jstv – Page 2

March 9, 2025March 9, 2025

Spring Yet?

Winter prodded us again this morning with a light dusting of snow.

But spring is pushing its way in. This season is an elusive beast in Central Oregon. Late winter melts are frequently obliterated with a blanket of snow.

Occurrences come even in late March. It’s best not to get one’s hopes up . . . just endure the weather outside at the moment.

The morning’s snow was gone by noon, replaced with clear blue sky and ‘spring’ temperatures.

Wedged between these occasions of winter, we enjoy the warm sunny days on the river.

The river was in full Spring run off mode. The level was up, considerably, from our last visit.

There was no fishing, but we did have time to explore and enjoy a picnic lunch streamside.

Our newest escapade involves GPS and hidden objects.

Yeah, basically a treasure hunt with map coordinates.

The process is simple, you use GPS points to locate a capsule someone has hidden, usually with some type of note inside. There is a website with these caches set as gps coordinates on maps.

They are quite literally everywhere. It’s a nice addition, an incentive to get in a bit of hiking.

March 2, 2025

In Like a Lion . . .

It was a really busy week.

We got a lot done . . . except content for a blog post.

This morning we woke to snow. It looks like March is starting out white . . . oh well.

We’re back next week, thanks for checking in.

February 23, 2025March 2, 2025

Winter’s End . . . maybe

This week the weather warmed and our colds waned.

It looks a bit like spring outside. Most likely a late winter melt is underway. Could be a ‘false spring,’ but we’ll take what’s offered.

While winter was losing its grip, we continued homebased projects.

One of those was trying a simple oven baked pizza.

This Cast Iron Pan Pizza features a wall of cheese rimming the edge of the pie

Using a cast iron skillet to magnify the oven’s heat, this was a resounding success. America’s Test Kitchen recipes rarely fail.

There are still signs of winter in the canyon

By weeks end the day temperatures had moved into the low forties and we headed off to the river for a long awaited escape.

River levels were up . . . putting grass and willow banks under a few inches of water . . . plus the heavy flows brought turbidity.

Fishing wasn’t great, but the weather is supposed to stay clear and warmer so there is hope for next week’s trip.

Print Recipe

Cast Iron Pan Pizza

Ingredients

DOUGH

2 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
1 cup lukewarm water 105 to 110 degrees

Sauce

1 cup tomato sauce

PIZZA

3 Tbsp olive oil
4 oz Monterey Jack Cheese shredded (1 cup)
7 oz Mozzarella cheese shredded 1 ¾ cup

Instructions

DOUGH

Mix flour, salt and yeast. Add warm water and mix until most of flour is moistened. Using hands knead dough in bowl for 1 minute until dough forms a sticky ball, about 1 minute.
Spray a 9 inch pie plate with oil spray. Transfer dough to prepared plate and press dough into a 7-8 inch disk.
Spray top of dough with vegetable oil spray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
2 hours before baking, remove dough from fridge and let sit at room temp for 30 minutes.

PIZZA

Coat bottom of cast iron skillet and use your fingertips to flatten dough until it is 1/8 inch from edge of skillet. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rest until slightly puffy, about 1 1/2 hours.
30 minutes before baking adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees.
Spread 1/2 cup sauce evenly over top of dough, leaving 1/2 inch border. Sprinkle Monterey Jack cheese evenly over border. Press cheese into side of skillet forming 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch wall. Evenly sprinkle cheese over sauce.
Bake until cheese at edge of skillet is well browned, 25 to 30 minutes.
Transfer skillet to stovetop. Let cool for 3 minutes. Check bottom of pizza crust. Place over medium high heat and cook until crust browned. Transfer to wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.

February 16, 2025February 16, 2025

Having The Time

This week we both came down with colds. Then, in addition to sub-zero temperatures, the snows returned . . . so there were no excursions.

On the upside, the greatest luxury of being retired is you’re no longer enslaved to the clock. There are no places we have to be, meetings or work that demands our attention.

This means that our week consisted of a tissue box, cup of hot tea and a good book, all nestled in front of the fire.

I guess if you’re going to have the sniffles it’s best during a winter storm. We’ll have to see what next week holds, but already cold symptoms are abating.

February 9, 2025February 9, 2025

Snow Days

Once again weather dictates plans. A winter storm watch that didn’t materialize last week, showed up this week and brought along a foot of new snow.

Central Oregon winters are a mix of clear cold, then broken when a front shoves storm clouds across the Cascade range. Last week started almost spring-like and then came this week and a return to shoveling snow.

It’s not impossible to travel in these conditions, just easier to wait for the inevitable string of clear days.

Tomatillos in the Cuisinart for Verde Salsa

In that waiting we managed to accomplish a few home based projects. Starting with the pantry.

Cold winter days are a perfect time to start up a canning operation and restock soups, sauces, stews and chili.

We’re also trying to put up some late season vegetables, like broccoli and carrots. Found a good price on sliced mushrooms, so they got piled into half pint jars and loaded into the canner as well.

Little offsets cabin fever better than a warm meal, good book and comfortable chair. We enjoy that while we wait for the skies . . . and roads . . . to clear.