New Restaurant Review 360 + An Unexpected Surprise

Naomi over at Gastrognome has kindly volunteered to host the next Restaurant Review 360. (What's a Restaurant Review 360?). Her choice is excellent: Jasmine Provincial Vietnamese Cuisine. It has been on my list to try, and I'm looking forward to reviewing it along with her and my fellow bloggers. Deadline is May 20th, so if you write about food in Seattle, be sure and participate!

And, wow, Naomi told me in her email that there would be a surprise. The "360" concept has won me the inaugural SFBA (Seattle Food Blogger Award). I'd just like to thank my wife, my daughter, my 5th grade teacher (Mr. Peake), and of course the members of the Academy. No, seriously, thanks Naomi!

Recipe: Vietnamese Sandwiches with Tofu (Banh Mi Chay)

Vietnamese Sandwiches with Tofu (Banh Mi Chay)

I must be a sandwich, 'cuz I'm on a roll. Ba dum dum. Yeah. Anyhow, when I last wrote about Vietnamese sandwiches  (banh mi), it was to tell you where to find them in Seattle. Until last night I'd never made them at home.

Considering that they retail for under $2, there isn't much reason to make them yourself unless you don't have access to them or you want to vary the ingredients, which was my motivation. I thought I would use the outstanding tofu from Thanh Son Tofu on 12th Ave, and add avocado and mint leaves. I picked up the rolls from Seattle Deli. (Which is also a fine place to have a sandwich, but you have to ask them not use fish sauce if you want a vegetarian one.)

My Banh Mi turned out decent, but I think it could use more of a bump in flavor next time. Some ideas would be to flavor the mayo intensely with a chili sauce and/or citrus, marinate the tofu, or add some drops of chili-flavored sesame oil.

For the baguette rolls, you want ones that are about 10" long, seriously crusty on the outside, and fairly soft in the crumb. I believe the Vietnamese ones are made with part rice flour, which would add to the crispy crust, but if you can't find those, the best French baguette you can find will do well.

Vietnamese Sandwiches with Tofu (Banh Mi Chay)
Vegetarian, vegan if you omit the mayo
Serves 4

• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small batons
• 1/2 daikon radish, peeled and cut into small batons
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. white vinegar
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 English cucumber, cut into small batons
• 1/2 white onion, sliced thin
• 1 or more jalapeno or other hot pepper (to your taste), sliced thin
• 1 avocado, sliced
• mint leaves
• cilantro leaves
• 1 pound firm tofu, sliced into 1/2" thick slabs
• oil for pan--frying
• mayonnaise to taste, seasoned with sriracha or other flavoring as desired
• 4 crusty baguette-style rolls

1. Marinate the carrot and daikon in the water, vinegar and sugar.
2. Pan fry the tofu in a small amount of oil until nicely browned on both sides. Drain, pat dry with a paper towel, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Cut the baguette part way through. Dress it with mayo. For my taste, rather heavily.
4. Fill each sandwich with all of the ingredients, and offer additional sriracha sauce on the side.

Recipe: Sabich - Iraqi Jewish Eggplant Sandwich

Sabich - Iraqi Jewish Eggplant Sandwich

So I'm at that Men Cook event I've been telling you about, and my friend Aaron starts telling me about this amazing sandwich he'd had in Israel. He had me at fried eggplant and hardboiled egg, and I missed the rest because I was too busy drooling and scheming when I was going to make it. I'd been in Israel this past fall, and was heartbroken that while I'd eaten untold falafel, I'd had nary a sabich.

I did a little web research on sabich, but was waylaid by the fact that I'd need to buy or make a pickled mango condiment named amba. A few days later, Sarina and I were in a Middle Eastern grocery in Bellevue, and there was an enormous jar of it! So I snapped that up. It is the bright orange stuff you see in the back of the picture. And actually the jarred stuff wasn't that great, kind of harsh for my taste. Maybe a small amount, but this recipe sounds better.

And then, not more than a few days later again, I'm skimming Food and Wine as usual, and here it is again. Some chef in Philly has been traveling in Israel, training up on dishes for his new place and sabich is high on his list. Something is clearly alive in the global food consciousness, and I want in!

