2 assumptions proven wrong, but still delicious

Coconut and Rum brownies (recipe from epicurious).

I don't regularly keep dark spiced rum in the house, so I bought the little party bottle of rum. Turns out they don't sell dark spiced rum. Just spiced rum. Also, it's a bit more than 2 tablespoons. That's ok. There's molasses! And what harm could come from having just a bit more rum in the recipe?

Pretty simple ingredients: not pictured - butter and eggs.

I thought the rum would cook away. I mean, I'm stirring it over a double boiler when I first add it, and then I'm baking it. Nope. It doesn't. I made them in mini-muffin pans so people feel less bad about eating them. Also it was work, and what if the rum doesn't cook away! Not a very good "welcome back" gift if it also includes "now you're in trouble at work."

Guilt-bite-sized.

Next up: corn bread. We had a departmental potluck to welcome our newest member. There was pulled pork sandwiches, fried chicken, grilled chicken, chicken adobo, home made peanut butter chocolate cream pie, french onion dip with veggies, root beer float fixings, dessert muffin cupcakes (think swirls of caramel and such), 3 kinds of chips, chocolate swirl cookie bars, potato salad, and more!

After cooking club dinner I thought I'd try to make arepas to go with the pulled pork, but it was after 9pm and I didn't want to mess it up and have to start a new batch over. So I copped out and did corn bread from the back of the box. First time making corn bread ever! AND I used my kitchen aid mixer! It's super handy!

Kauai Family Restaurant: This place has weird hours and is just outside of Seattle, so even though Mar and Betty keep telling me how it's better than Kona, I haven't been. Until yesterday!

I ordered this: Saimin; 2 eggs; 2 pieces each Spam, Portuguese Sausage and Vienna Sausage and rice.

To me, it read as "these are the things we put in the Saimin, and we give you a side of rice."

Here is what arrived:

Yes, yes I did order a side of mac salad and a portugese sausage musubi. Why wouldn't I???

I didn't finish all the meat and rice, but I ate the crap out of that meal. (Good things always come from exercise first, eat second).

Ultimately, I think that Kona and Kauai are comparable. I like the mac salad better at Kona, but there's more interesting variety at Kauai. For example:

Butter fried mochi!!!!

They also had home made hot sauce - "good for bloody marys!" Oh Kauai, we shall cross paths again...

Life of a Socialite...

Lately, the women in my life have decided to create grouping events by hobbies. Book club. Cooking Club. Birthday club. Just kidding, a lot of birthdays lately.

Owl and Thistle: Nothing like hanging out with Sounders fans after birthday burlesque show. Especially when you get to see the prettiest black and tan ever:

Maybe Cindy just goes to crappy Irish bars? Maybe she's too tipsy to have noticed the distinct division before? Maybe you should quit judging and enjoy the view.

There were also a random tray of hot dogs, yes. I ate one. It was free. OH, but something they do there for their fries is a ranch sauce that's chock full of dill! So good!

Next stop: loco moco train station. aka Kona Kitchen.

Need I say more? Mmm. gravy and rice.

Cooking Club! Every 2 weeks we take turns hosting and everybody brings the ingredients to try out a new recipe. Or, it can be something you've done before but would be a different type of thing for everyone to try.

I missed the first round, which was seafood linguine with home made pesto. (It might have been best that I wasn't there. I hear there was plentiful garlic, which gives me heartburn even in the minutest amounts).

Second Round: filipino/asian comfort food. Everything was from scratch (except the lumpia wrappers)

- Lumpia with green beans, potatoes, bean sprouts, pork/beef, carrots, and cabbage.

- Sauce for Lumpia (do you see this J??): sugar, white vinegar, salt, garlic ***heartburn Danger!!***

- Pork adobo: some one's grandma's recipe. And oh yes, we used pork butt.

- Rice, duh.

- Arepas: South American style corn bread. DEEEELICIOUS. Think corn bread. Now pan fry. Now bake. Eat with pork adobo. Exactly.

Clockwise from the pork adobo: lumpia dipping sauce, lumpia, Arepas, rice.

One of the ladies from cooking club (Mae) is thinking of opening her own food truck. She made the arepas, and this dessert! It's very asian-style warm dessert-ish. Tapioca, home made mochi (yes! HOME MADE ! She made it while we were there!), taro, banana, and some other stuff I don't know. I think jackfruit. It was warm and yummy.

Another lady (Nicole) made these sweet cookie roll things called barquillos. Chewy but a little bit crisp, and there's a hole in the middle to put whipped cream!

mmm. Taste the diversity.

A very stuffed, around the world adventure, all in one weekend! Now that's a stay-cation! har har.

Next : Experimental pickling. Pickled asparagus lady said I could re-use the jar to make my own pickled asparagus. If they were supposed to be cooked, I just wasted a bunch. We'll find out in 8-10 weeks!

