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October 13, 2024October 12, 2024

Not Just for Breakfast Anymore

Nearly ever Sunday morning we have waffles.

This is a breakfast ritual that has been part of our menu plan for a long time. A couple of weeks ago the old waffle iron finally gave up. Well, it still made waffles, but not consistently.

While pancakes filled in for a bit, they never really offered a proper platform for seasonal fruit and syrups. This week we broke down and replaced the old Oster Flip Waffle Maker model F10W . . . truth is I never really liked that thing. It only did a mediocre job at making crisp brown waffles.

What took the Oster’s place was a Breville Smart Waffle Pro model BWM604.

This stainless steel enrobed beauty took us from turning out a round pale limp waffle (one at a time), to producing four golden brown squares of crispy delight.

It was a bit more spendy, but worth every extra dollar.

Interestingly enough, breakfast waffles are only the beginning. JQ uncovered a myriad of recipes utilizing a waffle iron as the baking instrument. The future has expanded from cozy Sunday breakfasts into other culinary arenas.

At this point I should confess my addiction to snack cakes. I’ve regularly consumed individually wrapped carbo-bombs from those hallmarks of healthy eating, Hostess, Little Debbie, and Tastee Kakes. JQ has made numerous attempts to offer something far less harmful, but was met with little success.

Cake batter in a waffle maker worked too well.

This waffle iron might present the perfect alternative to long shelf life snack cakes. Our first foray was a chocolate waffle built on a Greg Patton recipe. It’s crevices filled with chocolate buttercream. This checked all the snack cake boxes, with none of the chemical additives.

Cakes: Lemon; Marble Pound Cake; Chocolate Frosted Snack Cake

If you do even a cursory search of waffle iron cooking, it will become apparent that we’ve only scratched the surface.

Some of these waffle iron productions don’t even utilize batter.

We’ll keep you informed of the hits, as well as misses. We’re pretty sure Hostess is history.

Print Recipe

Buttermilk Waffles (and Pancake)

Ingredients

1 cup sifted flour 150 grams
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp unsalted butter melted

Instructions

Preheat waffle iron.
In a 4 cup glass measure whisk together the dry ingredients.
In a 1 cup glass measure, whisk egg into buttermilk and then drizzle in the melted butter.
Add wet to dry and combine. Use a wooden spoon or spatula, but don't overmix as the waffles will be flat and tough.
Cook according to your iron's instruction - for pancakes drop ¼ cup measures on a lightly greased griddle.

October 6, 2024October 6, 2024

Some Fall Color

Fall has descended on Central Oregon.

The high desert isn’t known for its foliage displays, but there are spots of color. Morning temperatures have dropped to near frost level chill, but the skies are clear, and by noon we are in the mid-seventies.

It’s a great time of year.

Early in the week we headed over to Summer Lake only to find that it’s locked down in preparation for waterfowl hunting season. Didn’t really see many birds, wonder why?

Undaunted we swung up to Winter Ridge for the trip home.

A favorite pull off on the Chewaukan River

Large swaths of the forest were ravaged by wildfire three years ago and yet some sections were untouched. Wildfire is a tricky beast.

Aspen leaves hold a distinct shade of yellow/orange in the falll

The area is peppered with marsh land, which in turn is home to numerous Aspen groves. This was our fall color and while mainly just shades of yellow. It was beautiful.

Later in the week, we headed back to Maupin for an additional attempt at Summer Steelhead.

This week’s trek began at first light . . . or at least early morning.

My cast count must be getting close to that magic “1000” number and still no steelhead. Instead, I settled for a stand in the river, taking in the wildlife and practicing those casting moves.

It’s the height of apple season and we were hoping to get some more cider.

There are around a hundred boxes of different apples and pears at Kikawa Orchard

If apples with redish flesh are pressed you get red cider … tastes just as good.

From the Deschutes River it’s a short jaunt to the orchards in Hood River.

On the slopes of Mt Hood there are a great variety of deciduous tree species and thus more fall colors.

Trees are still loaded with fruit, though mostly pears and the harvest is in full swing.

We did find some cider, as well as a few different variety of apples and pears to complement a growing fall fruit basket. Ladened with seasonal fruit, we headed home.

September 29, 2024September 28, 2024

Kind of a Sad Week

This week we had to say goodbye to Lewis, an 18 year old, long hair, black cat. He was sick first of the week, and then by mid-week he wasn’t eating or drinking.

He’s had some kidney issues, but this was not a good sign.

By Thursday we knew what had to be done.

He was kind of a pain in the butt. He liked to jump up on the counter and chomp fresh herbs (chives being his favorite). But he was the best ‘in your lap while reading cat’ we’ve ever had. Now, we have just one cat left.

The excursions we did make this week were up to the Crooked River. We really needed the peace of a sit-along-the-stream.

The fishing wasn’t very good, clouds and wind took over one of the days . . . but a bad day on the river is still a good day.

Thursday was much better. We had the place to our selves and while the fishing didn’t improve, the weather did.

Fall is definitely here.

Day temps are down and there is a crispness to the air. Plus, the migration is starting up so bird activity is increasing.

We’ll likely make a trip out to Summer Lake this coming week, and maybe have another try at Summer Steelhead. The weatherman suggests we’ll have good days ahead.

September 22, 2024September 21, 2024

Apple Cider weather

Early morning start, upstream from Warm Springs.

Our week started cold and wet. This did manage to cool off a wildfire that had Sunriver residents on edge.

At the end of last week the Lava Lake fire joined what was now being called the Mt. Bachlor complex. Burning up thousands of acres on the south edge of the mountain and headed east toward the resort.

The rain and low temps also flushed out a smoke plume that was plaguing Central Oregon. In typical High Desert fashion these gray skies moved on but left behind more fall temperatures and really nice days.

On Wednesday we celebrated national cheeseburger day at our favorite old school diner, Tastee Treet. Then, as the nice weather persisted we decided to take a jaunt over to Kiyokawa Orchards in Hood River.

It’s height of apple season and there are plans to can some sauce and reduce some cider for syrup.

The trees are heavy with fruit and farm stand shelves are loaded with a variety of apples and pears. The fresh cider was an unexpectedly good treat.

As long as we’re over there, we decided to swing up to Dufur, check out the Dufur Market and then spend the afternoon on the Lower Deschutes.

Still no Summer Steelhead, but I had a great time building up my cast count.

It was a perfect afternoon to sit along the stream . . . we’ll likely head up there again next week and try to find the illusive ‘fish of a thousand casts’.

September 15, 2024September 14, 2024

Back to the Canyon

We’ve managed to book regular stays at Cottonwood State Park and this week was September’s visit.

There is a quiet stillness to this spot that is very restful.

This cabin camping is just the ticket.

It starts with a couple hours drive up Highway 97 through a cross section of Central Oregon landscapes . . . forests to wheat fields, sage steppes to wind farms.