I was cruising the aisles of my local wine shop recently and saw a familiar bottle.  The design of this elusive  label had been burned into my brain after one all too brief encounter in a wine shop far from home (all the way in Montavilla), and countless attempts to find the wine carried at a store closer to me.  Now, right in front of me, here it was!!!

Squeee!! I immediately snatched up two bottles, then, returned a week later and got two more.  If my husband noticed my wine-hoarding ways, he wisely kept his mouth shut.  I eventually bought out the shop’s supply, and while I’m still sitting on quite a few bottles, I am anxiously hoping for a restock, as the wine is produced in batches small enough and a price point low enough to guarantee a sell-out. 

As I typed that last sentence, it occurs to me that perhaps sharing the wonder of this wine with the masses might not be the smartest way to get another case onto my local shop’s shelves, but it’s too good not to share, and I’m going to chance it! 

The wine is an Oregon Pinot Noir from Love and Squalor wine.  I’ve had the 2008 and 2009 Pinot Noir vintages and loved them both.  The winemaker is Matt Berson; he is the Assistant Winemaker at Brooks, and has worked at some notable wineries in Oregon and abroad including Patricia Greene Cellars, J. Christopher, and Dr. Loosen.  The Love and Squalor Pinot 2009 will run you around $22 a bottle, and tastes like it should cost at least twice that amount.  The wine is fruity, earthy, and balanced with a full mouth feel, and I kind of adore it!  I’ve yet to try the Love & Squalor Reislings, but you can order by the case at the website, so you and I can either do it the easy way; or, if I keep stalking my wine shop’s shelves, and giving the owner baleful, forlorn glances, I’m sure I’ll get to stock up again soon! 

Bottom line, try this wine!

The past few years, I’ve come accross some fantastic recipes that I’ve used to make goodies for everyone, so I thought I’d post some links, in case you’re looking to share a little home made love for the holidays, or heck, maybe you have another special occasion coming up, don’t let me stifle your creativity for an entire year!  Happy making, and Happy late holidays!  =)

The first recipe is for fleur de sel caramels courtesy of Ms. Ina Garten (she of Barefoot Contessa fame).  Although I flat out adore this woman’s recipes, I also feel like if I ever get invited to a dinner party at her house, she’d probably talk badly about me after I left!    Oh well, since the chances of me dining with Ms. Garten in person are slim to none, I can enjoy her delicious caramels with no ill will, and everyone at work seemed to enjoy them too!  I even had to whip up a batch this year for a friend of mine who remembered them from last year and specially requested them. 

These caramels require a bit of time committment, but trust me…these are worth the work!

By the way, I don’t have a candy thermometer, I just use the water method, so if you find yourself similarly devoid of candy temperature measuring equipment, don’t let it stop you!

The second recipe is sweet and spicy glazed nuts from Emeril Lagasse (he of “Bam” fame).  This is the easiest recipe by far, and this treat goes so well with winter ales or cocktails, that I almost kept the whole batch for myself!  This is a great little gift, but also would be so fast and easy to whip up for a New Year’s party.  I will warn you that the glaze takes a couple of days to totally firm up if you put the nuts away right after they cool, you might try leaving out overnight to speed up the process.

The third and final recipe is for the most delicious scones I’ve ever had!  The recipe is courtesy of a wonderful local bakeshop in St. Helen’s called Houlton Bakery the owner and baker, Gainor Riker (she of PDX TV fame) was nice enough to share this recipe with me when I did a story on her several years ago.  I made white chocolate cranberry scones with a little orange zest and cardamom for my co-worker gifts, and they were fantastic, but you can add pretty much anything you’d like to this scone recipe, and it will be fantastic!  In fact, Gainor lists some suggested combinations below.  

Gainor also makes some other drool-worthy goodies at Houlton Bakery, if you’re driving out to the coast, or looking for a little Sunday drive destination, definitely put Houlton Bakery on your “must stop” list!

