1. McMenamin’s Grand Lodge Hotel – The Grand Lodge is about a 45 minute drive from Portland, in Forest Grove. Like all the McMenamin’s hotels, there’s a lot of history surrounding the place — The Grand Lodge use to be a Masonic convalescent home. It might sound a little creepy, but it’s totally not! It’s a perfect (quick) weekend getaway from Portland, and way more fun with a group. We spent the day playing disc golf, hurling bocce balls around the grounds, drinking at the outdoor pub and snacking on our farmer’s market haul, attempted to watch a movie (which broke! That’s what happens when you try to watch a Vin Diesel movie), lounged about the soaking pool, and played pool. A giggle-worthy and great weekend.

2.Playing bocce – I joined a bocce league — it’s super low-key.


3. 4th of July weekend: Waterfront Blues Fest, biking around, fireworks on the Eastbank Esplanade, and I made a cherry tart. America! F$@% yeah!


4. event planning @ Ace Hotel – finalized our Meet, Plan, Go! Portland venue for Oct 18. Woo!

5. first tomatoes from garden – golden, cherry, and early girl <3 gardening

6. working at Barista & Crema – I spent quite a few afternoons this month at Crema and Barista with an iced coffee, sunshine, and fresh air — the perfect antidote for post-lunch food coma.

7. Oregon coast – I never tire of visiting Oswald West State Park. It’s my favorite totally-not-a-secret Oregon beach that always seems to still be secret enough to have a little area to yourself. Trumps Cannon Beach.

8. Rose gardens – summer has been lagging a bit this year, so during an early July visit to the Rose Gardens, roses were still in full bloom. Gorgeous.



9. Fountains & biking – <3 biking and all the fountains around town.

10. Macarons! My favorite Macarons in Portland are from Two Tarts Bakery. So while at Little Bird a couple weeks ago, I thought it was adorable that they give you a mini macaron with your bill. On the way out, I noticed this tray of macarons. Too cute.

Hooray for summer!

This week…

-You Are What You Eat is a series of portraits made by examining the interiors of refrigerators in homes across the United States. Why are interiors of fridges so personal feeling? Mesmerizing. [via Flowing Data]

-Impossible to scold kitteh for using my Hobo International clutch as a pillow when she looks so cute!

-Kokblog is an illustrated food blog with super cute illustrated food, and I loved her recent collaboration: Kölsch (collaboration).

-Went to the coast last weekend. There’s simply nothing more refreshing than walking the beach in the morning (even if it feels like winter out).

-Latest song on repeat Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers. Catchy.

-The grilled corn (Khao Poht Ping) is back at Pok Pok, and as I posted on Foodspotting: I could eat an entire cornfield of this. A summer favorite!

-I picked the first golden tomatoes from my garden this week. So tasty. I can’t wait to make pasta with roasted summer veggies soon when I stop eating them immediately after they ripen.

-Checked out Central’s new outside seating & happy hour last Thursday. Love the converted alleyway on SW Ankeny into picnic tables, but won’t be ordering drinks off the happy hour menu next time, think I’ll stick to my favorites, the PB Jewel and #8.

-Some mornings require pie for breakfast. You can’t really go wrong with any of the baked goods at Crema.

What fabulous things have you been doing/reading/eating/Instagram-ing lately?

We love having chickens, but I definitely recommend carefully considering all the benefits (free eggs! great fertilizer! cute chicken antics!) and the drawbacks (cleaning the coop, feeding and watering them in the pouring, freezing rain) before your get them. So here are a few things for you to consider:

1. Know the rules. Before we got our girls I checked out the Seattle Municipal Code that covers keeping chickens. I learned that because our 6500 square foot lot was above average size, we could legally keep four chickens (lots 5000 feet and under can only have three) and that roosters aren’t illegal. We luckily don’t live in a neighborhood with a homeowner’s association, but if you do, check the bylaws before you buy birds.
2. Be sure you have enough time. All in all taking care of a small flock of chickens is not a ton of work. Jon and I agree that it falls somewhere in between keeping a goldfish and a cat. But consider this: chickens wake up at first light and need to be let out of their coop soon their after. You must also tuck them into bed at dusk to protect them from predators. They need fresh food and water every morning, and clean bedding about once a week, and a couple of times a year you need to clean out their whole coop and run and give everything a good scrub. Before you get your birds, I recommend talking with your family about how you will split up the chicken care so it doesn’t become an issue later.
3. Make nice with your neighbors, especially if you like to travel. Before we got the chickens, I let our immediate neighbors in on the plan. I told them we were placing their coop far from their bedroom windows and would be giving them lots of free eggs. This worked like a charm, and my neighbor Elaine even told me that she loves hearing my chickens in the morning (and I thought I was the only one!). Since chickens need to be taken care of twice a day, every day it makes planning to go away for the weekend slightly more complicated. We’ve dealt with this by teaching five families on our block how to watch the girls and paying them with fresh eggs.
4. And finally… I will tell you something that no one told me. Chickens poo a lot. Like twenty times a day. They tend to leave their slippery deposits in inconvenient places around our yard, including on the deck and the arm of our beloved sun chair. This, um, habit of theirs certainly shouldn’t be a deal breaker, but I wanted you all to know.

Thanks Willi!  After a little research, I found that the “urban livestock” ordinance in Portland, Oregon allows a maximum of three chickens and zero roosters.  :)  When I eventually accomplish #73 — buy a house (which quite frankly is NOT happening this time around, thanks to my globetrotting) — I want chickens! and maybe a goat or a bunny… or a pony!  Anyone else still want a pony?

I forget that so many people hate fish. I should start a pescatarian club! What’s your favorite fish dish?

What have you been cooking lately?

As usual, the recipe is available online at Martha Stewart. I haven’t been to Brazil, so I don’t know how authentic the recipe is (anyone?), but it was quite delicious and reminded me of all the rice and beans I ate in Costa Rica! You start with dried black beans and beets and let them cook for about an hour, before taking the beets out and cooking the beans longer. So you end up with beans over rice with diced beets and cheese on top. This recipe is more of a weekend meal, since it takes a few hours for the beans to cook. Delicious!

What have you been cooking lately?

For starters, this recipe is no small task, it took a few hours, because there are so many steps and you’re essentially making two soups and a topping. It was totally worth it, though! I’m not usually a big soup fan during the summer, but with the serano pepper/sour cream topping it had a cooler feel to it. I could seriously  eat this soup everyday. If I was say, Jennifer Aniston, I would totally ask my two chefs to make me this soup every day for lunch. ;)

What’s your favorite soup?

Six weeks into container gardening, I’m having a brilliant time! It’s so fun to go outside and pick veggies to add to dinner. And I’ve finally updated my “Watching My Garden Grow” container garden slideshow. Check it out:

I spotted an arugula pasta salad recipe in the June issue of Everyday Food magazine, and I thought it would be a great chance to try arugula a little differently: gemelli pasta, cannellini beans, fresh goat cheese, olive oil, red-wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, arugula, and red onion. Here’s the full recipe at Everyday Food.

What are you cooking with arugula?

Radish Avocado Salsa

• 1 avocado
• 6 large radishes
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped pickled jalapeno chile
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions
1. Half, pit, and peel the avocado, cutting into 1/2″ cubes. Trim the ends of the radishes, half, and thinly slice.

2. In a medium bowl,  stir together avocado, radishes, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and oil; season with salt. Serve over black bean tacos.

Thinly sliced radishes are a really interesting twist to this recipe, and they look amazing with the avocado.

What’s your favorite radish recipe?