When searching the best brunches in Portland online, Ya Hala, a Lebanese restaurant came up. I really liked the idea of middle eastern brunch, with lots of lamb and inventive pastries. Ya Hala is located in SE Portland, near Country Cat. I only had been there for lunch and remembered their tasty bread.
I went to the Italian festival one weekend mostly to find some good cannoli. There had already been middle eastern brunch earlier that day but my friend and I were enjoying another hedonistic weekend. Continue Reading
From here, there are some summer updates that I am behind on. I’m happy to announce that I am officially settling into fall and that means more writing!
Let’s start with a fun July moment from this year.
As per usual, I took advantage of the seasonal summer fruit by picking, cooking and preserving. I went to the PSU Farmer’s market around July 4th and nabbed some pie cherries for a good bargain.
My work had a summer potluck. The potlucks at my office are usually pretty epic because of the sheer volume of food that carries over for 2 days of constant grazing because everyone literally brings a large contribution.
I’ve forgotten how busy the summer gets. And there is a lot of debauchery to be had.
I’ve been re-exploring Multnomah Village in Portland, OR because lots of new shops have cropped up since I went to high school near there. I paced around the Medley tea shop a few times while talking on the phone one evening.
Whew I’ve been so busy with class and the start of summer. So many things are going on. Now that my class is over, I can relax and focus on the tasty treats of summer.
This treat – a chocolate pudding cake – requested by my friend because it was his birthday last week.
My friend and I have been talking about macaroons lately, and we keep reminding each other that they are not macarons (the ones mentioned in my last post). Sometimes we remember to say that the macaroons are Italian to distinguish the two.
I haven’t been posting as frequently because I was traveling and have been taking a class. I took a weekend to Vancouver, BC. My friend made a google map of food places to hit, and Thierry chocolates was one of them.
My F3 and I had a weekend day of debauchery on Saturday. We went wine tasting and then went back to the Salem abode for dinner. The weather has gotten much warmer in Oregon and fresh fruits are in season. With my bag of oranges, I decided to make an orange “creamsicle” angel food cake that I saw in an East Coast cookbook.
Another thing my Indian friend made from The “Jerusalem” cookbook by Ottolenghi and Tamimi, was krantz cake. I think she used walnuts instead of pecans though. I believe that krantz cake is kind of like a fancier babka. Making krantz cake is a lot like making cinnamon rolls except you half the dough and then braid it.