimberly Leave a Comment

Celebrations

This has been a week of celebrations – first day of the new year, first blog post, and first Cookbook of the Week! There were several significant “firsts” for me, but as I reflect back over the last seven days, what resonates most are the small moments – the everyday gifts, the unexpected, the simple pleasures.

One of the reasons I love to travel is for the opportunity to experience new places. But over time, I’ve come to realize that it’s never really about the “place” itself. Instead, it’s the small moments – a memorable interaction with a stranger, a new taste that excites your senses, a paradigm shift – that truly makes a destination memorable.

Earlier this week, I wrote about my commitment to trying five new recipes (Taste Five) from each Cookbook of the Week, in essence “visiting” a new kitchen each week, looking for and celebrating those small but memorable moments that enrich our lives.

Here is this week’s Taste Five……