Want to know what summer tastes like? Bite into one of these squares. The berry cousin of lemon bars, they’re bursting with fresh, juicy and slightly tart raspberries, so they’re fruity and sweet, but not overly so. The use of a little cornstarch in the crust makes it super crisp (also allowing to reduce the amount of butter used in the recipe), and pecans contribute to balance out the bright flavor of the fruit. The filling is almost all raspberry, and again, a little cornstarch is used to thicken the mixture and allow it to set instead of additional egg yolks and butter, letting the fruit shine and making the dessert almost sinless. I like to serve the squares topped with additional fresh raspberries, but they’re absolutely fantastic on their own too.

Makes 9 squares

Crust
1 cup [250 ml] unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup [60 ml] ground pecan nuts
1/3 cup [80 ml] powdered (confectioners’) sugar
3 tbsp [45 ml] cornstarch
¼ tsp [1.25 ml] salt
3 tbsp [45 ml] canola oil
3 tbsp [30 ml] butter, softened

Filling
3 cups [750 ml] fresh raspberries (you can use frozen – not thawed – raspberries too)
1/3 cup [80 ml] water
2 tbsp [30 ml] freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 large eggs
1/3 cup [80 ml] granulated sugar
3 tbsp [45 ml] cornstarch
Pinch of salt

To serve (optional)
Powdered (confectioners’) sugar
Fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 350°F [175°C]. Line an 8-inch [20-cm] square baking pan with parchment paper, letting it overhang on two sides.

For the crust: Combine flour, ground pecan nuts, powdered (confectioners’) sugar, cornstarch and ¼  teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Add oil and butter. Using a fork or your fingertips, blend into the flour mixture until evenly combined. The mixture should be a little crumbly. Firmly press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake until just barely beginning to brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.

For the filling: While the crust is baking, combine raspberries and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the fruit is very soft and mostly broken down, 4 to 6 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all the liquid. Discard the seeds. Pour the strained juice into a measuring cup. You need 1 cup strained juice; remove any extra or add a little water if you are short. Stir in lemon juice.

Whisk granulated sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Whisk in eggs. Stir in the juice mixture, pouring it slowly into the egg mixture while beating constantly. Pour the filling over the crust.

Bake until just set, 15 to 20 minutes. (The center should still be a little jiggly—it will firm up as it cools.) Let cool to room temperature in the pan on a wire rack, about 1 ½ hours. Gently slide a sharp knife along the edges of the pan that are not covered with parchment paper, and lift out of the pan all in one piece using the edges of the parchment paper. Cut into 9 squares.

Dust with powdered (confectioners’) sugar and garnish with fresh raspberries, if desired, just before serving. Keep remaining squares in an airtight container (in a single layer) in the fridge and eat within 3 days.

Recipe Credit: Adapted from Eating Well Magazine.

Meet Melissa Bahen, food blogger, from Willamette Valley, Oregon. Melissa has learned to cook in her mom’s kitchen, who learned to cook in her mom’s kitchen. This passion for homemade food, passed down from generation to generation, has made Melissa’s life revolve around meals: one of her favorite things to do is plan out her family’s weekly menu. She started her blog, Lulu the Baker, in 2008 as a place to collect her family’s favorite recipes. Here’s Eugene, Oregon, in her own words.

My Edible City

Eugene, Oregon. My husband and I moved to Eugene over 6 years ago when our oldest daughter was just 10 months old. We didn’t know anyone here or have any family nearby, but we felt at home immediately in this funny, friendly little college town. Eugene has so many things that we love: you can cross town in 30 minutes or less even on the busiest day; it’s surrounded by beautiful farmland, and you can go 15 minutes in any direction and find a farm stand, orchard, or u-pick farm; and it has such a nice, small-town atmosphere–we rarely go out to dinner or run errands without running into someone we know! And we somehow talked both sets of parents into moving here too. So now, in addition to the friendly people and beautiful scenery that we like so much, we are surrounded by so many of the people we love! We are very lucky to call this beautiful corner of the world home.

