Celebrating My Birthday ALL WEEKEND LONG!

Lou and I will be at The Little Red Hen tonight, listening to our friends, Jerry Battista and Kelly VanCamp, do their rockabilly thing onstage.  Lots of dancing, and, hopefully, cake.

Sis Shannon is coming over Friday to hang with me, and spending the night.

On Saturday, we get to pick up Bevvie from her overnight trip to the Museum of Flight, then we will hopefully have a gardener come and roto-till the damn garden (we need about 150 sq ft more).  I'll cook Cuban (Bev loves to mash the plaintains in the tortilla press).  If Shannon's not staying Saturday night, then we'll save the Cuban meal until Sunday, my ACTUAL birthday.  Bev and Mom are making a cake.  Bev's idea, so I'm dubious.

There has to be a farmers' market in there somewhere - we'll run out of those pretty green eggs!

Monday, Memorial Day, is all about detox...  I'd love to drive into the Cascades and find a nice, clear creek to plunge into, because there isn't enough alcohol in the world that could make me go swimming in Greenlake.

Ess, bench, sei a mesch!

'Zanne

Chicken Kiev on Monday Night

The Chicken Kiev could not have turned out better.  I've made it a few dozen times, so I have this one down.

Earlier in the day, I herbed some butter and froze it for later, then I tortured the hell out of parchment-wrapped chicken breasts with the mallet, and sprinkled them with freshly ground pepper, Herbs de Provence, and pink himalayan sea salt, then wrapped them up and waited for the troops to come home from the war - job, I mean.

Again, there was an assembly line.  I placed the frozen butter on one end, and added some fresh herbs from the garden: a mild oregano, French tarragon, rosemary, lime thyme, and Hardy marjoram.  I added fresh dill to Mom's and Lou's, since my uncle and I don't like the taste.  I also went off-recipe and tossed in a bit of minced garlic before I rolled them up.  I let Lou bread them - he seems to like it, and he's learning not to manhandle it.

We opted to bake, not fry, and I served it with grilled asparagus and julienned carrots, and tiny buttered potatoes - I love the purple ones.

I think the recipe is already up on the blog.  If not, I'll put it up.

I'm nursing myself through a pretty nasty concussion, so I haven't been very active (it makes me sleep all day), but I'm making a pork roast tonight, a la Francaise.

Zanne

Best Weekend of the Year, so far... Gardening and cooking!

Oh, it was so beautiful up here in Seattle this weekend.  All of us pasty PNWers went around sporting sunglasses, sunblock, and sailboats.  Lou and I spent Saturday afternoon visiting our sick cat Howie at the vet, then did a bit of food shopping before hitting a yard sale on the way home at this cool, 1924 Mobil gas station-turned homestead on Rainier Avenue, which was being sold off by the family.  It was built with smooth rocks from Lake Washington,  It was sad that the family gave it up, but we heard some interesting stories about the history of the place (we'd been fascinated with it for years), and I got a huge wicker chest (for keeping fabric tidy), an old leather flask from Croatia, more vintage fabric for aprons, and a very swanky cheese shaver. $11 total.

On a whim, we followed signs right in our neighborhood to an estate sale.  It was wild.  It was a very nice home in a great neighborhood (six blocks from our house) that was owned by a recently-deceased 97-year-old man who was a major hoarder.  Heartbreaking.  I found his wife's wedding dress, which she made herself.  If there had been a square inch of harvestable material, I would have bought it, just to keep it alive.  She appeared to have made all of her own clothes, since nothing had tags.  Lucky for me, she left TONS of fabric, and an enormous box of vintage trim and lace.  I bought the whole box of trim, and two boxes of fabric, which I will use for making aprons, dresses, and corsets.  Lou came away with a pair of beautiful oil lamps, and we got an antique-but-sturdy cultivator that looks like it belongs in a slasher flick.  Top down, we drove home and ate the rest of the Scotch Eggs that we'd made this morning.

Later this morning...

Gardening for all, except my uncle.  I don't think he's really a digging in the dirt kind of guy.  Neither am I, truth be told, but I have a snazzy pair of gardening gloves.  Mom and I transplanted a lot of the starter pots into the ground or in larger pots.  I hit McClendon Hardware's massive garden center on Thursday and went nuts.  McClendon is the only local hardware/garden chain in Seattle (I think they have three or four stores), so I'd feel guilty shopping anywhere else.  As long as I don't run into Scott, the weird paint department manager who has a creepy crush on me (we frequent the same brew pub).  We have about two dozen tomato plants (inventory list follows).  I like the sweet, small ones.  Mushy tomatoes aren't for me, although I did get a couple of larger starters.  I also set up sweet early corn and long pole beans to germinate (30 of each, 2 seeds per pod).  I found a plastic tray with 60 wells for starting seeds inside.  Awesome.

