Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Goodbye South Lake Union - Where Ya At Matt

There will be many things I'll miss about leaving my old job and one of the biggest will be the amazing food that I discovered in South Lake Union. From my favorite German Bar Feirebend to all of the amazing new Tom Douglas eateries in the area, whatever you like you'll find in SLU.

We've blogged multiple times about Marination one of our favorite food trucks in the area and on Wednesdays in the same spot is Where Ya At Matt a Creole inspired food truck.

The first time I ate there I went with the Shrimp Po Boy, not really all that great, and I think probably the only thing on the menu I wouldn't recommend, however everything else I've eaten there is great. It's hard to find good Creole comfort food, but Matt's does deliver. It seems like everyone I know has or is planning to make a trip down to New Orleans, I'm very jealous.

Besides the shrimp po boy I also ordered their beignets. They were thicker and a little doughier than the flaky light ones from Casper's, but they still melted in my mouth and were covered in loads of powdered sugar. Really can't go wrong with that. They also give you four big ones with each order. I had one after lunch with some coffee and gave the rest away, didn't need that gut bomb following me around the rest of the day.



My last week in South Lake Union I went back and ordered the smothered chicken po boy. Effing amazing, I split it with my co-worker, but it was one of those meals I wish I had kept all for myself. The sauce was creamy and spicy, which is a great combo in my mind. The po boy came with lettuce and pickles.

We also split the large shrimp and grits. I love me some shrimp and grits, especially after enjoying it for the first time this past Fall in North Carolina. I even blogged about it recently after enjoying it during Restaurant Week at Toulouse. The shrimp was spicier than creamy and topped the grits. Really good, but I would go with the smaller size because I think the only difference between the small and large besides the price is the amount of grits. I wish they had given us more shrimp, but oh well, the shrimp we did have was really good.

Hoping to have another reason to be back in SLU soon. Maybe next time I'm feeling a little skinny I'll go back for a Lunchbox Laboratory burger, Marination sliders or tacos, or a pint and handmade pretzel at Bravehorse.

- Kyle

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Recipe of the Week: Sweet and Garlicky Pork Chops

Here's another classic recipe which is both simple and delicious, Steven Raichlen's Garlicky Pork Chops. I could have sworn that I've posted this recipe before because I've made this meal numerous times, but I couldn't find it on the blog, so here it is. Hopefully this isn't the second time I've posted this recipe, but if it is maybe it will get you excited to try it out for this upcoming BBQ season.


Not sure if you can tell, but it's raining in this picture; typical. Well the day started off nice and I had plans to BBQ, so nothing was going to hold me back.



The finished product, look at that sweet and delicious char on the edges, which is why YOU HAVE to BBQ these pork chops, you could cook them on a grill pan, but it just isn't the same. The name of the recipe couldn't better describe this meal. To make it simple think a sesame oil, garlicky teriyaki pork chop.


There are a few things to keep in mind to take this dish from good to great:



  • If you have time marinade overnight (the recipe says 1-2 hours, but I think the more time the more flavorful)

  • Use a hot grill, don't put the pork chops on until it's nice and hot otherwise you won't get that nice char, which is the best part of the finished product

  • Cook 4-6 minutes per side, try not to overcook because the pork chops will lose some of their juiciness and flavor, also they will cook while you let them sit on the cutting board

Now on to the recipe:


What you need:



  • 4 thick (1 inch) or 8 thin (1/2 inch) pork chops - about 2 pounds in all - I recommend the thick cuts

  • 1 head garlic, broken into cloves and peeled

  • 3 T sugar

  • 1/3 C Asian fish sauce or soy sauce (go with good fish sauce)

  • 3 T honey

  • 3 T rice wine

  • 2 T Asian (dark) sesame oil

  • 1 T grated fresh ginger

  • 2 t salt

  • 1 t freshly ground black pepper

  • A FOOD PROCESSOR - a good blender, may work, but I highly recommend you get access to a food processor

What to do:



  • Make 1 or 2 cuts in the fat side of each pork chop to keep it from curling during grilling. Arrange the chops in a baking dish and set aside.

