A Wannabe Food Blogger’s Unplugged Edition

25. January 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , ,

Cheers to cyber friendships and Twit-pals!  2011 marked the year of becoming great friends with intangible people all across the country (and perhaps world!).  Although my blog sometimes falls by the wayside and lacks some visual interest (forgive me, but I’m not very good at html or formatting. oh well!) I’ve been more than affirmed and encouraged by some wonderful ladies with some serious blog caliber.  (thankyouthankyouthankyou!)

It all started when I joined the Vintage Recipe Swap with Christianna from Burwell General Store and my bona fide friend Lindsay from Rosemarried.  From there, I was introduced to dozens of amazing bloggers and straight-up awesome people that I would fly across the country to have a meal and a glass or 3 of wine with.  Oh how glorious it will be one day when we get to enjoy each other’s company.

A couple of my favorite blogger ladies have revealed themselves a bit on their blogs recently and have invited their wannabe dinner guests to do the same.  So, I guess it’s my turn to spill the beans about me, and invite my favorites to gather around the virtual dinner table and do the same.

What or who inspired you to start your blog?
This blog actually started as an outlet for the lessons I was learning in life after my dear friend Anthony died in a mountain climbing accident on Mt. Hood just over two years ago.  Losing him was unexpected, but in the grief, sadness, tears, and pain, it was like there was this rapid growth in my heart and my faith that needed to be harvested and written down.  Grief is a lost art but I was determined to walk through it and do it well and share it with others.  Slowly but surely (still not really sure how), I started posting recipes and The Unexpected Harvest turned into a food blog.

Who is your foodie inspiration?
Truth be told, Mrs. Rosemarried herself, Lindsay Strannigan.  It might seem cliche since we’re practically besties in real life, but this woman is amazing.  She has a full time job, a full time husband, is on the board of her local farmers market, contributes to several different blogs, volunteers her time to do local PR and wedding planning, keeps up with our boys; the Portland Trail Blazers, AND has time to come up with and make delicious seasonal recipes.  She’s the queen of balancing everything in her life and producing really good products.

Your greasiest most batter splattered cook book is?
Cookbook?  Who uses those archaic brick-like things anymore?  Food blogs FTW!  Juuuuust kidding.  Ironically, my “greasiest, most batter-splattered” cook book is Farmers John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables. He runs a CSA in Illinois and his cookbook is chock-full of seasonal recipes with every vegetable you can imagine.  Not much grease or batter in his recipes.  The second most dog-eared cookbook I have is the Cook’s Illustrated New Best Recipe.

The best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it and what was it?
It’s truly nothing fancy.  When I was in Germany in 2010, I hopped on a train and took a solo day trip up to the town of Trier.  This historic town is nestled into the Mosel wine region of western Germany and has a glorious fruit stand in the center square of town.  I bought a couple pieces of fruit while I was there, but the best by far was a simple peach.  It was August and this peach was perfectly ripe, juicy, and tasted exactly like a peachie-o gummy candy.  I’ve never tasted anything so perfect in my life.

Another Food Blogger’s table you would like to eat at?
So many!  For food alone, I would pick Coco from Roost.  Her recipes are mostly grain, dairy, and sugar free but so creative, DELICIOUS, and beautifully photographed.  For conversation and food, just you wait…

What one kitchen gadget would you like Santa to bring you? (if money were no object)
I want a set of Le Crueset dishes: dutch over, skillet, morter and pestle, you name it.  I want it all.

Who taught you how to cook?
My love of cooking started with my old roommate, Amy Boles.  She’s brilliant in the kitchen.  When I lived with her, she would always come up with something amazing to make for dinner and we would always host dinner parties.  She taught me that I actually could cook.  Then I just started following recipes and food blogs and teaching myself.

I’m coming to you for dinner, what is your signature dish?
Id’ say that my signature isn’t actually a dish, it’s a bottle–of Oregon Pinot Noir!

What is your guilty food pleasure?
Truth be told, the only thing I need for dessert is a spoonful of nut butter topped with dark chocolate chips.  That’s the most decedent and satisfying end of any meal. And lately, chocolate almond milk.

Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn?
I ate my fair share of Lil’ Debbie snack cakes growing up.  Not saying I was a chubby kid, because I wasn’t.  I’m just saying that times have changed and I would never dream of eating one of those now or letting my future kids eat them.

My ideal dinner party (please ladies, let’s all rendezvous in real life soon!):

Toni Dash of the Boulder Locavore: Toni is the cocktail queen.  I met her through the vintage recipe swap and have the biggest blog crush on her.  She’s so classy, creative, NICE, and always makes me drool over her cocktail creations.  The party would get started way before the meal if this woman was shaking up some drinks.

Jacqueline Raposo of The Dusty Baker: Another recipe swapper.  My crush on Jacqueline started when she commented on my about me section and said she wanted to jump through the computer and give me a hug.  She’s another gluten free gal who has mastered the art of baking just 6 cookies, as to not go overboard and eat all the cookie dough.  She’ll be the dessert queen at our dinner party.

Sabrina Modelle of The Tomato Tart: Oh Sabrina.  Where do I start?  Although not entirely vegan, she whips up meat-free recipes that would make me forget that I wasn’t even eating meat.  She’s the queen of the SF Bay area and we were thiiiiiis close to meeting up for a cocktail when I was down there in October, but to our dismays, I didn’t plan the trip very well and we missed each other.  Someday, Sabrina!

Christianna Reinhardt of Burwell General Store: Safe to say, I owe many of my cyber-friendship to CM.  She started the recipe swap which essentially gave birth to all these connections.  She’s our small-town girl turned LA foodie queen and is always on some new adventure.  I’m hoping to take her wine tasting in Oregon one of these days.

And last but certainly not least: Lindsay Strannigan of Rosemarried: Although we’re not cyber-friends, but real-life friends, I don’t ever want to be at a dinner party without Linds.  She’ll never buy a piece of produce from Mexico or Chile, or a chicken breast from Iowa.  I just love this lady to pieces.  We can eat eggs in a nest and drink bubbles while watching a Blazers game, or take 4 hours to eat a 5 course meal with some of our closest friends.


 

Outstanding in the Field

06. July 2011 · 3 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , ,

My mom and I started drooling over the pictures from Outstanding in the Field last year and have been so excited to be part of one this year.  OITF is a traveling farm dinner that goes around the country (and to Europe this year!) and sets up the most beautiful tables in the most beautiful places.  They sources all their meat, produce, and wine from local farms, chefs, and vintners and it’s not uncommon to be sitting next to the farmer who raised the pig that you’re eating.  Might seem weird, but it’s awesome if you think about it!  The pig had a name and lived in a green pasture instead of being crammed in pens and walking around in its own…well, you know.  You never know, I just may pick up my life for a season and travel with OITF next season.  It’s seriously in the works ;)

It was so much fun to enjoy this event in Oregon with my parents, but also with Clare Carver and Brian Marcy of Big Table Farm.  The are salt of the earth people and know how to savor life on a farm and enjoy the fruits of their labor.  Give me a pink farm house in the middle of canyon over a chic downtown loft anyday.

Ok people, drool on.  But keep in mind that my camera ran out of batteries before the food even came.  At least I got to enjoy the meal without distraction.

And because this here bloggy has a foodie theme, here’s the menu for y’all:

Ayres Creek chickpeas, crudité, parsley purée
Square Peg pork terrine, toast, mustard seed
Bay shrimp, basil, green garlic aioli
2009 Riesling, Big Table Farm, Brooks Estate Vineyard

Amy’s greens & veggies, Clare’s eggs, Brian’s Vinaigrette
2009 Pinot Noir, Big Table Farm, Cattrall Brothers Vineyard

Ayres Creek Frumento, Big Table Farm spiced hen, grilled squash and chilies
2009 Pinot Noir, Big Table Farm, Willamette Valley

Square Peg Farm while hog; hams in hay, buoy smoked sausage & belly, roasted herbed loins, liver mousse.
Ayres Creek zolfino beans & wild greens
2009 Pinot Noir, Big Table Farm, Resonance Vineyard

