Camp Stories: Paradise Creek Campground

In the second in our series of great campgrounds around the Northwest is a spot just ninety short minutes from Portland in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

My brother swears by this place and is particularly enamored of campsite #29. And since he's as fussy as I am about his campsites, you can take this one to the bank. He guarantees that your tent will be tucked into old growth forest that gives you privacy from other sites, and he says there's terrific river access as well as great hiking on well-marked trails that originate from the campground.

It's 42 sites experience only light use in summer, according to the website, but it's still best to reserve a site online if you know what dates you plan to go.

Read the first review in the series featuring Trout Creek Campground.

Photo of Falls Creek (accessible from the campground) from the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance.

Farm Bulletin: How It's Done

This latest essay from contributor Anthony Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm describes the relationships, informal and collegial, that exist between farmers, suppliers and, yes, even bureaucracies.

We buttoned up the Hot Lips harvest [Ayers Creek supplies berries for their sodas. - KAB] on Monday, and shifted our attention to packing blackberries for Sweet Creek Foods. Run by Paul and Judy Fuller, Sweet Creek is a small processing facility located in Elmira, west of Eugene. They source everything they can locally, and also allow farms such as ours to use the facility. Without Paul and Judy, we would not be able to produce our preserves. They also work work with a host of other farms in the valley. On Wednesday, when we went down to collect empty buckets and move some fruit into their freezer, Paul had just returned from the coast with a load of tuna.

The trip to Elmira takes us down 99W, and is a spectacular trip. On Wednesday, the last burning of the south valley grass seed field was taking place, for better or worse. From now on, only a small area of fescue production in the Santiam Hills will continue the annual rite.

Seed production is a vital part of the valley's agriculture, and many seed houses have offices in Brownsville. The list of seeds grown in the valley is more extensive than simply grasses. You may pass a quarter section planted to coriander, cabbage, beets or turnips. The passerby may wonder why a whole field of squash has been wastefully left unharvested when, in fact, it is being grown as a seed crop. In a seed production area, it is vitally important for producers, even as competitors, to know where everything is planted in order to avoid cross pollination. Similar crops, for example turnips, need to be isolated from one another by as much as two miles to keep the seed crop pure. For wind pollinated plants such as corn and beets, the isolation distance is greater.

To administer the seed production area, the extension office maintains a "pinning map" (right). The seed companies literally take a pin which has a small card with the seed type and variety being produced attached to it, and pokes it into the property where they will pant the crop. It is an honor system based on years of custom and collegiality.

Yesterday, we filled the van with the buckets of freshly harvested blackberries and called Paul to tell him the van was on the road. He leaves Elmira at the same time, and we transfer the fruit when we meet, usually around Monmouth if traffic is light. If all goes well, we will complete Sweet Creek's order next Friday. We will next see Paul and Judy when we process our preserves in late October. The fields will have greened up from the autumn rains and big leaf maples will glow among the dark firs.

Photo, top, by Jen McCabe for The Oregonian. Pinning map by Lindsey du Toit, Washington State University.

The Bar at the Market

A friend went to one of my favorite restaurants, indeed, one of Portland's best, and was not pleased with the food or the prices. She felt that for what they got and the money they spent, she would have been able to go to her favorite burrito cart ten times and been much happier with the food. And she's sworn she'll never go back again.

Evan Zimmerman, barmeister extraordinaire.

Now, barring a ridiculously bad experience, I'll always give a restaurant another try. And particularly since starting this blog, I almost feel an obligation to go more than once, if possible, in the name of fairness and to get a chance to sample as much of the menu as possible. So when a (different) friend wanted to meet for a drink at Laurelhurst Market, I couldn't wait to go.

The Badminton Cup.

You see, we'd had a spectacular meal there right after they opened, swooning over the 12-hour brisket and the beef shoulder with romesco. But our drinks were so-so that first night, not up to the raves I'd heard about the talents of head bartender Evan Zimmerman. So it seemed a second trip was in order, just to be fair, don't you think?

Those addictive fritters.

We walked in and opted for a seat at the long bar along one end of the restaurant with a view out over the patio on one side and sheltered from the din of the dining room by a partial wall on the other side. It was just after they opened for the evening and fairly quiet, so we quickly ordered our drinks and first round of apps from Mr. Zimmerman and settled in.

The drinks came, and they were stunning. Perfect for this end-of-summer evening, one a Lime Gin Rickey, the other a lovely concoction called the Badminton Cup consisting of gin, mint (thus the name), lime and a hint of cucumber. The salt cod fritters, a must-have on this menu, followed fast on the heels of our cocktails and were, if anything, better than on my first trip (and they were terrific then). This time they were crispier on the outside and creamier on the inside, and the aioli had just the right balance of garlic to be punchy without overwhelming.

Pimientos de padron.

The pimientos de padron, the type grown by Viridian Farms, are available now (until the first frost) and are something I dream about the rest of the year. They were seared in a smidge of olive oil, then mixed with sungold cherry tomatoes and mint and sprinkled with crunchy salt crystals. After switching to beer (they have a wonderful selection of six on tap) for me and rosé for my partner, we ordered two more substantial small plates, the sweetbreads with chanterelles and the gnocchi with lobster mushrooms.

Sweetbreads with chanterelles.

