The list that details how we will pack our tummies while adventuring away from home can be as essential as the one that reminds us to pack our toothbrush. Here are some post-mortem thoughts on our travels that may be useful to you one day.

I have been on a summer holiday. A holiday from writing, cooking, making my own bed, doing laundry, and driving. A whole week in Seattle of walking, shopping, and of course eating. Fresh seafood offerings were obvious, a Tom Douglas restaurant (or four) were essential, and a stroll though the Seattle core was a daily ritual. Hotel Andra was the perfect home away from home (with the exception of a little light reading about it being haunted and the 9th floor occasionally sounding like a rollicking prohibition era party). We remained un-haunted and tres comfortable during our stay, AND we manged to dine all over town with the tiger cub in tow. Success.

Serious Pie – Perfect oven-fired, thin crust pizza a la Tom Douglas. Conveniently located across the street from our hotel, we ate there twice. The chanterelle and crimini mushroom with truffle cheese was perfect, and the chocolate budino with sea salt and olive oil was a rich and addictive ending.

Dinette – A perfectly quaint little restaurant nestled in Capitol Hill, which I quickly discovered to be Seattle’s drinking and dining equivalent to NYC’s Lower East Side. Delicious European fare, mostly Mediterranean inspired. The frittata toast with frisee and white truffle oil was a pretty happy start. I wanted to order another one as soon as the last morsel disappeared. The gnocchi a la romano was perfectly executed. The hand made ice cream sandwiches to go were the cherry on top of a perfect dinner.

Poppy – Jerry Traunfeld’s modern northwest thali restaurant is a dining experience indeed. Not the $2 all you can eat thali that I experienced in Mumbai, but really delicious little inventive tastes on a tray. The ten items thalis are comprised of dishes like warm radish and grilled scallion salad, golden beets with spice bread and mint,  lavender duck breast with black currant, apricot and turnips, and washington troll king salmon with sea beans, bacon, and pinot noir sauce. The hot date cake with banana ice cream and butterscotch, and the malted chocolate pudding with caramelized banana to finish, meant we walked back to Belltown from Capitol Hill. So. Full.

Molly Moon’s Ice Cream – From music mogul, to ice cream maker, Molly knows a thing of two about all things creamy, frozen, and delicious. The smell of fresh baked waffle cones invites you in the door where the hard decisions begin. Balsamic Strawberry? Salted caramel? Scout mint? Yes, please.

Oddfellows Cafe and Bar – A gorgeous, historic, open space that hearkens to the romance of days gone by. Rustic communal tables and a casual menu made it a perfect lunch spot for a fresh avocado BLT, and a fizzy drink while exploring the Pike and Pine Corridor of Capitol Hill. The courtyard with its old school strings of lights looked pretty magical too.

Dahlia Bakery – It’s easy to get Tom Douglas fatigue, especially when staying in the hub of Tom Douglas-land at the Andra, but the man knows how to make some seriously tasty goods. The Dahlia bakery was a perfect stop for freshly made breakfast sandwiches to go, the BEST peanut butter cookies I’ve ever tasted, AND those (served all day long) breakfast donuts. Little, warm, fresh, cinnamon and sugar coated treats served with mascarpone and fresh preserves. Oy veh.

Salumi – Mecca for pork lovers. Period. Mario Batali’s parents have a tiny, well known, artisan cured meat shop. The lines are long. The hours are short. The room is small. The porchetta is ridiculous. The salami sandwiches are perfection. The meatballs are pretty serious too. The faithful followers who don’t mind queuing for a sandwich wrapped in butcher paper are the evidence. Go. Wait. You’ll be happy.

With Easter Monday tea planned for some of my favorite ladies, it was an easy decision. Upon tracking down the best and freshest French almond paste I’ve found to date in Edmonton in the baking section at the Italian Centre Shoppe, this Almond Lemon Poppy Tea Cake was my finest specimen yet. Oddly the recipe in the Tartine Cookbook pictures the cake with poppy seeds just as I found it in the San Francisco bakery, yet the poppy seeds have been omitted from the recipe. I have made the simple addition and love the delicate crunch of those little ebony seeds, but you can easily make this without if you prefer. A word of caution: you may be tempted to not share a single bite.

Almond Lemon Poppy Tea Cake
Serves 8 to 10

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (plus some for preparing the pan)
3/4 cup pastry or cake flour, sifted (plus some for preparing the pan)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup almond paste, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons orange juice
3/4 cup sugar

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, knocking out the excess flour.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt twice. In a small bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla and whisk together just to combine.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almond paste on low speed until it breaks up. This can take up to a minute, depending on how soft and warm it is. Slowly add the sugar in a steady stream, beating until incorporated. If you add the sugar too quickly, the paste won’t break up as well.

4. Cut the butter into 1-tablespoon pieces. Continue on low speed while adding the butter, a tablespoon at a time, for about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Then turn on the mixer to medium speed and beat until the mixture is light in color and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. With the mixer still on medium speed, add the eggs in a very slow, steady stream and mix until incorporated. Stop the mixer and again scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn on the mixer again to medium speed and mix for 30 seconds more.

5. Add the citrus zests and poppy seeds and mix in with a wooden spoon. Add the flour mixture in two batches, stirring after each addition until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl one last time, then spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with an offset spatula.

6. Bake until the top springs back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 to 7 minutes while you make the glaze.

7. To make the glaze, stir together the lemon and orange juices and the sugar in a small bowl. Place the wire rack holding the cake over a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil to catch any drips of glaze, and gently invert the cake onto the rack. If the cake does not want to release, run the tip of a small knife around the edge to loosen it. Brush the entire warm cake with the glaze, then let the cake cool completely on the rack. The cake breaks apart easily when warm, so don’t attempt to move it.

8. When the cake is cool, transfer it to a serving plate, using two crisscrossed icing spatulas or the base of a two-part tart pan to lift it. Serve at room temperature. The cake will keep, well-wrapped, for 1 week in the refrigerator.