May 28, 2022 – Portland, Oregon

Went to the Portland Japanese Garden again this morning because my Airbnb host could get both of us in for free and because the garden is so well done that I wanted to go again.

So, some of these photos will look like the ones I posted from my visit on Monday. If you come to Portland, visiting the garden wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Also in Portland, went to the farmers market on the campus of Portland State. It’s on Saturdays and my AirBnB host suggested we go so we did.

Farmers come from as far away as 70 miles to sell. There’s all kinds of stuff for sale: meats, cheeses, flowers, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, coffee, tea, and much more.

I mentioned a guy here, Ken Forkish, who has written a book on baking bread and another on making pizza. I have both books. Before I started using Mr Forkish’s bread book I tried baking bread and it didn’t always go well.

One time I baked a loaf for Thanksgiving dinner my ex-girlfriend Tracy invited me to. Her sister and brother-in-law also attended. Right before we were to eat I said, “Don’t break a tooth on the bread.”

So, guess what? I broke one of my tooth caps on it. Since using the book, bread has come out a lot better.

Back to Portland. This evening I went to Ken’s Artisan Pizza and bought two pizzas and brought them back to the Airbnb. The pizzas are only 12 inch in diameter so had to get two. I split them with my host, David.

They were really good pizzas. So, now I know what my pizzas should look like and taste like when I use the book on pizza. The book is called The Elements of Pizza, by the way.

One photo shows the oven which runs between 600 – 900 degrees. Pizzas are done in 5 minutes and come out with charred spots which add flavor.