Tag: food blog

The Best Restaurants in Portland, Oregon – A Foodie Haven

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I just got back from visiting my sister in Portland, Oregon and felt the urge to share some of the lovely meals and desserts we experienced over the course of five days. So here is my list of odd and spectacular foodie places to experience in PDX!

Screen Door – The Mother of All Brunches

Brunching is a huge deal in Portland. There are multiple episodes on Portlandia centered around brunching and the show features some of the best brunch restaurants around, including Screen Door. My sister and I are both avid brunchers always seeking both sweet and savory foods. I feel like it’s way too common that popular places are overrated, and I was nervous that Screen Door would not live up to my expectations. But indeed I was proven wrong and indulged in the most delicious brunch a girl could dream of. There were five of us dining and we all ordered different things which resulted in our table becoming a smorgasbord of an insane amount of food. We ordered basically everything: Eggs Benedict, Chicken and Waffles, Cathead Chicken and Biscuit Sandwich, Praline Bacon, Cheddar Grits, and Bananas Foster French Toast. Also keep in mind that each dish could easily feed three people until they are full. The Chicken and Waffles alone features three steak-sized fried chicken slabs on top of a ginormous waffle. It was glorious. And made us delightfully miserable for the rest of the day.

There was quite a long wait for Screen Door, but it just so happens that right next door is the perfect coffee shop to wander into while trying to waste time and which happens to be our next recommendation.

Kopi Coffee House – Best Coffee House

This is the coffee house every cafe should aspire to be. Its decor and ambiance is asian-inspired and tranquil, it has signature lattes as well as the classics, and features delicious breakfast sandwiches.  I got the Crème Brûlée Latte that the barista caramelized with a torch in front of me. Perfection, right? So go and check it out!

Pip’s Original Donuts – The Best Bite-Sized Donuts in the Universe

If you wanna skip the VooDoo Donuts line, and stand in another line, albeit, a much shorter one, check out Pip’s Original. Grab yourself a dozen of Honey, Sea Salt and Nutella doughnuts and a yummy Chai drink before spending your day exploring the city!

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Cascade Brewing – The Best Brewery in Portlandia

You have to go to at least one brewery when in Portland, and Cascade Brewing has a diverse beer menu as well as upscale bar food. It also has a great open patio where you can sip on as many beers as you like and just hang out in Portland and eat yummy pretzels.

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Yataimura Maru – The Best Asian Cuisine

I don’t think I had ever truly had authentic Japanese food before coming to Maru on Division St. in Portland. The restaurant seems to transport you to Japan and allows you to soak up the culture. It has the most incredible Ramen dishes I have ever tasted and their Teriyaki Chicken is definitely worth a try as well. Definitely make sure to save room for dessert. We ordered the Red Bean Ice Cream and Mochi as well as the Tempura Banana with Vanilla Ice Cream— we may have gone a little bit overboard!

Rimsky-Korsakoffee House – Best Dessert House with a Thrill and a Really Creepy Bathroom

This is one of the most “Portland” places you could possibly go, it’s located on a dark street, in a creepy, creaky old house and serves dessert and coffee late until midnight. My sister hadn’t originally planned to take us here, but we decided to go after spending a long day hiking at Mount Hood and exploring the Timberline Lodge. We were just getting back to the city and the house seems like the set of a scary movie.

It has dark lighting and is decorated with candles and creepy puppets and wallpaper. My sister warned us of the enchanted trickery that the house is famous for, so we kept out eyes and ears open. Our waiter was extremely nice and had an intensely dry sense of humor that matched the spooky vibe of the house perfectly. We ordered a variety of the desserts they offer (the Banana Split was to die for!) and sat back and observed the eclectic frills and mischief.

The most alarming thing I have to admit is the bathroom. It is by far the creepiest room  due to the most terrifying man-doll I have ever seen in my life. Even after we covered his face with a napkin, I made my mom wait for me right outside the bathroom door. I was more than certain he was going to start turning his head to stare at me or start whispering in my ear. He didn’t though, thank goodness!

