Portland

After spending a few days in Seattle last week I packed up my bags, said my goodbyes and hopped on the train down to Portland to visit my brother, Bobby, and his girlfriend, Jess. I was incredibly excited for this visit and to actually experience Portland since my first trip there a year ago was mostly spent moving between the bathroom and the couch at my brother's apartment thanks to a nasty case of food poisoning. I had a lot of lost time to make up - a lot to see, a lot to do, and a lot to eat.

When Bobby asked me what I wanted to do while I was in town I told him I only had two things on my list: Voodoo Doughnut and Pok Pok. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures at Pok Pok, but you should definitely go there if you're in the area. My favorite dish was the Cha Ca La Vong, and the whole fried halibut came in second. The other thing I didn't take pictures of was our afternoon of cribbage and beers where I skunked my brother 2 games to 1. I guess the memory will have to suffice.

On my second morning in town Bobby whipped up a much-anticipated batch of lemon poppyseed dinosaur scones. They were very, very lemony and the tart lemon glaze elevated them to another level.

The rest of this post (especially the end) may lead you to believe that I did nothing but chow down on baked goods while I was in Portland, so I feel obligated to include a picture of one of the healthy breakfasts I ate. It was a tasty combo of pomegranate seeds, kiwi berries, yogurt and Kashi nuggets.

With Portland's forecast calling for rain, Bobby and I set out through the Columbia River Gorge toward Hood River. We stopped at Multnomah Falls to wander around and snap some photos, and we took our cue to leave when busloads of kids on a field trip showed up.

I'll blame the humidity for making my hair look like that of a soccer mom.

After a little shopping and lunch in Hood River, we headed out on the Fruit Loop and met some friendly alpacas. Twenty-five cents got us a big handful of alpaca food and a crowd of alpacas to pet. Twenty-five bucks got me a couple skeins of alpaca yarn.

After we pulled ourselves away from our fuzzy friends, we headed for an orchard and got a stunning view of Mt. Hood on the way. This picture doesn't do it justice.

Giant apple! An apple a week keeps the doctor away if you're eating these monsters.

Giant collard greens!

Meet Jess. She likes dinos.

One night I stood around and watched while Bobby and Jess cooked a delicious dinner of boiled/sauteed veggies and crispy smashed potatoes. I guess I kind of contributed by picking up the bread and wine. Oh, and I chopped up a head of cabbage. I earned my keep.

The following morning, while trying to show Bobby how I make omelets, I made this mess of eggs, sauteed onions and spinach, colby jack, and fresh dill. It tasted much better than it looked. The dill was key.

That afternoon Bobby and I went to the Japanese Gardens...

...and saw some pretty leaves.

Bobby got to do a little bit of bird watching.

After a quick sweep through the Rose Gardens, we stopped by a little cafe for lunch and dessert. Bobby got one of their amazing macaroons that was filled with chopped nuts and chunks of dried fruit. They put regular macaroons to shame. I need to recreate them soon.

I got a rhino animal cookie.

And finally, the night before I left, we stopped by Voodoo Doughnut. I was a little disappointed that they were all out of the maple bacon doughnuts, but they did still have some of the jelly-filled voodoo dolls. Two days and a flight to Minneapolis later and they're still delicious.

Actual cooking posts coming soon!