I wanted to tell you about Spur so many times before ‘cause it’s one of my top 3 favorite restaurants in Seattle and you just *must* go there. That is, in case you like brilliantly-good food, amazing cocktails, the feel of a sophisticated downtown/neighborhood gastronomic pub, and fab music from the 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s (Led Zeppelin, Talking Heads, Echo and The Bunnymen anyone???) Well, do you?

I sure do, and that’s why I couldn’t say no to an invitation from TexaSweet Citrus’s PR saying “Spur Gastropub tomorrow night… Bring your appetite for this special four-course, Texas grapefruit-inspired menu… Chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough will create a special multi-course menu highlighting the versatile, sweet flavor of Texas Rio Star Grapefruit.”

Grapefruit?

I was absolutely positive that Spur chefs will play and create exciting dishes with it.

There are many restaurants that I like in Seattle but so far only Spur succeeds in creating brainy food that tickles not only your intellect but also your tummy and soul. (I’ve been to some restaurants that get out of their way to make creative or molecular food but the end result is boring and not particularly appetizing.) The first time I had dinner there (with my husband) I declared that if I wasn’t married, I’d go and kiss the chef.

So… The meal started with carbonated grapefruit segments. It was like eating/drinking solid grapefruit-flavored soda—it was a bit confusing but an exciting, new experience with this fruit–

and lovely Gougères (French cheese puffs)

Followed by radicchio and grapefruit salad with candied pecans and blue cheese

Spot prawns with carrots mash, a foam of something on top—there was a lot going on in this dish—baby cilantro, and grapefruit. The grapefruit was warm which was a surprise—when was the last time you had warm grapefruit?

Sous vide duck, fennel, Brussels sprouts. That crunchy crust was so oo-la-la-delish

1 cocktail (The Empress, a signature cocktail at Spur that “will never leave the menu”, they promised. (The menu changes frequently/seasonally)) and 4 wines paired with each course to try…

And for dessert, passion fruit custard, grapefruit sorbet, fromage blanc ice cream, and streusel

I couldn’t decide which photo makes it look prettier—it was SO good. Have I said “brainy” enough times already? You can easily tell how much thought was put into each one of the dishes.

Thank you Spur Gastropub and TexaSweet Citrus Marketing for a mind-blowing dinner! I’ve got a “whole lotta love” for you.

“Finally” was the first word that came to my mind when I got an email from Norma announcing a “celebration in honor of Chef John Howie’s new cookbook:  Passion & Palate:  Recipes for a Generous Table.” Chef John Howie is the owner of Seastar restaurant and raw bar (as well as Sports and Steak) which has been, and still is, one of our favorite restaurants since we move to WA about 10 years ago. I’ve been waiting for this cookbook ever since.

So, yeah, finally. He wrote a cookbook.

The launch party was a lot of fun with some of my favorite dishes:

Raw, fresh oysters with shallots, grapefruit and pomegranate seeds

(The recipe is in the book.)

Scallop ceviche with mango-kiwi relish (It’s in the book!)

Sushi… I love their pickled ginger (That red pile in the front)—it’s the best!

(And what do you know? They are all included in the book!)

Chubby oysters in a creamy leek sauce and silky deviled eggs with Ahi tartare (It’s in the book!)

I believe this was a Mahi Mahi ceviche with pineapple relish. Yum yum.
(And if I’m right then… It’s in the book! Page 55)

Shots of porcini soup with truffles cream (You guessed it, it’s in the book.)

All this beautiful food spearheaded by Chef Howie

Superb wines were poured by the charming sommelier, Erik Liedholm (Fantastic suit, BTW) from champagne to sauvignon blanc to an esoteric wine/grape I never heard about before and can’t remember it’s name, to pinot noir, and moscato—Wow—I tried them all.

No, it’s not in the book (Or maybe it is?) It’s close to home, from Willamette Valley, OR

A tower of desserts: Lemon poppy seeds cookies, White chocolate Irish cream truffles (It was so soft, like a baby’s butt!), Chocolate hot chili truffles (I Love, love chili & chocolate together), and Ginger snap cookies.

Fun party,

and then we went home

They say that 350 people tested the recipes.

What should I make first?

Mussels Provencal or crab cakes?

When I started this post all I could think about were the fresh and puffy pillows of snow outside and how gorgeous and peaceful it is. But, it also meant that there won’t be any driving to the grocery store. So, I dug into some recipes that one can cook out of the pantry, fridge, or freezer.

We started the morning late with Ebelskivers

Yes, it’s a bit of work compared to making pancakes, but totally worth it.

It was the 3rd day of no school and having kids at home. Tomorrow schools will be closed as well and maybe on Friday too.

Some friends report they are close to losing their mind—well, with 1-3 kids in the house who wouldn’t? So why not make a smoothie instead of pulling your hair out? Melt your built-up tension out on the machine. Shred. Grate. Liquify. Buzz buzz buzz away…

For lunch/dinner, I’ve got an arsenal of pasta dishes you can make with whatever you have in the pantry, freezer, and fridge. Here are some ideas, from ones that need a few more ingredients or leftovers like Mishmash pasta dishes or Leftovers: Creamy Orecchiette with Roasted Vegetables, Chicken, and Leafy Greens

…to more basic ones like Noodles with cottage cheese or Orzo and garbanzo beans when your inventory is running low

How about tortillas wraps or tacos with whatever you have in the pantry, freezer, and fridge… Those are always easy and kid-pleasing and taste good. Here are some ideas:

Fish tacos

Mexican inspired grilled lamb tortilla wraps

Amazing, but simple, Chicken Wrap

Leftovers dinner (or lunch) in 10 minutes

I thought about baking beer bread. It only has 6 ingredients! But I found that our beer inventory is 0 right now (And our milk supply is running low—Soon I’ll have to drink teaaaaaaaaaaaa).

