Here are some things I love about spring in Portland…

1. cherry blossoms at Waterfront Park
2. blossoms in general, all around the city
3. escaping the rain
4. Japanese gardens
5. last basketball games
6. rum horchata at Por Que No
7. rollerskating at Oaks Park
8. Tulip Festival!
9. fair weather biking
10. cupcakes
11. laughing yourself silly at Bridgetown Comedy Fest
12. new bike accessory shopping or bike spring tuneup
13. Mt Hood loop
14. first PSU farmer’s market weekend (chard!)
15. mud hiking at council crest
16. Rose Festival
17. spiced chai at Extracto
18. first spring flowers
19. cheese plates at The Observatory
20. Omsi After Dark
21. spring trips to the coast
22. Cheers to Belgium beers festival
23. antiquing in Sellwood
24. spring sunsets
25. outdoor brunch again!
26. meandering the Eastbank Esplanade
27. shows at Doug Fir or Miss Studios
28. beers by the fire at Base Camp
29. waterfall hikes in the Gorge
30. the start of Pedalpalooza
31. waving farewell to spring with summer equinox from the Hawthorne Bridge

What’s your favorite thing about spring?

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I’ve been using car-sharing (Zipcar to start) since January of 2008. At the time, I was just getting ready to go traveling for a year, so in preparation for selling my car, I signed up to try it out and have a backup just in case my car sold earlier than expected. When I got back to the States in 2009, I ended up not repurchasing a car, and have been using Zipcar, and Car2Go ever since.

So in an effort compare the current car-sharing services in Portland, here’s how they stack up:

Zipcar Review

zipcar.com
Annual Fee: $50
Initial Application/Setup Fee: $25
Rates: from $8.50/hour, from $69/day
Service Areas: 39 states/provinces in North America currently (& some in Spain/UK)
Availability: sprinkled all around the city
Membership info

When/why to use Zipcar:

• Includes: insurance, gas, 180 ‘free’ miles
• you want to drive a “real” car.
• you want to go far, far away — like a 24hr trip to the coast
• you’re going grocery shopping and you want that car to be there still when you come out
• overnight rates (6pm to 8am)

The thing Zipcar has always had going for it, is the cars. Zipcar seemed pretty revolutionary when they started. You could rent a regular car with zero hassle. And if there was a zipcar parking spot close to you, you pretty much felt like you had a car for whenever you needed it, so long as the neighbors didn’t hog it.

Zipcar was recently acquired by Avis, so I’m expecting more fees to start creeping in at some point.

Car2go Review

car2go.com
Annual Fee: $0
Initial Application/Setup Fee: $35
Rates: $0.38/min, $13.99/hour, $72.99/day
Service Areas: nine North American cities currently (& some in Europe)
Availability: currently 300 cars in Portland
Membership info

When/why to use car2go:

• you want to get from Point A to Point B and ditch your car (hello, personal taxi!)
• you’re going downtown (or somewhere else with metered parking) – yay free parking!
• cheaper than the bus (especially with 2 people)
• going to or from the airport (via public transit)
• you want to use a car for less than 1 hour

I signed up for Car2go last summer, and one of the biggest selling points for me using Car2Go is that more often than not, I don’t need a car for exactly one hour or more. Plus, I don’t want to make a reservation for an exact time in the future. When I’m running to meet friends for happy hour, I want transportation that’s fast and flexible — I don’t want to have to agree to one hour of car rental etc, if I only need to drive 10 min in the rain, and I have a ride home. This is where Car2Go is awesome. You pull up the app, see that there’s a car a couple blocks away, reserve it (the reservation holds it for you for 15 min), and you’re on your way.

Another thing Car2go beats Zipcar on is location. I know off the top of my head that the closest Zipcar parking space is 2 blocks away, and is a more expensive vehicle type, so the closest car that I usually reserve is about 5 blocks away. With car2go, there could be one right outside my door, or a mile away. Obviously, I’m not pleased when I really want to car2go and the closest one is a really long walk in the opposite direction that I need to go. And of course, Car2go’s are little Smart cars so they don’t drive as smoothly as a “regular” car. It took a little bit of getting used. I thought like they felt kind of like a go-kart at first, but I don’t notice it anymore.

