Every year I come to Oregon in August and every year since I was very little we’ve always stopped at Rice Hill for ice cream. At some point it became the annual chance to get bubble gum ice cream. I say at some point but I definitely remember picking out bubble gum pieces as a little one. Eventually they stopped putting gum pieces and it just became pink and flavored.

This area of Oregon has the Umpqua Dairy which is much like Tennessee’s Mayfield. Super creamy and local and awesome. They have a blackberry tracks and chocolate peanut butter and bubble gum!

Food rituals are always important. Everyone has them and they are obviously often tied to childhood. Today I added to the ritual by bringing my boyfriend who has never been west of Kansas City. Seeing everything through new eyes is pretty special.

Tuesday’s Field Trip is to El Tocayo, the Mexican restaurant and grocery on Alcoa Highway. We actually did the field trip late Saturday afternoon. We walked in and they were making fresh tortillas on an electric tortilla machine. The space is bright and airy and really nice. You walk in through the market. The restaurant is to the right and has booths and tables.

Our server brought us a menu in English and on the table was a list of Botanas, or appetizers.

We picked a random appetizer, Cueritos Preparados, a tongue taco, a pork belly taco, and and al pastor huarache.

So the Cueritos. We knew it was a pork rind of some sort but were not sure about the Preparado part. The plate was 4 little pork rind boats filled with a salad of tomato, cilantro, lettuce and this white substance we weren’t sure about. It looked like squid, but wasn’t the right texture. Then we thought it might be a pickle of some sort but it wasn’t pickled.

So we finally asked and it seems as though it is pork skin. Boiled or something. I wish my brother had been there to speak proper Spanish and get to the bottom of it all!

The tacos and huarache were awesome. Not too greasy and flavorful. The huarache was served more quesadilla style rather than open face  which is how Senor Taco serves there’s. But the tortilla was definitely thicker than a regular tortilla and was delicious. And the place felt clean and open and fresh. I really want to get back there during the week when they have their barbecue!

Then walking around the store, they have salt cod, desserts, produce, meat, every kind of dried pepper you can imagine, toilet paper, and more. Oh and for summer drives to the mountains, they have Mexican popsicles of all flavors, rice, chile, pineapple, strawberry, vanilla and many more, made in Nashville. It’s a pretty cool place.

Today’s Tuesday Field Trip was to Gourmet’s Market. I hadn’t been there in years. So Nathanna Design and Mockingbird Events had a lunch meeting. The space was totally redone and opened up with double the tables. It looks like a whole other building.

The menu was extensive although I missed the whole salad section because I’m kind of a space cadet. Also in space cadet land I ordered a Canadian bacon panini with Gruyere and fresh tomato. Unfortunately I forgot that Canadian bacon is really just ham, especially when it’s not the best, like on this sandwich. There were a couple things wrong with the sandwich that didn’t have to do with me being an idiot, there was so much mayonnaise that it was dripping off the sandwich and the Gruyere had absolutely no flavor. It’s only Gruyere like quality was that it was white.

1/2 of Nathanna Design had the smoked salmon platter that looked beautiful. Ripe, ripe fresh tomatoes, beautiful looking cucumber, and lovely salmon. Also cucumbers and fresh dill had been folded into the cream cheese.

This is a place that I used to think about going to for brunch but it always has such a line. Now that the table space is doubled I am going to reconsider. I think the sandwich was a fluke.

This week’s Tuesday field trip was to Ali Babba’s Time Out Deli. It had been a while since I’d been there and I don’t think I’ve ever actually gotten food to stay. I love the combo restaurant/grocery store. There is fresh produce and frozen products and about 7 different kinds of pita bread. I was really tempted to by the Halaal marshmallows but didn’t.

We ordered Falafel, Kibbeh in a sack (grossest name for something ever), fries, and fresh fried cauliflower. The fried cauliflower reaffirmed my opinion that it is the most underutilized/appreciated vegetable ever. It was amazing. No batter, just fried straight with seasoning and it seems like they squeezed lemon juice over it after it had been fried. It was so, so good and unique. The Falafel, as always, was really good. I get these period cravings for Falafel, I’m not sure what it is, but it always hits to spot.

The Kibbeh was not good. The bulgar outside was mushy and not cooked and you could barely taste the lamb. Holy Land has AMAZING Kibbeh, they are smaller and more appetizer size. The sack it was in was just pita bread. The pita on both were pretty typical. Nothing amazing but not bad either.

As I was paying the very happy man behind the counter offered us some cheese baklava. It was amazing. The cheese was a custard of sort, vanilla, and then it was in the traditional baklava puff pastry. It was cut into squares and was resting on one of his sandwich grills so it was still warm when we got it. He also talked me into an Angel’s Kiss. He said to just try it and if I didn’t like it he would pay for it. It was totally delicious. My favorite kind of sweet, not too sweet and not heavy. It was a poof of Halaal marshmallow covered in a thin layer of dark chocolate with a very thin wafer at the bottom. It was in the shape of a large Hershey’s Kiss.

The other awesome thing about Ali Babba’s, besides the fact it exists in Knoxville, it is open till 2AM. Now the chances of driving out there after a night on the town are slim, but it is comforting to know.

Today’s Tuesday field was out to the Riverplains Dairy Farm. Mockingbird Events is partnering with Riverplains for what is sure to be an amazing farm to table dinner on August 14. Today was our menu planning session. It was a hot day here in Tennessee but beautiful. The sky was blue and the land around green. I drove out in the hottest part of the day, a good time to be inside instead of weeding or milking.

Anna and Jennifer are amazing. Anna made spelt crackers. The spelt was soaked in yogurt Jennifer made and then cooked into a cracker with coconut oil. We also sampled a lovely gazpacho with a 24-hour beef stock as a base that we will serve. In addition to planning the menu we talked about the loss of farmland and ways to get that message out. They told me about soaking grains, seeds, and legumes before cooking or eating because it is easier for your body to digest. That is the way these food items have been eaten for centuries. It is only in the last 100 years the way prepare or process these foods have changed.

This dinner is going to be fun, beautiful, and engaging. I am so excited. Stay tuned to Mockingbird for more details. Tickets will go on sale next week.