The week in review...

I've decided that I don't have a particular style of post. I am forever apologizing to you, my dear readers, for how unconventional I am being. This week has been especially crazy for me even in the midst of the restful days I've had off of work. I really want to talk about it, and writing always seems to help. So here's a bit of what has happened this week. All of it is food related in some way (or maybe I can just make everything about food...you decide).

The first thing that happened this week was a baby bird flew into the bushes by our house, causing the upstairs tennant to have a small heart attack (figuratively...everyone is out of the hospital, it's ok, nobody went to the hospital in the first place...relax!). So, bird was retrieved from the bushes and caged in a small box outside. It looked like this.

So, we (as in me and my house mates and visitors) researched baby starlings and their care, and found out that it needed catfood and a heating pad and gateraide to survive. So, I procured said items, and got an old shoe box and towel for the bird to nest in and made it a new little home. It even let me feed it with a straw! What an awesome experience! 

Pretty stinking cute! If that doesn't melt your heart, I don't know what will. So, I had an overnight guest in my room. But the problem was, he or she kept trying to fly away. It was at that point that I considered the possibility of the bird being a fledgling. And it was then I knew I had to let it go. A bird should not be caged if it is trying to learn to fly. It has to fly or die trying because it is a bird and a bird without flight is like a person without a heart. It can live, but the existance is pretty pointless.

The next day, after I let the bird go, I finished my book, The Secret Life of Bees by Susan Monk Kidd. It was a really good read for me. Not only did the story revolve around three sisters who kept bees for their honey (how can a story about honey ever be wrong?), but also talked about racism, forgiving yourself and others for past and present wrongs, and dealt with the fallout from abuse. I didn't cry, but maybe that was because I was too much in awe of the Mexican food that helped me polish off the book.

If you are EVER in Newberg, you have to eat the Mexican food that the locals call the best in town. And it doesn't come from one of the three restaurants that line the strip of downtown. No, my friend, it comes from a taco truck. GLORIOUS! That's all I have to say! Here's a picture so you'll know you found the right place.

And in case you are wondering, this place is called Pastorcillos Tacos. I can't give you the phone number, but you can look it up on google. You found me; you can find them if you want them bad enough. They're that good!

What makes them so amazing? Aside from tacos for $1.50, they have an assortment of combination platters that are simply phenominal. Everything is warm, fresh, and delicious. Oh, and I ordered the torta with chicken. I was in HEAVEN, and eating it so fast, I got half way through before I remembered to take a picture so I could show you what I mean by amazing food. Here's what amazing food looks like in Newberg.

You're jealous now, aren't you? That little baby had beans, avacado, sourcream, jalepenos, lettuce, chicken, and rice all on a soft white bread with a sauce that would make the Lord Jesus glad he created the earth (ok, maybe I need to stop reading Southern novels for a bit and act like the Northwest girl that I am). But you get the picture. It was incredible. Emphasis on the EDIBLE.

Well, inspired by that meal, I have been cooking Spanish food all week. I made chicken empanadas for my sister when we had lunch together, and for the weekly potluck I share with my fellow gardeners after we have taken care of the community planting and weeding, I made a Spanish Tortilla. It's a really easy dish to make, just takes a little bit of time and effort is all. The group liked it so well, they asked for the recipe, which I obligied by sharing this link. You want to know what you'll be getting yourself into with this one? Check out the picture below. This is the view from my frying pan, anyway.

As we were enjoying the view of the garden and eating, one of the gardeners asked, "What's one thing you've learned this week?" I couldn't think of anything at the time, but now, my brain is on overload just thinking about everything I have learned. I learned how to feed a baby bird. I learned to let that baby go and fly. I learned that sometimes, we need to forgive ourselves more than anyone else in the world. I learned that there are some amazing jewels hidden in Newberg just waiting for me to enjoy them, that sisters are great friends even if it's hard, and that I have something unique and valuable to offer my community. Most importantly, I learned that being myself, even if it is a little too much or over the top at times, is worth it. I'd rather be loved for me than for what I pretended to be. So here's to a great week of learning, growing, cooking, eating, caring, and letting go. I can't wait to see what the next adventure will be.

