Oogle my Kugel - another local food review of Moxie Rx

Breakfast Kugel with fresh strawberries and whipped cream
@  Moxie Rx, N. Mississippi Ave Portland      $4.50

kugel   (kgl) n.  A baked pudding of noodles or potatoes, eggs, and seasonings, traditionally eaten by Jews on the Sabbath.

I pronounce it YUM. Highly addictive. Decadent and very filling. If you still haven't tried anything from this Mississippi area cart you are missing out. Check out previous postings for reviews and the link to the article about Moxie Rx in the Willamette Week. Moxie Rx is now opened Friday-Monday. Hopefully more days added as the weather improves!

New commissioned illustration for KABOO Radio Guide

When it rains it pours! There are a lot of interesting little projects going on right now. Recently I was commissioned (by my sister-in-law Leigh Anne!) to create this illustration for the upcoming KABOO Radio program guide. It will accompany information on the show she is hosting discussing Princess themes in children's media and traditional fairy tales.
Topics will include how the princesses (and princes) have stereotyped roles that are revisited again and again in different stories, as well as the current facination with and popularity of the princess theme within today's hip kiddie culture.

Sure to be a button pushing Disney-centric discussion about how princesses aren't fullfilled until princes save them from a life of slavery or sleeping and how princes are man-boys until they have found the woman to give them direction. It is going to be really cool, so check it out!

Eat like a gourmet for under $5. Moxie Rx's yummy tomato tartlet

Tomato and goat cheese tartlet with white bean salad
@  Moxie Rx, N. Mississippi Ave Portland      $4.50

Eating well on a budget can be hard. I have tried to convince myself that coffee and an oatmeal cookie constitutes a meal. (There is some logic to this when the cookie is larger than your hand.) Other times it seems that a slice of pizza or fast food (gasp!) are the only options for a quick bite that doesn't leave you without any money left to do happy hour that night with your friends.

Enter the Moxie Rx food cart, located on N. Mississippi Ave. in the lot next to the Fresh Pot Coffee Shop. Each scrumptious item is worth every penny and is made fresh with the best ingredients. Another plus - you will be supporting another local small business. Nancye is the owner and genius behind ever single delicacy. If you haven't already visited for an affordable meal or snack you are missing out bigtime. Options include breakfast, lunch, homemade muffins and scones, cookies, smoothies and more. Currently only open Fri-Sun, but better weather will bring additional days.

Read about Moxie Rx in this week's Willamette Week.

friends don't let friends go on television

Coming to a television near you -- me dancing with my childhood teddy bear and other disastrously wonderful cheesy moments brought to you by Jenn (that's me!) and the Home & Garden Network (that's cable!)

Today I taped a craft themed how-to segment for the HGTV show, "That's Clever!" because yo, I am the cleverest. No, um, scratch that. Talking to a camera is freakin difficult. And I am happy that the format of the show is fun and silly and that they were super nice and lead me like a trained monkey dressed in people's clothes. Bless every single one of the crew. They couldn't have been any nicer or accommodating to me. According to them I did a pretty good job and managed to look not too shabby on video.

I am the girl who says strictly forboden phrases ("Now I will" and referring to the viewer as "you".) over and over without ceasing - instantly destroying at least 50 takes. OH and I can't forget how the mild speech impediments that I manage to get away with for the most part were magnified and so obvious. I come from a Georgia McEducation and frequently channel Yoda (and not necessarily in a good way). My Yodisms have been joked about many times, but I always shrugged it off. Try shrugging it off when you hear three people repeating the words that you just uttered just so they can relive how awkward you just sounded and puzzle over it for themselves. I fear it has put an abrupt end to my television career. (HA!)

Who is the girl who inverses words? ME! Who is the girl who combines two words into one nonexistent word? ME! Who is the girl with weird enunciation? ME! Who is repetitive? Who is repetitive? Who is repetitive?

Seriously, most days this girl can talk. Usually I can do a fantastic job communicating ideas and dotting my chatter with descriptive words. Get the camera in front of me and it was like.... der, um, what was I talking about? I had to be told very specifically what to say and I made the worst parrot EVER. I needed direction like a child does to tie his shoes. And I needed instructions cut into tiny pre-cut pieces, thankyouverymuch.

When the show finally airs in the fall I fully expect for my older brothers to tease me for the rest of my days with the numerous cheesy quotable ammunition they will have. Guess I will have to wait until Fall 2006 to see it myself. It was a fantastically challenging opportunity and I am really glad that I got a chance to experience it! I expect to have more to share once I have stopped internally siezing long enough to eat and sleep normally again.