A Moment of Remembrance for One Who Inspired so Many

The Seattle food and literary community lost a bright star when Kim Ricketts, founder of Kim Ricketts Book Events, passed away earlier this week. Her true love of books brought people together, and her events created genuine human connections between writers and readers. Cookbooks were brought to life when dishes went from page to platter at dinners where the authoring chefs could present their meals to intimate crowds and people could enjoy food the way they were meant to be -- shared and celebrated by many.

When you share a book, you share your heart - thank you, Kim.

I had the pleasure of meeting Kim a few times and she was, and will forever remain, a charming and kind soul. You never doubted her enthusiasm for art, culture and the need to preserve intelligent, creative forms of expression. Words of encouragement were given generously, as was her time for community events and charitable causes. While many hearts are weighted with sadness, her legacy of humanity and the tenacious pursuit of reminding people of the importance of books will lift those heavy hearts in time.

May Kim Ricketts' incredible love of family and friends inspire your own heart to love with abandon, embrace each day with purpose and most of all, take a book you love and share it with someone, continuing that profound connection between books and people.

If you wish to make a donation in Kim's honor, please go to the Kim Ricketts Book Events website for more information.

Mixed Plate: Ham, Eggs, Tulips and Not Paying Retail

Easter weekend came and went, which had me thinking about favorite things about the holiday -- the childhood joy of coloring eggs and the resulting Technicolor Dreamcoat-hued egg salad that completely skeeved me out, the giant chocolate bunnies I'd receive from family or friends and the savage joy of biting off those ears first. Everyone knows it's the part that tastes best. Even the annual eating of Peeps -- well, more like one Peep. I'd wind up with a package, thinking this will be the year I develop an appreciation for those marshmallow sugar-coated little cuties. I take a bite, it feels like you're eating packing material dipped in sand, and I throw the rest away, completely disgusted with myself for being an idiot to think this year would be any different. The old traditions have gone by the wayside in lieu of new ones, namely hitting the casino for brunch and browsing the outlet malls. What would Jesus do? Apparently, not pay retail.

The Easter miracle - tulips before retail - Photo by Wasabi Prime

The Prime didn't totally make a mockery of the Easter holiday -- well, just a half-mockery -- as I managed to fit in a visit to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Quite honestly, it's one of the most stunning things you'll ever see, driving up north towards Everett and being suddenly inundated with fields of solid color. It's literally like a rainbow punched you in the face. Rows and rows of bright yellow daffodils, alternating rows of tulips in warm orange, reds and pinks; it's a beautiful sight, even on the grey, blustery Easter Sunday I was in the neighborhood.

Tiptoeing and trespassing through the tulips - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I didn't have my big camera with me because the original intent of the trip was a heathen-filled day of casino buffet-eating and outlet mall shopping, but an Easter miracle allowed my dinky phone camera to take photos of the tulip fields that didn't look like total garbage. If confession is good for the soul, I should be totally up front in that the only reason we wound up in beautiful fields of flowers on the Lord's Day was the shops weren't open yet and we had a couple of hours to kill. Along with trespassing in a daffodil field clearly marked NO TRESPASSING and taking photos, my partners in crime and I managed to escape the incoming rain as we tiptoed through the tulips at a garden that actually invited visitors to tromp through their fields. Somebody up there liked us and approved of our retail pre-func with the flowers.

So that's what happened to ABBA - Photos by Wasabi Prime

You'll discover tulips you never knew existed, in rare colors, shapes and sizes, and you'll likely make it a point to visit the area every year. While this April was unusually cold and not as many fields were ablaze with blooms, it was still a thing of beauty. My friend Stacie, aka, SJBe, was sweet to get me a bouquet of favorite tulips to bring home as a souvenir, which I must say, tulips and bulbs in general are the best blooms for lazy folks like myself. They're hearty, they last longer than most flowers, and the just scream springtime cheerfulness. The colorful romp in the garden fueled us with energy to battle the crowds at the outlet mall, which if there was a soundtrack for the day, we'd have had Tiny Tim's quirky "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" for the first part and GNR's "Welcome to the Jungle" for the outlet malls. You know where you are? You're in the jungle bably, you're gonna diiiiiiiiiiiiiiie. So sayeth the wisdom of Axl Rose.

Can you find the Easter eggs? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

After a long day of weathering the retail masses and not even having the satisfaction of finding anything worth buying beyond a cup of coffee, I peaced-out Easter Sunday with Brinner (breakfast for dinner). I bought a ham for no other reason than it was 99 cents a pound and I could freeze the meat and save the bone for split pea soup. Day of rest, remember? The feast of Easter Brinner was composed of poached eggs over a hash of ham and sweet potatoes, using a method of poaching eggs that I was happy to discover via Bon Appetit magazine. They had a quickie microwave trick, cracking an egg into a cup of water, enough to cover the top of the egg, and giving the egg-water mix a spin in the microwave for a minute, with a saucer placed over the top, presumably to focus the heat and make for an especially clattering ruckus should the egg explode. Luckily, there was no eggs-plosion (har har), but I admit, I over-microwaved the egg, resulting in more of a soft-boiled stage than truly poached. The method is sound, I just need to fuss with the timing on my microwave a little, but I was pleased to find such an easy shortcut method for preparing eggs in my favorite way. I have a lot more leftover ham to perfect the nuke-time on my microwave, so despite Easter having hopped along like Peter Cottontail, the joy of eggs will remain.

