Tuesday, December 30, 2008

This is stupid

For some reason I can't comment on my own blogs. This is dumb and frustrating. Those of you who have been leaving nice comments, I have tried replying to no avail. sorry. I will try to figure this out soon.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Crema Bakery and Cafe



Crema is by far my most favorite Cafe. They are located on the corner of S.E. 28th and Ankeny. At Crema they truly aim for perfection. Their bakery, in my opinion, is the finest in the city, putting out amazing breads, pastries, and savory snacks. I am not usually one for drinking coffee, but I just can't stay away from their Vietnamese Iced Espresso. I am told by others that their more usual coffee drinks are superbly crafted. I personally love their home blended Chai, though this can vary wildly depending on which barista is making it that day, ranging from mildly spicy and rich to smoothly sweet with gobs of honey.

My meal of choice at Crema is a Vietnamese Iced Espresso with a Turkey and Brie Panini and a side of mixed olives. This sandwich is probably one of the best in Portland, though the Inheritance at the Red&Black cafe, and the Grilled Portabela [sic] sandwich at Gotham tavern are close competitors. They take two hardy slices of their ciabata, pile on succulent slices of turkey breast and slivers of a mild, creamy Brie. They then grill it with butter in a heavy duty panini press. They serve it with a small dish of honey/jalapano aioli to dip it in (this sauce is also spread inside the sandwich prior to grilling). I was told by Silas, one of the baristas I have become familiar with, that they now require you to ask for this dipping sauce to get it. I encourage this highly, for it really is a key element to this sandwiches sublimity. The sandwiches come with either a side of salad, cup of soup, or a small dish of olives. The mix of olives that they use is really quite good, I recommend these as the side.

They also serve a Caprese Panini with tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella with olive ciabata slices and pesto spread, and a tuna sandwich with lettuce and a faint dill flavor on a ciabata roll.

Today their Panini grill was in the shop, so I got some Pork and Bean Chili. Their soups are always superb, loaded with robust ingredients that balance perfectly and fill a belly.

At Crema they do baked goods right. The cookies, danishes, cup cakes, croissants, scones, cakes, and pies are second to none. As are their Quiches, muffins, galettes, and turnovers.

Also notable is the astounding number of highly attractive people that frequent the cafe. I will sometimes just sit with my jaw agape, gazing about the room. Frequently they hang some very neat art on their walls. Ah, let's see here… what other random thing have they got? Oh, there is an old man who seems to live there who wears an eye patch. Sometimes his wife is with him. He is notable because I have never once been there and not seen him. I go there a lot. I mean, a lot, I am known by name, and this guy is ALWAYS there. I often wonder how he lost his eye.

Here is the very boring and practically useless website they've got.
http://www.cremabakery.com/


Beast triumphant over Man





So here's that picture of Walter biting my face I told you about in my last post. He really is a sweet little guy, just don't mess with his food is all. Walter and I are alike in that regard.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Pictures from ma life



So the Kung Fu school is up and running again! It has been under construction for a while but classes are being held regularly once more.

We busted out the old Slot Car race track for christmas. Not sure why, but it was a blast.







A fairly new christmas family tradition is that I make ravioli for christmas dinner. The previous two or three years (I forget how long I've been doing this) I made sweet potato ravioli. This year I made Mushroom, Chevre, Pine nut, and Prosciutto ravioli with caramelized onions and browned butter. Part of the tradition is that everyone sits around the table filling the ravioli:



Here is the butter browninating and the onions caramelilating:



The ravioli all packed and ready to cook:




Some random pictures:

This is Walter. I tried to get my face in there and get at some of that flavor too so he bit my face. Niko got a good picture of it happening, I'll try to post that later:


A fun snow creature I saw in my neighborhood:


Birds in the snow:


I had lunch at Half and Half today after getting my hair cut by Stephanie (my sister-in-law)
They are one of my most favorite cafes in town. They have a bunch of great sandwiches, cool art on the walls, loads of zines to read, deviled eggs(!), and good drinks. Here is the Muffaletta Sandwich, deviled egg, and mocha I had:


The cute lady behind the counter told me that my plate looked like modern art. I told her I would take a picture for posterity.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Monday, December 22, 2008

A quick and easy pasta recipe

Here is a pasta recipe I created for when I don't want to work to hard at making food. I live alone so this is portioned for one person, scale up if cooking for more. It uses some ingredients that I keep stocked in my fridge at all times that many people probably do not. I recommend that you do.

Ingredients:

° Pasta! (any will do, I recommend buying fresh pasta)
° Olive oil (splurge and get something fancy, maybe a bottle from spain with pungent olive taste and peppery tones)
° Chevre (goat cheese is naturally lactose free!)
° Butter (try goat butter sometime! extremely cream and slightly sweet. Though I am using T-mook right now.)
° Prosciutto di Parma (get it sliced at the butcher's.)
° Chili oil
° Salt and Pepper

Now to get started.

Boil water, add the pasta. (a quarter to a third pound for one person)

Slice a few strips of Prosciutto into smaller pieces, set aside.

In a large bowl add two to three tablespoons of chevre, a generous pour of olive oil, and a pat of butter. Now ladle some boiling water from the pasta pot into the bowl with the chevre, oil, and butter. Start with only a little at first. The boiling water will melt the chevre and butter while the olive oil flavors the mixture and acts as an emulsifier. keep adding water slowly until you reach a desired thickness.

Strain pasta when ready and mix into the sauce bowl. Add S+P and chili oil to taste.

You have just made a rich and creamy pasta dish using one pasta pot, seven ingredients, and only took as long as it takes to cook pasta.

This is the basic recipe, I use this base to jump off into more elaborate dishes using roasted garlic, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized shallots, or toasted pignollas. Experiment!

Enjoy!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

New Blag, New Job

Though the sky has been sputtering and mumbling vague proclamations of the coming winter for a week now, today the snow has found its voice and belches forth with gusto, like an old man recounting the time he danced with eight girls in one night. I'm sitting at the cash register in OMC, watching the dry, dandruffy snow whip around Sandy Blvd, KATU news across the street at Les Schwab quoting the Book of Revelation. It has been a busy day (I'm typing sporadically between customers. It's taken me over an hour to get this far) with only a handful of days until Christmas. It is an interesting day at OMC. It is my last. I started in August when it was in the upper nineties, so this seems like an appropriate send off.

Perfect strangers, upon hearing that I am voluntarily quitting a job, tend to punch me in the face, unable to look at what they believe to be the stupid single person in the nation. The economy sucks, and the job market is worse, so why? I am leaving Oregon Mountain Community because I hate it. Some of the most ungraciously smarmy chumps I have ever known find gainful employment here. They ruin it for me, souring every moment that I must work beside them. This, I assure you, is the nicest thing I can find to say about them. Of course, there are many truly splendid folk that also stock shelves, pull orders, and answer phones around here. It is because of them that I will miss this place. But the others, they are the shellfish, the peanut, the dairy product, the special allergen that causes the trachea of my soul to slam shut, leaving me writhing on the floor, eyes wide, dimly taking in my fate.

Is that enough drama? Go ask your mama.

She told me to move on? alright.

I am starting a new job at elsa+sam's, a dishware boutique selling some really cool stuff. Check it out:

http://www.elsasam.com/

So, new blog. I hope to update regularly with art, food talk, fun pictures, and stories of my life. See you then!