In the introduction to her book, The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making, Alana Chernila says, “This is my kitchen. Come on in, but be prepared—it might not be quite what you expect.” Which begs the question, of course, what do we expect? A lot of DIY-type books of this sort can be a little preachy, taking themselves quite seriously and explaining why it is so important that we start making staples at home. That doesn’t happen here. What we do find is the real-life kitchen of a mother and a writer with two young girls who aims to make many staples at home rather than buying them at the store. This is a genuine book of a busy mom cooking for her family, juggling, navigating, and balancing all that comes with those two endeavors. It’s also a likeable and charming book, regardless of your station in life. Mother or not, home cook or not: everyone will find something useful here.

Chernila starts off her discussion of the recipes and her approach to food by listing the reasons why she makes a great deal of the food her family eats at home:

• Food made at home is better for you.
• Food made at home tastes better.
• Food made at home usually costs less.
• Food made at home eliminates unnecessary packaging.
• Food made at home will change the way you think about food.

In short, it’s better for us and our health and also better for the planet. Of all the reasons though, I love the last one, the one that insists you’ll start thinking differently about food. I think this is true anytime you step into the kitchen to prepare a recipe. You’re taking the care to feed yourself and your family, to try a new recipe or technique, or simply to chop herbs and wash greens for the week’s lunches. It’s all about intention and setting aside a little chunk of time to prioritize the way we feed ourselves. In this sense, the book stays close to home, with stories about raising daughters, Chernila’s relationship with her husband, and life on the farm. Chernila discusses how she came to certain recipes, why she likes them, and walks you through more difficult tasks and techniques. While she stays close to home, there is a hint of a broader, more global discussion:

“If we are to become people who make butter, we might have to shift the way we see ourselves a bit. We might have to get into the adventurous spirit and unearth our own curiosity about where our food comes from.”

So yes, it’s fun to make ketchup at home. But beyond fun: it’s important, too, because we know where exactly the tomatoes came from and what they looked like when they were picked. We were there when it was made — heck, we made it–and it’s got to taste better for it.

Now as with anything, there has to be a balance. It’s not likely that most of us have the time (or energy) to make all of our own condiments, bread, pasta noodles, ice cream, butter, and yogurt. Even Chernila says that any given week looks different. Some weeks she’ll have a rockstar few days of tackling lots of pantry staples and getting homemade dinners on the table. Other weeks, it’ll be all she can do to make a homemade batch of granola and granola bars for the girls to eat on the ride home from school. Such is life. For all of us, I think. And I like Chernila’s honesty about this; it makes the book and her approach to cooking seem much more inviting and exciting rather than overwhelming and discouraging.

Mixing the Cracker Dough: As Easy as a Flip of a Fork (or Hand)

Flipping through the cookbook, numerous recipes stick out as things I can’t wait to try. There is the homemade ricotta, Car Snacks (different nutty bars for the ride home from school), homemade ketchup & mustard, veggie burgers, hamburger buns, graham crackers, easiest chocolates, fruit roll-ups, toaster pastries, and chocolate sandwich cookies. Where to begin? The thing that strikes me about the recipes is the overall simplicity here. You’ll see a recipe for Ravioli, not Stinging Nettle and Aged Gouda Ravioli. Just ravioli. Sometimes after reading a batch of the newest food magazines, the ways in which people try to reinvent very good, basic foods to make them more marketable, new, and interesting can become tiresome. That won’t happen here. You’ll find recipes for applesauce, lasagne, and oatmeal. That’s not to say this is a boring book or that these recipes are all intuitive — they’re not in the least. But they’re also not trying to be something they’re not.

Rolling Out Crackers

One such simple, delightful recipe are the homemade crackers. Now I should preface this by saying I eat crackers often at home in the late afternoon. I have a weakness for Triscuits, but I’m really not too discerning. A good cheese cracker or rye cracker does the trick, too. So when I came across the recipe for Wheat Crackers in The Homemade Pantry, I knew I had to make them. And after making them and discovering how simple and delicious they are, I knew I had to share them with you. These crackers contain millet and flax seed. They’re made with olive oil and two different kinds of flour, are super simple to roll out, and are infinitely adaptable with any kind of herbs you’d like to add, grated cheeses or ground nuts. Also: they’re way, way better than a store-bought cracker and cheaper to make. While I think the homemade butter is next on my list, the crackers were a good place to start. They make the kitchen smell toasty and inviting, and yield a week’s worth of 4 p.m. snacks. All good things.

Before we get to snacks and homemade crackers, I took a moment to ask Alana a few questions about the process of writing the book and coming up with the recipes. Here’s what she had to say:

1. Can you describe what a typical day was like in writing the cookbook?
The book really did come straight out of our kitchen as it is on any given day. So a typical day involved all of the craziness in any other day of living and working and feeding a family, plus a whole lot of recipe testing and writing. There were days when I would start right after Joey and the girls left for school — cooking, sitting down on the couch to write, then going back to cook. Then I’d take a break and maybe cobble together some dinner, and then I’d work deep into the night. It was great work, but all-encompassing. And my family was very, very patient. There was a fair amount of pizza (not homemade) for dinner because I would have spent the whole day trying to figure out the best way to fill a homemade twinkie. The irony did not escape me that I was so busy writing about food at home, that I didn’t have time to actually make food at home! It was a huge day when that manuscript was finished.

2. What’s been the biggest surprise or challenge you faced in the process of writing and promoting the book?
I found that a first book is a lot like a first child– everything is a surprise! I think that because working on the headnotes of this particular book was a lot like writing a memoir of sorts; I was unprepared for how emotional the process of actually writing those headnotes would be…I’ve never been so immersed in the process of writing. The process of promoting the book has been a challenge, I think because I’m not always a natural saleswoman. But there’s been this wonderful aspect to it– I’ve gotten emails from people all over the country who are so excited to make their own staples at home. I love these emails! They tell me what they’ve made, and how their families react (always positively, so far!). It’s just so great to feel like I get to hang out with so many people in their kitchens. It really does feel like an honor.

3. What are your favorite recipes in the book–the ones you make over and over again? And why?
There are several recipes in the book that are mainstays of our weekly diet. I wrote the book because I felt like it was a book I needed to have on my own shelf, and sure enough, I cook from it all the time. My favorites are granola, car snacks (each family member has their favorite), yogurt, ricotta, butter, and crackers. I also have a sweet spot in my heart for the graham cracker recipe. I had such a specific taste and crunch level in my head for that one, and I feel pretty great that I found the right combination of elements.

4. What do your girls think about seeing their faces in print?
They’ve been so great about all of this–mostly I think because they’ve had some ownership over the process. They really think of this as their book, and I agree. Jennifer May, the photographer who shot the book, became part of our family over the course of that year. The girls loved her, and they got to see the photos at every step in the process. They like to show their friends the book, and each of the girls have their favorite photos. I’ve tried to be really sensitive throughout the process though. Just recently Sadie (who is now nine) has put limits on how much of her life is shared online or in print. She has requested that I ask her permission if I plan to share a photo of her or a story that concerns her on the blog. Especially now that she’s started cooking and coming into the kitchen as her own person with her own tastes and style, I think it’s great that she’s decided to draw that boundary. I can see that as they get older, it will be more of a partnership when I want to write about them.

