Portland – part 2

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Lest it be thought that I spent my entire time eating whilst in Portland (and to be totally fair, the 2 kg that I appear to have gained do point to the fact that I did), I thought I better address the other things I got up to whilst there.

This is a smaller list. Damn it – I was way too busy eating.

Portland is a beautiful city. It’s also walkable, a trait not normally found in American cities. Apart from food, there’s a seemingly never ending stock of bars where craft beer is the thing to be drinking. I didn’t make it out to the outlet mall close by the city, though I can assure you that there’s way enough shopping opportunities while wandering around the place!

The other thing about Portland is that it’s quiet and calm. OK, so I was there in the winter and I’ve heard it’s really great in the summer. I loved the peacefulness of the place, and the friendliness of the people.

There are also some really funky places to try. I loved this concept of a bar-cum-painting lesson. Yup. You get all your friends together and go spend the evening painting. Genius.

The place opens in the evenings and the couple of nights I walked past, it was packed – and a lot of smiling faces enjoying themselves!!

Next time I get the chance to head here, then I’m seriously thinking of taking a go. I’m not artistic in the least, but it doesn’t matter. All good stuff!

If shopping floats your boat, there are some superb locations. I happened upon a mens store, David Woods, where the very man was himself working. High quality, superbly made stock. Needless to say, the credit card was well and truly spanked, and my wardrobe now has some superb, classic additions to it! Apart from the usual gift stores, there appears to be a load of interior design and furniture places. Thankfully, there was no way I was shipping anything so credit card was saved!

I DID find a super cookware place, and was able to take advantage of that. Really friendly people so this is recommended if cooking is your thing. Again, I was saved by the voltage in the US being different to Europe from making any major purchases!! Safe to say I could have spent a lot of time and cash in here. Just the type of place that I like to spend a few hours!

The Maine Mall is the main shopping area and is an easy ride out of town to get to. It has all the stores you’d expect, including Apple and a pretty cool Carhardtt shop. There’s also a huge LL Bean main HQ where you can pick up anything from a cap to a canoe. Everything for the great outdoors is indeed in that place, and you would be well kitted out to brave the winter should you forget to pack!

So, 5 places I enjoyed in Portland…. that did not involve consuming vast amounts of food!

Muse
Le Roux
David Woods
LL Bean
Maine Mall

On the Road …Plane….

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It’s been a busy few weeks over here at 1st5things. Work is offering up some challenges at the moment and that’s giving me a couple of great chances to see some very cool places.

First up is Portland, Maine, in the good old US of A. I’d heard a little about Portland before boarding the flight there, and let me tell you – none of what I heard describes just how superb I found it.

Portland, you rock.

Grace, Portland, Maine

First up, Grace. Food in a church? Yes please. This renovation brings a bar and a restaurant – the best communion if you ask me. The food is modern, and while the prices are high, you get a bang for your buck.

On this eating – I mean working – trip, there was a fair bit to choose from, and some evenings it just wasn’t that easy to decide. The Grill Room and Bar, offered the largest portions I’ve seen…. ever.. with the porterhouse steak looking enough to feed three. Best lunch of the week goes to Duckfat – the fries and shakes are excellent. Lightest (and at the time the most welcome) supper comes in with Ebb & Flow. I really loved the simplicity of the food, focused on the fish (I had the salmon and it was superb).

My pick of the week? J’s Oysters on the harbour. Fresh, friendly, great atmosphere – for me this was as good as it gets. Steamed clams in a bucket, lobster linguine, fried scallops, good beers and cocktails. What more could you really want??

Again – Portland, you certainly rock!! I am so looking forward to seeing you again.

http://duckfat.com/

http://ebbandflowme.com/

http://www.restaurantgrace.com/

https://www.themainemag.com/eat/features/2291-js-oyster.html

Dinner Menu

Tastes of summer…. in winter….

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In the middle of winter, a quick run through the rain brings the wind of summer – oranges, lemons, limes, sour oranges and lime leaves from the green house.

After a previous weekend in the mad weather of north England, it was great to get home and out to the Dorf for the weekend. The weather was great, and then descended into a very wet Sunday. Curry weather. A slow-cooked beef curry with coconut and lemon rice, to be precise. Obvs in this weather, thought I.

Unfortunately, this meant a short dash along a muddy path through the rain to the greenhouse – no pain, no gain, right? Or something like that.

I’ve to say that I was surprised at seeing the produce there. Alex had said we had some fruits, but we had enough for supper and a couple of vodka tonics, with some left over to bring back to the city.

Result, as they say!!

Sleepless in Vienna

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Ahhh – Insomnia…..

Or more like “In – waking_up_in_the_middle_of_the_night_and_can’t_get_back_to_sleep- ia”.

That’s a mouthful!

Sleep and I often have a fraught and fractious relationship, and this has been for many, many years. Over the last 2 years though this has changed, and I’m happy to say for the better (cue .GIF of dancing people – yada, yada, yada).

I’m not actually sure where sleep and I became a little estranged – certainly I can’t identify any trauma or anything dramatic. Let’s just say we had words… somewhere.