Brown butter shortbread, Viridian Farms strawberries, raspberries, and cream.
2008 Syrah, Big Table Farm, White Hawk Vineyard, Santa Barbara

Crispy Polenta with Garlic Scapes and Sauteed Kale

03. July 2011 · 1 comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

I am loving having a CSA box!  There are so many fresh veggies in there each week, and some that I’ve never even had before!  My friend Toni from Boulder Locavore posted this recipe last week and I got really excited.  I adapted it a little bit to use more of my CSA box, but it turned out wonderfully.  I was so blessed to make this for my best friend Zoe and our great friend Angie.  I even opened a couple great bottles of wine and we laughed, cried, and thoroughly enjoyed our day and evening together.  Hopefully this meal will bring about as much greatness in your day as it did to mine.  I added a bit of protein to this recipe by buying couple good sausages from the meat case at Whole Foods you can eat this as is and be sat-is-fied!

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

For the polenta:
1 cup polenta, or corn grits
1/2 cup milk (I used hazelnut milk)
2 cups water
Salt/pepper to taste
1 tbsp of butter (have any of that herbed butter left?  I used some of that!)

For the sauteed kale:
6 cups or more kale or any braising green, rinsed, dried, and torn into bit size pieces
1 cup baby fennel, chopped, separating fronds and bulbs
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
All of your garlic scapes, cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt/pepper
Olive oil
Optional: Red pepper flakes for a little kick

Method:

Make the polenta first since it takes some time to set.  Spread butter in a loaf pan and set aside.  In a medium sauce pan, bring water, milk, and pinch of salt to an almost boil.  Slowly stir in polenta and bring heat to low.  Stir constantly for 10 minutes or so until polenta is thick like oatmeal.  Stir in butter, a pinch more salt, and fresh pepper.  Transfer to loaf pan and stick in fridge for 30 minutes to cool and firm up.  You’ll want it firm enough to slice into patties and grill them.

When loaf is firm, slice into 1/2 inch-ish slices.  Heat butter and/or olive oil in heavy skillet over medium high heat.  Add polenta patties to pan and brown them on each side until they are crispy and heated through.    Transfer one patty per plate and get ready for those sauteed greens.

While patties and getting crispy, start the saute.  You’ll need to multi-task on this one so be prepared.  In a large skillet, heat oil over medium.  Add fennel bulb, red bell pepper, garlic scapes, and pinch of salt/pepper and saute for about a minute.  Add fennel fronds and red pepper flakes if you want and continue to saute for a couple minutes until fennel is translucent and garlic scapes starts to give off an aroma. In batches, add kale and saute down until they begin to wilt.  Do this is 3 or 4 batches so you don’t overload the pan.  Once the kale is wilted and deep green, plate up on top of grilled polenta.

If you wanted to brown up some sausage, add that to the plate too.  You can either add the sausage crumbles or bits into the saute and plate it up as one, or grill it up separately and serve on the side like I did.

Bon appétit!

Fish Tacos with Rhubarb Salsa

07. June 2011 · 1 comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

CSA (community supported agriculture) season is here people!  Hopefully the sun will shine a little more in Oregon so I can have fresh veggies and herbs every week.  Nadine from the Dundee Dirtbox CSA has become a dear friend and is delighting me with the fruits of her labor/Oregon bounty all summer long.  I’m sure I’m gonna be cookin’ up some good eats this summer.

This week’s CSA ingredients: rhubarb, spring onions, spring garlic, and fresh herbs.

