And Finally, The Herbfarm

Well, we finally went to The Herbfarm last Friday.  And it was fantastic.  It wasn't necessarily that the food was the best I've ever eaten.  It was quite good, don't get me wrong.  I think I've had better food, though.  It really is the food in combination with the unbelievable service, the educational component and the beverages that justifies the cost.  And, of course, part of what made the experience so wonderful was the company.  We went with our good friends Angus and Meredith, and that was an excellent choice on our part.

To give you some context, the theme of the menu was "A Menu for a Spring Forager's Dinner," or, as explained in the beautiful multi-paged menu, "Exploring the Foraged & Indigenous Foods of 'Salmon Nation.'"  All of my tablemates were served wine, but I opted for the "Alcohol-Free Beverages" option, which I was absolutely thrilled with.  The beverages were my favorite part, quite honestly.  The table setting was quite stunning, and here are a few pictures to show you:

This is the little frog who was holding the name card:

Here is one view of the glasses we started out with.  They were used from right to left, and each one was taken away after it had been used.  On the plate, folded in the napkin, is the menu and some plant material. We each had a different plant, which was fun.  Also, if you got up to go to the bathroom (or out to feed the pigs), you would come back to a fresh napkin with the original plant material lovingly placed atop it.

Here is another view of the glasses.

I'm now  going to regale you with the details of each course in succession.  And each course has a title.

First course was "From the Edge of the Sea."  On your left you will see Kombu-Cured Albacore Tuna on a Seaweed Cracker with Oregon Wasabi Root.  In the middle you will find some Puget Sound Geoduck Sashimi on Nori Seaweed Sauce with a piece of Pickled Bull Kelp Stalk on top.  And on your right, you see a little sipping cup filled with Local Spot Prawn Soup with Smoked Quinault River Steelhead Roe and a little Chive Creme Fraiche.  I have to say that this was not my favorite course.While I don't mind the taste of raw fish (which the tuna and geoduck were), I really don't care for the texture.  Particularly of the tuna.  The Geoduck actually didn't bother me and was maybe my favorite of the three.  The soup was fine, although the steelhead roe were a little too salty for my taste.  But darn it was pretty.

The alcoholic beverage accompanying this course was a Japanese-Prickly-Ash-&Kafir-Lime-Leaf Infused Sake Sparkling Wine Spritzer.  I had "Champagne", which was Ariel Brut Cuvee with kaffir essence.  Light and refreshing.

Second Course was "Hen 'n' Nettle" which consisted of Pan-Roasted Eastern Washington Spring Chicken and Its Crispy Confit with Poached Hama Hama Oysters, Radish, Stinging Nettle Sauce and Lovage Oil.  This was pretty tasty.  The chicken was tender but largely unremarkable.  The oyster was fine, although I'm not the biggest oyster fan, and the crispy confit was deeeeeeeelicious.  I had no idea that I was a crispy confit fan, but let the record show that I am.

The wine accompanying this course was a 2009 Reustle Prayer Rock Gruner Veltliner from Dundee Hills, Oregon.  I had a Northwest Douglas Fir and Cucumber Soda, which I think was my favorite beverage of the evening.

Between courses we also got bread.  The bread was Rustic Chestnut Bread and Alaskan Birch Syrup Pretzels, and they were served with House-Churned Jersey Cow Butter.  Delicious.  And they just kept giving you more.

Third Course was "Morel Support."  This was Spring Morel Mushrooms and Line-Caught Wild Halibut, Savory Morel Jus, Wild Watercress, Asparagus and Caraway.  They did some funky(and tasty) thing with the caraway so that it was like fried rye breadcrumbs, which you see under the halibut.  The morels were incredible.  We were all in agreement that we would be happy to sit under the table with a large bowl of the morels for the rest of the evening.  The halibut was incredibly tender and moist.

The alcoholic beverage served with this course was a 2008 Chehalem Chardonnay, "Inox," Willamette Valley, Oregon.  My tablemates didn't love this wine.  I got "Elder Bliss," which was an Herbfarm North Cascade elderflower spritzer.  Like all other beverages I consumed, extremely tasty.

