All New Wayward Cafe

Jaime, the kids and myself went to the opening of the new location of Wayward Cafe today. It was everything yummy and delicious and good. Apparently everyone thought so, since the place was packed. We even ran into a few friends. It was a delicious, delicious afternoon. Their menu has expanded, they're in a nice big new location. Wayward just keeps getting better. And look at this lovely stolen image of their food!

Wayward Cafe is my favorite restaurant on Earth. It serves food in the afternoon, too, but what makes it my favorite is that it serves the best breakfast and brunch I have ever had. I'm a big fan of brunch; it's the greatest meal of the day, and it's ambiguous enough that I can gorge myself or eat light, whatever my mood. It's one of the few times I can drink cup after cup of coffee and not get yelled at by Jaime! For some reason, probably coffee and fat based, brunch is my happy place.

Today, thanks to the expanded menu, I had french toast, tofu scramble, and vegan sausage. I stole some of Arkaedi's hash browns too, just to round out the edges. (Pretty: "My food!") Viri had some pancakes, and Jaime had a breakfast sammich. I managed to steal some of that as well. As busy as they were, the wait wasn't too bad, and the food was perfect as usual. I'm going to miss a lot of food things in Seattle: vegan cinnamon rolls, Mighty-O doughnuts, multiple vegan Chinese restaurants. But I will definitely miss Wayward most of all. It's just so damn cozy.

After Wayward, we wandered over to the Sidecar Pigs For Peace shop, a nice little all purpose vegan shop, and got myself a new belt. Finding cool vegan belts is always a challenge, but I found a nice one today! I just need a nice buckle to snap on, and the pants-holding is complete! I'll miss Sidecar too. Seattle is a great place to be a vegan. It's a dangerously fattening place to be a vegan. But great.

Vegan family brunch at Wayward will be missed. We'll need a nice replacement in Ithaca. Maybe I can convince Jaime to just open a place. And let me have never-ending coffee. And she can make doughnuts! It'll make the pain of leaving Wayward ease a little, and my waistline slowly expand. Everyone wins!

Ode To American Palates: The Taco

As yon penguin here does show us
the lowly taco is more 'et
When shining vegan yummies are
easier for mine mitts to get

A stew is fine, or sushi good
a delicate salad suffice
Though when hearts yearn for olden time
vegan white trash food digests nice

Some snobbish compadres may balk
at soy meat or faux sour cream tub
I maintain the joys of my youth
In pretend fowl or fake deli sub

O! To glorious day beneath
rusty bleachers in squalid hole
Devouring what my mère sent
imagined grub of Mexico.

Healthy Snacks, Kids And The Joy Of Proportionate Response

I pride myself on providing healthy foods for the kids. I don't mean my kids only eat perfect foods, or anything. I'm not the food nazi that many of my fellow Seattlites are. And trust me in Seattle you see some real nutcases with food. My kids have an occasional doughnut from Mighty-O, or a cookie or Jaime made cupcake. Food is fun, we shouldn't flip out. And though my kids are vegan, if Viri borrows a cheese cracker and eats it on the playground I'm not going to have a fit. Life is too short.

All told, however, my kids eat well. It's not that hard. Check out the picture of Pretty Sue having lunch. Our lunch today was walnuts and carrots and hummus. They loved it. (Viri: "Look at Arkaedi going to town on her food! She's eating and eating!") I did very little. I put out some fresh organic carrots and walnuts, and popped a lid off a container of hummus from the store. It was easy. And kids love it. I don't understand why some people don't feed their children this kind of thing; unless the food nazis have inspired a reaction against it. Or parents really buy into commercials. Are either of those things true? I don't know. Try these simple meals. Kids will thank you.

I stuck black beans in the crock pot for dinner. I have the rice cooker primed. Brown rice and beans for dinner, and they'll enjoy it. It didn't take me any energy or time. I may, if I feel fancy, saute a few tofurky brats in olive oil with garlic and toss them in the pot. That'll be mostly for me.

I really hope that we can start a parent cooking class as part of Jaime's practice. It'd be really great to provide the resource, especially as a parent who isn't that much of a cook. I'd like to show them that you don't need to be a wonderful cook, just use some real veggies and whole grains and it'll end up healthy, pretty much whatever you do.

And no need to be a pretentious food nazi either. Kids who eat well won't have a heart attack if they eat a few chocolate chips either. And Mighty-O doughnuts are good for the soul.

Paella Man! Wing One Over Here!