I had no desire to make a rhubarb pie, or a rhubarb jam, or a rhubarb compote, or anything sweet and rhubarb.  I was bound and determined to make a savory rhubarb dish that was a little out of the box for most people.  Good ol’ Tastespotting lead me the in direction of these bad boys:

Cilantro-Lime Fish Tacos with Rhubarb Salsa
(adapted from Kitchen Konfidence)

Ingredients:

Marinade:
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup lime juice
zest from 1 lime
2 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp tequila
2 tbsp olive oil
large pinch of red pepper flakes
1 sprig fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp cumin
salt/pepper

Rhubarb Salsa:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, diced (2-3 stalks)
1/3 cup spring onions, diced
1/4 cup green onions (plus a sprinkle or two for topping)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped (plus sprinkle of two for topping)
1/2 or 1 jalepeño, seeded and minced (depending on how spicy you like it.  I used 1/2 and didn’t feel much spice)
1/3 cup pickled cocktail onions (diced)
salt
2 tsp honey
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
splash of lime juice

Tacos:
1 lbs fresh white fish (I used wild cod, but halibut or tilapia will do)
8 corn tortillas
remaining marinade
1 ripe avocado (optional, but oh so good)

Method:

2-8 hours before you plan on eating these tacos, mix together all the marinade ingredients, put in a big zip-loc bag with the fish, and stick in your fridge until you’re ready to cook.

When you’re ready for dinner, make the salsa.  Here’s how: chop up the rhubarb, boil some water, and blanch the pieces in the boiling water for 20 seconds, then transfer to an ice water bath.  Pat them dry, transfer to medium bowl and add jalepeño, spring onions, cocktail onions, green onions, and cilantro.  Whisk together honey, vinegar, and lime juice and pour over rhubarb mixture.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

Now it’s fish time: heat skillet over medium heat and add fish, then pour remaining marinade in the pan.  Poach fish covered, flipping once or twice until cooked all the way through, 10 minutes or so. In the meantime, heat small skillet over medium-low heat, add a splash of oil and fry small corn tortillas until crispy.  6 or so should do it.

When fish is cooked, tortillas are fried, and salsa is ready, assemble the tacos in this order: tortillas, fish, salsa, then top with avocado, and more cilantro and green onion.  Devour and behold the delight of savory rhubarb dishes.  yuuummm…

I made this dish for my mom and dad and here are the accolates:
Dad: “Have the boys you know realized that you can cook?” and “I love what you cook because it’s so healthy.”  Well, yes, I have cooked for plenty of boys and it doesn’t really seem to the be the way to their heart.  But thanks Dad!
Mom: “This isn’t just ‘pretty good’, this is like ‘Mar…this is SO good.”  Glad you liked it mom!  And I’ll cook for you anytime since you love cleaning up the kitchen :)

Wine pairing for the evening was provided by: Mark Ryan Winery, Vincent Rosé, WA 2010.  Other pairing suggestions: A dry or off dry Riesling, Processco (Bubbles will never be wrong), a Rosé of Zinfandel (not to be confused with a White Zin.  C’mon people.)  or a Muller-Thugau (Anne Amie Vineyards makes one of my favorites).

 

Asparagus and Portobello Risotto

08. April 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

I almost had a Portobello protest on my hands last week.  See, I was having my lovely vegan friends over for dinner again on Friday night and was having a hard time nailing down what I was going to make.  I gave them a list of ingredients and had them pick:

Hazelnuts
Sriracha
Asparagus
Peanuts
Polenta
Portobello Mushrooms
Risotto

Mushrooms were the only one they didn’t pick.  Two of them were fervently against the notion of eating fungi until they realized that I have yet to let them down in the kitchen.  I assured them that I too have lived my life as a mushroom hater, but have started to open up my mind and heart to these little (or big) guys and that Portobellos are a good place to start.   I’m glad they gave me the go-ahead because I had these hearty meat-less patties on the mind.

So I did a little Twitter ask-around for good recipes, and of course Lindsay came up with a GREAT suggestion from a friends blog.   All it needed was some good fungi and I was set.

So here you go.  Eat your little vegan hearts out people:

Vegan Asparagus and Portobello Risotto
Adapted from Wild Javelina

Serves 4-6

1 yellow onion, diced
1 fennel bulb, diced, fonds reserved
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup wild rice
4 cups veggie stock
1 cup dry white wine*, remainder reserved for imbibing
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 portobello mushrooms, cut into thin strips
1 bunch fresh asparagus
a food good drizzles of balsamic vinegar
a few good drizzles of olive oil
2 tbsp Earth Balance or a couple more drizzles of olive oil
S/P to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 425°

In a medium sauce pan, heat up veggie broth and keep it warm until it’s ready to go into the rice.