For those who don't know, everything I grow in my garden/kitchen window is edible.  Herbs, spices, fruits, and vegetables.  My goal is to be have a 75%/25% grown-to-purchase ratio by the end of the year.  There are some things that you just can't grow in a rain forest.

On Sunday, we hit the Fremont Sunday Market (not a farmers' market), and Lou got two snazzy Bruce Campbell shirts.  I came away with a new pair of gently-used black cowboy boots that actually fit my dancer's calves.

Bored in Fremont, and still in search of basil and sage plants, we headed over to the West Seattle Farmers' Market and got three types of basil, a purple sage, leeks, some ambitiously spicy salad mix, a bottle of hopped meads, and hit up Samish Bay Creamery for three different varieties.

So, now we have (I know I'll forget something):

HERBS & SPICES:

• Mammoth Dill
• Rosemary (3 types: ARP, plain, and tangy BBQ)
• Mint (7 varieties: spearmint, Moroccan, lemon, orange, chocolate, peppermint, and orange)
• Thyme (caraway and lime)
• French Tarragon
• Marjoram (Hardy and gold-tipped)
• Basil (Genovese, Amethyst (it's purple!), Thai, and Italian)
• Oregano (Italian and Hot and Spicy)
• Tri-Color (Purple) Sage
• Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley
• Cilantro/Coriander
• Chives
• Coriander
• Fennel
• Anise
• Curry

I'm still looking for a place/way to grow cardamom in my kitchen, garlic, ginger, bay leaves, and, possibly, cinnamon.  Seattle rarely gets enough warm days for anything that grows in northern Africa or the Middle East, but I'll figure something out.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES:

• Carrots (F1 Hybrids and lovely mixed colors)
• Swiss Chard Bright Lights (the stems and leaf veins come in hot pink, purple, red, and yellow - awesome in a salad. I have 4 starters, plus a big pot filled with rainbow stems that are rapidly coming up)
• Squash:
• Summer Squash
• Yellow Squash
• Squash
• Acorn Squash
• Table Queen Squash
• Crooked Neck Squash
• Butternut Squash
• Gold Rush Squash (we really love squash around here)
• Zucchini (I know, technically a squash)
• Zucchino (crispy, round zucchini for salads and snacking)
• About 2 dozen small to medium sweet tomato plants, all
• Peperone
• Crunchy, sweet variety 6-pack of colorful "Mini Belles" bell peppers
• Pumpkins
• Spinach
• Spring Onions
• Walla Walla Onions
• Green Onions (Kincho)
• Bistro Salad Mix (pretty, tasty, and spicy)
• Green Peppers
• Romaine Lettuce
• Corn, Early Sweet
• Long Pole Beans
• Chives
• Aubergine
• Celery
• Poblano Peppers
• Bell Peppers, California Wonder Sweet
• Shallots (Saffron)
• Pimento
• Broccoli
• Strawberries (3 plants, two are Ozark Beauty)
• Tomatoes (2-8 plants of each variety):
• Sweet 100s
• Romas
• Sweet Millions
• Sun Gold Cherry
• Super Sweet 100s
• Yellow Pear Tomatoes
• Taxi (Yellow)
• Sun Gold
• Oregon Spring
• Early Girl

Thanks to Mom for helping me garden, and to Lou for helping with this inventory.

Zanne Rose, 5/3/2011

New Recipe Posted: Chicken Kiev

In honor of the major traffic on the blog from Russia over the weekend (I think it's the povitica recipe), I've dusted off a few of my Russian recipes.  Chicken Kiev is the first.

To pay homage to my recently departed favorite restaurant, Rasputin, in Vancouver, BC, the next main course will be shashlik.  Yum.

For now, though, you have Chicken Kiev.

Chicken Kiev Recipe


Ess, bench, sei a mensch!

-Zanne Rose
from The Zzyzx Road Kitchen
www.zzyzxroadkitchen.blogspot.com

New Recipe Posted: "First Signs of Spring in Seattle" Sangria

Just what it sounds like.  It's freakishly beautiful up here today.  We've all been hanging out on the deck, gardening, watching our carnivorous cats trap small, feathered things...

