Happy Halloween!

Me and Paul with Adam as: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe!

Happy Halloween everyone! This is such a fun time of year when the holidays start up! We really love celebrating Halloween and my husband Paul loves coming up with fun costumes for us to wear as a family. This year we were the "Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" as you can see in the photo above. I love how creative Paul was with his wardrobe costume. It really looks like a real piece of furniture!
Suburban Garden:

The other day Adam and I took a walk around the neighborhood on a sunny afternoon and enjoyed seeing the changes in the leaves. I love the photo below as it contrasts nature and urban landscapes with the small rocks inserted in the concrete sidewalk and the lovely single red leaf! This time of year is so magical! I have not done a lot in the yard as we have been focused on lots of holiday, cooking and indoor activities but we try to get outside as much as we can to kick around a ball or go for a walk and see what is around us.

A leaf we encountered on a walk through the neighborhood.

A leaf "flower" I made from our neighbor's fallen leaves.

Country Garden: Last Harvest:

This past Friday we were able to visit the country garden and see what my folks have been up to harvesting the last of the fruits and vegetables from the garden and orchard. They have worked very hard and made the very most out of the large harvest. This year was especially good for apples and pears. It is wonderful because not only we enjoy them as applesauce and cider but we are also able to wrap up and save pears and apples to eat throughout the winter fresh. What a gift!

While we were there we all went out to the orchard to pick the remaining apples off of two trees. The separated the ones for "storage" apples and the ones to make cider out of. It was such a lovely, sunny afternoon and Adam had fun picking up apples and putting them in the buckets as well as playing in the nearby woods. Later on, we all worked at the cider press to make 5 gallons of cider for us to take home! What a lovely treat! Adam was such an amazing helper with the cider. He worked alongside Grandpa Dale for nearly 2 hours putting apples into the hopper of the cider press and helping him press the apples to make the juice. My mom and I worked together to strain the juice and put it into a large container for us to take home to pasteurize and can.

Below are some pictures of the harvest and all of the fun we had that sunny fall day together:

Comice Pears laid out on the table ready to be packed up for winter storage.

Adam drinking some tea at my parent's house.He loves his special cup!

Bosc pears laid out on the table ready to be packed up.

Adam playing in the trees near the orchard.

Some lovely leaves on one of the pear trees in the orchard.


Adam taking a bite of an apple fresh off of the tree!

A leaf on a fig tree at my parent's house.

Grandpa Dale and Adam pressing the apples to make cider.

The twenty quarts jars of apple cider I pasteurized and canned from the cider my parents gave me.

Early Birthday Celebration & Cake:

This past Saturday, October 29th we celebrated my birthday early by going to the Redland Elementary School Halloween Carnival with my parents, brother Stuart and sister in law Kim. This is the school I attended from Kindergarten until 8th grade. Now it is only an elementary school but they still have the Halloween Carnival as a fundraiser. It has changed somewhat but it brought back wonderful memories for me and it was fun to share it with Adam. One of my favorite things at the carnival was always the cake walk. I would always spend nearly all of my carnival tickets on it to ensure that I won a cake. Now it is called a "treat stroll" but it is still the same. Adam did the "stroll" with me one time as did my mom a couple of times. Adam also played a couple of the games in the classrooms. He had the most fun playing outside on the play structure though. At the end, my mom and I spent the remainder of our tickets on the bingo game and I won a Starbucks gift pack! Later on, we went to the Redland Cafe and enjoyed pizza and salad. Then, we headed to my folk's place for an amazing cake that my mom and Kim made for me and I opened my lovely birthday gifts. What a fun evening we had together!

Me with my lovely birthday cake at my folk's house.

The cute "little girl" candles on my birthday cake!

My mom helping me cut and serve the cake with Adam looking on.

Paul and Adam at the birthday party.

Adam thoroughly enjoying his slice of cake!


The Italian Cream Cake that my mom and sister in law Kim made for me!

