A blessed bake-ation

Thoroughly enjoying the four-day-long vacation. Kicked it off Wed night by joining the masses and baking a pie for Thanksgiving. Apple. (More on this soon!)

Today, I holla for challah. This is the first time I've made this sweet-bread treat, and so far, so good. After a minor Cosby Show incident (flour all over the kitchen - and me), and discovering that Nirvana's Bleach (recently reissued by Sub Pop in honor of its 20 (!) year anniversary) make the perfect soundtrack/tempo for kneading, the braided dough is now rising in the fridge.

Tomorrow, I'll turn a bag of Meyer lemons into my first-ever batch of lemon curd. Thinking of trying Alton Brown's recipe, though if any of you have other suggestions please send them along.

All in all, I'm thankful for the time, means, and resources to spend a long weekend in the kitchen. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Plum Perfect

On a dreary Monday night (which, fortunately, was more like a Wednesday due to the short holiday week), I donned my Capitol Hill finest (all-black + tall boots) and hit the slopes to dine at Plum Bistro.

I'd been hearing over and over how great this all-vegan restaurant was, but banking on past experiences (see Teapot) + my love for Seattle vegetarian restaurant supreme Cafe Flora, I wasn't expecting much.

It was a revelation.

I'm still dreaming about the silk mashed yams with garlic that accompanied the delightfully spicy/sweet marinated tofu kebabs (nuggets of tofu alternating with perfect triangles of grilled pineapple).

Also, that heavenly creamy, spicy, rich, and ultra-satisfying Cajun Mac"n"Yease, served alongside a robust, meaty seitan version of chicken-fried steak.
I'm now on a quest to find that macaroni recipe.

For dessert, we sampled both the peanutbutter-chocolate pie and the strawberry crepes. Accompanying the pie was a whipped "cream" that stunned us all. Nary a member of our table believed it to truly be dairy-free, but the waitress swore it was soy. With taste and consistency like that, who needs cows? (For their milk. I love them for their docile presence!)


Suffice to say, it was downright delicious. I don't often trudge up to the Hill, for fear of hipster overload and no parking. But for Plum Bistro, I will return.

Regaining inspiration amidst the grey rain. But are you following me on Twitter for quick dishes? @mozgal !

Orange Things

Decade-Long Anticipation: Kingfish Cafe

It was a date nearly a decade in the making.

On Sunday night, amidst the latest rain-and-wind storm, we made our way to north Capitol Hill for a toasty, down-home meal at Kingfish Cafe. Finally. I've literally been wanting to eat at this soul food treasure since the place first opened nearly 10 years ago.

Back then, when sisters Laurie and Leslie Coaston opened the joint, the line for a table was ages long. Friends raved about the food - but also warned there wasn't much, if anything, for true vegetarians to taste. Save for cake, which we'll get to in a moment.

Whether the menu has truly changed (along with my own tastes - I now eat fish), or whether friends simply weren't reading it completely, I cannot confirm. What I can confirm is my tastebuds were prickling with excitement over the multiple veggie and fish-friendly items on the menu.



Our table selected a starter of fried-green tomatoes. We couldn't resist their notion - so unexpected and rare in this part of the country. They came fried in a delicate cornmeal coating and smothered in a variety of spicy and cream sauces. Also, a few of the house-made hushpuppies joined the toms on the plate. They, too, were fried and smothered and delicious.



They also went well with my Two Sistas Cocktail - a sweet, but not overly so, blend of peach schnapps, vodka, and lime.



For my entree, I selected the mac and cheese. Our history goes way back. It's the only "vegetarian" item that reportedly lived on the menu for a while, so I've been dreaming of it for years. Folks debate whether it really is veggie; it wasn't marked explicitly as such on the menu, yet I didn't taste any meats. It could have a secret chicken-stock base, though if it did, I didn't notice. The thing came out on my plate cut the size of a brick. I didn't leave one drop.



My husband selected a spanking delicious trio of hoppin' john cakes - an assortment of veggies mashed and formed into circular patties, like 3 gardenburgers in a way. Both of our meals came with a sizeable salad on the same plate, making each of these a steal of a deal.

Our cohorts ordered some meaty items - the pork chop and the gumbo. I didn't sample either, but both looked divine. Especially that hurkin' huge chop.


For dessert, we'd been told "Get the Red Velvet Cake" by so many friends. What we didn't know, until after, is that it's wise to order this delicacy when you sit down - because the house sometimes runs out. True to form, we ordered the RVC, only to be immediately revisited by our waitress, who sheepishly let us know the last piece had just been cut and served.

The butterscotch cake, served in its place, was a mighty bit sweet for me, but the rest of our table devoured it. Good thing there were 4 of us. The piece of cake was gargantuan (I couldn't even frame the entire piece in my photo!). Dolled up with two huge piles of whipped cream that I initially mistook for ice cream, it was obvious that Kingfish Cafe is serious about its dessert!

This was a case of expectations being pleasantly met after a long, long bout of anticipation. I just hope it doesn't take me another decade to return.

Visions of Thanksgiving Foods Dance in my Head

A chill is in the air. The leaves are morphing into russet-tinged cracklers under foot. Low, grey clouds stack the landscape with nary a peep of filtered sun shining through. Fall has arrived.

With it, my cravings for decadent, warm foods. On my notepad of "to do" items - a list that is supposed to be for work items, with jots of personal reminders - I've been scratching down ideas for holiday menus all week. The choices for Thanksgiving are already starting to overwhelm, and we're still a good 5+ weeks out.

We'll be at my family's house this year, and as usual I'll volunteer to bring at least a couple of dishes. What my assignment is, I don't yet know, but here's what I'm currently considering:

For the main dish, nutloaf - a recipe Nate brought back from a jaunt to England (along with my engagement ring) in 2002.

For a side, perhaps those sauteed and sweet Brussels sprouts I had a love affair with this summer, long before the leaves had started to fall.

Another side might be the custard-filled cornbread recipe from Orangette author Molly Wizenberg's debut book. I couldn't find Molly's exact recipe online, but this offering from the Food Network looks very close.

And then there is dessert. Usually I make a peanut-butter pie. It's obscenely simple and obscenely delicious.

Yet this year, all I can think about is butterscotch. That warm, slightly tangy, round flavor keeps sliding to the center of my mind. PCC must've been feeling rather clairvoyant because the co-op recently tweeted a link to a series of butterscotch-laden recipes. One in particular - a pie - stands out. I need an excuse to try it, so perhaps Thanksgiving it is.

Monday Night Comforts

No one is a fan of Mondays. At least, no one in their right mind.

To ease the pain of starting the week, I can't think of a better setup than this:

Vegetarian chili, bubbling on the stove
Sweet cornbread, baking in the oven
Monday night football, playing out on the tele
Two orange cats, drifting in and out of slumber on the chair and floor, respectively
Inspired husband, writing feverishly in the other room

The only thing that would make this picture more complete is an orange fire, crackling in the background.

Oh, and maybe a tall glass of one of Owen Roe's delightfully eerie Rook wines, resting in a glass near my laptop.

With all these comforts, I just might make it through Monday - and even fall in grey Seattle.