Day 363: Pepper Pot

The last of the weird food that I'll regret eating and takes forethought to make. I found the recipe from Food Network. It was one of the few recipes without tripe. I didn't want to scour Portland for that.

Liz put it all together using her sister's pressure cooker that I picked up the night before. I hated it. So wrong. Probably better than the tripe version.

Day 355: Hamburger

Sadly, Stanich's is closed on Sundays, so we went instead to Little Big Burger on Division. Yum, tiny burgers and truffle fries! Alex also had a root beer float.

So, so good! Despite the reggae version of Silver Bells, it was lovely (It's Christmas time ON the island...Really??).

Day 348: Bouillabaisse

We tried real hard to just get a small serving of Bouillabaisse, (I LOVE French, but WTF is going on with this word?!) but we had to order a full serving of this seafood stew. We went to Serrato in NW Portland, which was listed as a top Bouillabaisse outlet.

Poor Alex. He looks so wounded. We ate a very small amount of Bouillabaisse and left the rest as a hobo treat in NW Portland. We will be super glad when we can actually order and eat stuff that we want and like. Only 17 days to go!

Day 345: Noodle Ring

What is this? I made it. I ate it. and I still don't see its purpose. I had hopes for it, but the first bite was so wrong. It was like sweet noodle bread. So bad. So weird. How did this get a day?

Day 340: Gazpacho

We decided to make the gazpacho in our VitaMix (the best appliance ever). So easy. Tomato juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, green bell peppers, a dash of hot sauce and salt and pepper: Just dump it all in the VitaMix.

It turned out super good. Just pure, raw vegetables- so healthy! Alex despised it.

He does hate soup, I guess. It was like a Bloody Mary sans alcohol. Delicious.

Day 332: French Toast

Definitely not a common breakfast food for us- Alex thinks it's too eggy. I enjoy it, but I prefer a savory breakfast. I think this is maybe the second time we've had French Toast for as long as Alex and I have known each other.

He made the toast; I made the sausage

It was yummy. We should have put some cinnamon in the batter.

Day 325: Stuffing

Rather than prepare stuffing so close to Thanksgiving, we opted for Stovetop Stuffing (for your microwave oven!). This reminds me of middle school, a lot. We used to get the canisters of Stovetop Stuffing and make 'snacks' after school. Other snacks included Ramen. A lot of Ramen.

It was just as sodium-laden as I remember. Delicious. Alex was wary but ate the whole bowl.

Day 322: Vichyssoise

Vichyssoise is one of those things that sounds super fancy. I mean, Vichyssoise. So French. So many occurrences of the letter S. But it's really just potatoes, leeks, onions and heavy cream. So simple. The VitaMix made the pureeing a dream. Unfortunately, Alex hates soup (I feel like everyone should know this by now). So a cold, oniony soup might be the worst thing he could imagine (as far as soup goes).

Yup. He hates it. I really wish I had just retained the puree before I added the heavy cream, because that was yummalicious. It's still good, I guess. But not as good.

Day 320: Fast Food

On our way home from a night of board games we decided to get this out of the way in the wee hours.  We stopped by Taco Bell and picked up a few things.

I got a beef quesorito, a fiery cheesy gordita crunch, and crunch wrap supreme.  Loved it!

Day 319: Raisin Bran

Instead of the traditional Kellogg's Raisin Bran, Alex purchased General Mills Raisin Nut Bran, which was a great choice. He had it immediately after he woke up. That's why he looks like a little kid, I think.

The raisins were coated with some sugary substance, which was great until you had too many. I think we'll finish the box. Go fiber!

Day 316: Pizza With Everything Day (Except Anchovies)

I love pizza. I think we all know that by now. I'm also very picky about my toppings. I mainly stick with pepperoni, black olive, pineapple, or jalapeno. I hate pretty much everything else.

I ordered from Rudy's. It took a while to order, because ordering was complicated. I think if I actually order one with everything I would have broken their computer and oven. The tab would have also been about $120. To make it easy on the both of us, I had them make their "junk" pizza and added jalapenos and roasted garlic. I swear I was on the phone for 10 minutes trying to work out a compromise.

