Brunch and a Birthday

Michael and I don’t go to breakfast/brunch very often for a number of reasons. The first is that on the weekends I usually want to get my workout done first thing. So if I have a class I’m taking (like yoga on Sundays at 10) it kind of interferes with going out to breakfast. The other reason is that Portland has ridiculously long lines for breakfast. I don’t really understand why. This clip from Portlandia is absolutely accurate, unfortunately.

Yes, lines like the above picture are pretty standard for breakfast joints here. I hate it. I’m so not going to stand in line for over an hour to get a table to eat breakfast! Well over the weekend Michael and I went out to brunch and I’m almost reluctant to share this great find because there weren’t any lines and we got a table immediately. Unheard of!!

We went to Sckavone’s on SE Division. Like I said, no lines! It was pouring rain and the streets looked like there had been a windstorm the night before. We got a parking spot right near the restaurant and immediately got a table.

The service was prompt and friendly. As soon as we sat down a waitress brought us water and a plate of scones. The scones were small, warm lemon scones with warm honey drizzled on top. I’m not a scone fan. I’ve never had a good one so I can easily pass them up. They just don’t attract or tempt me like other sweets do. But oh my god, these scones were AMAZING.

The flavor was outstanding. They weren’t dried out at all. Absolutely wonderful. I ate both of them. 🙂 The scones were also complimentary, so that was cool. I got coffee and we put in our orders.

Michael got the huevos rancheros. It had two eggs on top along with pico di gallo and fresh avocado. He said it was great. I ended up ordering the special. It was pastrami hash–pastrami with potatoes and onions and peppers and topped with a Dijon sauce. The Dijon sauce was great and I’d wished there was more of it. I ate my two eggs and almost half of the pastrami hash. It was a lot of food. I took the rest home for leftovers.

This might become one of my new favorite breakfast joints. I just hope the secret isn’t out now and the lines will form!

After breakfast I made my first attempt at baking doggy treats. I found a few different recipes for dog treats and decided to give this one a try:

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:97]

I found the recipe on pinterest, but there wasn’t a link back to a website. I used some brown rice flour and 1/2 cup was the buckwheat flour. We’ve been feeding Bella grain free dog food that we buy at Costco so I figured I’d continue that and use the gluten-free flours I already had on hand. In hindsight, I probably should have used whole wheat flour like the recipe calls for.

I’ve wanted to try my hand at baking treats for Bella because dog treats can get expensive AND you never really know what you are getting and if it’s safe. The other reason I did some baking was because it was Bella’s first birthday!!!!!

I know, I know, I’m one of THOSE dog owners…! But seriously, I did want to do something fun and special for Bella’s first birthday. We are so happy to have her in our lives. I find myself missing her when I’m at work. I felt the same way with the kitties when I first got them and honestly that feeling hasn’t gone away. I love being with my animals. Even when they drive me bonkers.

So anyways, January 14th was Bella’s birthday. I also got her a new rope to chew on because she goes through her toys at a rapid pace now. Gone are the days where a toy lasted a long time. She’s discovered chewing and demolishes toys in a matter of days now. The rope toy I got her for Christmas was destroyed in one day.

The treats were okay. The first batch was overcooked. The recipe said to bake them for 40 minutes, which I thought was nuts so I decided to do it for 20-25 minutes instead. In reality it should be 10-15 minutes. The first batch of cookies were a little on the crunchy side. Ooops. I gave one to Bella and she licked it a little but took awhile to finally eat it. I was worried and then gave her a cookie from the second (softer) batch and she loved it!

Man, she is hard to take pictures of! She’s always moving. All her photos are a blur. 🙂 But she had a great time with her new rope. Happy birthday Bella!