BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!

Walden, age 2 months, one week

Well I've done it this time. Beau and I were out walking through the small, unpaved street around the corner from my house when we encountered our neighbor, digging a grave for a squirrel she had found on the road, still alive near her office. She wrapped the unfortunate creature in a towel, but by the time she was at her office, it had died. She and her daughter are well-known for their rescuing of dogs. At any given time, there are at least seven dogs and six cats in their home. Whenever they spot a dog on the street they scoop it up and run home to put the word out on Craigslist and other rescue sites. Getting caught up, she told me about recently rescuing a small Pomeranian/Yorkie mix and two days later she gave birth to seven puppies. Daddy is a poodle/dachshund mix. I said to her when she told me about the puppies that Beau and I would be by in a few days to see them.

Well we went, and tiny Walden was put into my hands. He's calmer then Beau and really cute. Next thing you know, I'm saying, I'll take him. If Beau is miserable, they insist that he can come back. But for now, he's mine and I get him in three and a half weeks when he's 12 weeks old

By the way, the little Gerber baby is my neighbor's two year old. She's been over-run with seven puppies in the last couple of months, but is clearly pack leader of this bunch.

Walden, being crushed by little Summer

I've been sampling new restaurants in Portland, and judging the design of many attractive books for PubWest's annual Best Books Design of 2009, as well as a visit from a New York friend.

Willamette Weekly has just published their list of top Cheap Eats in 2010, and there are a lot of interesting places. While there are many Asian and Mexican places, loads of coffee shops, my favorite pizza joint (Gladstone Coffee and Pizza) made the cut (as well it should), and a number of fine barbecue, pizza and bakeries are listed too.

You can spend a lot of money, a la New York, in Portland. But you can also eat at a remarkably wide variety of restaurants in this town without a reservation and the food will be mostly of excellent quality, served in a friendly manner, the whole experience leaving you feeling like you've spent your money wisely and well. So here's what $20 got me last Saturday night:

Smoky Mountain BBQ is in the Clinton district, a very attractive enclave of old Portland Homes with a restaurant/shopping area at its center. Only about a half mile from my house, it's a terrific place to find inexpensive places that serve good food including Dot's, a popular sports bar/cafe; Sub Rose, an Italian that specializes in pizza and pasta, and it's newest neighbor, Smoky Mountain BBQ. Richard Day-Reynolds is a transplanted Tennessee barbecue master who has lived in the Portland area for more than 30 years. He's found a popular and likely permanent home on the corner of SE Clinton and 26th Avenue. The dining area is small with only about 12 tables and a full bar. There are three flat-screen TVs that air sports programs. They have a wide selection of locally brewed beers, some wine (including a modestly good local Pinot Noir, also modestly priced by the glass or bottle), plus other libation. Day-Reynolds is an experienced smoker with his "carbon-black Traeger" grill that greets you as you enter. On Saturday, I decided not to order the highly praised brisket, which was sort-of a mistake. I got the pulled pork instead, and it's tender but a little anonymous and a tad too cool. It was served with an excellent side of coleslaw in a vinegar sauce. My side was a combination mash of sweet and regular potato with lots of garlic. It was flavorful and surprisingly subtle. My two companions wasted no time with one ordering the brisket by itself and the other requesting the brisket sandwich. All three entrees were $6. Darren wanted to sample the Cajun sausage, which he thought was spicy, but the two bites I took seemed tame. It was $5. They also ordered the sweet potato fries, which arrived hot, crunchy and dusted with a little chili powder. They were special indeed. John and Darren had two beers while I threw back two glasses of that local Pinot Noir. The total tab was $20 each. The menu also lists Andouille sausage, smoked meatloaf, barbecued chicken and pork ribs with sides that inlcude dirty rice, red beans, collard greens, BBQ black beans, cornbread and smoked mac and cheese.

Wednesday night Jean-Francois, Jay and I were out to dinner at Tabla Mediterranean Bistro, a restaurant that is widely admired. Located near Laurelhurst, this is a casual, modern restaurant and very serious cooking. Jean-Francois had chosen it because he had been impressed with their three-course dinner menu priced at a shockingly low $24!

