Happy Halloween!!!!

[Sorry it's blurry! Rocco wasn't a willing model today...]

Voting Party 2008!

Dan and I had Matt, Gayle, Abbie, and Garret over for dinner last night AS WELL AS a voting party. We discussed the measures in our pamphlets, played SORRY, watched the world series' last game, and pigged out!

I proudly made 2 spicy fall stews baked in kabocha squash,avocado-cucumber salsa, and buttermilk biscuits. I forgot the cheese, which made it vegan, and the buttermilk biscuits were totally store-bought and popped in the oven ten minutes before the squash finished. (Trader Joe's! Holla!) I received a standing ovation and 5 stars for my hard work, and I have to share this recipe because it IS SO GOOD. ENJOY!

Vegetarian Times doesn't have it copied from the magazine onto the web site yet (it's from the October issue), so I will painstakingly write the whole thing down for you. Because it IS SO GOOD. Note: I doubled the recipe to accommodate 2 tall, hungry, manly men.

Spicy Fall Stew Baked in a Pumpkin
Serves 6 :: Gluten-Free

If you can't find a large pumpkin, bake the stew in two small pumpkins or squash.

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and quartered
1 15 oz. can hominy, rinsed and drained
3/4 tsp. salt
1 3-4 lb. pumpkin or squash -Sugar Pie, Cheese, Red Kuri, Kabocha, or Buttercup-
2 oz. grated sharp Cheddar cheese (or not!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 Tbs. oil in pot over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Sauté 7 minutes or until softened. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and cook 3 minutes more, or until spices darken.

2. Add tomatillos, hominy, 1/2 cup water, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, 10 to 12 minutes, or until tomatillos are softened. Uncover, and cook 5 minutes more to thicken stew, if neccesary.

3. Meanwhile, cut top of pumpkin around stem to make lid. Scoop out pumpkin seeds and strings. Rub inside with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Sprinkle cheese in bottom of pumpkin.

4. Fill pumpkin with stew, then top with pumpkin lid. Place on baking sheet (parchment paper suggested but I didn't use it...) and bake 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until pumpkin flesh is fork-tender. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes.

5. Scoop stew, including pumpkin, into bowls and serve hot, topped with salsa.

Per serving 221 cal; 6 g prot; 9 g total fat; 31 g carb; 10 mg chol; 699 mg sod; 6 g fiber, 10 g sugars.


My Avocado-Cucumber Salsa (Magazine recipe calls for poblano chiles but I forgot to get them! And again, I doubled everything. Who uses only 1 clove of garlic, anyway?)
Makes 1 1/2 cups :: Vegan, Gluten-Free

1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into small dice
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 jalepeo chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 ripe avocado, diced

Fuego & Calendars

["The Gas We Pass" by Shinta Co, I Love You Braille Necklace, and Sofa Pillow T-shirt]

Yesterday I discovered a great store IN THE MALL. I'm picky, so that says a lot. I'm not a big fan of national chains (although I certainly shop the hell out of Target). If you go to the mall to buy a gift, in general you are looking at clothing, candles, Hallmark nick-knacks, and calendars. (Yes, it's that time of year when the enormous calendar booths descend upon the masses...I already have mine picked out--I traditionally get a William Wegman with the adorable Weimaraners. There are always at least 2--one of adult dogs and one of puppies--and the puppies usually win my favor. This year, the choices are:

[Family Calendar, Man's Best Friend, and Puppies]

...but this year, I'm leaning toward the family calendar with the stickers. Stickers! I'll let you know. As an aside, this is not the ONLY calendar I get for the new year. I have a bit of a calendar fetish. Already I have an Egg Press offset printed desk calendar and a letterpressed wall calendar waiting to be used--chosen for that combination of antique and modern that I love so much! We also usually receive a ridiculously funny calendar from Lorri & Carmen at Christmas. Year 1 was "Extreme Ironing" (I have to giggle at the memory of it) and this year was "Nuns Behaving Badly" (find similar here). In the yoga corner of our bedroom, I placed the new calendar by papercut artist, Niki McClure. Each portrait has a single word I meditate on. I've already started using it for this purpose, so I'm in October 2009 while I do yoga. The word is "Mother." There's more. I also have to get the new miniature calendar by Jill Bliss and Saelee Oh for their unique artistry:

[2009: Gathered Together]

[2007: Farm Life]

Oh my heck. I just realized how big of a tangent I went on about calendars. I haven't even finished; I haven't even got to planners and datebooks!)

