Autumn is here! This calls for warm foods

Lots of pics, so enjoy...

With Wednesday night showing a supposedly "super" harvest moon during the autumn equinox (and chinese moon festival), we say goodbye to summer and hello to autumn! Then again, I guess that's not really breaking news considering the other day's high was only in the mid 50s.

Anyhow, I've been cooking a bunch of warmer things for dinner lately:

First up, Chinese winter melon soup. Usually this has some pork in it, but seeing as I don't cook meat at home, I have chosen to make it with shiitake mushrooms, watercress, and winter melon

Looks pretty authentic to me ;-)

I guess we have just passed the peak of melon season, but there were still PLENTY of incredibly sweet melons at the past farmer's market. This huge, locally-grown orange honeydew (delicious!) was only $2!

The farmer's market also still had some eggplants ... I mentioned in my last post the piles of eggplants last week. This week there were far fewer, but still enough for me to decide to grab some heirloom eggplants to make eggplant parmesan!

I just sliced the small eggplants into 1/2" rounds, dipped in a beaten egg, and pressed into some homemade breadcrumbs that I had just made from old bread. I baked on one side for 20 mins at 375 degrees F until golden and then flipped to the other side. You can pan-fry if you prefer, but eggplant tends to soak oil up like a sponge, so I chose to bake.

After the eggplants are done baking I put them into a casserole dish with tomato sauce with some cheese, extra breadcrumbs, and oregano from the garden all sprinkled on top. Broil in the oven until nice and crispy! It was so simple, yet I was surprised at how great it tasted!

Has anybody seen these before? I found them at the co-op market ... they're called Seckler pears, I believe ... tiny little things! Supposedly unlike normal pears, you let them sit on the counter until they are really soft, so I'm waiting ...

I've been seeing lots of fresh figs at the co-op market as well, and finally decided to get some. I love how squishy the figs are, but I'm not the BIGGEST fan of them raw. Instead, I decided to cook them in order to bring out their sweetness. In this case, I used some red wine, balsamic vinegar, and the figs to make a sauce for some leftover pasta that we had with the above eggplant parmesan:

Just red wine, balsamic, and fresh figs (I used about half of that little pint)

Funny looking inside ... I later read online that figs are not actually a "fruit" as we normally think ... technically, they are just an inverted flower

Et voilà ... some leftover whole wheat pasta with the fig-balsamic-red wine reduction sauce, swiss cheese, and some garlic chives from the garden (I think the garlic chives were smashing in this dish!). Made for a delicious light lunch

As I mentioned, it's been getting cooler and the days are slowly getting more and more cloudy. It seems to me like the balcony does not get enough sun to truly ripen tomatoes ... since they should be totally ripe by now. Nevertheless, a bunch of beautiful tomatoes did grow - they're just green. Still, I decided to harvest one so far:

My beautiful heirloom green tomato! To think that right when I moved here three months ago, my tomato plant was only 1 foot tall ... now it's over 4 feet tall and I have lots of tomatoes!

However ..... I decided to harvest the above tomato because I am afraid that the bottom would begin to rot since it's been so wet lately

At first I thought it was turning red, but I soon realized that tomatoes don't "ripen" from the bottom up ... It's not mushy at all, just feels a little bumpier in the brown areas. I will probably begin to harvest more green tomatoes soon since it doesn't look like we're going to have a lot of consistently sunny days from here on out. Anybody have any good green tomato recipes? I was thinking of making fried green tomatoes :-p mmmm southern-style comfort food

Here is my cornucopia (haha) ... my first tomato along with the little Seckler pears, donut peaches, lemons, and sweet yams

Bought these beautiful flowers from the farmer's market as well

And now ... one of my all-time favorite meals: split pea soup! Just take dried green split peas, yellow split peas, and some red lentils ...

Cook 'em down for two hours with whatever spices you like until ...

