Flamingoes at the Urban Cafe

One of my favorite destinations in Astoria is the Urban Cafe.  It's a great place for lunch, although we've been known to indulge in one their wonderful desserts as a late night treat.  Today though, I was drawn in by the flamingos.  There must have been 50 of them in the window.

 I had to check out the plants showcasing a small outside eating area too.  OK, it's been a long, wet spring, and we're starved for color.

They have a great selection of Quesadillas-Caribbean 'Jerk' Chicken, Curried Chicken, Apple and Walnut,

and Roasted garlic, to name just a few. 

 

Another popular menu item with my family is their Garlic Pesto Chicken Mac-a creamy, cheese, basil sauce with chicken and penne pasta.

I usually opt for one of their yummy Salads like their Urban Greek Spinach Salad, or T. Paul's Thai Salad, or their Cajun Fish Tacos. Whatever you go for, you must try the Blue Iced Tea shown below!

Friends of the Library Pop Up Store

Earlier this month, the Friends of the Library Pop Up Store opened on NW 23, where the old Music Millennium store used to be.  The city is making it very attractive to non-profits to occupy vacant storefronts in the core downtown area.  It's a win win situation for both the city and the non-profit organizations. 

The store is supposed to only be open for two months, but there's the possibility of it staying open longer. 

In addition to over three thousand donated books, there's some amazing art work, cards, jewelry and gift items.

There's a great children's area which is totally user friendly for the kids to sit and look through books, and a chance for harried parents to get a chance to browse. The kids love being able to go through and read the books, and if Shelly's around, she's been known to drop everything to sit and read to them.

It's worth the trip downtown if you're looking for a good read, or a special gift or card.  Plus, the art is very reasonably priced too.  All the book sales go to the Multnomah Library for special programs, plus a  percentage of the art sales which are sold on consignment.  It's a great example of a win win situation for the Artists and the Library.

Above, some fun collage art, and below, some beautiful acrylic paintings that come framed and ready to hang in your home or office.  New art comes in daily, and new books come in every Wednesday.

There's a wonderful selection of cards....

Did I mention over 3,000 books?  I snapped up several barely used gardening books for under $5 each!

Stop by and check us out!

Oprah's Last Show Girlfriend Get together -The End of An Era

The Moscow Mule and Kleenex, in case we do the 'Ugly Cry!'

The last Oprah show aired on May 25th, 2011. It was a much anticipated/dreaded event among my friends.  We are among Oprah's legions of Ultimate Fans, although we never set foot in her Chicago Studio, or made the cut for the Australia trip, or even dreamed of being in the audience when Oprah gave away all those Favorite Things.  No, we are the minions who faithfully tuned in each day. I guess you could say that we're the 'Silent Majority' of Oprah fans.  We've scheduled teacher conferences, Dr. Appointments, play dates, shopping trips, house cleaning etc, all around that all important 4 PM time slot.  No calls would be taken,

 no dinners made (except during the commercials), until the show was over.  Now we are facing a veritable desert of How to Live our Lives, how to determine what books to read, how to navigate the twists and turns of our life's journey without her inspiration and guidance. Oh the misery....

When in a quandary make a Moscow Mule.  They really are yummy!

OK, we didn't have the fancy tin cups.  I thought this was a drink that Oprah's staff made up to go along with the Yosemite trip, but not so much.  It's been around since the 50's? and there really are cute little tin cups that go with the drink.  My friend Barb's (my Gail) parents actually had them!!!  Who knew?

http://www.oprah.com/food/Moscow-Mule-Recipe_1

We figured after all the wistful conversation we needed something substantial to eat, so I made this Chopped  Italian Salad.  It was very good, but bear in mind that I'm one of those 'A little of this, and a little of that" cooks who loves to adapt recipes, so make sure the quantity of ingredients sounds right to you considering your families needs.

 

Italian Chopped Salad

1/3 c olive oil

1/2 c rice vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon each oregano, dill,

3 cloves garlic

1/3 c fresh basil chopped

1 head chopped romaine lettuce

1 red pepper finely diced

1 sm. red onion diced

3 oz. each Genoa salami cut into strips

3 oz. hard cheese diced

1 cup canned, drained, garbanzo beans

1/4 c Kalamata sliced olives

1/4 c chopped Italian Parsley

1/2 c. fresh Parmesan Cheese

OK, we had some Coconut Shrimp (from Costco), and some Pita Bread to go with the cheese and veggies.  The Coconut Shrimp was worth the calories!

In the end, Oprah spoke from her heart.  It was her Mission Statement, and it was perfect.  We'll miss you Oprah!  You're the BEST!  Thank you for a great 25 years!  Looking forward to OWN.

 I thought Mighty Girl did a great job 'Telling it like it is' what we have all learned from Oprah, so I'm linking you to her Blog: 

http://mightygirl.com/2011/05/23/oprahs-last-show-project-what-have-you-learned/

Painting at the Rhododendron Gardens

It's been such a rainy and busy Spring that the Art Buddies have had a hard time getting together and painting.  It seems that members of our group have been busy traveling, moving, working, or dealing with health issues, so our time together has been pretty hit and miss.  Sometimes impromptu works, so when it looked like we had a clear day, Joanie and I were able to grab our art supplies and head out to the Portland Rhododendron Gardens.

It was pretty crowded, but the flowers were beautiful, and we saw lots of lovely spots to paint from.

