MEAT

Last weekend Nick and I got our very first (non family) babysitter (thanks Holly!) and went to Nicky USA's Wild about Game at The Resort at the Mountain in Welches. It was amazing! The weather was cool and wet but the meat and bourbon kept us warm.

Nicky USA is the northwest's premier distributor and procesor of game birds and grass fed meats and this event is a showcase of sorts to bring together game chefs, ranchers, wineries, breweries, cheese makers, chocolatiers etc in one huge day of yummy excess. The event was from 11 - 4 and we ate and drank to the fullest. My eating abilities are often mocked for being insanely over the top and I can honestly say I could NOT eat any more once this was over.

A few shout outs: We had the most delicious cured meats from Olympic Provisions, melt in your mouth cheeses from Cheese Bar, savory (humane) foie gras from Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the oddest (and yummiest) meat-chocolate combinations from Xocolatl De David, out of this world ice cream from Salt and Straw, amazing wine from Teutonic Wine Co, delicious brews from Double Mountain Brewery and then last but absolutely not least the delicious black footed Iberico ham from Fermin Iberico de Bellota.

As if the tasting was not enough there were also cooking demonstrations throughout the day. Our faves from those were the Elk tartes from Chef Tony Meyers of Serrato and then the Thai drinking dish made with Wild Boar from Brendan Newell and JB Tranhlm of Pok Pok. Maybe it was the Makers Mark but Brendan and JB were hilarious and their dish spectacular.

The event was sold out and it was really neat to see so many people gathered together to really enjoy quality food. The Chefs put a lot of time and thought into their ingredients and it showed. I am sure Nick and I will attending all these events to come. Join us next year!

Go fly a kite!

Got some great pics while I was at work today. Papa taught Gunnar to fly a kite:



And he somehow managed to snap some pics too! That man's talents are endless.

Aziz - Light!

Okay, who knows the movie this posts title comes from? One of the best movies ever? Google it and make sure you add it to your NetFlix queue if you haven't seen it!

Nick and his dad tackled a major home improvement project over the Holiday. They installed windows on the east side of our living room. Wow what a difference! It is one of those improvements that you can't believe you ever lived without. What was once the dark 1/3 of our living room is now bright and sunny with a view (soon to be improved) of the woods.

Beginnings of window #1:


Cutting through the sheet-rock to begin window #2:


Gunnar enjoying some hummus and pita while taking in the show:

It was my job to keep my danger seeker away for the construction and he was such a trooper! We went to the park in Sandy, grocery shopped, picked out blinds etc to try and stay out of the way.

G watching papa put on some finishing touches:


They are in!


We are still putting on the finishing touches of trim and blinds but they are in and wonderful! Thanks so much Nick and Jeff!

Truck and Luke enjoying the fruits of their owners' labor:

London Layover

We were super lucky to have Nick's parents visiting these past two weeks. Nick's mom came for the long stay and his dad was able to come out for a long Labor Day weekend.

Nick and Gunnar really enjoyed having an extra playmate during the week. Nick even got in a couple of days work with his old painting crew.

The weather was wonderful and it was a nice teaser of how much fun it will be once they relocate.

Here are a few pics. I must confess we were really too busy to take a ton of shots. Gigi did get some nice ones on her iPad though.


Gunnar really loved the iPad. Old fashioned books just can't compete!

Party Crashers

Sorry for the lack of posting but things have just been super busy around here lately. Since it appears we are only going to be graced with 2 weeks of summer we have been cramming it in!

Last weekend we were fortunate enough to be able to crash a friend of a friend's little girl's first birthday party in Portland. It was a great opportunity to meet up with out mutual friends who were visiting (and gifted us with all the beautiful shots below) plus let G catch up with Ella who he had not seen since he was about 10 weeks old and she was brand spankin new.

Here is G getting reacquainted with the birthday girl. Maybe he is thinking of the cake to come with that tongue pose?


Then it was pool time! Since we were not officially invited we did not know to bring a suit. Luckily Gunnar was able to improvise with his birthday suit. I saw some pics from after we left and it looks like he and Ella will be getting along just fine as she had taken his lead and was enjoying the water "au natural".

Here he is taking a break from the pool to pet the puppies. Boy that kid is crazy for animals!


Ella's mama is an amazing chef. Check our her blog Pease Porridge PDX and outdid herself with a healthy baby cake. Sweet potato frosting, whole wheat flour... I couldn't catch all the fanciness. G preferred the "real" carrot cake:)


Our friend Erin is due this Fall so we got to oogle her preggo belly. Adorable!


Here is a pic of the whole gang:


The view from papa's shoulders:

There were so many shots of this one and both Nick and G have the goofiest grins. Love it!

Papa and his other baby:


AND saving the best for last. I absolutely love this close up. Yes, that is cake on his face!


Thanks SWIG productions!

Back to basics

Moving to rural Oregon from Brooklyn NY really has been a dream come true for Nick. Sometimes I think it was a dream he had not been fully able to even dream in NYC so it is awesome watching him explore. He is constantly trying to think of ways to decrease our dependence on outside support systems. From gardening to hunting, raising livestock and producing bio-diesel his mind is always going and with him being such a capable person the experiments are amazing. It seems like every week the library calls that another book on sustainable something or other has come in.

His most recent find is a documentary called The Farmer and the Horse. I watched it last night and really enjoyed it. It is a very informative so even for those who think "living off the land" is nuts you should check it out. Your local library probably has it. You can check it out and even purchase a copy here and I really encourage you to.

Enjoy. Some great food for thought!

Daily shenanigans

Nick is really great about taking and texting me cute pics of him and Gunnar during the week while I am at work. Some really cute ones recently:

Gunnar and his kittie:


Playing with Papa's hat:


Chillin in his walker: