Yesterday we drove through Bandon by the Sea. This whole coast is spectacular. Cute little tourist town with almost nothing of interest except for the Friday and Saturday farmers market where we met Susan, the gem of Bandon, who moved to the Oregon coast from Minneapolis. Susan is the talent and heart behind Chubby Girl Cheesecakes, these brilliant little shareable confections made with local honeys and berries, evilly dark chocolate, wildly delicious flavor inventions, and pure love. She makes the gluten-free graham crust from scratch, and makes savory cheesecakes like onion-thyme, jalapeño, smoked salmon, and bleu cheese. We bought a jalapeño and a five spice that tasted like gingerbread and we feasted like kings.
A mountain of baby braising kale of all brilliant, jewel colors steamed with tamari and scallions, these gorgeous, giant scallions from the produce guy. We saved the purple cauliflower and sweet, jade-like broccoli for later, and sliced the broccoli stem into slices to use as chips for the jalapeño cheesecake. We ate steamed, sliced scallions in spicy miso soup, then devoured that sweet gingerbread cheesecake like we hadn't eaten all day.
We drove a ways in a mighty storm, in the dark, and stayed last night in Gold Beach at the Pacific Reef Motel, where only one other car is parked. Hotel cooking is a challenge I welcome. We eat beautifully on the road. This state is full of beautiful foods. I wonder what the desert will bring when we finally get there.
