This Bitch Ate at The Blue Glass

Ashika:

Last night I took a class at the Northwest Film Forum (www.nwfilmforum.org). I'm a big film dork. In my fantasy life I am a big time film producer that smokes weed with Seth Rogen, I'm married to Edward Norton and my BFF is Mindy Kaling. In real life, I'm single, live at home and take random film classes in the hopes that one day I might actually make my own film.

I was re-inspired last night to take one of those big, strange chances in films that make people great. Like Bradley Beesley (http://www.bradleybeesley.com). His website describes him as a filmmaker that, "made a cinematic career documenting oddball Americana, strange sub-cultures and homegrown rock stars". Bradley talked about how he coincidentally became friends with Michelle Coyne, then girlfriend to Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips. They were in art school together and her boyfriend needed someone with a camera and Bradley happened to have a camera. Their friendship blossomed and 15 years later and Bradley released the now infamous documentary, The Fearless Freaks featuring The Flaming Lips (www.fearlessfreaks.com). You should visit Bradley's website and check out the other movies he's done like the one about the prison inmate rodeo in Oklahoma. Yeah, that's a real thing.

After all of this amazing learning and inspiration I met up with my buddy Aeden to grab something to eat. Now this guy...he's a genuine food snob. Usually when we hang out he ends up deciding where we are going to eat. This happens for two reason, 1) he has eaten almost all of Seattle and 2) he will bitch and complain about the food if he doesn't like where we eat. So, ultimately I usually end up eating some good food and I don't have to listen to him bitch.

We ventured down into Ballard and hit up The Blue Glass. I've never been here before so this was a new experience for me. The outside is deceiving because for some reason they thought putting up tacking blue Christmas lights around the frame of the building was a good idea. Honestly, it makes it look like a cheap Asian restaurant. But when you go inside it's a whole different, lovely experience. When you enter you have to walk through a heavy black curtain. I think they did this for dramatics. I just felt like I was going to trip over something. Once past the curtain you are teleported (you like that?) into a small, warm ambiance. The place is finished in wood with heavy curtains and candles. The music is on par for any Seattle hipster (The Knife, MGMT, The Head and the Heart, etc) and the service is lovely.

I was pretty hungry and Aeden insisted that we share dishes. Their menu is split into small places, salads and large plates. The menu doesn't exceed a 4"x11" (maybe smaller) card. We ended up with a whole table table full of food that included fried brussel sprouts in siracha and honey, caramelized bacon with maple bourbon goat cheese and sliced apples, grilled cauliflower topped with gremolata and parmesan reggiano and a cheese plate. We also ordered one large plate, grilled prawns with warm roasted garlic and balsamic quinoa salad.

I will talk about each plate:

Fried brussel sprouts in siracha and honey: Excellent. I would like to make this one at home. It's seems super simple and has loads of flavor. It's a good play on sweet and hot. The only thing I can complain about is that the middle of the sprouts were a little too hard. I would have parboiled them a bit longer before frying
them.

Caramelized bacon with maple bourbon goat cheese and sliced apples: I was disappointed in this dish. I was really looking forward to this one but the bacon was obviously burned and not caramelized. This really ruined the eating experience. The cheese was lovely and smooth. I dipped the thin slices of green apple into the cheese with a bit of bacon. But it didn't redeem the burnt bacon at all.

Grilled cauliflower topped with gremolata and parmesan reggiano: THIS WAS FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC! It was like a party in my mouth. You get a half head of cauliflower drizzled in gremolata (chopped up lemon zest, garlic and parsley) and topped with tons of parmesan reggiano. I could eat this thing all to myself. It was perfectly tender and intact (you know how cauliflower likes to fall apart) and the lemon was so refreshing. Lovely, lovely, lovely. (I apologize for this unflattering picture. The dim lighting and iphone aren't buddies.)

The cheese plate: I'm not really sure what two cheeses we received. One was similar to a hard parmesan but mild and topped with some kind of salt. The second was a moldier cheese similar to gorgonzola but much milder. They came with thin crackers that went perfectly with the cheeses. Sorry, I didn't ask. I was tired and hungry!

Grilled prawns with warm roasted garlic and balsamic quinoa salad: I only consumed the prawns that came with this dish. I really like quinoa but I wasn't feeling it last night. Aeden inhaled it and seemed to enjoy it. I don't have a ton to say about this dish. It was well presented with two skewers crossed on top of a good helping of quinoa salad. The shrimp were very well done and lightly seasoned.

http://www.theblueglass.net/

Overall, I would come here again. It is a little pricey when you order so many dishes. With the food and the two cocktails Aeden had, our bill was $81.00. A bit more than I like to pay for dinner but it was worth every penny so I ain't bitchin!

~ Ashika

Bitchin' Homemade Curry

Hello Lovelies.

This weekend I decided to try out a new recipe. I also wanted to make a cabbage curry recipe that I have grown fond of.

