Espresso and chamomile

Ok, first things first: OMSI After Dark is awesome. They (Oregon Science Museum peoples) stay open late for the 21 and over, with microbreweries set up in booths all over the place. There are special activities and presentations geared towards adults (think: Taiko drumming and the science behind beer tricks, not XXX) and music, and you get a pint glass and there was a sausage truck and and and...PROS: Awesome! Beer! Science! No kids!
CONS: Really crowded and long lines.

Just had to throw that in there because for some reason I really like it when reviews sum it all up in a "Pros" vs "Cons" sorta way.

I was at first determined to sample all the brews available at the event, but I abandoned that quest after a short while when I found myself gravitating towards two repeatedly.

Beer #1: Oakshire Espresso Stout by Oakshire Brewing
This stout was so crazy good I think Tara had two pints. Oakshire Brewing is in Eugene. While James immediately recognized it, I had never heard of it. This stout was heavenly, creamy, coffee, thick and smooth. I just purchased two bottles as a hard week's reward. And because I couldn't get it out of my mind.
PROS: Delicious. Stout. Tastes like coffee.
CONS: Filling! And I think it may have got me drunkish but who's to know?

Beer #2: Chamomellow by Buckman Brewery
This was the first sample that I tried and kept going back for, and then they ran out and I cried for two seconds before running over to the Oakshire stand again.
Chamomile beer. Two of the most comforting things in this world, beer and chamomile tea, got together and had a beautiful baby, that when imbibed, will immediately transport you to a state of relaxation and unicorns. For some reason, it just works. Looks like Buckman Brewery is right here in P-town; I will soon be hunting it down...
PROS: Beer was never more soothing. Herbal and light.
CONS: Beer was never more soothing.

My strawberries have been kind of going nuts this year, despite the fact that it took Portland up to NOW to get into summer.
James ended up muddling a bunch with some of the mint that is also taking over. With some gin and sparkling water... I could get used to this.

THIS IS THE ONLY CHRISTMAS PIC I HAVE

Ok now, fast forward a few months. Christmastime! Tara and I once again indulged in eggnog for about 3 days straight until Mama refused to get us more eggs. Well, I guess there is some debate as to whether it was really eggnog or not, as we like to add a banana into the mix and some people are in hot opposition (HATERZ) but whatevs. Anyway, we wanted to get creative with our last batch, and so what you see here is the fruit of our hard labor. Egg meringue nog! We whipped up egg whites and then folded the rest of the ingredients in after. Here it is pictured, floating on a brandy shot. YUM! James declined a full serving, Memo was polite and drank some and Mama proclaimed it was the most disgusting idea ever. Way to kill our creativity, Mama! This reminds me of the horse drawing all over again.

Soda

Found these at my QFC and they were amazing! Just tried the orange cream and the vanilla cream, they they were great!
Crater Lake Soda

And the verdict is in!

Glass bottled PEPSI is better!
than what?
figure it out!

here are some blurry pictures from the deliberating process. They are a little blurry because SOMEONE (I'm not saying who, but they may or may not be pictured below), doesn't like to be photographed and I had to take these pictures before they noticed what was going on.

soda and disasters

I've been sick, it's been cold, so the obvious choice is chicken soup! I put chicken, carrots, celery, pasilla pepers, onions, garlic, and rice. I made two tiny mistakes.

1st mistake: I always put too much rice. The rice expands so much my soup ends up being more of a porridge and less of a soup.

The 2nd mistake was when I accidentally grabbed the cloves instead of the black pepper (they are both in square tins). Needless to say, cloves are perhaps the one spice that doesn't go well in chicken soup. It was edible and now that I've watered it down it's not as noticable, but peter has to keep tellling me next time I should try nutmeg. He's a modern day Billy Crystal that one.

Well that highlight of the meal ended up being the glass bottle of coke peter bought to see if it tasted better than canned coke. And indeed it did! It was crisper, less sickenly sweet, and came in a cool bottle!! what a day it was. Stay tuned to see if glass bottled pepsi is better than canned pepsi... riveting...