summer's first strawberries

The little strawberry patch has been thriving at our new place, and the first berries ripened over the weekend. We picked nine strawberries and found them to be so precious a treasure that we ate them right away, savoring them to the last juicy bite. There might have been a couple more berries, but, alas, it looks like we had to share them with birds and other creatures. This is definitely one drawback to pesticide-free, organic gardening, but it's a price we're willing to pay for what we get out of it.

We'll have more strawberries ripening soon, and I can't help but remember how impatient I was last year when we put this patch in, picking off the blooms that first year and urging the plant to hurry up and grow! And now I think this was so worth waiting for. Look at how gorgeous our berries are!

I've been amazed over the years at how easy it is to grow and care for strawberries, and how sustainable a crop it is since it expands and produces more all on its own. You won't get a yield the first year, but the following year you will have several berries and be amazed! We started our patch with five June-bearing plants last year, deliberately picking a mix of two different varieties that do well in the state of Washington, and now we're seeing pretty decent results, with having put in very little weeding or maintenance the past year. At only 2 feet by 8 feet, this a small strawberry patch by most standards, in a sunny but otherwise unused spot along the side of the house. It will yield enough for us to enjoy in-season, but not enough to can or freeze or do anything. So we're starting to scout out a little more space in unused corners of our yard, to put in a new patch, and hopefully, double our yield in two years. Maybe then we will have enough to make jam, and freeze for our smoothies, desserts, and whatever else we do to enjoy these babies through the rest of the and until the following June when we will see them again. This is too precious, too sustainable, and too easy a fruit to grow to ignore its potential!

Memories Of Potatoes And Marriage

We are just about halfway unpacked in our new home, after one full week. I had most of the kitchen unpacked within the first few days, therefore had few excuses not to start cooking right away. The only issue was, with not much more than a sack of potatoes in the pantry, I was at a loss for what to make for dinner (unless there was a harried rush to the grocery store involved - which is never a good idea where I'm concerned).

Then a memory came back to me about the first meal that my now husband (then boyfriend) ever made for me. We had been dating for about a month at the time, and he told me that one of his favorite foods was the mighty Potato. Ever the sassy one, I asked him to make me something with potatoes...and voila, he produced this amazing foil-wrapped roasted potato dish. Adding to the fact that this meal was prepared with care, I couldn't help but notice that this foil-wrapped method locked in all the yummy herbs and spices and infused the potatoes with their flavor in such a marvelous way. It is a stand-alone meal for us potato-lovers, but is probably better suited to being a side dish for normal folk!

I have since made my husband's special potatoes quite often and every time we enjoy this dish, those fond memories come rushing back. So, what better way to break in our new kitchen than to load it up right away with fond memories of our first meals together?

As an added bonus, I got to celebrate the fact that I finally have an oven that I can turn up to over 400 F without having to worry about an over sensitive smoke alarm!  :)

Foil Roasted Potatoes

You will need:

4-5 baking potatoes, cubed (we like skin on, but feel free to peel)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 tablespoon dried rosemary
1/4 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste
Aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 425 F. Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Tear off enough aluminum foil to cover a cookie sheet twice. Pour the potatoes over this double layer, then cover with another double layer of aluminum foil. Fold the edges over tightly, to make a "packet". Put the cookie sheet in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then carefully flip the packet over and bake for another 20 minutes. That's it. Enjoy! 

Brief Goodbye...and Black Bean Tacos

Remember when I mentioned that we are moving again? Yep! We are moving into our new house later this week, and seriously looking forward to experiencing all the joys (and horrors) of home ownership once more. And, I'm excited about a more spacious kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed this apartment and it's closet-sized but nicely-outfitted tidy kitchen. However, I will NOT miss the over-sensitive smoke alarm that has caused our blood pressure to rise on many occasions. Still, this has been a terrific adventure so far, and we are so excited to move into our new home.