Oh, and the garden looks spectacular by the way! I brought home lettuce and a smile from my gardening night. So much fun. Eden looks like this.

 Until next time, happy eating!

Feed me Belly!

Last Thursday was a very sentimental day for me. My friend Christopher Lee Hanson went to be with the Lord eight years ago by the hand of my ex-boyfriend on that day. While the tragedy of it all has shaped who I am, I felt like celebrating his life on that day. He dreamed of receiving a bass guitar made of pure light when he got to heaven, and wanted to protect me from the damage my ex had been causing in my life. It's funny, because it's taken me all this time to really start letting go of him, the past, and some bad mindsets that have been destructive to me. But, I digress. Chris was from Eugene and a street kid. So, as fate, coincidence, or God would have it, eight years to the day, I found myself conversing with a street kid in Eugene. And then my friends and I went to eat at Belly, a restaurant in Eugene.

Belly is well known in Eugene. It has won best restaurant twice. I ate way too much food with way too many calories for my small body, but I enjoyed the wait staff, the food, and the atmosphere in general. It was a charming place, and my one unfulfilled desire from the experience was simply that I wanted to see the back of the house. But then again, I am obsessed with kitchens!

So, to start out my meal, I ordered a beautiful Oakshire Espresso Stout. I have one rule on beer and only one: go dark or go home! Being a coffee lover as well, this stout won me over at first sip. Cool, refreshing, dark, mysterious, and coffee? Yes, please! I was thrilled with the quality of this particular drink. I highly recommend it if you enjoy your beer with a bit more intrigue than most.

Next, I went with bacon. (This was probably a HUGE mistake as far as my body was concerned. I have to be careful about how much fat I consume or my body pretty much takes me down for a day or two. But I threw caution to the wind and just went for it. It was worth it.) But not just any bacon. This beauty is bacon wrapped manchego stuffed dates with hazelnuts and apple cider gastrique. OMG! Sweet, salty, creamy, sour, crunchy: this is the place to be. As far as I'm concerned, this is a culinary masterpiece not to be missed. SO GOOD! Perfect little bites of culinary perfection like this don't come around often. I tip my hat to whomever dreamed this bacon love child up. Thank you!

To keep with the dark, warm, pub food theme of my night, I chose the shepherd's pie made with lamb, peas, carrots, and mashed potatoes. When it got to the table, it was steaming hot. Wow! I really liked it. There were huge chunks of lamb under wonderfully creamy mashed potatoes. This is not a saucy dish, but it is wonderfully filling, and incredibly comforting. A great take on the traditional shepherd's pie. I liked it so much, I ate the whole thing!

Finally, dessert time came. And I was intrigued that the only selection on the menu with chocolate was a lavender cake with pistachios and salt sprinkled over it. The balance of flavors tickled my palet and delighted me in general. But I had stuffed myself so completely that I could not finish it. The wait staff graciously accommodated me by adding more chocolate sauce than I needed, and I was stuffed before I realized that I had forgotten to take a picture of this delicate little dessert. It was that good.

So, if you are in Eugene and looking for a place to dine, I highly recommend that you try Belly. They have lighter dishes too, but I was just in the mood for comfort food. As I ate, I thought of Chris and his bass of pure light, of the table of love that is my portion every day of my life, and of the joy that is ahead of me. There is so much to be thankful for in this life. Eat it up, and be grateful.

Until next time, happy eating!

Fava Beans!