"First Signs of Spring in Seattle" Sangria - enjoy responsibly

Save the Date, Seattlites: June 4, 2011 - the Renton Stop and Swap is back!

This is a garage sale gone wild, except that everything is FREE!  If you have extra crap, or need more, this is the event for you.  You can just unload it and leave - there's no setting up a table to hock your wares.

Last year, I got a beautiful, solid wood, hand-painted room divider, a nice chest of drawers, Mom got a really ugly chair that she loves (which is probably going BACK to the S&S this year), and I can't remember what Lou got.  Tools?  Not sure.  I know that we had to make two trips in the Land Rover (RIP Salty Bob) because we snatched too much stuff.

If you want to know more about it, here's a link to the City of Renton's webpage on the S&S.  Ignore the date - it was for last year, but I just confirmed the date for this year over the phone with the coordinator.

http://rentonwa.gov/living/default.aspx?id=24324

Have fun, reuse, and recycle!

Chili and Cornbread

I wish I could give you guys a recipe tonight, but the chili just happened, and the cornbread recipe came from http://www.allrecipes.com/ (although I substituted the white sugar for brown, and used butter and a cast iron skillet instead of canola oil and a cake pan).

I used 1.5 pounds of thinly-sliced steak instead of the usual ground beef, fire-roasted tomatoes, vine-ripened tomatoes, 2 heads of garlic, my own herb-infused garlic oil, cracked cardamom seeds, one yellow onion (to give my family a break from those vicious purple ones), turmeric, cardamom, oregano from my window garden, peppers...  I told you that I can't give you a recipe.  It really does just happen i nmy kitchen.  This, that, more salt...  I always get Lou's final approval - his taste buds are more specific than mine - he can nail it in one bite - he knows what's missing.  I love those last 20 minutes in the kitchen with him, pouring, shaking, pinching, plucking...  Don't be dirty, kids.  We're still talking food!

Lou gives a ride to work to the sweetest woman, a young mother of two small ones, and she eats anything that I cook and always returns my Tupperware.  J'Nai.  She's so sweet (and spunky), and is from The South, so I'm sending her a lunch tomorrow.

My plan is to get up early and fry up some begniet for the working folk in the house, then climb back into bed with my favorite guy, my blind Maine Coon, Howie.  I'll send some pastries with Lou to J'Nai, too.  Not a bad way to spend an early morning...

G'night, kids...

Things That Make Zanne Go Mmmmm...

Things That Make Zanne Go Mmmmmm...

In no particular order (because I'm a dual-minded Gemini incapable of making up my mind), and for no other reason than being opinionated and treating myself to a bit of self-promotion, here are some of the foods and drinks that curl my toes and straighten my hair:

MOJITOS:  Definitely, a well-made concoction featuring fresh mint, limes, sugar, and white rum, muddled so roughly that you forget ole What's His Name after the first plunge of your wooden phallus.

MARTINIS: A healthy - very, very healthy - pour of potato vodka, just breathe across the top of a bottle of dry vermouth, and make it dirtier than a gangbanged porn star on the "outtakes" menu of the dvd.  If I can see through it, I'll send it back.  If it doesn't make my ankles swell in one sip, I should train you better.

GINGER ROGERS: Yes, I'm a dancer who worships at the taps of the silver screen legend, but in this case I'm talking about a drink invented by Mike and Kat, who run The Driftwood Room at the Hotel deLuxe in Portland, Oregon, our home away from home.  It's such a complex recipe that even with my advanced bar-bitch/lush skills, I haven't been able to replicate it in my home.  It's sweet, hot, filled with ginger and Domaine de Canton, Bison Grass Vodka, Fee Brothers Rhubarb Bitters, and SUGAR!!!!!  If you like sweet and hot together, this may be the drink for you.

SHOES:  Docs and dance shoes...  I have 21 pairs of Docs.  Oh, wait, you can't eat shoes, unless you're adrift at sea and are adverse to chomping down on the rest of the residents of the lifeboat.  On to the next...

JOSH GATES:  Damn, did it again...  Wait, there's a lot of white meat on that one - still off-limits culinarily (I think I just made up a word, and it sounds really dirty)?  And he's Kosher!


