Eat

Crown Hill's Thai Siam served more than 150 meals to people in need Feb. 23 at Seattle's Union Gospel Mission.

"At this time, and at other times when the economy is not so good, people need some help," said Nancy Bhokayasupatt, owner of Thai Siam.

It was the second time Thai Siam, located at 8305 15th Ave. N.W., has served food at the mission. The menu was rice, vegetables with peanut sauce and chick en with plum sauce.

"(Having Thai Siam come) was a blessing," said Ryan, a member of the mission's recovery program. "It touches my heart to have people from the community give their time and do something. It shows that they care and it's a reason for me to not give up."

Bhokayasupatt said Thai Siam has been serving food to those in need on the streets for about 20 years. But, they recently started serving inside Seattle's Union Gospel Mission because the mission treats people with dignity and serving food on the street could be a mess, she said.

The mission is only one of a number of beneficiaries of Thai Siam's annual fundraising efforts, said Sharon Thomas-Hearns, public relations manager for the mission.

Just five and a half months after the former Phoenecia at Alki Restaurant closed its doors due to the death of its owner, Seattle icon Hussein Khazaal, it rises again with a grand opening Friday night, Jan. 29, 5pm-11pm. The location is the same, 2716 Alki Avenue SW, but the interior’s carpeting and white tablecloths have been removed to expose the unpolished, retro cement floor and heavily laminated wooden tabletops. Bar seating has also been added. The prices are generally lower, and some of the old dishes will remain, though tweaked slightly.

“We couldn’t even walk inside the restaurant for a month after my father died,” said Hussein’s son, William, 35. His Lebanese-born father died Aug. 7 in his sleep in his West Seattle home. He was 63. Hussein left behind William, Sonya, Nadia, four grandchildren, and his wife of 40 years, Inaam. She is the owner of the new restaurant, simply called Phoenecia.

After numerous delays, the QFC on the ground floor of the Ballard on the Park development could open as soon as Jan. 13.

That is the opening day the store is shooting for, said Kristin Maas, QFC director of public affairs.

QFC moved into the space on 24th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 58th Street in June and hoped to have the store completed by Thanksgiving, according to a June press release from QFC.

The store is finally taking shape, with shelves, lighting, signage and more falling into place.

The new QFC will be 40,000 square feet with underground parking for 411 vehicles, replacing the 23,000 square foot store at the same location that closed in December 2007.

Ballard on the Park, the 268-unit apartment development under construction above the new QFC, also suffered delays. A sign outside the project states an opening date of September 2009.

Visit www.BallardNewsTribune.com on Jan. 11 for a sneak-peek at the new QFC before it opens.

Hattie's Hat
5231 Ballard Ave. N.W.
784-0175
Mon - Fri 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.
Sat and Sun 9 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Over the years, we've walked through the door into Ballard Avenue's Hattie's Hat many times, always leaving with a smile and a commitment to return. Time and time again, when we're completely uninspired by the thought of other places, we turn to Hattie's.

Nothing much changes at Hattie's, and although it's under (slightly) new management now, the friendly old dive bar feel remains. The famous back bar, carved in Europe and shipped around the horn at the turn of the century, still looms as magnificently as ever, framing consistently friendly and skilled bartenders who can make a drink, spin a yarn, or just leave you alone if need be.

In the old days, before the mid-1990's ownership change, Hattie's could be a scary place. The kitchen was even more frightening, and we never imagined eating there in our wildest dreams.

Cucumbers and zucchini have started showing up in the most unusual places. There is a big pile in the break room at work with a sign pleading, “Take some, please.”

The other day, a pile appeared next to my neighbor’s mailbox. Last night when I got home, I found three anonymous zucchini on the front porch—sort of like finding an abandoned baby on the doorstep.

So how can you take advantage of these abundant late summer vegetables?

Since local lettuce is past its prime, try cucumbers and zucchini in salads made for hot days. Greek salads are usually high in salt—something we all need to avoid—due to olives and feta cheese. So keep the inspiration but vary the ingredients for a healthy alternative.

A good goal is to aim for less than 2,000 milligrams of sodium (salt) per day.

Try this recipe for a low-salt, cooling cucumber or zucchini salad. Then prolong the flavor of summer well into the dark months of winter with easy, salt-free pickles.

Cool Cucumber Salad

1-2 cucumbers or zucchini (about 3 cups), peeled
2 medium, firm tomatoes or 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup low fat yogurt

A crowd in excess of 200 filled the Masonic Hall on Sunday, Oct. 11 to enjoy local food, all of which was prepared and supplied by well known chefs and cooks from West Seattle and the Northwest at Eat Local Now.

