Author: jstv

Posted on

A week for weather

It’s been one of those weeks. By that I mean, we have had weather patterns that make it difficult to get out and do much more than just a daily walk.

Snow and rain, alternating with cold snaps, mean roads are difficult to navigate or should I say, passable only if you need to be somewhere. So why bother.

However, we can’t just sit, read, and do the crossword. Well, we can…but for a change we drive north 15 minutes to Sunriver. At the height of the season, Sunriver’s network of trails is clogged with families on bikes, making walking with Tip problematic.

Once late fall comes, Sunriver presents a nearly ideal walking location, with it’s paved walk ways (except immediately after a snowfall) which are plowed and mostly free of ice.

There are 40 miles of paths in the resort, and while most of that is around and through housing units, apartments, and condos, there is a great loop of trails branching out from the Nature Center. A nearly 4 mile loop takes you across marsh land and fields, eventually dropping down to the Deschutes River.

We also have been spending time watching the water fowl that winter over on the pond beside the Nature Center. A Trumpeter Swan, Canada geese and a heron are regulars here. So on weeks like this one, we do our walking in the relative comfort of paved paths.

 

Posted on

Obstkuchen


This cake has so much going for it. It’s quick, easy, versatile and not overly sweet.

Obstkuchen or German Fruit Cake is a light sponge cake used as a base to hold fresh or canned fruit. It’s a terrific food canvas.  Mix and match fruit, then place in patterns or a generous mound.

You can put fruit directly on the cake, but be sure to pat them dry before placing on the cake base. To help keep the base from getting too moist, spread a filling, before adding the fruit. Experiment with flavored pudding, whipped cream, or even Nutella.


We topped our cake with a whipped cream mixture, then added a mound of blueberries. Obstkuchen is delicious as a dessert, snack…and even breakfast!

Print Recipe

Obst Torte

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Topping

  • 1 cup whip cream
  • 4 tbsp vanilla pudding mix or flavor of your choice
  • 3 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk, as needed

Fruit Glaze

  • 3 tbsp seedless jam
  • 1 1/2 tbsp hot water

Fresh Fruit

  • 2 cups fresh fruit

Instructions

Obstkuchen

  • Beat 3 eggs on high until foamy.
  • Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar. Beat high for 8 minutes.
  • Whisk 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder.
  • Sift dry mixture, then add in thirds to eggs. Fold after addition.
  • Once mixed, add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
  • Line a springform cake pan or flan tart pan. Don't grease sides.
  • Bake for 25 minutes at 350. Let cool.

Whipped Cream

  • Chill bowl for 15 minutes. Add whip cream and beat 1-2 minutes.
  • Gradually add pudding mix and powder sugar until stiff. Set half aside for pastry bag, the other for smoothing on top of cake (only to edges).

Fruit Glaze

  • Stir 3 tablespoons seedless jam with 1 1/2 tablespoons hot water.

Assembly

  • Spread whip cream mix on top of cake (only to edges)
  • Leave 1 inch border open to pipe whip cream. Add fruit in pattern or in a generous mound.
  • Brush fruit with fruit glaze until shiny.
  • Fill pastry bag with the rest of the whip cream. Using a star tip or tip of your choice, pipe frosting around edge of cake.
  • Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

 

 

Posted on

Summer Lake on a winter’s day

In 1843, John Freemont discovered a valley with an alkali lake. On a December day, Freemont’s survey team clammered down a snow-covered cliff they would name Winter Ridge, into a temperate green valley.

Fed by a small spring, Summer Lake has been as long as 15 miles and 5 miles wide.  However, demands from irrigators and dry Oregon winters have left a much smaller lake and large stretches of muddy shoreline.

Like the Klamath basin 80 miles west, Summer Lake valley is home to a wide variety of migratory birds. This was one of the reasons we drove down Highway 31 past Fort Rock, Silver Lake, Summer Lake and finally to Paisley, Oregon. That day there wasn’t an abundance of birds but we were treated to awesome views of the valley. It was a gorgeous day, kind of summer-like.

 

Posted on

Shoveling

Winter in Central Oregon requires you to shovel. The average snowfall in our area is two feet. Although, we got a fraction of that in 2017, the year before saw a roof-bowing four feet of the white stuff.

The previous owners of our house left us a snow shovel, which was nice of them, as it has come in handy.

So far this year, we’ve had a half dozen winter storms. One dropped nearly six inches in one day.  Currently, there is about four inches on the ground, and this morning we had a couple of new inches added. The forecast fluctuates between rain/snow mix up to a foot of accumulation.  It’s been a strange week for weather forecasters in Oregon.

Predictions for this week’s weather… looks like I’ll be using the snow shovel. It’s not as bad as I remember from the Montana winters of my youth.

That said, it is the most shoveling I’ve done in many years.  All in all, we are enjoying the snowy winter weather of Central Oregon.

Posted on

Chimney Rock

Usually when we are on the Crooked River, we’re on the other side of the road, rod in tow and knee deep in the stream. However, today it was a scramble up one of the many dry gullies to the east for a look out over the Crooked River canyon south of Prineville.

Chimney Rock is a distant cousin to the more famous Crooked River basalt formation Smith Rock.

But here again, we are talking about a much lower attendance on trail and of course much less technical hiking.

There is a short climb up the side of the river canyon to a juniper and sage ridge. The trail then meanders along crossing and re-crossing a dry creek bed. Ancient juniper trees are  literally poking out of rock outcroppings. The surrounding canyon walls are home to a conspiracy of vocal ravens.

The day offered an interesting prospective on a stream we often camp along, and provided a delightful hike on a sunny winter afternoon.