Quick update on my whereabouts

So where in the name of Sam Hill have I been lately and what in the world have I been up to? Nothing too exciting, mind you, but I have been dabbling in some fun stuff.

Take this, for example: Sew Mama Sew is featuring Handmade Holidays with the whole month of November dedicated to handmade gifts. I've spotted more than several clever ideas over there.

And these new [to me] and beautiful blogs, which I can't help but visit almost every day, listed here in no particular order:
- Savory Sweet Life
- Bliss
- Sooner or Later
- Bonjour - now, be sure to check out their Hot Air Balloon Ride, please
- You are my Fave
- say YES! to hoboken

What else?

Well, I learned to can (as in preserve) and now have a cupboard full of cranberry sauce and pumpkin butter. If you stop by for a visit I might share. I also packaged up my yummy soaps for gifting. And let me tell you, I love the smell of lavender, rosemary, cinnamon, clove, and pine trees coming from the linen closet where we're storing the small bundles. Very satisfying. And speaking of SATISFYING, I saw New Moon last week. I laughed. I cried. I left fully satisfied, wanting to simultaneously watch the movie on a continuous repeat loop and go read the books again. Have I mentioned here before the Twilight books are my favorite stories OF ALL TIME? I mean it.

And in a nut shell, that's where I've been. Now I'm off to start celebrating Thanksgiving. We're keeping it ultra mellow, lounging around watching our favorite Thanksgiving movies and then heading out to Skamania Lodge, on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, for dinner. Must dash!

Thanksgiving 2009

Holy cannoli, Thanksgiving already!? It snuck up on me this year. I guess I was expecting snow. A leftover remnant from living in Boston.

But, snow or no, today is the day we are charged with acknowledging what we are grateful for. So here goes:

I am thankful for this fabulously rich time of year, the brief weeks between Halloween and New Years. There is much to celebrate right now, between Thanksgiving and Ryan's birthday and Christmas. Leaves are still changing here in the NW, and if I look out my window I can see remnants of brilliant orange and yellow and red.

I am grateful for my warm cozy home and a good job in a career I chose when I was seven or so. It has not disappointed once, but continues to get better and better. Libraries. Did you now I spend my days as an architect, working mostly on libraries? That's as good as it gets.

I am loving the small luxuries I indulge in every day, like my very full mug of hot apple cider, or the books I can't put down for a single second, or the delicious smelling candles I've placed throughout the house just because, or my beautiful rain boots that keep my feet ultra dry in our rainy climate, or the Andes mint chips and cinnamon chips we bought on a whim and keep in the freezer for late-night nibbling. And the music. Thank you, Kenna, for the mixes! We keep half in the house, playing constantly, and the other half in the car.

I am thankful for our family, literally spread across the four corners of the country, grounding us from so far away and providing ample opportunities for us to TRAVEL (my favorite word) for visits! And this amazing internet, which manages to keep us all connected on a daily basis! And for our friends, our stand-in family, who make the day-to-day fun.

Finally, I am most ultimately grateful to the Mr., who makes this great life grand.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Fishs Eddy

It's love at first sight, for sure. I stumbled across this store in the new online magazine LonnyMag and I think I want one of everything.

It's a shop brimming with wonderfully quirky kitchen ware, like carnival dishes and liberal & conservative politicians mugs. These folks even carry NYC skyline napkin rings and Happy Birthday platters and collectible glassware.

Is it too late to register for wedding gifts here?

Three 'firsts'

So yesterday we were very brave and tried three new things:

01 Whole day spent prepping for, driving to, and then attending the OSU/UCLA homecoming football game with coworkers. We'd never seen OSU play before but, interestingly, it was the second time we've watched UCLA live. Ended up being a pretty good game as well as a fun day spent with my cohorts.

02 Made cheese fondue for dinner. Simple recipe served with spicy sausage, cubed bread, and ginormous, delicious grapes.

03 Watched The Brothers Bloom. It took a bit to get into the style of the film but I was eventually won over. Maybe it was the beautiful costumes, people, cars, mansions, and travels that did it. Yes, I think it was that.

Successes, all of them.

October in full swing

Handmade soap follow-up

Soap! I can now check soap off my growing list of easily-bought-from-a-store-but-why-bother-when-you-can-go-to-the-trouble-of-making-it-at-home projects. First it was bread. Now soap. Next will be candles or lip balm, me thinks.

It's definitely a science, this soap-making business, and that's not usually how I tend to operate. I like recipes of the "add a little of this and a bit of that" variety. But I've made four batches now, stockpiling for holiday stocking stuffers, and am pretty excited about the results.