Choose Your Shape: Little Free-Form Square Crackers

Wheat Crackers
From: The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making

Makes: 50-60 small crackers or 20 large crackers

1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus additional for the counter
1 cup (4.75 ounces) spelt flour or whole wheat flour (4.5 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup whole, uncooked millet
1/3 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for sprinkling
Optional: 5 medium garlic cloves, minced, and 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
Freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, combine the two flours, baking powder, millet, flax, salt, and garlic and rosemary, if using. Add the olive oil and combine with a fork. Slowly add 1/2 cup water, mixing with your hands as you go. Continue to add more water (up to 1/4 cup additional water) to the dough until it holds together. Knead the dough with your hands in the bowl for 2 minutes until it is smooth and very workable.

2. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface, press into a flat disc, and roll with a rolling pin until the dough is 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. For square crackers, use a pizza wheel or sharp knife and cut the dough into 2-inch squares. For round crackers, use a 2-inch biscuit cutter. Any leftover dough can be rerolled for more crackers.

3. With a spatula, transfer the cut dough to ungreased cooking sheets and sprinkle each cracker with salt and pepper. Bake for 20-22 minutes, switching the position of the sheets and rotating them midway through, until the crackers are hard to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack.

Storage: Room temperature, covered, 7 days; Freezer: Freezer-safe container or bag, 3 months.

Recipe reprinted with permission from Random House, Inc.

Buy the Book: The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making
Read Alana Chernila’s Blog: Eating From the Ground Up

That’s where we found ourselves last weekend: with an itch to get out of Dodge and check out Portland. We managed to find a relatively reasonable rate at The Ace Hotel, and were looking forward to a few days without computers — roaming a new set of city streets with little agenda except ice cream, coffee, and curry.

Strong Coffee at Stumptown

We started off the morning in the lobby of our hotel where Stumptown is the adjoining cafe. Depending on the time of day, there can be quite a line, so in addition to your wad of cash bring your patience. If you find yourself drawn to the design of the Ace Hotel, you’ll probably really dig Stumptown too. Of course the coffee is spectacular, but beyond that, the spare design cues are spot-on with customized postcards, a super sleek espresso machine, and long and low bar for easy barista viewing. Even if you’re not staying at The Ace, you can grab a cup of Joe and amble on into the hotel lobby for a seat at that big, low coffee table with the morning paper.

Kim Boyce’s Bakery, Bakeshop

After coffee, we headed over to check out Bakeshop, the bakery owned by one of my favorite cookbook authors, Kim Boyce. Boyce’s book Good to the Grain has been a constant inspiration to me as I took the leap into baking largely with whole-grain flours. Her recipes always test out perfectly, she’s charming and gracious in person, and I’d heard her bakery sold lots of the same treats that filled the pages of the cookbook. When we arrived, Boyce was forming croissants and greeted us with a smile. I was pleased to find pastries from the cookbook, including the Strawberry Scones and the Figgy Scones along with those pretty-famous Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies. And while the treats were delicious, I ultimately wanted a bit more selection, a little coffee, and more of a sit-down atmosphere. But maybe that’s not what they’re going for here — I know Boyce does a brisk wholesale business, so the retail portion of the business may not be the focus. If you’re a Boyce fan, you must visit when you’re in town. If you’re looking for a decadent, special bakery where you can sit down and enjoy a few sweets, I honestly wouldn’t make the effort.

Morning Bun, Oregon Croissant, and Cannele at Ken’s Artisan Bakery

When you’ve only got a little over 24 hours in Portland, one bakery is surely not enough. We decided to check out Ken’s Artisan Bakery, well known for their breads and laminated pastries (hello, croissants!). We managed to score an outdoor table and shared the citrus morning bun, Oregon croissant, and cannelle. The Oregon croissant was studded with local berries and slathered in pastry cream. It was one of the best things I tried all weekend, and I’m looking forward to attempting to recreate it one of these days at home. The cannelle was pretty close to perfect, with a crisp, buttery exterior and a soft vanilla-scented interior that crumbled easily with each bite. Ken’s was packed: a sure sign they’re doing something right. Judging from the pastries we ordered, I’d venture to say they’re doing virtually everything right. The neighborhood is charming and walk-able, too. A perfect weekend morning stop.

Buying Chocolate and Salt at The Meadow

After two bakeries in one morning, a break is in order. We drove over to The Meadow where I’d heard you could buy every kind of salt imaginable. This is true. We took home Rosemary Salt, Chocolate Salt and Vanilla Salt but were tempted by Red Smoked Salt, Lemon Verbena Salt and Saffron Salt. You can buy small little tins to try or larger glass vials that make a beautiful gift. They also have an incredible selection of bitters and vermouth and … chocolate. For some reason, no one had mentioned the incredible chocolate selection they have at The Meadow: everything from San Francisco favorite Dandelion to Brooklyn stand-out Mast Brothers and local Portland chocolate makers Woodblock. I stocked up for our own cupboard, for Father’s Day, and for a few friends. A splurge indeed, but I’ve been loving the vanilla salt on popcorn at home, and am so looking forward to wrapping up the special chocolates I bought as gifts. The Meadow was a pretty comprehensive website, so if you can’t make it to Portland (or their New York location) you can still order a few things to try.

A Peek Inside the Kitchen at Olympic Provisions

For lunch in Portland, I can’t recommend Olympic Provisions enough. It’s the one place I’ve been raving about to friends and family. In short, it’s Oregon’s first USDA-approved salumeria, open just three years now but boasting two locations that operate as European-style restaurants, happening neighborhood delis, and onsite meat-curing facilities. We were there later on a Saturday so they were still serving brunch, and if you find yourself in a similar scenario, the eggs benedict is something pretty special. It’s piled high with house-cured Canadian bacon, perfectly poached eggs and a smattering of fresh chives.

The Chef’s Choice Charcuterie Platter at Olympic Provisions

We also shared the Chef’s Choice Charcuterie Platter because it seemed silly to visit and not try a few different cured meats. The salami and mortadella were pretty incredible and came with a variety of pickled accompaniments, good grainy mustard, and sliced bread. A most generous and filling offering. The kitchen is beautifully designed and open, so you can pull up a seat at the bar and watch the butchers, chefs, and pastry folks work their magic. A treat for the eyes, stomach, and the senses.

Salt and Straw: Ice Cream Flight!

Later that afternoon after ambling about the Hawthorne neighborhood checking out shops and antique stores and spending a good chunk of time in Powell’s Home and Garden it was time for an ice cream cone. Friends who live in Portland swear by Salt and Straw and I’ve been reading quite a bit of good press lately, so I knew we had to check it out. We ended up getting the Ice Cream Flight ($9) which allows you to choose four flavors — a good option if you can’t possibly decided where to begin. While their delicious all-the-time offerings are always a good choice (The Salted Caramel or the Balsamic Strawberry are standouts), the Seasonal Specials are a good place to start.

Menu at Salt and Straw

We tried the Honey Lavender which was the loveliest shade of pale purple and just the right amount of floral and aromatic notes. Rhubarb with an Anise Crumble also made its way onto our sampler platter. For an afternoon stroll or evening dessert, Salt and Straw is my new favorite ice cream in the Pacific Northwest.

