it’s early thursday morning, september 17th, and i can’t seem to get back to sleep. i looked at the clock awhile ago and it was 7:44, or more precisely exactly one week before my schedule take off time from pdx. a week from now at this time i’ll be on a jet plane. words cannot express just how much i’m shitting myself right now! of course i’m excited, but then there’s also the fear, anxiety, and guilt that comes along with leaving all the comforts of home, family, and relationships behind.

with most of my departure preparations complete (save buying booze for frenchies, cleaning car/bedroom, and packing), i have widdled my life down it’s simplest: food. i feel like i’m spending most of my time these days planning what foods i need to consume before i leave and where i must consume them. i’ve already tackled two of portlands best restaurants, sel gris and pok pok, but others remain. friday afternoon is navarre and friday night is laurelhurst market, and then of course, there’s the attempt to compensate for the lack of mexican food i’m about to experience. that is something my soul and stomach will dearly miss…

oh and then there’s the family dinners that must occur several times before i go. where in this will i ever manage to keep my bank account topped up so i can repeat all this self indulgence in france? god knows, hopefully i can tutor some kids in france to add onto my meager assistant wages.

so what has my stomach been digesting lately?

pok pok: eggplant salad, fermented pork ribs, spicy fruit salad, corn/ham salad, duck egg coconut custard all paired with a couple fine singhas

sel gris: pork terrine, squid and orange salad, fig salad, scallops, duck (with foie, oh my!) and of course cheeses (the brutal blue really is brutal, but delicious too!). thank you mr mondok for being so superb with your cheffing skills! all paired with well, where to begin? bubbly gamay to die for, loire valley chenin blanc, fiano, italian carmenere, and an 19 year old fortified grenache. yum! (oh, and a pbr at home for dessert – just for good measure!)

at home: tomatoes are abundant on our porch right now so i’ve been trying to eat as many as possible. most recently i’ve been making pasta with roasted corn and tomatoes, butter and herbes de provence, and topped with fresh mozarella. mmmmm summer goodness. i’ve also been eating a lot of persian salad lately (thanks kate and frank!): tomatoes, onion, cucumber (preferably english), lemon juice, salt, and olive oil.

all of this begs only one question. ok actually two. what will i eat next? and why am i writing about this at 9 am?