My Favorite Dish

Cheeseburger, onion rings, and homemade ranch from Dickie Jo’s Burgers. I love a good hamburger, and in my opinion, Dickie Jo’s has the best burgers in town! They make their own buns, which I think makes a huge difference, and use beef from the Pacific Northwest. I always like to know where my meat is coming from! They make crazy-good garlic fries, but I’m especially partial to the onion rings that they serve with this amazing, garlicky housemade ranch. And they have really good shakes and root beer floats too. When they first opened, their menu was pretty small, but they’ve since expanded it to include classic American diner fare like BLT’s, wedge salads, and chili dogs. And I’ve snuck more than a few of the Ritz cracker-coated chicken fingers off my children’s plates, and they are so delicious! You really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu–it’s all fantastic!

Useful Links

• Plan a weekend in Eugene with the help of these guides: 36 Hours in Eugene (The New York Times) and 48 Hours in Eugene (Sunset Magazine)
• Did you know Willamette Valley was Oregon’s premiere wine region? Get to know Oregon’s wines and learn more about the valley’s smaller wine producers: Willamette Valley’s Boutique Vineyards (Travel+Leisure)

Also: Follow Melissa on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

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Photo Credits: All pictures by Melissa Bahen.

This week’s recipe serves one of the most luxurious ingredients of the season, lobster, in an elegant but super easy way. Cannelloni can take a while to make, but if you take a couple of shortcuts by using high-quality, ready-to-use ingredients, you end up with a fantastic tasting dish whipped up in a very short amount of time.

My shortcuts for this recipe? The best dried Italian pasta and high-quality ready-made pesto and rosé sauce. As much as I love pesto, the truth is that I almost never make it at home because buying enough fresh basil to make a batch would cost me a week’s worth of groceries, and I’m plagued with the inability to grow my own (it always, always, dies on me – I can’t seem to do anything about it). Also, I confess: ever since I discovered Maison Le Grand’s line of raw pestos and sauces, I haven’t really felt the need to make my own. Their pestos are so bright and fresh, they really do taste like they were just coming out of my food processor. They’re one of the very few convenience foods I actually buy at the grocery store.

Maison Le Grand recently expended their line of pestos with new rosé sauces and they contacted me to see if I was interested in having a taste. (Full disclosure: this is not a sponsored post. The products I’ve used to make this recipe were provided for free, but the content of this post and my opinions are entirely mine). Being a long-time fan of their products, I quickly accepted – especially since the new sauces were dairy-free. Yes, dairy-free rosé sauces! My lactose-intolerant tummy allows me a small quantity of dairy products daily (like grated parmesan cheese over pasta, for example), but I absolutely cannot digest cream-based dishes and sauces. I have made rosé sauce before, both using soy cream and lactose-free cream, but it was the first time I heard of commercially made lactose-free rosé sauces.

The new sauces didn’t disappoint: they taste fresh, they’re well seasoned and… they make up a meal in no time! My favorite is the Rustic variety (with chunks of roasted bell peppers, caramelized onions and sun-dried tomatoes), but for my Lobster Cannelloni recipe, I went the classic route. I simply mixed the freshly cooked lobster meat with pesto, mixed in some toasted pine nuts, and cooked the pasta in a little rosé sauce. I believe the restraint use of seasonings and sauces lets the lobster’s delicate flavor shine through beautifully. A new spring classic in my house!

Of course, you can really make this dish your own by rolling out your own pasta, and making your own pesto and rosé sauce… But if you go the easy way, like I did, I won’t tell anyone, I promise.

Pssst… Scroll down to the bottom of the post to enter to win Maison Le Grand’s full line of pestos and rosé sauces!

Lobster Cannelloni with Pesto, Rosé Sauce and Toasted Pine Nuts

Serves 2

1 cooked 1 ¼ lb [560 g] lobster, meat removed from the shell (making about 6.25 oz [175 g] meat)
¼ cup [60 ml] basil pesto (homemade, or best-quality ready-made)
1 tbsp [15 ml] finely chopped chives
1 tbsp [15 ml] toasted pine nuts
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt (if needed)

1 cup [250 ml] prepared rosé sauce (homemade, or best-quality ready-made)

6 cannelloni pasta sheets (flat and wide lasagna sheets will also do – but not quick-cooking pasta)
¼ cup [60 ml] grated Fontina cheese
2 tbsp [30 ml] grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (omit the cheeses if you want to go dairy-free)

To serve (optional)
Fresh basil
Chopped chives
Toasted pine nuts
Best-quality extra-virgin olive oil

Cook the cannelloni pasta sheets according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Drain and reserve. Preheat oven to 350°F [175°C].

