Hey! Becky here. Live & work close-in SE PDX. Excited to have a fun local app for grocery hunting. Thanks Bryan. I do get how much work this is. My husband and I have both built various community events & platforms and have been involved in others. It’s no small task.

Hi—I’m Mark from McMinnville where I live with my wife and our dog. We’ve got kids and grandkids in California, Germany and Norway right now. I’m the primary cook and grocery shopper in our family. I’m mainly “reading” audiobooks these days. History, biography, mystery/espionage (especially Australian/Kiwi noir) and faith-based books. Volunteer with Guardian Partners and the Oregon ASPIRE program.

Hey, everyone!

Thank you so much for joining this brand new community spaces. It's a bit dead right now, but that's expected when something's brand new and we don't all know each other.

To help fix that, I'd love to have us all introduce ourselves in this thread!

You already know me, but I'll go first. I'm Bryan, the guy behind Stumptown Savings. I live in Montavilla, with my wife and two dogs. When I'm not hunting grocery deals and reporting on our food system, I restore cast iron and carbon steel cookware for people and for resale. I love the hands-on process, and the satisfaction I get from turning a crusty, rusty pan into a working piece of kitchen equipment.

I also LOVE reading and watching movies. My favorite genres are horror, mystery, and thriller. But I'm open to funny, weird titles like Dungeon Crawler Carl, too.

There's a new effort underway to put that question before voters in 2028. Data from more than a decade of private liquor sales in Washington show you may gain convenience, but prices go up.

Hatch chile season is one of my favorite seasons of the year. If you've never had these heirloom New Mexican chiles, you're missing out. They're slightly grassy, range from mild to scorching hot, and roast beautifully. Eaten on their own, or cooked into sauces, stews, tossed on top of burgers or hot dogs, they're incredibly versatile. And they're showing up at Trader Joe's, Fred Meyer, and QFC locations throughout SE Portland!

Later this season (like the first two weeks of August) you might even be able to find some places fresh-roasting them. The aroma is AMAZING.

If you want to roast your own, it's pretty simple. You can do it on the grill, in the oven, or on the stove top. The key is get it medium-high, place the chiles on the grates, on a baking sheet, or directly on your burners and roast until slightly charred, then rotate. It should only take a few minutes per pepper. As soon as they have a good char overall, pull them off and place them in a sealed container (a big bowl with an elastic lid, or a giant Ziploc bag) and let them steam for 10 minutes.

Then, simply peel off the charred skin and either use them just like that, or freeze them for later.

They make an amazing sauce (like a green enchilada sauce) that you can put on EVERYTHING.