The orginal point was: I like Fuego. It has a unique and fun selection of T-shirts, cards, jewelry, books, scarves, hats, toys, etc. It's small and a little trendy, but I picked up some fabulous items; A magnet I'm sending a friend and adorable cards to frame for the future-nursery. (Photos later. Haven't I given you enough eye candy for one post?) This is a great spot to hit for stocking stuffers, too. The web site doesn't feature as comprehensive of a selection as the store does, but it gives you an idea. Sorry midwesterners. For shopping the store, it's at Clackamas Town Center on SE 82nd.

Self Portrait Tuesday: Driving

My Luv for "Mad Men"

Joan and Betty. I want to be them both. Did you see the season finale? It was on Sunday night at 10 and again at 11 p.m. I always watch the encore at 11 because I invariably miss the first 15 minutes of the 10 o'clock show. (This is late-night television, when Dan is snoring and I have quiet TV or reading time while Rocco nestles under the covers at our feet.) "Mad Men" season 2 started earlier this summer, and after I caught the first episode, I DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN. It has a character-oriented slow pace, that as a fiction writer I appreciate, and the characters are complex! I was instantly in love with them all! Of course I immediately put season 1 on our netflix queue, and I just wrapped up watching them a few weeks ago. Little did I know the 2nd season finale would be so soon! Now what will I do in the off-season without any other season to watch??? I might watch season 1 again... Or at least clips on the web site! I wanted to be Joan or Betty for Halloween, but I am part 2 of a 3 part costume that hubby came up with. Sigh. Maybe I will imitate her look in real life! The set design, fashion, and etiquette on the show make me wish I lived in the early 60s. It's funny to think that my dad was 20 and my mom was 13 at that time....Not that these characters represent them at all. My folks weren't living or working in New York City; they were in central Illinois amid farms. I'll have to dig out some photos of them in that era. It's also funny to watch everyone smoke! Everywhere! Airplanes, offices, elevators, restaurants, at home in the kitchen or in bed! It's so bizarre. What will they say about the first decade of 2000 in fifty years? Anyway, the point of this post was to say that I LOVE THIS SHOW AND IF YOU HAVEN'T STARTED WATCHING IT, YOU GOTTA GET THE DVDS OF THE FIRST 2 SEASONS. And then, when the show returns for its 3rd, you'll be all set and we can have a "Mad Men" premiere party together! Hmmm....I'm already planning the food and drinks.

Boinky Popus

We are more than thrilled to have Jess & Josh (& Pax) join us in the blogosphere. You can find their blog here. I had to look up "popus" in the dictionary because I had no idea what it was. Not only is it part of the blog's name, it is also listed as an interest of theirs on their profile. They are the only blogspot members who have this interest. The dictionary asked me, 'Do you mean ''porpus'' or ''pops''?' It also suggested "pop-us" or "po-pus," which neither have definitions anyway. Hopefully they will enlighten me as to the meaning of the word, but maybe it is not meant to be understood by the rest of us. Either way, I like it. And who doesn't like that ridiculously adorable boy, Pax? Or Jess or Josh? They inspire me. We are so lucky they settled here in Portland and we get to spend time with them. Our recent rendez-vous have been debate night get-togethers and football watching at the Ship. As you can see on their blog, they've already voted, which kind of bummed me out because I wanted them to come over for our "vote night." That's right! I'll be making a pumpkin filled stew, adorning guests with vote stickers, busting out our ballots (we mail in Oregon), and maybe watching a little baseball followed by Obama's 30 minute message. Yes, we plan on voting for him. We have proudly placed an ObamaRama air freshener in our car to signal our support. We also plan on voting for Linda Hendersen, who is running for city council position #4. She wants to build a dog park in Sherwood. YES PLEASE!!!! If it happens, we'll invite Josh, Jess, and Pax down for some dog play at the park-which is more fun than coming to our small condo. (They live with four dogs.) Anyway, happy reading and blessings for Boinky Popus!