Of course after bakeries and ice cream cones, a proper meal is in order at some point and we ended up dining at Pok Pok, a restaurant specializing in the food served at pubs, restaurants, homes and the streets of Southeast Asia. Most of the dishes come from Thailand and, according to their website, “everything has been researched, eaten, and/or prepared in the country of it’s origin.” While many friends have reported that it’s one of the best meals they’ve ever had, we both felt like it was good but not phenomenal and left wondering if perhaps we just hadn’t ordered the right dishes. We did get the sweet and spicy chicken wings that folks rave about; I don’t usually even like chicken wings nor does my partner Sam and we both loved these. While they’re messy like most wings, they’re different in flavor than any other wing I’ve tried and have a serious spicy kick to them. We also tried the green papaya salad and the coconut curry soup, a little sticky rice, and donuts with coffee and condensed milk ice cream for dessert. If you end up with a wait when you arrive, the Whiskey Soda Lounge right across the street has unique appetizers (try the “Chicken” Three Ways: a combination of peanuts, lemongrass, and shallot) and housemade cocktails. They’re particularly well-known for their drinking vinegars — the grapefruit will make the time spent waiting for dinner breeze right on by.

Late-night drinks at Clyde Common

Back at the hotel, we wanted to grab a quick drink before heading up to the room and Clyde Common is a very sweet, spare bar and eatery on the other adjoining side of the Ace. They’re open relatively late and have a great bourbon and whiskey selection in addition to housemade cocktails (Negronis on tap!). The staff is warm and not at all pretentious, and we sat until they were closing up shop. If you can get a seat by the window, there’s some prime people watching and you still feel some of the good energy from the folks at the bar while still maintaining a bit more privacy.

The Details:

• The Ace Hotel: 1022 SW Stark St., Portland, OR; (503) 228-2277.
• Stumptown Coffee: 1026 SW Stark St., Portland OR; (503) 224-9060; Hours: Weekdays 6am-6pm, Weekends 7am-7pm
• Bakeshop:5351 NE Sandy Boulevard, Portland OR; (503) 946-8884. Hours: Wed-Sunday 7am-2pm
• Ken’s Artisan Bakery: 338 NW 21st Avenue, Portland OR; (503) 248-2202. Hours: Mon-Sat 7am-6pm, Monday Night Pizza 5:30pm-9:30pm; Sunday 8am-5pm
• The Meadow: 3731 N. Mississippi Avenue, Portland, OR; (503)-288-4633. Hours: Sun-Thurs. 10am-7pm, Fri-Sat 10am-8pm
• Olympic Provisions 1632 NW Thurman St, Portland, OR 97209; (503) 894 8136. Hours: Lunch, 11am–3pm Monday to Friday; Dinner, 5pm–10pm Tuesday to Saturday. For other location information, check the website.
• Salt and Straw: 2035 NE Alberta St Portland, OR; {503}208-3867. Hours: Open 11am-11pm Daily. For information on other locations, check the website.
• Pok Pok: 3226 SE Division Street, Portland OR.; (503) 232 1387. 11:30am – 10:00pm, 7 days a week.
• Clyde Common: 1014 SW Stark St, Porland OR; (508) 228-3333. Hours: Lunch Weekdays, 11:30am – 3pm. Happy Hour Weekdays, 3pm – 6pm, Sat-Sun 4-5pm. Dinner Mon-Thurs 6-11pm, Sat-Sun 5-11pm. Late Night Menu Mon-Thu 11-11:45pm, Fri-Sat til 12:45am.

Washing and Spinning Fresh Cilantro for Salsa

Entertaining means different things to different people. Whether it means having a few buddies over for some beer or planning a more structured dinner party, you get to see people you enjoy and hopefully eat something delicious. In our house lately, this involves good salty tortilla chips and fruity salsas. Typically you’ll see tomato-based salsas when you go out to eat, or you’ve likely seen mango salsas at higher-end grocery stores and Mexican restaurants. While I love pico de gallo and tomato salsas, there’s something really special about seasonal fruit salsas. They’re bright, fragrant, and add a welcome balance to the more typically savory foods that tomato salsas accompany.

Market Fresh Strawberries!

The nice thing about both of these recipes is that the fruit is in season right now. Go and get yourself some strawberries and an ataulfo mango! Because most of the ingredients are the same in each recipe, you can make a mental note when you’re at the store to grab some cilantro, a few jalapenos and limes and you’re going to be in pretty good shape. This is one of those appetizers you can actually throw together at the last minute if unexpected folks arrive or you run out of time to make something more complicated. There’s a bit of chopping involved which I love when I’m having people over because you can put them to work! This obviously saves you time, but I find that people end up gathering in the kitchen anyway, and right when folks arrive at a party it can be nice to have a task to take the pressure off of standing around and making small talk right away.

Salsa Duo: Ready to Party.

May, in particular, is a great month to entertain and make fresh salsa at home. Obviously, we have Cinco de Mayo and it’s also National Salsa Month. So there’s a lot of salsa going on. If I were you, I’d stray from the norm just a bit with fresh fruit instead of tomato. Both the Strawberry and Mango/Cucumber Salsas are wonderful with just tortilla chips, but if you have leftovers, they’re also great on top of grilled fish or chicken. Or stirred into leftover rice with some chopped parsley for a quick lunch. A soft-boiled egg on top makes a heartier meal. You’ll see: the uses are endless. Happy spring, and happy salsa making.

Spring Strawberry Salsa
As with the mango salsa, if you prefer a spicier salsa, feel free to keep the seeds from the jalapenos and add them in. I call to discard them here just because I think a milder salsa is really nice with both of these fruits, but feel free to adapt to suit your spice threshold.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Total Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:
16 ounces strawberries (2 1/2 cups), rinsed, hulled, and finely diced
1 jalapeno, minced; ribs and seeds discarded
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 shallot, sliced thin
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Preparation:
Select your favorite serving bowl, and combine all of the ingredients inside the bowl. Stir carefully but thoroughly to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with salty tortilla chips and, preferably, beer.

Mango, Cucumber, Avocado Salsa
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Total Time: 15 minutes

For this recipe, I use ataulfo mangoes because they’re readily available right now and don’t have the characteristic stringiness or fibrousness that some other mangoes have. Ataulfo mangoes are also called honey, champagne or manilla mangoes — look for them.

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:
3 ripe mangos, peeled, pitted, and diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, minced; ribs and seeds discarded
1/2 of a small cucumber, peeled and diced (about 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Choose your favorite medium serving bowl, and combine all of the ingredients inside the bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with salty tortilla chips and, preferably, beer.

Other Easy Spring Entertaining Recipes:

• Pea Pods Stuffed with Herbed Cream Cheese – The Kitchn
• Smoked Salmon Dip with Bagel Chips – Martha Stewart
• Toasted Cumin Hummus – 5 Second Rule
• Herbed Ricotta Dip with Vegetables – Leite’s Culinaria
• Truffled Popcorn - Ina Garten
• Market Roasted Carrots - Turntable Kitchen
• Baked Artichoke Squares – Shutterbean

I had a conversation with a friend recently about some of the recipes in these books, about how simple they are. Do we really need a recipe for roasted beets? Don’t people know how to roast a beet? Not so fast. In our Bay Area food bubble, many of us roast beets frequently but there are many, too, that buy them pre-roasted and packaged at Trader Joe’s and call it a day. No judgement—we’re all eating beets and that’s a good thing, but what each of these books aims to do is get you excited about a particular ingredient and confident enough to take it on for yourself.