Mixed Plate: It's a Wasabi-Holiday

While I'm loath to announce such a thing (it's not even on my Facebook page!), yes indeed, it is my birthday today. April 25th-a-roo, and not only is it happening on Easter Monday, I'm taking the opportunity to give myself the greatest gift of all. No, not love. Not even a fur coat. I'm not posting anything beyond this old photo. That is, in fact me, age 1, in our old backyard in Torrance, California, wearing a ridiculous Easter bonnet, my dad withholding a tantalizing basket of easily breakable eggs, with my mother likely feeling tired and worn out, taking the photo. The picture is a little shopworn and old, but then again... so am I. Happy Birthday, Wasabi.

Crack the egg... release the Wasabi... enjoy - Photo by Wasabi Mom

FoodTrek: Hangover, Minus the Tiger and Mike Tyson

Beneath that organic, soy-latte, wheat germ exterior hides a Junk Food Maniac. Consider it the culinary equivalent of Jekyll and Hyde. When good nutritional choices start to repress one's need to get their grub on, you'll likely start dreaming of cheese fries or begin to resemble Spencer Tracy or Frederic March. (For the movie nerd record, my preference goes with Frederic March) To keep myself from becoming the Comfort Food Creature from Within, I indulged in a day at Munchbar, quickly followed by a massive food coma and wearing of stretchy-pants. Sleeeeeeeeeeep....

Hangovers never tasted so good - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I don't care what anyone says -- no one can eat like a nutritional saint all the time. We give ourselves vacations in life, so why not have a meal vacation? I met up with my food friend Ms. Radish and Rose to share in a feast of earthly delights in Bellevue, to check out the restaurant Munchbar, which opened earlier this year. I know on the weekends it gets to be a big, glitzy hangout for people way cooler than me (I'm usually in my jammies watching Netflix by 9pm -- partytime!!), but during the week, Munchbar is like any other spot to grab lunch or wait out traffic with some tasty snacks during happy hour. Their menu is full of familiar comfort foods like burgers and sandwiches, with the same items available from day to night. Upon first impression, it's a very dude-friendly place -- meaty burgers and good salty fare that goes really nicely with a beer. And Munchbar has a decent beer menu as well. They have happy hour specials and midweek specials touting PBRs for under a dollar, but put your Big Boy Beer Pants on, forego the cheap stuff  and order something really good from one of the regional breweries, which includes Black Raven, Two Beers Brewing Company, Fremont Brewing Company, Georgetown, Lazyboy or Iron Horse. You can get them in Imperial 20 oz pours or full pitchers, so why not settle in for a bit with your favorite fellas and have a nosh or three?

Must... stop... eating...but, what's this? Dessert...? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Neither Ms. Radish nor I are dudes, but we sure ate like 'em, trying all these fella-friendly dishes like their Munchburger or their South of the Border burger, a big bucket of sweet potato fries, and their best-titled item, The Best Hangover Pizza. Which truly is the best way to enjoy a hangover -- lots of bacon, and on a crust of flaky puff pastry. It's a total whammy of a breakfast pizza, using puff pastry as the crust, sprinkled with cheese, eggs, bacon and a fried egg as a finishing garnish. It's the chimera of bleary-eyed college morning-afters, where you're either eating leftover pizza or heading out for a greasy spoon diner breakfast. I can say with all honesty, this pizza is the only time I can say I crave a hangover and mean it. I tried their ahi tuna tartare, and while I liked the big chunks of tuna over the creamy salad stacked below, I thought the little fried rice cakes served alongside were a fun way to present sort of a deconstructed sushi. The crisp of the rice cakes were nice to eat separately with the tuna. Usually most places serve their tartare with fried taro or wonton chips, so this was a pleasant twist. My other notable favorite were their Sloppy Jack Sliders. I know everyone's on the mini burger/slider craze, but I don't care if they call them a ball of twine, I'll still eat these particular ones, as I was surprised how smoky the pulled pork was. The sauce didn't taste like candy-sweet barbecue either, which I liked. The addition of fried onions, which they seem to add in most of their burgers, was best suited for these, as the contrast of crunchy to soft texture was really nice. It comes two per order, as it's one of the smaller plates, but it's just right because they always include a cute little silver bucket of fries with every sandwich or burger, plus an even cuter individual squeeze bottle of ketchup. Of course I'm a sucker for cute and mini-everything, but the sliders were my favorite in terms of just-right size and lots of flavor. I think my next visit is going to include this, plus a big frosty beer.

Mini-Me heaven with little sandwiches and little open flames! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I know what you're saying: "Thanks, Wasabi -- now my boyfriend/husband/dude companion is going to run off and eat with guilty pleasure without me!"  Fear not, ladies, Munchbar has one of the most fun to share desserts this side of Valentine's Day. They've got ones that fall in line with their comfort food theme, like a new peanut butter and jelly bread pudding -- super rich, by the way -- but their Tabletop S'mores has it all in terms of universal appeal: creamy rich chocolate... and the ability to set stuff on fire. Ladies love the sweets, but the fellas can appreciate a hint of danger and open flame. It's quite a sight to see when they bring this dessert out. It's a big platter of all the s'mores materials -- graham crackers, marshmallows, a rich chocolate sauce from Theo's and a cold dollop of rocky road ice cream -- and then straight out of the Temple of Doom comes this little iron stovetop that's placed atop the table, hot enough to adequately toast marshmallows and totally light them on fire. It totally feels like you're camping, as you're chatting away, waiting for your marshmallow to get just toasted and then before you know it -- surprise, you're on fire. Dinner and a show!

