Luckybeans

Strawberries

The thing is, you have to pick them right after a sunny spell, and before they have spent much time in the wet because if they ripen in rain, they just aren't very sweet. So we struck right after the weather turned, capturing our haul just in time. 

"We're going on an adventure!" I announced. Bella and Asher were game. We drove up and down along farm lanes over rolling hills studded with sheep or beef cows, past fields of wheat, oats, cherry orchards, hazelnut orchards and christmas tree farms. We went by the trout pond, Baskett Slough, the tractor dealer's, and along a road we only sort-of knew. It was pouring when we started out. As we pulled up, the rain had the grace to ease up a bit.

Strawberries1
We followed the signs over bumpy, mown tracks through more fields. It was still 45 degees, drizzling and windy-- but this was for strawberries!

Strawberries2
We froze our fingers and ears. We shouted and ran up and down between rows however we wanted to because we were the only ones there. 

"Keep your back to the wind!" Asher advised.

We noticed that the berries were firm and did not dissolve instantly into jam as they tend to do on hot days. Maybe there was some method to our madness after all.

 

Strawberries3
We decided it was worth it to have pounds and pounds of strawberries to eat, but we certainly did not linger. Ruthlessly efficient, we were.

Now there are plans for shortcakes and tea parties and melting chocolate for dipping. After all, nothing tastes quite like fresh strawberries from the Willamette Valley. Especially not when you've picked them yourself.

22 May 2013 in FOOD! | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Pakoras

Pakoras1
This is the only fried food I make at home. It is hardly glamorous, and I'm sure nobody's granny protects it as a closely-guarded family secret. But, you know, we like them. When the weather warms, a plate of pakoras, slices of watermelon doused in lime juice, and mango lassis make a favorite backyard supper.

Here is how we make ours:

Pakoras2
2 1/2 C gram (chickpea/ garbanzo) flour

Pakoras3
2 tsp salt

2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

Mix together and add:

Pakoras4
1 1/2 C water

1/2 finely diced onion

This is your batter. You can add: frozen peas and leftover boiled potatoes (diced), cilantro or curry leaves; chilies for spice, small pieces of chicken or fish, and/or lightly steamed vegetables (I used spinach here).

Pakoras5
Mix together thoroughly.

Pakoras6
Heat 1 1/2-2" of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop the batter in by the tablespoon. It will be sloppy and misshapen, and will float and puff as it cooks. When the bottom is brown, after about 2 minutes, flip over so the other side gets its turn. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep pakoras on paper towel in a prewarmed oven until ready to serve.

We like to eat ours with tamarind sauce:

2 tbs tamarind paste

2 tsp demerrera sugar

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 C boiling water

Pakoras7
I pour the boiling water over the other ingredients and mix well. If you want a thicker sauce, you can make this in a pot and thicken it with cornstarch, but I can't be bothered.

Pile you pakoras on a plate, grab your sauce, and enjoy! Easy, cheap, gluten free and delicious.

16 May 2013 in FOOD! | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

We Could Get Used to This

Ken called us up and asked if we wanted to go fishing again. Um...yes! 

It was a much warmer experience this time. We were out in green fields with freshly shorn sheep, watching an osprey try his luck (not as good as ours) and the farmers repair a fence while their dogs bounded about. The fish were biting like nobody's business, so we weren't out there all that long.Fishing1

Fishing2
But the rewards were pretty tasty. Ken even shared his recipe, too.

24 April 2013 in FOOD! , Out in nature | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

The One That Almost Makes You Envy Oregon in February

Picnicpacked
This afternoon turned out to be gloriously sunny and almost-balmy. So much so that I extracted myself from the library so that we could all get out into it. Simon and the girls helped pack a basket with thermoses of tea and strawberry shortcake components.

Bench

Bench4
Most of us were giddy and glad to be out and about, but one was less convinced. She reluctantly accompanied us up to the bench at the crest of the first hill where she was squashed by her siblings and laid on by her father. She then stomped her decisive way back to the car. She is The Walrus. Kookookachoo. We love her anyway.

