Once Upon A Time, 30 years ago...

            During the recession of the early 1980's, we lived in Central Oregon. This was at a time when all the mills were beginning to shut down. As a result, much of the town was unemployed. Even those who didn't work directly for a mill were affected. Everyone we knew supplemented their food budget with gardens…and game. My husband, an experienced hunter and fisherman, made sure there was always meat on the table. We ate what many people might consider delicacies. Quail, pheasant, duck, elk, the list could go on. Roast wild goose or back-strap of venison was not unusual. Neither was freshly caught, fried bass or bluegill. Unfortunately, you can have too much of a good thing. At one point, I never wanted to see another trout, let alone eat one. Now, I enjoy it again…but it took a few years.

            When we moved back to the Portland area, we kept living off the land as much as practical. We rented a little house on five acres, on the outer side of the West Hills. It had a neglected old orchard, filled with apple, plum, and pear trees, and a large garden space. By this time, we had three toddlers. They spent many hours in the garden with me, playing farmer with their own little plastic tools. They loved to snack on berries or pull carrots for their lunch. Tiny cherry tomatoes, sweet as candy, were consumed by the handful. We also raised rabbits, sheep, and chickens. Gathering eggs was part of the fun. There were times when we supplied the whole neighborhood with eggs. At some small level, the kids grew to understand that food didn't just come from the store. They all have fond memories of our days on the farm.

            There are two times each year when I find myself with tiny vegetables. The first is early summer, when I'm impatient to harvest something. Then again at the end of the season, when the garden is winding down. Too little of any one thing to use alone, but together they make a wonderful vegetable soup. I don't think I've made this the same way twice, it depends on what I have on hand, but it's always gotten good reviews from my family. It can easily be made vegetarian.

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Baby Vegetable Soup

Serves 4 to 6

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1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, minced

1 carrot, thinly sliced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 small hot pepper, seeded and diced or 1 dried chili pepper (optional)

1 small sweet pepper, any variety, seeded and diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup green and/or wax beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 quart chicken or vegetable broth

2 or 3 ripe tomatoes, diced or 1 can diced tomatoes in juice

3 or 4 baby red potatoes, quartered

1 or 2 small summer squash, sliced or cubed, depending on size

¼ cup chopped, assorted fresh herbs or 1 tbsp. dried (parsley, basil and marjoram)

Salt, pepper

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Heat oil and butter in a stock pot to medium high. Saute onion until golden brown. Add carrots, celery, peppers and garlic and saute for a minute or two. Add tomatoes, beans and broth. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in potatoes and summer squash and cook 15-20 minutes longer or until vegetables are all tender. Stir in herbs and adjust seasonings.

The Hummingbird Lady

         The hummingbirds return to the Norhtwest every year on March 15th. My mother-in-law, Sally, taught me that. She also taught me how to make Swiss steak, tailor a blazer, and do bookkeeping the old-fashioned way, with a ledger. If I had a question about an old movie, odds were she would know the answer. She was my mentor, my surrogate mother, one of my best friends.            
         My fondest memories are of the times we spent alone together, working in her garden on Orcas. Mom held court in her garden, sitting on her campstool like a queen on a throne. (It was easier for her to reach the plants that way.) A pump-pot of coffee was always at her side. She would be wearing the faded Mariner’s jacket that had been Hal’s, her old hiking boots, and frayed jeans that were inches too short. Quite the contrast to the elegant woman she was in public. Sitting cross-legged amidst the lavender and crane’s bill geraniums, I’d pull weeds and listen to her stories. We’d talk and laugh, and not get as much done as we could.            
        Mom loved her critters, and kept most of her five acres virgin-wild. Her squirrel and bird feeders were always kept full, although she often complained about the mess they made. She delighted in the wildlife that visited her beach, martin, blue heron, even the occasional sea otter. Only the deer nearly drove her mad, eating her flowers.           
        Every year she would hang hummingbird feeders, four or five of the largest available. The tiny birds would swarm the deck, like a hive of iridescent bees. It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since Mom was taken from us, on March 15th. I like to believe that her soul had an escort of Hummingbirds to begin its journey. I think she would have liked that.

