Monthly Archives: December 2012

End of the Year

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For the holiday season, my special sweetie and I drove down to California to visit my family. We are still here, enjoying ourselves and all that Santa Cruz has to offer. This is his first time in California period so it has been super exciting showing him all around my favorite restaurants, sights, and shops the last few days! Here are some photos from our trip thus far.

We’re Mentos-a-holics.

I love me a cookie dough blizzard every now and again. I don’t think I’ve had one in over 5 years!

The funky 1950s lodge we stayed at made out of one (one!) curly redwood tree.

Paul Bunyan was waving to us from the side of the highway, so we stopped and waved back.

One of my favorite spots, Malabar.

Verve. Bowl of soul! Oh, how I’ve missed thee…

His first walk on West Cliff. Aww…

My pops! I love him so much.

1/2 of La Familia.

My sweetie surprised me with beers that I’ve never heard of before! The Commons is apparently a great little microbrewery in Portland and all of their beers are supposed to be phenomenal. We can’t wait to crack these open.

Gifties for my man. See my recent gift roundup here for more product information.

I’ve missed my sweet ‘lil Lillia.

The best authentic close-to-really-being-Italian-food pizza at a new local favorite, Tramonti.

We’ve been obsessed with this song lately, so we decided to wear our sunglasses one night.

More pictures later!

Winter Gift Guide for Your Special Man

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fortheeman2

 

1. Plaid Western Shirt, 2. Musgo Real Oak Moss Bar Soap, 3. Wild Ophelia Sweet Cherry Pecan Chocolate Bar, 4. Shaving Brush, 5. Ashby Confections Chocolate Tortoises, 6. Musgo Real Lime Basil Shave Cream, 7. Box set of matches, 8. Kikkerland Clap-On Alarm Clock, 9. Lightfoot’s Pine Soap, 10. Redwoods Elizabeth W Cologne, 11. Disposable Cat Camera.

I know that Christmas is now long gone, but I wanted to share a few special finds I surprised my man with this holiday season. His birthday is also toward the end of the month, so I had even more of an excuse to spoil him. Besides, it’s always good to stow away a few ideas for future!

My last two trips to Santa Cruz included a visit to one of my favorite downtown shops, Stripe, and they have a men’s store now, which I have to admit, I like more than the women’s original shop. I went crazy in there on both occasions. After trying the lime basil shave cream from Musgo, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality and consistency of their products, so I went ahead and decided to try their bar soap as well. The chocolate tortoises are a local company from Santa Cruz and were found at my previous place of employment. They are to die for. The Redwoods Cologne is also a lovely special gift that I even wanted for myself! (I’ll just spritz on a bit here and there when feeling inspired to do so, I don’t think he’ll mind) Oh, and the disposable cat camera! There is a kitty, drawing or saying on each exposure! I think we’ll have a fun time toying around with it.

Boozy Bourbon Pumpkin Pie

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A great pumpkin pie recipe must always be shared, regardless of how post-Thanksgiving we are now toward the end of the year. I’m sure you are all pumpkin pie’d out, but who says pumpkin pie has to always be saved for end of the year festivities ?

I’m not always a traditionalist in the foodiest sense of the word. I like to try new things. I like to jazz things up a bit with an unexpected punch. I like to puzzle you with that flavor you can’t put your finger on. Whether it’s adding in chopped rosemary to melted chocolate or spiking your coffee with sweet maple bourbon, yep, I like to be that person.

But as you could probably figure out, as the title says it all, I won’t hide much from you with this recipe. I’ll be nice to you today.

There’s still New Years!

Boozy Bourbon Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from Epicurious

Makes 8 servings

  • Pastry dough for pie shell
  • 1 (15-ounces) can pure pumpkin
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons maple bourbon whiskey
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

*Accompaniment: lightly sweetened whipped cream (add 1 teaspoon bourbon per 1/2 cup cream and a bit of sugar)

  1. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and fit into pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and lightly press against rim of pie plate, then crimp decoratively. Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes (or freeze 10 minutes).
  2. Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
  3. Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour into cooled shell.
  4. Bake until edge of filling is set but center trembles slightly, about 45 minutes (filling will continue to set as it cools). Cool completely.

Cooks’ note: Pie can be baked 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Blue Star Donuts, Portland

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There’s a new dough man in town! Blue Star Donuts on SW Washington opened several weeks ago, and we popped in on a overcast rainy (how surprising!) Sunday morning with a mad low blood sugar donut craving. Without their own official website, we had the Facebook page to go off of for a hint about their enticing flavors. Horchata glazed, Blueberry Bourbon & Basil, Coffee & Coconut Cheesecake, Pistachio Orange & Cacao Nib, Strawberry & Jalapeno… I could tell they knew they were in competition with Voodoo.

I’m always down to try other donut shops in town without the hype and long waits (see Acme), although I do love myself a vegan Dirty Bastard now and again. Locals hate it, tourists are crazed about it, but I can’t say no to a solid donut made with hearty traditional dough. I grew up on glazed donut holes and maple bars at the ma and pa shops. Simple, reliable, and comforting.

Anyway, back to Blue Star. I was initially impressed with the clean, modern industrial layout of the place, and yes, the “Keep Calm and Eat Donuts” mantra on the walls, but honestly the dough just didn’t do anything for me. Free sample tastings of the glazes are offered if you’re skeptical about the combination of blueberries basil and bourbon, perhaps, but I found them all to be a bit on the sweet side. We ended up ordering five different flavors to achieve a well-rounded donut tasting experience: the blueberry bourbon one, of course, powdered sugar and spice, Valrhona chocolate crunch, dulce de leche and almonds, and peanut butter filled with jelly. If I had to choose a favorite, it would have been a tie between the PB&J or the sugar dusted one. But honestly, it was either the high amount of sugar or the dough that didn’t sit well with me. After a small bite of the dulce de leche, I almost cried out for an insulin pen. The Valhrona chocolate was extremely disappointing, as I didn’t realize it was cream-filled and I absolutely cannot tolerate cream inside a donut. WHAT’S THE POINT?! Blah. Needless to say, we didn’t end up finishing a few bites of them.

I must say that the coffee is well done though. A decaf soy latte paired very nicely and made up for the lack of the donut punch I was hoping for. I won’t give up on them yet, though. Maybe they’ll work the kinks out with their dough in time, and I’d definitely go back in to try the hard cider apple fritter if I’m ever in the area. But in the meantime, I’ll stick with my Dirty Bastards.

Blue Star Donuts 1237 SW Washington, Portland, OR. (503) 265-8410

Unforgettable Season

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A few things of late.

1. I made not-from-scratch (but still considerably homemade) sugar cookies. On our trip to Michigan, I stumbled upon a really nice locally owned kitchen store and found those adorable deer, squirrel and acorn cookie cutters! I am really pleased with them. I ended up amputating a few deers in the hind-leg region, but they still tasted delicious!

2. My latest favorite beverage is Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Chai heated with some unsweetened vanilla almond milk, topped with a squirt of whipped cream and grated nutmeg. It’s literally a warm weight heaven in your hand.

3. A few of my coffee table book favorites.

4. Dude/art garages are fun to explore.

5. Lloyd Dobler! Need I say more?

6. My first Portland kitty friend aka. my boyfriend’s housemates adopted kitten that I want to take under my wing.

7. We made our own homemade version from a favorite restaurant dish at Verde Cocina. We’ve made it twice without fail. And are very excited that they recently opened a new (closer) location!

8. Speaking of restaurants, we indulged in a little Pine State last weekend. We both realize how not often we eat there. It’s definitely not the kind of fare you’d gorge down in the middle of summer in 93 degree heat. It most assuredly falls under the appropriate category of “Winter Comfort Food”. I tried the fried chicken with cheese, bacon and apple jam! And we split some grits and collard greens.

9. Looking handsome as ever after his new haircut.

10. A new favorite “I’m in the mood for something greasy and flavorful and comforting but don’t want to break the bank or think too hard about where I may want to eat cause my brain may explode” lunch and/or dinner place, Lardo. I took myself out to lunch there last Thursday and treid their Italian tuna melt with some dirty fries (with pork scraps, marinated peppers, fried herbs and parmesan) and was in heaven. I definitely needed pigging out time. The second visit I brought the man along and went for the Cubano sandwich with the kale salad. A little over-Feta’d but still quite delicious. I was in the mood for some succulent, salty slices of meat and cheese.

11. Ok, this one’s super exciting. I WITNESSED SNOW FALLING ON THE GROUND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE. Yes! I’ve seen snow on the side of the road, of course, but not actually falling from the sky, onto the ground like rain. It was unreal. I woke up just in time Tuesday morning to catch the magical beauty for just another hour or so until it completely stopped. It melted relatively fast as well. It took 23 years… ’bout time.

12. My new favorite beer/only IPA I’ve ever truly loved: North Peak Brewing Diabolical IPA. I’d seen their label before throughout the net, but had never been able to find it in Portland (yeah, I know…weird). But when we were in Michigan, we popped in a few liquor stores to see if there was anything new and exciting and it turns out many carried this. Fortunately, I was able to purchase one out of a 6 pack and bring it home to try. It’s fantastic, and I’m not a “hoppy” beer drinker.

13. My new favorite thrilling novel, Gone Girl. Not quite sure I understood the hype (or still do understand why this book is so popular) but Gillian Flynn definitely seems to keep you engaged and addicted. Now if only I can finish it within 2 weeks to return it back to the library! Eek!

14. More sugar cookies. And sprinkles. Because we all need those things in life.

Leaving tomorrow for California holidays! Can’t wait to show my man around a city (and state) he has never been to!

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