A Closer Look at Ottoman

Back to School

School starts again for Boo next week and it's been a busy summer. Here's a few highlights (with corresponding pictures):

1. Boo's birthday in which we had family visits.
2. Blackberry picking...I have been lagging on picking duty.
3. Visiting family. Since its been hot, we traveled down the coast which was lovely.
4. Visits to the farmers' market and a local farm...not as often as I should! Check out that cantaloupe seed kaleidoscope!

As the weather cools, I plan to hunker down with the woodstove's warmth and get to work...needlework seems to like cozy weather.

Kombucha

Kombucha has become pretty mainstream in the last few years. I remember when I first heard about it in the mid to late 90s when Jeff had an acquaintance that had a vat fermenting in his backyard. I was a little unsure at the time.

But when we moved to Oregon over ten years ago, I started seeing it in grocery stores and started drinking it. Wonder is my favorite brand, but it's often difficult to find the original, as I usually see the fruit juice flavored varieties; I'm sure they're good, but maybe I'm a purist. I recently tried another brand and found it to be watered down in taste...and frankly not tasty at all.

If you haven't tried kombucha, it's a mixture of tea and sugar left to ferment. Like vinegar, it needs what is called a "mother" for the fermenting process to work...and like vinegar, it tastes a bit vinegary. And it sparkles. I find kombucha to be great with foods that are fried (fish and chips, perhaps) because it cuts right through the grease and even seems to aid digestion (no, I'm not getting paid to say this!).

Anyway, give kombucha a shot if you haven't and I'd love to hear about your favorite brand or any tricks to making it at home!

Happy weekend!

New to Me

A few things that are new to me....

1 & 2. Dragon Fruit: I hadn't heard of this or seen it before, but was kindly offered a piece. It has an odd dry watermelon texture, seeds similar to kiwi, an exterior that reminded me of a fuchsia artichoke, and a flavor most similar to cucumber. I didn't notice any sweetness to the flavor, but maybe it wasn't fully ripe? I'm not sure I'd get it again for what I'm sure is an exotic fruit price tag. I love my local produce! But it was fun to try something new.

3. The Hardy Boys: I've known about this for a bit, but I hadn't known about this children's book series as a child. I got the first book for Boo (the mid-century language may sound a bit foreign to him, but I think that's good), who seems to like a good mystery. This series is the boy counterpart to Nancy Drew.

4. The best chocolate bar (so far)!: this combination of dark chocolate, large and numerous chunks of almonds, and subtle sea salt is simply amazing. Included is a love poem, which I have yet to read. Yum!

Easy Summer Supper

This is probably a bit of a common mix-up, but it's so easy that if you haven't tried it, it's perfect for a weeknight meal.

It's a mix of:

1. A can of black beans (or pinto, the black just looks nice here)
2. A small bag of frozen corn (I zap it for a very short bit to thaw)
3. Small red bell pepper diced
4. 1 - 2 avocados diced
5. Juice of one lime
6. Salt

You can mix it up! Try jicama, tomato, chilies, and if you like it, cilantro.

I Miss the Market

I miss farmers' market terribly. It's a routine that I really enjoy. Lunch, a snack for later, a treat for Boo, and any produce or other products we need. Here's a picture of one of the last batches of apples I bought...it's a black apple, though I can't remember the exact variety.

We went to Portland for the weekend. Since we aren't able to visit family for the holidays, we got ourselves for Christmas a quick trip. The Portland Bazaar, Crafty Wonderland, and a steam train ride. It was too quick, but fun!

I hope to be able to catch up this weekend with photos and such...it often seems the only day I get enough time with the sunlight to photograph. Ah well, the tide will turn in just over a week!

I hope you are enjoying this festive season. It's certainly been cold and crisp here...no rain for awhile so it's freezing!

 

Black Friday Through Cyber Monday Sale!

A quick note to say that if you enter "HOLIDAY2011" from November 25-28, 2011 at checkout in the shop, you'll receive 10% off. In addition, if you spend $50 or more, you'll receive five "FOR YOU" gift tags for free (a $6.25 value)! Shop handmade!

AND...

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy some fantastic squash of some sort...hopefully local. The squash above is a Chirimen from a farm nearby....cut in half, roasted with Earth Balance and salt, and then topped off with a bit more Earth Balance, salt and pepper. It would also be amazing with brown sugar instead of pepper. Mmmmm.

 

 

Salad for Supper

I'm not entirely sure how appetizing this salad looks, but it's a current favorite of mine with many opportunities for variation.

It is: local salad mix...

...and clockwise from top: local hard boiled egg, green olives, can of ethical tuna, organic carrot, local beet, Annie's Roasted Red Pepper Dressing (a current favorite). All of the local produce is also organic.

Last time I made a salad like this, I omitted the olives (the vinegar-y-ness didn't work great with the dressing...they fought with each other) and subbed the carrots for cucumber which was also local.

I'm guessing that my salad variations may turn into soup variations when the weather cools off. It got into the 80s here today, which I'm enjoying tremendously...that rain will start soon enough. Oh, I do enjoy the rain, but I do know that once it starts, it doesn't stop much until...July!

