A Table Tidbit

You know darn well that when we travel, it's definitely about the people and the places, but it's also about the food. That just can't be helped. And though I want to tell you about a really special restaurant visit while we were vacationing in California, today it's short and sweet about our new favorite coffee shop. Rather make that tall and iced. And yes, the fact that it is over 800 miles from our home is a definite inconvenience.

We happened upon Barefoot Coffee Roasters one warm afternoon, needing a pick-me-up and hoping to try the local brew. I almost am embarrassed to admit we went back a handful of times more before we left town a week later.

The menu needed a translation, as there were no descriptors next to the menu items, but we still discovered orange and coconut mochas, house-made caramel, and what became a favorite, the Shakerado. What was fun (and tasty) about the Shakerado, was that you never knew what you were getting, it being the barista's choice. It definitely left us guessing at the ingredient list while we sipped down the deliciousness.

 

So on one hand, Barefoot Coffee wasn't a major player in the big scheme of things, but on the other, we won't soon forget what fun we had around that coffee table.

A Table Tidbit

One of the events that marks the beginning of the holiday season for us is the somewhat unconventional Cookbook Social at Tom Douglas' Palace Ballroom. For the first time, Tom wasn't actually at the social this week, being busy elsewhere providing dinner at the national Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. A pretty good excuse, I'd say!

When we go to these events, there are usually several cookbook authors we know of - like Jennifer Shea of one of our favorite cupcake shops, Trophy Cupcakes. Oh did I fail to mention that each cookbook author offers samples for us from recipes in their books? We might have had a few tastes from Trophy Cupcakes and Parties.

 

There are also often a few other food-related (non-author) vendors there. One of my very favorite bites of the night was a Sweet Corn Macaron (really!) from ChefSteps, an online cooking school. Oh my goodness.

Meeting Jessie of CakeSpy was a treat in itself. She was pretty irresistible, as was her new book, The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts. I hadn't realized she isn't living in Seattle any more, so it was fun to chat with her about that and our mutual love of baked goods.

We also had a really nice visit (and tastes!) with Autumn Martin who authored Malts and Milkshakes. She has a really interesting story food-wise - starting with selling her Take-n-Bake Molten Chocolate Cake in a Mason Jar in 2008 at a local farmer's market, up to the present time where she operates Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery, a place I definitely need to visit! It was a fun twist that hubby won a free copy of her book in one of the night's raffles. A bonus was to see that in addition to all sorts of yummy-sounding creamy beverages, the book also contains the recipe for those Hot Cakes and the unusual but delicious Smoked Chocolate Chips. Oh yeah. The good times have begun.

A Table Tidbit

Sewing posts have been so rampant of late, Tuesday at the Table took an unplanned hiatus. So I figured since we experienced a little foodie moment today, I might as well tell you about it pronto.

Hubby and I were in the city for a bit this afternoon, and when I realized we were quite close to Tom Douglas' newest venture, Assembly Hall, I asked hubby to drive by on our way to the freeway. It probably wasn't the best idea, as it was pouring rain Seattle style, but when we got there and drove by, I couldn't resist asking hubby to park, so we could take a quick peek.

Totally unplanned is sometimes the best. And though we got a bit wet walking over, it was totally worth it.

We were only there 15 minutes or so, but were able to see the lay of the land so to speak. In short, Assembly Hall is a downtown complex that includes Assembly Juice and Coffee, the restaurant TanakaSan, a tiny little garden shop in Zinnea Garden Bench, and Home Remedy, a specialty market and takeout shop.

 Let's just say it was all quite inviting and interesting, and we'll be back.

For today, we just grabbed a pack of TingMomo Tibetan dumplings to go, though there were lots of other tempting pre-mades from Tom's various restaurants among other culinary delights.

I'm a fan of just about anything TD, and am in awe as his empire continues to grow. So it was a treat to be able to check out the latest, if only for a moment.

A Table Tidbit

Yeah, yeah, I already posted from the table today. But I'm getting some requests for a recipe I just tried, and this is an obvious place to post it!