From what little I've been able to glean, sabich is a popular sabbath food for Iraqi Jews, and when they emigrated to Israel and set up a community in Ramat Gan, the sandwich came with them. It has since gained widespread popularity, and of course in typical Israeli fashion spawned N variations and N * 2 arguments about which one is better.

Above you can see my first try, which I'm not too modest to say tasted damn good. There is something about the creaminess of the egg and the fried goodness of the eggplant that work really well together, and then the garnishes of Israeli salad (tomatoes and cucumbers with a bit of lemon juice) hummus, onions, pickles, parsley and amba give your mouth the full workout of sweet, spicy, sour, herbacious, smooth and crispy.

A quick note on hardboiled eggs. Mine have gotten drastically better since I read How To Hard Boil an Egg. The basic summary is: eggs in enough cold water to cover, covered pot, bring to a boil, remove from heat, sprinkle in a little salt, leave covered for 20 minutes, drain, ice bath, peel, enjoy. Read the site for more tips, but that has been working great for me. They say 30 minutes but I find 20 is perfect. Nice and soft and absolutely no green around the yolk (see the picture above).

Here's the sabich recipe:

Sabich - Iraqi Jewish Eggplant Sandwich
Vegetarian; vegan if you omit the egg; gluten free if you omit the pita and serve as a salad
Makes 4 sandwiches

• 4 pieces good pita bread
• 4 hard boiled eggs (see note above), peeled and sliced
• 1-2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced 1/4" or so thick
• vegetable oil for frying
• 2 roma tomatoes, finely diced
• 1/2 English cucumber, finely diced
• juice of 1 lemon
• hummus (bought or make your own)
• prepared tahina (bought or make your own)
• 1/2 flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 small white onion minced
• 1/2 c. pickle, cut into small slices or cubes
• amba - mango pickle, or failing that, hot sauce of your choice - harissa maybe?

1. Make a simple salad of the tomatoes, cucumber, and lemon juice, with salt to taste.
2. Fry the eggplant in batches until thoroughly tender and browned; drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
3. While the eggplant is frying, put each of the other ingredients in bowls so everyone can build a sandwich to their own specifications.
4. Toast or grill the pita bread.
5. Serve it forth, preferably with cold beer, make yourself a gigantic sandwich, and chill.

New Category For Vegan Recipes

Thanks to Ruth of the Perfect Blood Sugar blog for the excellent suggestion to have a category for recipes that are vegan, or easily modifiable to be vegan. I've gone back through the last 50 or so posts and added the vegan ones to that category, and I'll try and do the rest soon. Let me know if there are other categories you'd find useful.

Calabro - The Best Ricotta Cheese in America

Calabro Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

Like most things in life, there is ricotta and there is ricotta. For long-baked dishes, it might not make that much difference. But take one bite of this Calabro's fresh cheese and you might think you never had ricotta before. It has the same clean milky sweetness that you find in great fresh mozzarella, and a fluffy, light texture.

I like it on toast, or with a drizzle of honey, or with a good piece of fruit. Just saying, gotta give props to these guys for keeping it real for 43 years. In Seattle I can reliably find the ricotta at Whole Foods, not sure what distribution looks like in the rest of the country. I only wish I knew where to find some of their other products.

Recipe: Atayef - Syrian Ricotta-Filled Dessert Pancakes

Atayef - Syrian Ricotta-Filled Dessert Pancakes

I took one look at the picture of these atayef in Poopa Dweck's spectacular cookbook, Aromas of Aleppo, The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews and knew imediately that I had to make them. I served them at a recent Men Cook event for dessert, after a meal that also included her red lentil soup (shurbat addes) and spiced yogurt cheese (labneh).

If the picture of the atayef didn't get me, the description surely would have. First you make a thin pancake batter, and cook off small, crepe-thin circles, but only on one side. Then you fill the undercooked pancakes with ricotta cheese, seal them up, and deep fry them. Then you drench them in rose water-scented simple syrup, and dip the end in finely chopped pistachios. Over the top? I'd say.

The results were just as terrific as the description, and in spite of all the steps they aren't really difficult to do. Allowing for a few that burst or otherwise turn out ugly, the recipe will make about 40 two-bite desserts, and the average person will probably want three of them, so you can easily serve 12. If you don't need this many all at once, you might as well still make them and then freeze the rest before the deep frying step.