Chop the lobster into small chunks and put in a mixing bowl. Add the pesto, chopped chives, pine nuts and mix well so that the seasonings are distributed evenly and the all the lobster chunks are coated with pesto. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Taste, and season with salt if needed.

Pour and spread half of the rosé sauce in a baking dish that will fit the six cannelloni snugly.

Lay a cooked cannelloni sheet flat on a working surface. Spoon 1/6 of the lobster mixture at one end of the sheet. Roll the pasta carefully but tightly around the lobster mixture. Place this cannelloni in the prepared baking dish, and roll the next five cannelloni the same way.

Pour the remaining half of the rosé sauce over the prepared cannelloni, and sprinkle the cheeses over. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is golden.

To serve, divide the cannelloni between two serving plates. Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil, toasted pine nuts, and chopped chives, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Enjoy!

Maison Le Grand Giveaway

Maison Le Grand is offering one lucky reader the chance to win their full line of pestos and sauces (valued at $50!). I promise you’ll love them! To win, simply enter using the form below.

Giveaway winner will be announced on June 5th. Open to Canadian residents only (sorry, South-of-the-border friends!).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meet Billy Law, food blogger, food photographer and cookbook author, from Sydney, Australia. The face looks familiar? Billy was also a contestant on the very popular series Masterchef Australia in 2011 (one of my favorite contestants across all seasons!), making it all the way to the top ten finalists. Born in Ipoh, Malaysia, Law moved to Australia in 1996 to study and never left. As a travel lover and passionate eater, Billy loves food in all its forms and believes one should try everything at least once, love it or hate it. He chronicles his adventures on his blog, A Table for Two, and his debut cookbook “Have You Eaten?” was published in September 2012. Here’s Penang, Malaysia, in his own words.

My Edible City

Penang, Malaysia. Despite living in Australia for over 17 years, I still have very fond memories of my home country, Malaysia, where my family still lives. Being thousand miles away from home, there are only two things I miss the most – my family and the food. Good delicious Malaysian food can be found almost anywhere in the country, and then there is this little island on the North-West coast near the border with Thailand called Penang. For Malaysians, Penang is the mecca of street food, or as Anthony Bourdain put it, “The food capital of the entire region”. You will find hawker food stands at every street corner in Penang, ready to expand your waistline with delicious street food influenced by the diverse cultures in this country. Malaysia is a food obsessed country so don’t be surprised that if you are greeted with ‘Have you eaten?’ instead of ‘Hey, how are you?’. That locals will make the 7 hours round trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang just for the food is not unheard of.

My Favorite Dish

Assam Laksa, hands down. Assam Laksa is also known as Penang Laksa, it is a specialty of this city. Many people would agree that no visit to Penang is complete without eating this famous and much-loved local delicacy. It consists of round rice noodles swimming in a dark muddy fish-based broth that has this distinctive spicy piquant flavor, soured with tamarind pulp, with a fishy mackerel aroma that is deliciously addictive. Many Penangites have mastered the art of Assam Laksa over decades, and several street food vendors have been selling the same dish at the same spot for generations. One of the most popular spots in Penang where you can taste this delicious bowl of Assam Laksa is at Jalan Pasar in Air Itam near the wet market. Be prepared to queue and wait for a table as it gets very crowded during lunch hour. Anthony Bourdain (on No Reservations, season 8) actually sat on a plastic stool at this stall in Penang, slurping the velvety smooth rice noodle and sipping the hot, spicy and sour fish broth — he was even tempted to use the word ‘Yummy’ to describe his unadulterated satisfaction. I don’t blame him.

Useful Links

• Learn more about Penang (and all the delicious places you should visit there) with Billy’s post: Taste of Penang, Malaysia
• Feel adventurous? Make Assam Laksa at home with this recipe from RasaMalaysia.
• Hungry now? Go on a Malaysia culinary tour hosted by Billy himself! Dates are October 31 to November 7, 2013. More information here.

Also: Follow Billy on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

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Photo Credits: All pictures by Billy Law.

I had never heard of Saba before E forwarded me a travel article presenting the island as a diver’s paradise. We had been looking for a sunny and warm vacation destination, but we only had 9 days off, so we could only go so far. We wanted an active and exploratory trip, not a crowded and isolated all-inclusive. As I read more about Saba, I became increasingly intrigued by it, and before long, we had booked our vacation.