Very clean and tasting slightly like pork, the sweetbreads were light and meaty and laid on top of a mound of chanterelles, teeny baby artichokes and black olives. With a lovely reduction of pan juices, they were divine.

Gnocchi is, as I've said before, always a question mark for me. And chefs these days seem to be fond of searing them so they develop a crust on the outside, which, while they taste good, just don't give me the satisfaction of biting into the little pillows of happiness that I crave in this dish. Fortunately, these were very satisfying in a way that made my eyes close in dreamy delight. For real. And the substantial texture of the lobster mushrooms and the pop of kernels of sweet corn, all in a creamy bath of flavor, is a memory I'll be savoring for a long, long time.

We ended with a quick glass of Carpano Antica, an amber-colored vermouth, over ice with a wedge of orange peel and a bit of Dolin Blanc, a slightly sweet clear vermouth. Chatting with Evan about these caused him to pour us a taste of his favorite after-work libation, Fernet-Branca (right), which he described as tasting like myrrh and mint. Like the restaurant itself, I could see it growing on me with repeated applications.

Photos by Kim Ferris.

Details: Laurelhurst Market, 3155 E Burnside. Phone 503-206-3097.

Two Carts, One Lunch

Picking appropriate dining partners can be a tricky business. Are they adventurous, or do they blanch when they see sweetbreads on the menu? Are paper towels instead of cloth napkins a deal-breaker? Do they have a sudden change of plans when you suggest anything on the east side of the river?

When my friend Ivy Manning suggested that we track down Koi Fusion, a truck that trundles around downtown and whose fans follow it religiously on Twitter, I was all in. Then I inquired whether she could handle adding on a trip to Asian Station, a cart that my brother has been raving lately for the soup dumplings called xiao long bao that he says rival the ones he had in Shanghai. Ivy just snorted that she was a Midwestern girl, so what was I worried about?

The sun was reflecting off the side of the big white Koi Fusion truck (above left) as we pulled up and parked across the street from the 76 station near the China gate on 4th and Burnside. There was a line of people primed for the takeout menu of Korean-Mexican tacos, specials and sides. We opted for four of their tacos (spicy chicken, short rib, pork and beef) and the kimchi quesadilla.

The short rib taco was the best of the bunch and we thought it was potentially addictive, especially if you had more than half of one. (Did I mention that good dining partners need to share their food and, in my case, allow me take pictures of it?) With just the right balance of spice and sweet, this fired on all cylinders, especially with a nice squirt of their red chili sauce.

The other tacos were fairly uninteresting and we found them to be on the too-sweet side. And the kimchi quesadilla could have used a lot more kimchi for my money, though Ivy said she wasn't fond of the combination of cabbage and cheese.

We left to head up to Asian Station and found it parked under the shade trees across the street from the big pod of carts on SW 10th and Alder. Painted a bright, cheery orange (right) and manned by a pierced and punky but very polite young man, we got a couple of orders of the XLBs and one of the barbecued pork buns (top photo).

The XLBs were, indeed, a revelation. Usually apricot-sized, you're supposed to take a bit and suck out the broth, then nibble away at the noodle-wrapped ball of sausage in the center. The ones at this stand were more ping pong ball-sized, small enough to pop the whole thing in your mouth and chomp down on an explosion of soup, sausage and noodle all at once. Entertaining and delicious, I'm smitten and will be needing more soon.

The bun was equally good, much smaller than other buns I've had, but still the soft, pillowy, pork-filled delights they're meant to be. This place got the full thumbs-up from both of us.

Details: Koi Fusion PDX; check the website for current location. Asian Station Cafe, SW 10th & Alder St. in the City Center Parking lot; Phone 503-227-5727.

Corny Salad

Some foods are perfectly matched to their seasons. Lamb shanks in the fall, beans and sausage in the winter, pasta with young greens in the spring.

So when I saw this recipe for a corn and tomato salad in Mark Bittman's Minimalist column in a recent New York Times, I knew it was going to appear at dinner soon. Then a friend gave us several ears of her sweet homegrown corn and it was clear the time had come.

Easy, tasty, and totally company dinner-worthy, it's a perfect side dish or, with a loaf of crusty bread, it could be a meal all by itself. You can watch a video of Bitty making it here.

Pan-Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad
From Mark Bittman, the New York Times Minimalist column

1/4 lb. bacon, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
4 to 6 ears corn, stripped of their kernels (2 to 3 cups)
Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
2 c. cored and chopped tomatoes
1 med. ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and chopped
2 fresh small chilies, like Thai, seeded and minced (I used poblano)
Salt and black pepper
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to render fat; add onion and cook until just softened, about 5 minutes, then add corn. Continue cooking, stirring or shaking pan occasionally, until corn begins to brown a bit, about 5 more minutes; remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Drain fat if you wish.

Put lime juice in a large bowl and add bacon-corn mixture; then toss with remaining ingredients. Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve warm or at room temperature.

Livin' in the Blurbs: Living Large

There's a huge DIY (do-it-yourself) ethic developing in Portland, from raising chickens in back yards to turning lawns into vegetable gardens to making cheese at home. Yes, I said making cheese at home. My friend Luan at Foster & Dobbs started a DIY cheesemakers group a couple of years ago to give folks a chance to meet and learn from each other, and she was overwhelmed with the response. And Wed., Sept. 9, Claudia Lucero of Urban Cheesecraft will join the group to demonstrate making mozzarella. So get in and get your cheese on!