Bench2
But that is why there are only two children in the rest of the photos.

Moustachetree

Acrossslough

Acrossfoothills
We walked right up to the tippy top where we could see across to Mt. Jefferson, and the trout pond we went fishing in, and the silver slough filled with birds, and the gently rising foothills (Asher wants to know if you can spot the moustache tree in the first photo).

Pathrun

Paths

Ashhilltop

Anahilltop
Those two children went running up paths and walked the ridge between gleaming, worn stalks of grass.

Ashintree

Mossyfingers

Sunana

Sunsi

Sunash
As we headed into the forest, they dashed far ahead of us. We found them ensconced in their favourite spots, content in pools of light and resting against the moss. Pausing here, they even ignored my lens, which is not always so.

Picnictree

Shortcake

Bellatea

Teatime
And then they were off again. We did not catch up with them until we reached the picnic table where Bella made a miraculous reappearance alongside the picnic basket. Since we were (obviously) spotted, we stopped for tea.

Slough
On the way home, we stopped for one last look at the ducks and geese and nutria (ick) beneath the slipping sun. There was a lot of "Be Quiet! I'm trying to hear the blackbirds! Seriously! I mean it!" from me, and a lot of giggling and poking from the back seat. Somewhere between the slough and the driveway, the last of the walrus faded away, and as we arrived hime, we judged it all a great success.

01 February 2013 in 3 Monkeys, FOOD! , Out in nature | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Out for Brunch

We headed out to visit my mum and dad today, and stopped for brunch. It was excellent, particularly the atmosphere and the foam on the lattes...

Communityplate
...and trying to explain to Simon what "Portland" culture is and how Oregon differs from its neighbours. For example, it is definitely hip to bike in Seattle or Vancouver, too. But in Portland, it is hip even if your bike is second hand and you earn bonus points if you've woven the handle bar basket yourself out of invasive blackberry canes you cleared from a woodland reserve down the street. 

That's all I've got.

13 January 2013 in FOOD! | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Fishing

When this posts, I will be sitting in a classrom, my eyes glazed over. But I will be thinking about this, I am sure.

Our friend and neighbor keeps a trout pond. He is a lovely man (with an equally lovely wife who chose not to brave the cold) who is the father of one of my cousin's best childhood friends. Anyway, we were all at my aunt and uncle's a while ago, and Ken asked us if we would like to go fishing. He loves fishing, and he also loves teaching children (and teens and adults) how to fish.To which we replied, "YES!" He kept an eye on the weather, and called us up this weekend.

Topond
We bundled up and followed him out to the pond where he equipped us all and led us down to where the action was.

Waiting
There was, of course, some waiting, and Ken was infinitely patient with all of us, no matter how we twisted the line or dropped bait off the ends of our hooks.

Catches1
I actually caught the first fish (and the biggest!) within the first few minutes. It was a bit misleading as I never did catch another, and I've certainly never caught one before. And over the next few hours, everyone else followed suit.

Catches2
Ken informed us that we were supposed to kiss the fish we caught. Alrighty then. Also, the look on Bella's face as she tried her first few casts makes me laugh.

Catches3
It was great fun just to stand together on the dock, surrounded by so much beauty, watching the ducks and geese. I was surprised at how long we lasted in 40 degree weather, but then again, perhaps not. The process is both peaceful and absorbing, and Ken gave us a constant stream of cheerful encouragement.

Fishingfam
I think we had a pretty fantastic time. We even saw a redtail catch and eat a pigeon in the adjacent field.

Oh! Wait, another photo where you can see all the fish as well as the family:

Fishfam
And yes, we took all ten home and cooked them. And yes, they were delicious. And yes, we would love to go again-- I think we are, as they say, hooked. 

Supperfish
Our deepest gratitude to Ken and Fran for their warm generosity. Thank you.