Due to the wet spring we've had, the Roddies were about a month behind, so the season will extend well past normal. There's so many things to paint, buildings, ducks, a bridge and foliage, that we know we have to come back in the fall.  The gardens were really lovely, and I tried to capture as many angles as I could for painting later.  I couldn't believe that in my haste to get on the road early in order to capture the early morning light, that I forgot my camera and had to use my cell phone.  

Easy Infinity Scarf Pattern

Last year was the Year of the Infinity Scarf, I'm told.  I guess I'm a little late to the party, but I wanted to make one even though it's the end of the cool season ( I hope!).  There are so many patterns you can use to make these scarves, but this one is pretty mindless, and makes a great 'Take Along' project.

  Directions:  Cast on 200 stitches.  I used size 10 1/2 circular needles and a bulky yarn. Join ends and attach a marker

Knit the 1st row to the end

On the second row, Knit 1, Purl 1 to the end

Repeat the pattern until you reach the length you want

That's it!

The reverse side has a nice pattern to it as well.

Cheesecake Tarts with Raspberry Sauce

Last night was our monthly Book Club meeting at my house.  In our group, the hostess cooks dinner for everyone, and we all enjoy a relaxing meal and conversation.  I haven't entertained in a while and I forgot how much fun it was to plan a sit down dinner, and bring out the good dishes...in this case my Mom's china, which she keeps at my house since she doesn't entertain much anymore.  It was a good time also, to spruce up the house and get out the Easter Decorations. 

For dessert, I served Brownies and mini Cheesecake Tarts with Raspberry Sauce.  They take a little work, but are easy to make ahead of time:

2 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese softened

3/4 c sugar

3 eggs separated

butter

1/2 c graham cracker crumbs

Cream together the cream cheese and sugar; add slightly beaten egg yolks.  In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and fold into cream cheese mixture.  Butter 18 miniature muffin tins, and coat with the cracker crumbs. Fill each cup 3/4's full.

Bake 350 for 15 min.

When cool, top with raspberry sauce and refrigerate until ready to serve

Raspberry Sauce

1 10 oz. pkg. frozen raspberries, thawed

2 tablespoons currant jelly

1/4 tsp. lemon juice

t tablespoon apricot brandy

1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in two tablespoons water

Heat berries in a saucepan, and add the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, and then thicken with cornstarch mixture.

Dreaming of Key West

Well in Portland, it's rained the past 25 of the past 26 days of March, and we're on track for not only high rain totals, but low temps!  I've been wistfully looking back at out trip to Florida last month, and dreaming of Key West...although, come to think of it, it rained there too, although, fortunately not every day!

I love the Conch Style houses the make up most of Key West.  The are so unique and quaint in their Caribbean style.  I was surprised that most of the homes had metal roofs, and then I read about a big fire that destroyed many homes in the 1900's, causing wooded roofs to be outlawed.

 

The houses are so quaint.  I love the ceiling fans and porches that you find so often in the South.

And secret garden hideaways.  There's so little land, every inch of space is used

Oh, the flowers!

And quaint buildings.

and colorful,fun shops!

A lovely view to beat the winter blues!

Snow Event and Minestrone Soup

Well, it was a rude return from sunny Florida to a 'weather event' in Portland.  We don't call it a snow storm, because you never know what you're getting here. You could have snow, but more likely you'll get slush and ice.  After a week of non-stop weather hype, we finally did get a little skiff of snow. Meanwhile, the night before, I was at the store getting everything I would need to survive alone for 4 days, since 'dear husband' was out of town, and it would be me and the animals stuck on the hill!  I'm sure anyone from the East Coast laughs their heads off every time Portland goes into weather panic mode. In the end, we did get about two inches of snow, just enough to close schools and keep people off the roads.

On a cold day, nothing sounds better to me than soup, so I put together a pot of Minestrone that I adapted from a recipe.  Measurements are approximate, and you can adjust to fit your needs.  This soup freezes really well, so it's great to put some away for later.

Vickie's Minestrone Soup

Saute 1 small onion with about 4 cloves of Garlic in Olive Oil

add 6 diced slices of Canadian Bacon

add 2 cartons of Chicken Broth

1 large can of diced Tomatoes

2 sliced zucchini

1 ea. diced Green and Red Pepper

3/4 c sliced Carrots

1 Anaheim Pepper diced

1 can White Beans

1 can Black Beans

add Dill, Italian Seasoning, 1 tsp red Pepper Flakes

2 Bay Leaves

simmer for 1 hour

1/2 hour before serving, add 1/2 c. Orzo

serve with a handful of fresh Spinach

top with Parmesan cheese

Serve with Olive French Bread...Yummy!

Art Deco in South Miami Beach

We were so impressed by the amazing amount of Art Deco Architecture in Miami Beach.  There's about a 20-block district that's protected by the National Register of Historic Places.  The buildings were built between 1910 to post-WWII.  However, most that are still standing were built in the 30's and 40's.

 Many of my favorite buildings were on Ocean Drive facing the beach.

I loved the clean lines on these buildings, accented by little decorative touches like this flower inlay.  Most of the buildings that I saw had nature or nautical-themed inlays.

This was the foyer of the hotel we stayed in.  Many of the places we visiting had white battery operated candles that looked very realistic and are on a timer to go on and off at a specific time. Perfect for a party.

Neon signs were big!  A nice part of the modern look.

Everyone was eating outside at these hotels...definitely a great place to people watch.

This building was my favorite.  Lots of these fun hotels had classic cars parked outside to match.  Haven't seen one of these DeSotos in ages. When I was little, we used to call them "Pig Cars!"

Another fun car that definitely adds to the ambience.

View from the beach of some stately palms and classic hotels.