BEER: Yeah, yeah, chicks and beer.  Piss off.  I don't sip Bud Light longnecks through a straw with a napkin wrapped around it.  I love beer - the darker, the chewier, the better.  My husband and one of my dearest friends are homebrewers.  GOOD beer, I should specify.  Porters, stouts, hearty cream ales, and just about any British, Irish, Scottish type of beer.  I'm not such a a fan of the Belgian/German types, but I do love a lot of Eastern European beers, like Sarajevo and Baltika 6 and 9.  Brains Dark from Wales and Kilkenny from Ireland are my very top choices, but both are impossible to get stateside.  Thank you to my friend Tim Adams from Medicine Hat for introducing me to Kilkenny on holiday several years back in Vancouver.

BREAKFAST FOR DINNER: Scrambled eggs with cheese, thick slices of bacon, and fried potatoes.  Nothing better.

MASHED POTATOES: What could be better than butter, cream cheese, boiled tatties and garlic?  I could eat them every day, except I might gain back that 114 pounds.  So, as part of a well-balanced diet, mashed potatoes kick ass.  That's my nutrition tip for the week, kids.

STEAK: Grilled, thick, well-seasoned, medium rare.  I used to be a well done kind of girl, but I've given in to my inner Cro-Mag in the last few years.  Always good with potatoes, or my homemade strawberry-balsamic vinaigrette and wee little tomatoes.

CHAYOTE:  This is a recent find, and I eat it raw almost every day.  Firm, tangy, possibly some sort of squash, but I just slice it thinly and snack on it.  It looks like a pear, but it's a vegetable.  Great crunchy snack, sweeter than a carrot, and about the consistency of a very firm apple.

SQUASH:  Any kind.  I didn't appreciate squash when I was a kid, but an ex got me excited about them about a decade ago.  I guess people who live on Lake Michigan eat squash all the time, because he knows a dozen ways to cook acorn squash...

MEAD: This lovely honey wine is actually the reason that I'm married (finally, at 33 - now I'm nearly 37).  I met my husband (http://www.blueloulogan.blogspot.com/) when he was dressed like a pirate in the pub at a renaissance festival.  We drank mead all day and all night, and even though I tried very hard, I couldn't shake the barnacle in the weeks that followed.  Almost 4 years later, we're still sharing bottles of mead.  Sky River Meadery is our favorite (http://www.skyriverbrewing.com/).  Since then, we've shared the sweet nectar during bath nights, upstairs nights, trips away to the Hotel deLuxe in Portland (http://www.hoteldeluxeportland.com/), and anytime we want to remember why we love each other.  Okay, go take your insulin shots...  Even I feel like throwing up...

BITTERS:  Not the old man beer that you get served warm in England, the herbal digestifs that you have to hunt down online and through bartenders.  Angostura Bitters is the most well-known, and we have some - we have nearly 20 varieties - but we have some great locals here and in the rest of the States.  My favorite (not surprisingly) is Cardamom Bitters from Scrappy's, from right here in Seattle (http://scrappysbitters.com/), but they just came out with a lavender bitters that would be heavenly in a Ginger Rogers, with vodka and Domaine de Canton (a spicy ginger liqueur).  I'll be purchasing both this coming weekend.  They can be a bit on the spendy side, but Fee Brothers are a lower-priced but well-made alternative who offer several varieties: Old Fashioned (sweeter than Angostura), Rhubarb, Mint, Aztec Chocolate, Orange (Angostura also has an orange), Grapefruit, Cherry, Cranberry, Peach, Lemon, and Whiskey Barrel Aged.

BBQ: Who doesn't love barbeque?  Okay, maybe vegans, but people strong enough to fight back...  I love it on a baked potato.  Nothing better.

Just to separate Zanne from the generally accepted ideal of the rockabilly princess, I do not drink PBR from a can, have molded hair, cuff my jeans, wear 6-inch platforms and dance like gazelles, and survive solely on baby carrots and ranch dressing.  Oh, and I sweat.  Yeah, I said it, I sweat.  My dress is soaked and my curly red hair is even kinkier by the end of a night on the dance floor.  I wear Docs with dresses and dance like, well, a professional dancer.  I have fun, I make mistakes, I laugh on and off the dance floor, and I don't pick my partner based on the height of his pomade-smothered duck's ass.

Damn, this started out about food and drinks.  Sorry for the digression.  Enjoy your late night snacks, and I'll chat with you later...

Another Day at the Market - Opening Weekend at Olympia's Farmers' Market!

