Dude, burgers. Plus more Mexican awesomeness.

Dude.

On the way back from the beautiful Yakima valley, my parents and I stopped in Sunnyside for some delicious Mexican eats. I happened to know that right down the road from my favorite Sunnyside eatery was a little burger joint that sells fried asparagus.

I was just hungry, but now I need shoes.

And, apparently, New Balance shoes.

That is weird.

Let's all go to Burger Ranch!

Frozen New Balance cakes!

The shoes looked pretty nice, I guess. Right next to the soft-serve machine. I can't figure out whether burgers and shakes make people want to update their footwear, or if shoe-shopping makes people crave deep fried mushrooms and asparagus. But apparently this set up is working for the owner, because according to the counter girl, he's been doing it for a while.

It's a Mexican food garage!

We decided to pass on the New Balance and ordered a few items to take down the road to Tacos Apatzingan. I discovered it last year, and they have some of the tastiest tacos I've had the good fortune to consume North of the border. Or South of the border. It depends on which border you're talking about.

Time to make the tacos.

They have my favorite kind, too. Lengua! And luckily for my parents, al pastor. And actually, they appear to have an incredible amount of beverages. I had the horchata, which was absolutely delicious. Not too sweet, with that nice ricey flavor and just a touch of cinnamon. Mmm. Mild.

Hot saucy goodness.

I ended up getting a couple of lengua tacos and one taco al pastor. Add to that cilantro, onions, lime juice, and some serious salsa and you get a great and satisfying meal. But my parents will not settle for satisfaction. They require nausea-inducing excess. So we broke out the Burger Ranch goods.

The classic.

Onion rings! Though they were the good kind (complete, fresh onions hand-dipped and fried) I found them to be too heavy. I prefer my onion rings with a light breading rather than a medium batter. They were meh.

The twist!

Asparagus! I am basically a fan of anything asparagus, so battered and fried falls into my "hell yeah!" category in this case. They were cooked just to tender and not floppy inside the crispiness, and the accompanying sauce brought out the sweetness. Sweetness!

The delicious!

Sweet potato fries! I effing love sweet potato fries. How I lived most of my life without them is a complete mystery to me. They're like regular french fries (which are already awesome) only with that light sweetness that makes them awesomecross '98.

Check out that spread.

Yeah, that was a lot of food. A lot of food that some people would say doesn't really make sense together. To those people I say, shut up! You can't tell me what to love! DON'T JUDGE ME!!

ahem.

Cases upon cases. . .

After the lunch and a couple of hours down the road, we stopped into a combination restaurant, laundromat, convenience store, and Mexican bakery. I want one of these down the street from my house. It's a one-stop shop!

upon cases and cases!

Their pastries were all lovely. And there were a ton of them. Probably about 16 different kinds, and they were incredibly well stocked. Almost like they were planning for something. Like a block party. Or a wake.

I should've gotten some flan, too. Damn.

Next to the flan was something that caught my eye: fresh strawberries in cream. I was totally on board.

Berries 'n' goo!

I'm not quite sure what the cream consisted of - it was a kind of yogurty consistency with the flavor of lightly sweetened whipped cream. It was nice with the sweet, juicy berries. And it made our whole car smell like strawberry. Which should be a constant state of being for everyone's car.

Like a buttery halo.

I also picked up this little cream-filled pastry horn for later in the day. It was fairly unremarkable, except that it serves to further demonstrate my gluttony and I really liked this picture.

Two Kinds of Breakfast

I am willing to get up before noon for this. It's that good.

So with my parents being in town and me being unemployed, it just made sense to take them out for the greatest eggs Benedict in town - at Glo's on Olive Way. I never even liked eggs Benedict before I had them there, but their combination of (usually) perfectly poached eggs and amazingly tasty hollandaise sauce won me over. Mmmm.

It's Seattle. There's salmon everywhere.

My mom went with the salmon Benedict, I suppose because she was in the Northwest and consuming a meal without some form of fish involved seemed wrong. Luckily, that is never necessary in this town.

Omelet! Hash browns! Breakfast!

My dad, not so much a Benedict guy (his loss!) went with an omelet of sorts instead. I didn't try any, but it's really hard to mess up an omelet. I mean, even college boys can make them, you know?

STAB!

My dad also ordered the blueberry buckwheat pancakes. They were delicious. If I weren't so full after my eggs that food coma was pending before 10:00 AM, I would have eaten more. Even my mom liked them, and she's not a pancake person. Which is strange to me, but she's foreign - go figure.