Ready for dinner! With homemade bread, of course ... I put some stronger-tasting hardneck garlic into the dough for this loaf which turned out to be excellent. The garlic nearly melted into the dough for a great flavor. I also decided to experiment with my normal timing of the "lid-on"/"lid-off" sequence of baking this bread in my cast iron pot. Since I knew that high moisture content leads to the crispy crust, I experimented with taking the lid off of the pot 5 minutes early to let moisture out, and baking with the lid off 5 extra minutes. I was successful in creating a crispy, but still soft crust (unlike before where the crust was just really crispy .... of course, that's still great too - just depends on what you like)

Finally, last night's dinner was an excellent use of the leftover split pea soup since it's so filling. I decided to try to make an Ethiopian-style meal, complete with the spongy flatbread called "injera" (my favorite!). It's made from the smallest grain in the world known as Teff, and it grows well in the Ethiopian highlands. 

Teff flour is very nutritious ... according to wiki, "The grain has a high concentration of different nutrients, a very high calcium content, and significant levels of the minerals phosphorous, magnesium, aluminum, iron, copper, zinc, boron, barium, and thiamin. Teff is high in protein. It is considered to have an excellent amino acid composition (including all 8 essential amino acids for humans) and has lysine levels higher than wheat or barley".

Just made a simple batter, and cooked them like crêpes (if you want the recipe, let me know). Now I do have to admit that I did unsuccessfully try to ferment the injera the way that you are supposed to in order to get that special "sourdough" taste - I don't think I let it ferment long enough (only overnight). For last night's dinner, however, I just had to make this quick batch. I am, however, currently letting another batch of batter ferment for a couple days to see if I can get it right ... recipes i've looked at tend to say that it should ferment from a couple days to even a week.

Had lots of kale (increasingly becoming one of my favorite greens), so I chopped these into fine pieces and cooked them down with onions, garlic, water and berbere - the signature Ethiopian spice mix, primarily containing dried peppers, garlic, allspice, cloves, coriander, etc. I also added a dash of cumin.

All together - Ethiopian style meal! Just break off a piece of injera and scoop up the various stews. You can see the leftover split pea stew on the left, and the spicy cooked-down berbere-spiced kale on the right . The injera was fun to make ... it gains its widely-known spongy texture only after you let it sit a while after cooking.

I'll also mention that I had my first official Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra rehearsal on Monday night and what a fun time that was! Our music is pretty tough, but the group is made up of excellent musicians so I know we'll get it down eventually. At first I wasn't a big fan of the pieces that we are playing, but after listening to them some more, I think the November 20th concert will be really enjoyable for the audience !

That's it for now ... time to practice violin ...

À Bientôt!

Here comes the rain! And lots of fruit ...

How do you like the new weather gadget I put to the right?      -------->
For all my friends and family not in Seattle, now you can see how the weather is when you read my blog :-p

It's September 16th and the days are starting to get darker (i.e. it doesn't stay bright out until 10pm anymore) and it's cooling off. I've been making lots of tea all day and I'm planning on some more warm soups for later this week ... maybe another cumin/white bean soup, and Chinese bitter melon soup?

The last couple days have been drizzly, and yesterday I wanted to venture out into it with my rain shell/jacket. Today has been a good, steady, all-day drizzle as well so i'm assuming we're now entering rainy fall/winter season here ... and I'm so excited!

Anyhow, before I forget, I found some pictures of the city I took when our friend was in town from the top of the old Smith Tower which contains the most manually-operated (read: old-style bronze with metal screens you have to open/close by hand and an elevator man who has to operate it!) elevators in the world. About 43 floors up (I think?) was the observation deck:

Elliot Bay / Puget Sound with ferries sailing to and fro

Never get tired of watching the ferries

I was so happy to see at the grocery store recently some blood oranges. I know citrus doesn't grow very well in Washington state so these clearly aren't local (they're actually from Australia). I know I push the "eat local" banner, but nevertheless, let me indulge a little, eh?

Look at that amaaazing color!