Sleep became an issue. Often on occasions I’d dread going to sleep – dread waking in the night, and of the multi-coloured, three dimensional, surround-sound dreams I tend to have! Meds, late nights, booze – nothing worked effectively.

And then we had a breakthrough – I say we since it was my Doc and a Neuro-therapist that teamed up. Through some talking, and some planned meds, I began to get ahead of the game an catch up on my by then chronic sleep debt.

So what next? A flash of inspiration. If I was going to sleep then I had to learn to accept that this was just maybe how I slept. No rights or wrongs. Just how it was. And that, dear readers, is how I learned to love sleep.

The rest has been much easier – making the bedroom into a sleep nest has also helped greatly!

And 5 things to learn….

Sometimes acceptance is the way forward when other routes hit obstacles
Ask for help – there’s no point in dealing with something you don’t know about alone
Don’t be afraid of what can’t harm you – I made sleep a friend, not the enemy
Try not to go to end the day with negativity. Tie up loose ends, make your peace, make your routine.
Making your sleep place is not just great fun, it also gives you a safe place to relax into

G’night!

Getting to Grips

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What a difference some time makes. Oft said, that’s true. In the space of a couple of years, things can change a lot. Heck – in the space of a couple of minutes, things can change forever.

We’re still here. I’m still here. You’re still here.

And first5things is seemingly back after a kick in the pants, and some help from a pal to get things moving!

First 5 things is fledgling in status, and long in the concept – I hope I can do it justice.

We’re in the winter here in the country. Winter that’s more like a spring or autumn, and in real need of some snow! Gray and damp is not my happy colour scheme, though of all the things I change weather is not one of them. I’ll sort through some pictures for inspiration.

So what’s been cooking this weekend? Some 5 things food for starters…. Beef curry (beef, onions, ginger, garam masala, tomatoes), a cracking spicy carrot and red lentil soup (carrots, chilli, garlic, red lentils, stock), and a Valentines night supper (garlic potato mash, steaks, caramelised onions). Comfort food, easy food, TASTY FOOD!!!

Long Weekends

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It’s been a cracking Easter out here in the country. Not that we did a lot, you understand – enjoying the time and days off has been great. Spending time with the in-laws and have someone cook has also been a bit of a change.

Saying that, I did manage to get through a wild mushroom risotto, a batch of ragu, a batch of zuchinni and garlic soup, and put together a beef curry in the slow-cooker. Not bad for a “no cooking” weekend! Those all will feature in posts coming up, but since my camera is out to grass at the moment, the pictures are sadly lacking! It’s also been a weekend of cupboard clearing. Here at Casa Schönau there’s a lot of experimenting that goes on with food, and there are plenty of nameless jars containing all manner of preserves, gelee, and whatever knows what in there. Clear out and testing time!

So what are my first 5 things about Easter? Given that it’s a religious holiday, there’s been very little church deeds or doings around here, but then again, I’m not that religious. Saying that, I’m able to look out around me at the brilliance of nature and the kindness of others, and that’s enough for me. This weekend has been one spent with friends, loved ones, and keeping in touch with friends and family that are not here.

Time with family
Time with friends
A chance to rest, relax and re-charge
A time to clear out and make space
A time to notice nature growing, and also respect the work that goes into food on the table

Enjoy the weekend!

Chicken Bake

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At Casa Schönau, this is a favourite. Colourful, healthy and easy to make, plus you get a pretty free reign with what you want to include. I use a mix, along with 4-6 chicken breasts on the bone, with the skin on.

Pre-heat the oven to 200 C.
Wash the vegetables you want – Peppers (I don’t like green ones so much so tend not to use them), Zucchini, Aubergine, tomatoes.
De-seed the peppers
Peel a red onion; break 4-5 cloves out of a bulb of garlic. Leave the skin on.
Chop everything into chunky pieces and throw into the roasting dish
If you have fresh rosemary, wash and roughly chop a couple of sprigs, depending on how much you like the stuff.
Sprinkle the rosemary over the vegetables, along with salt and ground black pepper
You’ll need a couple of glugs of olive oil over the lot, and then get your hands in to mix it all together
Take the chicken breasts and lay over the vegetables, skin side up. Season with salt.
Whack the lot into the hot oven. Check after 40 45 mins to see if the chicken is cooked through.

I usually bring it to the table pretty much as is. The chicken can be taken out when it’s cooked and left to rest. Just use your noggin and decide how you want it to look. Optional additions are mushrooms, chilli, or change the vegetables according to season.

I’ve used oven sliced potatoes in the picture above, but again these could be sweet potatoes or whatever you want. If you’ve friends over who are on a low carb diet, this is an ideal dish for them.

A New Start

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After years of saying that I’m going to start a blog…. I’m actually going to start a blog. I’ve no idea where this is going to go as my first thoughts were primarily to do a blog about the stuff I cook up in the kitchen out here in the country. That will be a big part of it, but I can see other stuff creeping into it too. So let’s see how it takes me.

It’s a new start in quite a few ways, but I’ll leave that for another time. The main thing is that I’ve started… and I’ve a few recipes already with pictures that I can make a start with.

Right now, it’s a play time with WordPress…. let’s go….