Join us on “What do you wanna cook?” as I sit down with a man with an air of mystery, Ryan Blum! A generous individual who contributes to causes he deeply believes in—from preserving wild spaces with the North Coast Land Conservancy to serving on the board of the historic Liberty Theater—Ryan prefers to do his good work anonymously.
In this special episode, we’re taking a culinary trip back in time to Ryan’s days in Italy. We’ll be creating a simple yet elegant Caprese salad with a twist: fresh prawns and a rich, tangy balsamic reduction. This dish isn’t just a meal; it’s a memory, a taste of a past life, and a reminder that the best things are often the most simple.
Find out what it’s like to live a life of meaningful contribution while staying out of the spotlight, all while we cook a dish that holds a special place in Ryan’s heart.
@nclctrust
Welcome to this next episode of What Do You
Want to Cook? It’s really interesting how many diverse people make up a healthy and thriving
community. Some that have been here forever, some that you just met but have been here a while
and people that move to a community for particular reason, fall in love with it, want to be part of
it, want to make a difference. My next guest on what do you want to cook? I like to refer as an
international man of mystery. He’s a wonderful guy. I think that we could hang out and um let’s
get to know him a little bit more. Uh Ryan Blum, how are you? Welcome to our show. Thank you,
Chris. Thank you. You know, uh a minute ago, I I have to be honest with you. I was just uh
thinking I just like literally called you Ryan Blum and you’re like well that is correct. Um but
Ryan Blum explain tell me tell me real quick. So you you’ve spent time in other countries you
speak a couple different languages but and tell me what is the correct pronunciation? Well if
you ask any member of my family and that’d be back in California where I grew up and there are the
Blums. Uh, in fact, my brother and sister-in-law who live in Portland call themselves the Portland
Blums. However, I married a German woman and the word is actually German. It means flower, bloom,
which is anytime I travel abroad. I used to work uh in an international company. Everybody over in
Europe and a lot of other places calls me Bloom. I answer to both. I’m not really bold into one
or the other. As long as you know people get it with one of the two, I’m fine. Anything else
with like a silent Q, maybe not so much. But Bloom. Yeah. Bloom twist. And just in case you’re
wondering everybody, it is B L U M. Hence the minor confusion. So Ryan, you and your wife first
uh moved here uh when what what brought what drew you to living in a community like this? Why did
you move here? Well, you know, to explain that, I actually found the phrase that worked for me
later. And of all people, it was Paul Benoit, former city manager, who described the ethos of a
story back in the day was gritty, not pretty. And what we really liked about this is it was a what
we called a real town, which is kind of confusing, but we meant by that is it clearly had history. I
mean, it’s the oldest town west of the Rockies. It has a lot of people who’ve been here for
generations. It has a connection to the indigenous communities. It is just drop deadad
gorgeous, but it felt authentic. And you know, I’ll contrast that to some of our southern
neighbors whom I think are great towns. Like I like Canon Beach. Uh I think there are other
towns of that ilk that are great. I just thought this town, it works in the both a literal and
metaphorical sense. It has enviable history, fascinating people, you know, and it’s just
everything we could want. And it was some place I said we would like to be there but with
the caveat we didn’t want to change Astoria. We actually wanted to support what made Astoria so
special. And I think this kind of factors into a lot of the charitable and volunteering work that
we do. But we think it’s a really special place and we want to become part of that fabric. We
don’t want to stand out from it. So, as opposed to being the bright splash of color on the canvas,
we’re happy to just be part of the muted tones in the background, it’s it’s a wonderful place.
Uh it’s the only place in the United States both my wife and I individually on our own without
consulting the other said we could live here. So, we we did. That’s absolutely incredible. You know
what? Uh I would love to know why people move to where where they move. I mean, what draws uh
people to that and it’s clear what what drew you uh to this. Folks, if you’re enjoying our content
here on Woody Want to Cook, real quick, do me a favor. Hit the subscribe button. We want to keep
doing this for a real long time, and we’re going to need your help to do that. Hit the subscribe
button, tell your friends, like us on Facebook, share away, and all of these wonderful
things. But Ryan, I have a question for you. What do you want to cook? Oh, okay. So, the
thing that I thought would be great. So, we’re recording this. It’s summer and it’s been
really hot over all parts of the world, but it’s also a great time for produce. Uh I’m somewhat of
an athlete, so I swim a lot. And I thought, you know, this is a good meal. You can take or remove
protein, but it’s called a caprese salad. Most people know what that is. It’s just traditionally
it is tomato, mozzarella, and fresh basil. That’s it. You add a little salt, balsamic vinegar, and
olive oil, and that’s all it’s comprised of. Now, you can kind of juzj it up and add, in this case,
we’re going to use seafood, a little hello, we’re, you know, by the Pacific Ocean. But you can do a
lot with it. It’s healthy, it’s fresh, and it’s as good or bad as the quality of your ingredients.
