I love breakfast. No doubt about that. If I’m feeling especially indulgent, I’ll whip up some pancakes (or waffles, if I’ve planned *really* far ahead.) What better way to start off 2010 than with a batch of banana pancakes topped with fresh (and local!) whipped cream, and drizzled with lavendar honey?
I had a quick lunch at the recently-opened Westside Local in the residential neighborhood of Kansas City’s westside district, adjacent to downtown and the crossroads. Great little neighborhood with always-interesting goings on. I was treated to lunch (and more importantly, dessert) as a belated birthday celebration. My friend and I squabbled a teensy bit over which dessert to order, but in the end, I won on grounds of it being MY birthday. And I gotta say, it’s a good thing.
The mojito tart—quite literally—made my mouth water after the smallest of bites. The fresh, bright lime flavors gave way to a subtle (yet sublime) mint finish. The blueberry mint sauce was a lovely color addition, though I thought too scarce to play a substantial role in the devouring of said slice of heaven was plated before me.
Energy bars have become a kind of necessary evil in my diet, periodically being too busy to eat a real meal. Biting into some unrecognizable, homogenized mass with a texture somewhere between worn out tires and a sweetened tar pit usually leaves me pondering how I might be able to improve upon the bars.
To kick off a weekend of birthday festivities, I rounded up a bunch of friends for mediterranean tapas at Michael Smith’s Extra Virgin, located in Kansas City’s Crossroads district. {tapas: small Spanish savory dishes, typically served with drinks.}
My two favorites from the many tried:
Sautéed tiger shrimp - summer peaches & celery
Baked pasta formaggi - mozzarella, pancetta & herbs
I washed it down with a basil-honey mojito (Mmm!) while my friends made friends with pitchers of Sangria. (Beware: the $36 pitchers of Sangria are not on special during happy hour!)
While in San Franciso visiting friends, I was introduced to a little place in the Richmond district. Burma Superstar (great name) had a fabulous menu. Family-style dining, so bring your appetite. My most memorable on the menu is probably their tea-leaf salad.
Salad prepared with imported Burmese tea leaves, tomatoes, lettuce, dried shrimp (or vegetarian), fried garlic, sesame seeds, peanuts, and split yellow peas.
The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.
I went through a cheesecake phase about ten years ago, due largely to a friend who liked ‘em. It’s been a while since I unwrapped the dump truck of cream cheese for a recipe, so I suppose I’m overdue. (Continued)
I stopped in at one of my favorite little Kansas City lunch spots, You Say Tomato, and got into a little conversation with one of the prep guys. He was really excited about the onion he sliced up that day. It smiled at him.
The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.
First, let me say I took one look at the recipe and found myself curled up in a ball, sucking my thumb. (Continued)
The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.
I’d never made a flourless chocolate cake before…I was admittedly a teeny bit nervous. I’ve made frozen custard a bunch of times, so I thought I’d try a little something different; chai ice cream. (Continued)