Tillamook Factory

Tillamook Ice Cream Factory
Tillamook, Oregon

What an awe-inspiring factory! Not much to look at from the outside, but the inside was an emporium of ice cream and cheese making, among other treats. There were fudges, butters, gourmet food products, crackers, preserves.. it really was a small farmers market with fresh foods as well. There was a coffee cafe with a large seating area as well, like a cafeteria. I took to the ice cream, immediately, and found some exciting flavors.

Mountain Blackberry (above)
Yum! Not tart, mildy sweet and well-balanced in sweetness-berry ratio. The consistency was creamy and rich, cool, beautifully shaped. The consistency is right-on. Good for them.

- Black Walnut -
This was my favorite, with hints of natural English Walnut flavor throughout. The color is a shade of grey, with little hints of vanilla bean to add a mild sweetness. Another Yum!!

Butter Pecan ~ Sugar free
Pretty Good, actually: you can only have a few bites though before artificial sweetener gets to you. Still, it's a sweet treat for diabetics. Smooth and creamy.

Root Beer
Intense in root beer flavor, so it's right on in flavor. This is not my cup of tea for flavor picks, however. It is more icey in texture than the rest.

Cheers:
These were less than $2 for big scoops, AND they give you free samples of as many as you want. Cool treat, if you ask me. Enjoy, you also have to try out the fudge and cheese as well. There are always free samples there

Coffee Culture Cafe

Coffee Culture Cafe

1195 Kings Blvd
Corvallis, Oregon

Inviting, warm, sumptuously alluring with tasty treats, sinful coffee compilations, and fresh personality to match a friendly, local cafe that caters to its neighbors, students, and all-around travelers. The interior is professionally designed with a healthy balance of color, amicable attitude, and warm scents that are full of life. The cozy layout of the deuce dark-wood chairs adds to the nice, social environment that comes together.

Indeed, there truly is a coffee culture. Latte art is glorious, tasteful, and elegant. Coffee Culture prides itself on not only its quality and flavor, but also in its presentation. Fine taste, I say.

Turkey Arti Panini
Fresh Turkey & Caramelized Onions, with tomato, asiago cheese,
and creamy artichoke spread on an in-house focaccia bread, grilled and melted

My favorite. It's all about the onions. The caramelized onions add a sweet, balsamic note the brings the turkey and focaccia together in harmony, while the texture of the melted asiago and artichoke spread make it heaven in the smooth divinity of such a grilled panini. Don't dangle this in front of me; I'll take it anytime.

Tomato Bisque

Beautiful hints of vodka sauce, smooth tomato cream soup, and scents of oregano. I love the scattered little bits of tomato throughout. On the chilly days we have up here, this soothes anything you have and sends you back to those dear, childhood memories when you were nestled-up by the fire with a steaming hot cocoa topped with whip cream as you listened to the blissful drops of rain outside. Oooh... this is good...

Banana Nut Bread
All bakery and pastry items are homemade by the in-shop baker. These are full of rich nutrients, grains and flavors. Banana nut hits the spot. Smooth and moist (sooo moist around the loaf edge), full of that lovely banana flavor-kick. I even thought I hinted bits of ginger...

White Chocolate
Pumpkin Scone with Pecan

Bran Muffin

Lemon Tart
bedecked by a sweet dusting of iced sugar; it's mildly chilled

Pumpkin Spice Cake
topped with a smooth, creamy glace, and elegant English Walnuts

A seasonal star. This baby is popular...
Can't go wrong.

The Coffee Culture Cafe is the most friendly, accommodating, tasty, affordable, inviting, and alluring local fare in Oregon - the best coffee cafe I've ever experienced. Props to this family-run enterprise that reels families and individuals from all across the country, the locals especially. Don't miss out. This is truly a tiny treasure.

Cheers:
Take the half-panini and soup lunch on the menu, serving half a panini and a divine soup to accompany, with fresh fruits and leaves on the plate. This value is more than affordable at just over $5, and your tummy will be very happy, especially in such a cozy, inviting atmosphere.

The Five Crowns

The Five Crowns
Corona del Mar

Christmastime is Here...

to be updated...

The Shakespeare Room.

Domaine Carneros 04 Champagne
Lovely. I still like Domaine Chandon Blanc De Blanc better... but this was great!