Car2go is a Daimler company, so not exactly the ‘startup’ that Zipcar felt like when they started, but fine by me. It feels like a very innovative project coming from a bigger company.

Car2Go wishlist: app notification that you can select ‘notify me when there’s a car within x distance from me’ so if I know I want to go somewhere at some point in the next few hours, I don’t have to keep pulling up the app to refresh.

Another newbie to the car sharing scene is Getaround — think Airbnb for your car. I haven’t used this service yet though.

Do you use a car-sharing service?

Photo by: atomictaco

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One of Portland’s newest breweries, Base Camp Brewing, is my brewery crush at the moment though. The whole ‘outdoorsy’ decor might be a little over the top for some people — not this girl. String up a canoe to the ceiling anytime, please. Maybe it’s from living in Bend (it kind of has the Central Oregon vibe actually, if you replaced city folk with hardcore athletes). So I love the space – exposed beams, climbing gear (carabiners as coat hooks at the bar), all the nature photography, the “stars” on the ceiling that make it kind of seem like you’re in the country, and the outdoor ‘fire pits’.

The Beer

Thankfully, the beer is also awesome. And for the couple times that I’ve been there, I keep ordering the taster tray. Feels a tad silly, but I kind of love not having to pick just one (or two, or three). They currently have nine beers:

Ripstop Rye Pilsner IBUs: 52 SRM: 3.7 OG/TG: 13.5/3.0°P ABV: 5.7% The Ripstop Rye Pils is our reinterpretation of the classic pilsner lager beer: aromas of European malt and noble-type hops mingle with a dignified, refreshing, and clean malt character that is further distinguished with a generous addition of spicy rye malt, creating a beer that is at once malty, zesty, crisp, hoppy, and incredibly drinkable.

Paölschenbier
IBUs: 40 SRM: 5.0 OG/TG: 13.5/2.6°P ABV: 5.8%
Base Camp’s Paölschenbier is a stand-out pale that is both approachable and nuanced. Dry-hopped for lots of lemony citrus aroma without a mouthpuckering bitterness, well-balanced by its slightly bready malt and yeast profiles. Our house ale yeast strain does some of its best work in this beer, making for a light ale that is truly unique.

Northwest Fest
IBUs: 28 SRM: 8.0 OG/TG: 13.8/3.5°P ABV: 5.6%
Our take on the maltforward fest biers of Bavaria. Extensive malt aroma and taste trials over the last two years led us in crafting this recipe, a subtly-hopped amber lager that walks the line between dry and full-bodied, not too sweet but definitely not lacking in malty goodness. Lagered on our in-house toasted oak to round out this brew’s flavor profile.

Belgian Session Ale
IBUs: 14 SRM: 9.7 OG/TG: 11.6/2.4°P ABV: 4.9%
Base Camp’s Belgian Session Ale showcases a thick, white head atop a golden honey-colored beer. Aromas of spicy clove and a hint of camp fire smoke accompany its wheaty malt taste. The BSA’s medium-light body is well-balanced by this beer’s tartness. Low gravity and huge taste, making for a great sessionable beer.

In-Tents India Pale Lager
IBUs: 55 SRM: 15.4 OG/TG: 16.5/4.0°P ABV: 6.8%
Our flagship India Pale Lager showcases a copper color that gives way to a crisp, clean lager beer perfectly balanced in its massive complexity. Dry-hopped and aged on an in-house toasted blend of white and red oaks. The IPL finishes clean and smooth, with hop aromas of wild flowers and pine, and a unique maltiness highlighted by the subtle oak character.

Out-of-Bounds Brown
IBUs: 45 SRM: 15.8 OG/TG: 15.3/3.8°P ABV: 6.2%
A fun, refreshing take on the oft-maligned brown ale, Base Camp’s Out-of-Bounds Brown has a light brown color with big aromas of citrusy Cascade dry hops which meld into a highly distinct malt character. It has a clean yet full mouthfeel that makes it both satisfying and drinkable. Light and crisp, the O.o.B. restores faith in what brown ales can aspire to.