The syrup sub-recipe will also yield more than you need but will keep well in the fridge. You could use it to make interesting cocktails!

Shira (Rose Water Scented Syrup)
Vegetarian and vegan
Yields 2 cups (keeps well; could also use in cocktails)

• 3 c. white sugar
• 1 c. water
• 1 t. lemon juice
• 1/2 t. rose water or orange blossom water

1. Boil the sugar, water and lemon juice for about 15 minutes. To tell if it is thick enough, grab out a teaspoon (carefully!) and let it cool a bit, then see if it is close to the consistency of honey.
2. Allow to cool, then add the rose water or orange blossom water, and refrigerate. (The book has you add the rose water during the boiling, but I think it is better after).

Atayef - Syrian Ricotta-Filled Dessert Pancakes
Vegetarian
To make vegan substitute egg replacer in the pancake and silken tofu fin the filling, or do a filling of chopped walnuts and apples)
Yields about 40, enough for at least 12 people

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1 T. sugar
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 c. fresh ricotta (I prefer Colabro brand)
• 1 c. cold shira syrup (above)
• 1 c. shelled pistachios, chopped fine in a food processor

1. Mix together the dry ingredients. Stir in the egg, then add water until you have a thin pancake batter, about like a crepe batter.
2. Heat a griddle or large frying pan to medium and grease lightly.
3. To make the pancakes, spread on 1 T. of batter and use the back of a spoon to quickly form it into a 3" circle. Cook until bubbles just appear on one side. Do not flip, just remove it from the heat and place in a single layer on a baking sheet or work surface. Your goal is only to make the crepe firm enough to be filled, you don't need it to be fully cooked. Do as many at a time as you can handle without overcooking. For me that was only about 4 at a time but they go quick.
4. Fill each pancake with 1 teaspoon of ricotta. Do not overfill! Fold in half and seal with your fingertips. You can freeze them in a single layer at this point until you are ready to use them.
5. For the final cooking, heat about 3/4 inch of oil in a smallish saucepan. Fry the atayef in small batches until deep golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, douse with the shira syrup, and dip the tip in the pistachios. The shira should be very cold to prevent it from ruining the crispiness of the pancakes.
6. Serve immediately, while still hot, and experience joy!

Recipe: Syrian Style Labneh (Spiced Yogurt Cheese) - Vegetarian

Syrian Style Labneh (Spiced Yogurt Cheese)

This recipe is adapted from Poopa Dweck's  cookbook, Aromas of Aleppo, The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews. I wrote more about that book in this post on Syrian Red Lentil Soup.

Labneh, aka Lebneh, is eaten all over the Middle East. The term can cover a wide range of yogurt-based products from very thick liquid all the way through to a firmly pressed fresh cheese. It is made by draining the liquid from plain yogurt through cheesecloth, and then optionally adding flavorings, and it is quite easy to do at home.

You'll get the best results if you start with a good yogurt, such as Fage or Greek Gods. I made this batch with full fat, but I think 2% will be fine too. If you try it with non-fat, let me know how it turns out.

Dweck flavors her version with cumin, dried mint and Aleppo Pepper. She doesn't specify, but I used spearmint and it worked really well. If you don't have the Aleppo Pepper, red chili flakes would be a decent substitute. Serve this with wedges of toasted pita bread and you've got a delicious snack.

You can easily vary the flavorings with other Middle Eastern herbs and spices, citrus zest, garlic and so on. If you feel compelled to make sun-dried tomato Thai Curry labneh, please, don't tell me!

By the way, if you like this post, please give it a Thumbs Up on Stumbleupon!