Details: DIY Cheesemakers Group with demonstration of making mozzarella. Wed., Sept. 9, 7:30 pm; free. Foster & Dobbs Authentic Foods, 2518 NE 15th Ave. Phone 503-284-1157.

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I think I may have a big 'ol crush on Mark Doxtader of Tastebud Farm. I just can't resist giving the big guy a hug when I see him, or stop craving his pizzas, bagels and the vegetables that come out of his mobile wood-fired oven. No one is as dedicated to using the freshest, most of-the-moment seasonal ingredients in his cooking than Mark, and now he's featuring Montreal-style bagels along with his famous wood-fired bagels. What's a Montreal bagel? Wikipedia describes it as "smaller, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole" and always, ALWAYS baked in a wood-fired oven. 'Nuff said.

Details: Find Tastebud Farm Montreal bagels at four eastside New Seasons locations, Pastaworks (weekends), Twin Paradox and Half & Half. Also at local farmers' markets and Tastebud Farm Restaurant, 3220 SE Milwaukie Ave. Phone 503-234-0330.

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Speaking of tastebuds, you can visit Mark and a bunch of other food, beer and wine folks at the Muddy Boot Organic Festival on Sept. 12 and 13. Head over to St. Philip Neri in SE Portland and check out the workshops and exhibits on sustainable living along with organic beer and wine, activities for kids and musical entertainment from Jack Straw to the Portland Cello Project. And the keynote address on Fri., Sept. 11, will be given by none other than author, activist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben (check the Muddy Boots website to purchase tickets).

Details: Muddy Boot Organic Festival. Sept. 12, noon-9 pm; Sept. 13, noon-6 pm; free. St. Philip Neri Church, 2408 SE 16th Ave. (near 18th & Division).

Saving It For Later

There's a certain anxiety that lurks in the background of even the most joyous activities. Think of births, weddings, gardening.

Gardening, you ask?

Think about it. Picking out the right seeds and starts for your climate and soil. Planting so they'll get just the right amount of sun. Then there's the constant monitoring. Too much water? Not enough? How is my garden doing compared to my neighbors'? It's almost enough to require treatment for GOCD (gardener's obsessive compulsive disorder).

When my tomatoes first set fruit, there was a lot of the dreaded bottom-end rot, no doubt due, in my case, to too much watering. So I cut back and the rest of the fruit seems fine…another bullet dodged. But now I find myself wandering out on a daily basis and squeezing the red fruit to see if it's really ripe enough to pick; with the Green Zebras, if they're developing just the barest hint of yellow behind their green facades. It's exhausting!

And now that we're in the full-on firehose of tomato season, I'm starting to worry about not letting any go to waste. Fortunately, we have a freezer sitting in the garage just waiting to be filled up with summer's goodness, though it's already looking after bags of rhubarb and the various berries I managed to squirrel away.

I'll be adding quart bags of roasted tomato sauce now that temperatures have dropped to levels reasonable enough to turn the oven on during the day. And any anxiety I might have about those long dark days of winter will be at least partially relieved.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

5-6 lbs. tomatoes, quartered if large, halved if small
2-3 large yellow onions, cut in sixths
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
1/3 c. olive oil
Salt to taste

Spread out tomatoes and onions, skin side down, on two roasting pans. Sprinkle with the oregano and basil, then drizzle with the olive oil, half on each pan. Roast in 400° oven for 45 min.-1 hr. until tomatoes have partially collapsed and onions are beginning to brown on edges.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly Pinch off tomato skins (they should just slide off) and purée in batches in a food processor. In large pot or Dutch oven, simmer on stove top until reduced to desired thickness. Cool and put in quart freezer bags.

Fruits of Summer

Kathryn LaSusa Yeomans is a Portland chef and active forager. In the case of figs, she doesn't have to scavenge any further than her back yard.

There was an expression at my grandmother’s house: “It’s hotter than hell, let’s make jelly!” Sure enough, the figs came on just as temperatures broke 100°.

I’m one of those Portlanders lucky enough to have fresh fruit trees producing in my yard—well, actually they’re in my neighbor’s yard, but hang over the fence within a ladder’s reach. We’d been invited to glean all we can, so each day, basket in hand, I’d set the ladder and select pale green figs, heavy with sweet nectar.

It is said in France that one should pick figs three times a day, plucking only the fruit that is perfectly ripe at that moment. Scrutinizing figs became a daily pastime. I’d carefully examine each specimen—too early and the immature flesh remains starchy, unable to ripen correctly, too late and the heavy fruit drops with a sticky splat to the ground, or joyfully nibbled right off the branches by squirrels and birds.

“No fair! You get the top half of the tree, I get the bottom, that’s the deal!” I’ve been known to say to the thieves, fist clenched at the treetops.

Plates of figs accumulated in my kitchen, and despite gorging ourselves on the luscious fruit, I had secured a bounty worthy of a batch of jam. Here is the recipe that I found. And don’t fret that you’ve missed the harvest – figs come on again. They tend to ripen in two flushes, one in the fervor of summer, the other in early fall. That means that even if you can’t take the heat, you can still have the fig jam.

