In Which I Talk About Food, Near and Far

Been cooking.  Been baking.  Nothing I'm ready to share yet.  Lame, right?  But my mother taught me sharing is caring*, so here we are.

• I made this roasted mango salsa from Cara's Cravings.  Have you checked out her blog?  It's lovely.  I used jalapeno instead of habanero because that's what I had on hand.  I reserved the ribs and seeds in case I needed some extra spice, but it totally wasn't needed.  I had one spicy jalapeno!  I don't buy the ones with perfect skin.  I buy the ugly ones.  They're spicier.  I mixed a few tablespoons with a mashed avocado and lime juice.  Best guacamole ever.  Don't have fresh mango?  They sell it frozen at Trader Joe's.  That's what I used.  Works great.

• I was in Seattle last weekend.  My friend was not only nice enough to get married and invite me, but he had the consideration to live in Seattle at the time.  It's a beautiful city.  Wonderful.  One of my favorites.  And I'm not even a city person, generally.  This friend's bride is the maid who caught the bouquet at my wedding 5 years ago.  It was nice to be a part of their big day and remind them of that moment.
• Husband and I toured Theo Chocolate Factory.  It's organic and fair trade.  More importantly, it's delicious!  It was interesting how the beans from different regions create such different finished chocolate bars.  I tried a 91% chocolate bar that was actually quite fruity and smooth.  I once tried a 89% chocolate bar in Paris.  It tasted like dirt.  How did I taste so many different bars without going broke?  That would be the overflowing mounds of samples they have dotted throughout their store.  Yeah.  Go there.  You're welcome.

• I also made sure to schedule a trip to World Spice Merchants.  I spent at least an hour in there.  Smelling mixtures in jars.  Over and over.  Unable to decide between the 20 different blends of Middle Eastern curry.  Not even counting the Asian curries. I had to call Husband over to trim my list down to something manageable.  The place is amazing, but I'm way to indecisive to handle it without an adult to hold my hand.  They give you the option to get your spice blends freshly ground while you wait or whole to grind at home.  That's understanding of quality!  Alton Brown featured the place in an episode of Good Eats.  That's how I discovered it.  Thanks Alton!

• Even had time to squeeze in a quick wine tasting at Chateau St. Michelle.  Their tasting room is so unique.  It's a large and open room that is made to look like an outdoor patio.  Smart, since they live in an area that gets a tad bit of rain.  Beautiful grounds too.  The wine was ok.

I'm still dreaming of my time there.  It was magical.  So was that salsa.  I'm still dreaming about it too.  I'm glad my friend just gave me more avocados from her tree.  

Happy eatings!

*Pretty sure if I ever heard my mother utter that phrase, I would die of shock.  After I accused her of being a pod person.