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Even More Amazing Places:

Salt & Straw – The Best Ice Cream in the World

Nothing I say about Salt & Straw will actually do this place justice. It is simply magic. And simply the best Ice Cream ever. Make sure to get a waffle cone, sample as many flavors as you desire, buy some merchandise, and enjoy uninterrupted happiness. Seriously, the line is worth the wait and you will not regret coming here!

See See Motorcycles Coffee – Best Merchandise and Portland Vibe

Its a dream coffee shop for motorcycle enthusiasts and has super cute clothes and decadent hot chocolate, I wish I could bring it back to the East Coast with me.

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So now I recommend that everyone go to Portland and try these awesome places for yourselves! ❤

Avocado & Bacon Eggs Benedict on Polenta with Lime Hollandaise Sauce

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by Myles Katherine

Oh… my gosh. I don’t think I’ve ever made a more delicious breakfast. All of my favorite things combined into one recipe. My sister and I are both obsessed with Eggs Benedict in any form so I decided to create my own version with bacon and avocado, while using some ingredients from my latest Portugal Try the World box. I was getting ready to leave town the following day so I was trying to use up some of the food in my house. I didn’t have lemon, so I used lime for the hollandaise sauce. What a good decision, because the lime complimented the flavors of the dish so perfectly. I’m 100% sure I’ll be making this one again. SO GOOD.

Avocado & Bacon Eggs Benedict on Polenta with Lime Hollandaise
(recipe serves 2 )

Ingredients for Eggs Benedict:
4 slices of polenta (1/2 inch thick – I used sun-dried tomato polenta)
4 eggs (poached)
4 slices of tomato
4 slices of bacon
1/2 avocado, sliced

Special Ingredients
(these items are optional, but make ALL the difference)
Sea Salt & Lemon
Caramelized Onions with Port Wine
Piri Piri Hot Sauce

(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

  1. Cook the bacon to your liking and set aside.
  2. If desired, grill the polenta and sliced tomato in the leftover bacon grease on medium high until slightly crispy, flipping once.
  3. Poach 4 eggs. I have a special poached egg dish that makes it super easy so I’d recommend getting one, or follow this recipe.
  4. Make the hollandaise sauce, using the recipe below.
  5. Stack your eggs bennie with polenta on the bottom, followed by your grilled tomato, poached egg, bacon slices and avocado.
  6. Top with hollandaise sauce, caramelized onions, a sprinkle of sea salt & lemon, and a few dashes of Piri Piri hot sauce.
  7. Voila! Easy.

Ingredients for Lime Hollandaise Sauce:
(adapted from here)
2 egg yolks
1/4 lime, juiced
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 cup salted butter

  1. Beat egg yolks, lime juice, salt, and cayenne pepper together in a microwave-safe bowl until smooth. Slowly stream melted butter into the egg yolk mixture while whisking to incorporate.
  2. Heat in microwave for 15 to 20 seconds; whisk.
  3. Drizzle on top of the eggs benedict.
  4. ENJOY!

Healthy & Easy Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies Using the Cutest Squirrel Cookie Cutter

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by Myles Katherine

(As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

lemon lavender shortbread cookies

I picked up some culinary lavender from the farmer’s market on Saturday and couldn’t wait to use it in a recipe. I’ve actually never cooked with lavender since my husband thinks it’s too “flowery”. But I did catch him sneaking a few bites of the dough so he must not hate it that much!

These cookies were perfect for a breezy Sunday. I’ve also recently gotten into drinking matcha tea instead of coffee, and the cookies were a perfect treat to have on the side. The only downside is that I couldn’t stop eating them! But I made myself feel better by reminding myself that lavender is supposed to lessen anxiety and help calm the nervous system.

I was also looking for a recipe that didn’t include granulated sugar, and the maple syrup adds a lovely flavor to the cookies. You can pick up an adorable squirrel cookie cutter here!