It was my coworker's birthday celebration today. Most of you probably know that I worked in a bakery in my previous career, and somehow because of that, over the years I've become the designated treat-baker when staff birthdays roll around. And for hers, Colleen asked for Raspberry Oatmeal Bars, surprisingly something I'd never made before! After looking at several recipes, I settled on the one below.

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
from allrecipes.com via doughseedough.net

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup instant oatmeal
1/2 cup butter, softened3/4 cup raspberry jam
***1 cup fresh raspberries (my addition)*** 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8 inch square pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. 
2. Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, and oatmeal. Rub in butter with your fingers until crumbly. Press 3/4 of mixture into bottom of pan. 
3. Warm jam up slightly in microwave. ***Add fresh raspberries and mash them lightly.*** Spread over crumb layer in pan. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture on top, gently pressing into the jam. 
4. Bake for 35 minutes in oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool before cutting into squares. (Recipe can easily be doubled to fit a 9x13" pan.)

Kind of humble looking, but super easy to put together, and they got rave reviews at work today. And that Colleen? Well she happily took the rest of the pan home.

A Table Tidbit

For those of you in the U.S., you might just be having similar thoughts as I am:

• who's making what for Thanksgiving?
• what recipes am I going to use for my meal "assignments"?
• when will I manage to get to the grocery store? 
• when do I need to make what?

So I spent a little time on the subject this weekend, and the menu and assignments are at least in place:

I'll be trying a new recipe for dressing this year - the "stuffing" from The Pioneer Woman, though I won't actually be stuffing; the Layered Green Salad {below} is an old standby and family favorite; cranberry sauce will be canned and jellied per request; and the Pecan Pie will be my standard.

I'm hoping those of you celebrating this week will consider linking to Tuesday at the Table and sharing about the upcoming holiday. For everyone else, consider linking your latest donut adventure (couldn't help myself!), your current table project, or what treat you'll miss most due to the Hostess crisis. Meanwhile, I'll share that salad recipe . . .

Layered Spinach Salad
adapted from "feasting after . . . work and play", by Susi Anderson

In large salad bowl, layer the following:
1 - 10 oz. bunch fresh spinach, torn into bite-size pieces
sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar
6 chopped hard-boiled eggs
1/2 head iceberg lettuce - chopped
1 bunch green onions - chopped

Spread with dressing. (1 cup each sour cream and mayonniase, 1/4 tsp. prepared mustard, salt and pepper)

Continue layering:
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
8 slices bacon - crisp and crumbled

Cover and refrigerate up to several hours. Before serving, add sliced avocado on top.
Serves 8 to 10.

A Table Tidbit

Back in 2009, hubby and I were thrilled to be able to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in a really big way. We went to Italy! It had been a dream of ours for some time, and when the realization hit that everyone else in our family had been to Europe - our parents, our sibs, our kids - well, we just decided to go! And it was awesome.

We picked the itinerary we did because we really wanted to experience Cinque Terre, five little towns built into the coast on the Italian Riviera. This area is known for its walking trail that connects the five villages, and through some miscommunication between hubby and myself, I found us on the trail bright and early one morning, with his intent of hiking the entire length. 

It was absolutely filled with stunning views and unforgettable experiences. It was also one of the most difficult things I've done in my life! Eight hours later, we reached the last town and hopped the fast train back to our starting place. As a reward, it seemed, there was a lovely dinner planned by the family that owned our hotel.

The highlight for me was the pesto-making lesson by Felicita Pascuale, the grandma of the family. Of course, made by hand with a mortar and pestle, it was the most amazing pesto I had ever tasted.

Remembering Felicita and her pesto, and as part of this month's celebration of the {herbal} table, I have a challenge for you! If you've never made your own pesto, would you give it a try, and link up about your experience?? If you do make it, would you tell us about it? How do you enjoy using it? Any special tweaks to your recipe?

It starts with the simplest of ingredients. And rather than mortar and pestle, I use my modern food processor. Here's my basic recipe, from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook.

