caitlin, September 2nd, 2010
Do you ever get an unexplainable bit of happiness over something totally commonplace? I did last week when I tackled something that had been on my white board “to do” list for weeks: “Handwash vintage dresses”.
I had found these four vintage dresses (ranging from the 1930′s to the 1960′s) that needed a little TLC. As they hung to dry on the shaded patio, their drips drying quickly in the summer heat- I stood back and just looked at what a pretty picture they made.
 Kind of a bizarre print, but I think it will make a fun party dress.  This is the other thing that gives me joy lately. I tear around on it like an 8 year old whenever I get the chance.
caitlin, August 28th, 2010
A few people have asked for this bread recipe (pictured in this post). And since I was just mixing it up to have for Sunday dinner with friends tomorrow I thought I better post it before I forget again.
Have fun with this bread, the more you make it, the more you get acquainted with the fun “no kneed” process and you’ll get more and more fabulous results. You mix the dough a day before and you need a heavy, pot with a lid– but other than that, there is nothing special involved. You’ll feel so accomplished when you set this crusty, beautiful thing down in front of your guests and casually reply, “Oh, yeah, that bread? Yeah. . . I made it, it’s pretty easy, really.”
Enjoy!
Pot Bread
4 1/8 cups all purpose or bread flour (up to 1/5 can be wheat)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
a heaping 1/2 tsp. yeast
2 cups water water
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and add the salt and flour. Mix until combined. Dough should be sticky and wetter that most doughs. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 12-18 hours. (Sometimes I’ve only had 6 hours to let it sit, and it still turned out wonderfully.)
Add a little flour and use a spoon or your hands to shape the dough into a manageable but still soft ball. Let it sit while you pre-heat the oven and pot. Put the pot and lid into oven and let heat to 450 degrees (I let the pot and lid stay in for about 20 minutes). Remove pot from oven, spray with cooking spray to keep it from sticking, and immediately plop your dough into the smoking hot pot. Throw it back in the oven and cook covered for 30 minutes, then remove lid and let it finish browning. Test for done-ness by thumping the bottom of the loaf to make sure it sounds hollow. (You can double the recipe and bake this same way in one loaf, just make sure it is cooked through– it takes a while!)
caitlin, August 26th, 2010
Tuesday night was a full moon. Did you notice?
I can’t say I ever noticed what the moon was doing when I lived in the city. Maybe because its brightness paled in comparison to the towers of light all around us. But here, the moon is bigger, brighter and I’ve been counting off the days until it reach its full size so that we could go to Buckhorn Springs.
We packed a picnic dinner, threw some sleeping bags in the jeep and hit the dusty gravel road toward the top, Eastern corner of Oregon. The hour drive was beautiful and so relaxing to enjoy on a mid-week night. Best of all, some family and friends were up for the last-minute adventure as well.
Buckhorn Springs is an overlook on Hell’s Canyon where you can see the Seven Devils (those are mountains) the state of Idaho, and layer after layer of blue purple pink and brown cliff and hill. Really, it is breathtaking. So I was glad we got there in time to see it in the daylight. Of course, pictures are kind of a rip off- you’ll just have to see it yourself.
 Jude seemed underwhelmed. 
We ate dinner, made a fire for s’mores, our friends played guitar and made chai tea, and then. . . there it was- peaking up and rising over the canyon.
You could almost reach out and touch it. . .
 Or eat it The moon was so bright, we could see each other’s faces by it’s light and being out there, in the total silence (minus kids asking for more marshmallows) and far from any people, made the moon seem so dominating and beautiful. I could understand why people through history have worshipped it and I couldn’t believe I had never taken the time to go moon gazing.
The next full moon is Thursday, September 23. So find a dark, quiet place, and take it all in next month.
caitlin, August 20th, 2010
 The obliging lilac Dressers are always hard for me to decorate. Mine needed a little statement piece so I decided a jewelry display would be nice.
Urban Outfitters had what I was looking for for $32. But of course, you know better than to think I would pay good money for a branch. (I thought this one was even cooler, so I think I’ll keep my eyes peeled for an old wood box.)
