reesek

i think so. that menu looked great to me - american, kind of trendy in a bobby flay kind of way. i mean no disrespect to zolo. maybe the most successful restaurants in smaller/mid sized cities tend to be those that make regional food more interesting. in the northwest, for example - you can't swing a dead cat without hitting 6 varieties of (delicious) salmon. it's prepared in a million ways, but the restaurants that seem to endure are those that use local ingredients in new and interesting ways - they keep up with what current trends are in food without over-fusing.

indian for dinner last night - japanese tonight. my palate (which tends to gravitate toward chilies and stinky cheese) always thanks me for giving it a break.

mongo, last night's fish curry looks wonderful. i have or can easily get all ingredients except cambodge/black kokum. at least i think they're hard to get. what are they? is there a subsitution if i can't find it/them.

i'm with bleu - kali urad!!!

did it look like this? click this one is even better. edited to add link

i don't know...i love scallops. i might pay $37 for them - it would depend on a lot of other factors. if i'm in a very expensive restaurant - that's just kind of what they cost. maybe the "right" thing to order is beef a regular person can't acquire - or something more classically illustrative of a chef's skill. for me ambiance, quality, service and skill combine to make the meal. i would expect 4 pristine dayboat scallops for $37 to knock my socks off - but i love that suspension of disbelief while waiting for my food. and maybe i could make those scallops at home - but i bet there was a cucumber emulsion or dusting of black salt that made the chef decide it merited a spot on the menu. i also have no problems eating something out that i could make at home. it inspires me to reach in my own cooking - beyond what i've been served or moves me to try new flavor/seasoning combinations.

and speaking of vindaloo - monica's recipe in recipegullet is for pork. it calls for 3/4c of rice vingear which - through a 30 minute simmer - certainly reduces quite a bit. what about a fish or prawn vindaloo? would you reduce the vinegar - or cook it down and simply add the fish/prawns later in the process? many thanks

oh that's very helpful - thank you! i have bought (and used) the time release - any recs for a brand (location) to buy the liquid? home depot freaks me out - though to be fair - we bought our seeds there and the yield and quality of our peas, arugula, spinach and sugar snaps was very impressive.

mongo - you have to give us time to reply before deciding that we're not as interested in dinner as we were in lunch dinner looked delicious. do you use mashoor dal more than other types of dal? are there some that are used as pulses and some that are used as flavorings? (urad often seems to be a 1T kind of ingredient) is that mistaken? i've been thinking about why i feel drawn to indian food. i think it's the spices - there's something about the fragrance - even in a shop of homemade spice mixes, corriander and cardamom that makes me feel good. the same way the scent of sage makes me think of thanksgiving and by extention of family - "warm" spices make me want to cook and eat and share - which is just a lovely feeling. thanks again for blogging - my hand by the way - firmly down on the liver curry... but okra, other dals and mango creations greedily anticipated.

Lucy, Once again you've captivated our attention with your gorgeous photos and warm, lovely style. Thank you for sharing your story with us - it's very inspiring. You've achieved a delicate and difficult balance - working toward your goal while not losing the things that are so very central to who you are - i really feel honored to get to witness this. Keep it up girl! reese

mongo i love your blog already. that mackerel looks wonderful. is it not a classic preparation in the sense that mackerel is not typically cooked in that style? i've never seen mackerel in an indian restaurant - maybe it's perceived as too strong? in any case - i love mackerel...and am now inspired to butcher your interpretation. my impressions/imprinting of indian food: madhur jaffrey's "introduction to indian cooking" the first cookbook i ever used, and from which i made her keema recipe constantly for about 2 years. dal and rice fragrant with cardamon. dal makhani at moti mahal in chicago, onion kulcha, coriander chutney with mint and jalepeno. (is it normal to add yogurt? i'm always a little bitter when it's diluted with yogurt) creamy yellow dal with tomato and yogurt, potato samosas, channa masala, smoky eggplant, aloo gobi, vindaloo -the hotter the better.