So, this is an unusual blog entry because I haven't actually cooked anything yet. But I learned something really interesting that I thought I'd like to share with you, and maybe you can use that knowledge to cook something delicious and share your witty and insightful recipe with me. ;)

On Thursday, I went to pick up my usual haul from the CSA I am a part of, and they had these great big beautiful beans. When I asked what exactly I was looking at, Emily (the staff member who was manning the pick up sight that day) said they were fava beans. She said I could saute them in butter or make a paste from them and use them as a spread. I grabbed as many as I could without appearing greedy (ok, maybe I looked a little greedy...a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do) and proceeded home with my new found beany friend. They look like this.

From the Oakhill Organics Newsletter, Week 19, May 29 & 31, 2012: Fava beans are another less common, but delicious, spring vegetable. These have been growing in our fields since we planted them last fall. They grow slowly all winter and then blossom and set fruit once it's warm enough in the spring.

Now, I had an interesting task to complete. Dear friends, most of us would rather that someone else deal with nature when it comes to our food. I am just as guilty as anyone else is. This week, in an effort to avoid grocery shopping, I found myself eating out, just not cooking, and eating the cafeteria food at work even though I know that the food I make for myself generally is healthier and tastes a heck of a lot better than all of that.

Know that if you get yourself involved with a fava bean, it's a long term relationship. Fava beans have layers of things to deal with before you get to partake in the prize that they are. You can take the process in stages, or you can buckle down like I did and complete the task start to finish all at once. My small stash of beans took me 40 minutes to process. I might get two servings out of the deal. But all of that time and effort burns calories, helps me to learn about the food I am eating, and teaches me things about life and myself. Namely, good things in life take time, are full of surprises, and aren't exactly what I think they should be. But if I can let go of my expectations and embrace what I have in front of me for what it is, then I will enjoy it so much more.

So, how do we get to the bean in fava bean? Well, first you have to remove the bean from the pod. It's easiest to crack the top and then pop the beans out of one side or the other. The inside of the pod has this white protective "bubble wrap" like layer to keep the beans happy and healthy. The inside of the pod looks like this.

This was an enlightening process. Anyone who has seen a fava bean knows how big the pods are. Some of them were close to ten inches long. However, the most beans I found in any one pod was 6. Six little beans! Can you believe it! I was shocked! When I was all done with taking the beans from their podded homes, they looked like this.

Now, fava beans are supposed to have a beautiful bright green color. Well, these are kind of dull and shiny. Pretty, but not the famed bright green I am after. In order to get to the edible part of the bean, there were two more steps in the process. The first involved parboiling these babies.

To parboil something, you must heat water to the point just before simmering. You start to see little bubbles form around the edges and lift ever so subtly to the surface. Then you add your beans. Keep the water temperature at this point. When I added my beans, every last one of them was floating on the surface of the water. As I watched them cook for the few minutes it takes to complete this process, I noticed that they all clustered together, and then one by one, started to sink in the water. When about half of them had done this, I removed them and shocked them in cold water to keep them from cooking more. I didn't really want to cook the beans, just remove the tough outer layer to get to the good stuff. Life lesson number two, sometimes you have to apply heat in order to crack the tough stuff of life.

After parboiling, I popped the beans out of their exterior protective layer one at a time. It was easiest to squeeze the top or bottom off of the bean and then squeeze the other end. Out came the beans. And when I was all done, I had two piles: one of shiny dull husks and the other of beautiful bright green beans.

Like I said, not a whole lot of yield on these babies. I followed the first rule of cooking (taste everything) and found that the bean has a nutty, sweet flavor. Definitely good for experimenting with. I think I am going to saute mine with garlic and butter one of these nights and stop being lazy about cooking.

Life is a journey, a process, and so is food. Good food, the kind that tastes good and is good for you, takes time to grow, process, and prepare. The wait is good for us, helps us to appreciate what we have, and actually helps our bodies to take in and utilize what we consume. So, if you're looking for a special spring treat, look no further than the fava bean. Just remember, slow down. Enjoy the journey.

Until next time, happy eating!