it will change.
This statement could not have been more correct today. At 9 am it was cold, dark, rainy, even hailing and at 1 pm it was sunny, warm, dry, and I was driving with the windows down. This is one quirk of coastal Oregon that I have begun to notice. Another true statement most of the time would be... If you don't like the weather... drive a mile... it will change. I have heard stories of people driving home from a sunny work site up in the hills to a foggy cold lowlands Coos Bay. Some days it is completely different weather between my house up on a cliff and my office less than a mile away on the marina. Several days earlier this month I would scrape ice off of my windshield up on the cliff, drive down into town, and then wonder why none of the other cars had ice on them.
Another true statment... If you don't like the door knob on the post office door... come back tomorrow... it will change. Haha. Seriously, for three days in a row last week I went to the post office and each day there was a different door knob on the door. I just had to laugh (and share).
Now, I am heading home to make a 17-bean and barley soup (from scratch! -- well Trader Joes collected and dried the 17 beans and barley for me...). Wish me luck.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Last Month... Pictorally
My car in the fog at Rocky Butte State Park, Portland, OR.
Up in the balcony of the Egyptian Theatre, downtown Coos Bay, OR. They play all old movies.
In the meditation chapel at the Grotto...and that was the last they ever saw of that hat...Portland, OR.
Picture perfect view of Mt. Adams across Trout Lake, Trout Lake, WA.
The most beautiful place I have seen so far... the view from Cape Arago State Park... it is just down the road from where I live, Charleston, OR.
The most beautiful place I have seen so far... the view from Cape Arago State Park... it is just down the road from where I live, Charleston, OR.Me and my car on the North Spit, North Bend, OR.
Up in the balcony of the Egyptian Theatre, downtown Coos Bay, OR. They play all old movies.Saturday, February 14, 2009
Rainy Day Memories
It has been a rainy week here in Charleston which made me reminisce on some of my other happy memories from rainy days.
My very first memory was actually in the rain. I was about two years old and my mom and I were walking across stepping stones getting from a parking lot to our apartment in Houston.
Most of my week in southern England was in the rain but we were happy every minute of that trip too. I think London is built to be seen in the rain… all of the museums and bridges and flea markets…the buildings actually change color in the rain. Rainy day London has an art deco feel to it… it feels like I have stepped into a F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. There is a great picture of me at Stonehenge all bundled up with my umbrella… the rolling countryside behind me is a blur of rain.
I remember one day late in the summer in my early teens… I had just gotten home from a long trip to visit my family in Texas. My mom and our dog Barney went down to Chapoquoit Beach and ran in the soft sand and warm rain. It was such a memorable convergence of weather, nature, and us that I marked that day in my calendar when I got home.
I don’t remember exactly when or where this was but another memorable rainy day was when we went to Cracker Barrel to get take out for dinner on a road trip. I was rocking in a rocking chair on the porch watching the rain storm and lighting light up the sky. My mom and I noticed a particularly fantastic bolt of lighting come the whole way to the ground but didn’t think much of it… until we got back to our motel and found out it was our motel that had been hit by lighting and there was no electricity. It was so humid that everyone had to sit out on the porches for lack of A/C in their rooms.
My very first memory was actually in the rain. I was about two years old and my mom and I were walking across stepping stones getting from a parking lot to our apartment in Houston.
Most of my week in southern England was in the rain but we were happy every minute of that trip too. I think London is built to be seen in the rain… all of the museums and bridges and flea markets…the buildings actually change color in the rain. Rainy day London has an art deco feel to it… it feels like I have stepped into a F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. There is a great picture of me at Stonehenge all bundled up with my umbrella… the rolling countryside behind me is a blur of rain.
I remember one day late in the summer in my early teens… I had just gotten home from a long trip to visit my family in Texas. My mom and our dog Barney went down to Chapoquoit Beach and ran in the soft sand and warm rain. It was such a memorable convergence of weather, nature, and us that I marked that day in my calendar when I got home.
I don’t remember exactly when or where this was but another memorable rainy day was when we went to Cracker Barrel to get take out for dinner on a road trip. I was rocking in a rocking chair on the porch watching the rain storm and lighting light up the sky. My mom and I noticed a particularly fantastic bolt of lighting come the whole way to the ground but didn’t think much of it… until we got back to our motel and found out it was our motel that had been hit by lighting and there was no electricity. It was so humid that everyone had to sit out on the porches for lack of A/C in their rooms.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Muffins and Modernism
...in the coffee shop sits a girl, pleasurably absorbed in gazing at the crowd, and mingling, through the medium of thought in the turmoil of thought that surrounds her...
