Arugula & Castles

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Homemade naan, basmati and dahl.  A spicy and savoury meal on a cold night.   

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Seattle boasts some of the most creative food culture of any major city in the US.  Coming from a state known for it’s agriculture, wine, beer, seafood and forward (or reverse depending on who you talk to) thinking approach to urban farming (you can keep chickens inside condos), Seattle definitely has an inspiring food scene.  The food truck scene has taken off in Seattle offering patrons quality, quick, and creative meals on the go.  One truck that has garnered national attention is Skillet Street Food.  Operating out of an old Airstream camper, Skillet pumps out some innovative NW cuisine with a smile.  The good people of Seattle have come to associate Skillet with one of the most delicious condiments to ever grace a menu, BACON JAM!  A mixture of caramelized onion, balsamic vinegar, and bacon, Bacon Jam has won over the hearts of many including myself. 

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On our return trip from Alaska this past December Amy and I had a layover at Seatac airport and discovered Bacon Jam for sale at one of the airport boutiques.  We’ve used it on so many things, burgers, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs and now… PIZZA.  Egg pizzas are catching on at a lot of Neapolitan style pizza joints and bring something new to the standard pie.  An over easy egg combined with pesto and the caramelized Bacon Jam is hard to beat.  I can honestly say that this pizza is one of the most delicious pizzas I have ever eaten.  If you’re ever in Seattle you need to do yourself a favour and look up Skillet Street Food.  Done.

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{Eggs and Bacon Jam Pizza}

*Makes one 12 inch pizza

- 1 extra large whole wheat pita or fresh pizza dough

- 3 Tbsp. pesto for the base

- Handful of spinach

- 3 mushrooms, sliced

- 1/2 shallot, sliced

- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

- 2 quality eggs

- 1/4 cup Bacon Jam

- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

- salt and pepper

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{Process}

Place one oven rack on the bottom level of your oven. Turn your oven onto broil.

Layer according to the ingredients list spreading the ingredients evenly around the pie.

Place the pizza onto the lowest oven rack for 10 minutes or until the eggs are set. 

Enjoy!

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This past November I brewed an Espresso Nut Brown Ale that turned out to be delicious.  Subtle caramel and nut tones combined with the kick of cold pressed espresso made for a great winter ale.  I started with a low IBU (bitterness level) wort (sugary water left over from boiling grains) kit (15L Brewhouse Mexican Cerveza) and added a one gallon boil of 1/2 lb. medium chocolate malt and 1 lb. of pale crystal malt.  These two malts added the caramel and nut flavours I was looking for.  I pitched an American Ale yeast, which is great for riding the brew of some acidity, and fermented for three weeks.  Two days prior to bottling I cold pressed 2 cups of course ground freshly roasted espresso.  Cold pressing the espresso reduced the acidity extracted from the beans which helped the beer maintain some head (foam) when pouring.  The espresso was added to beer along with 1 cup of maple syrup to act as the dextrose element for carbonation.  The result was a delicious nut brown with a strong coffee note.  We ended up giving most of it away as Christmas gifts.  If you missed out this year don’t fret! We plan on brewing it again next fall.  

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Any bbq sauce recipe will do.  Just replace the tomato element with roasted sweet potato and 1/3 cup of water. 

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Amy and I spent a day and a half in NYC this past December. 

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Growler refill counter at a grocery store. 

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NYC Pizza.  More hype than taste. 

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Black and white cookies.  Soft cake cookie, orange marmalade, chocolate and vanilla icing.  We ate way too many of these.

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Oyster Bar in Greenwich Village. 

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The Mast Brothers from The Scout on Vimeo.

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In December Amy and I visited Brooklyn and made a special trip to the Mast Brothers Chocolate Shop.  The Mast Brothers are two fine gents with a hardy love of single origin chocolate.  Their fine confections return to the simplest form of chocolate making by  slowly churning freshly roasted cocoa nibs.  No additional sugars, no additional flavours, no additional cocoa butters.  Just simply cocoa nibs, churned for three days until a silky chocolate is created.  Though simple in philosophy, the Masts’ employ some high tech roasting tools.  The brothers teamed up with NASA to design a nib roaster that allows them to extract the different flavour notes from the nibs while husking the shells.  Once the nibs are churned for three days, the resulting chocolate is poured into molds and then topped with a variety of flavours such as maple sugar, Stumptown coffee beans, nuts and much more.  

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A vast majority of chocolate consumed everyday in every form (melted, chips, powdered and solid) comes from only 3 main companies, while only a fraction of the remaining chocolate is produced by small scale artisans.  97% of the cocoa used by these chocolate titans comes from Africa.  Farmers who have never and will most likely never see or taste chocolate harvest pods, dry them and sell them to co-ops.  For the big chocolate nerds out there it is understood that cocoa pods have a seven day ripe period where the cocoa pods ferment and create a cocoa liquor.  This seven day period is prime for picking and drying.  Too early and the pods aren’t ripe enough, too late and the pods start to rot.  Ever heard of the phrase “drunk as a monkey?”  That phrase was used to describe monkeys that ate cocoa beans during their ripe fermentation stage and became a bit tipsy.  Most farmers are not educated on when to pick cocoa pods in their prime state and thus we see a lot of poor to mediocre chocolate out there.  Single origin chocolate makers like the Mast Brothers or Choklat in Calgary, specifically train their producers how to harvest the cocoa pods at the right time.  Thus, they get a bean that is worthy of creating a chocolate bar that sells for $7-$14.  The flavours are unreal.  Being a fruit, cocoa beans should naturally have a slight fruity taste.  Most of the chocolate we eat has been over roasted or mixed with poorly grown beans from around the world that the fruity notes are lost.  Sort of a lot to take in, but once you try a chocolate bar made with properly harvested pods and properly roasted nibs compared to a common chocolate bar like Lindt, you will be able to taste a huge difference. 

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The Mast Brothers Shop was great.  Samples of a variety of flavours and semi-friendly uber hipster staff.  It is Williamsburg, Brooklyn after all.  We got to poke our heads in the production room and see the staff lunch in progress.  What an amazing company to work for.  Craft chocolate at it’s finest. 

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On a toasted baguette with a squeeze of lemon.  My perfect sandwich. 

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American Thanksgiving 2011. Dungeness crab, bacon wrapped turkey, sausage borscht, scalloped potatoes, winter vegetables and good friends. 

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Eggs, cream, vanilla bean and sugar.  You can’t go wrong.  I was feeling a Mexican mocha vibe where chili powder is infused with chocolate and that led to this dessert.  The combination of sweet vanilla and the subtle kick of cayenne balances very well.  Any crème brûlée recpe will work, just add a dash of spice!

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