Now this is very strange indeed another computer hiccup.
I cannot download photo's now in my easy to do format for this blog. Now to get a photo here it is a complicated procedure. Go figure? Why did things change? Sometimes I want to pull my hair out(but I will not as it is already thin).
So this photo after it finally appeared is the cabin we will be staying in while spending time at Crescent Lake.
It is larger than it appears and is perfect for two couples. One bedroom downstairs and a bedroom in the upstairs loft. A large kitchen loaded with amenities and adjacent dining room and good size sitting room. Best of all a covered porch equipped with a nice size gas grill, table and four chairs.
My daughter and her fiancee Doug will be joining us. We will spend the days at the lake and evenings playing games on the porch while grilling.
I certainly hope that all sign of mosquito's will be gone by the time we go. It is high country and cold at night so we are thinking that will be the case. The West Nile Virus is lurking about this year and they expect more cases before summers end.
Now mind you this area we are going to is known for the 'carry you away' size mosquito's. However they are more prominent in July and August than September. Regardless the bug spray will go along......just in case.
We are attending a wedding this weekend for our niece Holland. She is my husbands older brothers daughter. Seems she was just a little tot tagging along after her older brother. She is a very sweet gal and we wish her and her hubby much happiness.
It is another summer/autumn tinged day. Deep blue skies, warming sun and a small breeze of autumns breath. We were almost chilly this morning as we crawled from our nest. I slipped into my fuzzy slippers instead of my flip flops.
Tonight in our kitchen or I should say out on the deck I am preparing grilled prawns, onions, peppers and zucchini in the grill basket on the grill. The prawns are now marinating in Trader Joe's "Soyaki". We like this sauce. It is a combo of soy, teriyaki and ginger and few other interesting ingredients. I will serve this concoction over sticky rice and have a romaine salad with honey Dijon dressing. A simple but tasty summer meal.
I need to start the second stage of zucchini relish making at this time. Yesterday all the vegetables were diced and shredded. I added kosher salt to them and they spent the night hanging out in fridge. So now I will rinse them well and drain put them in a large pot and add the other ingredients, cook for a half hour and ladle into jars. This batch will make four and a half pints. Then I am done with relish I made a total of twelve pints this season.
So I best get on with my day many more things to accomplish before the day comes to a close and it is my time to plop in my chair and read a few pages.
Ciao
Yes this was one tasty dish we had it for two nights in a row. Just look at the color of that sauce.
I pick the tomatoes, core them put them on a cookie sheet and toss on a handful of peeled garlic cloves, drizzle with olive oil and roast slowly until the tomatoes are starting to turn brown on the edges and all soft and roasted.
I then take them out of the oven and let cool. I slip the skins off and put the skins in the food processor. I then remove the skins from the processor and put in a deep heavy pot, then add the tomatoes to the processor and pulse until smooth. Add to the pot. Add salt and pepper, Italian spices and grilled or pan fried mild Italian sausage cut into chunks and slowly cook till all the flavors have melded. I actually made this sauce last year and froze it.
To the side I made a fresh salad with home made parmesan croutons, fresh garden tomatoes, cucumbers and sliced onions. I topped the salad off with fresh corn I boiled and cut off the cob in strips. I served the salad with ranch dressing. I was going to make creamy Italian but thought ranch sounded better at the moment.
The dinner was such a tasty tomato mouthful of flavor!
Today is quite breezy, the wind chimes are flying and tinkling. It truly does seem like fall is coming around the edges of summer now. I really do not mind but we have reservations for a few days at a cabin in the cascade mountains and plan on spending time by the lake. So it would make us mighty happy if summer would grace us with her company for a bit longer.
I picked blackberries yesterday from our own little property here. Hubby cut a lot of vines down early spring as they were encroaching on our side yard. However he did save some and the few he saved provided me with three cups of berries and more coming on. I had intentions of making a pie but somehow I kept nibbling at those sweet berries and in no time at all there was not enough to make a thing. But I did so enjoy them and hubby did too this morning with his breakfast.
I love the valley with all it's bounty. This time of year especially. The corn so sweet and juicy grown right here at our farms. The local apples, cherries, peaches etc are all going strong now. What's not to love?