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Old Style Alphabet Soup

1 or 2 meaty beef soup bones

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 whole clove garlic, peeled

1 large whole chili pepper

¾ cup diced celery

¾ cup sliced carrots

¾ cup diced onion

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

8 cups beef broth, homemade or canned

1 large bay leaf

Salt, pepper and onion powder

A handful of alphabet pasta

Heat a little oil in a heavy Dutch oven to medium-high. Carefully place bones, fattiest side down in the oil. Season with salt, pepper and onion powder.Stir in the tomato paste. Brown well, turning the bones frequently.  Toss in the garlic and chili. Pour the broth over the bones, scraping to loosen the brown bits.

Add a bay leaf and ½ cup each or the carrots, celery and onions. Lower heat to simmer. Cover and simmer 2 hours or longer, until meat is falling from bones. When the meat is thoroughly cooked, remove from heat.

 

Strain into a chilled bowl, reserving the liquid. Chill the strained broth completely. This will allow the excess fat to rise to the top and harden. You can then easily de-fat your soup by simply lifting it off. 

When the bones are cool enough to handle, discard the bay leaf, garlic clove, chili and vegetables. Remove the meat and cut into bite size pieces.

Reheat the de-fatted broth. Stir in the meat and remaining vegetables. Add a little extra broth or water, if needed. Bring back almost to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until vegetables are cooked, about 20 minutes. 

Stir in the pasta. Cook another 10 minutes until the alphabets are cooked. Adjust seasonings as needed.  

My Favorite Things About Orcas Island

      We all know there's no place like home, but every place has something we DON'T like, be it the traffic, the noise, or the price of gas. Today, instead of fussing about anything, I decided to focus on the positive, and list the things I LIKE, and miss, about the island. Fellow Orcasians, feel free to ad to the list! These are in no particular order, just as they came into my head.

The checkers at the Market know my name, and I know theirs.

The view as you drive into Deer Harbor.

The Olga Christmas tree.

Buck Bay shellfish and Judd Cove oysters.

Fourth of July in Eastsound.

"Our" resident herd of deer.

The drive from Eastsound to Olga.

Viking football.

The view across Obstruction Pass to Anacortes.

Christmas lights in Eastsound.

Trumpeter swans visiting Cascade Lake in December.

Crow Valley in the morning, under a blanket of fog.


Crow Valley



Supper for Super Bowl

This started out as a way to kill time before and during the Super Bowl. I could hang out in the kitchen, and slice and dice and shred cheese while my husband and his friends watched the big game. Then an unexpected thing happened. Our sons got older, and started to play football, so I was motivated to learn more about the game. Watching our Orcas Vikings, I actually became a football fan.

It wasn’t a chore, after that, to start watching the Seahawks, and other pro teams, along with the guys. When Super Bowl came, I wanted to watch the game. By that time, however, I had established a ritual. The dinner had become one of the highlights of the day. The logical answer was to make the pizza a couple of hours before game time, then pop it in the oven at half-time and eat during the third quarter.

A good crust is the foundation of any pizza. A home oven was never designed to bake pizza. It just can’t get hot enough. There are plenty of good refrigerated pizza crusts, and even boxed mixes, that work very well. I even used biscuit mix once, when I was out of yeast. But a good, basic yeast dough is still the best way to go. If you have a bread machine with a pizza setting, use it. Just follow their directions.

Super Bowl Pizza    A once-a-year treat
Makes one 14” medium crust pizza

1 packet active dry yeast, quick rising
1 cup warm water (105° to 115° F)
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. olive oil
2½ to 3½ cups all purpose flour

OR 
1 - 12” to 14” ready made pizza crust

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add salt, olive oil and 2½ cups flour. Mix well. Turn onto floured board. Knead, adding remaining flour until dough feels elastic. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down. Let rest about 10 minutes. Brush pizza pan with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Press dough across bottom of pan, forming a collar around edge to hold toppings. Toppings:1 - 14 oz. can pizza sauce
1½ cup shredded mozzarella
¼ lb. pepperoni
¼ lb. salami
¼ lb. Canadian bacon
½ lb. Italian sausage, hot or mild
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced bell pepper
½ lb. sliced mushrooms
1 - 3oz. can sliced olives

Brown sausage and drain well. Sauté onion and pepper in a little olive oil until soft. Spread sauce across crust. Layer all topping ingredients, finishing with cheese on top. This can be done a couple of hours ahead. (Your crust may continue to rise if it’s made ahead and not refrigerated.)

