Pacific Northwest « Je Mange la Ville

A Couple of Hours in the Sun

By mlb, on December 13th, 2010%

Red Ridge Farms
5510 NE Breyman Orchards Road
Dayton, Oregon 97114

Last weekend it was cold, clear and sunny, which is a pretty good deal for Portland in December. We took advantage of the weather to head to one of my most favorite place in all of Oregon — Red Ridge Farms in Dayton, OR. It’s part plant nursery, part olive oil mill, part gift shop and part scenic destination/place for outdoor snacking. I drag jwa there at least twice a year and always take lots of pictures.

Here are some from last weekend.

A chilly seat in the sun.

Red Ridge Farms
Blue sky and pottery in the distance.

Red Ridge Farms
The last of the season’s lavender…

Red Ridge Farms
The olives are hanging out elsewhere, but they left their sign behind.

Red <span style= . . . → Read More: A Couple of Hours in the Sun

Seattle!

By mlb, on November 20th, 2010%

Latte at Cafe Campagne

We recently went to Seattle for a long weekend and to see the Picasso Exhibit at the Art Museum. We were also going to try and hit the Battlestar Galactica exhibit at the SciFi Museum but we didn’t make it this trip. Perhaps that’s an excuse to go back before it ends in March?

Anyway, we did go to:

Cafe Campagne
1600 Post Alley at Pine
Seattle, WA 98101

We ate breakfast here on a Sunday morning. Luckily, it was kind of early (10:00 am), so the wait was only about 30 minutes, which gave us some time to walk around the market a bit. The latte here was wonderful and so was my omelette and rosemary raisin brioche toast.

Hotel Max
620 Stewart Street
Seattle, WA 98101

Right downtown and we got a great rate and 1/2 priced parking ($15/day). The hallways are all gray and the doors have blown-up . . . → Read More: Seattle!

Cedar-Plank Salmon

By mlb, on January 31st, 2010%

cedar-planked salmon

Here is a recipe that certainly will work outdoors on a grill but also worked quite well in the oven. I found these little 6 X 6 inch or so cedar grilling planks at Sur la Table for $10 and impulse-bought them. Then I on-purpose bought some salmon.

I soaked my plank for about an hour and a half. If it was going on a charcoal grill the fish *, I would have soaked it for at least two hours. I let the plank heat up in the oven for about 5 minutes, before placing the salmon on it. I don’t actually know how much flavor the cedar imparted on the salmon, but wow, did it smell good while in the oven. These planks were officially, single serving size but I found I could easily fit the two pieces of salmon on it.

Also, since my plank . . . → Read More: Cedar-Plank Salmon

Astoria & the Great Columbia Crossing

By mlb, on October 12th, 2008%

fulios

So, jwa and I did the Great Columbia Crossing 10k in Astoria on Sunday. He ran and I walked it. He did the 6.2 miles in 49 minutes and 49 seconds. So awesome! Meanwhile, I walked the 6.2 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes. Not too bad. My goal was to come in at or under 2 hours. Woo! We figured out that he ran at about 7.7 miles per hour and I was doing about 3.8 miles per hour walking. Not too bad. Especially since this is the first time either of us has done anything like this before.

We drove up there Saturday, scanning the radio, while jwa sang along with a lot of the songs we recognized on the radio in the style of the Decemberists. And that is as fun as it sounds!

After getting out of Portland, I was slightly nervous at . . . → Read More: Astoria & the Great Columbia Crossing

September Visit to the Coast

By mlb, on September 11th, 2008%

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Blue Heron taking off in Yachats, OR

We went to the coast last weekend to celebrate jwa’s birthday and here are some pictures. That’s about it. More food coming soon!

Heron before flight. We happened upon him just hanging out in the river bank. As more people started walking by he took off, flying a few yards away to a less congested spot.

We stayed in Yachats at the Shamrock Lodgettes (silly name) in one of the spa cottages. It was nice. Dinner was at Yachats River House (tasty) and the next morning we started a leisurely drive home along the coast from Yachats to Cannon Beach, then cutting inland on 26. But not before…Breakfast!

Egg, sausage and pesto panini sandwich from the Green Salmon Coffee House. But, it gets better…