Syrian Style Labneh (Spiced Yogurt Cheese)
Vegetarian, not vegan

• 1 quart thick Greek-style yogurt or 1.5 quart thinner natural yogurt
• 1.5 t ground cumin
• 1.5 t. dried spearmint
• 1/2 t. Aleppo pepper or chili flakes
• 1.5 t. sea salt
• olive oil
• cheesecloth

1. Put a large colander in a bowl. Line the colander with a double layer of cheesecloth. Pour in the yogurt, and tie the cheesecloth into a ball. For bonus points, tie cheesecloth around a wooden spoon or something you can hang over the colander rim so it is suspended. That will help it drain faster, using its own weight.
2. Put the whole apparatus in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure there is enough room in the bowl to catch the liquid, we don't want a mess in your fridge.
3. Remove the yogurt from the cheesecloth into a clean bowl. It should be firm enough to form somewhat decent balls at this point. If not, drain it more. Mix in the cumin, spearmint, pepper and sea salt.
4. To serve, fill a shallow bowl with about 1/8" of olive oil. Grease your hands and form balls a bit smaller than a golf ball. Arrange in the dish, and garnish with roughly chopped parsley or cilantro.

Recipe: Syrian Vegetarian Red Lentil Soup (Shurbat Addes)

Syrian Red Lentil Soup (Shurbat Addes)

This recipe, and the next couple that I post, are adapted from Poopa Dweck's spectacular cookbook, Aromas of Aleppo, The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews.

Aleppo was home to a major Jewish population from the time of the Babylonian exile (600 BCE). They experienced golden ages under the Byzantines and Ottomans, and remained there until the horrendous pogroms of 1947. Their Aleppo Codex is the oldest surviving document of the Old Testament other than the Dead Sea Scrolls, and resides at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Much of the Aleppan community has resettled in New Jersey. Aleppan Jewish cuisine contains elements similar to those found in the other Sepharic cultures, with strong Middle Eastern and Levantine flavors.

I tend to favor cookbooks that have a particularly strong individual point of view, and Aromas has that in spades. Dweck's book reminds me of those wonderful church, mosque or synagogue cookbooks that every immigrant congregation seems to put together after the first generation is well established, to ensure that their kids can carry on the traditions. Only this one somehow got printed in a gorgeous coffee-table sized hardback with world class photography and an outstanding historical introduction. If you like to cook with Middle Eastern flavors, it deserves a proud place on your shelf.

This particular soup is awfully easy to do. Basically you  just boil red lentils until they puree themselves, add a seasoning sautee and a quick garnish. I prefer to make it a little bit thinner than Dweck's version, so that it serves as a relatively light first course, but it also works in a larger and thicker portion as the main dish of a simple meal.

Ingredient notes

Red lentils are available at any natural food or health food store; do not substitute brown/green/black/french lentils. Aleppo pepper is a red pepper that is specific to Syrian food, and is quite hard to find in the US. One source is ChefShop.com. Instead of the cumin and Aleppo pepper, another great garnish alternative is dukka, a spice blend from Egypt that is available from World Spice Merchants.

Syrian Red Lentil Soup (Shurbat Addes)
Vegetarian and Vegan
Yields 8 cups, enough for 8 appetizer servings or 4 main course servings

• 2 c. red lentils (see note above)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 t. coriander seed
• 1 T. kosher salt
• 2 T. olive oil
• Garnish: fresh cilantro, ground cumin, Aleppo pepper (see note above) or chili flakes, lemon wedges

1. Rinse the lentils, pick them over for stones or other miscellaneous material, and bring them to a boil with 2 quarts of water. Lower to a simmer. Stir occasionally to make sure they aren't sticking in a large lump on the bottom, otherwise they may scorch. Simmer for about 40 minutes, until they have dissolved into a puree.
2. While the lentils are cooking, grind the garlic, coriander seed and salt in a mortar and pestle or a small food processor into a coarse paste. Fry this paste in the olive oil for about 1 minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add to the soup and let simmer a bit longer.
3. Taste and adjust first for texture first (by adding water). I like it moderately thin, but thick is good too. Then add salt as needed to make it flavorful.
4. Serve in individual cups garnished with a sprig of cilantro and a pinch of the cumin and pepper, and a lemon wedge on the side.

Review 360 Roundup: Txori in Seattle (Belltown)

Marcona Almonds with Pimenton and Sea Salt

Welcome to the roundup of our inaugural Seattle Restaurant Review 360! If you missed it, the idea is that we invite all the bloggers in the city to visit the same restaurant whenever is convenient for them, and then publish a review on the same day. For this first event, the venue was Txori, a Basque-style pinxtos (tapas) joint in Belltown.

