Oregon Vaughns

Stacey:  “Would you like to share a pear?”

Andy:  “Sure.  You could use the blood sugar and I could use the companionship.”

After a fun day in Portland and at the Zoo, Andy and I dropped the baby off at my parent’s house for a sleepover so that we could go to dinner.

“Corvallis Culinary Week” is taking place and we made 8pm reservations at Terzo.  During Culinary Week, each participating restaurant offers a “Sampler Platter” for $10.  Not a bad deal… We thought we’d try it out.  (We tried to go last year to Aqua during Culinary week, but it was booked).

I will give you my opinion of our experience and will encourage Andy to write a blog post about his experience:

Terzo:

Nothing I hate more than making a reservation and not being seated on time… What is the point of a reservation if this happens, right?  This is what I feared would happen.  I was in luck.  The staff at Terzo seemed very organized and we were seated promptly — no additional waiting.  I was so happy about this.

We ordered one Sampler Platter and one Appetizer.

Here is what we got to taste:

Sampler Platter (first 3) and the Appetizer we ordered is 4:

1. Seafood Al Forno Dip
   fresh Oregon bay shrimp, local dungeness crab, andouille sausage, Italian cheeses, with house-made crostinis
2. Grilled Bruschetti Carne
   sopressata, coppa and genoa salami
3. Crab Cakes (this was supposed to be a Fried Cheese Ravioli, but their fryer was broken)
4. The “Melt”
   Oregon Dungeness Crab and Bay Shrimp with chives and pesto-alfredo sauce

Basically everything was delicious.  I was very impressed.  If I had to rate the dishes in order, they would go: 4, 1, 3, 2.

The “Melt” was excellent.  I could eat this everyday (flavor-wise).  It was rich and a little creamy, but it didn’t feel heavy or greasy — how is that possible?  No idea, but I am glad it was!

The Bruschetti was my least favorite, but even it was pretty good.  I think it might have had a goat cheese spread on the bread (which would be the leading factor of my dislike).

I was also very pleased with the service we received.  The waitress was nice, friendly, and prompt.  Overall, it was a great experience and I will return to Terzo to try more!

We didn’t stuff ourselves because we thought about heading to another restaurant for more of Culinary Week.  After Terzo, we went upstairs to Aqua, a place we have wanted to try.  They were nearly empty, so we stopped in for dinner #2.

Aqua:

Andy had initially tried to get reservations at Aqua, but their answering machine claimed that they were completely booked and were not taking any new reservations.  I don’t know how that could be true since there were 10 empty tables at around 9pm (when we arrived).  Oh well.

Here is what Andy and I tried on their Sampler:

1. Spicy Seared Ahi Cakes (1 Ahi Cake and 1 Salmon Cake)
   Sesame Seaweed Salad, Kabayaki Sauce and 7 Pepper Beurre Blanc
2. Wok Fried Prawns
   Garlic Hoisin Chile Sauce
3. Applewood Smoked Pork Slider

Well, the Spciy Seared Ahi Cakes had some major issues.  It was way too sweet.  The Kabayaki Sauce was unappetizing.  Then, the pepper spice was far too spicy.  It wouldn’t have been too spicy on a normal dish, but the spices lingered in your mouth and it made it hard to enjoy the other dishes when you couldn’t shake the taste of the first dish.  Definitely something a chef should consider:  don’t burn your customer’s taste buds on the first bite.

The Wok Fried Prawns were large and beautiful.  Very good looking and well cooked meat.  But…. Sweet, sweet, sweet.  Sugar, congealed Hoisin sauce that was served cold.  Cold shrimp and cold Hoisin sauce?  Did I mention congealed?  Overall, unsuccessful.

A pulled pork sandwich is one of my favorite things.  This was nothing special.  Some tender pulled poker slapped into a roll (not toasted or anything).  The roll was fresh and good, and the pork had a good taste, but there was nothing to it.  Normally a pork sandwich calls for some slaw or something to give it a crunch and some texture.  This was just bread and pork.  Ehhhh…..

Aqua was disappointing.  If this is what the chef had to offer, I would not return (especially to pay their premium prices).

The night ended with a brief walk downtown and a gelato for me and a chai for Andy.  It was a great anniversary day.

Share your opinion, Andy!

