Public Radio makes me smart. And sad.

Is there such as thing as knowing too much? Is there a point where too many facts damage the psyche? As if I don't have enough reasons for getting into good physical condition I hear a this story today on NPR.

Apparently, those who are not physically fit are more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes. Yeaaaaah. All my life I have whined and complained about how after an outing my companions might have 5, 6 bites while I would sustain 37! From now on, I'm keeping my mouth shut. And I'm not going to scratch. All those hot, scabby, itchy bumps will now broadcast that not only am I riddled with unsightly blemishes, but that these bites are all my fault for being a fat, weak, lazy, undisciplined slob. This is science that could have stayed in the box, thank-you-very-much...

Yep, Summer is leaving us

I'm getting that anxious feeling that one has when your realize summer is coming to a close and you haven't done half he things you fantasized about during cold, grey, depressing February.

Things I did not accomplish this season:

• never threw the fabulous cocktail party
• vegetable garden didn't thrive beyond early June
• I planted no flowers
• only went to the beach once
• didn't install rain barrels
• didn't make jam or pickles or "put up" anything
• didn't paint the kitchen cabinets
• haven't eliminated any ivy since the great "Battle of the Invasive Plants" in January
• and on and on and on...

But today wasn't so bad. I got up fairly early, did some cleaning while listening to NPR. I then scrounged up all the semi-wrinkled, not-the-peak-of-freshness fruits I had on hand (blueberries, strawberries and apricots- all local) and made a delicious, moist coffee cake. I enjoyed a slice with a pot of French-press Stumptown coffee.

My current favorite coffee is "Los Planos" from El Salvador. The card included with the bag of beans contains the location of the grower (latitude and longitude & elevation); the varietal (Pacamara) and describes the flavor as: "Heavy bodied with notes of pear compote and fresh sqeezed orange juice in the flavor profile and an aroma of maple & sweet herbs." Makes you want a cup now, doesn't it?

As if this weren't enough, on the other side of the card is a detailed story of the grower:

In 1996, Sergio Ticas Reyers began cultivating Pacamara on Los Planos which he inherited from his grandfather. He provides land for his workers for food crops and donated land to the Chatalatenango community for construction of a water tank. Sergio Ticas also maintains a natural lagoon, spring and shade trees for local fauna. This coffee is washed processed in his wet mill with spring water and dried on patios.

If this coffee was a man I'd marry it. Only if it was grown down the street could this be more politically, socially and environmentally correct. Some of you non-Oregonians may now understand why I am so dismissive of Starbucks. I'm not a snob (OK, maybe I kinda am); I'm just lucky enough to have access to such amazing food.

Today was a cool & windy just reeking of autumn so I decided to get some yard work done. For dinner I made a pizza with the dough I had made yesterday. I topped it with basil pesto I made with ingredients from the Montavilla Farmer's Market and used hazelnuts instead of pine nuts. I added no cheese in case I make some food for 'A.' I added thinly sliced Brandywine and German Striped heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. It baked up perfectly with lots of bubbles in the crust, nicely charred on the bottom but with enough tenderness. It looked so good that I started in on it seconds after I pulled it from the oven and neglected to take a picture. Too bad- it was quite the beauty.
So as I sit on my comfortable deck at the house that I call my own, eating yet another satisfying meal made from impeccable local ingredients, admiring the Maxfield Parrish sky, and fondly recalling the all the visitors that made their way to Alder Street this season, I'm thinking that maybe this summer wasn't such a bust after all.

Dahlias=End of Summer

Summer seems so short here in Oregon. Actually, it's probably much longer than, say, Vermont summers. But because spring is indistinguishable from winter and autumn is about 2 two weeks long, summer feels very fleeting. When dahlias make their ostentatious debut at the farmer's markets, than you know the end is near.

This specimen I bought today at the Montavilla market from a guy that has this amazing dahlia farm in his yard at his home very close to mine. Another example of the urban farming trend here in Portland. This flower is called a "dinner plate" dahlia because it is over 10" wide.

Cool Kettle, Hot Lunch @ 110 degrees

I've been looking for a new kettle. The one that I currently have was purchased at Marshall's in 1998. It is copper and in the British Georgian style. It was cheap, and I suspect, manufactured for "decorative use" only in China. For years I've held the belief that it has it has been poisoning me with toxic soldering and non-food grade metals. But it looks cute...

I've been on the lookout for a healthier replacement for a while, but couldn't find an affordable kettle that I could bear to look at. But yesterday after receiving a flyer from Macy's in the mail, I found this from the Martha Stewart collection on Macy's website and it is exactly what I've been looking for. Plus it is on sale for $26.99 from $49.99. Me likes a bargain! So, despite the extreme temperature, I decided to head downtown to the least-skanky Macy's and buy myself a beautiful, non-health-threatening kettle. By the way, I decided to take the day off today; too hot for even me to take Trimet home.

I got to Macy's a little after 1pm, and quickly located the object of my desire. But wait a minute, the price within the plastic sleeve attached to the display model says it is on sale for $39.99. Huh?

I started rifling through that plastic sleeve and found 2 more prices, both of which were higher than the $26.99 being advertised. Crap, did I read it wrong or miss the small print? I see signs all over the place: 'One Day Sale!' 'Morning Sale!' 'Weekend Special'. I have no idea which sale- if any- applies. All I know is that this kettle was clearly marked $26.99 on the Macy's website. Time for some haggling. And this time I have my secret weapon...my beloved phone!

I log onto Macys.com and bring the kettle up to the counter. After showing the saleswoman the online price, she hesitantly gave me the online price. What else could she do?

On my way out of the store I saw this creepy mannequin. I hope this wasn't a finished display...