With the upcoming move, we have been making an effort to empty out the fridge and pantry of half-finished jars and bags of this and that. One very fruitful result of the purge was these wonderful Black Bean and Fish Tacos that we enjoyed for dinner last night. And they were so yummy! And so simple, you don't even need a recipe....as you can see for yourself :)

Black Bean and Fish Tacos

When you see me next I will be in my new kitchen. So, a brief goodbye, until next time!

Memories of Mac n' Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese occupies a somewhat delicate place at our dining table. My husband and I both have had ups and downs with this classic American comfort food. For him it involves recurring nightmares of the gooey glop that they dared to call Mac n' Cheese and served to him in his elementary school cafeteria. Forcing himself to try one bite before escaping the teacher's watchful eye to hide under the table pretending to tie his shoelaces while actually shoveling the remaining gummy mass on his plate into the pockets of his jeans, one fistful at a time, quite inadequately sheathed in layers of paper napkins. My first Mac n' Cheese experience was in my freshman year dorm, with the "mac n' cheese in a box" variety (brand shall remain unnamed), that resulted in a gluey mess of macaroni shells held together with  cheese-like product that was an unsightly shade of orangey-yellow. Maybe I did it wrong, but I won't go there ever again.

We have since moved onto more civilized versions of macaroni and cheese, and I now delight in its endless culinary variations. This Bacon Bleu version of Mac N' Cheese is definitely a favorite of mine, and is such an easy recipe too. A classic combination of flavorful bacon, and bleu cheese. I watched a lady on television make a version of this once and have adapted it to be my own which, in this case, means fewer calories. Anyone who has watched this particular lady with the butter knows why. I also added some sliced zucchini for color, and crunch.

A few notes on the recipe:
Bleu cheese is definitely strong, so I would recommend substituting part of it with something milder if you don't like bleu cheese so strong. Also, I use the term "crumbled bacon" below but the truth is:
a) I am terrible at crumbling bacon as most of it disappears into my mouth, and
b) I don't actually "crumble" it, more like rip it into one inch chunks.

Bacon Bleu Mac N' Cheese

You will need:

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup zucchini sliced to about 1/4" thick
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 cup bleu cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup freshly shaved Parmesan
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Cook bacon, crumble into small pieces and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt, then add the macaroni and cook according to package instructions; drain and set aside.
In a saucepan over medium heat combine butter, salt, and pepper. Once butter has melted, stir in milk, flour, yogurt, bleu cheese and Parmesan. Then add zucchini and stir for about 1 minute, just until heated through. Then add cooked macaroni into cheese. Lastly, toss in the crumbled bacon and give it a good stir. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Curried Crab and memories...

We went out on a date yesterday, to a Malay restaurant, and I ordered Curried Crab. Not only was it a fun date with my husband (they usually are!), but the crab was totally delicious too, in all of its 2lb glory. It brought back so many memories from my childhood of my mom's crab curries. I remember waking up early in the morning and going to the fish market with her, picking out the liveliest, crawliest, and freshest crabs! Caught that morning, and still wet from the sea. Best of all was the smell of mom's crab curry filling up the entire house. Such a treat!

This crab was impressively larger than its counterparts from my childhood....and it tasted pretty good, but I think I really prefer the memories.

I'm back! And here's a "Welcome to Washington" recipe, too: Seared Sea Scallops with Satsuma Salsa

I am so happy to report that we are settling into life in Washington, and having a whole lot of fun exploring all that the area has to offer. Our new apartment is tiny, and we are very cozy in it with our two pups, but, the positive thing is that the location is terrific and the kitchen is fully equipped with a dishwasher. Yes, a DISHWASHER!!!! I didn't have one in the beautiful gourmet kitchen that I left behind so I will fully relish not having to wash and dry dishes by hand for at least the next ten months.