If only we could have ordered it all.

Our next breakfast would take place in Yakima, WA. After a day of touring the wine country, we were ready for some seriously delicious Mexican food. What's the connection, you ask? Well, Yakima valley is home to a ton of little wineries and a ton of inhabitants of Mexican decent. And they brought with them the cuisine of their homeland. How nice of them!

Aww, menudo only on weekends.

At the suggestion of a local, we went to check out Tacos los Primos #2. She didn't even mention #1, so I suppose they improved upon the idea before opening the second one. It's a wagon-shack building in the parking lot of a laundromat. I was sincerely excited at the prospect. I mean, just look at that menu!

They look a little grim, but it was pretty early.

As we perused the (Spanish!) menu, we got to see all of the tasties being prepared right next to us. There was some serious freshness going on. We ordered a bunch of stuff and awaited the arrival of our Mexican breakfast.

In English it means "little donkey."

I, of course, couldn't resist the lengua. Tongue, you say? Ew, you say! Well, you can shut up. Tongue is amazing when prepared correctly, and I've never had it in Mexican food with anything but delightful results. In my burrito, it was tender and flavorful, perfect with the hotness I subsequently poured all over it.

Aw yeah, boy, I am the burrito wrapping master. Snap!

And just check out my burrito-wrapping skills. I know it's dangerous to post this picture, since I'm sure Chipotle will come knocking at my door, but I'm pretty proud of it.

Look at that spread!

My parents could not resist the draw of the tacos al pastor. I mean, you really can't go wrong with pork, you know? Especially topped with caramelized onions and fried pineapple. That's right, pineapple! I have never had pineapple on my tacos before, but it was a welcome addition.

You can really taste the goat head.

I had to try something on the menu I'd never heard of before, so I went with the birria. From the man in front of the grill's description, it's goat. I think from the goat's head. Which I'm still a little confused about, but I was feeling adventurous so I ordered it. It was. . . good. It was really tasty, with an oddly soft texture.

Mouths full of goodness.

All of that with some mandarin Jarritos made for one pretty kickass breakfast. I wish I could do it every day.

Ding ding! Helados!

And for dessert (what, you don't eat dessert after breakfast?) we were treated to ice creams from the roving ice cream man!

Thanks, dad!

He pulled into the parking lot to pick up some tacos to snack on while jingling through the streets of Yakima, and we took advantage of his pit stop by picking up some frozen treats.

Coco y fresa.

They were pretty interesting. It was sort of like a cross between an ice cream bar and a popsicle. My mom got the coconut flavor and I got strawberry, which ended up tasting like frozen strawberry Nesquick. Not bad.

Seven Courses of Beef, not as many of Sushi

Kumquat-tini. How very asian.

The first day of my parents' visit to my new hometown, my aunt wanted to take them somewhere Vietnamese. For some reason, she decided that this should be Tamarind Tree. The only restaurant in International District with a line out the door.

Comprised entirely of white people.

Anyway, it's a more upscale Vietnamese place with fancy cocktails and very low lighting.

Asian pear flower. Aww.

I had actually only been in for cocktails in the past. They have some pretty sweet ones. And by sweet, I mean sexy. Like lemongrass, kumquat, and asian pear. How cool is that!

Hi Mom (and Dad)!

My parents seemed pretty cool with the whole vibe, though. My dad is white, after all. In typical fashion, we all ordered way too much food.

Hey, check out that mood lighting. Moody.

We started out with the Hến Xúc bánh đa - the baby clams with rice cracker. The clams must be very small as babies, because I couldn't really pick them out from the rest of the stuff in the dish. It was pretty tasty though. I think they were the little vaguely meaty things. Sort of sweet, in a nice savory sauce.

Are baby clams cuter than adult clams? I wonder.

I generally like the concept of food as eating utensils, but the rice cracker thing was kind of a pain. Something in the breaking and scooping and dipping didn't translate into easy consumption for me. But I am half retarded at the dinner table, so there's that.

Delicious char.

The next thing to come was the ever-present grilled meat with vermicelli noodles and green stuff. I think it's pretty much a dinner staple at Vietnamese restaurants. And I'm fine with that.

Packaged!

The "food as utensils" principle works slightly better here - wrapping all the business up in a lettuce leaf for nuoc mem dipping. Quite nice!

Four courses right there.

My dad and I split the seven courses of beef. When the first plate came out, I was nervous. How do you get through seven courses of this? The first one is huge! It was various preparations of beef on a plate, accompanied by the standard noodles 'n' greens.

