Tearing It Open To Share The Goodness

Turkish Delight is a little hole-in-the-wall on Pike Place that carries a simple menu. Get there early enough to get a chicken and mushroom börek and you’re in for a treat.

When you visit, be sure to bring cash - they don’t take cards. On the menu are several other items, but we’re so in love with the börek, that’s all we ever get! This last time we went, we did try the actual Turkish Delight - two candies at 50¢ each. There are various flavors - we got Rose. It was a square inch of sweet, gummy, floral goodness. A nice little treat.

Look For This Sign. You Will Not Be Disappointed.

But still, the delightful thing about this little spot is the pastry filled with chicken, mushrooms, and herbs. It’s savory and flaky and comforting. It’s like an exotic chicken pot pie. If you can imagine such a thing.

Mmmm... Delightful

And just because it was such a gorgeous evening, I have to toss in a view. We love the Market.

We Really Love Living In The Northwest

This is Going to be Beautiful!

Josh and I have recently discovered an affinity for salt with our sweet. A little while back, I had a genius idea for salted chocolate chunk cookies, and we were not disappointed.

Cost Plus World Market has the most wonderful (and relatively inexpensive) dark salt chocolate. We found out about this a few months back and it’s since been a regular treat when we’re craving chocolate (confession - I’m nibbling on some now). It’s wonderful. Rich dark chocolate with hidden crystals of sea salt… Mmmm… The only way I could think to improve upon this deliciousness is to put it into a cookie.

One of Our Favorite Chocolates

We roughly chopped up about a bar and a half of the salt chocolate, and folded it into a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe (we snagged ours from the back of the bag of flour). That’s it. Pretty simple.

It's Very Therapeutic to Cook With Your Hands

Big Sticky Delicious Mess of Dough

It was a wonderful twist on the classic cookie.

Perfect

First Time Making Snickerdoodles!

Josh and I have befriended a few Bhutanese families that are here as refugees from Nepal. It’s been such a wonderful experience for us, to be able to help them settle into their new home, and introduce them to American culture. On another outing, we learned that they girls really liked snickerdoodles. What better way to introduce them to this simple, delicious cookie than to have them over to make some from scratch?

We snagged an easy recipe from Martha Stewart and started getting out necessary ingredients. My little sister Emily and my brother Jon (not pictured) joined us in the kitchen. It was a great opportunity to practice English, have and intro to baking, and make some treats to take home to share with the rest of their family.

Punya, Rewata, Gita and Emily are Great Bakers

Rolling the Dough in Cinnamon & Sugar

The cookies were a success! The girls turned out to be wonderful bakers. While we were waiting for them to bake, we played a game of no-rules Scrabble. Another first for them, and they enjoyed it a lot!

A Game of No-Rules Scrabble

ps - Sorry for the low-quality pictures! They were taken with my phone… :)

Pastry and Coffee. Delightful.

During one of our treks to the Market, we decided to try out Le Panier, a French bakery we’ve passed by several times. I now know that every time I wander around Pike Place, I will be overcome with a craving for a palmier.

Confession time friends. I’ve never had a palmier. I had seen these delightful-looking crisps in grocery stores and have always been intrigued, but something deep down told me that if I tried the packaged kind, I would be let down. I needed to save my first experience for something real. And I am so glad I waited.

We went into Le Panier, and liked it at once. The tiny little shop was packed with people waiting in line for treats. I have to admit, I felt a little bit like a tourist as I gaped at all of the gorgeous desserts and pastries in the case. I am woefully unfamiliar with French pastries, but am now determined to become an expert…. Although I’ll have to do it slowly, so I can still fit into my jeans.

As the line crept forward, we weighed our options and decided on a Raspberry Croissant (Josh loves anything raspberry, and really appreciates a good croissant), and I was at once taken by the delicate little Palmier. We ordered our treats, along with a dark chocolate mocha to share. We were so glad we did.

The mocha was a very nice addition to the pastry - not too sweet, and very good decaf. Highly recommended.

Really Delicious Dark Chocolate Mocha

The croissant was wonderful, tender and flaky and filled with raspberry preserves. But the palmier… that elegant little confection stole my pastry-loving heart. Crisp and sweet and airy… if I don’t stop talking about it, I’m going to have to ask Josh to take me back right now.

Palmier and Raspberry Croissant

Now I’ve had my share of nasty cooking experiences, but I think this one even beats me out.

Enjoy.

The Perfect Food

One of our favorite places to graze when we’re at Pike Place is Beecher’s. Pasta. Cheese. The Market. Really, do you need anything more?

Beecher’s is a little shop on Pike Place that features cheese. And that’s about it. And that’s about all they need.

They have the most delicious macaroni and cheese. You’ve got your choice of regular and spicy. The spicy one isn’t really all that spicy, it just has a little extra flavor in it and some veggies. It’s divine. Seriously, this award-winning stuff is so good, they sell it on their website and will ship it frozen to you.

A neat feature about the shop is that you can sit at the counter on steel milk jugs and look through the glass to where they make the cheese right there. Pretty cool.