Fourth Course was "Alexanders Piglet."  This was Housemade Suckling Pig Porchetta with Alexanders Seeds, Homemade Mustard-Artisan Cider Sauce, Miner's Lettuce and Gathered Forest Wildlings (another term for greens picked in the woods somewhere).  I've never had porchetta before, so don't have much to compare it with.  The flavor was very succulent and essentially porky, in the best possible way.  The texture was not my favorite, however.  It was pretty chewy and fatty.  But you better believe that the flavor won that battle, and I ate it all up, like a good little piggy.  ;o)

Oh, and they don't mention the carrots in the description.  But those two tiny carrots were the most delicious carrots I've ever eaten.  The alcoholic beverage served with this course was a 2007 Boedecker Cellars Pinot Noir, Athena, Willamette Valley, Oregon.  I drank "Candied Rose", which consisted of Pinot Noir juice, rose petals and Candy Cap mushroom.  This was really delicious (I'm running out of words here) but exotic.  It had almost a mustiness to it (Meredith thought the smell reminded her a bit of pipe tobacco) that I'm guessing was from the mushroom.  This was the strangest of the drinks, but still quite good.

Fifth Course was "Oxalic Interlude."  The whole point of this course, as explained by the adorable chef (he seriously looks like he's twelve years old.  he's apparently the youngest head chef of a five diamond restaurant in North America), was to recreate an intense lemon flavor using absolutely no citrus or vinegar.  As described in the menu, it was a Wood-Sorrel Sorbet with Lemon Geranium Gel and Lemony Leaves.  It was quite successful.  Incredibly tart and lemony and just a touch grassy, in a really refreshing way.  The perfect palate cleanser, truly.  The picture below really only shows you the crisp on top (and for the life of me I can't remember what it was).

Sixth Course was "Young Milk Lamb."  This was Whole Roasted Suckling Lamb (lamb that has only been fed on it's mother's milk) and Medallions of Pastured Lamb, Spring Onion Roasted in the Coals, New Shallot Greened Mashed Potatoes, Foraged Fern Fiddleheads and Lamb Rotisserie Drippings Sauce.  I personally preferred the slightly stronger taste and firmer texture of the pastured lamb.  The spring onion was perfectly sweet and smoky and the mashed potatoes were delicious.  Fiddleheads were fine, though a little too vegetal and firm for my taste (look at me, opining on the merits of fiddleheads, la-dee-dah).  This might have been the prettiest plate, however, and the chef personally poured the drippings sauce on each person's plate.

The alcoholic beverage served with this course was a 2007 Gramercy Cellars Tempranillo, "Inigo Montoya" (Princess Bride, anyone?), Walla Walla.  I got to drink "Tree Tea," Black Cherry, Sparkling Apple Cider, Hibiscus and Chai Tea.

Course Seven, and the beginning of dessert, was "Alpine Sheep," Ancient Heritage "Adelle" Sheep Cheese, Herbfarm Sping Farn Honey, Alpine Lakes Sheep's Milk Crisps, Alpine Heather Buds, Wild Western Juniper Berry Dust and Douglas Fir.   So, the Douglas Fir was mixed in to the honey, which was then topped with the heather buds.  The crisps (which we would like to buy by the bag), were sprinkled with the juniper berry dust.  All in all, a fine cheese course.

Course Eight, my favorite, was "Native Trees."  This was a Madrone Tree Bark-Caramel Bavarian, Whipped Big-Leaf Maple Syrup, Fresh Sage, and Crunchy Black Currants and Its Powder.  What they neglect to mention is the maple blossom fritter, which was both bitter and sweet and crunchy and delightful.  This course was so delicious I could have eaten three plates of it, though to be clear I am a total dessert fiend.  The only unfortunate thing was that I dropped a piece of the chocolate shell of the bavarian and later found it melted into my skirt.  Luckily it all came out in the wash.

Also, I declined to eat the fresh sage leaves.  The alcoholic beverage served with this course was a 2000 High Pass Huxelrebe, Willamette Valley, Oregon.  I got to drink a Gewurztraminer Juice and Rhubarb Cordial.  Both of these drinks were basically one gulp.  But a delicious gulp.

