Due to our lack of menu planning, we had some nice meals around SE Portland this weekend. We ate lunch at Broder on Saturday. Man, I love that place! We're so lucky to live nearby. This time I had the winter board, and everything on it was delicious, especially the seasonal salad (peas, bacon, and blue cheese). I love the little spoon that comes with the soft-boiled egg!

That night, we went to Shangri-La, a brand new laid-back restaurant serving Indian food, located where Clinton Street Brewing used to be (SE 26th and SE Clinton). I had just mentioned to Patrick the night before that I wished we had a low-key Indian place nearby (Vindalho is nice, but it feels a little too fancy for us some nights). Lo and behold, we do have a low-key Indian place nearby! Woo hoo! They're still in the process of opening, so the menu is limited for the next few weeks, but what they're offering so far is great. We both got the dinner plate, which included samosas, dal, greens, two curries, and rice, and then we split a big cakey orange cardamom chocolate chip cookie for dessert.

Such a good meal, the owner was friendly, and the ambiance is nice and casual. The menu was entirely vegetarian the night we were there; I forgot to ask if it was going to stay that way. That would be cool.

And while I'm talking about food, let me catch you up on a few recent meals we've made at home...

A few weeks ago, I made English muffins again, this time using the recipe in The Breakfast Book. It's a pretty easy yeast dough (very little kneading involved), and I love the fact that you bake them on the stove in rings (I used cookie cutters). They even tasted like English muffins are supposed to! We had some for dinner topped with poached eggs and ate the extras with jam. Homemade English muffins make me happy :)

Even though I'm pretty well rhubarbed-out at this point, I feel compelled to buy it if I see it at the farmers' market. A week or two ago, there were also strawberries at the People's Coop Market (yay!), so I made a strawberry-rhubarb oat crumble. It was based on the recipe for Rhubarb, Oat, and Pecan Crumble in Rustic Fruit Desserts, but I used a mix of 1/3 strawberries and 2/3 rhubarb (and reduced the sugar by a smidge) and replaced the pecans with peanuts, since those were the only nuts in the house. The end result was reminiscent of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but in a good way.

Last week, we continued our quest for interesting vegetarian lunches and tried falafel wraps--tortillas filled with Moosewood tabouli, salad greens, and falafel and topped with yogurt + lemon juice. I wasn't a fan of the tabouli on its own (probably because I used overly assertive wild mint and parsley from our garden), but it was fine in the wraps. And the falafel patties were great! The wraps turned out really well, though they're a bit more labor-intensive than normal sandwiches.

We got our first CSA box from Big Leaf Farm last Thursday (Patrick rigged up an elaborate bike trailer + cooler contraption so we could pick it up by bike). Everything is so pretty! We used the purple broccoli/kale mix from the box, along with kale and collards that Susan generously shared with us from her garden, to make Cook's Illustrated manicotti with greens for last night's dinner. So good (not surprising, given the amount of cheese it contains!).

Since I had leftover ricotta and some frozen pie dough scraps, I made mini lemon ricotta pies, topped with sliced and sugared strawberries. They were enjoyable (though I'm not sure if I like the grainy texture imparted by the ricotta) but not very photogenic. It's so satisfying to combine a bunch of kitchen odds and ends to make something tasty!

Hey, check it out--I made a skoodlet! Lee came up with this pattern for a combination hood and scarflet a few months ago and was kind enough to share it with me. It's a great way to add a little warmth to a cold-weather ensemble without adding bulkiness.

I decided to make it in a neutral color so that it would go with most of my clothes. I chose Blue Moon's Woobu (merino wool + bamboo) yarn in the beautiful Lenore colorway. To spice it up a little bit, I worked lattice stitch instead of stockinette stitch for the body (but I stuck with stockinette stitch for the scarflet sections because of the short rows). I'm really happy with how it turned out!

Lee's pattern is well written, and I like that it's customizable for any yarn and gauge. The hood turned out pretty pointy (possibly because I made it an extra 3/4" deep), but I'm cool with pointy hoods. I finished it off with vintage buttons from The Button Emporium.

I really like the combination of the lattice stitch and garter stitch textures. I'm excited to wear it with my pink jacket this fall!

(Also on Ravelry)

You know what I love? Biking home from trivia on a warm summer night, catching whiffs of honeysuckle and roses as we zoom down Clinton Street. Summer in Portland is a wonderful thing!

