Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook: Portland Edition, Volume 1

By Tiffany Harelik

Portland's celebrated food cart chefs create artisan meals by combining world influences and the finest local ingredients. Tiffany Harelik brings her Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook series to Oregon to capture the histories and recipes of these creative and passionate entrepreneurs. Meet the local chefs, explore the food cart scene and sample from a savory array of gourmet dishes. From Alligator and Chicken Jambalaya to Pendleton Pie, and from Breakfast Gnocchi to Wild Mushroom and Kale Pate, this mouthwatering collection of recipes offers something for both the food cart novice and the tried-and-true cart-ivore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jul 17, 2012
• ISBN: 9781625840394

Tiffany Harelik

Serving up the American dream one plate at a time, Tiffany Harelik is a travel and food writer with a focus on iconic street food culture. Joined by her best friend and food truck entrepreneur Maurine Winkley, the girls put on their aprons to add jams and sauces to the Trailer Food Diaries collection.

Book preview

Drinks

Portland is home to many great coffee shops and microbreweries. Local food carts Da-Pressed and Captured by Porches have shared a few drinks from their menus that are reflective of some of Portland’s favorite beverages.

Black Chai

Da-Pressed

How to Brew French Press Coffee

Da-Pressed

Wheat Porter

Captured by Porches

Black Chai

Courtesy of Da-Pressed

Chai tea has a history over five thousand years old and can be traced back to uses in early ayurvedic medicine. It was traditionally made with black tea leaves and spices, but multiple cultures and individuals have created their own twists to make the drink their own. This is Da-Pressed’s version.

Yield: 4 servings

3 cups water

2 cinnamon sticks

2 anise stars

12 allspice berries

15 cardamom pods (freshly ground—you can use a mortar and pestle)

15 whole cloves

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoon strong, loose-leaf black tea

2 cups milk or alternative milk (rice milk works well)

• Heat water and spices over medium heat. Simmer for 15 minutes.

• Stir in sugar until fully dissolved.

• Add black tea and simmer 5 to 7 minutes. Strain out spices and tea. Reserve liquid.

• Place liquid back in pan and stir in milk over medium heat until warm.

• Pour into four glasses.

How to Brew French Press Coffee

Courtesy of Da-Pressed

60 grams of freshly ground coffee (ground on coarse setting)

8-cup French press

195˚F water

• Set timer for 4 minutes. Add grounds to empty press and fill halfway with hot water. Start timer and let coffee bloom for one minute.

• Fill press to top with hot water and add French press lid. Press down one-half inch and pull back up to release loose grounds.

• Brew for remaining three minutes, then press coffee to bottom and serve.

Da-Pressed

Da-Pressed coffee cart owners Natasha Stille and Evan Mooney met over coffee. After arriving in Portland from Denver, Natasha met Evan the first week she was in town through mutual friends at…a coffee shop. She ordered an Americano; he had a cappuccino. One year later, in May 2010, they opened their coffee business.

Originally, Da-Pressed was a mobile catering cart. We had a ten-by-ten setup with a pushcart and a custom gas-converted espresso machine, Natasha explains. "Most of the events we catered were music performances, some even a couple days’ drive away. After about six months, it was necessary for us to make a change. We wanted to do more than set up shop for the weekend a couple times each month. We wanted something where we could have regulars and be a part of a