It kind of bespeaks the whole Italian ethos of quality ingredients make for a great meal. But if
you don’t have those things, it’s not a good meal. Uh I also spent time in Italy. I studied Italian a
long time ago. And uh I’m sure we won’t have time to get to the story, but I was invited to live
and work in Italy, but my German wife, who had kind of remade herself as an American, didn’t
want to do that again in Italy. I still kind of miss that idea that I there could have been an
Italian version of myself out there, but I’m sure in a different alternate universe there is. What?
So, you speak Italian. So, what I’m putting you on the spot. What are we going to call this? But like
our version of the cap. What are we going to call our version? So, we what we’ve done is we’ve gone
this. So, look, I went to the co-op. It I I can’t say enough good things. Ag. So, I went to the
co-op as you do and I picked out what looked nice like today. Like I just I went there. I’m like,
“Okay, he wants to make this. Let’s go pick this out.” This was what was nice today. Just little
cherry tomatoes. There was some nice fresh basil. I had some uh some little uh they had some little
prawns. Um look at that nice garlic clove and these little fresh Aren’t they cute? The cutest
little mozzarella balls you ever saw. Um I can’t stop eating them. Please. We may not have any left
for the salad here in a minute, but anyway. So, yes. What do we call this? What we’re going to
make? Oh, and I forgot. We’re actually going to make a little bit of a honey balsamic like
reduction. We’ll kind of drizzle it around the plate. And you can you can pick up some some of
the bits with a with a fork and kind of swoop them through the the vinegar. That’ll be pretty good,
too. So, just like a little fun addition to that. So, go for it. What do we got with pomodoro?
Yep. form basilico. Um, I could probably do that in German, too, but it’s just those three
ingredients plus the side things, but it it’s a caprese insulata caprese. So, just an a caprese
salad. So, c a p r e s e caprese. Uh, and it yeah, it’s a perfect summer dish. I wouldn’t eat this
unless you happen to have a really good hot house or go to Iceland where they got good green
houses and good tomatoes. Uh, normally when I tell people to make this, I my preference is heirloom
tomatoes. You can make it with Roma tomatoes. Stay away from beef steak tomatoes. Uh, these lovely
little cherry tomatoes. Great. They just need to be fresh. I kind of like them on the sweeter side
because you want some balance to the acidity of the balsamic vinegar and, you know, the tomatoes
are going to really kind of pick up the salt, too. So, any kind. It’s just fresh. Fresh and
good. That’s the only thing. Basil, I would stay away from like a lemon or any of the kind of odd
flavors of basil. Just a traditional fresh green basil. And um mozzarella comes in different sizes
and different types. This works fine. I know some people use the large balls. It just depends how
you want to make it. These work perfectly with the little cherry tomatoes. If we had, if you’re using
bigger tomatoes, I would use a bigger, you know, bigger type of cheese. But it’s a nice salad
because you can if you like I like to freestyle a bit and you can make make whatever works for
you. If you like to really rip up your basil or you want to make it very decorative and nice whole
leaves or half a leaf, you can do that. I usually like a little heat. I might be persuaded to put
in a little bit of chili pepper um somewhere in there, whether it’s in my marinade or, you know,
on top of the tomato. That could work well, too. It’s just whatever speaks to you. But the
nice thing is you’re going to be healthy either way. I like it. I like it. We’re going to dig
into that here in just a couple of minutes. Um, thanks again for joining us on What Do You Want to
Cook? We’ll be right back. My name is Chris Holen. For the past 25 years, I’ve had the privilege of
calling a story, Oregon home. It’s a place that’s authentically reinventing itself and bringing
about new life. And it’s all happening through the incredible people that live here. They’re
making a difference. one meaningful act at a time. And that’s not just an Astoria story is it.
It’s a common thread intertwined through every thriving community around the world. Whether it’s
a small town or a big city, it’s powered by its people. Folks dedicated to putting good out into
the world. And what do you want to cook? We’re bringing these stories right into my kitchen.