SWEET AND SAVORY Scones

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all purpose flour

2tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

½ cup sugar

4 oz. unsalted butter (cut into about 6-8 pieces)

½ – ¾ cup heavy cream (buttermilk can be substituted)

*1 cup fresh fruit, cut into “cranberry-sized” pieces *

HERE’S HOW:

Sift together, or blend dry ingredients in a good-sized bowl

(NOTE: if you are making savory scones, omit the sugar)

Cut- in the 4 oz. un-salted butter (slightly firmer than room-temp)

Use your fingers to distribute the butter through the flour, until you have a mixture resembling coarse corn meal.   Do not overwork.   A pastry blender or mixer with a paddle attachment will work too.

Now you can toss in the fruit, etc., of your choice.  Gently distribute it into the mixture using a rubber spatula.  If you even think you got all this stuff too warm while blending,

Put the bowl in the fridge for a ½ hour.

Now add the cream, starting with a ½ cup and only adding more if the mixture is too dry to hold together.  Remember all that butter and cream will work into the mix as you pat it out on the table…so be careful to not get it too wet.

Pat into a rectangle or circle shape, on a floured surface, until it is about 1 inch thick.

Now cut into 8 breakfast sized or 16 snack sized wedges.

Bake in a hot 375-400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Scones should only be slightly brown.  They should also pass the spring back test for doneness.  You will have to experiment with tour oven to achieve a golden, yet tender product.

*O.K. So here is where I start you out with some ideas and tips for what to put in these things.

SWEET:                                                                        SAVORY:

Any type of fresh fruit                                                Cheese and herbs

Dried fruits and nuts                                   Fresh cherry tomato and black pepper

Lemon zest and poppy seeds                    Smoked salmon and dill

Orange zest and chocolate shavings        Cornmeal and chilies (sub ½ the flour with

Banana and coconut                                  cornmeal and roll out in cornmeal)

Frozen berries (add frozen)                        Bacon and white cheddar

Gainor Riker, Owner

Houlton Bakery

Dba CDR Baking, Inc.

2155 Columbia Boulevard

St Helens, Oregon 97051

1-503-366-2648

Generally it has to do with being too busy editing or shooting or writing scripts for TV spots, but generally…it’s just that I must…absolutely must have one area in life wherein I allow myself to procrastinate!   The thing is I’m good at it!  I’m a master of distraction, a captain of self indulgence, an expert in excuses! 

Unfortunately, rather than just having one task where I routinely slack, I have three areas of severe and targeted procrastination; let’s call them areas of STP for short!  On a weekly basis, I regularly put off 1. calling my Mother when I’m supposed to (that’s every Sunday…sorry I missed last week, Mom), 2. cleaning the house, and 3. blogging. 

I guess this means that you should be very glad you’re not my Mother, I haven’t invited you to my house, and you have other entertaining options when you have the desire to read another person’s innnermost thoughts.   

Long story short though, as I sit here, at my desk, feeling immense guilt for my lack of blogging timeliness, I’m looking for advice!  Is there a trick that you use to update your posts more regularly?   Should I start blogging from my phone (get ready for severely mis-spelled and nonsensical posts), or is there anything else I should do to help my lazy self get off my hiney and write already? 

Or not to neglect my other two areas of STP (although, why stop now), if you’ve got advice on how to get me to clean the house more often, or on how to call my Mom when I’m supposed to, I wouldn’t mind a few pointers in those departments either!   I’m sure my Mother would appreciate it also.  =)

Talk to you next week…hopefully!

