Seattle

In early June, we got to take a family trip to Seattle with the Engineer’s mother. We had a short trip (three days), but squeezed in the main things I wanted to see and do (and eat!), so here’s a quick summary.

Day 1
We got there midday, driving in from Seattle. Our first stop was Red Mill Burgers for lunch, which was quite good. I ordered the red onion jam burger, but was mistakenly given the verde burger, which was not at all what I had wanted, but I could tell that the base of the burger was great. One thing that I noticed there, and it was going to be a theme in the state of Washington, is that all of the items that registered in my brain as “disposable plastic” were in fact made from plant fibers and compostable! I wish they were standard everywhere – I know that in Texas, plastic is still the norm. And in Quebec, people complain about paper straws that don’t hold up. But these straws and cups seem like the perfect compromise!

We then went to our first attraction, the Chihuly Garden and Glass at the foot of the Space Needle. We bought tickets to visit both, and spent time in the former while waiting for our entry time at the latter. We had seen some of Chihuly’s work at the San Antonio Museum of Art, but this was so much more impressive! There are sculptures that are 20 feet tall, and in every color you can imagine! One of the docents told us that they are dusted every day before the museum opens (we were really wondering ). I really don’t know if I preferred the Sealife Tower, Mille Fiori, or the chandeliers. Most of the glass sculptures are indoors, but there are many outdoors as well, looking like alien flowers in the greenery. This was really worth the visit! The gift shop is also superb, and it took a lot of self-restraint on my part not to buy anything.

Then we moved on to the Space Needle. I liked that there are exhibits explaining its history as well as building factoids as the line of people winds its way to the glass elevators. The top has a revolving restaurant (honestly, it looked more like a bar with only small 2-seater tables); the viewing deck was nice, as we got beautiful views of both Seattle as well as Mount Rainier. This was worth the visit!

Then, we went to Pike Place Market. Honestly, this would be much better in the morning, as shops were closing up already when we got there, but our schedule was tight and this was the best we could do. I almost bought peonies, but I didn’t know if our lodging had a vase, so I ended up just taking pictures. We spent some time looking around, bought pastries at Le Panier, saw the flagship Starbucks with the original logo, and made our way down to the Gum Wall.

We had booked an Airbnb on Dayton Avenue, a nice townhouse near the Woodland Zoo. We stopped at Trader Joe’s on the way and bought our dinner there before settling in for the night.

Day 2
We started off our day with a visit to the Fremont Troll, which was just as I imagined it to be, except the surrounding area was nicer than I imagined it. You can actually climb on the troll as long as you are being respectful of the surroundings, and I think everyone in our group had fun.

We then swung by the Lake View Cemetery to pay our respects to Bruce and Brandon Lee. The site itself if wonderful, too! And it was on to our next stop.

As this was a Saturday morning, the first one of the month, we’d had to foresight to book free tickets to the Spheres. They are a greenhouse with tropical plants in downtown Seattle, and it’s a project by Amazon (the company, not the forest). As the Engineer says, it’s a bit like trying to book concert tickets, on that there’s a lot of demand and you need to keep refreshing the page until you can get through! And you can only book 4 tickets at a time. I really enjoyed the visit. Plus, we were delighted to see that there was a General Porpoise right on the premises, so of course we took a break for doughnuts – and yes, they were every bit as good as advertised! (The kids and I had a cinnamon sugar crueller, a Boston cream doughnut, and a marshmallow chocolate doughnut.)

We then went to lunch at The Whale Wins, which again was just as I had imagined it. It was much quieter than I had expected for a Saturday lunch, which was actually really nice! We ate quite well.

After a pit stop at our townhouse, the Engineer and I took the kids out for a few hours. Our first stop was to visit Frankie Feetsplinters. I’ve become obsessed with Thomas Dambo’s troll sculptures, and since there are six in the Pacific Northwest, I wanted to see some! (The map on his website is unfortunately impossible to navigate, but you can use this one for the USA.)

Our second stop was Discovery Park, where we took the trail recommended by Molly Wizenberg: “Park in the south lot, walk up and over the hill, down through the meadow that slopes toward Puget Sound, and then wind your way down through the woods to the beach. It’s beautiful, year-round.” Well, we didn’t have time to go down to the beach, but we saw the sound, and it was beautiful.