(Also, the photos with me in them and teh girls running on the bank were taken by Simon, and Ken took the family ones). 

07 January 2013 in FOOD! , Out in nature | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

So much

Truly, there is so much to be grateful for. We had a quiet, fairly well documented Thanksgiving, followed by a not-so-quiet and not at all documented birthday. Sometimes the more fun you are having, the less you think about your camera. Sometimes.

Pumpkinpies
Bella made us pies (Asher added the marshmallows).

Cransauce
Asher the cranberry sauce.

Stuffingish
The winter garden was raided for filling up that turkey cavity (with six of us we had a small one, and no stuffing fans among us).

Pottermore
The children spent some time on Pottermore (alright, maybe it wasn't just the children).

Walk
We went for both pre and post dinner walks where we admired mushrooms, climbed the play structures, collected conkers, and worked up an appetite (firstly for dinner, secondly for dessert).

Table
The girls organized a beautiful table (thank you Jordan and Darrin for the potatoes!), and we spent a long time eating...

Eating
...some with more elegance than others.

It really was a tremendous day. And yesterday was my birthday, so we had friends over for an Indian feast (which I cooked as it was also one of our friend's birthday), and we were all up until almost midnight, the company was so good.

So very, very much to be grateful for.

 

24 November 2012 in 3 Monkeys, FOOD! , Troupe Leader (Me) | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

The Obligatory Leaf Post

Because, you know...

Leaves
...some things simply must be done.

 

Squash
(we are also eating a lot of squash these days)

08 November 2012 in 3 Monkeys, FOOD! | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

A Birthday at the Coast

Lemoncake

Radishcarver
She wanted a tea party, but she also wanted to go to the Coast. This meant a picnic tea party, and the afternoon previous saw a mad whirl of prep work. Ana made a lemon-poppyseed cake, baked in tin cans to make three mini cakes of four layers each (12, you see). Asher helped carve radishes into toadstools. I flew around a bit like a chicken with my head cut off, as my grandmother would say. However, we got it done, and yesterday morning saw us on our way with Grandma. 

Hatfield
First stop was the Hatfield Marine Science Center (of course). The tides were not in our favour for actual tide pool exploration, so the touch tanks here are the next best thing.

After this, she really couldn't wait much longer for her tea. So we obliged. On the menu:

Ham and truffle cheese sandwiches with lettuce on white bread

Smoked salmon, cucumber and labneh sandwiches with dill on rye bread

Radish toadstools

Ginger beer

Mini eclairs

Lemon poppyseed cakes

Melon flowers and leaves

Earl grey tea (with a hint of lavender)

Teaparty
It takes a ridiculous amount of work to make all those fiddly wee tea things, but I believe she does truly appreciate it, so it is worth it.

Yaquinabay
With fuller bellies, and feeling a bit chilly, we went up to see the light house/ museum. Grandma had never been before.

Dunes
And then we ran rampant on the dunes.

Kitemaster
Asher proved himself the kitemaster! He flew his hundreds of feet up into the air so that it was barely visiblein the mist that blew in. When we (finally) reeled it in, it was soaking wet.

Bayfront
To finish the day, we went for a walk on the bayfront and went to Mo's for dinner.

I hope she had a good day. The rest of us certainly enjoyed it.

 

17 August 2012 in FOOD! , Monkey Tail (Isabella), On Vacation | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)

Sock-less, Eat-more, Dairy-less

Laundryline
You know it is that time when you hang out all the laundry and there is not a single sock because everyone has been in sandals or barefoot.

Gardengoodies
And when meals are planned around what is found in the garden today.

Coconutraspberries
We tried making whipped coconut cream the other day. We layered it with a few crumbled ladyfingers, raspberry jam, and fresh raspberries (we are in the thick of raspberries right now).

Also? I will come back to announce the winner of the Mama Mead's giveaway tonight. Go leave a comment here for a chance to win before it's too late!

 

10 July 2012 in FOOD! , Garden | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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