Great Grandma’s Apple Cake

2 C. peeled, diced apples (Fuji, Granny Smith, Braeburn all good)

1 egg,  unbeaten

1 C. Brown Sugar

1 C. Flour

1Tsp. Baking Powder

1Tsp. Baking Soda

1Tsp. Cinnamon

(OPTIONAL)

¾ C. Chopped nuts

¾ C-1C. dried sweetened cranberries

¼- ½ Tsp. Nutmeg

¼ Tsp. Cloves

¼ Tsp. Cardamom

Combine all ingredients, mixture will be dry until apples start to release some of their juices from stirring.  Pour into muffin tins or 8×8 inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes for cake, 25 minutes for muffins.  Can leave plain, top with powdered sugar, or top with whipped cream.  This cake is very versatile, feel free to toss other stuff in or leave any of the optional stuff out.  I’ve also added some rum extract to the cake itself or to the whipped cream and that’s also a nice addition.

As we took our complimentary bottle of Evian at the door (little did I know, that was the last full-sized gift I’d receive that day), brand rep after brand rep stood in front of the hushed group explaining the wonderous benefits of their new products.  This one increases moisture by 200% (literally impossible), that one refinishes the skin and makes pores dissappear!  The laws of physics ceased to apply, the peptides, and enzymes, and secret serums from 300 year old grape leaves would fix everything!!  Bottle after bottle was passed around for the ladies in the crowd to apply to our hands, faces, anywhere a bare patch of skin could be found; toward the end of the series of presentations, I swear the woman in front of me resorted to applying the last sample to the back of her neck. 

I took notes, I dutifully sampled and sniffed and listened to the line reps volley facts over the heads of the attendees without fear of someone lobbing back a counter-claim, or a question rooted in the scientific effectiveness of the ingredients. And the prices!  Dear God the prices!  $300 for half an ounce?!  I wouldn’t even pay $300 a month for a CAR! 

I vacilated between scandalized voyeurism (something akin to watching Real Housewives), and I must admit, a small sliver of hope.  Maybe this bottle would make my pores smaller, and this one would shrink the giant frowny wrinkle I’m getting between my eyebrows.  Ah, hope, it does spring eternal, and I did finally come to peace with the sales presentation wrapped in the shiny promise of free samples.  I even believe a few of the products probably do work.  I left with a sample packet of shampoo, another of face cream and I even picked up a few things about Spring 2011 makeup! 

Lavenders, and purples are big, as are dark lined eyes with bright pops of color on the lips.  Think bohemian, think tapestries, lush, exotic, and not too heavy.  Whether it’s from Wet N’ Wild at the drug store, or from whatever high-end beauty bar you care to visit. 

If I learned anything from my little sojurn into the world of hard-sell high priced make-up, it’s that you should judge whatever is in the bottle by how well it works for you, not because the impossibly-thin, superior looking woman at the front of the room tells you too, or because the well-maintained women surrounding you are throwing down their credit cards.  Buy what you like, and above all what you can afford…because there is nothing so aging as being stressed out because you can’t afford your beauty products! 

Tom Shadyac, of Ace Ventura, Bruce Almighty, and Nutty Professor directorial fame, found his life at a crucial turning point when he was severely injured in a bicycle accident a few years ago.  Tom found himself with a broken wrist, and post concussion syndrome, a condition that left him with persistent ringing in the ears, a constant headache, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.  The injury was a catalyst for a dramatic life transformation, Tom found himself asking “if this is it for me, if I’m going to die, what do I want to say before I go”?  The result of this soul searching is the film I Am.

At the heart of the documentary are two questions: “What is wrong with the world”? and “What can we do to fix it”? Armed with a small camera crew, Tom traveled accross continents, searching out world, spiritual, and scientific leaders who had influenced his own transformation.  It is from these interviews that the film is shaped.

With thoughts from Desmond Tutu, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Lynne Mc Taggart, Coleman Barks, and Thom Hartmann to name a few, Tom discovers what he considers to be a few undeniable, but revolutionary truths.  The first and foremost being that we are all connected on a level deeper than we may understand.  He finds that there are more examples of cooperation in nature than we might expect, and he compares the effect of negative versus positive emotions on our own bodies and on other living organisms.  The film starts out examining what is wrong with the world, but at the heart, it is a positive film, finding much right with basic human nature. 

