Cafe Flora

We tried Cafe Flora's lovely vegetarian fare for the first time last weekend with a Saturday brunch. It's got a super cute dining room, and the bar and atrium-like area looked really cute too. The service was just lovely.

Here's what our party had:

Cath had a breakfast quesadilla - flour tortilla filled with roasted yams, corn and Pepper Jack cheese wrapped with egg and pan fried. It was served with some sort of hot sauce, lime crème fraîche, and a little green salad with cilantro vinaigrette.


I had the heirloom tomato summer scramble. The eggs were mixed with fresh corn, grilled onions, and fresh dill. It was topped with a few slices of heirloom tomatoes and some salty crumbles of cotija cheese. It was served with some yummy cheesy grits and a slice of blueberry bread that I am pretty sure was vegan. It was pretty good, but a lot of eggs that were nothing super special.

I should have stolen more bites of Michael's peach pecan waffle. It was a very tasty cornmeal waffle garnished with toasted pecans, tart fresh peaches, and real maple syrup. This was delicious!
Even though this place doesn't have bacon and sausage, I'd totally come back for brunch. I think it would be fun to try for dinner too.

Bakers' Blueberries

Blueberries galore, as big as your face, and sweeter than any other blueberry! Can't you feel the antioxidants working, just from looking at the picture? I can.


There is nothing quite so yumski as a summer weekend at the Bakers' house in Quilcene. Swimming in the bay, bowls of fresh-picked blueberries at your fingertips, gallons of blueberries to take home as souvenirs, always (ALWAYS) cheese for snacking, and -- if you are very very lucky -- Charlie's pan-fried oysters, and/or Patty's peanutbutterlicious granola.

Green Chiles!

Everything I ever learned about green chiles I learned from Emilee.

The first time I visited New Mexico I received an orientation packet from her, which I cannot seem to find. Too bad, because it was incredibly informative about the New Mexican cuisine. I learned about being asked "Red or green?" and I learned about sopapillas. (I also received an official Blaze of Glory tshirt, which is still in my closet, but that is another story altogether.)

Tonight, hundreds of miles from Santa Fe, I bought some fresh roasted green chiles. They were still warm when I got them home!


Ok, I admit. It was a sad little ziplock baggie full, from one pathetic tumbler/roaster thingie set up in the street in front of Whole Foods. But they are delicious!

I still have a ton, but tonight I mixed some of them (in my new food processor) with some goat cheese and cream cheese and spread it on whole wheat tortillas. Rollups for lunch tomorrow! I'm the best Mom ever--to myself! If only I could find a way to make them heart-shaped...



And, if only I were having sopapillas and margaritas with Emilee right now.

Chicken Piccata

This is my version of a Cooking Light recipe. It is divine! Light (as promised) and flavorful, and quite easy to make. In fact, I'm craving another batch!

• 2 skinless, boneless, spineless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• juice and zest from 1 lemon
  
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4-5 oz linguine

Place each breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness. Place flour in a shallow dish, and dredge chicken in flour.

Cook linguine until just before it is done. Drain.

While pasta cooks, prepare chicken and sauce. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add wine, lemon juice and zest, capers, and garlic to pan; scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for a few minutes and add pasta. Cook for another couple of minutes. Serve pasta with chicken. Top it all with grated parmagiano-reggiano and salt and pepper. Divine!

Panzanella!

Did you know there is a type of salad that is mostly bread?

!!!!

I first made this using this recipe for Tuscan Bread and Tomato Salad. But it was in need of something extra, so I added fresh mozzarella. Then it needed a little more veggie action so I added fresh-from-the garden greens. And one time I had an avocado on hand, so I added that. Brilliant! Perfection! (Oh, and I add some dijon to the dressing.) And I use little sungold tomatoes from the garden, when available.

While this tastes lovely as a main course salad on a hot summer day, I can't figure out how to make it equally as yumski without the fresh homemade croutons, which require some hot oven action.

FAIL: Salvatore Ristorante Italiano

We really want to like Salvatore. Really, we do.

It's just up the street from our house, and it's quiet and intimate, and one of our favorite cuisine genres: Italian. But after two attempts to fall in love with it, we have added it to our "won't come back here" list of restaurants.

Complaints:

• A painfully long list of specials, listed for us in excruciating detail by the server.
  
• Vague smell of stale cigarettes
• Really? You're going to put the cloth napkin in my lap for me? Really? Is that what we're doing?
  
• My caprese was swimming (swimming) in a sea of olive oil.
• My carbonara had traces of identifiable undercooked egg white. No thank you. I want a smooth, cohesive sauce.
  
• Michael was super excited about his Argentinian beef dish, but he tasted nothing but gorgonzola goo that was drenching the entire plate.
  

Ultimately, the bar is set pretty high for Italian food in Seattle by both Monkey Valley and Bizarro's. We have not found an improvement on their chill atmosphere, amazing food, reasonable prices, and incredible service.

Sorry, Salvatore. It wasn't meant to be.

Love,
Jean