Now that my kitchen goods are about seventy-five percent unpacked, I decided that I would cook a nice meal for us to enjoy Friday night. It's been several weeks since I've really "cooked" anything and I just haven't felt like myself. So, the dish to inaugurate several things - our move to the Northwest, my new job, our new cozy little abode, new opportunities, and new adventures - Seared Sea Scallops with Satsuma Salsa. (Try saying that five times really fast.) But, really, I couldn't think of anything better to represent our (meaning my) excitement at the thought of having much better access to fresh seafood than we did in our little corner of Wisconsin - since we don't go fishing. And, who wouldn't like the idea of savoring short-lived spring goodies such as the Satsuma variety of mandarin orange? My husband picked me up a few - available aplenty in grocery stores here this week - since I had a bad cold and needed that C. Anyway, we thought it was really delicious. This is a really simple recipe for seared scallops and I urge you to give it a try.

Seared Sea Scallops with Satsuma Salsa

Serves 2

1 small shallot, minced

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon satsuma orange (or tangerine) zest

1 tablespoon fresh satsuma orange (or tangerine) juice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, divided

1 satsuma orange (or tangerines) peeled and sectioned

8 fresh sea scallops, patted thoroughly dry.

Whisk together shallots, parsley, orange zest, juice, oil, vinegar, and half the salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add sectioned oranges, and set aside.

Heat a medium sized skillet over medium-heat, and add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Add scallops to skillet and cook until it gets that nice golden brown sear, about 2 minutes on each side, sprinkling with remaining salt and pepper when turning over. Do not overcook - or they will be rubbery and awful! Serve immediately, topped with the satsuma salsa. We ate this as an entree served over watercress and hot cooked jasmine rice, but it would make a terrific appetizer on its own too. Enjoy!

Hiatus

I know many of you are wondering why I haven't posted anything lately. There's a very good reason why...

Ramble On and its owners are moving! We are in the process of selling our house, packing up our belongings, and relocating to Washington state for new jobs and new adventures. I will get back to blogging regularly once we have settled in to our next abode. I have packed away most of my kitchen stuff already, but will try to squeeze out one more post before I move, within the next couple of days. I will miss the beautiful kitchen that has been my "foodie home" for the past four years, but look forward to discovering and settling into a new home and kitchen and a continued culinary journey. Thank you for reading! Until later.

Three Alarm Clocks

Not long ago, a friend of mine blogged about how many phone numbers was too many. It inspired me to think about why we have three alarm clocks in the bedroom to wake us up every morning. Correction: why we NEED three alarm clocks to wake us up every morning. And, they are all set to go off within three minutes of each other, thereby minimizing the length of snooze-time. Here are the three:

1. A clock radio (the classic)
2. My cell phone (battery back-up, in case the electricity goes out...duh!) and
3. Ryan's cell phone (second battery back-up).

Let me confess that in this next paragraph I risk losing respect in the eyes of several of my country-music-loving friends. But I'll chance it.

The clock radio
The clock radio is my nine-year old one, and it's pretty basic. It is set to wake us up to a country music station. Those who know me well will understand why. For those who do not, let me elaborate...
I simply don't like it. I'm sure country music has many fine qualities (although, at this moment not one comes to mind). Songs written solely about the undesirable intricacies of family relationships, or the disappointment of unrequited love are neither motivating NOR energizing at any other time of day than 4:50 in the morning. Thanks but no thanks. BUT - at 4:50 in the morning - it meets the objective of getting me out of bed just so I can turn it off and not have to listen to it anymore.

My cell phone
Your pretty basic but annoyingly loud alarm jingle that not only gives me the strength to rise out of the warmth of my bed, but also makes me want to pick up that jingling cell phone and hurl it through the window, hoping it will land somewhere in the two feet of snow in the front yard and hope that it stays there forever.
 
Ryan's cell phone
When Ryan's cell phone goes off it's great. I get to kick him in the shin because the jingle that he sets it to induces just that kind of behavior in a person. And it is twice as loud as mine.
 
And there you have it, folks. The story of our three alarm clocks, for your amusement.

