Category Archives: Recommendations

Hungry Ginger Recommends – Holiday Edition

Posted on December 8, 2018 | 1 comment

It’s finally reasonable to blast Christmas music and every office building in downtown Seattle seems to have a Christmas tree. You may think you have plenty of time to do your Christmas shopping, but you don’t. Also, have you put covers on all your outside faucets? It’s getting mighty cold at night and those old pipes could burst. Your neighbors have recently engaged in a Christmas decoration battle across the street, lighting up the neighborhood as bright as day, interfering with your sleep cycle. And speaking of day…does the sun even come out anymore? It’s dark when you go to work and dark when you leave. Ba Humbug!

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This is what Hungry Ginger would say if she were a Grinch (which I am not). I LOVE the holiday season, but that doesn’t mean the above Grinchy complaints aren’t true or valid. Not everyone loves the holidays and, even if you do, it can be a stressful time, full of expectations, to do lists, crazy holiday traffic and stressed out shoppers. That’s why this Hungry Ginger recommends a few things to bring you a little Holiday Cheer with a lot of Holiday Chill.

Have a Drink

Go visit the Christmas Popup, Miracle at Rob Roy (if you are in Seattle). They have decorated the shit out of the place (complete with a twerking Santa!) and have seasonal drinks up the wazoo. One “Yippee-Ki-Yay Motherfucker,” barkeep! Of course this popup is bound to be busy, so I recommend going early or late if crowds aren’t your thing. Honestly though, when we went at about 6 on a Saturday, it was packed but everyone seemed to be in a good mood and kindly made room in the cramped space. I don’t know if it was all the holiday cheer or what, but there was an unusual sense of conviviality among strangers that really warmed the cockles – could have also been the Rob Roy strong cocktails, but after two nogs, it’s really hard to tell.

If there isn’t a Christmas themed popup where you are, or if you just prefer to consume your holiday cheer at home, go buy some egg nog, mix with dark rum or bourbon and cognac and grate some fresh nutmeg on top and there you have it, holiday cheer. If dairy and booze aren’t your thing, try a cranberry old fashioned. Recipe is from Inspired by Charm.

Cranberry-Old-Fashioned-recipe

CRANBERRY OLD FASHIONED
Makes 1 cocktail

Here’s what you will need:
3 ounces quality bourbon whiskey
1 ounce cranberry simple syrup*
3 shakes Angostura bitters
Garnish with orange peel, Ocean Spray® Fresh Cranberries, and rosemary

In a serving glass with ice, stir together the bourbon, cranberry simple syrup, and bitters. Garnish with orange peel, fresh cranberries, and rosemary.

*Cranberry Simple Syrup – In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of water, 1 cup of sugar, and one cup of fresh cranberries to a boil. Once boiling, cook for 4-5 minutes. Strain with a fine mesh sieve. Cool before serving.

Watch a Holiday Movie

This is the time of year when the Hallmark Channel finally gets out of the red…and into the red and green! Oh yeah, I went there…Whether your idea of a great holiday movie is Mariah Carey realizing she is a princess while saving Santa from evil bankers trying to turn Rudolf into a stunt reindeer, or Bruce Willis barefoot in an air duct, holiday movies are a great way to get into the festive season and enjoy and cozy night at home. Some of my favs are the aforementioned Die Hard, Love Actually and the original Miracle on 34th Street (so dated, but so good!). The Thin Man is also a great one to watch between Christmas and New Years.

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If you are in Seattle and feel like going out to a theater, the Cinerama is doing a Holiday Film Series this coming week and Three Dollar Bill Cinema is showing one of my favs, Auntie Mame!

Go on a Holidate

Every year, the hubby and I go on a holiday themed date, a holidate! We get brunch or holiday tea at the Fairmont, brave Nordstrom to get a little Christmas shopping out of the way and then settle down for a cocktail or three and a yummy dinner. A Holidate could be anything though! You could pack a thermos of spiked hot apple cider, some meats and cheeses and head up to the mountains for a snowy walk and picnic. You could check out the Enchant Christmas light show at Safeco and then get dinner in the International District, or drive over to Leavenworth and visit the year-round Christmas store and taste some full-bodied winter beers. You could do all of this with your S.O., your bestie, your Mom/Dad or your dog! The point is to make it yours so that the holidays bring you joy rather than annoyance. No matter what your religious beliefs may be, it makes sense that we have this festival of lights during the darkest time of year, so I invite you to get out there and enjoy it in whatever way warms YOUR cockles most!

