Resident Ducks

We have a ton of ducks that have taken up residency at the pond at church. As you can see, they're are some mallards hanging out, but then there are also some that are not quite full-blooded mallards any longer... these are the ones that usually stick around year 'round. I'm not sure what kinds of ducks the mallards originally bred with, but anymore, due to their questionable pedigrees, I like to term these guys "mutt ducks." At any rate, they have it pretty good living at the church. We feed them any leftover bread from services or from pot-lucks plus there is a retirement center across the parking lot. The residents there also feed the ducks pretty frequently.

Well, the downside to all this feeding is that these ducks have become very spoiled... and expectant of a hand-out. I was leaving church the other day, when the ducks started marauding me. I'm not kidding! They starting coming at me, quacking insistently. While they were busy trying to figure out if they could successfully mug me for food, I shot these pics.

Crazy Cat Art

Before I go and scrub my bathroom mirror, I had to share with everyone the artwork that has appeared there the last couple of days... I'm reminded of the book Why Cats Paint. Although I'm not certain Flatt is as high-brow about her art. Not sure this picture adequately captures the smudges on my mirror, but you get the idea... The skills & techniques necessary to create this masterpiece are captured in the outline below:

Technique for kitty art:

1. Get drink from toilet
2. Dip paws in toilet - make sure they are extra wet for additional runs & smears on the mirror
   
3. Jump up on bathroom counter
4. Lean against bathroom mirror with wet toilet-water paws (make sure extra lint & dirt are stuck to paws for additional depth & dimension to image)
   
5. Paw at the mirror like an insane kitty trying to escape her evil tormentors
6. Leave artwork to dry and for kitty parents to appreciate later
   

Thanks Chris. I love this!

Hey Heather!

Today was my best workout in a long time... 3.5 miles in 50 minutes. Not quite your 5 miles... but I'm working on it! My 50 minutes did include a 5 minute warm-up and 5 minute cool-down too... :o)

Metolius River Camping

I love the Metolius River near Sisters. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful rivers around. It reflects a beautiful aquamarine color in the sunshine which contrasts nicely with the greens, reds, golds and browns of the surrounding landscape – especially in the fall.

We camped a couple of weeks ago with some friends of ours on the Metolius. There are about 8 different campgrounds up and down the river in the Deschutes National Forest. The campgrounds are not luxurious, even by camping standards, but what they lack in amenities, they more than make up for in natural beauty. Camping in central Oregon never presents the same kinds of problems that staying overnight in the western part of the state does. The rain is far less frequent – therefore even camping in October like we did, doesn’t require the addition of rain gear. On the Metolius there are hiking trails to cruise up & down the river banks and fly fishing for those with a bent towards angling. Surprisingly, the roads throughout this part of the Deschutes NF are relatively flat and provide a good opportunity for bike riding, for those who tend toward the “kitchen sink” style of camping (bringing every amenity you can think of – including the kitchen sink). Many of the campgrounds have RV spaces available, although no hook-ups. There is drinking water available during the main camping season, but the taps had been turned off for the winter when we were there.

That being said, camping on the Metolius in October does require additional layers of clothing. We knew it was going to be colder than Portland had been of late, but we didn’t realize until I talked to my mom on the way home that we had endured record overnight low temps (overnight lows in the 20’s both nights we were there). Needless to say, a fire was required most of the time, especially after the sun went down and the temperatures dropped. Despite this, we all had a great time. The sun came out during the days and we went hiking a bit. Our friend Mark tried his hand at fishing, and we spent plenty of time just relaxing.

The Fifth Beatle

Some friends of ours introduced us to a delicious pizza with an unlikely name… “The Fifth Beatle.” The masterminds behind this wonder of the pizza world are the guys up at American Dream Pizza in northeast Portland, on Glisan Ave.

