Patisserie...Again!

A lunchtime treat on a summer afternoon: Chocolate gelato and a lemon tart from the Colville Street Patisserie in downtown Walla Walla. Can you tell I love this place?

Popular Donuts

Want a tasty morning treat at a good price in a convenient location? Popular Donuts is the way to go! (I recommend a maple bar...but I would probably say that about almost every shop that sells donuts. They're my favourite.) Just two blocks from downtown Walla Walla on Hwy 11, this is an easy, nearly necessary stop when in the Walla Walla Valley. Let me know you're in town and I'll even buy you a donut.

Just to Make You Hungry

I recently attended a bridal shower and this amazing strawberry trifle was made fresh at the party. It didn't last long, either; it was so delicious it disappeared in a matter of minutes. Ingredients include: Fresh strawberries, strawberry yogurt, pound cake, whipped topping, almonds, frozen strawberries, and lemon. Beautiful AND delicious. Even in the small country towns we can make fabulous dishes like this!

Mmmm...

This is handmade pasta with asparagus and spinach and Parmesan cheese. I got it for dinner at The Green Spoon, a new restaurant in downtown Walla Walla. It was delicious...and now I'm hungry.

No Appetite Now

This really grosses me out. I mean, besides the fact that I'm a vegetarian, I just don't understand why bacon and chocolate together is a good idea. I spotted this at Bright's Candies on Main Street in Walla Walla. And no, I didn't buy it.

Déjeuner Avec Ciel

Last week my friend Ciel was in town, visiting from France, where she maintains Versailles Daily Photo, always posting fabulous photos and fascinating history tidbits. Every time she visits her friends here she makes time to see me; last time we grabbed coffee at Starbucks and this time I introduced her to the Patisserie, where she got breakfast (blackberry scone and OJ) and I enjoyed a mid-morning snack (mocha and a chocolate chip cookie). It was so good to see her; I love making new friends and learning more about different cultures, and Ciel is all of that wrapped up in one great conversationalist. If any of you come to the Walla Walla Valley, please let me know; I'd love to meet you, too!

Schwan's

I see these trucks all over the valley. They're food on wheels, basically, but not the pre-cooked, ready-to-chow-down-on dishes. Instead, they sell frozen vegetables, ice cream, meat entrees, pies, cookie dough, and more - everything frozen so you can grab it and have quick meals (or desserts or side dishes) when you need them. I ordered a few things from them a couple of times and by far my favourite was the frozen grasshopper ice cream pie. (Mint chocolate is always a winner.) You place your order and they deliver it a couple of days later, when you can order more if you'd like. You can also set up regular deliveries of items you use all the time and they'll deliver it on a schedule to either your house or your office. Does your area have anything like this?

Desserts

I edited this photo I took of my friend's daughter, waiting patiently in the Colville Street Patisserie for a bite of gelato (Italian ice cream). (She eventually got some; I shared my strawberry and Mom shared her vanilla.)

Eating the Easter Bunny

I went into Bright's Candies this afternoon after lunch for a treat, and this is what they are making this week: Easter chocolates! Ducks, chicks, bunnies, eggs, and more, and their displays sport pastel spring colours and artificial grass-filled Easter baskets. What a fun job this must be to use molds to create just about anything in chocolate! (Though I'm certain one would not be interested in eating as much chocolate after working here all day...)

Phoumy's

These are avocado spring rolls fresh from the kitchen at Phoumy's, the newest Thai restaurant in the valley. The location of this restaurant has changed names about half a dozen times in the last few years, including a home-style American place called Homestead Buffet, the Italian Bistro (the only Italian restaurant in town, and now it's gone), and a few others I've forgotten, but I hope this one stays. Their food is delicious and the staff are wonderful. We went for a friend's birthday dinner a couple of weeks ago and we all ate family style (everyone orders something and then we pass the dishes around the table for everyone to sample whatever they like), so I was able to try vegetarian fried rice, pad thai with tofu, and, my personal absolute favourite, mango curry. Mmmmm...now I'm hungry! If you're ever in town and want something more than the patisserie, I'd be happy to met you at Phoumy's!