Ninth (and final) Course was "Coffees, Teas & Local Beverages and Wild Nibbles."  We got our choice of various coffees, coffee alternatives and teas, each served in and poured from individual french presses by our servers.  I chose to drink the Madrone Tree bark tea.  I love Madrone trees.  They're really beautiful, and apparently they've been used by indigenous folks in teas for a very long time.  With our beverages were Puffed Wild Rice Crispies, Sea Buckthorn Pate de Fruit, Licorice Fern Root Truffle and Rhubarb-Oxeye Daisy Tarts.  They were tiny little bites, and for some reason our table got a double serving of this course.  No complaints here.  It was all quite tasty.

Margo's favorite was the wild rice crispies, which were quite nutty in flavor.  I really liked the sea buckthorn (I assume in place of gelatin) fruit de pate.  It was intensely fruity and tart and sweet all at once.

As we walked out the door to return home, we were also handed Japanese Knotwood Cookies for the road.  I ate mine the next morning, and it was so buttery and crumbly and decadent.

Most interesting fact:  tulip petals are edible, the flavor varies by color and they are quite delicious.  I'll never look at a tulip the same way again.

Funniest anecdote of the evening (unless you're his wife).  Our friend Angus was insistent that milk tastes better when drunk from a silver goblet and coerced the wait staff into bringing him a chilled silver goblet filled with milk (which was not on the menu), a subsequent pitcher of milk for refills, and a glass glass full of milk so that we could do a comparison taste test.  I'm afraid he's right, but I'm not going to be purchasing any silver goblets in the near future in spite of that.  Below is a picture of Angus pouring milk from the cat pitcher into his silver goblet.

All in all, it was a fantastic evening.  Between the food, the beverages, the service and the overall experience, it was worth the cost.  If you want to know how much it cost, you can go to the website and do the math.  Just don't think less of me because of it.  Especially when I tell you we might make this a yearly tradition.

Birding, Our New Hobby

So, we've been talking about birdwatching for a while now.  We've even looked at a few birds.  But our birdwatching has taken a more serious committed turn in the last week.  All it took was a restful and rejuvenating long weekend on Orcas Island.  We stayed at this amazing place that was out in the woods with amazing gardens and lots of birds.  We also did a fair amount of hiking (first serious hikes of the year, at 4 or so miles each) and saw our first woodpecker!!

We now own two (soon to be several more than two) bird identification books, a bird song identification CD set and two pairs of binoculars.  On a side note, both pairs of binoculars were given to us secondhand by my father, and one of them is surprisingly nice.  We took some fun pictures of the birds this weekend, which I'll share below.  I have also learned that my favorite bird (so far) to watch at a bird feeder is a red-breasted nuthatch.  And Beth (or anyone else), if you have corrections to our identifications, please let me know.  You can also check out my new list on the left side of the blog of the birds that we've seen and identified since we started our list.

All credit for the pictures goes to Margo.  Her camera rocks and she has a lens that I've seen many people eyeing with envy.

So here is a picture of my favorite bird, the red-breasted nuthatch.  I love watching these guys climb all over the bird feeder, even upside down.  The male nuthatch was also extremely aggressive towards the other birds if he was at the feeder.

The birds we saw the most of were the dark eyed juncos.  In our region, we have the Oregon morph, which is a fancy way of saying that they have different coloring here, namely a black hood.  Once we had identified what they were, we saw TONS of them EVERYWHERE.  I suspect that will be the case with many birds as we go along.  They are cute and sassy.  The dark eyed junco is on the left, and joining him at the bird feeder is a pine siskin.  We also saw quite a number of these little guys.

We had some debate about whether this next guy is a house finch or a purple finch, but eventually went with purple finch (they're not actually purple) because he's pink over so much of his body.

The spotted towhee was a little more elusive and we don't have any great pictures of him.  We actually have seen these before, but this is our first picture.  The first time we saw them, I thought they were some kind of weird robin.  They're similarly sized and the red breast was confusing.

This is one of the birds that we've had the most difficult time positively identifying.  I think it's a winter wren, but it might be a house wren as well.  He was singing at us quite assertively from his little perch.