Pesto

• 2 C fresh basil leaves (about 1 bunch)
• 4 medium-size cloves garlic, chopped
• 3/4 cup pine nuts (or chopped walnuts)
• 1 C olive oil
• 1 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 1
  Process the basil, garlic, and nuts in a food processor fitted with a steel blade - or in 2 batches in a blender - until finely chopped.
• 2
  With the machine running, pour in the oil in a thin, steady stream.
• 3
  Add the cheese, a big pinch of salt, and a liberal grinding of pepper. Process briefly to combine. Remove to a bowl and cover until ready to use.

  (or divide among small containers & freeze)

  

  
  

  I hope you give it a whirl! Feel free to link up here!

A {picnic} Table Tidbit :: The Prize

Once again, I'm a little slow on posting about the prize for the Tuesday at the {picnic} Table link-up. The initial {picnic} post is here, and that is where you'll link up all through July. Just link up a recipe or anything else related to the table, and if it's from the picnic table, all the better! The linky will be open through Tuesday, July 31. On Wednesday, August 1, I'll choose one random winner from all of the link-ups.

Now on to the prize for that winner! First off, Kate Spain's new line, Cuzco, just really struck my fancy! So I have two charm packs of this colorful, versatile line. Pretty cool to have found these and a few other upcoming lines at CharmPacksPlus.

And to encourage you with all your bag-making, there's some twill tape from pinked fabrics. When Amy heard I was buying the tape for a giveaway, she gracious threw in 2 yards each of yellow and pink as well as the colors I had ordered! So all told, there's 12 yards of tape - easily enough for several bags!

Lastly, when I ordered myself "The Binding Tool", I ordered an extra to include in this giveaway. So we'll figure out together how to use this thing, ok?

 

So there you go . . . I'm excited to see what you share from your picnic table!

A {summer} Table Tidbit :: The Prize

It seems high time to have a little Tuesday at the {summer} Table prize post, don't you think? All the details about this celebration of the summer table can be found here. (Basically, link up a recipe or anything else related to the table!) The linky will be open through Thursday, June 28 Wednesday, June 27. On Friday, June 29 Thursday, June 28, I'll choose one random winner from all of the link-ups on the June 5 post HERE. And if you missed last Tuesday's post, feel free to link up before next Tuesday rolls around!

Meanwhile, the prize for one lucky winner will include:

2 large potholders made with Malka Dubrawsky's "A Stitch in Color"

 A Salt Sampler from my favorite salt store

A multi pack of Frixion marking pens (iron the marks away - awesome!)

 15 zippers from my Zip-It stash . . . 10-7" zips and 5-14"

 And lastly, it wouldn't be a summer giveaway without a Summersville charm pack!

Hope you join in the summer fun at Tuesday at the {summer} Table!

Revised link closure dates - sorry for my miscalculation when creating the linky!

A Table Tidbit

Just a quick post about a fun and tasty dessert I made for guests this weekend.

It's called a pavlova - a meringue dessert topped with berries, apparently named after the Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova during a tour to New Zealand in the 1920's. I had heard of it, but never actually tried it, and it seemed to fit the bill when I cracked open one of Ina Garten's cookbooks a couple of hours before dinner time. Beings one of our guests has dairy issues, I made my own adaptation - omitting the whipping cream and sauce, and instead just making the meringue base per the recipe, topping with lightly sugared strawberries and blueberries to juice them up a bit, and then drizzling with my best balsamic. Let's just say our friends asked for the recipe on the way out the door. Success. You can find the original recipe here, complete with a handy video by Ina. Enjoy!

A Table Tidbit

Lately hubby's been enjoying NPR while he's driving, and while in the car last night, it was on, and we listened to Molly Wizenberg tell about her basic salad dressing recipe. She called it 1-3-5 and all it is really is 1 Tb. Dijon mustard, 3 Tb. vinegar of choice, and 5 Tb. extra virgin olive oil, shaken and served.

So tonight I tried it using sherry vinegar, plus I added a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

I asked hubby to take a picture of the cruet before I poured it on our salad (delicious, by the way).

"I added a clove of garlic," I told him.
"Of course you did," he replied.

