‘Tis the season: garden-fresh vegetables are here! Whether they’re harvested from your own backyard or found at the local farmers market, there is nothing like the flavor of vine-ripened tomatoes, peas straight from the pod and newly husked corn. Corn, tomato and peas—some variation of this vegetable trifecta always finds its way to our table. […]
Food
Gluten-free pizza with caramelized Walla Walla onions, pear and herbed goat cheese recipe
After our recent trip to Walla Walla, I’ve got onions on my mind. And, in keeping with my gluten-free experimentation phase, I decided to give pizza a whirl. Okay, I didn’t make the crust. Udi’s did. However, the Walla Walla sweet onions and the herbs used in the herbed goat cheese were grown right outside […]
Oui! You can make a French omelette
You can’t make an omelette without breaking an egg ~Dutch proverb See the lovely omelette in the photo above? This omelette is Big Papa’s first, cooked on September 13, 2009, in Yerevan, Armenia. He received a bit of coaching (moi) to help make his first attempt a success and, since that day, Big Papa has […]
Gluten-free Banana Macadamia Nut Bread
A few months ago, Big Papa ventured into gluten-free land. He did not go willingly –it took a number of years, at least seven trips to the emergency room (he has a rare allergic reaction to a combination of wheat and exertion which can result in anaphylaxis), and some clever insistence on the part of […]
Emerald City Pesto: Mint, Pistachio and Lime
Outside my window, the world is a sea of green. They don’t call Seattle the Emerald City for nothing! And inside my kitchen, freshly snipped mint waits for its symphony partners: pistachio and lime. This green trio is perfectly accompanied by–just about anything: drizzled over roasted vegetables; mixed into pasta, rice, or tabouli; plopped on […]
Pampers and Pakhlava turns four!
“When I am writing, my problems become invisible, and I am the same person I always was. All is well. I am as I should be.” ~Roger Ebert Dear readers, April has nearly come and gone without a post to celebrate the 4th anniversary of my blog. On April 13, 2009, Pampers and Pakhlava went […]
Brandy and baby food
Our five hour flight from Yerevan to London passed without a hitch. Baby Bird even fell asleep for a couple hours. I couldn’t believe our luck. When we landed at Heathrow we knew a long layover awaited us. The airport was hot and sticky, and once we finished our requisite lunch of bangers and mash, […]
Dreams of Ishkan fish
Who would have guessed that in a small landlocked, mountainous country in the South Caucasus, you can find the most delicious fish? Not me. But you can, and that’s why I’ve been dreaming about eating fish, Ishkan fish. Ishkan fish is a lake trout from Lake Sevan in Armenia.Lake Sevan was once the largest lake […]
I’d like a tall McDreamy
He used to be known for saving lives and now he’ll be known (at least in Seattle) for saving jobs. Yes, the rumors are true, Patrick Dempsey, aka Grey’s Anatomy Dr. McDreamy, bought Tully’s Coffee chain. Dempsey’s $9.15 million dollar offer, beat bidders such as Starbucks to take over the bankrupt coffee company (and prevailed […]
Shepherd’s Pie, smoke alarms and holiday traditions
Center stage, weighing in at a whopping 12 pounds, is Shepherd’s Pie 2012. Our signature holiday dish is number eight in a line-up of Shepherd’s Pies we’ve made since we started dating in 2005. Shepherd’s Pie–made the way it should be made–from scratch, with actual lamb shanks (86 the ground beef…come on people, we’re sheep […]