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup butter, at room temperature OR coconut oil, softened
  • ½ cup maple syrup {or liquid sweetener of your choice}
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • dash of salt – I used a Sea Salt and Lemon blend
  • 2¼ cups flour (I used a combination of millet flour – for a more powdery texture – and unbleached all purpose flour)
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 to 1 tbsp culinary lavender (depending on how flowery you’d like your cookies – I used a whole tbsp!) – I got mine from Dancing Light Ranch

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Prepare a rolling area with two additional sheets of parchment paper for that, and have your cookie cutter(s) handy.
  2. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and whip it with a mixer until it’s creamy. Add sweetener, vanilla extract, lemon juice and salt and mix once again to combine. Add in flour, lemon zest, and lavender (I used a mortar and pestle to grind the lavender first to bring out the flavor), and use a wooden spoon to mix. Then get in there with your hands and mix everything together by working the dough until you can shape it into a ball {note: as depending on the flour mix you use there may be a slight variance, know that the consistency of the dough should not be sticky but should press together when pinched — be sure to knead it really well first for some time — if it’s a little sticky, add a little more flour (try 1-2 tbsp); if it’s a little dry add a little more sweetener (try 1 tbsp)}. Shape the dough into 2 balls and then flatten each into a disk.
  3. Roll out one of the dough balls between two sheets of parchment paper to ⅓” – ½” thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Carefully transfer to a prepared cookie sheets, spacing them ½” apart {they won’t spread as they bake}. Gather up any dough scraps and repeat until all dough is used up. Repeat the process with the second dough ball. Sprinkle the uncooked cookies with a sea salt and lemon blend.
  4. Bake in a pre-heated oven for approximately 10-12 minutes, until the edges just begin to become golden. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. {Note: cookies will harden a little within minutes of cooling, so don’t overbake}. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from the Unconventional Baker

You can find this cute matcha bowl here and the fun Kate Spade cake plates here!

Berry Breakfast Muffins

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I’m never too hungry right when I wake up in the morning, but when I know I have homemade muffins waiting for me, that’s a different story. These muffins are perfect because you can add whatever fruits or nuts or oats you desire and they will be always be tasty. I took this recipe from Clean Eating Recipes and jazzed it up a bit with the fruit around my kitchen.

Ingredients:

Baking Steps:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with baking wrappers or grease the tins well with coconut oil.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the coconut milk and lemon juice. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Place the honey, eggs, and coconut oil in a mixing bowl and whisk together until well combined.
  4. In another bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Whisk half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add in half of the coconut milk mixture and whisk until just combined. Whisk in the remaining dry ingredients and finish by adding in the remaining coconut milk mixture, mixing just until combined – do not over-mix.
  5. Fold the blueberries, raspberries, and banana into the batter.
  6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin tins (tins will be completely full of batter).
  7. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until tops are set.
  8. Let cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan. Store in an airtight container.

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I hope you enjoy and let me know what you ended up adding to them! 🙂

Holiday Caramel Apple Trifle

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Without one tiny, minuscule doubt, if you make this dish for dessert you will be the hit of the party. It’s so easy and so tasty, and will make you want dessert even after you’ve filled yourself up on an overwhelming amount of turkey, ham, rolls, potatoes, etc, etc. I would certainly recommend making this for any holiday occasion, because its fun to make, pretty, and can serve a lot of people.

I found a recipe on Pinterest (here) and improvised by making a yellow cake mix from Fresh Market and also bought the most delectable caramel sauce from Fresh Market as well, which I recommend everyone buy and eat it on pretty much anything and everything. It’s seriously life changing.

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 cups chopped peeled granny smith apples (about 5 medium)
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (I also added chopped hazelnuts)
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon apple pie spice, divided
  • 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 jar (12-1/4 ounces) caramel ice cream topping, divided
  • 1 carton (12 ounces) cool whip, thawed, divided
  • 1 box of yellow cake mix baked according to the recipe (or pound cake or angel food cake)
  • Additional apple pie spice to sprinkle on top!

Directions:

  1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in the apples, walnuts and hazelnuts, brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice. Cook and stir for 8-10 minutes or until apples are tender.
  2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup caramel topping and 1/2 teaspoon of apple pie spice. Fold in 2 cups of the whipped topping.
  3. In a trifle bowl or glass serving bowl, layer a third of the cake cubes, cream cheese mixture and apple mixture. Repeat layers twice. Garnish with remaining whipped topping and drizzle with remaining caramel topping. Sprinkle with additional apple pie spice if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
  4. Yield: 14 servings.

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