  • Combine the garlic and sugar in a mini chopper or food processor and process to a paste or pound to a paste in a mortar using the pestle. Work in the fish sauce, honey, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, salt, and pepper. Using a rubber spatula, spread the mixture over both sides of the chops. Cover and let marinate in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours, I say more for more flavor. Also turn the chops a few times throughout the marinating process to make sure each side gets coated.

  • Preheat the grill to high - please use charcoal and never use lighter fluid to get it started (use a chimney or my propane starter BBQ)

  • When ready to cook, oil the grill grate.

  • Arrange the chops on the hot grate and grill until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes per side for thick chops half that time for thinner chops.

  • Shold read 160 degrees internally when cooked.

  • The chops will have a great juice after finished so I recommend serving with rice.

Here's hoping for better weather because I'll be BBQ'ing rain or shine and would prefer to soak up some rays rather than rain while I'm cooking.


- Kyle

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Time to Diet - Cutting back on the booze

With the past few month being full of celebrations (trip to Singapore, my birthday, celebrating a new job, Cinco de Mayo), we've been eating and drinking to excess. With our Mediterranean Cruise quickly approaching we've decided it's time to cut back and whip our butts in shape. Time to cut back on extra carbs, eat lots of lean protein, vegetables, hit the gym everyday, and cut back on the booze....

Of course the first thing we did was go to Esquin and drop a few hundred....

As we've said many times before Esquin is the bomb (taking it back to the 90s) and we can't control ourselves when we go there. The tally totaled up because we found our favorite Ross Andrew limited release wine Glaze, which is his "economical" cabernet sauvignon and along with other random favorite wines, we bought a case of Distant Bay Cab. This is Arnie Macmillan's (the master at Esquin) favorite cheap wine. We enjoyed it last time, so figured it would always be good to have on hand, especially after being a few bottles in at a dinner party where no one can tell the difference between a $30 and $6 bottle of wine.

Probably the next day we went to QFC because they had a buy 8 bottles get 20% off deal. So of course we stocked up on one of our favorites the Alamos Malbec and prosecco. With all of the temptation around over the past few weeks, I'm surprised to say we've shown great self control. And at least next time we have people over we're fully stocked!

- Kyle

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Dining Out For Life - Epulo

Emi and I realize how lucky we are and whenever possible do what we can to give back. Whether it's our time or money we always try to give back to community causes and organizations that are near to us. Recently we've participated in different food related philanthropic events and that's something we can definitely get behind. For example something easy that anyone can sign up for is the Celebrated Chefs program. We've mentioned it before, but all you have to do is put your credit card on file and dine in at one of the numerous participating restaurants around the area and 5% of your total bill goes to charity. Super easy. Sometimes I forget that we're even dining at a participating restaurant until I get the email later and you get a free hardcover cookbook.

Recently I saw on Facebook that an old co-worker of mine was organizing and leading the Seattle Dining Out For Life event and would be hosting the event at our favorite local restaurant Epulo. The Dining Out For Life fundraiser takes place on one night every year and tons of restaurants around the region participate and donate a percentage of their proceeds to The Lifelong AIDS Alliance. I'm pretty sure Epulo donated 30% of their proceeds to the organization, which was very generous, especially when I saw how busy the place was throughout the night.

Our group of former Wamulians, it was fun to catch up with everyone, especially over great food.


Emi and I shared our entrees, she went with the wood fired Proscuitto arugula pizza which consisted of a soft crust, shaved Parmesan, garlic, truffle oil (loved the scent), and arugula. Delicious as always.

I went with the Painted Hills Short Ribs - Oregon natural beef, garlic whipped potatoes, baby arugula, and a red wine demi. Tender, delicious, and filling and I'm happy I shared with Emi so I could get some pizza too!

Our friends went with the in season halibut.

For dessert our friends ordered the Pane di Banana Carmelo - banana bread pudding, caramel creme anglaise, walnut brittle, ala mode Molly Moon salted caramel ice-cream. I couldn't try this because of the bananas, but had to take their word for how good this was.

Our tried and true Zeppole's - handmade doughnuts dusted with cinnamon and sugar served with salted caramel anglaise. I don't think you could come up with a tasty, yet so simple combination as sugar and cinnamon and then when you roll some fried balls of dough in it, amazing.