Prime Meridian India Pale Ale
IBUs: 56 SRM: 11.3 OG/TG: 15.3/3.1°P ABV: 6.7%
This deep golden-colored beer is topped by a dense rocky crown that kicks off a punchy American IPA hop aroma. The unique tropical fruit nose of Meridian hops follows through in the taste. For balance, a Flemish saison-inspired malt bill; well-attenuated yet maintaining a full body. We ferment it at high temps to make the most of our house yeast strain, creating a late fruity tartness that plays out nicely with the lingering hop character.

S’more Stout
IBUs: 70 SRM: 55.2 OG/TG: 19.2/5.3°P ABV: 7.7%
The S’more Stout is an absolute all-star: Aromas of chocolate, coffee, fig, and smoke invite you in to a gigantic maltiness that is distinct in its smooth and refined character, with flavors of chocolate and hints of smoke mingling with rich caramel, fruit, and warming alcohol. Top with a roasted marshmallow and you have the ultimate S’more experience!

Acclimator Doppelbock
IBUs: 30 SRM: 20.4 OG/TG: 17.4/3.6°P ABV: 7.6%
The Acclimator presents a rich smoothness that we balance out with just enough crisp hop character to make for an extremely quaffable strong lager. Doppelbocks are traditionally brewed with Pilsner or Munich malts, but we chose to showcase the awesomeness of Maris Otter and Belgian dark crystal malts. Result? A totally unique and drinkable beer.
–Base Camp Brewing

Must-Try:

S’more Stout – I’m usually more of an IPA person, but I really love the s’more stout — it comes with an adorable little marshmallow on the side, and is kind of mocha-esque and like drinking dessert.

The Acclimator Doppelbock and In-Tents India Pale Lager (see what they did there?) are also awesome beers.

Now if there’s a 2nd annual Beer & Cheese Festival, Base Camp had better be there, with their Stout and… maybe a blue cheese? Also, this weekend is Zwickelmania, so if you’re in Portland, you really have no excuse for not checking out a brewery near you!

Have you been to Base Camp yet?

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Me: You know what would be really good right now?
Him: A veggie burger with blue cheese and caramelized onions?

My favorite burger is:  blue cheese, caramelized onions, smokey BBQ sauce, lettuce, tomato, on a whole wheat bun, with a veggie burger (Morningstar Farms griller patty is my favorite). And quite often, when I get it in my head that I need to make this vs wandering about town looking for the perfect veggie burger, I misplace my “perfect caramelized onions” recipe and search the Interwebz in despair, before finally finding my trusty recipe that I got from a Sur la Table cooking class instructor during a Mediterranean class I took a couple year ago.

So in the hopes that in the future, I can just remember that I blogged about it – horray digitized, and that you may also find this to be the best onions, ever, here’s the recipe.

How to Caramelize Onions

Serves 2-ish
Ingredients:

• 1 yellow or sweet onion (Walla Walla sweet are the tastiest, IMO)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil (I use olive oil, depending on what’s handy)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
• salt/pepper

1.  Cut the onion in half (from top to bottom), and then slice in super thin slices
2. Add oil and butter to skillet (I use my cast-iron skillet usually), turn to medium.
3. Let the oil/butter get hot, then add the onions, salt, pepper, & vinegar.
4. Stir occasionally (like every 5 is usually fine)
5. Wait, wait, wait. The onions will slowly start to turn colors – usually about 20-30 min

As long as you remember to stir occasionally and not crank the heat up, they’ll be tasty, tasty onions. So, while you can make anything with these tasty onions: pizza, burgers, flat bread, eggs… I usually start them first since they’re so slow and then while I occasionally stir them, I get everything else ready. Then, I don’t feel like I’m watching a pot or whatever that saying is.

Bonus: If you can manage to NOT eat all the onions, saving a tiny bit for tomorrow and making an omelette with them is awesome: 2 eggs, a bit of blue cheese, a bit of caramelized onions, pour a tiny bit of BBQ sauce on the top. Delicious.
Photo

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Astoria is the oldest settlement west of the Rockies (which feels positively ancient in the States). I’ve always loved Astoria for it’s old soul and big, small town vibe. One of the many places I say “I could live here” about, which usually receives a response of “you say that about everywhere.” Not about everywhere, but quite often. :) After a quick trip up to the Astoria Column and watching the sunset, we headed back to the waterfront for a beer at [the also relatively new] Fort George Brewery, and then settled down to goal time with my trusty, annual goal setting template. On to the goals!

