Coffeehouse Northwest: A review

I love eating out in Portland. The food scene here is FANTASTIC. You can get any type of cuisine- super authentic Mexican food, Italian, Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Korean, African, South American, Hawaiian, cooffeeee, chocolate; basically whatever your little heart desires. Portlanders love to eat, and I am no exception, though I am limited by time and budget constraints, (who isn't, nowadays?) I try to get out every once in a while though. I usually default to well-known, established joints like St Honerie Bulangerie, or Cha Cha Cha, but of course, I love to try new places.

So tonight, after running my errands, I was on my way home, sitting at the intersection of NW 13th & Burnside, when I remembered hearing someone saying that you could find the best hot chocolate in the world at Coffeehouse Northwest. "Mmmm, chocolate sounds good" I thought to myself. I decided head up there.



This place was super funky and modern, cozy and artsy, with a great brick walls and a rustic hardwood floor. This is the type of coffeehouse that appeals to me. I was drawn and comforted by the atmosphere. I made my way to the counter where a great looking, "hip", young man took my order. The menu was so simple, which I love, being, as I am, so indecisive.



I told the man that I had heard that they had the best hot chocolate, and he agreed saying that they took time to pick out the highest quality of chocolate and that it was reserved for adults only. Apparently if your a child you'll be served something else. He also instructed me to sit down upon my first sip.
I wasn't surprised by what I got, hot chocolate I could have imagined being served only in my best dreams. Rich and creamy, and not too sweet to overwhelm the fine chocolate but rather complement it. Each sip was like popping one of those creamy french truffles (that you might find at Trader Joe's of Whole Foods around the holidays) into your mouth and letting is slowly dissolve over you tongue. I mean it.



Honestly, I'd recommend this restaurant based on its cozy atmosphere alone. Everyone was quietly sitting around, working on there laptops, sipping on there coffee, or reading; light conversation, very comfortable. It's the perfect coffee shop for hanging out. I used to walk by this place every single day when I lived on SW Kings and never checked it out!?! I can't believe it! But long may they live!

Creme Brulee'

Sunday morning my mom called wondering if she could come over to use my broiler. She had made creme brulee!!




Anyways she did come up and use my broiler.. and it burnt. But I ate it anyways and it was wonderful... I'll have to come up w/ the recipie later.

And if all else fails...

..sauteed broccoli seasoned with black pepper, a handful of garlic, a dash of fresh ground salt and a tiny splash of hot sauce, with some lovely brown rice..





Add a wee pat of butter (i used earth balance) to your rice and a wedge of lemon for flavor. .

Cabbage salad with oranges

This salad, that I made tonight, could easily be altered and added to; fresh chopped parsly, shredded carrots, diced apple and walnuts would be good in it too.






Cabbage salad with oranges



About 5 cups finely sliced cabbage
1 tsp salt
2 leafy celery stalks, finely sliced

Miso Soup

Miso Soup Recipe

3 ounces dried soba noodles
2 - 4 tablespoons miso paste (to taste)
2 - 3 ounces firm tofu, chopped into 1/3-inch cubes
2 onions, thinly sliced
a small handful of cilantro
a pinch of pepper

Cook the soba noodles in salted water, drain, run cold water over the noodles to stop them from cooking, shake off any excess water and set aside.
In a medium sauce pan bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and remove from heat. Pour a bit of the hot water into a small bowl and whisk in the miso paste - so it thins out a bit. Stir this back into the pot. Taste, and then add more, a bit at a time, until it is to your liking. Add the tofu, remove from the heat, and let it sit for just a minute or so.
Split the noodles between two (or three) bowls, and pour the miso broth and tofu over them. Add some onions, cilantro, and pepper to each bowl and enjoy.

Vegan "Pumpkin" bottoms

Today I was craving something with pure decadence...



Mmm yes. I ran across this recipie in MIX magazine from the girls down at Sweetpea Baking Company. I did alter it a bit though. I'm not vegan but enjoy expiramentation, so I was happy to try it. I was invisioning, after reading through the recipie, melty muffin cake w/ a gooey cakey oozy middle. And thats what I got...






I was suprised it called for chocolate chips. I just chopped up some good dark block chocolate that I had.

Vegan Pumpkin Bottoms: from the girls at Sweetpea Baking Company

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

Cake batter:
1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
½ cup canned pumpkin purée (or squash)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:
4 ounces (½ tub) Tofutti cream cheese (non-hydrogenated)
¼ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons cornstarch
¾ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, pie spice and ginger together in a large bowl. Add the water, oil, pumpkin and vanilla and whisk until the batter is smooth.
Make the filling: Blend the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the corn startch, vanilla, lemon zest and salt until the mixture is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.
Line or oil a standard-size muffin tin. Fill each cup with 2 tablespoons of pumpkin batter. Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling into the center of each and then top with the remaining pumpkin batter (about 1 heaping tablespoon on each). Bake about 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy! I gave one to my dad and ate the rest within a couple days... But they were definently worth it!