Great event, for a great cause, with amazing food, and even better company. I can't wait for next year's event.

- Kyle
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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Incredible, Edible Duck Egg

I have recently decided that nothing is better than an oozy, creamy, undercooked egg. I compare it to eating a rare or medium rare steak. If you cook it anymore than that what's the point? You lose all the flavor and it becomes a cheap, tough piece of meat. Same thing with an egg, not that they are too pricey, but I want that oozy yolk all over whatever else I'm eating too, when it's overcooked, what's the point!

Recently Emi purchased a dozen duck eggs from our favorite new local market The Resident Cheesemonger in downtown Edmonds. They buy the eggs fresh and local from a farm that also sells them every weekend at the Edmonds Farmer's Market. The eggs are larger than chicken eggs and spotted a little differently. Plus add on a few extra bucks per dozen, but it's well worth the cost.

When comparing a duck egg to a chicken egg, I would say the duck egg is larger, more flavorful, and creamier. Decadent in comparison to a measly chicken egg and it can top anything, as you'll soon see below. We also saw photos of the ducks the last time we went to the Farmer's Market and they do look like happy ducks. The photos showed the flock of white ducks freely waddling around the farm and with the recent rainy weather the farmer told us the ducks have been very happy because I guess they are one of the few residents of the Pacific Northwest that actually enjoy the rain!

Now on to the food. We cooked the duck egg the same way every time, but we paired with something different each time and so far we've learned you really can't go wrong. Emi crisped up some greens in the oven and added sea salt and topped it with the fried duck egg. The greens were nice and crispy and when you broke into the yolk you got the creamy flavor of the duck egg with the crispy texture of the greens.

Duck egg on salad, Emi made a salad with olive oil, aged balsamic, salt and pepper, romaine and fried pancetta. She also oven baked the egg, which again when we broke the yolk added the perfect amount of richness to the dressing.

Emi boiled some asparagus and topped it with a duck egg, sea salt, and Parmesan cheese. Earlier in the week (forgot to take a photo) I barbecued some white asparagus and then topped it with the egg. Frickin Amazing! The white asparagus was juicy, tender, and smoky from being on the grill and when topped with the egg a perfect side dish to our meal.

Last, but not least duck egg for breakfast. Emi toasted an English muffin and topped it with the egg and Parmesan cheese and served it with bacon on the side. Nothing is better than sopping up all of the bacon fat, egg yolk, and salt with a piece of English muffin.

If you can find them I highly recommend you try out duck eggs. As you can see they are great on everything and add that added bit of flavor and richness that everyone can enjoy.

- Kyle

Monday, May 23, 2011

Pie - The new cupcake - High 5 Pie


Move over cupcakes, it's time for pie! After a night out in Capitol Hill, what did we do, but go back. We wandered around on a Sunday morning and were surprised to find the most crowded shop in Capitol Hill was a pie shop. High 5 Pie to be more specific because what do people crave on Sunday morning; pie and coffee??? Probably why the country is becoming more and more obese, but that's another issue not meant for this blog :).


Look at all of those delicious pies! Emi settled on the maple blueberry for a dinner party that night with her family. This was back near the end of March, so can't wait to see what type of pies they have in the summer because I love me some berry pies. I've never been much of a cake fan, probably because I don't eat a lot of chocolate. Cupcakes were a nice change of pace, but are getting a little old, so maybe pies really are the way to go.


They even have piepops for those of you who can't or are embarrassed to eat a whole pie by yourself, get yourself a piepop instead. I didn't try one, but I've heard these are pretty popular in the pie shop circle, so I'm sure I'll get suckered into one soon enough.


I went with the "flipside" pie with the apple filling. To be honest, didn't live up to my expectations, I wanted more gooey apple filling. The crust was flaky and decent, but all in all not exactly what I was hoping for, not to say it was bad, just not great.


http://ny-image0.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.209456860.jpg

I did think this shirt was pretty awesome. They had these for sale inside their shop and also online. Who doesn't love heart healthy dripping butter?

I've heard there are some great pie shops around town, there's Pie in Fremont, never been, but heard it's great and then I really want to go The Seattle Pie Company because Emi's family picked up a pie from there once and it was the best pie ever.... mmm peach crumb pie, can't wait to enjoy that again this summer.

