"portland" news and stories

The first time I encountered latte art in person was at Jim and Patty's in Portland, OR. It was December 2004 and I was out in my hometown, visiting my parents. When I visit them, I make a point of slurping down as much good Portland coffee as possible and Jim and Patty's is always one of my favorite stops. I walked up to the counter, ordered a latte and was totally mesmerized as the guy running the espresso machine made the foam resemble a fallen leaf with a couple flicks of his wrist.

These days, there are many people who spend their days elevating the combination of coffee and milk into the highest form of impermanent loveliness. Check out the video above for some amazing work. For more, check out this amazing Flickr set.

[via Food for Thought]

• Artisan cookie company Two Tarts has taken Portland by storm, baking up tiny cookies with big flavor.
• When it comes to baking cookies, the protein quantity in the flour you use it crucial. Too little, and shortbread loses its signature charm.
  
• This summer, the Montavilla Farmers' Market has a new addition, the Market Chefs. Each Sunday, Kelly Myers and Kathryn Yeomans cook their way through a number of recipes, helping people learn what to do with their summer produce. Check out their okra recipe.
  
• It's fall, but don't think you have to say good bye to the tropical fruit of summer quite yet. Check out the big, green Keitt mangoes for a final hit of the hot season.
• Kathleen Bauer visits the OHSU Farmers' Market and appreciates the fact that for the busy hospital workers, the farmers are bringing the produce to them.
• Looking for some wine for dinner tonight? Use these five simple selection strategies for picking a good bottle.
• Noodle shops are suddenly appearing all over the country, giving rise to a trend that has been firmly in place in Japan for many years.
• Overrun by tomatoes and cucumbers? Make Fattoush, a Lebanese salad akin to panzanella that uses cucumber, tomato, stale pita bread and sumac.
• Looking for a quick dinner? How about Tuna in a Tomato?

Source

When cherry season arrives, I go a little crazy. I have been known to eat a pound or two and call it a meal. I just got an email last night from one of my favorite u-pick farmers in New Jersey saying that their cherries are ripe and the blueberries are coming in.

This image from Mike (who lives in my hometown of Portland, OR. Woo hoo!). It makes me hungry just looking at it and now I think I have to find some time this weekend to go get myself some cherries. Thanks Mike, for adding your picture to the Slashfood Flickr pool.

Source

It's a good weekend for attending a food festival if you:

a) are a hipster of the American Northwest
b) love wine
c) have never attended a crawfish boil
d) are hungry

If you, like me, find yourself nodding emphatically at these criteria, read on! This weekend offers food festivals sprinkled across the country, promising some of the most interesting and delicious foods I've seen in a while.

• He thought he was heading towards Alice Waters' landmark restaurant, Chez Panisse, but instead Chef Marco Shaw of NE Portland's Fife Restaurant found himself captured by the relative ease and peace of Portland (not to mention a thriving restaurant scene).
• Rianne Buis lived in Portland for several years and found herself deeply addicted to the Irish Soda Bread from Grand Central Bakery. A move to Seattle left her without a soda bread source and so she determined to recreate Grand Central's version in her own kitchen.
• How best to use herbs in your cooking and keep them fresh in between uses.
  
• In the Mix offers info on local fundraiser, Take Back the Tap, on whether parenting styles can raise a child's risk of being obese and rounds up some happy hour deals.
  
• What could be better than using up your St. Paddy's Day leftovers in a corned beef quesadilla.
  
• Latkes are yummy but all the potato grating can cause bodily harm. Using spaghetti squash in place of the spuds saves your knuckles as well as your waistline.

Source