My summer started off quite quietly, with June activities fairly sparse, matching a cooler-and-wetter-than-normal weather pattern. As soon as July hit, however, the temperatures and my schedule heated up. As I wrote a few weeks ago, our July Fourth weekend in Portland began with a visit to a U-pick berry farm. We followed that up with a gathering of friends on the evening of Independence Day for barbecued ribs and a potluck feast of sides and desserts as we waited for darkness to fall and fireworks to light up the night on a gorgeous summer evening. That Saturday we made our way to the Beaverton Farmers Market to take in the bounty of early summer. The local strawberries were pretty much done, but there were plenty of booths selling early peaches,    apricots  and several varieties of berries. We couldn’t resist buying a half flat of raspberries.  The produce stands also offered all manner of vegetables from potatoes, carrots and onions to summer squash, lettuce and the season’s first tomatoes. By the time we had finished our shopping, the rapidly warming morning encouraged us to queue up for some rich and creamy ice cream … and we weren’t the only ones to decide that was a good idea.

A week or so later, after we returned home, my husband and I revisited a new favorite restaurant of ours, Cocorico in nearby Ashland, to celebrate my birthday. We had first dined there a month earlier, and, as I wrote several weeks ago, we were impressed with the food, the fine service and the welcoming and cozy ambience. Our server, Greg, shared the night’s specials while he expertly opened the bottle we’d brought to go with our meal, a 2011 Leonetti Merlot from the Walla Walla Valley in Washington state. (Though 13 years old, it still had a lovely color and burst with the flavor of dark cherries.) We enjoyed our appetizer of steamer clams at our last meal here so much, we decided we had to order it again. The large bowl overflowing with clams in a white wine broth with chorizo, chives and shallots and served with thick slices of grilled bread  was more than enough for the two of us, and our delighted reaction to the dish led the group seated next to us to order the same for their table. We both chose different entrées this time, though. I decided on grilled rainbow trout, wrapped in grape leaves and stuffed with goat cheese (what a brilliant idea!), served with roasted carrots, asparagus, oyster mushrooms and tarragon oil, resting on a creamy parsnip purée.  It was really heavenly, though I found the grape leaves a little tough.

Harry chose a hearty, rich braised lamb shank served with rose harissa, preserved lemon, polenta and jus.  The meat truly fell right off the bone, and my bite of the dish confirmed Harry’s report of the savory, complex flavors that overwhelmed the taste buds.

Since we were celebrating my birthday, we elected to not try to finish our main courses in favor of leaving room for dessert. I was drawn to trying the fresh strawberries served with whipped cream and house-made “honeycomb,” which proved the perfect light yet sweet conclusion to a delicious meal. It was brought to me complete with lighted candle, and Greg and our fellow diners serenading me with a chorus of “Happy Birthday.” 

A few days later we joined our daughter, son-in-law and their two boys at a Medford Rogues baseball game on a hot evening that mellowed into a comfortable night under the stars. The Rogues is part of a wooden-bat, college-level summer league that provides great, inexpensive family entertainment each June and July in our valley. The field and stadium are well-kept-up, with the action close to the stands  and parents able to keep an eye on their youngsters anywhere in the complex. The grandsons were able to toss a ball around on a grass-covered berm adjoining the field and also enjoy a large bounce house/water slide where they could cool off. They also managed to wear a good amount of the ice cream cones they wheedled out of us!

We concluded the first half of July with a busy weekend hosting the two boys while their parents enjoyed a grown-up weekend away. We did our best keeping two very active boys entertained, with the added challenge of temperatures hovering around 100 degrees and air quality levels in the “unhealthy” range for much of the weekend, due to wildfire smoke in the area. We all laughed heartily at the fourth installment of the Despicable Me franchise, and the next day we spent a few hours at the local bowling alley, Lava Lanes, valiantly trying to knock down those pins.  James, the youngest, got a little help thanks to the rails that popped up to block the gutters on his turns, outscored in both games only by his Papou.  We celebrated a few spares and even a few strikes, and once again wrapped up the afternoon with ice cream.

Now, as we head into the last week of July, we’ve got even more adventures to look forward to. More on that in the coming weeks!

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor