Recipe: Raspberry Rhubarb Quinoa Muffins with Raspberry Fig Jam
On a cool Sunday morning I was in the middle of rows upon rows of raspberries. Summer means u-pick season, and there’s something about standing in a field of berries that inevitably leads to overdose. Pick one, eat one, repeat. An hour and a half later I was on a sugar high and had my arms full of two cardboard flats with 13 pounds of raspberries.
Plate & Pitchfork: Changing Perspectives on Food with Local Farm Dinners
Originally published here.
An organic dinner of farm raised ingredients. A table full of jovial guests and local wine. A summer night to appreciate good food and where it comes from. There’s a lot of talk about farm-to-table, and most of us living in high paced atmospheres have a tendency to romanticize pastoral images of happy cows and organic tomato plants. “If only I could be a farmer,” we think, forgetting the hardships that go into devoting a life to agricultural production. But part of having a better appreciation for what we eat, means having a better connection to where it comes from, and at the simplest level, that means eating there.
That’s the idea behind Plate & Pitchfork, an Oregon based business that helps people have a better of understanding of food and where it comes from, by serving it to them in the same place that it’s sourced. Hosting farm dinners, Plate & Pitchfork founder Erika Polmar puts consumers and purveyors together, in the ultimate farm-to-table experience.
The Ultimate Food Guide To Summer: 100 Things to Do With Your Vacation
Even if you’re not on an academic schedule, the longer days of the season mean that you have way more time on your hands than usual. Which indicates that it’s high time to stop drooling over blogs about backyard homesteading and actually do something. Welcome to the official Foodie Underground Guide to Summer, with a list of everything you ever wanted to do when it comes to food, and a few things you never thought of.
Friday Photo: A Classic Fourteener
You can gauge the quality of your week by your views. This one was pretty unbeatable.
First official fourteener now in the books: Quandaray Peak, Colorado, 14,265 feet. Complete with summit headstands and mountain goats of course.
Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Mousse with Sea Salt
Sometimes you need a decadent recipe that you can make in less than twenty minutes. This one is it.
As we all know, there is no better combination than dark chocolate and sea salt. Made with avocados, the mousse is also vegan, but serve it to your non vegan friends and they’ll be so sold on the creamy chocolatey goodness that they’ll never notice the difference. You’ll get points for a posh dessert and no one will ever know that you made it in the frazzled half an hour that you had between your last work meeting and your dinner party.
Friday Photo: Taking Time for Stillness
Inspired by this quote for the weekend:
“In order to get from what was to what will be, you must go through what is.” – Anonymous
Which means taking time for stillness and simple pleasures.
Swedish Midsommar 101
It’s summer solstice this week, which means it’s high time for Swedish midsommar, the best of holidays. Why? Because it’s a classic Swedish tradition that celebrates the longest day of the year, with food and drink at the center. In other words, an event to celebrate the sun. Put good food, a few glasses of aquavit and a table of friends together and you have yourself a party. Read the rest of this entry »
Recipe: Summer Carrot and Date Quinoa Salad with Basil and Mustard Citrus Vinaigrette
The arrival of summer means the arrival of bags of mixed salad greens at farmers market, or of course, your own from your garden. Instead of basing salad recipes off of them though, I like to throw them in as an extra addition to whatever I am making, a complement to the rest of the dish. That’s exactly what they are in this quinoa salad recipe.
Friday Photo: Summer Breakfast
Oatmeal with fresh strawberries and Water Avenue coffee, freshly brewed in the travel French press. Eaten by the creek with sun streaming through the trees. More of this, please.
Are You Part of a Food Trend or Part of a Movement?
This is the latest installment of my Foodie Underground column.
“I just had a Portland moment and only you will appreciate,” my friend said, calling from Tuscon in the middle of a Sunday.
“Ok, what?”
“Well, so we walked into this cute coffee shop and the first thing I thought to myself ‘I wonder where they roast their beans?'” she paused. “Who am I?”
At first thought I saw nothing wrong with this situation. Good coffee shops tend to sell good coffee, and if they’re really good, they’re probably running a coffee roasting operation in the back. Nothing weird there.
But at second thought, I realized what she meant. Most people, even those in coffee-centric cities, are probably more concerned with what coffee drink they’re going to buy than where the beans were roasted. We’re in the minority.
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