Robert and I are going backpacking next month so I am currently in hyper meal-planning mode. This means lots of experiments in the kitchen. I feel like a mad scientist, busy figuring out ways to make food more lightweight and packable yet tasty and nutritious. Sure, I could just head down to REI and buy some commercially prepared instant meals, but that wouldn’t be very much fun, would it?

One of the main challenges with backpacking is getting your daily requirement of veggies. You could theoretically carry fresh carrots or other sturdy vegetables with you but, after a day or so they won’t be very good. Plus, fresh vegetables weigh a lot, and weight is always a big issue when you are backpacking. You could fork over the cash and buy dehydrated vegetables from Just Tomatoes. Or, you could buy a home dehydrator which you will use once a year and then need to find space for in your storage closet the rest of the time. But, most people do what I do - simply go without, relying instead on dried fruit and instant beans in place of vegetables. A few days without vegetables isn’t going to hurt you. Still, I just don’t feel right if there isn’t something green on my dinner plate.

My solution? Turn a conventional oven into a makeshift dehydrator! The two keys to dehydrating foods are to be able to maintain a consistent, low temperature (140 to 150 degrees) and to allow air to reach all sides of the food for even drying. An oven may not be the most efficient tool for the job, but I was able to get it to work just fine. After trying a few different low settings, I was able to maintain an oven temperature of about 147 degrees (an oven thermometer comes in real handy here.) I ended up propping the oven door open slightly with a pair of kitchen tongs to get the right temperature. Doing this also helps improve the airflow. Rather than using baking sheets or pans, you need place the food on something that will allow air to move all around it. You can buy mesh screens for this purpose or you can do what I did which was to wrap a piece of cheesecloth around a cooling rack (securing the ends with safety pins helps keep it in place.)

I choose broccoli for my dehydration experiment. First, I cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces and blanched it in boiling water until it was just cooked through. I then spread it out in a single, uncrowded layer on the cheesecloth and placed it in the oven. I checked on the broccoli every hour or so; 6 hours later, it was ready! It was completely brittle and showed no signs of moisture whatsoever. One whole head of broccoli was transformed into a small 1 ounce handful. I also dehydrated some garlic and capers and used it to make a tasty tuna & broccoli noodle dish which should be delicious out in the wilderness. The broccoli reconstituted fairly well. Its texture was definitely different, but it tasted like broccoli and remained pretty green through the whole process. And, as long as I can see something green in my bowl, I will be one “happy camper.”

Click here for the full recipe>>

Our neighborhood farmer’s market just opened up for the season, and I couldn’t be happier! Robert and I braved the rain and cold on Sunday and headed down to see what was fresh this week. This early in the season, there isn’t quite the same level of abundance that you see in the summer and autumn months, but we still found a few good things to try including some adorable baby turnips. I had never had baby turnips before so I had no idea if I would like them or not. Come to think of it, I’m not sure that I’ve ever had adult turnips either. But, I like most vegetables and, at a mere $2.00/bunch, I figured I didn’t have much to lose.

The turnips looked really clean already so I just gave them a quick rinse and then trimmed off the greens, leaving a bit of the stem attached to make them look pretty. I steamed the turnips along with some small carrots for a very short time until they were just tender. Then, I tossed them in a pan with a little butter, salt, pepper and a tiny pinch of sugar until the vegetables were glazed and beginning to brown in spots. I served the turnips alongside orecchiette pasta with fresh fava beans, Red Russian kale (also from the farmer’s market) and the greens from the baby turnips. And for Robert, Cascioppo Italian sausages. The turnips were delicious. Very tender and a little bit sweet. They were actually kind of juicy which, for a root vegetable, is sort of amazing. The turnip greens were appropriately bitter and went really well with the creamy fava beans in the pasta. Hooray for the return of the farmer’s market!

