Reposting a blog from Feb. 16, 2020

I have never reposted a blog, but trying it today...Valentines Day kind of slipped by this year, it was on a Friday, and by Sunday, a niggling thought kept popping up in my head...Cherry pie, I had to make one...Herb would have loved it!

 

What was I thinking?...36º

I have never quite understood the thinking behind Valentines Day...It seems to be more tilted to, the guy is supposed to shower his "special valentine" with flowers, chocolates, mushy cards (that Hallmark is so good at) and candle light dinners for two!..Shouldn't this work both ways?

Maybe our first "VD" set the stage as to how that day would play out for us...Herb had completed his last semester of college, we had moved back to Valley County and into my Mom's empty house (she was working up the Big Salmon River for a fishing guide)...Herb's job with the Forest Service didn't start until June...We were flat broke, I was "with child" and wondering where all the "wedded bliss" had gone!..Luckily Herbs' parents had helped us through that last semester of school and my Mom's freezer and cellar was full and Herb got a job in the potato cellars to tide us over until June...I actually have no recollection of that Valentines Day, but I'm sure if there had been flowers, chocolates, mushy cards and candle light dinners (maybe if the power was out) I would remember...Maybe there was a "hug and a kiss."

I soon figured out that on any special occasion, Herb was happy with a pie, any kind of pie...For VD I  usually made a cherry pie...So last week, I searched the freezer for frozen pie cherries, none were to be found, but I found blueberries, he likes, and raspberries that I like...What possesed me to make two pies, one for each of us, I have no idea...The pies turned out very pretty and tasty, but one slice for dinner and a second slice for breakfast was enough pie!

John to the rescue, he gladly took home the pie that was left and they will tell us that it was delicious, ever if it wasn't...I will make sure and buy frozen cherries next time we are in La Grande...One pie for  two people is more than enough!...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...We live in a beautiful place, our house is warm and cozy, we have way more than enough to eat AND we both got a "Hug and a Kiss," for Valentines Day.

As romantic as we get.

Baking, Cooking continues on Barton Heights...26º possible snow

 When I pressure can meat & chili, quite often I don't have a full canner (in my Mothers' rules that was a nono)...So after some trial and error, i've found that by putting 1/2 cup of dried chickpeas in a pint jar, adding 1/2 tsp of salt, fill jar with boiling water, put on lid and add one or several of these jars to fill the canner...This jar amounts to the same as a can of garbanzo beans from the store, and they taste so much better!..Now I have a few jars to make hummus...When I make hummus I think I need to make Naan to dip in the hummus.

Friday found me in the kitchen, using the small food processor, adding "the garbanzo beans," fresh lemon juice, garlic, cumin and oil, whirling it around and around until I have this lovely smooth, tasty hummus...I set it aside to meld all the flavors, and mix up a small batch of Naan dough, let it rise, then roll/pat it out into discs of dough to fry.

By this time Rusty has joined me in the kitchen to see what all the clattering and banging of pans is all about...It's nice to have 4 hands when frying Naan, two to roll and pat and two to fry and flip...Soon we were sampling warm Naan, dipped in fresh hummus.

Saturday again found me in the kitchen, this time making oatmeal/raisin/craisin/nut cookies...And for dinner, we had leftover Naan, so we made mini pizzas, that were pretty good, but need more practice...I am still trying to make the perfect pizza crust...Enough blathering for today...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Hummus with a sprinkle of 

paprica 

mini pizza on naan

My latest jigsaw puzzle

This is what I do in 

the evening to relax.

Cold Temp Encourage Baking...yesterday -3º, today 20º

 With minus zero temperatures, for the past two days,  I was looking for a way to warm up my house...What better way than baking...Recently I started a new sourdough "starter" and it was bubbling away on the counter...Looking through recipes, I found Cassie's sourdough biscuits...I've made these a couple of times but haven't come close to the way I remember them, many years ago, when she made them for her husband Bud, along with "ground cherry jam." Yesterday they turned out better, but I need more practice, before they come close...Not sure my "waistline/butt" will be able to handle the extra calories.

Rusty and I enjoyed them, along with clam chowder, it definitely helped to warm us inside and out...As long as I in the baking mood, I found frozen bananas just begging to be used or thrown away...Combine all of this and my house not only warmed up but the  smells that emanated from the kitchen were wonderful. 

