It's nutty, spicy and tastes a little smokey with a berry finish!

Posting some info on Facebook today got me thinking! I wanted to know from our Albany Visitor's Association Facebook fans what someone visiting this region could do for fun on a 300 dollar budget. Well...we got a few comments and for some reason, they all involved wine. It's kind of a given in these parts that when you come to the Willamette Valley, you are coming to taste our wine. Is there really any other reason to come??? Of course there's your family and friends to visit. There's hiking in majestic forests, there's gazing at our awesome waterfalls, shopping our antique shops, eating our most delicious food and yeah...the wine tasting kind of falls in there just about anywhere!

Today we were on the I 5 in California driving back to Oregon. I noticed all the vineyards that have cropped up in the past few years. Driving back and forth for almost 5 years now, you learn the lay of the land pretty well and yeah...these vineyards are pretty new. Someone must have figured that wine is pretty hot stuff and they wanted in on the game. For me...I love my Oregon wine but I'll never turn down a good California wine either.

I was watching a video recently that showed a hot air balloon gliding over wine country in the Willamette Valley. I couldn't believe it when I learned that in some areas of the valley, wine grapes cannot be grown because the soil is so rich. Huh?...are you serious? Well...we do pride ourselves on our soil here in Oregon. We love that it provides our fruit with the "right" kind of nutrients to give us some of the best ingredients for wine making in the world. Yes...that's right!...the world. We are pretty awesome when it comes to our wines. And it's even better when you have someone with you that knows a lot about Oregon wine. And, even more better than that if they know about pairing the "right" wine with the "right" food. And, here in Oregon, and especially in fine dining digs all over the valley, they aren't hard to find.

My fav...Oregon's Pinot Noirs. Yes, I have my most favs but give me a "really good" Pinot Noir that has that nutty, spicy, smokey taste with a perfect fruit finish and I'm good to go. The way all the flavors kind of melt in your mouth as you let it glide and slide and savor each moment of the taste. Yes...it's awesome that way. And if you are wondering how you find that "really good" Pinot Noir, just ask Ina Garten. The Barefoot Contessa taught me how to know when something is "really good!" She says that you buy 3 or 4 of what you think is the best of the best. You try, you taste and you sample each and when you find the "one" that tastes the best, that's the "really good" one. You can use this technique when finding the perfect butter, finishing salts or anything you love cooking with for that matter. It's a matter of taste!

Now having said all of this...I'm tired of typing and ready for tasting! Find me this weekend at one or our local Willamette Valley wineries. Or, find me at one our very delightful dining digs right here in downtown Albany. Or, you may even find me on the porch of our inn swinging away and sipping my fav Pinot.

What I Can See From My Tub!

Our second day on the road heading to San Diego and I happened to find this very cool "boutique" hotel near the California State Capitol Building in downtown Sacramento!

Yes...this is a view from the tub where I just finished a very nice soak. It's dark right now and the view is even more spectacular especially with the American and California flags waving in the breeze with their lights shining on them.

Two days on the road now with a stop last night in Chiloquin near Klammath Falls, Oregon where we spent the night at Lonesome Duck Ranch. Fly fishing anyone? Seriously though...they have three cabins equipped with full kitchens, beds and everything else you need for a perfect day of fishing, relaxing and eating! And, just in case you are just wanting a little get-a-way without the fishing, there are two beautiful guest rooms available in the inn at the ranch as well.

After a long drive today, we ventured out on our very long walk near downtown Sacramento. We happened upon Capitol Cafe for dinner which consisted of a very yummy veggie stuffed burrito for me and huge beef dip with Parmesan and salt fries for Ray. Two margaritas with a shot of Grand Mariner later, it was time to finish our walk so we decided to do so right through the Capitol Garden.

Awesome, breathtaking and humbling! That pretty much sums up my take on it anyways. The memorials, the statues and the folks we saw visiting puts a lot of things in to perspective. We overheard a tour guide mention to a crowd of young kids that the average age of a soldier in the Vietnam War was only 19. Wow...19! They were babies...just teenagers! Sacrifices made and still made all for our freedom. And, no matter what or how you feel about that or believe about it, it happened and those lives were sacrificed. So, all in all...what they gave up, they gave up for all of us living here in America and for that...I am thankful!

So, sometime this weekend when you are out for your walk or playing with your kids or enjoying your Memorial Day Bar B Que, remember that "perspective" is a big word. It can be humbling, it can be forgiving and it can be a good reminder to be thankful for what other's have done for us.

Strata Anyone?

My Personal Strata !

Saturday, May 22, 2010 by Debbie Lusk

Not a tower in London or a layer of rock and soil but an Italian recipe for breakfast! This Strata Recipe is one more that can be changed up, modified, ingredients moved and changed around and one more recipe that I love preparing for my guests!

