ZUCCHINI RELISH
Well this is the zucchini relish I made. It was fun to make and I love to see the little jars lined up on the counter. This is a tasty relish with a tangy bite but not sweet. This relish is wonderful with chicken, turkey and sausages as well as on sandwiches, dogs and burgers. We made turkey sammies with cukes and tomatoes from the garden added a spoonful of the relish and other condiments and it was a three napkin sandwich. Juicy, tangy, crunchy. Perfect.

My daughter and granddaughter were here this past weekend. We all participated in the Eugene Celebration. It is a crazy yearly affair in the downtown area complete with the crowning of a SLUG QUEEN! There are four stages with varying music venues. There is much tasty food, a parade, street vendors, party goers, entertainers. Just a big bunch of fun. My hubby and danced the afternoon away we could not resist the beat of the music. Next year we may have to stay downtown for the entire weekend so we do not miss a thing.

It is showering here this morning. Not that I mind I find it quite pleasant actually. The soft patter of the rain on the deck is comforting. However I certainly do not want it to stay as we need the sun for our hundreds of baseball size tomatoes to ripen.

Here is the recipe for the Zucchini relish.
10 cups of zucchini squash
3 cups of onion
5 tbsp. salt
2 red peppers and 2 green peppers

Chop veggies to small dice, I used a food processor.
Put in a large container and add the salt and let stand overnight in the fridge.
In the morning rinse and drain well.

Put the veggies in a kettle and add.
1 quart of white vinegar
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. turmeric
2 tbsp. celery seed
2 tbsp. cornstarch (I add to this a bit of water from the cup of water and blend)
1/2 tsp. pepper black pepper

Stir to blend and cook for thirty minutes. Seal in sterilized jars. No processing is necessary according the original recipe. But current guidelines indicate that the relish should be processed in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
This is such a great way to use a lot of zucchini.

Tonight we are having fresh green beans from my sis in laws garden. I will cook el dente and then drain and add to a skillet with butter and a tad of olive oil, some lemon zest and minced garlic. Just heat to meld the flavors. I am also serving corn on the cob with honey butter and a plump roasted chicken. I will prepare the chicken simply tucking a few lemon wedges and fresh rosemary into the cavity. I will rub the skin with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
There is nothing better than a juicy roasted chicken falling off it's bones. I will serve some of the zucchini relish along side for dunking.

Well I am off to grab my umbrella and walk.
The walk will be nice as it is not cold out. Just feels damp and so fresh.
Enjoy your day and make some relish.

Beautiful Central Oregon

Back from our little getaway to Central Oregon.
As you can see it is mountain country. Actually some years back I climbed the South Sister mountain pictured here. Believe me it is a long way to the top and it was a big climb for me but I made it!
The second photo is of Devils Lake. My hubby and I have been on this lake in our raft. A very uplifting spiritual experience unfolds floating on these tranquil waters.

We had a grand old time with family in Bend. Much laughter was shared and new memories created.
Blueberry pancakes were prepared by my brother in law from scratch and piled high on a platter served with pure maple syrup. Is there anything better than syrup dripping down your chin, pass the napkins please!
Our Bend family resides on fifteen private and quiet acres. This is such a special treat for us as we are city dwellers. It felt like a country retreat that we never wanted to leave.

Back now to catching up once again. Today I gathered together as many half pint and pint canning jars I could locate and dug out the water bath canner from the storage shed. Tomorrow I will buy the ingredients I need and Thursday is relish making day. I will take a photo my efforts when finished.
At least the veggie bin in the fridge will be empty of zucchini for a day or so till another arm load comes in.
We are enjoying lots roma tomatoes now they were the first to come on.

It is quite a warm today mid nineties. The temps will be dropping ten degrees in a couple of days. Well that is Oregon. It is the nature of things here though to have an amazing indian summer well into the first weeks of October.

I am making my tuna cakes this evening. I do believe I have already posted that recipe when I first started my blog. I did not take a photo though at that time. So I may have one for you tomorrow. I now must get the weekly menu figured out so I can make my grocery list for tomorrow. I also have a dirty deck awaiting my attention so best get to it.
Have a great day wherever you are.

Tomatoes are coming on!

We cannot wait now. Those red mouthfuls of pleasure are almost ready to eat. Actually we have had a couple so far. Masses of green ones are getting larger every day. The Heirlooms as so heavy on the vines.

