Photos: Issaquah Farmers Market Opening Day

Issaquah Farmers Market kicked off on May 7 with a mix of vendors old and new. It was a gorgeously sunny day which undoubtedly delivered a good turnout. Here's a quick look at Opening Day and what you can look forward to at the market this weekend. Spring has arrived - Washington asparagus at Issaquah Farmers…

May 13, 20160Comments

Events Just for Fun

Issaquah Farmers Market Returns May 7

What a week. May the Fourth, Cinco de Mayo and maybe most importantly – the return of Farmers Market season in the Pacific Northwest. {Cue the fanfare!} After a weirdly warm winter, the Issaquah and Redmond Saturday markets return on Saturday, May 7. While the first weeks of the season are usually all about asparagus, radishes, rhubarb,…

May 4, 20160Comments

Restaurants Wine

Cafe Juanita’s La Spinetta Dinner Celebrates the Wines of Piemonte

It's always a pleasure to eat at Cafe Juanita. Although Chef Holly Smith and team continue to be recognized nationally for outstanding food and service, it still feels like a not-so-secret secret that's just for us Eastsiders. Instead of having to cross the bridge to go into Seattle, we can bring in out-of-town friends and know…

April 29, 20160Comments

Cooking Just for Fun

What’s New at Trader Joe’s – April 2016

Here's a quick look at some of the new items at Trader Joe's this month, spotted at stores in Washington state. The new offerings run the gamut from soups to condiments to dessert. TJ's also has a new Moroccon Mint Tea (not pictured - 64 oz. plastic bottle) which is surprisingly good, not too sweet,…

April 26, 20160Comments

Dessert Recipes

Tillamook + Stumptown > Hazelnut Cold Brew Ice Cream Soda

Tillamook recently released a new line of “super premium” ice cream, frozen custard and gelato with flavors including Salted Caramel Toffee, California Pistachio, TCHO Double Dark Chocolate, Marionberry Cheesecake, and Stumptown Cold Brew Coffee. And with their recent shift to putting “real food” first, the ingredient lists are remarkably straight forward. I'm slowly but surely making my way…

April 14, 20160Comments

Main Course Recipes

BAM! Balsamic Beet Slaw, Arugula & Mozz Sandwich

I had to wait until the last buttery, crunchy crumbs of National Grilled Cheese Day were licked from plates across America before posting this balsamic beet slaw sandwich. Although there is cheese here, for the most part, this sandwich is clean eating and probably just what you need after yesterday's fromage fest. It's also the…

April 13, 20160Comments

Cooking Recipes Salads Side Dishes

Pixie Power Salad with Forbidden Rice

Although all eyes are turning toward strawberries and asparagus at the market, you don't want to let Pixie tangerines pass you by. They're the finale to citrus season and while earlier tangerines offered the zing to brighten up a gray winter, Pixies are low-acidity harbingers of spring, and this year they're so sweet and lovely, the best…

April 7, 20160Comments

Book Reviews

KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST by J. Ryan Stradal | Review

The Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal is the best book I’ve read so far this year. Food is both its frame and its unifying thread and yes, there are recipes. Yet, it’s only sort of about food. Either way, it takes guts to start a story with lutefisk. Eva Thorvald, our protagonist,…

April 4, 20160Comments

Cooking Op-Ed

Other People’s Food: American, But Not American Enough

“I cook food that’s not Indian, of course, in my house. I feel like it would be a hard sell for me to write a general vegetarian cookbook or to sell that through, versus selling through an Indian cookbook, even though I’m an American.” - Chitra Agrawal, ABCD’s of Cooking and creator of Brooklyn Delhi…

March 30, 20160Comments

Recipes

What’s New at Trader Joe’s – March 2016

Things come and go so fast at Trader Joe's that I thought I'd start doing a monthly roundup of what's new and interesting on TJ's shelves. Here's a look at some of the new items spotted in March.

March 28, 20160Comments

Michelle

Photos: Issaquah Farmers Market Opening Day

Issaquah Farmers Market Returns May 7

Cafe Juanita’s La Spinetta Dinner Celebrates the Wines of Piemonte

What’s New at Trader Joe’s – April 2016

Tillamook + Stumptown > Hazelnut Cold Brew Ice Cream Soda

BAM! Balsamic Beet Slaw, Arugula & Mozz Sandwich

Pixie Power Salad with Forbidden Rice

KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST by J. Ryan Stradal | Review

Other People’s Food: American, But Not American Enough

What’s New at Trader Joe’s – March 2016

Review: The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren

Book Review: Wisdom Corner by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Book Review: Just for the Season by Rachel Griffiths