Christmas Upon Us

Sheboygan Falls is grey and brown today. Brown food, grey outside, including the ridiculously large turkeys. Even the cats match.
The rain is making it cozy.

But delicious! (not the turkeys) "Fried mush," as Mom used to say (Bob's Mill 10-grain cereal), pears, and an aig. Because one egg is un oeuf.

haha

I made split pea soup last night, with adaptations due to the mother of invention. My mother's recipe, however, was in Idaho, so it ended up thinner than I like. But very edible and warming! With cornbread.

that's the food world today

Travel-wise, we are in our usual Wisconsin 10 days, with the unusual addition of Muncie, Indiana, at the front end! We saw Joshua & Sophie, I ran with Karen, saw a couple other friends - oh, and Mark led a strategic planning session with a CDC there. Good planning on his part. :)

After returning to Idaho next week, and hopefully making it up our newly-snowed-upon driveway, Christmas prep is in full gear. Woo hoo!

October almost end

Ahh hahaha! Just realized I posted this in a different blog six weeks ago. No wonder I couldn't find it!

Friday night, Mark and I had our first gathering of non-natives at Golden Eagle. Non-native to Idaho, and non-family people. I made WAY too much food, so today (days later....) I am still happily eating salad (kale, brussels, roasted butternut squash & onions & garlic, pomegranate seeds, chevre, a cider-maple dressing) and mushroom strata. I thiiiink I can get one more day out of the salad before it is too squishy.
Eyew.

I also made a lot of apple/pear/blackberry cobbler (with creme de cassis in it); we have had no problem taking care of that leftover, either. Sorry, Charlie.

It's pie and cobbler weather here, clearly. We tried some out in Stanley, Idaho, yesterday afternoon, as we explored east and north of us. Stanley itself is nothing to see (63 residents who seem to run a wood-built downtown for hikers, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts mostly April through October). The drive was worth doing, if you have most of the day, and the Sawtooth Valley is a wide beautiful one with what look to be sheep ranches, with the Sawtooths running along the west side.

If I were looking for a destination at the end of a long drive, McCall is definitely the winner. If I just wanted to drive half the day and get a feel for Idaho and its varieties of landscape, either would be good! Don't take anyone prone to carsickness on the Stanley road, though.

We're obviously really loving the scenery right here at home, whether looking north or south in the valley, morning, noon, or night, or any other direction or time.

We have been heating with wood for the last week or so and are very impressed with the heat retention of the house! It's very cozy.

Mark is off to an overnight near Chicago tonight, and Wednesday he takes me to the airport for a few days playing with babies in Seattle! Then we go together Sunday to Carlsbad, for Design Group partner meetings. Back here for a day, and on to Wisconsin. And Memphis! And turkey on the table as well as in the yard!

aaaaaand here it is September!

One of the things Mark and I look forward to in this new stage is cooking again. Our schedule is such that eating out is often necessary...and we're ready to be in control of our calories and veggies again!

Mark's first production in the Boise house was a veggie/pork chop skillet specialty, with porter in the sauce. Quick, easy, under 500 calories...as opposed to the 1,700-cal meals at Chili's we have tried to avoid! We're still a ways away from being on top of it all, but it's definitely getting closer.

My quick-and-easy meal tonight, while Mark is swinging golf clubs in Green Lake, is pasta with Italian cheeses. I did get to use an olive oil with garlic and lemon in it - delish. Yes, Mom, I ate some carrots also. I controlled those carrots.

And occasionally there is a gorgeous salad out there in those restaurants, like this cornbread panzanella in Boise. I don't know what the flowers were...but I et them.

Mom, Mark, and I plan to return to Trudy's, in Idaho City, for the pies with 10 inches of meringue or whipped cream on them! Even without pie, we were happy to sit on the deck and read the local paper....

When Mom visited, we mostly ate. Out. And bought vinegars and oils. She found peach white balsamic to be her top choice. We also checked out FOOD in the Saturday market, with Dawn, Pam, and Colleen! Having family living in the same (ish) town is so...WEIRD. and GOOD.

And, meanwhile, back at the Acres, John The Carpenter finished the windmill! He raised the railing, added spindles, put in baseboards and windowsills, and fixed the drywall over the door. Finally! It's all usable and cozy.

We now have a generally predictable schedule of 10-14 days in Wisconsin and the rest in Idaho...at least after early October, when I finish taxi-driving and baby holding in Seattle! Wisconsin is the two weekends on either side of the second Wednesday of the month - got it? So come find us, or let us know where to find you! We can cook together...or just feed you...or fast...or hike or snowshoe...or whatever. :)

Summertime Sunnyshine. And then not.

I have eaten this salad every day for the past three,and I will likely eat it for the next couple:


One day it was with tomatoes

Most days with nectarines

Some days with a shirred egg.

Some days with chips, salsa, hummus or plastic cheese dip (otherwise known these days as queso).

I had it first as the seasonal salad at North End Pizza in Boise - home of Mark's favorite calzones! Greens, nectarines, sweet onions, fresh basil, goat cheese from Aldi (honey goat cheese if I'm prepared), lemon/honey dressing, and a little peach or lemon vinegar drizzled over.

It's the best.

Shirred eggs are my new go-to protein! I stick one in the toaster oven right before I start putting the salad together...and they finish at the same time.
I use one egg and a 4-oz custard cup but otherwise follow this recipe.

I love summer in the Midwest. Rain, fireflies, Queen Anne's lace, discovering what new evil vines are taking over my Acres (poison ivy is the big one this year), more rain. As Anne says, "Duck and cover!" Or sit on the porch and watch all the green deepen. With salad.

Red stuff

I've been learning to enjoy red ales -- today the Leinenkugel's version -- especially when they are malty and not very hoppy, and very, very cold.

This comes while Boise bound and happy to have a variety of family members join us there across the next days.

When Patricia and I married, mixed into the love we felt for each other was the love we have for the larger family that surrounds us, believing that we would have abundant opportunity to gather in all sorts of wonderful configurations, mixing us all together, creating memories, enjoying good food, conversations, recreation, side by side work, play and lounging around.

These past weeks brought and will bring that that in abundance

• Luke graduating from college in Chattanooga-- with Sophie (Josh's girlfriend) and Larry and Jan Brinkman joining Joshua and I.

• Joshua's graduation reception with my sister, Gina, and her family coming by, followed by the graduation itself where a whole passel of Brinkman's, my brother, Eric, and my daughter and her husband coming to celebrate with us.

• My nephew Izzy's graduation reception in Elkhart County, Indiana where I am related to every third person ever born there.
• And, this coming weekend in Boise, of course, where Charlie, Dawn, Delaney,  and Anne will join us.  This is followed by a Sheboygan weekend where we expect Carol, Joshua and Patricia's running partner, Karen Koch, to enjoy fellowship with my first wife Lorie's parents and my daughter Autumn and husband Alex. It is even possible there may be some Wisconsin grandchildren sightings!

There is so much more of this to come.

Definitions and Feats

We are both in Indiana at the moment, a rare thing this summer. Mark is doing his virtual appointments virtuously, and I am playing with photos before buckling down to bills.
Knuckling down?

We have a nice 84 degrees - nice after the 96 of Sunday. Ack.

Humidity is 58%, thunderstorms likely this afternoon.

Big swirlie headed our way!

We have a small bird, perhaps a nuthatch, that has built a nest inside a vertical pipe...can you see it on top of the laundry pole? (the pipe, not the bird)? It flies in and out all day. I have so far resisted sticking my face over it to peer in and possible frighten the little ones.



healthy breakfast?


yogurt, granola (best homemade!), lotsa berries, almond milk

and whipped cream

Mark's started with a piece of shortcake. Just sayin'.
I'm not sure it's really any different in fat/sugar content than granola!

Typo

I was googling something and accidentally typed "nortification" instead of notification.

Is that what this means? (Charlie's pic from Iceland)

Mark the Mostest

Mark discovered Swiss Oats in the past months...known as musli to some (indeed Swiss German and made better by North American love of creaminess) or overnight oats.

equal parts whole rolled oats, yogurt, and almond milk, in the fridge anywhere from 4 hours to 3 days

I added some chia seeds, because I like the tapioca-ness.

Scooped it out of the jar, topped it with walnuts, pumpkin seeds, blackberries, blueberries, apple, and maple syrup.

It is making a happy pause in the outdoor work of the morning: clearing brush, digging fence posts out, push-mowing over other brush, scrubbing the front deck railings. Almost ready to get back at it - one more blackberry....

Secret Ingredient

Lemon-infused white balsamic vinegar!