Tonight we are having sirloin steak and veggie kabob's with crookneck squash, onions and peppers. I will serve with steamed rice. I have the meat marinating as I write. Like I mentioned before I do not make kabob's to often so my marinade is never the same. I do not use a recipe just dump in this and that. The main thing is to get the tougher cuts of meat tender.

Yesterday I went shopping for a new mattress. I hate going through the hassle but a mattress is one thing you just cannot order up on line unless you have seen the exact same one somewhere and have laid on it for a period of time.
I used to sell bedding sets when I worked as a designer in furniture stores. So it always amuses me to experience the different sales techniques one encounters while shopping for mattress sets.
The first person did not even listen to what I had to say he just went through spiel. Sounded like he was reading from a script. The next place was the total opposite. Though the fellow was very personable and listened to what I had to say he was there alone and there were several folks in the store needing assistance. So I just wandered around plopping on beds and looking at price tags. I never found anything I wanted to buy in the price range I wanted to be in. So off to yet another store. This was a small store but no one was in there but me so I had the salesperson to myself. I did find a mattress in the right price range and the right firmness. So it is being delivered today. So I am happy that is over..........I am not and I repeat a shopper!

My brother and nephew are on their way home from their holiday to Yellowstone Park and the Tetons. They have had a wonderful time. My brother sounded so elated calling from Jackson Hole the other evening. I am so pleased he made the effort to take this trip at his age.
My daughter just got home from a trip to the southern Oregon coast and now she if off to Central Oregon for a couple of days.
Seems summer is winding down and soon the trips will be over and fall will be here. Already it is getting cooler in the evenings and the sky is that deep blue it gets in autumn. I do not mind I love the fall it is a cozy time of year for me. Makes me want to do more in my home and even cook more if possible. But till then I will be making relish and jam and soon dealing with way to many tomatoes all at once. However I have plans for every one of them. The ones that are still green at the end of the season are picked and stuffed into brown paper bags and tucked into a cupboard in the cool garage. They then turn red, like magic. Everyday there are one or two ripe tomatoes to be plucked from the bag. It is like having your own little produce section in the grocery store.
It is a beautiful day here today. I heard the jays earlier and now the the crow jabber has filled the air. Two little squirrels were racing each other atop the fence railing a bit ago. They are so entertaining to observe they make me laugh. Ah life is sweet!
I hope your day is special in some way.
Till later

taco night

Taco night

We love to munch on the taco's. The meat was flavorful without being particularly spicy. All the other ingredients were fresh. We like to top our taco's with cheddar cheese next to the meat, then chopped ice berg lettuce, chopped sweet onion, chopped garden tomatoes, fresh cilantro and finally home made salsa topped with a dollop of sour cream. Like I mentioned before on a earlier blog we fry our white corn shells in canola oil till crispy, then set on a paper towel and sprinkle immediately with canned Parmesan cheese. The cheese absorbs the oil and gives the shells a slight cheesy taste. I just fixed canned black beans with a little cumin added and served with shredded cheese, cilantro and onion. All very easy. Using the slow cooker is the only way to go for the meat. It was so fork tender I hardly needed to shred it, it just fell apart.

Here is the recipe. Acutally I used what I had on hand for seasoning and saucing the meat. So there was no recipe but there is now!
Zo's shredded beef taco's.
Ingredients:
Boneless pot roast approximatley two pounds.
Make a rub with these spices:
Kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, allspice, crushed coriander. Use equal amounts of all except the salt. Use a little less salt. I cut my roast in three sections removing all visible fat. Firmly pat the rub on all sides of the pieces including the ends.
Using an iron skillet with canola oil coating the bottom, sear the roast pieces on all sides, including the ends. You want a good sear and a iron skillet is the way to go. This step takes a bit of time but it so worth it.
In the bottom of your slow cooker add.
1/2 cup chopped onion
one clove of garlic minced
1/2 Anaheim pepper seeded and sliced
When the meat is well seared lay the pieces in on top of the vegetables.
While the skillet is still hot add 1/2 cup of water and using a wooden spoon dislodge all the little bits from the bottom of the skillet to deglaze. You will now have a nice brown broth. To this broth add:
1/2 cup green taco sauce
2 tablespoons of green jalapeno sauce. I like the El Pato brand(available in most grocery stores)
or you could add whatever hot sauce you prefer red or green.
Stir to blend and pour over the top of the meat in the slow cooker.
This amount will not cover the meat but as the meat cooks it will absorb the flavors. I usually turn my pieces about four times during the cooking process so all sides of the meat have an opportunity to hang out in the sauce. I like to use slow cooker liners. If you do use the liner be very careful not to puncture it while turning the meat. The meat should be fork tender in about seven hours on slow. You can speed the process by setting your slow cooker on high for the first two hours and then turning to low.