In James Peterson’s Vegetables, for example, there’s a recipe for Avocado on Toast. I’d adored the book up until this point but found myself stopping here: Really? Do we all need a recipe for this? Is this even a recipe? But with more consideration, I decided this was much more of an invitation for a major avocado craving, and it worked. I can’t stop thinking about avocados after seeing the step-by-step photos of slicing a creamy, ripe avocado perfectly and smearing it on top of your favorite bread. Yes, please. And this, I think, is the success of all of these books. They each garner a big, fat “yes, please” and an excitement about basic ingredients from the garden and the market.

The Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook
This cookbook is filled with beautifully photographed recipes geared at quicker meals at home. Each chapter is organized around a specific vegetable (summer squash or hearty greens, for example) and begins with information on Why to Grow These Vegetables, When to Harvest Them, How to Keep Them, and Preserving the Harvest. The information is succinct enough to get gardeners going without seeming daunting or heavy-handed, something I’ve seen similar books struggle with. They usually cover each vegetable in 1-2 pages, so you don’t feel inundated with too much gardening and cooking information — the result of which is often feeling too overwhelmed to tackle either. This is not the case with Sunset’s new book, and I’ll use it as a frequent reference, especially this spring and summer as I get out into the garden more.

Recipes to Try: Smoky Eggplant Raita, Minty Tabbouleh with Preserved Lemon, Rhubarb Cardamom Galette
Buy the Book: The Sunset Edible Gardens Cookbook

Ripe by Cheryl Sternman Rule with Photography by Paulette Phlipot
We’ve got vegetable books organized by ingredient or by season, but never have we seen one organized by color. Until now. If you read Cheryl’s blog (a recent IACP winner), 5 Second Rule, you’re familiar with her smart, witty voice, and I was delighted to discover how much of that voice shines through here in each and every recipe — I could read the headnote to a random asparagus recipe in this book and guess that Cheryl had written it. Of the book, Cheryl says it best: “What you’ll find in these pages is sensory, pretty, practical, and fun.” I concur wholeheartedly. Paulette Phlipot’s photos are stunning, and the Three Simple Uses is a unique inclusion. For each produce item, Cheryl gives three quick ingredient combinations to get you going without a hard-and-fast recipe, perfect for afternoons when you’ve just come back from the farmers market and can’t be bothered with a more detailed recipe. Not only do I love the ease of this, but I love the way it encourages home cooks to use their intuition more in the kitchen, to trust the process. I can see many vegetable love affairs born from these pages. Thank you for that, Cheryl and Paulette.

Recipes to Try: Polenta-Stuffed Chard with Bubbly Parmesan, Chocolate-Flecked Banana Buttermilk Pancakes, Apricot Frangipane Galette.
Buy the Book: Ripe

The Preservation Kitchen by Paul Virant with Kate Leahy
This book could be construed as a stretch to include in this line-up, but I think it very much captures the spirit of preserving the garden’s bounty. While the other books here tend to encourage picking a tomato from the yard, coming indoors and using it right away in a salad, Chicago chef Paul Virant has fantastic ideas for how to preserve that tomato to enjoy it later, in the dead of winter. In fact, his Introduction is titled, “Capturing the Year in a Jar.” If you’re new to preserving, there’s a wonderfully informative beginning chapter on the Principles of Safe Preserving. The organization of the book is downright likeable, with the first half, In the Jar, focusing on recipes for jams, pickles, fermenting and curing while the second half, At the Table, moves on to more substantial recipes that utilize those base ingredients. How about Braised Chicken Legs in Pear Pasta with Swiss Chard and Pickled Stems? Or Pound Cake with Dehydrated Strawberry Jam and Sweetened Crème Fraiche? With clear instructions and a full seasonal spectrum of inspiration, this has already made its way to the top of my stack of spring cookbooks.

Recipe to Try: Kumquat Marmalade, Lemon-Pickled Turnips, Pear and Vanilla Aigre-Doux.
Buy the Book: The Preservation Kitchen

Vegetables by James Peterson
James Peterson’s book is a substantially revised version of the original, with 50 new recipes, 30 new vegetables, and a new section on herbs. The section on Preparing and Cooking Vegetables is awesome: it’s highly visual and walks you through simple tasks that many of us may not know: all the different ways to slice garlic, or how to peel and seed a tomato. He moves on to cover methods of cooking, from Broiling to Roasting with a few sample recipes scattered throughout. But the heart of the book really lies in the Vegetable section, where James Peterson highlights, vegetable by vegetable, delicious recipes and photos on preparing them. If you’re even remotely interested in herbs, this section is spectacular, with photos of each herb, information on preparation and storage, and enticing recipes.
Recipes to Try Now: Creamed Sorrel, Twice-Baked Garlic and Tomato Souffles, Orange, Endive and Walnut Salad
Buy the Book: Vegetables

Grow Cook Eat by Willi Galloway
Willi Galloway is a Portland-based writer and radio commentator, focusing on kitchen gardening and seasonal cooking. This book, perhaps more than any others I’ve discussed here today, gives way more information on gardening, from Prepping the Soil to When to Plant to Step-by-Step illustrations on Building a Hoop House. Yes, if you’re a beginning gardener (as I am), this book will get you pretty excited. After the first 40 pages or so of gardening discussion, Willi moves into the heart of the book: the ingredient profiles and recipes. Again, we have a book that’s organized by the actual herb or vegetable with introductory material and a few recipes. But what makes this book different, again, is its focus on successfully growing the ingredient: there are paragraphs on Planting, Growing, Harvesting and Storing before we even make it to the cooking discussion. Then the following recipe tends to be a simple—yet delicious—sounding one. A recipe that will reward you for the bounty you’ve brought into the kitchen but won’t exhaust you with an additional grocery list or hours in the kitchen. An accessible and inspired compendium.

Recipes to Try: Spicy Cabbage Slaw, Oven-Roasted Beets with Winter Citrus Vinaigrette, Bucatini with Fresh English Peas and Garlic Scape Pesto
Buy the Book: Cook Eat Grow

Now whenever everyone starts talking about a new, exciting superfood I tend to flee in the opposite direction. Remember when the whole world was reading Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections (even Oprah)? That made me an instant skeptic. I figured surely a book that everyone in America was reading wasn’t a book that I would find to be a good read (full disclosure: I love The Corrections). I had a similar reaction with chia seeds. Sick of hearing all about their health benefits and listening to nutritionists discuss how they’re the next big thing, I turned my back on this powerful little seed. Until just last week.

It’s hard to fully turn your back because people are most certainly talking. The Today Show’s Health Blog identifies chia seeds as the next trendy health food while Prevention Magazine deems them a “pricey new food craze” and Best Health Magazine explores if they’re “worth the cash.” I purchased them in bulk and got roughly 2 cups for $3, so I didn’t find the cost prohibitive, but like all new food trends, there are surely folks capitalizing on the general public. The more research you do, even if you’re a born skeptic like myself, the more you start to look at those teeny, tiny seeds in a new light. Then when you try them, you’ll realize that they’re strangely filling and energizing.

