Late Summer Love.

Well, I've woken up the past few mornings to a slower sunrise, crispy air, and a craving for some  spicy chai; and we've already spent time making apple pie and apple butter from our old tree. Fall is in the air--but not entirely. We've still got zucchini out the wahzoo and have been enjoying some fantastic sunny days.

 

First the zucchini! My mother-in-law sent me a simple and tasty soup recipe. I made a huge pot of it and we enjoyed it for more than a week. Any soup that I can enjoy that long, must be good.

Joann's Zucchini Soup 

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp. curry powder
pinch of cayenne
2-3 lb shredded zucchini
4 cups of stock
salt and pepper to taste
a few handfuls of spinach (optional--if you have a boatload of that growing in your garden too)


1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil over medium-high until they are soft.
2. Add curry powder and cayenne; cook for about 30 seconds.
3. Add zucchini, reduce to medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Add stock, bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer about 20 minutes.
4. Puree the soup in batches and return to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and toss in spinach right before you serve it.
Enjoy!

I also did a simple marinated salad with Zucchini that was fresh, cool, and made the squash disappear.

Mint and Zucchini Salad

1-2 lb zucchini--sliced into very thin rounds
a handful of mint leaves, chopped into ribbons
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 c. olive oil
3 TBS. lemon  juice
salt and pepper

1. Combine mint and zucchini in a bowl and let em sit together.
2. Combine garlic, oil, and lemon juice in a jar with a lid. Shake it up!
3. Pour the dressing over the minty squash, toss, and season.
4. Chill for a bit and then enjoy!

Speaking of chilling, Justin and I got to chill in some alpine lakes this last weekend. We did a pretty big (for me) day hike around the Seven Lakes Basin in the Sol Duc. While we covered somewhere between 17 and 19 miles that day, we had time to swim in a few lakes, gaze in awe at Mt. Olympus, whistle for marmots, smell flowers, pick some wild mushrooms and celebrate our 3rd anniversary. It was the perfect sunny - with wispy clouds - day.  Our legs were pooped by the end, but I think both of our spirits were lighter! These days remind us why we live where we live!

 

 

Summer...where are you going?

Does anyone else feel like summer has been a sprint? Justin and I have enjoyed lots of trips, visitors, splashes in Lake Crescent, and hours digging in our garden but it feels like fall is peeking at us from around the corner. What? That is crazy. Fall?

In the midst of this whirlwind season, I've failed to take many photos of food or adventures. But here are some highlights and I plan to start getting some recipes up here soon. For example, we have a boatload of zucchini exploding in our garden right now, so you may get a few squash ideas...do you have any for me?

What do you do with zucchini besides hang them in a bag on your neighbor's front door and run away?
In the meantime, here a few photo photo highlights...

Early summer fruits from the Port Angeles Farmers' Market!

My favorite wildflower : Indian paintbrush

Beargrass in bloom on Mt. Muller

Our giant kale.

Get wild: red huckleberries, trailing blackberry, black cap raspberries

Our bounty: pineapple strawberries...a new discovery for me

Lazy felines in the herbs

Motherly love.

 
Last week, my mom visited us in Port Angeles. As always, she brought beautiful weather along with her for the trip. So, we spent as much time outside as possible: We enslaved--err, invited-- her to join us in picking 43 lbs. of blueberries from Dungeness Meadow Farms; although, I'm sure we ate sampled enough while picking that is was somewhat closer to 50 lbs--give or take. We hung out by a sparkling Lake Crescent. We walked and snacked our way through the old city of Victoria, BC. She even volunteered to come to the native plant nursery and helped transplant salal on her vacation.

But more than anything, we hung out around home. While my dad got to see our house a few months ago when he and his brothers traveled out here, this was my mom's first stay in our little abode. It felt so good to share the place where we spend most of our hours. We even completed a jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table--if that isn't breaking in a home, I don't know what is.

 It was a great visit. As always, I'm reminded how lucky I am to have the family that I (we) do.

The jungle jigsaw--it was a team effort, completed over empress tea by my mom, Justin, and yours truly.

Dozens of gelato flavors in whimsical shapes--thank you, Victoria.

Running Buddies.