Tabla Mediterranean Bistro turned out to be a first-rate dining experience with one important, but not deal-breaking complaint (see below). The dining room is very contemporary with warm colors, and a simple pared-down, nearly industrialized look. The wait-staff is excellent--knowledgeable about their menu. They enjoy helping you make your selections, and there are about five selections for each category--appetizers, pasta and main courses. The appetizer was Seared Ricotta and Nettle Gnudi was my choice with wild mushrooms, an almond enriched mayonnaise for sauce (more of a smear on the plate) and tiny arugula leaves. The little dumplings had a fresh green taste from the finely ground nettles; the cheese providing a salty, rich under note. The wild mushrooms grounded the dish with a pleasing earthiness and the arugula added a touch of pepper. The pasta course was sooooo simple: tender, house-made trenette noodles with truffle butter and Grana Padana cheese. The portion was just enough to wish you had a bite more, but grateful you still have from for the main course. I don't know why I chose Crispy Sweetbreads with Romesco sauce enhanced with red peppers, but I'm so glad I did. Crunchy, golden on the outside, the sweetbreads were soft and creamy inside. The Romesco pepper sauce with its ground almonds added a complimentary layer to the dish with braised Brussels sprouts finely dusted with smoked paprika giving it that extra feeling of Spain. Jean-Francois had the grilled steak, which he was pleased with, but Jay chose a warm vegetarian terrine with leeks. I liked my bite of the leek terrine, but Jay seemed unimpressed. We were wine whores, which kicked the bill higher.

Then the three of us ordered one dessert, and here's my one complaint. It was lousy. The devils food cake was a hard little loaf that lay on the plate like a brick, and wasn't all that flavorful. It came with a bland and far too gelatinous panna cotta, clearly the pastry chef had a heavy hand with the gelatin, or worse the panna cotta had stayed too long in the fridge. I'll save money on dessert the next time I dine there. It certainly didn't affect my feeling about the delicious courses I had before, or the seriousness of the chef responsible for 90% of my dinner.

The next day I met my old friend, Tina Jordan, who was in town for a librarian convention. Too bad the great weather of the day before didn't hold up. We started to go downtown so she could experience Powell's Books. After about ten minutes in the rain, we decided the hell with that and I started to search for a place to have a glass of wine. We ended up at Jakes's a famous old restaurant that specializes in fresh seafood. It's been on my list for a long time, but we were not there to eat. We drink a superb local Pinot Noir and got caught up before jumping in a cab for a tour of my house.

In deciding on a place for dinner, I again chose one of my local restaurants, Lauro's Mediterranean Kitchen over on SE Division. I've been here at five times since I moved to Portland and I always enjoy the experience. It's owned by David Machado, whose portfolio of Portland restaurants includes the newly revived Nel Centro and Vinadaloo, an Indian-style restaurant on my list. I like the dining room, but I prefer to sit at the counter overlooking the open kitchen. On one side is the guy in charge of salads, desserts and pizzas. He also assembles and bakes the tagines in his brick pizza oven. To the right are two blazing hot stoves and a grill where burgers, pastas and meat dishes are cooked. You can watch the show while you peruse the menu, sip some wine, and make your selections. Being a girl who likes to watch her figure, but also has a sweet tooth, Tina opted for a salad of butter lettuces, blue cheese and candied pecans. I think they make superb salads here, so that same salad got me started. This salad was excellent, the lettuce had crunch and softness. The blue cheese is local and addictive, with a pecans adding a sweet crunchy touch of their own. I think they use grapeseed oil and maybe sherry wine vinegar. It's a great combination. I also had as steaming bowl of penne with broccolini, garlic, an prosciutto and a warm broth. Dusted with some parmesan, it was perfect. Tina had her chocolate and ice cream fix while I chose another glass of a fine temperanillo from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. This is the kind of ideal neighborhood restaurant every neighborhood needs. It's utter simplicity and thoughtful service coupled with it's good food and sensible prices, keep it busy day in and day out.

