This year’s list might be small, but it’s got some good ones, most of which I found at local craft beer bars rather than in the supermarket. I am loving the sour farmhouse styles that are becoming more popular in the Pacific Northwest, some of which are on this list.
Verte Chaud (Hot Cocoa with Chartreuse)
It’s hot chocolate and Chartreuse. Yes, that green liqueur. Yes, in hot chocolate.
Fig, Prosciutto, Goat Cheese, Basil, and Arugula Pizza with Balsamic Reduction
October is my favorite month–the leaves! Halloween! Autumn produce! Unfortunately, it’s also a high-travel month for both me and my partner, and we often have work trips back-to-back and independently of each other, which means I am behind on updating and cooking projects (and rewatching Hannibal, garden pruning, and so on). Here’s a pizza we made…
Vegan Fig Upside-Down Skillet Cake
This cake is an upside-down cake made with figs in a cast-iron skillet, and it’s vegan. Cooking in with cast iron wasn’t on my 2016 goals list, but I’m really enjoying branching out and learning new skills, like cleaning and caring for the cast-iron collection C brought with them when we moved in together. Caramelized figs, chewy edges, and a moist crumb made this cake a hit with vegans and non-vegans alike.
Lavender-Vanilla Ice Cream
C is teaching me how to make ice cream, so we came up with this recipe together…. I feel like there should be a Fried Green Tomatoes joke here because queer romance is clearly making messy foods together in the kitchen, right?
“I’ll save you every time” – Twin Peaks Cake
Or, that time when I made my partner a Twin Peaks cake and accidentally wrote Cooper/Truman fanfiction
Candy-Cap Mushroom (yes) Cookies
C is from the California part of the PNW, and their hometown is famous for candy-cap mushrooms, which are dried edible mushrooms that smell and taste as sweet as candy. (Which I guess could be a hamfisted metaphor of sorts: people don’t think those mushrooms are real, and they don’t think we’re real, either.)
Rhubarb Cream Scones with Lemon and Ginger
These barely-sweet scones are light and fluffy with lots of tangy rhubarb.
Great Book Larder Bake Off: Layer Cake
Like every other food blogger and foodie friend I know, I watched The Great British Bake Off, (or Baking Show, as it’s known in the US) this winter. I’m not a big reality cooking competition enthusiast, and the optimism and teamwork of the show were exactly what I needed. A friend told me about Book Larder‘s new event “The Great…
Nettle and Mint Tea
Spring has arrived in Seattle, and with it, so has the spring produce: fiddleheads, rhubarb, and nettles. Part of the issue with seasonal foods with a short availability is that recipe development can take a couple years if supplies are limited. This year, I got a 1/4 lb. bag of nettles at the Capitol Hill Farmers Market in late April and got to work on a couple dishes, including this nettle and mint tea, for those of you who enjoy a little punch to your herbal tea.
Special Man Chocolates to Tell Him How Special His Masculinity Is
Or, “A box of chocolates is like life: full of problematic masculine posturing.”
Mooncakes and Tea at the Lan Su Chinese Garden, Portland
Taking tea on the second floor of the lovely Lan Su Chinese Garden’s Teahouse in the Tower of Cosmic Reflections in Portland.