This show is about connecting with the heart of the community, no matter where you are. We’ll cook
dishes that tell a story. We’ll explore how these guests are making a difference and we’ll discover
together why these moments of connection are so vital in today’s world. It’s a cooking show, a
talk show, and a celebration of good people. So, what do you want to cook and what stories do you
want to tell? All right, here we are back. So, here’s the thing. We want to do things in a
particular order so they end up done at the same uh time. All right. So, we were talking about
making this balsamic drizzle. So, let’s like let’s put balsamic vinegar in a pan. Got to hit
the GoPro, right? We want to make sure we plug these shots in for you. Okay. This um I did um um
half a cup, right? 4 ounces balsamic vinegar in a pan. We’re going to put it on a flame over here.
Look, you don’t want to uh have that be too hot. You don’t want it boiling away. All right? Because
if you do that, it’s going to end up Look. Okay, here’s the outcome. We want to have the proper
reduction on this. We want it to coat the back of this spoon. We don’t want it burnt. And with
all the concentrated sugars and balsamic vinegar, it’ll taste burnt for sure if you do that. All
right. So anyway, we’re going to put just a little bit of honey. Let’s just go with like one, two,
let’s call like a tablespoon. All right, we’re just going to hint that. That was three teaspoons
in case you didn’t notice, which is a tablespoon, right? So, we’re going to hint that. We’re going
to we’re going to get that going and let it start reducing. All right. The next thing we want to do
though, next, you want to cook? Sure. Let’s use Let’s use this instead. I changed my mind. Okay,
Ryan’s cooking. Here we go. So, we’re gonna go on a uh kind of a medium high heat. A little bit of
olive oil in this pan. All right. We’re also going to take Can you grab that bowl right there? This
one or the Yeah, the white one’s good. Okay. So, we’re going to marinate real quick just briefly
these uh shrimp, these prawns. All right. So, that goes in here. Can do. All right, that goes
in there. Let’s uh we’re going to hit probably like maybe maybe the juice of like half a lemon
or something, right? Oh, it’s like it’s becoming ceviche. That sound good? Sort of. I mean, we’re
going to have just to add it’s really going to help like flavor. Like this is I think that’s
probably plenty though. We’ll save this for like a later time. All right. Uh should we season it?
Yes. A little bit of that. Why don’t you choose what you want? I’m going to spread them out so
that the acids can begin to break break it down. There you go. Oh, I’m going to grab a little rag.
A little bit of that. How many pinches? Some. I’ll tell you when. All right. Oh, you got No. No. Come
on. Yeah. Yeah. You’re good. It’s hard to take them back out, though. Okay, that’s cool. I have
high blood pressure, so I’m airing all the time. Right. My bad. All right. Um, also, why don’t we
have um why don’t we throw in like a little bit of garlic in there? And uh you going to get all
cheffy and smash it with your knife? We’re going to get all cheffy and smash it with my knife.
Okay. All right. So, someone has skills here. It’s not me. Oh, whatever. Whatever. You never invited
me over for dinner, though. There’s a reason. I’m skilled at eating. I didn’t say I was skilled
at preparation. You know what? Uh, folks, I can attest to that. Ryan is an exceptional eater. He’s
super good. I I am. And this is why I have to work out. That’s why he I work out to eat. Uh, not not
the glamorous way to phrase it, but it’s So, let’s just hit that real quick. Throw a couple of these
guys in there. Um, so you season it. Let’s see. We just got Oh, maybe a little olive oil. Yep. Little
lemon juice and we have a little olive oil in the pan. I turn this to be boiling I think. Let’s turn
that down a hair. Right. Yeah, let’s go that way. A little higher. Don’t want it to gutter. Oh no.
Yeah, it will go out. So that’s probably right. Okay. All right. Okay. So, we’re going to smash
this up. Literally just rough chop the garlic. Um, we’ll chuck it in with the uh with the prawns
and sauté them up real quick and then we’re going to take them like put them aside and
let them kind of just cool down a little bit. I don’t know if we need to put them in the
fridge. You could I I don’t mind warm. No, I actually a lot I mean most of this stuff is
at room temperature. So, yeah, you don’t want like the temperature contrast, right? Besides the
if the lemon juice is doing its thing, it’s kind of getting slightly cooked anyway. So, let’s just
do like a little kind of mix that up. All right. Good stuff. You know, you talked about working
out. Yep. Okay. We’re going to start uh cooking these prawns, but So, you talked about working
out. What’s your uh You’re a swimmer. I am a swimmer. You are a swim. How when did you did
you swim like in high school and and all that? I did. I grew up in what is technically a desert.
