California Wines................

For seven years I have made my best effort to learn to love wine made in Oregon but now, I'm finally admitting that my first and forever love is California wines.  I was missing the fabulous warm and rich zinfandels from the Lodi area, the whites from the coast and the reds from Sonoma and Healdsburg so yesterday I decided to get back to my roots and pick up some of my favorites.  Here in Oregon wine is sold only in grocery stores so I made a trip to the downtown Safeway and filled my basket.  I'm starting with Bogle, Kendell Jackson, Mondavi, Simi, St Francis and Sterling.  My absolutely all time favorite is St Clement so I'm going to save my dollars until I can buy one of their special reserves.

Oregon wines have more fruit and are lighter with a touch of sweetness so they are perfect for fish and pasta dishes but there's nothing better than a full bodied red from the central valley (the kind that grows hair on your chest).

Cheers...........................

A Birthday Celebration !!! Happy Birthday, Ann...........

We girls love to celebrate birthdays because it's another excuse to go out for lunch.  Today, Allison and I invited Ann to be our guest at a lunch at Mucca to celebrate her upcoming birthday this Thursday.

I think the best way to describe our experience is just to call it another "eating orgy" with an appetizer, salads, house made pasta dishes, wine...... and wine........... and panna cotta for dessert.

The bad news is that the next birthday is mine so we have to wait until August for a new celebration.  Oh, wait ............... we don't need an excuse to go out to lunch so - bring it on - time to plan our next lunch !

A Look At Venetian Art ............

I'm discovering that there's more to art than I previously realized.  Now that I'm learning to interpret a painting and looking for the meaning and the technique, as well as the media, I realize that they are more than "a pretty picture".  This week we're studying artists from the early 1500s so here's a few of the paintings that we're comparing and discussing to determine the techniques and nuances of each artist in that era.. 
.

 

Eating Well in Portland................

The week started with a walk downtown for lunch at Ringside Fish House for Cioppino and then another short walk to Living Room Theater where I saw the Italian film "The Best Offer".  It was an exceptional film - very much like a Hitchcock twist of a story.  The story was so complex and the settings were so interesting that I'm thinking of seeing it again.

Roger is doing well in school and I'm enjoying my art history class.  This coming week we're studying Giovanni Bellini and Tiziano Vecelio (better known as Titian).  Interestingly, Roger and I did some research on Titian for one of his classes last year and we checked out several books on Titian's paintings so I already have an interest in his art.

Friday, Roger surprised me with an invitation to "Gravy" for breakfast.  It's in the Mississippi District and it's difficult to describe the eating experience - other than it's probably the best breakfast menu we've ever encountered.

New Seasons Market has become our favorite.  It's a privately owned market that sells only organic products and produce and humanely raised meat so it's almost like a social event when we go shopping there.  To make it even better, this market is on Hawthorne so it's an excuse to check out some of the shops on the way and make a stop at Pasta Works for fresh pasta, Kruegers for farm fresh fruit and vegetables and Grand Central for bread. 

Tonight we're roasting baby turkey legs for dinner.  Yummmmmmmmmmmm.....

Happy Birthday, Steve !

Steve Smith is celebrating his birthday this weekend in San Francisco.  Congratulations to a very special friend...................

Party Time With Silky and Callie

We girls had a great time tonight.  Our friends, Silky and Callie invited us to join them at a wine bar in Milwaukee where Silky played his guitar and he and Callie sang.  Their specialty is Latin, smooth pop and R&B so we listened to their music while enjoying wine and appetizers.

A great way to start a weekend !

Mucca Osteria - Fabulous !!

Once a month, Bella has a grooming appointment at a downtown salon so it's my excuse to take her down on the streetcar, drop her off at Urban Fauna, and go shopping and out to lunch.  After a walk to Macy's I stopped at a fabulous Italian Restaurant, Mucca Osteria where I found they had changed their menu to include two and three course tasting lunches.

An advantage to dining alone is that I can sit at a counter and watch the Chef prepare the food.  I chose a two course lunch (only $12) that started with an organic salad with gorgonzola, walnuts and grapes.  This was followed with house made ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach in a butter & sage sauce.  All this great food goes better with wine and the server recommended a dry muscato that turned out to be a perfect accompaniment.

Macy's is having one of their end of season sales so I picked up three tops for the cruise for a total of $14.00 (65% off with an additional 15%, a coupon for 20% less, and a $10 gift card from Macy's in my last billing statement).  To make the afternoon even better, there was a "Car-2-Go" parked outside the groomers so Bella and I hopped in and made a quick trip home.  The car cost $4.10 so it was an amazing day............ even living with a budget !

Another Week............

Today Roger and I are celebrating being together for four years - time that we've learned to blend our past experiences and become partners in life.

This month we're also celebrating Brian and Carolyn's wedding anniversary, Steve Smith's birthday, Teresa's birthday and Mike & Teresa's Anniversary.  My friend, Ann, is also having a birthday so January is a month of special occasions.

After attending two days of photography classes as an observer I received the bad news that there wouldn't be room for me in the class so today I walked down to the art building and I was able to enroll in "The Golden Age of Venetian Art".  Classes are Monday and Wednesday mornings.  Meanwhile, Roger is busy taking two art classes and one history class "The Modern Middle East".so he's in school four days a week.

Allison and I have been having fun planning a "girl's getaway" in February.  Allison has never cruised so I'm acting as "tour guide" on a seven day cruise to Mexico.  We leave from L.A. and go down to Puerto Vallerta, then stopping at Cabo San Lucas and Encinada..  I never tire of going to Mexico and.......... it will be hot and sunny !

Three Days in Bend, Oregon ..........

We just returned home from three days in Bend, Oregon, where we enjoyed some relaxation and also some very delicious food.  Our favorite dinner spot is Zydeco Kitchen on Bond Street.  These people really know how to operate a successful restaurant.  To get a table we had to get there at 5:30 for dinner.

Our other favorites are for breakfast so the first morning we went back to the Victorian Café (plan on waiting for at least 45 minutes for a table).  It's a quaint cottage that seems to be busy every minute they are open.  I can't imagine a visit to Bend without going there at least once.
http://www.victoriancafebend.com














This morning we tried the place that is voted #1 best breakfast restaurant in Bend.  It's called "Chow" and it was our first visit there (but not the last).  They are a farm to table restaurant with an unusual menu (picture eggs Benedict with poached eggs on top of sautéed fresh spinach on top of a crispy polenta pancake - covered with hollandaise, of course).  Their web site is http://www.chowbend.com/




Now that we've returned home, it's time to get back to basics and eat a bit more simply.

Monday is Roger's first day of classes at PSU for the winter term and I'm hoping to be accepted into a photography class.  If there isn't room, I'll enroll in a class "Indians of Pacific NW".  (It's time that I learned more about the history of my new home in Oregon).

A Great Way To Start The New Year..........

 

Roger and I decided to start out the New Year in the kitchen so this morning we were up early.  Roger was in charge of an Iranian style lentil soup and I followed it with a citrus salad with fresh grapefruit and sun seeds.

Roger fixed a huge pot of his fabulous rice with a wonderful crust on the bottom and I fixed cranberry chicken with fresh asparagus.

Dinner ended with fresh baked cheese cake.  As expected, we all had a hard time getting up after such a huge meal and the last that I heard there was talk about taking naps.  Roger did a great job helping me clean up the dishes so now a nap is probably a good idea.

Making our first New Year's Day toast is Allison, Ann and Rae.