Left Side: Raw Chia Seeds; Right Side: Chia Seeds After Soaking Overnight

The short story with chia seeds is this: chia seeds are actually a species of flowering plant in the mint family. They’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which is usually what you hear the nutritionists discussing. The seeds themselves can be eaten raw as a whole seed, packing a good punch of protein, fat and fiber (one-ounce has 4 grams protein and 11 grams of fiber!). But they can also be ground and used in baked goods or soaked, which makes them grow in size and become gelatinous in texture. The cool thing is that unlike flax seeds, you don’t need to grind them first because they’re completely digestible in whole form. I’ve started to use them just as I would any other seed, adding them to salads or sprinkled on yogurt with my morning granola. And, of course, there’s pudding.

Let’s chat pudding. While I used almond milk in this recipe, you could use a splash of your favorite milk or soy milk and it’d be lovely. This is one highly adaptable recipe. The only thing you must do is soak the chia seeds because that’s how the expand and become gelatinous, much like tapioca pearls. But the ways in which you can dress it up are endless: yesterday morning, I had a mango on hand, so I sliced up a mango and added some sliced almonds for a breakfast pudding. Or you could do a version with a dollop of cashew cream and crushed roasted hazelnuts. You add what you like. You marvel at how you kind of enjoy these odd little seeds. You think about making them again the next day. End of story.

Laying out Topping Ingredients

Chia Seed Pudding with Coconut, Pistachio and Dried Cherries

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Inactive Time: 5 hours-24 hours
Total Time: 5 hours-25 hours

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups almond milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla, if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
2 tablespoons honey + 1 tablespoon for drizzing on top
2/3 cup chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons chopped dried cherries
2 tablespoons chopped raw pistachios
2 tablespoons wide-flake unsweetened coconut

Preparation:
In a small bowl, combine the almond milk and the honey, vanilla, and ginger powder and whisk to combine. Add the chia seeds and orange zest and whisk vigorously to fully combine. Pour into a container, cover, and refrigerate at least 5 hours, and ideally overnight.

When ready to serve, stir well. Spoon into bowls and top with cherries, pistachios, and coconut; drizzle with a bit of honey.

Other Chia Seed Recipes Around the Web:

• Whole Wheat Chia Seed Pancakes - Shape Magazine
• Pumpkin Chia Seed Muffins – Oprah Magazine
• Roseline’s Cranberry Chia Granola – The Kitchn
• Chia Seed Granola with Walnuts and Almonds – My German Kitchen
• Chia Seed Flatbread – King Arthur
• Lemon Chia Seed Tea Bread – An Apple a Day
• Strawberry Banana Smoothie with Chia Seeds – Honest Cooking
• Tropical Chia Smoothie – Glutren Free Life with Jen
• Vegan Chia Seed Brownies – Fabulously Domestic
• 3 Minute Vegan Maple Oatmeal Cookies (with Chia) – Oh She Glows

I used to be under the impression that book tours were a whirlwind of excitement for authors, most expenses paid. I thought publishers provided the means and support to help authors promote their books and while on tour they had the opportunity to explore new cities, dine at trendy local restaurants and meet and greet their fans, relaxing in the knowledge that their books have been published. However, after some investigation I discovered this romanticized view doesn’t necessarily reflect what it is truly like to go on a book tour, especially for a first-time author.

I had the chance to speak with Joy Wilson, creator of the popular blog, Joy the Baker, about her experience being on tour as a new author. After attending her signing at Seattle’s lovely bookshop, Booklarder, I can tell you that her events are big and busy. She has loyal fans and they’re showing up. Apparently at previous signings, bookstores had been selling out of her books simply because they didn’t anticipate such big turnouts. The audience consists of mostly of women clutching their Joy the Baker Cookbook and patiently waiting over an hour for Joy to sign them. Some bring baked goods to share with her. There are cell phone photos, lots of laughter, and a few cat jokes (Joy often refers to her beloved cat on the blog).

But what I really wanted to know was: behind the goodies, laughs, and cat jokes, what’s a book tour really like? First, let’s start at the beginning — who plans the darn thing? It’s a common misconception that publishers send authors out on a book tour. That doesn’t happen much these days. Joy explained how she actually approached her publisher, Hyperion, about going on a book tour. It wasn’t originally on their radar mainly because it wasn’t something they could fund, but Joy felt certain she had to go and meet her loyal blog readers in person. And it’s important for selling books, so it’s a win-win for both author and publisher. “People feel like they know me from the blog and I want to help them feel that even more. But I also want to get to know them,” Joy explains. So she gave Hyperion a list of cities she wanted to visit based solely on where she had friends and beds to sleep in. Her publisher helped arrange the logistics of venues and Joy took care of the rest: plane tickets, lodging, food and incidentals. It can be a financial burden for an author, but for Joy the expense has been worthwhile.

Book signing at Book Larder, Seattle

“I wish I could go to more cities. Austin and Boston would be great, but I don’t know people there so it would be more money out of my pocketbook,” Joy explains. It’s not for lack of the publisher wanting to send her out to more spots, it’s simply a financial constraint on both ends. It’s the reality of the publishing business these days.

But that hasn’t slowed Joy down.

“I’m most surprised by how many people spend their time and energy and money to come out to a book signing to see me. That completely blows me away. Every time I go to a signing, I think there’s probably only going to be ten people on a random Thursday night, but then these rooms fill with people. It’s humbling and surprising … I think it’s the blogger relationship now and people feel so connected to bloggers and blogs that they’ve read for 3-4 years so they’re eager to meet these people in person. It is such a new thing that I don’t think publishers or even bookstores are aware of how close people feel to bloggers they read.”

They’re one loyal bunch.

So what does an average day on the book tour look like for Joy?

“I happen to be in a different city but I’m not on vacation. I don’t have a post up for this morning and I feel terribly guilty about it. Typically I wake up and figure out where to find coffee. I don’t do a lot of cooking on the road (I cooked and photographed a lot before traveling), so I edit photos, answer emails, and tend to blog posts I need to get up. I spend the day doing that, find some hopefully good food to eat in the city I’m visiting, and get to the venue an hour early.”

A typical day is filled with work and, unfortunately, the occasional meal at a chain Mexican restaurant. When in Portland, a food-loving city through and through, her fans were asking Joy where she’s had a chance to eat. The reality? Joy found a Chevy’s close to her hotel and was pressed for time, so that’s where she ended up. Not the hottest bar or cafe, not anything particular to Portland, but sustenance all the same. And often, work and sustenance is more the focus of these quick trips.

The most difficult part of the tour for Joy is traveling to cities where she knows people but faces the time constraints of having to spend most of her energy devoted to book promotion.

“I feel like I can’t always see everyone I want to see,” she explains. “The book signing requires so much energy. I want to give every person my all; I want to have a connection and experience with every person that takes time to come out to see me. That means before the event, I have to hang out by myself and be quiet — not running around the city with friends. I have to give my energy to a bunch of people I don’t really know instead.”