So I’ve been in the pool since I was I don’t know two. Um but it was only I swam competitively in
high school and I was fairly fast. I mean I’m not nothing close to like collegiate or Olympic level
and where I went and did my undergrad we they had Olympic quality swimmers. So right instead of
trying to red shirt I just did it recreationally and have been doing so I don’t know for like 30 40
years. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I I have to ask you about something though. There there was recently
well recently last less than a year ago though. Some local doctor had some crazy idea to put
the group put together a group of good crazy swimmers to swim across the Columbia River.
Now it’s probably what is it about what is it 4.1 miles wide? It depends on the the
width. If you go direct like from Okay. So, if you went straight across the river where we
left it was uh just about five miles. Yeah. But that doesn’t account the current. So, so you’re
part of this crazy group that decided Yeah. Let’s do this. Let’s swim across the Columbia
River. Why? Why? Why? Why did you do that? Well, what was that all about? So, for those who are
unfamiliar, Astoria has a long tradition with its regatta. you know we have a regatta sure you know
actually you know better than most right uh and they wanted to bring it back it had not been done
for 90 years right and so uh Dr. Paul Silka said, “Let’s bring this back.” And they said, “Yes.”
And there were something around 15 of us. Yep. And most of us were already swimming. So, we kind
of trained and a lot of us had done open water already. But just to do that, and instead of it
just being 5 miles, the best way to get when you account for the current, which is 3 to 5 knots,
is you do a parabola. So, it’s actually you make a parabola. So, instead, you don’t go obviously you
make a parabola. Yes. That’s what you do. Okay. Go ahead. You don’t swim in a straight line because
of the current. You actually head east and then as you’re the last half mile, the current catches
you and spits you out at the maritime museum. That was close somewhere like seven or eight miles
is what it ended up being. So it took us like somewhere between two and three hours depending on
the swimmer. No big deal. No big deal. You know, I was a swimmer in high school. I don’t know if you
knew this. I was a swimmer in high school who I I honestly I I turned down a college scholarship uh
to swim. Um I just was ready to do something else. You know, I spent from six, seven years old all
the way through high school swimming competitively and I just was I think I was ready to move on.
It consumed so much of my time. Like I had other interests. And you don’t like the the perfume
of chlorine? Maybe that might have been it. My hair was like really bright. Anyway, all right. So
these are good. Okay. Let’s put these. Actually, let’s grab a clean. This one’s Yeah. Grab a
Okay, we’re going to just put these uh these little Aren’t they cute? Do you want me to take
the tails off? Aren’t they adorable? They are. Oh, yeah. We can pop them. Let’s let them cool down,
though, so you don’t burn your We don’t burn your little finners. This is true. All right, so we got
our little prawns. Let’s just set them aside. All right, now this is all you. Now, this is a great
knife. I think what we’re going to do like let’s start with cutting tomatoes the cherry tomatoes in
half. Yes. And maybe we’ll Yes. Sharp knife is the key. So swim the Columbia River. That is a trip.
And I will uh No swimmers were harmed in the uh making of that endeavor. No way. Just so you know,
everyone uh did it was unbelievable. I went to the end. Oh, you were at the right and watched people
get out of the water and um it was uh uh Oh, yeah, we’re good. You good? Um, holy cow. Like that was
that was incredible, man. Anyway, well done. Thank you. Well, well done. I am not If you think I’m
hyper now, this is not my normal. I’m a bit more reserved because I already swam 5,000 yards
this morning. So, I’m a little tired. Yeah, you see just went and just busted that out. Yes.
with the same doctor who organized this and he’s doing it again this year. I’ve decided to be
a volunteer. So, I’m going to help coordinate and make sure that everybody gets off and arrives
safely. I don’t know if I’m going to be on a boat on a boat or kayak or whatever, but that’s either
that or I’m going to be at the start and finish line wherever they need me. That is uh Yeah. Well
done. That’s great, man. That’s a what a cool thing, right? That’s like the greatest challenges,
man. So, while you’re cutting tomatoes, so Ryan, um, you’re part of the uh, now look, I want to
preface this conversation with like I realize like I really appreciate you coming on the show.
