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.
Skyr Yogurt
Braised Red Cabbage
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.
Our week was a deluge of endless ‘black friday’ ads and rain. Not sure when this Black Friday exploded out of control, but it can stop any time, as can the rain.
There was also a winter storm advisory from the weather service. A ‘Snowmageddon’ was supposed to blanket the Pacific Northwest.
For us it was a no-show-mageddon, though some nasty weather hit coastal areas. By week’s end, rain had obliterated any snow accumulation and we were left with cold, wet and gray days.
That is not a complaint. Really.
Soup is the best remedy for a gray day
While we didn’t get out much this week, we weren’t totally dormant.
This pre-winter weather is a perfect time to enjoy soup or stew. And really, what is the difference . . . tomayto, tomahto.
… wine helps as well
This week we ladled bowls full of steamy French Onion soup. A classic topped with slices of toasted baguette and melty Gruyere cheese. We’ll share the recipe. It’s not a quick cook, but well worth the extra steps.
A great soup cook book is invaluable, especially in winter months.
In the process many of the book’s pages were stained and it’s margins filled with hand scribbled notes . . . signs of a good cook book.
Skies and the ground have cleared and the weatherman is calling for slightly warmer and much sunnier days ahead. So next week we’ll return to our favorite streams and backroads . . . though we are still braced for winter.
4lbsonionssliced through root end into ¼ inch pieces
3 Tbspunsalted buttercut into 3 pieces
salt and pepper
2cupswaterplus extra for deglazing as needed
1/2cupdry sherry
4cupschicken broth
2cups beef broth
6sprigsfresh thymetied with twine
1bay leaf
CROUTONS & CHEESE
1smallbaguettecut into ½ inch slices
8ozGruyere cheeseshredded (2 cups)
Instructions
For the soup
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of Dutch oven with vegetable oil spray. Add onions, butter, and 1 tsp salt.
Cover and bake until onions wilt slightly and look moist, about 1 hour.
Stir onions thoroughly, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Partially cover pot and continue to cook in oven until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions thoroughly after 1 hour.
Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, continue to cook onions, stirring and scraping pot often, until liquid evaporates, onions brown, and bottom of pot is coated with dark crust, 20 to 25 minutes. If onions begin to brown too quickly, reduce heat to medium. Also, be sure to scrape any browned bits that collect on the spoon back into the onions.
Stir in 1/4 cup water, thoroughly scraping up browned crust. Continue to cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6-8 minutes. Repeat deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are a very dark brown.
Stir in sherry and cook until evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, beef broth, 2 cups more water, thyme bundle, bay leaf, and 1/2 tsp salt, scraping up any remaining brown bits. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Discard thyme bundle and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, return to simmer before proceeding.
Croutons and soup prep
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Lay baguette slices on rimmed baking sheet and bake until dry, crisp, and lightly golden, about 10 minutes, flipping slices over halfway through baking.
Position oven rack 8 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set broiler-safe bowls on baking sheet and fill each with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 to 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with grated Gruyère cheese.
Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around the edges, 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with chopped parsley and serve.
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.
The new iron warming upFreshly cooked . . . delicious!
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.
The predominate winds shifted this week and nearly the entire state was veiled in smoke.
This turned the morning sun orange, obscured the Cascade Range and generally muted our view. However, it did not keep us at home. It never got that toxic.
Keeping a watchful eye.
At the start of the week we took an afternoon trip to the Crooked River. After an early dinner at the Tastee Treet, we found our favorite parking spot vacant.
Off to catch an evening hatch
I was looking for an evening hatch and some dry fly action, a much anticipated part of summer flyfishing.
There were far more strikes than hook sets, but we’re not looking to catch. The river provided a couple of hours of action, ending in a cold beverage and relaxing time sitting on its’ bank.
Later in the week we headed West, over the mountains and into the farm rich Willamette Valley.
Sweet white corn near fresh from the field
Schlecter Farms corn was the primary objective . . . sweet corn that shouldn’t be missed.
Putting up sweet corn for the winter
There was farm fresh produce available and a visit with my sister in Tualatin.
Evening light on juniper
Fall has started to spread it’s amber hues.
The weather got warm again, but it’s only false summer. Frosty mornings aren’t far off and we are looking forward to this change in the season.
The internet offers a plethora of information. Recently, I was scrolling my Reddit feed and hit an interesting question on “r/bend”.
What are some good doughnut places?
Well, this is a topic I can confidently handle. So, I dove into the conversation.
The posts were a mix of the usual spots, most of them known, tried and never re-visited. However, in the midst of all these regular stops, was one not recognized. This required a bit more digging.
A Cronut is a hybrid between a flakey croissant and a pillowy donut.
Delish Doughnuts is tucked into a strip mall on the north side of Bend.
Its signature offering is something called “Cronuts,” a cross between a croissant and a doughnut. What is not to like about that combo?
I’ll get my donut later , , , first some exploring.
We had planned a jaunt to the Crooked River, so it was a simple task to take a side trip to the doughnut shop and see what the fuss was all about.
The Cronut was good, flaky as you might imagine, and lightly glazed.
However, the real star of the morning was a chocolate frosted chocolate cake. This tender morsel was not just cake-like, but actually tasted like chocolate.
Frosting and cake were on point. We will return.
Now that we were properly fueled up, it was time to hit the stream.
And then this happened ….
I guess winter still has a few surprises in store for us . . .
The Cronut was good, flaky as you might imagine, and lightly glazed.