Much Wasabi thanks to Munchbar for putting me into a food coma that nearly sent me into the Buck Rogers world of the 25th century. Maybe by then, I could pull off a silver jumpsuit look.

UnRecipe: Chicken Soup for a Hot Mess of a Soul

It happens. You're doing a million and one things, going at a million and two miles and hour, not enough sleep and the only fluid intake is coffee. Getting one's health on? EPIC FAIL. So inevitably, you start feeling run-down and the flu comes in to "sweep the leg," amping the productivity of snot rockets to Eleven. What else can you do, but go into Sick Food Mode.

Dr. Indy says: I  prescribe lots of rest and snuggling the dog in between naps - Photo by Wasabi Prime

This was actually a while back when I got sick, it's just taken me this-freakin'-long to post about it. I had been traveling, sharing many germs with many strangers on a long flight, so it was no surprise when I developed a cough and head to toe body aches that endured for over a week and a half. Despite the nasty punishment of a cold, I sometimes wonder if it's also karma's way of intentionally putting up barriers to keep you from running yourself completely into the ground. I managed to catch up on movies and totally throw Mr. Wasabi's Netflix recommendation list into an estrogen-fueled calamity with selections that included Bright Star, Young Victoria and The Duchess. Mwah-hah-haaaaaaaah!

It's interesting to see what you end up craving when you're not feeling well. Aside from massive amounts of hot lemon ginger tea, the main thing I was craving was food that didn't require a lot of effort to prepare. I had the odd hankering for something sweet, so I took to eating an entire freaking bag of Kamuela Gourmet granola, which was full of big chunks of oats, nuts and seeds, sprinkled heavily with cinnamon, mixed in with plain yogurt. I wish I had a website to order more of this granola, as it was addictively good -- it was one of the things I brought back from Hawaii. Strangely, the bag had no website! I also had a bag of passionfruit or lilikoi shortbread from my absolute favorite cookie company, Kelly Boy's. Another small, local company who makes great product and frustratingly has no website, but if you're in Hawaii and are in a Longs Drugs store, they usually sell it there. My favorite is the Peanut Braddah cookies, which are peanut butter cookies so massive, it's literally a handprint on it to give it that crosshatch design. Kelly Boy's cookies are super crumbly and rarely survive the trip home intact, so you always wind up with almost a cup's worth of crumbs, which are just as tasty sprinkled on plain yogurt or ice cream. I never let one bit of those cookies go to waste when I have them!

Best food to enjoy while sick -- no preparation, plenty of flavor! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Generally when people feel under the weather, the go-to food is chicken soup. When I started feeling well enough to putter around the kitchen, I had the basics to make a simple soup -- chicken broth, chicken breasts, carrots, onion, peas and sweet potatoes -- but I wanted something heartier. I had it in my NyQuil-addled brain to make sort of a shepherd's pie version of a chicken stew, topping it with thin slices of the sweet potato, versus the traditional mashed potatoes. At the time, the dish had sensible potential, and despite my adherence to the cold medication's warning not to operate heavy machinery, they should probably include a suggestion not to come up with wacky meal ideas. Not that the resulting dish was bad, by any means. I made a basic chicken and vegetable stew, cooking everything in a pot, but I think I added too much chicken broth towards the end, assuming the oven would just magically "make up the difference" somehow, reducing it to a thick gravy. I poured the runny stew into a casserole dish, covered it with seasoned slices of sweet potato, and into the oven it went to bake off. When the potato slice topping was cooked and crisped, I tried using a spatula to cut out a portion of the casserole, but I had to switch to a ladle, as it was essentially a baked stew. I poured it into a bowl and ate it with a spoon, and to be perfectly honest, it hit the spot. Heartier than a soup, but something you could savor with a spoon. Make all the comments you want, comparing it to the annoyingly-named "stoup" that Rachael Ray calls her soup/stew concoctions, but I have to say, this chicken soup for my hot mess of a soul was delicious, and by the time all the leftovers were gone, I was feeling better enough to get back to my workaholic ways. Winner!

Chicken soupy-stew for the sickened soul  - Photos by Wasabi Prime

FoodTrek: It's Saturday Night and I'm A-Feelin' All Right at the Caaaaask Fes-ti-val!

Do you like my theme song for the Cask Festival? Catchy, no? The gloomy skies and wacky winter-esque weather didn't dampen spirits for this year's Washington Beer Cask Festival, organized by the Washington Beer Commission. It's an annual festival to bring together the local breweries who put on their Mad Beer Scientist hats, brewed up one-of-a-kind small batches of cask conditioned beers, and unleash it on a very willing, able and thirsty crowd of Seattle beer nerds. Ready... steady... Cask On!

Shiny tokens in exchange for tasty beer - fair bargain, no? - Photo by Wasabi Prime

There's a great deal of detailed knowledge about the brewing of cask conditioned beers, also known as "real ale," which I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of because there's more accurate and detailed resources out there and mathy equations about alcohol percentages is not fun reading when you're goofing off on your lunch break, reading a blog about getting your drank on. The process of making beer is several steps of flavor enhancements and allowing time to develop those ingredients into something really complex. That could be said for all fermented drinks, but it's a time honored tradition of drilling in the lesson that patience is a virtue. Cask conditioned beers aren't necessarily aged longer, it just uses methods of fermentation that continues to keep the yeast active and allowing flavors to strengthen as the beer ages. At the end of the day, what does this mean for the beer? It's like a flavor punch right in your face. But a good punch, the kind you pay saucy ladies in thigh-high boots to serve up after a stressful day. Woo-woo!