Whatever you have growing in your garden this summer can be added to the Stratamaking it even better. Fresh tomatoes, zucchini, Thai Basil...you name it and it can be added to this recipe. Until then...using fresh eggs and veggies from your local Farmer's Market helps support our local growers, keeps your breakfast organic and fresh and makes for very good conversation around your breakfast table!

Enjoy this recipe and enjoy adding your own "special" ingredients!

MY PERSONAL STRATA!

Cube 2 slices of any kind of bread and lay in a single or double serving baking dish coated with butter or cooking spray.

Whip 3 eggs together with some basil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and a dash of milk and pour over the cubed bread.

Sprinkle with chopped onion, bacon pieces, Jack Cheese and chopped tomato.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes or until egg is set.

I used sour dough bread although any type of bread works well. And...I had some homemade pesto that I used instead of the basil and topped it with a little Feta cheese as well. It's a fun and easy recipe to play with and serves two perfectly if served with a little fruit, coffee and juice.

Men Will Be Boyz!

Our son called last Friday and asked if he could come visit us for a week. Within 15 minutes, we had his plane ticket reserved and planned for a very fun filled week ahead.

When we knew we were moving to Albany, he was supposed to move with us. Just graduating high school, his whole life in front of him, thoughts of moving to Oregon were pretty high on the list. Well...they were until he met a girl. And you know where it goes from there. Mom and dad come in second to a cute girl...go figure!

Since then, he has only had the opportunity to visit us a few times. Working hard, playing hard and figuring out life takes a lot out of a person. So, yes...we jumped at the chance to entertain our son for a week. But, as you can see from the picture, he is pretty entertaining himself!

An Ace Ventura twin when he was a boy always capturing the quotes, the moves and the lingo, our son was pretty darn good at getting out of trouble. Many times when we were ready to wring his neck, all he had to do was say, "alllll righty then!" just like Ace Ventura and we would crack up and forget about why we were so angry at him in the first place. He could even let loose of his arms and swing his body around while his arms lay limp flinging about his body. Still not quite sure how he did that but sure enough when Ace got stuck with a few poison arrows he did it too!

So, now our son turns 21 in a few days. Still not moving here but on to several new girlfriends since his first love. Ray calls each one of them by name, "Next!" Pretty funny but that's our boy. Even at 5-1/2 months old, our boy had the nurses falling for him at the hospital when he almost quit breathing from a horrible croup attack. Even when his eyes were bugging out of head and his face was turning blue from lack of O2, he still managed to smile at the cute nurses. We should have known then that we were in trouble.

So, yeah...we love having him here. We love showing him Albany, the Willamette Valley and last night and today...Portland! He spent many trips here with us getting our house ready to become an inn so he knows it pretty well. And getting re-acquainted with Albany isn't taking him long. But now just that he got here, it's almost time to go. It seems this visit is way too short. I love my son, tell him it's ok to be silly cause sometimes life is way too serious. We tell him that it's ok to "play" and enjoy being young and to continue to treat people with respect and kindness. We tell him that we love him and we thank him for still making us laugh all these years. We tell him to keep smiling at the cute girls and we just hope and keep our fingers and toes crossed that someday...he will find a good excuse to live close to us again.

Thanks boy for the visit, the hugs and for being our son! We look forward to our next visit with you!

Flourishing Farmer's Market...in downtown Albany!

If you are ever wondering what to do on a gorgeous Oregon Saturday morning, just grab your basket or market bag and head downtown to the Farmer's Market!

Our Saturday market runs from April to November every year. It is only one block from our inn so yeah...we're pretty spoiled and so are our guests. Tomorrow they will get a fresh egg and veggie frittata and a huge bowl of "just picked" strawberries for breakfast! Add a few Wood Family Farm sausages and our "Truck Stop" blend coffee and they'll be good to go!

We planted our tomato plants a few weeks ago and with only one night of really cold weather since then, they have flourished. They aren't very big yet but there are some blossoms so I think we are going to have some very sweet tomatoes this season.

Rosemary, oregano, hops and a variety of flowers and other herbs are making their way as well. Still gotta get some dill and several varieties of basil planted in the next few weeks and those frittata's will turn in to fresh egg, tomato, basil and feta frittata's!

For now it's outside for us. Ray has to mow and edge the lawn and I'll be trimming the old stuff off the tulip plants and trying to tame the hops and clematis. Wish me luck. They may wrap themselves around ME while I'm out there!

Have a great weekend and see you later on our bike ride!

So, you wanna be a SUPER STAR?