I must now tidy my house and head out on my daily walk.
Have a great day enjoy summer's bounty!!!!!
Ciao.
What a tart! What a visit! What a family!
Let the good times roll. What a amazing time I had at my daughters home.
We were busy doing fun things, out for lunches a little shopping a little gambling. And lots of backyard time sitting with our feet in the small pool to keep the 103 degree heat at bay. Glad for the shady gazebo and shady parts of the deck and most of all the air conditioned house.
I also saw my grandson and met his gal friend and visited with my son. I meet two of my daughters fiancee's children and spent a lot of quality time with my youngest granddaughter. So to me the trip was filled with family and happiness.
I was very tired when I returned home. Too much of everything wore me into a frazzle but a happy frazzle.
The good thing about coming home is coming home to my loving husband. We do miss each other even if it is just a few days.
He got home early the day I arrived back home and we spent the afternoon catching up. We sat on our small private back deck and drank spritzers. They were so refreshing in the heat. We grilled steaks later and had sides of potato and peppers baked in foil pouches on the grill and sweet juicy corn on the cob. A very nice homecoming indeed.
I have been catching up on house chores. The washer is humming away as I type. In the past two days I have cleaned the kitchen and family room hardwood floors, gave the furniture a quick waxing. I have cleaned the deck, tended plants and the garden, caught up in the office and grocery shopped. After I post this I will finish what needs doing.
However there will be time later today to sit in my now clean living room and read my current book. I have not touched it for almost a week so I am more than ready to start turning pages.
Tonight in Zo's Kitchen I am making linguine with the last of my roasted garlic tomato sauce from last years tomatoes. To that I am adding grilled mild Italian sausage pieces, farm peppers and onions.
A romaine salad with Cesar dressing and freshly made Parmesan croutons with creamy Italian dressing will round out the meal.
I leave you with this thought.
If you have not seen your family for a while make an effort to get together. Put family first, be kind, be respectful of one another and most importantly give a heart full of love. It is so worth it!
These are hubby's pickles. He loves making them. They are one hot fix with all the hot peppers loaded inside this huge jars. I am taking these two jars to the kids, they both love hot anything!
I do not have time to be posting today but will take a moment or two.
I am in the process of getting ready for my little trip and I must get at making that quiche directly.
I have cleaned my car throughout this morning inside and out. It sorely needed it.
It is to be another ninety degree day today. So all the outdoors chores were done early. It is very nice and comfortable in the house now with the air going. I am not going to like the electric bill.
Did not sleep well last night I do not know what the problem was. Went to sleep quickly as I always do but then woke in about three hours and it was difficult shutting my mind off. I hate when that happens as the things you think about are not important just disjointed thoughts rattling around in your head.
I talked to my brother this morning while taking my walk. He is doing fine. His new trailer is mostly set up inside now. He is enjoying it. I wonder when I will be able to go see it and spend time with him.
Life is so busy.
Well I had best get at frying the bacon for the quiche and get on with my day.
Enjoy yours.
Yes our pepper patch is coming along fine. We have lots. We planted several varieties. This heat of the past few days has really brought them on. Hubby is a happy man!
The tomatoes are doing well now also. They got such a slow start we have been hoping for the best.
I have been busy today getting ready for my little trip to see my children. Even though they are only a little over a two hour drive away I do not see them as much as I would like. Life is just to busy for us all it seems.
The weather is going to be hot, hot! I am happy they have air conditioning.
I am making a spinach and bacon quiche to take to my daughters. It has Swiss cheese and lots of cream in it. It is very good and rich. I thought it would be nice to have on hand for breakfast, brunch, lunch or even a slice for a snack with white wine. I always like to take something when I go somewhere. I hear we are having a grill Thursday night and my grandson Seth and his girl friend will be there. That makes me happy I love seeing my grandson and I have not met his gal friend. I just do not see enough of my grandchildren either. I guess I am whining. But I do so enjoy all their company and love them to pieces.
I just stepped out on the deck a few moments ago to check the temperature. It is at 89 degree's. It feels plenty warm out there. It is nice on the deck though as part is sun and part is shade. So I usually bounce back and forth between the two. I can only tolerate the hot sun for so long then must get into the shade. That was not the case when I was younger. I was always a sun nut. It is almost what I lived for. I would race to get the house chores done so I get outside and tan.