Swedish Limpa and House Sourdough were moist and warm, very full and fluffy but not entirely airy. They had genuine flavors to them. This bread soothes my soul. I fancy the Limpa for comfort and all-around uniqueness. No one else makes this bread the way they do; one can't even find it around here at all.

Murphy Good Chardonnay by the glass
Good cocktail-appetizer start. I often get this at home.

Hearts of Romaine
Royal blue Stilton dressing and pickled red onions

Straight forward. The dressing was supposedly remarkable, told my my fellow company; I never had a taste. Clean and monumental presentation of an elegant head of lettuce, with a bountiful supply of dressing to share. More dressing than I can handle, but beautiful and a true comfort-food salad.

Stags Leap Reserve, 2005, Cabernet Sauvignon
A classic; this one was younger, and brighter, but it's still oaky... it's a great vintage... just needs to breath a bit. Wonderful even with my swordfish... and dessert! Goes with anything. A divine nectar.

Lawry's Signature Rib Eye
A broiled 16 oz. bone-in slice of our slow roasted prime rib, with the crust and a bite of a steak, topped with crispy sweet onions

Huge, three man meal with root veggies, mashed potatoes and a bundle of onion rings atop. The rib eye was tender, like a rare porterhouse... about a pound or so of meat with bone... huge! This is more than I can handle, but the preparation of the dish was remarkable. You can't take this without the divine whipped horseradish sauce and au juis.

Grilled Swordfish
Accompanied by a pineapple-mango, cilantro salsa.
Fresh garden vegetables

The Swordfish interior was a perfect, soft consistency of flakiness and smoothness. It was ultra moist. The shell was a crusty, butter pan-sear/fry, which I scraped off, but the interior was lovely. It's about 8oz, so there is a bit extra to take home. I got the side of garden vegetables, steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots... very pure and natural. This is a well-portioned and balance meal. I stole some of the Yorkshire pudding from the other plates and enjoyed my Swedish limpa, which filled me up. The Pineapple salsa was delicious, and was truly a pure/natural addition, no creaminess or unnecessary additives. This was pure fruit and herbs with the natural juices. Fantastic.

English Trifle

This has always been the Five Crowns traditional dessert. It's quite good, but it's not my type of dessert so I always look at it as blah compared to other options as the magnificent Chocolate Souffle or Lemon Meringue. Still, it's nice that this comes complimentary to the birthdays!

It's always a birthday dessert, and so we've had it too many times and it's a basic cake and cream recipe, but the strawberries strewn throughout really are lovely. They are soaked in the cake sugar syrup and layered amongst the whip and cake. Go for the strawberry parts; it's sumptuous. The cake is basic white cake, bordering on sugar angel food cake. Wonderful consistency. The layered cream inside is really addicting, but heavy, and the cream on top is just whipped cream. Simple but classic dessert for the English. The strawberries are the only part I eat in this. I'd rather save it and go all out for the souffle or meringue... those are too good to pass.

Pineapple-mango, cilantro salsa
to top the Swordfish Steak

Chocolate Crinkles

Rich Chocolate Crinkles
by Misunderstood Bella
adapted from Cooking Light, Dec 2008

Marvelous holiday cookies, always for Christmas.

Note: Bake for exactly 10 mins, and then take out and let sit ON the baking pan for a few mins to allow them to bake through a bit. These are dangerously gooey and rich in deep dark chocolate. My little cousins are inevitably addicted to these.

Yummy, rich, chocolaty Christmas Cookies. But really, you can make these whenever. I'm warning you now, they are gooey and rich, for real, in chocolate.

Recipe is secret, but if you send me a message I may be kind. Convince me.
These are my extra notes in the recipe, however.

I used 1.5 Tbsp of honey and 1.5 Tbsp of molasses instead of 3 tbsp light corn syrup, and I was not disappointed!

Used about 4/5 cup packed golden brown sugar instead of 3/4 because 3/4 was not quite enough.

Used 5 tbsp of Egg Starters since I didn't have 2 egg whites. This worked though!

These are incredible! The recipe only yields 2 dozen exactly, so make more... because these will go fast. They are delicious.

Substituted coffee ground for espresso.. that was a good idea. Espresso is too strong, especially with the molasses.
Also, I used extra virgin olive oil instead of canola. Cookies are royal, that way.

