President's Day Weekend Glamping and Crockpot Oatmeal

Over the long weekend we took Levi on his first camping trip. Well, it was more like glamping (Glamourous Camping: or just not in a tent) because we stayed in a yurt. We stayed in the yurts at Nehalem State Park, which is on the Oregon coast. We went as part of a larger group of friends to celebrate a birthday. The yurts made it easier to camp in the winter, but also with a baby. We were treated to an ice cold but bright and sunny weekend. It was a great getaway.

Within the group we took turns cooking meals. I was assigned breakfast for about 20 people. With a new baby I knew there was no way I was gonna get up and cooking for everyone before 8am so I researched make ahead breakfasts.

 (The eyebrows come out whenever something new is being processed - the sound of the waves this time!)

I settled on crockpot oatmeal.

Here is the recipe I used, but I basically dumped 4 cups of dried oats into the crockpot and filled the rest with water. Set on low over night. (Yurts have plugs!) In the morning we were treated to the creamiest, most delicious oatmeal I have ever eaten! I am hooked. I served it with a buffet of dried fruit, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, and candied nuts.

If you need a quick, cheap, healthy (depending on how much cream you add) breakfast, please consider crockpot oatmeal.

On a similar note, here is Mark Bittman's take on McDonald's oatmeal. Very interesting - how to pack tons of crap into healthy food all the while marketing it as healthy.
Also, our local FoodDay discussed grain breakfast cereals here.

Salumi, Seattle

Justin and I took a mini vacation to Seattle this week. It was short and sweet with the ultimate goal of seeing some friends for a few hours, but the secondary goal was to try out the legendary sandwich shop Salumi. The place is run by Mario Battalis's father and they make all their own salamis and other cured meats. We have heard the sandwiches are worth the drive from Portland! Be warned that they are only open Tuesday - Friday, 11am-4pm. So don't drive on the weekend.

We spotted the shop before we saw the pig on the sign, because of the line snaking down the block in the cold, December sunshine.

We waited in line for over an hour before being let into the tiny store front. 8 or 9 sandwiches were listed on the board, mostly cold, with two hot choices.

We were barked at by the harried sandwich lady behind the counter and placed our order.

Cotto salami with fresh mozzarella, muffo (mixed meats, cheese and an olive spread), and a hot pork sandwich. We wrapped the muffo to go and then tucked ourselves into a tiny table between the sink and the bathroom.


The hot pork sandwich was A-MAZ-ING! Pulled pork cooked with carrots, onions, fennel and maybe cinnamon, piled into a fresh baguette, then pickled onions and peppers were added. Sweet and savory and juicy in each bite. Seriously good food - and one I am going to start digging up a recipe for as soon as I can.

The cotto salami was good, but way too much bread for the amount of meat in it. We had plentiful leftover and this sandwich was much better grilled up on the stove for dinner. The bread got compressed and toasted and had a better texture.

We didn't get to try to muffo because we used it as currency to pay my folks for watching Doug. They loved it, so if I ever decide to stand in line again I will try the muffo!

All in all, I am not sure if it was worth waiting in line outside, freezing, for an hour. But, I am glad we finally got a chance to try the place and cross it off our "must-eat" list.

An Apology

I am very sorry, good neighbors of my mother-in-law, for "accidentally" taking home 2 (TWO!) boxes full of citrus from your fine trees. It is a problem. I saw trees literally dripping and dropping lemons, grapefruits, and tangerines onto alleys and sidewalks. I could not walk by without picking one up, then another, and then...look, another lemon on the ground. Is that a meyer lemon? A 2 pound grapefruit just sitting here!?? My pockets would be weighed down after each of my daily walks. It was an accident, really.

I would have asked permission, I swear. But, I never saw anyone outside due to the weather. It was rainy for an Arizonian, but not me. I am waterproof due to being a native Oregonian.

You can see my problem. I love fruit trees and I have never, ever seen so much citrus in one place. Within a mile of my MIL's house there were at least 20 different kinds of citrus. I was in heaven.

So, um, sorry.
On the plus side, lots of citrus recipes are coming up!

Oregon Coast Bounty

Spent a fabulous weekend on the Oregon Coast with friends. Rented a crabbing boat from Wheeler Marina and spent the day tooling around Nehalem Bay in search of the delicious dungeness crab. Notice the sunshine! Middle of October and the coast was washed in sunshine!

We had quite a haul, 29 crab in all. They are sweet as sugar and a wonderful treat.