So, I kicked Lou out of the bed around 7:15 this morning, and made him drive 60 miles south of Seattle to the state capitol, Olympia, Crunchiest City in the World!  They have a 4-day a week market (http://www.olympiafarmersmarket.com/), and this was Opening Weekend.  Awesome.  Most of Seattle's neighborhood farmers' markets don't open until April 27, or the second week of May.  At least I made tea before we left, and we had fun singing along to the Crazy Heart soundtrack.  Can't stop listening to that.

Anyway, we arrived early, but all of the vendors were great about us wandering around their shops.  It's a permanent structure, not pop-up tents like Seattle's neighborhood markets (http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org/).

At the very crunchy but still tasty whole wheat valhalla Blue Heron Bakery (http://www.olympiafarmersmarket.com/Blue-Heron-Bakery/), we got ham and swiss croissants to get us through the morning, and came away with a variety six-pack of tomatoes: Early Girl, Sweet Million, Taxi (yellow), Roma, Oregon Spring, and Sun Gold.  We're putting them in the ground next weekend, along with a bunch of seeds that I have for other nibbles.  The nursery owner said that I can't get basil starters until Mother's Day, which is the last chance of frost for Seattle.

I also found a 4-pack of starters for these magnificant Swiss Chard plants called Bright Lights.  Red, yellow, green, purple...  What a tasty, colorful salad those will make.  I also have seeds for those.  A photo of matured and harvested chard is below - how can you not want to use this every day?!

Oh, by accident, we found a great store in Tacoma called Tacoma Boy's (okay, we were looking for the Sonic).  I got local Honeycrisp apples for 99 cents, local Fujis for 50 cent, Idaho fingerling potatoes for 35 cents, and local strawberries for 99 cents!  Not only that, but it is a haven for beer and wine lovers.  I found a 4-pack of Fuller's Porter in pub cans - I've NEVER seen that in the States before - even at Spec's Liquor Warehouse in Houston, the largest liquor store in the entire world (I get excited just thinking about that place).  Lou got a beer called Highway 78 that neither of us had heard of, but the Beer Geek pointed him toward it.  Tasty.

I'm on my second Fuller's with some just-this-side-of-stale pretzels. Num.  Great beer and nearly-turned salty treats go so well together.  Plus, we're watching "O Brother, Where Art There?" with my mom and uncle - they've never seen it!

I wished that the market had been bigger, but it was a good mix of nurseries, food, produce, and "organic" soap.  I do love handmade soap...

Oh!  I almost forgot!  After the repeated sabotaging of the art deco treasure, the ferry Kalakala, which last week left her bilge pump electrics cut, and quickly left her with a serious list and quickly filling with water, Lou and I wanted to check on her in her Tacoma industrial canal berth, and we're happy to say that the beautiful ship is above water and sitting square. I can't understand why someone would go to so much trouble to harm a beautiful ship like the Kalakala.  Or any vessel.  Or even spray paint a fence or a freeway overpass.  Vandalism just perplexes me.  For anyone interested in the fate of this wonderful piece of NW history, my husband, Blue Lou Logan, keeps track of it on his blog.

 On that note, I'll go back to my beer, nasty pretzels, and my not-so-nasty family.

Oh, and whoever keeps viewing from Denmark, send me a message - introduce yourself!  I don't bite hard, and I've had all of my shots.

-Z

Off to the Farmers' Market in Olympia - Opening Weekend!

Lou and I are up early to hit the opening weekend of their farmers' market.  Woohoo!  I'm sipping my first cup of tea while he's kilting up.  Awesome!

For those outside of Western Washington, this is no ordinary neighborhood farmers' market.  This baby runs Thursday through Sunday weekly, in the crunchiest town on earth.  Not a shaved armpit in site, I tell ya...

It's gigantic!  Scores and scores of vendors: bakeries, produce, honey, nurseries...  Cheese!

It's worth the 60-mile trip to our state capitol, even if we get lost again.

Cheers, everyone!  I'll let you know what I find.

-Z

Coming Soon: Spice World!

Coming Soon: Spice World

I get a lot of questions (online and in person) about how I spice food, so I'm working on a spice encyclopaedia this weekend (between bath time with the husband and naps).  I'm including sources, common uses, MY favorite uses, possible substitutions, and any interesting historical trivia that I have.

And, yes, I'm having to look some of this up.  It's fun for me to compile and learn more about my own cooking.  For instance, basil is native to Latin America, and was brought to Europe for the first time by Christopher Colombus.  Today, there are two dozen varieties of basil, grown all over the world, and is considered the "Black-Thumbed Gardener's" best chance at avoiding herb-icide.