From Tom’s discoveries he concludes that a societal shift is needed; a transition to a global think, an embracing of all mankind as a universal “US”.  I Am calls for a fundamental change to the way we interact with eachother.  The goals should not be to amass huge fortunes and amounts of stuff, life is not a race, not a competition.  Once our base needs for shelter and food are met, Tom asks us to examine how much more we truly need.  He asks us to look at what we can do for others, what we can give back.  These are not new ideas, but the conclusion is, that if we as a species do not change, the human race is not sustainable. 

I Am is a thought-provoking journey.  There are two quotes in the film that stayed with me long after the credits rolled: “In nature, something that takes more than it’s share is called cancer”… and “(we are) greedy aggressive creatures destined to become extinct”.  I Am may not completely change the way you live, but perhaps it will change you in small ways, and for Tom, that’s the beginning.  He hopes the film will raise conciousness, because if we start to question the way it’s always been, the beliefs we’ve always held about our interaction with the world and with the human race, then perhaps we are, collectively on our way to change.

I Am opens in Portland this week and rolls out nationwide through March.

Such is the overlying theme of the new documentary I’ve just screened, Forks Over Knives.  The film examines the claim that many degenerative or life-threatening diseases can be caused or triggered by an animal-based diet rich in processed foods.  Forks Over Knives also presents the theory that those same conditions can be halted in progression, reversed or cured by switching to a whole-food plant-based diet. 

Before examining the argument however, the documentary first establishes the problem by using supporting soundbites from various news outlets including snippets of a speech delivered by the First Lady.  In addition to these video clips some astounding facts are presented, for example:  40% of the Country is obese, and we, as a Country are spending 2.2 trillion dollars a year on healthcare, five times the amount spent on the defense budget.  In addition, heart disease, and cancer (two of the diseases examined closely in Forks Over Knives), kill over one million people a year. 

Yes, healthcare, disease, and the costs thereof may be running rampant but as staggering as the statistics listed above, even more so are the facts presented in support of the whole-food diet.  The film offers reasearch from two eminent Doctors who have spent decades studying the effects of animal protein on the human body.  The Doctors, one a researcher, one a clinician, discovered that cancer growth in cells can be jump started by increasing the amount of animal-based protein in the diet.  The Doctors also discovered that heart disease, diabetes, and even osteoporosis were all supported if not created by ingesting animal-based proteins. 

Some of the information presented in Forks Over Knives was surprising.  Such as a study of cancer rates in ratio to animal-based diets over several countries; that study found that the larger the role animals played in the national diet, the higher the cancer rate.  Another study followed 18 patients who suffered from multiple heart-attacks, and or, severe heart disease, all of those patients halted or reversed their diseases after starting a whole-food, plant-based diet. 

Now here’s the fact that really shocked me: plants contain protein, plants contain calcium. The widely held belief that humans must consume meat, dairy and eggs in order to receive the necessary nutrients is, according to the information presented in Forks Over Knives, a false belief.

So what are people supposed to eat, what will help halt, reverse or cure these diseases?  What is a whole-food, plant-based diet?  It is a diet consisting of whole, minimally refined, fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.  Foods to be avoided consist of meat, dairy, eggs, and processed foods such as bleached flour, refined sugar, and oils.   

The facts are provocative, the conclusion, the film draws is clear.  Plant-based diets are good for you, eating meat, dairy, eggs, and sugar is not.  As one man put it in the film: “If it walks, crawls, slithers, if it has eyes, if it had a Momma and a Daddy, don’t eat it”. 

Personally, I was slightly skeptical of the film’s premise.  My mother has multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease, and one of the diseases specifically, if not glancingly referred to in the documentary.  However, my Mother had been a vegetarian at the time she was diagnosed and lived much of her adult life prior to and after her diagnosis as a vegetarian.  If the film’s premise were true, how to explain my Mother’s illness? 

