Vindu

A late September bounty for us Seattle denizens is the plenty of sunshine we got today. September had been unusually warm and we won’t complain.  The hubby and I, after a social engagement, went to Woodinville - yes the Wine country of Washington.  We decided to tour the Chateau Ste. Michelle (CSM). N joined the wineclub @ the Chateau while I clicked some shots.

Here goes.

The vineyards in the Columbia Valley region produce grapes for most CSM wines. The tour guide told a lot about the terrain, weather, soil, tophography et al, that basically make Columbia Valley a desirable region for wine making.

The Chateau is a beautiful vintage building in Woodinville, Washington. The sky was blue .. a very pretty photography blue.

Stored in Oak barrels that come from Fraawwce (France )

The Oak barrels, we were told, would be fire toasted(prior to storing the wine to age) to get the appropriate stain depending on the wine that would be stored.  For eg Red wine would be stored in a deeper toasted Oak barrels.    

The winemaker decided when to bottle the wine. Once bottled, it is ready to consume.  I couldn’t take any photographs of the CSM botting unit as it was down for maintenance.

On the premises were people out on a picnic, some pheasants and vines too. It was a very pleasant experience and now that we are club members I am sure we will frequent CSM very often. 

More about CSM here and here.  Do check it out if you are in the ‘hood.. their wine tour is free and you get to taste 3 complimentary wines

I always fantasized about a restaurant (and I am sure most of you too) that is a melting pot of all cuisines. One that has creative menus and artistic presentation (hell, I even have a secret blog with my own fancy menus). One that truly celebrates food. One that promotes cooking with consciousness. And if one is lucky one might actually chance upon a place that does all of this. Like Sutra.

I read about Sutra here and I knew the very instant I had to try it out almost immediately.  We set out that very weekend with a couple other friends.  The food- divine, experience- sublime, and the ambience- minimalistic yet charming - that is how I’d describe Sutra.  It was night then and I didn’t take any pictures at all.  The following weekend I arranged a meet-up with the owners and here we are.

Sutra

Started by two Seattle families, Sutra, a community dining restaurant, is esconced in the warm Wallingford neighborhood just couple of blocks from Wallingford center. It is a vegetarian joint that focuses on global cuisine.

What does “Sutra” mean?
According to Amber, Colin’s partner here is the story behind the name. Amber wanted to place to signify something quintessential..something that powers life.  Something that means a thread that weaves all things life together. As she was driving one day in a sudden moment of epiphany the name Sutra came about.

Colin - the incredibly talented cook, was gracious enough to allow me to step into his kitchen and take some of the following photos.  I met with the crew early in the day and he whipped up something quick - Black rice Risotti so I can click it.

The menu changes every other day!! Isn’t cool!  The night I had been there I tried the following (it was more than month.. so the names are a bit off..I did my best to remember)

• Lettuce cups - very delicate tasting totally out of the world.
• Artichoke hearts in a heirloom tomato sauce - the best artichokes i have ever had
• Soba noodles in a tamarind suace with wilted arugula and green beans - totally awesome
• Coconut chocolate truffle with a smidgeon of hawaiin salt - I have had better truffles.

All this for just $33.

The great taste from everything that is cooked by Colin comes from the ingredients.  The Sutra team works with a group of local farmers that deliver fresh, organic ingredients. Everyday!

What’s charming about Sutra is their outlook.  They maintain a little herb and vegetable garden in the back. They also have worm bins to generate compost/bio-fertilizer.  The wastes from Sutra’s kitchen end up in the worm bins and decomposed on site.

Everybody at Sutra makes a conscious effort to reduce their carbon footprint.  They even convinced their Coffee merchant to deliver fresh roasted coffee beans in glass jars …. by walk.  Cool, isn’t?

I haven’t been to a place that was more fulfulling than Sutra.  If you are in the ‘hood do give it a try.

Let’s get the party started! The season is finally here. Yippee yaayi yeee! NFL kickoff is on Sept 4th and I am super excited about the Colts! Go Peyton!!!!

