With a rich abundance of locally grown food, Portland is one of the the most unique and exciting places to be a home chef. Imagine returning from the market to whipping up classics like homemade pasta, local salmon en papillote or even chocolate soufflés. Realize the full potential of your beautiful farmers market purchase!

Whether you’re a novice cook who’s struggling with basic knife skills or a seasoned amateur interested in exploring new areas of gastronomy, my in-home cooking lessons will have you perfecting the foods you love to eat in the comfort of your own kitchen.

Working together, we’ll create a personalized menu to practice classic techniques through delicious recipies. Sautéing, grilling, braising, stewing, soufflés and pastries–you’ll have the skills to prepare any recipe and even improvise.

In-home cooking lessons are ideal for you, your family or a group of friends. They make a great gift, especially for someone learning to use a new grill, appliance or cookware.

A two-hour, private Knife Skills lesson begins at $75.

For more information, visit Louisa’s Website

If you enjoy wine tasting and touring but want to step it up a notch or if you are the very adventurous type, then this is the experience you have been waiting for. It is those who love good food, good horses and, of course, good wine. Come see what the emigrants experienced when they came here on the Old Oregon Trail. This is a very intimate and special event and is available to two and four person groups. Please call for larger group accommodations.

For reservations, call 541-571-3640 or visit www.muscatdun.com

(download this map)

Suck down a milkshake at Big Jim’s Drive-In in The Dalles.

Beer, glorious beer at Full Sail Brewing Co.

Rest elegantly and eat breakfast at The View Point Inn.

They don’t call Route 35 “Fruit Loop” for  nothin’.

Ride the Magic Mile on the Glacier on Mt. Hood

Go hot-tubbing, drink a Bloody Mary and turn in at Timberline Lodge.

Have lunch at Sixth Street Bistro & Loft.

Grab a cup of coffee at Dog River Coffee Co.

Use the rowboats at Lost Lake.

Hike to Punchbowl Falls.

Take a photo from Crown Point Vista House.

Eat dinner at Tad’s Chicken ‘n Dumplins on the Sandy River.

(download this map)

Spy on a giraffe at Wildlife Safari

Cruise the Rogue River in a jet boat at Hellgate Canyon

Sleep at the Chateau at the Oregon Caves…and don’t forget to have an old-fashioned ice cream soda at the Fountain Cafe.

Check out the work’d best blue cheese at the Rogue Creamery in Central Point.

See 24 waterfalls on the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway.

Wonder about mysteries of the deep at Crater Lake – the bluest and deepest lake in the USA.

Sample some wine at Troon Vineyard along the Applegate Trail

Eat dinner at Amuse Restaurant

Eat at Summer Jo’s

Listen to sonnets at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and bid goodnight at the Ashland Springs Hotel.

(download this map)

Shipwreck at the beach.

Visit Lewis and Clark’s Fort Clatsop.

Stay at Gearhart by the Sea.

Dig for razor clams in Gearhart.

Grab a bite at the Pacific Way Bakery and Cafe in Gearhart.

Eat dinner at Newman’s at 988 in Cannon Beach.

Find secret waterfalls and caves at Hug Point State Park (don’t get tripped by the tides).

Stay right on the beach! Ocean Front Cabins in Oceanside.

Grab coffee and a muffin at Grateful Bread Bakery in Pacific City.

Eat lunch at Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City.

Be amazed by nature at Devil’s Punchbowl State Park.

Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport’s Nye Beach where each room is named after a famous author.

Commune with the wild! Sea Lion Caves just north of Florence.

Dean Creek Elk Preserve near Reedsport.

Play Pacific Dunes in Bandon, America’s #1 Resort Golf Course.

Eat fish & chips or have clam chowder at The Crazy Norwegians in Port Orford.

Turn in at Wild Spring Guest Habitat.

(download this map)

Giddy up at the Pendleton Round-Up.

Eat lunch and play cards at Wildhorse Resort & Casino.

Grab a craft brew at the Terminal Gravity Brewery and Public House.

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Stay the night at the Frenchglen Hotel.

Stop for prime rib at Ten Depot Street.