Italian Cream Cake: Hazelnut & Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese-Coconut Icing:

This recipe is from Cook's Country magazine and my mom and Kim used hazelnuts from their own orchard in the cake! This is such a delicious and moist cake. I love the flavor of the hazelnuts and the sweet tang of the frosting! It combines many of my favorite things into one cake!

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
4 tablespoons shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1 3/4 cups sugar 5 large eggs, room temperature 2 cups hazelnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

Frosting:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 2 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar 1/2 cup cream of coconut 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch salt 16 ounces (2 packages) cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces and softened

1. For the cake: Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350F. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, then flour pans.

2. Process the coconut in food processor until finely ground, about 1 minute. Combine coconut, buttermilk and vanilla in a 2 cup liquid measuring cup and let sit until coconut is slightly softened, about 10 minutes; reserve. 3. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat butter, shortening, and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 4. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with additions of reserved coconut-buttermilk mixture, scraping down bowl as needed. Add 3/4 cup hazelnuts or pecans and give batter a final stir by hand.

5. Scrape equal amounts of batter into prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 28 to 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, discarding parchment and cool completely- about 2 hours.

For Frosting:

1. Mix butter and sugar on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium high and beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream of coconut, vanilla, and salt and beat until smooth, about 30 seconds. 2. Add cream cheese, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Refrigerate until ready to use. 3. When cakes are cooled, spread 1 1/2 cups frosting over 1 cake round. Top with second cake round and spread the rest of the frosting over the top and sides. Press nuts into the sides or top of cake and decorate with extra coconut if desired.

A slice of this heavenly cake!

Cooking:

I have been doing a lot of baking and cooking in the past week. I love that we spend more time at home when I cook more and not only are we saving money, we are creating fun, family memories to last a lifetime. Often, Adam enjoys staying at home and playing with his toys or creating forts out of chairs and blankets. These are special times and we are enjoying them! Here are a few recipes for dishes I have made and an extra special one that my friend Carol created this past week:

Applesauce Bread:

I found this recipe online. I added a few spices to it to liven it up and it is delicious! I love how moist this bread is- it is such a treat!

A fresh loaf of spiced applesauce bread.

Applesauce Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups store-bought or homemade applesauce, at room temperature
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus more for the pan
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  
• 2 cups walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped (optional-I didn't add these)
  

Directions

1. To make the applesauce bread, preheat the oven to 350˚F (176°C). Lightly butter 2 standard-size loaf pans or place paper liners in 24 cupcake or muffin tins.

2. Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fit with a paddle and beat until the mixture is lemon-colored and thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Add the applesauce and then the butter, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. (The mixture will break and appear curdled, and while you may think you’ve ruined it, just keep on going because everything is fine.)

4. Place the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl and mix well. Stir it into the applesauce mixture and beat to combine. Add the nuts, if desired, and mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pans or, if making muffins, use a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or heaping tablespoon to fill the prepared tins. Bake the applesauce bread until golden brown and firm in the center, about 1 hour for loaves and 20 to 25 minutes for cupcakes. Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and set aside to cool.

Cuban Black Bean Stew:

This is a recipe I have prepared many times. I found the recipe online. Many times I make the vegetarian version but this time I added a bit of pepper bacon and corn to it. It is so great for a cold night! I halved the recipe for us and it lasted us for 2 meals plus some extra.

Cuban Black Bean Stew over brown rice.

Ingredients:

2-3 tablespoons olive oil 6 slices bacon (pepper bacon if you have it- chopped into small pieces)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic (pressed or diced)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1-2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Adobo seasoning ( It is found in the Mexican food section of the store.)
1 tablespoon curry
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (add more if you like a spicier soup)
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
2-3 veggie bouillon cubes (or 2-3 cups chicken broth)
4 tablespoons Menudo Mix (a mix of spices usually found near the Mexican food at the store) Alternative: 1 tablespoon celery seed, 1 tablespoon onion powder or flakes, 2 tablespoon oregano, 1/2 tablespoon chile powder
2 cans black beans (1 drained)
2-3 potatoes (chopped)
1 cup frozen corn
1-2 carrots- chopped
steamed rice

Directions:

1. Cook the chopped bacon in a dutch oven or soup pot until cooked through and slightly browned.

2. Add olive oil to the pan and saute the onion(s), pepper(s), and garlic until desired tenderness.

2. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce. Then cook on med-high for a few minutes.