My niece Chris told me one time that she used to watch me when I was a teen and she was little girl living next door to us on the farm. I would come out of the house with an old quilt and spread it out by the water spigot facing the sun of course. I would smear myself with something greasy she said and spend the afternoon, turning this way and that reading True Story magazines. When I was thirsty I would grab the ladle hanging off the spigot and have a cold drink of water. She said I fascinated her. That warms my heart as she is no longer with us as she passed away three years ago this coming Thanksgiving. There is still a wound in my heart probably will always be.
Tonight we dine on chili dogs. What chili dogs? Did you think, that is gross? Well sometimes we crave a little junk food. I do buy National Hebrew wieners however. They are kosher with cleaner ingredients in them and have a very good flavor. We like our chili dogs with lots of sweet onion diced over the top and much grated cheese and hot sauce of course. Can't wait lol.
Well I am off to clean the inside of my vehicle and do a few more things before my hot tired hubby walks through the door.
Hope you are having a nice day and managing to stay cool.
Later.
My sis in law Liz and I went berry picking this morning. Our dead end street has a nice bunch of vines that are loaded with plump berries. No one picks them so we were happy to fill our buckets.
So I had enough to make the Best in West Cobbler plus stick a bowl in the fridge for snacking. The cobbler is in the oven as I type. The house should starting smelling of warm oozing berries and crispy crust soon:)
I was an early bird this morning. After hubby went out the door to the job site I watered the lawns, put Miracle Grow on the garden veggies and took care of my plants. Tidy'd the house, did some laundry and went berry picking and made the cobbler. It is one pm now and when I finish here I am on to other projects. I want to accomplish much today.
I leave for my daughters sometime on Wednesday. I am looking forward to spending some quality time with her. I talked to my son this morning and I will be seeing him for a short but sweet visit. The weather is still going to be hot while I am there. So daughter and I will lounge around the pool. I always love saying that. Considering the pool is a kiddie pool. But still I am not telling a fib. Really it is quite refreshing to sit with ones feet in the cold water, or better yet put a sand chair in the pool!
I for one will be happy with the election is over. I am so tired of the trash talking. Enough already. That was not how elections were run when I was a young person. The concern of the public was to hear the issues and what bills and programs would be initiated if your candidate won. What is going on now is no better than gossip in the high school hallways. Be adults and state your causes and quit the back talking!
Closing ceremonies for the Olympics this evening. We will watch and I am happy to say they are ending. We have been faithful watching every evening as we do like them. But now we need to get back to our regular viewing schedule we are so behind on everything.
Well this was a nice reprieve in the middle of my day. So now back to work for me. Usually on a Sunday I am self indulgent but not today!
Later.
No photo but I should take a photo actually so you can see what a mess the street is outside my living room windows and front door. I have to keep the shades down on the windows as cars are parked along our sidewalk and sometimes partially in our driveway!
The neighbors are having another one of their so called "Estate Sales". Let me ask this, can you feasibly have an estate sale over and over again? There is just as much if not more junk now than when they had the first sale. So something is going on here. We are thinking they are buying others junk and then re-selling it. This is the second weekend in a row they have had a sale and the first one was last month. Is it legal to do this in a neighborhood every weekend? This neighborhood is not zoned for business. The sales start early Friday morning and continues through Sunday evening.
This is normally a very quiet street and area. We border the country, the streets are wide with very little traffic. That is why we like it here.
When these sales start the traffic is like a main street in downtown Eugene. Just constant throughout the day.
What should we do? Nothing and just be invaded the rest of the summer season? Believe me I am not a trouble maker but should this be reported if it continues? I am not the only one living on this street that it is offending.
Where do these folks come from to buy this crap? Seems most of the Eugene and probably a lot of Springfield people have already been here. Did they find so much good stuff the first time they had to come back for more?
Believe me when I look out my door at what they have stacked on their tables it mostly consist of clothing, plastic items, toys, and just plain old junk that should be headed for the garbage can! Pickle jars please......those should go in recycle! I do not see the allure.
So another day of sun that will not flood my home because I cannot open the shades. Another day without my front door opened to the screen door so I can get a nice breeze flowing through the house.
Darn......... I do feel better though I just had to vent. But enough already!
A gal pal of mine and her daughter and leaving tomorrow for Ireland on a biking holiday. Now how wonderful would that be? Time spent with your daughter peddling through the countryside and into little villages stopping at eateries and pubs. A fun Mum and daughter adventure for sure.
My adventure today is going a mile or so down the road to the first farm to buy more zucchini and peppers to make another batch of relish. As I will be seeing my daughter next week and possibly my son also I want to take them both some of this yummy relish. This time of year you appreciate it as it goes so great with anything grilled.
I will also check to see if the farm has their frozen berry mix as I want to make jam. I buy these bags every year consisting of marion berries, raspberries and blackberries. I have already made a small batch of frozen strawberry jam.
Soon summer will be replaced with fall and really I do not mind as autumn is another favorite of mine. I especially love an indian summer with summers heat still burning the edges of cooler fall days. The sky in fall is always the deepest blue of all the seasons and the evenings chill is a reminder of what is approaching.
I must walk now before the heat is up for the day.
The walks have been pleasant. It is quiet here in our area on week days. This morning early I listened to some angry crows squawking and carrying on something horrific. They are so intelligent it makes you wonder what is going on when you hear them so out of sorts.
Ciao
The beach! I love the beach and it has been way to long since we have been and it is just an hours drive. Is life truly that busy?
Our closest beach fix is Florence but we do love other parts of the Oregon coast as well.
We have spent many fun times at Yachats, Newport,
Lincoln City, Pacific City, Cannon Beach etc. All different coastal towns with their own unique appeal.
The summer is winding down and we have August full between work and fun and the first half of September is filled in. So how can we fit the ocean in before the bad winter storms set in? I am going to have to work on that as it is in my mind to go.
It is a comfortable temperature here today. Hovering around 80 degree's. I have left the air conditioner off and I am letting the air from the screen doors and fans do the cooling.
My sis-in-law called me a bit ago and told me she was bike riding and saw ripe blackberries just down the street from our house. She went back to her house and grabbed a pot and went back and picked it full. She was so excited. So we are going this weekend berry picking. I did not think they were on yet but seems they are. I love blackberry anything. But especially a juicy cobbler with a big rich scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream.
Tonight for our dinner I am making taco's. I have not made them for a month or so and you know hubby by this time. A taco fiend! I am preparing re fried beans to go with and that is it. He will easily eat five or six taco's he cannot stop!
I am just making them with ground beef this time something I never do but I had it in the freezer and figured we could manage it. I will dice some green and red pepper and onions and add to the meat and then sprinkle with cumin, pepper and salt. Add some jarred taco sauce and let it simmer until thickened and rich.
I have cojita cheese and jack cheese and cilantro, tomatoes and hot peppers for toppings.
It has been a busy day for me as I spent the first part doing errands and running around this city.
Now I am ready to relax in my old cozy red plaid chair and read my book until dinner prep time.
Till later.
This was my busy kitchen yesterday. I enjoy making relish. I made four pints so I will make this again a couple of times so I can have 12 pints total. The house always smells of vinegar and spices for quite a long while after it has finished cooking. Reminds me of my childhood days when Mom made relish and pickles.
Speaking of pickles hubby will be making more of his hot ones with hot peppers. Everyone seems to love them especially him!
We had a really good meal last night. We usually do not grill pork ribs as it seems the baby backs can get dry quickly. So I bought St. Louis style they are meatier and fatter. Just a hunkier rack of ribs.
I trimmed off the excessive fat and on the back side took the silver membrane off the back of the ribs. This is a must it is easy to take off it just pulls away from the rib.
Then I just salt and pepper them put into a roasting pan with a little water in the bottom, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes on 325 degree's.
We like to put the ribs on the grill and keep moping them with sauce for at least a half hour or so. So that is what we did and they were perfect. No falling off the bone just a little tug as you bite our perfect way to eat them. They were juicy yet crispy at the edges with the good sauce. Finger licking good for sure!
Easy Carolina sauce using Sweet baby Ray's honey BBQ sauce. Makes one cup.
