So far, summer's been treating me well. One of my best friends goes to the University of Oregon, and it was her birthday recently, so on my way home from Virginia I got to stop in Eugene for a long weekend and hang out. It was sunny and beautiful (which I guess is pretty unusual), so we were outside a lot, and over the course of my visit, I got to eat at a bunch of different places. I was really impressed with the food around the university. All the places I went were pretty decently priced, and overall pretty health-conscious. I saw a lot of vegetarian and vegan options, and stuff made with ingredients I don't see very often in Virginia--hello, avocados!
I wasn't super on it about photographing all the things I ate in Oregon--the idea for this blog was still in its incipient stages at that point--and the image quality mostly doesn't do the food justice, but I got a couple of worthwhile shots in.
What to eat in Eugene
Near campus there were some great little places to eat, and one of the first ones I hit up was Caspian Mediterranean Restaurant, where I got the Mediterranean Breakfast Scramble. Sorry, no photo, but it had eggs and rice, spinach, tomato, feta, and some sausage all mixed up together, and it came with toast. Definitely very unhealthy, but you'll just have to take my word for it, it was delicious. Huge portions, super cheap. Definitely recommend Caspian.
Another nearby hilight was Barry's Espresso Bakery and Deli, a little Jewish bakery/deli/coffee shop where we went for lunch one day. I got an iced coffee and the special, which was a veggie burger on challah bread, and it was fantastic. I love the texture of veggie burgers, and the challah was a little sweet, which made it even more mouth-watering. We ate our food outside on the lawn (quad? what do they call it there?) by the academic buildings, and between the sunshine and the delicious sandwich, I was so content.
We also hit up the Eugene Saturday Market, which was pretty awesome. I love me some farmers markets, and this was a nice one. We didn't stay for very long, but while we were there I saw these guys performing.
Eugene was full of cool weirdos, which is basically my favorite kind of person, and something I don't see very often in Virginia. It was really refreshing to be back on the West Coast after being away for so long. At the market I got a vegetable curry, which despite not being very spicy, was way tasty.
After the market, we stopped by Voodoo Doughnut (in pink, below) and picked up a dozen for dessert.
It's an Oregon thing, and they have one in Portland, too. They're known for their fancy/unusual doughnuts, and I got to try a maple bacon one, which was surprisingly good. Umami overload.
One final recommendation is the Laughing Planet Cafe. Sorry, no picture of this one either, but it was really cute inside--very open and very colorful. We got take-out, but it looked like it would be a nice place to eat. They also had some really good, really big burritos. I got the Che Guevara burrito, which has brown rice, black beans, plantains, sweet potatoes, spicy barbecue sauce, and pico de gallo. It was an unusual blend of flavors, and definitely didn't taste the way you'd expect a burrito to taste, but it worked, I really liked it.
Flexible Cooking
Britt and I also collaborated to make dinner one night. We hit up the health food store and got some veggies and other supplies, and were planning on making a turkey loaf (her recipe), and a quinoa salad (mine). When we got to the kitchen, it turned out that we didn't have a loaf pan (oh, college.) so we decided we'd make turkey meatballs using the same recipe. We made the mistake of getting seasoned meat, so our meatballs came out pretty salty, but still tasty.
You'll need:
9x5 loaf pan (or a cookie sheet if you're doing meatballs) sprayed with pam
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 cups garlic cloves, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 pound ground turkey (unseasoned!)
First, preheat your oven to 350ºF.
In large bowl stir bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, eggs, olive oil, feta, and pepper together. Add the turkey, and gently combine-but don't overwork it.
The quinoa salad is fast and pretty simple. It's something I was pretty into in high school and we eat a lot of at home. In case you're unfamiliar, quinoa is a small grain-like seed, gluten free, rich in protein. Super healthy, basically. And it's an excellent texture! I'm all about textures.
The recipe for this is pretty flexible, you can get creative.
You'll need:
-1 c. uncooked quinoa
-Any veggies you want. Really. I think in this one we used broccoli, carrots, cucumber, onions, avocado, lettuce, and parsley. Usually at home I do it with tomatoes, green beans, cucumber, and whatever else we have on hand. As far as quantity, it's really just about what kind of grain to vegetable ratio you're looking for. I like lots of veggies, so I make it about even.