This has my taste buds waking up and looking at the clock, it is time to get started on breakfast...What will it be sourdough biscuits smothered in sausage gravy or banana bread alongside scrambled eggs...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Rusty size sourdough 

biscuits

Mini banana bread

loaves

Wrapping up the canning...22º, 2 to 3 inches of fluffy snow.

 What a week!..We finished up with 50 plus, 1/2 pint jars full of jam/jelly/syrup...Different kinds are huckleberry, raspberry, strawberry, plum, apricot/orange, (kind of like marmalade).That is a lot of jam/jelly for two people...So I have been known to share with other family/friends...It makes a nice gift along with a loaf of bread.

In the pressure canning department, we did beef, pork, turkey/chicken and chili...This is more labor intensive than making jam...We used my moms' pressure canner that my dad bought her in the early thirties (depression years), when they had a young family and lived in Wyoming, in a cabin. (Sorry I got into another story)...We also now have 50 plus jars (pints, pint and a half and quarts) full of meat and chili...Rusty does most of the lifting and carrying...I take care of washing, sterilizing before canning and labeling etc after canning...We both fill jars and babysit the canner while it is under pressure and eat the finished product...We always have a few jars that don't seal, so we had chili one day and beef gravy over biscuits the next.

And also, this past week, we have accumulated over a foot of snow that had to be shoveled and/or plowed...Rusty does all the plowing and most of the shoveling, I manage a token of shoveling!

Why do we do this? I blame my Mom & Dad as they taught, their kids, to work hard and learn to be somewhat self sufficient. Hugs to All...OWAV:)

The cellar shelves are groaning!  

Jelly/Jam

Pickles etc. from

last summer

Meat top shelf

fruit from last summer

A photo blog this morning...24º and snowing.

 Photos' from the past few days, as the storm continues and we keep canning chili and shoveling/plowing snow...

Chili reading to put in the jars.

Beef, Pork and Turkey/Chicken all done

Foot of snow two days ago

it is covered with a few more inches.

 New snow on top, no photos yet today. 

Love and Hugs...OWAV:)

Interrupt Amsterdam for "Jammin"...New snow

Winters work...Summers are busy with the yard, garden, pickling and canning a few pears and peaches...Jam making and pressure cooking is saved for the winter months...Now it is time to clean out the freezer and add to my cellar shelves.

Monday morning I pulled out frozen packages (pre measured) of plums, apricots, raspberries, huckleberries  and strawberries...Delicious jams, jellies and syrup, now live in the cellar...While I was "Jammin" in the kitchen, Rusty was "Cuttin up" in the basement...He found beef, pork, deer, chicken and turkey...It is now cut in small chunks, and some beef/pork was ground for hamburger and sausage for everyday meals...AND the rest of it will go into jars to pressure can.

I loaded the dishwasher this morning with 36 pint jars and will soon be filling them with meat for my cellar shelves...This is a very busy winter week and also includes canned chili...More about that later...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

PS...What do we do with all that jam/jelly, syrup? 

Ice Cream Sundaes

are delicious anytime 

of the year.

Amsterdam, a fun city...33º snowing..

An early morning "Bolt/taxi" took us to the airport for a short flight to Amsterdam...The city of canals (below sea level) unfolded before us!..We Bolted to our hotel where we dropped luggage, before we boarded a bus (right outside our door) to explore the city...Amsterdam is also the city of bicycles, the main mode of transportation,) they have the right of way, so pedestrians beware. 

In comparison to Prague, the city was very quiet and today it was cooler, which was nice after the heat we had endured for a week...Only bad thing was Cienna made sure that our hotel had a pool and it was too cold to use it...Bobi and Ci tried it, but came out like popsicles, not fun.

We found a nice seafood restaurant that day, ordered family style, and dined on clams, oysters, salmon and "bottom fish," along with crusty bread dipped in the sauces...(My mouth is watering.) The highlight of the trip was a boating tour, on one of the many canals...We got a view of how this city was built alongside all of the water ways that drain water away from the city...(I think, I don't understand how this is possible).

All of the buildings are tall, mostly narrow and share a wall with the next building...There is no room to park cars, so they ride bicycles and walk and use the waterways...We kind of ate and drank our way through 3 days before returning to Prague...It was a lovely interlude...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

3 on a bike

most of the boat trip

was sunny and then

light rain.

It is hard to see the 

buildings.

Our tour guide with

buildings in the

background

Fun photo, with buildings.

More art deco.