But The Rain Feels Like The Sun In Portland
Let’s just get the rain out of the way. The weather here is like a three year old tap dancing; completely spastic, rain falls in jerks and starts, the temperature drops ten degrees, you pull down your hoodie, then five minutes later you need to take it off completely, it dries out wrapped around your waist. Then comes the hail. And my feet have been consistently freezing since I arrived. But there’s a reason everyone lies to you and tells you it’s not that bad, something that makes Portland worth it. And that reason, dear reader, is unicorns. The unicorns here in Portland are phenomenal. And everyone gets one.
I don’t know if it’s the unicorn magic (we’re not supposed to talk about it) or the chilly weather, but my cooking has gotten a new lease on life. In Brooklyn I was feeling cramped physically and mentally, unable to roll out a dough or a new recipe. I was relying on my stand-bys, which often included Chinese food from the number on my kitchen calendar. But since I’ve arrived in Portland I’ve cooked every night, and not just to blog about it (which is why you’ll find no recipes or overly staged photos) but to cook. Just to cook! That was something I had lost in the mix. And the last thing I need is for this thing I love to become a source of stress, or worse yet, a chore.
Everything changes when you are cooking to make a recipe, and since I started with this cookbook business I realize how naive I was to not see the difference immediately. There’s an art to recipe writing that isn’t necessarily apparent when you are merely cooking. When you cook you can rely wholly on your senses. A steamy inhale, blowing down a spoon for a taste. A little of this, a splash, a sprinkle, a shake. The music’s on, the window is open, the cats are at your feet and you can smell the garlic two flights down when you walk into the building. “What’s in it?” My friends used to make fun of me when I would answer, “Spices and things.” But that’s how it was, who knows? Why talk about it? Why ruin things with the mundane drabbery of this earthly plane? Just eat. Who wants to break the magic by bringing in modern technology like teaspoons, blenders and google searches? No, just eat.
Enter Amazon stats and kiss it all goodbye. A scrapped piece of printer paper taped to the fridge, a sharpie that seems to never hold enough ink, and an ever watchful eye on the kitchen timer: that’s recipe writing. Gone is “a little of this” and in comes “how the hell many tablespoons was that?” Forget plopping everything onto a plate with a serving spoon and a come and get it. Now it’s straight to the photo set up, pastel backdrop in place. Then to the computer to type it all out, lest you forget just how long you left the lid on and a recipe is lost. And there is fun in that, there is satisfaction and of course, it’s a small price to pay for, god, all your dreams coming true. But.
It hurts your cooking. It changes everything. It tames you. It makes your already tiny kitchen tinier still. And (I’ll switch from second person narration into first now) I need to be free. I guess that’s what I’m saying. Mel Gibson didn’t completely kill freedom, did he?
A completely unstaged photo of a white lasagna I made, with gingered lime sweet potatoes and a cashew cream sauce. Garnished in a completely realistic manner with cilantro.
An inside shot and a side of garlicky kale, it’s easy to eat local in Portland.
April 17th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Beautiful post Isa. Thank you.
April 17th, 2008 at 11:50 am
April 17th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
beautiful photos regardless of unstaging them! mmmmmm! and really, it doesn’t usually hail so much here…
April 17th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Sounds like you’re doing well in Portland! And it’s sunny again today… Momentarily anyway. What’re you doing for work here? I couldn’t complain if you had a restaurant…
April 17th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
It’s great to know that you’re feeling so free in Portland! That lasagne looks amazing.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Welcome to the west coast! :3
April 17th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I want a unicorn! I can only imagine how cooking can lose it’s appeal when you are trying to perfect recipes. I had never thought about it that way (since I don’t write cookbooks). But thanks so much for doing it.
Anyhow, hope you are enjoying Portland!
April 17th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
welcome to the west coast! it’s even better than it looks on oregon trail.
maybe invest in some wool socks.
p.s. that lasagna looks good.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Welcome to your new home. You sound so incredibly happy there.
April 17th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Welcome to Portland! I promise that as happy as you are right now- you will soon be much, much happier. The days are getting longer, the produce is starting to arrive to market….Your feet will warm up, the sun will shine and you won’t believe you ever lived anywhere else.
April 17th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
You sound really happy - I am glad it is going so well in Portland. And your lasagna (recipe or not) looks great!
April 17th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
What an amazing post, Isa. I’m so glad you are shining in Portland, even if the sun isn’t. I’m looking forward to even more creative, free-flowing ideas from you than you’re already shared with us… if that’s possible.
April 17th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Incredible post. The lasagna looks delicious and it’s nice to hear how well things are going in Portland. Even the weather can’t get you down!
April 17th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I loved this post.
April 17th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Yay for freedom cooking, and for your being free to enjoy it.
April 17th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Beautiful! I love that Portland is inspiring you. Cooking for yourself; lovely!
April 17th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Hurrah! There really is something about the produce on the west coast that inspires cooking. I’d never really made anything worth serving to other people until I switched coasts myself. Congrats on the move!
April 17th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Portland sounds great, even if the weather is a little crazy. And the lasagna looks excellent! Cooking for enjoyment really does lead to some great things.
April 17th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
This post was beautiful–I’m so happy for you.
April 17th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
i wish you’d lie and say that living in portland is no different than living in brooklyn. telling myself that leaving here wouldn’t alleviate any of my anxieties is the only way i stay sane.
April 17th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
al… It didn’t solve all my problems but the exact problem it does seem to have helped is the anxiety. We’ll see if that holds true with the test of time.
