Brian Ziman
LightNews LightNews
banner
brianziman.bsky.social
Brian Ziman
@brianziman.bsky.social
190 followers 92 following 240 posts
Building, Teaching, Giving.

Pronouns:he/him ⚲P

Also at @BrianZiman@mastodon.social
https://www.brianziman.com

Opinions are my own and do not represent any organization.
Posts Replies Media Videos
brianziman.bsky.social
Sixth course, chocolate chip brownie, with a 10 year aged tawney Port. #Thanksgiving #cooking
A picture of a shallow gold rimmed dish with a single small brownie square in the middle. The surface of the brownie is dotted with a handful of visible chocolate chips. Next to the dish is a small squat glass with a ribbed green stem, filled with a tawny port.
November 28, 2025 at 4:53 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
Fifth course, cinnamon cranberry chevre on butter crackers. #Thanksgiving #cooking
A top down view of a white plate. On it, are arranged four butter crackers, each of which is topped with a slice of chevre, whipped with cranberries and cinnamon.
November 28, 2025 at 4:52 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
Fourth course, seared venison chops, with the port wine, cranberry, and shallot sauce. (Didn't get a picture of the jellied cranberry sauce of the third course). #Thanksgiving #cooking
A view from above of a white dinner plate. Crossing the plate are a pair of seared frenched venison chops, atop a coarse brown sauce.
November 28, 2025 at 4:52 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
Second course, pan roasted quail, hash brown casserole, candied sweet potatoes, and green beans, topped with a red wine shallot sauce. #Thanksgiving #cooking
A top down view of a white dinner plate with food roughly divided into four quadrants. The upper right is hash brown casserole, topped with crispy french fried onions. The upper left is whipped sweet potatoes topped with crumbled bacon. The lower left is green beans with bacon and onions - okay, mostly just onions. And the lower right is a whole quail. In the middle of the plate, and slightly overlapping the quail, is a course brown sauce.
November 28, 2025 at 4:51 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
First course, seared foie gras on brioche, with a port wine, cranberry, shallot sauce. #Thanksgiving #cooking
A top down view of a white plate. In the center is a piece of grilled brioche, with a heart shaped piece of seared foie gras on top. The upper left portion of the plate is covered with a course brown sauce.
November 28, 2025 at 4:50 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
My version of chicken cassoulet. Not bad for a first attempt. Duck fat makes everything better. #dinner
A top down view of a white wide rimmed bowl. In the bowl is a dark broth with visible bits of bacon, pork belly, onions, and white beans. Atop the broth is a reasonably well-browned whole chicken thigh.
November 1, 2025 at 1:08 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
A hearty pork and vegetable stew for a nice rainy #Seattle day. #dinner
A top down view of a wide rimmed bowl containing a thick stew. Chunks of pork, carrots, green beans, and peas are visible in the brown gravy. A spoon rests on the left side of a plate, while on the right side, there are three slices of heavily buttered baguette.
October 24, 2025 at 9:48 PM
brianziman.bsky.social
Nice walk around #Seattle yesterday. It's always fun to find new angles of the Space Needle.
An upward facing view of the Space Needle against a clear blue sky, through the branches of trees, still covered in green leaves.
October 6, 2025 at 8:38 PM
brianziman.bsky.social
The best thing about cooler weather is that I can get back to cooking my favorite meals. Tonight, I made pot roast! #dinner
A view from above of a white dinner plate. On the left side, there are slices of beef, at the top left are green beans with bacon. At the top right, three slices of homemade baguette with butter smeared on them. To the lower right, a large pile of baby carrots and chunks of onions. In the center of the plate, a heaping pile of mashed potatoes. Covering almost everything is a light brown gravy.
September 15, 2025 at 1:15 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
Pork chop with braised cabbage and apples. #dinner
A top down view of a white dinner plate. Most of the plate is covered with braised shredded green cabbage, mixed with small chunks of apple, crumbled bacon, shreds of carrot, and some red cabbage. You can just make out the flakes of finishing salt, black pepper, and caraway seeds that season it. The top right portion of the plate has a large bone-in pork chop, just a little browned.
