Rainy Sunday Nesting Part II

I also cooked my little tush off today. It was cold and damp outside but inside it was warm and cozy.


This is an apple crisp with raspberry garnish:

I roasted vegetables with olive oil and spices.  The red potatoes are from what will likely be my last farmer's market trip of the season.

I also made baked beans:

I think subconsciously all of the cooking comes after a week of little cooking or grocery shopping.  I foraged meals all week.  As I ate raw carrots for lunch last Thursday my co-worker mentioned that I should at least add some hummus.  My reply..."Thanks, but I ran out of hummus on Monday."    I will not be in need of food this week!

Rainy Sunday Nesting Part I

I spent today baking, decorating and reading.  It was pretty near perfect.  Last week I had a wonderful bouquet of fall flowers as a table centerpiece.  This week I brought in my fall/Halloween decorations and here is the new centerpiece. 

I love decorating my fireplace mantel:

And I love the way it glows and casts shadows at night while lit with tea lights:

Plant Power

I've had a plant growing roots on my desk at work for many months.  I kept meaning to bring it home but never got around to it.  On Friday a friend brought cactus and spider plant cuttings.  I brought them all home together and vowed to get them in soil.

I also wanted to repot this plant.  I brought it not very long ago and it has grown so much that this is the third time I've given it a new home.  I splurged on this pot since I had to make a trip to Home Depot for potting soil.

Eventually the spider plant will get a home in a hanging basket but for now it will enjoy living here.

Here is the plant from work.  It is more roots than plant but I'm hoping it will grab hold and flourish.

The little cactus wasn't ready for soil so it sits in the window in my kitchen for now. Maybe one day I will post that they all survived and will show off large, full, hearty plants.

A Better Spaghetti and Meatballs

I finally tried a dish that I've been talking about for months but hadn't actually gotten around to.  It's a vegan pet peeve of mine when I see chefs, authors and other "authorities" trying to come out with meatless dishes that look, feel and taste the same as the original.  It's insulting to a meat eater or anyone else to say that eating processed soy aka fake meat is just the same as the original.  I don't think it's healthy or smart to take a highly processed soy product and dress it all up into something it isn't.  I've been saying for months that I think these chefs would be wiser to try to re-invent rather to re-create a classic meat lovers dish like spaghetti and meatballs. 

So, here is my healthy version that is full of fresh vegetables, heart healthy oil, complete protein, antioxidants and the list goes on and on...

The "pasta" is actually sliced ribbons of zucchini and carrot.  Once in ribbons I added a dash of olive oil and steamed it for just a few minutes:

The "meatballs" are a mixture of lentils, rice, oats, spices, olive oil, and balsamic vinager.  They baked for about 10 minutes and came out like this:

I placed the vegetable pasta on a plate and tossed it with a variety of different color and style of tomatoes.  I added fresh basil and then placed the meatballs.  I must say that it turned out to be the prettiest dish I've ever made.  It was also extremely filling--something I didn't expect but honestly I struggled to finish the plate. 

I will definitely do this one again.  It required a good amount of prep work but it's just so pretty and now I can really speak with authority when I say that there really is a better way to do spaghetti and meatballs.

Saturday In Portland 2

About a year ago I did a blog about my walk downtown to the library.  As much as I hate to be redundant there is always so much to see and it changes every minute so here is a second round of me walking down to the library on a Saturday in late summer.

Last night was the First Friday Art Walk.  It was amazing and there were so many photo moments and blog worthy things to mention but I was really enjoying living in that instant and just taking it all in.  Still, on my walk I followed the same path that we took on the art walk so I couldn't help but think of some things I had seen.

While I was at work Friday morning I was talking with a couple of co-workers about jazz music.  Ah, yes the conversation came up when I mentioned I would be in New Orleans during a huge jazz festival.  I love live jazz music and never get to hear it.  My co-workers and I hatched a plan to go catch some live jazz soon-specifically at this place: Jazz At The Blue

One of my favorite places during the art walk was a gallery above this flower shop.  These huge second story windows all lit up at night with people milling around inside was actually quite a sight.  The gallery was mostly watercolors of trees (and I admit I have a thing for any photos, watercolors etc of trees especially birches) and next to each photo was a story.  As, I said it was one of my favorite stops.