I just finished my first 5k run! I had intended to run the whole thing (since I was able to run 30 minutes straight during training this past week), but there were a lot of hills in the last mile, so I walked a little toward the end. I'm still very happy with my performance. I ran it with Star and Patrick, and we finished it in around 40 minutes. Not bad for first timers! (Patrick could have done it faster, but he stuck with me, which I appreciated)

Here I am recreating my triumphant finish, since we forgot to bring our camera to the run. I probably looked a little more defeated during the actual finish, because of all the hills at the end, but this is a better way to remember it :)

The Starlight run was a bigger deal than I thought! It was set along the Starlight parade route (an hour before the parade started), so the route was packed with people waiting to see the parade. There were even people lined up on the upper levels of parking garages to get a good view! Lots of people cheered for us, and there were tons of kids standing on the side of the row with their hands out for high fives. Little kid high fives are total motivators :)

We had originally planned to dress like Pippi Longstocking, but the costume side of things got neglected in favor of training for the run, which was probably a wise choice. We opted for stripey socks and pigtails (just Star and me; not Patrick), which worked out fine. I bought my socks from Sock Dreams years ago, and this was my first opportunity to wear them. They stayed up the whole time and weren't too hot (it was really warm during the run), so I'd say they were a success! And I loved my new running skirt (purchased along with the tank top at Lucy yesterday). What a great innovation! I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing a skirt this short under normal circumstances, but it seemed okay when I was running, especially since it had shorts underneath.

I'm really happy with how the Couch to 5k program worked out. As promised, I went from no running ability to being able to run a 5k (give or take) in 9 weeks. That's so crazy--I never would have thought I could do that!

Next I'm planning on training for an 8k. Most 5k to 8k training programs I've found take 10 weeks, and conveniently enough there's an 8k run coming up in exactly 10 weeks (the Homer Classic in Silverton). Then there's a bigger 8k in October as part of the Portland Marathon (and it just so happens that Tree will be in town to run the full marathon, so that's perfect timing!). I think without a goal, I'm likely to stop running, which would be unfortunate, since it feels good to exercise regularly. Hooray for fitness!

On Wednesday, Patrick and I hosted trivia at Zach's Shack for the first time. It went well! The basic format is four categories, each with ten questions. Each round, the team with the highest score wins 4 free hot dogs. I've listed our questions below, in case you want to play along at home (highlight the black bars to see the answers). Sorry, no free hot dogs for Internet participants :(

(That's Patrick before trivia started, enjoying his complimentary trivia-master beer) We went with three themed categories, plus pop culture mashups (a favorite at Zach's, popularized by Pete). Wikipedia made it so much easier to come up with the questions.

Rock:

1. Naturally occurring columnar structures such as Devil's Postpile in California and Devil's Tower in Wyoming are made from this type of igneous rock.
   Basalt
2. This actor and former wrestler, who starred in such movies as The Scorpion King and Walking Tall, sometimes goes by his WWF ring name, "The Rock."
   Dwayne Johnson
3. In 1937, a bill was introduced in Congress to add this woman's face to Mount Rushmore.
   Susan B. Anthony
4. In Greek mythology, this king was cursed to eternally push a boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down.
   Sisyphus
5. What are the four characteristics, or "four C's," used to describe diamonds?
   Carat, cut, color, clarity
6. This 2009 Broadway musical, named after a 1983 Def Leppard song, features classic rock hits from the 80's, such as "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" and "The Final Countdown."
   Rock of Ages
7. The Carnac Stones, a collection of more than 3000 prehistoric standing stones, are located in which country?
   France
8. Stone-washed jeans are most commonly produced by washing the jeans with this abrasive volcanic rock.
   Pumice
9. How did Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz, get his nickname?
   He raised and sold birds while in prison
10. What were the original three flavors in Fruity Pebbles cereal when it was introduced in 1969?
    Orange, cherry, and lemon

Paper:

1. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone used construction paper cutouts and stop motion to animate their initial short films and the South Park pilot episode. What was the name of their first short film, and what was the name of the pilot episode?
   The short film was The Spirit of Christmas, and the pilot was "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe"
2. Historically, the dyes used in litmus paper were extracted from this natural source.
   Lichen
3. Which country's paper currency, called the krona, features such national figures as opera singer Jenny Lind and botanist Carl Linnaeus?
   Sweden
4. In the Giro d'Italia cycling race, the color of the leader's jersey is based on the newspaper that promotes the race. What color is it?
   The jersey is pink
5. The term "ticker tape parade" was coined in 1886 to describe a spontaneous celebration that occurred during the dedication of what New York City landmark?
   The Statue of Liberty
6. This fictional tabloid newspaper has been featured in a variety of Marvel comics and is edited and published by J. Jonah Jameson.
   The Daily Bugle
7. This American paper company was founded in 1879 and is credited with being the first to sell toilet paper on a roll. They merged with Kimberly-Clark in 1995 but continued to use their original brand name.
   Scott Paper Company
8. At the age of nine, this actress won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Addie Loggins in Paper Moon, making her the youngest winner in Oscar history.
   Tatum O'Neal
9. Support for the Spanish-American war was fueled in part by sensationalistic stories published by American newspapers. This so-called "yellow journalism" ran rampant in 1898 when this American ship sunk in Havana.
   U.S.S. Maine
10. In The Office, who is perennially the top paper salesman at Dunder-Mifflin Scranton?
    Dwight Schrute

