Pastry Competition

Tonight Ann invited me to join her at a tart pastry competition held at the Oregon Culinary Institute. Twenty Portland pastry chefs entered a competition and a chef from the Beaverton Bakery won first prize. Those of us attending had an opportunity to taste all twenty (or as many as our stomachs could handle) with our choice of several different sparkling wines and dessert wines.

This was early in the evening so we decided to stay to enjoy a four course dinner at the Culinary Institute. Needless to say we ate enough calories to last the rest of the week.

Finally - Summer in Portland

The outdoor pool is open, herbs and vegetables are growing on the balconies and the barbecues are ready to go so we're finally embracing sunshine and warm weather. Cheryl and I took the streetcar this morning to go to breakfast at the Everett Street Grill.

They specialize in breakfast and brunch so we each ordered an entree and then shared them. The weather was so pleasant we went walking through the Pearl District to do some window shopping.

Pictured here is part of the Lovejoy Fountain about 1/2 block from the condo.

SO - What's New ?

Yes, as usual, this blog and photo is about food and wine. After watching both World Cup games this morning, we walked down to the river area for a late lunch. We both had fish, shared a bottle of wine and even had dessert so there's no question that dinner will be light and late...........

There's not much to talk about - we're just having a lazy week with nothing pressing on the schedule.

Bella has had some stomach problems for several days so she's being pampered and medicated (and spoiled).

A GREAT Week..................

Lori and Pam left Portland this morning and arrived in Sacramento at 5 p.m. tonight. It's a l o n g drive but they said that the time went quickly.

We had a great week with them both - exploring downtown Portland and eating a variety of interesting recipes that Roger cooked almost every evening. (I've promised him a week "off" from the kitchen to rest up.)

Monday Roger and I drove to Eugene to attend the graduation of his grandson, Chris, from the University of Oregon. He is a History major and the ceremony was very impressive and meaningful. After, we enjoyed spending time and having lunch with his family and friends.

While we away Lori and Pam enjoyed dinner at Pok Pok, a very popular Thai Restaurant so it was great hearing about their very interesting experience.

Now, it's time to get back to our normal routine - but - that's still somewhat difficult because every morning we awake at 7 a.m. to watch the World Cup Football match, eat breakfast and then watch the 11:30 match. Roger has taught me the rules of the game and we are really enjoying the matches. Of course, the games will be much more exciting towards the end so then we'll probably "eat and sleep" in front of the TV watching the final matches in July.

Rose Parade Weekend.............

Today was a busy and fun day, finally with warm temps and lots of activities. The morning started with Bloody Marys while watching the parade on TV, then watching England and U.S. playing in the World Cup - then Farmers Market followed with a late lunch down at River Front and finally, watching the Dragon Boat Races. Even Bella got into the action.

No, the girls don't have sunburns - the umbrella above is red and it reflected onto their faces.

Fresh Sturgeon and Alaska Salmon

Lori and Pam drove into Portland last night about 6 p.m. so we have been having a great time - mostly cooking and eating so far - but the girls took time to take the streetcar to Powell's Book Store and Whole Foods.

Tonight Roger barbecued sturgeon and salmon and he made his fabulous Iranian potato salad so dinner was delicious.

Now it's time to watch the opening ceremonies of the World Cup for Soccer. Roger is hoping to watch most of the games that start either at 4:30 a.m. or 7 a.m. so we'll see if that happens...................

Tomorrow will be a great day with 80 degrees forecast - Farmer's Market and Rose Parade in the morning - Dragon boat races at the river in the afternoon and viewing the flower decorated floats on Naito Parkway. We can walk or take Max to all of the events so it will be a full day of activity.

Metropolitan Youth Symphony

Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed a concert given by the Portland Metropolitan Youth Symphony comprised of Junior High and High School musicians. We were surprised at the excellent quality of their musical abilities and also pleased to see how many young people are excelling as musicians. The concert was in three parts; The Concert Orchestra, then the Symphonic Band and finally the Symphony Orchestra that featured three exceptional talents on a Korean Marimba, a Concert Violin and a Persian Santur. The Heathman Hotel is next door to the theater so it was a good excuse to enjoy their Happy Hour after the concert.

Happy Birthday, PAM -------------

Another year older.............. and another year BETTER !

Happy Birthday, Pam - enjoy the day!

Shopping in Vancouver.............

As we unpacked last night we were laughing about our purchases - absolutely everything we bought in Vancouver is a food item except for some Cognac from the Duty Free Shop.

Pictured here is a shop where they roast premium quality nuts in the back of the shop. The worker in the photo just emptied a steaming pot of roasted almonds into a large pottery bowl.

The tall footed urns are from Estefan, a popular tourist destination in Iran. They are made from pounded silver.

They also sell dried fruit and candy; all produced in Iran.

Back in the U.S.A........................

The photos were taken at a beautiful park where we crossed over a waterfall walking on a Suspension Bridge.

Roger is with his cousin, Ahmed.

Sunny Day In Vancouver............

Finally, the sun is out and warm weather has returned. The day started out slowly with a late breakfast and then a drive to visit more specialty shops. I took photos that I'll share when we return of my favorite nut and fruit shop where they dry the fruit and roast the nuts every day so, often, they are still warm when you buy them.

We also visited several parks; one where you can fill a bottle with pure Spring water from the mountain above and another with a rope bridge that takes you over a magnificent waterfall.

This afternoon I took Ariana and Dena on a shopping trip so we had a lot of fun. Dena is 9 and Ariana is 13.

Tomorrow evening the girls and I are going out to dinner while Roger and Ahman go to an Iranian concert.

Canada..............

Our drive from Portland to Vancouver went smoothly and only took about 7 hours including occasional stops. It rained today but the weather forecast for the rest of the week is for clear and sunny weather so we're looking forward to doing some "tourist" things tomorrow and Friday.

Today we had a driving tour of North and West Vancouver where the homes start at 5 million and rapidly go higher.............

We had lunch at a market next to one of the Sea Taxi ports that take people across the waterways between the City and the residential areas, plus Granville Island. The market has produce, crafts and shops that are all fascinating and we had fun watching the fresh prawns being put in a display. They were still alive and full of vigor so the fish clerk had a hard time keeping them from jumping out of the showcase. When he finished he had to use a netting to keep them confined.

We spent some time shopping in several other markets where we found saffron for half the price than in the U.S. so we loaded up on it plus buying some very interesting specialty foods.