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1 Comment

Posted in Brunch, Out and About, Recommendations

Tagged Beer, christmas, culture, drinks, food, hallmark, movies, Relationships, romantic, Seattle, washington

Hungry Ginger Recommends – $%&! It’s Almost the End of October Edition

Posted on October 25, 2018 | Leave a comment

Wasn’t it just August and we were coughing through the summer wildfire smoke, making icebox cakes and exercising regularly?? Then, all of the sudden, freakin’ leaves are falling, Trader Joe’s is throwing pumpkin everything at us, and the gym seems like the worst idea. I mean, it’s going to be the holidays soon. Does it even matter at this point? Plus, it’s raining. Even the cat is depressed.

Before we start panicking about family holiday gatherings, let’s catch our breath and do a few things for ourselves.

Read a Book

I just finished Robert Galbraith’s latest mystery novel, Lethal White. If you are unfamiliar, Mr. Galbraith is the pseudonym of the one and only J. K. Rowling, who was outed in 2013 and, as of this October, is the author of four books in the Cormoran Strike series. All of the books are very good and this latest installment is the most intricate yet. The story lines are engaging and and the characters well-developed, with just the right level of sexual tension between the two main characters. Lethal White is quite long, clocking in at around 650 pages, but it moves pretty quickly and the pay-off is satisfying. It’s a perfect read for cold drizzly Fall days, curled up on the couch with a hot cup of cider. Cinemax has a mini series based on the first three books, which is quite good as well.

Watch a Show

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat came out in 2017. It is, and isn’t a cookbook. Yes, there are recipes, but at least half of the 450+ pages are more of a friendly conversation about cooking. The central idea of this cookbook is that, you don’t need recipes to cook well, just a basic understanding of how salt, fat, acid and heat work together in the kitchen. There’s a reason your pasta water should be “as salty as the sea.” Your dish too sweet? Add some acid! While I definitely recommend the cookbook as a kitchen staple, the mini series, just released On Netflix, is a feast for the eyes as well. Samin Nosrat is not your typical culinary television personality. She is goofy (in a genuine way, not a Guy Fieri way), real, and clearly relishes everything about food and cooking. She is someone you can imagine spending a relaxing afternoon with, messing around in the kitchen. The show is a good mix of travel, food porn and practical tips and, at just four episodes, will leave your mouth watering and wanting more. You might also be inspired to make some scratch pesto, just like the Italian grandmas did.

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Light a Candle

Okay, okay, I know I made fun of Trader Joe’s earlier, but it’s only because I am guilty of buying into their pumpkin lunacy. Yes I silently judged the girl in front of me for grabbing the pumpkin Spice cookies…and then snagged a box for myself. Some of my favorite seasonal items at TJs, however, are the candles. The Pumpkin Vanilla and Honeycrisp Apple varieties to be exact. The Pumpkin Vanilla candle smells like you could possibly be a good baker and the Honeycrisp Apple smells like a crisp fall day and you’ve just bitten into a big juicy apple. They’re a great way to get into the Fall mood, just in case the wet leaves and dark mornings aren’t doing the trick yet.

That’s it! here’s hoping we are in for a few more sunny Fall days so my cat doesn’t start requiring kitty Prozac.

Ferry Adventures: Old McDonald does Oktoberfest

Posted on September 28, 2018 | Leave a comment

Sometimes you just need to get out of town and reset, see some new sights, have some tasty bites and you don’t want to travel far or spend a lot of cash. Here in the PNW, we are lucky to have several beautiful Islands and a wonderful ferry system by which to traverse them. One of the closest and easiest Island jaunts is to Vashon Island. Get yourself to West Seattle, queue along the beautiful Lincoln Park and you will soon be taking a quick 15 minute ferry to one of the most charming spots around. Unlike many other ferry trips (Anacortes, I’m looking at you…and don’t get me started with the mess that is downtown Seattle), West Seattle to Vashon is fairly hassle free. There’s one line which becomes two (West Seattle goes to both Vashon and Southworth on the Kitsap Peninsula), there are only 4 lanes and then you are on the ferry quicker than you can say “I’m on a BOAT!” The only downside of this ferry ride is that it is so short! Washington State Ferries have really improved their food and beverage service so, on a longer trip, it’s fun to relax with a local IPA or Washington wine and some Beechers Mac and Cheese. Yum! We’ve only got 15 on this ferry though, so snap a few pics of Rainier and the sound and save that appetite for Island eating!