Fig Jam
Adapted from Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters

Makes about 3 cups

1 3/4 lbs. ripe figs (about 6 cups quartered)
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. water

Cut the tough ends off the stems of the figs. Cut the figs in quarters and put them in a medium-sized saucepan with the granulated sugar, lemon zest, salt and water. Simmer 10 minutes, until the figs are soft and translucent.

Puree the fig mixture by passing it through a food mill and return it to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until it is a very thick paste. This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour or more, depending on how much moisture the figs contain. The jam can be eaten fresh, or spooned into sterilized jelly jars and sealed. Process pint jars in a boiling waterbath for 10 minutes.

Pick Me! Pick Me!

I have a vision of my neighbor and Real Good Food's guru of the garden, Jim Dixon, laying on his back in his garden, hands clasped behind his head and surrounded by adoring squash, corn, tomatoes and peppers, all clamoring to be the ones he picks (no pun intended) for his next repast.

Summer’s end means an abundance of beautiful produce, and most nights I find myself combining a couple of things I picked up at the farmers market or had in my garden. This week it was more eggplant, Spanish frying peppers (from my friends at Viridian Farms), sweet corn, and tomatoes (from my backyard).

I’m sure I’ve ranted about this before, but it’s worth repeating: don’t bother salting eggplant. While it does change the texture, it does nothing for the flavor. I think it’s a waste of time and keeps people from eating more eggplant (something we do nearly every week).

Eggplant and Pepper Agrodolce

Cut a medium eggplant into roughly half-inch cubes, peeled or not, depending on your preference. Use enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom of a heavy skillet, heat it until it starts to shimmer and add the eggplant. Let it sit for a few minutes, then use a stiff spatula to turn it and mix it up. Don’t worry if it looks like it needs more oil, just keep moving it around and it’ll be fine.

Cook over medium high until nicely browned, then add several frying peppers (typically long, thin-skinned, and fairly mild) that you’ve halved lengthwise and cut into short strips. Add a chopped onion and cook everything for another 10 minutes or so. Add about a quarter cup of Katz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc vinegar (or Late Harvest Zinfandel, they both have some sweetness), cook for a few more minutes, then serve.

Corn, Tomato, and Basil Salad

Cook a few extra ears of sweet corn so you don’t eat it all hot off the cob. Let them cool, then slice off the kernels (simmer the cobs in water to make corn broth, good for risotto or polenta). Cut up some ripe tomatoes, tear a handful of basil eaves into bite sized chunks, add a chopped shallot, drizzle with plenty of extra virgin olive oil, add a splash of Katz Champagne vinegar and a pinch of flor de sal.

Travels with Chili: A Dash to Astoria

Needing to put some miles on Chili, the better to someday strut her road-hugging stuff around the backroads of the Northwest, we decided to take a day trip to Astoria. A couple of hours' drive along the Columbia through wetlands and forests, we followed the river west as it defined the contours of the upper-left hand corner of the state.

Arriving around noon, we stopped for lunch along the main riverfront avenue at one of our favorite spots, the Columbian Café. It's quite small, seating maybe 30 in its four booths and counter, and is owned by the talented and eccentric Uriah Hulsey, whose personality is reflected in the eclectic decor of the restaurant that runs toward Day of the Dead sculptures, bits of ephemera and odds and ends of the stuff your Aunt Edna may have stashed in her attic.

Uriah loves him his peppers, and the hotter the better. For a real taste of what this man can do with them, you can order the Chef's Mercy and he'll whip something up on the spur of the moment from whatever he's foraged from local sources. Otherwise it's standard, albeit well-made and seasonal, café fare that tips its hat in the direction of New Orleans.

And for those who want to spend a little more time in his culinary presence, he's got jars of his famous St. Diablo pepper and garlic jellies for sale. We've become addicted to the jalapeño, its pale green color belying the intense pepper flavor that goes so well with cream cheese and Indian cuisine. And the labels, designed to look like old engraved Mexican labels from the early 1900s, are works of art in themselves and worthy of framing.

From there we decided to walk through the quaint downtown area that has blossomed around the tourist trade but hasn't gone overboard to cater to people seeking beach knickknacks (who are those people, anyway?). Dave wanted to check out a couple of the breweries that have opened in the last few years, so we made our meandering way to the Fort George Brewery to sample a pint or two.

With a selection that includes everything from a wit to a very nice stout and, at least from the look of the food coming out of the kitchen, a decent menu, this is a great family-friendly spot for hanging.

Another brewery is just a few blocks away is the Astoria Brewing Company, deceptively housed in the Wet Dog Cafe. With a terrific river view from inside at the bar or out on the deck overlooking the water, you can wave at the Astoria Riverfront Trolley as it trundles along the docks.

Sun, beer and road trip needs satiated, we drove back home with the sun setting in Chili's rearview mirror. And that mileage indicator was looking a lot nearer to the 1200-mile mark we needed to start testing her sporty engine.

Details: Columbian Café, 1114 Marine Dr., Astoria; phone 503-325-2233. Fort George Brewery, 1483 Duane St., Astoria; phone 503-325-7468. Wet Dog Cafe, 144 11th St., Astoria; phone 503-325-6975.

