Settling In & Ready to Cook - with Books!

One of the trickiest but also most rewarding things about moving to a new place is adapting to the food scene and culture.

A common response Scott and I heard when we announced our Oregon move to friends and family was "OMG. The beer. The wine. The FOOD." While we're very excited to try out many of the notable restaurants, plentiful food carts/pods, and the crazy explosion of breweries and wineries, I'm most thrilled about having access to the fresh local produce and seafood of Oregon.

Not only do I enjoy home cooking but let's face it -- it's often cheaper to make food than to dine out. Despite the sales tax-free shopping, Oregon food can be expensive, and with one of us (me) being on a brief "job break" at the moment, meal planning and sticking to grocery lists is an important budget focus.

A basic but key part of successful cooking is knowing where to source your ingredients for taste, quality and price. So far I've shopped the downtown Gresham farmers market and our preferred grocery store Fred Meyer ("Freddy's" to the locals) as our main go-tos for in-season fruits and vegetables and pantry essentials.

Excited to learn more about Oregon and Pacific Northwest foods, I decided to go old school:

Books!

I found these cookbooks at Goodwill in Gresham during a day when red tag items were 50 percent off, so I scored! Here's my summertime plan for these books:

• This month I cook from Portland's Palate, "A collection of recipes from the City of Roses," from the Junior League of Portland, Oregon (published in 1992, which makes it nearly vintage). 

• July: Tackle recipes from Wildwood, authored by veteran Portland chef Cory Schreiber. I can already tell this will be next-level cooking, with serious seafood emphasis (Schreiber's family owned a longtime Portland oyster bar and farm).

• August: Split the month, with dishes featured in Savor the Flavor of Oregon (thanks, Junior League of Eugene) and Celebrate the Rain (way to own up to the weather, Junior League of Seattle.)

Portland's Palate claims "Portlanders celebrate with warmth and verve." If that means cooking with Columbia River salmon, Willamette Valley berries, and dairy products from Tillamook County, I am ready for the verve.

My first recipe from this book came from the Appetizers and Beverages section. Given summer temperatures rising this week, and our apartment doesn't have A/C (!!!, but typical for the area), lighter meals that don't require much oven and stove use seemed fitting.

The "Northwest Spread" of cream cheese, greek yogurt (subbed in for whipping cream), green onions, lemon juice, a dash of hot sauce, smoked salmon and one cubed avocado was a big win.

Oregon beer in a North Carolina glass - true to our roots!

I served the spread atop toasted sourdough, with a Buoy beer (of Astoria, OR) for Scott, along with a salad of greens, cucumber, tomato and Riverhouse Cheddar & Chive dressing (of Tillamook, OR). Fresh, creamy textured, and quick to prepare - I'll make this again, probably for a party or holiday gathering.

Meal two for this week was the Willamette Valley Salad - greens, avocado, blue cheese, hazelnuts, with a Dijon vinaigrette dressing. I couldn't find Oregon hazelnuts at Fred Meyer, which seems pretty odd when 99 percent of U.S. hazelnuts are grown in this state. So, pardon me Junior Leaguers, but I subbed in toasted California almonds -- and they were just fine. Paired with leftover Northwest Spread, it was another proper summer meal.

Poor Scott isn't really a salad-for-dinner type so I have a "Flank Steak Shuffle" with broiled beef steak, peppers and onions planned for tomorrow night. That should suit his larger appetite a little more!

Just one week into this cookbook, I can definitely tell it's a little dated from the terminology-- "Tomatoes Oriental"? -- but it's a nice intro to using local ingredients.

Next week I may try out a pasta and clams recipe, and I hope to find some Hood River Strawberries this weekend at a market or nearby U-Pick farm. This past weekend while camping in Washington State, we hit up a farmstead for Ranier Cherries, which may be Scott's favorite fruit. Those are disappearing quick, so I better go enjoy some now.

If you're into meal planning or scoping out the local food traditions in your area, I'd love to hear your tips and tricks. As always, comment below - I love hearing from you!