Some of my 2013 Goals:

• Work remotely for 1-3 months in 2013 again
• Plan to work remotely internationally (end of 2013 or early 2014) – Vietnam is on my mind at the moment
• Get a road bike (shhh… don’t tell the mixte)
• Visit another (new to me) North American city
• Take another 2-3 week trip
• Visit my bff in Hawaii
• Attend 12 new Portland/Oregon things
• Take a new class
• Get my immune system back to normal
• Make my new place feel like home
• Apply for 2 new credit cards to get airline miles or hotel points
• Host 1 dinner party & 1 cocktail party

I feel like a lot of my goals are pretty similar to last year (travel! local adventures! Save!), but I do have fewer goals this year. I’ll get back to you in 365 days on if that was a wise idea or not. :)

What’s on your list for 2013?

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Frozen yogurt and freshly made potato chips, drizzled with chocolate sauce at Calbee+ on Takeshita St in Harajuku.

Japanese bookstores have a nice selection of cat magazines. Shocking how much print is NOT dead in Japan. Side note: their fashion magazines come with a purse attached!

One of the things I love about Japan is their dedication to cute (“kawaii”) culture. Socks shopping at Mighty Soxer on Takeshita St in Tokyo.

Biking in Karuizawa (& fall colors). Also love the trust factor of bike locks in Japan.

Hot coffee from vending machines – why do we still not have these?

Snow monkeys soaking in their mountain onsen in Yudanaka – one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen!

Fall colors from the Shinkansen train from Nagano back to Tokyo.

First stop in Osaka: okonomiyaki for dinner

The best aquarium I’ve ever visited. Fantastic.

Japan takes photo booths to a whole new level. Another Japan item I thought would have reached American shores by now.

We stopped by a cat cafe in Osaka. It was an… odd experience.

Worth a second visit. Golden Pavilion temple in Kyoto.

Udon in Kyoto.

Love the food “cart” culture along Fukuoka’s waterfront.

We spent our last few hours in Japan watching sumo!

Have you been to Japan?

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I started this proper list of things that I love about fall a couple years ago, just to remind myself… So here’s the 2012 updated, with 79 things this year. Epic!

1. leather boots
2. crunchy leaves
3. scarves (a serious weakness)
4. cozy striped socks (and argyle!)
5. English tea w/milk
6. apple orchards
7. Hulu
8. rain boots (& wearing my Converse-style rainboots! & bees!)
9. coffee
10. Powell’s bookstore
11. reading
12. cooking over-elaborate meals (this 3 hour soup comes to mind)
13. snuggling (kittehs or boys)
14. hikes
15. tights & skirts (cable knit!)
16. live music/Doug Fir
17. soup
18. fall-ish tunes
19. change/fresh starts
20. duvets
21. yellow
22. baking
23. chai lattes
24. plaid
25. wine
26. shooting guns (Don’t judge. I’m from the country.)
27. movies/beer/pizza/Cajun tots at McMenamins (tasty!)
28. home goods stores
29. pretending to love shopping
30. argyle (see #4)
31. learning
32. pumpkin everything, (including pumpkin spice lattes)
33. apple sauce (planning a canning party. I’m so in my 30s)
34. hoodies (cozy)
35. Thai food
36. cities
37. cinnamon
38. whiskey
39. planning winter trips (last year Iceland. This year Japan & South Korea)
40. planning 1 winter escape (somewhere warm & cheap! February? March? Hawaii?)
41. skinny jeans tucked into boots
42. pretty maps (yet another serious weakness)
43. layering
44. that means more dark chocolate
45. dreaming of Barcelona
46. popcorn
47. the air
48. food carts with heated seating areas
49. baths
50. colors
51. crying to Sigur Ros or Beck’s Sea Change (no explanation. It’s not 2 hrs and 14 min/week worth though, clearly I need to listen to more Sigur Ros)
52. corduroy
53. massive breakfasts
54. geocaching
55. making out in the cold
56. trains
57. watching people be excited about college football
58. trying new cocktails
59. spin class
60. yurt camping
61. finding new music
62. yoga pants
63. long dinners
64. storms
65. writing
66. flannel sheets
67. indoor workouts (Bar Method!)
68. even more indoor time: a new cooking class
69. board games
70. mashed potatoes
71. lazy weekend mornings catching up on my Google Reader in bed
72. carbs
73. rocking sudoku
74. sucking at crosswords
75. seasonal ales
76. dark nail polish (OPI Over the Taupe)
77. museums
78. the words ‘crisp’ & ‘cozy’
79. sweaters…

photo set on flickr

What do you love about fall?