I happily left the store and decided to have lunch as South Park. I enjoyed 1/2 doz. raw oysters and King Crab cakes with a lemon aioli on watercress with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. I had David Sedaris' new book 'When You Are Engulfed in Flames' and laughed out loud several times in the restaurant. Oysters, wine, Davis Sedaris and air-conditioning- it was the perfect way to spend a 110-degree day off.

Montavilla Farmer's Market

I'm really smitten by our neighborhood farmer's market. This is a picture of today's purchases. Yes, the market is tiny, but that is one of the things that makes it enjoyable. There are an adequate number of legitimate farm stands that sell produce and a minimum of crafty, non-food items. There are at least 2 bakeries, a place to get seafood and free-range organic meats. There are 2 flower vendors and some interesting prepared food stands- barbecue, tamales, sausages, lemonade- just to name a few. I also like that it is on a Sunday and doesn't start until 10am.

I never go to the downtown market at PSU on Saturday's anymore unless someone is visiting from out of town. It is way too crowded and you have to get there early- 8:30am- to get some of the high-demand items. Plus, it is like a freakin' dog & stroller show.

Now, I understand that small children and babies can't be left at home alone and most grow to a size that makes it impractical to carry them or strap them to an adult body, so I concede that strollers are a necessary evil. (Though, it may seem darling to you parents as you allow 2 year-old Sofia, Ava, Henry or Jackson push the designer, Italian-made, produce laden, wheeled baby-container into the back of ankles but in doing so you are slowing down the flow of humanity and I'm from the East coast and move fast through crowds and have other things to do this Saturday so please- this is NOT cute but annoying. GET THE KID OUT OF MY WAY!!!)

But I beg of you, leave the dogs at home. I make this request not because I don't like dogs but because I care for them a great deal- a heck of a lot more than I care for your human spawn. Hey, this is summer time and it is hot and your poor dog is standing on asphalt and isn't wearing shoes like you are. They can't run or even walk at a normal pace. They are slowly wandering around in circles, having their leashes jerked every time they smell something interesting and go in for a better sniff. They are surrounded by human legs and baby-containers on wheels with kids grabbing for their faces and tails. The little one are getting stepped on and the big ones are getting challenged by other dogs. Yes, your pup may act like going to the Farmer's Market is the most exciting, enjoyable thing a doggie could ever do as you headed out the door, but believe me, your dog is miserable. I can see the disappointment in their eyes when they realize they aren't headed for a park, or a hike, or a simple drive in the car. Kind of like the expression they have at the vet.

The Montavilla market is very small but there is plenty of space between the booths. So even though there is a fair number of posers with their canines they are easily avoidable. But I still feel bad for the dogs...

After the market, I stopped by Bui Natural Tofu deli to pick up some- yeah, you guessed it- tofu. I was hoping the lemongrass tofu would be coming out fresh from the oven but the freshest was the green onion and mushroom. Well, I 've been trying to eat more "cruelty free" food but their tofu stuffed with seasoned pork was also fresh-from-the-oven and was beckoning me with its sizzling, porky tastiness. Mmmmmm, delicious cruelty...

I pedaled over to A and L's house. They were recovering from a Timbers game the night before and were watching soccer and the Olympics on TV. I hung out for a few minutes then headed home to get my sunflowers into some water. 'L' commented that I looked like a "Portland Girl" with my produce and flowers in my bicycle basket.

While I waited for the green light at Washington and 82nd, a guy in his twenties rolled up on his bike. He appeared like a typical Outer-Southeast inhabitant: pasty complexion, baseball cap backwards, erratic pedaling. He started talking about the sunflowers:

"You know why they are called sunflowers? Because they follow the movement of the sun, supposedly. They are such nice flowers- so pretty and happy. They are like great, big smiles."

The light turned green and off he went.
Awwwww... I love this town.

Dinner from the Neighbors

There are are 4 kids- 3 girls, 1 boy- who live a few doors down on Alder Street. Typical kids, they stop to chat and tell me all kinds of things about themselves and the the neighborhood. Their's is a very traditional Pakistani family. Everyday the youngest girl asks me how old I am and the middle girl Asiya (maybe 9 years old?) asks me if I have had a wedding or if I'm married. The eldest, a 14-year old named Aysha, earns money doing yard work for the neighbors. Today I hired her and her sisters- it seems they come as a package deal- to do some weeding and raking. They went right to work and did a great job and are coming back tomorrow to bag up the ivy vines I cut back 6 months ago.

As they were working I learned that Ayisha does much of the cooking at home. Of course, I start interrogating her about ingredients, techniques, etc. Well, this evening after they went home, Ayisha sent Asiya over with 2 foil-covered plates of food. On one were 2 pieces of flat bread, very similar to a whole wheat chapati. On the other was a potato-cauliflower dish. Asiya showed me how to tear off a piece of bread and use it to scoop up the vegetable. Of course, I would have done this instinctively but it was so sweet that she thought of explaining this to a demonstrating how to eat this food to me, a middle-aged American woman.

The hand-made chapati were wonderful: slightly spongy and glistening with a thin sheen of oil, they had blackened, raised bumps and were the perfect combination of tender/chewy. The accompanying potato-cauliflower dish was a brilliant yellow from what I assume was turmeric. The cauliflower was silken yet held its form and the chunks of potato were creamy. It had all been seasoned with lots of salt, (which I believe is what makes food from India/Pakistan so delicious) as well has spices or seasonings which lent the dish the exact amount of heat: enough to get your taste buds hooked on the addictive burn.

It was the best meal I've had all week. I think I'll hire Ayisha to give me cooking lessons!