After watching Forks Over Knives, I am convinced of the veracity of the film’s arguments for a plant-based diet to a point.  I plan to look at, and change my diet and my husband’s diet (I’m sure he’s going to be thrilled).  However, I’m not entirely convinced that the cure for all diseases is the diet championed by this documentary. 

Take for example, the question of my Mother’s illness: the Doctors profiled in Forks Over Knives would point out that my Mom, the vegetarian, ate eggs and dairy, and those are both animal proteins that are firmly on the list of “bad foods”, so that may explain her diagnosis.  Perhaps….maybe my Mother was genetically inclined to contract MS, and eating eggs and dairy (as well as meat in her childhood), may have led to her immune system mis-firing and attacking her spinal cord.  The truth to that hypothesis can neither be confirmed or denyed. 

I think the real message in the documentary, is one of re-examination.  Take another look at the generations-old beliefs.  Why is milk good for you? Why do we need to eat meat?  Awareness, of what goes into our bodies and the subsequent afflictions or benefits derived from those choices is key to our health and longevity.  For me, the case wasn’t made to entirely cut all animal proteins out of my diet, but will I modify my diet?  Did Forks Over Knives get me thinking?  Leave me questioning what I thought I knew about food?  Absolutely. 

Portland is the only place you can see Forks Over Knives until the film opens nationwide later this Spring.  You can watch it here at Regal Fox Tower through January 13th.

As such, I think it’s long overdue that I share a couple recipe links with you that I’m LOVING right now!  These have been tested in my own kitchen by myself, my husband, and oftentimes, my doggie or kitties and have passed the flavor test and been added to the rotation.  =)

The best turkey EVER!  I tried this recipe for the first time after watching America’s Test Kitchen, and eating a ho hum ordinary turkey for Thanksgiving.  I was dying for a moist, succulent, can’t-stop-eating-it turkey, and that’s what I found with this recipe.  The meat is flavored all the way through, infused with the veggies and herbs it roasts upon, and the skin is indeed crisp and golden brown, this is a fabulous bird! 

Ridiculously easy HOMEMADE sea-salt CARAMELS! I’m drooling just thinking about these, I made them for my co-workers for Christmas this year, and liked them so much, I made another batch for myself.  This recipe is courtesy of Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) she makes beautiful fancy food & I feel like she would snub me in real life, but if these caramels are good enough for her, they’re darn sure good enough for me!  =)  Also, I’ve never made candy before, and these were a breeze!

Give these a whirl, and I’ll be sure to post a few more recipes soon, but in the meantime, if you’ve got links you’d like to share with me, please do…I promise I’ll try them, because, as I mentioned…I’m kind of obsessed!

Waaaay back in November, before Thanksgiving even, the kind folks at the Portland Downtown Association treated all of us media-type people to a happy walking tour of all the fab shopping to be found in…wait for it…Downtown!  =)  I loved the tour, I snapped many, many pictures, and I drooled over items at every stop!  Then I vowed to come back to the station on Monday (the tour was on a Friday, and I wasn’t about to head back to the station on a Friday afternoon to write this up), but I vowed to come in on Monday and tell you about all of the great presents to be found in all of the little shops.  As you glance over at your desk calendar, or the calendar on your smartphone, let me just stop you right there…Yes, it is now December somethingth, and it is most decidedly not a Monday, but that doesn’t mean the shopping is any less fabulous, so I’m sharing anyway, in the hopes that there are other procrastinators out there, desperate for a last-minute shopping guide!  Which leads me to our first stop….

-Festival of the Last Minute: Portland’s Saturday Market is now all week long, all the way through 4:30pm Christmas Eve!  You can literally find something for pretty much every single person on your list from seasoned BBQ rubs for your foodie friends, to duct tape wallets for your sulky teenaged nephew. 