Scissors:

1. Fiskars, a Finnish company, introduced their iconic orange-handled scissors in 1967. In what century was Fiskars founded?
   17th century (1649)
2. In the movie Blade Runner, what animal does Rick Deckard dream about?
   Unicorn
3. The creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles originally envisioned this villain as a man wearing large trapezoidal cheese graters on his arms. His original name was "Grate Man."
   Shredder
4. The three fates appear in many cultures' mythologies. In Greek mythology, Clotho spins the thread of life for each person, Lachesis measures it, and this fate cuts it.
   Atropos
5. Elton John and Anderson Cooper are fans of this New York City band, which has had such hits as "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" and "Take Your Mama."
   Scissor Sisters
6. In The Big Lebowski, there is a dream sequence in which The Dude is chased by several characters wielding scissors. Two of the pursuers are played by Peter Stormare and Torsten Voges. Who played the third pursuer, and where else in the movie is there a prominent image of scissors?
   Flea (from Red Hot Chili Peppers) is the third pursuer, and the prominent image is a painting of scissors in Maude Lebowski's studio
7. George C. Scott played Detective William Kinderman in Exorcist III, which is best known for an unnerving scene involving a possessed woman with a large pair of bone shears. George C. Scott also played an army general in which 1964 movie?
   Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
8. Honing stones, which are used in the knife-sharpening process, traditionally come from this U.S. state.
   Arkansas
9. This infomercial product, invented in the late 1980's by a San Diego carpenter, is capable of performing "hundreds of precision-layered haircuts" and delivers a "refreshing vacuum haircut."
   Flowbee
10. This prolific actor, whose credits include the voice of Vincent VanGhoul in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, made his last movie appearance in Edward Scissorhands, in a death scene
    Vincent Price

Pop Culture Mashups
(The answers are phrases that combine two different pop culture subjects. For instance, if the clue is "80's high school sitcom chronicling the life of Zach Morris and friends is reimagined starring the New Edition splinter group that performed the 1990 hit 'Poison'," the answer would be "Saved by the Bell Biv Devoe")

1. A tournament involving this hand game that is commonly used as an alternative to flipping coins and drawing straws is surprisingly won by the bushy-eyebrowed actor who starred in The Fabulous Baker Boys and was a regular on TV shows The Agency and Stargate SG-1.
   Rochambeau Bridges
2. The author of the novel Infinite Jest collaborates with one of the actors from The Princess Bride to pen a novel with an almost inconceivable number of footnotes.
   David Foster Wallace Shawn
3. An unaired pilot is discovered for Nickelodeon's first original live action TV show, set on a ranch run by Mr. Ernst, in which the theme song is the 1987 rock hit allegedly written about Vince Neil, lead singer of Motley Crue.
   Hey Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
4. The tap dancer who was a Sesame Street cast member from 1990 to 1995 stars in a Broadway revival of the 1989 comedy that starred Patrick Dempsey as a pizza delivery boy turned gigolo.
   Savion Gloverboy
5. Scottish-American artist who teamed up with Fatboy Slim to write a disco opera about Imelda Marcos re-dubs the soundtrack for the 2008 Coen Brothers movie starring John Malkovich and Tilda Swinton.
   David Byrne After Reading
6. Even though one of them is a fictional character, the tabloids allege a budding romance between the Blossom character whose catch phrase was "Whoa" and the producer of Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette.
   Joey Russofia Coppola
7. A new South Park episode is aired in which the show's fictional Canadian comedy duo perform unspeakable acts on the guest star, an actor who made his film breakthrough in 1992's Scent of a Woman and has appeared in four out of five of Paul Thomas Anderson's movies to date.
   Terrence and Philip Seymour Hoffman
8. Just in time for Lollapalooza, the British pop band best known for their 1983 single "Too Shy" and the 90s rock band who performed a hit song on the "City of Angels" soundtrack form an unlikely supergroup.
   Kajagoogoo Dolls
9. The Canadian chanteuse ranked by Forbes magazine in 2007 as the 5th richest woman in entertainment is commissioned to perform a biographical opera about the career of the outspoken athlete who played pro football with the Atlanta Falcons and pro baseball with the Atlanta Braves.
   Celine Deion Sanders
10. After her Hollywood career tails off, the actress who played Nona on The Adventures of Pete and Pete and Georgina on Gossip Girl is found working behind the counter of the restaurant chain named as having the freshest fast food in the country by Gourmet magazine in 2003.
    Michelle Trachtenburgerville