The Harmony of Henna on My Hand
I had an Indian mehndi henna painting done on my hand Saturday at Fireworks, the localvore Southtown Corvallis restaurant owned by my friend Intaba. These fun hippy things just come to you in Oregon. You don’t even have to seek them out.
Kailyn did my hand up with some feathery lotus pattern. I love the tingle as the henna penetrates the skin and dries. I thought of my Bangladeshi students, who painted my hand at their house for Eid. Next time I’ll have to get my chest done!
Free Me From These Chains
Oregon requires tire chains on some snowy mountain passes (Photo by gio9019/Flickr Creative Commons/http://www.flickr.com/photos/gio9019/2179219234/ )
No, the third try wasn’t the charm. It took me four stops at auto shops today to find a place that had special cable chains to fit the low-clearance tires of our Honda Civic. Les Schwab, the tire king here, didn’t carry them and the Honda dealer and Auto Zone were out. Finally Napa Auto Parts came to the rescue.
We’re still trying to wrap our heads around Oregon’s zany chains law. Basically the state requires you to carry chains in your trunk, because when adverse weather hits (especially in the mountainous regions), the highway signs can change and require you to put them on. Luckily, if we don’t use the $30 chains, we can return them after April 1. But what a pain.
For such a laid-back, marijuana-friendly state, Oregon sure has a lot of rules and regulations. Getting our driver’s license and registering our car here is also a pain. We have to take an extensive driver’s ed test to switch our license over and you have to pay to transfer the title to Oregon. Man, moving is expensive. It’s enough to make you want to sell your car. At least we plan to stay a one-car family.
Finding Intellectual Center at Powell’s Books
From the Philip Gourevitch reading at Powell's
I’m still in cultural shock living here away from the thriving pulse of an urban center. So everytime I’m in Portland, I find an excuse to go to Powell’s Books. I’ve ordered obscure used books from them online since college, but only since moving here did I enter the temple to all things literary on West Burnside.
Even my parents, who were like why are we wasting a precious Portland day in a bookstore, were enthralled once inside.
Powell’s schedule of nightly author readings is perhaps what most tempts me from here in Corvallis. I did get to hear Philip Gourevitch, editor of the Paris Review, recently read from the quarterly’s new collection of interviews. His harrowing account of the Rwandan genocide is one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read.
In these times of journalistic distopia, it was heartening to hear Gourevitch’s defense of reportage. “Mainstream American fiction underwhelms in it’s ability to dramatize the same level of human experience,” Gourevitch said.
But amid economic collapse, fiction is still a seductive escape. I’m anxious to read Marilynne Robinson’s Home after her interview in this Paris Review.
The author interview is an under-appreciated art. As an English major alienated by lit criticism, an interview with author Can Xue in China set me on a path, for better or worse, towards journalism.
Tasty for Tempeh
Blue Corn Crusted Tempeh with Shitake Mushroom Gravy
I love ordering tempeh at vegetarian restaurants but never know how to cook it at home. The substantive fermented soy cakes make a great meat substitute.
So this Blue Corn Crusted Tempeh recipe on “The Splendid Table” radio show grabbed me. And I had shitake mushrooms in the fridge, so I paired it with the savory gravy. It was somewhat involved, but about as good as a tempeh recipe can get, Dan said. Well, it still doesn’t compare to the yummy sesame tempeh here in Corvallis.
The Solitude of Snow
Well, we’ve had our first couple inches of snow this season. And it’s incredibly cold for the generally more mild Pacific Northwest: the weather here won’t get above 31 degrees this week….ouch!
But I love the way snow slows everything down. I got out of going to Portland for two meetings today. There was a calm to the vacant streets and powdered landscape. But I shouldn’t have ventured out on a bike. Amen for my helmet when I hit that patch of ice!
We’re still trying to wrap our heads around Oregon’s snow chains law. You are technically required to carry chains while highway driving in the winter months. In very bad weather, ODOT signs can require you to put them on.
I’ll pick some up before we drive through the Coastal Range next week. Then apparently a lot of folks end up returning them unused to the local tire center in the spring.
