Semifreddo

The summer found me with an overabundance of blackberries, picked at their ripest and juiciest and too plentiful to be used up on cereal alone. I made a cobbler that turned out right enough but in the end I wanted to try something a little more exotic. In a book on berry desserts checked out from the library I came across a recipe for blackberry semifreddo, an Italian dessert similar to ice cream. It’s basically created by making a simple syrup that is beaten into egg whites, with whipped cream and crushed blackberries folded in. The simplicity of the recipe appealed to me, along with the fact that I didn’t need an ice cream machine to make it. Semifreddo turned out to be the perfect vehicle for my blackberries: it had a very full, round flavor and the berry notes came through loud and clear. It was more flavorsome than any kind of ice cream I’ve had, perhaps because the cream doesn’t drown out the main attraction. Light, delicious, and easy, semifreddo is the perfect thing to bring to a dinner party.

Purely Decadent

In the world of non-dairy ice cream there has recently emerged a challenger to Soy Cream’s long held domination over my affections. Turtle Mountain’s Purely Decadent line is proving stiff competition to my heretofore perennial favorite, especially in the form of their Pomegranate Chip. I love fruit and chocolate together and the tart, refreshing flavor of pomegranate puts an unusual spin on this winning combination. The light, sherbet-y texture of the ice cream makes for easy excavation of the giant hunks of rich dark chocolate hiding within it. The chocolate is flaky and crispy and light enough to melt along with the ice cream, leaving a smooth mass to suck deliciously off the tongue. Purely Decadent has an extensive list of flavors and along with the Pomegranate Chip I’ve tried the Chocolate Obsession, which is firmer in texture and laced with ribbons of fudge and chocolate flakes, and the Cherry Nirvana, an overly sweet vanilla ice cream packed with cherries and more chocolate flakes. While I enjoyed both of these the Pomegranate Chip is the real star and keeps me coming back again and again.

While the company is located in Eugene, OR, Turtle Mountain products can be found nationwide.

The Cookie Monster is Alive and Well and Living in Seattle

D’ya know what I love? Cookies. Who doesn’t, right? There are a lot of sub-par cookies out on the market, however, and it can be easy to be led astray. Where to turn when that cookie craving hits and you can’t be bothered to bake your own? Here are some that I like:

Cougar Mountain

This locally made cookie has the soft, chewy consistency that so many store bought cookies try and fail to capture. It’s not doughy or cloying, just naturally tasty. During baseball season you can find the Ballpark cookie, filled with semi-sweet chocolate chunks, toffee and peanuts. This might sound like too much for one cookie but it’s really not. The different flavors complement rather than overpower each other. Try them before they disappear in August.

Le Petit Ecolier Extra Dark

On the front of Le Petit Ecolier’s Extra Dark 70% chocolate “butter biscuits” (is this not a tantalizing way to describe a cookie?) a fey, pudgy little boy stares out at you from molded chocolate. Said chocolate is firm and solid and gives a good snap when you bite in. The biscuit is a bit crumbly and not the highest quality biscuit on the market, but it really just acts as a platform for the chocolate. Here’s what Le Petit Ecolier has to say about their Extra Dark: “A chocolate made with 70% cocoa, intense, complex, woodsy with deep inviting aroma”. Amen.

Leibniz

Another chocolate biscuit cookie. Its thinner, crisper biscuit is superior to that of the Le Petit Ecolier.

Hint ‘O Mint Newman-O’s

Looks like an Oreo but is light years better. Like the name suggests, there is a hint of mint flavor in the creamy center of these babies, and mint + cream filling + crunchy chocolate cookie = deliciousness. Plus, they’re organic!

Stroopwafels

I first discovered the Stroopwafel when I was in Amsterdam and fell immediately in love. The coffee shops I had been visiting may have helped fan the flames of my initial attraction, but years later my affection for this cookie remains undiminished. About the size of the palm of your hand, the stroopwafel is basically a sandwich cookie made with two very thin waffles (think of a chewy waffle cone) with caramel, or more traditionally syrup, inside. I can knock back about 20 of these in one sitting without batting an eye. They can usually be found at European import stores and I’ve also seen them at Uwajimaya, strangely enough.

Marie Lu

My good friend Dr. Jones recently introduced me to these, as she herself puts it, strangely addicting cookies. They are rather like a cross between a cracker and a cookie, a bit salty like a Ritz, a bit sweet like shortbread, simple like a digestive biscuit, and quite crisp. I was immediately sold on them. Thanks Dr. Jones!

Does anyone else have any good cookie suggestions?

Soy Cream Is Better Than Ice Cream!