I started making my jewelry tree from a twiggy branch off a half-dead, obliging lilac bush in the vacant lot behind my house. Then Zac ran it over. With his bike. In the dark. Granted, I had left it in the driveway while the white spray paint dried. . . so it was kind of my fault. I started over. And while I was starting over I decided to go with a different color. I used my favorite shade of turquoise, but I still think white would look cool.
 Truth be told, the base on this (a milk-glass votive with styrofoam and little rocks) isn't heavy enough. This may be a "light-weight earring only tree".  I filled a white dish with my perfumes and a couple pretty things to serve as a nice tray.  Love this color with gold and silver.
caitlin, August 12th, 2010
 I'm pretty jazzed about figuring out how to use the "micro" setting on my camera. (finally) Our visit last week with friends from Seattle left a very good taste in our mouth. They brought every imaginable delicacy and treat from across the mountains from hand-made cheeses and sour beer, to bavarian meats and fau gras (I must admit I should have given my porition of goose liver pate to their three year old who ate up every bit she was served. Sadly, my palate is lacking here.)
This balsamic vinegar and olive oil was their special gift to us. They had tasted it at a restaurant and wanted to bring it for us to try. Honestly, we all agreed we could have drunk it. I made fresh bread and we went to town with a salad and all the other lovely things. For dessert, a lemon liquor served freezing cold with home-made vanilla bean ice cream.
 Good friends, good food, good wine. What more is there in life?
 
Something inside me hearkening back to my childhood with an artistic mother, yearns for summer afternoon art projects. After we had done all the weeding and swam a good half day, mom would lay out her watercolors on the dining room table (protected with a faded red table cloth), give us each a piece of quality watercolor paper and turn on some classical music. The next few hours we’d sit, drawing, mixing colors, and learning how to make the paint sop into a stroke of water on the paper or brush across a dry surface. My end results were rarely pretty, but it felt good to make time to create.
I still feel that desire on a warm, lazy day so yesterday I took advantage of the 20 minutes before my kids woke up to do a simple project. If you don’t already have a stamp that you love, you should get one. I found this little crown stamp at a Seattle book store and I use it on EVERYTHING. I think next I want to find a bird, but I haven’t seen the perfect one yet.
 Instant letterhead. I'm a letter writer and I go through stationary like crazy so I always need some around.  Instantly cuter paper for the next time I need to leave a memo or scratch down a phone number for someone.
My good friend Rachel just visited from Seattle and brought along a hostess gift to die for. She found it on her travels in California at a place called, Francesca’s Collections. As she said, horrible name, but amazing boutique!
I’ve hardly taken it off my finger, except to wash dishes and photograph it.
Meghan’s post about the ugly dresser turned into a lovely toasted marshmallow, challenged me to work some wonder with a yellow dresser that has been passed around the family for years now. I called Meghan and asked her what she thought of dark grey. She said go for it told me to strip the knobs down to the wood.
Best of all, MDMIL (my dear mother in law) gave me the most gorgeous art nouveau mirror with sconces on either side that I will hang above this once MDBIL (my dear brother in law) has some time to wire it into the wall.
I loved that some of the old paint stayed on all smudgy (Ok, I admit it, this is part laziness, and part “I want it to have character”. After the third coat of paint stripper I gave up and decided they looked perfect.)
I threw the same shade of Ace “Rockaway Beach” onto my headboard and now I have a nice little mismatched set.
I read somewhere once that pink was the color for dressing baby boys in during the 1700′s since it is a muted form of red, which to this day, is thought of as a masculine color. Well, somewhere along the line that whole idea went totally out the window and most men today recoil at the very idea of pink entering into their field of vision at any point during the day. I, however, love love love pink (I almost bought a pale pink wedding gown, but my dear daddy wouldn’t have it) and have found a successful way to incorporate it into the home I share with two males. (Granted, one of them is unable to voice his opinions on any aesthetic choices yet, but maybe he’ll come around by the time he can talk, and I’ll have saved his wife a whole lot of trouble.)
- Introduce the idea casually. Use words like “fuschia” or “sorbet colors”, don’t say the actual word “pink”.