Noodles Soup Dish

Noodle Soup Dish Recipe

There are a couple this appealed to me. It has been cold and crispy out, and I've been getting over a narly cold. What better time to make a nice hot, creamy bowl of spicy noodle soup?



I saw a little snow come down today.. briefly.



This kinda reminds me of Original Top Roman Noodles, but more hearty and fresh.

There is something satisfying about working for your food instead of taking the shortcuts. A little elbow grease makes everything taste better.
The spice paste is strong, beautifully fragrant, and hot. After I made the paste the rest of the soup is a breeze -stock, coconut milk, lime juice, and a sprinkling of mint round out the flavors.
I absolutely loved the way the broth turned out. Delicious.


Noodle Soup Dish Recipe



5 small, hot red Chilies

3 small cloves of Garlic

a small lump of Ginger

2 tsp Lemon grass

a few Coriander leaves

1 teaspoon Ground tumeric

a little vegetable oil
Stock - vegetable, 500 mlCoconut milk - 400ml (lite is ok)A lime - just the juiceSoy sauceMint - a small handful of leaves
To finish:Noodles - I think I used about 1 lb....big, chubby, fresh asian egg ones.
Halve and seed the chilies. Peel the garlic. Peel and shred the ginger. Finely slice the tender, innermost leaves of the lemon grass. Grind the coriander seeds or crush them in a mortar. Blitz it all to a thick paste in a food processor with the coriander leaves and any well scrubbed roots, plus the tumeric. You may need a few tablespoons of vegetable oil to help it go round but add as little as you can.
Place a fairly deep pan over moderate heat, add half the spice paste (keep the other half in the fridge for tomorrow) and fry it, movingit round the pan, for a minute or so, then pour in the stock, coconut milk, and a splash of soy sauce -- let it come to the boil. Turn the heat down and let the soup simer for ten minutes. Meanwhile cook the noodles briefly in boiling water and drain them.
Divide the noodles between four large, deep bowls and ladle over hot soup. Sprinkle with mint leaves.

Salad idea..

I tend to veer clear of ice burg lettuce, but recently I've been feeling like it adds a nice crunch to a salad.. Here's an idea..

equal parts of your favorite lettuce greens and ice burg lettuce
1 cup candied walnuts
1 cup raisins
3 cups chopped apple
1 cup crumbled blue cheese

(you could even add a cup of chopped celery, and/or a diced avocado)

Toss everything in a bowl and top with poppy seed dressing!

A site to love

3191 an year of mornings

Orange Sorbet

Inspired by the stack of oranges on my table, I made some sorbet. I think I'll make sorbet out of all the extra fruit I encounter, so I can enjoy the refreshing treat every afternoon. It's very good. And makes me very happy.

I know we are in the dead of winter, surrounded by frost and frigid temperatures, but truthfully I could have ice cream and sorbet all year round regardless of the temperature outside. Chilly temperatures are not enough to keep me away from the freezer.

This sorbet a great color and taste. Squeezing the juice by hand took time, but it was so worth it. The flavor is so vibrant. Not too sweet not too sour. So here is to sorbet in the middle of winter!

Orange Sorbet

Ingredients:

1c simple syrup (50% water and 50% sugar boiled together), cooled

1c orange juice

Combine both components and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours. Throw in the frezeer, stirring every few hours or you could also churn it in an ice cream machine if you have one and then thrown in the freezer.

Red wine Muffins w/ chocolate and cinnamon

Hope you all had an amazing MLK and inoguration day! I was sick.. the whole weekend : (

But anyways, today I discovered that I had some wine left over from the other night.. must have been from a week ago.. But anyways I turned it into something amazing... Red wine muffins w/ chocolate and cinnamon... How much could a muffin get?! They turned out a little flat but so moist and cakey inside.

Red Wine Muffins

12 muffins

Ingredients:

3/4c flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

2 eggs

1/4c finley chopped dark chocolate

1/2c butter, melted
1/2c sugar

1 cup red wine

Warm the oven to 390F. Oil a muffin pan (12 units).

Mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon and chocolate together.

In another bowl beat the eggs until fluffy and then stir in the butter and sugar - mix until well combined.Then add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and mix well. Add the red wine.

Pour into the muffin pan units and bake for 20 min.

Orange and Apple Salad

This is a great light dish, so summer-y, but a great addition to the fall menu!!


Ingredients:

***Dressing***

1 tsp olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1 orange, juiced
1 orange, zest ed
1 small lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 pinches salt
a bunch of Black pepper

***Salad***

2 crisp apples, cored and sliced into 1/8-inch thick slices,
3 oranges, peeled, cut in half and this into 1/8-inch slices
cilantro, roughly chopped

Directions:
Combine dressing ingredients in a mason jar or other seal able container and shake to emulsify. Combine apple, orange and cilantro in a mixing bowl and toss. Toss the salad with the dressing. Distribute between serving plates. (Top with shaved cheese?)

Kir Royale

Thems:
Pic from MIXPDX

1 oz creme de cassis
sparkling wine (I used a brut)

Pour creme de cassis into a champagne flute and float the champagne over it. Add a cherry for a bit of aesthetical beauty.

