Yesterday, my sister asked if I wanted to go on a hike with her, so I headed over to her house. She has a really cool book with NW Oregon hikes in it, so she chose a "moderate" one for me, since I am out of shape!
We went with Angel's Rest Trailhead.
Sounds innocent enough, right?! No...I was dying from the start. It was so steep (a common trait in mountains!) & I felt like a total wimp. It did make me realize I need to get out & do more hiking though, so I can show my sister that I can tackle a decent trail!
She looks skeptical though...
After the initial shock of such an arduous trek, I got more & more used to the painful & sweaty state that my body was in & kept trucking along. We saw some really cool stuff on the way to the top! I would have taken more pictures had I not been having a heart attack along the way.
Here is what I imagine a space flower would look like:
It's hard to tell from the picture, but these slabs of rock were massive! We were like ants crawling over them. Speaking of critters, we saw a crazy-big spider up there, but it went between some rocks before I could snap a picture.
After huffing & puffing for miles, we were rewarded with this beautiful view of the Columbia Gorge!
Gorge-ous! (Sorry, I had to.)
It was definitely worth the pain & I felt so good afterward---my muscles were humming. On the way back home, I HAD TO get a shot of this place that Eth & I drive by on our way to Goodwill. I've told friends about it, but the picture is priceless, I mean, really! So many peenz!
When I got back, Ethan was intent on going to the driving range, to practice his swing. I'm not into golf at all. Just going to the fancy-schmancy golf course is a total culture shock---let's just say that hanging with rich people in polo shirts isn't my thing. It was fun to watch him though. He's really good!
Yahoo! I actually finished it a couple days ago, but have been running around a bit. From start to finish, it took 3 days, which was pretty crazy. Because I used bulky yarn, as opposed to worsted, I should have changed some of the dimensions, however, I did the next best thing by making it look like I MEANT to make it that way...
I knit up a bunch of flowers, leaves & a couple ties that would adorn & "fancify" the bag.
Before felting:
After felting:
To fix the wonky sides, I had to gather them in, or it would have been weirdly flat & stuff might have fallen out, & since the bag is for farmer's market produce, that would have been tragic! I made a few folds, then used consecutively larger knitting needles to make holes that were big enough to thread the ties through. It took a bit of muscle near the end.
One...
Two...
Three!
Here is the result of all that stabbing & threading, ha ha:
I really love how it came out & am thinking of making one for myself.
I think I mentioned earlier that we were having a mild summer in Portland...well, that has changed! I am super lethargic & have locked myself in the apartment for pretty much two days. It's deathly hot outside, at least for this lifelong rain-lover! I can't deal.
I've been living off smoothies again.
Raspberry:
Nectarine-Pineapple-Strawberry:
At least the flowers appreciate the merciless sun!
It was my friend Coral's birthday yesterday, so I've been working on her presents. I know it's late, but she's actually gone till Sunday or so, plus we're usually late to give each other gifts, since we're both crafty types who procrastinate to the max! I made her a French Market Bag, but tweaked it to what yarn I had on hand.
Day One:
Day Two:
It came out a little different than expected, but I am pretty sure I can snaz it up & it'll be cool. The bag is already felted, but I've gotta work on the embellishments today.
Then I'm planning on making a couple batches of Grand Central puff pastry, from my new cookbook, and putting them in the bag. I think she'll like it! I'll post the finished project in a day or two...
P.S. Some creeper from Idaho has been calling me, ever since 1:19 last night! 8 calls so far, & they're spaced so weirdly as to suggest he does not sleep through the night. I finally had to turn my ringer off last night, which I don't like to do, in case of emergencies (I'm a worry wart!), but what the hell?! He's left two messages which clued me in on the fact that some lady gave him a fake number, the reasons for which are made clear by his uber-creepiness. Now I feel bad for making up phone numbers to give to weirdos, since they probably harassed some innocent person. :(
In random news, I am SO IN LOVE with Jemaine Clement. It's become quite out of hand.
That is all.
