Boule

Painting by Margaret Loxton from the book Provence by Peter Mayle,  McMillan Publishing Co.

I'll bet a lot of you have never heard of a yard game named boule.  The game of boule, aka "petanque", is just another contribution to my life from my dear friend - the one who has the family ties in Southern France and taught us about French Salad. 

Extremely simple, the game is similar to bocce ball or horseshoes.  There's a target, and you have to get as close to it as possible.  Simple to play yet highly competitive - very inclusive (anyone can play) yet, as with all things, it can get intense.

The object of the game is to throw your balls (literally balls of steel) so that they land closer to a much smaller ball called a cochonnet (that's French for "little pig"), than those of your opponents.  Or to strike and drive the cochonnet toward your other balls and away from your opponent's.

It's clearly a  French game, played in every Provencal village, usually on a dusty patch of ground, but you'll also see it played in the grand public gardens in Paris.  Especially popular among, I would say, older men in France (I have rarely seen a women play), they play in the gardens in the quiet summer afternoon during the week and appear to take it more to heart then we do with our summer game in the back yard.

The game has been on my mind lately because now that it's the start of October, there'll only be a few more times to play outside in the evening.

In the Spring, as soon as the weather gets good, out come the rakes and brooms sweeping away to get the boule court in shape and ready for the "boule season" which starts when the evenings and the rains lighten up.  

My friends have gone to the trouble to actually construct a boule court in their backyard just for the simple pleasure of passing summer evenings playing a boules match along with a glass of wine or pastis (another Provencal contribution and another story).  

At first we thought we had the First Official International Boule Court of North America but after doing my research I've actually found that we don't have an exclusive on the game here in Oregon (or North America).  In fact there are several boule clubs in the WV that are happy to help you learn the game and play with them.  This is a really good thing because the game is delightfully entertaining  and a great way to pass time with friends and your entire family on a warm summer day.  Meanwhile, I guess I'll have to wait until the sun comes out in the Spring for another game with friends in the backyard.

RESIDENT BOULE DOG

Here is a list with web links of the boule clubs in the WV.  Check them out - they'd love to hear from you.

Painting by Margaret Loxton from the book Provence by Peter Mayle

Eugene Petanque International Club -

Lake Oswego Petanque -

Portland Petanque Club - 

Portland Boulegans - 

Life is good - Bye for now!  Evelyn

September - Favorite Things

Here it is the end of September and time for some favorites of the month.   Included are links, when available, for additional information about the items. I hope you find some things in the list that you too enjoyed in September.  Let me know what you think.

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~ Bon Appetite Magazine ~

Years and years and years ago this magazine first inspired me to appreciate really good food.  Always interesting with imaginative recipes, now the September issue has announced that Luce Italian Restaurant in Portland (pronounced LOO-chay), is one of the 10 Best New Restaurants in the country for their brilliant Italian cooking. Congrats to Luce and Portland.

Pink Martini’s A Retrospective is the first compilation album by the American group, released in 2011 the album contains twenty-one tracks from six studio albums. What can I say, I love Pink Martini and their funky international style. They are just another example of Portland's really cool, but ever so slightly off-beat vibe.

Albacore Tuna Roast– grilled on a bed of Rosemary branches. The fleet is in, buy albacore tuna fresh from the Oregon Coast now.  It's the best September has to offer.  

Dahlias - Real dazzlers in September!

Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Goat Feta Cheese Salad - Some kind of wonderful!

Left Coast Cellars 2006 Heritage Pinot Noir. An exceptional wine fermented by native yeast in French oak and aged for 34 months, this wine has every component to age for a future generation. Elegant and structured; decant to serve now or age upwards of 15 years.
(only 30 cases remain).  My favorite for very special occasions and the very best company (dear old friends and family).

~ Portland Race for the Cure ~ 

The Race which took place September 16th raises significant funds and awareness for the breast cancer movement. It was a time to celebrate survivors and their families while working toward the promise of ending breast cancer forever.

~ Finding Portland ~  

You really should take a look at this time lapse video which is beautifully composed. It captures  the City of Roses in a most creative style.   If you like Portland, you’ll love this video - created by Uncage the Soul Productions.

