Well, friends, it has been a long week. An emotionally tiring, physically exhausting week, full of phone calls and to-do lists. But it’s finally the weekend, which means weekend finds.
1. Toast and more at Trouble Coffee
Not only does Trouble Coffee serve toast. It also serves coconuts.
This article starts out about the new toast crazy (funny, I read it while enjoying a large piece of toast slathered in lemon curd at The Sugar Cube), but then winds its way into a story about community. I really like the story of this coffee shop and it’s owner, Giulietta Carrelli. Also, I like that she has freckles tattooed on her cheeks.
2. Gougères
Little perfect light bites of cheese.
All I want to do is make gougères. And I have everything in my fridge to make them. So, you ask, why am I writing this and not currently stirring together large amounts of butter and cheese? I ask you the same thing.
3. The Salted Peach
I love how Dylan caught the flour in the air as Caitlyn was flouring her dough.
I don’t know if I’ve told you about my friend Caitlyn before, but I find her to be rather impressive. She went to culinary school for baking and pastry, and now works around Portland. She has this blog, the Salted Peach, and I love her writing – it is guaranteed to make me smile. Her most recent post for a S’more Tart has some of the most gorgeous pictures (which her boyfriend Dylan takes). I told them if they ever want to get me a present, they can give me a print of the picture above.
4. To remove or not to remove garlic germ?
While we still may not have a certain answer, we’re a little closer.
I have always wondered whether or not you should remove the green garlic germ from garlic. And while you can really do whatever you want, this post from David Lebovitz seems to get us a little closer to at least understanding what that green germ does for our mouths.
5. Salted Rose and Honey Pie
Tell me that doesn’t look so delicious.
I still can’t get over this blog. And this recipe is not helping. I love a gentle rose flavor in some dishes (my dad made a rose water and harissa fish dish once that was incredible), and this pie looks so beautiful and sweet.
When I was getting ready to make this Asian pulled pork, I knew I wanted to write about it. I didn’t intend to write about it so soon – I knew I had a few posts to be written, the pictures sitting in their appropriate folders on my desktop – but things changed.
As I was putting all of these ingredients together on Monday, the kitchen already started to smell good. The fragrance of the lemongrass and ginger, combined with the rice vinegar and soy sauce, had begun to permeate the kitchen, and when my friend Elsa stopped by while I was making the pickles, she asked, “What smells so good?” as soon as she opened the door. When I left for work a few hours later, the slow cooker was on, the pickles were in the fridge, and mostly I just couldn’t wait to get home and eat the stuff.
After work, I had a message from my mom, asking me to call her. My phone was nearly dead (a morning on the phone with various auto insurance agents will do that to you), so I decided to wait till I could get home and plug my phone in to call. I opened the front door, and I was surrounded by this smell. The Asian flavors swirling around, making my stomach grumble. And then I looked at Jonah, sitting at the kitchen table, and he asked me, “Have you called your mom?” No. “Herby died,” he said.
I immediately called my mom, who was on the other line with my Nana, and said she’d call me back shortly. Herby, or Poppa Herb, is my grandfather. Herby had been sick for a long long time, and I had known for a while that his time was coming to a close. We all knew. And yet, as I said to Jonah moments after he told me, knowing it’s coming doesn’t seem to make it any less sad. Herby suffered for a long time, and so did Nana, really. He was unwell and hard to care for, and he was very ready to go. So after some tears, we couldn’t do much but continue to get dinner ready. The lid came off the slow cooker, and the scrumptious aroma wafted into the air, perfuming our meal. Before we actually sat down to eat, I got to talk to my mom, who let me know that one of the last meals Herb enjoyed was 5 (count them, 5) slices of her french toast. Thank goodness he ate well until the end. And then we ate.
As I started to think about writing this post, I haven’t been able to think about this dish without thinking of Poppa. And while the association could be sad, it really isn’t. It makes me a little more thoughtful, but mostly happy. Happy that I got to have this wonderful extra grandfather, who loved me like I was his own flesh and blood, who believed in me, who used to do little funny dances around the kitchen, who wore all those silly sweatshirts we made for him when we were little, and who made it possible for my family to see each other every year on the Oregon coast. And while I certainly don’t want this recipe to make you sad, I do hope that this post can make you think a little bit more about doing and eating the things we enjoy, and who we enjoy them with.