A “Gift” from Baltimore Gas and Electric
Being under-employed, I was grateful and surprised to receive a $128 check from Baltimore Gas and Electric in Corvallis today. I assume that’s our part of BGE’s $2 billion settlement with parent company Constellation Energy that I forget we were due. Too bad those credits were barely expected to cover the increased heating costs this year.
So far, Pacific Power here in Oregon seems slightly-more consumer friendly. At least being a Pacific Power customer entitles us to an Energy Trust home efficiency audit, which we are having performed tomorrow.
The Best Mexican Comida in Corvallis
Carnitas and Lenga Tacos at Tacos Uruapan
It’s not hard to exhaust the dining options in small-town Corvallis. And unfortunately many of the restaurants here are expensive (perhaps to make up for inconsistent traffic). Corvallis cuisine could also stand to gain more ethnic diversity.
So Tacos Uruapan, an inconspicuous joint on 3rd St. on the industrial outskirts of Southtown Corvallis, is a rare gem. We devoured two steaming dinner platters, of carnitas (roast pork) and lengua (beef tongue) tacos and chile relenos, plus a Pepsi, for $16.50. The pork and especially the tongue were succulent with just enough grease, cut with squeezes of salsa verde and fresh lime. I love the bare-bones simplicity of authentic Mexican tacos in soft corn tortillas: chunks of braised meat, onion or radish and cilantro, with no distracting tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream or cheese. Think outside the border, indeed.
A cute indigenous Mexican couple from Oaxaca spoke little English but said they had run the restaurant for two years. Many of the Mexicans here hail from the culinary-rich state of Oaxaca, the one place in Mexico we’ve been. The owners of Tacos Uruapan reminded us of the Indo-Trinidadian couple who ran perhaps our favorite takeout spot in Baltimore: the Trinidad Gourmet. Wife in the kitchen, husband taking the orders at the counter. But thankfully the food comes out much more quickly at Tacos Uruapan.
Corvallis: The Safest Place in the Nation?
The Benton County Courthouse in downtown Corvallis: the oldest still-active one in Oregon.
Crazy. For the second year in a row, Corvallis has been ranked the safest place to live by Farmers Insurance Group. “Corvallis isn’t the real world,” my Bostonian friend Dorothea likes to say.
Now you see why we’re having such culture shock coming here from Baltimore, one of the deadliest American cities. And yet I still ache for the place.
Should More Grass Seed Farmers Grow Chickpeas?
Chickpea Dal with Argula/Watercress
Yes, this region is known for its abundant farmers’ markets and vineyards. But half the tillable land in the Willamette Valley is planted with the inedible crash-crop grass seed. Linn County, which neighbors Corvallis, is known as the grass seed capital of the world.
But local food security advocates are trying to change that. Through a USDA rural business grant, they convinced six local farmers to try planting some of their grass seed fields with edible chickpeas and wheat to develop a local food supply. The local Ten Rivers Food Web group just sold the first harvest, in 5 lb. sacks (see below).
Not only are dried garbanzos affordable, but the locally grown ones tasted especially flavorful and fresh. They were a bit mud-coated, but that’s nothing a good soak and rinse couldn’t fix.
I recommend the Chickpea Dal recipe I found by Matthew Card on Culinate. Argula and watercress made a fine spicy substitute for the mustard greens. And I used less coconut milk (substituted turkey broth) and tomatoes than the recipe called for.
NPR Announces Cuts: New Depth to Journalism’s Woes
NPR headquarters in DC/Flickr Creative Commons/By NCinDC http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncindc/2729739913/ )
This is really sad news, because NPR’s non-profit, listener-supported model has been seen as one of the few bright, viable models left in journalism. Some 64 people will lose their jobs and 21 open positions won’t be filled. They’re cutting shows Day to Day and News and Notes, NPR’s one African-American focused show, led by Baltimore native Farai Chideya.
How will this affect the expensive multi-media training NPR was planning to give all it’s journalists?
It’s been a bad week for journalism. But the news about Tribune’s bankruptcy (my former employer) was far less surprising than NPR’s woes.
Will the 12.5 percent of the nation unemployed and under-employed only continue to rise?
BaltimOregon to Maine 