A completely different atmosphere was the art gallery Space.  It is a vast open space that has a bar in one corner.  So picture people milling around, chatting with a beer in hand.  It felt very much like a typical bar except instead of pool tables and a dart board there were art exhibits and stuff hanging on walls.  Very hip, funky vibe.

Yes, Portland now has a Reny's.  Topsham also has one.  Now that Reny's is everywhere does it somehow make it a less special place?  Hmmm, not sure about that one yet.

After my visit to the library I checked out the Library of Congress 18 wheeler bus that has been working its way across the country.  Portland is stop number 84 out of 90. It was touted as having America's treasures such as Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, really old world maps and Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.  Sounds pretty cool right?  But what they failed to mention is that there were no original works on the bus-only photos and brief descriptions.  Not exactly what I imagined but the huge air conditioned bus was quite fun!

SpikeFest 2011

In 1993 I was new to Portland and newly 21 years old.  A friend I worked with told me I had to check out local band Twisted Roots.  I bought the album, loved it and started going to their shows.  Before long it was a regular occurrence that I would be hanging out at Zootz, T-Birds and Asylum watching Twisted Roots.  I remember countless nights hanging in the mosh pit with guys at least twice my size just rocking out like crazy.  I felt so comfortable and at home in that environment.  Over the years music changed and Twisted Roots played out less and less. The band along with their fans started getting older, having kids and basically grew up a bit. 

Moving back to Portland I re-committed myself to catching them every chance I could.  They played last December at The Big Easy and it was a great night.  So, I had been patiently waiting for months for the next show.  They had announced that they would do a show over the summer so I waited and waited...

Then I woke up one morning to several Facebook messages that someone close to the music scene and a major part of life during that time had passed away.  In no time at all bands pulled together to do a benefit show in his honor and SpikeFest 2011 was born.

One of the opening bands was Whitcomb.  I thought I had seen them at the December Big Easy show and they were good so I was excited.  Well,  when I looked onstage I had two thoughts..."I guess I didn't see Whitcomb before" and "I know him!! Can that be who I think it is...Oh yeah it's him!!"  You see- a band called Tripe used to always play with Twisted Roots.  Some of the best shows ever happened at Zootz with TR and Tripe.  Having been away from the music scene I had no idea that the lead singer was now in Whitcomb.  He's magnificent and here is Whitcomb:

Before twisted Roots came on we grabbed a drink and took a few photos of our own.  These photos are when we were only slightly shiny and the humidity was only 110%.  Thank goodness we didn't wait much longer to get some good shots!

Here's the set list (except they closed with Tracks, not sure if there was another song in it's place):

I LOVE this picture sooo much:

It was the drummer's birthday that night:

It was an insane show with people acting crazy!  Really good music for a good cause does that to people :)

All photos except the close ups of myself and Jeanne are courtesy of Jewlee Robinson, a true Roots fan!!

Vacation Food

I don't tend to eat out often but since I'm on vacation this week I admit that I got take out for dinner last night and again for lunch today. 

Last night's stop was Chipotle.  If you haven't been, you should check it out.  The founder's motto is "Food With Integrity".  They have a small menu with fresh, flavorful, quality ingredients.  In the two times I've been there I have witnessed them hand chopping cilantro and onions- no frozen produce here.  I've also seen them hand mashing avocados which they claim to do three times a day.  Their web site is very transparent and fully discloses all ingredients and nutritional information.  When your food is good you really have little to hide.  Here's a link to Food With Integrity.  As proof that I am not alone in loving this relatively new addition to the area there was a very long line of people that wrapped along the wall, down to the door, and then back along the outer edge.  Totally worth it.

Today I walked downtown to the farmer's market.  It was pouring rain but I think that only thinned the crowds out a tad.  Here are photos of the grower I bought from.  I got some of these great cherry tomatoes and I also bought a bunch of cukes.

After leaving the farmer's market I headed up Congress Street to Green Elephant.  It had just opened for lunch so I got the first order in for Pad Thai.  Five minutes later I left with food in hand.  The inside of the restaurant is small but very well done. I've only ever had take out and it is definitely fresh and a step above.