Figs in High Summer

This was lunch today - figs with Ossau-Iraty. Kind of a nutty cheese that is like swiss but harder. And with a rind that doesn't look edible, but is. I sliced up the figs and laid them on top of the cheese. then drizzled some sour cherry balsamic vinegar I got with my sister when I was up in Ontario earlier this summer (this comes from Kawartha Country Winery, in Buckhorn, who do a lot of great fruit wines - visit them here http://www.kawarthacountrywines.ca/ ). Then I just put on some finishing salt (that English one that starts with an "m"), a bit of ground pepper, and had a great lunch.

I am really getting into cheese at the moment - I always have something that I have to know more about, because suddenly I feel totally ignorant on the subject, and that subject is cheese right now. It is a daunting task, when one considers the scope of the topic. I am thinking that I will break it up into bite sized pieces. And I think my starting place is American blues. By the by, I ended up getting some of that Rogue smoked blue yesterday as well. sigh.

Indian food, finally!

One of my biggest complaints about Portland has been the lack of South Asian grocery stores, as well as restaurants. I went to Vindahlo a couple of years ago and basically had the worst Indian meal of my life, ie. since I decided Indian food rocked at age 6. I was kind of puzzled, too, because tons of people seem to love the food there, and it was utterly horrendously bad when I was there. Truth be told, if only non-South Asian folks are eating it and cooking it, it is apt to suck. Does thinking that make me a racist?

As an aside - I have always found annoying that phenomenon that seems to occasionally happen when an "ethnic" (ie non British Isles food - hah!) goes kind of upscale...All of the sudden it is pink folks serving it, cooking it even, and definitely profiting from it. Yeah, that annoys me.

But back to today's revelation(s). I was reading a review of Bombay Cricket Club here http://www.portlandfoodanddrink.com/2005/06/22/bombay-cricket-club/

and got to the real meat of it, which was (as it often is with these things) in the comments. You see, I am desperate for any information about good Indian restaurants here. And if they veer into something like Southern Indian, or something more exotic, well, so much the better. I mean, yeah, butter chicken is damn good, but Rava Upma is good too!

So off I went to Mayuri in Beaverton for their lunch buffet. But they were closed, down at pioneer square for an Indian festival. I was disappointed, until I realised that there was a deeper reason for my being there - to discover the Indian grocery store called India Connect, listed here with others out in Beaverton as well.

http://www.thokalath.com/oregon/beaverton_india_groceries.php

Finally! This west side thing is definitely shaping up to be a good thing, in terms of food related opportunities.

Tomorrow? Sambar!!! With chapatis!!

West Side Neophyte

This week was the first week in the new place, and I am getting acclimated still. Yesterday I almost totally unpacked the kitchen, and I did totally alphabetize all my cds. I know that people don't have cds anymore. At any rate, I divided them as follows pop/rock/r 'n b/soul. reggae. world. Opera. all other classical. electronic/ambient. I included Canadian Celtic in world. That was weird.
I put all my cookbooks on the top shelf of my Metro shelf. I put wheels on it last week, and got dividers for it today. It makes my heart glad to see it, in my kitchen, laden with so many beautiful, useful things.
Today I discovered something new, at least for me. I have a feeling that it existed before I walked in the door. It is this fabulous market on Barbur in SW Portland called Barbur World Foods. http://www.barburworldfoods.com/ Maybe this west side thing is a good thing, after all!
As soon as I walked in, I knew - it was good like Toronto markets are good.
I love Portland, but let's just say it - diversity is not exactly its strong suit. I was definitely happy to see a non-New Seasons idea of quote unquote ethnic food. Like, nine kinds of middle eastern mint tea. A lot of olive oils from Lebanon. Cheese from places that weren't France. Fresh paneer - fresh paneer. sigh. I was glad to see that.
So, armed with a plump head of red leaf lettuce and a new bottle of sherry vinegar, I was inspired. To eat what I like, not what the kid can tolerate (ie all food that is devoid of colour).
I came home, minced some garlic, made a blue cheese dressing, threw in some peaches, basil and oregano, and Bob's your Uncle - a simple, fantastic meal.


easiest dressing ever

3 parts olive oil
2 parts sherry or balsamic vinegar
as much blue cheese as you feel like

Mash it all together in a bowl. Pour over salad and toss just prior to serving.
I used Shaft's Blue Cheese from California. but even the worst blue cheese is amazing, unless it has been in your 'fridge for too long. Then it sucks, bad.

here's an article about blues..they are right - smoked blue is almost better than sex. They didn't say that, but I do. Almost.

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-bluecheese113005,0,7084846.story