Baking Chocolate Brownie Cookies from Joy the Baker’s Cookbook

I can’t speak for other cities, but in Seattle, this connection was very genuine and folks lingered even after their books were signed so as to be just a bit longer in a space shared with the writer, blogger, and personality they so admire. And truth be told, the cookbook in and of itself, is reason enough to show up, too. It’s a sweetly-designed book with original photography and chapters that are arranged in a quirky way (including “I Need a Hug or a Brownie or Maybe Both” or “I Think I Just Ate Chocolate For Dinner”). Recipes range from sweet to savory, with mouth-watering inclusions like Chocolate Cookies and Cream Pudding, Banana Rum Cake with Brown Butter Frosting, and Avocado Fries. A few food bloggers here in Seattle baked recipes from the cookbook to bring to the event, and the Chocolate Brownie Cookies with White Chocolate and Roasted Macadamia Nuts were too good not to share, book tour or no book tour.

Read Joy’s blog: Joy the Baker
Check out the Podcast: Joy the Baker Podcast with Tracy Shutterbean
Check out Joy’s book: Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes
See Joy on Tour: Book Tour Schedule

Chocolate Brownie Cookies with White Chocolate and Roasted Macadamia Nuts

Makes: 24 cookies

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chunks
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
i teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder, optional
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cups white chocolate chips or chunks
3/4 cups macadamia nuts, roasted and salted

Note: If you buy raw macadamia nuts, toss them in 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roast at 350 F for 8 minutes, or until the nuts are lightly golden. Allow to cool before folding into the cookie batter.

Place racks in the upper third and middle of the oven and preheat oven to 325 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Gently simmer 2 inches of water in a medium saucepan. Place bittersweet chocolate and butter in a medium-sized bowl and place the bowl over, not touching, the simmering water, creating a double-boiler. Melt the chocolate and butter together until butter is melted. Remove from the simmering water and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Allow chocolate to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Whisk the granulated sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla extract into the warm chocolate mixture. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add the chocolate mixture, all at once, to the flour mixture. Fold to incorporate. When flour just begins to disappear into the chocolate mixture, add the white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Fold thoroughly. Batter will feel thick.

Dollop batter by the tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 11 minutes (The cookies are best slightly underdone). Let rest for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to cooling rack. Cookies will keep in an airtight container, separated in layers by a piece of wax paper, at room temperature for 5 days.

From JOY THE BAKER by Joy Wilson. Copyright © 2012 Joy Wilson. Published by Hyperion. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved.

Lately people have been talking about dessert for breakfast. First there was Nicholas Bakalar’s article for The New York Times proclaiming that eating dessert at breakfast could help folks lose weight. The gist? Bakalar reported on a study done putting 144 obese people on different diets. Those on the diet that included more carbs and a small slice of dessert in the morning lost an additional 13 pounds during the 16-week follow-up. Those on the dessert regimen boasted lower levels of ghrelin and reported feeling fuller longer. At first, this seems like fabulous news to all of us who love a little sliver of cake in the mornings: finally!

Breakfast Cookies Hot Out of the Oven!

The health portion of the news is certainly news, but eating dessert for breakfast is nothing new, now is it? Nutella has been a socially acceptable choice for quite some time, and food bloggers like Deb of Smitten Kitchen have even created spin-offs of the popular chocolate spread. We’ve long had coffeecake, and have admired its many adaptations into apple praline coffeecake or Pumpkin Coffee Cake. Then of course, we start chatting region with anything from New York Style Coffeecake to a gooey Midwest version.

There have always been donuts. These days there is even donut bread pudding or even donut ice cream. From crepes to beignets to waffles and blintzes, sweet breakfast foods have been on restaurant menus and our own tables for years. For some reason, cookies simply haven’t made the bridge from afternoon treat to morning breakfast. It’s time to fix that.

Laying Out Ingredients

This recipe for breakfast cookies is one of my favorite recipes I’ve developed in quite some time. I knew I wanted something with whole-grain flour and oats that didn’t rely on butter, had a nice spice profile, and was loaded with nuts, coconut and raisins. This recipe uses coconut oil, a wonderful fat source that I’ve been using for many of my baking recipes and much of my stovetop savory cooking lately (it’s very heat stable, so unlike olive oil, it withstands very high temperatures). Melissa Clark wrote about coconut oil last year, exploring its quick transition from fatty villian to health food store prom queen.

Trader Joe’s Coconut Oil: The Most Used Ingredient in my Kitchen

Perhaps the growing vegan population can be largely attributed to this face-lift as coconut oil gives baked goods moisture and flakiness without the animal fat component. Clark says it has a “haunting, nutty, vanilla flavor. It’s even milder and richer tasting than butter, sweeter and lighter textured than lard, and without any of the bitterness you sometimes get in olive oil.” You keep coconut oil room temperature and it remains good for two years. The best news: it used to be quite expensive but now Trader Joe’s carries it. This recipe is your excuse to make a beeline right on over there.

The nice thing about this cookie is its versatility. Use the base recipe as a vehicle to add your own favorite nuts and fruits. Pistachios and dried apricots would be wonderful and so would dried cherries and almonds. The ingredient list looks long upon first glance, but it’s really the dried spices that take up the visual landscape. In all reality, these are an almost-one-bowl affair and don’t even require a stand-mixer or beaters. If you’re anything like me, you’ll just mix these with your hands and call it a day. They’re that simple. And if you’re smart, you’ll double the recipe and freeze a few. Especially if you’re baking these off at night when they magically become the un-breakfast cookie.

Coconut, Raisin and Pecan Breakfast Cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
Total Time: 25-30 minutes

Makes: 12 3-inch cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups white-whole wheat flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup bran cereal flakes
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut chips
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, oats, bran flakes, baking soda, baking powder,cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.

In another medium bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil, maple syrup egg and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, fold the ingredients together until incorporated. Add the coconut chips, raisins and pecans and fold into the dough until evenly dispersed. At this point, I’ll often use my hands and almost massage the dough quickly to make sure all of the wet and dry ingredients are joined. Let dough sit and rest 10 minutes.

Using between 2 to 3 tablespoons of dough, scoop out onto cookie sheet, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten the cookies until about 1/2-inch thick. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are firm on the outside but still slightly soft in the center. Allow cookies to cool slightly before enjoying. If kept in an air-tight container, they will be good for 3-4 days.

Other Dessert Recipes for Breakfast:

• Gluten-Free Quinoa Breakfast Bars – Gluten-Free Goddess
• Breakfast Brownies – The Sweets Life
• Chocolate French Toast – La Mia Vita Dolce
• Raspberry Breakfast Cake – In Good Taste
• Banana Oat Breakfast Cookie – Better Homes and Gardens
• Gina’s Amazing Breakfast Cookie – Glamour
• Carrot Cake Waffles – Willow Bird Baking
• Very Berry Breakfast Ice Cream – Nourishing Days

The Greenwood/Phinney Ridge neighborhood in Seattle is rich with great coffee shops, artisan ice cream, cafes, burger joints, neighborhood bars, antique stores — even a Tibetan monastery. It is quite strollable, charming, and easy to get around. Next time you’re in Seattle, it’s time to venture away from downtown into some of the Northern neighborhoods, and this is as good a place to start as any. When traveling, there’s such an inclination to start with the main tourist sites (The Space Needle, Carkeek Park, Discovery Park, The Ballard Locks) and those things are all wonderful. But much like San Francisco, Seattle is a city built around its neighborhoods. Not many folks live right smack downtown and the neighborhoods offer such rich history, lively cafes, libraries, zoos, and new small businesses. It’s time to branch out, and Greenwood/Phinney (or Phinneywood as its often called) is the best place I can think of to start.

