Heirloom Carrot Soup with Lemon Verbena, Spearmint & Garlic Gremolata

Heirloom Carrot and Leek Soup with Lemon Verbena, Spearmint & Garlic Gremolata

I was about to pass them by but intuition nudged, and I instead asked the obvious question: “What are these?” The vendor replied, “Why these are heirloom carrots of course. And you will never taste a carrot with more complex flavor.” Perhaps in response to the skeptical expression on my face, he added, “Don’t worry about how they look.”

LunaCafe OtherWorldly Mac & Cheese

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Macaroni and Cheese is one of the easiest dishes in the world to prepare and surely one of the most wonderful, which probably accounts for the million-and-one versions that hurried, hungry folks have come up with over the years. (If you read to the end of this post, you will get to my most fabulous rendition, which I promised you a few weeks ago in Quintessential Mac & Cheese, Part 1, which reviews the best of all the Mac & Cheese I ate last year in Seattle, Portland, and Boston restaurants, complete with photos.)

Sweet Briar Farms Pork Chop with Bodacious Corn Hush Puppies

Fall fave!

Exceptional Fall dish at Portland’s Wildwood restaurant: House-Cured Sweet Briar Farms Double Pork Chop with Bodacious Corn Hush Puppies, Brown Butter Harissa, Lobster Mushrooms and Green Tomato Pickles.

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