Moser Good Eats and Good Times: First Road Trip of 2018

Each new year begins with my New Year’s resolutions and 2018 was no different. Some resolutions have been on the list in years past and require a renewed commitment (like losing ten pounds and, the hard part, keeping it off). Others are new. Writing them down is the first step for me. It’s a form of acknowledgement and, as I keep my resolutions on my computer desk top, serves as a daily reminder throughout the year. By the second day of January, I’d already started working my list and by the 5^th I was able to cross off one resolution: get rid of the chickens and get out of the egg business. Actually, I had to change it to read “get rid of most of the chickens.” We were up to almost forty hens. And, as far as a “business” goes, it was a loser from the start. After a few calls to chicken-loving friends and neighbors, we are now down to a manageable ten. Borrowing Jana’s favorite saying, this has been a Game Changer. Beyond the obvious reduction in work, we are now able to leave our ten hens inside their 10’x40’ hen house with water, enough food for a week, and not worry about them (literally) pecking each other to death. When we travel, no need for a caretaker to let them out in the morning and put them away at dusk. Here’s a picture of the old gals having a downsizing meeting.

Pink Slip Friday

We spent MLK weekend mid-January in Portland. It was a relaxing, low-key visit with a nice mix of good eats (including our first time making harissa), a movie (The Post) at Lauren’s favorite cushy theater, a DIY home improvement, and a bit of shopping. Let’s begin with the shopping. Did I mention Jana and Andy have set a date for their wedding? It will be April 14^th. Stressed over what we should wear to the semi-formal event, shopping was at the top of our list. Wasting no time, we got right on it and within a few hours of arriving and having dinner we set out for Nordstrom’s. To our surprise, it didn’t take us long to find a beautiful navy dress and matching shoes for Lauren and something not quite so beautiful, but suitable, for me. Pressure’s off! We are ready for Jana’s special day. The home improvement project this visit was a carryover from our last trip in November. Lauren’s birthday and Christmas gifts included Nest smoke detectors. Two were left to install in the upstairs bedrooms with hers located at the highest point in the ceiling. Not an insurmountable job, but one that took some finessing. Verne contributed his skill at wiring and Lauren her agility. Like all of these DIY projects, one thing led to another and before it was finished she was crawling along the space above her closet and vacuuming dust that had accumulated since the unit was built. Not seen from below, but the knowing would have gotten her up there sooner or later. Better that she did it with me at the ready to call 911.

We don’t generally cook much when we’re in Portland. There are just too many great places to eat and never enough time to fit them all in. This visit was no exception, however, we did have a new cooking experience. I’ve never purchased harissa (or eaten it for that matter), but have been seeing it used more and more in my cooking magazines and newer cookbooks. It was in Lauren’s new Milk Street Cookbook that I found a recipe for homemade harissa (along with recipes to use it) that I suggested we make. A welcome trip to Penzey’s and Zupan’s (a local market that even surpasses Lauren’s favorite market, New Seasons), and we had the ingredients needed to make harissa. They were really fairly common ingredients available at Safeway for half the price, but we never pass up an opportunity to visit Penzey’s and Zupan’s is an equally amazing experience for a foodie. Harissa is a North African condiment made from dried chiles, roasted red peppers and tomatoes, lots of garlic, and spiced with caraway and cumin seeds. It’s really very easy to make if you have a food processor or blender and a versatile seasoning for veggies and meat. Lauren used it the following week to spice up roasted potatoes and loved it. We’ve done the same since coming home and have also enjoyed it on scrambled eggs. It’s my new “salsa”. Tasty!

Making harissa

One jar of magic!

We enjoyed one more new experience this trip, a visit to Oregon Rail Heritage Center across from OMSI. It’s the only working steam railroad museum in Oregon with three vintage steam locomotives. It has a full machine shop with volunteers who donate their time and expertise to restore the old trains. The museum offers 10-mile train rides on Saturday and during November and December on the Holiday Express. Looks like we’ll be visiting the Oregon Rail Heritage Center next time we’re in town on a Saturday or make it a big family affair next Thanksgiving weekend. One more reason to love Portland!