Sip that Cider

A perfect remedy for the fall's chilly nights: cider, blankets, friends, and movies.
Say, what's in this drink?
Apple juice
Cinnamon sticks *you can put one in everyone's cup for deco*
Coffee filter filled with mulling spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves..etc)

Let it simmer on the stove until it's hot, pour it into a mug, and sip that cider!

With Love,      
         Christine

Chocolate for breakfast?

The chocolate brioche from St Honoré in Lake Oswego is MMMM.
It's the one thing I always order, even though I've only been there twice...BUT I'm pretty sure I got my orders planned for the next 10984285629 visits. :)

Yup, that's my breakfast. Oh! Taken with a serving of fruit!

With Love,
         Christine

The Farmer's Market

WARNING: the following content will be a feast for your eyes.

 

Lake Oswego Farmer's Market

 





If we get lost, remember to "meat here" ;)

Apple fritter pull aparts

Dress: Michael Kors; Sunglasses: Fendi; Wristlet: Express

The equivalent to Le Panier found in Seattle. ^_^

The St Honoré. Pretty much a cream puff with more cream puffs on top and a sugar glaze.

All that bread.

 

Portland Saturday Market

;)

Lovejoy lost the coin toss to Pettygrove and behold, the city is called Portland. But this is a cute bakery ^_^

The longest line ever. For Salvador Molly's tamales.

We got Columbia Chicken and Artichokoe with Cotija cheese. YUM.

Hand picked rolls? :)

This is so cute.

With Love,
         Christine

Cup of cha?

In Ireland, they often have a daily cup of cha. Cha is slang for tea! In Vietnamese, tea is called chà. I love all types of tea, and I recently discovered a new drink called London Fog. ^_______^
It's so good, it's all I'm drinking for the next month. 

Say, what's in this drink?

1. Brew Earl Grey Tea (fill mug up to 3/4)
2. Pour in steamed milk (fill up to the top,not the tippy top though!)
3. Stir in vanilla syrup (or sugar) to desired sweetness.
4. Drink it up and watch it be gone in...one minute. Don't burn yourself.

With Love,       
         Christine

Last Movie Night of the Summer.

Ever since middle school, I've been the friend who always hosts the movie night get-togethers. It's been almost a year since the last movie night so I decided to have one (it was quite last minute actually). Oh the spontaneity of teenagers! Anyways, I finally watched The Hunger Games, and now I am in love with Peeta. ^_^

A movie night wouldn't run smoothly without snacks though...and so we baked and ate!

SMORES. Those cravings you get because you miss those summer nights you had at camp and gahh they're just so yummy.



With Love,
         Christine

Some food from Europe.

My sister recently came home from her trip to Europe. I am definitely jealous of all the sights she got to see and happy to see her home again after a month and a half of traveling. She brought me back food though (and a pair of shoes that you will see later on)! 

Chocolate from Germany. (There were other chocolates but I ate them...)

Filled with milk:0 

This is one of my favorites! This is what everyone eats in Holland, it's called Hagel Slag (pronounced haw-gull slawg). Since we don't have this in America...make it through these simple steps:

1.  Butter a slice of bread. Do not toast the bread. And use spreadable butter or your bread will rip while you are spreading. I speak from experience._.
2. Dump a bunch of chocolate sprinkles on there! Okay well, enough to coat the surface, it needs to stick to the butter or else they will fall off.
3.  Enjoy.

There's different shapes and sizes too!

 Another favorite of mine from Holland are stroopwafels. They're wafers filled with a syrup like caramel. They're scrumptious and buttery and they go well with tea. YUM. They're just big enough to put over your cup of tea and one side gets warm of gooey and the other side is crunchy...mmm just thinking about it makes me hungry. If only I didn't eat it all before I could take a picture, hmm next time then!

With Love, 

         Christine

Day trip to Seattle.

Did you know that Portland, OR is the largest city between San Francisco and Seattle?
Cool huh? Anyways, I've been making weekend trips with my family to Seattle, WA since I was a baby! Yet still, the city never ceases to amaze me. If you ever get a chance to visit Seattle, you must go to the Pike Place Market (for coffee lovers out there, the first Starbucks is in this market)!

The halibut fish n' chips from Lowell's loacated in Pike Place.

You have to visit Piroshky Piroshky.

In Seattle, might as well have Seattle's Best Coffee. I had cocoa trio...because I don't drink coffee. eheh

The Gum Wall.

Pain au chocolat at Le Panier. <3

A cute alley does exist! @ Post Alley

I'm loving those lights.

I call it art.

Seattle's Great Wheel.

My ear cuff :D from H&M

Looking down at all the blue tops!

The Space Needle.

 In my opinion, Seattle, WA is a larger Portland, OR. So, come visit Portland, OR first, I'll have all the spots for you visit!:)

With Love, 
        Christine

Tomato Bisque

It's been one week since Summer officially started and so far it's been filled with tomatoes! My dad has a love for tomatoes, he even ran away from home once (when he was a child in VN) to bring back tomatoes. Boy, was my Grandma upset! Anyways, last week he came home with a box full of fresh tomatoes. There had to be at least 50. My family has been eating salads with tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, making ketchup ever since...Anything you could think of, we made with tomatoes.
I decided to make tomato bisque:)
Ingredients
8 Tomatoes
Oil
Salt
Pepper
5 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 c of Half and Half
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Sugar
Directions:
1. Cut tomatoes into quarters and line them on a baking sheet.
2. Drizzle them with oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Conv Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, roast the garlic as well.
4. Let the tomatoes and garlic cool for 5 minutes.
5. Pop them into a blender and puree until smooth.
6. Once done, transfer puree to a pot.
7. Add in 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup of Half & Half, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar.
8. Stir until it simmers. Taste and add spices accordingly.
9. Eat it up! Add green onion for garnish.

Finished product:)

With Love,       
         Christine