Wednesday, August 06, 2008
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The yogurt totally worked!
I let it cook for 10 hours, then Jim put it in the fridge this morning. Then, the big taste test: It tastes... Exactly. Like. Yogurt. Woa, it's magic!
Beth asked if it's worth it. I don't know if it's exactly "worth it." It takes a long time, and it doesn't really seem to be any better or worse than the store-bought stuff. And I didn't exactly create it myself, because to get the yogurt bacteria to start reproducing, you have to start with yogurt bacteria... which you get by using yogurt. So you have to start off with (store-bought) yogurt to create more yogurt.
And cost-wise, yogurt isn't that expensive- i'm not saving a ton of money by making it myself. And to make yogurt, you have to make it from milk. So, if you want 2 cups of yogurt, you have to buy 2 cups of milk. So it's kind of a break even deal.
Though, I guess now the new bacteria are *my* bacteria. So if I found a local farm to buy my milk from, at least I would have local yogurt that wasn't trucked from God knows where (OK, God & I do know where- our yogurt comes from Eugene, which is, like, 45 minutes away. Heh).
But, it was kinda fun. :-)
Also fun? We went downtown tonight for Salem's First Wednesday event. We had a good time! Jim & I went once when it started a couple of years ago, and it was pretty lame. But tonight there were a ton of people, and most of the shops & restaurants were open, and it was, like, a lively downtown. Go figure. :-) I'm glad the good people of Salem are catching on, even if it's only for one night per month!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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It's been a very busy summer! Today the sidewalk trees in front of the Statesman Journal building gave me the same bad news they do every year: Autumn is coming. Those trees (and I don't know what kind they are) are always the first to get just a tinge of red splashed in their leaves, far before I begin to think about fall Sigh. But there's still some summer to enjoy....
Last weekend we went to Waldport with Jim's family for Kim's birthday. The first day was rainy- which is OK; it's the beach! The next two days were lovely despite the wind. We all took a nice long bike ride on the beach, and it was so fun & kind of surreal! Especially the part where Jim flipped his bike, cracked his helmet and injured his shoulder. Oops. But he dusted himself off & we continued riding. :-P After a trip to the ER the next day, we found there was nothing broken in the shoulder, and now it's starting to feel better.
When Chester got home from Doggie Daycare, he rushed into the house & started squeaking his squeak toy. Hee. It amuses me to no end how much he loves that squeaky little thing.
I'm sitting here attempting to make my first batch of yogurt. First, I heat milk *almost but not quite* to boiling. That was tedious. Now I'm watching it cool to room temperature. La la la la. Then it has to cook in its yogurt incubator for 10 hours. La la la. Won't it be fun if it turns out well, though?
Picked 3 delicious cherry tomatoes from the garden, as well as a couple of giant cucumbers. Unfortunately, the cukes weren't quite ready- still kind of green & hard inside. So I'll let the others continue to hang out on the vine for awhile longer.
Going to Vegas this weekend for Joe's birthday. My siblings, Rachel & Chris, will be there, too. Fun!
OK, off to stare at milk now...
Monday, July 28, 2008
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I had a very productive weekend, foodwise....
Friday night, Joe was here & we made homemade pizza dough. Of course it was delicious! We made a margherita pizza with cherry tomatoes & golden tomatoes from the CSA box, and tons of basil & oregano from the garden. Made a yummy Hawaiian with fresh pineapple, too. Later, Kristin came over & brought dark chocolate chocolate chip ganache cupcakes for my birthday! They were crazy good. J & K sang Happy Birthday to me. :-)
Sunday, Jim & Justin broke in the new smoker:
Men with meat.
While that was being marinated/smoked/mopped all day (and, ahem, into the wee hours), Justin helped me make rosemary hoagie rolls:
Homemade Rosemary Hoagie Rolls
They weren't much to look at, but were shockingly good. They had perfect crunchy crusts and super soft insides. Mmmm!
Next, Justin & I went out to inspect the garden & check on my first red tomato:
Omigod! It's an actual tomato!!!