Any recipe suggestions for the leftovers? (Assuming we have any?)

Khao Soi (or Khao Soy): Fabulous Thai curry

Have you ever mentioned to someone leaving to visit a region of the world to make sure they do or try THIS while they are there? I have given and taken suggestions for a location or dish too many times to count. But how often have you actually followed through on it? I am always happy when I do, and this discovery was no exception. Before we left of Thailand a good friend of ours highly recommended searching out a Northern Thai curry soup called Khao Soi. Justin, being the offical traveling meal planner, had us on the look-out on day one in Chaing Mai.

We were lucky to be staying in a guest house across the street from a restaurant called Just Khao Soy, if you can believe it. This was a great place to get aquainted with the dish. The yellow, coconut curry is served over egg noodles and chicken and topped with fried egg noodles. Then the diner can select from the "pallet" (yes it really is served on a wooden artist's pallet, see above) to enhance the soup. Pickled cabbage, lime wedges, chopped shallots, and chile paste can all be mixed in. The result is a mind blowingly delicious soup. Creamy, crunchy, salty, and tangy all at once.

After our initation into Khao Soi, we sought it out continally. Even in the extreme heat, the soup was too good to pass up. Lucky for us, when we arrived at cooking school our instructor was more then happy to teach us how to make the soup.

We have made it a few times so far and it is just as delicious in Oregon as it was in Thailand! We made our own curry paste for this dish, but in order to simplify things a bit I am suggesting a good, pre-made yellow curry paste. (Cheap, delicious, and lasts forever in the fridge.) If you would like to have the Khao Soy curry paste recipe, just let me know and I will get it up on here.


Note: About pickled cabbage. I found that it is called pickled cabbage, but is actually more like a choy or mustard green. I was lucky enough to literally stumble over a jar of pickled mustard greens in the Asian market. They really are key to the balance of flavors so try to search it out. Here are some available online.

Note 2.0: About fried noodles. It is sort of a pain to fry a handful of noodles. If you don't want to do that I would toss a handful of those crunchy "Chinese" fried noodles folks like to put on salads. It will give it the same crunch. Not as good, but a great way to try it out.

This soup comes together in a few minutes once it is all prepped, it is great to make with friends. It makes the whole house smell amazing!


Khao Soy
1 lb fresh egg noodles, fetticine width or thinner
oil
3-4 tablespoons mild yellow curry paste
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 large can, or 2 smaller cans of coconut milk (not lite), labeled For Cooking if you can find it.
1 quart chicken stock
2 large chicken breasts, sliced very thinly
1-2 tablespoons sugar
salt or fish sauce to taste

Garnishes:
peeled, quartered shallots (2-3 per person)
pickled mustard greens, cut into bite sized pieces (1/4 - 1/2 cup per person)
1 lime, cut into wedges
chili paste
Deep fried egg noodles, or "Chinese" fried salad noodles

1. If frying the noodles, separate about 1 cup of fresh egg noodles from the rest. Deep fry for 30 seconds, or until golden brown and crispy. Drain. Set aside
2. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. This is to cook the rest of the noodles.
3. In soup pot, heat about a teaspoon of oil over medium heat. Add curry paste, curry powder, and black pepper and cook until very fragrant. About 1 minute.
4. Add chicken, cook until done. About 2-3 minutes.
5. Add stock and coconut milk. Heat until almost boiling.
6. Taste and add sugar and salt as needed. Remember that the toppings will also affect the flavor. You may want to bring sugar and salt to the table.
7. Cook egg noodles in boiling water. Drain.

To serve: Put a large handful of noodles into a bowl (the bigger the better!). Spoon soup and chicken over the top. Top with fried noodles. At the table add pickled greens, a squeeze or 2 of lime, chopped shallots, and chili paste to taste. Enjoy!

Thai Cooking School

My big goal on our trip was to attend cooking school while in Northern Thailand. I spent about a month researching different places, reading websites, reviews on Trip Advisor, and going with my gut instinct. In the end I chose, Grandma's Thai Recipes. All the research paid off! It was a wonderful 2 days of cooking instruction. The cookbooks we took home are all ready food splattered and worn out!

Jib was our cooking instructor, a petite Thai woman. She spoke fabulous English, explained everything so clearly and made the class fun (and delicious). She picked us up at 8am and we headed to the local's market. It was a wonderful surprise to be the only people in the class!

After taking in the Thai produce we learned how fresh coconut milk is made, how to pick the best tofu, how to look for fresh rice from the rice sellers, and just how large a pig's head really is.

