Weekend Roundup: An Inspired Sunday

I believe I may have cursed the lovely Spring weather we have been having here in Portland lately by speaking so highly of it in my last few posts. This weekend was quite gloomy, but made for a nice Sunday to page through my latest issue of Bon Appetit magazine and get some ideas for spring recipes. 

I have been trying to get a touch more creative with what I am bringing to work for lunch these days, so I thought these marinated summer vegetables would be awesome on top of a salad or inside of a toasted sandwich. They came together super quickly, and will last in my fridge throughout the week, getting tastier as the days go by! The next time I make these, I will likely be adding mushrooms, onions, and eggplant as well.

With cilantro and parsley always in abundance, and mint being the current herbal bumper crop, I decided to "brew" some herbal citrus water for the week for a light spring sipper to have at my desk.

Then, I got gutsy. I love biscuits to no end, but I have always heard so many horror stories when it comes to making them. I'm not sure how I psyched myself out so much during my last 25 years of life(will they rise? will they turn to muffin? is the butter cold enough? will I ever get there? does it even matter?) but up until yesterday, I had never tried. After my savory scone purchase last Friday left me wanting more, I decided that it was go-time time.

The whole process was quite a whirlwind. My only tweak to the recipe was adding some cracked black peppercorn and some additional scallions. Once I added the buttermilk and slightly mixed the batter, I am pretty sure I blacked out from that point on. I came-to approximately 20 minutes later and was greeted with:

A golden beacon of biscuit beauty. I was kind of shocked at how well these came out, which must speak to how easy the recipe is to recreate. Maybe there was nothing to be afraid of after all! Life lessons learned whilst baking.

Cheddar scallion drop biscuit recipe via epicurious

Impulse Pastry

First scone of the blog: cheddar, bacon, and scallion with black pepper from little t baker. TGIF to all!
 

Hole-y War: Speilman Coffee Roasters

Seedy bagel with roasted veggie cream cheese from Speilman Coffee Roasters

I am absolutely a huge fan of bagels and all things chock full of carbohydrates. However, I wasn't able to quite wrap my head around the uproar, panic, and public outcry that took place a few years ago when longtime local favorite spot, Kettleman bagels, was bought out by corporate chain Einstein Bro's in late 2011. After living here a few years, I now am beginning to get a sense of why. Portland doesn't seem to mess around when it comes to bagels. Especially boiled bagels. The boiled bagel is an area that I openly admit to be unfamiliar with. What is the different between boiled and baked? Baked and steamed? 

I have embarked on a quest toward investigating the so-called "boiled bagel battle" currently going down in Portland. What makes ones crust and texture more desirable than the next? Do flavored/topped bagels reign supreme, or does the blank canvas of a well-made plain bagel with a delicate shmear rise to the top? Are we all really made of stars? To begin to answer these questions, I set out to Speilman Coffee Roasters in SE PDX. I figured Speilman would be a good place to start, considering I have received multiple recommendations to check it out, and they roast their own coffee beans. Sold.

The ambiance: chill. The counter: loaded with bagels.

After finding some self control and fighting off the urge to order a full-blown lox plate, I had a hard time choosing between all of Speilman's bagel flavs (salt and pepper, golden raisin & fennel, the classic 'Everything' go-to, just to name a few). I went with the Seedy variety. The bagel was super tasty, topped with a crust of pumpkin, sesame and poppy seeds. A nice crunch to the crust, and a soft and pillowy, yet dense bagel within. But the star, in my opinion, was the cream cheese. Smokey and a little zippy, with swirls of roasted veggie ribbons. Speilman has a slew of cream cheeses to select from, including chive, salted caramel, blueberry, smoked salmon, and more. Reading the menu has inspired me to make a few concoctions of my own at home.

Should the cream cheese really outshine the bagel? My guess is no, but I have no complains about my Speilman experience. I will definitely be returning for another Seedy and a cup of their robust joe, and maybe a lox plate if I'm feeling flush. I hope to check out Henry Higgens and the Bridgetown Bagel cart to continue to weigh in on this showdown. Stay Tuned!