August 21, 2025 at 12:34 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
I had a blast at #worldcon, but I'm so glad to be home to my own kitchen. Potato scallion pancakes with herbed cheese, smoked salmon, salmon roe, and dill; cucumber dill salad with a lemon vinaigrette; and roasted shishito peppers. #dinner
A top down view of a white dinner plate. At the bottom are two coarse potato pancakes, each topped with lox-style smoked salmon and a heap of salmon roe. You can just make out the herbed cheese between the pancakes and the lox. At the top right, there is a salad of thin slices of cucumber, and some thin slices of shallot. Both the salmon and the cucumbers are topped with dill. At the top left of the plate, there's a small pile of shishito peppers, slightly blackened.
August 19, 2025 at 1:34 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
Now being seen in the wild in Seattle!
A close-up view of a sticker affixed to a public restroom paper towel dispenser. It has four vertical stripes alternating from left to right, blue, red, blue, red. At the bottom is a comic style illustration of a person holding a slushy drink and surfing on a sheet of ice. The main text says "Abolish ICE", and below that says "keep families together". The sticker has a sparkly sheen.
June 18, 2025 at 9:05 PM
brianziman.bsky.social
My take on Masitas de Puerco. Fried chunks of slow cooked pork, with rice and beans, a garlic citrus mojo coleslaw, and baguette topped with a garlic and onion sauce. #dinner
A white dinner plate with three large chunks of browned pork in the lower part; to the left a mix of brown rice and black beans, with some chunks of bacon visible; at the top, a slaw of green and purple cabbage with carrots; and on the right, three slices of baguette topped with a mixture prominently featuring caramelized red onions.
June 10, 2025 at 5:10 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
Batatas Bravas from the other night. Roasted seasoned potatoes. I used a ton of picante smoked paprika and it was spicy and wonderful. #dinner
A view of a square glass pan containing layers of thinly sliced potatoes. The top is well browned and there is visible seasoning throughout. A simple dish with a ton of flavor!
May 11, 2025 at 2:22 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
My first attempt at feijoada. It turned out pretty well! #dinner
A photo taken at a low angle of a white dinner plate. Due to the angle, dominating the foreground are four half slices of orange. To the right, is a pile of sauteed spinach. Above the spinach is a pile of brown rice. And to the left of the rice and above the oranges is a pile of feijoada, with visible slices of chorizo sausage and some black beans. The rest of the feijoada is fairly indistinct. The feijoada is topped with toasted panko bread crumbs, since I didn't have any farofa.
May 3, 2025 at 5:44 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
Pistachio crusted goat cheese with honey caramelized onions and crusty bread, then seared lamb loin chop with couscous, roasted vegetables, and chopped dates. #dinner
A view from above of a white dinner plate. On the lower right part of the plate sits a very meaty seared lamb loin chop, and to the top of the plate, a pile of couscous with bite-sized chunks of yellow squash, red bell pepper, red onion, and smaller pieces of chopped dates. A view from above of a white plate. On the left is a small ball of goat cheese, encrusted with crushed pistachios. Next to the goat cheese, clockwise, is a pile of slightly translucent sliced onions. The right side of the plate is dominated by through thick slices of French baguette.
May 2, 2025 at 7:01 PM
brianziman.bsky.social
Great shot of a Kenmore Air float plane about to take off on Lake Union. #seattle
A shot looking north out over the water of Lake Union, from the end of the Virginia V dock at Lake Union Park. Traveling from left to right, the main subject of the photo is a Kenmore Air 1953 DeHavilland DHC-3 float plane, preparing to take off. The plane is white with an orange stripe down the side of the fuselage. Its tail number is N87KA. To the left, the east side of Queen Anne hill rises from the water, covered in buildings on the lower two thirds, but with green trees above that. To the right of the plane, you can just make out Gas Works Park in the distance, with Wallingford rising slightly beyond it. Various boats are scattered here and there, including a white sail boat and a small green two person kayak. Above it all, a clear blue sky.
April 27, 2025 at 7:44 PM
brianziman.bsky.social
Lasagna! Sauce is a scratch-made ragu bolognese, with carrots, onions, celery, and veal, to which I added tomatoes and spinach. It was very tasty. #dinner
A top down view of a square glass pan of lasagna. Browned bits of meat are visible around the edges, while the center is covered with melted mozzarella, with tomato sauce peeking through in places.
