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Mrs. Cub, Chile/Portland Age and Occupation: 26, Astronomer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Astronomer Engagement Date: May 10, 2008 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: Westwind YWCA camp About Me: I'm a small-town girl who's making a living in Chile, with her heart in the Pacific Northwest. I grew up in Southern California, went to high school in Texas, grad school in New Mexico, and now I can't wait to settle down in Oregon! I love pears, hazelnuts, knitting, traveling, running, baking, and long talks on the phone with good friends. I'm planning my Oregon coast summer camp wedding while abroad with my best friend - I'm always at home when I'm with him!
About Mrs. Bear Cub

Warm Tummies Make Bear Cubs Happy

July 17th, 2009 @ 1:26 pm by Mrs. Bear Cub

There’s one picture I left out of the virtual venue visit the other day. Although I won’t experience it until the wedding weekend, I’m 100% confident the food at Westwind will be delicious.

Mmmmm…. Three types of heirloom tomatoes with fresh (buffalo, I hope?) mozzarella make quite the delectable Caprese Salad!

The best part (which I’ve mentioned before) is that everyone I’ve spoken to says the food is incredibly good!

A year ago we tossed around the idea of having Wildwood cater (they’re orgasm-in-your-mouth good), but the logistics and the cost would have been a nightmare. All the former brides & guests at Westwind I’ve talked with were self-described “foodies” (gourmet food is kind of a thing in Portland), so I feel completely secure in our decision to have the camp cater our wedding.

The thing that’s perhaps the most unique about having the camp do the catering is that they will make (almost) anything we ask them, provided we give them recipes and general instructions. We have the power to create all the menus - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - for all three days that we’ll be staying there.

I just so happen to love food - and I’m a little neurotic about food parings - so I’ll fill you in on parts of our weekend, and wedding, menus as things get finalized.

The first menu item I wanted to play with was soup. I love soup. It’s all warm and cozy in your mouth, and then hugs your tummy like a favorite old teddy bear! Soup always makes me smile - I could eat it for dinner every single night.

For the wedding dinner, I wanted a soup that would start the meal by reminding our guests of the changing of the seasons (in keeping with our “equinox” theme). Originally I thought of using my personal recipe for butternut squash soup, but a friend suggested a Pear and Zucchini soup recipe by Mark Bittman.

Photo by me

Luckily, it’s delicious! It couldn’t be more fitting, too - the article Bittman wrote to accompany this soup is titled “A Marriage Made at the End of Summer“. You can read the whole article, but the most important part is when he says,

I love it for a number of reasons: the confluence of definitive end of summer and fall in full swing; the combination of two subtle but recognizable flavors; the creamy texture that comes without cream; and the ease with which you can throw together something that you’ve probably never thought of before.

We made this for dinner the other night, and we decided it’s exactly what we want - simple, substantial, and warm in my happy belly.

How much liberty did you have in deciding on your wedding menu? What’s your favorite soup?

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18 Responses to “Warm Tummies Make Bear Cubs Happy”

1.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Dachshund (message)  487 posts, Helper bee

That soup sounds so tasty! Soup is one of my favorite comfort foods. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a wedding where soup was served, but it should because it really does make your tummy happy!

I’m meeting with a potential caterer next week to talk about our menu. They’re Portuguese, their food is very tasty and affordable but I don’t want to go with the traditional tri-tip and pilaf that’s their standard wedding fare. We’ll see what sort of menu we can come up with.

 
2.
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Member
Kalibali (message)  242 posts, Helper bee

That soup looks so good, I will definitely be printing off that recipe and using it this summer/fall!

We haven’t had our meeting with the chef yet, but we do get some flexibility, but not as much as you. How fun!

 
3.
ejs4y8
Member
ejs4y8 (message)  6,922 posts, Bee Keeper

Ohmigoodness. I love tomatoes and cheese like that!

 
4.
Champagne Wishes
Member
Champagne Wishes (message)  485 posts, Helper bee

Oh those tomatoes look amazing! I love the idea of having your menu reflect the change of seasons… very smart!