I know that you, you know, besides like just, you know, being just cool people that we run into
and occasionally have a meal with and and, etc., you know, a lot of people don’t know the the good
that you that you do and the good that you put out in the world. And I appreciate that you you
don’t really advertise that. You don’t talk about it a lot. And and when we decided to have this uh
this uh have you on the show, the caveat of look, you know, I like to be anonymous and it’s okay to
be anonymous when giving. You can throw to others, but I know a couple of things that I think
I can talk about. Uh one is one is the north low north coast land conserv conservancy. Tell
me about your involvement with the North Coast Land Conservancy. Well, and try not to slice
your finger while I know while you’re talking to our friends here. I’ve already decorated
the floor, so that’s probably enough. Well, gosh, when we were preparing to move to Atoria,
they were one of the first two organizations that we wanted to support. So the North Coast Land
Conservancy protects and preserves wild spaces here on the north coast of Oregon all the way
down to Tamuk County. So most of you know Clatsop County along the coastline. So they’re really
seeking to protect and preserve natural corridors, environments so that the wild beauty of Oregon,
and that includes now a marine reserve y stays accessible and pristine for generations of
visitors and Oregonians. We really love the way the north coast and the Pacific Northwest is.
And so that’s why we started donating to them. Um we even did this really cool thing. Did you hear
about the whiskey, chocolate, and wetlands? So, my wife and I worked with them and we did
basically a whiskey and chocolate tasting uh to raise money for them. And we did that a
couple That must have been rough. That was the worst thing ever. Everybody hates those two
things. And um recently I’ve gone I’m on the development committee. So, I helped them try and
uh you know raise enough money to continue their operations and acquire more things. they just uh
acquired a huge piece of land. It basically is from mountain to sea. It’s the rainforest reserve.
And you know these kind of projects helping to protect the environment for all these indigenous
species. Uh they’ve given some parcels of land back to some of the indigenous communities. Just
everything they do is kind of the legacy I’d like to live and just more of the natural world for
generations to come to enjoy. It’s the legacy that you would like. Go ahead. Say that one more time.
Oh gosh, I wasn’t even holding on. The legacy you would like to live. I appreciate that. Like it’s
that simple. Yeah, it’s that simple. We Yeah, we appreciate that. I mean, it’s really cool to have
these kinds of uh these open natural spaces to uh I think this might be reduced. I think we’re
getting close. Here’s a here’s a towel. No, thanks. I’m just trying to turn it down. Um, I
think it’s really important to like, you know, to preserve these natural spaces just to, you know,
if you don’t have, you can’t develop everything, man. You got to have, right? You got to have
spaces that are meant to just leave them leave them be and let them be what they are. Well, and
is that is that would you say that’s accurate? Yes. Although a lot of their spaces are open
for people to recreate and come enjoy. So, it’s not taking part of the world and removing it from
public usage. It’s actually making sure it stays that way, but giving the public access. And I know
the place around their their new headquarters. They’d owned this land for a long time. They had
an office there. It burned down. And so they’ve just built a new office for their organization
and it has a big community center, but they’ve got a herd of elk. There are mountain lions that
wander through. They’re roughskin nutes. It’s just amazing. and knowing that they’re lots of young
Oregonians and they’re going to get to experience stuff that you know their grandparents would have.
Oh, that looks Oh, I didn’t even show that. So, I got to say I didn’t want to interrupt you. No, no,
this is fine. You were getting there. All right, here’s the deal. Check it out. So, if you Here’s
a term culinary term of the day for you. Nappe. Napee. Is that the nappe? Nappe. Right. Law.
It’s lost in translation. There’s no direct translation, but nape would be the consistency
of a sauce. Okay. Okay. So that it will properly coat coat the back of a spoon. Like when
they say wine has legs and they like how quickly it goes down the inside of a kind of like that,
right? That’s nappe. Nappe. Okay. I I have been educated actually. Now I I have nappe and we’re
done. I’m going to put that over there. All right. Nappe. All right. Next, Uh, basil. Huh? Basil.
I don’t think we need to cut this mozzarella up. Probably not with that. A lot of people though, it
depends. This is a textural question. If you want the round or the flat, if you would like part of
it to just be flat. It will also when it’s round, it will roll around. So, if you’re one of those
people who likes to make architectural food and you stack things, you’re going to need to cut
them in half. Architectural food. Yes. Things that are layered, stacked. I’m going to add that
into my uh my future things like nappe and I can teach you things about, you know, the architecture
of the culinary environment. Yeah. Do Do you like this cut up the basil? You like it whole? How
do you like it? I I usually do halves because I like a big thing of basil, but you want it spread
out. So, if we’re going to toss though this little tomatoes and little mozz together, do we want
the basil cut smaller or do you want to have I would cut each half leaves is great. You can hand
tear them or you can cut them. It depends. Here, you go for it. Yeah, you could use my knife.
Cool. You can use throw them in there. Use Yeah, just to I think so, right? Toss it in there. We’ll
toss that in there. We’ll mix it. I know enough not to take liberties in other people’s kitchens.
