A Farmer's Market Surprise!

I'm finally back in Portland after a three week stay on the East Coast.  I woke up this morning and walked to the Farmer's Market, my weekly tradition. Portland's PSU farmers market it consistently ranked among the best in the country.  It only makes sense that a city devoted to green living and eco consciousness would have several Mecca's for local farmers to gather and sell nature's bounty.  Not to mention, the Willamette valley has some of the most fertile soil on earth.
I'm a firm believer in buying local food, especially after reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver (per the recommendation of the lovely Shay Hallock).  If you haven't read it GET IT, it will (hopefully) change the way you buy food.  Some things are meant to be enjoyed only when they're in season.  If asparagus from Mexico tasted as good in December as the fresh organic kind I bought today, picked this morning from a farm 20 miles from where I live, then it wouldn't be as special.  Plus, when buying directly from farmers, I know exactly where my money's going.

"Easter Egg" radishes. I'm going to try these next week! No room in my bag this time around.

One of my favorite food stands at the PSU Market, Tastebud, offers wood fired pizza.  This was absolutely one of the best slices I've EVER had! With shaved asparagus, bacon, and ricotta, it's cooked right at their stand in a wood fire oven on wheels!

This week I picked up onions, spring mix, basil, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber, asparagus, shiitakes, portobellos, butter ball potatoes, a baguette, ground buffalo, hummus, and cider.

I normally would pass right by the hard cider stand ($10 per bottle, seriously!?), but I spotted the words "Wickson Cider" printed across a bottle and I flocked straight to the vendor.  My great great grandfather, Edward James Wickson was a horticulturist who invented such varietals as the Wickson plum and the Wickson apple.  Always searching, I've never found either fruit sold in grocery stores or markets.   I was amazed to see that a local brewery was using the Wickson crabapple to make cider!  I'm going to try this bottle tonight.  A proud day to be a Wickson!

Support your local farms! To find a farmers market near you, go to: http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/

Adventures in DC

So I've been MIA for the past two weeks due to business in DC.  Zeph even came out and for a few days to hang out and go on adventures with me! There's something about being back "home" (when do you stop calling your parents' house "home"?) that's so comforting.  Plus, while Portland is still stuck in what feels like a winter-spring transition, it is so nice and warm here in the DC area.
Zeph came in Tueday via the redeye, so we decided to take it easy and hang out around Fairfax County for the day.  I gave him a tour of Fairfax City, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.  After that we toured historic Clifton and later and walked the waterfront of Occoquan while poking our heads into all the cute shops.

On Wednesday we headed to Chesapeake Beach, MD for the day/night.  We spent the day browsing antique shops and walking along the pier.  Later, we ate dinner at the West Lawn Inn, a former boarding house and now full-time restaurant and jazz club.  We started with crab, the obvious choice when eating in this part of the country.  It came stacked between fried red tomatoes with a savory mustard sauce beneath.

I ordered the shrimp and scallops.  They were served atop succotash and next to delicious jalepeno rice and then drizzled with lime juice.  The scallops were perfect, the rice was a touch dry. I tried not to use my flash on my phone and the pictures didn't come out very well.

Zephyr ordered filet mignon with sauteed shiitakes, blistered cherry tomatoes, and parmesan risotto.  As a self-proclaimed Risotto Master, this stuff was CREAMY.  They must have cooked the whole thing in heavy cream.  It was a little too much for my taste.

On Wednesday, we left the beach and headed to the District.  I've been wanted to go to Founding Farmers for about a year now after reading about it in multiple culinary magazines.  We showed up in time for lunch and the place was PACKED. It's the first LEED certified fine dining restaurant in the country and features all sustainable eats. We started with fried green tomatoes (poor California boy Zephyr had never even had them!) They were served with goat cheese and a green goddess dip.  These were AMAZING! The tomatoes kept their firmness and were almost tart tasting!

I ordered a salad consisting of slow roasted turkey, country cured ham, sliced prime rib, radishes, tomato, peas, golden beets, cornbread croutons and a deviled egg.  Founding Farmers is famous for their deviled eggs, it was very tasty.

Zeph ordered a burger with white cheddar, bacon and louie dressing.  He ordered it rare but it came well-done; our only complaint. 