Kathy Casey of Dish D'Lish fame is so "in love with this romantic cuisine" that she was inspired to create her own (awesome sounding) sherry and vodka cocktail with a smoked paprika and sugar rim!  Very cool that she expanded the concept of a review to doing her own riffs on the flavors.

Tofu Hunter, like me, was looking for the vegetarian options, and enjoyed the cauliflower and the chickpeas with spinach. She really made me want to try the Cava Manzana Verde a sparkling wine and apple cocktail "made absolutely alluring with the inclusion of  arbequina olive oil." How good does that sound?

GatroGnome found "the meal, to me, fulfilled exactly what a tapas place is truly supposed to. We enjoyed a drink, we munched a little, we hung out". On her recommendation, next time I'm trying the Kalimoxto ("red wine and coke with a hint of orange.")

Hungry Girl dined solo and fell in love with the octopus. "One bite and I was in a whole different world. It wasn't just tender, it was juicy, like a piece of pork. And flavored with smoky paprika and spicy olive oil." If I ate tentacles I'd be right there.

SeaDevi of Capitol Hill Triangle experienced more of a mixed bag. She "loved the atmosphere, the space, the design and vibrancy of this place", but the "salt cod and the onion tart disappointed" her, and found "the drinks are not as affordable as the eats". 

Sig of Sig and Siv snuck over with some girlfriends awhile back, right after she came home from Spain, so she can "say without doubt that the taste was very authentic!" She has pictures of many of the dishes. Her favorite bite was the pera a la plancha con valdeón - a baguette slice with grilled pear, blue cheese and walnut, which I also enjoyed.

Dawn and Eric of Wright Eats had a completely different experience. On Monday nights, Txori has started hosting a family style dinner called Txoko ($45). In addition to a couple of pintxos, they had beet salad, fish soup ("salty"), a suckling pig ("delicious"), a cheese course, and dessert! They "like this type of communal dining event because it’s fun to meet like-minded people and swap Seattle dining tips."

And finally, from the vegetarian point of view, I was a huge fan of the bocadillo (little sandwich) of potato tortilla (Spanish omelette) on a Columbia City Baker roll, and the marcona almonds (pictured above). I really enjoyed the opportunity to taste lots of little bites of great food in an informal environment.

Thanks everyone who participated! I think we may have a couple late entries coming in, which I'll add above. If I missed anyone, please email me right away.

Questions to bloggers and readers both: Was this fun? Useful? DId you get different perspectives? Should we do it again? Any suggestions for the next venue?

Restaurant Review: Txori in Belltown, Seattle

This is my own entry in our first Seattle Restaurant Review 360. Here is the roundup of all the other participants.

When we first walked in Txori, Sarina said "no wonder you wanted to come here, this is (basically) the restaurant you want to run". She has a way of cutting to the chase like that.

Txori, pronounced CHO-ree, is on 2nd St. in Belltown, and is the younger sister of Chef Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez' Harvest Vine. Although Harvest Vine is a fairly expensive restaurant, it has always had an informal feel, especially at the counter. Last time I was there, Chef was handing out (incredible) raisins he had house-dried and sparking lively conversations between tables.

Jimenez cuts a noteable figure with his sizeable girth, handlebar mustache, and floppy Basque beret, and he has a way of keeping a room lively. When I was working at Cafe Flora, we were part of a multi-restaurant benefit for Bailey-Boushay house with him down at the waterfront. Seeing Jimenez clown around in the walk-in freezer with Chef Janine from Cafe Flora was priceless!

Anyhow, Txori enshrines the informality of Harvest Vine in a great little pinxtos bar, which gives you the opportunity to sample Jimenez' cuisine at a much lower price point, and without the commitment of a full meal. What are pinxtos? Simply the Basque word for tapas.

When you walk in to Txori, the entire small open kitchen is on your left, with a standing bar where you can hang your coat and have a nosh on the run. Your other options are a few high tables near the bar, or a few more in back where you can sit down for a more leisurely visit. The cooks are very much engaged with the customers, ready to discuss the dishes with you and your server.