A Table Tidbit

Thanks to facebook, I realized today is National Pi day! According to Wikipedia, "Pi Day is observed on March 14 because of the date's representation as 3/14 in month/day date format. This representation adheres to the commonly used approximation of 3.14 for π. . . There are many ways of celebrating Pi Day. Some of them include eating pie and discussing the relevance of π."

Well if you know me at all, you'll know that I'd rather eat pie than discuss the relevance of π. And coincidentally, I had every intention of making a pie for you this week. Hasn't happened yet, and not sure if it will. So I figured today's a fine day to share the recipe with you just in case. It's actually the same as The Pioneer Woman's {find it here}. Grasshopper Pie - a perfect pi pie for any day and especially for . . . St. Patrick's Day! hint hint

                                                Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Debbie on Pinterest

A Table Tidbit

I was reminded today that the table can be a shopping cart at the grocery store. With a latte for me and the smallest Starbucks cup - with a straw and filled with milk - for my granddaughter, the two of us started off on our first grocery shopping trip together. A quick stop at the bakery provided what was still, thankfully, grocery store tradition - a free cookie for the little one.

I had forgotten how much I must have taught my children at the grocery store. As my granddaughter pointed out veggies, I named them for her. As we passed by the dog food, she "woof-woofed", and then we wheeled slowly by the cat food, examining the kitty on each package. As we checked out, I thanked her for her help as she reached from her seat in the cart to put items on the conveyor belt.

What we shared at the grocery store today wasn't a meal, but it was certainly a time of refreshment, of sharing, of encouraging growth - many of the best qualities of time around the table. And boy, did I feel fed.

A Table Tidbit

News flash! "Snowed in" according to Pacific Northwest standards, so headed to the kitchen. Tried a recipe I'd pinned on Pinterest and I'm here to say Cinnamon Bubble Buns are delish!!

This was my introduction to Sprinkled with Flour, and I'll be checking out her site, that's for sure. Love her byline: If you're not ready to fail, you're not going to learn how to cook. - Julia Child

A Table Tidbit

My lower lip pouted out instinctively. We were dropping son-home-for-Christmas-from-far-away at the airport this morning. Some, though small, consolation was the breakfast we found on the way back home.

We had to wait for a table, standing in a cramped aisle-way, though I enjoyed our environs enough not to be bored. There was the crowded bakery counter with inviting baked goods and a busy barista making coffees non-stop. I loved when the waitresses shouted orders down from the elevated dining room.

Finally seated, I ordered one of those coffees myself, and immediately was warmed, inside and out.

I glanced around the dining room as we waited for our food. Situated in a "shabby chic" Victorian house, the atmosphere was warm and comfortable. The crowd was eclectic, with one young woman wearing both running shorts and floral rubber boots, a hip dark-haired guy with the biggest white glasses I have ever seen. And then there was the large group seated nearby, multicultural, multi-aged, from a grandpa-type to a crying newborn. Throughout our meal, laughter came from the group often, hearty, and loud.

Breakfast was tasty and bountiful. And at the end, all I can say is I felt better as I walked out than I did when I walked in.

photo by Hi Spot Cafe

A Table Tidbit

You have figured out by now that I am a foodie. Cooking, baking, grocery shopping, reading cookbooks, trying new restaurants, just food talk of any kind - it's all on my list of 'favorite things to do.' And I guess I've got a bit of a reputation 'round these parts. It's not uncommon at all for me to get a call where the first thing said after identifying themselves is, "I've got a cooking question."

So what just happened to me isn't necessarily an uncommon occurrence either. My boss walks up to my desk, first thing Monday morning, and says he needs my help. Ok, fair enough. But then . . . he pulls a cookie out of a bag, has me take a hunk, and says, "What's in it?" This cookie, ginger molasses, has traveled with him four hours from a beach town bakery in Oregon, and he has saved one, hoping against hope that I would take one taste and tell him the secret ingredient. What makes it soooo good? Seriously, I wish I knew - is it cardamom? is it the sweetner? Can't tell you, and unfortunately I couldn't tell him. Just the same, it was a fine foodie moment. Love it.

Not my boss' favorite cookie, but still delish . . .