Game Night

Ryan and I love board games, and getting together with others to share this love :) So that is exactly what we did last night. We had some fellow "under 30ish" friends over for games, talk, food and drink, and laughs. And we had several laughs, indeed!

In an effort to maximize time with my guests, keep the food and drinks coming, and make clean up a snap, these are a few simple rules I follow:

1) Drippy food = bad. Try to avoid anything too saucy or soupy, it WILL spill.

2) Food on sticks = good! Make oily foods as "touch-free" as possible. Put as many foods as you can on skewers/toothpicks. (Chips may be the exception.) The last thing you want is an undesirable sheen on your game pieces or dice.

3) Keep the path around drinks and food cleared of chairs, stools, or other obstacles to avoid traffic jams.

4) Put extra coasters out on end tables and other surfaces...people will like that they are easy to find.

5) Show guests where recyclables (glass bottles and such) go, and where the garbage is so paper plates and napkins can go directly there! All of my guests cleaned up after themselves, which was a nice surprise for me later!

6) This one is my favorite - if you have dogs, let them loose after the party. They will save you the effort of cleaning crumbs and food off the floors :)

Now for the food. Here are some fun foods that we served last night. These are super easy to make and can be prepped days ahead of time.

Cheese and Spinach Tortellini

Dress up store-bought pasta (like boil-and-serve tortellini!) by serving them on skewers and putting them on a nice plate. You can do all this ahead of time and just heat up the plate before your guests arrive. Drizzle with just a touch of olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper just before serving. Leave the pesto on the side for those who don't care for the green stuff! Or, better yet, serve marinara sauce on the side...now if only I had thought of that last night! I guess hindsight really is 20-20.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This zingy dip is extremely popular around these parts, particularly in our circle of friends. Another dish that can be assembled ahead of time and just heated up in the oven before guests arrive. Here is my version:
You'll need:
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
1/2 bottle Frank's buffalo wing sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
2 cups shredded monterrey jack cheese
Spread softened cream cheese in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Mix chicken breast meat with buffalo wing sauce, and spread this over the cream cheese. Drizzle the ranch dressing over this. Top with shredded cheese, and bake at 350 degrees F until cheese has melted and is bubbly.  Serve warm. Really good with tortilla chips.

Cocktail Bites

Who doesn't like cheese, olives, and meat at a party? Throw them all on toothpicks in varying combinations and you're done. They sell mini pepperoni slices (not quite as wide as a penny!) in stores now, those are just perfect for these. Pair with cut up cheese cubes and manzanilla olives and you're all set. Enjoy!

It has been an unrelenting couple of weeks, which caused a bit of stress. Most of it was due to work (promotion) or self-inflicted (getting a second dog). So, yes, we did get a second dog.
Johnny B. Goode is a 15-lb runt of a dog, we adopted him on the 4th of July from a nice family who was moving and couldn’t take him. He’s a rat terrier-beagle mix, and has the sweetest personality I have ever seen in a dog. In other words, he’s a spoilt baby and loves to cuddle. He spent the first week with us doing everything he could to hide from Lola who, by comparison, is a monster with abundant energy and a huge tongue that always seems to want to lick him. The two are getting along fine now.
On the other side of the stress-causing issues, I’m excited about the changes at work and stepping up the corporate ladder. But, if the past week or so is any indication of the times to come, I am not looking forward to always being exhausted by the end of each day. But enough of that.
The weekend was fun! Saturday was mellow. Ryan and I vegged all morning as it was pouring rain outside. It cleared up by noon though, and very quickly became a beautiful sunny day! Funny weather. So, we went on a bike ride and our buddy Ben came with us. It was a fun, easy ride, to the bench and back. Then Ben and Amanda and the girls went to dinner with us at Café Four, which was very nice.
Yesterday I had media duty at church, and afterwards Ryan very kindly offered to come and help me clean my desk at work so I would be ready for the move to my new area. It took us two hours, and now my personal belongings are all in boxes, and my desk smells Lemony-fresh.
We met the nicest girl at church yesterday! Stephanie is interning in the area this summer and was looking for things to do and see. She mentioned having a bike, so we invited her to come with us on our bike ride. So after the desk cleaning, we changed, got our bikes and met the girl, and set off on the bike trail. We rode to Ridgeway and back, an almost no-incline 20.3 miles. It was beautiful weather, and the views were spectacular! We discovered that the wild raspberry bushes were starting to ripen, we picked a few and ate them. They were good! Next time we are definitely going with an extra water-bottle to fill it up with raspberries.
In Ben’s ongoing pursuit to “culture me” with the “classic” 80s movies that I missed out on growing up, he and Amanda invited us over last night to a grill-out dinner, and to watch Short Circuit. We invited Stephanie to go with us. We took a bottle of Sauvignon-Blanc that we had chilling in the fridge, and it went perfectly with all the good food – turkey burgers Ben and Amanda made, the fresh romaine lettuce and strawberries and stuff from Amanda’s garden, the new red potatoes I bought at the Dodgeville farmer’s market yesterday, and the veggie kababs Stephanie brought. We watched Hannah play in her plastic fort, it was hilarious. And then we watched the movie. Or at least, we started to, but half of us were falling asleep by 9 p.m. So we decided to finish it another day and call it a night. I was asleep as soon as I got home and my head hit the pillow.

