Chaco Canyon Review - Seattle

Hello all!

Sorry its been awhile! I have a ton to blog about and not nearly enough time! Like seriously, I have a list in my iPhone of posts I need to write. I need to figure out how to make blogging my full time job.

This last weekend I spent a night in Seattle, dropping Joe off for his first Seattle to Portland ride! Every year, 10 thousand cyclists ride 204 miles from Seattle to Portland (if you couldn't guess), and this year I'm proud to say that my boyfriend was one of them! I honestly couldn't be more impressed. I've ridden 20 miles with him before, and that was just about all I could handle.

Here is Joe at 4:30 a.m., getting ready to embark on the STP journey:

And here he is crossing the finish line, 14 hours later. Unreal right?

As is normal for any kind of trip, I had to find somewhere I could eat! We went up Friday night so he could leave early Saturday morning, so dinner had to be pre-planed. I figured this wouldn't be too difficult in a big city like Seattle, but it was also important to us to find somewhere close to our hotel, since he wanted to be in bed early for the big race and Seattle traffic is nothing short of unpredictable. 

Thanks to my iPhone and Yelp, I was able to find a place super close to us (we went to the West Seattle location, but there is also one near University of Washington) called Chaco Canyon. Reading the menu online got me really excited...it reminded me a lot of one of my go to spots, Proper Eats.

The West Seattle location is in a quaint little neighborhood, right off one of the more main roads (I never have any idea where I am when in Seattle...its so confusing to me). It's got a very organic feel to it, lots of wood decor and a sustainable bus-your-own-tables mentality. You order at the counter, where you can also pick up their house-made granola, pumpkin seeds and a wide assortment of baked goods and desserts. Your order is then brought out to you. While you wait, you can check out a wide assortment of business cards, flyers, etc. pertaining to like-minded businesses and events. (I always love checking those out, they have one at Proper Eats too).

As usual, I had to order juice to start my meal. Places with juice bars score huge points with me these days. I ordered the Green Goddess, which according to Joe, tasted like a garden, and according to me was fresh and delicious! Joe got an apple, carrot concoction that I believe was called the Swamp Monster, and that was delicious as well, much sweeter than mine and definitely not green.

Choosing what to have for dinner was way difficult, a) because I have an unreal amount of limitations on my anti-parasite diet (no coconut...WTF?) and b) because everything looked amazing. Their menu clearly indicates what is gluten free, raw, and soy free, which I love. They have a whole list of specials that change every month, and reading through all of them still makes my mouth water...Raw Falafels anyone (contained tomato though, sad day). I ended up settling on the Raw Ginger Sesame Bowl, which was basically a ginger sesame dressing over a mix of kelp noodles and shredded zucchini, topped with carrots and their tamari pumpkin seeds on a bed of spinach. It actually reminded me a lot of the salads I eat at home, only made by professionals :). And you know I love my kelp noodles! I was so excited to actually see them on a menu! As I'm sure you could guess, it was freaking amazing...

I also got tempeh added to the top...Joe and I have decided we are tempeh connesseurs, so we try it everywhere we go. Not my favorite tempeh, but the rest of it was so good I could care less! And honestly, you can never go too wrong with tempeh in my book, I'm the girl who eats it right out of the package.

Joe ordered the Thai Peanut Bowl, which I obviously had to taste...it was pretty dang good too. Very peanut-y if you're into that. It was also super creamy for not having dairy, which is always a plus!

I think what impressed me most about this place was the service. The lady who helped me was one of the best restaurant employees I've ever encountered. I'm usually pretty high maintenance, but due to this stupid anti-parasite diet, I'm worse than ever. I've gotten to the point where I don't even get upset when someone seems annoyed with me, I'd be annoyed with me too, so I just apologize until my face falls off. But this lady was amazing. Not only was she patient, she went out of her way to help me decide what to get. They have a handy-dandy guide of all the ingredients in every item on the menu, which was awesome and made everything a whole lot easier. She even let me take it and look through it, which helped me out tremendously. After dinner, we had a hankering for something sweet, so even though I couldn't have any of their desserts (and trust me, she checked the ingredients on every single one), she made me an iced hemp milk with agave and chai spice that totally satisfied my sweet craving. Unreal service, I would go back in a heartbeat. I did actually, to get my morning juice for Saturday's breakfast :)

I would highly recommend this place to anyone travelling to/living in Seattle who wants a healthy gluten free, vegan meal. I can't wait to go back post-parasite and try more stuff!

All Things Thai

Lately I've been absolutely obsessed with Thai food. I've been eating curry multiple times a week, both homemade and out at restaurants. I told my boyfriend the other day that I could eat Thai food every day and not get sick of it, and so far that has held true. If you are a Thai fan like I am, then get excited. I've got restaurants, products AND a recipe, all in one post!

If you are a regular reader, you know that I love Ginger Pop, a Thai restaurant that has been nothing but accommodating to my needs (not to mention that the food is out of this world). But I'm always trying new places, and I think I may have found a place that tops the ol' GP. Enter Siam Society. Located on Alberta, this restaurant has everything I want in a dining establishment. Think vegan, vegetarian, AND gluten free menus, a cocktail list that I promise will blow your mind (although more than two of those and you won't remember dinner), and an extremely friendly and knowledgeable wait staff that will make you feel right at home, even if you are the pickiest customer EVER.

