4th of July

i hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!!

husband and i drove down to the Redwoods and camped in Jedidiah Smith State Park for the 4th of july. 

it felt pretty american ;0) 

those trees are so unbelievably big. 

bigger than you can ever imagine. 

and they make you feel so small. 

all weekend long i kept saying "but they're just so big!" and "why can't the camera capture just how big they are?" 

as you might imagine, i took a ton of photos. 

so here are a few from our trip:

the evening of the 4th, we drove into Crescent City, CA where there were tons and tons of people setting off fire crackers on the  beach!

 camp kabobs and husband's shrimp

s'mores! i felt like a kid again ;0)

 and then i made mint juleps and remembered i was an adult ;0)

Lately

life (and food) lately...according to my iPhone

baked kale chips, homemade kimbap, dinner at besaw's, tillamook cheese factory, seafood grill, flowers from husband, strawberry picking and rose, chateau ste michelle winery, wine tasting with friends, red hook brewery, date night at OMSI's mummies of the world exhibit. 

Chicken & Waffles

this title might be a little deceiving...

seeing as i didn't actually make chicken and waffles

and i'm not going to share a recipe for chicken and waffles with you.

but holy hell did i eat the most delicious chicken and waffles for breakfast this past weekend that it deserves it's own post. 

we went to the screen door for breakfast this past weekend.

and boy oh boy did it live up to the hype. 

i mean a restaurant, that almost every food magazine in portland has listed as having the BEST chicken and waffles has a lot of hype to live up to, right? 

it did. 

and then some. 

a sweet potato waffle topped with three GINORMOUS buttermilk fried chicken breasts and dusted with powdered sugar comes out piled high on a plate with a knife stabbed through the center of it to hold it in place, topped with an orange peel and served with a side of syrup.

winner winner chicken dinner (or breakfast ;0))

you did good screen door.

you did real good. 

and we'll be back, you see. 

because they also have items like pecan praline bacon waffles, or breakfast hush puppies and a breakfast  po'boy sandwich made with homemade andouille sausage (husband had this - so good!) that are just waiting for me to try. 

portland food scene.

i love you.

Simple Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

a post with an actual recipe in it!

it's been a while, hasn't it?

sorry about that. life has been crazy busy lately.

i've been happily posting away about trips to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, Cape Meares, Beer Festivals and the like, but it's been a while since oh, i don't know, i've blogged about food.

that being said, i wish it was more creative than what i've got in store for you, but baby steps right?

we get a weekly basket of organic produce from a local farm here in Portland and we love it!

however, it has been overflowing with zucchini.

you name a recipe, i've probably put zucchini in it.

so i had to whip up a batch of zucchini bread, because what else do you make (besides zucchini lasagna, and yes i did that) with zucchini than zucchini bread!

this is a super simple recipe that's so good by itself that you really don't need to add anything to it.

some people like to dress up their zucchini bread with nuts or berries or chocolate chips, but this zucchini bread is a party all by itself and it doesn't need any help at all.

so if your garden is overflowing with zucchini, here's a quick and easy recipe to help you cope.

happy wednesday folks! 

Simple Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread
2 eggs
1 1/3 c sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
2/3 c melted butter
2 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
3 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 5 by 9 inch loaf pans with cooking spray.

Mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter.

Add baking soda, salt and flour (in thirds) and mix well. Add in the cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir.

Pour the batter into your two loaf pans. Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

The Very Best Day

two years ago today, a tall, handsome, bow-tie wearing man asked me to marry him. 

i said yes! (obviously!)

 Photo by Ifong Chen

it was the best question. 

with the perfect answer. 

 Photo by Ifong Chen

and, i'm lucky enough today, to say that the tall, handsome, bow-tie wearing man is my husband!

i sure do love him lots and lots. 

and I'm pretty lucky to be married to my best friend.

 Photo by Ifong Chen

 Photo by Ifong Chen

someone who supports me, loves me, challenges me, supports me and listens to me (and he has to listen a lot...because quite frankly I TALK A LOT. a trait i happily inherited from my mother and my sisters). 

so in honor of that very special day.

  Photo by Ifong Chen

 Photo by Ifong Chen

i thought it would be fun to post some of our engagement pictures from that very special time in our lives. 

i hope you like them as much as i love them!

 Photo by Ifong Chen

 Photo by Ifong Chen

happy tuesday!

Berries, Brews & BBQ's

so i mentioned that husband and i went berry pickin' this past weekend...

it was super fun!

we headed out to the French Prairies Gardens, in St. Paul, Oregon to the "Berries Brew's & BBQ" festival.

it was beautiful out.

and the farm....

breathtaking.

we had so much fun tasting beer (for husband and the MIL) wine (for me!) and bbq (for all of us!)

we also had tons of fun picking strawberries! 

so i had to share photos!