- Kyle

Thursday, May 19, 2011

JACL Scholarship Dessert Auction

This week I will attend a screening meeting for a scholarship committee I serve on. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me as I get to interview and give out scholarships for Seattle area students with truly unique and inspiring stories. In January, I was on a dessert auction committee that raised money for these scholarships. Thanks to the generosity of many of my friends and family, we were able to raise over $8000 for these scholarships. And, I got to sample some of the best desserts in the NW!



Our committee got over 30 dessert donations from local businesses and community members! Check out this table of delicious treats...



Kyle's mom, Joyce, donated this beautiful chocolate mousse cake from Dessert Works. It was the hit of the night and went for $775!
My dad made his famous New York Cheesecake, which he has made for my birthday every year since I was able to actually eat solid food. One of our committee members had the genius idea to use our Costco and Sam's Club gift certificate donations to purchase wine, rather than desserts, to pair with our live auction items. We paired my dad's rich and creamy cheesecake with this bright and crisp Muscat.

My friend and fellow scholarship committee member, Ali and her friend Julie, made this amazing "Mile High Coconut Cake" that was topped with fresh raspberries. It was so tall it needed wooden sticks to hold it up!


Hiroki's donated this gorgeous green tea tiramisu, that is supposed to be fabulous. We paired it with a light Sauvignon Blanc.


This was an absolute treat and the VIP package. My friend, Michelle Gregoire, was able to secure an autographed bottle of the Governor's Centennial Celebration wine which is currently sold out in stores. We paired the wine with this humongous chocolate cake, some local restaurant gift certificates and an autographed Mariner's baseball. I am fairly certain that the item winners made a little dent in the cake, and took the wine home to keep for a special occasion--maybe a future election night?? Regardless, it was a special treat and I was so thankful to the Governor and my friend for their generosity and help!



This is the tiramisu my table won during the live auction. We actually bid on it because it was paired with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, which we figured was worth at least $150 in a restaurant. So really, we were bargain shoppers.

My fellow committee member made this fabulous cheesecake. It was the rich homemade kind that takes all day to make....mmmmm.


Our friend, Maile, made these individual haupia pies. The idea was brilliant as people were able to take them home. Although, they were so good, I don't know how far each pie actually made it past the door!


As usual, we called on Kyle's baking extraordinaire Auntie Cheri to make her fabulous coconut cake. She delivered it to me the morning of the event and it literally felt like a professional bakery as it was professionally packaged and looking deliciously perfect.



I have been trying to improve my baking skills and made the above chocolate 'smore cupcakes. Definitely does not stand up to my favorite Trophy cupcakes, but there is a lot of love in them and that has to count for something, right??

I also made Okinawan purple sweet potato cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. These cupcakes end up becoming a little more dense than a typical cupcake because of the type of sweet potato I use, so the cake tastes more like a muffin. However, with the sweet cream cheese frosting, it ends up being a good mix of not-too-sweet and yet still satisfying for a dessert.


Above is Lil Hayashi who is an integral member of the Seattle Japanese American Community. She is also the Queen of helping us set up and display the desserts.

This is the dessert auction menu. As you can tell, many people donated and helped to make the night a true success and I am so thankful for everyone's support and generosity. I wasn't able to photograph every dessert, so if yours was not displayed above, do not think it wasn't worthy! Every one of your donations are helping to provide valuable educational opportunities for much deserving students.
Happy Eating,
Emi

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Getting a Year Older and Partying in Capitol Hill: La Spiga and Barca

Lucky for me my birthday fell on a Friday this year. Our new favorite Seattle neighborhood to frequent recently has been Capitol Hill. Not sure what took us so long to rediscover this cool area, but we've been going back more and more. They have great bars, interesting people, and some of the best food in the whole city. Also until last week, it was only a 5 minute cab ride away from my office.

With our upcoming Mediterranean Cruise quickly approaching, I've been craving Italian food and took down some recommendations for Italian restaurants in Capitol Hill. We ultimately landed on a great recco in La Spiga.

