Monthly Archives: August 2013

food photography: beet and beef stew

I love stew.

In particular, beef stew. There’s nothing quite as simple and comforting as a slow cooked, filling, and savory meal. I typically have a go-to recipe that I vary little from, but I thought I’d try a new twist using golden beets, celeriac, anchovies, and herbs de Provence. The recipe I used is from Chris Kresser’s site.

Stewing meat, vegetables, and spices together doesn’t get any easier. I like the ease of starting with a lot of fresh ingredients (and perhaps a few shortcuts if you don’t have your own stock or tomato sauce at hand), and ending up with something so hearty.

You start by sauteing the onions and shallots in your heavy bottomed pot. Add garlic when your onions are nearly finished (garlic can burn easily), then add all the rest of the ingredients to the pot save for a couple cloves of chopped garlic that you’ll add at the very end for a little punch.

Golden beets

celery root/celeriac (You could also use turnips, parsnips, or carrots)

red wine and beef stock

bay leaves and anchovies

tomato sauce, tomato paste, and herbs de Provence

grass fed beef

Once you’ve put all the ingredients into the pot, you simply leave it in the oven for a few hours. The low, slow heat does all the work tenderizing your meat and vegetables, and it melds all the flavors.

You can see even more photos of this stew on my Flickr page.

Portland Photography: Sellwood Walking Tour

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I joined a walking tour courtesy of my friend Rachel from Sellwood Soap! (She gifted me a ticket!) I learned so many new things about my lovely new neighborhood and it’s layered history as a blue collar railroad and sawmill town!

Sellwood was originally settled around 1848 by the Luelling family who brought five hundred fruit trees with them in their trek. Later, John Sellwood purchased three hundred and twenty acres from the Luelling family. Eventually, the town of Sellwood was founded and named for John Sellwood.

The Sellwood Bridge 1925

Nearby was the sawmill, Pendleton Woolen Mill (still in business today in a different location), and the railroad. It’s currently under construction and will be until 2016.

Portland Rowing Club Entrance (originally located by the Morrison Bridge)

The house in the photograph below was moved from another location. It was a parish house for a local church. (I learned a lot of buildings and homes have been moved! Who knew that was a thing?) See the house below the picture of the photo to see it in it’s happy new locale.

We saw condominiums where the location of the former Mount Hood Brewery (which originally began as Wilherm’s Brewery in 1890.)

Our tour guide suggested that the house below may have been a Sears Roebuck mail order house, but she was unsure.

The red house below sits next to the private gold course which borders Clackamas county yet sits on the Multnomah county side. It also had been moved from its original location on the golf course grounds.

This was a beautiful garden hidden in a neighborhood.

There are railroad tracks in our neighborhood that are still occasionally used but were part of the original Interurban Train Line. The current Springwater Corridor Trail which is used by bikers and pedestrians sits on a former rail line running parallel to a current one.

Our lovely and incredibly knowledgeable tour guide who also writes for the local Sellwood Bee.

We walked past a building which served as a break room and place to hang out for rail workers.

A former boarding house.

There are many multi-family style houses left in the neighborhood which served as affordable housing during economic hard times. Not unlike ours.

Another former boarding house.

This house below and the house below it were built about fifteen years apart with the same plans. They sit in adjacent lots. I’m told we have a poet laureate living in one of them.

Mrs. Randall’s boarding house.

In the photo below, you can see this was a former transfer building. Below that you can see the original building now painted gray and purple.

The brick building which now houses The Bike Commuter formerly served as the City Hall building upstairs and the Sellwood Bank below.

Here’s a building which will be torn down soon. The Black Cat Tavern’s last day is Saturday. The land has been sold. Supposedly, the building is not in salvageable shape. It will be rebuilt as condos above with retail space below.

The building below is now the SMILE station which is the Sellwood-Moreland Improvement League. It used to be the firehouse.

This building was a confectionery!

The Original Leipzig Tavern Building now houses Gino’s. It also served as a silent movie theatre.

This building sits behind Gino’s but was originally situated on the corner.

I’ve wondered about this building for some time. It’s nestled in the neighborhood, but there is no sign on the exterior. Our guide said it used to be a church but now is The Sellwood Playhouse. Just opened in fact!

This last photo is of Oaks Pioneer Church. It was moved in 1960 from Milwaukee, Oregon. It was the 1851 St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. They moved it on a barge and floated it on the Willamette River. It is deconsecrated and is now used for weddings, memorials and family reunions.

There’s so much more to Sellwood, and this is just a small sampling of my neighborhood!

I’d also appreciate if I missed any information, or if you know of any that I have incorrect, if you’d let me know in the comments! Thanks!

food photography: macarons

recipe: brandied cherries

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I like whiskey and bourbon. I like to order an old fashioned.

I don’t always enjoying paying a bartender eight to ten dollars though.

Cherry season has come (and almost gone) here in the Pacific Northwest, so I thought I would try my hand at making my own cocktail cherries since we all know maraschino cherries are super gross.

Brandied Cherries:

2 lbs of red cherries

4 cups of drinkable brandy

2 cups of sugar

2-4 sticks of cinnamon

4 cloves

4 allspice berries

Rinse the cherries in a colander. Remove the stem and pit the cherries. Place the cherries in a jar.

In a saucepan, heat the remaining ingredients on medium low heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Pour the liquid over the cherries. Let the mixture come to room temperature (or ice bath it) then stick it in the back of your fridge for six weeks. You could alternatively water bath can it, but I am too lazy for that at this point. Although I might have considered it if I had gone cherry picking.

In six weeks, you’ll have perfect cocktail cherries, but I’ve also put them in a homemade chocolate chili ice cream.

Old Fashioned:

1/2 -1 tsp of sugar

several dashes of Angostura Orange Bitters

1 tsp of club soda or water (optional)

1 brandied cherry

1 giant ice cube or sphere

1.5 ounces of Bulleit bourbon or whiskey

1 orange wedge or peel (optional)

Put the sugar, bitters, and water in a glass. Mix or muddle them together. I like to muddle in my cherry too at this point and it would be a fine place to throw in an orange peel or even lime for something crazy, but try it without muddling fruit for your first time so you know what it really tastes like. Add one big ice cube. This is important. It’s preferred to have one large ice cube, so there is less surface area to melt. The original teaspoon of liquid is going to get your flavors melded together, and now your ice cube will slowly melt and the extra liquid will open up the flavors of the Bulleit, but you don’t want lots of little ice cubes because they will just water down your drink. Lastly, pour the Bulleit over the top and enjoy!

Cheers!