This pizza has an interesting and unexpected mix of toppings that I would never have dreamed of putting together myself… Red Onions, Blue Cheese & Hazelnuts (Oregon is the nation’s largest supplier of hazelnuts). The red onions are sautéed to give the a nice, sweet flavor which contrasts with the pungent flavor of the blue cheese. The hazelnuts mellow out the flavors of the other two ingredients and add a bit of a chew/crunch to the softness of the other items. There is a red sauce on this pizza, but it is a very lightly applied sauce, so the sauce is certainly not the first thing you notice when sampling this pizza. All in all this is one our new favorite pizzas. However, Chris & I are big cheese lovers… not sure if this pizza would be nearly as appealing to someone who didn’t enjoy the strong flavor of the blue cheese on it. Still, if you’re not afraid of intentionally moldy cheeses, I highly recommend this.

That’s the upside… the downside is that American Dream Pizza is about a 30 minute drive from our house – either by freeway or surface streets – doesn’t make much difference. So delivery is definitely out of the question, and our ability to just go pick up one of these delectable pies on the spur of the moment is pretty limited as well. My solution? Make our own version of the Fifth Beatle.

I have made this pie twice now and it’s been really tasty both times. Mine is maybe not exactly the same offering as American Dream, but a yummy substitution nonetheless. I made my own dough, directly from a recipe on Recipezaar (my favorite recipe site) and then I used a jar of premade spaghetti sauce. I blend the sauce in my Vita Mix so that it is smooth and doesn’t have the tomato, pepper, and onion chunks that I might otherwise enjoy if they were in spaghetti. The sauce is applied very lightly to a par-baked crust. I use slightly more than ½ of my “normal” pizza amount. Then the mozzarella goes on. There shouldn’t be a ton of it either. American Dream claims that they apply less cheese to this than to a more traditional pie. Then the red onions are sliced & sautéed, cooled, and put on. I think I used about ½ of an onion per pie and sautéed them to a nice carmel color to bring out the sweetness in the onion. The blue cheese is put on – I used an Oregon Blue. Yum! And finally, the hazelnuts are chopped (not too finely) and put on. I baked it in a 425 oven until the cheese was light brown and bubbly.

As I said, this is not an exact replica of the American Dream pizza, but a close enough approximation when you don’t live within a reasonable distance of the original. For anyone who likes blue cheese, or who likes experimenting with pizza toppings, I highly recommend this pie. As I said, it’s a surprising combination of toppings that create a truly sublime pizza experience!

Green Smoothies... not quite a "lifestyle" yet, but we're progressing!

So, I've lost count of what day this is on our green smoothie challenge/transition to a lifestyle, but we've been at it for a few weeks now. Chris & I are still imbibing 55-60 oz of green smoothie daily and feeling pretty good for it.
I'm still getting used to the more frequent trips to the grocery store to buy fresh produce and I've never spent as much time in the leafy greens section of the store as I have the last few weeks. We have been learning about how different greens work in smoothies with some surprises along the way...

• Spinach: I would have figured that raw spinach would be too bitter for a smoothie, but it's actually really good in it. I use about 5 big handfuls per blender batch.
• Collards: aka collard greens. These are really intimidating just looking at them... the leaves are big and leathery and you think that there's no way this would possibly be good in a smoothie, but they are very mild and work well in most smoothies.
• Romaine: I always figured that romaine lettuce was mild enough that you could put it in almost any smoothie without a problem... this is simply not the case... romaine has a very distinctive flavor that isn't easily "hid" by the fruits, so unless you like your smoothie to taste like Caesar Salad, I suggest using stronger tasting fruits with your romaine... things like raspberries, blackberries or maybe blueberries.
• Kale: Again, like the collards, it looks like an intimidating green to use, but it is quite mild in your smoothie and blends well with most any fruits. Kale comes in many different varieties. The ones available at our local store are green, purple, & Italian.
• Chard: Same as collards and kale. It comes in varieties as well. We've been using the red chard (see pic above) mostly because it's readily available in an organic form at the store.

Lately, I've been wondering what the cashiers in the check-out line think of my grocery basket. There are huge bunches of strange greens piled up in my grocery basket along with a ton of fruit. I'd say that on any given trip to the store, my grocery inventory ise comprised of at least 50% fruits and veggies... but hey, isn't that the way it's supposed to be???