April 17th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I’m one of the vegans you left behind on Long Island…but I luuuurrrve you anyway! I got to work early today but did not leave my parked car as I used the opp to read my spankin’ new Veganomicom. Your Vengeance book carried me since Nov 07 when this Ovo-Lacto went to the dark vegan side, but now this! I work for the police department and leave all the books out for anyone to enjoy. Why, just 2 minutes ago a group of us watched your Matzoh Ball episode with Stupid smashing it up in your living (smashing) room. (I don’t believe you said “bad boys” either!)
Anywhooo…I am a big fan of PPK and I love the theme song and its lyrics.
Okay, I’m still at work and on page 20 and can’t wait to cook!!!
I do, however, need a cooking-show-fix, so c’mon, put down the really heavy chef knife and cut up some video instead!
April 17th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Very well-said. A negative of getting to do what you love for a living is getting so wrapped up in it that it becomes a detriment to your creativity and well, sanity. Glad to hear Portland is working out! I’m vacationing there in a few weeks and can’t wait (I hope the rain behaves…).
April 17th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
This post made me feel like standing up from my computer chair and sing “AMEN!”
I’m glad you’re having fun, Isa.
April 18th, 2008 at 2:47 am
i gotta say, i’m way jealous of Hooten’s….or did you move already?
April 18th, 2008 at 11:38 am
um there are unicorns in jersey. they live in the pine barrens with the devil.
oh yeah. i don’t eat lasagna but i’d devour this one.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
God, I’ve been wondering which other godfosaken places enjoyed the same spastic rain-glorious sunshine-painful hail sequences that we see here in Amsterdam. Congratulations Portland!
April 18th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
What a great post. Welcome to Portland!
April 18th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
beauty.
i totally know what you mean about the west coast.
April 18th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
do they say beauty in the states?
like “that’s a beauty post” ?
April 18th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
you are SO busted, spilling the beans about the unicorns.
And about the snow this weekend? A bit unusual. Really. But I have bad news for you on the cold toes during winter front–how’s your supply of 100% wool socks? and fuzzy slippers?
April 18th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
You get used to the rain. And unlike rain in many other places, in northern Oregon we get big, refreshing drops, not spatter-y, misty damp rain. Plus, without the rain we would have the intense green mosses and beautiful trees.
Welcome to your new home, I’m so glad you’ve here!
April 19th, 2008 at 1:29 am
No more talk about the unicorns! ShhhH!
Welcome to Portland. And I want to add, on my move here to Portland I too had to spend an unwanted night in Rock Springs Wyoming.
You should come to VegFest. It’s in a few weeks at Benson High School.
Barbara
April 19th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
This was an incredible post. Thank you. I grew up in Portland, you will love it!
April 20th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Isa, glad to here you are doing well. Yay!
April 20th, 2008 at 7:52 am
The photos look lovely!
I’m so glad you’re settling in out there and things are going well! Good luck!
April 20th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Beautifully written. I look forward to seeing what the 3yr old tapdancing and the unicorns inspire.
April 20th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
The joy and liberation in this post practically jumps of the page. And I can almost smell the garlic, and the sensational dish of which it’s a part…
April 20th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I really loved this post. Yes, although I have never written a cookbook, I have experienced the same effect when I started teaching yoga - something I dearly love. It takes vigilance to maintain the spirit of freedom and spontenaity of something once it also becomes your primary source of income. Most of all I love your “realistic” garnish of cilantro!
Glad you are enjoying your new scene. Good luck with the rain.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:34 am
gotta work on the writing skills if yr ever gonna make it in these parts,tootse.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:09 am
Totally get the whole ‘cooking for the pleasure of cooking’ thing. That lasagna looks amazing! BTW, I recently bought Veganomicon and made the Vanilla Yogurt Poundcake. It’s wonderful! It didn’t last two days around here, blissfully consumed with fresh berries and toasted with Earth Balance. DEE. LISH. USS.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:15 pm
so what’s the recipe for the lasagna?
har har har
April 21st, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Holllly crap that lasagne looks so good. Good to see you blogging again!
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Welcome to the West coast! I grew up in Portland, but migrated south to CA as soon as I was old enough - I guess that I need more vitamin D than most. But I still have webbed feet and I head North when my unicorn gets thirsty.
A tip: This won’t happen for awhile, but when you crave sunshine, hop in the car and drive *east.* Over the mountains - maybe Bend or the hot springs. You could also get on a plane and head for San Diego, but that will cost you considerably more $$$.
Soooo…. I hope that you realize that once you settle in, you’ll have to visit San Francisco. I know of a vegan dive in Chinatown that serves *real* Chinese food, vegan style. TG for Buddhists.
BTW, thx for the cookbooks - I have all three, and my veg teenager is now eating something besides side dishes and junk food (except when I make cupcakes).
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:17 am
If you tell everyone about the unicorns, they’ll all want to come here & get one. Shhh!
We like to call the rain Oregon liquid sunshine. It makes it optimistic & magical that way.
So glad you are a Portlander now. Portland can only be better for it.
The lovely thing about Spring are the farmer’s markets are all going to be opening up here soon. Luckily, your unicorn will come in handy at the market. They are fantastic hagglers. They are also very good for picking out mushrooms.
Take care!
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Glad to see you in Pdx! Hope you can make it to the Veg Fest (Pdx has a pretty nice Veg. NW group!), I’ll even drag around my copy of Veganomicon and VCCTOTW just in case you are there
p.s. snow in April, not the norm around here, but it’s known to happen. My boyfriend (out of state transfer) never understood why I’d go around in just a hoodie and no coat.
April 26th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Oh my cookbook Sista… i am picking up what you are putting down. We should go on vacation somewhere and chill.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:52 am
isa, thanks for all your hard-work. I am not a vegan, but I’ve been eating so many less animal products because of your book. They’re wonderful recipes, thank you!
May 27th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Thanks for the great information about kitchens and cooking. I really appreciate it.