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Monday: Create - Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing design and background

Tuesday: Create – P&L Statement for Nicaragua Coffee Farm
My dad has been in the process, for the last couple years, of working on his coffee farm in Nicaragua. So after talking a few weeks ago, I decided it was high time he had a Profit & Loss statement to play with, so he can start making projections and really start planning for the future. Funsies!

Wednesday: Create – Pattern Making for Sewing a Skirt
I bought a cute skirt this summer that promptly ripped after a first wear. I was fairly annoyed because it wasn’t an easy fix like re-sewing a seam. Instead it was like the front of the fabric shredded! So in my anger at [cheap clothing store], I decided to just reconstruct the skirt into a pattern and make my own instead of returning it. I haven’t done a massive sewing project for oh… 12 years. So it’s been fun remembering things as I go.

Thursday: Create – an adventure with an impromptu solo day trip to the Oregon Coast
Don’t judge. You can create an adventure. Still counts as create/learn. :)

Friday: Learn – Creative Mornings
I attended this month’s Creative Mornings meetup at Pacific Northwest College of Arts. Julie Sabatier of podcast and radio show Destination DIY spoke about her process of story telling. Fun times.

On to week two!

What are you creating or learning?

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“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” –Helen Keller

This has been one of my favorite quotes for a while. I asked myself ‘Why?’… I love that adventure is a unique perspective – that everyone’s definition of an adventure is slightly different. Daring is also a loaded word. It’s a bold statement, and very absolute. It’s personal. It reminds me that life is extremely short, and to try new things.

I have the next two weeks off work, so I have decided to create or learn something new every day. I will blog about some days’ creations.

This design is something I’ve had sitting on my desktop, half-finished, since March. The photo was taken at Shark’s Cove, Oahu. Although this photo was taken in March of 2012, this is actually the first spot I ever went snorkeling back in 2007. I remember feeling a little terrified and excited, and since I’m not the world’s best snorkeler I still feel a little bit like that every time I go. It’s an adventure.

What was your last adventure?

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My point though, is that I spend too much money at Portland’s many amazing veg-friendly restaurants, like Prasad, and the newly-opened Canteen, on their “hippie bowls” — rice, beans, greens, seeds and Japanese ingredients I don’t know the names of, and magical dressings. So this week, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own! Here’s what I came up with.

I must preface this recipe with saying that you can make this recipe the easy, quick way or the slightly healthier –do it [all] yourself — long way, your pick.

Hippie Bowl Recipe

Serves 2 (or just you and lunch tomorrow, yay!)
Ingredients:

• Small bunch of kale
• 1 cup rice (white or brown) — that’ll be 2 cups when it’s cooked
• 1 can of pinto beans (drained/rinsed) — if you want to cook your own, knock yourself out.
• 1 avocado
• 2-3 tablespoons of tahini sauce (Trader Joes has a pre-made sauce, or you can make it with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt etc)
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce or liquid aminos (I just used low sodium soy sauce)

1. Cook 1 cup of rice (with 2 cups of water). I have a rice cooker. It’s awesome. If you don’t, make rice.
2. Warm the beans.
3. Wash the kale and break the leaves off the stems, tearing into smaller pieces. Put the kale in pan with a bit of water (1/4 cup?), on low-medium heat with lid on to steam the kale. Remove from heat and drain water out when the kale starts to soften and looks slightly brighter green. (You don’t want it completely wilted, just steamed)
4. Layer the rice and then beans into bowls, pile with kale and slice a half an avocado on each bowl.
5. To make the dressing, just whisk together the tahini sauce and soy sauce (you can of course make your own, but getting the tahini sauce at Trader Joes is easier. Yay!).
6. Pour dressing over the top of you bowl and devour.

Do you have a favorite hippie bowl recipe? Do share!

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