Slow Cooker Asian Pulled Pork Tacos
Note: You’ll see in my pictures that I minced up the lemongrass with the garlic, ginger, and jalapeño, as recommended in the Garden Betty recipe. I would suggest cutting it into coins or large chunks instead – the stalks were too hard for my food processor, and so I ended up with some sharp/pokey pieces of lemongrass amongst the meat.
Ingredients
Pulled Pork
2 inch piece of ginger
1 jalapeño
5 large cloves of garlic, or 6 smaller cloves
2 stalks of lemongrass
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbl fish sauce
2 1/2 lbs pork shoulder roast
4-5 large portobello mushrooms (optional, but recommended)
Quick Pickled Daikon and Carrots
2 large carrots
1-2 large daikon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar plus 1/2 cup
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 cup lukewarm water
Tacos
Small corn tortillas
Lime wedges
Cilantro
Slices of jalapeño (if you like heat)
Sauces: sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, plum sauce…
Instructions
Pulled Pork
To prepare the meat, mince the garlic, ginger, jalapeño, and lemongrass (I did mine in the food processor; see note). Combine those four ingredients, as well as the brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and fish sauce in a small pot over low heat. Cook until the brown sugar is dissolved, then pour into your slow cooker. Place the pork shoulder in the sauce, turning to coat, and then cook for 8-14 hours (I did mine for 8… but it definitely could’ve been softer and more fall-apart-tender, so I suggest going for longer). If you are opting to use the portobello mushrooms (which you really should), cut them into large slices and add them to the slow cooker 4 hours before the meat is done.
Quick Pickled Daikon and Carrots
Once the meat is nestled in the slow cooker, ready for the long haul, you can prepare your pickles. Peel and julienne the daikon and carrots, and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle them with the salt and 2 tsp of sugar, and then gently massage/knead them for 3 minutes. When the daikon is very bendy, and a little pool of water has collected at the bottom of the bowl, rinse the vegetables in cold water, and pat or press them dry with paper towels. Put them into a jar (or jars, depending on how big your jars are and how big your carrots and daikon were). Now make the brine by combining the 1/2 cup sugar, rice vinegar, white vinegar, and lukewarm water in a bowl and stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the brine over the vegetables in the jar, and allow to sit for at least 1 hour. In a jar, these will last for about 4 weeks in the fridge.
Tacos
When the meat is cooked, remove the strings, and pull it apart with two forks. Leave the slow cooker on warm while you warm you tortillas, slice your cucumbers and jalapeño, and pick your cilantro. Then, enjoy!
P.S. The meat and sauce and toppings make great leftovers when heaped atop a bowl of fresh rice or soba noodles.
Poppa Herb and I at the Oregon coast, many years ago.
What a week it has been. I spent my “weekend” on the coast with my mom and baby sister while Jonah was in Vegas (blech) for work. The coast, Cannon Beach specifically, is one of my favorite places in the world, any time of year. I am guaranteed to breathe deeper, be more reflective, and relax. I am also guaranteed to get teased by my little sister (endlessly), do some knitting with my mom, and visit all our favorite spots. And last night my dad and Darla arrived for a little weekend in Portland, so we’ve been hanging around and eating when I haven’t been at work. Let’s get on with weekend finds, shall we?
This beautiful bottle opener would make functional art in the kitchen.
I’ve seen a few variations of this bottle opener (including one made locally, which is what I’d prefer to buy, but I can’t remember where I saw it). This is a bottle opener that I would totally hang on a hook in my kitchen, because it is simply pretty enough to be a functional decoration. I love that.
3. Need help eating more vegetables? Try reorganizing your fridge.
Tips to eat more fruits and vegetables.
It’s now well into January, and the resolutions are becoming more like distant memories… But we can do it! Let’s all go to the gym together! I’m kidding. But this is a great idea to get yourself to eat more vegetables. It’s hard when they’re all hidden and covered in that crisper drawer. I like their idea of getting some clear tubs to use on those shelves so the apples don’t go rolling around and the big leafy greens are still wrangle-able.
