Winter continues to tempt us with sunny days, then thwart our activities with bitter cold.
For most of the week temperatures hovered in the mid-thirties and mornings started in the teens. Too cold for these old bones.
Scouting fishable water
Towards the end of the week we made a trip to the Crooked River. It had warmed up into the forties, and driven by a case of cabin fever we were ready to get outside.
Cirrus clouds streaked the sky, but some sun managed to shine through. Bowman Dam had been gushing water downstream to near spring levels.
Likely an attempt to prepare for a spring run off from above average snow levels in the mountains.
However, today it was back down to winter levels and the lack of wind made mirror surfaces of the still water.
There was an abundance of bird activity. A rather large flock of Robins darted from willow thicket to stream side . . . only slightly alarmed by our presence.
At one stop we watched a Heron perch on a bolder and survey the stream . . . marveling at the graceful curves of his plumage.
Great Blue Heron on river’s edge
Then he flew by us and headed downriver, perhaps looking for a better roost.
Rock sentinel at the canyon’s entrance
At the reservoir a Bald Eagle flew in a spiral over the water, then plucked a rather large fish from the surface.
It happened so quickly and we were so mesmerized by the aerobatics, that cameras didn’t come out until it was over.
River rock under ice
A final un-documented, bird sighting happened as we turned into our driveway.
A low flying Raven passed just over the hood of our car with a Chinese takeout box in his beak. Not a clue where it came from, but a fitting close to a peaceful day.
This week we got caught up in a Pacific Northwest winter storm.
At least once a year an arctic front rides the jet stream over a rainstorm and turns Portland’s streets to skating rinks.
. . . are you seeing this?
Trouble is , , , this storm was an Atmospheric River and the jetstream turned on some gale force winds.
On our side of the mountains, the ice storm was minimal, but we did get three feet of snow to go along with the freeze. It pretty much closed down the whole Pacific Northwest for nearly a week.
There IS a whole deck chair under there
Only a few days ago the gas stations and grocery stores around us were still waiting on trucks from PDX to re-supply.
“Out of fuel” signs were common and empty grocery shelves were another casualty .
Inevitably these cold snaps are followed by warming and an accompanying slush and flood cycle.
Unlike many, our neighborhood did not experience any power outages.
The worst of it was the numerous snow shoveling excursions as we attempted to keep ahead of the accumulation.
In the end, we had shoulder-high berms on either side of the driveway.
We don’t require daily access to the transportation system and are quite content to stay at home.
As we write this post the view out our window is more springlike rather than a winter scape.
With all this “stay at home” time, we hit our reading lists pretty hard and finished up some fly tying.
We finally ventured out and managed to top off our supplies (including a trip to See’s Chocolates),
But most importantly, we headed to the Crooked and had a walk along the river. . . . We may have been experiencing a little cabin fever.
excited
joyous
grateful
content
Yeah, so hearing the river and being outdoors again was just what we needed.
We tested some new recipes and cooked and baked quite a bit . . .
Crispy Oatmeal Cookies, a staple in this household
Butter Chicken
Apricot Jam Crumbles
Freezer Hashbrowns
Tried Indian Butter Chicken and got numerous canning and freezing projects shelved.
The weather report calls for more mild rainy days, so it looks like we’ll have time to get ahead on our reading and do some more recipe testing while we wait for this ‘El Nino’ to move on.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in bowl.
Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and both sugars at medium low speed to medium and continue to beat until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape down bowl as needed.
Add egg and vanilla extract and beat on medium low until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until just incorporated and smooth, about 10 seconds. With mixer running, gradually add oats and mix until well incorporated, about 20 seconds. Give dough final stir by hand to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.
Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls and space them 2 1/2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are golden brown and crispy on the edges. Let cookies cool on wire rack.
Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani Indian Butter Chicken)
Ingredients
MARINADE
3poundschicken breasts
1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1 1/2 tspLemon juice
1/2TBGround Tumeric
1/2TBGaram Masala
1/2TBCumin
SAUCE
4TBunsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and chilled, divided
1onion, chopped fine
5garlic cloves, minced
4tspgrated ginger
1serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1TBgaram masala
1tspground coriander
1/2tspground coriander
1/2tspground cumin
1/2tsopepper
1 1/2cupswater
1/2cup tomato paste
1TBsugar
1tspsalt
1cup heavy cream
Instructions
Marinade
Whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala, and cumin in a large bowl.Put the chicken in and coat with the marinade. Cover and marinade chicken up to a day.
Sauce
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger and serrano and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is softened and onion begins to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garam massala, coriander, cumin and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add water and tomato paste and whisk until no lumps of tomato paste remain. Add sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to boil. Off heat, stir in cream. Using immersion blender or blender, process until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds. Return sauce to simmer over medium heat and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Remove saucepan from heat and cover to keep warm (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 4 days; gently reheat sauce before adding hot chicken.)
Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Remove chicken from marinade and place on wire rack set over foil-lined baking sheet. Broil until chicken is evenly charred on both sides and registers 175º, 8 to 10 minutes per side.
Let chicken rest for 5 minutes. While chicken rests, warm sauce over medium-low heat. Cut chicken into ¾-inch chunks and stir into sauce. stir in 2 tablespoons cilantro and season with salt to taste. Transfer to serving dish, sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro and serve.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour muffin tins. Set aside
Cream butter sugars and extracts together for 1-2 minutes. This will be used for both the cookie bottom, as well as the topping.
