Photo via Denver Urban Farm Truck
Last week, we took a little trip out to Denver, Colorado. Nestled right between the mighty Great Plains and the looming Rocky Mountains, this city is a convergence of food, sites, and culture. The entire city, or so it seems, was built using brick. Besides being absolutely charming, fusing old world sophistication with present day style, those homes are super sturdy and there to stay! It reminds me quite a bit of the Washington D.C. neighborhood, Capital Hill–but with a bit bigger lots and a little more yard (only a little though). However, interestingly enough, there is a reason behind the mostly brick architecture in Denver. In 1863, Denver had a huge fire, akin to the Chicago fire of 1871. The mayor of Denver at the time was also the owner of the city’s only brick manufacturing company. So, he deemed it “illegal” to build with anything other than brick–for the safety of the city’s citizens of course–oh, and his bank account. However, even though the ethics of what he did were highly questionable (both then and now!), the city’s history and character have been preserved beyond most cities I’ve seen and it is truly beautiful.
Denver also has something else really amazing going for it: an urban Truck Farm!
Photo via Denver Urban Farm Truck
Two University of Colorado master’s in landscape architecture students, Ashleigh Quillen and Ryan Sotirakis, decided they wanted to give Denver a new idea about what urban agriculture means and where it can reside. They are demonstrating for the city that “growing your own food can happen in even the most unlikely of places. Remnants of the past can literally become new vehicles for growing food”. Just because they didn’t have access to a backyard or garden plot to grow fresh food didn’t stop them–and they don’t want it to stop others either. Check out how they turned an old Ford 250 from Craigslist into their garden here! Personally, I think it’s a fantastic idea and am a little bit jealous that Portland doesn’t have something like this too. Seeing what they were up to was so inspiring, it made my mind explode with ideas–teaching gardening demonstrations for inner-city neighborhoods, school or corporate teaching/lunch programs… Just the sheer accessibility of the garden in a vehicle is a tremendous asset, and it really puts them way above and beyond the average “community garden”. Keep your eye out for them, they are going places! (pun totally intended).
Versatile, seasonal, and low-cost. Those words are music to my ears! Especially when it comes to fantastic tasting summer salads for the many BBQ’s, get togethers, and parties the warmer months spur on. I’ve been really enjoying two salads in particular: a pesto pasta heirloom tomato salad and a wheat-berry spinach salad. Pesto is super versatile and is the perfect playground for imaginative flavor combination. You simply start with a green base: basil, mint, Italian parsley, or spinach to name a few. Then you add in a little zest: fresh garlic, scallions, red onion, green onion, etc. Next, you might want to bulk it up a little, try: pine nuts, fresh crumbly parmesan (Trader Joe’s sells some of my favorite Parmigiano-Reggiano), sun-dried tomatoes, etc. Of course, don’t forget the olive oil, nothing less than 1/4 cup will do–it needs to be nice and juicy. And there you go! This particular pesto salad I used Italian Parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and olive oil. It was fresh, summery, and delicious! Next time, I think I may try adding some Parmesan too, just to mix it up a little.
Parsley Pesto
1 bunch fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
4 cloves fresh garlic
4 sun dried tomato halves, soaked in hot water for 15 mins
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
optional 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Pulse in your food processor until a past, fold into pasta (I used Oreccheti pasta, one of my favorite shapes). Add sliced heirloom tomatoes and stir. Serve and enjoy!
Wheat berries are one of my favorite grains. I love their chewy texture and how satiating they are! I also love them because their flavor expands and develops the better you chew them. As someone who tends to eat on the fast side (or more like wolfing down food! I just get excited I guess), this has been a great food to eat for me to meditate a little more on the amazing range of flavors and textures a food can provide. Wheat berries tend to be more of a winter food, however, I’ve found that using them in cool summer salads have been great. I like the tangy flavor of the feta mixed with the subtle sweetness of the wheat berry and the green crunch of the fresh spinach. A dollop of olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon, a little pepper and wha-la, summer wheat berry salad!
Wheat Berry Salad
1 cup wheat berries, boiled in 4 cups water for 70 mins on low
1 package of feta cheese (I say the more the better, but this is total personal preference)
1 clove fresh garlic or 1 scallion, minced
1 bag or package of fresh baby spinach
1/2 small lemon juice
1/8 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Wash wheat berries in a strainer until the water runs clear. Boil 4 cups water and add the washed berries, cook on low heat for 70 minutes. Strain berries from cooking water and transfer to a bowl. Add feta, garlic or scallion, spinach, lemon juice, and olive oil and stir. Let sit for a few minutes to let the spinach soften just a bit. Serve at room temperature and enjoy!
I made the avocado cake again and decorated the top with fresh raspberries (from my Aunt’s garden) and fresh strawberries (from Mt. Hood). I like cake.