Well, as it turns out, that was actually the first four courses. Oh. Different preparation = different course. I think that's misleading. The should just call it "a few courses of beef, but with variety." That would look just as good on a menu.

That sauce should come with everything. including tacos.

The salad course of the beefness was really, really good. Probably my favorite dish of the night. The beef was sliced very thin and was super tender, sitting on a bed of shredded cabbage and other greens, and doused with a sweet fish sauce dressing. It was light and lovely.

Raw!

The last course was a little DIY. Very thinly sliced raw beef came out, with just a sprinkling of white onions and a bit of seasoning. Raw beef course!

This pretty much got us all high.

Ok, turns out you don't eat it raw. It was accompanied by this little mobile cooking pot, heated by fuel source that gave off horrible, nausea-inducing fumes. They should really rethink ending the meal with this number.

Umm. . . soup?

My mom ordered some kind of soup. The end!

"Grip it as you would a mischievous child's neck. . . "

Well, the end of Vietnamese. The next night I took them to my favorite fancy-sushi restaurant in town: Shiki.

It's a cool little place with incredibly fresh seasonal fishes. It's also very, very expensive, so I go there never. But my parents are parents, and therefore I don't pay for food when I'm with them. Score.

Squishy.

We chose the agedashi dofu as an appetizer, and I was a bit disappointed. It came out cold and bland, with too much garnishy stuff and a vaguely unpleasant sauce. I really like the version at Kaname, and this one was sub-par in comparison.

Ah, fishskin.

My dad's king salmon was good. It was listed on the board as a special that day, so it was super fresh. I don't remember much about it, but fresh salmon is always pretty good. Right?

Chlorophyll-y?

My mom wanted to get the seaweed appetizer. Or was it spinach? I just recall that it was unremarkable. Why do I like this place so much again?

Hey, little guys! How's it goin. . .

Oh yeah. . . the seafood. I remember seeing a tank full of these playful little guys when I walked in the door. Shrimps! Frolicking!

AHHHH!

It practically frolicked right into my mouth. The sushi master pretty much fished him out, de-meated him, and put him on some rice. They fried up the heads for us to consume separately. It was deliciously barbaric.

What a spread!

And the rest of the sushis were similarly fresh. I can't quite recall all that we got, let's see. . .

Camera 2.

We got an unagi roll, and some nigiri. I believe it was albacore, salmon, er. . . something pink. . . .something. . . shiny. . . damn. I can't remember. I pretty much just ask the chef what's good that day and order two of everything he says. And it's always awesome.

Silverfish? No, silver fish.

These little guys came out after everything else for some reason. I believe they were Spanish mackerel. My mom says they're a bit "fishy" for her taste, but I rather enjoy the flavor. Mmm. Fish.

Oh, the carnage.

You know what was awesome about these meals? They were free for me. I love when family visits. And they were delicious - but the free really takes it over the top.

Blueberry Cupcakes with Avocado-Lemon Frosting

Sometimes to make cupcakes you have to process a few blueberries.

It's summertime! hooray!

I felt as if I hadn't done a cupcake in a while (like, a really really long while) so the best way to ring in my new favorite of seasons seemed obvious. A nice, summery cupcake!

After toying with a few different ideas, I decided I wanted to do a blueberry cake with an avocado frosting. Why? I can't remember. But I do remember all of my friends shuddering in horror at the thought, thus making the challenge irresistible.

I came up with the following recipe:

1.5 - 2 cups fresh blueberries
1 1/3 cups self-rising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch Kosher salt
1/2 cup milk
tsp vanilla
3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
8 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp powdered ginger

Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another. Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Add dry and wet ingredients alternately. Fold in food-processed blueberries. Fill cake liners to nearly 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Folding, then scooping.

The cakes came out pretty well, except without that nice, domed rise. I have to figure out what I'm doing wrong there. Maybe not baking long enough, or overfilling my cake liners, or not using enough chemical leavening. . . . sigh. These technicalities escape me sometimes. Regardless, the cakes were tender and moist, with a beautifully vibrant blueberry flavor. I might use more ginger next time, but they were quite delicious.

Flat yet fine.

The frosting was really exciting for me. I figured that since avocado is so fatty it would be a good substitute for butter in a cream cheese frosting. I was also hoping to maintain that lovely green color by adding some acid, in the form of citrus. I wanted to use Meyer lemons, but was unable to find any.