Chocolati

European-style Hot chocolate at Chocolati

This local chain of chocolate shop/coffee bars opened in 2000 and now they have locations in Greenwood, Greenlake, Wallingford, and inside the Seattle Public Library. I’ve fallen pretty hard for Chocolati, largely because of their cream truffles (made with fresh cream and dark or milk chocolate and very little else) and European-style drinking chocolate. They sell their hot chocolate in bulk to take home, and do traditional espresso drinks and drip coffee as well. The Greenwood location just got their beer and wine license, so it’s also a nice mellow spot to come in the evening and wind down with a glass of Cabernet. During the day, Chocolati is, hands down, the best place in Greenwood to get a little reading or studying done: there is ample table space, good light, and a warm wintery ambiance that lends itself well to settling in with a book from the library across the street.

Hot Chocolate and Truffles at Chocolati

To visit: Chocolati
8319 Greenwood Avenue North
Seattle, Washington 98103
(206) 783-7078
Hours: Monday – Saturday: 7:30 am – 11:00 pm
Sunday: 9:00 am-11:00 pm

Phinney Market

Phinney Market is the kind of place you wish would open in your neighborhood. They offer morning coffee, light pastries and egg sandwiches to begin the day and graduate to a cafe-style lunch menu, and a more substantial dinner service. The space is large and bright, with high ceilings, a long bar and a big communal table. On a typical day, there are Phinney Ridge moms and kids, young couples on dates, and neighborhood folks taking a reprieve from the demands of the day. And this is the place to do it–food wise, everything is solid.

Caleb’s Blue Burger with Painted Hills Beef

The blue cheese burger served on a Macrina brioche bun is perfectly juicy with just the right amount of blue cheese and mushrooms, and the House Beef Chili served with sour cream and and a wedge of baguette is filling on the coldest of February afternoons.

Phinney Market’s Beef Chili

And from 3-5 p.m. they offer Happy Hour prices on some of their most popular dishes, making something like the 1/4 pound burger a mere $4! With local roasters True North coffee and local beers like Hilliards and Iron Horse this is a place you not only want to support because the food is so darn good, but you feel good doing so, too.

To visit: Phinney Market
5918 Phinney Avenue N.
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 219-9105
Hours: Monday – Thursday: 7 am – 9 pm (Breakfast 7-11, Lunch 11-3, Happy hour 3-5, Dinner 5-9)
Friday: 7 am – 11 pm (Breakfast 7-11, Lunch 11-3, Happy hour 3-5, Dinner 5-10)
Saturday: 7 am – 11 pm (Brunch 8-2, Happy hour 2-4, Dinner 4-10)
Sunday: 7 am – 9 pm (Brunch 8-2, Happy hour 2-4, Dinner 4-9)

A la Mode Pie

There is a surprising lack of good pie in Seattle. I haven’t quite figured out why seeing that there is certainly no lack of coffee shops and tea bars. But the pie landscape is certainly getting better ever since A la Mode Pie opened on Phinney Ridge. Previously an online delivery service, the demand became too great and owner Chris Porter decided to take the plunge and open a shop.

Seemingly Endless Choices at A la Mode Pie

A la Mode offers at least 10-12 flavors of pie at any one time, with seasonal variations making an appearance on any given day. Customers can purchase pie by the slice, as well as whole 9″ pies which are made-to-order using organic, locally-sourced fruits.

Apple Pear Pie

As an apple pie aficionado, I have to say that their Apple Pear Pie is quite good. It’s made of sweet, tart Washington apples and organic D’Anjou pears with a little freshly grated ginger, and a dash of cinnamon. Where some apple pies tend towards a soggy bottom crust, A la Mode’s apple pear pie has a crust that’s perfectly crisp from the top down and a filling that’s spiced just enough (not too much cinnamon and a slight hand with the ginger). The apples and pears remain slightly crisp, and the crust is buttery and flaky. This is a very fine slice of pie, indeed.

A Big Wedge of Peanut Butter Pie

The slice of peanut butter pie was wonderful as well, although this one is really meant for sharing: rich, dense peanut butter filling topped with a light chocolate frosting sprinkled with chopped peanuts. It begs for a cup of coffee which they have plenty of along with comfortable seating, good people-watching, and even pints of Bluebird ice cream to take home with you.

To visit: A la Mode Pie
5821 Phinney Ave N (across from the Zoo)
Seattle, WA
(206) 383-3796
Hours: 7am-7pm, daily

Herkimer Coffee

Herkimer Coffee says that their “purpose is to create a coffee experience of the highest possible quality.” Within this mission, they sell wholesale and have two retail shops. The Greenwood shop is light and airy with a variety of espresso drinks and pastries (including Mighty O Donuts!). For anyone pondering Herkimer for wholesale, they offer individualized cuppings so the subtleties and nuances of each bean and roast can be experienced and understood. Their website offers excellent Home Brewing Tips and a nice Roaster’s Blog that details the different flavor profiles of coffees they’ve recently brought in. While it does tend to be young kid/parent central here (not really the best place to read or study, especially on the weekends), I’m always struck with how affordable Herkimer is. Each espresso drink comes with 2 shots, so a small latte starts at just $2.68. This makes a traveling wallet or a local Seattle wallet very happy, indeed.

To visit: Herkimer Coffee
7320 Greenwood Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98103
(206) 784-0202
Hours: Mon-Fri 6am-6pm; Sat-Sun 7am-6pm

Bluebird

On a cold February day, ice cream may seem like an unlikely choice. Unless, of course, you realize that if you waited for the perfect, hot ice cream day in Seattle it could be a long wait. And at Bluebird, you’re met with uber-creamy, irresistible flavors including the CB Peanut Butter made with fresh roasted organic Valencia peanuts, Chocolate Pudding, or the Elysian Stout made from Dragon’s Tooth Stout, brewed next door at The Elysian Brewery. Or perhaps a hand-crafted milkshake and a board game is more your style? Regardless, Bluebird uses all-natural dairy from local Washington and Oregon cows, and they’re constantly experimenting with new, seasonal flavor combinations (forcing you to visit often). As if that weren’t enough, there are rumors of a back patio and a beer license so they can start doing dessert floats in the summer. All good things.

To visit: Bluebird
7400 Greenwood Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98103
206-588-1079
Hours: Daily 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Summer Hours:
Sunday – Thursday 12:00pm – 10:00pm
Friday & Saturday 12:00pm – 11:00pm

Jim Drohman and Joanne Herron opened Le Pichet in 2000 (“Le Pichet” means “The Pitcher,” the ceramic vessel in which simple, traditional French neighborhood spots served wine). The 32-seat restaurant specializes in French food with Chef de Cuisine, Brent Harding, at the helm. In opening Le Pichet, Drohman left a career as an Aeronautical Engineer and Herron a long career in the service industry. Both were drawn to French food and French culture, and found a welcome home in the Pike Place Market Historical District — a spot that feels a bit more touristy and urban than quaint and European. But they’re doing something right. On weekends, you’ll often find it difficult to squeeze into a table, and couples sit with a bottle of wine and a little charcuterie late into the evenings.