3. Add all of the spices and boullion cubes or broth.

4. Follow by adding the beans, water, potatoes, corn and carrots.

5. Cook until the potatoes and carrots are soft. Serve over rice.

Honey Wheat Bread:

This is a recipe from my book "James Beard's American Cookery." I highly recommend this book because it has a lot of wonderful recipes that are simple to prepare but delicious! James Beard commented on this recipe saying that the bread was too sweet for him, but I found that I really enjoyed the sweetness.

A lovely, sweet wheat loaf.

Makes 2 small loaves of bread

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons active dry yeast 2 cups warm water 1/2 cup honey 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 cups whole wheat flour 3 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1. In a small bowl proof the yeast with 1/2 cup of the warm water. (Let it stand to bubble up for about 5 minutes)

2. In a large mixing bowl combine the honey, remaining water (1 1/2 cups), salt, oil and whole wheat flour. Add the yeast and stir well.

3. Gradually add enough white flour to make a stiff dough. Remove the dough to a floured surface and knead until it is smooth and satiny. Place in an oiled bowl and toss to coat all of the surfaces of the dough.

4. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch down the dough.

5. Knead again 3 minutes and divide in half. Roll each half to a 14x7 inch rectangle and, starting at the narrower side, roll tightly and seal the edges. Place each roll into a well buttered 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch bread pan. Cover, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk- about an hour. 6. Bake at 375 degrees about 40-50 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans and let them cool on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Pancakes:

This recipe is from "Martha Stewart Living magazine." I cut it out of the magazine a while back when I had a subscription. I love how the middle of these pancakes is very "custardy" and moist.

Some fresh, spiced pumpkin pancakes.

Makes about 10 small dollar size pancakes.

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon each: cinnamon, ground ginger and salt 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
a pinch of ground cloves

Wet Ingredients: 1 cup milk 6 tablespoons pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons melted butter 1 egg 1. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. 2. In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. 3. Melt some butter in a skillet or an electric skillet over medium heat: pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side. Serve with butter and syrup. We also enjoyed ours with some homemade blackberry syrup that my mom made!

Italian Sausage Soup:

This recipe is from my "Portland's Palate" cookbook. I often find great recipes in this book. We enjoyed this soup last Sunday for dinner along with some toasted whole wheat honey bread!

Italian Sausage Soup with lots of veggies!

1 pound hot or mild Italian sausage (I used the ground sausage but sliced sausage may be used as well) 2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots) 1 medium onion, chopped 1 stalk of coarsely chopped celery 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I didn't have any, so I didn't add it) 2 tablespoons butter 3-4 cups chicken broth** 1 (15 1/2 ounce) can garbanzo beans with liquid 1 teaspoon dried sage salt and pepper freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1. In a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium-high heat, saute sausage until browned. Remove and set aside. 2. Add carrots, onion, celery, mushrooms and saute in butter over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are softened. 3. Return sausage to pan and add parsley, chicken broth, garbanzo beans with liquid, sage, salt and pepper. Simmer 30-40 minutes. To serve, sprinkle individual servings with Parmesan cheese.
**Note: I think next time I will add another cup of broth because it seemed like the soup needed more liquid.


Carol's Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream with Gingersnaps:

This recipe is from my dear friend Carol. She served this amazing ice cream to her family recently for a lovely fall dessert. I hope to try this recipe soon as it sounds delectable!

Scrumptious pumpkin pie ice cream with chunks of gingersnap cookies.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 T. molasses

1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree

2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup crumbled gingersnaps

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk, brown sugar, and molasses until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Add heavy cream and vanilla. Turn on electric ice cream maker and pour the mixture into the freezer bowl. Let mix until thickened, about 25 minutes. Add the crumbled gingersnaps during the last 5 minutes of mixing. If eating later, put ice cream in an airtight container and place in the freezer. Remove from the freezer about 20 minutes before serving.