The batches I made most recently were successes (albeit after a bit of trial and error) and proved that making soap at home can be a highly satisfying personal venture. Not to mention the fact that they're honest-to-goodness sudsy, cleansing, fragrant bars that truly function as any respectable soap should.

Here are the tips I've learned so far:
1. The longer the bars have to dry, the longer they last and the less they leave a slick, soapy film on your hands after you've rinsed them. So wait at least 8 weeks before using your homemade soap.

2. Be bold with essential oil fragrances, and avoid using any citrus essential oils because they do not hold their fragrance. To get ideas for soap flavors, I like to visit boutique or on-line shops that sell specialty soaps. But be careful not to add too much essential oil because this will alter (I think) ratio of oils to lye mixture and thus mess things up. Also, the fragrance of the soaps I've made so far tend to change (mature?) with time, so if you're not totally satisfied with a fragrance at first, give it time - it seams to get better.

3. If the soap doesn't harden in 24 hours after pouring the molds, melt it down again, let it cool (stirring constantly), and re-pour - that should do the trick.

Quick & easy Beef Stew

One more food post and then - I promise - I'm moving on! Maybe. What is this - my sixth recipe in a row? And the third on soup? I can't help it. I just can't. But do stick by me here because this one's a good one! It's so simple and delicious, it almost qualifies as a five-ingredient recipe. Only there are more like nine or ten ingredients, but you get the idea!

We made it yesterday and are serving it today during The Game, along side some fresh bread and brownies spiced up with cinnamon & chipotle chili pepper.

Quick & easy Beef Stew
- a splash of olive oil and a tab of butter (1-2 T. of each)
- 1 1/4 lb. (approx.) beef chuck stew meat tossed & coated in flour, salt & pepper
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 (6 oz.) jar Heinz Chili Sauce, or to taste
- 1 can or bottle of light beer, or the equivalent of beef stock
- 1 large or 2 small potatoe(s), chopped

Heat the oil & butter in a heavy soup pot and add the stew meat. As the meat begins to brown, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Once the meat pieces are thoroughly browned on all sides and the veggies are soft add the garlic, stirring to combine.

Pour in the Heinz Chili Sauce and the beer or stock; stir. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to simmer and cover, cooking until the potatoes are tender. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Thai-spiced tomato soup

Soup! I was inspired by this post over at The Wednesday Chef, which offers a nice, simple, straight-forward recipe for Thai-spiced tomato soup. Looked good, warm, healthy, and perfect for a simple weekend dinner.

Then I up & got inspired, thinking "Thai food? I like Thai food. And wait! Aren't ginger, coconut milk, scallions, and peanuts also key Thai ingredients?" And this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mentality resulted in a fine-flavored savory and thick tomato soup. Here goes:

Soup
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3T. olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2t. fresh ginger, minced
- 2T. red curry paste (follow instinct here and don't over-do it for obvious reasons)
- 1/4t. ground cumin
- 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk (we used low-fat)
- 1 (14 oz.) can chicken or veggie broth
- 1T. brown sugar
- salt to taste

For garnish, combine the following:
- 1/3 c. roasted, chopped peanuts
- handful of cilantro, chopped
- 2-3 scallions, chopped
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1T. olive oil
- 1t. soy sauce

Cook onion in oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add garlic & ginger; cook for about 1 minute. Mix in curry paste and cumin; cook for another minute or so.

Add tomatoes, coconut milk, broth, and brown sugar; stir to combine. Add salt and simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with a hearty spoonful of the garnish on top.

The man can cook

Roasted chicken, marinated in a brine and rubbed down with garlic, plus veggies, and baked beans. Good stuff to come home to on a chilly, drizzly day, indeed!

Borscht

Forget fancy, complicated, and lengthy recipes! Try this for the ultimate five-ingredient recipe. It is sublime, a brilliant color, and has almost no calories or fat.

Scott, one of Ryan's PSU cohorts, and his wife Megan made this for us as the first course of an elaborate eastern European feast, and I've been dreaming about it since!

Easy-schmeezy Borscht

- 1 can regular beets and 1 can pickled beets (with their juices)
- Sour cream (I like Tillamook low-fat)
- Diced cucumber
- Chopped green onions
- fresh dill

Zip the beets with their juices together in a food processor until smooth. Chill, and then serve with a healthy dollop of sour cream and garnish with cucumber, chives, and dill.

Buttery Apple Cake-Tart, thank you Traveler's Lunchbox!

I wish I could describe how spectacular this pie plate of autumn gold smells, brought to us by The Traveler's Lunchbox, a favorite food blog from quite the itnernational lady.