Using a glass measuring cup add a little more than a 1/2 cup bbq sauce.
Then add 1/4 cup white vinegar(do not use apple cider vinegar)
add one tablespoon of apple cider or apple juice
2 tablespoons of ketchup
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
Add as much Franks hot wing sauce as you like. I used about one and half teaspoons as I do not like it real hot. Hubby added more as he ate his.
Just mix it all up and let it sit for a hour or longer to meld the flavors.
Put the ribs on a med grill about 350 no hotter and mop the sauce over the ribs. Keep mopping and turning for approximately a 1/2 hour or until they are fork tender.
These are yummy folks with a tangy bite.
I served ranch beans and made a big green salad with blue cheese dressing.
Tonight we are having a repeat as we only ate half the rack of ribs. So will just wrap in foil and heat in the oven. That is another plus for not buying baby backs, you get a bigger rack of ribs.
We have low hanging gray clouds this morning. I am assuming they will burn off as it is to be 87 today. Yesterday was 90 and the day before we hit 100.
Well I am off for my daily walk then home to do house chores. It is Monday and laundry needs doing and just general cleaning.
I will have time this afternoon to read. My book is really good, a page turner for sure. At the point I am now in my book it is the start of WW2. The book takes place in Germany as well as NYC.
Have a awesome August day. I hope too.
I saw this online. How funny. A zucchini duck just perfect for the Oregon ducks it is even green! With a yellow tie around it's neck it would be perfect.
Today I am making my first batch of zucchini relish. A good day to start it. It does have to sit in the fridge overnight before I finish it tomorrow. I have the air conditioner going and really do not care to be outdoors much today. So a kitchen chore will keep me busy this afternoon in the cool house.
The folks across the street are still having their estate sale today thought everyone in the city showed up yesterday, seriously.
As I look out now cars are all along our wide street for a block or so also in front of our home and barely leaving room for us to get out of our drive if need be. I just do not see the lure. They have one of these about once a month now. They must go buy others people junk and resale it..........I wish they would stop this.
It is to be near a hundred degree's today. Poor hubby is sanding a floor in this heat in a house that has no air conditioning. He will be a hot tired man this evening when he gets home.
I do not have much chatter today just wanted to post the green duckie. I will now go and start shredding zucchini, dicing peppers and onions. I also need to get jars and lids sterilized.
I think I will play some old forties music on Pandora while making the relish. The kind my Mom loved to listen to that I hated, you know Frankie and Dean Martin and such. But now it seems quite pleasant and old fashioned to me and reminds me of the olden days and of course my dear Mamma.
Have great Saturday and stay cool.
Looks like a lovely scene so pure and simple.
This is the land of my ancestors on my fathers side. Isle of Sky.
Those days of yore however when my father's ancestors lived there it was not serene. Warring clans kept things anything but calm.
I like to read about where my family came from, how they met one another, where their lives took them. How did they eventually meander to where I was born and what traits and abilities of theirs were passed on to me?
I suppose I would like to travel to the Isle of Sky someday, but it seems so far away such a terrific amount of effort. So I will be content to be the arm chair traveler.
I made my husbands families favorite salad today. It is cucumber salad. My husbands heritage is Hungarian. This salad he remembers from childhood and of course his mother still makes it on occasion. Now my hubby usually makes this salad as he does a great job but today I made it and I am sure it will have to be tweaked by him after he tastes it.
Recipe.
Cucumber salad.
Three regular size cucumbers
1/2 Anaheim pepper diced
salt
1 cup sour cream
two cloves garlic minced
apple cider vinegar to taste about a tablespoon to two tablespoons
pepper to taste
1 and 1/2 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
Peel and slice cucumbers not to thin or to thick, just perfect!
Put the sliced cucumbers into a strainer and sprinkle salt over them and mix up with your fingers so all gets some salt. Let sit for one hour. Thoroughly rinse the cukes then take a bite of a cucumber it should not taste to salty after being rinsed. Let drain for a half hour. While the cukes are draining in a med size mixing bowl add sour cream and all the above ingredients. Mix well to blend.