Baked Potato Soup

A warming image for a chilly day. This was my lunch at a local cafe the other day: Baked potato soup with foccacia bread. Mmmm! Perfect for a cold, snowy day.

Happy Birthday!

A friend of mine threw a birthday party for her little girl who turned one at the beginning of the month and my daughter and I spent an hour with them and the other guests, laughing, keeping the kids from fighting over the new toys the birthday girl got, and generally having a good time. Before she cut into it, I snapped this quick (blurry - sorry!) photo with my cell phone. She made this cake herself; the top and bottom tiers were applesauce spice cake and the middle layer was butternut squash cake. I tried the applesauce part and it was delicious! She's a fabulous cake maker. I feel like I'm friends with Martha Stewart sometimes.

Poland 11

My sister took me out for kawa, or coffee, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they often offer coffee with ice cream in it. It was delicious! We got kawa twice and I tried it both with and without ice cream and enjoyed them both.

Poland 5

Checking out the grocery store. It looked very similar to those in America, however the packaging was smaller and all in bags - very few things in boxes. That included breakfast cereal, which was weird to me, since almost all of our cereal comes in boxes in America.

The Olive 5

As we were leaving the Olive Marketplace & Cafe I just had to get a picture of the window. I like the artwork, which you can't see very well in this poor photo, but it's an olive tree with its branches stretching from the corner of the window out and up. Through the window you can see the nice leather seats, perfect for meeting some friends for a glass of wine (if you do that sort of thing; I actually don't) or perhaps a cup of coffee. This time of year is perfect for outdoor seating, too, which most downtown restaurants offer. It's great for getting some fresh air as well as people watching (both of which I love to do).

The Olive 4

I was sad to have missed a shot of the girls tossing the crusts and running them through the flattener (not sure what it's actually called), so all you're going to get is a picture of them adding toppings to the already flattened and tossed crusts. I must say, the Margharita Pizza we had at the Olive Marketplace & Cafe (we were eating as I shot this) was absolutely delicious; and we got to watch them make it, which added to the fun.

The Olive 3

While eating upstairs at the Olive Marketplace & Cafe, I liked this part of our view the best. I could see people coming in and placing orders, and I could watch the employees mark the orders down and get the kitchen people going on them. The glasses on wire racks made me a little nervous, but none fell while I was there. That big silver thing hanging from the ceiling is the back side of the chalkboard menu hanging above the ordering counter.

The Olive 2

This is one of the display cases near the ordering counter in the Olive Marketplace and Cafe. I really liked the budding branches in a glass jar of water, and the bowl of lemons. This was part of our view while eating in the upstairs section.

The Olive Marketplace & Cafe

What used to be Merchants French Bakery and Cafe in downtown Walla Walla is now known as The Olive Marketplace and Cafe. Purchased by a local restaurateur, the resulting restaurant is actually an improvement over what was, for over 30 years, a Walla Walla icon. My husband and I celebrated his birthday there in March and this is what we got to watch while we ate. (That pizza there on the granite slab is our dinner.)

I'm Back!

After over four months of not posting at all, I've been inspired to pick it up again. I was lucky enough to meet a fellow CDP poster, my friend from Versailles Daily Photo, this morning. We met over coffee as she was in town visiting friends. It was a wonderful experience and I hope to return the favour sometime in the near future and visit her hometown in France. My visit with her inspired me to pick this blog up again, so here we are. This is not what we enjoyed today, but next time she comes to town I think we shall experience the Patisserie...and she can tell me how close their pastries are to true French patisserie goodies. This is gelato (not French, I know) and spiced cider I enjoyed about a month ago at the Colville St. Patisserie in Walla Walla. Thank you, VDP, for getting me back on the bandwagon!