Talking about football, there is a strip in Peanuts between Lucy and Charlie Brown. Lucy holds the football, egging Charlie Brown to kick it. Just when Charlie Brown is about to kick she takes the football off ground and good ol’ Charlie Brown falls on his head. For 50 years Schulz reproduced this strip and for 50 years Charlie Brown always falls on his head because Lucy after persuading him to kick has managed to ditch him!  I think Schulz totally rocks! *Sigh*

What else does one need - some comics, NFL and good food. Talking about food here goes one of my crazy creations.

Some heirloom tomatoes, radish and short grain brown rice .. we are all set!

–ingredients————————————–

• Brown rice - 1.5 cups
• Radish, cubed - 1 cup
• Tomatoes, cubed - 1/2 cup
• Onions, chopped fine - 1/2 cup
• Methi leaves - 8-10
• Curry leaves - 4
• Cilantro - 1 tbsp
• Truffle oil - 2 tsp (use any cooking oil)
• Cashews - 1/4 cup
• Green chillies (for some heat, optional) - 4
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Water 3 and 1/4 cups

–procedure————————————–

• Wash the rice and keep aside. 
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel big enough to hold rice and vegetables. Add cumin and toast for 4 secs. Then add cashews. After 5-10 secs add onions and ginger garlic paste.
• Add radish, green chillies, tomatoes, and cook until well done.
• Add rice, salt, cilantro, and mix well.
• Transfer to rice cooker, add water and cook for approximately 35-40 mins.
• Serve with sprouts and mixed greens.

Yum!!

-Mythili

Here is a nice, relaxing, cool drink for summer time.  I was researching about antioxidants the past few days and here is the net net: Tea is your best bet.  Green tea/white tea even better.  Berries are rich sources too but they are seasonal. Cocoa is good too(they say its the best).. but only if consumed dark to benefit from the antioxidants.  So going with the calorie vs. antioxidants ratio, tea is your best bet.

source: thenibble.com

–ingredients—————————————

• Orange Pekoe tea powder - 1 tsp
• Ginger - 1/2 tsp
• Cloves - 6 (adjust according to your palate)
• Honey - 1 tsp

–procedure—————————————-

1. Boil 1.5 cups of water in a kettle with the tea powder.
2. Place the cloves and ginger in a cup, pour the boiling water and cover the cup.
3. Let it steep for 3 mins and filter into a cup.
4. Mix in the honey and serve cold.

Tah Dah!

-Mythili

I like recipes that don’t involve grinding at all.  Its a mess to clean the blender and I am lazy. I totally dig those where I can do without using a blender/mixer. This recipe calls for onion paste and I totally omitted it.  I just used fine-cut, no-tear, easy-peezy onions. The newest addition to my kitchen - Kuhn Rikon Twist & Chop is totally awesome.  Easy to clean and easy to store!

Here you go - recipe for Dal Makhani : lentils cooked in buttered sauce. 

–ingredients————————————-

• Whole urad dal with skin - 1 cup [soaked overnight and boiled]
• Kidney beans - 1/2 cup [soaked overnight and boiled]
• Heavy cream - 2 tbsp
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Oil - 1-2 tbsp
• Onions very finely chopped - 1 cup
• Green chillies - 4
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Jeera - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp [adjust this to suit your palate]
• Coriander very finely chopped - 2 tbsp
• Fresh Mint - 4 leaves
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp [I go through the grinding ordeal once every 2 months]
• Fine chopped tomatoes - 1/2 cup
• Star Anise - 1/2
• Cinnamon - 1 inch stick

–procedure————————————–

1. Heat oil and add jeera, anise, cinnamon stick.  After 10 secs add curry leaves and hing. 
2. Add onions, ginger garlic paste, green chillies and tomatoes.  Cook until well done.. in fact they should form a paste (with tomatoes’ juices)
3. Now add the lentils (soaked and boiled blackgram/urad and kidney beans/rajma ) along with 1 cup of water.
4. After 2 mins, add mint, turmeric, red chill powder and garam masala powder. Stir well.
5. After another 5 mins, add heavy cream and stir well.
6. Cook on low heat for 10 mins.
7. Finally add butter and coriander leaves; simmer for another 5 mins and turn off the heat.
8. Serve hot with bread or cooked brown rice.

-Mythili