So that is all there is to it. Get that roast in the pot and go about your day with no worries.
Tonight we have left overs so we will make tostado's. I will use white corn shells once again. Just fry them in canola oil. Set on paper towel and sprinkle once again with the Parmesan. I like to start with the beans and load up from there. I love a crunchy tostado's.

I am home today catching up on house things. It is overcast here this morning and cool so I have the doors open and I hear the jay's playing in the trees. I adore listening to their chatter.

I made two loaves of the chocolate zucchini bread yesterday afternoon. I have several loaves now in the freezer of the chocolate and also the regualr kind. I cannot wait to make the zucchini relish next week. The recipe makes seven pints. It will be nice to have on hand and also give out at the holidays. I love it with turkey.

We are making a little trip over the mountain pass to Central Oregon this coming weekend to visit hubby's brother and family. One the way home from that trip we are taking the back way. We will drive along the Cascades Lakes highway and pass by Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort and many lakes. We have been on many of these lakes in some fashion in past years. Either via canoe, raft or motor boat. We have camped on their banks and eaten fish from their waters. We lived in Central Oregon for many years and know the area well.
There is one special place we like to picnic so we plan on taking a lunch. I will take photo's of this increidable area with the mountains so close you can feel their breath.

Have a great Wednesday and make some taco's. Yumo!!! as R.R. would say!

Zucchini marinara

This is a good creamy sauce and a great way to use zucchini.
Here is my original recipe.
Zo's creamy zucchini marinara sauce.
Ingredients:
one medium to large zucchini diced
1/2 medium size onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1 14oz can Italian stewed tomatoes
1 small 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 dozen basil leaves chopped
fresh thyme several stems use only the leaf
black pepper
olive oil

Go around the pan once or so with the olive oil just to coat the pan, add the other ingredients stir to blend. Cover the skillet and bring to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer and continue cooking until the zucchini is soft. Let the mixture cool. Then put in blender on puree and pulse until all is creamy and smooth. Cook your pasta in the meantime reheat your sauce. Serve over spaghetti noodles top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and extra chopped basil leaves.

This is a yummy mixture of ingredients. You can taste the layers of flavors. There was enough left for lunch yesterday and after sitting over night in the fridge it was even tastier. I feel the zucchini gives it a richness that you cannot achieve with other ingredients. Also considering there is no cream in this recipe it is quite a healthy mix of ingredients. I have decided to make a couple batches to freeze, what a nice treat for winter. I find that freezing sauces works well. For intance when I make my swiss steak sauce I always make a large batch and freeze the remainder. I can then use the sauce in a variety of ways. Ethier more swiss steak or it is great for the sauce with stuffed green peppers. If you want simpler than that it is good just over rice or pasta for a super quick meal.

Shortly I will putting a pot roast in the slow cooker. We are having shredded beef taco's this evening. This always makes my hubby so happy. He is crazy for taco's and will consume many. I am not quite sure what I will use for the seasonings this time in the slow cooker. Seems I always try different things. We like the meat to have plenty of flavor but not to spicy. So I will report tomorrow on these taco's.

Well I must walk before it gets to warm. We have not hit one hundred again but it is plenty warm.
I was sizzling right along with the sausages last night on the grill. However I was seated at the patio table thumbing through a magazine while all cooked. The tinfoil pouches of potatoes, peppers and onions was delish. I also added small pieces of corn of the cob to the pouches. These little pieces caramelized on the edges golly they were awesome!

Well food and more food I could chat forever but best to get on with my day.
Have a tasty Tuesday.

Back from the mountain lake. Such a great little getaway. Sitting on the beach of a high mountain lake surrounded by forest and mountains is needed nourishment for the soul.

