Professor Falafel

Falafel

+

Professor

=

The Sublime

Last night was an epic Portland experience; a cheap bar off Hawthorne followed by the best falafel I've ever had, served to me by a young, hot falafel-maker. I don't know his name, but we bestowed upon him the nomiker "Professor Falafel", which turned into "Doc Falaf" (we wanted it to rhyme like "Doc Oc" real bad, but it just wasn't happening). I believe this started by me telling him, "You're so good at falafel making, I bet you have a PhD in it". Doc Falaf, I'll be back; keep that falafel griddle warm for me.

Easter

Every year my family goes to midnight mass, as do all our friends, and afterward the parish holds this gigantic feast. Picture Beowulf's Mead Hall scene, but with less bloodshed and more suits and ties. There are like, 4 cafeteria tables worth of goodies including caviar, marinated shrimp, homemade meatballs, smoked salmon, sushi, ham, souvlaki, and more ham. And then in the "Fireside Room" there are 5 tables full of desserts. I'm not joking. Best of all, there are two tables of champagne bottles. There's basically one bottle per person. The first time I got drunk was because of this event, ahh memories!

Anyway, almost every kid I grew up with is there, so it's a crazy reunion party, too. We all get to meet new boy/girlfriends (and judge them), hear about someone's annoyingly perfect younger/older siblings, and complain about that one chick's creepy dad who almost ran one of us over in the parking lot one Easter (true story). We all consume a shit ton of the stuff we gave up for Lent (ie booze, chocolate, candy, meat), feel ill, walk around outside for awhile, then eat and drink some more until we're kicked out by the priest around 1am. It's pretty epic, and I don't really know of any other church that goes as balls-out as mine does for Easter.

Anyway, the Saturday night feast means no one in my family eats (excepting Easter Bunny candy, duh) until Easter dinner with the whole family, at which we consume pretty much the same amount as we did the night before. Except this time we don't have to make small talk with a family friend who used to drive me to soccer practices. This year there was a family contest to see whose Peep could be microwaved the largest. Exploding Peeps are disqualified. We also did a Peep battle, aka Peep Jousting, in which you insert toothpicks into the chests of each Peep, face the Peeps toward each other in the microwave, and see which Peep expands enough to poke the other in the chest with its toothpick first. Mine got second place.

And that was my Easter.

Things I Like #15

Ebelskivers (eh-bull-skeev-ers)

These are Nordic pancakes, traditionally served at Christmas, but delicious year-round. Apparently people in those icy northern countries don't eat them for breakfast like Americans do, but as a dessert. Weird. Obvi they are a breakfast food! Anyway, they're sometimes filled with jam or chocolate, and sometimes they are just dough balls that you dip in jam or chocolate or syrup or whatever pleases you, really. My uncle makes them every Christmas morning, and my cousins and I eat them like they're filled with crack instead of raspberry preserves. They're a pain to make because it's a bitch to flip them in their little griddles (although the below photo from Williams Sonoma shows an excellent technique with chopsticks that I will have to suggest to my uncle the next time I see him), and the first few batches usually burn or don't cook all the way, but damn, if they aren't totally worth it! Seriously, you can eat like 40 of these. One year we had a contest to see how many we could eat before feeling like we'd barf. One cousin made the unfortunate mistake of washing them down with sparkling cider, and the combination of several dozen jelly-filled ebelskivers with the sweetly carbonated beverage was disastrous. We got in trouble and were banished to the day-light basement until dinner.

Thanks, Thanksgiving!

Dear Thanksgiving Weekend,

Thank you for bringing me so much fun, food, and friend-family-time!

Wednesday:

Roommate L and Roommate's sister M came home to Portland!!!! Sexytimes at Starbucks for the three of us. Almost peed my pants when I saw them waiting for me. Around 10pm Best Friend L came home. Greeted her at her house and drank and watched shitty reality TV with her and her mom.

Thursday:

Woke up late, ate my favorite Nancy's Yogurt, watched National Dog Show, made carrot side dish, went over to grandpa's at 2:30, began eating and drinking at 3:30, drank and played cards with cousins until 1 am. 17 relatives in attendance. This was the night my 10 year old male cousin told me that 23 was too old to have a boyfriend; either I'd have to be married or give up and become a spinster. He also said that you peak at 15. Well, shit, I hope children aren't as wise as people claim them to be.

Friday:

Felt disgusting, watched shitty reality TV with Best Friend L. For the second day in a row went over to grandpa's house at 3, had our traditional Leftovers Dinner, drank a lot, played more games with my cousins, watched new Star Trek movie with my cousins and several aunts and uncles. Enjoyed family time, but was happy to escape to grab drinks with Best High School Friends, K and M. Got pretty sloppy, went to VooDoo Doughnuts to sop up all the liquid in us, went to some dive bar downtown and ran into a ton of high school people, got two free drinks from unattractive yet generous gentlemen, and then didn't have to drive home!!!! Thank god for K having some family shit to do the next morning at 8 and offering to be the DD.