Snow is sure pretty and fluffy but I hate to be stuck at home for days. It’s starting to feel like a jail/asylum.

Thank God I love the kitchen—it keeps my hands busy and my mind off the craziness. Also, thank God for music and Disney movies and Netflix, and…

I’m looking out the window at the non-stop falling snow and praying for it to melt soon. Hopefully by tomorrow we’ll be able to go out and be back to normal.

In the meantime, keep safe and warm all’ya, OK? Don’t do any crazy stuff, OK?

I think I’ll go bake something now… Chocolate cake? I ‘m pretty sure I have some heavy cream hiding in the fridge somewhere…

Do you miss it sometimes?

Thinking about my recent trip to Israel, I realize that fresh and good food was so easy to find there, and at relatively inexpensive prices. The restaurant at the beach, the little falafel shop, the pastries at the grocery store at 10 PM, the street corner Shawarma place…  It was all good, fresh, and cheap.

I haven’t seen any junk food chain stores! Can you believe it? Well… besides McDonalds… McDonalds is everywhere, isn’t it? But it’s not very popular in Israel. (They say that even Starbucks did not make it there.) So, you get my point, good, fresh food—and coffee!—was all around. Oh, and fresh juice too. Freshly squeezed juice stores like this one below were on every busy street.

Inspired by that, we started drinking freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast at home. (The doctor says is has lots of fiber…)

We made fresh juice using these tools which failed to squeeze every sweet drop out of the fruit,

… and it was also somewhat messy and time consuming (Who has extra time in the morning to make orange juice?), so we went back to the boxed juice only to discover that the juice from the box, organic or not, with pulp or not, with added vitamins or not, tastes like nothing.

We are never buying/drinking that stuff again ever!

4 days later we rushed to the store and bought an electric juicer. (In case you’re curious where, click here.) What do you know? It takes only 5 minutes from start to finish, cleanup included, and the kids can do it!

Then, at 12:31 AM—Yes, 12:31 AM!!!—it hit me. None of the oranges we used had seeds!

In the morning, I had to test my revelation.

I cut all 4 different varieties we had in half. To my surprise, I found out that heirloom or not, organic or not, Navel or another… the oranges don’t have seeds besides a lonely, random speck of seed, see?

What happened to the seeds?

Who took them out of the oranges?

What does it mean?

And who’s gonna make fresh orange juice?

Saturday? Yes.

Snowy day? Yes.

Cold outside and warm inside? Yes, yes.

Coffee cake anyone? Oh, yes, please.

With cocoa nibs? Yes.

And cream cheese and crème fraiche? A-ha.

Go grab the recipe for here.

There is so much to say and read about Caesarea but I am not going to give you a history lesson about this place right now. In short, as the name implies, there was a Caesar, Herod, who built this city and its port about 25-13 BCE. Then it turned Roman, a few centuries later it was conquered by the Crusaders who turned it into a Christian city. Later on the Muslims destroyed what the Crusaders built and rebuilt the city to be more Muslim…. And this is in short the history of Israel in one sentence. (If you want to know more about Caesarea’s past and present click here and here)

Mosaic floor—how gorgeous is that???

And we take another break for the most popular side dishes in Israeli restaurants: chips (fries) and Israeli salad = small diced fresh tomatoes and cucumber (Those are basic and can be mixed with other veggies like bell peppers, red onion, etc).

On the way to Haifa (A city 1.5 hours drive north from Tel Aviv)

Haifa on a stormy night

On the way to Arad (About 1.5 hours south from Tel Aviv)

Bedouin (an ethnic group in Israel) boys and their camels

Overlooking Arad

Sunset and the state of Jordan in the horizon

The road to the Dead Sea

I suppose this is the reward for those who wake up when the alarm clock rings.

And we had this sky 2 morning later,

I had to share.

Overlooking Tel Aviv

This is the area for tourists, local and foreign, with designer and jewelry stores, art galleries, cafes and restaurants and renovated historic buildings.

***

Neve Tzedek is one of Tel Aviv’s first a neighborhoods. It was built in 1887, 22 years before Tel Aviv was founded. It has been renovated in the past years and now has little shops, designer boutiques, and trendy cafes and restaurants.

Old and new

Freedom of speech and trash

Democracy in action

At the heart of old Tel Aviv, beautiful, and ugly, old buildings (and each apartment has a porch!)

Skyscrapers (no porches )

People in cafes and cars honking—Why? For who?—at 3 AM (I was awake since there’s a 10 hours jet lag/time difference between WA and Israel)

An afternoon concert with one of Israel’s most popular rock-pop bands called Mashina—so glad we saw it!

… and another song for you by this band named “There’s no other place”

The most famous Hanukah doughnuts in the country at Roladin Bakery, oh my my

How can we not go to the beach again?

… and eat Falafel in a fat, plump pita in the bustling street for dinner?

Lunch. This was fantastic! Roasted marrow bone, beef skewer on top of mushroom puree, mashed root vegetables, and, I think, scallion cream

…in a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean sea

There’s always action in Tel Aviv

… and heavy traffic