As Grows the Garden, So Grows the Child

Gardens can teach us a lot, and the White House garden has been an inspiration for millions around the country since I first posted about it last March. I thought you'd like an update on just how that garden is doing and, besides salads for state dinners, what it has provided.

In Season NW: Expanding Access

Like health care, access to good food should be a right and not a privilege reserved for those with the means to pay for it. Over and over again, studies have shown that people who eat a diet of fresh rather than processed foods enjoy better overall health and aren't as subject to chronic maladies like high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.

Through a partnership between the Portland Farmers' Market and the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, the King Farmers' Market opened this season with the intention of expanding access to local produce and products in the moderate and lower-income neighborhoods of North and Northeast Portland. And from opening day it exceeded vendors' wildest expectations.

And now comes word of the next step in the evolution of Portland markets into places that are welcoming and accessible to everyone in the city they serve with the formation of the Foodshare Fund Northeast. Similar to programs in place at other markets, it's an incentive program that supplements food stamps with a dollar-for-dollar match, providing up to $5 per person per week in matching funds.

Since the program launched in July, the average number of food stamp customers at the market has more than doubled, from 25 to 52 per week, and the average amount of food stamp tokens purchased has nearly doubled, from $420 to $780 per week. And while vendors can distinguish the tokens from the non-fund tokens, to shoppers there is no difference, taking the embarrassment factor out of transactions.

From a press release, David Sweet, co-chair of the King Farmers Market Community Advisory Council, said, "Community members have told us that they came to the market for the first time because they heard about the matching program." And that's something we can all feel good about.

Livin' in the Blurbs: Celebrations Galore

It's all Italian, all the time when Ritrovo Italian Regional Foods hits town with a boffo series of product tastings in Portland and Dundee. Find out what the food pros get to do for "work":

• Aug. 27: Abruzzo Tasting featuring Montepulciano Grape Walnut Conserve, Pomegranate Blood Orange Syrup each with a wonderful Italian cheese.5-7 pm; free. Foster & Dobbs, 2518 NE 15th Ave.
• Aug. 28: The Best of Italy featuring Farro Umbricelli Pasta, Maletti 6 yr. Balsamic Vinegar, Alba White Truffle Oil, Pear/Moscato Wine Jelly, Acetorium Fig & Cherry Vinegar all paired with cheese from Steve and wines from Square Deal. 5 pm; free. Steve's Cheese, 2321 NW Thurman St.
• Aug. 29: Farm to Fork featuring Tenuta Cocevola Pugliese EVOO, Radici Orange Mousse, Kiwi/Lemon Conserve, Nebbiolo Wine Grape Chutney, Colli Etruschi EVOO and pinot, too! Noon-4 pm; free. Inn at Red Hills, 1410 N Hwy 99W, Dundee.

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Believe it or not, it's been a whole year since Food Front Cooperative Grocery opened its new store in Hillsdale, bringing their commitment to building a vibrant community and a healthier world to a wider audience. On Sunday, Sept. 13, they're throwing a wingding to celebrate, with free hot dogs, organic lemonade, music and prizes, so if you're in the mood (or at the Hillsdale farmers' market), stop by any time from 11 am till 5 pm.

Details: Food Front Cooperative Grocery in Hillsdale First Birthday Bash. Sun., Sept. 13, 11 am-5 pm; free. 344 SW Capitol Hwy. Phone 503-546-6559.

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And last but certainly not least, the year's cheesiest celebration will kick off when The Wedge: Portland Celebrates Cheese holds its second annual festival on Oct. 3. Last year's event featured national speakers, classes and a fair with cheesemakers from around the country gathering to share their wares with all of us, and this year promises to be, as the ad folks always tell us, bigger and better than ever. Mark it on your calendars!

Details: The Wedge: Portland Celebrates Cheese. Sat., Oct. 3, 10 am-4 pm; free. 928 SE 9th Ave.

Tastings: Rooting for Root Beer

My son loves root beer. That's only remarkable because I've never been able to stand it. My mother loved it, my brothers loved it. The family would pile in the wagon when we were kids and go to the A&W Drive-In in Redmond and everyone except me would order a big, frosty mug.

So when I went to Pop Culture in Vancouver the other day to see just what sodas a store devoted to the carbonated beverage would carry, I came home with eight different root beers for my in-house devotée to sample and evaluate. Because of his love for the beverage, he rejected the side-by-side comparison which would have required opening them all and wasting a good deal of decent root beer. Instead he decided to have one each day and give each due consideration, with me keeping notes.

Going in, his acknowledged favorite was IBC, which had always taken first place in his pantheon of great root beers, though it had recently become hard to find locally. The others were a variety of traditional and newer brews, with different kinds of sugars and blends. A surprise dark horse that entered the competition was Crater Lake Soda's root beer, a new local root beer that we found on tap on a recent dinner outing to Ned Ludd.