Bake at 450° for 15 to 20 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
 

Creamy Salad Dressings

            About the time my youngest got into high school, I gave up buying bottled salad dressing, for two reasons. First, as a family, we ate so much salad that we were always running out. Secondly, and most important, we were finding it harder and harder to find dressings that we found palatable. Most were either too vinegary, or too gelatinous. And, they're expensive!
            We all prefer creamy dressings to vinaigrettes, so I started experimenting with different combinations, using mayonnaise or sour cream as a base. The idea was to use ingredients that were always on hand, hence, never run out of salad dressing again! It proved to be so easy, that I’m embarrassed it took me so long to figure out. I usually make dressing “by eye”, and just enough for a meal. For simplicity, though, I put measurements in here. 

Basic Ranch 
Yields about 1½ cups

1 cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

¼ cup milk

¼ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. black pepper

Dash garlic powder
Parsley, marjoram, sweet basil, savory, etc.

 Whisk together mayo and sour cream. Add pepper, onion and garlic powders, whisking until well blended. Taste as you go. Stir in herbs, to taste. (Parsley, marjoram and basil are friendly. You can use them quite liberally and they won’t overpower your food. Be sparing with thyme or oregano, however. A little goes a long way.) Thin with small amounts of milk until desired consistency is reached. Chill for at least 15 minutes.

Creamy Blue Cheese       A kid friendly blue 

Make Ranch dressing, above, using parsley only.

Fold in 3 oz. crumbled blue cheese.

Run in blender or food processor for a minute, if you want a smoother texture

Refrigerate for at least an hour to develop flavor.

Thousand Island                 Great French fry dip, sandwich spread…

Stir to combine:

1 cup ranch dressing

½ cup sweet relish, well drained

1 tbsp. ketchup

¼ tsp. black pepper

Blue Island                     My husband’s favorite

Make Thousand Island dressing, above.

Fold in ½ cup coarsely-crumbled Buttermilk Blue cheese

Regular blue cheese can be used, but the buttermilk blue is wonderfully mild, yet intense. The longer it chills, the better the flavor.

Simple Cheesecake

          It's supposed to get cold again this week, following a couple of unseasonably warm days. I really don't mind very much. I kind of enjoy the cold, as long as it's dry. Either way, winter weather always puts me in the mood to bake. Last weekend my sweet tooth started missing the holiday goodies. Being rather late in the evening, I took stock of the pantry and proceeded accordingly. I had all the fixin's to make one of my husbands favorites: cheesecake.
          This is a very simple and relatively fast recipe. I had no ready-made pie crust, but I did have a pack of graham crackers. I did something I hadn’t done in years: I made one from scratch. I needed to look up the recipe in good old Betty Crocker, it had been so long. I was really glad for my Cuisinart when it came to turning the crackers into crumbs. I only had half a bag of chocolate chips, and soft cream cheese, not a brick. Even so, the cake turned out just fine. The only difference I noticed was that the chips sunk through the softer batter and created a chocolate layer at the bottom. 

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheesecake
Heat oven to 350°

2 - 8oz. packages cream cheese, softened (light is ok)

½ cup sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

2 eggs, slightly beaten

½ cup chocolate chips

1 graham cracker or chocolate cookie pie crust

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla on medium speed of electric mixer. Add eggs and beat until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into crust.  Bake at  350° for 40 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

You can substitute peanut butter chips or white chocolate chips, if you prefer. For a double chocolate cake, add a tablespoon of chocolate syrup in with the sugar and omit the vanilla.

Graham Cracker Crust

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tbsp. sugar

5 tbsp. melted butter

Combine crumbs and sugar in the bottom of a pie pan. Stir in melted butter until completely moistened. Press crumbs against bottom and sides of pan to make a crust.