I You know what, man? I don’t have any rules here, Ryan. This is your You’re telling me what to
do. you. So you um so take me back a minute a minute. Why this dish? Right. You you went to
college, high school in Italy. You lived there for a minute. Um I did a summer program when I was an
undergrad between freshman and sophomore year. and was close to getting a minor in Italian, but then
ended up wanting to graduate on time. So did not. But then my first job out of undergrad, I sold
America as a destination to people from around the world, but predominantly Italy and my largest
client, which was the largest tour operator in Italy. I dealt with them. I would come into work
and I’d take phone calls and then I would finish my day and send all my communications to them
and I’d start and then at least once a year, sometimes twice, I would fly over and see what
they wanted and coordinated the year and through that I had the opportunity to move there. Um
although my German wife, as I said, did not want to do it. But um yeah, I used my knowledge
of Italian and the culture to do that. And so this salad appeals to me, but also I grew up in
a very agricultural portion of California, the Central Valley. So all of this fresh tomatoes, you
know, the basil, and we actually have a fair bit of cheese there, too. Reminds me of both places
I’ve worked and studied and also where I grew up. And it speaks to me, but it’s also that the
healthy thing like I can really indulge and eat a lot of this without feeling too guilty. There’s
the real ritual. So speaking of cheese, how much cheese you want to put in there? I would say at
least go for it. At least half you do it. I mean, think of this. It kind of represents the Italian
flag. I’ve heard some people call this insulata tricalore, but a three-colored salad. But I think
that’s actually something else. It’s hard to but it’s hard to pronounce. So they don’t always say
that. Salad. Yes. Uh that’s probably adequate. But you want it’s like the Italian flag. You want
all three colors. An equal amount of white, red, and green. And you can vary that. It’s just to
taste. Tricolore. tricolore How do I do? You did really well. Yes. Like nappe. Nappe. Is that
Is it French or from Latin? I would assume. Uh, you know, that’s a great question. It’s
it’s one of those words that, you know, doesn’t have a it’s only direct translation is so
that the sauce coats the back. I wonder if it’s a thing. It’s all summarized in one word. Do you
think it’s where we get the same root for like the nape of the neck? Oh, interesting. I bet. Do
you want me to take the tails off the shrimp? Um, let’s do it when we plate it. Okay. I don’t Yeah.
Okay. Uh, extra virgin olive oil. Yeah. Yes. Tell me when. Adequate. Okay. I’m going to toss. What
do you think? We probably need some uh sea salt. You Well, yeah. Your salt mixture would be What
do you think? Should we use this one? I think we should. Unless you want to mix it up, but I want
to keep the flavor profile the same. So, when you hit the shrimp with that, this will just bring the
flavor back to what we That’s a good idea. Yeah. Let’s use chef daddy. Yes. And that but you have
multiple flavors. I think we’re sticking shameless shameless promotion. Yeah. Who is the daddy in the
chef daddy? And if you know where to if you if you like this salt, I know where you can get some.
Chef daddy link in the corner, right? Link. Yeah, link in the corner. U there’s a link on the page.
Just so you know. You want to maybe stir a little bit and I’ll Yes. Something like that. We’ll
just toss it together. Oh, that’s funny. I uh I might add a few more. The tomatoes and cheese and
the basil that I chose this morning for this. I um it looked good when I was walking to the
produce. I was like, “Let’s get that.” Right. It’s what it looks I mean, if if the camera can get
it, it looks really tasty. I would be if you’re doing a barbecue, like a summer barbecue, this is
so good. Or just the evening, you know, you got some friends over, maybe you’re going out later.
This is a really good kind of just appetizer, right? Super nice. All right, how about a couple
of plates? Oh, here. How about these guys? Yeah. Oh, duh. Let me wipe this up. We’ll put Let’s put
those right there. All right. Um, so Ryan, you um, Funny enough, you know, everything’s connected,
especially in a town like this, like you’re on the Liberty Theater Board. I am. You know, and you
know, we had uh Oh, geez. In episode, episode two, Jen Crockett, the director, uh was came on and
hung out with me on the show. One of my favorite. If you haven’t seen episode two, you got to check
out this. She’s awesome. She’s absolutely awesome. So, you’re on the board um of the theater. Why
um why the arts? Like, why the performing arts? Why did that what why did that speak to you?
