Orange beef

Rachael Ray’s recipes are usually good, but some are a miss. This orange beef stir-fry wasn’t my favorite.

I found myself wanting less sweetness and more saltiness and fish sauce. So I added some. Fish sauce doesn’t taste too great with orange, fyi. Maybe next time I won’t add the zest, too. And the beef was kind of tough, which I guess is what you get with ultra-lean meat. What’s the best cut of beef for stir-frying?

The cilantro rice was tasty, but I don’t think it needed any salt.

Nevertheless, my boyfriend liked it, so it wasn’t a total bust. It was cheap to make, though.

Rachael Ray

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No more tea bags

My parents brought my these blooming tea flowers from their trip to China. One was carnation, but this one is jasmine.

If caffeine were always this beautiful, I would totally sacrifice my pumpkin spice lattes.

Blooming tea

Oktoberfestering

This was our first year to hit Oktoberfest in downtown Bend. I read the advertised menu of food and drinks served and had high hopes for some cheap-yet-scrumptious representations of Bend’s best restaurants.

Alas, The Blacksmith Restaurant bowed out, as did Bend Brewing Co.

We went for the smoky ham and sausage stew with sauerkraut from Merenda Restaurant & Wine Bar. It was salty and tangy and delishious with my Oktoberfest beer.

Stew and beer at Bend Oktoberfest 2008

With our admission, the evening already cost us $12, so we decided to finish the night at Deschutes Brewery and Public House, where we got even cheaper Oktoberfest beer, French onion soup and Buffalo wings. This was my first experience with Deschutes’ Buffalo wings and my lips were burning…so good! But next time, I hope they bring us blue cheese instead of ranch for dipping.

My boyfriend also bought a couple special microbrews that look promising. We watched some football, then walked to Goody’s for candy. It was a good night.

Deschutes Brewery