My friend Kent Watson hosted a dinner party of Portland publishing types on the eve of his PubWest Design Awards. I brought along my famous rice salad, which is loaded with Arborio rice, roasted cubed beets, radishes, celery, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, scallions, parsley and chives. Sometimes I add edamame, or chopped artichoke hearts. It feeds a lot of people and they always want the recipe. Let me credit the amazing Lidia Bastianich as the inspirational source for this wonderful salad. Best of all, it can lay out on a table in your backyard in the middle of summer without worry of making your guests sick as a salad with mayonnaise can.

At 8:00 AM the next day, Kent was at my door to take me to Portland State University where the judging of the books submitted was to take place. From 9:00 to 4:00 PM, we pawed over many books judging the quality of their spines, paper, quality of their covers, or binding or the type face chosen. It was a fascinating day. I've often admired the books publishers produce and can name books that I've found especially beautiful over the years. The exercise could make me critical of publishers who cut corners on beautiful books. How could a publisher charge $75 for a book a most of the hardcover was made of paper, while another chose the most exquisite and subtle of endpapers for their book. We could admire he layout of recipes in a cookbook even as we dismayed at the washed out quality of the photos. I had a partner in the the three categories we judged. Her name is Jen, and she's a young publisher that I bonded with instantly. We laughed and giggled, but I also saw a very serious young woman who had a superb eye and recognized quality as instantly as she recognized dross. A very enjoyable afternoon spent admiring the craft of books.

The weather has turned to crap just when I'm hoping to get to the second level of gardening. I have lots of things that are placed where they need to go in the garden, but need to actually go into the ground and the rains are not cooperating. Beau has to be carried out of the house because he hates the rain and downpours really freak him out. I captured some more photos of spring and I'm waiting for a break in the rain because tulips are out in full force, and I saw some iris blooming the other day (I can't imagine the short hail storm we had on Wednesday did them any good. Then late yesterday afternoon, I noticed the first lilacs and dogwood of the season are beginning to bloom. So weird, this early in the year. Can't wait to share those photos.

These were supposed to be hamburger buns which I recently made from scratch. They weren't not that big so I'm thinking, maybe I need to make hamburger sliders. In any event, the rain cramped my grilling style, and I made a meatloaf instead. The next day for lunch, these came in handy as meatloaf sliders, a recipe that I think is somewhat original.

I wish I had a garden like this one. There's always lots of things blooming here.

Is there a more elegant flower than a tulip? I don't think so.

And finally, I got the tax bill for the sale of my co-op in New York. OW...OW...OW!

I FINALLY MADE IT TO POK POK!

I finally made it to Pok Pok on Tuesday night. My buddy Joan Vogel was in town on business, and staying with me. We love to eat (her husband Fritz, is a knowledgeable food lover and a great pal to dine with too!). I decided on Pok Pok, a Thai-influenced restaurant with a food cart vibe and lots of imagination and care in the kitchen. It's been a huge hit since opening in 207, and is up for a bunch of awards and was named restaurant of the year in Portland in 2007. How does one describe it? It's a kind of casual, shack-like place with tables and booths in the small dining room and then picnic tables outside with heaters and clear plastic vertical blinds that keep the cold at bay (we ate outside)--it makes you feel like you're in college. On frantic nights, I could see why a young girl with a head-set was standing outside with her clipboard dealing with people who want to get in. But it wasn't frantic tonight, just busy. They take the food very seriously here without turning it into a religious rite.

We drank Thai beer while looking over the not-extensive menu. We arrived hungry and so we began with the restaurants famous Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings. Six huge steroidally large chicken wings marinated in fish sauce, garlic, and sugar, deep fried and the tossed in caramelized Phu Quoc fish sauce and garlic and served with Vietnamese table salad got my attention. Funky, slightly crispy and sweet-chewy skin and meltingly tender wing meat told me everything I needed to know about Pok Pok. The ultimate snack food, I want these wings delivered to my house at least once a week. Hoi Thawt came next and is a combination of crispy broken crepe with steamed Prince Edward Island mussels, eggs, garlic chives and bean sprouts served with a Sri Racha suace. Again, you had the tender mussels, and soft scrambled egg that played off of the crunch of the bean sprouts which were zapped with the kick of the spicy hot sauce. Yummy. A salad called Papaya Pok Pok is a mouth festival of green papaya sticks with tomatoes, long beans, Thai chili, lime juice, tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar, dried shrimp and peanuts. Explosive and refreshing at the same time. Chat Ca La Vong was another winner with the catfish pieces marinated in tumeric and sour sticky rice, fried in tumeric oil with scallions and dill and dumped over rice vermicelli with peanuts, mint and mam nem (?). Sounds like a lot going on in this dish yet it was mild and soft and delicious and balanced all the riot of flavors of the other dishes.