The results of our very unscientific survey were as follows:

• Faygo, Detroit, Michigan: Not super-sweet. A normal root beer with a little herbiness. Like many of these root beers, it was better once the carbonation had subsided, allowing its herbiness to come through.
• Sprecher, Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Very mild and creamy, not overly sweet.
• Boylan, Moonachie, New Jersey: Almost cola-ish without that cola harshness. Fruity.
• Dad’s Root Beer, Chicago, Illinois: Tastes like it was made from syrup. "Not necessarily sweeter than the others, but not much else there.” Almost no head on it.
• Americana, Mukilteo, Washington: Mellow, not very fruity. “It’s only hitting one bandwidth of flavor.” In other words, "a one-note root beer."
• Thomas Kemper, Portland, Oregon: Very sweet. Honey and vanilla dominate.
• Stewart’s Diet, Rye, New York: (I bought diet by mistake) Fairly decent with a nice herbiness. Fairly sweet, also, but not too much.
• Crater Lake, Portland, Oregon: (on tap) Very herby, almost borders on harsh but not quite. Quite dense. "If I drank a bottle every day, I don’t know if I’d choose that one," but "probably the most interesting of the bunch."
• IBC, Plano, Texas: “A good root beer” and milder than Crater Lake with a nice fruit and herbiness. At first “it was not rocking my socks off" but, again, as carbonation decreased it improved. "My favorite for an everyday root beer."

Are you a root beer fan or do you have a favorite root beer-related story? Click on the comments link below and let me know.

Giving from the Garden

If your garden is like mine, there's an avalanche of tomatoes, peppers and squash tumbling from all those little plants you lovingly planted in spring and babied through the summer, and you're enjoying every single bite that goes into your mouth.

But if you're approaching tomato overload or you've had it up to here with zucchini, instead of leaving them on your neighbors' doorsteps at midnight you can share the love with those less fortunate in our community through Plant a Row for the Hungry, a campaign sponsored by the Garden Writers Association in cooperation with the Oregon Food Bank. All you have to do is drop off your produce at a hunger relief agency in your area (list here) or contact Eric Sopkin by phone at 503-282-0555 ext. 260, or e-mail.

The produce most in demand include tomatoes (picked while slightly under-ripe), green beans, winter squash (acorn or butternut), garlic, hot peppers, cucumbers, zucchini (woo hoo!), collard greens and onions.

Another program, Produce for People, works through the Community Gardens of the city's parks and recreation department to donate extra produce that members have grown on their community garden plots. To donate, check with your community garden coordinator or contact the Community Gardens Office at the city by phone, 503-823-1612, or e-mail.

The Gem That Keeps Sparkling

Who knew when my brother opened his wine shop in Sellwood all those years ago, that the sleepy little neighborhood of antique shops on Portland's southern border would blossom into a foodie destination with a lively restaurant scene and a burgeoning food cart corner?

So now when I go to pick up some "buffer wine" to keep me out of the small amount of good stuff we have in our cellar (and by that I mean basement), I can also stop at Garden State for whatever Kevin has on special that day, or for a simple and simply excellent dollar taco from Kiko's.

Slurping the goodness.

But my new favorite go-to destination is Jade Teahouse, where April and her über-talented mom, Lucy, are cooking up their take on the luscious, lovely food of Southeast Asia. I've posted on Jade before and have gone back many times for Lucy's amazing banh mi and homemade noodle soups, but when I heard via their Twitter feed that she was cooking up some Laotian-style beef pho, I had to get in there.

With my friend Denise, another Jade enthusiast, along to feed the frenzy, we decided to split the soup and also order her new addiction, Jade's Vietnamese meatball sandwich. When Lucy brought the soup to the table, she explained that the sprouts, lime and peppers on the accompanying plate were to go in the soup, and the long beans and lettuce were for dipping in the little splash of sauce on the side.

Made from fermented bean curds, shallots, garlic and Lucy's special love, all it took was one taste of that sauce to make my eyes roll back in my head with delight. And the soup itself was a masterpiece of pho-craft, magically rich with an aroma that sang of comfort. Jade's regular soups are a delight, but if you hear that she's got this on the menu again, head in for a bowl.

Another addiction in sandwich form…argh!

And the meatball sandwich? I hate to say it, but it gives me yet another reason to haul myself across town for more than wine. And though light is not a word typically used to describe meatballs, these orbs of delight are just that, especially when sandwiched with Jade's homemade pickled carrots and cucumber in their housemade baguettes which, by the way, are the best I've had in town and much better than the light, crusty versions found in other banh mi joints.

The love and care that goes into this food is truly worth celebrating, and the people behind it are equally special. Jade is indeed a gem.

Details: Jade Teahouse & Patisserie, 7912 S.E. 13th Ave. 503-477-8985.

Farm Bulletin: Bitter Discovery

The stacks of Chester blackberries at the Ayers Creek stand at the Hillsdale market were looming over Carol Boutard last Sunday, though customers were decimating the towers at an astonishing clip (take that, David Karp). While waiting to buy mine, I noticed a bin of strange-looking knobby green gourds. Wondering if Ayers Creek was branching out into the sex toy business, I asked about them and Anthony Boutard assured me that, no, they were not trying to expand their customer base and the odd-looking cucurbits were actually bitter melons.

Karela is the Indian variety of bitter melon. It is a beautiful fruit that is eaten before it ripens. The fruit is intensely bitter, but also considered a good liver restorative and helps reduce blood pressure. Regular customer Rahul Vora has provided a recipe from his family:

Bitter Melon and Potato Curry

Here's my mom's Gujarati style karela (my favorite).

