Portland Meat

Happy Anniversary Blog: Two years and counting

It's been two years since I started this blog as a sort of companion piece to my book Food Lover's Guide to Portland. Since the beginning I've aimed to keep my posts short and sweet and informative for Portland food folks and visitors. I hope it's been helpful. This time last year I celebrated one year of blogging with a sort of year-in-review. It was a nice way to take stock so I'm doing it again for the two-year marker. Thanks for stopping by now and again. Thanks for chiming in now and again. Thanks to each and every one of you out there who celebrate our local food scene in Portland and beyond. Here are some blog highlights from the past year...

I started off February 2010 with our semi-annual Cincinnati chili feed. Can't beat Gartner's dogs, spicy Cincy chili and finely grated Tillamook cheddar...

Sometimes 3-ways are sloppy. Cincinnati chili 3-ways that is...

Sometimes 3-ways are sloppy. Cincinnati chili 3-ways that is...

Portland International Film Festival followed shortly after. PIFF is my favorite local film fest and we always do PIFF + Pizza. Was going to giveaway some tickets here for this year's now in its final week but unfortunately got too busy. Go to PIFF while you still can!

Butter followed by cheese followed by egg (cardiologists please read no more)...

Cheese followed by egg...

I won an Excalibur Food Dehydrator and made my first batch of spicy beef jerky late March. It was amazing and I've made it many times since...

Thinly sliced tri-tip on its way to becoming jerky...

Thin sliced tri-tip ready to marinate and dry...

In May I had my first interview in The Sun Magazine with one of my favorite people -- Sandor Ellix Katz...

I never thought this day would come...

I never thought this day would come...

Several weeks later I had a kick-ass book launch party for Food Lover's Guide to Portland the day it came out -- July 1st, 2010...

The best celebration I could have hoped for. So much fun.

The best celebration I could have hoped for. So much fun.

At the end of summer my boyfriend and I went on a magical 10-day sailing trip around the San Juan Islands and I blogged about our DIY galley cooking in three installments...

We have a stainless grill too but most of what we cooked on the boat happened here.

We have a stainless grill too but most of what we cooked on the boat happened here.

In the fall we put together a filled-to-the-gills second annual Portland Fermentation Festival at Ecotrust...

Biwa sous chef Ed Ross serving up a rocking kimchi with big chunks of daikon and lots of fire.

Biwa's rocking kimchi with big chunks of daikon and lots of fire.

Late December I got to press hard cider with our friend Nat and he gave me a carboy of the stuff to take home and ferment myself...

Nat sorting through one of the last Newtown Pippin apple bins.

Nat sorting through one of the last Newtown Pippin apple bins.

And just in time for the new year I made miso for the first time. In a month or so I'll be checking on it...

After I mashed the soft, cooked soybeans I mixed that with the brined koji and mature miso mix above...

After mashing the soybeans you mix that with the koji...

THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT YEAR!

Eat, drink and be hairy!