Since I'm going to be making this over and over again, I should note where I strayed from the recipe:
- I used 2 apples and 1 pear, not three apples
- Instead of a vanilla bean I used vanilla extract
- Cinnamon was added to both the sliced up fruit and to the batter (how could I not?)
- I sprinkled sugar flavored with vanilla extract and cinnamon on top before baking

I think I'm in heaven, and I haven't even tasted it yet. Ryan is circling the kitchen right now with a fork in one hand and a napkin blotting the drool in the other. This is as good as it gets.

Besides, did I mention I played hooky today? I just can't stop myself!

Zesty carrot salad

For you, I present another five-ingredient recipe, this one a healthy, colorful, and seasonally apropos side dish. I sense that my b.i.l Kenna might like this one, as he is a big fan of carrots!

Carrot and cranberry salad with fresh ginger dressing
adapted from November's issue of Bon Appetit

- one bunch green onions
- 1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
- 4 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Cut white parts off onions; set half aside and cut the other half into slivers lengthwise. Take the remaining onions (green parts) and cut into slivers lengthwise, and then into 2 inch strips. Add all the onion slivers, both white and green, into a bowl with the carrots and cranberries.

In a food processor make the ginger dressing by combining the reserved white onion ends, rice vinegar, and ginger. Zip until well blended.

Toss the dressing over the salad to coat, and refrigerate for a while before serving to allow the flavors to work their magic.

Note: I went back and added more carrots, some salt & pepper, and a dash of olive oil. Unless you have dull taste buds do the same b/c this salad is zippy!

Which is it?

Weekending. Couldn't decide: autumn or winter?

The veggie soup that cures all

Ryan's had a touch of a cold, which has prompted me to make several large batches of vegetable soup in the last week or so. It's thick, hearty, savory, rich, and healthy. Here's my recipe:

In a large pot, saute chopped vegetables, including onion, carrots, celery, garlic, zucchini, and squash, in some olive oil and butter; add a scant spoonful of sugar and cook until onions are translucent and other vegetables are soft

Add a packet of onion soup mix to the pot and some red wine; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine has all but evaporated

Pour in one large can of tomatoes, one or two cans of water (I use one can), and a chopped potato (or sweet potato); season to taste with salt & pepper

Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes to two hours. Serve with bread.

Add ins: you can add bulk sausage to the veggies when sauteing, or dried beans with the potatoes, or a few ravioli just before serving.

Voila! Vegetable soup!

The itch to stitch

Yesterday morning I had an itch to stitch. An hour later I had a quilted oven mitt. And a few hours after that some chocolate chippers. See how that works?

Restaurant review

Two restaurants have recently opened in our neighborhood. I'd say one's a keeper and the other is not.

Laurelhurst Market and Butcher Shop
Great name, nice location in a former run-down convenience store. Meat counter in the front, restaurant in back. Seating outside. Expensive ($13 hamburger) and a touch pretentious. Probably won't go back, but I like the idea of the place. Just wish it was a bit more, um, down-to-earth, I guess.

The Matador Bar
A jewel of a place! The food seems to be some sort of spanish-mexican fusion. The portions are large, the nachos are HUGE and only $4 during happy hour, the atmosphere is comfortable, airy, and all-in-all pleasant, and the prices aren't too bad. Last time we went Ryan and I shared a dish. It's the kind of place I want to go back to, no doubt.

I'm excited to see our little neighborhood blossom. It's quickly turning into a mini-mecca of restaurants, botique shops, coffee bars, and dessert places, all within walking distance.

What's for dinner

Last night, kind of as a test run for future autumnal suppers, we had homemade vegetable soup, served with homemade bread. Dessert was homemade apple pie with homemade vanilla ice cream.

It's true, whipping up recipes from scratch does take a bit more time and planning, but they really do taste better, are often less expensive, are better for you, and can offer a high sense of satisfaction when everything turns out.

This Fall I am looking forward to picking apples, pears, and our Halloween pumpkins, making pie, slurping lots of homemade soup, indulging in even more reading & crafting than I have been since it's been summer & all, the holidays, Ryan's birthday, rain boots, pulling out our basket of hats, scarves, and gloves, and bundling up during moody, damp days. I really can't wait.

I splurged

How cute are these?!?

I've lived in the great northwest for how many years [seven] and never have I owned a pair of shoes suitable for navigating the floods that plague our lands nine months out of twelve.

Until now that is! I love the art-sy floral detail and the practical handles for easy on/off.

Amazon is sending them my way as we speak - not a moment too soon, I might add - and I can hardly wait.

Home & Outlander

We are back from our journey to the shore. It was the kind of week where you loose all sense of time: eating when you’re hungry, sleeping when you’re tired, reading when you feel like it (I read over 1000 pages!), staring at the ocean daydreaming, and then walking on the beach when you get antsy from sitting. We've returned home feeling rested and energized for school, work, and autumn.

