Portland, Oh How I Love Thee.....

Here is the new Travel Portland video. I was so excited when I saw it that I had to share it here with you. I love this city and all that it has to offer. We are the most ecofriendly city in the states, microbrew capitol of America, Willamette Valley wines, no sales tax, Cannon Beach...the most photographed coast line in America, Mt Hood ski and recreation area. One hour to the coast and one hour to the mountains, the Deschutes River among so many others with great river rafting, the abundant Hood River Valley, coops, community gardens, Farmers markets, great restaurants....and so much more!! Have a look for yourself and if your ever in town, please look me up!

Book Club and Sugared Walnuts

My friend Sarah invited me to join her book club and of course I graciously accepted. The first meeting was Friday night and the book for that meeting was Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg. Not normally a book I would pick up on my own but I'm an open-minded person, so why not, right? I'm actually not done with it yet. It was a little hard to get into at first, but now it's got my interest. In a nutshell, it's about a woman who is transgender, although she hasn't had the surgery, it's more about her identity. She really goes through a lot in her life and it's really terrible the way transgendered people are treated. Although this is a work of fiction, it really is quite obviously a memoir.

The other women in the book club are really cool and the hostess's husband was an absolute riot, so I had a great time!

For the book club we are all to bring a dish or dessert and wine. I decided to bring my "famous" Sugared Walnuts. They were a big hit! (Further proving the Italian's theory that I am a golosa!) So I'm going to post the recipe here for you all. These are great for the holidays or sporting events like the Superbowl, or even just to munch on while watching a good flick. NOTE: You can use any kind of nut you like, as long as it's not a nut that burns easily, i.e. pecans.

SUGARED WALNUTS
Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
4 cups shelled walnuts (approx. 1 bag)
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1/4 of a stick of butter
2 tablespoons of vanilla (if you can, use the Mexican kind, it's just better!)



Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a medium size pot over medium heat, combine the sugar, water, cinnamon, butter, vanilla and dissolve.





Add the walnuts and continue cooking,



Stirring frequently until the walnuts are completely sugar coated and the sugar is crystallized and there is no syrup left.



Pour the mixture onto an ungreased cookie sheet, spreading and separating the walnuts as much as possible.



Bake until the walnuts are golden, about 12 to 15 minutes, stirring at 5 minute intervals.



Let them sit for a few minutes to allow them to harden.



And voila'! The finished product! They are so good while they are still warm...yum!



Please note that I doubled the recipe, so it looks like a lot in the pics but you won't have as much if you stick to the recipe I posted.

Our next meeting for the book club is on December 5th and the book is Flight by Sherman Alexie. I'm so looking forward to it!



Are you a member of a book club? What are you reading?

The People's Republic of Portland

Yep, you read it right. That's what Portlanders have affectionately named this great city to reflect it's increasingly left-wing personality. Portland is a mecca for liberals. People here really take quality of life and the environment quite seriously. As I stated in a previous post, it is the only U.S. city in the top 5 list of amazing green cities. You really get the sense that this is a city run by the people and for the people. Something that our ahem, great leaders in D.C. seem to have forgotten.



The Urban Dictionary's definition of the People's Republic of Portland is: nickname of Portland--it got that name because the city is very liberal.The People's Republic of Portland is located on the Left Coast. It's also been called "Little Beirut" by the Bush family because they are not so popular here.



Some other names given to Portland are Bridgetown (because we have 6 bridges in the city center alone), Brew City (because we have so many microbreweries here), P-town, The City of Roses (for obvious reasons) and Greener-than-Green-land (again, for obvious reasons).

Ok, this is a little much but I thought it was funny :)



I couldn't neglect to post the most famous (besides the Obama/Biden '08 stickers) bumper sticker in Portland:



Portland is a really fun city. There's always something going on, something to do and somewhere to go. If you're a nature lover, this is your paradise. Even my conservative Italian loves it here.

El Grito 16 de Septiembre

Last year I wrote about the Mexican Independence Day celebration in Portland here and this year was much of the same, except that this year it was held on Monday the 15th, instead of on the 16th. Boh, wait, that's Italian. In Spanish we would say, "Sepa la bola". Good food, good margarita's, good music, good entertainment, good networking going on, and I had a really good time with my friends.



We have the same colors as Italy, except the Mexican flag has that really cool eagle with the serpent in it's mouth. Viva El Tricolor!!



J was super extra happy to wait in line for her margarita! Ahoooaahhh!!



The obligatory photo with the Mariachi's. I have always been the whitest Mexican on the block. In elementary school my nickname was Casper



J and I reminisced about our days as Ballet Folklorico dancers. Ah, those were the days where we had not a care in the world. All we had to do was dance, go to school and play. How times have changed.



This part made me feel like I was in Mexico, except for the Nordstrom in the background.



And last but certainly not least, my friends, the Spain's. Isn't their baby so cute!! She was bopping and dancing along to the Mariachi's. It's in her blood.

Portland, OR No.3 on Top 5 List of Amazing Green Cities

Portland is the only U.S. city in the top 5 list of Amazing Green cities. People here really care about their surroundings. We have solar-powered parking meters and tons of green space. People pick up their dog poo (95% of the time) and when I'm out on a walk I rarely see trash laying around in the street, as far as trashy people are concerned, that's another story...just joking! Rounding out the top five were:

5. Malmo, Sweden
4. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Portland, Oregon
2. Vancouver, Canada
1. Reykjavik, Iceland

Here is the article from Howstuffworks.com:

Green City 3: Portland, Ore.

