18 years ago I was driving home with my dad from some sort of errand that he had taken me on. I was less then happy to be there, as this errand had taken valuable time away from me and my pubescent brooding. I always preferred to brood alone. The tension in the car was palpable. Neither of us spoke for what seemed like over an hour. I didn't speak because I knew my dad wouldn't understand anything I was going through. I was the world's first 14 year old after all. My dad didn't speak because, well, sometimes he just didn't talk a lot, unless it was to curse another driver who was driving faster or slower or more stupidly then he. We approached a red light close to the house. It had been silent for an eternity. I got the distinct feeling my dad wanted to tell me something. I looked over at him and saw that he was already looking at me. Our eyes met, and he calmly says to me "I like soup." "OK" I replied. That was all that was said during the entire trip.

To make roasted butternut squash soup, do the following:

Slice two butternut squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Rub with a little olive oil and roast flesh side down for about 50 minutes. The flesh should be easily penetrated by a fork. Pull them out of the oven and let cool. While cooling, saute two chopped onions in a two hunks of butter. Cook them slowly so they soften and turn golden, not burnt. When they are sweet and soft, add about 1/2 cup of brandy, off the heat. If you are feeling lucky, hold a lighter over the pan and say goodbye to your eyebrows.
Combine the flesh of the squash with onions. Add a portion of the mixture to a blender. Add some chicken stock and evaporated milk and blend until smooth. Repeat with remaining squash/onion mixture. For this batch I used about 5 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of evaporated milk. Not all squash are the same. Some are bigger or starchier then others. Use the stock and the evaporated milk to achieve the consistency you are after.

This soup is perfect for cool fall days. Best enjoyed with someone who likes soup.

What color is my thumb?

This sandwhich represents one half of our total tomato harvest. 3 plants yielded us two juicy ripe tomatoes. Our bacon tree has been doing great though, so I can't really complain.

The breakfast of morbidly obese champions

There is something about a rainy Saturday morning that makes me crave strong coffee and a heaping plate of country fried steak. Luckily, Marla,Owen and Henry were not difficult to convince. So, dinosaurs in hand, we trundled off to Gravy in NE Portland.

Tim the waiter was there. Thank you Tim, for never letting my coffee cup reach bottom. My hands are still shaking. Seriously.

I don't believe I need to say anything here.

Why, yes, that is a 1 pound portion of country fried steak. Yes, those are 3 fresh eggs scrambled perfectly. Oh indeed, I almost forgot about the hashbrowns. No, I did not feel good after eating this...I felt GREAT.

Murder my sweet

Tonight I looked my dinner right in the eyes, and I killed it. Killed HER to be more exact. I think a meal is more enjoyable if before you eat, you have to plunge a knife between the eyes, severing the neural tube of the animal. Lemon and drawn butter also help.

This lobster was so helpful. Thank you little lobster.
What do you think goes through her mind right before the knife enters her skull. I like to think she thought "But your Jewish." Warning:Graphic video.

Sunday supper

The dutch oven was removed from its summer hibernation spot in the garage today. An aromatic base of onions, garlic, fresh thyme, and olive oil was simmering on the stove. Potatoes had been thinly sliced and layered with the aromatics. Looking into the family room I see my kids playing with some sort of cretaceous age dinosaur. Something with three horns on its head. Into the oven go the potatoes. See you soon.

While the chicken legs braise with the red wine, garlic, and anchovies, I check on the kids again. Owen now has all of the dinosaurs and Henry has many tears streaming down his face. There is a football game going on. I take just a moment to appreciate the quality of HDTV. Man it smells good in here.

The sun is out, but on a lower plane. The low sun casts a softer, redder color over everything. On the floor of the kitchen I see shadows from the branches just outside the window, dancing around in the breeze. The kids have settled their dino-dispute, the wife has poured the wine. It is time to sit down as a family and enjoy a little meat and potatoes.

Why didn't I think of this?

