Tuesday, August 31, 2010


On this rainiest day of August, I'm happy to report we had at least one sunny day last weekend: perfect weather, friends, and lots of excellent food, including fresh crab caught that morning by our amazing hosts.


First, we walked the short distance to town, in search of shaved ice -- think snowcones, but instead of Blue or Pink, you get to choose from flavors like Tiramisu, Wedding Cake, and Wango Tango (pina colada + margarita).


Between pre-happy hour welcome snacks and Full Happy Hour, I watched the Birch Bay Bocce Ball Championships in the back yard. To celebrate his momentous win, Brian fell off a hammock.


Aside from the lawn sports, the day was basically non-stop food. The highlight: a quickly-devoured dish of crab dip, of course featuring crab caught that morning.

Unfortunately, I was far too consumed with eating to take photos of the vast Happy Hour and dinner spreads. But trust me, everything was fabulous.


Margaritas, sunny beachy walks, too much good food, and, finally, a campfire. It was short, but it was a perfect one-day vacation from suddenly-grey Seattle.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Zucchini and Ricotta Galette (a borrowed recipe)


Melissa sent a blueberry muffin recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and browsing along I knew I had to make this Zucchini and Ricotta Galette. It seemed perfectly simple but not at all boring, comfort food (buttery pastry + 3 kinds of cheese!) but still summery.

I was a little worried this would be too zucchini-y, so I used one medium zucchini for a fairly thin layer. I baked it 35 minutes, which left the zucchini perfect done -- still fresh tasting.


My crust was not as glorious as the original seemed to be, but I also didn't chill it quite long enough and my butter bits were perhaps too big. Note: take care with pastry, the little details make a difference!

You can visit the beautiful Smitten Kitchen for the recipe and additional thoughts. Now me and the men (er, man and dog) are off to Blaine for a festival of crab! Plus appropriate cocktails, horseshoes, and lounging around in the sun. :)

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

While I'm waiting for the tomatoes to ripen, I've been using another item I found in the garden: Rosemary. It's my favorite herb for roast chicken.

Some fun tidbits about rosemary:

  • Hungary Water, an infusion of rosemary into wine or alcohol, was created for the Queen of Hungary, in a attempt to revitalize limbs. We're not talking rosemary-scented riesling, however -- this water was more of a rosemary perfume, used topically rather than accompanying dinner.
  • Rosemary has a reputation for improving memory, but even more interesting is it's use in inspiring love: tap your beloved's shoulder with a blooming rosemary spring, and s/he will fall in love with you. Effective? I'm not sure, but it certainly seems less risky than shooting them with cupid's arrow.
  • One more note from Wikipedia: "Somehow, the use of rosemary in the garden to repel witches turned into signification that the woman ruled the household in homes where rosemary grew abundantly." Oh really? Rosemary in abundance means I rule the house? Excuse me while I go nurture a few more bushes ...

Sunday, August 22, 2010

The Best Cookies (p.s. they're vegan)


This post needs no narration -- just photos, recipe, and a strong recommendation that you bake these cookies pronto. And a thanks to the co-worker who shared the cookies, then sent the recipe!

These really are the best cookies I've made in a long time, not just the best vegan cookies. If you're not drawn to vegan stuff, just ignore that part and grab a mixing bowl.


Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Use vegan versions of these ingredients if you like. If you're not vegan, just use normal stuff. I'm not really sure what vegan flour, vanilla, or sugar are, anyway.
  • 2 C unbleached flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 1/5 to 2 C Chocolate chips
  • 1 C sugar (my co-worker used 1/2 sugar, 1/2 agave)
  • 1/2 C canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 C water (I needed more -- try 1/4 C first, then another T or 2 as needed)
Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. Pre-heat your oven to 350. This recipe requires just a whisk and spoon for mixing, two bowls, and the baking sheet -- no heavy mixer necessary.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients except sugar (I accidentally included the sugar in this step, and everything turned out fine). Add chips. Make a well in the center and set aside. In another bowl, mix sugar and oil well, then add vanilla and water. Mix well. Add to dry ingredients. Mix well, but be careful not to overwork it (this is why I would not use your fancy Kitchenaid mixer for this recipe).

Drop by bablespoons onto cookie sheets. I use Exopat baking sheets, as seen in the photos below -- nothing sticks, ever! They're worth the investment.



Bake for 4 minutes, rotate sheets and bake another 4-6 minutes. As with most chocolate chip cookies, you'll want to remove them when they seem just barely underdone, since they'll harden a bit as they cool. Allow them to cool for a couple moments before transferring to a wire rack; this is another reason silicone baking sheets are helpful -- you can remove the full Exopat sheet from the metal baking pan, letting the first batch of cookies cool faster and starting your next batch on a second Exopat.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Free Pizza!



If you're a fan of paper-thin Neapolitan pizza (and why would you not be), don't forget to stop by Tutta Bella this week to get your free pizza! That's right. You have til' this Sunday to stop by for a free pie. If you're willing to brave the wait, and the screaming children (at the Wallingford location only) I highly recommend you take them up on this generous offer.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Pretend Like it's the Weekend


Happy Saturday, dear readers. Remember me? If you don't, well, I can't say I blame you. Way back when, there were two contributors to this blog -- 2 teaspoons, if you will. I've been slacking. If fact, I haven't been slacking -- I straight up quit for a few months. OK, maybe 5 or 6 months. Raven has brilliantly been carrying the weight of our weekly updates and has posted some pretty fantastic recipes. If you haven't read her post on this beautiful Thai Beef Salad or Quinoa and Chickpea Salad, please do. Both are delicious ideas for a quick summer dinner.