Voila is open. Nancy Leson reviews it (favorably) here

brilliant.

pastilles. in an oval tin. i thought they tasted like sachet.

behemoth - you have very good taste.

these are so good - i have to add to my earlier post ketchup splooched on anything. gatorade - any flavor - any iteration. it all tastes like sweat. german chocolate cake - i had the exact same disappointment as jgarner as a child. frosting that looks like spit is just a mean thing to do to a kid raw walnuts. they do not "toast up" in carrot cake or cookies. maybe it's black walnuts in particular that i object to but i avoid all 'nuts in things' that i haven't prepared - just in case. diet soda fritos. love tortilla chips, but fritos taste pre-digested to me. marzipan - too sweet and floral in a wrong way. i love almond flavor in cookies but petit fours with the layers of wet cake and marzipan? i think not. red delicious apples. i have yet to have a delicious one.

megalomatt - decoricated is just the cardamom seeds removed from the pods. i have found on average that there are about 7-10 seeds in every pod. the thing about using the seeds is that they're a little less potent (they've already had their fragrance released). cardamom seeds are also very hard. i've never had much luck in my coffee (spice) grinder turning them into perfect powder - always need to use the mortar & pestle. the benefit of using pods is that you can crush them lightly and then remove them. if you're planning to crush the seeds for tea - you might want to strain it after brewing. edited - pronouns are confusing

the birds keep eating our strawberries.

oh that is so good. i'm banned from buying it as i cannot stop eating it once i start.

will my cats go insane over it? any brand in particular? i have little tomato-lets on a bunch of plants and tons of blooms.

we're picking peas! i've never tasted anything so wonderfully sweet. we've got sugar snaps and shelling. will they re-flower? is there a "right" way to harvest? cutting/picking at the joint...etc. will they come back or will i need to plant them again next year? does anyone have advice for a particular brand of tomato food? thanks!

owen, i love your posts so i feel a peculiarly vested interest in helping you out. i'm going to be a little un-seattle and strongly recommend you rent a car. in my opinion - seattle proper is a relatively easy city to navigate by car and imo, the hassle factor of the bus is not worth it for the amount of time you'll be here. if you do rent a car - your options are pretty limitless. head to the university district and have thai at thai tom. (45th & university way NE) if it's packed and you don't want to wait - aladdin two doors down makes a damn fine falafel. definitely check out the ID (international district) as tighe pointed out. all the $2 bahn mi and condensed milk laden coffee you can handle. you could easily spend every night in the ID - malay satay hut just north east of the corner of 12th and jackson has excellent food - you must have roti canai there. it's addictive. seven stars pepper on the south east side of that same junction (upstairs in a tiny strip mall) has amazing szechuan crab priced very reasonably. the scallion pancake is tasty too. if you end up with a lunch downtown - you should make a point of going to salumi (just search this forum - there are several threads on it) to plug west seattle - cheap tacos at taqueria guaymas (there are others, but this is the best one) can only be beat by the highly inauthentic but insanely good tuna tacos across the street at elliott bay brewery. it's got a sports-bar-ish feel to it but the food is quality all the way. there are frites in capitol hill off pike (thread on this forum) as well as asian fusion at ballet further up the street. (i think laurel reviewed that a while ago) you might want to check out the 2 local weekly papers for cheap eats/entertainment ideas too - the weekly and the stranger have a great trip!

yes they can, and they should. i'm speaking from experience - any hostility i showed as a waitress (and believe me - i had my nights) was wrong. when the blind people came in and wanted water while i read them the menu while i was slammed - i was frustrated. but it was my job to help them graciously and not their fault that i was busy. that's an extreme example but it illustrates a point. with respect to the folks who don't tip well - there are a lot of generalities but one universal truth - people in the business always tip well and as a waitron - you never know who's who. the light eaters may order 4 cocktails or an expensive bottle of wine. regardless - good waiters (at decent restaurants) always make their money.

what a good idea. i've only had FGT once - and they were spectacular. depending on our yield this summer i could see sacrificing some of them but i'd love to get them from another source entirely and keep the red ones for eating raw.

ditto green peppers and saurkraut. i am also pathologically opposed to anything with orange flavor - harkens back to a childhood illness when for 2 weeks i had to take 100 baby asprin a day (seriously) and to buffer my stomach had to drink milk. my well-intentioned mom made me quik as a salve. drinks are the worst - kool-aid, tang, but you'll never catch me with an orange popsickle either. needless to say just the thought of chocolate and orange together makes me gag. fresh oranges are fine.