Dinner in Marrakesh

Moroccan Feast

Shish Taouk, Shish Kebab, Cardamom and Lemon Broiled Potatoes, Grilled Marinated Aubergine, Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf, and Fresh Mint Tea

Another full day in the kitchen!  Marinating, slicing, applying Neosporin and Band-Aids when The Mangler (my guardless mandolin) won the first round...  I made both Shish Taouk (chicken breast) and Shish Kebab (steak), and gave the chicken some sweet red bell pepper love while giving the steak a bite with crushed fresh cranberries.  Obviously, not traditional, but tasty.  I didn't have any plain yoghurt, so I used organic whole milk (used only for cooking - we don't drink whole milk - or milk at all) to break it down.

Cubed red potatoes, tossed in their own marinade of lemon, cardamom, mint, and rosemary (okay, and about 40 other spices and juices), are always the hit of my Moroccan cuisine.  Basically, I have to overfill my plate at dinner just to ensure that I have enough left to make a leftover lunch (I don't eat much).

So far, I'm the only one guzzling the tea (although I just switched to my favorite cheap red wine), but I have no problem with that at all.

The rice was full of Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Julienned Carrots, something that I found in my root veggie bowl that looked like a beige, wrinkled carrot that I couldn't remember buying, but it looked, smelled, and tasted okay, so I sliced it on the beaten-into-submission mandolin, popped a slice in my mouth, and it tasted like a slightly sweet carrot.  So, I julienned that, too (by hand, after the carrot incident), added some minced garlic, used Brown Basmati Rice, then toasted the whole thing before I added the liquid: low-sodium, free-range chicken broth.  Because I didn't want sticky, Chinese take-out rice, I used an extra 1/2 cup of stock.

I marinated the thickly-sliced aubergine (about 3/4"), and broiled that in the oven while Lou was outside grilling the meat.  Set the table, sit, down, and eat was the only thing we had left to do.

Okay, so Uncle Billy didn't eat the rice, but he at least ate the meat and potatoes.  I'm still trying to figure out what to cook to please him, but we're a healthy food household, and I am lost when it comes to a 54-year-old man who goes through two giant Coke Slurpees a day.  I have to just decide to cook the way I usually do (healthy, lots of vegetables), and let him fend for himself.  Who ever pictured me as a nuturer?  If you said, "I did," we're no longer friends.

I hope you all had happy, satisfying meals, and are safely tucked in next to your kitchen bitch.

-Z

That Grey Squash...

That green and white "grey squash" that I got really didn't have much flavor.  I was snacking while working the mandolin (stupid, I know), and it was just sort of... there. It didn't taste badly, it just didn't taste at all... This was the first squash I've ever met that I didn't totally dig.

Also, I still have that "Garnet" thing (Mom thinks it's a yam of some sort).  Not sure what that's going into.  I stole the picture below, but mine looks just like this one.  Same sticker, too.

Meat?! We Don't Need No Stinkin' Meat!

Winter Vegetable Casserole

After a full day of sewing without issue, my trusty Singer decided to start abusing the top thread, so I headed into the kitchen to stare at the pantry for a half hour.  Then, I let all of the cold air out of the fridge (my parents were always going on about that).  Back and forth, staring at food and recipes, and I just couldn't put together a meal in my head.

Finally, after cleaning the kitchen, cursing the sewing machine, and spending a bit of time surfing Eat Cook Share, I decided to put my Nuclear Fallout squash stash to good use.

Taking my fingers' lives in my own hands - wait, that doesn't work.  Anyway, I got out The Mangler, our carnivorous mandolin that's missing its guard, and grabbed everything that I thought might be tasty coated in garlic and olive oil and tossed into the roasting pan at 450 degrees.  Chayote, yellow squash, grey squash (it's really green and white), aubergine, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, zucchini, carrots, red onion, tomatillos, garlic, fresh thyme, rosemary, tarragon, and marjoram from my window herb garden, and tossed it all in my special, cardamom, garlic, and lime-infused olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and ground mustard.

When the whole house smelled great, I took the pan out of the oven and scooped it into individual casseroles, then topped them all with mounds and mounds of cheese.  I put brie on mine, and Lou picked cheddar.  Oven set to broil, we gave them ten minutes to bubble and brown, then a half hour to cool off enough to snarf.

Only problem: I made enough for a family of 8, so there will be lunches sent out with the workers in the house, and I'll have my vegetable intake quota made for the next three days.

My uncle didn't even try it - not surprising.  He's very picky.  I'm not sure he's eaten anything green since Kennedy was president.

