Well-crafted stories and expert culinary insights

Cooled down for a couple days.....perfect timing to get a braise going with these lovely pork cheeks. Among the treats in my first delivery of the @ladyjayewest meat box. Smells pretty amazing. A lot of collard greens hidden below. Mmmm, can't wait for dinner! #LJMeatClub #braising #homecooking

They're hard to make out, but right around the center of the waterline is a mama duck with 6 or 7 little ones out for a stroll (and a snack, I gather) this morning. Fun to watch them for a bit. Some sweetness to start to day. #walking #westseattle #ducklings #loverock #poppies #lincolnparkseattle

I think 7:00 pm me is going to be pretty happy with 10:00 am me for having whipped up dinner to chill in the fridge until ready. To be added: some leftover smoked oyster dip from the weekend. Looks like we hit 90, still going up... #saladfordinner #summertime #lentils #farmersrock #keepingcool #homecooking

Dessert tonight, inspired by @smittenkitchen Summer Strawberry [Sheet] Cake. I halved, baked in a shallow square pan, used a couple local flours (@cairnspringmills Sequoia AP and @bluebirdgrainfarms einkorn). It's all I can do to not claim one corner 'broke' to get an early taste. Off to whip the requisite cream for embellishment. #homecooking #summertime #strawberries #localgrains #dessert

Geez, it was an extra pain to get off West Seattle island today. A fabulous impromptu lunch at @marmiteseattle sure made the jaunt worthwhile. Extra wonderful to get to catch up with the ever-wonderful Bruce Naftaly for a bit. And the wild thing of seeing the radish and rose soup on the menu. Just a few weeks ago I was reminiscing in a blog post about the first time I had that soup ages ago at Le Gourmand. Can't say how happy I was to enjoy it again today. Now with a sprinkle of cocoa nibs on top. Oh, and the cauliflower tempura?? Mind-blowingly good.

Finally open!!!

Experimenting today. Instead of two boules baked in the Dutch oven from my usual batch of dough, this time I decided to pop half in a loaf pan instead. Had the potential for more uniform sandwich-making slices in mind. Came out okay, though the more deeply colored crust of the Dutch oven version appeals to me more. Fun to play around. #homebaking #sourdoughbread #localgrains

En papillote for dinner tonight. Thinly sliced spring onion below, garden purple shiso, chervil and chive blossoms on top. Copper River sockeye in between. To gild the lily, a dab of butter. Not bad. Not bad at all. #homecooking #salmon #seafood #smallgarden #herbs