Local Brew is yummy

To the tune of Will Smith’s “Welcome to Miami”, Local Brew, Seattle’s online comedy show, dishes out comedy gold and gives viewers a taste of Pacific Northwest culture.  Come see where the true flavor is by visiting Washington State and watching Local Brew’s skits.  Welcome to Seattle, indeed.

Danke to The Hubby who shared the link… probably his way of distracting me from my current obsession: Kkotboda namja.  Distraction nothing… I’m listening to the OST as I write this post.

Tags: Local Brew, Pacific Northwest culture, seattle, Seattle culture, Welcome to Seattle by Local Brew

TASTE Restaurant

With only a shared Naked juice for breakfast, and after about two hours of feasting our eyes on Gauguin’s Polynesian inspired work, The Hubby and I were famished.  We weren’t sure where we’d go to sate our appetite but a five minute debate had us settling on Seattle Art Museum’s (or SAM as is known here) very own TASTE Restaurant.  It was the most convenient place to dine in.

TASTE’s menus are simple which makes for a good choice for anyone who knows exactly what they want (whether it’s something meaty or vegetarian).  And for those who don’t have an idea, it’s excellent because the menu list doesn’t involve perusing multiple columns of dishes that would require mulling over.  For someone who usually does meditate over a menu, I surprised myself when I didn’t have to ask for “five more minutes” twice.  In fact, I was ready on the spot.  Although given the polite and fast service, I think I could’ve asked for several “five more minutes” and the server would still have been patient.  Their service is really quite remarkable and the servers made an effort in showing gratitude towards the patrons by saying “Thank you for choosing us”, which is a very good tactic since DT Seattle is teeming with excellent restaurants.

The Hubby’s choice was burger and fries (Skagit River Ranch organic beef burger & frites).  The burger was on the small side but the flavor was pretty impressive.  The fries were generously heaped upon his plate and I’m glad because I have no shame pilfering fries from him.

I wanted meat and I got it in the form of a ham sandwich (Grilled jambon sammy).  My plate of sammy and papaya salad was fantastic.  For a restaurant that serves Northwest cuisine, I wondered why the papaya was used since the fruit is neither a Pacific Northwest origin nor would it grow in our climate, but after the Gauguin exhibit, it was a perfect side salad to have.  The deviled eggs was pretty ordinary, I hate to say.  As for the rum cake dessert (not pictured), it was the perfect end to our meal and also the perfect reminder of Gauguin’s interpretation of Polynesian life.

TASTE Restaurant
1300 1st Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 903-5291

Tags: Northwest cuisine, Seattle Art Museum restaurant, Seattle downtown restaurant, TASTE Restaurant review

Koka Singapore Noodles

It’s grey.  It’s cold.  It’s raining.  What a great day for noodles.  Though, for me, any day is a good day for noodles.  And today is extra special because it’s a Leap Day.  Any event that happens once every x years (with “x” being 2 or more) is special… so special that beginning in the 18th century, women were encouraged to propose to that special someone.  But that’s another story.

Being that today is an uncommon day, it’s a good day to have uncommon noodles too like the Koka Singapore Noodles which we discovered in Uwajimaya-Bellevue this past weekend.  I was looking for a substitute to my usual Sapporo Ichiban noodles when the 4-pk package of Koka noodles caught my attention.  The ingredients listed are not bad at all, considering that other instant ramen noodles I’ve tried before have ingredients that consist of various chemical flavorings.  I prefer my noodle soups made from scratch, but there are days when instant makes an okay alternative.

Koka Instant “Non-Fried” Noodles Curry Flavour ingredients: (Noodles) wheat flour, tapioca starch, salt; (Seasoning mix) salt, sugar, spices, non-dairy creamer, yeast extract, curry powder, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, disodium 5′ribonucleotide, paprika, oil; (Garnishes) dehydrated vegetables: cabbage, carrot, peas

The ingredients list wasn’t clear in what “spices” were added but as it is curry flavor after all, this could mean any number of spices.  However, I can suppose that there possibly could be turmeric because of the color of the seasoning.  We’ve had curry flavor noodles before but this one was particularly light and oddly refreshing.  I wouldn’t associate curry with “refreshing” but this one is mild, simple, and quite good.

Koka Instant “Non-Fried” Noodles Laksa Singapura Flavour ingredients: (Noodles) wheat flour, tapioca starch, salt; (Seasoning mix) coconut powder, sugar, canola oi, salt spices, flavour (contains fish, crustaceans, trace of milk) hydrolyzed vegetable protein, yeast extract, disodium 5′ribonucleotide, chili flakes, malic acid, paprika, oil, chili oil

The Laksa Singapura flavor is particularly creamy and very different compared to my normal instant ramen noodles, all thanks to the coconut powder and the seasonings.  The flavor reminds me of a coconut-based seafood soup my Mom has made in the past.  The smell and taste were so familiar that my senses were fooled into thinking that there’s fish in the dish somewhere.  I slurped my way through this bowl of yumminess in about five minutes… it was not a pretty sight.

