Peninsula Park

This post has nothing to do with food or even veganism but still concerns simple pleasures.

Yesterday I explored the Peninsula Park in North Portland. I'm falling in love with north and northeast Portland and have been wanting to visit Peninsula Park all summer.

Huge pines shade the park and wading pool. There are paved paths as well as many grassy areas for a good book or nap in the sun, basketball courts, an outdoor pool and large baseball field. I enjoyed the people watching (there's a lot of diversity) and the exquisite rose garden. The rose garden is maze-like and surrounds an energetic fountain.
To get to Peninsula Park, take Martin Luther King Junior Blvd north to Rosa Parks Way. Take a left and the park will be on your left. (Its just down the street from the max line and Interstate Ave.)

Luxury Camping

Although I prefer hike-in, minimalistic camping, luxury camping is fun every once in while. On my most recent camping trip, there wasn't any hiking-in involved so we could bring whatever we wanted without too much physical strain. Needless to say, we ate...and drank...quite luxuriously.

Dinner Night One

Fresh greens topped with warm polenta

Dressed with a sauce of Italian stewed tomatoes and sauteed mushrooms, garlic and onion

Topped with large pieces of avocado and a side of onion bread

Dinner Night Two

Grilled Tortillas filled with rice, beans, lettuce, avocado and tomatoes

Melon and Champagne on the side

Monte, the Costa Rican Pineapple Man

Takeout: Tacos Locos

Though veg*an options do not cover the menu, the few that are available are delicious, huge and cheap!


Vegetarian Taco Salad
Layers of lettuce, beans, rice and tomato served with guacamole and salsa

Vegetarian Burrito
Flour tortilla stuffed with rice, pinto beans, tomatoes, steamed onions, buell pepers and huge mushrooms

1610 Allen Creek Rd. Grants Pass, Oregon 97527

Un Gateau Rouge

This cake is CRAZY. It is magenta because it has BEETS!

Recipe Converted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Best "Two-Egg" Cake

1/3 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Ener-G Egg Replacer equivalent to 2 eggs (or you can use 2 tbl ground flax and 1/4 cup water)

2 1/4 cups flour (I used a combination of whole wheat pastry flour and white bread flour)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup vegan milk

2 or 3 beets, cooked, peeled and pureed

Prepare egg and set aside

Cream sugar and shortening

Add "eggs" and other wet ingredients including beet puree

Sift in dry ingredients and stir until combined

Pour into greased pan (I used two 9in circulars) and bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes

When cake has cooled, frost with a fluffy vanilla frosting (powdered sugar, vanilla and vegan milk)

T

Thanh Thao

It was approximately 9:30PM when we arrived at late night hot spot Dots Cafe, hoping to score quick cheap food before the Portland's underage scene shut down for the evening.
The sign at Dots states that they do not serve minors after 10:00 PM but they really should change the sign as they stop serving minors quite a bit earlier.
After realizing that we were not 21, the host refused to seat us and would not even allow us to sit outside.

Desperate, we departed hoping to find something to eat at Fred Meyer but ended up at Thanh Thao, a Vietnamese/Thai restaurant on Hawthorne. Even though we arrived at 10, the we were seated. They encouraged us to hurry but brought us Jasmine tea while we looked at the menu and seated another guy 5 minutes later.
The food was good like Thai food should be and was not lacking quality or flavor that one might expect when dining at close.

Sauteed tofu with vegetables in a yellow curry sauce

Vegetables and tofu sauteed in a brown garlic sauce

Thanh Thao 4005 SE Hawthorne