We really enjoyed the open atmosphere that welcomed us at La Spiga. Hole in the wall types of places are great, but sometimes a little stressful because of the need for reservations (if they take them), long waits, and a crammed in atmosphere. La Spiga was pretty laid back and they even had a "living room" type of layout as the waiting area for people to relax with a glass of wine.

Unfortunately by the time I was able to put up this blog post, the seasonal menu had been taken down, so I'll have to go completely off of memory. If I remember correctly this was a kurobuta pork belly that was fork cutting tender with truffle oil.

Emi and I shared our main courses. Emi went with the melt in your mouth, soft Gnocchetti di Ricotta alla Norcina. The handmade Ricotta gnocchi was combined with sausage, truffle, and cream. This was amazing, something I highly recommend and a dish we'll have to return to enjoy.

I went with the braised pork shank served with grilled polenta. Just the hearty, filling meal I needed as a base for a long night of drinking with friends.


Emi made me lemon bar cupcakes, she knew that lemon bars are my favorites, so why not combine them with cupcakes. They were delicious and I enjoyed the mini lemon bars that were placed right on top of the cupcakes.

Thank you again everyone who made it out to Barca to celebrate with us. We had such a good time that we're planning another event there for a friend who is coming back to Seattle this weekend. We're looking forward to another fun weekend in Capitol Hill.

- Kyle

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Ivar's Birthday

This was from the end of March when I was out celebrating my birthday. Somehow I misplaced all of my photos and some great meals, but I recently found them so wanted to share some of my favorite meals with everyone.

I posted about how for Ivar's birthday if you bought one entree you received the second one for only 106 cents. My family went out to celebrate Ivar's bday along with my own. Also Ivar's had half off all of their bottles of wine and that ended up being the best deal of the night.


Can't go to Ivar's without some delicious clam chowdah.



What goes with a high class cup of chowder, but a nice bottle of Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay. We've mentioned it before, but Emi and I do not drink a lot of white wine, but there's no denying the Cakebread Chardonnay, especially when it was only $30! A bottle usually goes for $40+ in the grocery store, so we thought this was a great deal and also the best part of the meal.

We have another bottle set aside for a special occasion, what are your favorite wines?

- Kyle


Monday, May 9, 2011

Late Night at Tamarind Tree

Emi and I were craving a late night dinner and decided to go check out Tamarind Tree. Emi had never been there before and since Asian food was on the mind decided to try it out. We were actually hoping to go to Malay Satay (which we ended up going to later), but it was around 10pm and they were closed. Knowing Chinatown never sleeps, we headed straight there to find dinner.

Tamarind Tree is what I would describe as a "higher end" Vietnamese restaurant. People think pho and vermicelli noodles when they think of Vietnamese, but honestly there is so much more the culture has to offer when it comes to food. So if you've never branched outside of hot soup, do so next time you eat Vietnamese and Tamarind Tree is a great place to start.

We started with something very unique and unlike anything we've tried before which was the crispy prawns baguette, deep fried Pacific prawns and fresh baguette with seasoned batter, hoisen and chili sauce. Basically it was a deep fried baguette with a prawn on top. Not quite enough prawn and a little too much bread, but fun because it was something new.


Starving at 10pm, I went with the amazingly filling and delicious Tamarind Tree rice combination which came with grilled pork, chicken, deep fried spring roll, grilled shrimp on sugar cane, and grilled prawns served with herb mixed fish sauce all topped off with a fried egg on the side. Amaaazing. Basically all of the primary food groups are covered with this dish: chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, and friiied egg. Their sweet fish sauce was one of the best parts of the meal and when poured over everything completed the meal.

The portions are great, the pricing is reasonable, and the atmosphere is inviting and upscale (especially for any place located off of Jackson Street.)

If you haven't checked out Tamarind Tree yet, maybe try something new and go there for your next late night craving.

- Kyle

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Recipe of the Week: Lamb Kebabs

Tonight Kyle and I will have our families over for a Mother's Day dinner celebration and inspired by our upcoming cruise, we are going to have a Mediterranean themed feast! One of my more recent favorite library finds was the Williams Sonoma Family Meals cookbook, which featured this amazing recipe for lamb kabobs.







The meatballs are grilled, so they have that great smokey flavor. However, the meat stays super moist because of the fat content and the amazing ingredients you pack into the meatball.