Halloween:

We had a very mellow Halloween evening this year. It was wonderful that we were able to wear our costumes at the carnival earlier because on Halloween Adam was tired and just wanted to stay home. He sure had fun watching kids come to the door for candy though. He even practiced ringing our doorbell and saying "trick or treat" for some candy. He sure loved the Skittles he got. He also enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate while we all watched "Curious George" DVDs.

Me as "The Witch", Adam as "The Lion" and Paul as "The Wardrobe at the Redland Elementary School Halloween Carnival.

Creativity and Imagination:

I love how creative and imaginative Adam is with his play and his toys. He loves to play with the trains at his preschool so he decided he would create a train out of some cars and trucks he has at home. I love his ideas!

Adam making a train in our living room.

I hope you all have a happy and healthy week and enjoy each day!

Happy Times!

Adam smiling right beside "Jack" the pumpkin he helped carve and decorate.

We have had another very busy week and we have been so lucky to still have some lovely, sunny days this fall. I have been battling a headache most likely to do with seasonal allergies for the past few days. I still enjoyed doing some cooking and baking and I'm looking forward to feeling 100% very soon so that I can enjoy more fall activities!

Suburban Garden:

Adam and I got outside the other day and enjoyed a sunny fall day. It was wonderful to see that some flowers are still thriving even in the cooler weather. I need to make some time soon to do a another garden cleanup before the cold, wet winter season sets in. By the photos below you can see what Adam and I saw on our afternoon outside.

The begonias in the side yard are still blooming!

Adam by our neighbor's yard. He was building "creeks" with the rocks.

Curly, crunchy dried leaves in our front yard.

This pretty perennial is still blooming and growing strong in our side yard!

Country Garden:

A lovely bloom of Echinacea in the country garden.

It is harvest time in the country garden! Last weekend my mom said that they did all of the harvesting and got a lot out of the garden. They worked very, very hard to get so much good out of the garden and the orchard. It is amazing! Here is what they harvested & made:

- 25 gallons of apple cider and 5 extra gallons to make hard apple cider with were pressed and processed.
-300 pounds of Bosc pears and 60-70 pounds of Camise pears.
-126 pounds of potatoes are washed and put away in storage.
-4 quarts of grape juice were made.
-3 gallons of tomatillos were harvested.
-1 gallon of cracked, dried hazelnuts were harvested.

As well as all of this the remaining tomatoes were harvested and are going to be wrapped and put away to ripen. Also, corn, cabbages, 3 heads of cauliflower, lima beans, carrots, and turnips were harvested.

Out of the remaining ripe tomatoes my mom also made and canned some tomato soup. This was a huge amount of hard work! It is astounding what my folks have been able to get out of the garden and orchard. How wonderful! I am so glad they were able to get all of this just in time before the frosts started. They will enjoy the bounty throughout the winter! Hooray!

Cooking:

Even though I am still recovering and getting over having a headache for a few days I did enjoy cooking a bit this week. I look forward to more soups, stews and baked goods next week as well! I love how warm soups make you feel so at home in the cold evenings during the fall season. I have noticed that my meal planning for only four meals a week has really paid off. Our grocery bills are much lower and we are eating varied, healthy and delicious meals! Another benefit of meal planning is it causes me to check the freezer, pantry and refrigerator much more often for the items I have on hand. Thus, I don't tend to overbuy foods that we already have. Also, every Wednesday when I do my meal planning I also do a quick refrigerator clean out so everything is clean, neat and organized and I can see what I have and what I need to buy to prepare next week's meals. Here are some of the recipes for meals we enjoyed this past week:


Locro de Papas (Potato Soup):

This is another one of my beloved recipe clippings from Gourmet magazine. It is a very simple, comforting soup for cold fall evenings!

An amazing and cozy potato-cheese soup from Ecuador.