I took a bite. I also swallowed it. Hated every bite. The one bite. Liz loved it. I mainly ate the back up pizza.

Day 313: Scrapple

This seems weirder than it is. It is actually quite easy to find. It's mainly pork scraps and cornmeal. Liz and I got up early and went to J & M Cafe to have breakfast.

It is grainy, but it isn't bad. It doesn't hold a candle to bacon, but I'm cool with it. I got it with scrambled eggs, homefries, and como toast. Hearty enough to last me to dinner.

Day 310: Nachos

I would have waited until I got to work at the Clubhouse to do this, but I didn't want to risk not having wifi.  Also, I'm not sure I would have wanted a full nacho plate. I picked up a few supplies and made a small nacho plate for myself. Heated it in the oven this time rather than my usual microwave.

Very tasty. I'm definitely never using the microwave again for these. Of course I do need to remember hot plate. Not the best I've had. That would be at Sunset Lanes. They use cheddar cheese AND nacho cheese. MMMMmmmmmm!

Day 307: Sandwich

It's been a while since I've had sandwiches from East Side Delicatessen. I've wanted to pick some up for the past few weeks, but things would get in the way. Luckily this day allowed me to carve some time out.

I got what I usually get: an East Side Italian Sandwich. So good. Lots of flavor and a bit of spice.

Day 302: Oatmeal

I added this to things I purchased for lunch. Part of the Quaker oats "Real Medleys" called "Summer Berry Oatmeal +".  I'm not sure I'm a fan of plus signs in naming my food.

I'm not a huge fan of oatmeal. I'm quite picky about it. It has to be at just the right consistency. Since I was at work, I didn't want to fiddle it to perfection.  All in all, it was okay. Oddly there was too much berry and not enough oatmeal for my taste. It also could have been wetter.

Day 300: Potato

There are a number of ways to have potatoes. I decided on baked potatoes. It took a little long than I expected since the potatoes I got were a bit larger. This meant we ate the meatloaf before eating the potatoes.

Once they cooked through, they were tasty. I would love to eat more, but my belly can only hold so much.

Day 298: Greasy Foods

Our first thought: fried chicken, but we've already done that. So we went for Fish and Chips at the Horse Brass, which was deserted for once. Real good fish.

I was pleased because I got a sausage roll and one piece of fish AND a pint (had to sacrifice the scotch egg). Alex was happy because he got 2 pieces of fish and he won Ascension. Jolly good show, old man! As far as greasiness goes, it was spot on.

Day 297: Bologna

Bologna...or baloney...it's weird. Not an item we ever have. Alex was prepared to get a bologna pack from Oscar Meyer, but the thought of that languishing in the fridge bothered me greatly. I took him to the New Seasons Market (dot com!) Cheesecuterie counter and we purchased some Hebrew National turkey bologna and some Lebanon beef bologna. Alex made simple sandwiches and ate them after his Bento appetizer (!!!).

Pictured from top: Lebanon Beef Bologna, Hebrew National Turkey Bologna

He preferred the beef bologna, commenting that it tasted more like salami. And now all I can think of is that Oscar Meyer song. Good marketing, OM.

PS: That kid is weird. Where is he now? Ah. There he is.

Day 290: Pasta

To make this different than all the other specific pastas I've done I went with mini farfalle or, as most know it, bow-tie pasta. I just got some standard stuff at Safeway and cooked it up for lunch. Nummy-nummy!

Day 288: Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore is traditionally a winter dish, but I suppose it's close enough to mushroom season to squeak by. We went to the place down the street, DeNicola's. It's one of those spots that have obviously been there forever, but we'd never been. Yelp reviews were spotty, so I was semi-worried. Despite the very random decor, the waitstaff was nice and the atmosphere was homey. When Alex ordered his dish, he was given the choice of spaghetti or ravioli, which was slightly weird.

Tiny little ravioli! He was slightly distressed that the Cacciatore was served Hunter's Style (bone in), but he worked through it beautifully.

It was good. Lots of marinara. He ate a lot of it and then finished my spaghetti and meatballs. And all of the bread. The boy can eat!