Five Beers, Five Italian sausages, Four Brats, Two strong coffees, Three Popsicles, Two large Pizzas, and a brisk Eight to Nine hours later…

We did it. We put up the six-foot wooden privacy fence surrounding our backyard. And, Oh, what a beautiful fence it is! We started at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, and we finished by 6 p.m. that evening. This guy we know, Eric, came and helped us…which was nice, because he and Ryan did all the manly lifting. And it didn’t rain until Sunday! It started sprinkling a little bit on Saturday afternoon….but we kept working because it was only drizzling and it stopped after a few minutes anyway.

So, this one-day project brings us several benefits:

1) It cost us less than one monthly mortgage payment (since we only bought the materials, and did ALL THE WORK ourselves, saving on the labor costs), and the return on investment will be very high.

2) The fence is gorgeous and catches the eye of practically everyone who walks by, or drives past. We have, in fact, already received several compliments.

3) It makes our backyard look much bigger (adding a nice chunk to the property resale value!)

4) We can leave Lola out in the yard all day or all evening-long, and not have her bothering us. Let her tear around the yard and drive herself to exhaustion. And, she can dig up or eat whatever the heck she wants without scrutiny from me or Ryan.

5) The darn dog will not run into the neighbor yards. Or go bother the neighbor dogs.

I’m sure there will be many more over the months and (maybe) years to come. It is such an incredible feeling…knowing that I had a hand in building something so fantastic. I – who have never built anything in my entire life – helped build this beautiful fence!!

it is fixed

That's it then. We have the perfect solution. No more worries about being ousted from the upstairs because it is overflowing with books. Here's the story behind this sudden euphoria...
Last Saturday, Ryan had a stroke of genius and we moved the ginormous ugly black bookshelves from the study into the bedroom. The curious thing is, not only have we created a lot of "new" space in the study, the ginormous bookshelves don't look ugly at all in the bedroom. Amazingly enough. The futon also fits perfectly in the study now and has turned into an upstairs haven to snuggle, read books, or simply get away from one Miss hyper-active Lola.
So not only did we solve the problem of the overcrowded study, and finding the space to put the futon in the study, but we also figured out a system for book buying. You see, we have a perfectly reasonable monthly budget for books (which we both enthusiastically agreed upon), and we will just get a few more (non-ugly) bookshelves to line the other wall of the bedroom and that's where we'll put all the new books!! Genius.
We had a post-bookshelf-futon-moving celebratory dinner at Cafe Four (at the Chesterfield) in Mineral Point. There was an older gentleman playing songs (I've got you under my skin...and that type) on his accordion. That was nice. The food was delicious. But we will not get the four cheese pizza again. Instead, we will get one of those scrumptious-looking salads, and perhaps the prosciutto pizza. And maybe next time they will have a person there who can make creme brulee. Not some sixteen year old chippy who has that permanent deer-in-the-headlights expression about her.