So you want to be a super star? Watch the video and see how easy it will be to do a much better job than me! Still new and fumbling with my Flip Camera, I am learning how to use it and remain still and capture video that someone may even be interested in viewing! I think I got one here! "Carriage Me Back" days in Brownsville, OR had tons of video opportunities last weekend. Remember, we would like your video to be original and have fun with it!

Remember, for our contest in Albany, your video needs to capture what you love about being here. Go to www.albanyvisitors.com to view the rules and info and start making your video!

Funky French Wine...is that a new dance?

Sybaris presents the 1st AnnualOooh la la!

Raise your glasses for kids who need passes.

A French “picnic” benefit to raise money for local underprivileged children to ride the future Albany Brass Ring Carousel.

Menu: Assorted cured meats, olives, pate, cheeses and baguette Cream of asparagus soup South of France seconded grapevine grilled local leg of lamb with roasted garlic potatoes and natural sauce. Rhubarb galette with Guy Savoy’s rice pudding $30.00 per person gratuity and beverages are not included.

Funky French wines will be available Reservations required, please call (541) 928-8157

When your in Portland...do as they do...EAT!!!

50 Plates...all 50 States and the rest of the feast found in Portland!

Sunday, May 9, 2010 by Debbie Lusk

"50 Plates is a restaurant showcasing the cuisine of the American tradition. Of memories real or imagined of grandmothers’ pies, state fair fries, of date shakes and cheese steaks; a Kentucky bourbon fueled culinary road-trip beyond Route 66, from Smithfield Hams to Ipswich Clams. 50 Plates is the best of red states, blue plates, and everything in between."

Nuff said! This Portland, Oregon restaurant kind of sums up their offerings in one short and very sweet paragraph! Too late for dinner one evening, we happened upon 50 Plates and decided a margarita and appetizer's sounded perfect. Chopped Salad with Oregon cheese, apples and nice pork slider for my hubby along with a couple of house margaritas and we were hooked! A few weeks later we tried 50 Plates again but for dinner this time. A couple of orders of "Wild Mushroom Stroganoff" and were hooked all over again!

Slowly eating our way through Portland one restaurant at a time, we have had the opportunity to try just about every type of food but have no where come near to trying even a dozen different places. I think it's quite possible that Portland, Oregon is the Northwest Culinary capital of the country! And, attach that awesome title to one of our Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild membership inns, and you have the perfect food pairing!

The Heron Haus in the NW district of Portland, The Lion and The Rose B & B and The Cornerstone Bed and Breakfast all of which are in or near Portland, are spanned far enough a part from each other, that one can experience all the tastes of Portland that reach across the Rose City. Strategically located in very different parts of the city, staying in any one of these inns puts you near some of the best food you'll ever taste!

My faves!...Kenny and Zukes...a Portland Jewish delicatessen with "real" bagels and cream cheese! Piazza Italia...a place in the Pearl where you could swear you were in Italy the second you walk in the door. Henry's Tavernis where the beer never stops flowing and the food is absolutely to die for. Prepare to be so stuffed after dining at Henry's, that you'll have to walk it off! And then of course 50 Plates. A big city bistro in the heart of Portland. Mind you..."my faves" change periodically as we explore even more in to the belly of food beast. It will be a never ending exploration that will only end we are done. And hopefully...we won't be done till we're done...well...at least not until we've had dessert!

Historic Preservation Month in Albany, Oregon

Activities going on all around Albany all month have proven true to it's title. It has been all about preserving what we value here. Our historic homes and buildings are continuing being cared for and will remain forever a part of Albany's history.

Nestled on the banks of the Willamette River, Albany boasts the most when it comes to historic homes and buildings. Over 700 in all, our treasures are right here where we can see, touch, explore, dine, shop and live in them. And when they say, "Old is the New Green," we believe it and some of us even live it every day. It's all about preserving and maintaining and it just so happens that this make us a very "green" city!

It dawned on me one day when I was cleaning our fir and white oak floors at the inn that we are so all about "being green!" How more green can you get when you own a 102 year old robust bungalow that you have helped preserve, remodel and hopefully kept as much as possible to period! Everything we do to our home is well thought out, planned and researched beforehand. From the way the bathroom was added to our Sister's Suite so carefully to preserve and use the wood flooring from the way we added the moulding around doors to "putting back" what previous inhabitants over the years took away.

Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 5:30pm, you can join several historic home and building lovers on the Corner of Lyon and 1st Avenue for walking tours of our downtown buildings. Last year I attended this tour with travel writer, Joan Tapper staying with us at the inn. Impressed and awed, she gazed and ogled as her photographer, Nick Wheeler took off with his camera as the sun was hitting the pieces of art in just the right light. Don't be surprised when you see a picture of downtown Albany in her book, "The Most Beautiful Villages and Towns of The Pacific Northwest" set to be released in the fall.