Cherry Almond Brioche and Housemade Yogurt

Mornings at Le Pichet aren’t for everyone. Le Casse Croûte menu is served all day long, and is really what you’ll have in your hands if you stroll in for breakfast. What I like about this menu is they do it their way. This is not a typical American breakfast: you won’t find over-stuffed omelettes (or omelettes at all) or platters of bacon and pancakes. What you will find is strong coffee, wonderful baguettes with butter and jam, housemade yogurt with honeyed walnuts, lovely housemade pastries, and a variety of meats and small sandwiches. At 11:30 p.m., Le Dejeuner menu is introduced with more salads and main plates. And at 5:30 p.m. a heartier dinner menu is available with main entrees including roast chicken, Penn Cove mussels, and whole roasted trout. The atmosphere is always the same: convivial and inviting yet quiet and understated.

Oeuf Plats, Jambon et Fromage – Broiled Eggs with Ham and Gruyere

I prefer it in the mornings; you can sit for a few hours reading the paper, people watching, and drinking cup after cup of coffee. I also adore that it’s really in the heart of downtown, a skip away from Pike Place Market, and yet it feels like a secluded respite far outside of the city. Next time you’re visiting, go see for yourself.

Le Pichet
1933 1st Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 256-1499
Hours: Everyday, 8am – Midnight

Other Quiet Spots for Breakfast in Seattle:

• Volunteer Park Cafe: Good absolutely anytime of day (those cookies!), VPC is wonderful in the mornings for a slice of quiche at the big, rustic community table. Their caramelized banana brioche and breakfast panini are also quite popular (did I mention you should get a cookie to go?)
• Cafe Besalu: Ballard’s neighborhood bakery has the flakiest croissants in the entire city. Not many seats and often a line out the door, everything here from strong lattes to savory scones are worth waiting for.
• The Fat Hen: The Fat Hen is a relatively new spot in the North Ballard neighborhood housing Delancey and Honore Bakery, and it boasts simple breakfast and lunch items including baked eggs, housemade granola and yogurt, and coffee cake and other little sweets.
• Macrina Bakery: Macrina is a Seattle classic. Their rocket muffins are pretty wonderful as are the Italian plum roll and morning buns. Much more of a bakery than a sit down cafe, they’re well known for their breads, pastries, and granola.
• Eltana: Eltana is a new discovery for me and while I think the space itself is sterile and uninspired, the hand-rolled wood-fired bagels and housemade spreads and schmears are incredible. When I decide to sit and stay, I always order the Shakshuka (Israeli pepper, tomato, and egg stew). It’s hearty, warm and perfect for sopping up with a rustic bagel.
• Glo’s: Down-home and unfussy. Endless cups of coffee and the best Eggs Florentine in the city. A little gem in Capitol Hill.

Bustling, scooping, and smiling are the employees at The Ice Cream Bar

When you walk in the doors, things actually look quite familiar: there’s an ice cream menu, folks sampling their favorite flavors, and talk of sundaes and housemade cones. Another high-end ice cream shop? Not so fast. The best way to think of Ice Cream Bar is almost like two different shops. There is the ice cream half of the shop which is just that: wonderfully rich homemade ice creams served on their own, blended into thick milkshakes, or layered into classic sundaes. So let’s start there, as you probably will begin there when you visit for the first time. The young gentlemen helping us with our samplings mentioned that the pistachio, butterscotch, and honey buttermilk ice creams have been the most popular so far.

The truly wonderful banana split

But we decided to go all out with the House Banana Split: a classic sundae made with three different kinds of ice cream and topped with a caramelized banana, housemade sour cherry sauce, almonds, and whipped cream. They spend time with this sundae, caramelizing the banana in front of you with a sprinkling of sugar and a blow torch. “You can kind of crack the top just like creme brulee,” we were told. And the sour cherry sauce is reason enough to order the banana split. It’s tart, colorful, and refreshing — a nice change from the creepy maraschino cherries that adorn many a dish of ice cream.

Getting the lowdown at The Ice Cream Bar

After our sundae, we wandered towards the back of the shop to the ice cream fountain. Here is where the magic really happens thanks to owner Juliet Pries’ concept and Russell Davis’ Soda Program. Davis, of Rickhouse, calls himself a “Beverage consultant, mixologist, and troubadour,” and has created a soda fountain menu consisting of old-fashioned fountain drinks like fruit-based crushes, panaceas (healing tonics), egg creams, and build-your-own sodas using housemade extracts and tinctures. There are 13 syrups (including agave and chicory coffee), 24 house-made extracts (including birch, fennel seed, sassafras), and more than 75 tinctures all told and uncountable combinations for each. Enter the delight.

You’ll scan the menu and see something familiar in a milkshakes or malts only to learn that even the milkshakes are a throw-back to the early 1900s when they weren’t actually made with ice cream but, instead, a combination of egg, milk, ice and syrups. Nothing is expected or familiar at the soda fountain. You will ask lots of questions, you will sip something like nothing you’ve ever tasted, you will leave delighted with the experience, satisfied, and feeling like you’d just entered a whole new world.

Chris Simpson, bar manager, working his magic at the Soda Fountain

On the back of the soda fountain menus, Russell Davis explains:

“Soda fountains date back to the 1800s and served to replicate the ‘healing’ properties of the effervescent natural mineral waters that boil out of the earth. They were more like pharmacies than just places to get soda, and the soda experts were just as much healers as they were beverage crafters. We are reviving the lost art of mixing these specialty drinks, along with their ingredients.”

Extracts & Solutions: How the Magic Happens

And reviving the lost art they are. Truly. At one point I saw Simpson glancing at a book with handwritten notes. Inquiring as to whether those are the recipes, he mentioned that they’re his personal notes for concocting special off-menu drinks for customers who ask. We decided to go the more traditional route and opted for a root beer soda, asking him to make it with whatever extracts he thought would be really delicious. The result? A root beer soda with sassafras, wintergreen and peppermint extracts.

Extracts & Our Root Beer Soda

It was strangely refreshing and boasted a marriage of flavors I would have never thought to join. For our second foray into soda-land, we chose the Breakfast Soda, a drink with muddled fresh oranges, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and thyme extract. It was mild, pleasant, and only slightly sweet–a good starter soda for those wanting to try something but unsure how to dive right in.

The employees at Ice Cream Bar will be quick to tell you that everything is housemade, from the cones to the syrups to the marshmallows and candies. Their future plans involve rolling out savory items focusing on classic comfort food. Hot dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches are rumored to be in the mix. The delight is understandable: kids and adults alike are enjoying cones, sundaes, floats, and egg creams in a sweet, vintage-styled ice cream shop. What’s not to like? The befuddlement arises from the fact that soda fountains are such a thing of the past that many of us will have little context for understanding how they were much more of a pharmacy than a dessert spot. You could tell the soda jerk what ailed you and he would fix up something to help relieve your symptoms. To most of us this invites questioning, curiosity, and an entirely new landscape of discovery. Go see for yourself.

The Ice Cream Bar
815 Cole Street @ Carl, San Francisco
(415) 742-4932
Hours: 12pm-10pm Everyday
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