Saba is a small 5 sq. miles island, part of the Netherlands Antilles, just off St. Maarten. To reach it, we had to fly to St. Maarten, then transfer to a small 18-place plane that flew over to Saba in less than 15 minutes. We landed on the infamous 1,300-feet “shortest runway in the world” which only looks intimidating – the plane landed softly like a fly.

No closed cabin for these pilots.

The airport peninsula and its short runway.

What makes Saba so special? The most obvious answer is this one: there’s no beach. Well, there’s one, a small patch of sea-level ground at Wells Bay that gets covered with fine, black volcanic sand in the spring when the currents and tides are right, but Donna, our island guide, told us that the beach hadn’t shown up for the last three years (they were crossing fingers it would this year). The idea that you’re in the Caribbean without easy access to the sea needs a little getting used to; it automatically filters out the traveler that’s more interested in sun bathing, swimming in the sea and relaxing, rather than being active and exploring. Since the latter was exactly what we were looking for, we immediately felt right at home.

Saba is a rocky, volcanic island on which you always have to climb up or go down a hill. The road that crosses the island is tortuous and often steep, and our first drive, in the taxi leading us to our hotel, was impressive, to say the least. It was a great way to get acquainted as we had a peek at some of the island’s landmarks: the houses perched on the island’s cliffs, the entrance to the hiking path leading to the island’s dormant volcano peak and highest point (Mt. Scenery at 2,850 feet), the delightful restaurants lining the main street of the village of Windwardside, and finally, the scenic drive down to The Bottom, the island’s capital.

A twisting and turning part of “The Road”, Saba’s main road that crosses the island.

Proof that everything’s perched in Saba: even the elementary school sit at the top of a very steep cliff.

Names given to geographical locations in Saba are very litteral: The capital is aptly named “The Bottom” for its geographical location in a valley, surrounded by several hills.

A cute park in The Bottom:

What attracts many travelers to Saba is its incredible biodiversity: within minutes, you can drive (or walk) from dry and rocky cliffs to humid and lush rain forest. The island is blessed with an incredible network of well-maintained hiking paths, one of the island’s major attractions. These paths used to be the “roads” followed by farmers to reach the land where they cultivated vegetables and fruits, which needed the high-altitude humidity to grow.

A week to explore all of Saba’s trails isn’t enough, so we had to make tough choices. Many people recommended the Sandy Cruz Trail, and it was a great discovery hike indeed. “Jungle James”, a very knowledgeable nature guide, and his enthusiastic apprentice accompanied us and fed us loads of information about this incredible ecosystem, which was completely new to us. We even tasted different plants and fruits along the way (something we would have never dared doing by ourselves!) As we walked back down towards The Bottom, we witnessed the vegetation quickly changing from primary to secondary rainforest, to broadleaf woodland.

At the start of the trail, we were walking in the clouds.

Lush vegetation and exotic flowers abound:

Another “hike” I did on my own (while E was diving) was going down and back up The Ladder, a 800-step path that connects Ladder Bay to The Bottom. The views coming down this path are breathtaking and reaching the sea at the end makes the trip worthwhile. What’s completely mind-boggling is that up until the late 20th century, this was the only access to the island. This means that everything that was brought to the island (materials to build roads and houses, furniture, etc.) was carried by hand using these steps. As I made my way back up the hard climb, stopping every 50 steps in the shade to catch my breath and drink a little water, I realized just how much the world had changed. Who, today, would repeatedly carry 100 to 200 lbs charges on their heads up 800 steps for the sake of building a settlement? I feel like it speaks volume about Saba’s people and their determination.

The “beach” at Ladder Bay is formed by huge volanic boulders which roll around easily as you step on them — now is not the time to twist an ankle!

As I mentioned before, Saba is also a prime scuba diving destination, and it probably is the island’s primary tourism draw. Due to its volcanic nature, Saba is completely surrounded by a protected marine park spanning over 1,300 hectares. Dozens of dive sites are located within minutes of the shore, offering unique sights such as underwater cliffs, pinnacles, and an incredibly rich coral life. E went on several dives and, as always, I was able to benefit from his efforts, thanks to his HD-filming diving mask. He told me the range of colors and types of corals he saw was unlike anything he had ever seen before – and indeed, none of his previous diving films showed as much detail and life as Saba’s underwater landscapes did. He saw turtles, barracudas and sharks as well as hundreds of fish and coral species. Sometimes he swam along cliffs from which he peeked at a seemingly bottomless sea; sometimes he let himself being cradled with the fish and the intricate plant life by the soft currents. No wonder Saba is frequently listed among the world’s top diving destinations – it may be the Caribbean’s very best spot.

