The MarketThere are a number of reasons why I love Portland. There are a number of reasons I dislike Portland. But today's writing will stay on the positive "love" Portland side of the equation. Despite the questionable weather, Lori and I decided to break out the bikes and ride to the downtown PSU Farmers Market Saturday morning. One of the things I love about Portland is the Springwater corridor bike path which makes up about 3/4s of our 9.5 mile bike ride into downtown Portland. The rest of the the ride is relatively benign winding through the sleepy Sellwood neighborhood and the Milwaukie city center that has a stop sign at every block. 
Though misting and cloudy, it was still a beautiful ride along the river watching for eagles, osprey and an occasional deer. I do need to point out that the 1/2 mile trek over the Hawthorne bridge terrifies Lori to the point of considering the "no car traffic" option of the Steele bridge every trip. But not today. Today was a conquer your fears day for Lori complete with a short stop after the return crossing to let your heart stop racing and wonder why the Steele bridge was left unused that day.
Though misting and cloudy, it was still a beautiful ride along the river watching for eagles, osprey and an occasional deer. I do need to point out that the 1/2 mile trek over the Hawthorne bridge terrifies Lori to the point of considering the "no car traffic" option of the Steele bridge every trip. But not today. Today was a conquer your fears day for Lori complete with a short stop after the return crossing to let your heart stop racing and wonder why the Steele bridge was left unused that day. Ah, but back to the reason for the ride in the first place. The PSU Market is one of the best I've ever visited. It takes up almost three full blocks in the park blocks in the middle of the PSU campus. The setting is wonderful under a canopy of trees and I gotta say this is a huge market. Every conceivable vendor is available. Bearded mushrooms, chanterelles, or truffles? Check, Every kind of locally available produce? Check. Fresh seafood? Check. Beef, lamb, chicken, yak? Check. Wine makers and many artisan cheese makers? Check. Flowers and bakers and pastry makers....Check, check, check. 
Bring a large bag when you visit this market. They also offer cooking classes for the little ones and live music. And what is downtown Portland without the random musician playing something that sounded like Jamaican drums or a duet singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" in harmony backed by a soft banjo. The patronage is typical downtown Portland. From struggling young creatives who don't mind spending their last 10 bucks on a Latte and a Pine State Biscuit breakfast sandwich, to the sophisticates who have pretty much made their money and now live downtown and enjoy the arts and restaurants of the area. Then there is us, somewhere in the middle of that spectrum enjoying the clamor and commerce surrounding us as we chase material for our next blog and more importantly, our next meal made up of local procured products. Yep. Many of the reasons I love Portland.
Bring a large bag when you visit this market. They also offer cooking classes for the little ones and live music. And what is downtown Portland without the random musician playing something that sounded like Jamaican drums or a duet singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" in harmony backed by a soft banjo. The patronage is typical downtown Portland. From struggling young creatives who don't mind spending their last 10 bucks on a Latte and a Pine State Biscuit breakfast sandwich, to the sophisticates who have pretty much made their money and now live downtown and enjoy the arts and restaurants of the area. Then there is us, somewhere in the middle of that spectrum enjoying the clamor and commerce surrounding us as we chase material for our next blog and more importantly, our next meal made up of local procured products. Yep. Many of the reasons I love Portland.
So what did we buy today? We found "Unbound Pickling Beatnik Beets" and artisan feta cheese for a fun Quinoa salad recipe I saw in MIX magazine. You have to try these pickled beets. They have pomegranate and chai spices in the brine. A helpful tip from the guy selling the beets was to reuse the brine. It can be reused once within 6 months of being opened. We are going to use roasted beets out of our garden to take advantage of this great brine mixture. Not just a local product but part of it is recyclable. When I saw the first local peaches out of the Maryhill orchards on display, I had to buy one. Wait till you see what I did with the peach. Only thing better that would be better would be to taste it. Finally, Lori bought some wheat pastry flour for a breakfast bar project she has been planning. We will talk about how those come out in a later post. The Table
Dinner was slow cooked barbecued chicken. 
I like to cook the lightly seasoned chicken on the high rack using low heat with a drip pan full of water on the lower rack to keep the chicken moist. About two hours and slap on your favorite barbecue sauce for 10 minutes before removing from the grill. I always use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is done when cooking with low heat. The chicken was paired with the quinoa pickled beet salad. You can find the recipe on the MIX magazine website or email me. We added some watermelon to the plate that needed to be eaten.
I like to cook the lightly seasoned chicken on the high rack using low heat with a drip pan full of water on the lower rack to keep the chicken moist. About two hours and slap on your favorite barbecue sauce for 10 minutes before removing from the grill. I always use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is done when cooking with low heat. The chicken was paired with the quinoa pickled beet salad. You can find the recipe on the MIX magazine website or email me. We added some watermelon to the plate that needed to be eaten. Lastly, the peach. One peach is enough for two people using this recipe. The local peaches are pretty large. I don't think it is my original idea, but I have been doing this for a few years and never used anyone else's recipe. Hear goes.Make sure the peach is ripe and ready to eat. Cut the peach in half and take out the pit. Melt some butter in a dish and add Cinnamon and sugar to taste. Brush the cut face of the peach with the butter solution. Make sure to reserve more of the butter solution for later of make up another b
atch later. Place the peach face down on the grill. 
Now timing and heat usually vary with what else you may be grilling. So in this case, since I was low and slow cooking chicken, I put it right over the burner that was going on low for about 45 minutes. You want the face to get grill marks and the lower half of the peach to cook to soft but not mushy, Flip the peach halves over and baste again with the butter, sugar, and Cinnamon mixture filling up the pit indentation. grill another 20 to 30 minutes depending on the heat of the grill. Again, you are trying to get the peaches soft and warm but not mushy. I serve with vanilla bean ice cream
atch later. Place the peach face down on the grill. 
Now timing and heat usually vary with what else you may be grilling. So in this case, since I was low and slow cooking chicken, I put it right over the burner that was going on low for about 45 minutes. You want the face to get grill marks and the lower half of the peach to cook to soft but not mushy, Flip the peach halves over and baste again with the butter, sugar, and Cinnamon mixture filling up the pit indentation. grill another 20 to 30 minutes depending on the heat of the grill. Again, you are trying to get the peaches soft and warm but not mushy. I serve with vanilla bean ice cream
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