Well, uh gosh, one of my earlier careers, I was a director of programs for the Western States Arts
Federation, which handled all 13 western states, including Hawaii and Alaska. Little Alaska
connection there. Uh and we, you know, I ran a grant program in the performing arts. And if it’s
not coming across on camera, I had aspirations of being an actor very briefly when I was in high
school and realized awesome I lack the aptitude, but I am definitely histrionic. So, um I think
it’s like a lot of things. I believe that these kind of human activities and particularly ones
that bespeak our passions are super important. They’re great training grounds for the youth. uh
they often represent our best selves, our most articulate versions of humanity. So um and you
know the Liberty does more than just showcase music. They actually have films. We bring in all
sorts of acts from popular to rather esoteric. And in a town of our size and story is about 10,000
people. It is a real rarity that we would have such a high caliber performing arts space that
people could see everything. and it’s available for rental. We have a local resident who might
you might want to bring out who does a an annual showing of the movie Practical Magic right before
Halloween and a number of the town dresses up as witches like in the movie and then they go out for
midnight margaritas afterwards. But I think it’s really important to give spaces where you can
see a different part of society or whether it’s Shakespeare, whether it’s contemporary dance, all
of these things happen. And there’s also a kids make theater program that teaches young members of
our community about the performing arts. So that’s why that one. But you know, my wife and I support
a number of charities, but I’m kind of breaking tradition here. And that is I give anonymously.
In fact, I don’t like putting my name on anything. So, the fact that I’m talking to Chris tells you
how much I respect his appreciation for a story, that I’d actually do what I won’t do in public,
namely go out and say, “Oh, yeah. I support these things. I work with these people.” Because it’s
really not about me. It’s about this town. It always has been. That’s And I I appreciate um
I I super appreciate you coming on the show and and and talking about like, you know, a lot
of people throughout the world. We’re not Okay, I can’t say that though. Astoria, Oregon is
special, man. But we’re not the only special community here in the country or in the world.
There’s so many people out there. There’s so many wonderful places um that are like us uh around
the world. And and I think it’s important, Ryan, what I really want to share with people is just
different ideas. I want to share some thoughts about how you can contribute to your community,
contribute to your society, humanity. Uh make a difference uh one meaningful act at a time. And
that’s what the message I want to share. Folks, if you’re enjoying our content, please don’t
forget hit the subscribe button, follow us, tell your friends. We’re really having fun doing
this and we’d like to be able to continue to do so. So, you’ll be helping us out. All right.
So, real quick though, Ryan, um, let’s get into finishing this dish, right? Okay. And let’s
see. We talked about Okay. So, what we did, we’re going to get fancy. Okay. So, we have this
lovely nape balsamic honey drizzle. Drizzle. Now, what I was thinking is, are you a salad dressing
person? Right? You got to ask yourself that. Or do you want to be able to eat the dish and then
maybe maybe just have a little salad dressing as you choose? So, what I was thinking is that
we would just go kind of around the outside of the dish. All right. So, you can have it or you
can not. You choose. It’s entirely up to you. We’ll kind of put it on the perimeter. All right.
What do you think? Does that look nice? It looks really nice. Normally when I make it, I just throw
the balsamic and the olive oil that right. Yeah. Yeah. But this is actually This is something you
could serve to someone and they’re like, “Wow, you It looks pretty rad.” Yeah. Is restaurant
attractive. It’s restaurant quality. But if you’re a pig like me, you’re like, “Just throw
it in the trough.” And you’re You know why we do this? Like really do these presentations like
this in the restaurant industry? because it allows them to pick the amount of flavor or side
dressing they want without overwhelming. I mean, look how nice it is. It is very aesthetic. I mean,
it actually looks like modern art. So, yeah. So, we can charge more. Less is more. We could charge
more. I was That’s also why you get I mean, why why wouldn’t you want to eat with your eyes first,
right? Somebody mentioned in another episode smell of vision. Like, imagine if you could smell this
through your phone screen. How cool would that be, right? Well, I mean, I don’t It’s probably coming
pretty soon, though. Although, honestly, if you’re going to give me the choice, it smells great. It
tastes better. Like, I’d rather eat through my pump. But then we’d all be working out. But it’s
one of It’s like It’s like drinking wine, though. Think about it like that. Drinking wine, you
know, where when you go and you swirl the glass, you drink you literally you inhale it before you
taste it. So, you’re kind of tasting it through smelling it before you actually even get your
tongue wet. How about that? Well, and as you know when you’re sick, right? If you lose your sense of
smell, food doesn’t really taste, right? But it’s also I mean there’s the whole the physicality of
this kind of the semantics of kind of making and then when you eat it, especially when it’s like
that. Without further ado, forketta. For he’s going to grab his forketta. So I get to be the ah
I don’t know. I want to see your reaction here. All right. I got to get a little I got to stand
back. All right. I’m going to be Let’s catch the reaction. Like I don’t We go. I’m still waiting.