Tomorrow will be easy: Moroccan-slash-Lebanese.  I have to learn to make naan...

Let's Talk About Martinis

Okay, you all know, or have heard of, my kitchen bitch, Lou, a/k/a Mr. Zanne (thanks bnldavid for Mrs. Bnldavid),  Recently, okay, for 3-1/2 f'g years, this weird ass pirate guy has been following me around like my Seeing Eye Bitch, Sammy Davis Jr., Jr. (thank you, Liev Schreiber), sniffing my tail like we're married, then I find out this week that we actually ARE married in some crazy Ukranian head-slapping tradition.  WTF?  Who is this guy?  He tells me that his name is Vitoli, and keeps asking me how he can be of service.

Chop, bitch, chop!  Slice, dice, broil, grill, suck toes, whatever I tell you - what molestable woman in her 30s isn't interested in being worshipped?  Certainly not this one.  I have a toe slave for the next 50 years.  I can live with that.

Oh, back to martinis (sorry, I get off track when it comes to worshipping the Goddess that is Zanne).  Dirty, dirty, dirty, and only potato vodka.  That grain alcohol crap isn't fit for consumption.

What was I talking about???

Oh, for me, chill the glass with ice water, inhale over an open bottle of dry vermouth, exhale into an ice-filled shaker, skip the olives but drain half the brine in the jar into the shaker, and fill the rest with potato vodka.  Shake, pour, and make sure there's enough vodka left for another round.

A cosmo is not a martini.  An apple-tini is not a martini.  Vodka, gin, whatever twirls your skirt, but if you put something called "Pucker" into a martini glass, it's not a martini.

This is going to sound crazy, but it's awesome.  Everything I said above, but switch out pickle brine for the olive brine.  Thos little midgets are best, and I can eat them by the case.

Can We Really Believe the Tarted-Up Weather Guy on KOMO? Really? Sunny Weekend? In Seattle?

I think the constantly-pregnant weather girl picks out his ties.

But aye, they have predicted no rain for the weekend, which means that Lou can get sailing time in on Sunday, and Mom, Bev, and I can do some gardening.  I have a sun-deprived herb garden trying to grow in a mostly-shaded north-facing window.  We don't actually have any windows with southern exposure.  It's how you build houses in Seattle nowadays - pick your best view and spend all of your window budget there.  So, I have a bright, sunny kitchen to cook in, even though there is an annoying buzz from the fluorescent lights.  What crackhead put those in?!

Speaking of cooking...  I spent all day dealing with fabrics and dyes and trim and patterns that the only thing I could muster up was a bottle of wine and ramen noodles.  Seriously, that was my dinner.  Lou, as usual, made use of tortillas, cheese, and his comal.  He's going to turn into a quesadilla one day.

My big yellow bowl is calling to me from atop the toaster oven, so I need to make something special.  Lentils and pecans are sounding good to me, but I've been neglecting Lebanese Night, which might turn into Moroccan Night or Persian Night.  It's Middle Eastern or Lasagne Rolls tonight.  I'll decide AFTER I get back from my errands.

I'll be posting some photos that some of you have seen - food that I've already made.  There must be a slideshow "gadget" in here somewhere...

Another Day in the Trenches - well, I think we're Supposed to Dig Our Own

Lou and I started out early this morning, hitting the big DT Goodwill in search of usable canisters in which to put our bulk food booty.  After that, we did the obligatory Target run for paper products and Ziploc bags, and laughed our asses off when we found "White Noise 2" starring Nathan Fillion, for $3.00.  Come on, I had to.  I actually really enjoyed the original, but seeing Captain Mal chase ghosties???

Our next stop was the most fun.  Sky Nursery.  I've seen smaller zoos!  I raided the herb section - quite impressive.  I walked away with Spearmint, Moroccan Mint, Italian Oregano, Marjoram, Gold-tipped Hardy Marjoram, Dill, Caraway Thyme, Taragon, Rosemary (arp?), Rosemary (plain, I guess).  All that, and some great heirloom seeds that Mom and I are going to plant tomorrow, after a trip to McLendon Hardware for some potting soil, sandpaper, and a few cans of indoor satin finish spray paint.  I'm painting the cabinet doors in the kitchen.  I'm too lazy to paint the whole place, or to use a brush or roller.  I was inspired by La Cucina again.

