A little photographic inspiration in the meantime… I don’t know about you, but all of these colors make me happy and excited that this is the time of year it is. I am not taking any of these days for granted, I can tell you that.
1. Lovely paint colors and Halloween fall decor.
2. Yvette’s love mural on her chalkboard door at the Jupiter Hotel.
3. Awesome “Acrylic Petals” mural on Alberta.
4. From where I stand: hike in Macleay Park to Council Crest.
5. Ineedthiswhiskey. Kennedy School rules.
6. DIY Hall & Oates mirror from Scrap for $2!
7. Pendleton Factory drool. Too pricey though.
8. Broder! Chanterelle, trout, greens, egg cream hash. So delish.
9. Cargo. My new favorite store.
10. Toro Bravo! Finally! This truffled arugula flatbread… heaven.
11. Portland Soup Co was closed so we went to the Phat Cart instead for fried chicken avocado lime aioli sandwiches.
12. Mister!
I’ll be back soon!
This last Sunday morning I had the great pleasure of being able to photograph and take part in (aka. devour) the beautifully crafted autumnal brunch dishes of Stacey Givens, owner of the Side Yard farm. Stacey began her organic urban farm in 2009, and ever since has been a supplier for local restaurants (Ned Ludd, Veritable Quandary), and regularly holds brunch supper clubs featuring her homegrown seasonal produce. In addition, she provides cooking classes and workshops on occasion. See previous and upcoming events here!
It was a beautiful fall rainy day and we were protected by a white sheet tent in the side yard (yep) of her farm, accompanied by warm and bubbly beverages and lovely company. I met some really wonderful people. I was spoiled with fantastic food. Everything was awesome. A great time was had by all.
The three course meal was absolutely spectacular. I was in foodie photography heaven.Let me lay it out for you.
1. Sweets
Pumpkin hot cakes. Pomegranate. Poached pear. Bacon fat cream cheese. Spice maple syrup.
2. Fall Hash
Hard cider braised pork. Yukons. Celeriac. Collard greens. Horseradish mustard seed creme. Farm fried egg.
3. Farm Benedict
House made crumpet. Charred brussels. Chanterelles. Braised escarole. Hollandaise. Poached farm egg.
*Not to forget the mimosas and the best coffee I’ve ever had by Ristretto Roasters (and I never drink caffeine)!
You guys, it was to die for. I’m telling you. I had such a blast taking these pictures! If you live in PDX, you must go. Please support her awesomeness and all of the awesomeness she does.
Here’s a sneak peak of the upcoming brunch next weekend!
fall crepes.
mike’s figs. chevre. local walnuts & honey
farm hash.
sweet potatoes. braised short ribs. roasted quince. shrooms. sorrel. jus
breaky sando.
buttermilk cheddar biscuit. dad’s fried chicken. farm egg. green tomato jam. spicy greens
And it looks like I’ll be the “official” farm photographer! Will take pictures for food!
My stepmom is coming to visit Portland tomorrow (for the first time!) and I wanted to do or make something a little extra to make her stay even more welcoming and cozy: double peanut butter m&m cookies.
There were always cookies in the cookie jar growing up with her in the house I lived in for 18 years. It was a serious shame and deprivation to our sweet tooth(s) to run out of homemade oatmeal chocolate chip or raisin cookies. There was always a few sticks of butter sitting out on the counter to soften every few weeks. I knew it was that time. Cookie baking time.
The first thing I baked in my new apartment were these chocolate chip cookies aka. the ONLY chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need. I’m serious. Nothing beats those guys. And who introduced me to that recipe? My stepmother.
The inspiration for this batch came from picking up a package of autumn colored peanut butter filled m&m’s last week in the Halloween candy section. I just knew cookies were to be had. For the last several days, I toyed around with what flavored dough base I wanted to pair with them. At first I was going to go for chocolate, but I figured a light peanut butter flavor would be best.
So here’s to carrying on a cookie baking tradition into the new(est) Antolini household. Yep, that’s me!
Makes 2 dozen cookies
Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
P.S. Here’s a little list of (food) places I have jotted down I’d like to take her:
-Portland Soup Co. for yummy artisanal sandwiches and soups
-Toro Bravo, because I have heard such great things and have yet to go there!
-Broder (because…duh)
-The Doug Fir for drinks, snooze at the Jupiter one night
-Noble Rot, because the view is supposed to be amazing, and their dinner menu doesn’t look too shabby either
-Shut Up & Eat for lunch, because I’ve heard great things and have yet to try it (4.5 stars on Yelp, whaaaat?!)
-La Provence for breakfast/lunch, if not, just to drool over their pastries and macarons
-Verde Cocina for dinner, because I’m madly in love with their fresh pile of veggies I’ve had for their breakfasts and lunches at the farmers market and at their cafe
-Bakery Bar, for the best scones in the world
-Crema, my favorite go-to
-Stumptown for lattes (her favorite)
-Voodoo (yes, it has to be done)
-Bollywood Theater, because it’s one of the best
-Pix, even though their customer service can suck it
-Possible dinner places: Ned Ludd, Woodsman Tavern, or the 2nd Story… still haven’t been to any of those!
Besides food, other places to go:
-NW 21st & 23rd Ave.
-The Pearl + Powell’s
-Sellwood for antiques
-Hawthorne
-A movie at one of the wallet-friendly beer theaters
-Hike in Forest Park
-Laurelhurst Park
-Alberta + Mississippi
I’ll be back in a few days with a photo recap!
Quite a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it?
With the small peak season of figs now leaving us, I wanted to make this beauty before it was too late. This lovely and healthy dessert recipe is from Green Kitchen Stories, a wonderful vegetarian recipe curator and food photographer. I’ve really been into using saffron in everything lately, and this was an absolute must. At first sight, I thought it was a raw recipe, but not quite. No dehydrating or cashew soaking or anything of that sort. It’s relatively very easy and simple and tastes like nothing I’ve ever had before.
The filling isn’t as sweet as you may expect, although it is mostly found biting into the dates within the hazelnut crust. I added in some lemon zest to give it a refreshing cheesecake type of flavor to compliment the saffron. The coconut milk and Greek yogurt could fool any cheesecake lover into loving this frozen faux version. The saffron was a bit powerful, I have to say, but I’m not complaining. I couldn’t find saffron powder anywhere so I just ground up the saffron strands as fine as possible. They were noticeable in the filling and the color wasn’t as yellowy and vibrant as I hoped it to be, but it’s all good. It shouldn’t change the taste at all. Also, the original recipe suggested roasting the hazelnuts first, but I didn’t bother to do so. It probably would have brought out the flavor a bit more, but I’ve had non-roasted nut-date crusts before and loved them just the same.
Make this ASAP before all those figs leave us till next summer!
Serves 6-8
Recipe adapted from Green Kitchen Stories
The Crust
The Filling
Preparing the crust:
Making the filling: