Upside-Down Plum Cake

Oops, I accidentally deleted what used to be the upside-down plum cake post. Can't remember what I wrote so here's the picture with a link to the recipe.

Too Much Tomato?

Don't be silly. There's no such thing.

Buttermilk Pancakes

I enjoy pancakes on the weekend. That's really all I have to say about that.


In other news, I've discovered that whenever I upload pictures through blogger, it actually compresses my pic and displays a smaller version. I'd been resizing the images to be bigger after loading but didn't realize I was resizing the compressed version and not the original. No wonder my pics look slightly fuzzy UNTIL you click on it.

BOO. Now I plan to always upload my pics to picasa first, then add to blogger via the URL link. I've also decided to make the width of the post body larger so I can keep the images big. Unfortunately, I'm lazy and only went back and fixed the Portland post, but going forward, please enjoy the larger crisper format!

Portland - Monkey's Move

Here it is. The Portland post...

On Saturday, I arrived at the airport half an hour after Monkey. Her landlady met us at the Oldtown/Chinatown light rail stop (Monkey arrived on the train before me) and took us to the apartment. The apartment turned out to be a very cute 1 bedroom next to the park in Pearl district, a happenin' area known for its art galleries. Here's the view.


The landlady also turned out to be nicest woman ever. She left us a little care package with crackers, cheese, banana bread, granola, spritzers, plant, you name it. Of course, we fell on the food like rabid dogs.


Once our appetites were satiated, we set forth to the pet store to get Tony some much needed food and supplies (poor guy was in carrier for 11 hours!). Here I am taking a pic of the little fella while Monkey took a pic of me. Somehow Tony looks more dignified than me...



For dinner, we went to Silk, a Vietnamese restaurant for pho and vermicelli noodles. Quite tasty.



On Sunday, we went to cute neighborhood coffee shop for cappuccinos and paninis before setting forth on errands.



After eating, we went to rite aid to get some essentials and then took light rail to ikea to shop for furniture. For dinner, we went next door to Peekaw, a thai restaurant. Stuffed from pad thai and curry, we waddled home to lounge and read.

On Monday, I went to a class at Yoga Pearl, neighborhood studio, while Monkey stayed home to receive the ikea delivery. In the afternoon, we walked downtown, shopped, got coffee, and even stopped at a food truck for street tacos. As it turned out, the street blocks are ridiculously short. Everything is super walkable which is SO nice after living in SD for several years. It makes me miss living in NY. On the way home, we stopped by Whole Foods to pick up bread, cheese, olives, pickles, and wine for dinner.




On Tuesday, we went to another neighborhood coffee shop, Cafe Umbria for coffee and pastries. Shortly afterwards, Monkey's safeway delivery arrived along with her Upack pod. We hustled over to the hardware store to rent a dolly, then proceeded to move all her stuff in a matter of 45 minutes. Go us! For dinner, we celebrated the move by going to Piazza Italia for a large Italian meal. Food was good but not THAT good for the price. At least pics look mouthwatering.





On Wed, we returned the dolly in our rain gear (turned out it only rained for a small portion of the day)



For lunch, we went downtown to try Ziba's Pitas, a food cart I read about in a magazine. The food was interesting but not stellar. Thus far, I was disappointed in the food carts which are suppose to be one of the highlights of Portland culture.



Afterwards, we went to Whole Foods again for groceries and then stopped for gelato.


For dinner, Monkey made a simple dinner of baked salmon with broccoli and chinese forbidden rice. Having never had forbidden rice before, I found it quite good with a nice texture. The dinner was a welcome change from all the heavy restaurant food we've been having recently.


On Thursday, I went to another yoga class. For lunch, Monkey made another great meal of cucumber, zucchini, chickpeas, and quinoa with a poached egg on top. Why can't I make healthy delicious meals like this??


In the afternoon, I put together the ikea dining table. Then we went hunting for a cutting board and pitcher. Since we were hungry, we decided to give the food carts another try. We found Tabor, another famous cart, and split a pork schnitzel sandwich. Yum! Monkey and I consumed the enormous sandwich and walked away quite satisfied. The food carts had redeemed themselves.


In the afternoon, we tried going to the dmv to get Monkey a Portland license since her CA license was expiring the next week. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring proof of residency so we wandered home defeated. That night, we went to Mio, a neighborhood sushi joint for a late dinner (I know, you're thinking more eating?). Though the sea bass roll was bizarre, the sashimi was quite fresh and reasonably price. A good find.


On Friday, we attempted to go to the dmv again, this time bringing some mail in Monkey's name. Unfortunately, this was not enough proof (need rental agreement or utility bill) so we wandered home again defeated, but NOT without stopping at another food cart for a large amount of indian food.



In the afternoon, Badge arrived bringing a ridiculously puffy aerobed. Look at the size of this thing (wine glass displayed on the side for scale)!


That evening, we took Monkey to Andina, a novo Peruvian restaurant, as an early celebration for her 30th birthday (9/14).



Boy did we eat. For starters we had bread with three dipping sauces. For appetizers, we had fresh west coast oysters, ceviche, and chicken and cat fish skewers.




Wish we had more...


Monkey had duck.


I had lamb.


Badge had lomo saltado.


For dessert we had creme brulee trio and a dense chocolate torte.


Happy 30th, Monkey!


Beyond full from dinner and a bottle of wine, we walked to Living Room Theater, a dine-in movie theater, and watched Mesrine: Killer Instinct. It was quite nice to recline in the enormous seats and enjoy a beer. The movie was interesting but ended in the worst cliff hanger. Guess we'll have to watch the sequel.


On Saturday, we woke up early to take the bus to Sunnyside to get brunch at Pine State Biscuits. Badge and I originally saw this place on Food Network and were determined to try it. Already packed, we waited patiently in line and miraculously found a seat after ordering. Biscuit, fried chicken, gravy, fried green tomatoes, and hash browns. SERIOUSLY? DID WE NEED ALL THIS FOOD??




Painfully full, we took the bus back west to Washington Park and stopped at the Japanese garden. Though beautiful, the garden was much smaller than I expected and we were able to walk the whole thing in about an hour and a half. Plus the Heavenly Falls (which was the main attraction in my opinion), were closed! Poo.






Afterwards, we went to the international rose garden which was right next door. Pretty flowers everywhere.





At one point, Monkey laid down on a bench and looked like a classic hobo.


That afternoon, Monkey and I napped while Badge went to a nearby sports bar to watch the US Open and befriend a grizzled biker man. For dinner, we went to Bar Due for pizza and beer. And of course dessert. In this case, panna cotta.


On Sunday, Badge and I fly back to SD. In short, Portland gets two thumbs up for each of us. Can't wait to visit Monkey again!

Many many more pictures can be found HERE