­­Portland lies on the banks of the Willamette River in the Pacific Northwest and is home to more than 500,000 people. It’s been a model of sustainable living for decades, smartly mixing urban and outdoor spaces.

Chuck Pefley/Stone/Getty Images
The Portland skyline is backed by Mount Hood.

Its greenness is hardly new. Since its 1903 "Report to the Portland Park Board," Portland has been inspiring cities across the United States and the world to embrace green space in their urban planning. Thirty years ago, Portland continued leading the way by demolishing a six-lane highway to develop a waterfront park in its place. Today Portland has roughly 92,000 acres of green space, including 74 miles (119 km) of biking, hiking and running trails, and has enacted an urban-growth boundary to contain the urban landscape and protect 25 million acres of forest and farms [source: Grist].

Portland was the first city in the United States to enact a plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and was a founding member of the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign. It has also held rank at the top of green city lists in the United States and in the world for several years [source: Progressive Policy Institute]. The city has 50 buildings that meet or exceed U.S. Green Building Council standards for sustainability, and its mix of commercial and residential areas is pedestrian and bike friendly -- roughly one quarter of commuters bike to work [source: Popular Science].

­Looking ahead, Portland has set ambitious energy goals. By 2010, the city plans to supply 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources, including innovative approaches such as solar-powered parking meters.

Yet another reason to love Portland! More reasons and pics to come soon.

Saturday Farmers Market at Portland State University

My morning started at about 9:50am. I meant to leave earlier since the Farmers Market starts at 8:30am but I had to wait for the bank to open since I couldn't make my transaction through the ATM. After I finished my business at the bank, I walked down Lovejoy from 23rd to 12th and down 12th to Everett. I had heard about Caffe Umbria via word of mouth, then had a look at their website and decided I had to try it. It was a good mile and a half to two mile walk from the bank so I built up a good little appetite on the way.

I walked in and had no idea what I wanted. I decided to observe a little first then make my choice. It was nice to see that it was run more like a cafe' in Italy than that of a Starbucks. I chose to have a cappuccino and a biscotti to go. I have to say that it was quite good.

I took my cappuccino and biscotti and headed down Everrett so I could catch the Streetcar to the South Park blocks at PSU. The Streetcar was standing room only. Lots of people heading to the Farmers Market or to the Rose Festival, which started this weekend, but I will save that for another post. Since this was my first time to the Farmers Market, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had been to other Farmers Markets before, but I had heard that this one was one of the best.

When the Streetcar dropped me and the crowd off, I couldn't help but stop to look at the beautiful greenery around me. The South Park blocks and the PSU campus are some of the prettiest places in Portland proper. It's so many blocks of tree-lined streets. These streets are also lined with Churches and museums. It's called the Cultural District.

After taking a few pics, off I went to explore the Farmers Market. It was pretty crowded. I guess I wasn't expecting such a big crowd, but it was a beautiful morning and the good weather brings Oregonians out.

One of the first booths I saw was the Pearl Bakery. I love this bakery! Last year I popped into the bakery and had a fig panini and it was absolutely delicious. I've been a fan ever since. I bought a few pieces of bread and decided I'd find something there at the market to spread on my yummy fresh baked breads. I know fresh-baked bread is not such a big deal to some people, but I used to live in North Dakota where fresh-baked bread is nonexistant, so I always consider it a treat.

I was overwhelmed by the wonderful aromas that filled the air. This is defintely a place to bring a healthy appetite. I wasn't planning on buying much since I planned to spend a good part of the day walking around downtown and the Rose Festival. But there was so much temptation! From gourmet popcorn....

to more bread, all kinds of bread!!

Grilled sausages...oh, these smelled so good!

Fresh veggies...

Colorful flowers.....

This one brought a smile to my face. I love Calla Lillies!!

Just look at these beautiful strawberries!! They were delicious!

Yummy pastries. This pic is a little blurry but this was as close as I could get. This pastry booth was jam packed with people.

Fresh herbs....

OK, enough of all that, it was time to find some spread for my bread! I came across some mango pepper jelly and champagne mustard. Both of which were quite tasty, but I decided to keep looking.

Then I stumbled onto this.....Lavender Jam...whah?? It peaked my interest, so I tasted some and it was just perfect! I bought the Lavendar Raspberry Pear jam, and let me tell you, it is as good as it sounds, even better!! It's made by Sundance Lavender Farm in Salem, Oregon. They had so many different flavors, all infused with lavender.


To go with the beautiful fresh-baked bread I bought.

It looked like everyone had a good time. When there's good fresh food involved, who doesn't??!!

After I finished making the rounds at the market, I headed for the Rose Festival, but I'll save that for another post. I got hungry after so much walking around so I figured I'd have lunch at the Pearl Bakery in the Pearl District on the way home. It's a pretty inconspicuous place.

Unfortunately they no longer had the fig panini, so I picked the tuna sandwich. It didn't look like much, but it sure was tasty. It's described as White Spanish tuna, dill aioli, romaine and dijon on pistolet. The bread looked like somebody's backside, but I didn't mind, it was good!

Then I hopped on the Streetcar and my last stop before going home was Alotto Gelato. My favorite gelateria in all of Portland.

I had pistacchio, gianduia, and fresh banana. The perfect way to end my afternoon!

It was a perfect day. The only thing missing was my Ale, but I always carry him with me in my heart :) Next post, Rose Festival.

Caffe Umbria
303 NW 12th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
(503)241-5300

Pearl Bakery
102 NW 9th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
(503)827-0910

Alotto Gelato
931 NW 23rd Ave
Portland, OR 97210
(503)228-1709