Imagine this crowd of early entrance folks times twenty, and that's Cask Fest - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I rarely go out on a Saturday night, so this was a rare treat to put my beer goggles on with some brewing friends and meet up with some travel friends, like the Team Travellious Dynamic Duo of Kelly and Austin, who are the roaming rebels behind the travel blog, Travellious.com whose HQ is Seattle, but one could say their playground is the world at large. They're a great resource not only for places to visit, but they road test travel gear and things you never would think you'd need on a trip until -- doh -- you need it.

While I'm no great world traveler, I do navigate the local landscape of beer festivals regularly. Attending the Seattle Cask Festival is one of those events where the saying is true: dude, you just had to be there. I mean that literally. These beers aren't built to go on long hauls to festivals across the country and are produced in very small batches -- as in some casks were out by 3pm, so the folks in the later session were plum outta luck. If you happen to be visiting Seattle in April or live in the area, here are some quick tips that will make your Cask Beer experience pleasantly buzzy: buy your tickets early, and go for the earlier session if you're afraid of some beers running out before the evening session. That's probably the most important thing, because every year it sells out. You can hope that a handful of tickets become available a few days before the event and jump in at the last second, but it's a gamble. The tickets are more pricey than the typical beer events because the location at Seattle Center in the Fisher Pavillion is small, and despite the two sessions, it's a one-day beer soiree, the beers are made exclusively for this event, and they give you a ridiculous amount of tokens that your liver could never hope to churn through in the span of three hours. Another tip: be patient, grasshopper. And be friendly. It's going to be a long line to get everyone ID-ed and checked in and there's going to be lines for all the tastings (short ones, don't worry). And there's going to be a good bit of standing around because seating is limited, although it's easier to gather in small groups that slowly migrate around the tasting floor. Given the strength of some of the beers and the ease of rapid-fire sampling, the Tipsy Meter teeters towards Crunked by the second hour; you'll get bumped and nudged as the crowd hits maximum capacity. Don't take it personally, just have another beer because in an hour, you likely won't remember the dude who stole a pretzel from your pretzel necklace.

Here a cask, there a cask, everywhere a tasty beer cask - Photos by Wasabi Prime

But what about the beer that's a delightful punch in the face? While I'm sorry to say you can't buy these in your average grocery store, I did specifically suss out beers that were awash in superflavor. One of the first ones I had was by Airways Brewing, a new brewery in Kent, who made a Nonstop to Maui Dry Stout, made with chocolate, coconut and oak chips soaked in Maui rum -- WHAM, coconut flavor punch! Thank you, ma'am, may I have another? A coconut beer that had a lighter taste of the islands was Schooner Exact's Coconut Porter, still with a coconut flavor but less heavy. I tried Diamond Knot Brewing's Apple Cinnamon ESB which could best be described as cinnamon toast that will get you tipsy. The rich vanilla/bourbon flavors were popular as well -- Elliot Bay Brewing had an Organic Vanilla-n-Nibs Stout and Fremont Brewing had a Totonac BBomb Bourbon Barrel-aged Dark Ale. To round out this somewhat dessert-themed batch of tastings was American Brewing Company's Chocolate Mint Porter, a beer that wasn't listed on the pamphlet, but was a nicely balanced smoky chocolate with the mint to round everything out. I wish I could say I drank even more than that, but my own tipsy meter was waving the white flag, so I had to scale back to ensure my return home in one Wasabi piece. I will say this -- public transportation is your friend. It delivered me safe, sound and sober to my car, nestled in Bellevue, but not before a run to the lobster-macaroni-and-cheese-border for a late night dinner at Purple Cafe.

Just another bung-pounding Saturday night in Seattle - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I look forward to the next beer festival where we can all gather, get hopped up on hops, and maybe... just maybe... see the sun come out. Is that jinxing it? Bah. Blame me for crap weather in a few months when the Washington Brewer's Festival, aka Father's Day Beer Fest, happens on June 17-19th at St. Edwards State Park in Kenmore.

OMG a Recipe: Nobody Puts Baby Cannelloni in the Corner

Ladies, you know what I'm talking about -- the dreamy tale of the rugged but sensitive dance instructor who taught you about life, love and having the time of your life, sweeping you off your feet to show that Baby Houseman ain't no baby no more, and showing the world that you can work it on the dance floor like you're all grown's up. What does this have to do with a baked pasta dish? Ab-so-lute-ly nothing. Other than to say that there was pasta and there was a baby involved in this story. So let's get down to business. And remember, no spaghetti arms.

Fine, so it's not really cannelloni, but it's way easy and plenty delicious - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Quite frankly, it's babymania in the world of Wasabi Prime, and no, I'm not preggo with eggo, but I should join the frequent shopper club at Babies R' Us. I visited some recently-baby-ified friends who now have an adorable little girl. The new parents are beaming with joy, pride and the aura of fresh baby spitup. While I have zero expertise with babies, I do understand that schedules get topsy-turvy and the simplest things like sitting down for a meal can be tricky, so I headed over one afternoon with lunch and a spare meal in-hand to save in the freezer for an emergency meal. I chose a baked pasta dish because it's easy to undercook the pasta to keep it from getting too soft, have the whole dish covered in a sauce to keep things moist, and it all freezes pretty well for easy defrost and baking at a later date. It's a one-dish meal that doesn't really require a lot of extra prep. It's good with a salad, but if there's no time for that, it's perfectly fine on its own.