For dinner, since we wanted a broader gluten-free selection for my mother-in-law, we went to a/stir – it had a great menu, and the entire place is gluten-free! We didn’t try the dessert, because I had my heart set on a nearby shop…

We had dessert at Frankie and Jo’s. I had been waiting literally for years to go there! It’s a vegan ice cream shop with awesome flavors; even non-vegans from Bon Appétit love it! I tasted the Blueberry Lavender Pie ice cream (seasonal), and it was really great; I wish I had been hungry enough to eat that one too! I should have asked for a taste of California Cabin, too. But I went with the ones I’d had my eye on all this time, the Salty Caramel Ash ice cream and the Beet Strawberry Rose sorbet. They were out of this world! I’d really like to figure out the recipe for that sorbet in particular. And I just found out that Frankie & Jo’s ships their ice cream domestically, so that’s where my next paycheck is going…

Day 3
We drove out to Mount Rainier, which we’d been seeing from afar since we got there. You definitely have to get there early (before 9:00am) to get a parking spot, but keep in mind that the visitors’ pavilion doesn’t open until 10:00am. We had read that in early June, “it’s possible there will still be snow on the ground.” We’re Canadian, we figured that was totally fine. As it turned out, though, there was so much snow that one of the two trails we were considering (Nisqually Vista Trail) was closed, and the other (Skyline Trail to Myrtle Falls) was open, but… under a lot of snow. People starting their trek had spikes on their shoes (or snow shoes or skis), and walking sticks of ski sticks, and proper snow suits in most cases. I walked up the slope for a bit (maybe a total of 50 feet up, according to Strava), then decided that my shoes were not adequate and I went back down. (The Fox and his grandmother were waiting in the visitors’ center by then, and the Engineer and the Little Prince went up a bit further than I did.)

We did get to enjoy the scenery on the way up and down, though (at least, those of us who weren’t driving), and made a little stop at Narada Falls on the way down.

We then had lunch at Mount Rainier Railroad Dining Company, partly because it was a good location that offered some gluten-free options, and maybe partly also because in Vancouver, we hadn’t been to the “right” location of the Old Spaghetti Factory and I felt like I had been cheated out of the railroad car. This place was all railroad cars, though, and the food was really good! I ended up splitting a hamburger with the Fox because he finished his corndog and was still hungry; the Little Prince and my mother-in-law both had the salmon with blackberries, and the Engineer had the Montecristo sandwich.

On the way back, we stopped by Lincoln Park to see a second Dambo troll, Bruun Idun. I think I liked her more than Frankie! The surroundings are gorgeous, too, as she’s on the edge of the forest near the water. This was a great outing! And the kids spent a little time at the playground too.

We dropped off my mother-in-law at the townhouse so she could rest and made our way to Delancey. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might know that I’ve been wanting to go to Delancey since… before it opened over 15 years ago? I can’t help it, I’m such a big fan of Molly Wizenberg, so I was following the whole thing on her blog (Orangette) and then read her memoir about that phase in her life. And on the way there, as we were driving downhill in Ballard, I think we passed her on her bike, then met up again with her at the intersection of 75th Street and 8th Avenue. Molly Wizenberg, if you were wearing a lime green bike helmet and biking with your toddler in her trailer, just know that I was super happy to catch a glimpse of you!

Anyway, we made it to Delancey. Somehow, this was also just as I imagined it, though I couldn’t sum up all the background info I got from Molly Wizenberg (and honestly, it’s not necessary to enjoy a good pizza!). The white pizza looked great, but I decided to go the classic route and got the margherita (and I took Lactojoy, which was totally worth it). We got some of their famous salted chocolate chip cookies to go, too.

So, I hadn’t realized that there was a Frankie & Jo’s literally next door, but what we had on our schedule that evening was Salt & Straw – I’d been wanting to go there ever since I saw this on Instagram! I tasted the Strawberry and Coconut Water Sherbet, and it was good, but I got the Peanut Butter Brittle Caramel Fudge, and that was fantastic! And Salt & Straw does sell online too, including a pack of dairy-free flavors.

Of course, with such a short stay, we didn’t get to do *everything*. If I ever go back, I’d like to go to Bateau, meet up with two friends who live there, maybe explore some neighborhoods more in depth or see more of Molly Wizenberg’s recommendations. And, like, eat at Frankie & Jo’s everyday!

Lambert's Cafe's Throwed Rolls

 

I could have sworn I posted about Lambert’s Cafe before… In a post where I talked about restaurants we’ve been enjoying on our summer road trip for the past few years, along with Payne’s and Naaman’s. But anyway, Lambert’s Café serves Southern comfort food and is most famous for its “throwed” rolls: waiters periodically come along with carts and, if you want bread, they will throw it at you! Those still-warm rolls are absolutely delicious, so it occurred to me that there must be a copycat recipe somewhere online, and I found this one. These are great! But make sure to serve them warm from the oven.

1 tsp. sugar
1 (¼-oz.) package dry active yeast
¼ cup tepid water (105-110 °F)
1 cup warm lactose-free milk
¼ cup melted lactose-free butter
¼ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten (at room temp)
1 tsp. salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

Combine sugar and yeast in tepid water. Let stand 5-10 minutes until yeast begins to foam.