Vashon is perfect for a day trip but if you want to really have a mini vacay, I recommend staying a night or two on the Island. There are many options through Airbnb. Most are cabins and cottages and even a houseboat! There are also some swanky lodges called Lodges on Vashon that offer high end accouterments right in town, stumbling distance from Vashon Brewing. We stayed at a super cute Airbnb that was a small cottage on a farm. There was a beautiful garden, which we were invited to harvest from, chickens and deer meandering through the yard at night, munching on grass. It was perfect for a romantic getaway or a solo retreat!

In the past 5 years, Vashon has really boosted it’s culinary cred with several restaurants that celebrate the Island and its bounty. What used to be a place where hippies and chefs moved to escape it all, grow pot or make cheese has become a vibrant little Farm to Table mecca. Bramble House is probably the fanciest offering on the Island. We didn’t check it out this time but I definitely see a date night there in our future! Can’t go wrong with local fare and a female chef!

For dinner on our first night we opted for Gravy, a casual yet inspired little spot run by a chef formerly of Cafe Presse and other Seattle kitchens. The food was delicious and service attentive, bordering on earnest. There, as in most of the restaurants on the Island, the waitstaff seemed to be made up primarily of high school students. Pretty amusing at times but, honestly, I’ll take an eager high schooler over a cranky hipster any day. You can read my full review here.

After dinner, we opted to head back to the farm for a much needed rest. We assumed that the nightlife scene on the Island is pretty sleepy, but I later found out that there is live music on Fridays and a late night bar scene at a Bistro and Sushi place right across the street from where we had dinner. I’m not sure what “late night” means on Island time, but I will check it out on a future trip for sure! Back at the farm, we both read for 30 minutes or so and then lights out by 11. Practically locals already!

The next morning, the sun streaming though the the flower-framed window and the chickens clucking quietly, we made our leisurely way to town for breakfast. The breakfast/brunch options range from fancy to rustic. We landed right in the middle at The Hardware Store, a historic building serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am told their desserts are to die for as well. We arrived around 10 and were seated right away. The place was busy but, no Seattle brunch lines here! The food was very good and the cocktails looked tasty, creative and local. We were planning on hitting up some cider spots later so we just opted for coffee, which was Cafe Vita and a perfect morning eye opener. You can find my full review here.

After breakfast, we hit up the Vashon Bookshop where I lingered as long as the hubby could handle it and ended up buying a used paperback (I just can’t help myself!) Then we checked out the Saturday Farmer’s Market, which is tiny but full of yummy Island grown produce and dairy. We then posted up at Cafe Luna, a happening spot with great coffee and food options and nice tables for laptoping or catching up with friends.

Now, fully caffeinated, we set out to taste some cider. Nashi Orchards is en route to the other end of the Island from the West Seattle Ferry dock. On the way you might pass by Misty Isle Farms, a huge cattle farm on the Island, You have probably seen their beef in local grocery stores. In the event of a Zombie Apocalypse, you will find me on Vashon. It’s got everything, produce, protein and pot.

Nashi Orchards is open from noon to 5 for tastings on Saturday and Sunday. The owners are very friendly and knowledgeable and happy to discuss the finer points of Cider and Perry (pear-based cider). They are passionate about cider in a nerdy way that I love and we tasted a couple nice dry ciders and perries as well as a burly perry fermented in french oak barrels and clocking in at 16.2%. We shared the tasting flight and got an additional pour and were feelin’ fiiiine!

Thinking that it would be best to get some food in our stomachs, we skipped the second cider tasting (there’s always next time!) and headed to a Mexican spot we’d spied on the way in. Inside decor was colorful and trippy (psychonaut approved!) and the food was delicious. Good, authentic Mexican cuisine. The fish tacos were amazing and the wet burrito with rice a beans was very yummy! The prices, though, were ridiculous! $16 for the burrito! It was good, but not any better than what I can get for $9 or even $7 in Seattle. I am thinking they are taking advantage of being the only game on the Island. There are one or two other Mexican spots but they seem to be more on the Tex Mex side of things.

