I Love Portand, part food

Portland has a sneaky little way of making you love it. Before we moved here, I was scared of the dreariness and constant rain. I was advised by a friend of ours who grew up here to get a place with a front porch. Thanks B, you were so right because sitting on the porch when it's raining feels so luxurious -- whether you have a book, a glass of wine or a cup of coffee.

Then comes spring and the insane planting season. Hardiness zone 6 allows me to plant almost anything. 75-85 degree summers (although it's 90 today) means our windows are open to the breeze and have been since March.

Now the weather and gardening is all fine and good, but it's the other little tricks of Portland that get you. That everyone has style. Not J Crew style, but that people have all sorts of piercings/tatoos, hair color, clothes, etc. It's pretty much impossible to walk out of the house and have people look at you funny. You can wear or do anything without people giving it a second thought. Then it's the options of things to do. If you're a cultural person, outdoorsy, crafty, foodie, etc. -- this place has it all.

But I write this post because Portland just got me again.

After the whole chocolate thing this past weekend, I got inspired to try my hand at recreating Pete's strawberry & dark chocolate creation. When Taryn & Paul were here, we picked the strawberries that I sliced and dried in the dehydrator. I bought two pounds of 70% dark chocolate last night and was wondering where to find the chocolate molds. I asked the folks at Pix and they recommended the Decorette Shop.

Since it was 8pm and the shop was likely closed, I came home and looked them up online to find Kristen Nelson's little slice of heaven. A whole store devoted to food crafts. Chocolate molds, cake pans, icings, you can even buy chocolate there. Now I know where I'm going this week (since they're closed on Sundays). The other thing that got me was their list of classes. Plenty of options, but the one that got me the most was:

LIQUEUR CHOCOLATES(a single 3-hour class)
We'll teach you the art and tricks necessary to fill a hollow chocolate shell with a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic liqueurs and syrups. Hand-dipped in dark, milk or white chocolate, these unusual confections are sure to be the talk of your next party! We'll also make crème-filled liqueur chocolates, fruit centers, and try a number of different decorating ideas which will add eye-appeal to your creations.

Wow. Do you think they can teach me how to make them not taste like jet fuel? So Portland does it again by being a city just big enough to have everything, yet small enough where the options aren't on the other side of town.