While, I am a bit late for Father's Day, I'd like to take a minute to talk about how my dad introduced me to one of the most constant, comforting, and self-defining aspects of my life: running. Back when I was in junior high--close to two decades ago--my dad put on a pair of black sneakers and decided to run a few laps around the track. In no time, he was burning through running shoes, spending many an early morning, evening, or Saturday logging double digits with his two feet, and collecting lots of race number bibs. He got faster and ran farther. He ran marathons. He got hooked. Somewhere along the way, he invited me to run with him (or maybe I tagged along)--which, I now understand, is a big deal...to compromise your perfect pace or to give up some some solo zen time. Our first race together was the May Day 5-K and he stayed with me and pushed me the entire, excruciating distance of 3.1 miles.

Somewhere along the way, we became running buddies. We motivated each other to get out and go when one or neither wanted to lace up. We pushed each other--okay, he pushed me...speeding up and making me keep up while I muttered under my breath. We ran races together; my favorite was the Double Bridge Run in Pensacola Beach, FL. More than anything, we bonded in a way that a teenage daughter and her dad might not have otherwise. 

Since moving many miles from home and my parents, I have continued to wake up, lace up, and run. I've run a few marathons in that time and, each time--as I dig deep--I hear my dad's voice in my head and feel him as the wind at my back. I think we both hear and feel each other on race days and challenging runs. This weekend, my dad ran a great race and placed 1st in his age group; from miles away, I felt so excited and proud. Happy Father's Day, dad, and thanks for continuing to inspire me to put one foot in front of the other!

North Olympic Discover Marathon 2012

 

Crossing the finish line with dad as the wind at my back

 

Pre-race yoga.

The Brothers Take Washington

A few weeks ago, my dad and his two brothers visited Justin and I in Washington. We felt so lucky to be included in their annual gathering this year. This trip was special for a few reasons:

I have never gotten the chance to spend so much quality time with just "the brothers". Usually, our company is mixed with cousins, aunts, and grandparents; which is always a good time because we have a such a great family. However, getting to spend this time with my dad and my uncles was rare and special. Having no siblings, its so fascinating to see three people with many shared values, shared mannerisms, and a shared knowledge of things like tiger's milk; yet, they are each so unique. Again, I feel so lucky for this family.

Justin and I finally got to share our new home and the place that we've chosen to set some roots with our family.

We had a great time. We ate; we drank; we hiked; we kayaked; we got rained on; we saw big trees; we laughed; we explore. It was fun to be tourists together.

 

Egg-stravagant!

I love eggs. They are quick, nutritious, savory, filling and bright! Justin is always amused that I make a meal complete by topping it with an egg. While we don't plan to have our own chickens until next year, we have access to lots of great local eggs. In fact, last weekend, a friend even gave us some of her giant fresh duck eggs. Holy rich! They're great for baking, but I  can't quite eat one on its own.

On the other hand, I could eat chicken eggs all day. One of my favorite ways to eat eggs is a breakfast that my dad often prepared for me on Thursday mornings--the day he went into work a bit later. Simple and delish! Soft-boiled eggs mixed with torn up buttered toast. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Do it!

The perfect soft-boiled egg. Bring water to a boil. Add eggs, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Set timer for 5 minutes. At 5 minutes, rinse eggs under cool water. Crack, peel, and devour.

Who needs grass?

Raspberries!

It finally feels like spring. Trees are blossoming and the grass is growing--and by grass, I mean dandelions, thistle, and grass. As "homeowners", we purchased our first lawnmower a few weeks ago. A big step into adulthood. We've been pretty diligent about mowing because it is enjoyable and we would like to make friends with all of our new neighbors.

That said, our long term goal is to mow as little as possible and to get as much foods out of our .16 acre lot as possible. So, we've begun converting portions of our lawn into a mulched native plant area and an edible garden.

We're transforming half of our front yard to a mulched "rain garden" with low-maintenance native shrubs. We'll see how low-maintenance it really is when the thistle and dandelions begin to creep through the sheet much. Thanks to a tip from our friend, Shalee, we scored a truckload of wood chips for sheet mulching from a local mill!

The backyard is where the food will be grown. We put in an herb garden and raspberries last weekend, but our main veggie patch is a big experiment. We double-dug half of the plot and got 3 yards of compost from Lazy J Tree Farm that we are going to till in. On the other half of the plot, we've laid cardboard that will be layered with compost and mulch and left to break down for a season.

What have you done to create new garden space with healthy soil?

The great veggie experiment.

Herbs outside the back door.