Last night, on our way to dinner, Robert and I decided to stop for a drink at Havana, a bar located a few blocks away from our apartment. Although it has been open for nearly a year, we only just discovered it the other day. Havana has done a good job of keeping itself hidden. To get to Havana, you enter through an unmarked door in the middle of a generic parking lot. There is no sign, just a black awning letting you know where to go. Havana does have windows to the outside world, but they face a street that no one ever walks down. In fact, that’s how Robert discovered the place. He just happened to be walking down that street one day and, through the windows, he saw all these people drinking and having fun. A secret bar!

Well, it turns out that Robert and I are just behind the times, and everyone else has already discovered (and figured out how to get into) Havana. Supposedly, it gets packed at night when it turns into a dance club with live DJs. We were there in the afternoon so it wasn’t too busy. It was just us and a bunch of students from the beauty school next door. They were a little loud but, otherwise, Havana was a really comfortable spot to be.

The decor at Havana is, not surprisingly, vintage Cuba featuring lots of pastels and gold trim and palm plants. High ceilings give the place an airy atmosphere, and tall windows let in lots of light. There are a few roomy booths along one wall and plenty of barstools along the bar and another wall. There is also a cozy lounge upstairs that can be reserved for large parties.

We sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender who was really friendly. I get the feeling that he’s not from Capitol Hill, evidenced not only by the lack of attitude but also in his choice of music. You don’t hear too much Bachman Turner Overdrive on the Hill. I loved it, of course. I’m not a fan of classic rock or anything but, any place that rejects the indie music snobbery present at most Capitol Hill bars, is okay in my book. Plus, BTO? That’s almost wacky enough to be cool.

The cocktail menu at Havana is pretty short and focuses mainly on cocktails with a tropical flair. Most of the specialty drinks are made with rum or tequila. That said, don’t expect to see any frothy, too-sweet pineapple drinks garnished with party umbrellas. The cocktails at Havana are all very sophisticated. I started with the Paper Tiger which is Plymouth gin, lemon and blood orange bitters. It was served in a narrow glass with a sugared rim and raspberry garnish. It was delicious; lemony and just a little bit sweet. My second drink was El Floridita. This was made with white Bacardi rum, grapefruit, lime, and a bit of Maraska Maraschino liqueur. This was my favorite of the two. I am not a big fan of maraschino in general, but it really worked here. It added a very subtle, dark cherry flavor to the cocktail.

Overall, we really liked Havana for afternoon cocktails. If you’re not afraid of secret entrances and a little classic rock now and then, you should check it out. Havana is located at 1010 E Pike St. It is open every day from 4 PM to 2 AM and happy hour is from 4 PM to 7 PM.

We met friends for brunch down in Georgetown today. Georgetown is a really funky, industrial neighborhood just south of Seattle. It has several cool bars and restaurants, including our favorite summertime pub, Smartypants. Although it is a pretty hip place right now, Georgetown still has a really sleepy atmosphere, and that’s part of the reason why we love it. We have never had to wait for a table at Smartypants; there are always just enough easygoing patrons in the place to keep the equally laid-back wait staff moving, but it is never packed (a refreshing change from the loud, ever-crowded pubs of Capitol Hill.)

We were originally planning to meet today at Smartypants, but, since it is technically a bar, our friends’ little 6-month old wasn’t allowed in. They suggested that we try Hangar Cafe a few blocks down instead. Hangar Cafe opened several months ago. It is located in a little brick house and is very cute inside, with only a handful of tables and a small counter where you order and pay for your meal. There are also some tables outside in the front yard (outdoor seating in Seattle - yay!)

The regular menu at Hangar Cafe is pretty small and basic, but their specials board today had about 10 or more really inventive and delicious-sounding offerings. I chose the asparagus and mushroom omelet casserole which was served with “potato balls” on the side. The omelet was tasty but a tad on the overcooked side. The potato balls were certainly the unexpected highlight of the meal. They were big, round croquettes of peppery smashed potatoes, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I’ve never seen anything like this on a breakfast menu before. I love potatoes and this was a really great way to have them. Slices of nutty wheat toast and a nice selection of sliced fruits rounded out the meal.