This little lady was actually in the pond at the house where we stayed.  The picture isn't great, but it's the best shot we got.

We saw these buffleheads pretty far out on the water, but they were so pretty I just wanted to share them.

We actually see great blue herons pretty frequently when we get out of town, but Margo got some really nice pictures of this one that landed in a nearby tree on one of our hikes.

And finally, our most exciting sight of the trip, the hairy woodpecker.  We've heard plenty of woodpeckers before, but neither of us has ever actually seen one.  The picture isn't the best, but it's hard to take a picture of a moving bird when you're looking straight up the tree.  We think he's a hairy woodpecker because his outer white tail feathers do not appear to have spots, which would appear on a down woodpecker.

We're already planning all of the places we are going to go to look for more birds.  We also purchased a hummingbird feeder and a birdbath for our balcony, since we aren't allowed to have regular birdfeeders on our balconies.  And after seeing the red-breasted nuthatch throwing everything he didn't want out of the bird feeder and onto the ground, I understand why.

We Finally Did It!!

Well, after nearly eight years together, we finally made it as official as we can in the state of Washington!  And here's the evidence:

We also registered with the City of Seattle since we both work in the city and get most of our health care there.

And I have to give a shout out to both the State of Washington and the City of Seattle.  We sent our notarized applications on Friday, 4/22/11, and received our certificates in the mail today, 4/27/11.  Pretty freaking impressive if you ask me.

The Book and My Kitchen

I was listening to a podcast of the Splendid Table recently (the show for people who love to eat, as they always remind me) and Lynne was interviewing Ken Albala.  He was talking about how there is wild yeast everywhere, in the air, on our fruit, etc., and how you don't really need to use commercially produced yeast to make bread.  You can just set some food out for the yeast and they will come to you.  Mr. Albala is the co-author, with Rosanna Nafziger, of The Lost Art of Real Cooking.  I had recently decided that all cookbooks and such things are going to be previewed via the public library before purchase so I placed a hold and got the book pretty quickly.

This book is amazing.  And I just want to be clear that no one is asking me to promote this book, or paying me or any such other nonsense.  The book just blew my socks off.  The basic premise of the book is that we have gotten very far away from cooking (and subsequently eating) the way our not-too-distant ancestors did.  The authors advocate and delineate the pleasures and benefits of preparing food without small appliances and from super scratch.  Like growing your own yeast.  Which I am currently doing.  Here is an early picture of my flour and water (and now yeast) slurry:

It has since gotten much bigger.  I started it last Wednesday (3/23) and I'm going to try baking some bread with it this weekend.  You know I'll update you eventually on the results.  I also roasted a whole chicken while my mom and sister were visiting and made stock from the bones and skin and some previously collected vegetable peelings.  I've made stock before, but this book advocates cooking the stock (below a simmer: apparently simmering or boiling stock is what makes it cloudy) at least overnight.  So I took a leap of faith and left the stove on with a pot of soon-to-be-stock on it overnight.  And the house didn't burn down.  Woo hoo!  Here's a picture of it before I went to bed for the night:

To be clear, this book is not for the faint of heart or those of you who are looking for a quick weeknight meal (or, realistically, those of you with small children, or maybe any children).  The yeast slurry (what is actually pretty much a sourdough starter) must be fed and watered every night.  Every night.  As a result, I think I have more than a gallon of the stuff.  And I need to find people to give it away to.  Would you like some?  I can bring it over, if you live within a 50 mile radius.  The chicken stock involved bones and skin and the sort of things that most people who still eat meat seem to try to avoid.  But I also feel really connected to the foods that I'm making.  I talk to my starter every night, and sometimes I hug the crock that it lives in.  Truly.  I know it sounds a little bit crazy, but it's true.

So if you have any interest in this very back to the basics approach to food, check out this book. It's definitely heavy on an omnivorous diet, there's a lot about meat and dairy (the glory of cultured butter, making your own yogurt and so on) but there are a few other gems, like making dill pickles the old way (no canning required), rumtopf and a few other surprises.  I loved it so much and talked about it so much, that my lovely girlfriend surprised me with it and a nylon whisk.  That girl really knows me.  And she likes the results, too.