Up close and personal with a turtle <3

Saba’s underwater landscapes include cliffs dotted with hundreds of different coral varieties.

We had a refreshingly fulfilling and relaxing time on Saba. It’s impossible to feel stressed over there; to go from point A to point B, you simply walk, call a cab, or do as the local do and hitchhike. Criminality on Saba is very rare; everybody knows everybody. Someone told me that getting to know everyone on Saba takes about a month, but from day one, you’ll find yourself saying hello to all those you meet. We left promising ourselves we’d go back so we’d find that peace of mind again, the one we reached after only a few days on the island. We’ll go back to keep on diving, hiking, and eating our way around the island.

Saba Resources:

• The article that made us want to go to Saba: Diving Off Saba, Caribbean’s Unspoiled Queen
• The Official Site of Saba’s Tourism Bureau
• A detailed map of Saba, its trails and diving sites
• Learn more about Saba’s Conservation Foundation, responsible for protecting the island’s marine park and hiking trails
• Plan your diving trip with either one of Saba’s three diving centers:
  • Sea Saba Dive Center
  • Saba Divers
  • Saba Deep Dive Center

Meet Albane Sharrard, pastry chef, and Evi Abeler, food photographer, both from New York City. Albane has worked with some of the best pastry chefs, including Dominique Ansel and Jacques Torres, and she now has her own line of jams and baked goods inspired by her grandmother’s recipes. Evi is an experienced life and food photographer who has worked for Anthology Magazine, Food+Wine and Sweet Paul. Together, Albane and Evi form the duo behind Whip+Click, a blog that combines easy recipes, mouth-watering photos and beautiful videos. Here’s New York City, in their own words.

Our Edible City

New York City. Our home is New York City, Harlem to be more precise. One of our favorite pastimes is to go to our local farmers’ markets in Harlem. You will probably be surprised by the abundance of local greenmarkets in the City, the most talked about in Manhattan is the New Amsterdam Market at the old Fulton Fish Market. There, you’ll find small businesses such as butchers, grocers, mongers, and other vendors who source, produce, distribute, and sell foods made with regional ingredients as well as carefully selected imports. The market is known for featuring artisanal products such as cheeses from Finger Lakes Farms or bread from Hot Bread Kitchen. We love to go there on Sunday mornings and pick up cheese and bread for our lazy sunday lunches.

Our Favorite Dish

Cheese Plates. Our favorite New York food experience in all seasons is enjoying a cheese plate for a picnic or a gathering with friends. We have some great picnic spots in Harlem. Central Park is just nine blocks to the South of us and we also have Marcus Garvey Park to the North and Morningside Park to the West. In the winter however, we opt for the warmth of our home! Each time we go to the New Amsterdam Market we sample from different artisanal vendors. We’re from German and French backgrounds, so we love a good cheese and we don’t ever get tired of sampling! We try to go with local cheeses most of the time. For the cheese plate pictured to the right we chose: a Crottin and Cremont from Vermont Creamery, a Medallion Goat from Coach Farm, and an aged Gouda from the Netherlands. To round up our picnics, we pick up a baguette and pair the cheeses with a Harlem-made jam from Crosstown Sweets.

Useful Links

• More love for New York City by past Edible Cities contributors:
  • Ramen, by Mayssam Samaha from Will Travel for Food
  • Eggs Benedict, by Emily & Erik from Home, a Sandwich Shoppe
• Plan your next food- and shopping-focused visit to NYC: Markets of New York City: A Guide to the Best Artisan, Farmer, Food & Flea Markets
• Get to know Harlem better with the help of these thorough guides about the borough:
  • Harlem Visitor’s Guide (New York Magazine)
  • Harlem Guide: The Best of the Neighborhood (TimeOut New York)
  • Manhattan Guide Part 1: Harlem (Design*Sponge)
  • New York Walking Tour: A Hop Through Harlem (National Geographic)

Also: Follow Albane and Evi on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

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Photo Credits: All pictures by Evi Abeler.