2 teaspoons annatto (achiote) seeds- you can find these in Mexican grocery stores or in some international sections.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1 chopped white onion
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
7 cups water
1 cup whole milk
1 1/4 cups queso fresco or feta cheese

sliced avocados to top soup (optional)

1. Heat annatto seeds and oil in a very small saucepan over low heat, swirling pan frequently, until oil is bright red-orange and starts to simmer, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into 3/4 inch pieces.

3. Pour annatto oil through a fine mesh sieve into a wide 7 to 8 quart heavy pot, discarding solids. Cook onion and half of potatoes (reserve remaining potatoes in a bowl of cold water) in annatto oil over moderately high heat, stirring until onion is softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add cumin, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring 1 minute. Add water (7 cups) and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are very tender, 25 to 30 minutes, then mash into broth.

4. Drain remaining potatoes and add to stew, then simmer, partially covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in milk and cheese and increase heat to high then bring to a simmer, stirring. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Serve, topped with avocados if desired. Enjoy!


Squash Spoon Bread:

This recipe was in last month's Southern Living magazine. I halved the recipe which still made plenty of spoon bread to go with the soup. I think next I will add a bit of honey for sweetness but it was delicious all the same. It was a lot like a corn pudding. The original large recipe follows. The only change I made was to add a bit of honey for sweetness. This bread went well with the potato stew.

The squash spoon bread I made from some locally grown squash.

2 cups buttermilk
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups pureed squash (I roasted, pureed and let the water drain out of 1 medium squash)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup whole grain cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Cook buttermilk in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often, 4 to 6 minutes or until bubbles appear around edges (do not boil); remove from heat. The mixture may curdle and this is okay.

2. Lightly beat egg yolks in a large bowl; stir in squash and cheese. Combine cornmeal and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Stir cornmeal mixture into squash mixture. Pour warm buttermilk over squash mixture; whisk until smooth. Let stand 15 minutes or until lukewarm.

3. Brush a 2 1/2 to 3 quart baking dish or 12 inch cast iron skillet with 1 tablespoon melted butter, stir remaining melted butter and honey into squash mixture.

4. Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold into squash mixture. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.

5. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.


Chicken Tortellini Soup:

I got this recipe from the "Grandma's Kitchen" recipe book that my dear friend Carol gave me. I changed the recipe just a little bit by sauteing the vegetables and adding a few more herbs.

This chicken soup is perfect for a crisp fall day!

One 3-4 pound chicken, cooked and cut up into bite size chunks (save some of the skin to add to the soup for flavor to be taken out later)

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 stalk celery chopped fine
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
6 cups chicken broth
7 ounces of fresh rainbow cheese tortellini, uncooked
1 teaspoon each of rosemary, basil and oregano
salt and pepper to taste

1. Roast the chicken as you like. I roasted mine by basting it with melted butter, then sprinkling it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil and rosemary.

2. Heat a 6-8 quart soup pot or dutch oven on medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil to the pan.

3. Saute the onion, carrot, garlic and celery until the onion is slightly browned.

4. Add the chicken broth, chicken (along with some of the skin & the wings for flavor), herbs, salt, pepper and tortellini.

5. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 8-10 minutes or until pasta is cooked according to the package directions.

Before serving, remove the chicken skin & wings. This is a fabulous soup! Enjoy!

Adam helping baste the chicken with butter. He really enjoyed helping! He also loved pushing the picking out the herbs, sprinkling them on and pushing the buttons on the oven! He's a little chef!

Fall Oatmeal & Fruit Cookies:

This is a recipe that I clipped out of the Oregonian newspaper quite some time ago. I changed the soaking liquid for the raisins as well as switching in some other dried fruits but the recipe is mainly the same. It is a lovely, chewy fall cookie!

These soft, chewy cookies are full of fruit and brown sugar flavor!

Filling:

2 cups raisins
1/4 cup rum and 3/4 cup apple juice or apple cider (or 1 cup red wine)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 small tart apple, peeled, cored and chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped dried plums
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
grated peel of 1 small lemon
juice from 1 small lemon

Cookies:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of raisin-fruit filling

To make filling:

-Soak the raisins in your liquid of choice overnight, if possible, or for at least 2 hours. Put the raisins and the liquid in a saucepan. Add the remaining filling ingredients and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed. Set aside to cool. Makes 4 cups (use the extra for more cookies or other uses)

To make dough:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the oatmeal and whisk again until blended; set aside.