- Bring in items slowly so that the process happens gradually without causing any shock. I started with the wallpaper, but initially convinced him it was more red than anything. Next I bought the pillow and brought in peonies from the yard. That set the tone for the kitchen curtains and tablecloth. Next I put Queen Zozo up all over the kitchen.
- Ask him “What do you think of this new arrangement in the living room?’ Oh, you like it? You know, it’s pink. It’s hot pink.. . . . like hot Barbie pink. . .. and you are ok with that?” You are? Oh good.. . . So. . . what do you think about painting the bathroom a light creamy sort of berry color?. . .
This white lamp on the table is the one from the second hand store , I painted the pair of them white and decided to split them up for now. I hope to find two matching shades later and put them in the dining room flanking my watercolor painting of a giant PINK flower.
I might go for a more artsy print from Amy Butler or Anna Maria Horner with the curtains but in the mean time this pink stuff is fun for the kitchen windows.
My sister-in-law and I found this print in the airport in Denver of all places (during one of the looooong layovers that make you peruse every store 6 times slowwwwwwly just so you don’t have to go sit in a chair for another hour of mindnumbing boredom). I decided this odd little girl had to come home with me and live in my kitchen. She kind of reminds me of Freggie.
Kael!
Enjoy the book! And thanks to all for participating.
I knew the character was a scruffy looking, straight haired, knobby knee-ed thing who I really identified with. I knew she had a wonderful imagination and played the sort of games I liked to play.
My favorite childhood book is all spotty in my mind. I remember my mom’s voice telling the story as I stared at the sepia colored illustrations. But that’s about it. I couldn’t remember the title, or the name of the author, or even the scruffy haired girl’s name.
When I asked my mom, she knew exactly what I was talking about, but couldn’t remember the details either.
Low and behold, as I glanced through the children’s books at my favorite thrift shop (and at that very moment thinking “Dang it! What the heck is the name of that book?? Something about a cardboard box. . . .”) there it was– two copies! Mint condition!
Christina Katerina and the Box. I bought both.
When I look closely at the pictures I can remember what it was like to see them as a child. To feel like Christina Katerina and I were friends, maybe neighbors, and she had invited me over to play for the day. I’m struck by the fact that it doesn’t look like anything incredible through the eyes of me now - a mom who has read her fair share of children’s literature. It is a sweet little story and cleverly written. . . but to my five year old self, it was AMAZING.
So, even if it’s hard to grasp why your kid is dead set on reading that beat up copy of _______ (fill in the blank) for the 600th time, know that through his eyes, that book is another little world to him. A world he will treasure away deep inside himself, perhaps forever.
Comment below and you’ll be entered to win my second copy of Christina Katerina and the Box.
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 Beautiful fungi Aileen brought Jarrett Taite and Matthias down for the long weekend and I kind of wondered if we would be able to find enough to do now that we don’t have the sights of Seattle to entertain us. But between a bon fire, squirrel shooting, late night games, Saturday farmer’s market, and a package of stamp on tattoos, we had as much together as we always do. The weather wasn’t great but we took advantage of Saturday afternoon’s break from rain to go mushroom hunting north of where we live near Joseph Canyon.
After a couple false alarms in which all 7 of us would tear through the forest toward the yells of, “I got one, I found one, everybody come over here!! . . . .oh, wait never mind. . . . it’s a toad stool ” we became expert morel mushroom hunters. These odd little fungi look like small brown Christmas trees with a brain-like texture and grow around Wallowa County in late May and into June. They are a rare delicacy because they can’t be farmed, but instead have to be searched out on the forest floor. After a couple hours of “shrooming” we turned up with 25 morels, roughly a pound which could sell for $20 an ounce! Dried Wild Morel Mushrooms
The thrill of the hunt got to us and we started identifying where the fungi liked to grow best. Not too dry, not too wet, with a little undergrowth and m0ss in the surrounding area, and dark rich soil.