Andrew and I went on a trip through Central Oregon for the holiday weekend. Oregon never ceases to amaze me–the coast is so beautiful but central Oregon has sun (and more sun!), desert, fantastic hikes, views of the Cascade’s that will blow your mind, and cute towns with good brew pubs. We first went to Crater Lake. We tried to go last year but the lake was hidden beneath a thick blanket of smoke from smoldering forest fires (they happen naturally from lightning). So we went again to get the full majestic and breathtaking views it has to offer.
Looks a lot like the Caribbean! Crater Lake’s water is clear and amazing.
We also went to Bend and Smith Rocks. The desert was beautiful–hot sun, but the air was cool. The temperature did not rise above 78 degrees F. We camped there then drove home the following day on some scenic back roads.
From left: Mt. Bachelor, The Three Sisters, Mt. Jefferson.
Andrew took this photo!
We stumbled upon these beautiful falls and a lake most appropriately called Clear Lake. Row boats beckoned us, so we went out on the lake for a break from our drive. This alpine lake was a gem to stumble upon!
Cheers for summer!
Thank you all for playing along with Where in the World! I was, in fact, on a cruise hopping along the south east coast of Alaska–so kudos to those of you who threw that one out there! Norway, Patagonia, and Sweden were all fantastic (and places I plan to visit sometime) guesses. I chose the winners based on if they knew the exact location of the picture which makes Mary, Rebecca, Rainbow, and Grace the winners! Congratulations!
Day One: Glacier Bay
Day Two: Juneau
Day Three: Sitka
I didn’t post pictures of these places (only so many hours in the day!) but we also went to Ketchikan…
…and Victoria, B.C.
The trip exceeded our expectations with the beauty, lush sea life, forests, and diverse landscapes. From the baby hump back who wanted to play with us to the still waters and quiet forest we kayaked in, the people, rich history, and stunning vistas in south east Alaska absolutely blew us out of the water–pun intended 
.
Winners: please email me your address and which picture (choose any of the ones posted from the trip) you’d like. Congrats again!
And now I leave you with a picture of our first garden harvest: heirloom French (also known as breakfast) radishes! We ate them sliced with a fresh avocado, a squeeze of lemon, and some sea salt.
We witnessed a full spectrum of spectacular things today from the historic relic to the campy cut-out. Not to mention the fresh air! And Grace, I totally agree–google is a great resource–what the heck would we do with out it? Great guesses everyone! Only a few more days to go, cheers!
(This baby hump back whale came right up to Andrew and I in our little skiffer! The driver said she had never seen anything like it before… whale whisperers…it was incredible)
Great guesses! Keep ‘em coming–if you think you know, the more specific you are, the better! I didn’t catch this on camera, but as the sun was setting, we saw a whale breech the water (jump out of it, full body) three times in a row. It was a good day!
Hello there! These are the first clues of the Where in the World…? series happening here this week. Just leave a comment and try to guess where I am! The first four correct will win a print that I’ll mail to you upon my return home. Don’t worry if you think the comments already there are correct–give it a shot, you might be surprised where I actually am. Good luck!
Over the course of the next seven days, I will be embarking on an exciting adventure and traveling far from home. Each post I do next week will be of a new picture from one of the places I will be visiting. Here’s the exciting part, if you guess correctly where the picture is by leaving a comment, I will send you a print of it when I get back! Did you ever play the game “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” I think there may have even been a TV show at one point. However, the board game was one of my absolute favorites as a kid–and the memory of it plus this trip has inspired my very first blog game + giveaway! If you are one of the few who know where I am, please don’t tell the others or leave a comment! Thank you!
Bon Voyage and good luck!
We decided to get out of town for a little bit last weekend and drove out to the Oregon coast. By absolute luck of the draw, it was sunny out there! And gorgeous. Just what we needed to re-energize and feed the soul.
We started in a town called Florence, where there are sand dunes a mile wide and 40 miles long. It was pretty spectacular. Staying over night there, we had a chance to hang out in the little downtown–basically eating our way through it. We stopped at the Waterfront Depot, once an old train station depot converted into a cozy little bar and ristaurante that sits right on the water. We had two different types of cheese plates and some drinks. We then sauntered down to Kelly’s Cantina, had some tapas that were excellent, and then finished the night off with dessert at a very cute spot called Feast.
When it comes to night time food photography, I find myself in quite the conundrum. Seriously. It can look really bad! Natural lighting is so key for good photos! This is why I don’t have pictures of my eating excursions through Florence. I also rarely take photos of food that I have not made–not because it isn’t good, but because making the food is part of the whole process of blogging for me. Actually, it’s not only the making, but the doing that is important because doing something good for me is just as energizing and wonderful as making or eating something I love. That’s why I’m showing you a feast for your eyes by way of coastal treasures. Sometimes we just have to eat for our souls, and getting to visit gorgeous spots like this is an excellent way to do it.
(Over 400 sea lions in the Sea Lion Cave!)