This has been the month of cooking experiments at the Barker household. As you may have noticed, I am enamored with olive oil, garlic, and other Mediterranean staples. My favorite Mediterranean dish I've ever made is the farmer's paella. It's fairly quick, easy, and wonderfully colorful. It's also probably the most nutritious thing I have ever eaten. It's basically fresh veggies and rice in vegetable broth. This is actually so wonderful that I'm going to post how to make it. I don't know if anyone will want to try it, but I highly recommend that you do.

First, what you need. It's flexible, but the basic stuff I use are as follows:
2 cloves garlic
A nice olive oil (3tbl or so for this recipe)
A yellow onion
Saffron threads
2 cups Veggie broth (I use low sodium)
1 red bell pepper
1 cup arborio rice
1 lb tomatoes (four normal roma tomatoes are roughly a pound)
6-8 baby carrots
1 bag frozen lima beans
1 bag frozen peas
salt
pepper (NOT Pepa)
some slivered almonds for garnishing

I cook the entire recipe in one big cast iron, save for the first bit, which I simmer in a small sauce pan.

First, simmer the broth with a 1/4 teaspoon of the saffron threads. (I just toss in a small bit. I don't like measuring unless I have too. It's why I'm a good cook and a lousy baker.) Don't boil the sauce, just get a light simmer.

In the big skillet, saute the garlic and onions for a few minutes.
Add the bell pepper, and cook a few more minutes.
Add the tomatoes, diced fairly fine, and all of the juices.
Stir in the rice, uncooked. It'll cook up nicely in the next few steps.
Mix all that up fairly well, then add the broth.
Simmer this on medium high heat, then turn it down.
Add the lima beans and the baby carrots. For tender carrots chop them up pretty fine.
Cover it and simmer on low-medium heat for ten minutes.
Add the frozen peas. (I never use the whole package. I use a half cup or so)
Simmer for a few more minutes. It should be creamy and thick. If it's runny, or the rice isn't soft, leave it a few minutes.
Serve immediately with slivered almonds on each bowl.
Make sure to honor the Simpsons and order each guest (ORDER them) to say, "Yo, paella man! Wing one over here!" before they get served.

This is a wonderful and wholesome wintry delight. Viri even likes it. ("Papa, this is not gross!")

This is adapted from the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, my new favorite cookbook. Buy one today!

Nice Cooking Part Deux

I know how to spend a weekend. I went to the gym, burned off a few calories, then proceeded to pile them back on with pastries. I continued my experiment with cooking Mediterranean delights today with a favorite in southern France, pain au chocolat. Or, chocotastic doughy yumminess. I was exceedingly pleased with how these came out, although I can't really take any credit. Jaime helped me, and the cookbook (Vegan Brunch) was from Ryan Full. So, all I really did was listen to Jaime, follow directions, and make some yummy pastries. For me, however, that's a huge win.

These have a special place in my heart because of a trip Jaime and I took to Europe in the winter of 1999-2000. My parents were separating, I had just graduated college, and I was a little discomfited by everything going on in my life. Jaime and I flew to Italy, and traveled through Italy and France and Switzerland as a graduation present to me. It was a wonderful trip, perhaps our greatest vacation ever. We had been married so long we traveled together easily, with no arguments or disagreements about where to go or what to do.

A few days before New Year's eve we ended up in Nice, France. We decided to stay there, and spend the holiday relaxing on the chilly beach and eating wonderful food. No one in France was panicking about the Y2K nonsense, which shows that they are more sensible than Americans in at least one way. As one person there put it, Nice survived Roman invasion, marauding barbarians, and Nazis. It would still be there in 2001. That's just a sample of their wonderful attitude.

Jaime and I spent every morning walking in the cold, eating pain au chocolat. We would walk up the old streets, past beautiful old churches cottages. It was a lovely time. On New Year's Eve at midnight a beautiful French girl ran around kissing everyone and saying "Bonne Anne!" or something that meant happy New Year. Pain au chocolat makes me full and happy and transports me to that memory. And they look good too!

Mediterranean Extraordinaire

I had an extremely successful cooking experience today. I made risotto and bruschetta, and they came out great. I took the time to venture into holiday shoppers and hit Delaurenti's deli downtown, and it was well worth it. The extra good olive oil and cooking wine made the difference. The risotto was slow cooked to perfection, and the vine ripened tomatoes in olive oil and balsamic vinegar made for a fantastic bruschetta appetizer. I was very pleased with the final result, and so where Jaime and the kids.

The entire trip downtown was fun, in truth. It was packed at the Pike Place Market, with tons of people out for the holiday shopping. Everyone was having fun, and celebrating that age old Seattle tradition of standing wherever they wanted and not moving for anyone. Even Viri got in the spirit and stood in doorways, blocking people from moving.