 
5.
kjpugs
Member
kjpugs (message)  856 posts, Busy bee

MMMM caprese salad! I LOVE heirlooms. I sometimes make tomato feta salad (it’s also excellent with goat cheese or mozzarella cheese) with raw red onion, heirlooms, and cheese, then marinate in oil and vinegar and some lemon juice (just a tad of each) and it’s AMAZING!

 
6.
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Bee
Miss Star (message)  1,277 posts, Bumble bee

It’s so cool that you guys get to decide on the menu yourselves! Talk about a really creative touch!

 
7.
kara
Member
kara (message)  623 posts, Busy bee

mmmm. looks soooo tasty! my favorite soup is carrot ginger! so fabulous. the recipe i have you actually put a little champagne in :)

 
8.
Miss Bear Cub
Bee
Miss Bear Cub (message)  1,350 posts, Bumble bee

@kara: carrot ginger is actually one of the soups westwind specializes in! looking forward to trying it :)

 
9.
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Bee
Miss Spaniel (message)  2,597 posts, Sugar bee

I have no (real) control over my menu. They have five dishes, I get to pick two. I want to pick their egg noodle and goat cheese pasta dish, but they’ll do a vegetarian dish for us off menu and we wanted to give meat-eaters the option of chicken or beef, so it was left off. We get to choose between two chicken and two beef dishes, basically. :-P

But I really commented to say: those tomatoes look GORGEOUS and now I am hungry!

 
10.
Ghenet
Member
Ghenet (message)  125 posts, Blushing bee

That looks so yummy!

 
11.
Miss Burgundy
Hostess
Miss Burgundy (message)  907 posts, Busy bee

Haha no offense, Miss Bear Cub but…pear and zucchini? It does not sound that appetizing to me! Then again, there were some things that sounded downright unappetizing on my tasting menu that were totally delicious, so what do I know! :D

 
12.
Miss Bear Cub
Bee
Miss Bear Cub (message)  1,350 posts, Bumble bee

@Miss Burgundy: I was a little skeptical too - but I promise you it’s delicious!

 
13.
Miss French Bulldog
Bee
Miss French Bulldog (message)  6,063 posts, Bee Keeper

You are making me so hungry!! Where is my lunch date dang it!?!

 
14.
Miss Burgundy
Hostess
Miss Burgundy (message)  907 posts, Busy bee

@Miss Bear Cub: Haha all right, Miss BC! I will take your word for it!

 
15.
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Member
agrosses (message)  94 posts, Worker bee

I’m am so jealous…I would love a camp or block party wedding; unfortunately, my parents (who are footing the bill) are conventional all the way…. I send you super good vibes and can’t wait to see how it turns out!

 
16.
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Bee
Miss Mouse (message)  3,301 posts, Sugar bee

That soup sounds amazing! I’m so glad I don’t have to plan a menu from scratch for my wedding reception, but it looks like you and Mr. BC are doing a great job so far!

 
17.
mrspaetz
Member
mrspaetz (message)  1,707 posts, Bumble bee

we worked closely with our french bistro and got all our faves there, yaay!

my fave soup has to be french onion - complete with super tasty cheeeeese and a big chunk of floating bread in it. NOM!!

 
18.
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Bee
Miss Cowboy Boot (message)  259 posts, Helper bee

Yummm!!! Our favorite soup is a red onion soup we learned to make in Italy. All it takes is red onions, flour, water, olive oil, salt and pepper. No stock. No cream. But, of course, a little parmesan to top it off.

 


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Mrs. Bear Cub Mrs. Cub, Chile/Portland Age and Occupation: 26, Astronomer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Astronomer Engagement Date: May 10, 2008 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: Westwind YWCA camp About Me: I'm a small-town girl who's making a living in Chile, with her heart in the Pacific Northwest. I grew up in Southern California, went to high school in Texas, grad school in New Mexico, and now I can't wait to settle down in Oregon! I love pears, hazelnuts, knitting, traveling, running, baking, and long talks on the phone with good friends. I'm planning my Oregon coast summer camp wedding while abroad with my best friend - I'm always at home when I'm with him!
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