OK, but back to Jack Johnson and banana pancakes. After my 4th trip to Hawaii last June, I'm officially hooked on these tasty buggers. I blame Boots and Kimo's -- pretty much the best breakfast joint in Hawaii. I've been working on perfecting my own mainland version for over a year now. I'm close, but I wouldn't say this recipe is perfection yet. Still, they're more than your average Saturday pancakes.

Banana & Coconut Pancakes
1 cup + a few extra Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 cup of milk (whole milk is best)
few drops of vanilla extract
dash of cinnamon
2 Tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1/8 cup coconut flakes
1-2 ripe bananas (you want them a little mushy)

Sift dry ingredients together. Add the egg followed by the rest of the wet ingredients and thorough whisk thoroughly until batter is nice and thick, though maybe slightly drippy. Mix in the bananas and coconut flakes. Heat your pan to medium high and start flippin'.

Serve these with some freshly sliced bananas, a dusting of powdered sugar, and coconut syrup. If you've only got maple syrup on hand, that'll do as well. "Can't you see, can't you see; We've got to wake up slow." And then make some scrumptious pancakes -- island style.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

When life gives you blueberries ...


Blueberries! I discovered the first surprise blueberry bush in early summer, then found another smothered by our overgrowing mint (the mint is now gone, the blueberries are happier).

But even two small bushes do not produce more than a couple handfuls of berries at a time. What to do with this delightful, but minimal, discovery?

The easiest thing was to eat them plain. And a few went on salad. Most were wonderfully sweet, but some -- so tart! So the rest went into homemade lemonade. :)

Blueberry Lemonade, shown above with our garden's hydrangeas.
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice
4 cups cold water
A handful of blueberrries

Stir first three ingredients till sugar melts. Add blueberries. Drink.

* I think if Martha Stewart made this, she'd add a generous splash of vodka.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Tea time! Who wants a cup?


The design is a bit much for an entire set of dishes (for me. you go ahead.), but I definitely look forward to sipping earl grey from these happy tea and coffee cups from Anthropologie. Plus two little bowls, for snacks at the imaginary tea party I'm envisioning. You're all invited.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Friday Night Date with Caramel Cake


I couldn't decide what to make for dinner on Friday, and no restaurants called our name. So I forgot my usual preoccupations with nutrition and "real food," and went for this Best-Ever Caramel Cake from Food & Wine magazine.



The multi-step process (plus time for photos) was a lengthy ordeal that left me thoroughly sick of caramel, so the cake sat untouched in the fridge until Saturday night. Probably for the best: according to the magazine, this caramel cake is better the second day.

Since neither Brian or I have ever had a caramel cake, we can't confirm whether this is actually the best-ever. But the super-sweet caramel icing spread thin enough to not overwhelm the vanilla cake, which was rich and dense (not at all "fluffy" as described in the recipe). If I was throwing a birthday party for a caramel-lover, this would be my cake of choice.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Fresh new look for 2teaspoons!

If you're reading somewhere other than 2tsps.blogspot.com, come check out our summery new design! It's picked fresh from the garden, just for 2teaspoons guests.

PS. This template has mixed results in Internet Explorer. If it doesn't work for you, test another browser, like Firefox or Chrome.

Lemon Quinoa and Chickpea Salad



A couple people mentioned the lack of 2 Teaspooning in recent weeks. I promise, no one's missed any kitchen excitement, as I haven't really cooked anything since the sun came out in late June. I do not enjoy a warm oven or stove when the weather is warm.

But I do love quinoa and chickpeas, and both are great additions to salads. They're cheap. They're lovely at any temperature. They're light and don't overwhelm salads, like some other additions (cheese, meat). And along with the healthy fiber and protein in chickpeas, quinoa is a complete protein. I remember from a college Nutrition class that complete proteins are necessary for humans, but since they're primarily found in animal products, it's sort of lucky to find them in vegetarian/vegan foods. So there you have it. Eat more quinoa.

Both chickpeas and quinoa also have an impressive history: chickpeas have been eaten for at least 7,500 years, originally in the Middle East and Mediterranean. Quinoa is a South American food, eaten for 6,000+ years, and considered the sacred "Mother of All Grains" by the Incas.

If you don't know quinoa, it's similar to couscous: fluffy, light in flavor, quick-cooking. It's officially a "pseudocereal," not a real grain (couscous is officially a pasta). It can be red or yellowish -- red is prettier, but less common in stores. Quinoa is low-maintenance: add boiling water and cover for 15 minutes.

For this salad, I made my quinoa rissotto-style, adding a little water at a time and stirring, then adding a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper, and sliced scallion at the end. I added canned chickpeas (rinsed and drained) in the last minute of cooking, to heat them. Then I tossed over mixed lettuce and herbs from the garden. Very little hot-stove time, and definitely better than a diet of popsicles.