Hangar Cafe is a place that I am looking forward to going back to. If not for the food and the homey atmosphere, then I will definitely return in the summer for the outdoor seating (complete with a front row view of the planes screaming into Boeing Field next door!) Hangar Cafe is located on the corner of 13th Ave S and Albro St. and is open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday from 6:30am to 4:00pm, Saturday from 7:30am to 3:00pm, and Sundays from 8:00am to 3:00pm.

My parents just recently returned from a vacation to Utah where they spent their time hiking in the national parks and dining in Utah’s only (probably) Buddhist-run restaurant. On the way back home, they stopped over in Zillah, Washington for a little wine tasting adventure. Sounds like a great way to end the trip to me! Zillah is located in the Rattlesnake Hills Area, Washington’s most recently awarded AVA (American Viticultural Area). My parents had lots of fun visiting the different wineries in Zillah and came home with, oh, about 20 to 25 bottles of wine (including lots of Port - who knew Washington was making so much Port?) Robert and I were the lucky recipients of three of these wines, which was thrilling for me since they are wines you don’t find in the average grocery store. It’s fun to try uncommon wines, and it’s always nice to be able to support smaller, local wine makers in the process.

This week, I opened up Horizon’s Edge 2002 Devil’s Canyon Red Table Wine. Horizon’s Edge is owned by David Padgett who also owns Maison de Padgett Winery. Both wineries produce a variety of wines including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Muscat, Malbec, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and, of course, Port. This wine most closely resembled a Merlot. It was a very nice table wine - well-balanced, fruity and medium-bodied. Very drinkable.

Since I made such a fuss about the label on my last bottle of wine, I simply have to mention this. The labels on the Horizon’s Edge and Maison de Padgett wines look like they were designed by some sort of wizard or dungeon master or something. If you don’t believe me, check out the website. It’s like wine for hardcore gamers. In contrast, my parents said the Maison de Padgett winery itself is beautiful with big Greek columns and lovely gardens.

I served the wine with my standby red wine food: pizza, this time topped with roasted red and yellow peppers, leftover homemade tapenade and vegetarian sausage. It turned out really good. Robert says my pizza crust is getting better every time. I think I’m really getting used to using the pizza stone. At first I was afraid that the stone would be too hot and would burn my crust. Now, I know that it actually keeps everything from burning by evenly distributing the oven’s heat. Recently, I have been doing a couple of other things that I think are helping to improve my pizzas. First, I mix a bit of cornmeal into my dough. It doesn’t really add a noticeable flavor, but I think it provides a nice crunch to the crust. Secondly, I like to heat a few tablespoons of olive oil slowly over low heat with minced garlic and crushed red chili flakes to create a spicy oil. I then drizzle that over the dough before I add the tomato sauce and topping. It adds tons of extra spicy flavor and, because it has so much flavor, you don’t even need to use prepared tomato sauce. A can of crushed tomatoes and some cheese is all you need for a delicious pizza!

For several weeks now, thanks to this recent article in the Stranger, I have been craving fried duck eggs. I go though egg-craving phases every so often so this isn’t anything unusual. Duck eggs, with their ultra-rich flavor, are the best for satisfying these cravings. Today, I headed down to Pike Place Creamery and picked up a half dozen of their duck eggs. I also bought some asparagus, intending to roast it and use it as a bed upon which to serve the fried eggs. I only had one small problem. Today was winesday, and eggs are notorious for being difficult to pair with wine. Wait a second, so is asparagus! Uh oh. Would this be a winesday disaster?

Well, that’s what wine shops are for. I simply walked into Pike & Western, explained what I was planning for dinner and asked for a recommendation. The gentleman that I talked to told me that he thinks the egg-asparagus wine pairing problem is typically overblown. While you will probably never find a great pairing with these foods, there are plenty of wines out there that will be okay. Sweet or oaky wines generally clash with asparagus, but most light, dry whites will work. His first impulse was actually to recommend Champagne or any dry sparkling wine since the acidity and bubbles help to mask the problematic qualities in difficult-to-pair foods. If I wanted a still wine, however, he suggested that I go with Gruner Veltliner.