See some Oregon Trail ruts at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

Visit the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Stay in a Cabin at Wallowa Lake Lodge.

Stop by Joseph, Oregon (aka America’s little Switzerland).

Bike along the Snake River.

Take a gander at the Shoe tree near Juntura.

Catch the steelhead train.

Camp under the stars.

Checkout the oddities at the Kam Wah Chung Museum.

Find a fossil at the John Day Fossil Beds (there’s a museum, too).

Yes, it’s hard to walk a block without the aroma of fresh roasted beans wafting from a corner java joint. In the fall, barely a day goes by without a farmers market bursting to life in one of the city’s neighborhoods. Travel just a bit outside of town and you’ll be surrounded by fields where these farmers grow their goods. It’s what helps make Portland a culinary epicenter, and worthy candidate to be called “Restaurant City U.S.A.”

(download this map)

Le Pigeon restaurant: frog legs are de rigeur.

Kayak the rivers.

Dance your buns off at the Goodfoot Lounge.

Sleep at the Jupiter Hotel.

Grab some Stumptown Coffee.

Wolf down a maple bacon doughnut at Voodoo Doughnut.

Find a rare book at Powell’s City of Books.

Hear Pink Martini at the Schnitz.

Have some drinks at Doug Fir Lounge.

Don’t forget to take silly photos (at the Ace Hotel).

Grab coffee and a canelet at St. Honore’ Boulangerie.

Admire the Bonsai at the Japanese Garden.

Hike the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park.

Soak tired feet, catch a movie and tuck yourself in at the McMenamins Kennedy School.

Hop, skip and jump to the nearest vineyard.

It’s been thought of as Oregon’s “promised land” since the mid-1800s, when settlers toiling the Oregon Trail found respite in these fertile fields bordered by two mountain ranges. Cross one of the many covered bridges that dot the country side, and an authentic blend of culinary discoveries will open up before you.

(download this map)

Sample local cuisine, wine pairings and Oregon truffles at the Joel Palmer House in Dayton.

Sleep in McMinnville at the Hotel Oregon.

Head to Aurora for Antique Shopping.

Rest up with some wine at the Springbrook Hazelnut Farm B&B in Newberg.

Eat at The Painted Lady in Newberg.

Mountain bike like crazy in Oakridge.

Relive your childhood at the Enchanted Forest in Turner.

Camp Silver Falls State Park.

Stay at the C’est La Vie Inn in Eugene.

Go to UofO in Eugene, buy plankfish, stroll and old Masonic Cemetery.

Head to Willamette Pass to snowshoe, ski or board.

Fall asleep to the sound of the rushing river at McKenzie Riverside Cottages.

Classic Farm & Ranch Tour

Wallowa County based Source Tours offers foodies insiders’ access to rural communities and the farmers and ranchers who grow our food

This trip is for those with an appetite for an authentic experience. We’ll travel through the picturesque Wallowa Valley to visit a grass fed beef ranch, an organic produce farm that supplies restaurants and farmers markets, a family-run dairy and chicken farm, a flock of sheep that inspired a rural economic development project, wheat fields and more. Meet local farmers and ranchers and walk through their fields with them while they tell you the story of the land. And we’ll enjoy excellent meals that highlight as many local ingredients as possible. Scores of visitors are drawn to the beautiful scenery of Oregon’s rural landscapes, and with Source trips you can get an insider’s perspective and a rich understanding of the local agriculture, culture and economy. Some of our hosts are the fourth generation of their family to steward the family ranch. Others made a mid-life career switch and started their business in the last few years. They all have a passion for what they do and how they do it. For the people who live here, and the people who visit here, the Wallowa Mountains are an amazing backdrop to it all.

Dates Offered: August 15-16, 2009 or September 12-13, 2009
Cost: Without Lodging $495 per person includes two days of farm and ranch and tours, local transport between sites, two lunches (Saturday & Sunday) and grand finale dinner on Sunday evening. Including Lodging $630 per person includes everything mentioned above, plus 3 breakfasts and 3 nights lodging at a B&B in Joseph, OR.