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 :)

I stand corrected.

Remember last year when I 'invented' Holly Peanut Butter Cups?  And how I got a little bit cocky and told Reese's to 'eat my shorts'?  hehe.  Well.  I stand corrected.  Because I found a recipe for Reese's peanut butter eggs (remember Easter?), that could totally eat Holly's peanut butter cups shorts.  And they are rocking my very world.

Evan has been gone this week for work which is how these came to be.  When Evan is gone things get really boring around here and the clock ticks extra loud, the appliances hum, and I eat things like a big bowl of raspberries + peanut butter eggs for dinner.  And chocolate covered pomegranate seeds for breakfast (Evan please come home!!).  Anyway, the point is that while Evan is gone I do all sorts of irresponsible things.  Like look for sinful new recipes to try.  And these are the very definition of sin.  So I guess you could say I've been sinning all day.

Peanut Butter Eggs:

adapted from this recipe

filling:

1.5 c. powdered sugar

3/4 c. creamy peanut butter (I like Adam's no-stir.  because I hate stirring peanut butter.  hate.)

2 Tb. butter

1 Tb. milk

coating:

1.5 c. dark chocolate chips

1 Tb. shortening (I know it's weird, but it works!)

Mix together filling ingredients until completely combined.  Roll into little balls (or eggs!) and freeze for about an hour. 

Once frozen, melt chocolate and shortening in the microwave and dip peanut butter balls in chocolate.  Let harden on a sheet of wax paper and then eat them all at once.  I won't judge!

Millions of Peaches

We live in a town void of orchards.  It is the worst.  It means no road-side stands or 'pick-your-own' farms.  It means super lame grocery store fruit.  It also means long winters.  But!  I had a friend who knew of a friend who had a friend that lived in Washington State and who was coming to Montana with a truck full of peaches.  Peaches!  We jumped on that boat as fast as we could.  We are peach people.

And so we have spent the past week having a peach with every meal.  And for every snack.  It was probably the best week of my life.  And then things got dramatic: the peaches were at their prime and we still had half a box left.  What to do?!  I'm not cool enough to know how to can stuff.  And our freezer can only hold so many frozen peach slices.  How 'bout fruit leather?  Okay.



Peach Leather:
4 peeled, pitted peaches
juice of one lemon

Combine peaches + lemon juice in a blender and blend until no chunks remain.  Pour into lightly greased dehydrater trays (this amount yielded three trays).  Press the 'on' button.  Take a nap.  When leather is done becoming leather (5 ish hours?  I'm not sure, I was taking a serious nap) cut into strips and roll in parchment paper.

Yay!  Yum!

Don't mind if I dew

Maybe one of the best parts of coming home from the mountains--a quick stop at the Dew Drop Inn for some french fries (to replenish all of the salt we lost) and shakes (to replenish all the...fat we lost?  Yeah.).  Yum yum.

p.s. Gesso now stays in the car for these visits because he absolutely cannot STAND the wiggly guy on the roof.  Bark bark bark.  Although admittedly, I kind of feel like barking at him too.

Confessions of a Rhubarb rookie

I'm not quite sure how I've gotten this far in life without tasting rhubarb.  I keep trying to blame my parents, but it is quite possible that it was offered to me and I just didn't want to try it (read: pickiest eater in the universe).  In any case, my life is now complete.  Rhubarb--you complete me.

Let me back up just a bit...

Last week Evan came home from work with a giant bag of rhubarb.  I stared at him in confusion.  He stared at me right back.  And then he told me to make something with it.  But it looked weird.  Like red celery.  And I wasn't about to waste butter and sugar on red celery.  Eww.

But then I did.

And I am so glad.  

This Rhubarb Crisp tastes just like summer.  I've already made it twice this week.  And I'm planning on making it again on Sunday.  Try and stop me.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp:

       recipe from cooks.com

4 c. rhubarb pieces (about 1 lb.)