Then, I picked up one of the dozens of apples that are all over the ground & dared Justin to take a bite. So, being a 12-year-old boy, of course he did. And it was good! And I took a bite, and, yes, it was very very good! So then we went about trying to get only good apples down from the very tall tree. Most of the apples are defective in some way. And the ones that are perfect aren't really within in reaching distance. But we got some, even though I got bonked on the forehead by a wayward falling apple:
Justin with our first apple harvest.
Today, I also noticed that our grape vines (which are not trained, and which we have torn out in previous years) are producing grapes! Jessi, prepare your hammock & buy a train ticket!
And here is the adorable, lone cherry tomato that I picked today:
It was yummy.
Jim caught this critter red-handed in my garden today:
A big 'ole nutria lounging beneath our grapes.
Here he is, glaring at Jim's camera.
Looks like, before Jim spotted him, this nutria made a nice meal of my cucumber plant. The plant is big & vibrant, so it should survive. But I definitely need to get a fence put in soon!
I didn't see the nutria, but Jim said it was huge: 25-30 pounds. Yikes!
Friday, July 25, 2008
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Click here to see some photos of Jim racing in Boise's Twilight Criterium last weekend. He did great & finished really well! Our friend Ted took the fabulous photos. Enjoy!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
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Happy Pioneer Day, everybody!!!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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Yay, Jim found my camera! I knew I had left it in the back of his car. I'm just unsure as to how it got into the bottom of his smelly bike-clothes bag. Ewww.
Joe is coming to town on Thursday and staying through Sunday. And Justin is coming home with Jim on Saturday & staying with us for a week. Hooray for houseguests!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
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This was a very good, very long weekend. Some of the good things:
-When I got home, my zucchinni plant greeted me with an actual zucchinni! Go garden!
-When Jim crashed his bike in the last lap of today's Idaho State Championships race, he didn't break bones nor bikes (well, not his own anyway).
-Even though I have to be home alone all week while Jim stays in Idaho, at least I don't have to scrub his road rash everyday. I would, of course, but I'm happy his nurse sister will be taking care of him...
-A bunch of friends & family came out today & yesterday to watch Jim race both days. It was great to have them all see what we've been up to this year. :-)
-In yesterday's Twilight Criterium, Jim finished 12th out of a huge pack- he did so great!
-I finally got a camera case to protect my camera (and then prompty lost the camera...)
-I had a fun time at the Meridian High 10-year reunion. We got to hang out with friends Wyatt and Derek, who I've known since middle school, as well as some others.
-Had an even funner time at the Eagle High 10-year reunion, which I've spent the last 3 months frantically planning. It went off without a hitch, and turned out even better than I was expecting. My relief is immense.
-People were very grateful that Lindsay & I planned the reunion (since, 3 months ago, there wasn't going to be one at all). That made it all worthwhile.
-Had a wonderful time catching up with old friends! :-) (& seeing all their masses of children!)
-Spent a lovely evening with Gramma & Vern. They even pulled out the old ice-cream maker, and we cranked ourselves some incredibly delicious ice cream. Mmmmm.
-Chester is having a fun vacation at Doggie Daycare. The kitties are very cuddly now that I'm home (and since the big loud guy and the big loud dog aren't here!).
-OK, on to the next adventures: Joe's in town next weekend; Jim's family is in town & at the coast the following weekend; then to Vegas for Joe's Big Birthday (turning 28 on 8-8-08); camping at Crater Lake soon after.
Whew. I'm going to bed....
Monday, July 14, 2008
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I'm suddenly a baking fool....
Friday I made pizza dough (and put homegrown basil & oregano on the pizzas)
Saturday I made 2 loaves of wheat bread. Yum!
Sunday I made blueberry muffins (with handpicked blueberries, my favorite!)
Apparently all I needed to learn to cook was the right equipment. :-)
Monday, July 07, 2008
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Last week, we got struck by a vicious crime:
Somebody kidnapped Jane!
Jane is (was?) our British friend whose disembodied voice lived in our car. She would give us helpful tips such as “Take a left on the motorway” or “Go straight on.” She was kind of annoying, though, always telling Jim to go a certain direction, when, as Passenger Extordinaire/Super Navigator, I was trying to tell him to go a different way. We duked it out on occassion, but came to a gradual, friendly understanding. We were happy to have her.
