Anxiously Waiting....

For Santa to bring us something special....

I wonder how many cookies we should leave out for him to make sure we get what we want? :)

Things I'm Thankful For....

Thanksgiving, of course.

Morning walks on the Katy Trail with Matt and Maggie.

All of the Noelkers.

Grammy Holt and Aunt Maggie (you like that?)

Paw-paw Tracy and Uncle Matt.

Hikes in the woods

This little creature.

And, last but most certainly not least - this guy. I'm thankful for you more everyday!

Let Them Eat Cake....

Adam and I celebrated our 5th anniversary this weekend. Technically, its the friday after Thanksgiving (and it's technically not our "official" anniversary) - but we'll be in Wash, MO that weekend and busy, so we decided to celebrate a little early.

It was a humble celebration - a nice dinner out and cake. I asked Adam friday evening what kind of cake he'd like as his gift. As I scrolled through the food blog I read regularly, he spotted a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake recipe. This is what he picked. "Are you SURE?" I asked as I read the ingredients and steps involved. "Yep". Well, let me tell you it was worth every ounce of energy and every last calorie.

First of all, credit where credit is due. Smitten Kitchen puts out some fabulous recipes. Find this cake here.

I'm kind of new to double layer cakes and frosting and all that jazz, so its definitely not as pretty as I'd hoped, but DO NOT BE FOOLED! It is the most amazing cake that will ever pass your lips! Behold:

The chocolate deliciousness on top is a layer of ganache. It is almost too much. Almost.

How do we keep our slim figures while eating stuff like this? Well, me - I don't think I'm keeping my slim figure these days. But Adam continues to do his cyclocross racing. Here are some nice shots from today. I guess I could possibly work off like one of those tiny crumbs on the plate by running around taking pictures of Adam racing his bike.

It looks like somebody ate that cake a little too fast.... Oh, wait its just mud.

Apples and Salmon and Pumpkins - Oh My!

I know. It's been a while. But there's a very good excuse: missing camera cord. I have several blogs worth of pictures and stories to share, but I think I'm just going to condense the last month for you all.

The first story includes our venture to the Heirloom Apple Festival in the Mt. Hood Valley. It was filled with a delightful barbeque lunch, a demonstration cooking of apple butter in a huge cooper kettle and, of course, apple tasting. This sounded like a harmless, even healthful activity for myself to enjoy. Well, let's just say after about 15 out of 80 varieties were tasted, I couldn't really feel my tongue anymore, much less taste apples. Oh, and it's not so great on the tummy either. However, it was very interesting to read about and see that many varieties of hundreds of years old apples. We bought many many pounds and, of course, MADE STUFF (applesauce) with them.

Next on our adventure list is a nice hike through Eagle Creek (another worthy Gorge hike listed in our handy-dandy Curious Gorge book). We thought we were just going to stretch our legs and hike a couple of hours, but we were pleasantly surprised that there was an incredible salmon run going on up the creek. I have never seen anything like this before.... This was definitely the last stop for these salmon. It was very eerie, but interesting!

Punchbowl Falls

Eight months here. The turkey timer is saying it's almost time!

In other worthy news, David Ruether came and visited us over Halloween weekend. It was quite a treat to have a visitor! He was very good company, and we definitely won over our street with he and Adam's pumpkin carving skills. I must brag that our jack-o-lanterns were the very best on the block. Good work guys. Also on all-hallows-eve, the boys made another batch of home brew. Adam went with an Irish Chocolate Stout this time, as his English Style Porter is almost gone now. This should be ready to go right about the time the baby is here.  I made sure I put my two cents in on what kind it would be since it's ME who hasn't gotten to partake in any libations recently (or for 8 months actually). Needless to say, I'm excited to have a drink every once in a while again.

Aren't those guys handsome?

We also got to do some exploring out of Horsethief Butte - great views!

Looking out over the Columbia into Oregon.

Fall

Why is fall so lovely?

Pumpkin Patches

Red Beans and Rice Cooking on the Stove
(click on the link for recipe)

Ginger Pear Pie 
(click on the link for recipe)

Cyclocross Races

And of course, getting closer to the baby's arrival. Here we were comparing pumpkins to my belly.

Even though my babycenter.com's weekly newsletter tells me the baby is more the weight of a head of cauliflower, my belly is definitely more like the size of a pumpkin. Why do they always compare the baby to a piece of produce? I don't know. Anyway, it was a lovely fall weekend here. I hope it was for you too.