Pumpkin Vase - Flowers, shrubs, and fruits can be arranged in a hollowed out pumpkin vase.  Perfect for October or November (you can use other members of the squash family also, depending on space and color scheme).  This and other stylish centerpiece ideas (and great pumpkin recipes) come from Holiday Pumpkins by Georgeanne Brennan, Jennifer Barry Design.



Here we come October !  Evelyn

Remember:  Buy local when you can!

McMinnville and More

The planning commission got it right in historic McMinnville with the development and renewal of the downtown district which over the years has been transformed into a vibrant business area for merchants, artists, and visitors.  It's always worth the drive up Highway 99 to visit  their charming historic downtown and have breakfast at the Crescent Cafe. 

Although the Crescent is one of those unique eateries where you march to the tune of their drum it's worth every bit. First of all they only serve breakfast, they are only open from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm, (but luckily every day to the week),  the menu is somewhat limited, they will not split a check, and they will not except American Express.  And you have somewhat of a wait for your breakfast to be served after you’ve ordered it, but that’s because everything is made from scratch (as I said it's worth every bit).  Aside from the good food, there’s just something about the place that makes you want to come back for more.

To start with there is the host, a particularly fastidious gentleman, who manages to keep all the patrons served in an orderly manner and gets you started off in the right direction with the menu and the specials of the day.  The place is small, but charming, very well maintained with lots of wood, pleasing light fixtures and beautiful fresh cut flowers.  Breakfast is always worth the wait, but the outstanding (and I mean outstanding) feature is the bread which is made every morning in their kitchen.  Although you do have a long wait for your meal, you are allowed to linger long with no pressure to leave before you are ready.  And beware the place is usually packed.

Of course the Crescent is right smack in downtown McMinnville (probably my favorite small town in the Willamette Valley).  Known to be in the heart of the wine country, the downtown is overwhelming endowed with wine bars and really fine restaurants, plus the Mcmenamin’s Oregon Hotel (half a block from the Crescent). 

Needless to tell you, last Saturday I got one of those uncontrollable urges to visit the Crescent (with my gardening mate) and after having gorged ourselves on breakfast, had a delightful walk around downtown, peeking in all the shop windows and doors.  It’s a pretty friendly place where you stop and talk about dogs or hair styles or the weather with shop keepers and other McMinnvillites.  

Going on down Highway 99, the countryside is quite literally covered with small wineries and tasting rooms where you can just stop in, enjoy the scenery, taste a little wine, and have a nice chat with the staff .  I can tell you Oregon is not Sonoma – our wineries are pretty casual and comfortable for the most part.

One such winery south of Mac (that's what people call McMinnville) on Highway 99, named Left Coast Cellars, is particularly special, not just for the wines they produce (which are pretty special), but for the incredible park like setting they have created on the property. It’s a large acreage and they have tastefully landscaped the area (which includes a small lake) that runs beside the drive up to the winery and tasting room.  Stunning in the spring, lovely in the summer, and then in fall all you notice are the immaculately manicured vineyards with opulent bunches of black pinot noir grapes promising another fine year of great wine. 

 

The winery is worth the visit just for the drive up to the tasting room. And an inviting tasting room it is, well appointed in a sort of shabby chic motif.   Not only can you sample their very good wines, but they have a small café serving small plates such as figs and gorgonzola, dolmades (stuff grape leaves), caprice salad, or maybe some of Carolyn’s special carrot cake.  During the summer they offer live music on the patio on Saturday afternoons or you can take a walk on the well maintained hiking paths around the property.

All and all it’s a great place to be – somewhere on highway 99 between McMinnville and Corvallis!

Life is good! Bye for now.  Evelyn

REMEMBER:  BUY LOCAL WHEN YOU CAN!

Labor Day at Redhawk

The world outside of the Willamette Valley should know more about the incredible wine industry that flourishes within.  

With over 200 working wineries between Portland to Eugene I wonder if anyone is ever more than 15 minutes from a winery that produces some of the world's best wines.  Impressive, given that wine production in the WV didn't get started until 1960.  

As everyone in the WV knows pinot noir is king, chardonnay is queen and then there's lively, fresh and fruity pinot gris.

Being at the same latitude (45th parallel) as the Burgundy region of France, the WV has a similar climate where the glamorous, fabulous pinot noir grapes thrive. Happily we are becoming highly regarded for our production of truly great pinots.  In fact the prestigious International Pinot Noir Celebration takes place every summer on the Linfield College campus in McMinnville. More than 60 American and international pinot noir producers are on hand at the three day event to celebrate pinot noir and pair it with the absolutely most incredible northwest cuisine.

