Simple Things

Carrots. I don't know how -- but they manage to make it in our grocery cart every week. Without fail. I don't love them or hate them - they're just always there. (Like the all-too-familiar characters on my bus.) Carrots are pennies, they give you an excuse to eat orange food that's not processed, and they're good for your eyes. (Or is it nails? Can't keep it straight.) If I don't find a way to cook with them, they get chomped while checking email, reading a magazine, or tossed in a salad. They're not fussy, and I like that. I'm not too fussy either -- so we make a good match that way.

Potatoes and I, on the other hand, have a much different relationship. A few of you may recall a potato thrashing I had a few months back. Well, dear friends, I've come around. Potatoes, the humble tubers that they are, have surprised me as of late -- crusted with paprika at Portage Bay Cafe, wedged and roasted, or smashed with buttermilk in Zuni Cafe fashion. These things are stunners. The potatoes are what I really wanted to talk about.



These lowly vegetables have done more than give me physical sustenance. These things keep me grounded. Their simplicity remind me of the "less is more" mantra that older sisters tell you about makeup and mothers tell you about life. Nothing gives my mind a break better than slicing carrots or scrubbing potatoes. Call me crazy, but these simple things are what I consider real riches.

Classic Roasted Potatoes
(this isn't so much a recipe as it is a method)

Potatoes (I prefer baby reds or fingerlings)
olive oil
sea salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Clean the potatoes (peel if you like) and cut them into the shape you prefer. I like to wedge mine. In the pan you'll be roasting the potatoes, toss them with enough olive oil to lightly coat and add salt/pepper to your liking. Roast in oven until your preferred doneness is reached. (To move this process along more quickly, I sometimes boil the potatoes for 5-10 minutes before wedging and roasting.) Regarding 'doneness' - the picture above is what I consider the 'bruised and blistered doneness' -- you may not want to take them that far.

In With The New

You see these jeans down below? It's finally warm enough here where I can put them where they belong. Deep into the grooves of my closet. Besides for work, they are not to be taken out until September. Strict orders.



Since I'm out with the old, I guess it follows suit to be in with the new - so I've decided to jazz up some lemonade to celebrate summer. I don't use a specific ratio, as it's best to adjust to your liking and taste. Some may want a more boozy lemonade, some may want a more lemony lemonade. It's up to you. (Sorry for the measurers out there, it's just not my thing.)



Jazzy Lemonade
lemonade
white wine
mint water*

Think of this as summer's everyday answer to the mimosa. It feels best right alongside a stack of magazines, (or in my case - a Kindle filled with magazine content), freshly painted toenails, and sunshine on your shoulders... you get the picture. So, raise a glass to summer!

*mint leaves steeped in a very small amount hot water, then chilled. I like to include this as it dilutes the insane sweetness of store-bought lemonades. If you make your own and adjust the sugar to your liking, this step isn't as necessary.

To California

This 4th of July weekend my boyfriend and I took a trip to California. Although our fair, cloud-protected Seattle skin would be soon shocked by California sunshine, we decided to pack our bags anyway. All the more reason. We stayed at a beautiful resort in San Jose, ate pulled pork and drank sangria (see above). This, followed by swimming outside under the stars with palm trees around you, is exactly how life should be. Exactly.



Feeling pampered and refreshed, we decided to venture up to San Francisco. We visited Alamo Park, the Painted Ladies (see above), the 'Full House' house, Baker Beach (unknowingly a nude beach), Haight Ashbury, and Fisherman's Wharf.



It wasn't all play in California, as we stopped in to check out major universities and corporations: Stanford University, UC-Berkeley (frozen yogurt there, see above), Yahoo!, Facebook, YouTube, Apple, Intel, Oracle, Adobe, Google. California has it all - beaches, bakeries, bikes, businesses, and blue skies. This fair skin hasn't seen the last of it.

Always Welcome

There's never a season when chocolate is unwelcome. Unlike wearing white after labor day, there is no rule restricting chocolate to appropriate times of the year. That said, I try to capitalize on this as often as possible. So chocolate is a welcomed-regular in my rotation of daily foodstuffs. This past week it took the form of brownie cupcakes.



I say brownie cupcakes because they were more moist and dense than cupcakes, but they were baked in a cupcake tin. And since there's no better friend to chocolate than peanut butter, I decided to throw him in the mix too with some frosting.



Afterall, if you're going to have a treat, don't pretend. Enjoy what you really want.

It Has Arrived

You know what the photo up top means. Ketchup for burgers and ice cream for, well - me. Dear friends, summer has arrived. The talk of summer in Seattle is touchy between May and June as Seattlites good and well know theirs wont be starting until closer to July. But, lo and behold - Ms. Earth has gone and shocked us all. Now I can count with two fingers the number of times I've become pink-shouldered on a weekend.

And what better way to kick of summer than a road trip. Although the destination wasn't the most adventurous of all places, it certainly is a well known area in the Pacific Northwest as the vast majority of local fruits we eat come from its valley - Yakima.




Yakima is an odd amalgam of idillic landscapes that bear juicy stone fruits whose residents can be found yelling across the grocery store to their counterparts, "And don't forget the tater tots and Velveeta cheese!" (In light of not wanting to ruffle anyone's feathers, there's nothing wrong with either tater tots, nor Velveeta cheese. I just found it funny.)

Before leaving for Yakima, we picked up a package my mom mailed us, which turned out to be a hearty loaf of homemade bread and cost her double to ship than what it was to make. (Now that's love.) Bread made from mom's hands was the only thing that made sense to eat as we snaked our way through Washington's heartland. Sentiments aside, the burgers and shakes a la Miner's Drive-In in Yakima brought us back to reality and rounded out the experience to make it a true summer day. Sunglasses included.

How have you kicked off your summer?

I'm Here (and there)

Hello again, friends. Just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about you. I'm still here.



I had to clear out some cob-webs upon returning here because some major life events have happened. It's just that, oh.... I GOT A REAL, SALARIED, FULL-TIME JOB AT AMAZON - exactly one year after I received my college diploma. I'm working at their corporate headquarters here in Seattle on marketing for Kindle newspapers and magazines. It's the perfect team. It's the perfect job. It feels so good.

I did it.

Also, I brought my boyfriend back to Minnesota to meet the family for the first time. Needless to say, blogging was the last thing on my mind. But now I'm here to say that one year ago tomorrow, I took Seattle up on its offer for a good time and headed West. And what a year it's been. I can't imagine what next year has in store for me, but I look forward to sharing it with you here.

Stay tuned.....

Yogurt's New Home

I can't write much today, as the first asparagus of the season is roasting away in the oven, waiting to be eaten for dinner - but I want to pass along this cake recipe before another day went by.




Remember all that talk about boring a few weeks back? Well, something got into me, and I made a cake. I made this cake with our new favorite yogurt - Straus Family Creamy Plain Whole Milk Yogurt, suggested by the source of the recipe herself -Molly Wizenberg. Yogurt has definitely found a new home in this cake.




French-Style Yogurt Cake with Lemon
Orangette.blogspot.com
Note: I did not make the glaze, and I added chopped toasted almonds.

Ingredients
For the cake:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 cup canola oil

For the glaze:
Juice from 2 lemons
1/4 cup powdered sugar


Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, stirring until well blended. Add the flour, baking powder, and zest, mixing to just combine. Add the oil and stir to incorporate. At first, it will look like a horrible, oily mess, but keep stirring, and it will come together into a smooth batter. Pour and scrape the batter into a buttered 9-inch round cake pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake feels springy to the touch and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Cool cake on a rack for about 20 minutes; then turn it out of the pan to cool completely.

When the cake is thoroughly cooled, combine the lemon juice and powdered sugar in a small bowl and spoon it gently over the cake. The glaze will be thin and will soak in like a syrup. Serve.