Sunday Baking...47º

The photos in Cook's Country magazine, of "Spicy Cheese Bread," captured my attention...The memory of fresh baked bread from my childhood urged me on and the thought of oozing cheese, garlic and bread dough cinched it...I mixed the dough, actually followed the recipe and soon had the small batch of dough, proofing in the microwave...(heat water to a boil in a 2 cup measurer, turn off the microwave, and add your bowl of dough...Now your dough will raise in this warm moist environment  in record time.)

A basic roll dough spread out into an oblong, sprinkled with pepper flakes, dotted with small chunks of fast melting cheeses and sautéed garlic chunks...Roll up like you were going to make cinnamon rolls but instead of cutting, pinch all the edged together, and roll the "log" to lengthen it and then roll that into one big spiral loaf...(I opted to make two smaller loaves out of the dough).

They were beautiful going into the oven and fragrant and lovely, coming out of the oven...Since Becky was home alone this weekend, we invited her to come for the taste test...This bread was good but I really need more practice getting the cheese to melt just right and the dough was very nice but a little too sweet for my taste...It would be fun to make for an appetizer, add a bottle of red wine and friends...Probably won't take too much practice to make a loaf that disappears quickly...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...Yesterday since the weather had cooled off, we made the 2 hour drive to Lewiston, Idaho and the Costco store and dinner out...We do that about 3 times a year, doubt that we save any money but it is a change for us and we are so happy to be back home!

Pepper flakes on top, chunks of cheese and hot sausage inside.

Sesame seeds on top, cheese and garlic inside.

Pull apart and devour.

Relief...46º

A few weeks ago, I was wishing for warmer nighttime temperatures, so the garden would start producing...This morning I'm grateful for the low 46º overnight, our house is totally cooled off and we slept with the quilt over us...Now we can keep the house cool, as the temperatures start upward again...I don't think it will reach the 100º mark this week...My wish came true as the patty pans are flourishing, (I started leaving them on doorsteps yesterday) zucchinis are also...A cucumber a day helps to fill our dinner plate, along with carrots, peas and an occasional purple tomato.

Yesterday I made stuffed patty pans for dinner...Leftover tri tip mixed with roasted tomatoes and asiago cheese, baked just enough to heat them through...Made enough to share with Becky and Pam as we had a short visit on our deck...Wonder what I will fix for dinner today...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

PS: A recipe caught my eye yesterday...A spiral "cheesy" bread loaf with pepper flakes scattered throughout, might give it a try...😊

Stuffed patty pan, onion, cuke from our garden,

cantalope and corn form the produce truck.

Staying Cool...103º/Friday high...63º/Friday night low

It is not often that we have so many hot days and nights in a row...We spent most of our time using as little energy as possible, kept fans going day and night and stayed inside...Cooler today, but warming up again next week, but not so hot...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Cool Zucchini

Cool Swallowtail

Cool Grapes

Sort of Cool

Cold Dinner

Hot music at the Court House with "The Wasted Lives"

It was close to 100º in the shade, a little breeze.

I drove straight from the Courthouse to 

 this outdoor classical concert at

Wallowa Lake State Park,

85º on a rare summer night.

Scorching Hot...62º/100º

I don't remember many 100º days in Joseph, and now we have two in a row coming up...Yesterdays official high was 94º, but I couldn't resist taking a photo of our thermometer on the west side of our house, as the sun made its decent...Should go even higher today...We kept the inside of our house below 80º, (with fans going) so spent a comfortable afternoon inside.

Rusty left early yesterday morning, to beat the heat, and we did our morning chores early...Doing the same this morning and just thankful for a well insulated house...Stay cool friends...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Busy Weekend...51º

Expecting Rusty home for a few days, found me in the kitchen making salads to complement a BBQed pig...Reckless Kelly was playing a concert here on Saturday night August, 4th, and Russ had invited friends to come for the weekend...It was a full house for us, adding 5 guests, 2 dogs and Rusty...The oldest ones' of the bunch claimed bedrooms in the house, while younger people set up a tent in the backyard...B & B, from Bend, brought the portable bar and set up in the garage, C, (the daughter) a bartender, by trade, from Boise brought her expertise and ingredients for her latest drink, the "Whiskey Sour," revived from the 60's...B & B also brought a home raised pig for the BBQ and everyone brought more food...Friday night we had hamburgers, sausages, salad, dessert and drinks...Saturday found us on the deck, after a breakfast of biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs and fruit, the tantalizing aroma of BBQed pork soon filled the air.

Everyone seemed content to enjoy our peaceful surroundings on Barton Heights, where we visited and laughed until mid afternoon, then dined on delicious pork, corn on the cob and salads...Cody (from, Reckless Kelly) and B & J joined us for dinner...Slowly our crowd thinned as the younger people walked a few blocks to Chief Joseph Rodeo arena, for the concert and H & I headed for bed!

Sunday morning, people slept in and all were very quiet, some ate leftovers, others tea and toast...Vehicles were packed and guests were on the road home by 11am...A long drive ahead of them...H & I enjoyed the weekend, it is good for us to have a break in our routine.

Most people were camera shy but I managed one photo, Buddy had a brief moment, at the table...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Summer Squash...50º

Summer squash, snap peas and raspberries are ripe for the picking in our garden this week, also lettuce, onions and beets...On the other hand, pole beans are struggling for some reason...We are keeping things well watered in this heat.

Yesterday I started amending the plot where the garlic had been...Herb hauled a wheelbarrow load of manure, which I spread, along with old leaves and alfalfa pellets, covered all with a layer of straw before giving it a good soaking...I will keep adding layers into the fall and next spring it will be ready to plant.

Rusty is coming home for a few days, I have the "honey-do" list waiting...Actually the "Back Country Bash" is scheduled for this Friday night at the rodeo grounds in Joseph...The band "Reckless Kelly" will be playing...Rusty has known them since they started out in Bend in the late 80's as the "Prairie Mutts."

Rusty's only request from me for the weekend is a batch of rolls, guess he thinks I need more practice...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Patty Pan Squash.

Look like smiley faces to me.

Row of Sweet Peas.

Tomatoes?...61º

Early spring I bought 2 tomato plants at BiMart...The tag Indigo Rose caught my eye and I thought, why not, might be fun...These were developed at Oregon State University...We ate our first one yesterday, they are hard to tell if they are ripe because they are very purple...It was okay, will see if any of them really mature in our weather (this heat will help), the two bushes are loaded...Hugs To All...OWAV:)