I haven't done one of these since last summer! Holy shit time flies. Lately I've been wishing that there were a way to expand time to fit more of the best of life in. I don't necessarily want the days to be longer I just want to be writing, sailing, cooking, loving, swimming, travelling and on and on and on contemporaneously somehow/someway. So that each would be enjoyed fully but a different part of me would be present for each. I'll go do some more drugs now. Sorry.
So, I'm getting my kitchen remodeled! Finally. My super talented friends at St. Johns Design Build (they don't have a website yet but once they do I'll shout it out here) -- Brian McVay, Clarence Jacobs and Rude Graves -- are kicking ass doing a complete overhaul. Things that I'm really looking forward to: the original fir floor being sanded and finished, my new-to-me kick-ass professional-style Dynasty gas stove, sweet-ass tiling by Rude, old bleachers made into beautiful new cabinets and drawers and shelves by Clarence, a bar, maple chopping block peninsula, paperstone counters and all sorts of other magic by Brian and crew. Life is sweet. I'll put up some photos of the progress in the next several weeks.
In the meantime, near and dear friends in the neighborhood are happy because I've been using their kitchens more and I also have a funky little interim kitchen in the back of my house in the utility room with a hotpot, rice steamer and toaster. It works and it's actually been fun to have some cooking restraints. It's like camp cooking, boat cooking etc. -- pushes you to be creative and work in new ways with what you've got.
It's been a really fun spring so far and I hope you've been doing well too. I just finished writing the Tasty Brunch Book proposal with John (now it's with our agent, next to the designer), I'm working on all sorts of food-plus projects at Hawthorne Books, working on a still secret book project, little here and there on my novel and Food Lover's Guide to Portland 2.0 review copies go out NEXT WEEK and it publishes in three short months. Madness. In the very best sense of the word.
Here's what I've been eating. What have you been cooking and eating?
Miso, bacon, fish sauce, broccolini spaghetti. Really good.
Mission Street Food's Braised Sausage with my friend Kalera's kraut, Reverend Nat's Hard Cider and house German sausage from Western Meat Market on Lombard.
Miso rice with homemade kimchi.
Rice cooker steamed Dover sole in homemade miso/ginger/lemon sauce with asparagus.
Nettle'ing with Jess. Made all kinds of dishes with them. Morel nettle risotto, sauces, tea yada yada. Love nettles.
My haul.
Found this huuuuuge morel in my backyard. Was too waterlogged and gone to eat but still had...
The last of the dehydrated/foraged ones from last spring. Have been making a lot of risottos with them. My friend Jess, different Jess, took these from the Mother's Day risotto I made for her and Rich with red-veined sorrel from the yard and my homemade plum wine. Tasty.
Racked and then...
Bottled the plum wine. 100 bottles this year from the Brooks plum tree in my front yard
Also bottled last year's dandelion wine and started this year's. Make it every year with my friend Michelle and her daughter...
These guys!
Dinner becomes breakfast. Spag and eggs. One of my favorites.
Still cooking from the Toro cookbook. Forever and always. Toro's piperade and boquerones over pan-fried polenta.
For our first kitchen remodel meeting/party made a big batch of kimchi fried rice and it, of course, became breakfast the next day. So good.
Cook and eat something good tonight!
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