Glad I went to the small business-themed networking dinner sponsored by Portland Dinner Grrls. It was a small group, which made it an excellent opportunity to have more in-depth conversations than usual. Sat across from Nedra, creator of the Augie Bag. Turns out her boyfriend is one of us blogging people and she is going to tell him about Portland Bloggers, while I am going to try to hook her up with the greyhound folks to give her another way to promote her bags.
Was terrific to be able to pick Becky’s brain about owning a small business. (A few months ago I recommended her as a resource small business diva to the group.) I’ve been one of her customers for nearly two years now, but have never had the chance to talk to her about her business, so this was a terrific opportunity. Definitely got the wheels turning about developing some business ideas of my own.
The dinner was held at Mint, a new restaurant in North Portland. Loved the bowls of zesty pumpkin seeds on the tables – wanted to bring them home with me! I had halibut garnished with kiwi and pineapple served over sugar snap peas and fingerling potatoes in some sort of sauce. The halibut was heavenly but spendy, and the sauce might as well not been there as I couldn’t taste it. Excellent table service, and the cocktails looked tasty. My assessment: Good, but may not be the best bang for your buck.
Today we went on the annual walking tour of homes in Ladd’s Addition. The owners of homes on the historical register have to be open to the public at least four hours a year, so they coordinate an event where you can visit many houses on the same day. Proceeds from the tour benefits Save Our Elms, which takes care of the trees in the neighborhood.
Most Breathtaking: The beautifully restored home that had a reading nook complete with a fireplace
I Would Be Most Comfortable Living In: Colorful house whose owner creates mix-media artwork. Totem-pole like pottery towers hiding in the gardens, kiln in the basement, kitcshy collectibles everywhere.
Whimsical Favorite: Duplex where both units were occupied by tenants very obviously into S&M. Leather gear workshop in the attic, “Golden Paddle” award hanging in the bedroom, much framed erotica photography. This home also wins my “Best Hospitality” award for having drinking water on the front porch and an array of snacks in the kitchen. Basement was not available as part of the tour – I wonder why? One of the gals in our party was waiting for us on the front porch while we finished our conversation with the owner, and said it was very amusing to compare the expressions on the faces of people going in vs. the people coming out.
Really great to be able to talk with so many homeowners about renovation work and get ideas for my house. A tour like this of renovated historic homes is much more my cup of tea than the Street of Dreams, the high profile tour of new state-of-the-art homes. They don’t make them like they used to!
Had the most bizarre dream last night where I had a cable access cooking show, and Martha S. was a guest. The set was jerry-rigged in an abandoned restaurant, and she was wearing my oh-so-tacky Kiss and Tell apron. I think we were making Bar-B-Cups.
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef*
? cup finely chopped onion
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 tubes Hungry Jack biscuits
BBQ sauce
Worsteshire sauce
Mustard
Brown sugar
Ketchup
*Can substitute boneless chicken breasts
Preheat oven according to biscuit directions. Cook ground beef, adding onions when beef is nearly completed cooking. Drain when beef and onions are completely cooked. Add about 1/3 cup of BBQ sauce, then add Worsteshire sauce, mustard, brown sugar, and ketchup to taste.
Stretch each biscuit and pat inside a muffin tin. Spoon meat into each biscuit about 2/3 full. Top with grated cheese and bake according to biscuit directions.
