10 Happenings This Week

1. Bryan and I got to try out a PASTY restaurant in Belltown for the first time using a Groupon.  It was absolutely amazing and we both really enjoyed the meal.  On Monday nights they have a pasty, app, and bottle of beer deal for $25 so we did that and ordered a second pasty meal.  We had so much food too, pastys are hardy!  They come sliced in half so we shared the Taos Verde pasty (beef, onions, potatoes with a side of Hatch green chili sauce and the Beer Braised Corned Beef and Cabbage pasty (corned beef, carrots, potatoes, cabbage with a mustard cream sauce).  Each came with a fresh salad and we tried the super perfect zucchini tempura for our app.  The pasty crust was delicious and the fillings, especially paired with the accompanying sauces, were fabulous!  Great deal and great ambiance!

   

   

2. Bryan and I also frequented the same block for dinner the night prior.  We got our usual pad kee mao and panang curry from Ti22 after we got back from Revelstoke, which is literally right across the street.  It is always epic and doesn’t need much other explanation.
3. Super killer barre class Tuesday morning left my already sore-from-skiing leg muscles (particularly quads) hurting.  But a great class with a great instructor and even better that the sun is now up when I’m there, which is important as the studio is all windows.
4. With the nearly 60 degree temps and sunny skies I have gotten a lot of riding out of my scooter this week.  I rode Bryan and I to dinner on Monday night for easy parking, rode myself to my barre class like usual, to my cooking class, and rode myself to and from work Tuesday and Wednesday.  Even with the weather we have had, thank goodness for my leather gloves!
5. Dinner and movie night with Pollyanna!  We repeated dinner from the last time we had her over, having steak, potatoes, and asparagus again.  But this time I put a Spanish twist on the meal making a paprika-based rub for the steaks, roasting the asparagus with leeks that I plated over my homemade Romesco sauce, and tried a new technique roasting potatoes to try and make them crisper on the exterior and softer in the middle.  I also made a peanut butter pie with homemade graham cracker crust that came out super rich.  We watched another one of Polly’s favorites; Saint Ralph, which we both enjoyed thoroughly.  Along with the dog, Henry, that Polly is dog-sitting for the week.

   

6. Both Sunday and Monday Bryan and I were asleep by 10pm.  That is pretty amazing in itself.
7. Cooking class with Valerie at Chef Shop on Wednesday night.  We signed up for the Hungarian Classics class because I actually really love Eastern European and Slavic foods and want to learn to cook them right.  That is one region we didn’t really explore in my Ethnic Cooking Series last year (aside from Russian).  We were treated to glasses of wine and an appetizer spread of a Hungarian cheese spread with rye bread that we had before the class started.  For class we learned to make a creamy cucumber salad, chicken paprikash, and Hungarian goulash, plus a plum cake that all came out so delicious and we got to enjoy at the conclusion of the class (around 8:30pm).  Valerie and I had a good time catching up too and doing something without the boys for once.  The boys were getting drinks and dinner on their own.  I will for sure be making the recipes again, although I might alter the goulash because I think of it, and like it better, a little thicker than like a soup.
8. Thursday night Bryan accompanied me to FareStart again in his quest to become a regular.  It was a great night to do so because the restaurant was rather slow with only 140 guests reserved and a killer menu from Ivars Acre of Clams Restaurant (I sure love me some scallops and salmon):

   First Course
   Seared Scallops, Vanilla Bean Beurre Blanc, Roasted Baby Carrots and Cauliflower

   Entrée
   Grilled Sockeye Salmon, Parsnip Cream, Pomegranate Gastrique, Rosemary Roasted Sunchokes, Baby Frisee and Apple Salad

   Dessert
   Coconut Panna Cotta, Fresh Mango and Kiwi, Almond Brittle

9. Friday night we got to meet up with our jeweler Dan to finish the ring.  The mold is all completed and got my seal of approval.  Now he has my ring for a week while he gets the diamonds set and then I get to see the finished ring and keep it.  I cannot wait!!!!
10. We get to visit with Chad and his homies the next few days!

Chelsea