Incredibly sweet, with more "depth" in taste than normal oranges

Also, I was able to catch the end of the neighborhood farmer's market last sunday and what a surprise ... tons of melons coming into season as well as piles and piles of peppers (everything from super hot to mild for roasting) and even more piles of eggplants! Maybe this coming sunday I'll grab some eggplant for an eggplant parmesan ... and some peppers for roasting, but this past week I was in the mood for nothing more than .... 

Melons! From left to right: Charentais melon, orange honeydew, and regular honeydew

I mentioned this little green garden melon in an older post (the post with my hummus), but incorrectly called it a "chanterelle" melon ... it's actually called a Charentais which is very popular in southern France and also in Spain. They are incredibly sweet and a perfect little personal-serving size. The orange honeydew was great too ... and I still haven't gotten to the regular honeydew yet (maybe tonight).

On a random note, I popped a bag of Jiffy-Pop over the stove for the first time EVER!

 

It was pretty fun, haha. A movie, popcorn, and hot tea made for a great night at home on the couch

As for the weather getting cooler, here's another look at the tree outside the window whose leaves are turning more and more red:

Here's a view to the right (east) of the balcony. I always show the western view with Puget Sound and the space needle, but today with the rain, I thought a view of Capitol Hill looked nice.

A tribute to the rain

View west towards the space needle (barely visible!) and Puget Sound today ... drizzling all day

As for the garden ....

Tomatoes got a nice little bath from the rain

ALMOST ready! Look how big they're getting - no chemicals used! The bottom of the big tomato that I'm holding looks like it's beginning to blush red ... and this time it's not blossom end rot! One of the tomatoes on the other golden tomato plant looks like its beginning to "golden" from green as well. I'm hoping for JUST a tiny bit more sun and warmth for the tomatoes to ripen before the bulk of the rainy season begins.

It was a sad day for the garlic, though. I noticed some bug eggs on the newly started garlic plants, so I had to dig them up and throw them out. For the cooler weather, I'll be planting some red kale and/or swiss chard and/or collard greens hopefully. I want to focus on things I can harvest continuously (like all the cold-hardy leafy greens) and that grow relatively quickly rather than things that take up space and require an entire season to grow since my "land" is limited. 

First orchestra rehearsal on Monday and we just got some of the music today ... time to practice! Below is one of the pieces we're playing (this video is only 1/3 of the whole piece) ... it's Elgar's "Enigma Variations" ... one of his most well-known pieces. Each little section is a variation of the main theme, and the variations are supposed to be a portrayal of his close acquaintances - right at the start, the theme first appears (supposedly what he whistled coming home to his wife) and is a dedication to her. The following variations on the theme are dedications to different friends. Turn up the volume and enjoy. If you're interested, you can read more about each of the "parts" you're hearing and who they represent: (Enigma Variations - Wiki)

That's all for now! I, unknowingly, have been ahead one day with regards to my classwork, so I'm going to try to keep this up and stay proactive ... at least for a little while. What a pleasant surprise to find out today when my quiz was not yet open that I am ahead of schedule! In the meantime, time to eat some blood oranges

Random stuff

Two weeks in on the Moroccan preserved lemons (two more weeks to go), and I decided to make some preserved limes in a similar fashion. Apparently there's a Vietnamese drink called Chanh muối which is preserved salty limes mixed with soda water and sugar to make a limeade of sorts ... I'm looking forward to trying it! Two more weeks until the lemons are ready to use ... maybe I will make a tajine with them?