 The happy hunting party
 Aileen turned out to be a natural morel finder  Jarrett Matt and I (with Jude's help of course) found a small jackpot on an exposed bank of rich soil.  Zac's findings We hiked, discovered streams, animals, birds and lots of poop that Matthias was good enough to identify for us at every point, and then the boys reverted to putting moss up their noses and any other clever place they could think of. Next Jarrett entertained us with his back flips off of stumps. Then everyone decided they were hungry and we headed home to fry up our prize in a little flour and butter to serve with cocktails and soda before dinner. Perfect end to a perfect day.
 The drive home
 You can't go wrong with Lindsey's suggestions for simple sides for last minute entertaining. Who doesn't love this combo? Another complete menu from one of our fabulous cooking friends! Here’s what she has to say about creating a meal for last minute guests:
“This is not so much of a recipe as it is a menu. It is my absolute favorite go-to on busy days, especially if I think people might be dropping in for dinner. It is also excellent for an after church meal, and works great for any season.”
Recipes: Roast dinner
From: Lindsey
1. Throw a roast in the crock pot with 4 cloves of minces garlic and some soy sauce. Turn on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.
2. Set the table.
3. Do your makeup, clean the house, carpool, get the oil changed, nurse the baby, water the lawn, feed the dog, run errands…
4. While running errands, stop by the store and pick up a pound of sharp white cheddar, grapes (or whatever fruit is in season), a bottle of Cabernet, and your favorite hearty bread.
5. When you get home, open the wine, slice the cheese, wash the grapes, and throw it all on the table with some salad greens and balsamic vinaigrette (1/4 C olive oil, 1/2 C balsamic vinegar, 1 T lemon pepper, 2 T brown sugar). We like to serve the meat juices in small ramekins for dipping the meat in.
 Comfort food kicked up a notch with lots of flavor! This is a family favorite of Sarah Rose, who says it’s a go to meal for her sister-in-law and mother too. It reminds me very much of the soup our Granny would make every time we came to visit. It would be waiting on the stove with a bowl of tortilla chips nearby for all 9 of us to happily devour after the long car ride. It is one of the best comfort foods I know.
Recipe: White Chicken Chili
From: Sarah Rose
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 med onion, chopped
1 T. oil
1 can (15.5 oz) white hominy, drained
1 can (15 oz.) white beans
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
2 cans (4 oz. each) chopped green chilies
1 t. garlic salt
1 t. dried basil
1 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. white pepper
1/8- 1/4 t. cayenne pepper (I leave this out, for the kids)
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup half & half
2 T. minced cilantro, divided
In a large saucepan, saute the chicken and onion in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the hominy, beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in the sour cream, half and half and 1 T. cilantro. Garnish with remaining cilantro. Yield: 6 servings.
 Thai-- without the "take out"-- but just as flavorful as your favorite restaraunt's version. This mouthwatering dish comes from Meghan’s sister-in-law who whips up delish dishes with incredible deals she finds on imported foods and delicacies around the Seattle area. This meal, however, is made with ingredients that can be found in most grocery stores.
Recipe: Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
From: Michelle
Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
Oil
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons Thai Kitchen brand, Roasted Red Chili Paste (you can
also use red curry paste, which is much spicier but not quite as sweet
as the chili paste)
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoons brown sugar or rapadura
2 (14-ounce) cans coconut milk (I like Chaokoh brand best because they
don’t skimp on the yummy fat)
1 lb chicken, cut into strips
1/2 lb mushrooms, cut
1/2 onion, cut into bite-sized pieces.
a few kaffir lime leaves (this is optional but it does add a nice
flavor. I find mine in the Asian market and store them in the
freezer)
3 tablespoons lime juice, plus more for extra zip
Basil or your herb of choice.
Hot Chili Sauce for extra heat
Heat a splash of oil in a large pot. Add ginger and chili paste and cook for about one minute. Add 1/2 cup of broth and stir to dissolve the chili paste. Add remaining broth, fish sauce and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered for 15 minutes. Stir in coconut
milk, chicken, mushrooms, lime leaves and onions. Simmer about 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked. Add lime juice to taste and add
your hot chili sauce to taste if you like it spicy. Garnish with basil. Enjoy!
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