So Many Updates!!!

Well folks, A LOT has happened in the last two weeks.  And I'm a little embarrassed that it's been so long since I posted an update.  My mom and my sister came to visit last weekend (3/18-3/21/11).  We had a great time going to thrift stores and estate sales and playing games.  They also helped me accomplish one of my goals:  Lining and hanging the new curtains!  I'm about to show you an after picture, but let me give you some context.  For the longest time, our living room was painted three different shades of brown (I realize now it was a warm, brown cave).  To go along with that and our former brown couch, we had two sets of curtains, one ivory and one brown.  They were perfectly lovely.  Then we got rid of the brown couch.  Then we painted the living room a pale gray.  Suddenly the ivory and brown curtains just looked really, really bad.  So six months ago we bought some new curtains.  And they sat in the packages until just a week and a half ago waiting for me to quickly sew on the extra lining that I've had for years.  But thanks to my mom and my sister, they're done and hanging in the living room:

It's not the best picture, but you get the ideas.  Now, however, it has become even more painfully clear that the old green couch is going to have to go.  Luckily we've got a plan, and it looks like this.  I just want to save up a little more money before we buy it.  And we also have to figure out a way to get rid of the current couch.  I'm thinking we'll probably post it in the free ads on Craiglist, but if you want it, come and get it.

We also had a major accomplishment this evening:  We bought a new dishwasher!  By happy accident, all EnergyStar appliances were 10% off at Sears this week, so we paid a little less than we might otherwise.  It's going to be installed and the old dishwasher hauled away on Saturday, just in time for my turn to do dishes!  Ironically, it was my #3 choice of 3 models after doing research and before seeing them in person.  The sales lady clearly wanted us to buy this one, but we also liked it the most of the three on our list.  We also bought their 3 year maintenance plan, and I'm honestly not interested in hearing if you think that was a bad decision.

Work is still hectic, but I'm really loving it.  There's something really awesome about caring for people who are at their most acute.  I'm learning so much more than I anticipated.  I also had the weirdest, funniest dream about my boss last week.  I dreamed that he had put my on an experimental weight loss program that he developed (he's an MD and an MPH) and by the end of it I had gained 115 pounds.  He told me that it means I think he's a terrible doctor.  I actually think he's a brilliant doctor, but I didn't tell him that.  I just told him I think it means that this job is harder and heavier than I thought it was going to be.  I really think that's what the dream meant.  But I'm really happy I made the change.  The challenge is exactly what I needed.

Coming soon: a post on the book that has revolutionized my kitchen.  And an update on all of my recent thrift/antiquing finds (Margo and I went antiquing this weekend.  I love to go to antique malls.  We spent three hours in one of them yesterday.  It made my weekend.).  Maybe tomorrow....

Naked Ladies and Pie

Well, as I suggested I would back on January 11, I went to a strip show over the weekend with my lady and a couple of our (straightish) friends.  This was a women-only event, and a fundraiser for an AIDS organization in California (although the show was here in Seattle).  One of the most interesting aspects of this event was that every single woman who stripped was an audience member.  They called it a Strip-O-Rama and had a one hour strip tease class before the show actually started that was taught by the beguiling and ever-so-lovely Miss Indigo Blue.  (Miss Indigo Blue was also the hilarious and delightful host of the show with more costume changes than Anne Hathaway at the Oscars).  After the class, anyone who wanted to could sign up for a two-minute slot (no pun intended.  or maybe pun very much intended).  This is not the first time they've had this event in Seattle, and some of these ladies had very clearly attended and performed before.  Each act (some acts were multiple women at once) was judged by the amount of tips that they received (although all tips went to the charity).  At the end of the evening, the top three acts were then auctioned off for a lap dance.  One thing that I very much appreciated was the variety of body types and gender expressions that we saw in the performers, and every one of them received an adoring and appreciative response from the audience.