2 c. sliced strawberries

1 c. sugar

1 1/3 c. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. old fashioned oats

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled

In a large bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cinnamon, and 1/3 c. of the flour.  Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.

In another bowl, combine remaining 1 c. flour with brown sugar, oats, nutmeg, and butter.  Blend well to create the streusel.  Sprinkle streusel mixture over rhubarb mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Yum. 

 Dear reader, are you a rhubarb junkie?  Are there any recipes I need to try?  Because we still have LOTS of rhubarb (and enthusiasm).

Easter has the very best candy

I mean, really--everything is shaped like an egg.  Which for some reason makes it even more scrumptious.  Don't even get me started on these dark chocolate Cadbury eggs.  Just don't.

Speaking of felted balls, look at what I made!  I've been pouring all of my creative energy into stabbing little bits of wool with a needle.  I have a little project in mind but need to make about twice as many balls before it can happen.  My friend Sarah put together a very helpful tutorial on felting with soap and water, but I used my felting needle, and found the stab-stab-stabbing very therapeutic.  Don't judge.  Or be afraid.

 Don't forget to enter the giveaway!  Time's running out!

Ode to Orangette

I am in love with Orangette. I think she is smart and good and has delicious taste. And this morning I realized that I had two of Molly's recipes in my house. Two! And that seemed like kind of a big deal, so just thought I'd share.

First, her delicious Chickpea Salad. Which I like for lunch with some crusty bread. Mmmm.

And last night I made these Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies. Seriously good. And ya know what? They were even better for breakfast! If you were with me back in January you might remember me gushing about these little gems. They were a Molly too. She has good taste.

What's been going on in your kitchen lately?

Autumn = Soup

A simple but important equation to remember.

Today was a very special day. Our favorite soup has reemerged. And I couldn't be happier.

This was the first soup I ever made. True story! And it was definitely beginners luck, because it is delicious and has been a regular in our cold-weather rotation ever since.

Southwestern Veggie Stew

adapted from Sunset Magazine

ingredients:

1 bag frozen corn

2 T. canola oil

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 zucchini or yellow squash, chopped

1 c. chopped carrots

any other vegetable lurking in your crisper

1 can diced tomatoes with chilies, undrained

2 16 oz. cans beans (I like a can of black and pinto), rinsed and drained

1 t. sea salt

1/2 t. black pepper

2 T. chili powder

1 t. cumin

32 oz. vegetable or chicken broth

2 T. lime juice

a healthy dash of cayenne pepper

In a large soup pot, heat oil and saute onion and garlic for 1 minutes on medium heat. Add squash, corn, and carrots and saute for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, black beans, salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin and stir to combine. Add broth and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Mix in lime juice. Garnish with tortilla chips, lime wedges, cheese, and sour cream.

Mmmmmm.

*important tidbit: I like to put my tortilla chips at the bottom on the bowl with the soup on top. That way they get nice and soggy. Which in this case, is a very good thing.

Holly Peanut Butter Cups

*important side note: Gesso ate Evan's Thesis. As in, he ate the leather bound book representing 2 years of Evan's life. I told Evan to just write a new one...but he wasn't in the mood. That is all.*

Peanut butter and chocolate? Yes please!

I grew up being a big fan of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They were my favorite. I always hoped they'd contact me for some sort of sponsorship. Long story short, they never did.

Anyway, now that I'm an adult, my taste buds want a little more than Reese's can offer.

And so I came home from work today and played around in the kitchen.

And I am very (very, very) pleased with how things turned out. Plus, as an added bonus, I'll now be able to sponsor myself. Reese's can eat my shorts.

Holly Peanut Butter Cups

for the filling:

1/2 c. good quality peanut butter, chunky or creamy

1 T. melted butter

1/4 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

for the chocolate sandwich:

1/4 c. whipping cream

1 c. good quality chocolate chips

For the filling, combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well. Set aside.