Lots of People With Good Taste

Our ritual is to get a small batch of spicy mac & cheese, a Martinelli’s apple cider, and sit on the curb and enjoy.

Resist Licking the Screen

Besides, where else can you sit on the street corner, share a meal, and be entertained by this guy?

He's Headed to Benaroya Hall After This

What, Did You Find Ultra-Nonfat Milk?

Josh and I love Friday Harbor. This last time we were there, we took our time wandering around and discovered some pretty amusing things. When I first saw the sign advertising “World’s Skinniest Latte Shop”, I thought that was the lamest marketing tool. Sorry folks, it doesn’t get any skinnier than nonfat. Then I saw the shop and laughed at myself. I guess it does get skinnier.

A Claustrophobic's Nightmare

A couple of shops down, we saw a sign that was too good to pass up. We won’t advertise the name of the business (to protect the identity of the writer), but when I saw the lunch special I just about died. The French would be so proud. Wash down the Chicken Gordon Blue with a glass of Dave’s Chili, and you’re all set!

Mmmm... Thirsty for Chili?

Besides, where else can you get all this AND a glitter skull, all on the same street?? This is why we love Friday Harbor.

They Just Can't Keep These on the Shelves

Most Delicious Pizza on the Island

During our most recent weekend adventure on Friday Harbor, we decided to try Bella Luna. We were not disappointed.

Bella Luna is located on 1st Street in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We were a little put off by the prices on the menu ($20 for Fettucine Alfredo?) but it was my birthday, and Josh said let’s do it. Huge bonus: We were given lunch menus with the same food for nearly half the price. Excellent! Mental note to return for lunch whenever we’re here. There were lots of delicious-looking things on the menu, but I was really craving comfort carbs. It had to be the Fettucine Alfredo with Chicken. We ordered that, and a smaller pizza to share - the Luna. It was loaded with pesto sauce, chicken, artichoke hearts, tomatoes… all sorts of goodness. I really appreciated how they cut the pizza. Little squares. It made it easier to portion and made it last longer. Carbs, cheese, and a Mac & Jack’s to share, and it was a glorious lunch with plenty of leftovers for later.

Mac & Jack's Patiently Waiting For Pizza

I'm At A Loss For Words

Starring... Caramel Sauce, Cocoa, and Rock Salt

Anyone who knows us well enough knows we’re not huge fans of Starbucks. We’re not opposed to patronizing them from time to time, and I even used to work there. Any of you loyal fans (or employees - sorry Elise!) out there that may be reading this, I understand they must be doing something right or there wouldn’t be a billion of them on the planet. However, I’ve found them to be slightly disappointing over the years, and we’ve had more luck with smaller lines of coffee. So when I tried the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate and thought that it came up lacking (tasted more like a doughnut than salt, caramel, or hot chocolate), I knew we could do better making it at home.

Our coffee of choice to have at home is Café Vita. We’re decaf drinkers (one reason we have a difficult time finding good coffee) and Café Vita’s Novacella Decaf is a favorite. We filled up our little stove-top espresso pot, and got started.

Filling Up On Cafe Vita

If you’ve never used a stove-top espresso maker, we recommend it. The one we have now is aluminum (I know, I know!), and we want to replace it with a stainless steel model soon. At any rate, it’s a simple concept. You fill the base with water, the filter insert with coffee, screw it all together, and set it over high heat. The water boils and percolates up, filling the upper chamber with rich coffee. Simple. Delicious.

Fun Little Contraption

We chose Ghiradelli’s cocoa powder (very good), used the rock salt we always keep on hand for cooking (delicious - inexpensive and SO much better than regular table salt), and Torani Caramel Sauce. We would have preferred Ghiradelli Caramel, but it couldn’t be found at the store we were at. Torani is a decent second, but not as good as it could have been.

At any rate, Torani or not, the result was a Salted Caramel Mocha (scoop of cocoa, squeeze of caramel, couple of twists of salt, half coffee, half steamed milk) that was much better than what I got at the chain. And besides, I got to tip my husband instead.

It's Gonna Be Delicious

Auntie scooping up batter and looping it into the oil!

Yesterday Josh and I were invited to celebrate Diwali with some Bhutanese friends of ours. They recently came to the US after living in refugee camps for 17 years in Nepal. They are incredible people, and we feel honored to be able to join them in their festivities.

I wish I could have seen how that sweet old lady got up there.

From what I understand, the matrons of the family took turns making the donuts - the elder mothers and aunts, and the occasional younger woman took turns making these delicious snacks all through the evening. There was a giant bowl of batter about the consistency of pancake batter. I watched, enthralled, as she scooped up a handful of the batter and gracefully trickled it into the oil in a quick loop. The batter bubbled and fried under her watchful eye, and then was scooped out with a prong and placed in a giant sieve already full of donuts. They were served piled on a plate with spicy chicken curry. It was a surprisingly delicious combination of subtly sweet donuts with the spicy and salty curry. We had such a wonderful time visiting with new friends and I hope to post much more on their cooking in the future!

That one's mine...