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Easy Slow Cooker Pho with Tofu and Vegetables
pho in the slow cooker| dailywaffle Growing up not far from Little Saigon, pho shops all had numbers -- Pho 79, Pho 84, but somewhere along the line pho went mainstream and so did the names of the shops.  So let's get the jokes and gimmicky names out of the way upfront. "What the Pho?" -- Kids in my class were using this one as far back as junior high -- in the late '80s. Now, it's a noodle shop in Bellevue, WA. "9-0-2-1-Pho" -- This is real. And yes, it's in Beverly Hills. "Jenny Pho"  -- Also real. In Issaquah, WA. And of course, the king of all Pho shops...well, there's an, um, king and he don't serve burgers. Creating a good pho broth takes hours, but there's no reason you can't do it. Put aside your worries about leaving a pot simmering on the stove unattended overnight, because you can make a good traditional pho broth in the slow cooker.  I never would have thought of it, and then a lightbulb flicked on over my head when I saw the recipe on Serious Eats.
Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Loaf

 chocolate chip banana oat loaf | dailywaffle

I bought a 4.5-lb. bag of Toll House chocolate chips at Costco. Joke all you want about whether or not anyone needs 12 rolls of paper towels or 6 packages of toilet paper at one time, but come the holidays, it’s the place to go.  Need a 10 lb. bag of sugar for about the same cost as 5 lbs. at the grocery store? Costco.  You’re doing spiced nut mix for an office party? Costco.  You need to restock your bar? Costco. So when I bought that bag of chocolate chips, it was without a lick of regret.  I even felt like I was being somewhat restrained, since there was a 10 lb. bag of another brand.  The thing is, I made this chocolate chip banana oat loaf with the regular chips but it didn’t produce the “chocolate in every bite” effect I was looking for.  For that, you need the minis. Good thing I have no problem with keeping a well-stocked chocolate chip pantry.
24 Hours Without Power
kettle corn| dailywaffle We were on our way out the door to see Gravity around 11 am yesterday and Wolf went to open the garage door. Nothing.  It had been a gusty morning, with acorns and pine cones plonking on the roof and leaves blowing out of the trees, but it was otherwise uneventful. Then, literally the moment we went to leave, the power went out. With my car trapped in the garage. Having the power out on a not-a-work-day Saturday should have been a liberating experience.  No power means no doing laundry, no puttering around all day on the Internet, no TV. It also means, for the most part, no cooking. No access to my car also meant not going anywhere.  It meant sitting around and reading.  It should have been a good thing, right?
The #3 Pizza in America is in Phoenix?

pizzeria bianco margherita| dailywaffle

Who doesn’t love a good list? The DailyMeal just came out with the 101 best pizzas in America, and as you might expect, roughly one-third of them came from New York state. In its analysis, The DailyMeal says, “…most of America’s best pies are still in New Haven, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Phoenix.”  {record scratch} Phoenix? Pizzeria Bianco’s Marinara pie ranked THIRD overall on the list, single-handedly putting Phoenix on this pizza map.
Toasted Coconut Spice Fauxnuts

"Two fingers," he'd say, holding two gnarled, deeply tanned digits up to his glass. Reaching into the sideboard cabinet, he pulled out a half empty bottle. He poured two fingers worth of brown liquor into the rocks glass and I followed, holding the carton with two hands and topping the booze with at least two more fingers of eggnog. Some years it was Wild Turkey and others Crown Royal, but always whiskey with eggnog. Like a lot of Japanese-American men of his generation, my grandpa wasn't a super talkative man, but he'd sit at the kitchen table and shoot the s**t over a glass of spiked eggnog, getting chattier as he got deeper into his cups.  Even now, there's nothing like a whiff of whiskey and eggnog and nutmeg to put me right back at that table with him during the holidays.
It’s All About the Butternut, Baby

ottolenghi jerusalem butternut onion2

One of the best things I've eaten in an airport was a roasted butternut and feta sandwich in Melbourne. Simple, earthy and salty all at the same time.  We're no strangers to the virtues of butternut squash around here, and in fact, my grinchiness about pumpkin this year has sent me straight into the arms of butternut squash.  Roasted, it makes great soup, salad, risotto, pasta, even pizza sauce.  Even with a good, sharp peeler, it may feel like prepping a butternut is taking your life into your own hands, but it's worth the effort.

Finding My Way Back: Maple Walnut Squares
Walnuts. Ruiner of fudgy chocolate brownies, scourge of chocolate chip cookies, I’ve tolerated you, but there’s no love lost between us. You’re slightly bitter and unless you’re incognito, almonds and pecans rocket past you on my list of favorite nuts.  Until now. Until this recipe. Paired with sweet maple syrup, you are magnificent. If, like…
48 Hours in Denver: Black Eye, Uncle, Linger

   chile rellenos at linger denver| dailywaffle

Our friends Jed and Lara hosted us in Denver last weekend. The trip has become something of an October tradition in the last few years. I'd chalk it up to the everlasting sunshine in Denver and the coincidence with the beginning of the rainy season in Seattle, but really, it's been life events. Lara and I have known each other about 12 years and we worked together for a good batch of them. The first year I flew out for Lara's baby shower and returned a year later to meet A in person.  This year, A is up and around and walking. We rolled into town with no real plan, the only requirement being a pitstop at GoLite for Wolf. If you don't know GoLite, it's good outdoor/ workout /Winter gear on the cheap.

Like the best weekends, there was plenty of hangout time punctuated with good food - morning, noon and night. It's enough to make this girl want to move to Denver.

Pumpkin Grinch

pumpkins at trader joes | dailywaffle

I’m a pumpkin Grinch this year. Before it was even October, I un-veganized a pumpkin cake with pecan streusel from Veganomicon (it was delish!), but now, even piles of gorgeous gourds aren't doing it for me.  I just can’t get on the pumpkin bandwagon. Trader Joe’s is rockin’ the pumpkin products big time – granola, toaster pastries, macarons, cereal bars, pumpkin spice coffee and tea, croissants, waffle mix,  even pumpkin body butter. You name it, they’ve got it. You can’t hit a food blog and not see a pumpkin recipe of some sort.  And yet, I’m not inspired.
Recovering from a Long Week…with Beets with Yogurt and Za’atar

beets with yogurt and za'atar | dailywaffle

Wolf was down in California finishing off Triathalon season over the weekend and I was back at the ranch prepping for the long week ahead. Food-wise, it was a hodge-podge, though I did cook Friday night after living off of enchilada casserole all week. It felt good to get back in the kitchen on Saturday morning and do something that didn't involve sitting in front of a computer. Kneading dough for pita bread and running some errands did me some good. But then that pita really needed something to go along with. Hummus?  Mmm, ok, but maybe something else?