Apple & Carrot Soup

Emboldened by my successful baking adventure, I selected an autumnal recipe to prepare for my husband tonight. We decided to cook together, and I am lucky for that because Dan knew that our bag of carrots bought last weekend had gone bad...

Hubby: (Wearing a black sweatshirt, green khaki cargo shorts, one black sock and one green sock) "Do you think anyone will care if I have two different socks on at the grocery store?"

Wifey: "Yes. The question is, Do you care if anyone cares?"

Hubby: "No."

So Dan went to the store to get new carrots. The soup, which we had with biscuits, was a success!

Recipe

Prep: 20 minutes (Unless your carrots have gone bad and your hubby has to go to the store wearing two different socks.) Cook: 35 minutes
Makes about 10 cups or 6 main-dish servings

2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium Golden Delicious apples
2 lbs. carrots
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) vegetable broth
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated, peeled fresh ginger
2 cups water
Half and half and fresh chives for garnish

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden.
2. Meanwhile, peel apples and carrots. Cut each apple in half and remove core. Cut apples and carrots into 1 1/2 inch chunks.
3. Add apples, carrots, broth, sugar, slat, ginger, and water to onion; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove Dutch oven from heat. Spoon one third of mixture into blender; cover, with center part of cover removed to let steam escape, and puree until very smooth.
5. Return soup to Dutch oven; heat through. Serve soup with a swirl of half-and-half, garnish with fresh chives.

The Birthday Day

[An indulgent dessert: Organic Pear & Apple Galette]

The birthday day follows the rules of treating yourself very, very well, with an extra-fabulous treat. This was accomplished by:

• My girlfriend, Melissa, taking me out to lunch and window shopping. We had grilled sandwiches and soup at Paradise Bakery and browsed for what could have been an eternity at Anthropologie. Not only did the little booger buy my lunch and coffee, Melissa also surprised me with a gift certificate to the store! Hurray! I treated myself to 2 pairs of adorable knee highs and a mustard colored crochet neck wrap.
• Dan picked me up and took me to pick out a new pet! We have a big glass bowl with a terrarium Dan designed as a Christmas present last year--but it was failing miserably. I jokingly told Dan, If you clean it out, I'll put a fish in it! So we did~! He let me pick out a beautiful Betta fish ("Siamese Fighting Fish") and we brought him home...Now I have FOUR BOYS to take care of. Our Betta fish is soft in color with shades of pink, purple, and blue, which reminded me of a Beatrice Addressing Dante by Sir William Blake, so I aptly named him Blake! He's very handsome. I will have a picture soon!
• I spent the afternoon in the kitchen baking a dessert for the evening (see above).
• We gathered at Lorri & Carmen's with Matt and Gayle for major yummy food, presents, a little Amaretto, guitar hero, and Saturday Night Live. (The extra treat? SNL had a new skit with my favorite character, Sue, the woman who can't handle suspense played by Kristen Wiig, "Engagement Surprise."

It happened again....

I was fishing on the Nehalem again this weekend. Saturday, to be exact........which happened to be Leah's birthday. I do have to give a mad shout out to her for actually letting her husband frolic in the woods on the day of her birth. I woke up at 4:30 to make it out to the river as early as possible. I made it to the first hole (Nehalem Falls) and it was still dark. There were already two pick-up trucks there (it was around 7:00). You have to wait for sunrise before you go fishing out there, so I had to wait for about 10 minutes before we all got our of our vehicles. Four guys in two beat up pick-ups, and me, in a Prius. They were probably thinking."what a sissy city boy!" You don't need a truck to fish in the mountains, but it is pretty scary driving, just ask my mom who accompanied me last year. I was fishing with eggs and sand shrimp. It was about 1 hour before the first fish was caught in the hole. The guys fishing directly to the left of me. A beautiful silver salmon, probably only a week out of the ocean. He caught it on a pink rooster tail spinner. Everyone else was fishing with salmon eggs, and that is what caught the second fish. A guy walked down from the road, and first cast, a big hen, 30+ pounds. FIRST CAST!!! He caught it just to the right of me! I then got my line snagged on a rock or branch, and lost my bobber. I switched to a silver and red Blue Fox spinner. No luck. I then thought, "that first guy caught his on a pink spinner". I did have a pink Blue Fox spinner, so I switched to that. 10 minutes later, a big buck Chinook salmon.36" long and around 30 pounds! It took about 10 minutes to land it. It rolled, jumped out of the water twice, and gave up quite a fight! I wound up giving it to my buddy Steve, who will enjoy it with his family. More than a vegetarian would.I love October...........