After the market we headed out of town to Jib's house. The cooking school is in her garden/ lania area. A beautiful covered area next door to her house. There are 3 areas that we stayed in. First was the visiting area, where we tried coconut snacks, pandanus water and learned about steaming sticky rice.
Second was the prep station, where we struggled to sit on the floor while working large knives on small cutting boards. Both Justin and I got to choose 7 dishes to prepare the first day. We prepped them all on the floor and then moved on to the cook station.

Third was the cooking section. We each had our own propane stove and sauces at hand. Jib walked us through cooking each dish. First demonstrating, then helping us - but always urging us to go with our instinct and to taste, taste, taste. I loved being given the go ahead to tinker with the flavor AS I was learning. It has made cooking these dishes at home much less stressful!


Finally, we sat down to enjoy all of our creations. With 14 dishes to try there was no way we could finish up all the food. Jib's helpers expertly wrapped up the leftover food in a feat of plastic bag and rubberband usage. We ate from what we cooked for days.

If you are headed to Chiang Mai, I would check out this cooking school. It was extremely reasonably priced, fabulous fun, and we both learned SO much!

PS. Don't forget to enter my cookbook giveaway! Click here to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.

The Perfect Meal! (and a papaya salad recipe)

Hello and thank you to my new followers! Don't forget to enter this cookbook give away here.

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After a week in Beijing, we headed off to Thailand. Our first stop was Bangkok. Both of us had traveled their separately - me 12 years previous, and Justin 5 years ago. I remembered Bangkok being a big city, but also quaint and fun, full of sparkling temples and saffron robed monks.

Well! I was in for a shock. We landed about 9pm and took a taxi into the city. Justin had a guesthouse card for a place to stay near the fabled tourist haunt of Kho San Road. I was not prepared for what I saw there - hoards of tourists, thumping music, and stand after stand selling T-shirts to said tourists. Really! This couldn't be Thailand!

After a quick street stall meal of watermelon and pad thai we headed to bed - I was already venting about when we could leave the city for someplace quieter. Yes... I am apparently that old now. The next day things improved as we wandered the city, rode the river taxi and explored the culinary offers. The best moment came when we finally found our perfect meal!

Bbqed chicken, papaya salad, sticky rice and a cold drink!

The woman behind me is grilling up the chicken and pounding the papaya salad. It was heaven! I had already fallen in love with this meal at our favorite restaurant Pok Pok. This one was even tastier AND only $3! And it was in Thailand! It was perfect and delicious.

Papaya Salad isn't hard to prepare once you have all the ingredients lined up and prepared. I have tried the pre-shredded green papaya from the market - soaking in large tubs in the refrigerator section - but it isn't as good. Peel and rinse the green papaya. I used a mandoline on the finest shred to cut it up, but you could also use a large grater. Avoid the little seeds. One word of warning: If you are allergic to latex don't eat papaya. They are related.

Pull out your mortar and pestle, but a wooden spoon and a metal bowl will work in a pinch. The key is to pound the salad together, bruising the papaya and working together the flavors. In Thailand this salad is made in huge mortar and pestles. I have a small one and this recipe reflects that.

Also, this recipe calls for palm sugar. In Thailand palm sugar is a sticky, gooey honey like substance. Here it is sold in hard cakes. I made a syrup out of it to use for this salad.

Palm Sugar Syrup
Melt 2 cakes with about a cup of water. Simmer about 15 minutes until it is all melted. Keep in the fridge to use as needed.


Papaya Salad or Som Tam
(Recipe from Grandma's Thai Kitchen, Chiang Mai cooking school) The key to this salad is to play with the flavor balance until it is how YOU like it. Sweeter? Spicier? More Sour? Tinker away.

10 small, peeled cloves of garlic
2-5 small thai bird chiles, red (HOT!!!) or green (hot)
2-3 tablespoons small dried shrimp (Look for cream or pale pink shrimp, not bright pink, a sign of dye. )
5-6 yard long beans, broken into 3 inch sections. (You can sub a large handful of other green beans)
10 cherry tomatoes halved, or 1 large roma quartered
4 cups shredded green papaya (Put in a metal or wooden bowl)
6 tablespoons fish sauce (or more or less)
6 tablespoons palm sugar syrup (or more or less)
juice of at least 1/2 a lime. Might want more
3 tablespoons of roasted peanuts.

