Fresh Pasta: Pastaworks

Pasta slicing machine

Garlic focaccia

Artisan egg pasta sliced to fettucini width 

Fettucini with kale, garlic and mushrooms

This summer we stopped at Pastaworks Hawthorne in Portland, Oregon, for freshly made and even more freshly cut, pasta. In the store, you choose the kind of fresh pasta you'd like cut from the prepared sheets, and what shape you'd prefer. The market also has an amazing selection of traditional Italian goods like wines, candies and olive oils, as well as local and imported cheeses. 

After much debate (how to choose!) we decided on the artisan egg pasta sliced to fettucini width. I prepared it with locally grown kale, garlic and mushrooms from the farmers' market.

Delicious.

Who is ready for a trip out west?

Farmer's Market in Portland, Oregon

Summer's not over yet. I know that because our Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA continues through October. Here are some August memories from the lovely Farmer's Market in Shemanski Park in Portland, Oregon.

Gourmet Salt

As I wrote recently, I've been enjoying (slightly obsessed with?) making bread. These two loaves were topped with gourmet salts: red Hawaiian salt and grey smoked salt. The large, colored grains were both attractive and tasty on the low-salt bread. Word to the wise: Limit your snacking on the crunchy, flavorful grains that fall off as you slice the loaf. You won't stop drinking water for two days. 

While it probably isn't necessary to buy very expensive salt, it is curious to smell and taste the large variety of salts that are available. On a recent visit to the Portland branch of The Meadow, a gourmet salt store, my mind went into overdrive with the many dishes I could spark new energy into with salts like Bamboo Leaf Sea Salt or Black Truffle Salt. 

Have you joined the new salt-craze?

Bob's Red Mill

You'll find whatever type of flour you are looking for, from gluten-free options like black bean flour to teff (used in Ethiopian pancakes), at Bob’s Red Mill. 

We stopped by the factory store for breakfast (omelets, grits and baked goods like biscuits) and some quick shopping when we were in Portland, Oregon. While I only bought some steel cut oatmeal to carry back in my luggage, I do look forward to trying out some other grains and flours while baking some new, perhaps healthier, options. Without sounding too much like an advertisement, most of their products are available in stores near you or through their website.

Petite Provence in Portland, Oregon

If there is a choice, I’ll choose something savory over sweet. When I saw my husband’s “savory French Toast,” at Petite Provence Alberta in Portland, Oregon, I was smitten with a breakfast idea I hadn’t encountered before. I tend to put salt on my French toast or pancakes instead of maple syrup. I know, weird, right? But if there is already asparagus, ham and cheese and on your French toast, it seems justified.

I ordered an arugula omelet with avocado on top. My side potato pancake had some other vegetables mixed in (carrots and leeks.) I’m a purist on some things and I didn’t like it as much as my husband’s order. (Good thing he is open to sharing.)

We drove by this very French Boulangerie and Patisserie on Alberta Street and decided to try it for brunch. It was bustling with business, breads and pastries. With wood panels, cappuccino foam that matched the décor, it was simply adorable. Sometimes you can tell a book from its cover.

Willamette Valley, Oregon: Wine Country

The Willamette Valley in Oregon is Wine Country. One afternoon during our visit to Portland, we took a drive and visited a few wineries. It didn’t take more than an hour to arrive.

Our favorite winery was De Ponte Cellars. We tried a few Pinots, the grape of choice in the region. These wines were fuller and more developed than the other wines we tried in the area.

Ok, I’m not sure if that’s true. I’m a terrible wine taster. I know what I like and what I don’t like, but I’m not sure that I can really explain why I like something or describe the taste properly. I remember taking a cooking class at Trattoria Zibibbo in Florence and the final class included a wine tasting led by a sommelier. When he started talking about the complex flavors in the wines that disclosed that the vines ripened close to wildflowers, I scrunched up my forehead. I couldn’t taste it and couldn’t imagine that anyone else could (he announced that the “americana” didn’t know the words in Italian and needed a translator. In that case, the words were not the problem.)

Regardless, it was a great afternoon driving through the valley. The scenery throughout, if you put aside from the large, beautiful Northwestern trees, reminded me of Tuscany.

Stumptown Coffee

Ever since living in Florence, Italy, I crave the perfect coffee. It isn’t an easy craving to satisfy.

My husband suggested that we go to Stumptown Coffee in Portland, Oregon. He’d read about it and thought it sounded like something I’d appreciate. He knows that a happy marriage includes good eats and drinks!

I used to regularly drink a “macchiato” when I was in Italy, but it can be hard to find stateside. The word means “stained” and a macchiato is just that: an espresso stained with frothy milk. You know you are somewhere special when the barista can pour the milk so it combines with the coffee below to form a lovely design. Take that, Starbucks!

My husband had a French Roast, which he enjoyed. If you are interested in recreating the perfect French Roast experience at home, they have a Brewing Guide on their website.

They also have a location in NYC. I look forward to visiting the next time I’m in town.

Pine Street Biscuits

Visiting my in-laws in Portland, Oregon over the holidays, I received a text from my food-savvy father. He was telling us where to eat a biscuit-breakfast in Portland, a city he has never been to, clear across the country from his home. My father knows good food and good food television shows (he saw it featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.)

Pine Street Biscuits is a hole-in-the-wall storefront with only a few seats. We got there a little early for lunch and were able to squeeze into a table with an accommodating couple. When we drove by later, the line was literally out of the door.

I had the “Reggie Deluxe” – a biscuit sandwich with fried chicken, egg, bacon, cheese and gravy. My husband had the more traditional biscuits and gravy. Both were perfect. I daintily ate mine with a fork and knife (how could I have picked up that monster?) and enjoyed every bite of each ingredient. Perfectly creamy on the outside, crunchy one level in and then tender chicken in the middle. Wow. With some added hot sauce, it was perfect.

New Jersey, while perhaps not known for biscuits, is the state for a greasy spoon diner. This hip spot that also showcases at the local Farmer’s Market isn’t exactly a greasy spoon, but it is close. We haven’t been able to find the equivalent in Ann Arbor.

Someone prove me wrong? Please? Breakfast comes everyday and I’m hungry.