We hope you decide to join us for one or both of the walking tours. Drinks at Vault afterwards perhaps? See you Wednesday on Lyon and 1st!

"Chick-Lit"...thanks Jeannie for the cute name!

I'm sitting alone tonight in our loft in Portland. I'm missing my honey but I got my book!

The dryer is running and I can still smell the toast that I made for dinner for myself. Thank goodness for the peanut butter I remembered we left in the cupboard. I really wanted my Lean Cuisine cheese pizza but when I looked at the directions, it clearly said, "do not bake in a conventional oven." And, no...we still don't have a microwave here and I'm not sure why. Each time we come up, we make stops to shop and grab a few things we may need and the microwave never quite makes it into the shopping cart. But, I love peanut butter toast and my Tazo "Relaxing" Tea...so it's all good!

Last night our book and dinner club met at a friend's home just around the corner. Jeannie's home is probably the most unique in our neighborhood. It's almost like a beach bungalow that you would see in Newport or Laguna. It's a very cool shade of pink or salmon. I'm not sure of the exact color but it really is most perfect and suites the stucco home to a "t." And it also suites the fun-loving personalities of it's inhabitants!

A table full of pretty great women and we swear we could eventually solve the world's problems if we sat there long enough. But, dinner and our book discussions come first! Huge baked potatoes filled with things like chili, cheese, onions, bacon, and everything else and oh my gosh...very good and the perfect comfort food for those of us in need of comfort after a very long day. Cupcakes and a delish bundt cake by Elizabeth with coffee and "real" cream rounded out our evening as we settled in for our gabbing.

Now I am dying to tell you about "my" book. Well...a few weeks ago, we had a travel writer and her photographer stay with us. They were writing a contracted piece for Travel Oregon about the bike trail in the Willamette Valley. The photographer happened upon a very old book in our Sister's Suite and told me it was a signed original by Irving Stone. Ok...so who's that?

Our guests checked out and I kept thinking about that book up in the suite. I couldn't stand it and ran up to retrieve it and noted that it indeed was an author signed original by Irving Stone. I don't even remember where I got it but I liked the title..."The President's Lady." So...I began reading it and now I am in love with this very old book. It is the story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson and their lives together. What a great read! It brought back memories of reading history books in college and I loved it then so it's not a surprise that I love this biography too.

I only have about a quarter of the book to go and for those of you that know me and are wondering...yes...I read the back few paragraphs of the book already. I know Rachel dies and I know Andrew is heart broken. And, I have realized today that this is why I don't want to finish the book. For now, they are still married, living on a small plantation, in love and have their whole lives ahead of them. I don't want the story to end.

I will probably soon finish my book and realize that every good story comes to end somehow. Then it will be time to find my next good read. I have stacks of good books all over this loft and in our quarters at the inn. So, finding one shouldn't be a problem. I just know that this book...it will affect me for a long time as I remember the love story between Rachel and Andrew and I only hope that it was really as beautiful as it was in my old book.

"It's All About The Wine...a wine walk in Albany!"

It's all about the wine you know! Especially Oregon wine!

It's been just a little over 40 years ago that someone thought of the brilliant idea to plant a few wine grapes in Southern Oregon. All these years later and we have ourselves quite an awesome bundle of vineyards and wineries all over the state. Four regions where grapes are grown, vineyards are thriving and wineries are reaping the benefits...and so are Oregonians!

Best known for our Pinot Noir's, Oregon wines are winning awards all over the world. Compared to world renown grape growing regions in Italy in France, Oregon has found it's place among the elite winemakers and wine producers. Rich soils, perfect weather and the drive to be the best, makes for pretty darn good wine. Growing grapes in the Willamette Valley, the Columbia Gorge, Eastern or Southern Oregon...it doesn't really matter...here...it's all good!

Each of our wine regions in Oregon offer a different perspective on flavor. The same grape a different region and you've got yourself a slightly different version of the same wine! Pinot Noir grapes growing next to a lavender field perhaps or near a pear orchard take on the essence of all that sweetness and that is what makes our wines so unique. Wherever these grapes grow, wherever they bank or are nestled, they seem to take on the "flavor of the land" and it tastes soooo good!

Several different kinds of grapes, several regions, several wineries and...you still have that great wine coming from one very awesome state! Oregon! How lucky we are to have it all!

No comparison to any other region anywhere in the world, the wine is good "here!" So, come enjoy our almost 30 different wineries as they all meet in one town. Join us as we enjoy our Upstairs Downtown Loft Tour and Wine Walk on Friday evening. From 4-8pm our sidewalks will be filled to the brim with wine, wine makers and wineries as they pour and fill our glasses with Oregon wine!