New food cart alert. PBJs on 23rd and Kearney in northwest Portland. This is not your father's peanut butter and jelly. For starters, they are grilled after being brushed liberally with melted butter.

Second, they contain things like homemade black cherry jam, apple wood smoked bacon, jalapeno peppers, and freshly ground organic peanut butter.

Or marrionberry jam, hazelnut butter and blue cheese.

And you know if Owen likes it, it must be...Edible.

Tanuki

The greeting at the door tells you all you need to know. You are entering a restaurant that plays by its own rules. The customer here is not always right. Luckily, the chef and the waitress are. Yes, there are only two people who work here. A waitress/bartender/busboy/dishwasher, and a chef/owner. Oh, and there is no kitchen either. The restaurant is in a lower level apartment in northwest Portland. The kitchen equipment consists of a gas grill out front, and a hot plate in the back. The food, which was amazing, was even more so when considering where it was prepared. My dinner mates and I decided on the omikase experience. You simply tell the waitress how much you want to spend, then she starts bringing you food. A lot of food. Too much food.
Tanuki is an izakaiya style restaurant. Izakaiya is essentially, Japanese pub grub. Food meant to be eaten while drinking alcohol. Beer, sake, and whisky. In Japan there is an izakaiya on every corner. I have plans to move to Japan very soon. You may notice in the picture of miso soup below, a peaceful reflection of a sated woman. Who is this person? Why does she appear so at peace with the world? What is she doing in my soup? Well, she is my sister, visiting from Texas. She just ate a huge meal of exquisite food. And I'm not sure how she got in there.

The final course of the night was a plate of pork ribs that had been cooked for six hours on a low grill, basted with, well, with I don't really remember what. Its my first review and I was stuffed by this point. I can tell you they were fantastic, sprinkled with green onions and fried shallots. The meat literally slipped off the bone. Sweet, savory, with just a little bit of heat. The crispy burned edges can only be described as tasting like pork caramel. Hmm. Pork caramel.

Home made noodles with spicy peanut chicken sauce and a raw quail egg. Mind bendingly good. In all my 32 years, never had I tasted something so unique and flavorful. This was a different kind of spicy. Not like hot wings, or curry. More of a deep burn way down low that only becomes apparent after you have swallowed.

Fried rice with kimchee and shrimp. Kimchee is a spicy pickled cabbage from Korea. South Korea I hope. There was just enough of it here to perk up the savory fried rice coated in scrambled egg and tiny, briny shrimp. How is this all coming out of a kitchen with no stove and only one cook?

Saury is a native japanese fish. It is the polar opposite of halibut. There are tiny bones that get stuck in your throat. The meat is oily and very fishy tasting. Here it is roasted whole and dressed only with lemon juice, and it is fantastic. It is a very primal experience to pick the meat off the bones of a creature that still has its eyeballs attached. Yeah, I'm eating you! Stop looking at me. Thank God for that third round of sake.

Finely chopped yellow tail with Japanese 5 spice powder and white soy sauce, served with dried seaweed for wrapping. I actually watched my sister and my friend Tony argue over who got the last bite of this. It never came to blows, but it was close. Thank God for that fourth round of sake.

Dried squid, pan fried then tossed with sweet chili mayonnaise. I admit that it doesn't sound good. Take my word for it though.

Hard boiled quail eggs steeped in cinnamon tea. Is this traditional? Who thought of this? Why the hell did they only give us six of them? These were creamy and salty and a little bit sweet and a lot bit delicious. No sake required for this one.

I should mention that several other dishes were served us that night. Oysters with kimchee ice. Yellow tail sashimi with real wasabi. Grilled Chinese sausage served with hot mustard. A big bowl of edemame. And one more that I think I may have been passed out when it was served. It was a huge meal, prepared by one person, on a hot plate. We ordered nothing. Omikase, chefs choice. 25 bucks each and we could hardly walk out of the place. Damned fifth round of sake.