So, my birthday was on the 4th of July, & I have a lot of catching up to do! I hope everyone had a safe & happy 4th, if you even celebrate it. I probably wouldn't, if it weren't my birthday. :)
I ended up having a sleepover at my sister's house, since all of her housemates were gone for the weekend. It was fun, since I got to see my great friend, Jeremy! (My sister even took me to birthday breakfast at Blossoming Lotus, where Jeremy works!) As per usual, I made a crapload of food & packed too much, but whatever. Here is a delicious recipe, slightly adapted & simplified, that I got from the July/August issue of Vegetarian Times.
Corn-Quinoa Salad
*1 cup quinoa, rinsed & drained
*1 1/2 cups water
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
*1 1/2 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes
*1 cup diced cucumber
dressing:
*1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
*1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
*3 tablespoons maple syrup
*1 tablespoon grainy Dijon mustard
*1 teaspoon salt
*fresh pepper to taste
Bring the water, quinoa, & salt to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover, & simmer for 15-20 minutes, until water is absorbed. Set aside, covered, to rest. If using fresh corn, blanch it for 1 minute, then rinse & drain. If using frozen, just wait a bit. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Use a large bowl, so you can add the tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, & quinoa. Stir everything together & chill until serving time.
*The original recipe calls for blanching the frozen corn as well, but I've tried it both ways, & it seemed unnecessary. It also calls for 1 cup of finely chopped red cabbage, but I didn't have any on hand.
I also made some "lazy sushi" fixins, but didn't take pictures---nori sheets, sushi rice, sliced cucumbers, avocado chunks, pickled ginger, & wasabi...it wasn't pretty, but it was tasty, except for the gross pickled ginger I got at Fubonn. Not sure why, but it was cut too thick, & had lots of stringyness, not to mention chemicals galore. I only bought it because I couldn't find any other brands the day I went, but it was tossed out after failing in so many ways. Blargh.
I made my own birthday cake because it's fun & I love to bake! Sadly, not many of the people I hang out with on my birthday like cake, so I made a half-batch of my favorite, summery cake, printed years ago from the O Magazine website (It's no longer available, apparently).
Here's my adapted, mini-version of it:
Butter Cake with Lemon Cream Frosting
Lemon Curd:
*3 large egg yolks
*1/2 cup sugar
*2 lemons, zested & juiced
*1/4 cup butter, cut into several pieces
Cake:
*1 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
*1 1/8 teaspoons baking powder
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*6 tablespoons butter, softened
*3/4 cup sugar
*1 1/2 large eggs (I know, it's weird to divide an egg in half)
*6 tablespoons milk
*1 teaspoon vanilla
Frosting:
*3/4 cup heavy cream
*1/4 cup of prepared lemon curd
Filling & Topping:
*1/3-1/2 cup strawberry or raspberry jam
*1/3 cup or so leftover lemon curd
*fresh raspberries & strawberries
Prepare the lemon curd first. Bring a medium pan, with an inch or two of water in it, to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, put a metal bowl on top & reduce the heat the medium-low. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, & zest in the metal bowl. Whisk over the simmering water, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened & pale yellow. Remove from heat & add the butter, in pieces, whisking till combined. Pour into a jar or small bowl & set aside to cool. There will be more than you need, but I'm sure you can figure out how to get rid of the rest! :)
Preheat the oven to 350*F. Butter & flour a round cake pan, either 8" or 9"; set aside. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, & salt; set aside. In a mixer, cream together the butter & sugar till fluffy. Add the eggs & beat till fluffy again.
Combine milk with vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients, stirring till mostly incorporated, then add half the milk/vanilla, stirring till combined. Repeat, stirring just enough, but not too much. Pour cake batter into the prepared cake pan & bake till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (mine took about 25 minutes, but it depends on your pan size & oven).
Cool about 5 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely. I put mine in the window sill & the smell was intoxicating!
Once the cake has cooled, slice it in half. Place the bottom half on a pretty cake plate, then spread the jam evenly across the bottom, before topping with the top layer. Spread about 1/3 cup of lemon curd on the top layer, if you desire; I did & it was tasty!
Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Fold in the 1/4 cup of lemon curd, then spread onto cake. Garnish with fresh fruit, or leave it simple. Refrigerate until close to serving time. Since it's a butter cake, it should be served at room temperature, or it may appear dry. The whipped cream is quite stable, due to the eggs in the lemon curd. I had my cake sitting out for a few hours & it was fine.
