Final Fantasy is Reality

My latest piece is live in the Portland Mercury!

Foodbuzz 24×24—Preparing An Epic D&D Feast

Nerds are not especially known for their good health. When thinking of the classic nerd archetypes, most of us easily picture an overweight, acne-ridden basement dweller or a gaunt, bespectacled rail in a black trench coat. And it’s no wonder—based on my research (and common …

Meyer limoncello

I know this isn’t quite the way the Italians do it,  but I reckon they might if they got their hands on a bushel of sweet Meyer lemons. I don’t have anything against Sorrento lemons, mind, I just think these smooth little globes of sunshine …

Foodbuzz 24×24: Yes We Can – Food Preservation for the Modern Palate

Now that summer is winding toward its long-lit end, our minds shift toward the harvest. Anyone with a patch of dirt is likely up to their ears in a plenitude of homegrown produce, and this overabundance can daunt the timid. What do you do with …

Bratwurst bierock with aqvavit mustard and Gruyère Mornay

The other day I was having a fierce hanker for soft pretzels with spicy mustard. The ones you get in the freezer section of even nicer stores like New Seasons are just fucking abysmal – dry, salty cardboard carbohydrate, salvageable only with copious cheese sauce. …

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Out of This Nettle, We Grasp This Dinner

Spring has officially sprung, and I was so tickled to take my first little stroll down to the forested wetlands at the nearby Reed College campus during an early break in the vernal rains. This time of year is my chance to shake the last …

Chicken Pot Pie

Hey, I know I can’t bake. I hate making pastry dough, and pie crust, and all that. Too much work. But one I thing I can do right is make fun of myself. I decided it would be absolutely hilarious if I used the scraps …

Rumple Minze hot chocolate

I got your Holiday Cheer right here. Ghirardelli Double Chocolate cocoa with Rumple Minze peppermint schnapps and marshmallows. Serve with Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate-Covered Peppermint Joe Joe’s for dunking. They taste like a cross between Girl Scouts Thin MInts and Oreos, with crushed candy cane …

Crawdad Sliders with Hot Sauce and Fennel Frond Mayo

…or, ZOMG! Crawfish Boil 2008! Now! With updated soundtrack! Our good friends Jeremy and Alicia have an annual crawfish boil, since Jeremy is from New Orleans and they have what might actually be a full acre in North Portland. Okay, this wasn’t really my food …

Edelweiss Sausage & Delicatessen

My great-grandparents, Elizabeth Heagel Arndt and Johann Arndt, immigrated to Portland from the Norka colony near Saratov, Russia in 1910. So, I think I’ve mentioned once or twice that I’m a (fucking) German girl, and while I generally use that as an excuse for my …