I’ve eaten enough noodles today to make anyone on a protein-centered diet cringe, or anyone on any sort of a diet for that matter.  I love, love, love noodles but I’m so glad that Leap Days come only once every four years because I won’t be celebrating my noodle love like this anytime soon.  Methinks having two bowls of noodles in less than half an hour is too much.

Tags: curry noodles, instant curry noodles, instant noodles, Koka Instant non-fried noodles ingredients, Koka instant noodles, laksa singapura flavor noodles, leap day 2012, Singapore noodles, Singaporean noodles

Homemade Lemon Ice Cream

Sometime ago, during my college years, I used my mother’s ice cream machine to make a favorite frozen dessert, but my first experience with making ice cream was unsatisfactory.  With no more than three attempts of using the machine and not producing the ice cream I hoped to produce, I decided to call it quits.  With no one interested in making ice cream, Mom eventually retired the bulky small appliance somewhere in the depths of one of her kitchen cabinets.

Last week, I decided that I would make lemon custard for lunch with two fabulous female friends.  They both were coming from far distances (at least half an hour drive) and the least I could do was to make a luncheon as fab as they are.  We have Meyer lemons so I thought I’d make something lovely with them.  However, the lemon custard, that was supposed to be for dessert, never materialized on our Thursday lunch date (yesterday) because this past Monday, I aspired to make lemon ice cream instead… without an ice cream machine!

To make sure my attempt is successful, I read Harold McGee’s research on frozen desserts and ice cream in On Food and Cooking, and read various articles online on “how to make ice cream without an ice cream machine” and found David Lebovitz’ to be the best.  Using the method Lebovitz shared and a simple lemon custard recipe, I made a successful first attempt.  So thank you, MM. McGee et Lebovitz.

Lemon Ice Cream

1 c lemon sugar*
4 egg yolks
2 tbs lemon juice
2 c milk, heated
1-1/4 c heavy cream, heated

Combine sugar, yolks, and juice over low heat or using a double boiler.  Whisk until the mixture is smooth and thick.  Add the heated cream then milk.  When mixture is combined, chill over an ice bath.  Transfer the cooled custard mixture into a freezer-safe container.  Chill the mixture and check about 60 minutes after.  Take out the mixture and thoroughly whisk it, making sure to incorporate the frozen edges.  For every 45 minutes after, repeat the process 3-4 times.  As the mixture freezes, it’ll become harder to whisk so make sure to use a sturdy spatula.  In about 4 hours, the ice cream will be ready.  Patience is key here, so have lots of it.

For a creamier texture, decrease the amount of milk added by a cup and the amount of sugar by a 1/4 cup, and increase the yolks by two more. 

Smile and serve.

* If you don’t have lemon sugar, increase the lemon juice to 1 cup and use regular sugar.

Tags: homemade ice cream, homemade ice cream without an ice cream machine, how to make ice cream without using an ice cream machine, ice cream, lemon custard ice cream, lemon ice cream

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day in the sense that it should be celebrated (i.e. flowers, chocolates, bling, blah, blah, blah), so by connection The Hubby doesn’t either.  Like so many other holidays, it’s overtly commercialized and the capitalistic opportunities are many.  Why, just a couple of days shy of the New Year, I noticed a few stores in Bellevue Square already marketing their Valentine’s Day wares… oh those merchants… they just couldn’t let their patrons bask in the newness of the New Year.  Not that this post has anything to do with the upcoming heartsy-fartsy day but… this past weekend, The Hubby made Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies after my persistent “Would you like to learn how to bake pb cookies that are really easy to make?”  Who wouldn’t, right.  (Notwithstanding folks with peanut allergies or dislike peanuts.)

Just as I’m not into V-day, I’m also not into baking cookies, with the exception of the holiday season; in which case, I humor traditions.  Because baking cookies doesn’t fall on the list of activities I-want-to-do, I had to recruit The Hubby into cookie making.  Lucky me, he learns quick!

When it comes to literature, I’m not stuck in a genre and in fact, I read a diversity of books – one category being recipe books.  I found the easy-to-make Crunchy PB Cookies recipe in an eight year old Food & Wine cookbook.  It’s one of the books that I took with me when I flew from my parents’ nest because it was the only cookbook I have that boasts a 0.5mm thickness, or thinness I should say.  All my other cookbooks are chunky and cumbersome.

The cookies came out to be nice, crunchy (as its name suggests it would be), and sweet.  Too sweet for me, unfortunately.  The Hubby is fine with the cookies, but he has a sweet tooth.  For those of you who love your sweets and love peanut butter, you’ll love this recipe.  Consider making a batch for that sweet tooth and even that sweetheart of yours!

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies*

1 c smooth peanut butter
1 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbs finely chopped peanuts (optional)
1/4 c chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Mix peanut butter with sugar, baking soda, and eggs.  Add peanuts and chocolate chips, if using.  Roll the mixture into 24 balls.  Create a crosshatch pattern on each cookie using a fork.  Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned.

Smile and serve.

HAPPY V DAY!

*Reference:
Cowin, Dana and Sigal, Jane. (2004). Food and Wine: Fast. New York: American Express Publishing Corporation.

Tags: crunchy peanut butter cookies, peanut butter cookies, peanut butter cookies recipe, recipe