1 lb. bitter gourd (karela) - Indian or Chinese
2 medium potatoes like yukon gold
Vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. red chili powder or cayenne or hot paprika
1/2 tsp. coriander powder
1/4 tsp. cumin powder
1 Tbsp. lime juice

If using Indian karela, scrape the skin to smooth it out a bit with a peeler. Slit the karela lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds and pulp. Discard. Cut the seeded karela into 1" x 1/2 " strips. Sprinkle salt on the strips and let drain for at leat 1 hr. Squeeze to drain as much as possible.

Peel and cut potatoes into similar-sized chunks.

Heat oil in a wok or large sauté pan. Add the karela and the potatoes. Stir-fry at high heat for 3-4 minutes, browning the vegetables. Lower heat to medium and continue to stir fry for another 3-4 minutes or so. Add all the powder spices and sugar. Add salt carefully, making sure not to over-salt (depends on how much salt was retained after the de-bittering step). Stir on low heat for another 3-4 minutes or so until the spices are fully incorporates and the vegetables are fully cooked and a little crispy. Sprinkle the lime juice. Serve with wheat tortilla or chapati or pita bread. It can also be served with rice and dal.

In Season NW: A Plethora of Peppers

Like Christmas, it takes awhile to get here, but when it finally arrives it does so with a vengeance. And from the evidence seen on a recent visit to several markets around town and from the stakes I've had to use on my plants here at home, peppers are in, baby, and they're in big this year.

In mesmerizing colors from iridescent orange to a yellow that requires shielding your eyes, not to mention shades of green from light to almost-black and a purple that would put Barney to shame (dinosaur, not Frank), I find myself needing to get at least one of each. Or more.

Which means, of course, that I get home and start referring to myself in the third person while unpacking the bag. As in, "Who does she think is going to eat all this?" Fortunately for her…I mean, me…there is a handy solution in a Basque dish called piperade (pron. peep-eh-RAHD).

Basically just a pile of sautéed peppers with a little onion, garlic and tomato thrown in and then served on top of a thick slice of toasted bread, it can be topped with poached eggs or, even better, the eggs can be poached in the piperade itself, using only one pan for the whole dish (my favorite kind of cooking).

One-Dish Piperade

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
4-6 sweet peppers (more if you use smaller ones like Jimmy Nardello's), chopped
4 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped or 2 c. canned roma tomatoes
2 tsp. Spanish pimenton (paprika), regular or smoked
1/2 tsp. dried thyme or 2 tsp. fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste
8 eggs
4 thick slices bread (like Como or Campagne)

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large, open sauté pan. Add onions and garlic and sauté till translucent. Add peppers and sauté till tender. Add tomatoes and stir till they start to break down, then add paprika, thyme, bay leaves and salt. Reduce heat to simmer for one hour or until liquid is reduced by half. Make eight indentations in the piperade and break an egg into each one. Cover and cook till whites are cooked through and yolks are still runny. While eggs cook, toast bread slices in toaster and brush with olive oil (or brush each one with olive oil and toast under broiler). Place a slice on a plate or in a bowl and top with two eggs and lots of piperade. Repeat with other slices. Serves four.

In Season NW: Jimmy Nardello? Nice to Meet You!

I first met Jimmy by chance about a year ago at the Hillsdale Farmers Market. He was hanging around with a bunch of friends near a large pile of brilliantly colored peppers at the Gathering Together booth. He was young, but there was a gnarliness about him that sent shivers down my spine, offset by a sweetness I could see in his eyes. Before I knew it, he sitting down for a candlelit dinner, just me and him and a bottle of red, red wine.

There are romance novels to be written about the flirting and flings that happen at farmers' markets, the glances, the double-takes, the outright lustfulness that overcomes shoppers at this time of year. Perhaps it's the ripeness, the abundance, the dizzying selection that makes people giddy, or maybe it's the knowledge that soon, so very soon, it will all disappear with the onset of winter.

And though I'm guilty of piling more produce than I'll ever use ("Beans again?") into my market bag, I also use this season as an opportunity to survey vegetables that I might want to include in my garden plan next year. Which is where Jimmy comes in.

Doing some research, I discovered that the seeds for these long, twisty sweet peppers came over from Italy with Giuseppe Nardiello and his wife, Angela, in 1887. Giuseppe's son Jimmy, whose teachers decided he didn't need the "i" in his last name, donated some of his father's pepper seeds to Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa, which specializes in protecting heirloom seeds.

Fantastically flavorful, I found myself throwing them into pasta, roasting them (carefully…they're thin-skinned and disintegrate easily) for antipasto, chopping them into salads and even including them in tomato jam. So when the time came to buy seeds for the garden, I made a point of picking up a packet of the Nardellos.

The results of the first harvest from the garden are pictured above. And I'm thinking that this fling may have turned into a long-term affair.

Pop Culture

Oldsters and the terminally nerdy will remember a Saturday Night Live sketch from the late 70s called The Scotch Boutique, featuring a store whose sole product was Scotch tape. Fred Willard played Walker, a man with a dream:

"Yeah, you know, when you're working with a brand new, fresh idea, it's always a little harder. You know, um, most people are used to buying their - their tape when they go to the supermarket or drug store, you know. What we've got to do is turn their thinking around so they make a special trip down here to the Scotch Boutique when they want, uh, tape."