Yesterday, Andy and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary (January 21).  We both scheduled the whole day off and decided to go to Portland for the day as a family.  We were either going to go to the Portland Zoo or to OMSI (Andy & Lily had never been to either place).  The weather was surprisingly nice and sunny, so we opted for the zoo.

We had a fantastic time.  There were hardly any people there and the weather was great for a January in Portland.

Here are some pictures.  I don’t remember all of the names of the animals (other than the obvious ones).  Andy took all the pictures and hopefully he will blog and leave more insightful comments later.  I just want to share the photos!

Lily was in and out of the stroller.  She would walk some and then ride some.  She much prefers to walk on her own:

Mandrills, I think?

The best view of the Asian Elephant that we got:

I can’t remember what these were called, but Andy was fascinated by them.  They have 4 “tusks” — two that poke out normally and two that curve back toward the face (like a face-mask??):

Fun to watch:

Lily thought these were big dogs and was saying “Woof Woof”:

She explored a little on her own:

Fun day for everyone:

We concluded our trip with a stop at Whole Foods.  Lily had fallen asleep in the car and managed to stay asleep the whole time in the store while in Andy’s arms.  Andy may have found his new favorite cheese at Whole Foods – he will have to tell you more about that.

Lily had her 15 month check-up on January 8.  I am just a little late with my postings!  I don’t remember all of her stats exactly (I will have to find the paper to document it).  Her doctor said she was 99-percentile in all three categories: height, weight and head circumference.

I do remember that her weight was 30.8 pounds.  Her height was something like 33 inches or so.

Here she is in the waiting room:

Lily got a case of the stomach flu.  Started on Saturday night, basically disappeared on Sunday… And then struck again Sunday night and all of Monday.  Good way to spend a day off, right?  I will spare you the details, but it was pretty from either end.  MANY loads of laundry + 1 trip to the laundromat.

She slept through the night last night and hasn’t vomited since yesterday, so I think she is doing much better.

Here are some little updates about Lily:

• Words she says:  Mama, Dada, Hot, Hat, Shoes, Cheese, Juice, More, Cat, Nigh-Nigh (bedtime)
• What does doggy say? Oof Oof. What does kitty say? MOOOOW.  What does elephant say?  OOOOOOO (and she moves her arm up like an elephant’s trunk)
• She knows how to find her tummy, nose, eyes, hair, and feet.
• She has performance anxiety when asked to do these things in front of a large group.
• She hasn’t started running yet, but I am sure that is soon to come
• She is teething like crazy (with her back teeth)…. You can only see her front 8 teeth at the moment, but I know those molars will be in any day.
• She knows that “she’s the baby”.
• As of today, we have taken away her bottle.  No more bottles.  Big girl sippy cups for Lily!

That is what comes to mind at the moment.  She has gone from a terrible sleeper as an infant to a pretty good sleeper as a toddler.  I can put her down in her crib while she is still awake and as long as she is tired, she will go to sleep on her own.  She is sleeping right now, which is why I have time to type.

My new favorite meal?  Rice with sliced avocado, a little Sesame Ginger dressing, and an over-easy egg on top.  I am obsessed with making and eating this.  I have also become obsessed with making fruit smoothies.

Australian Open has started.  Tennis is my favorite to watch.

I will think of something interesting to write more on later.  I will also find pictures to post.

(while cleaning)

“Layers of coats and a plug plugged into nothing… This is like M.C. Escher.”

Lily has been playing with the DVDs all morning and making a mess.  After she has emptied the DVD shelf onto the floor, she comes over to me to get a kiss (which she indicates by leaning her forehead toward me).  Once I kiss her, she walks over to the toy box to empty it’s contents.

I think I am becoming an adult…. Here are some reasons as to why I think this:

• I save coupons for other people who I think might used them.
• People think I am older than they are when I’m not.
• Things are different in high school now then they were when I was in high school.
• I stop and think to myself several times a day: “Wait, what was I doing?”
• I am the one responsible for packing snacks in the car for road trips (don’t tell Andy, he still thinks they pack themselves…)
• Sometimes I turn the radio down super low in the car instead of turning it off.
• I have adult friends.
• I complain about health insurance.
• I sometimes feel responsible for other people’s children.
• I like eating spinach salads.
• I don’t really eat “candy” anymore.
• Kids are surprised that I can actually “text”.

I am sure there are more…. sigh

“Sometimes I say things I don’t really think.”

“When you drive, I feel like I’m falling.”