Double Crossing

Well, things have been a little quiet around here. Work is slow with me, so I've been learning how to be a good housewife, as well as practicing motherhood. Lots of cooking, cleaning, laundry and sewing. Lots of canning projects have also been underway, but there's too many to blog about so here's the list: peach butter, blueberry-lime jam, pear butter (from our pear tree in the front yard) and vegetable stock. The stock is a new one for us... and I am excited to have 7 quarts at my disposal. During the winter months, we go through cartons of the stuff (which are at least $3 a quart), so this should definitely save time and $$$. Here's me in the process of making mozzarella (oh yeah, we have been experimenting with cheese making also - can you tell we're trying to fit all kinds of things in?):

We also managed to squeeze in a trip to the Folk Music Festival in Sisters, OR two weekends ago. High desert mountain country, amazing folk music artists, gorgeous camping along the Metolius River... We even managed to fit in a great hike. Here are two of the 'Sisters" mountains framed in the tree from atop Black Crater.

This past weekend, Adam tried his hand at a new form of cycling: Cyclocross Racing. This is sort of a blend of road cycling and mountain biking. The bike looks like a road bike with knobby tires. You ride on a blend of terrains: pavement, gravel, dirt, grass.... It's also best if its wet and rainy b/c everyone gets completely filthy. I'm talking mud in the teeth. It also incorporates set-up barriers that force the riders to dismount their bikes, pick them up, and hop over the barriers. It also involves lots of cowbell jingling and heckling from the crowds.

Luckily it was bright and sunshine-y for Adam's first race - at which he did very well. He placed first on the first day in the beginner's category, and in the middle of the pack on the second race day when he decided he should stop sand-bagging and move up categories. :) I was head photographer at the race, running around the course trying to get the "sweetest shots" of my dear husband racing. I think I did alright:

And behold, the latest "baby bump" photo. 6 1/2 months here. Tick tock!

Just Plum Tasty!

I bet all of you have been hanging on the edge of your seats this summer, wondering "I wonder when Liz and Adam are going to start their canning adventures this summer? That's all they talked about last summer". Well, wait no further folks. We have begun. A little late, but better late than never. 

First off - I think a lot of canning endeavors are always a learning experience. That being said, there were some minor slip ups that I'm not sure yet if it will make a difference, but we'll see. 

Our first experience, was a repeat from last year: Peggy's Sunshine Dills. I will not repeat the story, b/c I know Matt and Maggie made these earlier this summer (and we made them last year), but they're so pretty. Here's a picture. 

The only problem with these is the discoloration (white and some gray) happening on some of the pickles. I've been reading the common canning problems index in the back of my Blue Book of Canning, and its most likely due to leaving too much of a headspace at the top of the jar before sealing. Peggy's Dills call for a flip of the jar everyday for 2 weeks, and when we flipped them upside-down the first day, we noticed some funky colors on the pickles.  When they say 1/8th of an inch, they mean it and that's why! I think they should still be fine to eat though. 

The stars of the show though are the Plum Sauce and Damson Plum Jam that I made from the plums in our backyard tree. A month or so ago, hundreds of little tiny plums became ripe fast and one big swoosh of the wind knocked buckets full down in our yard. Hence, the multiple plum preservation recipes.  

First thing is first, make sure you have EVERYTHING ready and at your finger tips. Your boiling water canner (on the right) boiling, your seals and lids soaking in hot water, your ladle, your tongs, stockpot, lots of tea towels.... it just makes everything easier when its all ready to go! Behold: 

Plum Sauce: 

4 lbs of plums

2 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 tbsp. mustard seed

2 tbsp. chopped green chili peppers

1x1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, minced

1 clove of garlic minced

1 tbsp. salt

1 c. cider vinegar

Wash plums, drain, pit and chop. Combine the remaining ingredients in a stockpot and bring to a boil, reduce heat.  Add the plums.  Cook until thick and syrupy (this may take a while, keep an eye on it and stir often).  Here it is a-cookin'!

I even used an immersion blender to chop up the hard stuff, just cause I wanted it smoother, but the recipe didn't call for that. Do what you want. Ladle hot sauce into sterile, hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe off the rims, place the seals and caps carefully.  Process in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes (boil in water for 20 minutes).  

Damson Plum Jam: 

(Now, I really don't know for sure if what we have are Damson plums.  Mom seemed to think they might be. They are really tiny and very sweet. Quite good. I liked the look of this recipe, so I went for it. Now looking back, they might not be b/c I needed to add pectin, which the recipe did not call for originally.) 

5 c. coarsely chopped Damson plums

3 cups sugar (or more if different plums)

3/4 c. water

(possibly pectin and lemon juice if different plums - maybe use a whole different recipe all together...) 

Combine plums, sugar and water in a stockpot, bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Cook rapidly to gelling point (this did not happen to me, so I panicked and added almost a full pouch of liquid pectin. This is where I may have went wrong b/c the jam isn't setting quite as nicely as I'd hoped. Lesson: make sure you have Damson plums, and all should go well). As the mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.  Remove from heat, skim foam off the to; if necessary.  Ladle into hot, sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Adjust seals and bands carefully.  Process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.  

Tah-dah!