Hello. I know it’s been weeks since I last blogged. And for that I’m sorry. I have been working and going to school, and as you can imagine, or know from experience, that takes up most of your waking hours. But, the other day I was able to have a little time to myself and make these bad boys. Yummy bad boys. Baked doughnuts with a cinnamon and sugar topping.
Please make these on a foggy morning and enjoy with a cup of coffee and thoughts on all things beautiful.
We wondered into St. Honore on 23rd and Thurman for my birthday a few weeks ago. Honestly, I didn’t have very high expectations. I was so completely shocked by how authentic the cafe was at first glance. It was like walking into a cafe on the streets of Paris. My first order of business was to give St. Honore the pain au chocolat test. If the pastry is comparable to the ones I have had in Paris, then they live up to their French name. St. Honore knocked it out of the park. Everything I have eaten there is unbelievably French. I came back to St. Honore with my sister and grandparents for lunch. I ordered this salad, it was so beautiful, and the balance of flavors was devine. Weather you go to this bistro for a quick pastry and coffee, or lunch, you will not be disappointed.
(Ratings done on a scale of 1-5, 1 being, “ok, I mean it’s fine.” 5 being, “oh, wow. Just wow.”)
Name: St. Honore, Boulangrie
Location: NW Thurman St, Portland, OR
What I ate: Salad Lyonnaise with poached eggs served with a crusty seeded baguette, pain au chocolat, cappuccino
Atmosphere: So completely French bistro.
Bread rating: 4
Pastry rating: 5
Food rating: 4
Coffee rating: 3
Favorite things: The atmosphere is probably one of my favorite things about this cafe. The pastries –oh. I have yet to find a better pastry in America
Wait for a table: Hard to get a table if you’re going to stay for lunch. It’s all fend for yourself. So be prepared to stand around the edges of the cafe to wait for people to clear out. But you can always just grab something from the pastry case and coffee to-go.
Morning, friends.
How are all of my lovely readers? Anything crazy happen recently? I have been running around like crazy, adjusting to a new lifestyle. Figuring out a new normal. And mostly living out of my car. The classic college kid lifestyle going on over here.
But, I made these today. It was a great terrible decision. The pan is almost gone, they probably won’t last the evening. They feature a shortbread crust, moist berries and peaches, and finished with almost a custard top.
So indulge, and transition into new seasons.
Why can’t coffee be a picnic? After all it is the best meal of the day. Pack a basket, and hit the hills with a yeasted coffee cake.
I just heard about yeasted cakes from SK, this is my first ever attempt with the concept. So far so good. I love the shape the bunt pan makes with this cake, it’s sturdy and would travel well.
Some yummy links for you:
Don’t underestimate the amount of time it takes to ice a cake
NY Times Spring cooking Pinterest board
Feel free to buy me this flatware set in black
I have always loved Not Without Salt, follow her!
James Beard Foundation recipes
Jello recipe! (Lemon & basil, YUM!)
Portland: Macaron class on May 11th!
Last week I babysat my little brother, and cooked for two posts. This is while we were shooting strawberry rhubarb pie. This is the reality of shooting a dish.
A new series is here! So excited to share this with you guys! So here’s the plan, I want to write about my favorite spots to eat while I am in Portland, as well as when I travel. I will be highlighting a new restaurant, bistro, cafe, or coffee shop once a month. I am so excited to photograph and write about my favorite spots to enjoy great food and coffee. Hope you are as excited as I am about this!
I met my siblings at the Alberta Barista location. We swung by Petit for a baguette for dinner, it was a quick in-and-out, but I wanted to linger and taste the insane looking pastries in the case. The cool thing about petit it that it has a formal restaurant, as well as the grab-and-go pastry and coffee bar. I was able to finally return to Petit for a real lunch, it didn’t disappoint. I was able to get a table quickly, and the food and service were both exceptional. Keep this in mind: French Onion Soup.
(Ratings done on a scale of 1-5, 1 being, “ok, I mean it’s fine.” 5 being, “Oh, wow. Just wow.”)
Name: Petit Provence | French Bistro & Bakery
Location: NE Alberta st, Portland, OR
What I ate: Monte cristo and French onion soup
Atmosphere: Chic
Bread rating: 3
Pastry rating: 3
Favorite things: I love the decor in this cafe, its so very chic, it reminds me of The Grand Cafe in Oxford.
Waiting for a table: I have been here when the wait has been a couple of hours, but this past Saturday, I got a table in 15 minutes. But, if you’re just wanting a pastry, you can always just grab and go from the pastry counter.
I am contemplating weather or not to tell you the truth, do you want to know the truth about this banana bread? The thing about blogging is that you can lie with both your words, and your pictures. But, I am an honest kind of person, I will tell you the real story of this recipe. I forgot the sugar. It wasn’t intentional, I’m not on some health kick (at least, not at the moment). I wasn’t going to tell you, I was going to fake it, and make you think I am that cool, but it’s good to tell the truth and get that off my chest.
At least I remembered the flour. I make these kind of mistakes way too often, and why when I forget an ingredient is it something curtail like, flour, sugar, or baking powder?
But really, you won’t miss the 1 cup of sugar that I was originally going to add to this bread. The bananas have enough sugar content to make up for it. I wish I had some Nutella to smear on a warm slice, luckily, I was out. Butter and honey is pretty wonderful as well.
Dark chocolate chunks are mixed into a moist crumbed bread. Warm with butter, or the next morning for breakfast with peanut butter is drool-worthy.
Some other banana recipes: Banana pots de creme, Nutella and banana crepe cake
If you must add sugar, add 1 cup in the banana/butter mixture, and increase the baking time 15 minutes. But don’t do it, it’s not worth it.
(I know, 2 banana posts in a week, get over it.)
Butter, of course. And fruit, of course.
I had actually never had the famous combo of strawberry and rhubarb before, and most defiantly have never made anything containing the magical combination. But the other day the stars aligned, and I made strawberry rhubarb pie. I wanted to make one of those classic fold over stand alone tarts, but with a butter pastry. So I did, and it was brilliant. Boom-chicka-boom-boom.
Some fun things to look at:
3 reasons to travel while you’re young. Listen and obey.
I want this kitchen so so so much. And this one too.
Always chewy, never crunchy. Made with chunky peanut butter, spotted with chocolate chips. Baked to perfection. What could be better?
Maybe I should have called these “crappy day cookies” or “worst day ever cookies”. This is that recipe that you can turn to when your day, well, didn’t go as planned.Throw yourself a proper pity party, make these cookies, and be happy. That’s what’s up with these cookies.
Oh. Also, I made a notes page on my menu bar. It explains some of the ingredient I commonly use, like coconut oil, and pastry flour. Hopefully that’s helpful!
Pots de creme are the best. The French got a hold of pudding and, of course, made it better. Here we have a basic vanilla pots de creme with real vanilla bean caviar scraped into the scalded milk. Thickened with marigold colored egg yolks, and topped with brown sugared banana slices.