This, the sixth annual staging of the event, saw local exhibitors, and heard speakers all focused on the ideas of sustainability and eating locally grown food.

The menu included salmon and catfish sushi rolls prepared by Chef Hajime Sato of Mashiko's Sushi Bar, roasted winter squash and carrot soup from Spud.com prepared by Chef Bill Taylor of Talaris Conference Center, several salads and miso-glazed salmon from Chef Dalis Chea of Fresh Bistro Cafe.

Several other main courses and dessert were served including chocolate bread pudding with mint creme by Chef Toby Matasar of Eats Market Cafe.

Speakers at the event included Hajime Sato, talking about sustainable sushi, John Garfunkel for Global Source Network and Betsey Wittick of Bainbridge Island Vineyards who explored "Bridging Classrooms and Communities through food, farming, culture and education."

Three Girls Bakery
6209 15th Ave. N.W.
420-7613 
Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday - Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Closed Wednesdays

We've heard of farmhouse breakfasts -- stoking the farmhands for a day of hard work on the farms, with their hands. At Three Girls Bakery, they serve farmhouse sandwiches.

Long a fixture in Pike Place Market (since 1917) the historic establishment has opened a Ballard location, baking the bread for the market store and serving the denizens of Northwest Seattle at the same time.

The cute storefront on 15th Avenue Northwest, complete with curtains in the windows, looks homey and inviting. This is one of two companion brick buildings on 15th that still look like the old days, housing businesses downstairs and apartments upstairs. Appropriate for Three Girls, since it's an old fashioned kind of place.

When we first came to Seattle from a small town deep in the Oregon hills, the original Three Girls Bakery beckoned to us from its Pike Place Market Corner. Hearty sandwiches, substantial soups, real bagels and a counter to believe in called us. We had never seen cheese Danishes like this before.

School cafeteria lunches can be full of salt, fat and concentrated sugars, none of which are good for kids.

Many school lunches have more than 2,000 milligrams of sodium (salt)—more than a whole day’s suggested intake for an adult—in just one child-sized meal.

We know one in seven children is salt-sensitive. That means, if they eat a high-salt diet for several years, they will develop high blood pressure and all the diseases that come along with it. So, how can you prevent future health problems and be sure your children get the best nutrition when they are away from home?

Pack school lunches with your family. This will teach all of you a lot about good nutrition.

Pick a quiet time to sit down with your children and make a list of foods they like and will eat. Children are much more likely to eat foods that they have helped pick out, so take them shopping with you.

Focus on good nutrition as a goal for their meals. Just like doing homework is important, so is eating right.

Here are some ideas to get you started. Remember, lunch doesn’t always have to mean a sandwich.

The chefs and local food producers take center stage at the Sixth Annual Eat Local Now! fundraising dinner on Sunday, Oct. 11 from 5 to 10 p.m. at the West Seattle Masonic Lodge, located at 4736 40th Ave. S.W.

The featured chefs include many West Seattle favorites, including:

Toby Matasar - Eats Market Cafe
Tony Kurzinski - Feedback Lounge
Dalis Chea - Fresh Bistro
Hajime Sato – Mashiko
Nance Tourigny - Personal Chef and Cooking Instructor
Bill Taylor - Talaris Conference Center
Maria Gonzalez
Brad Glaberson

"I'm preparing one of the courses from local farmers and producers," Tourigny said. "I'm preparing it for 220 people showing up for Sunday's dinner. I think it's really important to support these people. What they are producing is so incredible. It's a real treat to be able to play with all this food."
Bill Taylor added,"I'm tremendously supportive of locally produced food. I love West Seattle."

It isn’t everyday that I go looking in my yard for salad additions, but I did that just the other day, and if my neighbors saw how excited I was to find a lowly dandelion in my yard I might be drummed out of the neighborhood.

You see, a class I took this weekend through the Women of Wisdom Foundation here in Seattle opened my eyes and tastebuds to edible possibilities I have previously overlooked.

Jennifer Sundstrom, our teacher for the class, lists the title of Ethical Sustainable Wildcrafter on her business card. But there’s nothing stuffy about Jennifer in person. She’s smart and knowledgeable about herbs (some of them are also known as WEEDS) and delights in sharing her knowledge.

Did you know that rosemary is a part of the mint family? I didn’t. And that if you take just a tiny taste and chew it between your teeth you can feel that mintiness.

Perhaps you’ve seen plantain in your yard? Or, god forbid, dandelions? They’re edible, and not just edible, good for you. (Caveat: You do need to know for sure what you are picking before you eat it. There is a false dandelion, for example.)