Bellies full and pocketbooks a little lighter than we had hoped, we headed to Oktoberfest. We hadn’t planned on attending the shit show…er Fall Festival in Seattle but I discovered a flyer for the Island edition in the restroom at Cafe Luna and we decided to check it out. Judging from the size of the Farmer’s Market, Vashon Oktoberfest was sure to be a more low key affair.

Yep, just my speed. There weren’t a million beers to try in 4 oz increments, just six honest to god pints that were all very tasty. The hubby used his wizardry to, once again, score two free beers. That guy is better at man flirting than I can ever hope to be. We relaxed and enjoyed the Fall day, which bestowed upon us both intense sun and stiff breezes. So perfectly PNW! Where Seattle Oktoberfest can feel like a huge frat party, Vashon Oktoberfest felt like a country fair, something out of an episode of Midsomer Murders. Quaint, peopled by the 40+ set and a dead body might be discovered in the cider vat at any moment. Perfection.

Ok, friends, we have almost reached the finish line at the end of this delicious excursion! One final entry for the record of note. And it must be…the Pad Thai that I have been craving for nearly five years. Yes, we accidentally stumbled upon a former Seattle staple transplanted onto this little Island. My Seattle friends may be familiar with the elaborate house, transplanted from Thailand to Wallingford called May Thai. The authenticity does not end at the decor. The Pad Thai served there has always been my favorite in the city (no ketchup for color, only real tamarind paste) and I hadn’t been there for years. Buzzed on Oktoberfest libations, we meandered into a nondescript doorway, through a heavy curtain and into…a familiar setting. Dark wood and jeweled artwork created a cozy, yet elegant vibe and, the name, oddly familiar…May Kitchen + Bar. We ran into an old family friend having dinner (ah Seattle, still a small town at heart) and quizzed the high school aged waitress on the origins of the place. Wood panels brought in from Thailand. Pad Thai prepared in a banana leaf. Hmmm…A quick Google search yielded the answer. Yes, they were related. May apparently relinquished control of the Wallingford spot in 2012 and hightailed it off to Vashon to delight locals there. Fine, I will take a ferry to get my fix! And, maybe, I will one day order something else from the menu! I was too excited to take a pretty picture of the banana leaf with all the accouterments nicely laid out so here you get an unpretty picture of tasty goodness. And some rolls (also very yum!).

Satiated, we retired to our cottage and enjoyed a glass of wine on the porch, while a deer couple munched happily on the grass a few meters away, and finished the night with an episode of Midsomer Murders, naturally.

Hungry Ginger Recommends – First Day of Fall Edition

Posted on September 22, 2018 | Leave a comment

It’s the first day of Fall. Thank god. Bring on the cool weather, the hot drinks and the scarves. The arrival of Fall doesn’t mean that you need to abandon your happy hour rosé habit though. Just take it inside and opt for a full-bodied red instead. Darker days may mean darker thoughts…revamp some of your mental health practices. And, of course, snuggle up with a good book. It’s decorative gourd season, motherfuckers!

Eats

If you’re in Seattle, go get Happy Hour at Zane+Wylie’s near Pacific Place. Your belly and your pocketbook will thank you! Find my Google Review HERE.

Mental Health

Start a Complaining Journal. There is a lot of focus on happiness these days. People are “hacking happiness” Silicon Valley style. There are so may TED talks and YouTube videos on the subject. I want to be happy just as much as the next person, but lately, I have been feeling like this search for happiness is, well, kind of a bummer. It’s also quite exhausting and overwhelming. This is an interesting article about this phenomenon and why it isn’t as cut and dry as it may seem. MY suggestion in the face of all of this is…COMPLAIN! Instead of a gratitude journal, create a journal, a blog, a Twitter account, whatever, where you can BITCH about your life. Don’t share it with anyone. Make it anonymous if it’s online and DO NOT tell your friends and family about it (you might be bitching about them after all!). I gotta tell you, it is SO cathartic! And once you write or type those things, they somehow seem…less terrible. In Pop Psychology speak, they have lost some of their power. If you need some inspiration, check out Unhappy Hour, a podcast in which comedian and former Buzzfeed Whine About It guy Matt Bellassai complains about stuff for 45 minutes.

Litnerd

Follow Sorted Library on Instagram (after you follow ME of course!). It is an independent library in New York City in which members recommend collections of books around a certain theme. It’s a great way to discover new books and fresh perspectives on old favorites.