2. In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer set on low speed beat the butter until creamy, about 30 seconds.

3. On medium speed, add the brown sugar and beat until well blended, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn off the mixer, add 1 cup of the filling mixture and beat on low speed until blended.

4. Slowly add the oatmeal mixture, beating on low speed until blended. The dough will be very sticky**.

5. Spoon up (or pinch up with your fingers depending on the consistency of your dough) ping-pong ball sized pieces of dough and drop onto the cookie sheets. Arrange on the sheet 2 1/2 inches apart. Lightly dip your fingers in water and flatten the cookies to about 3/4 inch thick.

6.Bake until tops are just golden, about 14 minutes.

7. Let the cookies cool a bit on the baking sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Enjoy!

**A note: I realize that my fruit filling may have been "wetter" than it was supposed to be so my cookie dough was very sticky. Thus, my cookies spread out a lot too. They were still extremely delicious and chewy! Next time I might cook the filling a bit longer to get rid of more of the liquid.

Enjoy these lovely fall days. I know that I will!

Settling into Fall

Adam coming out of the hay bale maze at the Oregon Heritage Farm.

This was such a beautiful week! We have had a lot of cool mornings that are crisp, clear and sunny. It has been such a delight! As the gardening season comes to a close there are still things to see and do out in the garden. However, with Halloween approaching, lesson planning for my teaching and other activities my attention has been mostly focused indoors. I hope to explore a bit more in the garden when I can and harvest the remaining tomatoes and herbs to freeze very soon.

Suburban Garden:

I took a quick walk around the back yard today because I wanted to capture some of the fall colors. I came upon these two spectacular views of fall! Enjoy!

I love the deep red color of the leaves on our Japanese maple tree this time of year!

The details and color of this strawberry leaf are lovely!

Country Garden:

As we were invited to tea last Friday at our friend's house we did not visit the country garden this week. However, I know that my mom is still working on harvesting the last of the corn and tomatoes. On Saturday when we were there in the evening I saw her kitchen counter full of ripening tomatoes. She is getting the best out of her harvest and I know she will be happy she did.

Some of the corn in the country garden ready to be harvested.

A Lovely Tea with Friends:

Me with Adam, Suzanne's son Padriac, Suzanne and her mom Linda.

This past Friday we had the good fortune of being invited by our friend Suzanne to tea. She lives in the Oregon City area and we got to know her through the farmer's market where we had our baked goods booth "Farmer's Tea." She was one of our best customers and we always were delighted to chat with her and her two wonderful boys Padriac and Owen.

Suzanne had such a lovely spread of quiche with spinach and carrot, light and fluffy scones with raspberry jam, her mom's famous pumpkin bread made with freshly roasted pumpkin, tea, and sparkling fruit punch. I didn't manage to get pictures of the food as we were having such fun chatting together that it was mostly gone by the time we took our group photo to remember this event by.

We really enjoyed our time together. Thank you Suzanne for letting us stop by to visit and providing us with such lovely food. She is a very talented cook!

A Trip to Oregon Heritage Farms:

This past weekend we took a trip out to Oregon Heritage Farms in Hillsboro, Oregon. It was a lot of fun for Adam. They had a high school ski team fundraiser going on that included hay mazes, a hay ride and much more. Adam especially enjoyed the covered hay maze. They had small flashlights for the kids to use inside the maze. It was hard to take Adam home because he kept wanting to go in the maze time after time! While at the farm we also took a hay ride and tour around the farm. They had row after row of honey-crisp apple trees. We were able to see the lovely pond on the property as well as two of the five houses built on the farm. We also noticed the people picking apples in the fields were having lunch. They were heating up fresh, homemade tortillas on camp stoves during their break. Before heading home we bought a few honey-crisp apples along with some corn and a squash to cook.