I could almost drink it. I have, on occasion, licked my finger after wiping the drip from the top of the bottle....
The peach is also good - but the lemon is stellar.

On arugula after olive oil, salt, and maybe chevre. Or Parmesan.

The best thing I've done so far is put it in a lemon salad dressing. I've been eating this pasta salad ALL WEEK, and haven't gotten tired of it yet. Lemon-marinated and pan-fried chicken, then basil and pasta and whatever onions and kale or other greens.

Then this dressing.

juice of one juicy lemon
salt and peppa
garlic powder
1/2-1 tsp Dijon
olive oil to desired consistency

this was good by itself, but not as flavorful as I wanted

1 tsp or so Magic Secret Ingredient

yum

Working Backwards

I drank coffee for the first real time this week. I drove from Wisconsin to Memphis (9-10 hours) last Wednesday and felt the need...and the only option for "cream" in the coffee was powdered corn syrup. So black it was. I rolled it around like Charlie does wine - and started to really enjoy it! I'll have to use one of our French presses for a bit and then try your Italian machine, to taste the difference. The only trouble is, I can't drink a whole mug of caffeinated coffee! I'd be a mess. And the decaff seems thin...I'll keep sipping and trying.

It's Saturday here in Yorktown, where I have not been for what feels like a long time!  I arrived home Friday afternoon, after a few days in Memphis for Erin's graduation and a few days before that in Wisconsin, with Mark as he Convened. Before that, I don't remember!

Joshua and Sophie have been using the broiler to warm up leftover baconated potato skins (from his open house last weekend), so he taught me a thing or two. And then I learned - and let him know - that parchment paper is NOT the best thing to have right under a hot broiler! Foil, next time. It did not go up in flames, and the skins were cheesy and bubbly and excellent with the lemon & parsley chicken. I'm pretty sure this is the first thing I've cooked in a couple of weeks, besides scrambled eggs.

Mid-morning, I went to my favorite place (Menards) to pick up trim and crown moulding for some finishing touches in the house. Then off to Meijer for basics: DOUGHNUTS, conditioner - and dryer sheets. Except that I discovered non-sheets. Wool balls! They soften the clothing with all- naturalness. My favorite discovery of the day.


The morning started early with a run (with Karen), including 10 minutes of a downpour. May has become summer this week, with mugginess and pop-ups moving through. Skies have been dark, then light, pouring, then misty clear. It feels like a jungle over here! I expect fireflies any time.

And my favorite pic from Hallie's ultrasound adventures: Twin B!



Saturday is what it was.

Habit-forming

I love the routine of making a cup of something warm in the morning; more often than not it's herbal tea but in the last few months I have inadvertently become QUITE the coffee snob!! (For the record, I am a decaf drinker...none of that hard stuff for me!)

I like a solid cup of coffee - not too acidic, full-bodied... I had been a diehard french presser, for that reason, after a million years of drinking weak but passable coffee in an auto-dripper (mostly for the convenience of the system and also out of ignorance) but my beloved french press has been relegated to the cupboard as of late! 

After much research, I decided one day to shelve my electric coffee grinder and got a low-end hand grinder ... and at the same time I moved from the french press to a Chemex, again because of the taste AND I loved the simplicity and artsy aspect of it. To me, Chemex makes a good cup of coffee, but it's a little on the weak side for my taste. A few weeks after that, I ran across this article on The Smitten Kitchen website about Americanos - my favorite coffee drink.  

So off I went to buy THIS:

This is a good old fashioned stovetop moka pot.  This is a pic of mine, making this morning's coffee. So simple, and mechanically a cool little machine (the Italians' design standards are always top notch!)  The moka pot has been putting the world's espressos out since the beginning of time practically. It doesn't work with an electric stove, but I haven't had one of those... ever?  At least not since living at home with the parental units!

The coffee it makes is strong and slightly acidic, and the time it takes to fully brew is jusssst about the time needed to make this:

Warm cream of brown rice cereal with a blob of peanut butter, a spoonful of mom's Marionberry jam and a little honey. By the way, did you know a Marionberry is actually a special blackberry created by a USDA program at Oregon State U - it's a cross between an Olallieberry and Chehalem blackberry!  Who knew ..! 

I shall now commence to feeding my addictions, haha!

HAVE A GREAT WEDNESDAY!