By the way, the the owner of Pok Pok is also the co-owner of Foster Burger, which I recently wrote glowingly about.

Milk Chocolate Hazlenut Panna Cotta

Had friends over for dinner on Sunday night. Sarah is feeling a bit blue, understandably with an ill father and the unexpected loss of her beloved Doberman, the elegant Gina. She was 14 and lived a good life. So Sarah and Carol were at my table along with Kyle and with nice weather, I decided it was time to grill a leg of lamb. Butterflied, and marinated in a home brew of garlic, kosher salt, lemon peel, fresh rosemary, some olive oil and some balsamic vinegar, this gorgeous piece of meat got the right amount of heat (I'm pretty good for a beginner with my new grill!), and tasted fantastic. In Patricia Wells' BISTRO COOKING is a recipe for a potato gratin that I've been making for years. You layer thinly sliced potatoes, sliced onion, chopped garlic, fresh thyme, salt and pepper and when finished, you drizzle olive oil over the top and about 2/3 cup of white wine and bake in a hot oven for about 40 minutes. Wells' recipe also calls for sliced tomato on the top, but since tomatoes are not in season, I did without and with no loss of flavor. The top layer of potato gets crispy and below is all flavorful soft goodness. A platter of fresh green beans with lemon and butter finished out the savory part of our meal. I found a recipe in the New York Times last week I just had to make: Milk Chocolate Hazlenut Panna Cotta is an astonishing creation from a cookbook called THE CRAFT OF BAKING by Karen DeMasco (Clarkson Potter). Go to the Times website and download this unbelievably thrilling pudding. It's a simple but rich mix of gelatin, Nutella, kosher salt, heavy cream, vanilla whole milk and toasted hazelnuts (optional). I've never tasted such a spectacular pudding.

Shepherd's Pie

The best part of the dinner was that I had lots of leftovers and so made a shepherd's pie the for the next night and had some more lamb to slice for sandwiches!

Put the nearly finishing touches up on the guest room by springing for some window panels. I don't love curtains, but these matched the copper, and were handsome as well as affordable.

And now for some truisms about home ownership: You never stop working on a house--never. There's always something that needs attending to. So now it's the garden, and a strip of grass in front of my house on the sidewalk, which makes me cringe in embarrassment every time I see it. That little strip out there is like a jungle. And where are these leaves coming from? The trees are only beginning to leaf now.

Laundry truism #1: If you want white, white, white underwear and socks, you have to use a longer soaking cycle in the laundry, which I guess is why all my tighty-whiteys have been gray all these years. But now that water is so expensive, I've had to just accept that they will be less white.

Laundry truism #2: Don't dry your bottom sheets with a load of laundry unless you want everything to emerge from your dryer wrinkled beyond recognition. I just bought a longer clothes line for those pesky sheets. I'm sick of looking so wrinkled and I'm not ironing.

I keep buying these terrific chickens at Trader Joe's and end up making chicken pot pie from the leftovers. I keep mixing up ingredients for the top crusts. This one has jalapeno-jack cheese in the crust and some cornmeal. Mighty toothsome.

Chicken Pot Pie

LOTS OF THIS AND THAT

I haven't been happy with the arrangement of furniture in my living room since I moved in. Then while watching TV a few days ago, I came to the realization that the large china cabinet in the living room was sucking all the air out of the room! It's now in my garage. I re-arranged the room on Sunday and I'm amazed at how open and airy it now looks. Of course, this goes under the sage observation from Maryann. "Boy do you have too much time on your hands!"

I hate to paint. I find nothing more boring. I have to force myself to do it such a tedious chore. But when it's all done, I wonder what I was bitching about. Besides, I love this color--the same as my bathroom in New York.