My mom is actually cooking breakfast - some sort of scones.  She and Lou are both too altered to understand right now.  So, after a hard day in the dirt (you KNOW I have gloves, right?), we'll all take a Trip to Beirut, my special Lebanese menu.  Shish Taouk, Lebanese potatoes, grilled asparagus, grilled squash and eggplant appetizers, with almond rice pilaf.  I love making this meal.

After Sky, we hit Central Market, first for a much-needed lunch at the gigantic store's food court, where we ran into the guy who was behind us at Sky, chatting with us, so we invited him to sit down and have lunch with us.  His name was Larry, 56, with two grown sons who live in Las Cruces, NM, and was sleeping in his car two years ago, after getting laid off in the Great Seattle Business Freakout (when both Lou and I were also laid off).  He was obviously doing well now, since he was shopping for gardening supplies and overpriced produce.  Anyway, it was nice to chat - Lou and I are both outgoing.  For me, it's forced, for him, well, he's a Leo...  I'm Gemini, BTW.  I can run hot or cold in public.  I did snap at a kid in the store today.  That happens...  I don't like those nasty little things touching me.  They don't wash their hands.

We actually didn't need that much from Central Market (it's a specialty, crunchy store), since I'd done $40 damaage at the farmers' stalls on Thursday.  Organic milk and cream, Cage-free, organic eggs (yeah, I know, we are THAT kind of crunchy), great cheese selection, the Olive Bar, where they don't charge me for checking out with 4 to-go containers of JUST olive brine, for my martinis...  Oh, and the bulk foods section is where I do my business.  Dried beans, masa, cornmeal, chickpeas, exotic rices - this section rocks.

Anyway, after Safeway, we were exhausted, but still had to put this crap away!  Lou is actually still in the kitchen, even though he's already made me a kickass martini just the way I like it: dirtier than an interracially gangbanged porn star.

So, now that you know I'm insane and have brataphobia...  We hit Safeway for "normal" stuff.  Cheap red wine, Lou's beer...

KGB Pie

That's dinner tonight.  It would normally be Steak and Guinness pie, but Lou has stocked up on this great seasonal porter called KGB, and offered me a bottle for culinary use. What a guy, eh?  He's the guy who keeps my cocktails full, so how could I say no?

I'll make everyone their own pie in my cute, colorful casseroles.  Crap - I'm out of mushrooms.

All Day It Has Rained...

Sorry, I had to steal that line from the title of my favorite poem, by Alun Lewis.

At my uncle's insistence, I used his car to go shopping today, since Lou had mine.  He's so sweet.  Or, maybe he just didn't want to hear my constant chatter.

I hit the farmers' stalls in Edmonds, and picked up a lot of our staple produce, like chayote, which we put in everything, tomato sauce, stir fry, or just slice it and eat it raw.  I picked up a variety of squashes from "the other siders," Western Washingtonians' name for people who live in the dry half of the state.  Generally, we only mix to exchange produce and black market grunge mix tapes.

They didn't have much in the way of live herb plants (I'm still growing my herb garden), but I got dill, fennel, and rosemary plants, and they had some excellent bundles of spearmint and huge basil!

I grabbed a big prickly pear cactus leaf, which I've no idea what to do with, but that's why we have the Internet.  I also got a few other vegetables that I'd never tried: rutabaga, two other root vegetables that I'd have to look at the receipt for, and parsnip.  Oh, yeah, something red and chubby that they called a garnet.  Squash of some sort?

Oh, and I FINALLY found the hard ginger candy that World Market stopped carrying last year.  Ginger is the best thing for nausea for me, and it happens far too often for me.  And, no, I'm not pregnant.

I think I'm doing individual beef & Guinness pies tomorrow, then Lou and I are hitting the Central Market on Saturday morning, so I need to come up with a menu plan.

I apologize for not posting more recipes - I've been a mad, sewing woman.  Who wants an apron?

Goodnight, all,
Zanne

Photo Shoot!

Lou made me get all dolled up (ahem, Lish), for a totally goofy photo shoot in the kitchen and on the deck (in the rain - thanks, Lish), because there are no post-weight loss photos around, and my blog needs some spice.  A half dozen wardrobe changes, red cowboy boots, skinny jeans, red patent leather stilettos, my disco-rific party dress (check for the cleavage in those shots - I'm lying on the kitchen table), oh, and a vintage pink prom dress from the late 50s where I'm "grilling" in the rain, wearing the red cowboy boots.  Those are my favorites.

So, as soon as Lou gets the photos to me, I'll be a-postin', y'all.