Add in the flour and salt, and mix just until combined. The mixture will still be crumbly.
Scoop the mixture into each muffin well. Press into the bottom and up the sides a little, forming a well. Pressinto the pan, but do not over pack.
Scoop 1 tablespoon of jam into the center of each cookie.
Sprinkle each cookie with 1 heaping tablespoon of the remaining cookie mixture.
Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly browned.
Let cool completely, then remove from pans. You may need a knife to run around the edge to help in coping them out. These will freeze really well for up to 3 months.
Peel potatoes. Cut into quarters and place in a pot of water. Salt and bring to a boil.
Parboil potatoes for 10 minutes, drain allow to cool.
Grate cold potatoes. Whisk egg and add to grated potatoes, then sprinkle and toss with cornstarch. Place mounds of grated potatoes onto parchment covered cookie sheet and shape to the size and shape you prefer. Freeze for 1 hour.
Heat avocado oil in skillet, a couple inches deep. Bring oil up to frying temperature. Place frozen hash browns in pan and brown on both sides.
Once brown, cool on rack. These freeze well and only require a little bit of heating up for those dash and go days.
Regardless of world events, this has been a very weird week. As I’m writing this Sunday morning, it’s 40 degrees and raining. However, just four days prior, it was minus 3 degrees with three inches of snow on the ground and the wind was howling.
Winter returns to Central Oregon
We’d just posted about the unusual spring-like weather, when an arctic cold front dropped onto Central Oregon. With it came freezing temps and snow. Mostly we just stayed home, sat by the fire, and caught up on our reading. So there’s nothing to post about, sorry.
Soup canning operation in full swing
We do want to share this image of chili getting canned as part of an ongoing winter canning project. We started making soups for Saturday dinner and that evolved into a canning project. Mostly . . . we wanted to get away from commercially canned soups that have shot up in price, have way too much salt, and are actually getting harder to find. Once you have the soup cooked it’s not that hard to load a few pints into the canner.
Over a steamy hot bowl of “Wendy’s Copycat Chili” we are planning next week’s adventures. There is rain forecast, but we’ve got some road trips mapped out. Enjoy your week!
Brown the ground beef over medium heat, drain off the fat.
Using a fork, crumble the cooked beef into pea size pieces (a potato masher works too)
In large pot, combine beef, plus all remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer over low heat.
Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2-3 hours.
Canning
As the chili simmers, prep your pressure canner and warm 6* pint jars and lids
After cooking for 2 hours, ladle chili into jars, clean rims with vinegar, set lids and screw on canning rings finger tight. Place canner lid and vent steam for 10 minutes. Bring pressure to 10 psi and hold for 75 minutes. Allow to cool naturally, remove jars, and let sit for 12 to 24 hours.
* If you don't plan to have a meal from this recipe, you can get 7 pints from a batch.
This week we chased weather and a moon rise. After a rather snowy start to the new year, Mother Nature made an adjustment and gave us sunny days. Time to head out on an atmosphere focused photo mission.
There had been a new moon, considered a super moon, in the sky January 2nd. Unfortunately, that moon had been obscured by clouds. The full moon was set for the 17th of January and those days were supposed to be under clear skies.
A frosty evening in the high desert
A cool fact about winter’s shorter days is the sun can be setting as the moon rises. As the sun slips across the horizon a warm glow offers ‘cinematic’ lighting on any geographic features the moon is rising over. The feature we’re interested in is Fort Rock, a volcanic extrusion jutting up into a high desert landscape.
The mission actually turned into a couple of evening drives. Fort Rock is a half hours drive onto the high desert, but in that short distance there can be significant weather shifts.
Looks like we have some weather ahead
Where the Fremont Highway drops down the southeastern edge of Paulina Peak, a bank of low clouds covered portions of the desert. Inside that fog the temperature dropped ten degrees.
The result was a coating of frost over trees, sage brush and even the fence line. This highlighting remained even after the clouds moved on. Along the edge of the cloud, sunlight penetrated enough to offer up some excellent photographic moments.
We’ve been to the area armed with camera gear enough to have marked out specific locations. This makes it easier to time these expeditions. The down side is that when conditions aren’t what had been expected, a shift in agenda is necessary. Actually, that is often the case.
First day we see the moon rise over Ft. Rock Oregon with clouds as back drop.
On the first day we missed a perfect alignment of moon to the Fort Rock escarpment, close … but not perfect. Atmospheric conditions that day made for an interesting backdrop.
Second day we’re literally in the weather.
On the second day the cloud bank had shifted west obscuring Fort Rock as well as the moon. However, the frost coating and cloudy veil presented us with a very different look. Didn’t get the type of photo we’d been hunting, but managed some interesting images.
There was an abundance of bird activity. A rather large flock of Robins darted from willow thicket to stream side . . . only slightly alarmed by our presence.
Inevitably these cold snaps are followed by warming and an accompanying slush and flood cycle.
Where the Fremont Highway drops down the southeastern edge of Paulina Peak, a bank of low clouds covered portions of the desert. Inside that fog the temperature dropped ten degrees.
