Archive for ‘August, 2013’

Off to see the wizard!

Not to say our own Dr. Clark is not a wizard of a vet, but he doesn’t have a CT Scan machine thingy and no one else in the area does either, hence our trip to Great Falls to the Big Sky Animal Medical Center.

Bear was happy to hit the road.

We pulled out of our driveway at exactly 9:30 a.m. My hope and plan was to leave 9 – 10 latest so I was very happy with the 9:30 departure.

We hit a small snag between Columbia Falls and Hungry Horse…

Construction delay.

But we were delayed along the Flathead River with scenic views and cool morning air so we crawled along and watched the river.

Things cleared up at Hungry Horse and we zipped past West Glacier and through Marias Pass. It was hazy-smokey but still beautiful.

Today is the first time I’ve done this route in the motorhome. There are some drop offs along the road. It is vastly different in a motorhome, where you are up high and can really see over the guard rail what a long drop it is to the bottom…

A lot of traffic all the way…rvs, cars, commercial stuff. I go the speed limit but no one likes being behind a motorhome so I pulled over when I could.

The delay, the traffic…it made for a long and tiring day of driving.

The boys were champs!!!

The above scene from our lunch break. Considering his wobblies, Bob did very well negotiating to his food, some under table steps and even his litter box en route.

No problems with Bear and Bob and I am completely confident with them together – YEA!!!

Bob had a ground floor nest in a secure spot near both food and litter box.

We arrived at the clinic about 3:45 p.m.

Good news – wonderful people!

Bad news – the rv parking is just parking and no power and it was 91F so even with the generator running ’round the clock, we would be just barely comfy.

BUT…a KOA RV campground was near and that is where we landed. It is beautiful and I hope to get out with the camera at sunset as the campground sits on a bluff above miles of fields.

It is 7:30 p.m. as I write this…we are all beat, but Bear and I had several walks along the way and one here at the campground. We have all had dinner. I’ve had a cool shower and a glass of wine! All is well for tonight.

We take Bob to the clinic tomorrow morning. They will call when they have read the scan. In between, Bear and I will go to a gorgeous park we passed on the way in – along the Missouri River. The Missouri runs through Great Falls.

Thanks to all who sent emails of encouragement and prayer for our safe travel and a good outcome for Bob.

Popcorn: the way I remember it

I was born nearly 58 years ago.

No microwaves, no computers, not even electronic calculators!!

We had black and white televisions. My one set of grandparents had a tv that got mostly snow with maybe a 7 inch diagonal screen in a big box! My other grandparents and one aunt and uncle had color televisions but getting people to not look green or pink was a constant adjustment process and sometimes just ignored.

Phones were wired into a wall outlet and they had rotary dials.

We made popcorn in a pan on the stove. It was a special thing as I remember. Sometimes we had Jiffy Pop which I just googled and is still made! It is advertised as being better than any microwave popcorn…that’s funny!

Last weekend, I visited a specialty vinegar and olive oil store to pick up more white balsamic vinegar: a new obsession. I highly recommend trying it if you like to cook. The store has some kitchen ware and various condiments and goodies. I picked up a package of some of the goodies: Funky Chunky Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate popcorn and cashews. It was good and not horrible ingredients. It got me thinking about popcorn.

I went through a time when I always had some microwave popcorn in the cupboard but have not had any lately…as in years. I remembered that a number of cooking blogs had various flavored popcorn recipes.

Can of worms.

One thing led to another.

I looked at air poppers and popcorn pans with handles and paddles and finally found instructions for making popcorn the way I remember we used to when I was a kid. Oil and a couple of kernels in the pan, heat the oil until the kernels pop, add the rest of the corn, shake a bit until the popping stops.

Guess what??

It still works.

It took maybe 8 minutes start to finish…10 if you count dithering about which pan and what kind of oil to use.

I used a 2 quart sauce pan, 3/4 T of clarified butter (ghee), 3/4 T olive oil and 1/3 cup white popcorn kernels.

I threw on some salt and started munching.

Better than any microwave popcorn.

Minimal clean up, too.

Huh.

Today, I decided to try the salted caramel chocolate version.

Yep, that works, too :)!

A little more labor and cleanup but not bad. I lightened up the amount of caramel and chocolate and salt – one of the benefits of making my own.

Overall, I’m more of a savory snacker and will probably stick to butter, salt and maybe a bit of cheese powder on my popcorn – which I will be making more often – but this makes a fun, sweet treat. And I think a bit healthier than a handful of cookies. It is supposed to last for several weeks in airtight containers.

I am easily entertained…this was fun!

*** I used this recipe except I substitued coconut oil for the butter in the caramel sauce and sprinkled sea salt over all after I drizzled the chocolate.

***the next day: I put the salted-caramel-chocolate popcorn in mason jars, in the refrigerator as even my coolest cupboard is a bit warm at the moment. A taste test this morning reveals that it is good cold and the flavor is even better than the fresh. I am pleasantly surprised!

Friday News

A good work week with MUCH accomplished.