This is the kind of treat I like to keep a stash of in the freezer. They’re simple yet indulgent, festive yet perfect to satisfy a weeknight craving. Once baked, let them cool completely, cut in squares and store in an airtight container in the freezer. Whenever you feel like having one of those delicious blondies, take however many you need out of the freezer and let them come back to room temperature for 20 minutes. Serve sprinkled with icing sugar, or for a special treat, slathered with hazelnut spread.

Makes 12 blondies

1/3 cup [80 ml] unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 oz [170 g] white chocolate, chopped
2 eggs
1 cup [250 ml] sugar
2 tsp [10 ml] vanilla extract
1 cup [250 ml] all-purpose flour
½ tsp [2.5 ml] baking powder
¼ tsp [1.25 ml] salt
¼ cup [60 ml] dried cranberries
½ cup [125 ml] hazelnuts, lightly toasted, peeled, and chopped

To serve
Icing sugar or hazelnut spread

Preheat oven to 350°F [180°C]. Butter and line a 9-inch [23 cm] baking pan with parchment paper.

In a stainless bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the butter halfway. Add the white chocolate and stir until melted. Allow to cool to room temperature.

In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or with an electric mixer), whip eggs, sugar and vanilla until pale and thick. Reduce speed to medium and add chocolate mixture.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt and stir into egg mixture, by hand. Stir in dried cranberries and hazelnuts and spoon into prepared pan.

Bake about 35 minutes, or until fully puffed and golden on top. The brownies will deflate when you take them out of the oven and this is normal: you don’t want to overcook them so they remain moist and tender.

To serve, dust with icing sugar or drizzle some melted hazelnut spread on top.

Recipe Credit: Adapted from Anna Olson.

Meet Jessica Hulse Dillon, a food and travel blogger from Virginia. Jessica is new to the blogging world, and on her site, Tasty Belly, she chronicles her culinary adventures, both close to home and away on travels. Her goal is to visit as many countries as she can, and from what I can tell from her Twitter feed and her busy travel schedule, she may very well manage to make her way around the world. Here’s Bangkok, in her own words.

My Edible City

Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand has always been one of those places that seemed exotic and larger then life. You see pictures of the intense beauty of both the country and its people and it is hard to imagine how the beauty and grace could exist side by side with the intense Thai economy that has spawned in the capital of Bangkok, clearly I had to find out for myself how both could exist together.

My Favorite Dish

Pad Thai. When I got to Bangkok, I of course had to eat all of the Thai food I could get my hands on, including my favorite Pad Thai, and while the American versions I had previously had stayed quite true to its origin in general flavors, the overall Thai Pad Thai experience was quite different. One of the most common Thai dishes enjoyed in the US is Pad Thai, which is something I have always enjoyed. The combination of the spicy and sour sauce, along with the crunchy peanuts, and light noodles makes it both filling and light.

The best place to find a Pad Thai in Bangkok is from one of the many street vendors around town. Armed with a rolling cart equipped with a gas burner and the traditional ingredients these mobile chefs create an amazing meal on the go for tourists and Bangkok residents alike.

The vendors are stocked with multiple kinds of noodles, your choice of protein (shrimp, or chicken) and the sauces, bean sprouts, peanuts, and limes to create the sour and spicy dish that makes Pad Thai so delicious. Upon walking up to the cart the vendor begins with some oil and an egg in their huge wok. From there they toss in your protein, or not if you prefer the vegetarian option, your noodles, the sauces, bean sprouts, and peanuts. Traditional Pad Thai sauce is comprised of tamarind paste, fish sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar and pepper. The better the vendor the more of those ingredients were kept separate and added to the mix as it cooked, while vendors on the cheaper side tended to have one sauce mix that was added.

Once your vendor is done cooking your Pad Thai it is passed off to you on a tiny plate, which makes sharing tricky but not impossible, as you want to eat it while it is still hot from the wok. The whole dish costs somewhere between 50 and 75 Bhat (between $1.50 and $2.50) and between the show you get watching the vendor make your meal and the joy from eating it, street Pad Thai is one of the best experiences I found in Bangkok!

Useful Links

• Pad Thai at Thip Samai (The Best in Bangkok?)
• See a video of Pad Thai being made in Bangkok
• Make it at home: Pad Thai for Beginners

Also: Follow Jessica on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Photo Credits: Bangkok picture by Mr. Wood (Flickr Creative Commons); Jessica’s portrait and Pad Thai picture by Jessica Hulse Dillon.