Buttered chicken has become my new comfort food when it's cold and shitty outside. Since I'm from Seattle, that is often. I work near a Indian restaurant that has the most amazing buttered chicken. It's always perfectly smooth and amazing. It has this hint of cinnamon. I think it's cinnamon. Whatever it is, it makes the flavor completely addictive.

I wanted to try out making buttered chicken so I googled slow cooker recipes and came up with this one, http://www.mealplanning101.com/2008/09/slow-cooker-butter-chicken.html

I liked this one because of the use of cardamom and yogurt instead of heavy cream. I'm in the processing of converting myself into the paleo eating habits. Eliminating dairy completely will be a toughy. I didn't deviate from the recipe at all. I even went out and got boneless chicken thighs. It came out really good. My mom was blown away. She loved it. I always know I did good when my mom starts talking to me like she's mid-orgasm. For me personally, it was okay. It didn't compare to the buttered chicken at the Indian restaurant. I was really looking for that flavor. But that doesn't mean it wasn't good. It was really good but it left me wanting more from it.

Here's a picture of the finished product in the crock pot. The green is the fresh coriander I threw in at the end. Don't ever skip this step. It gives any curry dish that finishing flavor. OH!! It was a little runny for my taste so I threw 1 TBSP of corn starch mixed with 2 TBSP of water to thicken it up.

Next I made, Buttered Cabbage. The name is deceiving. There's no butter in this recipe. It's actually a very light and delicious recipe. I love my mom and I love my mom's cooking but at times she can use a little too much oil in her cooking and this makes my digestive tract very angry. VERY ANGRY. So, I like this one because it only uses 2 TBSP of oil. 

I first made this recipe while I was in Montana visiting an old roommate. She had this book, Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni. We were invited to her friends BBQ pot luck so we picked out this recipe because it was easy and universal. All the white people loved it and they enjoyed the fact that is was accompanied with a genuine Indian person. 

Buttered Cabbage by Julie Sahni 

2 TBSP oil 

1 1/2 tsp cumin 

1 tsp turmeric 

1 cabbage head, quartered, stem removed and thinly sliced 

1 large tomato diced 

1 TBSP grated ginger 

2 green chilies diced, or red pepper flakes (to taste) 

2 tsp salt (to taste) 

1 cup hot water 

1 small bunch of coriander chopped up 

Heat up your oil in heavy bottomed pan or pot on medium or medium-high (depending on your stove top) Once it's hot toss in your cumin and let it brown up. Make sure it doesn't burn or else you have to start all over. Once your cumin is brown throw in your cabbage and toss your turmeric on top. Continue to stir everything well for about 5 minutes. You want your cabbage to wilt down. Then toss in your tomato, ginger and green chili (or red pepper flakes). Again, stir for about 5 minutes. You want everything well incorporated. Turn your heat down to medium-low and throw your water and salt in. Cover and let that cook up for about 20 minutes. Be sure to check on it and stir to prevent burning. You want most of the water to be dissolved. If it's still pretty watery after 20 minutes turn the heat up and let the water cook off a it. Pay attention when doing this to prevent burning. Once it's all cooked up throw in your coriander and toss. 

Here's how mine turned out! 

All of these passed the Indian mother test. Enjoy!! 

~ Ashika  

No Bitchin' Here

Ashika:

Today I went to one of my favorite Thai restaurants. It's located on the corner of 65th and Roosevelt in Seattle (for those out-of-towners).

The Royal Palm Restaurant is located at the top of a two story shopping plaza. The ambiance is very relaxing and entertaining. If you grab a window seat you can watch all the local granolas wander about.

I would consider myself a regular but I only come in maybe once or twice a month. Despite that, the hostess always greets me with the biggest, warmest smile and asks where I've been. She also always remembers what I like to eat! Crazy!

Normally it's a toss up between their Garlic Chicken or their Pad See Ew. Since I've discovered I'm fat and I need to lose literally a million pounds I've changed my eating style to paleo (meat, veggie, fruits and eggs). So, today I went with their Royal Palm Salad. Their food has been consistently good and this salad did not induce an ounce of bitching from me.

It's a beautiful layer of romaine with sautéed chicken, pistachios, rice noodles, shredded carrots, slices of cucumber and wedges of pineapple with a side of oriental pineapple ginger dressing (pictured below). HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. If all salads tasted this amazing I wouldn't be nearly as robust as I am now.

My lunch date, also trying to maintain her girlish figure, had the Yum Nua (rare beef salad), grilled beef mixed with fresh greens, onions, cucumber, and tomatoes, tossed with a lime and chili dressing (not pictured). She dropped two pant sizes from this salad. Seriously.

If you are in the area or know the area, you need to make this place a regular. It easily starts to feel like home. I really can't say enough good stuff about this place. TRY IT. 

www.royalpalmseattle.com

~ Ashika