Thoroughly mix milk, butter, sugar, egg and salt in large bowl (I used a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment).

Stir in the yeast mixture and 3 ½ cups of flour, adding a bit more if necessary to make a soft, pliable dough.

(For the following part, note that I did my kneading directly with the stand mixer and transferred the dough to an oiled bowl for it to rise.) Turn dough out on floured board and let rest while you clean and butter bowl. Knead dough gently 4-5 minutes, adding flour if necessary, until dough is smooth and silky. Return to bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size (1 ½ hours approximately).

Butter a 12-cup muffin tin.

(As for this part, I couldn’t remember exactly how Lambert’s rolls looked, but the photos showed rolls with three lumps instead of two, so that’s what I did – adjust accordingly.) Punch down dough. Pinch off pieces that are about 1 ½ inches in diameter (enough to fill one-half of muffin cup) and roll into smooth spheres. Place two such pieces in each prepared muffin cup – it will be a tight fit. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 °F.

Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes, or until light brown. Serve as soon as they are cool enough to throw.

JUST Egg

 

This post wasn’t really planned, but I decided to tell you about JUST Egg. I first had it at a local vegan restaurant called Plantology, where I was really pleasantly surprised. It was a vegan substitute for eggs prepared omelet-style, and I couldn’t tell it wasn’t actually eggs. It looked the same, had the same texture, and tasted the same. 

JUST Egg is vegan, made from plants (mostly mung beans); it contains no saturated fat or cholesterol, and has an amount of protein comparable to eggs. It contains natural color (carrot and turmeric) and the one I bought was free of major allergens (check the label for different products by the brand, as that can change). I assume the “just” comes from “justice,” as it would be cruelty-free and probably more sustainable than real eggs. 

I ended up buying a container of JUST Egg at the store and had some for lunch. I cooked them simply, like I would scrambled eggs, though there are also recipes on their website. It basically cooks up like real eggs and can be used in baked goods as well. 

When I ate the scrambled “eggs” plain, they had a faint vegetal taste that was not unpleasant, but if you’re trying to really fool yourself, add seasonings or lactose-free shredded cheese. I think this is a great alternative for vegans, flexitarians, and curious foodies alike.

Housekeeping, Part 2

Part 1 of the housekeeping was about our drive back to Texas, but I’m going to go against chronological order and use Part 2 to wrap up what happened while we were still in Quebec. 

I wrote about Evive smoothies, but I got to try a few more products as well, like ice cream sandwiches from the new line of Chapman’s lactose-free no sugar added products. These were really good! I would have been happy with just a lactose-free version, but given that I’m also trying to limit sugar these days, I really appreciated this extra step. 

The Engineer also found Philadelphia lactose-free cream cheese! I haven’t seen it in their line-up of American products, but it’s such a major brand that it seems logical they would roll it out in the U.S. at some point, right? 

I also got some of this dark chocolate and cranberry spread (it’s nut- and peanut-free, too!). I really enjoy it – it’s very chocolaty, yet the fruit is very present as well. I prefer the consistency at room temperature, though, so I take it out of the fridge the night before if I remember (but it’s not a big deal if I forget). 

I also bought a dark chocolate maple swirl bar from Chocolat Boréal, which I thoroughly enjoyed! I recommend their chocolate products and would love to try more. 

We also tried some of the latest Made Good offerings. I’m a big fan of the brand – allergen-free snacks that contain a serving of vegetables? Yes please! The pizza crackers were okay, but my kids (and I) are really crazy about the cookies! I’ve only bought the chocolate chip flavor so far, but I’ll branch out and try the rest. This is great in their lunchbox! 

I made the Little Prince’s birthday cake as per his request, which he was kind enough to keep simple this year: chocolate cake, vanilla frosting, sprinkles. It was my usual chocolate cake, and I made this vanilla buttercream frosting with lactose-free butter. (If you want to make it a stark white, then use clear vanilla extract and, yes, white gel food coloring, because that’s a thing. I was happy with the result of these plain ingredients, though! 

And while I may not have been to nearly every restaurant on my list, I did get to go back to Leméac for our wedding anniversary, and it was lovely as ever. 

We also went to Les Couleurs de la Terre in Yamachiche – I wrote about it before, as it’s co-owned by my first cousin once removed. Those in Quebec may have heard about it in late June and early July, though, because it went viral on Tik-Tok for having the best poutine in the province. For the record, I can confirm that it is indeed the best! The downside was that they went from serving 200 people a day to 2,000 people a day overnight, so it was a bit overwhelming for everyone! 

And we also went to Gibeau Orange Julep and Swirl because how could we not? They were good as ever, and Swirl doubled the number of flavors they offer – I had the chocolate-mango swirl and bought some amazing strawberry sorbet to go.