But Tuesday morning, some jerk broke the window on our Audi and stole our GPS Navigation unit. They also stole our (new) stereo and Jim's (old, expensive) sunglasses.
And not only that? They kidnapped David Sedaris, too!! For an early birthday gift, Rachel had just given me his new book on CD. And we had listened to the first CD on the way home from the beach house last weekend. So, Disc #1 was still sitting in the CD player when it was stolen. ... But the good news?
They didn't actually steal the box set of CD's. And in order to play David Sedaris, we had to take out another CD: “Adam's Soundtrack: Excess Ain't Rebellion.” This is an extremely limited-edition disc, sure to be worth a killing on the black market. And, by some strange luck, it's still in my posession. So now I'll always be able to listen to my friend Adam's favorite tunes from 2007. Yay! :-)
Sunday, July 06, 2008
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Saturday, July 05, 2008
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After spending some time Googling various types of poop the other day, I was able to figure out what the critter is that's been eating my garden (today's victim: The Eggplant).
The little guys who are munching (and pooping in) my garden are Nutria. They're beaver-like creatures that are fairly prevalent in Salem (though not native). And the site I found about them said that they will pull up entire plants. Bingo.
I've been terribly agitated about my plants getting eaten, but my heart softened some when I found this photo:
Awwwww! CUTE!
I mean, I guess it's awfully nice of me to be growing veggies to feed an adorable little family of nutria. It's not like they get a CSA box delivered every Tuesday, right? Jim & I don't need the veggies. Nutria need food, too!
Nonetheless, I think I'll put up some sort of fence & see if they can find their way to somebody else's garden....
Friday, July 04, 2008
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The strawberry shortcake was super.duper.awesome. Yum! Who knew I could actually make stuff? Interesting! I made the cake, the whipping cream & the strawberry moosh (from berries I picked).
Jim made tiny baked-then-fried new potatoes. This time he added another step- stuffing the top with gorgonzola cheese and then baking once more just to melt the cheese. So yummy!
We spent the evening at Sarah & Stuart's house, with their friend Shannon, and Adam-Melissa-Oscar. It was a great time, filled with additional delicious food. Plus sparklers!
Spending the day cooking is fun, on these random days when we don't have other things taking us away....
Like tomorrow, when we're going to a bike race in Eugene in the morning. Then tomorrow night, we're going to a Volcanoes baseball game. Sunday will be all about the weeds.
Oh, and the best part about 4th of July? Chester is mostly ambivalent about the fireworks. It's a nice change from the days when Brody would eat the doors. Or Sandy would jump in the dryer. :)
It's already Independence Day!
Don't have to work today. I've got big plans for weeding, cleaning, running, biking, dog walking, reading, baking ... and somehow stretching the physics of time to cram it all in. :-)
Tonight we're going over to Sarah & Stuart & Pippen's house for a little bbq. My big plan is to bust out the KitchenAid mixer and attempt o make cake & whipped cream for strawberry shortcake. I've got a bunch of fresh strawberries that Stefanie & I picked yesterday on my lunch hour. Yum!
Have a great day!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
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Looks like the show will go on!
Planning my 10-year high school reunion has been a little stressful, and a lot time consuming. And the worst part of all? I was worried we might not have enough people attend to be able to pay for the food & venues.
But we hit the magic number today, the final day before deadline, that allows us to at least break even. So we don't have to pay for it ourselves, or even worse, cancel it.
We still don't have a ton of people- only about 10% of the graduating class has, so far, purchased tickets. And that's only half of the people who RSVP'd “Yes.” So a lot of people said they were coming, but have flaked out when it came time to actually buy their admission. Hmmm.
Tomorrow's our deadline, but we have an extra, secret, final deadline one week from tomorrow (known only to readers of this blog....). Hopefully we'll pick up a lot of the stragglers in the next week.
If not? Well, it will be, um, small & intimate. Much unlike high school.
Ah, ridiculous high school ... (Apparently, it's necessary for me to point out that the flower-print polyester dress I wore to that dance was a JOKE, as were the feather boas accessorizing all our friends, and not a sign of my fashion prowess.)