Places I want to try....

With my time coming near the end in Portland, there are still so many places I really want to get out there and try! I will find the time to visit these places!

1. Porque No

2. Whiffies Fried Pies Food Truck

3. Giuseppe's Italian Restaurant

4. Nostrana

5. Bijou Cafe

6. Salt & Straw

7. Pok Pok

8. Veritable Quandary 

9. Pine State Biscuits

10. Screen Door

Oh, Chickpeas

Today was the last day of my Food Ethics class & we got to have lunch in our school's (OCI) dining room.

My salad I had today was just delicious! It was a baby Kale salad with Chorizo, pickled red onions, Parmesan, fried chickpeas in a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette! 

Oh it was so good! The thing that took it over the top was the fried chickpeas! I loved them! I told everyone at my table that I was stealing that idea for a lot of different things! 

Perfect in green salads & assorted cold salads. In pasta dishes, even just on a salted buttered piece of baguette toast!

Just think everyone of the possibilities! Think beyond Hummus & Falafels (even though they both are amazing) If you love chickpeas as much as I do you will love them fried!

Dough Crazy

I start Baking & Pastry this Friday & I am so excited! I have been having kitchen withdraws. I have just been thinking of recipes in my head.

Lately, I have been biscuit, scone & pie crazy! All I want to do is get my hands on some flour, butter & buttermilk! I just want to form dough, roll it out, cut it out & bake! I am salivating as I type. 

Oh man, & the combinations of flavor possibilities are endless.


Well here is a recipe from Joy the Baker for  
Brown Sugar Bacon Biscuits.

I want to make these ASAP.

For the Bacon:
6 slices of bacon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
coarse ground black pepper
For the Biscuits:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and spread bacon across baking sheet in a single layer.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and black pepper.  Bake until crisp and cooked through, about 13 to 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and carefully use tongs to place the hot bacon on a cutting board.  Don’t put the bacon on paper towels or they might stick. Allow and chop into medium chunks.  Set aside.

Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F.  Line another baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and black pepper.  Add cold butter and use your hands to quickly break the butter into the flour until mixture resembles coarse meal.  In another bowl, combine egg and buttermilk and beat lightly with a fork.  Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring to incorporate.  Once batter is nearly incorporated, add bacon and mix in.
You may want to dump the shaggy biscuit mixture onto a lightly floured board to knead together a few times.  Don’t overwork the dough and melt the butter, Just make sure it comes together.
Roll or pat dough into a 1-inch thickness.  Cut into 2-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or cut into 2×2-inch squares.  Reshape and roll dough to create more biscuits with excess scraps.    Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees F for 12-15 minutes

Convenient

Sunny day in Portland! Took this on SW Madison & 1st while I was waiting for my bus. 

So everyone, as we all know I am a broke college student. Today all I was looking for was cheap & convenient!

I got out of class earlier than usually, so naturally I just wanted to get home as fast as possible. I stopped by KINARA Thai Bistro next to OCI. I got some Pad Thai to go. This time I got medium spicy but I still had to drench it in Sriracha!

Still pretty good. Chicken was a little dry, but I love Pad Thai!

1126 SW 18th Ave, Portland

Haircut & Safeway Sandwich

 

So today on my break at school I went and got myself a haircut at GiGi's Aveda Salon on SW Jefferson & Broadway. It was really more just a trim but I loved my stylist Casey. She was really nice and did a great job.

I also got a nice student discount which was awesome! It cost a lot less then what I was expecting. I also got my eyebrows waxed.

Since that took up my time for break I just stopped into the Safeway up the street on my way back to school and ordered a sandwich at their deli.

Turkey, Bacon, Avocado Sandwich

Apparently any avocado sandwich on their menu is only $5 with chips and a drink. As soon as I got back to school, I inhaled that sandwich. It was just what I needed. 

Unfortunately, they ran out of the Sourdough Rolls which is what it was supposed to be on. So I just had a classic soft roll, it was still really good.
It had turkey, avocado, ranch, bacon, lettuce and tomato. Yum. I love that combination.

Oh, and any place that has a GOLD PEAK TEA fountain is my thing! I am in love with GOLD PEAK Green Tea! Borderline obsessed! So that made me very happy.

Oregon Culinary Institute

Today, my Food Ethics class got to enjoy a free lunch in the dining room at our school; Oregon Culinary Institute. It is always such a wonderful experience when I get to dine here.

The food is always top quality and delicious. The price is extremely reasonable as well, for those of you who would like to try it out.

They have 2 services, Monday- Friday. 
Lunch is 12:00 P.M. 3 courses for $9. 
Dinner is 7:00 P.M. 4 courses for $18. 

You seriously cannot beat those prices and the quality of food you are served. 

My second course- Sausage & Pepper sandwich, side of pesto pasta

Sorry again that I forget to take a picture of my first course! I had the Young Romaine Caesar Salad. It was so good! Spheres of Romaine lettuce with house made croutons, Parmesan cheese and the amazing acidic creamy Caesar dressing.

My second course (pictured above) Sausage sandwich with marinated and grilled onions & peppers (absolutely delicious) and melted mozzarella on top. The pesto pasta was great. Delicious basil pesto, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and olives. I loved it.

Cheesecake with a berry coulis 

For third course, I chose the cheesecake! It is different every day. Today was just the plain NY style cheesecake with a delicious berry coulis. 

I ate every single bite of my meal today. I am one happy girl. 

Ken's Artisan Bakery

338 NW 21st Ave  Portland, OR 97209

Well yesterday after my experience with People's Food Co-op and I had a Marionberry Muffin from Ken's Artisan Bakery, I had to go and try something else!

So I dragged one of my friend's from school to come with me during my break because it is only a little ways from Oregon Culinary Institute. 

You walk into the building and go up a small flight of stairs and are greeted by the display case of yummy treats. All seasonal, local fresh products.

They stop serving lunch at 3 P.M. so sadly I didn't get to try a sandwich from their menu. But the menu looked amazing! 

You can also buy bread loaves, they are very reasonably priced.

Mixed Berry Tart & Chocolate Chip Cookie

I had the mixed berry tart and my friend had a chocolate chip cookie! I wish I had brought more money with me because I would have gotten another pastry! Both very good. 

It also looks like a very fun atmosphere to work in. Everyone was very nice and smiling.

Try it!