Pasta rolls, quick prep for an easy meal and I discover why we have mac n' cheese - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I made a double batch of Pumpkin Ricotta "Rolls" which are sort of like the cheater's cannelloni. I had some roasted pumpkin in the freezer which I defrosted and mixed with a filling that included ricotta, chopped mushrooms, onions and garlic, among other spices. This is a vegetarian dish, but you can really fill it with anything, as long as you keep the ricotta in as sort of the glue for the filling. I used whole wheat lasagne noodles, but you can of course use regular ones. If you make this, be aware there will likely be leftover noodles and sauce, but there's a quick fix for that, as I'm pretty sure I discovered how macaroni and cheese was created. I had a bowl full of already-cooked noodles which never keeps well, and some leftover bechamel sauce. I chopped up the noodles into bite sized pieces, tossed with the leftover sauce and placed into a baking dish. Sprinkle of cheese and breadcrumbs and a quick trip in a heated oven and shazam -- macaroni and cheese.

No leftovers left behind! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Pumpkin Ricotta Cheater Cannelloni, aka Pasta Rolls
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients for filling
1 box of whole wheat lasagne noodles (you may only need about 12-14 depending on your baking dish)
1 oz bag of dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 onion finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cups whole milk ricotta
2 cups pumpkin puree or any roasted squash of your choice
1 cup chopped fresh button or cremini mushrooms
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme (dry is fine)
1/2 teaspoon oregano (dry is fine)
1 tablespoon light olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce Ingredients
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup of mushroom stock reserved from the rehydrated porcinis
1 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese (if you don't like it, fine to leave out)
salt and pepper to taste

Topping for baking
1/2 cup of shredded parmesan
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs

Start a large pot of heavily salted water boiling on the stove for the pasta. When it hits a rolling boil, add the lasagne noodles and cook until extra al dente -- still firm, but pliable enough to roll without splitting. When it's at that stage, drain off, toss lightly with oil to keep noodles from sticking and set aside.

While the noodles are cooking, add about a cup of hot water to a bowl and add the dried porcinis in to start rehydrating. They will soak up some of the liquid, but will leave enough left to use for part of the sauce. This is a great way to use every bit of the mushroom flavor and create a quick vegetarian broth.

To prepare the filling, take a large skillet and heat to medium. Add the olive oil and saute the onions and garlic just to sweat until transparent, and then add the chopped fresh mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have softened and add the dried herbs. When everything is combined, check the porcinis to make sure they are fully rehydrated and soft. Remove from the liquid, reserving the broth for later, and finely chop the porcinis before adding to the filling mixture on the stove. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a larger bowl, add the pumpkin puree and ricotta cheese, and pour the cooked filling over this. Mix until fully combined. It should have a thick, spreadable consistency, almost like a paste. Taste it to see if it needs more salt and pepper.

To construct the pasta rolls, get a high-sided baking dish, like a glass casserole dish, and lightly oil the bottom to keep the pasta from sticking. On a clean cutting board, lay the cooked noodles flat and spread about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling across the length of the noodle evenly before rolling into a pinwheel. The filling should help bind the noodle into its barrel shape and then place the noodle seam side down in the dish. Repeat until the casserole dish is filled.

For the sauce, get a whisk and a saucepot (or lightly wipe out the pan you used for the filling to save on dishwashing hassle), and heat to medium on the stove. This is better with a nonstick pot or pan so the whisk doesn't scratch up the surface. Keep the sauce liquids within arm's reach -- the milk and reserved mushroom broth. Add the butter to the heated pan and let it fully melt before sprinkling in the flour. Quickly start whisking the mixture to help break up the flour and let it absorb the flour. It will resemble a sticky, golden paste. Slowly start to drizzle in the mushroom broth while whisking. It will drink up the liquid quickly, but the whisk is helping to break up the batter and keep it from clumping and turning into little flour dumplings. Slowly drizzle in the milk while whisking, making sure to break up the clumps. Whisk until the mixture resembles a smooth, loose sauce. Add more milk if it's too thick, the sauce should have a custard consistency. Take small handfuls of the Parmesan and Roquefort cheese and slowly add to the sauce, continuing to whisk. As each handful is melted and incorporated, continue until all the cheese is added. It will have a thickened creamy consistency, enough to easily coat the back of a spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste, mostly pepper as the cheese is salty.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Carefully pour the sauce over the pasta rolls and sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs to make a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, just until topping is bubbly and browned or wrap with tin foil and freeze for another meal.

UnRecipe: Puttin' on the Ritz With Franken-Leftovers

What a kooky post title, right? But I just didn't know how else to describe these bizarro creations composed of bits of leftovers from different meals. I really did feel like Gene Wilder's Dr. Franken-SCHTEEN, piecing together Peter Boyle for an off-the-cuff performance of Puttin' on the Ritz. (if you didn't get all those Young Frankenstein references, shame on you!)

Thai Fried Rice anyone? I literally made it up on the spot - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Have you ever heard of Pad Thai Fried Rice? Me neither. And it should probably just be Thai Fried Rice, as I think "pad" means rice noodle, and there was no noodly appendages to be found in this dish. As this is my typical UnRecipe post, where I maddeningly leave no exact measurements to be found, this funky dinner basically came out of me having just enough leftover Pad Thai sauce to make a big wok-ful of the stuff, and a mish-mash of ingredients that excluded the main component, which is to say rice noodles, so I had to sub them out with brown rice. I had a container of extra-firm tofu, one red bell pepper, unsalted peanuts and fresh pineapple. Behold, the randomness of my refrigerator and pantry. I always have eggs and fresh garlic around, which was also added to the dish. I made this the way you'd make any fried rice -- chop up everything small, toss it about with oil in a hot wok, pour in the sauce and mix until combined before mixing in the cooked rice. Because I had fresh pineapple, I threw that in last, as I didn't want it to cook down into mush and it added a nice acidic bite to the dish. Crunchy, spicy, sweet, savory and sour -- all the flavor of Pad Thai, but in a pineapple fried rice setting. Weirdly delicious.

