Seen downtown, No. 5

Let me count a few of my daily life blessings for you.

First, from my employer I get a 24/7/365 mass transit pass. 

Second, I work in a building a single block from a bus stop where three bus lines that go west over the Willamette River stop at the beginning of my lunch hour. 

Third, those buses all stop a couple of blocks from the Wednesday downtown Portland Farmers Market, located at Shemanski Park in the South Park Blocks, behind the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. 

Fourth, while this particular version of the PFM is less than a square block, I prefer to think of it as being village-like, intimate and personable and filled to the brim with the bounty of folks who must have huge hearts because they're willing to grow all of these vegetables, fruits, and flowers--or to bake tarts and breads and cookies and quiches or make goat cheese--so that we can zoom over there on our lunch hour and shop among the trees. 

Fifth blessing, those founders of the city who donated the downtown blocks of land which have become home  of two versions of the Portland Farmers Market, this small one at the north end of the South Park Blocks and the huge Saturday PFM at the south end of the South Park Blocks.

So, this week on Wednesday I happily saw once again, up close and personal, why it is so ever-lovin' OK that it rains in Portland. These vegetables. Other fruits I didn't get a photo of because I was carrying too many vegetables back to work with me and couldn't manipulate the camera. And the flowers in the next photo, one that I took before I had all of the vegetables to lug.




Once I got home from work, I took everything out of the bags and washed it all and put it in these two colanders to drain.

Sixth blessing, knowing I'll soon cook and eat all of these beautiful vegetables. More on that next time.

• Seventh blessing, my friend Sarah of Portland Creamery sold me some mighty fine chevre and gave me a great big hug!

I'm back. Here are Friday's 3 Doors Down Cafe delicious dining and drinking delights.

Since Thursday, June 9, I've been either taking lots of photos, uploading lots of photos, and/or having a time with Flickr with lots of photos, not a totally horrible time with Flickr, but not the most fun I've ever had either. Now things appear to have come around to where I want and need them. Thank goodness.

I was hungry, thirsty, tired when I arrived. I left mellow, satisfied, ready to make it through shopping at Freddy's and then riding the bus on home with my rolling black bag stuffed with necessities like milk and saltines and such.

Here you can see why I left in grand state of existence.

Rhubarb Rita: Blue Agave Tequila, LIme, Lemon Juices, Rhubarb Syrup & Orange Liqueur. This was SO good that I really, really wanted a second one, but I knew I needed, above all desire, to be sure-footed while shopping. I only drank the one.


First appetizer: fromage de chevre mini pyramid, roasted beets, toast points. I smelled the toast when the plate was set down on the table, that's how quick the appetizer made it to me. Imminently spreadable cheese, which is, according to the menu, a classic French crumbly ash-covered goat cheese. Ash-covered? Didn't taste anything but smooth, creamy goat cheese. Thank goodness for goats and their milk and folks willing to make cheese with it. That cheese, combined with the sweetness of the roasted beets and the crispy, easily bitten and chewed toast--my, my. I am a blessed woman. Still wondering about the ash, though, so here's what I found at artisanalcheese dot com: Ash-Coated Cheese--Many goat cheeses, or chevres, are coated with a sprinkle of ash. Originally, the ash often came from oak charcoal, as was the tradition of cheeses from France's Loire Valley. Today, a recognized food grade activated charcoal ash is used which is sometimes salted and generally tasteless. The ash is helpful in mellowing the acidity to promote the affinage and produce a more delectable cheese. It also helps make the cheese surface more hospitable to the growth of molds that add to the complexity of the overall flavor.


Second appetizer: Potato gnocchi, Fava beans, duck confit, chicken stock with olive oil, and sauteed spring onion. Here's the back story: At lunch I called my older son Lamont who is sous chef at 3DD and asked, "Is duck confit on the menu tonight?" Since he is off on Thursdays, he wasn't sure but said there was a good chance that it would be since it had been part of a "3 for $21" special currently running at 3DD. (More about that below--don't miss it.) Oh, joy! Oh, boy! He was right. Suffice it to say that by the time I had finished, that bread to the left of the photo had helped me completely clean the entire bowl. Crunchy skin, meaty flesh, combined with the plump gnocchi and the dense Fava beans. Every morsel satisfied me more than the one before. To tell you the truth, I wasn't one bit sad when I had finished because it was perfect in proportion. Oh, and you can see there in the background that I didn't leave any of my first appetizer, either.

Here's the promised info about the "3 for $21"