So a while back I wrote about the blossom end rot happening on my tomatoes ... we pulled the two tomatoes off and cut them open just to check, and sure enough they were rotting at the bottom. As mentioned, it's caused due to lack of calcium in the soil (and irregular watering / lack of other nutrients). Since tomatoes are heavy feeders and they're growing in small containers with limited soil, I've been adding some worm tea concentrate - all natural "tea" made from worm compost. It's packed with nutrients. I've also been grinding up more eggshells into a very fine powder (using my pharmacy technician medication compounding skills, haha), and adding that to the water for the plants. With extra eggshell calcium and worm tea, the tomatoes look really healthy and even shinier than before, so that's a good sign

Ian got me a huckleberry cupcake as a treat from Cupcake Royale. It was great with my tea! Thanks buddy :)

Leaves outside the window on the tree are beginning to change color. This was last week ... now there's a few more red ones. It's only the start of September, but I'm excited for the cold weather !

Another beautifully clear night in Seattle from the roof deck

Blanca Lake hike, Mariner's game, and Portland for 2 days!

I've got a lot of things to cover, so this entry won't be written with a lot of attention on style or syntax, haha. I apologize in advance!

So with our friend coming into town, we had a very eventful week here in the Pacific Northwest.

First, an awesome BBQ on the roof during the afternoon, and I made a middle eastern style spice and honey marinade for the tender lamb kabobs. We also grilled some of the balsamic marinated artichokes as well as some bell peppers and onions along with some intensely garlicky herbed mashed potatoes from scratch.

The following day was quite the experience ... we decided to try our hand at hiking the Lake Blanca trail in the Cascade Mountains of central Washington. It was only a 3 mile hike, but the elevation gain was around 2700 within those 3 miles. Needless to say, it was STEEP and my legs were burning.

Stevens Pass highway on the way to Blanca Lake ... this highway is closed during the winter due to snow. The beautiful peaks are appearing!

Our ZipCar totally covered in dirt ... little Subaru Impreza all-wheel-drive hatchback did a great job on the dirt roads through the forest!

Immediately, you can see how steep the trail became right from the start. It seemed like for every foot forward, we gained 1/2 foot which is quite a steep climb!

I was hoping to see some huckleberries and at the lower elevations there weren't any. However, as we climbed higher up they appeared everywhere!!

One of MANY breaks along the hike ... my heart was pounding so fast so I had to really slow down.

As we climbed higher up, the trees began to thin out a little bit. I believe this is Kyes Peak, but I could be wrong

Now, along the ridge of the mountain, we can see all around. This is about 3 hours into the hike, and I believe that's glacier peak in the distance. Beautiful.

Reaching Virgin Lake means now we begin the steep 600ft muddy descent to Blanca Lake ... still not done

My huckleberry collection and wild raspberries along the trail too! Eating these for energy saved my life!

FINALLY made it to Blanca Lake ... aquamarine lake fed by the glacier up in the distance. Freezing cold water, but I found a friend:

The hike TO the lake was brutal enough, but it was having to hike all the way back out that was the toughest part. Having not eaten breakfast (yeah, I know .. REALLY bad idea), I was nearly about to faint. With lots of mental support from Ian and P., and a ton of breaks, we eventually made it out alive. This really was the toughest hike I've ever done, but in the end we completed it :). Next time I'll be better prepared with LOTS of food and water! For now I'm content in the city, but maybe we'll try it again sometime ;-)

The following day, we took it easy with some early afternoon dim sum in the International District, and a fun trip to Safeco Field for my first ever Mariner's baseball game.

All about Ichiro down here!

View of Alki Point from Safeco Field

Despite not being a huge sports fan, I had a lot of fun at the game. I liked being able to walk around the field and see what was going on from different angles.

After resting up, we took the Amtrak Cascades train down to Portland, Oregon!

Portland's Union Station is much prettier and better maintained than Seattle's King Street Station. Seattle is repairing its train station, so hopefully it will look quite grand eventually, too.

A cool pedestrian bridge over the station to some waterfront condos

After a wonderful breakfast in the Pearl district, we stumbled upon this "Art in the Pearl" festival. Streets were closed down and lots of different crafts and food vendors were out.

