Deer Park Weekend

The weekend was full, for sure - even without my surprise birthday party!  It was wonderful to spend time with Jeffrey and just be together as a family.

We spent most of the morning on Saturday running errands.  I had to get some items shipped off, and Boots was ready to be picked up from the vets'.  Jax had a bit of a traumatic weekend, as she got locked in the basement overnight.  Jeffrey couldn't find her to feed her in the morning, and I was still asleep.  She didn't make a peep when he was calling her.  Once I finally got out of bed, I figured out where she was, and she came bounding out ready for her breakfast.  She definitely was missing Boots, as she searched for him all over the house.  EG tried to get Jax to play with her by imitating Boots, but Jax just wouldn't cooperate!

Let's PLAY!!!

Ok, fine, let's look for ducks

Jeffrey requested a late lunch/early dinner, just as I was heading to go get ready for our date night...so I opened the fridge to see what the heck I could throw together in 10 minutes.  What did I find: chicken breasts, left over rice from our Thai take out we had had the night before, and corn salsa from Chipotle.  As Jeffrey waited, I whipped up a spectacularly delicious dinner!  The chicken would have been perfect if I had had some broccoli and peanuts, but even so, the flavor was fabulous.

Ginger-garlic chicken stir fry

just mix the salsa from Chipotle in with left-over rice, and voila, DELICIOUS

While Daddy ate at the kitchen island...

EG played peek-a-boo in her high chair!

Today Jeffrey and I were able to spend some time alone together since EG was still at Grandma Lene's - we took a walk around the property, and daydreamed about our future.  When I was pregnant, we would take long walks like those once or twice a day.  I'd waddle around, stopping every 15 minutes or so to catch my breath, leaning on him for support at times.  It always took us so long - but that's how I stayed in shape while hauling that baby around!  I lived for those walks - and even now, they're so refreshing and invigorating!

his least favorite thing to do...

looking down the culvert 

I never get tired of this view!

Our lives are incredibly full!  I'm so glad I have this outlet and way to share it with others!

RANDOM PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The dogs smelled and heard something...

was it in here?

or in here???

No, maybe it's up THERE!

Ok, fine. I'm just going to wait until it shows up!

Eating a banana at Grandma Lene's house

I can manage this myself, thank you!

My husband is retarded

Seriously, what is up with my husband?!?! Tonight I was struggling to figure out our schedule for the weekend. Jeffrey and I discussed a few options about getting friends and family together for a tiny celebration for my birthday.  We also briefly discussed that I wanted to head downtown to see a friend tomorrow night.  A few hours later, I picked up the same conversation, and he looked at me with a blank face and said, "What are you talking about?" My eyes bulged.  My jaw clenched.  I was about to bite my tongue and choose my words carefully, but before I managed to, out spewed, "WHAT THE HECK??? Weren't you listening?!?"

He smirked, knowing he'd done something that pissed me off, but seemingly had no idea WHAT: "Listening to what?" His cute, defiant little smile definitely saved him from a tirade from me... "OOOOOH," he said, "I just registered that whole conversation incorrectly, I thought you were talking about something ELSE."  Um, yeah, ok...what'd you think I was talking about: waxing?!?! Dumba**.

ARGH!  Jeffrey. I love him, but he's a butt head.

ANYWAY...moving onward.  I got a text message late this evening from my good friend Jason Boots who is going to be in town for a quick 24 hours. He is playing at Dantes tomorrow in downtown Portland.  Boots (no, I didn't name my dog after him; my dog was named when I got him) was part of our LA group years ago, and like all the rest of us, has followed his own path.  For what seems like ages now, he has toured with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers - a band from Arizona that has a crazy cult following.  He comes fairly frequently to the Portland area, so I get to see him every so often.  We're trying to work out  a way to have them all visit the farm, as Boots wants them to see our little piece of heaven.  At the moment, transportation is a bit complicated for them, so we're not sure if it will happen.  Just in case, I'm rolling some menu ideas around in my head!

Since Jeffrey was home today, I actually made lunch...well, I TRIED to make him lunch.  I had planned to make pork chops, broccoli, and some kind of carb, but just as I started the honey pecan sauce, Jim and Annette Neely came to the door.  They had brought a load of Frank's new hay and were dropping off the bill.  Of course, I had to give them an update on the Frankster, and Annette had to meet the dogs and see all their scars, as well as have a looksie around the garden (that is now mulched and ugly).  We had a nice visit and I headed back in.

Lower Rose Garden

Looking up into the main rose garden

Returning to the kitchen, I was greeted by the stench of burning honey, pecans, and pork chops.  CRAP!!!!! I ran to the stove, hoping to save whatever was left, but nothing much had escaped the charcoling process.  I somehow managed to salvage the chops (by slicing off their burnt side), and Jeffrey said they were still incredible.  I was disappointed to not have a complete photo to accompany the recipe, but it was nice to see that he still loves that dish after all these years!