April 27, 2025 at 7:35 PM
brianziman.bsky.social
Another #PikePlaceMarket #dinner. First, goat cheese stuffed bacon wrapped dates. Then garlic spinach with Merguez sausage. An intermezzo of cucumber dill salad. Next grilled lamb skewers. And finally (not pictured), Manchego with pears and whipped honey. Paired with a nice Spanish Rosado. #Seattle
A close up shot of a small bowl with chunks of cucumber and a hint of red onion, with some dried dill visible. A white dinner plate with two metal skewers across it horizontally. The skewers have alternating pieces of red onion, red bell pepper, and grilled chunks of lamb. Some bits of rosemary are visible from the marinade. A top down view of a small white plate with three very well done bacon wrapped dates, held together with a single wood toothpick each. A bit of goat cheese is oozing from them. A top down view of a white dinner plate with a pile of sauteed spinach with visible bits of garlic and pine nuts, topped with three whole Merguez sausages.
March 27, 2025 at 7:59 PM
brianziman.bsky.social
Another #PikePlaceMarket dinner. Pork chop topped with shallots, with roasted Brussels sprouts, apples, and bacon. Meat from Don & Joe's, and veggies from Choice Produce. #Seattle #dinner
A white dinner plate with a bone-in pork chop just visible under a pile of sauteed shallots. Next to the chop are quarter Brussels Sprouts and small pieces of apple. I'm not sure any of the bacon is actually visible in the photo.
March 14, 2025 at 5:11 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
Another meal with ingredients from Pike Place Market. Pot roast, root vegetables, mashed potatoes, and green beans, with a pan sauce. And a few slices of homemade baguette. #seattle #dinner
A white dinner plate completely loaded with food. At the lower part is a pile of poorly sliced and quite falling apart pot roast, to the right is a pile of carrots, onions, and parsnips, cut in large chunks, above that is a pile of mashed potatoes, and on the left a pile of cut green beans. To the left of the green beans are two slices of whole wheat baguette with butter spread on them. Coating pretty much everything is a glossy brown sauce.
March 3, 2025 at 4:51 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
Last night, I made a shallot and garlic stuffed Cornish hen. It worked out really well. Not bad for $10, courtesy of Don & Joe's at Pike Place Market. Served it with the last of my French onion soup and green beans, with a little pan sauce I threw together from the drippings. #dinner #seattle
A view of a white dinner plate with an entire cooked Cornish hen on it. The top is somewhat browned, and there are bits of garlic, shallots, and thyme covering it. The bird is positioned at a poor angle, so that viewer is greeted by the gaping cavity of the bird. Whoops.
March 2, 2025 at 10:19 PM
brianziman.bsky.social
French onion soup, and duck breast with potato and parsnip puree and a shallot port reduction. Home cooking with ingredients from Pike Place Market. #dinner #seattle
A view from above of a white dinner plate with five slices of duck breast, cooked medium rare, along the lower portion of the plate, with a white-ish puree of potatoes and parsnips along the upper portion of the plate. Between them is a line of a shallot port reduction that was probably reduced a little too much. The lot is sprinkled with finishing salt, and there's some french fried onions as a garnish. View from above of a white soup bowl containing onion soup with melted gruyere covering just about all of it. You can sort of just make out the crusts of the crouton between the cheese and the soup.
February 28, 2025 at 5:37 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
I apparently forgot to post this photo last week when I was skiing at Crystal Mountain. It was a perfect bluebird day, but it was really warm on the upper mountain. Had great views of Mt Rainier, and could even see a bit of Puget Sound.
A view of Mount Rainier from the top of Crystal Mountain Resort. In the foreground, snowy ground, slowing down to the right, with a red out-of-bounds rope crossing it, with pine trees on the other side. Beyond that is a valley with a green ridge, with just a bit of snow visible along the summit. Then in the distance, Mt Rainier, rises above the surrounding landscape, fully snow covered across the whole width of the photo. Beyond that, nothing but cloudless blue sky.
January 20, 2025 at 4:38 AM
brianziman.bsky.social
After a week on the road, I was pretty desperate to get back to my own cooking. So tonight, I made a big pot of beef stew, served it over mashed potatoes, with baguette. #dinner
Close up, top down, slightly blurry view of an enameled cast iron pot with a thick beef stew in it. Visible in the brown gravy are chunks of beef, green beans, peas, carrots, and a few slices of parsnips. The pot is going to require some scrubbing when all of this is done.
January 15, 2025 at 4:52 AM