Pacific Whey Cafe

Pacific Whey Bakery
Newport Hills, Newport Beach

As a regular, I fancy the exploration of any treat. Recently, I tried the Oatmeal Raisin and also the Oatmeal Walnut Cookie. I fancied the Oatmeal Walnut the best. It was thick and full of oatmeal goodness, and it was still full in moistness... not dried out. The raisin variety was good too, but it was not as thick.

All of these items are really meals in themselves. The pastries... desserts in abundance for a meal. The Fat-Free Berry Banana Bran Muffin was probably the most breakfast-esque, healthy pastry I've had from them, and it was deliciously healthy and tasteful, full of fiber. It is really something to be excited about.

The service here is always hospitable and cheery. I appreciate the service and the smiles on their faces. It's a joy to meet here with good company each week.

Banana Nut Muffin
A fine muffin. Rather filling, and ultra-moist. I prefer muffins under baked than over baked. Bravo on the consistency. The muffin sticks to your fingers it's so moist. The flavor is full of banana and walnut strewn throughout with a few blueberries.. just a few. Marvelous, but large, and really more of a dessert comfort food. Two bits of this is more than enough for me. It really is a dessert, but a good breakfast for a meal, nonetheless. Well done.

Skinny Boy Scramble
Healthy, but blah as far as overall excellence because it was quite greasy with the grilled peppers. There were a few, a few zucchini squash in there, but it was mostly green and yellow peppers, maybe two slivers of red. It was very peppery as far as the vegetable, hardly any egg white. It was filling, but it was too greasy for me. Toast is always hearty, and blends with the meal.

Chocolate Flourless Torte
So exquisite. Delicious. Sinful. It is gooey on the inside with rich, dark chocolate ganache. I am in love with this as far as a dessert. This is a chocolate fix. Surely fattening, but so sinful and rich. This is one of the best, most un-ignorable treats I've ever had here. So temptuous... it is a deep, rich fudge consistency. So moist! Rich chocolate that is smooth with hints of nuts (walnuts) and lightly-dusted confectioners sugar. This is a winner.

Rose's Donuts

Rose's Donuts
Pacific Coast Hwy, Corona del Mar

Everything here is well-worth your buck, and it's affordable! The best part! There is a cozy, friendly, welcoming atmosphere with maybe six tables, seating about three people each. This is a bakery/cafe/coffee shop. It's great. I love Rose's because it's all around good. You can get whatever here, as long as it's casual and yummy. The pastries and bakery goods are exquisite and large. The bagels... warm and moist, soft and fluffy. Too good. The tea is the most affordable around here and the service always welcomes me with a smile and a great attitude, even when I'm a bugger about custom-orders. Great quality, fresh, with friendly atmosphere. They give you more than you bargain. I even got a delicious, fresh, glazed baguette with my salad! So affordable. All of our meal plus drinks was 15 total!

Props to Rose's, always. They are even festive for the holidays with their low ceilings and fairy lights, bedecked amidst the tinsel and garland.
PS: They're open early too.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagel

Delicious and fluffy, genuine bagel flavor with added spice and sweetness... so moist and fluffy though! Soothing and splendid! The best cinnamon raisin bagel I've ever had. Bravo to you!

Garden Salad
Sprouts, tomatoes, and turkey extra, with cucumber and good balsamic vinegar
This was small, but with extra toppings this rocks. So good, and simple.

Roast Beef Sandwich on Squaw
The best quality meat and ingredients, sumptuously delicious roast beef. So good!! It is balanced with the mustard, toms, etc throughout. Excellent. I could live off the roast beef. So tender...

Cheers:
You can get a sandwich or salad with a half-baguette of bread and butter on the side, and a drink, all less than $10. My salad, bread and drink only cost $6ish, plus the sandwich, bread, and soda cost $7ish. Breakfast sandwiches and treats are even cheaper! This is such a friendly, local cafe with outdoor patio cafe tables, and brollies! There are a few tables inside, but really this is a steal... even if you take out!

