blueberry hunting

We had heard rumors of wild huckleberries growing in our local mountains and over the weekend we decided to do a little foraging.

And wouldn't ya know it, we found ourselves a giant blueberry field!  p.s. I'm not sure why we were so surprised...they are called the Blue Mountains afterall!

They were so tiny and delicious and I was not mad about the lack of huckleberries at all.

So we picked and picked and picked until the sun went down.

And the next morning Evan whipped up some blueberry pancakes.  I found a new recipe to try because I wanted incredibly fluffy and delicious pancakes, with no trace of healthiness in them at all :)

And they were out of this world delicious!  I know that pancake recipes are everywhere, but I thought these were special enough to share.  Like if I ever open up a breakfast restaurant, this will be the pancake recipe I use (that's how good they are).   And if you don't happen to have some freshly-picked-wild-blueberries on hand, well I suppose you could use store bought :)

Fluffy Pancakes

from allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter, melted

cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

* we used 3/4 c. + 2 tablespoons buttermilk instead of combining milk and vinegar and it was scrumptious.  This recipe made 8 pancakes and I was left wanting more... next time I'll double it for sure :)

in the summertime

Oops.  Has it really been that long since I last posted?

We've been a little busy over here.

I try not to play favorites with the seasons (remember?).  I really do like them equally.

We've traveled far and wide, soaking up every bit of sunshine before winter comes and the sun goes into hibernation again.  I'm hoping that I'll be more prepared for the foggy winter this year, because last winter was kind of a doozy.
 (p.s. I am taking suggestions (or plane tickets to Hawaii) on how to survive on no sun for weeks on end!)

So I think that summer is our busy season.  Busy in the best way.

There are lots of things to celebrate.

Lots of places that need visiting.

And most of the day is spent outside.

*tangent
you can sort of see Gesso's new bark collar in this photo.  Say what you will about them being inhumane, but I will argue that they're way more humane then wanting to throw Gesso out the window every time he wakes the baby up from his nap.  It's been good for everyone.
end tangent*

Also, this baby?  Sweet as sugar.

We've been eating our weight in berries (and sugar).  burp.



And some of us have had the luxury of long afternoon naps :)

We've had so much fun taking Harvey into the mountains,

and dipping our toes in skyscraper lakes.

We've played with tiny cousins.

And spent most weekends escaping the heat.

 

So what I'm trying to say is that I didn't mean to neglect this space.....I've just been a little busy enjoying summer :)

Hope yours has been fun as well!