Remove the cukes from the strainer and working in batches put into a white tea towel and squeeze every bit of remaining water from the cucumbers. Put the cucumbers into a container I like a plastic container with a lid. Add the sour cream mixture and gently stir till all the cukes are coated. put in the fridge chill and serve. That is it. Of course you can add more of the vinegar if you like more of a tang or more sour cream if you like it creamier.
Now I must make a comment. I do not care for this salad. I never had it as a child or acquired a taste for it. To me it seems rather bland and I am not a big fan of sour cream except in certain recipes.
While I was in the midst of writing this blog my brother called. He just bought a new travel trailer. Good size and with a big slide also. He is having it delivered to his second home at Silver Cove RV park at Silver Lake WA. He is very excited and cannot wait for me to come and spend a couple of days with him in his new digs. Way to go brother. He is 81 years young so I say whatever puts a smile on your face go with it! So another trip will be in order more than likely at the end of summer.
I will leave you now with a thought for the day.
If you know something that will put a smile on your face and it is obtainable to you. Just do it!
Days fly by then months then years and soon we are toward the end our stay here on earth. Don't live in the past live in the now breathe in each day and behold it, it is life!
I am sure most folks have watched "The next food network star". The one thing every contestant has to have going in is a pov as they call it. A point of view. The bias on which their series if they were to win would be based.
If I were such a person my pov would be "recipe redo".
Every since I can recall probably the beginning of my cooking life in 1960 I have been taking recipes and making them but always with changes. Either I have deducted ingredients or added ingredients, or changed cooking time or what have you.
For some reason I have the ability of looking at a recipe and seeing instantly a way to improve it.
I am a recipe clipperholic. I take about six magazines a month. I go methodically through them first folding over pages of recipes that have potential or look interesting and then on a second or third time through tearing out the page and trimming it down as small as possible to go into my recipe folders. Before making it up for the first time I add the changes, make it up and usually 99% of the time it is a winner.
I have rarely disappointed myself or others making changes in recipes. I can call them my own truly as usually there are several things I will do make a change. They just give me the idea.
So I can see the show now. Zo's recipe redo!
I would take a couple of recipes that I clipped from somewhere and show the changes that I made to make it even more wonderful. I could be another Sandra Lee with her Semi Homemade. Different pov but in the same vein.
Well it is a fun dream.
Well on that happy note I must get on with my day. Much to do today so no sense in dreaming about cooking shows!
Later.
Well this not really a African species of tree. It is the result of trying to crop it. Actually hubby did a good job of cropping the tree after the wind battered it down last winter. but in this area where we live everything continues on with huge growth spurts so now we have this. I would imagine another winter storm will take the top off once more of this corkscrew willow tree. Regardless it is our conversation piece at the moment.
As you can see by the color of the sky it is another day of deep blue sky and it is cloudless today. A perfect summer day.
Hubby is working and gone from the house for many hours today so I am doing my own thing. Which is nothing lol. I needed a day of down time to regroup get my thoughts together for the remainder of the week. I have a list with things to accomplish over the next week or so.
In my kitchen this evening I am making a German meal. This meal was started with a recipe but then I did a recipe revamp which I do most always.
German style pork chops in sauce.
2 to 4 pork chops (bone in is best)
2 small or one large onion sliced thin
1/2 cup beef broth
2/3 cup beer
1 teaspoon cornstarch
salt and pepper
flour for dredging
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
canola oil for frying
Salt and pepper the chops and dredge in flour
heat oil in large deep skillet and fry pork chops about three minutes or so each side till browned.
Remove from pan. Add onions to pan and pan cook till starting to brown. Add the beef broth and beer
Mix the mustard, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar together mix well and add to the broth in the pan.
Mix the cornstarch with either a little beef broth or beer( you will have some left of each) stir to blend. Add to the broth and blend well. Add the chops back in cover and simmer for about fifteen minutes until the pork chops are done.
That is it.
I served this last night with fried potatoes and cabbage to the side. Then we spooned the German sauce over the chops and the veggies. It was great!
The sauce has a small tang if you want more just add more balsamic vinegar, if you prefer a sweeter taste add more brown sugar balance it by the Dijon.
enjoy!
I must head out now on my daily walk which I will admit of late it has not been to daily. The heat is coming up so must go now.
Ciao
