nav-left cat-right
cat-right

Mother’s Day Massage Envy Give-Away!

Last Thursday, I was having one of those days. You know, the kind of day only a stay-at-home mother of three Spring-break-vacationing children can have. Despite my attempts to show my offspring what an awesome mom they have (swimming, movies, art projects), there was still fighting, whining and door-slamming. It was the day before payday and the grocery situation was becoming “limited,” my back was killing me...

Cook Once, Eat For A Week: A Cooking Class At Wood...

  Cheerleading for local businesses is a passion of mine and yesterday was a double scoop of local. Massage Envy of Woodinville owners Lydia and John Alexander celebrated the franchise’s eighth anniversary in a rather unorthodox way – they treated their customers to a fantastic healthy cooking class at the uber-green 21 Acres farm. Dedicated to “growing, eating, living,” the mission at 21 Acres is to educate...

Daniel O’Malley: For the Love of a Sharp Edg...

Kirkland bladesmith and Epicurean Edge owner cuts to the chase on all things “knife.” SURGERY, RATATOUILLE and a man’s smooth chin all have something in common — they are made possible by a razor sharp edge. Blades have come a long way from the flint knives of our cave-dwelling ancestors. Stone and bone gave way to malleable metals, forged in fire to increase their hardness. Bladesmith Daniel...

Boeuf Bourguignon Gives Birth to the Flash Mob Fea...

It all started with a sweet-tooth. My husband and I found ourselves on an impromptu Saturday afternoon date. Grandma took the kids for a few hours, so we headed to Hanuman Thai Cafe on Central Way for an aromatic bowl of Tom Yum soup and a plate of Wild Wild Squid. We were on our way to hit up Cupcake Royal in Bellevue when we discovered time was running short. After a U-turn, we decided on some gelato at Metropolitan...

Caffe Rococo Brews Up More Than Coffee

Originally posted  on  January 11, 2011 on Kirkland Patch By Julie Arnan | Email the author | January 11, 2011 Remember the old Disney cartoon where Mickey is floating through the air, drifting on a current of smell, the cooling pie on the window luring him by the nose? A similar phenomenon is occurring in downtown Kirkland. On any given Monday or Thursday, resident noses follow the rich aroma of freshly roasting coffee...

Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts with Lemon-Chive Sauce

One of my favorite comic strip memories is from the Far Side by Gary Larson showing a snapshot of the “boneless, skinless chicken farm”…all these chickens just flopped over.  Although I grew up with this particular cut of meat I have shunned it for a few years, only using it occasionally.  I mean, it is a pretty boring cut, you have to admit.  Usually overcooked, not a lot of flavor, and generally sliced...

Dutch Baby

One of our favorite things to order at a nearby pancake joint is the made-to-order Dutch Baby. It’s this eggy, souffle-ish thing that puffs way up in the oven and then deflates. The original is my favorite, served with powdered sugar sprinkled on top and lemon wedges squeezed over the surface. It seems really fancy, but is actually simple to make. Much simpler than even scones or muffins or pancakes. Of course,...

Grilled Cheese Therapy

Every couple has some sort of ongoing, long-standing disagreement. Ours has to do with me thinking that I’m right about the “proper” way to make food. On all seafood matters, I happily defer to my husband who grew up eating so much seafood that I trust he knows what it should taste like. However, on the slim chance that he’s taking a risk and making something in the/my kitchen, I find it almost...

Scones that will keep you home

One of my all time favorite breakfast items (right now) are delicious fresh-baked scones. I first came across the recipe in Edible Seattle in an interview with the chef at Boat Street Cafe. The interviewer even suggested that these are really the only scones worth eating. That may be a little bit of a stretch having tasted good scones here and there (sorry, Starbucks, but I’m not talking about yours). Many factors...