This quote is from a reading from my “modernism and visual arts” class last year (wow it is over a year ago now that I started my last semester of college) and it brings back such strong emotions of my senior year. Senior year was definitely the best year at college. One of my favorite activities was packing up my computer and books in my backpack and getting my reusable coffee mug and walking over to the Daily Grind coffee shop in the rain. I would get there so early in the morning each Sunday that I would get organic blueberry muffins right out of the oven and piping hot raspberry chai latte with soymilk and pay with quarters. I would then set up shop at one of the high tables and work until Donny would come get me for lunch at the UC. I would get so much done those days – that is where most of my senior thesis got written.
So, below is a muffin recipe that I made up as I went and the addition of applesauce instead of milk and substituting oats for some of the flour gave it a flavor and texture very reminiscent of the organic muffins at the Daily Grind.
Marley's Applesauce Oatmeal Almond Muffins (MAOAM)
½ cup butter
1 ¾ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups applesauce
2 cups oats
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 ½ cups chopped almonds
Cream the butter, sugar, eggs and applesauce together in a mixer. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients (oats, flour, salt, baking powder and almonds). Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
Scoop ¼ cup mixture into each greased muffin pan and bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Makes 24 (a lot!) regular muffins
This quote is from a reading from my “modernism and visual arts” class last year (wow it is over a year ago now that I started my last semester of college) and it brings back such strong emotions of my senior year. Senior year was definitely the best year at college. One of my favorite activities was packing up my computer and books in my backpack and getting my reusable coffee mug and walking over to the Daily Grind coffee shop in the rain. I would get there so early in the morning each Sunday that I would get organic blueberry muffins right out of the oven and piping hot raspberry chai latte with soymilk and pay with quarters. I would then set up shop at one of the high tables and work until Donny would come get me for lunch at the UC. I would get so much done those days – that is where most of my senior thesis got written.
So, below is a muffin recipe that I made up as I went and the addition of applesauce instead of milk and substituting oats for some of the flour gave it a flavor and texture very reminiscent of the organic muffins at the Daily Grind.
Marley's Applesauce Oatmeal Almond Muffins (MAOAM)
½ cup butter
1 ¾ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups applesauce
2 cups oats
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 ½ cups chopped almonds
Cream the butter, sugar, eggs and applesauce together in a mixer. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients (oats, flour, salt, baking powder and almonds). Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
Scoop ¼ cup mixture into each greased muffin pan and bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Makes 24 (a lot!) regular muffins
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Is That A Smashed Penny Machine?!
Yesterday I went to the Oregon State Capitol for several meetings. First I sat in on a meeting with the director of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB is a major source of funding for watershed councils in Oregon). I learned some interesting considerations for applying for economic stimulus money for environmental projects.
Here’s how it seems… there is going to be economic stimulus money on both the state and federal levels. However, the state level funding is going to be under a lot more public scrutiny and media coverage. Therefore, projects that are obviously going to equal improvements and jobs (i.e. piping, culverts, and bridge projects) are more likely to get approved. The down-side of federal level money is that it will take longer for the money to trickle down to the “on-the-ground” jobs.
Then I sat in on a signing ceremony of the Oregon Solutions project to build a Charleston Ocean and Coastal Center that would house administrative space, lab space, meeting space, and public interpretive displays for the Coos Watershed Association (that’s me!), the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s local office. Oregon Solutions projects are governor-appointed projects that will help to build the economies and communities of Oregon towns while considering the environmental impacts. However, today marked the end of the Oregon Solutions part (which was to bring all of the stake holders together) and now all we need is to finalize the architectural designs (get it “shovel-ready”) and then find funding to build it.
My favorite part was hearing the University of Oregon Department of Real Estate and Planning present site layout plans. I really liked how the U-shaped building option considers the sun’s aspect and the prevailing wind patterns to create a more sheltered outdoor visitor area – especially in the summer. Did you know the three small state parks in Charleston get a combined 1.2 million visits per year?
On the way out of the capital building I found a smashed penny machine and got the beaver (the wetlands engineer that eats our willow walls) and the salmon (the reason why we are restoring a lot of in-stream habitat).
Here’s how it seems… there is going to be economic stimulus money on both the state and federal levels. However, the state level funding is going to be under a lot more public scrutiny and media coverage. Therefore, projects that are obviously going to equal improvements and jobs (i.e. piping, culverts, and bridge projects) are more likely to get approved. The down-side of federal level money is that it will take longer for the money to trickle down to the “on-the-ground” jobs.