Over the past few weeks, I got overwhelmed with work, as evidenced by my lack of recent posts. Deadlines colliding, a trip to San Francisco for the annual IACP conference, and an upcoming vacation all contributed to make me spend every waking hour in front of my computer screen, without ever feeling like I was in full control of my task list. It’s been an exhausting end of winter!

I’m leaving tomorrow for a week’s vacation, and I plan for them to be completely unplugged. No social media for one full week. I can’t remember the last time I’ve done this! Imagine sightseeing without pausing to Instagram; eating meals without photographing every plate; getting through your day without narrating it on Twitter? Although I generally don’t feel stressed by social media management, I believe a week away from it all will be relaxing and refreshing.

So we’re off to Saba, a small, 1,600-soul island in the Dutch Antilles, just off Sint Maarten. Saba is a paradise for divers: the waters around it as well as the seabed and seamounts are preserved as the Saba Marine Park, making it one of the top diving destinations in the Caribbean. One of its distinctive characteristics is that the island is in fact a dormant volcano, making for a breath-taking profile that steeply rises up from the sea. It has no beaches to speak of, and it’s covered with a dense rainforest that is home to unique flora (wild orchids!) and hundreds of bird species. We look forward to long, lazy days, beautiful hikes, delicious meals, and amazing discoveries.

I’ll see you in a little more than a week. A couple of posts will be published on Food Nouveau next week (as well as corresponding tweets and Facebook posts), but I swear, it won’t be cheating – everything’s scheduled.

Have you ever taken an unplugged vacation? Any favorite spots you’d care to share?

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Photo Credits:
1: Saba from Afar, by Richie Diesterheft (Flickr Creative Commons)
2: View from Mt. Scenery, Saba, by Radioflux (Wikipedia Commons)
3: Diving Tent Reef in Saba, by Marc AuMarc (Flickr Creative Commons)

Meet Kristan Raines, a food blogger from Seattle. I recently met Kristan during a webinar, and I quickly noticed her new blog, The Broken Bread. I like that the site’s super simple design puts her huge, atmospheric pictures forward and the fact that she alternates recipe posts with equally atmospheric videos she makes with her husband. Kristan is a cookbook collector and a lover of freshly baked goods, fine craft beer and anything covered in chocolate. Here’s Seattle, in her own words.

My Edible City

Seattle. I have been able to call Seattle home for just over a year now, and my husband and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful place to live. Locals have often asked me why I left Southern California for Washington, and my response is always, “I wish I would have moved up here sooner!” Seattle has been such a wonderful host since our move, offering us lush forests, beautiful lakes, and glorious views of many snow-capped mountains that surround this emerald city. Seattle does have its fair share cloudy days and rain, but when summer makes its appearance, people are out and about enjoying the picturesque views located throughout town. Local farmers markets, French pastry shops, artisan cheese stores, and independent breweries are just a few of the many edible and drinkable destinations available to anyone who decides to visit this great city.

My Favorite Dish

Caribbean Pork Sandwich at Paseo. Before moving to Seattle, my husband I made a trip up north to explore our future home. Our days were filled with bits of rain, beautiful hikes, and many restaurants. One of my favorite dishes in this city has to be the Caribbean Pork Sandwich from Paseo. This was my very first meal in Seattle, thus earning a very special place in my heart. Paseo is combination of exotic comfort food, combined with a relaxed atmosphere and eclectic design. The restaurant is quite cozy, fitting no more than 20 people at a time, and the line is often out the door. With such alluring meals, people are more that willing to wait, no matter how long the line can get. The Caribbean Pork Sandwich I like to order comes on freshly baked bread, filled with tender meat smothered with some of the best sautéed onions I have ever had. If you are ever are in Seattle, I urge you to take some time to check out this diamond in the rough.

Useful Links

• Drool over Paseo’s Caribbean sandwich menu
• Seattle is a great travel destination for food lovers: Take a tour of the famous Pike Place Market or wander the streets of up-and-coming Pioneer Square, a historic neighborhood with an ever-growing list of cool cafés, restaurants and cheap eats
• This is Seattle’s second appearance in Edible Cities! See why Kait Lucy loves it too.

Also: Follow Kristan on Pinterest and Instagram.

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Photo Credits: All pictures by Kristan Raines.