After being spoiled by everyone, I had another event to attend---my friend Scott is moving back to New Jersey, so there was a shindig at Ara & Drew's house yesterday. I ran around town all morning, hitting up the Joann's sale with Coral, & buying some cutesy fabric, a couple sewing patterns, & a pack of blank cards (for stamping with these cute stamps from Mom!).
A future apron, once I can get past my fear of the sewing machine:
After Jo-Ann's crazy-sale-o-rama, I ran to Limbo (highly recommended for inexpensive, amazing produce---usually local/organic!!!) & Trader Joe's for some more party food fixin's & beer. Once home, I made a batch of pineapple salsa, which is always unique & tasty, but I forgot to take a picture. :(
But!...the main reason for shopping was to buy some lemons, raspberries, & Earth Balance, so I could make this cake for Scott, who's a vegan.
The recipe is adapted from How it All Vegan!, & I used it to bake a kinda-similar cake to my birthday one. No vegan lemon curd though, since I began baking this thing two hours before the bbq started. Whew!
Lemon Cake & Frosting
*1 1/2 cups flour
*2 teaspoons baking powder
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*3/4 cup sugar
*3/4 cup vegan milk
*2 teaspoons lemon extract
*zest of one lemon
*1/4 cup oil
*1 egg replacer (I use Ener-G)
Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease & flour an 8" or 9" cake pan & set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Beat in the dry ingredients, until just combined. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.
I sliced mine in half, similar to the birthday cake, then spread homemade strawberry jam on the bottom layer.
Prepare the frosting by beating together:
*1/4 cup margarine, softened
*2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
*2 tablespoons vegan milk
*1 teaspoon lemon extract
I was in a hurry, so I just went "rustic" on the cake's ass, by spreading the frosting over the top & letting it run down the sides, before placing raspberries & lemon slices on the top.
It was devoured by the people at the bbq before I could take shots of the inside. Scott was so thankful that I baked it for him. I'll miss you, Scott!!
Here are some random recent pictures...
$3 goes far at Limbo:
A hunk of fancy gianduja from Smels! Help me figure out what to do with it, before I eat it all!
A lovely sun hat from my sister.
The Grand Central cookbook, which I've been drooling over for months, also from Smels (she even got me wooden Portland Farmer's Market coins, so I can buy fresh ingredients for the G.C. recipes!!!!).
Ethan is taking me camping a.s.a.p. & got me a bouquet of sunflowers & a cheesy, singing, Twilight card, as sort of an inside joke. :)
The cute, vintage apron that Coral made me! She's amazingly crafty & sweet! And her boyfriend, Ryan, even fixed my car's leaky trunk (He also fixed my Gran's sewing machine a month ago. I feel so fortunate to have so many great people in my life!)
Gorgeous pink poppies that my sister & I saw in Northeast.
Has anyone else gotten one of these in the mail?! This came awhile back, but it was sort of funny. I thought someone had it sent to me as a joke, since I just turned 31, ha ha. Oy.
Sorry for the ginormosity of this one. Ruben thanks you for your time...snore!
I stumbled upon a delicious combination for smoothies that I never would have tried, had I not had an abundance of nectarines floating around...nectarine-pineapple! So amazing.
Here's a tasty tofu scramble (w/red peppers & green onions) with toasted, buttery Dave's Killer Bread, roasted potatoes, & a behbeh strawberry from our garden. This is one of my favorite meals. YUM!
Now...a few things I've made recently at work. Jumbo-sized Peanut Butter Pillows from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. People were raving about them, so I'll definitely make them again soon!
And these amazing Hazelnut Caramel Bars, from here.
The recipe is from Sweet Pea Baking Co., here in Portland. They know their treats, that's for sure! I have made these with many kinds of nuts & they're always decadent.
Here are some simple Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies that are a variation on this recipe. No one would know any of these treats were vegan!
Lastly, some roasted tomato fettuccine that I just made for Ethan & I. We've been getting so much good produce, so in order to use up the cherry tomatoes, I made this...
The recipe is from Bon Appétit & is available here on Epicurious. I highly recommend it because it practically cooks itself & seems super fancy, heh heh. P.S. It is raining again here. So weird.
Gorge-ous! (Sorry, I had to.)
