Off White Living

I feel so fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest.  Just today I was chatting with my good friend, C. at her local hangout called Cooper’s in SE Portland.  Lucky for us, the owner – a seemingly happy and inspired man, stopped at our table for a quick chat about all things local, community-based, and fun.    I got to thinking about how cool a place like Portland and its surroundings are because the people simply live a life dedicated to supporting the ‘little guy’, and that ‘little guy’ then provides everything from awesome food and a place to hang on a Saturday afternoon, to 2.5 lb Walla Walla onions, as seen in this pic.

How blessed am I to live here and experience this?  The icing on this cake: most of what is yielded from these locally inspired people is truly authetic (see last post), and very much in alignment with Off-White living.

We’ve been taking advantage of the flavors of our local region all summer long, and here’s a short list of what I’ve had the prviledge of experiencing:

sautees Walla Walla onions
Elk burgers from local Elk
Sheep cheese
berries that make your eyes roll into the back of your head
Amazing stories about Russian immigrants having to flee to Iran for 22 yrs before coming to the NW
Dinner parties that last well into the 11th hour, complete with heirloom tomato salads and quinoa pilaf
Trips to Bob’s Red mill
Rose hip infused dark chocolates served with our bill at the Park Kitchen restaurant
Laughing with friends at the Portland Saturday market, where you purchase all the ingredients to make this:

Livin’ La Vida Loca Burger

1 lb local ground Elk meat
2 tbsp fresh rosemary and thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
1 large (and I mean large) Walla Walla onion from the farmer’s market
1 bunch of varied lettuces, from farmer’s markets or your friends garden
1 slice of Dave’s Killer spelt bread
1 fresh cucumber, from farmer’s market or your friends garden 

take the elk meat and mix with herbs/salt/pepper.  Divide into 4 patties, set aside. Slice the onion into 1/4″ rounds, set aside.  Heat the grill to med heat and add a little butter or olive oil to the area where the onions will grill.  Add onions and elk burger patties to the grill, cooking the patty mostly on one side first before flipping.  mix the onions regularly so they grill evenly.  Add salt or pepper as needed.

Toast the spelt bread and add the condiments for a burger, to your liking.  Once done, add the burger patties atop the toasted bread and finish off with grilled onions, a little lettuce and perhaps a slice of tomato.  Serve with a simple side salad of mixed greens + cucumbers…..enjoy!!

aaaahhhh,  it is the good life here, and  I am so very grateful.