4. Cooking Slow by Andrew Schloss
Cooking Slow by Andrew Schloss
Uhhhh yes please. It’s that point in the winter when I am getting tired of root vegetables and roasted chicken… this book sounds like everything I want to eat, but am not eating. Want.
5. DIY Sour Mix
DIY Sour Mix from A Beautiful Mess
There’s really no reason not to make your own sour mix. I like a pretty dang sour whiskey sour, and this way I can a) always have it as sour as I want and b) not have to do nearly as much work for a whiskey sour, because there will be a beautiful bottle of sour mix waiting for me whenever I want. And really, should drinking always be that easy? (Ugh, I’m starting to sound like I drink a lot, aren’t I?)
The other day, after a trip to the library and a few hours in a coffee shop attempting to plan our trip to SE Asia (we’ve gotten a little further, at this point, and have narrowed it down to northern Vietnam, and have even booked tickets), Jonah and I were hungry. Very very hungry. We were near the library in downtown Portland, and needed something relatively quick and relatively cheap and completely delicious. It was a cold sunny day, and Jonah wanted pho. I started thinking noodle soup, and Boxer Ramen popped into my head.
It’s not pho, but it is really good ramen. The restaurant is inside the New Union way shopping arcade, so it’s pretty much what one would call a hole in the wall. A few larger tables, a few deuces, and a bar, all with stools, line the brightly colored space. And there are 4 options (well, 6, if you count the sides). Sometimes I hate when there are so few options – I feel like I don’t really have any choice at all. But here, it seems to work. There’s the standard, the spicy, the mushroom, and the vegetarian curry. Jonah went for the spicy red miso, and I went for the standard tonkatsu-shio. We decided to skip the sides, though I have heard good things about the okonomiyaki tots.
The food came within about 5 minutes, and we immediately started slurping down our noodles and broth. The soup was rich and warm, and so perfectly what we both wanted. The ramen noodles were really light and tender – not as stiff as some I’ve had in the past. The broth was perfectly savory, a tiny bit almost creamy, and felt perfectly viscous, not too thin, but not too thick. There was a delicious slab of pork belly floating in the soup, which was a nice textural addition, as well as lots of green onion.
As far as ramen in Portland goes, this place is definitely the tops. I can imagine if I worked downtown, this would be a go to lunch spot (though my guess is that there’s a line at lunch time), and it makes a great pre-Living Room dinner too. I can’t wait to go back.
I am writing this at 10 pm on Sunday night. I am failing at weekend finds. Oof.
But hey, my mom and sister were here this weekend (we had a fantastic dinner at my place of work, Firehouse), I celebrated Jonah and our roommate Johnny’s birthdays, and worked. So you know what? It’s ok that I’m writing this at 10 pm on Sunday. That’s just fine.
1. Note to Selfie
The picture that will always remind me of my friend’s New Year’s Eve wedding in Seattle.
I really liked this article about documenting our lives by John Dickerson on Slate. I feel like people get and give a lot of flack (including myself, all the time) for tweeting/facebooking/texting/instagramming, and while I understand a lot of the point – those people who are on their phones for an ENTIRE MEAL are ridiculous – there is something to be said for allowing people to observe and think and be present in their own way. I often feel embarrassed about photographing food, and very judged for it, but I want to remember those little moments, and sometimes a picture of a croissant reminds me of a frosty morning with my family.
Is it summer yet? Ughhhhh. I want to make this ice cream from Fork Spoon Knife. Right now. Now now now.
4. 10 Best Budget Bourbons
It’s time to get my (budget) bourbon on.
I think, tentatively, I have become a whiskey drinker. These days, I prefer bourbon, and while I’d love to go buy some really nice stuff to drink, I’m still a beginner. And cheap. So I’ll stick to this list of budget bourbons over on Serious Eats, thanks.
5. Grown up tater tots
Yum grown up tater tots!
These grown up tater tots look really wonderful. Tom Douglas serves something similar at one of his restaurants (maybe more than one, I can’t remember) in Seattle, Lola. I’ve always wanted to try making a version, and this might be my ticket. Also, I love their suggestion of pairing this savory, garlicky snack with a sweet beverage like cocoa.