Feeling full, we parked our feet at the International Spy Museum.  I've been a few times before, but never get tired of espionage stories. Later we headed to the National Portrait Gallery, one of my favorite of all the Smithsonian branches.  From there we walked down M street in Georgetown and ate dinner at a little Italian place called Il Canale right above the C&O Canal.  They had some of the best eggplant parmesan I've ever had! But I forgot to take a picture :-/

All in all, we had a really great mini-vacation eating, exploring, and enjoying all the DC area has to offer!  

West Lawn Inn

9200 Chesapeake Ave

North Beach, MD 20714

Founding Farmers

1924 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington, DC 20006

Il Canale

1063 31st St. NW

Washington DC 20007

Laurelhurst Market

I'd been wanting to go to Laurelhurst Market after reading about it in Bon Appetit last year as one of the 10 best new restaurants in the country.  A second recent article in Bon Appetit featuring a unique cocktail they pour prompted me to make a swift reservation! The space functions as both a butcher shop and restaurant, specializing in their steaks.

We started with the cocktail I'd read about in Bon Appetit called "Smoke Signals." It's made of Tennessee whiskey, sherry, pecan, lemon and SMOKED ice! What does that even mean? Well, somehow they manage to put ice in a smoker. It smelled and tasted JUST like it had been barbecued and really played with your senses. 

We started the food portion with some beef tartare. In a place that specializes in beef, this was a must. So delish! It was mixed with vodka, shallots, chives, and of course, a yolk. 

After this, we shared mussels & frites. The broth was AMAZING. They were Belgian style, with a broth of beer, stone ground mustard, and leeks.  I swear I could have drank it with a straw if it was more socially acceptable.

I forgot to take a picture of the mussels so here's a nice professional one I got from their website.

For the entree portion we skipped steak (we grilled filet mignon the night before at home) and went for chicken and fish instead. I got chicken "under a brick." It was sitting atop a nettle puree, with gnocchi, mushrooms, onions and truffle shaves on the side.

Zeph opted for the fish of the day, wild chinook atop creamy white beans and greens. The skin was so crunchy, perfect! The beans were a little too salty for my taste.

Laurelhurst Market has also been featured in Portland Monthly a few times for their burger, named one of the best in the city.  I'd love to go back here to try one of their famous steaks or a burger. Dinner here was a perfect end to the beautiful 73 degree spring day here!

Laurelhurst Market
3155 East Burnside Street. Portland, OR 97232

Beauty

Let me start with a disclaimer- the only time I've ever gotten my nails done was for the 8th grade dance. I get my hair cut only once or twice a year. And I've never gotten a facial or pedicure. I'm just not into the whole spa thing. Mostly because I read horror stories about how bacteria-ridden nail places are. And frankly, I'm too cheap.  So when my friend and I went to Beauty Bar last night, I was a little intimidated.
Beauty Bar is a nail and cocktail joint (what a novel idea!) that has several locations across the U.S. I'd gone to the NYC location last summer when I was in Manhattan visiting friends, but it was late, hot as hell, and packed to the brim. We stayed a total of five minutes. I gave it a shot again yesterday to try out their happy hour special- $10 for a martini and manicure! There was only one manicurist working, so we waited a little over an hour to get our nails done. But the nail lady was nice, and we had a lot of fun sipping our cocktails while getting hand massages and shiny new paint on our paws. The manicure wasn't amazing (albeit I have one former manicure to judge from), but for the price and atmosphere, I'd definitely go again!

Here are some of my favorite beauty products that I use daily. Best part is they're very affordable!

The Body Shop coconut body butter. I love ANYTHING coconut flavored or scented. This stuff smells good enough to eat and is as thick as butter- hence the name.

Loreal Sublime Bronze gradual tanner. In my opinion, the only woman who can pull off pale is Nicole Kidman, and I certainly don't look like her. I keep from looking like a ghost with this stuff.  I apply it daily after showering and it gives me a nice sun-kissed glow.

Listerine Whitening Mouthwash. I'm the first to admit I've got lots of faults, but I'm pretty proud of my teeth. I credit their radiance (ok am I getting too cocky?) to this whitening mouthwash. You use it BEFORE brushing, twice a day, and its way easier and faster than messing with those tooth strips!

Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner. I've been using this stuff for years. It's great for the smokey-eye nighttime look. It will last the ENTIRE day without smudging and even stays through the multiple cry sessions I have while watching Sex and the City. Alright, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that. 

Beauty Bar

111 SW Ash St. Portland, OR 97204

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

I love Easter. It means spring has finally sprung after a long winter of rain, rain, and MORE RAIN  Our farmer's market is overflowing with produce right now.  I attend the market every Saturday and was ecstatic to find asparagus this week! It has a short growing season and it's always best to buy it fresh and local as opposed to the standard grocery store asparagus from Mexico. Some of my farmer's market finds this weekend included radishes, carrots, chives, lamb chops, cauliflower, said asparagus, and rhubarb. Here's what I made with them for an Easter dinner:

Appetizer:
Crudites (carrots and radishes) with a creamy horseradish dip.
To make the dip I mixed mayo, greek yogurt, chives, fresh horseradish, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and honey mustard. This would be great as a sandwich spread, too!

Main:
Lamb chops served with a chive pesto
Grilled asparagus
Cauliflower au gratin

Dessert:
Rhubarb and raspberry crostata  (recipe by Bon Appetit http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/05/rhubarb-and-raspberry-crostata  )

HAPPY EASTER!

DOC

Last night Zeph's mom and step-dad took us to DOC for Zeph's birthday dinner.  The cozy spot off of Alberta is the newest venture by the same people who own PDX favorites Yakuza and Beast.

You literally walk right into the kitchen when you step inside, a kitchen that is admittedly smaller than my own.  There are only six tables in the entire restaurant and the best part is that you can watch the chefs cook from anywhere you sit.  Despite the size of the dining establishments' micro kitchen, these chefs put out BIG flavors. We did the 5 course tasting menu.

Course 1:
Bread, olives, radishes, butter
Spring lettuce, fennel, feta, oranges
Oysters on the half shell with ginger and garlic
Smoked trout, greens, mustard, radishes
Beets with horseradish and creme fraiche
     -this was so yummy. I'd never think to pair beets with horseradish.
Cauliflower with anchovy butter and bread crumbs
     -probably my favorite of these. Buttery and comforting with a nice crunch from the bread crumbs.
Pork pate, strawberry, herbs, balsamic.
     -the combination of pate with strawberry's was a pair made in heaven. delicious!

Course 2:
Risotto with morels, fiddlehead ferns, belper knolle
     -The morels were divine. They soaked up every flavor in the risotto. Belper knolle is a creme-cheese type of cheese
Cavatelli, pork sugo, pecorino, mint
     -Arguably our favorite dish of the night

Course 3:
Pork atop lentils, watercress, sorrel
Sturgeon, ramps, turnips, asparagus
     -The only course I was less than impressed with. The sturgeon was a tad dry and the entire dish wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as the others
Wild nettle and Oregon black truffle lasagna with a cracked duck egg on top
     -Second favorite dish of the whole night. They were generous with the truffles and the dish was just beautiful.

Course 4:
Farmhouse cheeses with accompaniments (kiwi & strawberry jellys, cherries in chocolate), fruit & nut bread.

Course 5:
Espresso panna cotta, rosemary biscotti
Almond financier, rhubarb, creme fraiche ice cream
    -This was divine. But I'm partial to anything with rhubarb!
Chocolate cake, malted ice cream
Cara cara & proscecco sorbet, shortbread
    -The only dish we didn't polish off was this sorbet. It was very sour!


We left STUFFED and giggly after a few bottles of gorgeous Pinot.  I would definitely go back to this little gem!

DOC

5519 NE 30th Ave. Portland, OR 97211

Silver Falls

Yesterday Zeph and I hiked Silver Falls down by Salem for the second time.  This is my favorite hike in Oregon so far.  A windy dirt (or should I say, mud) trail leads you in a 6.9 mile loop through the thick woods along a river where 10 different waterfalls are the main attraction. The trail is lined by tons of ferns and moss-covered trees.  We stopped halfway to enjoy mufaletta sandwiches we made beforehand (olive spread, salami, ham and provolone on a fresh Ken's bakery baguette).  Although overcast and a little chilly, it was a perfect day to enjoy the woods after working up a good sweat!

We passed this gorgeous field of yellow flowers on the drive down. <3 Spring!

Finally made it to the last waterfall!