Seriously though the mood was nice, and there were carolers and decorations and trees enough to please Viri. Arkaedi didn't notice as much, as she is less impressed with Christmas and more impressed with mundane things at her age. ("Purple wall!") It made for a pleasant day off, and everyone was happy and festive. The holiday season is officially here at the Barker household. Arkaedi even limited her attacks on Viri's face to one today, in a charitable holiday spirit.

Brunch Has Conquered Us

The Vegan Brunch book, which I mentioned here already, and everyone should now have purchased and be cooking from, has given us another meal of joy and love.

Today was frittata and flannel hash. Which gave me the opportunity to have a lovely meal and also say odd things to my kids. ("Here Arkaedi just eat fruit, I'm going to eat your floor hash.") The next few weeks, with Jaime's time off and this book, I plan on gaining several hundred pounds. When I go to the gym I'm going to be on a strict work out routine, and instead of donut demons I will be fighting off the brunch faeries.

(Wait, brunch faeries sounds like something else. Nevermind. Brunch goblins?)

Either way, we have been captured. I, for one, welcome our new brunch overlords, and look forward to serving them.

Waffles: Not Just A Vehicle For Butter And Syrup

My good friend Ryan sent us the most amazing cookbook. It's called Vegan Brunch, and it has the perfect late morning brunchables. As the Simpson said, it's not quite breakfast, it's not quite lunch. You don't get everything you'd get at breakfast but you get a good meal. I highly recommend brunch.

The book is by the authors of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, another must have recipe book. This picture is of J's vegan "omelette," filled with peppers and vegan sausage and covered in a lovely sauce. The sauce was so lovely, actually, that we made it and put it on everything for a week. J's making another batch for me tomorrow. It was quite a nice sauce.

After the Snow

We've finally returned to real Seattle weather here: Mid-40s, overcast, the snow on the ground all but disappeared. Feels good to be back to normal.

We could travel over to the PCC Co-op and grab a nice field roast bbq sandwich and a pint of vegan potato salad. All is well with the world.

I enjoy the holidays, and I enjoy snow. But I'm happy to return to my normal crazy schedule as well. Jaime and I have developed a fun west coast/ big city system in the past few years, and I've grown accustomed to it. I love Seattle, I really do. But there are some fun/silly/annoying aspects. I'm guilty of some of this myself. I wouldn't be a true Seattle-ite if I weren't.

The three secrets of being a west coast big city person, or WCBC for short:

1. Care about food. You don't have to be vegan or eat all organic. In fact, an occasional burger at Johnny Rocket's helps you, because it highlights your otherwise organic lifestyle. I talk about food more than anything else.

2. Complain about your city. This can be weather, growth, traffic or city planning. Preferably all three.

3. Revile the Democrats, but vote for them. (Bonus points if you worry about Obama selling you out before he is even in office while sporting an Obama sticker on your car.)

But I kid you, Seattle! You're a fine old town. Put in a decent light rail system and I'll be yours forever.

Christmas Dinner and Assorted Fun

We had a wonderful Christmas day, with friends and children and fun. Jaime made a feast, there was food and chocolate galore... a delightful and festive day.

I understand why some people don't get into the holiday season. It's been shaped and co-opted by state and religion and corporate entity, it's mixed up and silly and sometimes depressing. But my Christmas day reminded me of why I do enjoy it, and have enjoyed it thoroughly since Jaime and I got together: it's a day off with friends and family, where we can all get together and have a good time.

This year we didn't exchange any gifts, and we didn't buy anyone anything. We just gave away a little food and invited people over to eat. We had a buffet of goodies, a noisy room of children with runny noses, and our company. Except for the runny noses, everyone enjoyed it.

We had our first experience of assembling toys for Christmas morning. I imagine I'll grow tired of it, but I really had fun with it this year. I plan on enjoying the childhood Christmas with my kids, and when they get too old Jaime and I will holiday in New York City. When the kids get too old, it's nice restaurants and room service for Christmas. Until then, I'm happy to play Santa.

Today we're gathering donations together for Boxing Day. I'm thinning my bookshelves, and we're donating a lot of strange reading and clothing to needy people in Seattle. I hope they like philosophy and science fiction. And little girl baby clothes.

I Have Found Goodness

Here, ladies and gentlemen, on this very blog, is proof that God exists and favors me.
Okay perhaps I'm guilty of hyperbole here. But nevertheless, I am happy to discover this dangerously sugary food.

I can hear the speeches from Jaime now, about being sick and sugar lowering my immune response etc. And I defy my immune system! If you'd deny me these lemur treats, you are not a part of me! If thine lymphocyte offends thee, pluck it out!

(With, I dunno. An electron microscope and syringe? Maybe?)