In a large dutch oven or large skillet with lid, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions, fennel, and garlic and saute until soft.  Add rice and saute for additional minute.

Lower heat and and start adding in the liquids.  Wine first: stir into rice until it is all absorbed, then start ladling in broth, one cup at a time, stirring occasionally.  Keep covered in between stirring and adding more.  When broth is all absorbed, test rice for texture.  Feel free to add more wine, stock, or water until rice reaches desired consistency.

While waiting for rice to cook, roast the asparagus and saute the mushrooms.  Trim the ends of the asparagus and arrange on cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper, then bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool, then cut into 1-2 inch pieces.

In a heavy saucepan, melt Earth Balance or heat olive oil (or butter if you’re not going vegan) over medium high heat**.  These bad boys will soak up whatever oil you give them, so if more is needed, bring it.  Saute down a bit, then add a few generous splashes of good balsamic vinegar.  Continue to cook until mushrooms are limp and caramelized.  Salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Back to the risotto.  When the rice is cooked to the desired consistency, stir in coconut milk and nutritional yeast.  Nutritional yeast might be one of my new favorite ingredients.  Mixed with the coconut milk, it gives a nice, rich, cheesy flavor and texture without the dairy.  Next, add in the asparagus, mushrooms, and fennel fronds.  Give it a good mix and a taste, then add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve immediately, and don’t forget to pour yourself another glass of wine.

*I used a 2009 Anne Amie Oregon Pinot Gris for the risotto.  Delish!

**Last summer, I bought some mushrooms from a stand at the Hollywood Farmers Market and the cute boy working there told me when sauteing mushrooms, start with high heat to lock in the flavor, then lower it as they cook.  Good tip!

My Week in Food

29. March 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,

What a week!  The day after I got back from Mexico, I committed to house/dog sitting in Sellwood for 10 days.  Being back in Portland gave me a chance to catch up with some great friends and connect with some new ones.

My new-ish friend Lisa and I decided to meet for Happy Hour at Soluna Grill on NE 44th and Fremont before our Home Community on Wednesday.  We were NOT disappointed.

Of course, we had some cocktails to start.  I can’t exactly remember what was in mine, something pink, maybe raspberry?  The best and obviously most memorable part was the sage (I LOVE herbaceous cocktails) and whipped egg whites on top.  It was like the latte of cocktails.

 

We had an array of items for the happy hour menu but these two stood out the most: chickpea crusted green beans with tomato-ginger ketsup (above)
maple smoke pork belly with a tempura poached egg, sweet onion, frisee, mustard vin. A deep friend poached egg??  Yes PUH-LEASE!  This was amazing.

Our pocketbooks were happy and our bellies were sat-is-fied with Soluna Grill.

The next morning, my old roommates from the Thompson House, or Team Thomp, Tiffani, Crystal, and Rachel met for breakfast at Helser’s on NE Alberta and 16th.  It kinda feels like Miranda, Carrie, Charlotte, and Samantha are getting together at their usual breakfast spot, save for the topic of conversation.  We’re not quite as, cough cough, “city” as those ladies.  Breakfast with these girls is easily one of my favorite times of the month.   Helser’s has a FABULOUS $4.95 early bird menu from 7-9am everyday which is not something to miss out on.  I had the grilled polenta and black bean cakes with 2 poached eggs in creole sauce. The portion size was just right and tied me over well into the lunch hour.

Then came the meal that I had been waiting on for over a month: Gruner.  (Well, we had originally planned on going to Little Bird, but we couldn’t get a reservation for 3 until 8:30 and since we all had to work on Friday and usually spend 3+ hours talking, eating, and drinking together, we decided to reschedule LB for May and try Gruner.  Both are newish to Portland and have chefs who are nominated for the James Beard Award).   One of the only perks of having type 1 diabetes is that the 2 ladies who work locally for the company who makes my insulin pump have a nice expense account and are encouraged to “entertain” their patients.  It’s a major bonus that I happen to click with both of them very well and we have a ball together.  They are the reason I have been to several of Portland’s best restaurants.  Having diabetes is almost worth it.