I remember a while back my parents mentioned they ate at Siam Society...They said it was good, but they didn't mention it was Thai food. Basically, they've been holding out on me. Thankfully, Groupon seemed to have my best interests in mind when it offered a deal for the restaurant. After using one, Joe and I ended up buying three more, cause we know we'll be going back. So let me paint the picture for you. The restaurant was classy without being stuffy, and hey, it's Alberta street, so no one is going to be dressed to the nines anyway. Our waitress was super goofy and amicable, I liked her right away. She brought out both the vegan and gluten free menus, and when I asked if certain dishes could be made both vegan and gluten free she didn't even hesitate when telling me yes. She also knew off the top of her head that the curries don't have sugar in them, and offered to swap the potatoes in my yellow curry out for kombocha squash , which was way better. Joe had the Pad Kee Mow and loved it, he even mentioned it might be the best he's tried yet. As for my food, well, I ate all of it. And had two Hibiscus Mojitos. Moderation be damned.

It doesn't stop there...another place I'm growing to love is Vege Thai, a completely vegetarian thai restaurant that makes all its dishes without fish or oyster sauce, and has a bunch of different faux meats to add to your meal. You can view my whole review here.

Now if I ate out as often as I had thai food cravings, I'd be 300 pounds. I knew I was going to have to teach myself to make curry at home. And while you just can't replicate that perfect restaurant curry without being a chef, Thai, or both, I think I do a pretty decent job. Although I do have the help of a pretty awesome product: Thai and True curry pastes. Thai and True is a local company that makes vegan, non-GMO and gluten free curry pastes, as well as sarachee and peanut sauce. And they are so easy to use. Throw a tablespoon into a saucepan with about a cup of coconut milk, heat until blended, and voila, you have a blank canvas to create curry masterpieces of your own! My favorite concoction is below.

Easy Curry

Serves 2

1 c. brown or black rice
1 tbsp. Thai and True red curry paste
1 c. coconut milk
1/2 tsp. Thai and True hot chili oil
1/2 block of tofu, cubed
1/2 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 c. mushrooms
1 bunch kale, chopped.

Prepare rice according to directions. Heat curry paste in large saucepan with coconut milk over medium heat until blended. Add onions and peppers and cook until soft, or 3-5 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and cook about 5 more minutes or until ideal tenderness has been reached. Add chili oil and mix well. Serve over rice.

Go Greek, Eat Well (Review of Dorio Restaurant Plus Mediterrabean Chicken Recipe!)

This is a two part post, dedicated to the best 6 weeks of my life: my study abroad trip to Greece! I know I mention this all the time, but I can't help it, I'm obsessed. Hope you don't mind, because this won't be the last you'll be hearing of it ;-)

I don't do Greek restaurants often, because it makes me sad that I have to avoid the tatziki, feta, tomatoes, pitas, yogurt and anything made with phyllo dough and it absolutely breaks my heart. On top of that, the only Greek restaurant I've eaten at in Portland, Greek Cusina, went out of business sometime in the last year (not that it was very good anyways).

So I'm skimming the Oregonian a few weeks back (this has become my new morning ritual) and I notice a place called Dorio's Taverna highlighted in the Cheap Eats column. I read on, discovering that Dorio's is a new restaurant on NW 23rd that serves inexpensive, authentic Greek food. Obviously, I had to check it out.

Yesterday, I headed to Dorios with my mom and my boyfriend to grab some dinner. And let me say, I was not at all disappointed. The decor is classy, making you feel like you are in a much more expensive restaurant. The menu isn't extensive but it has all the Greek staples: Greek salad, Souvlaki, gyro sandwiches, Spanikopita, greek meatballs, moussaka, kalamari and greek fries. They even serve Ouzo!

I ordered lamb souvlaki, Greek salad sans tomato and feta, and hummus. Everything was beyond incredible, and very reasonably priced. My mom and Ryan shared greek fries (which I tried and were amazing as well), and Ryan ordered a gyro sandwich that he was also very pleased with. The souvlaki was perfectly seasoned, the salad was fresh and light, and I can't even begin to tell you how good the hummus was. Turns out the owner's son makes it from scratch and its his own secret recipe; none of the other restaurant employees know how to make it!

All in all, I would highly recommend Dorio's to anyone with or without dietary restrictions. The staff was very accommodating to my mom and I, and Ryan, who has no allergies, was happy with his meal as well. So no matter who you are, you should try it out!!

The second part of this post is a recipe I made my family the other night. Again, in the mood for Mediterranean cuisine, I made Mediterranean chicken with falafel. Everyone loved it, including my boyfriend Ryan who isn't used to allergy free cooking. So you can imagine I was especially proud of myself. This stuff is amazing, you'll love it! The chicken recipe is below, and the falafel was a packaged mix from Orgran that I got at Lingonberries market.

Mediterranean Chicken

2 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. white wine
2-3 cups precooked chicken, cubed
3 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cups roasted red peppers, diced
1/2 cup white win
2 tsp. thyme
1 tbsp. basil
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/4 c. parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil and 2 tbsp white wine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and saute until golden brown. Set aside.

Saute garlic in same pan, sans chicken, for 30 seconds. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add roasted red peppers and cook for another minute. Add 1/2 cup white wine and reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add thyme and basil and simmer another 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet, add olives and parsley, cover, and cook for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper, remove from heat, and serve.

Serves 5-6.

Yamas! (Thats Greek for "Cheers" :) )