Why am I bringing this up? Because the Scotch Boutique instantly popped into my head when my friend Luan mentioned a store in Vancouver called Pop Culture that sells only soda pop. And just as quickly I knew I had to go there. And I'm not even particularly fond of soda pop, but when you hear something like that, how can you stay away?

Located in downtown Vancouver in a quaint brick building under the spreading branches of a maple tree, the sidewalk in front is lined with colorful Adirondack chairs ideally suited for sitting and sipping. Walking in the door reveals an oddly empty room with a counter in back that sells sandwiches and hoagies, a stage on the left with several tables and a bank of coolers against the right-hand wall. But look into those coolers and it's a one-way ticket to childhood.

Glass bottles of Dad's Root Beer, original-recipe Dublin Dr. Pepper and Nesbitt's orange soda are lined up like so many little soldiers, along with multiple flavors of newer sodas from Jones, Izze, Fentiman's, Boylan and Portland-based Hot Lips. You'll also find exotic sodas like Sidral Mundet, an apple soda from Mexico, Sprecher Root Beer from Wisconsin and a psychedelic array of Jarritos sodas that would send Timothy Leary into flashback mode.

Pop Culture is obviously someone's dream, and a focused one at that. As Walker said when a woman came into the Scotch Boutique asking if he had recording tape, "No, just cellophane. The sticky kind. If you need any of the sticky kind, you know where to come!"

Details: Pop Culture, 1929 Main St., Vancouver, WA. Phone 360-750-1784.

Our Night on the Town

My poor husband. I mention that I've made reservations for a night at the Hotel DeLuxe downtown and his head fills with visions of a romantic evening with the sound of clinking glasses and the swelling strings of an orchestra playing in the background.

Happy hour at the Clyde.

What he gets is…surprise surprise…a list of happy hours as long as his arm, carrying batteries for my camera (the better to blog, my dear) and a walking tour of downtown and the Pearl. Though that's a slight exaggeration. We only hit one happy hour, one restaurant and one after-dinner event. But he did carry my batteries, bless him.

The Dissident.

Our happy hour choice was Clyde Common, where I was hoping to snag some of the whole fried anchovies that I'd had on our first visit. Alas, anchovy season had just concluded, but our bartender was happy to suggest the (happy hour) charcuterie board and the sherry vinegar with sea salt chips. Dave ordered his favorite cocktail and his measure of a good bartender, a dry martini served up with olives, and I had one of the $5 happy hour cocktails called The Dissident comprised of Becherovka, an herbal liqueur made in the Czech Republic, house-made tonic and lime.

Fratelli at dusk…romantic, no?

My drink was icy and refreshing, but with enough Czech bitters to give it a nice alcohol bite, its golden hue looking lovely backlit from the fading light outside. And, in a note to Mr. Bond, from the last two martinis Dave has ordered, bartenders are trending toward stirred, not shaken.

Fennel bruschetta.

We hadn't decided on where to go for dinner and hadn't made reservations, so with somewhat tremulous steps we headed a few blocks north to the Pearl. Fratelli was a place I'd heard about and referred people to based on recommendations, but hadn't yet tried myself. Since Dave is game for Italian (and there are usually Dave-safe options), he agreed and we walked in to the oblong, high-ceilinged space.

Gnocchi with favas.

After picking a wine, we ordered appies of a fennel bruschetta and gnocchi with favas, the sweetly caramelized fennel practically melting into the warm bruschetta slathered in aioli. The gnocchi was seared but still nicely soft, and the late-season favas were a nice mix of beany and buttery. To accentuate the emphasis on the market-fresh, seasonal ingredients that dominate the menu, the young green bean salad was mixed with mizuna, a green that is rapidly shooting to the top of my list and one I'll be planting in next year's garden.

A heavenly chop.

Our entrées, which at other establishments have sometimes not lived up to the punch of the appetizers on the menu, were astonishing. I ordered the double pork chop served with chickpeas, braised apricots and dressed with pesto, and have rarely had a chop this good and cooked this perfectly. Slightly pink inside and crusted outside, I was sorely tempted to pick it up by the bone and gnaw away at it till shreds were left but, since there were other people to consider, I used the appropriate utensils and enjoyed it immensely with its condiments, all excellently done.

Dave's albacore (top photo), meaty slices seared on the outside and rare inside, came with an incredible eggplant caponata, a combination that was so outstanding we'll be doing it here at home in the near future. At this point the restaurant was only about half full on a Thursday night, which left us wondering about all those folks who whine about not being able to find decent Italian downtown. Great food, great prices, great wine list, seasonal ingredients…what up?

Movies al fresco (though not au naturel).

We finished our wine and walked back to the hotel just in time to catch Jacques Tati's "Trafic," the rooftop movie in the NW Film Study Center's "Top Down" series. With beer and wine for sale to the appreciative crowd, we bundled up against the slight chill in the air and were thankful for the quick toddle across the street to our little home-away-from-home. It's the kind of stay-cation I could take on a regular basis!

Details: Hotel DeLuxe, 729 SW 15th Ave.; phone 866-895-2094. Clyde Common, 1014 SW Stark St.; phone 503-228-3333. Fratelli, 1230 NW Hoyt St.; phone 503-241-8800.