All in all, it was a seriously good time.  It was funny, it was touching, it was hot, and at times it was down-right disturbing.  As the event did not take place at a Washington State-licensed strip club and was a charity event, none of the rules that generally apply to strip clubs applied to this show.  Some people ran with the lack of restrictions.  And, as a lady who appreciates a certain type of lady, there was plenty of eye candy to behold.  So, if you're a lady who loves the ladies and you appreciate a certain degree and variety of sexual expression, I highly recommend attending this in the future.  I'm also feeling like I might almost be brave enough to consider thinking about taking a burlesque class.  There were also raffle prizes.  And so many of them that nearly everyone won something.  I'm not telling you what I won...

Moving on to Pi(e) day and the food I'm cooking as I type.  Because it is Pi(e) Day (3.14), I decided to make (with some assistance from Margo), apple hand pies.  I haven't tasted them yet, but they look delicious:

Also in the works is Costillitas en Naranja (Mexican Ribs In Orange & Chili Sauce).  It's not completely done yet, but we are hungry so we each had one not quite totally tender rib with a drizzle of sauce to tide us over until it's completely done and the barley is ready to go under it.  Here's a picture near the beginning of the cooking process:

So far, the verdict is: very tasty but very time-consuming.  A better recipe for a leisurely Sunday afternoon than for a Monday night.

And finally, here's what happens around here when you get up off the couch to go tend to your cooking:

While this one looks on in disdain:

That's all she wrote, folks.  Happy Pi(e) Day!

A Cooking Update

It's been way to long since my last post, again.  I have so much to catch up on. 

For starters, I made so very many new recipes in the last couple of weeks.  Some of them were great and some of them were iffy.  My new favorite recipe, however, is this recipe which is for cookies that are healthy, with no sugar (except what's in the chocolate chips) and no flour.  I know you're probably skeptical, but they are totally delicious and feel like a total treat.  Here's a picture of the dough below:

I also made spinach and chickpeas Jamie Oliver style.  I think I used too much vegetable broth powder, so it tasted a little to salty and vegetable brothy.  I also had about a quarter of the spinach called for in the recipe.  I think that the sauteed spinach in combination with the sauteed onions (which were sliced rather than diced) was just altogether too much sliminess for me as well.  I am typically a fan of both spinach and onions, but the slime factor here was more than I could handle.  But here is a really nice (if I do say so myself) picture of the end product:

I also made the first bread I've made in years, and the first entirely whole wheat bread I've ever made.  I used this recipe, substituting agave nectar for the honey.  I found the end product to be quite heavy and very dry.  I'm not sure why, either.  I was hoping for something a little chewy and crusty, and found neither of those in this recipe.  I don't think that it was due to the agave nectar substitution, but I don't honestly know enough about the science of baking to know that for sure.    I've also learned that there are surprisingly few recipes for whole wheat bread that call for only whole wheat flour.  Some of the recipes call for the addition of wheat gluten if you're only using whole wheat flour, and most just call for some white flour or bread flour.  This is clearly something I'm going to have to investigate/learn more about if I'm going to be making more bread anytime soon.  I will say, however, that the dough was delicious.  I also learned that if you eat a lot of bread dough, it does some strange things in your stomach and you wind up having burps that feel carbonated.  Here are a couple of pictures of the end product.  You can see how the loaf of bread just collapsed at some point in the process.

Finally, I also tried a recipe for Double Coconut Chicken.  I simultaneously cooked brown rice with some shredded, unsweetened coconut and then served the whole thing over the rice along with some steamed broccoli.  I think this would have been much better had I salted and peppered the food as directed in the recipe.  I also didn't brown the chicken as well as I would have liked.  As it was, it turned out a little bland.  The recipe was pretty easy to execute, though.  And here are the results of that endeavor:

It even looks a little bland, doesn't it?  I also question the quality of my saffron.  I purchased it some time ago for a ridiculously small amount of money at World Market.  I think it's worth another shot, although I might go an entirely different route next time and use some Thai seasonings instead.

So there's your cooking update.  If you have recipes you love, I would love for you to share them.  I'm always looking for new recipes to try.  Especially recipes that real live people cook in their real life kitchens with reasonable ingredients.  I've recently been checking cookbooks out of the library in droves as well, so if you have any cookbook recommendations, I'm all ears.  I recently purchased Urban Pantry: Tips & Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable & Seasonable Kitchen after checking it out of the library and loving it.  You might want to check it out as well.