What a fridge/pantry raid yielded - Photos by Wasabi Prime

An older Franken-leftover I made back around the holidays was sort of like a Thanksgiving Pizza. It was neither Thanksgiving, nor was it all that pizza-like, but it's the best way to describe it. We had many servings of our New Year's Eve Thanksgiving-themed dinner lingering in the fridge for the month of January and I still had some unusual holiday ingredients that needed to be repurposed, namely a sheet of puff pastry dough. I had bought a package for a holiday dish and you always wind up with the spare puff pastry sheet, as these buttery bro's come in two. I cut up the sheet into little Pop Tart-sized pieces and would bake them off individually, topped with some of the Thanksgiving leftovers. This also included a few slices of Brie. Why? Because I had it. Open-faced Thanksgiving sandwich? Thanksgiving tart? I have no idea how you'd want to spin a fancier name for this, but it was tasty enough to make me happy for several lunches. I enjoyed the savory, rich topping sitting on a buttery, flaky crust -- who wouldn't? I discovered our pantry had some yams that were starting to go bad, so I lopped off the soft parts (yes, Mom, it's fine to do that), sliced them super-narrow and oil/salt/peppered them up and made baked fries to go along as a side dish.

High-falutin' dining this ain't, not that I ever claimed it was. I just think it's kind of interesting to see what can get thrown together when little to no organized meal planning is involved and ingredients are starting to go past their prime. No leftovers left behind!

The holiday meal that came, went and sort of came back again - Photos by Wasabi Prime

FoodTrek: Avast Ye, Wasabi -- a Feast by Sea

Despite the pirate-themed title, there was no walking of planks, nor were there any shivering of timbers. There wasn't even a pegleg. Yarrrrr. But for my last post chronicling the most recent visit to the land of Hawai'i, I had to devote the final Aloha oi to the deep blue seas that surround the tropical islands. The beaches and crashing waves of the surrounding seas is what brings most people to the islands, so let the saline spray of  days spent on the water (and hearty meals to fuel the day) be the sendoff for this exotic escape.

Starting the day at Kamakahonu Bay in Kailua-Kona -- Photo by Wasabi Prime

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not the most responsible eater. My breakfasts generally tend to include coffee, coffee, and maybe a side of coffee. Oh, more coffee? Yes, please. I know, it's the breakfast of computer jockey champions, right? But when you've got a big day of activities planned, it's fine to go for the gusto and have hearty breakfasts to energize your gut for the rest of your day. Hawai'i is the only place where I can use the somewhat weaksauce justification that fruit or cream-filled malasadas is the right way to start the day.

Malasadas from Tex's in Honoka'a and some keen finds at Kona's Lava Java - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Wilford Brimley had no idea what he was talking about when he was crowing about oatmeal. Fried, sugar-dusted pillows of pastry dough stuffed with Bavarian cream or guava jelly is, as the wisdom of Bat Country-fried Charlie Sheen would say: Duh...winner. On the drive over to the western side of the island from Hilo, I stopped off at Tex Drive In, in Honoka'a, where the food is truly Ono Kine because the sign clearly states it. It's a little unassuming coffee shop clearly favored by the locals for pleasantly lazy breakfasts, as the outdoor tables all have coffee mugs full of Trivia Pursuit cards, a sign that they want you sit for a spell. It's gotten national attention for its filled malasadas; I think spiky-haird Guy Fieri from Food Network descended upon this place at one point and bequeathed his backwards sunglass-wearing mojo upon them. The malasada pastry itself isn't anything new -- you can get these beignet-like doughnuts originally brought over by the Portuguese from just about any local bakery. The addition of a thick, pudding-like chocolate or vanilla cream or local fruit jelly is a Tex's thing, because I don't think most bakeries do this. It may seem like gilding the lily, as it's already sugar-coated fried dough, and while I personally am a malasada purist who prefers it the un-filled way, this breakfast was purely in the interest of food reasearch. Which of course means the calories from that rich vanilla Bavarian cream-filled malasada totally didn't count. But all research trials must be repeated to fully determine its results... so repeated visits Tex's to further such studies is most certainly warranted. Food research, people! Get with it.