Take a moment to look at Gruner’s menu.  It’s very German/Swiss inspired which I was a little shy about at first.  But once our first “snacks” came out, I knew we wouldn’t have anything to worry about.

Round one:   Beet-pickled hard boiled eggs. Perfection in a deviled egg.  (Julie and Shannon had the crisp polenta croquettes stuffed with  bleu cheese but I had to pass unfortunately.)

 

 

Round two: Belgian endive, gala apples, fourme d’ambert, toasted hazelnuts, with a hazelnut oil vinaigrette. Too bad I had to 86 the bleu cheese.  Still a mouthful of delight though.

Round 3: Sauteed calves livers, sauteed onions, house cured bacon, cider reduction, “himmel und erde–potato and apple puree. I stepped out of my culinary comfort zone for this, but OH MY it was good.  Good, as in, “God saw what He had made and said it was good.”  Like, godly perfection on a plate.

We asked our Christian Bale look-a-like server, Jeff for a wine recommendation for our meal.  The menu is heavy with Germany and European wines that I am completely unfamiliar with.  There are a few Oregon wines on the menu, which I will lean towards 95% of the time, but even those were unfamiliar to me.  He suggested the ’09 Schöne Schlucht Oregon Pinot Meunier, which is an Alsatian red varietal is that seldom seen in Oregon (Adelsheim makes one).  I wish Oregon produced more of this varietal because it was wonderful!  Bright cherry and black pepper.  Perfect with our meal.

Dessert is always fun for us whenever we go out.  We usually get a chocolate dessert and a non-chocolate dessert and dessert wines to match.  Unfortunately, none of the desserts we ordered impressed us enough to take note of or even take a picture of.  But here’s our array of dessert wines (from the back): An Auslese Riesling from the Mosel region in Germany where I visited this summer, an Italian Vino Santo, and a Tawny Port.

Now, it’s back to home cooked meals and leftovers for lunch.  I had a fun culinary week out, but I’m ready to use my new red dutch oven and start cooking my own food again.

Better than “Julia”

28. December 2010 · 1 comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

There’s no distraction in the middle of church like getting a text from my dad saying, “Since you and Andy are such good cooks, you are in charge of Christmas Eve dinner.”  My mind started piecing together a menu of foods that I love to eat all the time but might be foreign to my family.  This was my chance to open up a whole new culinary/dietary world to them!  I was so excited!  (My apologies to Pastor Rick…couldn’t tell you what your sermon was about that day.  Baby Jesus?)

My brother is the meat master so I put him in charge of that department.  His original idea was to do something easy like a glazed ham, but there are some ham-haters in my fam so I quickly vetoed that option.  Second (and much better) choice: Prime rib with a red wine tarragon jus.  It.was.delish.  Andy’s meat cooking abilities have shone for the last couple of holidays.  For Christmas last year, he grilled some big juicy slab of beef and my “cousin” Lindsay and I hid the bottle of Erath ’05 Southern Oregon Syrah at our end of the table.  Blissful! Well done on the rare Prime Rib this year, Andy!

It didn’t take me long to settle on 3 side dishes and a dessert for Christmas Eve.  I tried to be a seasonal as possible and use only fresh ingredients such as Butternut Squash, Pomegranates, Broccoli, Kale, Persimmons, and Pink Lady Apples.  I also wanted to add some ingredients that were somewhat foreign to my family, such as quinoa.

I was happy as a clam all afternoon in the kitchen cooking away.