The sauce before the Neely's visit

The sauce AFTER the Neely's visit

The salvaged lunch *yes, that broccoli is from our summer garden - I froze it*

Ellie still isn't 100% herself.  She's just "off" - I'm thinking she might have a little bit of the scratchy throat that I have been fighting.  You can hear the rasp when she yells, "Uppp- Peee!!!" Her little voice calling out, "Mama" is just so darn cute; she rarely calls me, so when she does it makes me grin from ear to ear.  I think she might be having a little bit of a love affair with her pajamas.  She goes to her pj drawer, pulls all of them out, and attempts to put one set on while carrying the others in her hand or thrown over her shoulder or over her head.  It's become an obsession.  Some kids have their blankies; some kids have their stuffies; but my daughter has her pajamas!

See! She's wearing them over her clothes!

With EG taking two naps today (well, one nap and one quiet time), I had plenty of time to filter and bottle more of my crazy infusions: Blackberry, Original Pear and Wild Cherry.  I have the most of the Blackberry, which happens to be one of the slowest to filter.  If I don't filter it enough, it can get rather "syrupy." I don't know about you, but I don't like drinking syrup.

The fourth and last filtering for the blackberry vodka

Three of the bottles waiting for labels!

Jeffrey took Ellie Graye with him when he took Victor and Lorena home, giving me a chance to make dinner.  Things were nearly done when they returned, but the last minute touches needed to be done.  Ellie loves helping, and sat patiently on my hip as I finished up.  If she pays attention, she'll be a top chef before she's 5 years old! Go ELLIE!

I didn't realize the knives were within her reach until I saw this picture! I need to be more aware!!!

Chicken with a mushroom balsamic reduction sauce and spinach orzo

We had dinner, and then continued to be together as a family - a treat that is rare!  EG didn't let Daddy have a minute's break, but I think he may very well have loved every second!

First they built towers

And Ellie Graye knocked them down

then they did some upside down swinging...

and she asked for more!

when that was over, they did some flying...

and she asked for more!

when sign language didn't work, she tried tears...

but he was just too worn out!

so it was off to bed for Ellie Graye! Goodnight, Moon!

After putting "la preciosa" down (as Lorena calls her), Jeffrey headed into the TV room to watch a movie, and I headed to the kitchen.  You see, I have this fear that the pumpkins from my garden don't taste like pumpkins. Yeah, I know, stupid, right?  But seriously, what if I had grown pumpkins that weren't really pumpkins.  I've never done this before, and I have been suspicious that the people who sell pumpkins to grocery stores have this big huge secret - besides using pesticides, and herbicides, and genetically modified seeds.  I had made pumpkin bread the other day, and thought it tasted great, but I don't trust my taste buds - not one bit.  In the back of my head, I have been thinking, what if this pumpkin bread is just good because of the nutmeg, the allspice, the cinnamon, the sugar...what if the spices tricked my brain into thinking that this bread tastes like the pumpkin bread I make from canned pumpkin? I'd be mortified if I gave it to a friend and they couldn't taste the pumpkin!

Constant doubting of my gardening, cooking and baking ability is why I married my husband - yep, the one and only reason! I needed a brutally honest taste tester, who will try anything.  That's what I got: a husband who is always blunt about what is crap and incredibly complimentary if it's good.  So, as I handed him the pumpkin bread, I fully expected him to say, "Hmmm. Doesn't really taste like pumpkin."

"How is it?" I asked.

"It's pumpkin bread. I like pumpkin bread."

"But does it taste like pumpkin?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Are you sure."

"Yeah."

"Are you REALLY sure?"

"YES!"

"You're not lying to me because you want me to be happy?"

"Oh My God, Melissa. It's GOOD!"

"Damn it, you don't sound convinced. I'm going to try another recipe."

And soon I was slaving away over a layered pumpkin cheesecake - maybe not "slaving," but certainly going at it.  I do "cheat" on some recipes sometimes, and this was one of those cases.  I had bought mini-graham cracker crusts when they were on sale, and it was the perfect time to bring them out! Because this was a test run of the recipe, having many individual cakes meant that I wouldn't ruin the visual of a full-size cheesecake by removing a single slice!  I've made this cheesecake many, many times, so I had a good reference as to what it should taste like.

First layer: plain cheesecake

folding in the roasted pumpkin

Second layer: pumpkin - I was worried because of the lack of the usual glowing sunset color

Cooling...

As it turns out, the first bite of these simple looking cakes nearly my knocked both Jeffrey and I off our feet. They were INSANELY delicious.  Jeffrey took it so far as to say that they're the best thing that has ever come out of my oven - THAT, my dear friends, is saying something.  Over the years, I've baked some kick-ass delectables, and there's no denying that these are at the top of my "Scrummy Yummy" list. YUM, YUM, SCRUMMY YUM!!!! All my fear about not using canned pumpkin? For naught. Never again will I bake with canned pumpkin - from here on out, it's Deer Park Pumpkins all the way.

RANDOM PHOTOS OF THE DAY

one of my favorite things about my kitchen...

Easy in, easy out; no plugging and unplugging, no heavy lifting; no ugly appliance on the counter

Roasted Pumpkin bagged for freezing; each bag is about the equivalent of a small can of pumpkin - if you want to buy some from me, let me know! It's the best!