Monster cinnamon rolls for monster appetites at Lava Java - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Another breakfast-with-gusto spot that totally hits the spot is Island Lava Java, right along Kona's Ali'i Drive. It came with the recommendation of both visitors and locals, and it did not disappoint. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I used them as my go-to for breakfast, as well as a souvenir shop. I picked up a few necklaces with painted ceramic charms made by a gal who used to work there and sells her jewelry right on the counter. It's nice to find things that are locally crafted and with a sense of discovery about them, and unlike most of the little trinkets you pick up in souvenir shops, I knew for a fact these weren't made in Taiwan. Hawai'i-made, yo -- keep it local. As for Lava Java's food, they serve up big meals and most notably, cinnamon rolls so massive, they'd make the state of Texas green with envy. The cake-sized rolls literally take up a dinner plate, all buttery and cinnamon-sugar filled, drizzled with icing, looking like a coiled snake ready to strike you with carbohydrate deadly force. It's got a bit of a caramelized sugar crust, likely a result of the filling oozing out during the baking process, but it gives it a nice, unusual texture that you're not used to in a cinnamon roll. They have a coffee drink menu to rival any Starbucks, of course serving only local Kona coffee, so be sure to indulge in the java from Lava Java. If you're brave or in need of a high-octane jolt of caffeine, try their Depth Charge coffee drink, which is a shot of espresso in Kona coffee. The fuel food I particularly enjoyed was their Waipio Stack Breakfast, which was sort of like an open-face breakfast BLT -- two over-easy eggs served over bacon, fresh avocado, and thick slices of toast smeared with a chipotle mayonnaise. For something sweet, but not as intense as their cinnamon rolls, their Island Style Pancakes offer a couple of large pancakes covered in macadamia nuts, bananas and drizzled in coconut syrup. True, these are not meals for those with a timid appetite, but for a day filled with seaside activities, you need to feast with boldness!

Breakfast to fuel the day on the water with The Kona Boys - Photos by Wasabi Prime

So what activities are worth burning off such kingly feasts? A day on the water, paddling the waves with The Kona Boys, or hanging on for dear life on a fast-moving boat before snorkeling in a sealife-rich bay with the adventurous team at Captain Zodiac. I think one of the best ways to enjoy the ocean is to explore it using your own power of motion, without the aid of a powered motor, at least the first time you spend a day on the water. You get a sense of the current's force, you're fully immersed in the waves and feeling of its natural ebb and flow, and as my scuba-diving aunt would say: welcome to the food chain. (Enter John William's score from Jaws here.) I kid! I kid!!! Don't worry, the shores of Kona are safe. Despite its deep waters being a favorite haven for deep-sea fishermen, the life it's teeming with is about as fierce as dolphins and sea turtles. Sure, there's animals like sharks around, but hey, it's their 'hood, they're not looking for trouble and think of swimming in the ocean the way you would camping in the woods. You know there's lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) out there, but it doesn't stop you from roasting up some s'mores on an open campfire, right? In the ocean, as on dry land, if you don't go looking for trouble, trouble will not go out of its way to find you, so swim happy.

Some of the best guides for these crystal-blue waters are the surfer dudes from Kona Boys, whose beach shack is right on the beach of Kamakahonu Bay, right by the Kona pier. It's a pretty awesome place to call your "office," with a shallow bay perfect for practicing kayaking or stand up paddlesurfing, with the backdrop of King Kamehameha's heiau right in the background. I have to give them a lot of credit because they got me upright and (sort of) paddling on a surfboard, out into the open sea. It's almost like standing on the water and you feel each wave rise and fall beneath your feet, while working every muscle to try and stay balanced and constantly paddling to stay on course. I feel like it's an activity akin to golf -- when you're really good at it, you feel at peace with the world and are overcome with a sort of zen feeling while doing it, but when you first learn it, it's a little daunting, overwhelming, and afterwards you'll discover muscles you didn't know you had before. That's not to say stand up paddlesurfing (SUP, as it's called) is unpleasant -- far from it, as it's an exhilarating experience that makes you acutely aware of how small you are in the world when it's just you on a surfboard and a little paddle in the middle of the ocean. Another activity that's really good to take advantage of is the guided (and self-paddled) outrigger canoe tours that the Kona Boys offer. They have a beautiful traditional wood canoe or wa'a that seats about six to eight people, which everyone does their part in providing the propulsion needed to send it along its merry way up and down the Kona coast. It's good to do this first thing in the morning, as the sun's heat isn't as intense, not as much activity out on the water yet, and the currents aren't as strong. Our guide for the wa'a tour was Kawika, who explained the history of the Kailua-Kona area, the traditional Hawai'ian people and the influence of the British settlers. When you're out on the water, it brings home that connection between people and nature that remains an indelible presence even in modern day times.

Dolphins showing off and gekko taking a break - just another day in paradise - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Even with the fast-paced excitement of a monster engine hurtling you through the waves on a zodiac raft, you still keep that connection with the ocean. Even if it's quick bumps against the waves between feeling like you're nearly airborne. You sort of turn your brain off, don't think about how fast you're going and just hang on for the ride while doing one of the zodiac tours by the aptly-named Captain Zodiac. They offer raft tours where you can stay above the water and watch whales, or they'll take small snorkel groups to Kealakeua Bay, the site of Captain Cook's arrival and invariably his final departure off the mortal coil on his final visit to Hawai'i; it's a protected bay of calm water that's full of reef sealife where you can snorkel for hours, just watching everything swim around you. They've been doing tours for almost twenty years, taking groups out to get an up-close and personal introduction to Kona's wild underwater wonderland. Unlike other tours where it's you and two hundred of your most random acquaintances, their captains take small groups of less than a dozen people, zipping everyone around on a military-grade zodiac, and they know all the choice spots to catch schools of pilot whales and show the local spinner dolphins a good time, providing a wake for them to surf on (so amazing, by the way). The captain we had was fantastic -- he was a fisherman himself, and he knew to follow the food chain, seeing where other fishermen were, which would attract other animals like whales. We were able to see several dolphins and an incredible family of pilot whales in their natural habitat, just swimming alongside our small little boat. Again, out on the open water, you're reminded how tiny you are, and that in Mama Nature's house, you show your respect or expect to get a righteous spanking. We minded our p's and q's and were rewarded with a beautiful afternoon snorkeling in Kealakeua Bay, seeing all the tropical fish swimming around in the calm bay water. You can usually see turtles, but there was only one sighted that day. I've snorkeled here before, and going for a second time, you're reminded that patience is a virtue, and while it's tempting to swim all over in the hopes of finding something interesting, sometimes you just have to float quietly and just see what passes you by. I apologize for not having photos of this experience, as I didn't have a waterproof camera, but sometimes the best things just need to be experienced, so if you find yourself in Kona, looking for a way to spend the day, definitely look up The Kona Boys and Captain Zodiac.