The days were hot, the sand was hot, our feet burned while walking on it. So for the most part the rafters stayed on. The breeze was up which helped with the heat but played havoc with the beach umbrella. We finally wedged it in the back of a sand chair and put the ice chest on the chair for weight. That worked out perfectly as we did need some shade.
We took thick tuna and cucumber sandwiches for our lunch along with a variety of drinks, a person must stay hydrated in such heat.
The water was cold as usual but we braved it to get wet and cool off. Hubby floated for long periods of time on our river rat which is a good size tube. I had my pink noodle, what can I say?

Eating out was an experience and not especially a good one. We went the first evening to a place I have been going to since I was a young girl. This establishment has been known for it's broasted chicken and jo jo's for decades. Well perhaps things have slipped a bit or maybe it was just a off night but we were not pleased with our food. We heard a few others saying the same. However we ate with as much enthusiasm as we could muster and we were having a good time until my hubby reached for the check and knocked my red wine a flying and it splattered all over the front of me. Hmmm well let's see I had on a white blouse and light tan crop pants. We thought it best to call it a night and went to our room and I soaked my clothes in club soda while we watched a show on the telly.

The first night we had reservations at the Inn but the second night we stayed in one of their new chalets. It was adorable, perfect for the two of us. A nice seating area with a leather sofa , chair and ottoman. It had a flat screen telly with all the needed equipment. A workable kitchen complete with gas range, dishwasher abundant counter space and well stocked cabinets. The bedroom had three small bay windows and the bed was so comfy. There was a little deck outdoors surrounded by pine trees. We played cards for hours out there and watched the stars blink on. We then sat on the steps and watched the night sky come alive. We slept like babies.
We fixed a nice breakfast of cheesy scrambled eggs and bacon in the morning with a huge pot of good coffee. The morning air was brisk and scented with pine.
We are hoping to get this chalet over the Christmas holiday's. There is always snow there in winter and my hubby is a cross country ski nut. It would be perfect. I can see it now. The snow is falling outdoors and it deepens as the day goes on. I am cozy sitting in the chair reading and sipping a hot buttered rum. The turkey is roasting in the oven and chalet smells of Christmas. My husband comes in from his ski, his face all cold, red and icy. As he is pulls off his snowy duds I make him a hot drink. We both sit and he excitedly shares his day with me. Oh I hope we can get that cabin!

The drive there and home was so gorgeous driving along the curving mountain pass through a color palette of greens. As we neared the lake Diamond Peak poses, it is a broken topped snow covered mountain.
As you leave our area here in western Oregon and cross to the east side of mountains the terrain and trees change. The view then is one of pine trees big sky and a brown landscape. It is much higher in altitude and much drier on the east side of the mountains. So it adds to the beauty of the drive seeing the two different landscapes.

So back to reality and food. Last night I created a dish using what do you think? You guessed right zucchini! I wanted pasta so I made a sauce of simmered zucchini, onion and garlic as well as tomatoes and such. I sauteed the ingredients cooking them down, cooled them and then pureed all together for a light creamy marinara sauce. Tomorrow I will share a photo of that dish and the recipe. It turned our quite amazing. This recipe will surely be a keeper for zucchini season.

Tonight we are having chicken garlic basil sausages on the grill. I am making my potato and pepper foil packets to cook on the grill along side. We will also have cucumber, tomato and onion marinated salad. So it will be an easy dinner.

Our heat rose on Saturday to one hundred degree's. It was sweltering. There was no breeze just dead hot air on the deck. We would go out to experience it briefly but back to the air conditioned house to cool down. Yesterday though warm was much more pleasant. There was a nice breeze in the afternoon that was much appreciated.

We have a family of crows in our neighbors huge tree. The tree is right behind our deck. The crows are feeding their babies often and the sounds that come from the nest are amusing. The little ones are croaking away in their crow baby talk. The parents are squawking loudly back to them, they are all talking at once. Sounds like my family!

Well once again on my agenda is to make more zucchini bread today. Next week I am going to make a recipe for zucchini relish the recipe has been in my collection forever. I remember I loved it as child. It was sweet and tangy and so good on a sandwich or burger. The recipe calls for a lot of zucchini, that makes me so happy.
I would like to see something red instead of green being hauled in from the garden. We get so anxious for the tomatoes this time of year.
The plants now are just loaded with huge green tomatoes. Our Roma's are well on their way to red now. We actually had three the other evening and it was like eating a sugared tomato.

I best get at the bread now.
Happy Monday.