And Mine:

Why the color difference? I don't know...

some pear butter cake?

Pear Butter Cake: from Apples for Jam

Ingredients:


1/2 lb. plus 5 tablespoons butter, softened (I used Earth Balance)
2/3 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for the top
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp. finely grated lemon rind
A good pinch of ground cardamom
A large pinch of nutmeg
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup half-and-half
4 small ripe pears (i had a bunch of pears that I dehydrated over the summer, so I soaked about 2c in water over night and used them. It worked wonderfully!)

Directions:


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9 1/2" spring form cake pan. A 9x9 square pan will work too. Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add the vanilla, lemon rind, cardamom, and nutmeg, and then add the eggs one by one, beating well after each one. Add the flour and baking powder alternately with the half-and-half, and mix until you have a smooth batter. Scrape out every drop into the cake pan. You don't need to be particular about leveling the surface because it will spread evenly during the baking. Bake for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, peel, quarter, and core the pears, if you are used fresh ones. Take the cake from the oven and quickly scatter the pears over the top. Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Return to the oven and bake for another 45 minutes or so, until the pears are lovely and golden in places, the cake is crusty, and a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean. Cool slightly before cutting and serving warm or at room temperature. Keep the cake covered tightly with aluminum foil so that it doesn't harden and you can then warm it through to serve.

Serves 10 to 12.

Breakfast

I was sick yesterday... I'm feeling a bit better today though, but this morning my mom brought me some amazing oatmeal; with walnuts and brown sugar and creamy-ness, so I'm hoping I'll be 100 percent by tomorrow !






It was such a beautiful morning this morning. The sun was bursting through my windows and there are lambs running around everywhere, frolicking in the green grass. It feels like spring already!!

candles & matches

My grandma went on a trip recently to Washington and she brought me back some lovely orange votive candles.

Rosemary potatoes

I never really thought too much about potatoes, but last year I planted some anyways, dug them this past fall, and realized that they are very nice to have around. They keep forever. This is one of my favorite things to do with them, and it's super easy.

Rosemary potatoes

1 pound unpeeled small potatoes (1- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse kosher
4 large rosemary sprigs

Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Toss baby red potatoes with olive oil and kosher salt on large rimmed baking sheet. Place rosemary sprigs alongside the potatoes. Roast until the potatoes are tender and beginning to brown in spots, about 45 minutes.

Nephews new rattle

My little nephew is starting to be able to hold things! He got his first little rattle yesterday. I think he liked it..

A mini loaf

This morning I was woken up, early early; by my cat. He was thinking about cat food, I was thinking about bread.

So I decided to bake some bread from scratch for once. I usually use a bread machine that I have. mmm... Bread with honey, bread with jam, bread with olive oil and sea salt, bread with butter, bread with hummus- seriously ... bread...
Anyways I think this quite possibly could be the best loaf of bread I have ever made! I also made a whole wheat version. Mmmm.

Okay here's the recipe that I made today. I just halved the original recipe!

3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1.5 cup water, or a few drops more.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl using a whisk, then add water and stir until combined. Cover tightly with plastic and let it sit for some where warm for around 15-20 hours.
After the first rise, scrape the dough out onto a heavily floured surface and flop it over onto itself once or twice, don't over-handle it. It doesn't need to look all perfect. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then, quickly form the dough into a ball (folding the corners into the middle works well) and set it seam-side down onto a well flowered surface and cover with a non-terrycloth towel. Let it just sit there for another 2 hours. Before the bread goes in the oven, preheat it to 450˚f with your baking pan in there. After the half hour is up, take out your pan, sprinkle the bottom with cornmeal, and dump the dough in, seam-side up. Cover and return to the oven. Bake 20 minutes covered, 20 minutes uncovered, give or take a few at the end depending on how brown you want your crust.

This mini-recipe will yield a small loaf of crusty white bread, suitable for dipping in homemade soups, drenching in half-melted butter, diping in tastey olive oil w/ herbs ... or whatever else you like to do with your bread. It's a nice, small amount and if you end up eating half the damn loaf (like I did), you don't have to feel like a pig about it. Rock and roll!

carrot slaw

Every so often my mom will stop by and drop off a bag of goodies.



Last time; as I wrote, my mom left me a pre-packed sac lunch. (PBJ + banana + a bunch of carrots). Anyways I had some carrots left over so I thought I would make them into something amazing.

My first thought was, "Ooh, I should make a big batch of spicy pickled carrots" cuz I like to pickle everything it seems..



But then I started looking up pickling recipes and realized- OH YEAH. With school goin' on? I will NEVER get around to doing that. So, what to do?! Then a little light went off. It's nearly picnic season (Or it should be picnic season, anyways, ..RIGHT NOW!.. What the hell, Oregon?...)


What you need:

a generous squeeze fresh lemon juice (More than 1 Tbsp)
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
lots of salt and pepper
2 cups shredded carrot

Toss it all together and let it sit overnight.