Recipe:

2 ripe avocados
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 lemon's juice
vanilla

Mash avocados with lemon juice and vanilla. Add cream cheese and beat until incorporated. Slowly add sugar and beat until the mixture reaches frosting consistency. May adjust sugar and lemon to taste.

GREEN!

I was right about the color - it was awesome. And the flavor was nice. The brightness of the lemon came through at first taste, followed by a cool creaminess brought in by the avocado. Only about half of my tasters could actually identify the avocado in the frosting, actually. Nobody wanted to throw up after eating them, which is the important part. I actually got nothing but positive reviews of this recipe.

Man, I love the colors!

All in all I'm super happy with this recipe. Both elements of the cake stand alone in their flavors, and the flavors marry well together. The frosting did discolor after almost 2 days, but I think that's pretty good.

Chicken Tuscany, a little bit of rock

Non-melty cheese. Such potential.

Sometimes, when I need to bribe people, I entice them with the promise of a home-cooked meal. This usually only works when it wouldn't have taken much persuasion to get my way in the first place, but it does give me a reason to cook for other people. Win!

Having my friend Maverick over before he gave me a ride out to Arrested Development night allowed me to try out a recipe I'd seen over on The Food In My Beard - a tempting dish called chicken Tuscany.

I can't figure out why this is so blurry. Camera?

Chicken Tuscany

2 large red peppers
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped
5 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
provolone to top

1. Preheat broiler. Cut tops off the red peppers and remove seeds and
membrane. Roast peppers by placing under the broiler briefly and turning
several times until skin is slightly singed. Remove peppers from the
oven and let cool.

2. Lay the chicken flat between two sheets of wax paper. Using the side
of a mallet or cleaver, pound chicken until it’s about 1/4-inch thick.
Moisten each breast with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt
and pepper. Cover each breast with 1/4 cup chopped spinach and 1/2 cup
mozzarella cheese. Tightly roll up chicken breasts and place in roasted
peppers. (Chicken can be prepared up to this point several hours in
advance and kept in the refrigerator until you are ready to start
dinner.)

3. Cook at 350 F for 45-50 minutes. Take out peppers. Place 2 additional
tablespoons of provolone cheese on top of each pepper. Place under the broiler and
cook until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Hey, what's with that shirt?

I cooked it up with a side dish of saffron rice with golden raisins. That one was sort of improvised - just made in a rice cooker with chicken broth instead of water, some spices including saffron, and golden raisins. Um, ta da.

Man that was tasty.

The dish turned out really nicely - lots of melty cheese, the pepper was tender and fragrant, and the chicken was perfectly cooked. Just don't do what I did and forget to turn the oven on for a half hour. That will tend to extend your cooktime by a half hour. And make you look like an idiot.

WHOA!

So even though we were late, it was probably worth it. And by the way, if you want a great show, check out Baranof in Greenlake for karaoke.

And speaking of great shows, I also got to check out the Truckasaurus CD release party at Nectar. Wanna see some pictures? Yeah you do!

Skinny intensity.

Past Lives: They reminded me a lot of If Looks Could Kill I'd Watch You Die. Nobody reading this will get that reference.

Jazzy intensity.

Dead Science: I've loved this band for a while now. Their music is unlike anything else I've heard - beautiful, lush melodies and haunting, ethereal vocals. They're incredible musicians.

Patriotic intensity.

Truckasaurus: See how they look? That's not at all how they sound. It's a little electronicey, a little video gamey, a little dancey. Plus, they pair it with a show on a projector, kind of like Head Like a Kite. Super cool show.

Veggie week.

Toasted just before burnt.

I know what y'all are thinking. Hey, what happened to the cooking on this blog? There sure is a lot of eating out and whatnot, but the cooking side has been sadly light.

Well, that's true. I don't know why that is. Lazy, I guess. But! In preparation for my parents' visit to town, and the subsequent overeating that was inevitable, I turned to vegetables for a week. Here are a couple of things I made. Cooking!

I found a recipe for pisto manchego a while back and wanted to give it a shot. It was described as a "Spanish Ratatoullie," which sounded kind of neat. It involves a lot of vegetables.

Pile o' vegetables.

Here's the recipe. I got it from Serious Eats. And they got it from Food and Wine!

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 head garlic, top third sliced off
• 1 eggplant, about 1 pound, pierced several times with a fork
• 1 medium red onion, unpeeled
• 2 pounds tomatoes (or one carton cherry tomatoes and one can diced with juice)
• 3 peppers, red or green
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin
• Large pinch red pepper flakes

1. Using either a large grill, grill pan, a 500°F oven, or a broiler, grill/roast the eggplant, peppers, and unpeeled onion, turning occasionally, for 15-20 minutes until soft and charred. 10 minutes in, add the zucchini and tomatoes.