Let’s face it: a good non-dairy ice cream is hard to find. Most tend to have an icy or gooey texture and usually taste funny and wrong. That is why I would like to sing the praises of Double Rainbow’s non-dairy ice cream, Soy Cream. If you are lactose intolerant, or like me find the milkiness of ice cream to be too heavy, this is the dessert for you. It is far and away the best non-dairy ice cream I have ever had, and I actually think that it’s better than most ice creams. It has the taste and texture of the real deal but is lighter and cleaner tasting and doesn’t leave that unpleasant coating of dairy in your mouth. The Mint Chocolate Chip flavor is my favorite. It’s so fresh and minty you’ll feel like you just brushed your teeth and it is chock full of fat little chocolate flakes. It seriously reminds me of those old York Peppermint Pattie ads that start out with someone standing in the living room biting into a York and end with them downhill skiing on their coffee table. The Vanilla and Mango Sorbet combo is also quite good, the mango sorbet giving a little sweet/tart punch to the delicate smoothness of the vanilla. Soy Cream is not always easy to find, unfortunately, and has recently been discontinued at PCC and QFC. It’s carried at Whole Foods and can also usually be found at Trader Joe’s (although their selection is somewhat limited). Soy Cream: get the sensation.

Salvadorean Bakery

When I mention White Center to people in Seattle I am usually met with confusion and disdain. “Wait, where is that again? It’s way down south, right?” Noses inevitably wrinkle. White Center just isn’t viewed as a “destination” place, and I think that this is a mistake. Unpretentious in the extreme, perhaps a little trashy yet possessing a charm all its own, White Center is a great place to get food. Businesses are mainly Mexican and Southeast Asian and this makes for some very good, cheap eating. It’s also relatively easy to get to, lying just outside of the Seattle city limits and abutting the south side of West Seattle.

One of my favorite places in White Center is the Salvadorean Bakery. It is, so far as I’m aware, the only place in the Seattle area to try the food of El Salvador. Only some of the employees speak English so it can be a good opportunity to brush up on your Spanish. This friendly, brightly lit bakery has an adjoining room full of booths and tables for eating in, but take-out is an easy option. A must try are the pupusas. These are akin to a corn tortilla, but thicker and pillowy soft. They are stuffed with a variety of fillings, fried, and served with salsa and a spicy, pickled cabbage dish called curtido. There are six varieties, three of which are vegetarian, and are a bargain at $1.95 each. My favorite is the revuelta, which has a pork, cheese, and bean filling. The pork is delicately minced and salted and the refried beans moist and flavorful. The queso con loroco, cheese with palm blossom, I find to be a bit too cheesy and greasy, but if cheesy and greasy is your thing you should like this one. There is an extensive menu beyond the pupusas, including tamales, soups, fried plantains, chile rellenos, and an entire breakfast section. On a recent morning I tried the pan francés con frijoles, queso y crema, a loaf of french bread roughly the shape and about half the size of a football, filled with refried beans, hard cheese and sour cream. The golden, crisp exterior of the bread encases a soft chewy middle and a lava floe of warm refried beans and sour cream. The firm bits of cheese act as a salty accent to the creaminess of the filling. The thing was giant, and a bit heavy for breakfast, but it was so good that I finished all but a few bites. Another breakfast item that caught my eye that I haven’t had a chance to try yet is the plátano frito con frijoles y crema, deep fried plantains served with refried beans and sour cream. I mean to get this the next time I’m there. On weekends only you can get atole de elote, a sweet, hot corn drink seasoned with cinnamon. Creamy and smooth, this would be the perfect accompaniment to a cold winter morning.

While the meals served at the Salvadorean Bakery are grand, the real excitement of visiting this place are the two large bakery cases full of lovely, lovely desserts. Being a total sugar freak my heart beats a little faster when these cases come into view. Everything in there is so pretty, so colorful, so…happy looking, it can be hard to know where to start, but I highly recommend the almond squares. These are little bites of heaven. They are made from a piece of unbelievably moist almond flavored cake that is dipped in chocolate, topped with sliced almonds and coated with a thin layer of glaze. They are so light and airy they will seem to just melt in your mouth. Other highlights include the leche flan, the borracho, a rum-soaked bread pudding (this one packs a wallop), and the sweet, jam filled empanadas. Opposite the bakery cases, on a small shelf by the door, are some very unassuming little loafs of cake wrapped in a clear plastic bag. Don’t let their ordinary appearance fool you. The chocolate cream cake, while unadorned and innocently shaped like a loaf of banana bread, is one of the best cakes I have ever had. It’s not heavy yet it’s very substantial, incredibly moist yet not greasy, and chocolate-y like nobody’s business. I’ve seen a small group of people take one of these babies down in under an hour.

So remember, White Center= good eatin’, and there are few places where this is truer than at the Salvadorean Bakery.

Salvadorean Bakery

1719 SW Roxbury St

Seattle, WA 98106

(206) 762-4064

Open every day, 6:30 am-9:00 pm

Flora vs Fauna: The Monkey Tree

Vegetarians are not all evil, despite what some may say (ahem, Tony Bourdain). I have some very good friends who are vegetarians, and while I don’t share their lifestyle choice I understand and respect it. I have no desire to get into a debate about the ethics and politics of the topic. Suffice it to say that vegetarianism is not for me. It never has been and I can’t see that it ever will be. It’s not that I eat a lot of meat; I eat some, sure, but it’s not necessarily a part of my daily diet. It’s just that I don’t want to be limited when it comes to food. There’s a wild, wonderful world of cuisine out there and I want to be free to explore it without inhibition. I want it all, baby.