And what could possibly compel me to read 1000 pages in less than a week, you ask? Well! The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon no doubt. Recommended by several others recently, these books have quickly found their way into my heart and home as favorites. And really, I can’t put them down.

It’s extremely good stuff, involving a time-travel love story spanning from post-WWII Brittan to mid-18th century Scotland Highlands. There are six books total, plus another one coming out this fall, and I LOVE them and can't put them down for a single instant.

The story makes me want to go to the Scotland Highlands and drink Johnny Walker. Really.

We're out

R&R are headed to the beach for some r&r. We're going to the place we return to again and again. The journey has become an annual pilgrimage and I love it.

We'll be back next weekend in time to welcome Henry James to the world.

Ciao, baby, and happy almost fall!

Jack is back, plus other bits

Well, he was back. He's home in Boston now. And look at Ryan help Jack make up his bed. Isn't that nice?

This is Misha being comfortably bad, lounging on the table. It's a loosing battle, though, you know?

Summer's bountiful harvest.

Summer's bountiful harvest for dinner.

A dessert Ryan made (yes) recently for a picnic.

This one's for John. The two dudes on the right are going to be roomies again. The dude on the left wishes he was going to be their roommate. Incidentally, this is the type of establishment that most ladies would not actually be in, let alone sit in. I did it once and that was enough.

Three years ago

It was the best decision yet.

Greece

Greece is calling to us. We're calling right back, promising to come for a visit real soon! In the mean time, we're making do with the following:

- Honey Frozen Yogurt (recipe follows) with Tyler Florence's Fig, Date & Honey concoction on top
- Foti's Greek Deli (& market), right near our abode at 1740 East Burnside
- Rick Steve's Athens and Side Trips episode, which we watched last night as part of our Saturday night OPB TV line-up
- Mama Mia. Since I'm not a huge fan of musicals, I was skeptical for the first 10-20 minutes. But the scenery drew me in, then the story, and yes, finally the music. By the end of it I was singing right along.

After these delights, Greece has been promoted to top dog on our ever-evolving list of places to see.

Here's the fro yo recipe. I made it this afternoon as a reward for working sixty hours this week. It's a decent consolation.

Honey Frozen Yogurt
3 cups (720g) Greek-style yogurt
1/2 cup (150g) honey (I added a tiny bit more to minimize the tang of the yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together the yogurt, honey, and vanilla. Stir until the honey is incorporated. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Intriguing thought of the day

Note: my intention here is not to offend, but to simply share ideas.

The other day we drove past a church with a billboard in the parking lot declaring, "Christians never have to say good bye for the last time." The implication, we interpreted, is that Christians go to Heaven for eternity.

Later that day, we mentioned this idea to a friend who had another insight to add to the statement above: Sinners never have to say goodbye, either.

Isn't that funny?

Favorites

Here are some of my current favorites, items I'm devouring like nobody's business:

Salted caramels. Like these from Pix. The ones at Moonstruck and Starbucks are also good. And let's be clear, I'm not literally devouring these. Weight Watchers won't let me. But I did enjoy one yesterday and it helped me get through a busy Friday afternoon at work.

The 1988 movie Working Girl. Why hadn't I seen this one before? Why had Ryan and how did he remember it? You know, he thought I might like it and I did. We were both equally struck by the 80's fashion scene, which is captured beautifully in this wonderful film.

The Lisa Scotoline thriller/mystery books, which feature an all-women law firm laying down the law in Philadelphia. I've read three in two weeks and have about seven more lined up, pushing my book club book far far away.

It's Mary Ruffle! I may have highlighted her beautiful blog here before, but I really can't get enough. It's filled with a daily group of shots that are pretty and girlie and all that jazz. I visit every day.

And finally, these beautiful letterpress campy cards (pictured above) from Oblation Papers & Press (a Portland institution), mimicking 1960's era nature-nostalgia. At eight bucks a pop, I have to be careful with where I send these, but I might just take one of each, plop them in frames, hang them on the wall, and call it a day.

Balancing act

After a bit of a health scare this week, we have a new mantra to get us through the rest of this year and The Thesis, which has become the third member of our little family (just like mine did a few years ago, ahem):

Simplify.
Focus on home.
Focus on health.
Focus on work.
Shed the excess.
Period.

An opening

One day, seven hours in the car, two stops at Starbucks, six architects and their families, a wonderfully quirky library director, and hundreds of locals at the Richland Public Library's grand opening.

Was a grand day for such a celebration. I am very proud of our work. Ryan has a new understanding of my field. And our team is ready to break ground on the next library.






Go team.