It was still windy and raining when I got out of bed this morning. I'm pretty sure it took even longer to dry off the dogs today than yesterday, after our morning walk. On a day like this, food should be eaten with a spoon. And so it was.
Breakfast was yet another bowl of cereal (Trader Joe's organic corn flakes), loaded with sunflower seeds, blueberries and strawberries. Did I mention that both fruits are still fresh and local? Yep, they were picked Friday afternoon and purchased on Saturday morning. I'm pretty sure this is the last of them after all of the rain we had over the last three or four days, but we're enjoying the heck out of them while they are still available.
We went to see the movie, Enough Said, before going to lunch. If you are into middle aged romantic comedy, it absolutely can't be beat. It is well written, well acted and very charming. After the very entertaining movie, in which the theater had approximately an equal number of men and women, both laughing often and usually at the same things, we went to lunch.
Lunch was at Ringside Fish House and was quite tasty. You'll never guess what I had. Nope, I did NOT have fish and chips. Finally! I did have an excellent cioppino (a spicy, tomato based, seafood stew) that was loaded with shrimp, clams, mussels, fish, crab, and scallops. Wow, was it flavorful! It came with a long slice of baguette, which had been coated with olive oil, then grilled. I alternated between spoon and bread as the vehicle to propel the fishy deliciousness into my mouth. The spices were just enough to make my nose run without causing my mouth to rebel. I'd give it five stars. It really was fantastic. That was my reward for ordering something other than fish and chips, I think.
After lunch, we traveled to North Portland to find Smith Teas. Steve Smith was the co-founder of Stash Teas, and the creator of Tazo Teas; both of which he sold. Now he put his own name on the label and has Smith Teas. I have to admit, they are pretty good. We went to the tasting room and looked around for awhile, until I decided which teas I wanted to taste. (Many of you responded to my whiny post about not getting to drink hot chocolate with a resounding plea for me to stop whining and get some tea.) When I asked about tasting them, I was told that I could order a flight of tea to share with Brian and Marty. Cool! I selected the four I was most interested in and a few minutes later we had a gorgeous tray in front of us.
Tasting tea is a bit different than simply drinking it. We were each given a large, deep spoon with which to taste the tea. The four teas were lined up in order of boldness, starting with the weaker tastes and going to the strongest. Each tea was served in an 8 ounce cup with no handle. Along with each tea was a card describing the make up and flavor notes of each tea, along with a small jar of tea leaves to show how they look and smell. Very cool. We then sipped our spoonfuls of tea, and later ladled the tea into small glasses for additional tasting. We were so hip! I won't go into the teas themselves, just know that they were very good and we had a great time trying them.
We got home in time to take the dogs out for a walk in the dry weather. Happily, it didn't start to pour until after we got the dogs home, fed and outside to to their business. Brian made a fantastic vegetable soup using all of the vegetables in the fridge except for the beets and broccoli. It had green beans, tomatoes, corn, pinto beans, peppers, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, parsley, celery and garlic. Brian used the vegetable stock he made a couple of weeks ago as the base. YUM! So great tasting and so good for you. There was tons left to place in the freezer for future meals. A very good thing. Dessert was an oatmeal, chocolate chip, pecan cookie. I made the dough a couple of months ago, cooked half of it and popped the rest in the freezer, ready to bake. So fresh hot cookies came out of the oven and we each had one. The rest go away until we have another cookie emergency or the need for something sweet.
That is it. A spoon food kind of day. Warm, nourishing and delicious. Now that's what I'm talking about.
Such will power xo
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