That being said, I am perfectly happy eating vegetarian as long as the food is good. Case in point: The Monkey Tree. This great little bakery and restaurant, owned by a former baker at Sound Foods, Adam, and his lovely wife, opened not long ago on Vashon Island. All dark, weathered wood and creaky floorboards, stepping through the door I felt transported into a rustic farmhouse. The space is small, and you will likely end up eating elbow to elbow with your neighbor, but the atmosphere is so amicable and homey that you won’t care. On a recent visit, while perusing the menu and coming to the swift conclusion that I wanted to try one of everything, it had to be pointed out to me that the place was vegetarian. I had not even realized, the dishes were so satisfyingly complete.

My aunt, sister and I did our own family-style sharing of a few dishes, a strategy I recommend as you will have a hard time narrowing down your choice. We started with borscht, Russian beet soup. The borscht I had tried prior to this had been a thin, soupy variety: tasty, to be sure, but not a meal in itself. The Monkey Tree serves a traditional, hearty stew, full of vegetable chunks, topped (upon request) with sour cream and served with freshly made bread. This stuff will fill you up. Next we had a toasted open-faced sandwich, perfectly crunchy bread with artichoke hearts, grilled red peppers, and melted cheese on top (something akin to a provolone, the exact variety slips my mind). The satisfying crunch of the bread mingled happily with the tender juiciness of the toppings. With this we also ordered the black bean cakes, reportedly served with collard greens but in actuality appearing with a green salad. Never mind, it was the best dish of the bunch. The three cakes were more than plenty for one person. Tender, tangy, rich, topped with sour cream, this is one of the most well executed and delicious use of beans I’ve tried. At the end of the meal we were all left with that full, contented, happy-all-over feeling that follows any great dining experience. As full as we were, however, we could not resist taking some to-go items from the tempting case of baked goods. We were not sorry we did. After a rainy afternoon spent slogging around the beach with one very excited dog, some cake was just the thing. The pear bunt cake had a very natural, grainy texture–moist but not greasy, the pears tender, never slippery. The marbled chocolate butter cake was a bit crumbly, barely sweet, very natural and wholesome tasting. These desserts filled us up as solidly as any meal.

The Monkey Tree is completely worth a day trip out to Vashon Island. More than doing vegetarian dining justice, they do food justice. And how.

Bakery opens at 8:00 am, open for lunch daily from 11:00-3:00. Dinner is served Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6:00-9:00 and dessert and wine from 9:00-10:00. Closed Wednesdays.

The Monkey Tree

17817 Vashon Hwy SW

Vashon, WA, 98070

(206) 463-4635

Avocados: It’s So Easy Eating Green

Ah, the avocado. Such a lovely, lovely food. It’s expensive, sure, but there are few things more satisfying than a perfectly ripe avocado. Native to southern Mexico, Central, and South America, avocado is derived from the Aztec word for testicles. Aztecs considered it to be an aphrodisiac and during the harvest virgin girls weren’t let out of the house lest they get too caught up in the spirit of things, run off and lose their virginity. The Haas variety, the most widely used in America today, emerged in the 1920’s. The Haas “mother” tree, which all Haas avocados descended from, died in 2002. The variety of seed that produced it is unknown.

Avocados are smooth, creamy, have a delicate flavor and are rich in healthy oils. And they are such a beautiful color! The walls in my bedroom are painted an avocado green and I find it to be very soothing. To open, slice all the way around the length with a sharp knife and scoop out the meat with a large table spoon. Save any unused portion in a ziploc bag and put in the refrigerator. Avocados are good eaten plain or with a little salt and pepper on. A popular use is in guacamole. Do not buy guacamole pre-made in the store! There is really no excuse for this. It will taste horrible and it is so easy to make yourself. Even I, she who does not cook, am quite handy with the guacamole making. I must say that a lot of people overwhelm their guacamole with other ingredients. Hold back on the lime juice especially, too much of this will mask the subtle flavor of the avocado. You need to let it shine. They are also popular halved and stuffed with crab or shrimp. So. Good. Avocados are great in pretty much any salad or sandwich, but what I find particularly interesting is their use in dessert. Here in the U.S. we seem stuck on the idea that they can only be used in savory dishes. This is not the case. Avocado’s mild yet distinctive flavor and creamy texture lend themselves well to both the sweet and the savory, and in several southeast Asian countries they are made into milkshakes and smoothies. For my last birthday I made chocolate cupcakes and topped them with an avocado frosting. It was easy to make and turned out buttery, unique, and delicious. It made quite a pretty contrast to the brown of the chocolate cake. You can learn how to make it here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_32238,00.html
This is a rare exception to my no recipes rule.

So I encourage you all to use a little variety and creativity when eating this special and versatile food. Viva la avocado!