1. In a mortar and pestle, or bowl work together the garlic, chilies, shrimp, beans and tomatoes until a all the parts are broken up and begin to create a paste. About 2 minutes.
2. Add 1/2 the fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice. If it can fit, throw in some of the papaya as well. Pound for another minute or so.
3. Pour the contents of the mortar and pestle and the remaining fish sauce, sugar and lime over the papaya. Using a wooden spoon pound the dressing and papaya together. Try to bruise the papaya. Work for about 5 minutes.
4. Taste. Adjust flavors to your liking.
5. Move to a pretty plate. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Serve with bbqed chicken, sticky rice and cold beer. :)

Black Market Popsicles

We finished up our time in China with a trip to the Summer Palace. It is a HUGE park surrounding a lake and an amazing series of palaces. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Filled with families and tourists all taking in the view and the quiet. I can see why past emperors made this their vacation spot. The one detractor was the thick pollution. We wanted to explore the whole park, but the air was difficult to breathe.

After a boat ride (instead of a long walk across the park) we began our hike way up a hill ("Please Mind the Hilly Road") to the temple structure overlooking the lakes. By the time we reached the top we had rivutlets of sweat rolling down our bodies. My throat was burning from the pollution and we were ready for a break.

Lucky for us, there was a black-market for popsicles at the Summer Palace. As we hiked up and up and up we kept being approached by women with backpacks full of popsicles. She would open her bag to show the wares. Her eyes darting back and forth. Suddenly, even if you were deep in negotiations, she would then scamper into the woods. Later we figured out it was the sight of someone official coming up or down the hill that sent them running for the trees.

Eventually, we managed to complete a transaction before it was interuppted by an official. It was worth the wait! Red flavor. Great view (albeit made less great by fog).

I seriously question the business sense of black market popsicle sellers... don't they have like a 10 min shelf life???

What is your favorite flavor?

Hot Pot

On rainy Portland weekends we like to head to Hot Pot City for an all you can eat pot of bubbling soup. Although Beijing was meltingly hot, when we found an alley full of hotpot places we had to stop.

A very friendly, young server set us up with two small pots of "light spice" broth which were set on top of a burner to simmer. Although she disapproved of us forgoing the mushrooms, she did like our choice of thin sliced beef, Chinese cabbage and amazing fresh egg noodles.

We simmered these in the broth and then spooned the broth and cooked bits into our tiny bowls. We topped these with fresh cilantro and green onions and dabbed on sesame paste, spicy mustard or red pepper. It was a memorable meal beneath the swinging paper lanterns and our servers approving gaze.


This is another small moment in China that made us laugh: In a moment of hungry desperation we bought a packet of cookies.

A bit of false advertising? Where are my three layers of cookies? Where is the chocolate? Hmmm

Dumplings and the Street Corners

The guide books had warned us that crossing the street in China was the most dangerous part of visiting the country. In the rush to modernize the city crosswalks and little flashing signs were installed, but they didn't seem to be acknowledged by the drivers. Maybe it is because so many of the Chinese are new drivers? I will never know.

When it came time to cross the street you had to first wait for the light to flash for you, then look both directions for turning cars, then wait for a few folks to blow through the red light, then finally, look for your nearest Chinese. Sidle up next to them and goose step across the street, exactly in pace with the unsuspecting crossing guide. It didn't matter if it was a small side street or a boulevard the process remained the same.

After the stress of crossing the street we would usually be hungry. And, at any rate, needing to kill some time before attempting another street crossing. Let the heart rate come back down. It was at just such a moment when we stumbled upon our first dumpling place. In a small, simple room a woman was making stuffing and folding dumplings while her husband steamed them. The table outside was filled with young people drinking large TsingTao beers and enjoying steamers filled with plump dumplings. As soon as 2 chairs opened up we slid it, ordered 2 steamers and a beer, poured some dark soy and vinegar into our dipping bowl and set to work. The first bite was perfect. The soft dough split away to the juicy, meaty filling. Each dumpling was a 2-biter. At a $1 for 9 dumplings it was a travelers deal! Of course we ordered more.

We enjoyed the dumplings repeatedly! Each time searching out a small, busy, hole in the wall. We were never disappointed.

This sign makes me laugh every time I look at it. This was at a cafe at the Summer Palace. Any translation ideas?


Please remember to Eliminate the Meat String of Summer whenever possible. Thank you.

