12 Aug 2012
by scolgin
in Recipes
Tags: Andreas Viestad, arctic, blackberries, cloudberries, Multekrem, New Scandinavian Cooking, Norway, Norwegian cuisine, Washington
I have a dour Norwegian pal from the North Pole named, coincidentally, Pål. (Pronounced “Paul”.) He’s about 7 feet tall and I knew him sometime before I ever saw him smile. He’s actually got a good sense of humor, and will laugh heartily when you get him going. But he’s just as likely to get teary telling you about the time back home when they watched a reindeer dying outside the living room window.
I had Pål and his now ex-wife (from Ireland) over for dinner one time. I can’t remember what I cooked — hopefully I didn’t try to be clever and make him Norwegian food (“You ever had lutefisk like that before, Pål!??”) When we have guests for dinner and they ask what they can bring, I’ll often suggest dessert — it’s not my favorite dish to prepare and that’s one less thing I have to think about. I will never forget what Pål brought us for dessert. More
10 Aug 2012
by scolgin
in Observations, On the Road
Tags: barbecue, blackberries, Ethiopian food, Food carts, Northwest, Oregon, Portland, Washington
It might be difficult for Northwesterners to believe that I once planted — intentionally! — a blackberry bush. It was small and anemic and cost $6. I found it a nice spot on the side of the chicken coop, dug a hole, settled it in, watered it lovingly… and forgot about it. A few months later I remembered and went to check on it, and all that was left was a little brittle stick.
Blackberries and cream for breakfast
I’m not sure why blackberries don’t do so well in Southern California. I suspect it has to do with the inherent dryness and lack of rainfall. They grow prolifically in Northern California. But in the Northwest, they are practically a plague. Indeed, I recall coming to my wife’s sister’s property more than a decade ago, before we were married, and nearly the entire four acres was one massive blackberry bramble. Delicious and romantic to the dusty Southern Californian, but a significant complication to the prospective home builder.
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07 Aug 2012
by scolgin
in Markets & Stores, On the Road
Tags: Columbia Gorge, Full Sail Ale, Joel Gott, Lake Oswego, morels, New Seasons, Oregon, Portland, Salt & Straw, Zupan's
I enjoy blogging from places other than home. Not merely getting ideas while I’m traveling, but actually writing while I’m there, letting place influence my musings much the way terroir does a grape.
Bounty of the Northwest — French-style farm butter, heritage pig bacon, Sunset Bay cheese, hazelnuts, local charcuterie, fava beans, tomahawk ribeye and wild mushrooms
My blog buddy, Rachel, has a lovely blog about her experiment to eat only food grown or sourced near to her home in Delaware. An admirable pursuit, and one I enjoy reading about and make some effort to emulate at home. It’s much easier, however, when I am traveling, particularly if I have access to a kitchen. More
03 Aug 2012
by scolgin
in Recipes
Tags: Campari, cocktails, geishas, japan, Japanese cuisine, Kyoto, limoncello, Pontocho, sake, vodka
Ever since I found a very cool cocktail shaker at a garage sale, I’ve been experimenting with my mixology — often motivated by given culinary circumstances (let us not forget our recent adventure into Campari on a warm night when Italian food was being served). Necessity or at the very least context being the mother of invention, I’ve been inspired to some lofty heights with spirits.
One recent evening, I was making Japanese food. My wife, having a rash that she was convinced was yeast related, was off beer. So the Sapporo that I was drinking got the stiff arm. Furthermore, she had spent much of the afternoon organizing the children’s reams of school artwork and bins of toys, and was in need of something stronger — something much stronger. All of which I took as a gauntlet being laid down. Was I mixologist enough to rise to the challenge? More
31 Jul 2012
by scolgin
in Observations
Tags: Chef Boyardee, cooking, food, Gordon Ramsey, Italian cuisine, pasta, pomodoro, ravioli, Skinny Girls
When I was a younger cook, I was more prone to kitchen disasters of either of three varieties — the huge mess, the ill-conceived flavor combination, or the flesh wound. With age, experience and wisdom has come the know-how to avoid most kitchen disasters in any of those categories. But every once in a while, I get broadsided by a new ingredient, tool or technique. And discover that disaster is never far at bay. More
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