To prepare the chocolate, heat the whipping cream on stove top until just boiling. Pour over bowl filled with the chocolate chips. Let stand one minute and then stir to combine.

Set up 15 miniature cupcake liners. Put a small blob of prepared chocolate into the bottom of liner. Smush down with a spoon and then place a larger blob of the peanut butter combination over top. Spoon more chocolate over the peanut butter, filling the cupcake liner almost to the top.

Place in freezer for 30 minutes.

Eat. Smile. Repeat.

Store in the 'fridgerater.

Summer Staple

I am very pro-popsicle. Very. Because I am definitely a pansy in the summer heat. I wilt. And the only thing that seems to perk me up is a nice cool treat. And ice cream is great. But a girl can only eat so much of it before she needs to go out and buy some stretchy pants. Because, ya know....fat.

So these are my new summer staple. Fruit smoothie popsicles. The recipe is pretty complicated, so make sure you pay attention.

First of all, you need a delicious tasting juice. I like Naked juice because it's very thick and freezes delightfully.

Second, you pour it into your popsicle mold. And then you twiddle your thumbs for 4 hours while it freezes.

Lastly, you remove your frozen popsicle from said mold. And you hold it in your hand, anticipating the chilled thrill that awaits you.

*bite*

Oh, did I say that the recipe was complicated? I meant that it was easy. Very easy.

'Tis the season

This weekend will kick off backpacking season 2010 at our house. Evan has done his part already: he planned the trip, bought a new tent (much lighter, he assures me), and demanded some delicious food. He is so demanding.

Just kidding.

He actually doesn't care about food. But I do. Quite a bit. And so this week I've been playing in the kitchen (I love you kitchen!), and have come up with some new additions to our backcountry repertoire.

A few years ago I read that you can dehydrate smoothies and then rehydrate them while you're on the trail. Amazing? Yes. So I blended up our favorite smoothie (equal parts vanilla yogurt, milk, and fruit--usually strawberries), lined the tray with parchment paper, and pressed the 'on' button. So strenuous. I can hardly wait to fill a bottle with cool mountain water and smoothie chips and sip away. (And if I can't wait, the dried smoothie is really good by itself--it tastes like strawberry creamsavers :)

Granola. This recipe came from Evan's sister Anna, and it is so simple and so delicious. Probably because it has coconut in it. Coconut = Awesome.

Oh, did you want the recipe? I thought you might.

Naked Granola

dry ingredients:

3 c. rolled oats

1 c. raw natural/sweetened coconut flakes

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

liquid ingredients:

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. very hot water

1/4 c. canola oil

1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix. In a separate bowl, combine the liquid ingredients and stir until honey is dissolved. Pour over the dry ingredients and toss together. Spread on baking sheet in a thin layer. Bake 15 minutes and stir. Bake another 15 and stir again. Continue baking in 10 minutes increments until granola is browned to desired degree. Let cool 20 minutes.

Yum.

Kitchen yearnings

Whew. I'm back.

And while I was away, I really missed my kitchen and really really missed cooking. Is that normal?

I think that I mostly just missed being able to assemble a few fresh ingredients and call it dinner.

So guess what happened ten seconds after I walked in the door?

A salad was born.

Asian Noodle Salad

from the Pioneer Woman

Salad Ingredients:

1 package linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed and cooled

1/2 head sliced napa cabbage

1/2 head purple cabbage

1/2 bunch baby spinach

1 whole red pepper, thinly sliced

1 whole orange pepper, thinly sliced

1 bag bean sprouts (also called mung bean sprouts)

chopped cilantro, up to one bunch

scallions

toasted cashews

Dressing ingredients:

1 whole lime, juiced

8 T. olive oil

8 T. soy sauce

2 T. sesame oil

1/3 c. brown sugar

3 T. fresh ginger

2 whole jalapenos chopped

chopped cilantro

Preparation instructions:

Mix salad ingredients together. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on a platter. Dressing keeps for up to three days before serving.

Serve with a swirly baguette.