More Breakfast Food Discoveries - Chinese Crepe/ Omlette

On day 4 of our wanderings through Beijing we rounded a corner toward a lake when suddenly we were confronted with a long line of women. All jostling one another to get closer to the front, gripping their plastic bags and parasols. At the front of the line was a man, slowly, methodically, working a giant crepe pan. From what I could see (being slightly taller then the average Chinese) he was cracking eggs, smearing batter and wrapping something up into edible packages. I knew I needed one of those packages. If there is a line waiting to eat something, I always get into that line.

But, as fate would have it, as I wandered to the back of the line I encountered a pickle vendor. Anyone who knows me that I hold pickles above most other foods. He had a long counter filled with yellow, brown, orange, green, and black pickled things. Again the language barrier didn't work in my favor, but I was offered a few samples of the mystery pickles. They were all delicious! Deep, fermented flavors with a bright tang. Ahh to be a pickle master. I totally forgot about the mystery crepe.

Take a look - see anything YOU recognize?

As luck would have it, the next morning at 5am we were boarding a public bus to go to the Great Wall of China. At the front door of the bus was a food cart making those crepes! The line wasn't as long, so for a dollar, I soon had one in my hands.


First, the cook smoothed crepe batter over the hot plate, then cracked too eggs on it and spread them around. Added green onions and cilantro and flipped it over. On the other side she brushed soy and chili oil and then added what I think is pork crackling, but may have been crispy dough. Then folded and flipped it all up into a handheld sandwich. It was AMAZING! Steaming hot, spicy, crunchy and eggy. It started the day off well! If only we knew what it was called! Any readers know the name of this?

Peking Duck in Beijing

Back in November, when we cemented our travel plans to China and Thailand, Justin began diligently researching the duck restaurants in Beijing. For weeks on end conversations revolved around the peking duck. Which place would really have the crispest skin, the most fatty of fatty ducks, the best flair upon serving? From where I sat it seemed as though Justin envisioned Beijing as one huge crackling duck ready to eat.

On day 3 of our journey we decided it was time to try the duck. Interestingly, in Beijing it is called Beijing duck, the title of Peking having been left in the olden days. We presented our 2 top duck restaurant choices to the lovely staff at our hotel. It was hotly debated. Each place had their merits. Each place had it's downfalls. Each place was a favorite with more then one person on the staff. It was a tough choice - brows were knitted, maps consulted, other staffers called over to discuss. Justin was drooling on the counter with anticipation.

In the end, we decided on the place closest to our hotel, Quan Jude. It took a few wrong turns to actually get there, up a flight of stairs and into a large, mostly empty waiting room. When we got there we had to take a number and the hostess would literally SHOUT into the microphone (in Chinese) at the 8 people waiting for a table, who were about 10 feet away at most. It was a hilarious start to a much anticipated meal. Everyone would wince in unison when she picked up the microphone. Once our number was finally yelled at us, and then translated in an equally intense manner, we were shown to our table. The place was bright and pretty and everyone was very nice (and far quieter in the dining room).


We ordered a whole duck, at this restaurant they cook it over fruit wood and carved the duck at your table. It was served with baskets of steamed pancakes, pickles, onions and sauce. Our duck came in short order and was carved into 144 pieces with panache! Even the head, sliced in half was presented. Apparently the smoked brain was a tasty nibble not to be missed. Justin and I prepared our first pancake, salivating and giggling with anticipation. 8 months of anticipation was about to come to an end.

My first bite of duck made me think of stinky fish fat...my second bite was pretty much the same. I really couldn't tell Justin this. He was wrapped and eating duck pancakes at a rapid rate. I ate one or 2 more pancakes, loading on the pickles and forcing a grin. It was so fatty and fishy and really not flavorful the way I imagined it would be. It needed salt. It needed something. I ended up feeling so gross from all the fat in it - and just the fishiness of it- that even now, weeks later I feel queazy when I think about it.


Surprisingly, Justin was also was a little let down by the experience. But, like the champion eater he is, he finished the WHOLE duck and even enjoyed the brain.

Later that night, when I admitted my true feelings about the duck, he almost agreed. It just wasn't what we had expected. We never did make it to the other Peking Duck place. Honestly, there were so many other fabulous things to eat we didn't want to waste a meal on another iffy experience.

On another note, these 2 gas mask canisters were kindly left in our room, for our convience. Since it was the first thing we saw in China, after having our tempature taken 15 times to double and triple check we were swine flu free, it was both funny and scary. We never had to open them :)


Check out my other travel posts!
Breakfast in China
Airplanes