(Real starfish in a tidal pool)
I did, however, take a photo of a ginger cookie I got at a Cheese Shop and Bakery in Yachats (pronounced YA-HAW-TS). What a perfect combination, at least in my book! Specialty cheese and baked things? In one place? Yes, please! I held that cookie in my hand for a good 30 minutes before we found a nice beach spot to eat our snacks. Why did I do this? To take a photo of it. And it was torture! I had a nibble of one at the shop. The cookie I bought was beckoning me with it’s gingery goodness, to bite into it’s soft little body the whole way. Not to mention the ginger taste still lingering in my mouth, calling out for more. Sometimes photoing your food can just not be worth the trouble. Like when it’s getting cold, stale, or hard (but alas, even under those circumstances it still happens quite a bit. It just comes with the territory of food blogging!) But sometimes, it can be worth it. Like when you know the sugar crystals from a cookie will shimmer like the sand and it’s spicy orangeness will be a perfect compliment to the azure sky background. It tasted like a ginger cookie I make. The ginger heat was heightened the salty air that clings to and covers your hair, skin, and lips. It was like a mirror to the suns energy, sending it directly into my body via this little sweet morsel. It was a great beach snack for a blustery, sunny day.
Cheers!
The Eat My Story event in Seattle was so much fun and went really well. The space was incredible–open, light, and a huge family style table. The cacophony of stories and ingredients were like eye candy. The colors and textures of the food, the sounds of our guests both filled the room with a whole new personality. They looked great with the personalized pizza peels I had made for each story too 
. BRITE made some great signs for the window as well as mini pins everyone was able to wear–they were so amazing to work with! I look forward to future collaborations with them!
(The pizza peels with each story’s ingredients piled on them:)
(BRITE made little pins everyone wore–I loved them!)
Each person took one of the peels–not their own story but someone else’s–and built that person’s story with the ingredients depicted on it. They were then able to prepare (chop, cut, and arrange) their ingredients, shape their pizza dough, and then have the pizza baker put it in the oven for just about one minute. Then as each pizza came out, we read the story that went with it aloud, sliced it up, and tasted it.
There was so much food there was a point most of us were sitting together at the table, waiting for the next round of pizzas to come out, and we were almost silent–like after a huge thanksgiving meal–in a food coma. We snapped out of it, looked at each other, and started to laugh–how can we possibly eat the next three rounds? Another 12 pizzas? ha! It was a ton of food.
The restaurant we had the event at was incredible. Via Tribunali is a local chain of pizza places in Seattle but originated in Naples. The recipes for their dough, their home-cured meats, pizza sauce, and even cheese is all from the original restaurant in Italy and is all made right on site. They do an excellent job! If you find yourself in Seattle, you should definitely stop by and eat there .
Cheers!
The Oregon coast tastes like salt. I think the Pacific is saltier than the Atlantic, but that is just me; it permeates the air, your clothes, your hair, and your nose. It corrodes everything in it’s path, it softens your skin and feels all around incredible. It stings while simultaneously cleansing both cuts on the body and of the heart. There is something about the ocean that instills a calmness in people for a moment of reflection. We need salt to stay alive, but some of us need the ocean to ground us and keep us moving through life. Salt really is pretty incredible!
I went to the coast with my mom, aunt, uncle, and cousin this weekend–it was a relaxing get away. I took walks on the beach each morning, finished a book, drank good wine, made a cobbler, you know–that kind of good stuff! The beach had tons of drift wood which was so interesting. Not only is is amazing wood for a fire (I’ve never had a fire start that easily and smell so good–it’s all pine!) but people have build small forts with the wood all along the beach over the years. Some of them are quite the architectural feat!
Something else we did was check out all the local junk and antique shops. They had great names like Stuff n’ Things or Trash n’ Treasures, it was a lot of fun. My mom has always been into finding “finds” at small shops like this, our house was always filled with little treasures and antiques growing up. I find that sometimes the hunt for the perfect thing can really stress me out! More often than not, I have a particular idea about what I need/want and when I can’t find it, I get frustrated. But that is the beauty of junk shopping, you just go with a running list of stuff you’d like to keep an eye out for, and usually it pops up at one point or another! Going with something in mind is a good way to set oneself up for failure–the treasure will reveal itself to you, usually not the other way around. My friend Chelsea, however, has junk shopping down to an art–she keeps me on task pretty good when we go .
(haha We ate well while there too. Good cheese, wine, and an amazing pasta dish I will be making for soon and sharing with you–a recipe via my aunt via her host family while she stayed in Italy years ago. We stopped at a little bakery and had a strawberry scone that had a salty undertone–to match the beach–and a cinnamon roll that was like eating a cloud–it was light, fluffy, and super cinnamon-y. I love a lot of cinnamon, check out the cinnamon rolls I made a while back, they are totally worth the trouble!
Hope you had a great weekend!