I Want to be a Purple Girl

The Day Before the Birthday

[An indulgent lunch: Hummus, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, lettuce & sprouts sandwich, Pellegrino sparkling water, & September's Marie Claire Idées]

The day before the birthday is just as important as the birthday day. It is important to follow the rules of treating yourself very, very well. So far, I have:

• Slept in and watched TV in bed while cuddling with Hobbes and Rocco. I learned how dispensable soap is made, and how to make homemade stuffed tortelloni from Marcella Hazan.
• Showered and blow-dried my hair, styling it to almost-perfection. (Why is it never as good as the hair stylist's version?)
• Enjoyed a small, warm mocha & the soundtrack to Once on my commute.
• Had an indulgent lunch (see above).
• Took an afternoon break at work with a strawberry, banana, & pinapple yogurt smoothie and my favorite blogazines: Apartment Therapy et al. (Ohdeedoh, Kitchn, Re-Nest), Portland Picks, Design Sponge, and clips from The Daily Show.

Dream Vacation

Cayamo: A Journey Through Song.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Capilano Suspension Bridge :: Vancouver, British Columbia

White Rock, B.C.

There I am, standing in the rain in front of Boundary Bay, cloaked in the night. We enjoyed what I thought was a quiet and romantic dinner at Charlie Don't Surf, one of the numerous oceanside restaurants in White Rock. Enveloped in rich, red velvet walls with chandeliers and fireplaces, we dined on sweet potato fries with garlic dip, warm foccaccia bread and olive oil, and a hearty spinach salad with peppers, walnuts, and mango vinaigrette. We gazed into each other's eyes. We flirted and held hands. Then I realized hubby wasn't interested in hanging around for a decadent dessert. He was boiling hot from the fireplaces. :-)

Decorating: Zen Retreat & Pet Closet

This is a lovely parlor-turned-zen-retreat that I keep meaning to share. It's Lorri & Carmen's entry room to their home & Lorri just redecorated what was a formal dining space to a more casual spot for relaxation. I wish I had a picture of the before....It was beautiful with a clean, white, classic look--So the change was drastic! Isn't it great? My favorite aspects are the wall color (brave Lorri!), the Buddha fountain, plush rug, and trunk-like stool.

I've had the decorating bug myself, but we aren't in a position to carry out any major work that I would like to. So tonight? I redecorated the pet closet. Oh yes. Rocco, Hobbes, and I sat down and discussed color swatches, what they hoped the space would achieve for them, and how to make it a bit more Martha Stewart so I wouldn't mind cleaning the litter box everyday. The result?













A hand-knit catnip-filled fish dangles from the doorknob and inside, Hobbes' pink litter box (a gift from Auntie Gayle) with brand new litter--Feline Pine! (We're going for a more environmentally friendly litter. I hope it works because I'm tired of coughing and having a headache when I scoop that clay stuff in his box.)























Top shelf: Feline Pine, kitty bubbles by SmartyKat, Bitter Apple anti-chew spray. Middle shelf: Egg Press dog and lion illustrations, baskets with grooming tools and another hand-knit catnip-filled toy by George. Bottom shelf: Brown bags & a scooper, royal lion illustration by Sukie, box liners, Pure Ayre odor-eliminator spray, and the Dog Owner's Manual. (I also used craft paper to add color to the back of the wall.)

Willamette Landscape Retreat 08

For this year's retreat with Dan's company, we went to BEAUTIFUL Hood River, Oregon. (Like, can we retire here please?) We spent Saturday night having cocktail hour wine tasting at Naked Winery, dinner at Three Rivers Grill, and lambics, whiskey, and cigars at a local pub that stayed open late enough for us! We spent the night at the Hood River Hotel and then Sunday headed to Cascade Locks for a a champagne brunch aboard the Sternwheeler on the Columbia Gorge River! On our way back to Portland, we also stopped and checked out the sturgeon, rainbow trout, and salmon at the Bonneville Hatchery. That's where we met Herman...We fell in love with Herman the Sturgeon. See more photos here!