New Year's Day Hike 2011

Last New Year's Day  we headed up the canyons at 6,000 feet for some sledding. This year it was off to our usual haunt, Zion National Park, for ringing in 2011.

On the west side of the tunnel, headed east:

Approaching the west entrance to the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel.

The tunnel is 1.1 miles long and was completed in 1930. Mr. Mamie always wants to drive through, whatever other plans we have in the park. Why? Well, because he is a direct descendant of the families that originally held title to the land that now comprises the west entrance and visitors' center of the park! A cousin (hi Lois!!!) told us recently that the steps to the homestead house are still visible, which we didn't know and are anxious to go check out).  Mr. Mamie's mother grew up in what is now the park. When we got married next to the Virgin River in the park, it was in a location that was in view of the fruit orchards planted my Mr. Mamie's ancestors. So, Zion is special to us not only because of it's amazing beauty and adventure, but because of Mr. Mamie's family ties!

Fun with the camera in the tunnel!

More camera-in-the-tunnel hijinks.

East side of the park, Canyon Overlook area:

A little stroll through a snowfield:

This is a little field that has a path down into a wash we we have hiked through several times before (summer and winter). Today it was too icy to make the drop down into the wash, so we had to stay up above.

 

Mr. Mamie is standing at the top of the path down into the wash. Too icy!

West side, up-canyon, at the Temple of Sinawava:
 

On the Riverwalk trail headed into The Narrows:
 

We mostly hung out and stomped around by the river. The trail was both icy and surprisingly busy - lots of Asian tourists and cars from California.  All in all,  a nice (though COLD!) day, and a good way to start 2011.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Oatmeal Bread

 As my three regular readers know, I have two breads that I make almost weekly: Wheat Bread and Amish White Bread, both from Tammy's Recipes. These have been our "go-to" staples for a couple of years now, since we discovered that most store-bought bread has both added soy products (to which Nephew is allergic) and high-fructose corn syrup (which we would just prefer to avoid). The wheat bread is awesome for almost any purpose, and is my stand-by for peanut butter toast.  Mr. Mamie occasionally likes a white bread sandwich, and I won't eat a grilled cheese on anything else (other than that, we mostly try to stick to the whole grain breads).  I do modify Tammy's recipe for wheat bread by subbing in some wheat germ and vital wheat gluten flour, and by adding flax seed meal. Sometime I will get around to posting the exact measurements for those changes. In the meantime, if you want a nice, smooth, eatable-every-day wheat bread, click above to get Tammy's recipe.

Last week I wanted to make something slightly different. I started with an Oatmeal Bread recipe that came from the Hillbilly Housewife site, then modified the ingredients and the method slightly.  The results were yummy - a little denser and heavier than my usual wheat bread, but definitely up to the task for ferrying butter and boysenberry jam (photo above!) to my mouth!

For most of my yeasted loaf breads, I start the process in the bread machine and then bake in the oven - that is how I made this Oatmeal Bread, and that's how I wrote the directions.

Oatmeal Bread 

• 1-1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1-1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup wheat germ (I use Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
• 2 tablespoons flax seed meal (I use Bob's Red Mill)
• 2 tablespoons instant dry milk powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup dry oatmeal (I like either Coach's Oats or Bob's Red Mill Organic, but I'm certainly not above Quaker or even The Walmartz house brand!)
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (which is incredibly cheap if bought in bulk at Costco, and incredibly expensive if bought in little packets or small jars at the grocery store!)

1. Add the ingredients in the order listed into the bucket of the bread machine.
2. Run the machine on the "dough" cycle. On my machine this lasts for 90 minutes.
3. After the dough cycle is complete, transfer the dough to a greased bread pan. Turn the dough a couple of times so that the whole surface is greased.
4. Set the bread pan in a warmish place to rise and cover with a loose tea towel. Let rise until the dough is at or just above the rim of the bread pan.
5. Put the bread pan in the oven AND THEN turn the oven on to 350. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
6. After 20 minutes, the top of the bread should be nicely browned. Loosely cover the loaf with a sheet of aluminum foil, then continue baking for another 10 - 15 minutes.
7. Remove bread pan from oven and brush the top with about a tablespoon of melted butter, if desired. Let bread pan cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.
8. After 5 minutes, remove bread from pan and place loaf on wire rack. Cover loaf loosely with a tea towel until completely cooled (of course, you can cut a slice or two or five to eat warm!).

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Our December Snow

At the beginning of Christmas vacation we were dealing with ennnnnnnnndless rain that was causing flooding concerns and other problems. Ugh!  The second week brought cold-shiver-shiver-cold and even snow to our slightly lower altitude (we're at about 3,000 feet, but go 30 miles up the interstate and you're in an alpine landscape at 5,800 feet). Up there, they have deep snow through the winter; down here, we get it maybe three times and it doesn't last long.

Here are some shots from the local surroundings on December 30th.

At home:

 Patio table - not going to be hanging out here! (North side of the house.)

 

My Christmas poinsettias, snowified! Fortunately these are fake.

 "But Mama, it's all cold and wet and snowy in my yard!"

 Ice on the ground in the backyard (south side of the house).

On the edge of a regional nature preserve, half-way between our house and the Big Town.

 Looking east.

 Looking north.

