Wedding Anniversary and Travel Plans

It's hard to believe, but today, June 30th, marks my and Stuart's one year wedding anniversary! Exactly one year ago (almost to the time I am writing this, eek!) we were saying our vows to one another in beautiful Genoa, Nevada. It was such a memorable day, and we wanted to celebrate with the best way we know how -- with high quality food! In this case, we of course wanted to go out for a nice dinner here in Seattle. We had a tough time deciding where to go, for while we have many casual favorites that we love to go to on a regular basis, we couldn't think of a special place that felt right for the occasion. We finally decided on a restaurant called Hitchcock on Bainbridge Island, which involves riding on a ferry boat across Puget Sound. We went last night and it turned out to be an amazing dinner. I particularly liked the roasted turnip appetizer, pictured below.

Today, on our actual anniversary, we celebrated with a picnic on the beach at Discovery park. This was quite appropriate as we have had many memorable picnics together throughout our seven year relationship, including many in California and one in France. We also had a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne that we popped, courtesy of Stuart's brother Drew who gave us the bottle on our wedding day. It was a complete luxury and definitely took our celebration to a whole new level!

Tonight we are actually having a low-key dinner at home, because tomorrow morning I am flying to Los Angeles and from there taking a direct flight to ISRAEL! I will be there for two weeks participating in the popular "birthright trip" through a company called Israel Outdoors. It was sort of a last minute decision as I only signed up two months ago, but I am so excited to see a little bit more of the world and gain a greater understanding of what is going on in that part of the middle east. I hope to come back to Stuart on July 14th a little bit wiser, full of Mediterranean food, and tan! I will not have regular internet access while I'm abroad, so unfortunately you will have to wait two weeks to see pictures from my trip. Until then, bon voyage!

Chicken with Tomatoes, Apricots, and Chickpeas

I have to say, I'm a big fan of meals that can be cooked in one single dish. You know, those one-skillet-wonders that take 30 minutes or less, and leave you with barely any dishes to clean up afterward? While those types of meals are great for when I'm on the way back from sitting in a cubicle all day or, (more recently) the all-consuming life of a graduate student/English instructor, such meals can in fact be the only thing that make it possible to cook a great meal for yourself at home versus succumbing to expensive takeout or the wonderland that is the Trader Joe's frozen food aisle. 

This gem of a chicken dinner was actually first discovered and cooked by my husband Stuart. It was memorable not because of the unusual role-reversal -- since he's usually the one on dish duty and I'm cooking -- but because this is such a great chicken dish with really nice flavors. The flavors of tomatoes, apricots, garbanzo beans, and spices combine with the chicken to make this extra delicious. Be careful though, because a time or two we've been a liiiittle heavy handed with the cayenne pepper and you do not want your eyes watering while you savor this dish, unless you are in fact the type of I-love-spicy person who enjoys crying into your plate. We like to serve it with cous cous, which does mean another pot to wash but only takes a few minutes to whip up.

Ingredients:

4 boned, skinned chicken breast halves

Kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes

1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

1 tablespoon sugar

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (15.5 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzos), drained and rinsed

Preparation:

      1. Sprinkle chicken breasts all over with salt and pepper.

      2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, then add cumin, coriander, and cayenne; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken and cook until golden brown on underside, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until brown on other side, about 3 more minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

      3. Stir tomatoes, apricots, sugar, and garlic into the pan used to cook the chicken (retain juices and spices). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and return chicken to pan. Cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in chickpeas and parsley, and cook until heated through. Serve with rice or cous cous.

 

 

Tilikum Place Café

Wow, it's hard to believe, but I just graduated with my Master's degree!! That's right, you can now call me "Master" Kristina, as I have just wrapped up my last week as a graduate student in English Composition & Rhetoric at the University of Washington. The program was the reason why Stuart and I moved up to Seattle two years ago, and it's seemed to have gone by in the blink of an eye. To be honest, it's been a marathon of hard work and I am definitely proud of myself! I had a naive vision of what "going back to school" would be like when I was first accepted -- I pictured leisurely hours spent in coffee shops reading, and the same amount of social time that I had during my college years. However, I was off the ground running from day one when I was hired to teach Public Speaking (never took it myself...) to 45 undergraduates (some who were almost my age!). I rarely studied in coffee shops because that meant you had to buy a coffee, something I felt my meager stipend could not often afford. And of course, I was wracked with worry since I didn't ultimately know what I wanted to do with my degree, and my life. While I still don't know the answers to those big questions, I'm now happily freelancing as an editor for a textbook company, looking forward to moving back to sunny California, and seeing where my life takes me next. Now that I've tackled grad school, I know that I can tackle anything.

 

Now that my personal life happenings are off my chest, we can get back to the food. Ah yes, the food. Because my parents are here to visit for graduation, and there is a LOT of good food here in Seattle. Today, I want to share what is perhaps my new favorite breakfast/lunch spot in Seattle: Tilikum Place Cafe. It is an adorable little spot near the Space Needle, where they fresh-squeeze their orange juice, work with delicious fresh ingredients, and reasonably price everything. My family and I had a fantastic lunch here, and everyone cleaned the last bite off their plate. I can't wait to go back. 

 Fresh squeeze OJ...really. I saw it.

Chicken Salad

Sardine Sandwich

Beet and hazelnut soup

 

 My order: savory Dutch baby pancake with broccoli and bacon, baked in a personal skillet

  I don't drink coffee, but I had to drink this. And eat the baby shortbread cookie that came on the spoon!

Thai Chicken Noodle Curry

As someone who loves food, I have long enjoyed eating all types of cuisine from Indian to Mexican to Greek. That said, I must say that Thai food is one of my all time favorite meals. Nothing quite beats a savory panang curry or noodles smothered in some delicious, mysterious sauce. However, I've never felt very confident in trying to cook Thai food at home. All those mystery ingredients just weren't something I had lying around the pantry, and I just figured it would be a lot of work to get the taste of Thailand in my own kitchen. However, a recent issue of Sunset magazine featured this recipe, and have to say it comes pretty close to the taste of restaurant style Thai noodles.

Just throw together some chicken, coconut milk, curry paste, and fresh herbs and you can be on your way to re-creating a Thai style meal at home! Once you purchase the basic ingredients, like curry paste and fish sauce, they'll last forever and lead to many more tasty meals. I have no doubt that if I had Thai friends nearby they could give me even more pointers, but for now this hits the spot. 

Ingredients

            10 ounce wide rice noodles

            2 teaspoons vegetable oil

            2 tablespoons minced garlic

            1/4 cup minced shallots

            12 ounces boned, skinned chicken breast, thinly sliced crosswise (I cheated and used pre-cooked chicken from Trader Joe's)

            1 1/2 tablespoons panang curry paste, such as Mae Ploy brand

            1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk, divided

            1 tablespoon sugar

            1 tablespoon lime juice

            1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

            1 tablespoon Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce

            1/2 cup sliced green onions

            1/2 cup cilantro leaves and small sprigs

            1/2 cup Thai basil leaves

            1 lime, cut into wedges

Preparation

            1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

            2. Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add garlic and shallots and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken, curry paste, and half the coconut milk. Stir well to dissolve paste and boil until liquid is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining coconut milk, the sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and fish sauce, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is slightly thicker, 2 to 3 minutes more.

3. Add noodles, toss to coat, and cook a few minutes until hot, stirring often. Pour mixture into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, and basil. Serve with lime wedges.

 I invested in some curry paste, fish sauce, and Thai noodles in order to make this dish