Saturday:

Slept in, massive hang-over, lounged at Best Friend L's until her mother forced us to go pick up the sushi for L's birthday dinner party. FOUND OUT THAT WEST PORTLAND'S WATER HAS E COLI IN IT, ergo did not shower. By this point had not showered since Wednesday*, and probably reek of turkey and alcohol. Best Friend L and I tried to make ourselves look presentable sans water (Jesus H. Christ, are we in Appalachia or what?!!), put on outfits entirely deriving from Forever21, ate a bunch of the sushi before guests came so we got the best rolls, made Lava Lamp Cocktails (pomegranate liquor, champagne, pomegranate seeds--seeds float up and down like a Lava Lamp), childhood friends and all their families attended, which of course meant we drank like fiends, almost puked up birthday cake but continued drinking Cooks, learned disturbing sexual secrets from mothers of childhood friends, drank more to erase those unpleasant revelations, played Yahtzee, picked at leftover cake, drank more, felt relieved when adults left at midnight, put on sweatpants and watched Degrassi with L and two other friends, passed out around 3am for the second night in a row.

Sunday:

Sleep in real, real late. Get woken up by L at 11:30 telling me to get my ass down to her house because her mother is taking us to brunch in NW Portland. Eat scrambled eggs and orange juice because they can't make tea due to the LITERAL SHIT in Portland's water supply. Walk around NW 23rd Ave for several hours. Discover that one of my favorite New York stores, Brooklyn Industries, has its only West Coast location on 23rd. Feel remarkably un-hungover despite, according to L's math, having consumed 2 bottles of champagne by myself. Come home around 4 and nap until 6. Return to L's for dinner. Bum around her house until she has to leave for the airport. Go look at Christmas lights with my parents.

*It is Sunday at 10:45 and I have still not showered. That's right, my friends, 5 days of food and alcohol and no shower. And my hair has never looked better. No joke, totes serious.

Miracle of Miracles!

Just because summer's winding down doesn't mean the fun has to. Last night we celebrated the male-roommate's 23rd birthday with style. And by 'style' I mean Cooks. Male-roommate is friends with lots of people who I used to work with on a daily basis, but who I'm not close enough to see regularly now that school's over, so I got very excited to have a mini-reunion with those fine gents. I stayed up way past my bedtime! But, luckilly, when I was grumpy next morning due to the previously stated lack of sleep, a miracle saved me.

A Miracle of St. Nicholas, to be exact.

St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral is on our block, and they were hosting a festival/bazaar called "A Taste of Old Russia". $3 pirogies and vodka shots. A Miracle, I tell you! God was smiling upon me, as pirogies are widely known to be the best hangover food on the PLANET. Yes, I had to endure church ladies and old priests and little grubby kids, but in reward, I was granted a delicious, so good I thought it was glazed, pirogie.

Happy as a Clam

I was at the fam's beach house all last week. All of my mom's extended family lives down there, and has for generations, so when we're there, we get lots of visitors and lots of weird offers, such as you can only get on the coast. "Do you want some of our left-over Salmon?" (obvi) or "Have you ever wanted to tour the canning factory?" (no) or "Would you like some of our live bait?" (ew). However, from time to time, in months not containing an "R", I am asked if I want to go butter clamming. My great-uncle is one of the only non-commercial owners of Willapa Bay property, meaning that we get to harvest all types of world-famous, top-price clams for free. Now who says "no" to that?!

How does one hunt the wily clam?

You put on rubber boots and a rain slicker, trudge out 1000 feet into the bay at low tide, brave the muck of the bay floor, and bend down for 15 minutes. You dig into the muck with a trowel, hit something hard, dig it out with your fingers and wash off the dirt in the water, and see if it's a clam or a piece of gravel. Usually it's a clam. Then you toss it into a bucket. Repeat 75 times. And that's how you clam hunt. They are the Deadliest Catch, for certain. Then you get to double-boil them and eat them with lemon-butter. NOM NOM NOM.

Taco Tuesday

Big success, pals. Taco Tuesday was an event for the ages!

I think our apartment will smell like taco seasoning until Judgement Day. 5 packets of seasoning will do that to ya.

In other news, Garrett beat me real bad at Phase 10, the best card game ever. A rematch will have to be had. Perhaps we'll live-blog it.

Sunday and Monday

Sunday and Monday were quite epic in scope.

Sunday: I bought a fan. Sunday also included some nice phone time with BFF "L" who told me she is getting an apartment and living in NYC for the year, and that I should move there, too. Seriously considering it.
Then The Other L and I bought food for Taco Tuesday, the classy dinner party we are hosting this evening. We bought 5.5 lbs of beef, 36 taco shells, 5 packs of taco seasoning, and about a gallon of salsa and guac. We are pretty excited for Taco Tuesday. It's almost as exciting as Bum Wednesday.
Pal "T" and I went to the park and played our favorite card game, Phase Ten. He owned me. Hard.
Sunday also meant family dinner (and by family I mean roommate). The Other L and I made pasta alla carbonara. So that the eggs don't scramble, you actually cook them with the heat of the hot pasta in the bowl. It was like a science experiment. A delicious science experiment!