 
We stuff pitas with the creamy cool raita and juicy meatball. Last time I also made a couscous dish with a recipe I found in my Food Network magazine. Tonight, we will have a yummy Mediterranean salad, hummus, and my dad is making a spanikopita and stuffed grape leaves.


Ingredients: 

For the raita

  • 3 1/2 cups plain yogurt, or 2 cups plain Greek yogurt 
  • 1 small English cucumber 
  • 1 garlic clove, pressed 
  • 1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh mint 
  • 1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh cilantro 
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste
  • 1/8 tsp. ground cumin 
  • 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, plus more, to taste (optional)  

  • 3/4 cup minced yellow onion 
  • 3 garlic cloves, pressed 
  • 2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro  
  • 1 Tbs. chopped fresh mint 
  • 1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 
  • 1 1/2 lb. ground lamb shoulder 
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin 
  • 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste 
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
  • Vegetable oil for grill rack 
  • Pita bread rounds for serving 



Directions:

To make the raita, if using regular yogurt, spoon it into a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth placed over a bowl and refrigerate overnight, stirring the yogurt before you go to bed. When you wake up in the morning you will have about 2 cups of very thick yogurt and 1 cup or more of yogurt water. Discard the water and spoon the yogurt into a bowl. If using Greek yogurt, spoon into a bowl.

Peel the cucumber, halve lengthwise and scrape out any seeds with the tip of a small spoon. Grate on the large holes of a box grater-shredder or in a food processor fitted with the shredding attachment. Squeeze out the excess water from the cucumber with your hands until almost completely dry. You should have about 1 cup. Add to the yogurt.

Add the garlic, mint, cilantro, salt, cumin and cayenne and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the favors to blend, then taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

Have ready 3 or 4 flat metal skewers, or soak 3 or 4 bamboo skewers in water to cover for at least 30 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the onion, garlic, cilantro, mint and parsley and mix well. Add the lamb and sprinkle with the cumin, salt and a few grindings of pepper. Quickly and gently mix with your hands to combine all of the ingredients evenly.

Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions, and shape into ovals. Drain the bamboo skewers, if using. Pick up a patty, stick the skewer lengthwise down the center, then repack the meat in the same shape around the skewer. Repeat, threading on 2 or 3 more ovals, depending on the length of the skewers, spacing them 1/2 inch apart. Place the skewer on a tray. Repeat until you have filled all of the skewers. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm up the meat before grilling.

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a grill and oil the grill rack. Season the kebabs lightly with salt and pepper. Place on the grill rack and cook, turning once, until golden on the outside and cooked through but still juicy, about 10 minutes on each side.
Transfer the skewers to a serving plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Then slide the kebabs off the skewers and serve immediately with the pita bread and raita. Serves 4 to 6.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Family Meals, by Maria Helm Sinskey (Oxmoor House, 2008).


And now a tribute to some of the amazing women in Kyle and my life: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!


My Grandma Sumida who taught me how to say "thank you" before I could talk by waving my arm up and down. I am still able to get a lot more out of life by remembering to say, "thank you"!


My Grandma Nomura who taught me how important food can be for bringing a family together; always having spaghetti, Chinese pretzels, stew, or some other type of delicious dish on hand for family gatherings regardless if it was a planned or spontaneous event.


My mom, who taught me that a little bit (or a lot, in some cases) of salt can make anything taste good.
 


Kyle's Mom taught him how to make simple, yet delicious dishes so he could learn to cook for himself.

Kyle's Aunt Julie, who has always been like a second mother to him, taught him the Husky Fight Song "Bow Down to Washington" when he was a little kid; that passion for the Huskies and good food encouraged us to start hosting our own tailgates this past year, where we can combine his two favorite passions into one.

Kyle's grandmother taught him that good food can always be the highlight of a great family get together.  Everyone can always count on her delicious sushi for all of our family events or homemade kim chi.


This is one of my favorite photos of my mom and I.  I am just being self indulgent at this point!
 
 
A big HAPPY MOTHER'S Day to all the other wonderful women in our lives--you are all special and make our world and life happier because of your love and care.

Happy Eating,
Emi