I was a bit startled to pick up the paper yesterday and note that Justice Roberts is disturbed by President Obama's using the State of the Union address to criticize the five conservative supreme court justices who voted to allow rich corporations and other powerful organizations to spend money on political campaigns. I mean the State of the Union address was nearly two months ago. What took him so long? We all know he was peeved. And then he had the nerve to say that President was dressing down the entire Supreme Court. I don't recall that Justice Scalia was present, and everyone else knows President Obama wasn't dressing down the entire Supreme Court. If you can't take the heat, Justice Roberts, get the the hell out of the kitchen.

I really don't blame Palestinian President Mahoud Abbas for refusing to participate in peace talks with Israel after the country announced it's decision to expand Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem with 1600 new homes. Does that mean I'm no longer a supporter of Israel? No. But it does show that Israel is no more serious about peace then its Arab neighbors. I'm disgusted with the whole political situation in the Middle East. The capacity for misery in this area of the world is astounding.

Away from politics, the unexpectedly fine weather we've been having for the past two weeks has prompted me to do some gardening and organizing of the front and back yards.

I planted three rose bushes on the side of my driveway, which probably gets the best direct sun on the property. Honestly those are rose bushes. I'll send photos when they finally bloom.

I also went to the Portland Nursery and bought this small shrub, called a Hebe 'Nana'.

The camellia in my front yard was probably at its peak last weekend. The blooms are beautiful.

I also found two mophead blue or pink (depending on the acidity in the soil) hydrangeas, and a lilac bush. And I found a bunch of mature blooming daffodils at my local Walgreens on sale. I figured I'd plant 'em, cut back the tops in the late spring or summer and have bulbs next season. Right now they are in a planter in my back yard, so I'll get to enjoy them for another few days. And in a Costco run, I found Dahlia bulbs. I'm definitely in my first-garden-no-sense-of-order-get-stuff-I-love mode. I'll impose some self-discipline around the end of the summer when I'll have found out how much work I've created for myself. In the meantime I'm looking at the possibility of a new deck or a patio for the backyard. And I'd love to create a path made of bricks for the yard areas. I'm giving up most of the grass, which doesn't want to grow anyway because of the acidity from my massive Cedar tree. So there will be a small patch for Beau to pee on.

It's also been a busy week, writing proposals for new projects to replenish the coffers, painting bookshelves and CD shelves for the guest room, putting the finishing touches on the newly painted master bath, continuing work on a fascinating new book about the many farmers, winemakers, dairy and livestock farmers, cheese makers and so many other local artisans in EDIBLE: A Celebration of Local Flavors from the Edible magazine network. The book has stunning photos, profiles of these artisans, and wonderful recipes. Out in April, it should have a wonderful reception.

My brother has a friend named Kyle, who has recently moved here. Kyle is looking for work, and in need of a place to live. So he's helping me with all these various house projects that I won't do while living in my basement. He expects to be here for about two months. He'll probably help me finish a "fourth" bedroom down there while I close off the storage area, and install a new bathroom. I have a toilet and shower stall there now, which will be closed off, tiled and with new bathroom fixtures, giving me a four bedroom, three bath house. That will be good for extra guests, or even a possible roommate at some point. I love living alone, but I would enjoy sharing the house. It just as easy to cook for two as it is for one--in fact, easier. And as we get closer to summer, I want to build a real patio with my grill closer to the house. I'd like to move my outdoor dining table and chairs away from the driveway!

Meanwhile, Kyle has a cat--his name is Bit and he's a fluffy long-haired gray and white guy with a big black blotch for a nose. He's adorable. He's also a bit skittish and sudden noises make him bolt. I wasn't at all worried about his getting along with Beau. Beau mostly ignores him and when he does pay attention, he makes Bit a bit worried. But Bit is getting relaxed and enjoying himself. Today he slept on one of my dining room chairs. Beau slept under the same chair. And now for an "Aw!" moment. Here's the photo.

Beau doing what he does best--sleeping. His influence has extended to Bit.

Beau the slacker is typically unconcerned that he's got a cat hovering over him.

Bit is shy and he's warming to us slowly. He's intrigued by Beau but keeps his distance.