Food and eating was a frequent part of this week. Lunch is our main meal of the day, it was that way before we went to France and has continued to this day. That was convenient while in Europe since folks there have a tendency to eat late, some places do not even open until 19.00 (7pm), which is just too late for us. So we usually sit, cook, and eat lunch together every day. We plan the meals every Tuesday for the coming week since we shop on Wednesday to take advantage of the “Favored Customer” discount.

In the evening we each fix our own snack, prior to sitting down to a bit of news and such. One of Tricia’s favorites is a sauté of mushrooms on crostini. Often mine has been Brie on a slice of baguette melted a bit under the broiler. This week I decided to kick mine up a notch. Here is one of the first new bits – Anchovies with peppers. The only problem was I only made two – they were so good I could have eaten a couple more. Next time I will use Spanish White anchovies.

My map of Oregon project for Tricia continues, this week I added Crater Lake, be sure to read her blog this week.

Yesterday I made a birthday card for a friend that loves airplanes and France.

Last night we went to Le Pigeon, one of the top restaurants in Portland. Our dear friends gave Tricia an over-the-top-generous gift certificate for her birthday – we were gobsmacked at both the gift and the restaurant. I had the omnivore menu, Tricia chose the vegetarian. Here are a few of the seven courses.

It was a memorable evening, it is in the highest category on the list of wonderful meals we have had – at this stage in our eating adventure I find there is no best, just a few amazing ones, and this is in that group. They ended the meal with perfect chocolates.

We are foodies, no apologies for that. We talk about food when we are eating, we find great pleasure in cooking and eating. Some of our simplest meals are our favorites – white beans and spinach. Yet we are so thankful that we have had some experiences that are so good we just cannot believe we have had the honor.

We also know that food is best when you do it with others, which is why even our simplest lunches together are so important. So this week I wish you moments of food with friends. Tricia has a plaque someplace that says, “Love people, cook them tasty food.”