Monday: L and I went to the fabric store and bought fabric to decorate the apt. I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich for lunch. L's Mad Men season 2 came, so we watched the first episode, and then we went to have dinner at Rancho Bravo with E, K, and M. And we ate Molly Moon's. And we sat in Cal Anderson. And we got accosted by crazies. And the weather was perfect.

All in all, two highly successful days.

Ice Cream You Scream

Ahh, spring on Cap Hill, what is more pleasurable? Strolling Cal Anderson, seeing everyone's tats on their pasty upper arms, drinking on Linda's deck, and, just in time for summer in the city, the brand new branch of Molly Moon's. It is quickly becoming the sober/drunk (and everything in between) hot spot. I go there on a weekly basis. I think I've tasted all the flavors, and my faves are (in descending order): Balsamic strawberry, Scout mint, Birthday cake, Vivace coffee, and Honey lavander. Nom nom nom.

I haven't had any this week yet, and as the mercury's pushing 75, I think tonight promises to be an excellent night for ice cream.

Visitors

My friend Kayla visited this weekend. She went to SU for a term and then transfered to UO. I've visited her a few times and she's visited me a few times, so I already knew the friend she brought with her, Angela. I feel like the whole weekend was like Best Food Tour of Seattle. We were eating pretty much non-stop. On Friday night we meandered around the hill and happend upon the Cabiri performance at Cal Anderson, and then we went to Via Tribiunali, my fave restaurant in Seattle. After that we hit Molly Moon's new Cap Hill location (I had the strawberry balsamic) and called it a night. Saturday morning was spent at Pike's sampling food and eating Piroshkies for lunch. That night we met up with our friends from freshman year, Jess and Cara, for dinner at the Elysian. We braved the torrential downpour, and it was worth it. Sometimes the Elysian is so-so, but it was pretty excellent last night. We had a great time together and continued the evening at Barca, where our pal Ivy and her new husband Kevin joined us. Being reunited was very fun, and we all vowed to get together once more before graduation. Today Kayla and Angela and I went to the U district and had lunch at the Cafe on the Ave, thanks to a recommendation from my UW friend, and we tooled around the Ave and campus in the sunshine. Such a yummy weekend!

Seattle Nights

You know it's going to be a good night when you and your pals start at Hot Mama's and end at Maharajah.

The beginning of spring quarter is going quite well, if I do say so myself! Happy hour tonight, happy hour tomorrow night, lots of time at work, pretty awesome classes, and LOTS of denial in regards to the future and the state of the economy! Woohoo!

Tonight was a "welcome back to the west coast" kind of night (more on east coast adventures later), and I'm pretty stoked to be back in my home turf. It's all well and good to plan for the future on the east coast, but my heart will always be in these rainy, small, polite cities of the Pac N-Dub. It's home.

I'm looking forward to a great last term in this wonderful city with even more wonderful friends. Cheers!

Nice Stuff from Late January-Early February

I've been busy the last few weeks, and here are the activities I want to give a shout-out to:

The Siena study abroad photography show
Getting funding for Italian Club
Italian conversation group
Housewarming parties
Meeting with Signore Giuseppe
Shopping
MLK weekend
Meeting Rick Steves for the 2nd time
Happy hours (and hours, and hours)
Hanging out in Chardin and making a dinosaur-land scene
Watching one of my best friends kick ass in a rowing competition
Learning to make Panini on my Foreman Grill
Cleaning my room
Making Elephant Ears using tortillas
Going to the Frye
THE INAGURATION/drinking champagne at 9am on a Tuesday and then giving a presentation on Indian politics at 10am
Celebrating Kelsey's 22nd birthday by dressing up as a jungle creature
Brunches
Dinners
Reuninting with Kat
Getting 8 hours of sleep
A couple of great new YouTube videos
Drinking an entire bottle of red wine while watching "The Dutchess"
Doing Crossword puzzles
Compleating my "25 things" survey on Facebook

Yes, all in all, it's been a good few weeks! Jan and Feb are so gray and gloomy that it's easy to forget all the fun things that happen at the start of the quarter. Yay for the start of the quarter, boo for the middle of the quarter, and I hope the end comes soon!

Mmm yummy!

Last week I had happy hour with some pals at a new place on 10th (across from Aveda in the building that they've been renovating for like, EONS). It's called Oddfellow's Cafe. It was an old Oddfellow's Hall, hence the name. The food's great ($6 mac and cheese!!!), they have interesting beer choices, and a really relaxed--without being too casual--atmosphere. Our waiter was very nice and a fellow Oregonian, and he told us that they just opened during the snowstorm, but weather aside, they have been doing good buisness. The place reminds me of a less pretentious Presse. That's not to diss on Presse, because God knows I love my frites, but at Oddfellow's I don't have to experience the shame of mispronouncing some dish and having it turn out to be a simple tomato salad. So that's a plus. It's a really interesting mix of high end food and like, Broadway Grill late-night happy hour fare. I left very happy! A+!