-Crafty Wonderland Pop-Up Shop: If you’ve never been to a Crafty Wonderland Show, let me sum it up for you: picture a huge craft fair where there are hundreds of people waaay more talented than you are, hand-making amazing items that you simply can’t live without, and selling said items to you at a fair price, all while imbuing your transaction with a sense of whimsy and sassiness.  Now put that into a pop-up shop that will only be open for the Holiday Season, and you’ve got Crafty Wonderland’s Pop-Up Shop.  You’ll find fantastic gift-items hand-picked to be the best of the best items from the abovementioned craft fair.  I desperately want the magenta head-warmer/mitt set, but alas, I’m afraid my hubby is not cool enough to buy them for me…unless he happens to read my blog…

-Spice & Tea Exchange: I actually did buy a few items here, and have been dreaming of going back for more…oh…and none of them are presents; they’re mine!  All mine! If you’re like me, and start dreaming of the picture-perfect, melt-in-your mouth gourmet meals you will prepare every time you walk into any sort of cooking-related shop, then beware, this store could send you into a food fantasy coma!  The dark, mahogony colored shelves are lined with glass canisters filled with spices, and salts of every conceivable color.  Mysterious spice mixes beckon from accross the room, promising you the perfect Mole’ sauce, or the secret to the most savory etoufee you’ve ever prepared.  Now imagine any of those spices could be yours, sold to you in individually sized little plastic baggies, so affordable you can buy a Cajun Seasoning, that Mole’ Sauce, a Truffle Salt, and a Smoked Salt all under $25!  Yes, that’s exactly what I bought when I was in the store…how’d you guess?  Anyway, this is the perfect stop for gifts or stocking stuffers, the Truffle Salt should be in its own food group it’s so good!

Flurry: Your fashion-loving friend’s dream gift is in this store!  Everywhere I looked in this shop, I wanted something, from the adorable party heels with the big purple bow, to the vintage-inspired green cloche hat, to the absolutely to-die-for polka-dot party dress.  Come in for your friend or your sis or your Mom, leave with a little sumpin’ sumpin’ for you!

Alder & Company: Featured in national shopping magazines, and looking like a fancy little California or NY shop plopped right down in Portland, this little nook of a shop is filled with paper art, warm imported wool blankets, fantastic little dishes and glasses, and so much more.  The items in the store were all hand chosen by the owners and are their favorite items.  I was coveting some darling little champagne glasses that were that cute vintage bowl shape rather than the traditional flute, and there are also some candles in there that I couldn’t stop sniffing. This is a great stop for the Mother-in-Law, your lady-boss, or your oh-so-chic older sister! 

I hope this shopping list has helped you find a few hidden Holiday gems you may not have found otherwise.  Downtown Portland is packed with a plethora of amazing little shops, so don’t limit your adventures to these few, browse, pop-in next door, take a minute and have a much deserved drink and nosh at the new Portland Prime steakhouse & bar, make your holiday must-do’s a fun shopping adventure!  Or at the very least…I hope this list rewards your procrasatination by finding you the perfect presents for you and yours!  Happy Holidays & Happy shopping!!

The film is dark, yes, perhaps even darker than the last.   Inner turmoil, outer turmoil and guilt swirl around Harry as those that seek to protect him are injured, or killed by Valdemort and his league of extraordinary baddies.  However, Director, David Yates, also infuses the film with some desperately needed lighter moments (Thank goodness for the Weasley clan)!

The film is rich in exposition and backstory rather than action, however there are a few heart-racing scenes, and though 145 minutes, the story does not lag.  There are several moments that are all too convenient (characters showing up at exactly the right moment to save Harry, a newspaper conveniently tossed on the floor so a character can identify someone from their photograph etc). but if you love the wizarding world, you’ll bring with you a whopping suspension of disbelief to the theater.

Even if you haven’t seen a Harry Potter film since The Half Blood Prince hit theaters, you won’t have a problem following the story, and if you wanted to watch an entire Harry Potter marathon of the films before heading to the theater for The Deathly Hallows…your experience will be that much more magical, you nerdy Harry Potter loving Muggle, you! 

Enjoy, take the family (but leave the little’uns at home), and go see Harry Potter watching this weekend.