in all my time of going to palace kitchen, i was unaware of their happy hour. now, however, i am aware. and let it be known, $3 glasses of sangria are to be had. always a refreshing and fruity treat, it did not disappoint. for food, my dad and i had chicken wings, a pork sandwich, and a beet salad. the sauce on the chicken wings demands bread to soak it up. the pork sandwich, also tasty. the beet salad.... was lacking in the usual greens that accompany it in other seasons, but still good. 

i havent posted in a while, but this does not mean that i have not been eating. au contraire. 

brief tour through some of the eatin's i have partaken in....

i ate phad thai at kwan jai thai the other day. it was disappointing. these guys got nothing on sea-thai in wallingford. this is seattle, you should never be subjected to mediocre thai food. though ive enjoyed other meals there in the past, i suspect this was merely a case of ketchup based phad thai sauce, which is acceptable in the home, but not in a restaurant. 

phad thai was followed by beers at brouwer's (when we found a seat. it took a while.) washington beers were on rotation, so i tried a pretty decent red ale from maritime brewing company, but it was only warmup for....belgian ales! i enjoyed the blond ale from lachouffe. it was mild but flavorful, and its ever so nice to drink from the corresponding glasses. brouwers has an incredible selection of beer, but its hard to make use of server's knowledge on a busy friday night (clearly). 

it is fall. there are pumpkin products everywhere. its a marketing ploy, and i am totally susceptible to it. i have tried varying pumpkin products with varying results, but one experience stands out. the mighty-o pumpkin donut. everything i wanted out of a fried piece of batter, and so seasonally satisfying. 

prosciutto fest 2009

with a bottle of belleruche cotes-du-rhone m. chapoutier rose (2007) chilling in the fridge, a friend and i embarked on a shopping trip to whole foods for some "snacks". we returned with a quarter pound of prosciutto di parma, mimolette (a bright orange, french aged cheese), trailhead tomme (from mount townsend creamery), and a bar of the madagascar chocolate bar from theo.

i chopped a red pear and a plum into slices, and from thence, we tried just about every combination of the listed items. i challenge the reader to find something that cannot be improved by being wrapped in prosciutto. 

the mimolette was particularly excellent with the chocolate. 

i might have to try a couple other cheeses, but thus far, i am convinced that the mount townsend creamery can do no wrong. 

*the wine bottle mentioned is currently wicked on sale at whole foods.

i purchased domaine de maubet, blanc sec, 2008 for the express purpose of drinking with my green tofu curry. unfortunately, i drank it before i began eating the actual curry. i'm sure that together, they would have worked well, but i can vouch for their individual qualities for certain. 

i sauteed green curry paste, added lime zest, green serrano pepper, then tofu. 

one the tofu was browned, i added coconut milk, lime juice, water, brown sugar, and fish sauce. boiled, then brought it to a simmer, added bamboo shoots and green pepper. 

with rice, more lime juice, and cilantro, i can not think of a better way to start fall then a nice hot curry!

i like cote du rhone continued....

domaine charvain 2007

spicy, a little dry, but not excessively so. yum. purchased at pike and western, where a great many of my wines are selected. 

i ate this with penne, sauteed zucchini, tomatoes, caramelized onion...pretty simple, but pretty delicious. 

i drank the 2008 grenache from Masia De Bielsa last night, with my burrito from the taco truck.
much has already been said about the rancho bravo taco truck on 45th.
the wine was fruity, medium bodied, delicious, and decidedly affordable.
then we roasted some eggplant slices with cumin and cayenne pepper. after half an hour in the oven, garnished with garlic, pomegranate molasses, and cilantro.
the recipe as from epicurious, and i would gladly try it again, maybe with some turmeric as well?

blog has been on hiatus for far too long.
just returned from sojourn in syria, lebanon, and france. many many delicious things were consumed, but i just want to talk about the hummous. mainly the texture....that creamy, smooth texture, complimented by little pools of olive oil. it's hard to reconcile the hummous of the middle east with the coarse piles crudely lumped on a plate that passes for restaurant hummous here. sigh.
might have to start trying to make that...
also, the fresh juice stands on the street. cheap, fresh, tasty. i'm glad that some people recognize the fact that juice stores on every corner improve one's quality of life.