Plates come in two sizes: pinxtos, which are just a couple of bites and range in price from $1.50 to $4.00, and raciones which are a bit larger and more expensive. There is a printed menu, and always several specials on the board as well.

From a vegetarian point of view, Txori has plenty of good options. The menu is heavy on ham and seafood of course, but there are always at least a half dozen choices for us herbivores, and the servers are happy to help figure them out.

On our first visit, I was excited to see the fried cauliflower on the chalkboard. I'd had that at Harvest Vine and was in love with it. Simply fried in olive oil until tender and brown, drizzled with more oil, and then prettily arranged back in the shape of the original head, it is much more delicious than I can explain.

Unfortunately, on this occasion, it didn't get enough sea salt before coming to the table. And it led to the only slightly uncomfortable moment we had. The dish is much too good to eat underseasoned, and there was no salt on the table. So I had to ask our server for some salt, who in turn asked the cook. And it was provided, but there was a vibe from the cook that he was none too happy. What can I say? I prefer that a restaurant provide a good salt on the table. Everyone's tastes vary, and in any case there is no doubt that this cauliflower needed some.

On that trip we also had a trio of marinated olives, and a little ramekin of melted tetilla cheese in tomato sauce, both of which were delicious with a glass of Basque wine. Other choices from the full bar include a house sangria, specialty cocktails, and espresso.

For my return visit, I again tried 3 dishes (all pictured above). The first was fried marcona almonds with smoky paprika (pimenton) and sea salt. A perfect salty bite with a drink. Next was a magnificent bocadillo (little sandwich) of Spanish tortilla (cold potato fritatta) on a small torpedo shaped roll from Columbia City, with a spicy aioli. It was so tender and tasty, just a total winner. My final pintxo was a tasty baguette slice with melted blue cheese, roasted pear, and walnuts. With an orange soda, the total came to just $15.

It gives me a lot of pleasure to see more places offering top-notch flavors and presentation outside of the confines of a traditional full-service and white tablecloths environment. Seattle is kind of a hotbed of these experiments right now: Sitka and Spruce, Cache, Art Of The Table, Quinn's, Skillet, Elemental, and One Pot, to name a few, are all pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a restaurant in America, 2008.

Txori is an excellent addition to that company. I love the ability to just drop in and have a few great bites, without breaking the bank or setting aside a whole evening. I'll be dropping by whenever I'm in Belltown.

Review: Noni's Kitchen

I've eaten at Noni's at least a dozen times over the past few years, and I can never get enough. Just take a look at the beautiful artichoke above. Simmered in lots lemon juice, it whets your appetite for the pastries to come.

These bolemas are the specialty de la casa. A lean dough is oiled, wrapped around a feta and spinach filling, topped with lots of romano and baked in the oven until crispy. In the back you can just see a bureka, filled with mashed potatoes and cheese. By request you can also have a pumpkin version, which is especially popular with children, just be sure and call ahead.

This egg-and-cheese dish is called quashado, though it is quite similar to fritatta. It is rich and deliciously filling. But you better save room for the rice pudding.

This stuff is creamy beyond belief. Made from short grain rice and stirred continuously, then chilled and topped with cinnamon, it leaves you weak in the knees.

Noni's Kitchen is one of these avant-garde places that runs with a single chef, who also runs food, clears the table, and brings you drinks. She has one (very friendly) assistant who makes market runs with her and helps wash spinach or trim the artichokes, but it is mainly a one woman show. You may think you are hearing Spanish being spoken, but it is actually Ladino - the language of the Sephardic Jews. Don't worry, if you don't understand, just smile and eat what is offered, I promise it will be good.

Now the bad news. I'm afraid you aren't likely to get a reservation here anytime soon.

Noni is my wife Sarina's grandmother, and this is the typical meal she makes on Saturday mornings after Papu gets back from shul. They are Sephardic Jews whose families come from Turkey and Greece, and they have kept up the traditions in a way that is remarkable so many decades removed from the old country.

Papu is a World War II veteran who has amazing stories to tell of the liberation of Dachhau and Noni raised her babies in Army apartments in Oklahoma, both a long way from Seattle where they grew up. I feel incredibly privileged to know them, and to learn a few tricks in the kitchen along the way too.