Our hotel, The Inn at Northrup Station, was right on the streetcar line and we had free streetcar tickets included with our stay. The Portland Streetcar, combined with the MAX light rail throughout the city all contribute to a very pleasant car-free journey around town. All of downtown Portland is a "free ride" zone for any of the rail transit

The streetcars, made in the Czech Republic, were clean, quiet, roomy, and very efficient.

One of the older red-line MAX light rail trains running through downtown

A newer yellow-line MAX light rail set running through downtown

We need more of these ... streets closed to cars, but open to public transit and pedestrians

Pioneer Courthouse Square, downtown

Pioneer Courthouse

Lots of bridges over the Willamette River running through Portland

Love this color :-)

Stopped for dinner at the Moroccan restaurant (Marrakesh) next to our little hotel. They had bellydancing  during dinner

Our meal was banquet-style with 5 courses. After washing our hands at the table, sitting on beautiful leather poofs, we started with a chilled eggplant salad with bread and lentil soup, then came P'stilla (chicken, raisins, almonds, and egg inside of a phyllo dough package and topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon), then our entrees (various tagines - mentioned in my last blog post), and finally with some almond pudding and of course, Moroccan mint tea. It was really fun and delicious!

The next morning we took the MAX light rail to Washington Park where we then took a small train through the mountaintop park to the International Rose Test Garden

Portland supposedly has some of the best conditions for growing roses, and many varieties of roses from around the world are tested here

My cool "sap dripping down the tree" pic ;-)

That afternoon, we also checked out Portland's food cart scene. Tons of little trucks and stands all around town provide some of the best lunch deals! I had a Bosnian pita from Ziba's Pitas. Instead of a mediterranean style pita that most people are familiar with, Bosnian pita is actually some kind of filling which is rolled between dough into what looks like a cinnamon roll. It was delicious! I had a spinach pita with a side of Cufta (meatballs with garlic sauce). Ian had some of the most delicious fish and chips I've seen. I hope Seattle loosens up its land-use laws to accommodate more food carts - they bring so much more vibrant life into various parts of the city.

Tanner Springs Park ... a cool new marshland park, completely self-sustaining. Rainwater is fed back into the pond which waters the marsh and filters itself. This is in the newly redeveloped, pedestrian-focused Pearl District with lots of cute condos around and the streetcar running through.

And with that we headed back in the late afternoon back towards the train station ... killing some time along the Willamette River waterfront. Portland is the 2nd largest shipper of wheat in the world, so this huge ship must have been filling up on grain

Harvesting some delicious, ripe wild blackberries along the river

On the way back to Washington along the Puget Sound by Amtrak

Took the Amtrak Coast Starlight back to Seattle:

http://www.northamericanhighways.co.uk/images%5Cpackages%5C74-1.jpg

 This train runs from Los Angeles all the way up to Seattle - double decker with sleeping rooms, a movie theater, full-service dining car, and even a video game arcade! It was slower than the Amtrak Cascades since it is much bigger and loading/unloading takes longer, but the seats were very comfortable, and roomy. I might take this down to San Francisco (even though it takes 24 hrs) someday - train travel is so much more relaxing than airports and planes.

As far as my impressions of Portland go, it was a really fun trip. The city has small blocks, so it was very pedestrian-friendly. It's definitely much smaller than Seattle and I was disappointed that restaurants and shops closed quite early but then again, we did go on Labor Day weekend. If I ever had to live in Portland, I wouldn't mind at all - it was clean, tranquil, and very pleasant. Still, I'm happy here in Seattle with lots to do and the energy of the bustle which Portland lacked. 

For now, I'm content with staying home for a little while and wind down. Time to focus on school as the semester is now more established, and focus on eating healthy and staying active. Speaking of exercise, I'm going to try playing tennis in the 2011 Vancouver OutGames - a "gay olympics" of sorts. Ian's team will be playing in the soccer tournament so we'll be there anyways ... I'd love to set a goal of competing for Tennis next July. Orchestra is starting in two weeks and I can't wait ... our first concert is November 20th showcasing a lot of Spanish composers and pieces.

Stay Tuned!