Here’s what we ate (Clockwise from left):

  • Double Broccoli Quinoa.  This was so hearty and delicious!  I added pomegranate seeds because my mom always made this broccoli puree with pom seeds for Christmas so I wanted to add a little family tradition.  The “double” is attributed to the whole broccoli florets, but also the broccoli pesto mixed into the dish.  A generous garnish of avocado, toasted slivered almonds, and some crispy shallots (for my dad) polished it off. (recipe inspiration from 101 Cookbooks)
  • Raw Kale and Apple Salad with Pecorino and a lemon vinaigrette.  This one made me the most nervous because my family had never had kale and it isn’t for everyone pallet.  Raw kale is even more tricky to convince people to like, but they loved it!  My brother even asked for the recipe.  I incorporated some pomegranate seeds and toasted almonds on top to tie this in with the quinoa.  Inspired by my friend Lindsay.
  • Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad with tahini dressing.  I have been making this salad a lot lately because it is SO tasty and easy and pretty healthy.  The chickpeas give it a kick of protein so you can even put it on a bed of greens as a whole meal.  And the leftovers are pretty dang good cold.  Just drizzle a little more tahini dressing on it and you’re good to go.  (Recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

And of course, no dinner is complete without some seriously good wine.  To start, we opened a bottle of Wahluke Slope Pinot Gris produced by a friend/co-worker of my brother.  Not quite as bright and citrusy as an Oregon Gris, but it definitely had some pear and hazelnut going on.  His label is called Open Road, but I’m not sure where you can get it.  I was excited to raid my parents’  well-stocked wine collection to pick a wine to pair with dinner.  They’ve been collecting some great Oregon Pinot Noir since coming down to visit me a couple times a year and I knew my mom was sitting on a bottle of  Big Table Farm ’08 Willamette Valley Pinot.  BTF is one of my favorite producers in Oregon and the perfect wine for a special occasion such as Christmas Eve.

For dessert, I made a Steamed Persimmon Pudding Cake.  Unfortunately, it was pretty bland on it’s own, but we topped it with some creme fraiche, apricot preserves and toasted almonds.  I’m not much of a baker anymore so I can’t really boast about my dessert making skills.  I should have tried a gluten-free recipe…not sure why I didn’t.

We all ate and drank to our hearts content had a lovely time spending Christmas Eve together, just the 4 of us, which is rare since there are usually 15+ people gathered.  One of the “regulars” is my mom’s best friend and my “other mother” Julie.  She’s the Julia Child/Martha Stewart of the group and always makes something mouthwatering and tasty tasty!  At one point during dinner, my mom said, with her mouth full, “this is better than ‘Julia’!”

Safe to say, our dinner was a hit and we’ll be starting a new tradition: the kids are cooking for the adults.  Challenge accepted! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas of their own.

Sunday Drive

31. October 2010 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , ,

Crystal and I took a Sunday drive and ended up in the Dundee Hills.  Surprise, surprise.  We both needed to see some beauty.

On the Bottling Line.

20. September 2010 · 1 comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

I’ve been really wanting to learn different aspects of the wine industry.  I’m an old pro in the tasting room, and even though I love that line of work and could easily be happy with another tasting room job, I’m being proactive in trying out new sides of the wine biz.  This weekend, I had the opportunity to help one of my favorite wineries, Winderlea on their bottling line.  Bill Sweat (owner/proprietor), Cheney (assistant to the assistant wine maker) and Lydia (intern) are pictured below having a rowdy time packing boxes.

We took all their 09s from the barrel to the bottle.  It was hard work and my back and thumbs (weird, I know) are sore today, but I really had a blast and made some new friends.  I’m looking forward to working Crush (when the ripe grapes come in from off the vine and are essentially sorted, pressed, and put into fermentation tanks, then aging tanks or barrels) with them as well.

No matter what side of the wine industry you’re on, from wine drinker to wine maker, the weather is a key player in the vintage bounty.  September is usually one of the sunniest months of the year in Oregon which is what those vines count on to ripen the grapes that make fantastic wine. This September hasn’t quite cooperated…

On Saturday when we were bottling, we got a lot of this:

It continued to downpour when I got home that evening which made for an achy, cozy evening watching the Two Fat Ladies and Project Runway.  But it also means that the harvest is 3 weeks late and the yield is nearly 50% of what it could be.