Time to put my feet up and enjoy Friday evening.

Bear and I took advantage of what I’ve observed is a 5-6 p.m. lull in yellow jacket activity. We had our preprandial walk in the woods and then the temps (86F) and increased buzzing brought us inside to cool off, relax and think about supper.

I had a pasta & salad bowl. It looks like chili-mac but actually the sauce is my vegetable marinara with lentil-ricotta “meat” balls. The romaine is dressed with cucumber-yogurt-olive oil and rice vinegar. Half of a scallion pancake rounds out my dinner bowl.

Bear had kibble and his evening greenie!

Cherries, basil and lemon are waiting to be made into a half-pint jar of cherry preserves.

Actually, the mix plus some sugar is simmering on the stove as I write.

Wild Thing is home from her spa treatment.

She is smooth and shiny and all aglow from the wash and wax.

And ready to convey Bob, Bear and me to Great Falls, MT (220 miles) this coming Friday (8/16…also my birthday!). Mr. Bob has an appointment for a CT Scan.

Big Sky Animal Medical Center has RV parking on site – YEA! The plan is a fairly early departure on Thursday 8/15 so as to get settled and have a relaxing afternoon the day before. The BSAMC person(s) will come out to the motorhome for the pre-exam and then take Bob for the quick 30 minute, sedated CT Scan.

A surgeon, actually Dr. Scherr who did Bear’s first TPLO surgery, is available to immediately do anything the CT Scan turns up.

The hope and prime contender is that as the ear drums healed, they trapped some fluid in the inner or middle ear and that just needs to be drained. And maybe there is a polyp in there causing an issue. Quick fixes I am told.

Yep, there are worse things but no need to go there and the trapped fluid fits with everything.

Meanwhile, Bob is still wobbly but also still eating, drinking, etc. and normally active.

I am so thankful that this facility is available. The alternatives are the veterinary teaching hospitals: Washington State or Colorado State. Although, they are wonderful places, with state of the art equipment, the scenario would be much more stressful for Bob than a pick up from our own motorhome! Big Sky Animal Medical Center will be much more low key and Bob is likely to be sedated and unaware for most of the time he is in the facility, hopefully waking up with Bear and me in the familiar surroundings of Wild Thing. And the cost is about 1/3 of the alternatives which means a bit less stress for me, also :) !

Friday News. Pretty good news. Hope your Friday has good news also.

Scallion pancakes, morning walk

Sunday, I made these Chinese Scallion Pancakes for the first time. I made 1/2 the recipe to try it out. Then I made another 1/2 recipe to see how they kept – frozen and refrigerated.

This morning I made a double recipe and most of them made it into the freezer!

I woke up, rested, ready to go…at 4:45 a.m.

Bear and I had a quick down the driveway walk in the dark, then back inside and I started a pot of beans, the coffee, put my Dutch Oven in the oven to heat for crusty bread and then mixed and kneaded the dough for the pancakes.

The simple flour and water mix gets kneaded until smooth and then rests for 30 minutes.

The genius of this recipe – in my opinion! – is that the scallions, some salt and olive oil are brushed on the rolled out pancake. Then you roll the circle up like a cigar…roll it around itself like a snail, squash it and roll it into a circle once more which means that the onions and seasoning are inside the pancake.

I’m thinking of many different flavor combos that would be scrumptious using this same technique…herbs like chives or basil or oregano, some garlic and cumin. Maybe a slightly cheese-y version with some parmesan and smoked paprika.

The pancakes get lightly fried in a bit more olive oil so end up a little crispy, a littly chewy and full of flavor. The Woks of Life post also includes a garlic dipping sauce. And by the way, the The Woks of Life blog is not only a lot of fun, with some great recipes but they (it is the entire family writing the blog!) include some pages de-mystifying ingredients and utensils used in their Chinese recipes.

I’ve eaten the pancakes as snacks with the dipping sauce, as a “bread” with a Chinese chicken salad, and this morning with some goat cheese, beans and a drizzle of the dipping sauce. I like them!

As I was working in the kitchen, the sky lightened to the East. I love watching the range of colors as the sun works its way over the mountains of the Continental Divide.

One moment it was a deep blue and the next I was surprised to see fog. The temperature at just before 5 a.m. was 55, but it dropped to 49 as the sun rose – close enough to the morning dewpoint to make fog.

Bear and I took our full morning walk in the misty woods.

The yellow jackets had been buzzing the kitchen windows earlier, but as the fog dropped down, they apparently went back to their nests and we walked in foggy quiet.

Headed back toward the house, the sun found its way though the mist, hitting the house like a spotlight.

Scallion pancakes, morning walk: Tuesday.

Monday afternoon

Clouds piled up over the mountains this afternoon.

The air was clear, the colors pure.

Thunder rumbled from small storms that missed my house except for a few drops of rain.

I haven’t been letting Bob out except early morning but I had a talk with the Yellow Jackets…

Bob was fine and enjoyed some fresh air on this Monday afternoon.