Then I sat in on a signing ceremony of the Oregon Solutions project to build a Charleston Ocean and Coastal Center that would house administrative space, lab space, meeting space, and public interpretive displays for the Coos Watershed Association (that’s me!), the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s local office. Oregon Solutions projects are governor-appointed projects that will help to build the economies and communities of Oregon towns while considering the environmental impacts. However, today marked the end of the Oregon Solutions part (which was to bring all of the stake holders together) and now all we need is to finalize the architectural designs (get it “shovel-ready”) and then find funding to build it.
My favorite part was hearing the University of Oregon Department of Real Estate and Planning present site layout plans. I really liked how the U-shaped building option considers the sun’s aspect and the prevailing wind patterns to create a more sheltered outdoor visitor area – especially in the summer. Did you know the three small state parks in Charleston get a combined 1.2 million visits per year?
On the way out of the capital building I found a smashed penny machine and got the beaver (the wetlands engineer that eats our willow walls) and the salmon (the reason why we are restoring a lot of in-stream habitat).
Monday, February 2, 2009
Recipes I Recommend
Here are two recipes I highly recommend from my recent culinary experiences.
My Famous Shortbread Cookies
This recipe makes two dozen flaky buttery cookies that melt in your mouth. A topping of orange zest and granulated sugar gives it some extra panache. Other good final touches could be sprinkling the baked cookies with cinnamon sugar, mixing in some chopped nuts, or dipping the baked cookies in melted dark chocolate.
cookies
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
topping
fresh orange zest
granulated sugar
Cream butter and sugar with vanilla extract. Slowly add sifted flour and salt and mix into a nice batter. Wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for one hour. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to ¼ inch thick and then cut into desired shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes then sprinkle warm cookies with orange zest and granulated sugar.
Makes approximately 24 cookies
Falafel with Cilantro Yogurt
These are funny looking green falafels (because of the cilantro) but they are so light and delicious they may top the Falafel King in Seattle. The yogurt sauce is a little oniony but a wonderful complement to the falafels. I suggest serving them with warm pitas and fresh veggies.
Falafels
2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained
3 tablespoons plus ½ cup flour
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ cup cilantro
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large egg
¾ cup chopped onion
oil of choice for light frying
Blend garbanzo beans, 3 tablespoons flour, cumin, cilantro, garlic and cayenne in processor until smooth. Add egg and ¾ cup onion and blend until onion is finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into four ½-inch-thick patties. Turn patties in remaining ½ cup flour to coat both sides.
Pour enough oil into heavy large skillet to coat bottom. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook until crisp and golden, about 8 minutes per side. Drain excess oil on paper towels.
Yogurt sauce
1 cup plain yogurt
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Whisk yogurt, cilantro, onion, garlic, lemon juice and cayenne in medium bowl until blended. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
My Famous Shortbread Cookies
This recipe makes two dozen flaky buttery cookies that melt in your mouth. A topping of orange zest and granulated sugar gives it some extra panache. Other good final touches could be sprinkling the baked cookies with cinnamon sugar, mixing in some chopped nuts, or dipping the baked cookies in melted dark chocolate.
cookies
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
topping
fresh orange zest
granulated sugar
Cream butter and sugar with vanilla extract. Slowly add sifted flour and salt and mix into a nice batter. Wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for one hour. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to ¼ inch thick and then cut into desired shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes then sprinkle warm cookies with orange zest and granulated sugar.
Makes approximately 24 cookies
Falafel with Cilantro Yogurt
These are funny looking green falafels (because of the cilantro) but they are so light and delicious they may top the Falafel King in Seattle. The yogurt sauce is a little oniony but a wonderful complement to the falafels. I suggest serving them with warm pitas and fresh veggies.
Falafels
2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained
3 tablespoons plus ½ cup flour
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ cup cilantro
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large egg
¾ cup chopped onion
oil of choice for light frying
Blend garbanzo beans, 3 tablespoons flour, cumin, cilantro, garlic and cayenne in processor until smooth. Add egg and ¾ cup onion and blend until onion is finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into four ½-inch-thick patties. Turn patties in remaining ½ cup flour to coat both sides.
Pour enough oil into heavy large skillet to coat bottom. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook until crisp and golden, about 8 minutes per side. Drain excess oil on paper towels.
Yogurt sauce
1 cup plain yogurt
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Whisk yogurt, cilantro, onion, garlic, lemon juice and cayenne in medium bowl until blended. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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