scenes from the weekend

1. easter hike
2. avocado on little t spelt bread
3. beets roasted in coconut milk (!), saffron rice, dal and a glass of riesling
4. walk over the hawthorne bridge
5. farmers market with two lovely ladies
6. requisite sunny day meal
7. green juice
8. drew, working on his thesis
9. farmers market produce
10. almond brittle with salted ganache ice cream
11. my (belated) birthday gift to myself arrived
12. blue skies and blooms

homemade yumm sauce

i was completely addicted to cafe yumm during grad school. the food is simple—a bowl of brown rice, black beans, avocado, tomato, cilantro—but the vegan sauce is what makes it so special. i'd been flirting with the idea of making my own batch of sauce for years (the ingredients are listed right on the jar), but the fear of it not tasting as good as cafe yumm's held me back. 

if you've had cafe yumm before, you'll quickly realize (to my dismay) that my hesitation was warranted—this isn't an exact match, in terms of taste (though color and texture are spot-on). i'm now even more convinced that there's a secret ingredient in yumm sauce that makes it so unbelievably delicious. regardless, this is still a versatile vegan sauce that can be poured over rice, quinoa, salads or used as a spread on sandwiches.

homemade yumm sauce adapted from here

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup cooked soybeans (edamame)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp dried oregano

in a food processor, blend water, olive oil, almonds and chickpeas until the consistency is sauce-like. then add lemon juice, nutritional yeast, soybeans, garlic, salt, curry powder, cilantro and oregano. blend until all ingredients are incorporated and smooth.

recent photos

1. so much yellow
2. margherita pizza with arugula (and pino noir rose!) at ken's artisan
3. she found the one sun patch in the apartment
4. more signs of spring
5. stained glass
6. rifle paper cards
7. practicing my calligraphy strokes
8. pink trees!
9. grapefruit mimosa at tasty n sons
10. penny and drew, being adorable

friday

 

happy friday! plans for this weekend: check a new restaurant off my bucket list (deciding between bollywood theater and ox), start the calligraphy class i just enrolled in, get outside (yay, spring!) and see this documentary.

i'm over at food52 today, with 9 links to help you embrace your inner wino (a topic near and dear to my heart!)

my eyes + edge posts from this week:
animal traffic and pino portland collaboration / celebration
eve in eden grand opening party

recent photos

1. vibrant plants
2. i'm a sucker for string lights

3. morning writing at woodlawn coffee
4. big bucket of oranges
5. the wood brothers
6. valentine's macaron
7. penny, on the kitchen table
8. woodsman market flowers
9. pendleton couch from remnant at the portland flea 
10. my two cuties

valentine's day

 

whether you love it or hate it, valentine's day is tomorrow. personally, i'll take any excuse to gorge on sugar and send handmade notes to loved ones all over the country. drew and i are honoring our valentine's day tradition of skipping the pricey and overcrowded restaurants in favor of dinner and wine at home. then, after dinner, we go all out at pix—macarons, truffles, chocolate mousse. when it comes to dessert, we don't mess around!

scenes from the weekend

1. mt. hood!

2. me, lounging in the park

3. reading material

4. mt. tabor trees

5. view out my kitchen window

6. rice ball and clams steamed in sake and ginger from biwa

recent photos

1. my calendar from terrain

2. coffee and a flourless double chocolate cookie

3. soy latte

4. a favorite christmas present from drew

5. finally stuck out the long wait to eat at broder

6. brussels sprout, smoked salmon and swedish farmer's cheese scramble with a mimosa

7. the most thoughtful gift from a sweet friend

8. old portland building

9. sun! in january! celebratory walk to the grocery store

10. i heart you too, spinach