With Labor Day weekend comes winery events and celebrations all over the valley. This year, we visited Redhawk Vineyard and Winery which is just down the road in West Salem. Oregon wineries are generally unpretentious and laid back and Redhawk is no exception.  The tasting room is pretty casual so that you feel comfortable to drop in for a tasting, a bit of food, relax and enjoy the entertainment.  For $10 Red Hawk offered a generous tasting of 8 different wines plus a surprisingly wonderful barrel tasting of their 2011 estate pinot noir.  It was good!

As has become expected at Oregon wineries, we were serenaded by the toe tapping music of Joni Harms, Female Western Swing Artist of the Year.  And she was great!  

The food was plentiful   -  very tasty smoked sausages, homemade smoked salmon patè and topped off by their signature BBQ tri tip. 

Resident pal at Redhawk

The Redhawk Vineyard and Winery is just outside the city limits of West Salem. Their hilltop setting captures the beauty of the rural Oregon wine country. Although Labor Day was a bit hazy, the views of the valley, the Cascades and Mt. Hood can be spectacular.   John & Betty Pataccoli, who own and run the vineyard and winery, are committed to producing small quantities of high quality, yet affordable wines.

If you would like more information about the Oregon Wine Industry the Oregon Wine Board has a terrific web site: http://www.oregonwine.org/Home/

Life is good - bye for now!  Evelyn

It's Time for Rosé!

Finally - time to sit back and relax.  It’s sumptuous summertime and it’s time for rosé!  There are as many Oregon rosés on the market as there are wineries in the WV.  But I haven’t found one I didn’t like yet.  Rosé has become the unofficial summer sipper in Oregon wine country and after a weekend like the one we just experienced (very, very, very warm),  I ran to the market and stocked up for the rest of the summer. These wines are produced to drink now and sell out fast.  So it's time to sit back and enjoy this delightful, refreshing wine with the bright, fresh fruit flavors of strawberries, raspberries, or cherries.

This isn’t that other pink wine we have come to disparage for it’s lack of character and excessive sweetness. The Oregon rosé is made in the style of the wines from Southern France, dry, with a light complexity and the perfect balance of acidity which works so well with the light, simple food of summer.

Pink from pinot noir, syrah, grenache, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon or sangovaise grapes which are soaked in their red skins for a few hours - compared to a few days (or weeks) for red wines. How deeply colored the rosé becomes depends on the grape type and, obviously, how long it sits.





Believe me - this wine is the essence of  summer. Always served chilled, a wine made to be enjoyed with friends and family on the patio, porch, deck, backyard – anywhere out-of-doors - savoring the warmth and glory days of summer.

Now speaking of food, I’m beginning to reap the benefits of all those vegetable plants I so enthusiastically planted and nurtured through late spring and early summer. Since I’m an eating fool, what better way to enjoy the dishes of summer - dishes like panzanelia, salade Nicioise, tabouli, ratatoulli , etc. - than with a perfect glass of yummy chilled rose  (check out the “Must Have Recipes" at the bottom of the post).


One of my favorite little starters, which is great with rosé, is broiled procuitto-wrapped peach slices.  The original recipe from Food & Wine Magazine, uses pancetta which I have changed to procuitto which I prefer.  I also spread a dab of blue cheese onto the sliced peach wedge, then add a bit of basil leave before I wrap it up with a small piece of procuitto.  Broil it for a few minutes, til it’s hot and slightly bubbly, then drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and serve.  Yum.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, it’s also good to know that rosé wines are relatively inexpensive in the world of classy Oregon wines.  Most run between $10 and $20 dollars averaging about $15 on down.  As a table wine they offer incredible paring possibilities, by themselves, sitting on the deck watching the sun go down, wonderfully drinkable and affordable – a real winner.

Life is good, bye for now.  Evelyn

Must Have Summer Recipes                            

Grilled Steak with Panzanella - Food & Wine Magazine 

Ratatouille - Emeril Lagassee (food network)- 

Salade Nicoise - Epicurious 

Tabouli Salad - About.com 

Summer Salads - Once Upon a Chef
Pancetta-Wrapped Peaches with Basil & Aged Balsamic Vinegar - Food and Wine Magazine

Remember:  buy local when you can!