2. Transfer the vegetables to a rimmed baking sheet as they finish cooking, picking over as they cool to remove charred skins. Core and seed the peppers and cut into a medium dice. Halve the eggplant, remove the seeds, and dice. Peel and thinly slice the onion. Dice the zucchini. Slip the garlic cloves from their skins and trim any charred parts, then chop. Roughly chop the tomatoes, and seed if using whole tomatoes.

Slimy yet satisfying?

3. In a large (at least 12-inch) skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the eggplant and onion. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, then add the remaining vegetables and spices, plus any juices from the baking sheet, strained.

The health factor almost disgusted me.

Bring to a boil then simmer until the vegetables are all tender and the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper (it will certainly need a lot of seasoning).

Egg: crowning glory!

4. Fry as many eggs as eaters, cooking without flipping until the whites are just
set. Divide the vegetables into ramekins or small bowls, and top with the fried egg.

It turned out really well. Despite my aversion to zucchini, it really appealed to my tastes. The roasted vegetables really married well together, and the spices brought out just enough flavor make the whole thing delicious. And I'm convinced that a fried egg will make everything better, I'll report back after I've tried one over chocolate ice cream. Though next time I may poach it instead of frying it. Anyway.

So in keeping with my "no meat til parents' visit" I also prepared one of my very favorite things in the world: tomato soup.

Raw tomatoes!

I love tomato soup in a way that can only be quantified by puppies. I love tomato soup 23 puppies worth. And we're talking cute puppies, people. Not Chinese Crested puppies.

I started my tomato soup love with Campbell's, but I soon realized that a much tastier, more homemade soup could be had with an acceptable sacrifice of effort. I got the recipe from eggs on sunday - it begins with whole, canned tomatoes.

Not-quite-roasted-enough tomatoes!

And other stuff:

2 28-oz cans whole tomatoes, packed in juice (preferably organic)
1 1/2 tbsp dark brown sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup minced shallots
1 tbsp tomato paste
pinch ground allspice
2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth (or homemade stock if you have it)
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus a tiny bit more for garnish
2 tbsp brandy or sherry

Open the cans of whole tomatoes and drain them in a colander, catching the juice in a large bowl — set the bowl with the juice aside. Using your hands, squeeze the tomatoes gently to remove any excess juice and place the tomatoes in another bowl. Reserve 3 cups of the tomato juice you caught when draining the tomatoes and set aside.

Place the drained tomatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet and sprinkle them evenly with the brown sugar. Roast for about 30 minutes, until they’re starting to color.

Meanwhile, heat the butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan until it starts to foam, then add the shallot, tomato paste, and allspice. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot softens, about 7 minutes. Add the flour and stir until it’s blended in, then gradually whisk in the chicken stock/broth. Next, add the reserved 3 cups tomato juice and the roasted tomatoes. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let this mixture simmer about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

Break out your stick blender and puree the daylights out of your soup. If you're not in possession of one of these babies, puree the soup in batches using a food processor or blender. Return to pot. Add the cream and heat over low heat until hot, then turn off the heat and stir in the brandy or sherry. Taste and season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed.

This soup is mind-blowingly delicious. I'm not exaggerating at all.

Rendering them delightful.

Less delicious are brussels sprouts. I'd never had them, and had received a promising recipe from my grandmother. I decided to try them out. I mean, it started with bacon. How could it go wrong?

Steamy!

It's a Barefoot Contessa Recipe:

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces Italian pancetta or bacon, 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts (2 containers), trimmed and cut in 1/2
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup golden raisins
1 3/4 cups Chicken Stock

Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan and add the pancetta. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is golden brown and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the pancetta to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Add the Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper to the fat in the pan and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the raisins and chicken stock. Lower the heat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sprouts are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. If the skillet becomes too dry, add a little chicken stock or water. Return the pancetta to the pan, heat through, season to taste, and serve.

Yes, they looked good. Taste is another story.

I concluded that, since the recipe was pretty solid, I must not like brussels sprouts. At all. As in, I'm pretty much giving up on them until someone serves them in a sexier presentation than baconned. Good luck.

Balanced meal. Balance of tasty and not tasty.

Despite the brussels sprouts fail, the meal was still satisfying because of that awesome, amazing soup.

And anyone who points out how vegetarian this post is not will get quietly dagger-glared. This is as veggie as I go.