You see how, you know, here’s the other thing. He’s like he’s like building that one bite
that has a little bit of everything in it. I like that. And for if it was actually getting
toward fall, I might change out the protein or avoid it all together. But like this is
really good for like a light dinner. Oh, sure. Yeah. I like the drizzle. Although, if
you’re not a big fan of balsamic, then you may not like that part as much as I do. Yeah. Just
nec, you know, some people it’s unnecessary. And beware of the tomatoes. Like it helpful that
we’re wearing these aprons because they will spit on you. But it does. Yeah. The tomatoes to me
are always like the best part. That and the basil, but I really like having some shrimp in this,
too. That’s nice. This sauce is good. I don’t think it’s overwhelming. I think I don’t think
I would have like personally I don’t know if I would have liked it like all the way over the
top. Yeah, it just it’s your jam. And obviously, if you have vegetarian friends, you can substitute
the cheese. Well, if they’re vegetarian, you just take out the protein, but if they’re vegan, you
have options for this, too. 100%. Yeah. So, Ryan, what um is there anything else you want to add
to this conversation? So, we talked about like land conservancy, Liberty Theater, giving an
honestly I mean what we talked about swimming crazy long distances in bodies of water where
the tide changes and they are running. Anyway, that’s crazy, right? Um, is there anything
else you want to add? Like what do you have something you want to share with our viewers
that that might I don’t know really kind of get them going with with U. Well, I’m always brought
back. I used to teach uh taught for a few years, college students actually. Uh, and to me a big
part of it was fostering environments where people felt welcome and were willing to take risks.
But it was all in the pursuit of helping people identify their passions and supporting them and
and doing the work they wanted to do. So though I prefer to give anonymously and you know that’s
a big philosophical thing. I don’t want my name on things. In fact I have a donor advise fund
and I picked it because it’s really distinct and different from my own name. So it wouldn’t
be affiliated with me because kind of like this town kind of like the places I cherish. I’m really
trying to set things up for my fellow residents or inhabitants so that they can enjoy and there’s
more opportunities for them to contribute and enjoy this special place without thinking that
I am the reason that this is happening. This has always been here. The things I support tend to
have existed and I want them to continue doing so. But part of that is I came to charitable
giving philanthropy later in life. It was actually when I was working in the arts. Uh
I had the opportunity to put two different performing groups together, one in Mexico, one
in the US. And they collaborated and made this really interesting piece which they performed
in Mexico and Los Angeles. And I thought, you know, I don’t I don’t need my name on the
marquee, but to know that I helped two artists and their companies achieve this collaborative
vision and they went on to do different things, but they each informed one another. That
kind of made me think that would want be if I had like my favorite ideal job would have
been working for a foundation. Sadly, I never achieved that. I do something much more mundane
mundane. I do property management and investing. But it’s about giving to give people the
chance to do that kind of thing. And you know, I would like my leg, we talked about legacy
earlier. And I want all of these groups and causes that I support to continue and to provide
these opportunities for people like myself. If I hadn’t had the opportunity to bring these
companies together, to fund the work that they do, to make something that enriched a whole bunch
of people in places that I no longer live or never lived. That’s really important to me. And I
mean, I value locality a lot. It’s a big part of why we live here and why we like the whole North
Coast. But it’s also allowing people who may not be from here to come and enjoy it. But it’s also
giving them the idea you could go back to wherever you live. And you know, I have been all over
this country. I’ve lived in the Midwest. I’ve, you know, traveled. I’ve done work in New York.
There’s something special about every place. And it’s finding that and helping to bring that to
others and nurturing it and allow other people to do amazing things with it. I’m equally protective
of when people try and take that away from us. But really the whole reason I give and particularly
anonymously is to keep these things going forward. So whether it’s the work that I’m doing with
Consejo Hispano, any of the volunteering projects and I usually do several throughout the
year, it is kind of giving back because if I was fortunate enough to find myself in a position to
support others that gives to me, but I’m hoping it will give something to somebody else. It’s a very
long-winded way. Sorry, Ryan Blum. Thank you. I appreciate it, man. My pleasure. Thanks for coming
on. Let’s eat the rest of this thing. Folks, think about it. What’s meaningful to you? What
What can you support in in even the smallest way? What do you want to see last forever? Think
about it. We’ll see you next time. Cheers. On what you want to cook? [Music] Yeah, that’s great.
You happy with that? Um, I’ll never be the one. I mean, what I didn’t get [Music]
Dining and Cooking