Le Rêve Bakery & Cafe

My lovely friend Christina read my post about Cafe Besalu and urged me to try her favorite pastry shop in Queen Anne, Le Rêve Bakery & Cafe. Well, you don't exactly have to twist my arm to get me to try a new eating spot, so we went together today! The cafe's name translates as "The Dream," and it's super cute, with a glass case full of tempting baked goods. But it was lunchtime, so we held off on the sweets and opted for soup. I had a mug of cream of broccoli and it was absolutely delicious, with flavorful florets and little squares of potato. I also had a caprese sandwich, but next time I'll just get a big bowl of soup. Plus, when you get the bowl of soup (as opposed to the mug) it comes with monkey bread -- not the kind with cinnamon, but a fluffy roll laced with a savory cheese.

I was totally full after that, but left with a huge, buttery twice-baked almond croissant, which I think is Le Rêve's most popular pastry. I ate more of it than I intended to -- but to my credit, I gave at least half of it to Oscar. Dangerous!

Online reviews lead me to believe that Le Rêve gets packed on the weekends, but we had no trouble getting a seat. I noticed some thoughtful touches, like both glasses and plastic cups for the kiddies near the water carafes. There's even outdoor seating. As a matter of fact, the whole Queen Anne neighborhood looks charming, so I definitely need to do more exploring here. Until next time, I'll be dreaming of the coconut cake that I didn't get to taste. Yet.

Yam with marshmallows

At this time of year I become obsessed with sweet potatoes, or rather yams, which we tend to call sweet potatoes. Confusing, I know, but whatever you call them, I am referring to the long, orange root vegetable, which I find much tastier than the yellowish root vegetable. Anyway, on Thanksgiving Chris makes a very delicious dish from his grandmother's recipe which consists of yams baked until they're very mushy, mixed with copious amounts of butter and brown sugar and baked in a casserole dish with marshmallows on top. I seriously could eat the whole pan every time he makes it -- it's amazing. But really, you can make a much healthier version that's just as yummy.

I bake a yam at 400 degrees for 75 minutes, then broil some mini marshmallows on top. No butter or sugar needed! This is what I had for lunch today. One of the perks of working at home.