I'm unsure what this weekend holds...probably some not-so-glamorous things like laundry and grocery shopping...but hopefully a few fun things too, especially if the weather holds and we can be outside.

All for now...happy weekend!

Oregon Berries

1. Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies aka Volcano Cookies - I got some raspberries from a local farm and decided to cook them down with a little water and sugar. I used some to make raspberry thumbprint cookies (based on this recipe), which Boo re-named Volcano Cookies. The rest of the raspberry "jam" was put in a jar and eaten by yours truly on toast for breakfast the rest of the week. It would have been great on plain yogurt as well.

2. U Pick Queen Anne Cherries - Cherries my parents and Boo picked from a local U Pick while my parents were visiting. We ate handfuls, but cherries don't last too long. I cooked them down too with less success (they brown a bit, which makes them less inviting to eat).

3. U Pick Blueberries - We've been U Picking blueberries and raspberries (which all started from the U Pick my parents and Boo found when they were here). I've been freezing what we don't eat in a few days and then getting more. I think the U Pick is closed now which is a bummer, but at least I've got several canning jars in the freezer of frozen berries. Boo's been requesting frozen blueberries...little treats.

4. Blueberry Crisp - I love ramakins for individual portions. I decided to make a crisp one night on a whim and put some blueberries in a bowl, squeezed a lemon on them, a sprikling of sugar (I think...if so, just a wee bit), and a bit of cornstarch. I put this mixture in the ramakins to the top (since I knew it would cook down), then made the topping. I mixed thick rolled oats, a little sugar, chopped up some cold butter, and mixed it all together, then piled it on the top of the blueberries. Cooked them in the toaster oven and topped with vanilla ice cream. Perfect.

So, I suppose Oregon is known for berries for a reason. Just when you think berry season is over, another type ripens. Last of which (I think) are blackberries. Most of ours are still small and green, but Boo found the first ripe one yesterday...here we go!

I hope you're enjoying the fruits of the season as well.

Evidence of a Birthday Party

Boo recently had a birthday. There was planning, of course, and I wanted to make sure we brought everything since the party location wasn't around the corner in case we forgot anything. All was well...until we were there and the festivities started...and I realized I forgot my camera. Live in the moment, it was.

When I got home, I decided to document the occasion with leftovers from the party. I probably would have cleverly thought of more things to photograph, but I was SO tired.

1. Boo wanted a pinata for his birthday and specifically a green and yellow star. You know what that means...I made it. I thought that since the ages of kids at the birthday ranged a bit, I didn't want all the big kids getting the loot from the pinata while the younger ones couldn't get in there. So, I decided to fill the pinata with wild bird seed...and no mess and non-biodegradables that cannot be picked up (ex. glitter...as pretty as it is).

2. After the pinata, we did a treasure hunt (instead of goodie bags) with numbered clues to get to the treasure. I did this at the very last minute because I didn't know where I was going to hide each clue. This was a tricky task since I didn't want to hide the clues so well that the kids couldn't find them...and I didn't want them to be so obvious that the kids would see them before the hunt. The treasure hunt worked, but the kids did find one clue ahead of time and skipped one due to it being hidden a little too well.

3. The back of one of the clues. I decided to make them rhyme (since I'm a little neurotic that way) and underlined the words/numbers that rhymed to make the clues easier to read aloud. The kids made it so quickly through this treasure hunt that the adults had a difficult time keeping up with them...they read the clue then ran to the next. The goodies were a Silly Putty for each kid (they are actually still made in the US - crazy...and why I bought them). The Silly Putty packages have a little hanger for how they are displayed in the store, so I just tucked them in some low-branched trees hanging on thin branches. Perfect.

4. Birthday candles

5. Leftover birthday cupcakes. Boo wanted a rather elaborate cake. To be exact: 3 layers, green cake with chocolate chips, green frosting...vanilla flavored. I started to run out of time (I HAVE to make the cake from scratch as well as the frosting...neurotic I tell you.), and Boo started saying things like "mint-flavored." I required the compromise of cupcakes (no possibility of cake cracking and sliding frosting on the drive in the heat) and sprinkles (all-natural...a total score) instead of green and minty. I used this recipe...a total hit (subbing the sprinkles atop for the chocolate chips in the frosting).

On another note, I'm sure you've noticed I haven't posted in awhile. Not because I haven't wanted to, but it's a combination of family visits, busy-ness, exhaustion (is it the heat?), and simply seizing the summer while it's not raining! Well, it did rain a couple of days this week...so truly, we are seizing it while we can.

I hope to be back soon! I hope you're seizing the summer as well.

Local Lately

We've been getting produce from the farmers' market and local farms lately. I love eating fruit and veggies that are in season. It's been said before, but it's so true - kids do eat more fruits and veggies when they know where they came from. Yesterday, Boo and I sat outside eating shelling peas from the pod after picking them up from a farm.

1. Beet-stained hands: I roasted beets from a local farm (No, Boo didn't partake in the beets.)

2. Huevos Rancheros: 2 fried eggs from the same local farm

3. Rainier Cherries: from the farmers' market

I'm enjoying the fresh produce (and trying to enjoy the heat) while it's here!

Happy 4th!