 Looking good!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Six Word Saturday 1/1/11

Starting the new year outdoors - awesome!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Drive By Wrapping

Mr. Mamie's mom and his twin sister were in the Big Town doing some last minute Chirstmas shopping and gift delivery last week (they live 2 two hours north of us).  For once I actually had the sense to snap a couple of photos - not great composition, but it's nice to have some shots of his family.

 Mr. Mamie helps his mom out by wrapping a present she is about to deliver.

 Mr. Mamie and his twin sister - aren't they cute?!

 The Beagle was begging to be in the pictures!

 Mr. Mamie and his mama.

 TwinSis, Mama, Mr. Mamie

  ~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe Review: Rosemary Tangerine Chicken

Rosemary Tangerine Chicken:  Instead of baking this as the recipe describes, I prepared it slightly differently and got excellent results.

I made double the amount and froze one bag of chicken and marinade to use later in the month. Since I only had three tangerines, I substituted the juice of one small orange.

Instead of marinating the chicken breasts whole, I pre-cut them into bite-sized pieces. This allowed more surface area for the marinade to come in contact with. Since the marinade flavors are pretty mild, I though this would be beneficial.

Having cut the chicken up, baking it would not be the best approach. Instead, I did it as a quick stir-fry. This worked very well, especially with the chicken served over plain couscous.

This was a nice, mild (as in, not-spicy) dinner that suited us perfectly on a night that Mr. Mamie was suffering the after-effects of a stomach bug.  We will enjoy having it again.

(Sorry, I failed to get a photo!)

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Christmas Day 2010 at GolfDad's

Yet more pictures of Christmas 2010.

Our "mixed grill" Chirstmas dinner - Nephew had a cheeseburger, a hot dog, AND mahi-mahi!

Opening Mamie's final hand-made gifts.

They liked it! (Post coming soon on what "it" is.)

GolfDad examining his loaf of whole wheat/wheat germ/flax meal bread.

Checking out the jar of "Confetti Bean" soup.

Brother Igor was sent to the back of the house, where PsychoCat was locked up, to fetch a bottle of vino. Note the golf club clutched in his hand, for protection.

 

He returns, unharmed, and triumphant!

What GolfDad's cat (aka "Psycho") gave him for Christmas.

Mr. Mamie keepin' busy after dinner with a library book (he said it wasn't very well written, BTW, so don't bother checking it out).

The book was boring, so he took a nap!

 

Igor on the phone with Grammie.

Mrs. Igor felt the need to fix something in GolfDad's kitchen.

The lighted wreath and garland above the fireplace, which Wombat loved... miss you, Mom... Christmas isn't the same without you.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Quote

"She puts nutmeg in everything! She's a nutmeg-a-aholic!" ~Niece

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Image credit

Nearly Wordless Wednesday 12/29/10

 

Even the "dog pantry" is full-to-overflowing right now!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe Review: Three-Potato Soup with Fresh Rosemary and Rosemary Focaccia

 

Soup in the CrockPot before blending.

Three Potato Soup with Fresh Rosemary: This soup was thinner than I expected (or wanted). I had even added an additional medium russet potato to start with, but once blended, the soup was still rather "soupy," as opposed to the thicker texture I would have expected with a potato soup. Next time I make it (and I liked the flavor enough to do it again) I will cut the initial amount of liquid by two cups, and only add more toward the end if it looks like it's cooking down too much.  This was a good soup to share with GolfDad, because it is dairy-free (he's lactose-intolerant). We took him a jar for his dinner the night it was made, though I haven't heard back on how well he liked it.

Overall, it was tasty, especially because we added some Monterrey Jack cheese to our bowls upon serving!

Also, I made a Rosemary Focaccia to go with it, which was DELICIOUS, both on it's own and dipped in the soup. I definitely recommend having a sturdy, yummy bread to dunk in the soup

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Right Now 12-29-10

Time: 9:11  a.m.



In my mug: DietCoke – I got ten 2-liter bottles from the Igor Family as a Christmas present! It’s actually in my insulated red tall plastic cup with the cute snowman on it - HA, that's the exact same line that was in my LAST "Right Now" post. It's still true!



Outside my window: To the south - grey sky, falling rain. To the north - more rain, thick clouds obscuring the snowy mountains.


In my belly: Pretzel snaps and cheese.

Beside me: A dining table chair piled with cookbooks.

In the fridge: Eggnog, buttermilk, cream, milk - wonderful things for baking! Lots of produce, eggs, and cheese. Ground beef defrosting for tonight's Hobo Hash dinner.

 

In my ears: The "Today" show on NBC.



On me: Old, soft jeans; black, long-sleeved t-shirt; pink short-sleeved t-shirt; dark navy fleece pull-over; pink and navy fleece socks; black Crocs.


Looking forward to: The kids coming over so I can put them to work taking down the Christmas decorations; making Buttermilk Cinnamon Bread with Niece; a day of organizing and baking and perhaps sewing.

Grateful for: This two-week vacation - it has been WONDERFUL!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

School Activities - November/December

Here are a few photos of our November and December activities:

 Our superheroes from Red Ribbon Week.

 Turkey glyphs.

 Writing posted in the hallway - our "reviews" of the high school play Peter Pan.

 Working on writing pages for our Christmas books.

 Paining hands for reindeer antlers.

 Making reindeer antler hand-prints.

 Working in the re-telling center (sentence building).

 Birthday card center.

Spelling center.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)