-salt and pepper
-balsamic vinegar
First, prepare the quinoa as directed on the package. Usually it's 2:1 water to uncooked quinoa. Remember, a little bit goes a long way! The volume will more than triple. I think this whole bowl was from like a cup and a half of uncooked quinoa.
We ate the meatballs with penne in a combination red/pesto sauce. Here's a picture of our final product, not great image quality, but it was pretty tasty.
For dessert we had vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries and white nectarine.
All in all, Oregon was awesome. I had a ton of fun chilling, eating and cooking with one of my best friends, made some new friends, and I definitely want to go back.
Brittany, the friend who I was visiting, is crazy about those self-serve frozen yogurt places, so we went to both of the ones near campus while I was there.
This photo is from Yogurt Extreme. The one on the left is Britt's (you can tell by her trademark rainbow sprinkles), and the right is mine. I like my fro-yo fruity and with fresh fruit and granola on top.We also hit up the Eugene Saturday Market, which was pretty awesome. I love me some farmers markets, and this was a nice one. We didn't stay for very long, but while we were there I saw these guys performing.
Eugene was full of cool weirdos, which is basically my favorite kind of person, and something I don't see very often in Virginia. It was really refreshing to be back on the West Coast after being away for so long. At the market I got a vegetable curry, which despite not being very spicy, was way tasty.
After the market, we stopped by Voodoo Doughnut (in pink, below) and picked up a dozen for dessert.
It's an Oregon thing, and they have one in Portland, too. They're known for their fancy/unusual doughnuts, and I got to try a maple bacon one, which was surprisingly good. Umami overload.
One final recommendation is the Laughing Planet Cafe. Sorry, no picture of this one either, but it was really cute inside--very open and very colorful. We got take-out, but it looked like it would be a nice place to eat. They also had some really good, really big burritos. I got the Che Guevara burrito, which has brown rice, black beans, plantains, sweet potatoes, spicy barbecue sauce, and pico de gallo. It was an unusual blend of flavors, and definitely didn't taste the way you'd expect a burrito to taste, but it worked, I really liked it.
Flexible Cooking
Britt and I also collaborated to make dinner one night. We hit up the health food store and got some veggies and other supplies, and were planning on making a turkey loaf (her recipe), and a quinoa salad (mine). When we got to the kitchen, it turned out that we didn't have a loaf pan (oh, college.) so we decided we'd make turkey meatballs using the same recipe. We made the mistake of getting seasoned meat, so our meatballs came out pretty salty, but still tasty.
You'll need:
9x5 loaf pan (or a cookie sheet if you're doing meatballs) sprayed with pam
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 cups garlic cloves, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 pound ground turkey (unseasoned!)
First, preheat your oven to 350ºF.
In large bowl stir bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, eggs, olive oil, feta, and pepper together. Add the turkey, and gently combine-but don't overwork it.
If you're making a loaf, pack the mixture into the greased pan. If you're doing meatballs, spray your cookie sheet, and use your hands to shape meatballs about 1.5" in diameter. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown.
The quinoa salad is fast and pretty simple. It's something I was pretty into in high school and we eat a lot of at home. In case you're unfamiliar, quinoa is a small grain-like seed, gluten free, rich in protein. Super healthy, basically. And it's an excellent texture! I'm all about textures.
The recipe for this is pretty flexible, you can get creative.
You'll need:
-1 c. uncooked quinoa
-Any veggies you want. Really. I think in this one we used broccoli, carrots, cucumber, onions, avocado, lettuce, and parsley. Usually at home I do it with tomatoes, green beans, cucumber, and whatever else we have on hand. As far as quantity, it's really just about what kind of grain to vegetable ratio you're looking for. I like lots of veggies, so I make it about even.
-salt and pepper
-balsamic vinegar
First, prepare the quinoa as directed on the package. Usually it's 2:1 water to uncooked quinoa. Remember, a little bit goes a long way! The volume will more than triple. I think this whole bowl was from like a cup and a half of uncooked quinoa.
Next, add in your veggies!
Once everything is combined, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
We ate the meatballs with penne in a combination red/pesto sauce. Here's a picture of our final product, not great image quality, but it was pretty tasty.
For dessert we had vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries and white nectarine.
All in all, Oregon was awesome. I had a ton of fun chilling, eating and cooking with one of my best friends, made some new friends, and I definitely want to go back.
Thanks for reppin Oregon Each! Those meals were amazing, especially the turkey meatball pasta and quinoa salad!
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