The Taste Tourist

Cookbook of the Week – Theo Chocolate

February 13, 2017 by Kimberly Leave a Comment

Cookbook of the Week February 13

Love

I have to admit it, I fell a little bit in love this week.

With a taste, a place, a vision – Theo Chocolate.

Early in the week, I made a trip to Fremont, one of my favorite Seattle neighborhoods, to check out a destination that has long been on my “must see” list. Artsy, unique, and full of eclectic shops, restaurants, breweries, and artisan food businesses, Fremont is a highlight of any trip to Seattle, and I love spending time there exploring all it has to offer.

But on this most recent visit, my destination was more specific – the Theo Chocolate Factory.

Theo offers tours throughout the week, and I was excited to embark on my first ever chocolate factory tour – not to mention looking forward to the multiple samples that were alluringly promised. The tour didn’t disappoint…it was interesting, fun, and informative – and the quality of their artisan chocolate absolutely blew me away.

What I hadn’t expected, however, was to come away from the hour-long tour so profoundly moved…not just by the chocolate, but by the business itself – the vision, the passion, the desire to make a difference in the world.

In honor of Valentine’s Day – and the love of all things chocolate – this week’s Cookbook of the Week is Theo Chocolate. …

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. …

Cookbook of the Week – My Kitchen Year

February 6, 2017 by Kimberly Leave a Comment

Cookbook of the Week February 6

Snow Day

Western Washington woke up Monday morning to a blanket of snow…and I woke up to the call that school was cancelled.

A snow day – it doesn’t get much better than that.

We haven’t had a lot of snow for the last few years, so this was an unexpected treat – a rare day off to hunker down and stay put. I had stocked up on cinnamon bread and supplies to make hot chocolate, a “snow day” tradition in my family, in the hopes that the meteorologist’s forecast might be right.

It started to snow on Sunday just after the Super Bowl ended, and on the drive home it was coming down hard…big fat flakes pelting the windshield and quickly covering the ground. I was in and out of bed all night, peeking out the window – just like a kid again, hoping that it would stick. And then that call came…no school today. As much as I love teaching, the thrill of a snow day never gets old.

I turned on the fireplace, snuggled into the couch, and enjoyed a piece of warm cinnamon bread accompanied by a thick mug of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream, of course. I spent the morning paging through a cookbook that I had bought over a year ago…a beautiful book, part memoir and part cookbook, with a chapter entitled “Winter” – full of recipes just perfect for a snowy day.

This week’s Cookbook of the Week is Ruth Reichl’s My Kitchen Year. …

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. …

Cookbook of the Week – The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

January 30, 2017 by Kimberly Leave a Comment

Cookbook of the Week January 30

Football with Dad

I grew up with a dad who is passionate about football. With two daughters, and no sons, my dad – a former college quarterback – shared his love of the sport with my sister and me.

Sundays were always one of my favorite days, as that meant relaxing in our basement rec room, an NFL game blaring in the background, my mom keeping us stocked up with snacks…and most of all, spending time with my dad. He would patiently explain the sport to me, taking time to point out the different positions, the intricacies of the plays, and the history of the game.

It wasn’t just Sundays and the NFL games…Friday nights in the fall meant trips to watch our local high school football team, the social event of the week in my small town. While I loved rooting on our hometown Spartans, I have to admit that I loved the halftime trip to the concession stand for a hot dog and hot chocolate just as much. Then there were the visits to Seattle to watch the University of Washington Huskies play; later, when I was a student there, my dad would make the long drive to campus to watch me play quarterback on a co-ed flag football team.

As much as I grew to love the sport – and to this day my fall and early winter weekends are filled with the familiar sounds and sights of football – it was always about so much more than that.

It was about bonding with my dad, of developing a shared passion for the sport, of celebrating that father-daughter connection.

Although our Seahawks didn’t make it to the Super Bowl this year, I’ll still be watching the big game on Sunday…and preparing a spread of “football food” to celebrate the day.

This week’s Cookbook of the Week is Ree Drummond’s The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays. …

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. …

Cookbook of the Week – Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes

January 23, 2017 by Kimberly 2 Comments

Traditions

I love traditions – personal traditions, family traditions, cultural traditions…there’s a comforting security in carrying the past forward. But as much as I love traditions, I’m also drawn to the new – to change, to variety, to learning and growth.

The Chinese New Year, occurring this week, celebrates both of these – valuing the past and looking forward to the future.

Also known as The Lunar New Year, as it occurs during the second new moon of the winter solstice, it’s celebrated not just in China, but in many communities and countries around the world. I’ve always been intrigued by its unique customs and traditions…the ritual cleaning prior to the New Year, firecrackers, red envelopes filled with money for the children, lion dances, spring couplets decorating doors, drumming competitions, joss sticks burning in the temples, the lucky colors of red and gold, and the Lantern Festival marking its conclusion.

One of the most revered traditions is the New Year’s Eve reunion dinner…rich with symbolism and food. It’s a time when family members typically travel great distances in order to come together, pay homage to their ancestors, and celebrate with an abundance of food. Many of the dishes served have special symbolic meaning, their names and ingredients conveying shapes or sounds similar to the Chinese wishes for the new year. Good fortune fruit – tangerines, oranges, and pomeloes, noodles – a symbol of longevity, fish – served whole with some left over to ensure abundance, and dumplings at midnight symbolizing good wishes for the year ahead.

Beautiful food. Beautiful traditions.

In honor of the Chinese New Year, this week’s Cookbook of the Week is Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes. …

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. …

Cookbook of the Week – Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook

January 16, 2017 by Kimberly 2 Comments

Cookbook of the Week January 16

Serendipity

Serendipity – one of my favorite words. I remember when I first looked up its meaning; I was in Venice on a boat transporting me back to the mainland, when I spotted it spray-painted on a lagoon seawall. I had heard the word before, loved the way it looked and sounded, but honestly, I wasn’t sure what it meant. Back at my hotel, I went online…serendipity: the act of finding interesting or valuable things by chance.

I had this week’s Cookbook of the Week selection and posts all planned out; today I was supposed to be taking a British baking class in Seattle – and I had chosen a cookbook that connected to that experience. But last night I received an email letting me know that the class was cancelled. I went to bed wondering what new cookbook to select…unsure, debating my options, not able to decide on one that felt “just right.”

This morning I woke up later than usual, off work for the MLK holiday, indecision still looming. Lazing in bed, stalling, I started thumbing through Instagram. The first post I saw was by Macrina Bakery and Café…a picture of a white plate filled with cookies labeled Olivia’s Chocolate Chip Cookies and tagged simply “comfort food.”

I know that recipe, and I know how good it is, because I’ve made it before…and I have that cookbook. I love those serendipitous moments…decision made.

This week’s Cookbook of the Week is Leslie Mackie’s Macrina Bakery and Café Cookbook. …

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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