Adam in the open hay maze at Oregon Heritage Farms in Hillsboro, Oregon.

The amazing pond on the farm property.

The apple trees are loaded with honey-crisp apples.

Adam on the hay ride around the apple farm.

Cooking:

This week I made a new dish and one of my favorites. I am finding that I am cooking more vegetarian dishes than before and I am really enjoying them. It is also more cost effective to buy less meat and causes us to eat more healthy vegetables too. I am still working on menu planning. I am now realizing that I only need to plan about 4 meals a week and weekend breakfasts because I generally cook on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I teach my ESL classes and I make sure to cook enough on Mondays and Wednesdays to have leftovers. Enjoy the following recipes:


Broccoli Cheese Soup:

This is a recipe from Cook's Illustrated. I put homemade garlic croutons on top of the soup for an extra special touch. It is so creamy, delicious and filling!

A delicious and creamy broccoli cheese soup.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds broccoli, florets roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch-thick pieces.
1 medium onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
Pinch cayenne pepper
Table salt
3-4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups low sodium chicken broth (if you want to make vegetarian soup you can use veggie broth instead)
2 ounces baby spinach (2 loosely packed cups)
3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated fine (about 3/4 cup), plus extra for serving
Ground black pepper

1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add broccoli, onion, garlic, dry mustard, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add 1 cup water and baking soda. Bring to simmer, cover and cook until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking.

2. Add broth and 2 cups water and increase heat to medium high. When mixture begins to simmer, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer soup to medium bowl and repeat with remaining soup.

3. Return soup to Dutch oven, place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Adjust consistency of soup with up to 1 cup of water. (I did not end up adding any extra water because I like the creamy texture of the soup). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Serve the soup with garlic croutons (recipe to follow) on top and extra Parmesan cheese.


Garlic Croutons:

I had some old sourdough hot dog buns in the refrigerator that were still good. So, I decided to create these croutons with them to top the soup.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 (3/4 inch thick) slices French bread (or any stale extra bread or buns you have around), cut into cubes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add bread cubes, and toss to coat. Spread on a baking sheet.
3. Bake for 15 minutes, or until crisp and dry. Check frequently to prevent burning. Cool.

Chicken Hawaii:

This is one of my favorite recipes. I clipped it out of Gourmet magazine when it was still around. I cherish these clippings because the magazine isn't around anymore. I have fond memories of looking through my Grandma Pedersen's Gourmet magazines at her house. She always proudly displayed the latest copy on a shelf in the living room.

A lovely tropical twist on curry chicken!

The condiments for the chicken: (clockwise) large flaked coconut, pineapple, dried, chopped mango & raisins, and chopped peanuts.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

1 (3-3 1/2 lb) chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
1 large onion, chopped (1 1/4 cups)
3 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (2 cloves)
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
1 13 1/2 to 15 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk (not low fat)

Accompaniments: rice (I usually serve brown rice), cubes or chunks of fresh or canned pineapple, raisins, coconut flakes, chopped peanuts, lime wedges, chopped dried mango or mango chutney.

1. Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

2. Heat oil in a 6-8 quart heavy pot or Dutch oven over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in batches (without crowding), turning over occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate as cooked, reserving fat in pot.

3. Add onion, ginger, garlic, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaf to fat in pot and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is browned, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder and flour and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in sugar (if using), coconut milk, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.

4. Return chicken and any juices accumulated on the plate to the pot and then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

5. Discard cinnamon sticks and bay leaf. Season with salt, then transfer to a shallow serving dish.

6. Serve chicken over rice and topped with remaining accompaniments of your choice. Enjoy!



Building with Daddy:

This weekend (as many days) Adam wanted to get out his legos and build things with Daddy. It was wonderful to see when Adam wanted to make sure both he and Daddy had their hard hats on. He delighted in this activity!

Paul and Adam building with legos with their construction hats on.

I hope you enjoy your week as we go into fall. Next week I'll share some homemade Halloween costumes we have been working on as well as more recipes! Enjoy!