The only way to come off from the high of a day spent on the water is a tall frosty glass of... kava. No, not beer or an umbrella-topped fruity beverage. It's pau hana done local style, drinking a traditional Native Hawai'ian beverage that I won't say makes you drunk, but it does provide an oddly mellowing sensation. So what is kava? It's a drink that's been used as a natural relaxant for thousands of years by Pacific Islanders, an extract made from the root of a pepper plant. It's not fermented, so there's no alcohol in it. The natural flavor of kava is quite bitter and is often mixed with fruit juice or coconut water to help balance it out. People describe kava's effect as being pleasantly relaxing to almost a punchy, goofy drunk sensation. Are you technically drunk? Not in the legal sense. But I wouldn't recommend operating any forklifts anytime soon after having a cupful of the stuff. I'd heard about it plenty of times, but had never tried it before, so with a few travelmates, we sought out a kava place one night. Sort of tucked away between all the other shops and restaurants on Ali'i Drive is Kanaka Kava. It's a funky little kava and local food spot, sort of nestled further back from the street-facing storefronts, and if you're familiar with the area, you're within sight of the Outback Steakhouse, so let that be the "as the crow flies" guidepost. We all got a coconut shell cup of kava, mixed with fruit juice to sweeten the taste. The best way to describe it was, it numbed my face, but in an awesome way. Maybe it was the combined effects of a busy day on the water, but kava totally slowed my roll and was a pleasant way to come down from a busy afternoon, without the magically regrettable effects of my typical go-to, boozejuice. And maybe it was the kava talking, but those conga drums listed on the bulletin board sure sounded like an awesome idea.

Move over, Miller Time, it's time for kava and conga drums at Kanaka Kava - Photos by Wasabi Prime

So at long last, this brings my latest Hawai'ian adventure to a close. Picture a sunset. The sway of palm trees. Me passed out on too much kava and time spent in the sun. Fun times had by all, to be sure. It had been a while since I'd had a real adventure on the Big Island, so this was a long time in coming and it just made me love this place that much more. I look forward to my next visit, as there's always new adventures to take a bite out of. Mahalo and Aloha oi.

Wasabi-nouncement: It's Official. I'm a Workaholic.

I normally don't do Friday posts, but usually I try and take the time to do periodic updates over what I've been doing outside of the blog, also known as SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION POST! Which, along with this post totally being that, I'm just checking in the with universe to see if everyone else is workin' like a crazy mofo too??

A portrait of Wasabi's brain on the last few months - crazy photo collage by Wasabi Prime

I don't really have a prettier way of showing what the Wasabi Life has been looking like over the last few months. This helpful diagram is probably the most informative way to illustrate the flowchart that inevitably leads to magenta scribbles floating around my unwashed, in-dire-need-of-a-haircut noggin. Not that I'm saying I'm miserable -- far from it. I'm just letting you know, apologies in advance if I just need to lay down an nap for a while, because it's been busy and it continues to remain busy as I hurdle through the week's deadlines with gazelle-like grace and fury. OK maybe no grace or fury. More like awkward stumbling and much swearing like a sailor.

But if you feel so inclined to see what I've been up to, you can take a gander at the latest menagerie of Wasaberie:

• Grab the latest copy of 425 Magazine, the spring health-themed issue that includes an article I wrote, listing some favorite salads around the 425 area code.
• Also on local newsstands and online - the spring issue of Bellevue Downtown Magazine, where I shot the cover and wrote a feature about new restaurant openings
• If you live in the Bay Area, grab a copy of Drink Me Magazine, or check it out online - I regularly develop booze-a-riffic themed recipes for them
• Speaking of recipe development, I worked on a tasty mini lamb burger with the folks at MySpiceSage, to show how you can use sumac in cooking
• And last, but certainly not least, I'm happy to say I'm a regular contributing writer at new online food magazine, Honest Cooking, and I have a monthly column called Sense Memory

I've been extremely lucky to work on these projects and I'm very grateful to have been given the chance to write about and photograph the things I love. I just happened to see the calendar, realize it's the first of April, and I know I'll feel like much less of a workin' fool if I know everyone else is doing the same crazy stuff every day to keep following their bliss, 24/7, never beggin' for a raincheck, as the sage wisdom of Fred Durst of  Limp Bizkit would say. So, Sanity Check time: everyone else is multitasking, doing a minimum of three different jobs, and flitting around like a hummingbird from project to project... right? People are nodding. I'm sure of it. Safety in numbers.

So as we enter this realm called "The Weekend," and I hope to partake in some of its weekending goodness in the form of a frosty alcoholic beverage (or three), I leave you with another little glimpse into my sorry excuse for what I do in my spare time. Because even when I'm doing something as granny-tastic as embroidery, I still can't stay away from food. I'm either one step away from a recovery clinic or an Etsy shop, whatever comes first.

Even when  I'm crafting, it's still food-related. Help me. Someone. Before it's too late. - Photo by Wasabi Prime