A steak bandage

May 23, 2010

I was in a car accident the other day. Not major, but my first and enough to warrant a trip to the ER for whiplash. I’m glad to only have had a few days of neck and back pain and nothing more serious, except the hassle of a totaled car. To celebrate my survival, I [...]

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Blue Palate Badge: Pho Hung

January 31, 2010

Pho was one of those dishes I was always a little afraid to try. Mostly because I didn’t know anything about it. I knew it was soup and many versions contained tripe. Not a fan of animal intestines, I steered clear. Given my fear of pho, I wasn’t sure what compelled me one afternoon to [...]

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Experiments in budgeting: A meatless week

December 13, 2009

The other day my sister Caitlan asked me if I thought $350 was an excessive monthly food budget for one person. I said I thought it was, but eventually changed my mind. Those of us who are conscious about what we buy and put in our bodies can easily spend $12 a day on groceries. [...]

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Food on Vacation: Fun with Fewer Funds

December 9, 2009

Traveling on a tight budget can be tricky, especially in winter months when camping isn’t an easy option for those light on gear. After the costs of airfare or gas, hotel, and sightseeing add up, often there’s little leftover for fine wining and dining. The gastronomic experience in a new city or town is as [...]

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Blue Palate Special: Yucatan fry up

December 5, 2009

I’m definitely a savory breakfast person.  I’ll take hashbrowns over pancakes any day, and biscuits call out to me more than any version of danish or muffin. When I traveled to England and Ireland and ate my first fry up, I discovered the joys of beans for breakfast, and have been trying to conjure ways [...]

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Happy as a Dutch pig: Corn for dinner

August 29, 2009

A Dutch friend of mine once said he was appalled that Americans eat corn on-the-cob. “That’s what pigs eat,” he said. If that’s true, Dutch pigs must be happy pigs, because there’s nothing tastier ear of sweet summer corn slathered in butter and salt. Oink, oink. Summer means sweet corn and cheap corn. My parents [...]

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Blue Palate on the Road: Perfection con carne

August 19, 2009

Burritos are just about the perfect meal. They are cheap and filling and usually represent the major food groups. Put together with the right ingredients they are delicious. Only a handful of restaurants and food carts in Portland serve perfection in a tortilla, perhaps because we’re far from the border or because most the really [...]

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Blue Palate on the Road: Nature’s Kitchen

July 31, 2009

Interstate 5 from Oregon to California, which I’ve driven a dozen or so times in my life, is the quickest way to travel up and down the west. It’s scenic in parts, but mostly it’s just straight and quick. And if you’re trying to make it to San Francisco in less than ten hours, be [...]

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Cheap beer: Yes we can

July 26, 2009

I have mixed feelings about cheap beer. Beer is high in calories for a beverage and if I’m going to spend it I like to taste it. But a pint of Pabst Blue Ribbon or can of Hamm’s can be quite refreshing on a hot day and I can drink a couple and not feel heavy headed. [...]

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