Friends, Family, and Furry Friends

There seems to be a direct relationship between the level of stress in my life and the amount of time I spend in the kitchen each day.  Looking at my To Do list this morning, I realized that I had carried one item from one list to the next for weeks: "Lemon-Sage Wine Mustard." Yeah. I've been talking about making and canning the mustard for over a month now, and today I decided it had been put off long enough.  As I started prepping the ingredients, I happened upon 9 lbs. of tomatillos that had gone undiscovered in the crisper.  One more week and they'd be more suited for the compost pile than for eating, so suddenly the mustard seemed to once again be less of a priority.  Out came the cutting board, and I got down to business cooking the tomatillos for freezing (they need to be cooked before they're frozen!).  Of course, while taking the first batch of tomatillos out to the freezer, I noticed 2 heads of cabbage. OH MAN! Those would be bad by tomorrow or the day after, and I can't stand the thought of losing any of the produce that I have left, plus, Ed (Mom's husband) LOVES my pickled cabbage.  So the mustard got bumped again.

By the time my friend Amy showed up to visit, I was in the middle of cooking tomatillos, pickling cabbage, and soaking mustard seeds in wine.  The kitchen was a disaster, but Ellie Graye was in bed napping.  Having Amy there really helped me to relax and took my mind off Frankie.  I was so happy to have her sitting there, watching and chatting while I was working that everything took three times as long, but I really didn't care.  As I smelled my way through my adapted kimchi recipe, she reminded me, "Don't forget to write that down." If only I had stopped at the moment and done exactly that!  Far too frequently I use a recipe as a "base" and then add what my nose tells me to, but forget to write it down, so I have to figure it all out again the next time I make it.  Such is the case with this batch of cabbage -- I know I added ginger when the recipe didn't call for it, but there was something else I threw in there at the last minute that I just can't recall!

Starting the fermenting process

Despite having the distraction of Amy, I still managed to get everything done - and I enjoyed myself as I worked!  She cracks me up! As she was leaving she commented, "Wow. I just sat here and did nothing while you made...you made...MUSTARD!?!?!" I giggled, realizing how incredibly odd that sounded - and how much more odd that would have been when I was living in LA.  But somehow here at Deer Park it just has to be that way; my Hollywood life seems so distant!

It's sweet and yummy and unique!

After Amy left, I braved the wind and the rain, and went out to check on Frank who seems to be doing a lot better.  I've ordered new hay that I will pick up tomorrow (they'll give me 10 bales free since they want to keep my business, and are pretty sure their hay was dry when it was baled).  I'll super inspect it, and move on from there.  I'm feeling hopeful today about his prognosis; I'm not sure I have a reason to feel hopeful, but I definitely do.  

Ellie Graye was, as usual, non-stop.  She's constantly moving, constantly learning, and constantly full of energy!  She's got so much personality!  Her "thing" today revolved around her pajamas: yes, her pjs. She decided that she wanted to wear them like a cape - arms only, no feet!  It was a riot.  The entire day she wore her pjs like that, sometimes holding the feet in her hands, other times letting them drag behind her like a second set of legs.  It really was comical to see.

Whenever the phone rings, whether we're in the car or at home, Ellie's eyes light up and she says, "Papa!!!" or "DaDa!"  She loves talking to him on the phone.  She'll smile and say, "Hiiiiiiiiiiii" and then hug the phone or blow kisses.  I finally had the camera close by to capture some of the cuteness.  She's definitely daddy's little girl!

*note the dress under the pjs!

Ellie's Uncle Colin came by this evening to visit and catch up.  It's been quite a while since he and I have spent time alone together, so it was extremely nice to have him around to chat with.  Earlier in the day I had started bottling a few of the infused vodkas that have been brewing since June and July, so he did a taste testing of the Spiced Wild Plum and then the plain Wild Plum.  As usual with him, the Wild Plum won - he says the Spiced Plum tastes a bit like pie.  I made him chicken tikka masala, and served it with Trader Joe's Flatbread.  I hadn't had Indian food in ages, so I was happy to pull out the recipe and have a scrummy yummy dinner.  

Mommy MUST have been tired, because the TV was on!!!

Scrummy Yummy, Delicious!

Uncle Colin, Boots, Jax and EG played for ages, until Ellie hit that over-stimulated, over-tired mode, and took it out on Boots.  She's at that stage where she understands but is testing how firm my rules and boundries are.  She stopped just before hitting him a third time, looked at me, then BAM. She hit him.  So, off to bed it was!  

Boots is definitely having some health issues again.  He's extremely guarded with his kidney area, and is acting a bit out of sorts.  He's needy and cranky, and just isn't his usual bubbly self.  If he's still not feeling well in the morning, I'll have to consider taking him in.  Ugh. My animal situation is ridiculous!

Ok. I feel sleep coming on - I'm not even going to bother editing...  

The struggles of life make the good times all that much more enjoyable, right??? :-) 

RANDOM PHOTOS OF THE DAY