Gelson's

Gelson's
Newport Beach

Okay, so Gelson's is a grocery market, but yes, they also have a bakery. I used to get the simple vanilla frosting cupcakes from here all the time growing up. The decour has certainly improved, but these cupcake consistencies for the ultra-decored are ultimately rubbish. Don't waste your money on the dried out entities of these so-called bedazzling cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcake
Probably one of the worst cupcakes I've ever had. It looked beautiful, huge! But the cake was FAR too dry, crumbly and had no moist, particular flavor at all--except for dried-out flour. It was all dried out. The frosting wasn't bad, and it was a nice consistency, but it tasted more on the cream cheese side, and it was rather thin. Sorry, Gelsons. You have my lowest score for cupcakes... ever.

Strawberry Cupcake,
then Lemon Cupcake (back)
The strawberry was the most beautiful cupcake, I thought. The strawberry on top was the best part of it all, unfortunately.

If you come to Gelson's for a sweet-relief, go for the Muffin Tops. Now THOSE are superb and addicting... especially the bran or the poppy seed. Splendid.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies

Hungrybella's Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies

Semi-baked, moist, and packed with yumminess.
They're healthy too!

These are my traditional, healthy semi-baked cookies. It is essentially all non-fat (except for the oatmeal and tbsp of Smart butter), and packed with fiber. I ADORE this cookie. It is especially delicious just out of the oven. Yes, there is brown sugar involved. Sometimes I add walnuts or even macadamia nuts, chocolate chips, and even raisins. This is my secret recipe. You have to get these cookies from me - baked by me. I will, however, give you tips for a successful, healthy, and deliciously yummy cookie. These are great for breakfast as well; they're packed with good nutrients for you.

I really would like one with ice cold milk right now.

IceBox Vanilla and Brown Sugar Pinwheel Cookies

IceBox Pinwheel Cookies
Vanilla and Brown Sugar
Cooking Light, Revised
adapted by Misunderstood Bella

The Vanilla is sweet, but very light in texture, yummy too! The brown sugar has a kick, and don't eat too much of it because it will give you a sugar headache, but it's still really good! Both of these together make

a really sweet cookie, but they are good. Do not over-bake... in fact, under-bake.

When mixing the batter, make sure that you fold it up in parchment paper and freeze it, reallllly well, for about 1 night at least. The dough needs to be incredibly hard in order to cut it without ruining the pinwheel design. Mine ended up swirly, but lovely! Note, I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light, which does not do a good number on the consistency or thickness of your cookie. A cookie flattens when you use "healthy butter", so stick to REAL butter.

Sugary, sweet flavor... yum. These are a hit with the kids.

Recipe (must credit):
Pinwheel Vanilla and Brown Sugar Icebox Cookies
yields 2 dozen cookies

Basic Icebox Sugar Cookies
Prep: 15 Mins, Freeze: 3 Hours, Cook: 10 Mins per batch

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg white

Make sure your freezer is on HIGH.

1) Prepare dough for 1st cookies: lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with knife. Combine flour, soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat butter at medium speed of mixer till light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until well-blended. Add vanilla and egg-white, and beat well. Add flour mix, and stir until well-blended. Roll dough out onto wax paper to form a 12 inch square. Cover the top with another layer of wax paper. Freeze for 3 hours or until very firm.

Prepare Brown Sugar Icebox Cookies
Prep: 15 mins, Freeze: 3 hours, Cook: 10 mins per batch

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup softened butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg white
cooking spray
1/2 tsp cinnamon

2) Prepare 2nd dough: lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup and level with knife. Combine flour, soda, and salt. Beat butter at medium speed with mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until well-blended. Add vanilla and egg white, and beat well. Add flour mix and stir till well-blended. Roll dough out onto wax paper to form a 12 inch square. Cover the top with another layer of wax paper. Freeze for 3 hours or until very firm.

3) After 3 hours of freezing in a very very cold freezer, take both logs out and remove the wax paper. Beware if they are still really gooey -- you'll need to freeze them longer. You can use some flour when rolling out the log. Stack the dough portions, one on top of the other, and roll together into a log. Wrap in wax paper. Freeze for another 3 hours or until firm.

4) Cut the dough log into 1/4 inch slices with a piece of dental floss or a sharp knife. Place the slices on a cooking-sprayed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for just under 8-9 mins, no more! Under-bake, if anything. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Kids love these cookies because they are sweet, but are also more healthy than the average sugar-packed cookie. The Brown Sugar cookie is particularly addicting for kids.

Enjoy.