But on Sunday when we were bottling, it looked more like this outside:

Wine maker, winery owner, bottling crew, assistant winemaker, vineyard owners, and grapes alike rejoiced in the sunshine! We all hustled (everyone except the grapes, that is) to get done by 1:00 to enjoy the rest of the sunny day before the rains came back that night.  Since we were in Carlton, a couple of us did a round of tastings at Seven of Hearts (this tasting rooms shares space with Honest Chocolates so they had home made Pinot truffles to pair with their wines!  And their Coupe’s Cuvee dessert Pinot Noir was to die for!), WildAire Cellars (Wine maker Matt Driscoll was watching football and playing his guitar when we walked in.  Sorry to interrupt!), Folin Cellars (some nice Southern Oregon wines), and Alexana (Dundee Hills will always have a soft spot in my heart).  I’m always a little torn having to leave and drive back into Portland.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I feel so at home in wine country.  I found 3 Oregon wine jobs on Winejobs.com so keep your palms together or your fingers crossed for me!

Back to School

02. September 2010 · 4 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

I think it’s pretty obvious what excites me.

The people who know me or read my blog or tweets know what gives me a glow, spreads a unwavering grin across my face, lets me breathe a sigh of relief, and makes me straight up giddy.  Farmers Markets, seasonal cooking, great weather, the sun on my face in the morning, skies full of stars, Oregon bounty, good friends, Portland Trail Blazers, nature, and of course wine and wine country.

But there are certainly things that do not excite me: constant gray skies, working a desk job, staying up late, fast food, the state of this countries meat and agriculture industry, tardiness, being cold, flaky people, to name a few.  Another thing that steals my excitement and actually brings a heavy burden and anxiety on me is something that was in my recent past: school.

I’ve never been one to excel at academics.  I made it through high school without any major bumps or bruises (save the junior level algebra class that I barely passed 2 weeks before graduation.  any other math haters out there? woot woot!).  College was a different story all together.  5 colleges, 4 majors, and 6 years finally earned me a degree in a field that I had absolutely no interest or experience in.  I still cringe at the thought sitting in statistics and economics classes for 4 hours.  The moment I realized that I had finished editing my senior thesis,  a stream of joyful, proud, and exhausted tears rolled down my cheeks.  I rejoiced at the thought of  never having to write a paper, read a text book, do a group project, or give a Power Point presentation ever again.  I never thought I would go back to school.

Until now.

At the end of September, I’ll be a student in the Viticulture Program at Chemeketa Community College in Salem.  I’ve had plenty of experience in tasting rooms, but now I want to dabble in other areas of the wine industry.  I’m taking General Viticulture and Wine Marketing–Brand Development.  Who knows, maybe I will absolutely love the growing/vineyard side of things or find that I have a knack for making earthy, luscious Oregon Pinot Noir.  Or maybe I’m meant to be back in the tasting room or out at restaurants and grocery stores selling the wine someone else makes.  All I know is that  I can easily see myself in the wine industry for the rest of my career, so here I am pursuing it.

And I couldn’t be more excited.

It feels great to have something to look forward too and be giddy about.  I had Europe to look forward to all summer and now it’s a new season of life and I’m going to enjoy what is ahead.  And maybe I’ll be like some of the women in these photos!  Can’t you just see me in those playing in those vines??

I fell in love with this photo (to the left) the moment I saw it.  Sitting on a vineyard at sunset during harvest might be one of the most restful, peaceful, serene, magical images I could possibly imagine.  This is where my imagination goes when I need to get away.  When I  close my eyes and quiet my head and heart, this is where I end up and I could sit here for hours and hours.  Perhaps it won’t always be a dream…but a reality.

Oh PS…I’m trying to find creative ways to make money to help pay for classes.  I’d be happy to work some shifts in a tasting room, help out over Thanksgiving weekend,  help with crush, mow some lawns, weed some garden beds, housesit, dog-walk,  clean your house, ANYTHING!  If you have any odd jobs for me, I’m for hire!

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