guilty of books

Today, I spent about twenty minutes browsing books I have no intention of buying. (Not yet anyway.) The adventure ended when I realized I had over one-hundred and fifty dollars worth of books in my shopping cart. At my current reading speed (two books per month), there is a good chance that, if I buy all sixteen books, I will read all of them before the end of the year. But our study is over-flowing with books already, and if I keep buying books at this rate, we will run out of room to store them. I don't even want to think about how we are going to fit the sleeper sofa into our small study. We may end up sleeping in the yard by the end of the summer.
O, small house. Small, yet beautiful. Small, yet perfect.

left brain right brain

I love art. I do. And I appreciate the effort that goes into others' artistic works. But I don't necessarily have the talent, patience, or organizational skills to pursue it seriously. In the meantime, I can pick up a pencil and draw something perfectly reasonable at a moment's notice. Whatever I draw may not turn out to be great, or even good, but it gives me the pleasure of saying that I drew it. With my own hands, and with my own imagination, and with my own talent.
So, last August, newly inspired after we bought our beautiful home, I had the burning desire to create something for the bare walls. So, I made two sketches...and they turned out just OK. And they lay in a corner of the study gathering dust, until yesterday. We found two frames that fit, also just OK. And then we hung them up in the guest bathroom downstairs. And this is how they look.





It's amazing how a couple of mediocre sketches can look so good. At least I have enough talent to do things like this once in a while. They do look really good hung up. And I feel prety good about that.

black and white

I love seeing Lola go out into the snow. Her shiny black coat stands out against the white blanket. How beautiful she is...

robin in my tree

I woke up this morning to find several robins perched on a tree in my backyard. Sitting peacefully in a tree. In the middle of the freezing cold, 30 mph wind, and heavy snowfall. How strange. Despite my efforts to tiptoe out into the backyard, so I could take a picture, they were frightened away. Only one remained on that tree.
I wonder, is spring is finally here?

baked goods, and fasting

I have been baking a lot in the last few months. Ever since we bought our house, with the beautiful kitchen that I would never have been able to afford had it not come with the house!
Yesterday morning, I got up early and made chocolate-chip cookies w/ pecans for a potluck at work. Everyone loved them! So congratulations to myself for learning how to bake. A little.

Today is Good Friday and there is a day long fast that our church organized, encouraging people to fore go food all day and use the desire for food to pray instead...and then end the day with a celebratory dinner at church (the food at these types of dinners is usually abundant and very tasty!) So, I signed up. I woke up this morning and thanked God for everything we have. Our beautiful little house, the kitchen I am so in love with, our affectionate and playful 60-lb beast of a dog. I prayed for people far away and suffering. I prayed for my family. I prayed for my co-workers. I prayed for myself.

The fast lasts another 11 hours.

And I am so hungry.

my wish for a garden

I want to have a garden this spring. With the horrible winter that we have experienced this year, it looks like "spring" is still weeks and weeks away. But, that hasn't stopped me from planning my little garden! I want the pleasure of growing and eating my own veggies! I want to experience running outside and grabbing a handful of some delicious leafy green spinach for dinner! It is going to be a small 6 by 6 foot garden, and in it I will grow spinach, okra, bell pepper, chili pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, parsley and basil. Maybe raspberries also. So what if I know nothing about gardening and have managed to kill every plant that I have ever owned? At least I am marching on, into the unknown. So what if I don't have the hours to spend tending to the garden, nurturing it and loving it? If I plant the seeds and water the earth, they will grow! People tend to complicate things that are simple and uncomplicated to begin with, so what is there to know? You dig up the earth, throw in the seeds, cover, water regularly, and wait patiently. Simple.

Ask me about my thriving garden in four to six months.