Gruner Veltliner is the national grape of Austria. Very little is grown anywhere else. Wines made from Gruner Veltliner are usually light to medium-bodied, have grassy, citrus, pepper and mineral flavors and are high in acidity making them very food-friendly. In fact, I later learned that this food-friendliness makes Gruner Veltliner one of the most commonly recommended wines to serve with asparagus dishes. According to the man at the wine shop, Gruner Veltliner is really popular among wine geeks right now. If you want to be hip this summer, start drinking Gruner Veltliner. I picked up the one bottle that they had in stock: Hirsch 2004 Veltliner #1. One glance at the bottle and I knew this was a fun, completely unpretentious wine. The photo on the label is of a deer drinking out of a Dixie cup which someone is holding out a car window. It’s very surreal. The wine experts say that you should never buy a wine because it has a cute animal on it but, if I saw this wine in a shop, without knowing anything else about it, I think I would probably buy it.

The Hirsch Veltliner seemed to be a pretty good example of a Gruner Veltliner. It was light and tart with flavors of lime and green apple. Very zippy and easy to drink. I’m not going to lie and say that the wine went perfectly with asparagus and duck eggs, but it was okay. The acidity and slightly tingly texture of the wine was able to cut through the richness of the yolks nicely, but the wine’s flavor was dulled a bit by the asparagus and eggs. It went very well with the herbed new potatoes and crab crostini that I served alongside the asparagus, however, so it ended up being a good winesday after all. Plus, since this wine is so drinkable, I can screw the cap back on and enjoy the rest of it anytime I want this weekend!

Robert and I have settled into a fairly strict sushi routine over the past few years. Every couple of weeks, when we are craving sushi, we head down to our neighborhood sushi joint, Hana on Broadway, and every time, without fail, we order the exact same thing. We start off with bowls of miso soup. This is followed by one Spicy Tuna Roll and our three favorite nigiri sushi: Sake (salmon), Saba (Mackerel), and Suzuki with Shiso (striped bass). We typically order one other piece of nigiri sushi, usually Hamachi (yellowtail) but sometimes something else depending on what is on special that evening. We used to get Unagi (barbecued eel) but the Unagi at Hana is never served warm like it should be so we have stopped ordering it. We are currently in love with the Saba which has an unusual, briny flavor that is somewhat of an acquired taste. My all-time favorite, however, is the Suzuki with Shiso. It consists of an oval of rice topped with a shiso leaf, a thin slice of striped bass, and a dusting of togarashi, a Japanese red pepper spice mix. The flavors are so good together; the shiso leaf has a unique herbal, citrus flavor and the togarashi provides just a tiny bit of spice. Delicious!

Last night, we decided to break out of the routine. We headed up to the other place in our neighborhood that serves sushi: Liberty. Liberty is a bar, first and foremost. They have a huge selection of liquor and make some amazing cocktails with it. But, in addition to cocktails, they also offer sushi. Cocktails and sushi, what a brilliant idea! The sushi menu at Liberty ranges from the very traditional (salmon nigiri, spicy tuna rolls) to the wacky (the Fishface Roll, for example, which includes hamachi, shrimp, jalapeño, mango, cabbage and wasabi aioli). Since our plan was to go outside of the routine, we opted for wacky sushi. We ordered two rolls: the Alaska Roll, which is salmon, asparagus, avocado, radish sprouts, sesame and tobiko, and the Jamjuree roll (named after the Thai restaurant located next door.) The Jamjuree Roll is made with shrimp, peanut sauce, mint, cilantro, red pepper, cucumber and cabbage. The sushi was okay but not great. Although the Jamjuree Roll is inventive and had a really good flavor, both rolls were on the dry side and the servings were very small. On the other hand, my cocktails were awesome! I had the Jasmine (gin, lemon, cointreau and campari) and the Dragon’s Toe (bourbon, cucumber, ginger water and a splash of ginger ale). I will definitely be returning to Liberty for cocktails, but I think it’s back to the Hana routine for sushi. Hana is located at 219 Broadway E and Liberty is at 517 15th Avenue E.