Belly happy, diet not so much...

Din Tai Fung Dumplings! I think I ate like... 40 dumplings. I am addicted to these dumplings. They are difficult to make because the dumpling skin is so thin. Everyone will be obsessed once they've tried it. Otherwise, you must not be human.

Then we got sweet taro and sweet red bean dessert dumplings, and asian shaved ice.

This was after free morning coffee.

And later, free otis spunkmeyer cookie. I think they were breast cancer cookies.

Hehehe.

I love "My drunk kitchen"

Adventures, a Myth confirmed, and corn tortillas hate me.

I've been going to Grocery outlet more often lately. There's always something there that you don't often find or find at all in other grocery stores. Like Quaker oats instant grits (variety pack!) or this:


Don't get me wrong, I love spam - like in spam musubi. But. ew. (I would try it if some one bought it though. Not going to hate without trying it).

Also, Grocery Outlet is dangerous, because it's next door to the Dollar Tree. Slim Jim for a dollar? You mean high school nostalgia for a dollar (plus ten lbs).

Also cheese is crazy cheap and can be fancy (with a limited shelf life). Not at the Dollar Tree. You're gross.

Smash had this crazy idea that she didn't like raw oysters. I mean c'mon:

Who wouldn't like this? It's got some sort of champagne/horseradish thing to boot!

So we went to the Walrus and the Carpenter. Morbid little short story by Lewis Carol. Delicious restaurant blatantly copying some restaurant in France the cook visited (or so I hear). *shruggy face here*

We also tried some other yummies:

Before I destroyed the goat cheese: Nonna capra cheese with pickled blueberries and basil


After: with smoked salmon.
Salmon was salty. A bit of a let down compared to the rest of the meal. It's okay. Its buddy, white wine, was there to pick up the slack.


Is this creme brulee? With raspberries? Or maybe panna cotta. Creamy and delicious.

Final verdict? Of course she likes oysters. Preferably the less creamy/sweet kind. (That's what she said moment?)

Harris Birthday BBQ, and a myth explored:

J's mom is pretty much the bestest cook in the whole wide world. Deviled eggs, lumpia, marinated beef, teriyaki chicken, HOT LINKS, corn on the cob, and an interesting tomato salad. It's like all the stuff you would put on a hotdog, minus the dog and the bun. YUM.

I missed it, but some one put lumpia and the marinated steak in the hot dog. I believe this is why we're friends.

Also, we had all the players and supplies in place to test out this theory Cousin and I heard in Italy from our Canadian cohorts. Best chaser for vodka: bite into a pickle.

Rules of refinement learned:
1) It does break up the taste of the vodka. The flavors don't reallly blend. It's more just.... now you taste pickle.
2) Butter pickles are not what you want to taste after a shot of vodka.

So I had extra corn tortillas. What do you do with them? Everybody says make enchiladas. Here's the thing, everytime I rolled it up the tortilla would break. I even tried heating them up first! So instead, I did this:

Cumin/chili pepper/oregano chicken, red and green enchilada sauce, black beans, and red onion.
Make it pretty by adding stuff:

avocado, fresh tomatoes, hot sauce, Texas dip from Costco.
Ugly, but tastes good.


Revel: korean/hawaiian fusion food. They were featured on the Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate." We don't have cable, so... could not confirm. But we ordered the featured dish- which was a kimchi bowl. It reminded me of my bibimbop cravings.

Cauliflower/cheese dumplings with truffle. MMMMM. Didn't taste the cauliflower though.


Marisa's right, I should update more often. I don't remember what this was. Vegetable/cheese pancake thing with arugula?

Everything was good. But.... just tell me it's something else. It's hard to compete with the real deal. (see post later)

This past weekend was things I love, revisited. Mostly in my old neighborhood, in lower Queen Anne.
Nielsen's pastry: Soy latte, and a snitter. Which is cinnamon/sugar pastry with custard. Made fresh daily!


Pike Place - Woodringer Farms. They make jams and most importantly, they love some bloody marys. These were the last batch of the season! Even when they're in season they don't always have them available. :( But they gave me tips for the in between times. I bought 4 jars.


Bibimbop! It was Vicki's first time. Korean Tofu house, U. District. Food delicious and relatively cheap, but they get jammed often. Don't go if you're in a rush.

Starting from top clockwise: Hot tofu soup, kimchi, dried tofu, onion pancake, marinated potatoes, bean sprouts, and BI BIM BOP!!!!

For a dollar more you can get it in the hot clay bowl (shown above). It keeps it warmer longer, and the egg cooks faster. Normally the egg kind of cooks from the heat of the rice. I don't know why the rice is purple.

Yes, Bibimbop! always needs an exclamation point.