Garden Huckleberries...some jam and a dessert

I have a nice plot up in the community garden about a block from my house. Last year someone started growing bushes of Garden Huckleberries. I watched as they grew into a beautiful dark almost black berries. I wanted so much to pick the berries as I have a fascination with berries that you don't see regularly in the stores. I had heard that Wild Huckleberries are delicious but difficult to find. So when I saw that someone was growing Huckleberries in the garden I was envious. 

Well lucky for me...last week I was up covering my small space with leaves for the winter and walked past the plot that had the Huckleberries. The plants had been pulled from the ground and stacked to the side with other discarded shrubbery from the plot. Why would someone spend the summer growing something only to toss it out? The berries were on top and they looked fresh. So I went home and got a large bowl, I went back and picked all the discarded berries I could. 

I was a little afraid of how to use these precious berries. I had bought some local made huckleberry jam this summer to see what it tasted like and though I like it...it was a little tart. So I was not sure what to make with the berries...Did I really need more jam? After some research I found that Garden Huckleberries are a little sweeter than the Wild Huckleberries. 

 

I looked at a couple of recipes to use the berries in. Everything I found said that Garden Huckleberries have to be cooked before you can eat them and I wanted to make a pie or other dessert of some kind. I found this recipe for Double Ginger Huckleberry Cobbler. It was on a hiking web site and called for one cup of Huckleberries. You put a Bisquick mixture on top and let it cook in the pot with the lid on for about 12 minutes. I of course added some whipping cream and had a wonderful dessert. It was sweet but not too sweet, the flavor had a soft almost floral taste. I fell in love with this dessert.  Since it had a wonderful soft sweet taste I decided to make some jam. 

I was able to get 3-8oz jars and 3-4oz jars of jam. One jar broke when I put it in the water bath. That is only the second time I have had a jar break in the water bath in 30 years I have been canning. Though I was a little upset it had to happen to my Huckleberry Jam. I can't wait to try this on an english muffin or maybe a sauce on some salmon. Either way...I think next year I will try to grow my own Garden Huckleberries in my community garden plot. 

Road Trip

Last October my husband & I took a road trip A friend had just bought a bar in Doyle California and my husband wanted to drive down there to see the place. So we loaded up our 1978 Fleetwood Cadillac and hit the road. I had never been to Crater Lake so we decided to stopped there for an afternoon. I was amazed, the photos do not do it justice, everyone should go to Crater Lake at least one time in their life. We sat on the balcony of the lodge drank some beer and ate some snacks as we watched the sunset reflect over the water. We had looked into to stay at the hotel but it was booked according to the on line system. While we were there we decided to ask if there was an opening, there was one room for $185 located over the kitchen refrigerators...there was a slight hum but the hotel clerk said it was not that bad. We decided that was a little pricey for us and went on as planned to Klamath Falls. On the way down to Klamath Falls from Crater Lake it was quite and we we almost hit a HUGE cow that was in the middle of the road & a deer ran along the side of the car for a few feet. I was very happy that we did not get in an accident with an animal. Did you know that several businesses in downtown Klamath Falls is heated by underground geothermal energy that was installed in the early 1900? Neither did I. After a night in Klamath Falls we went to Doyle California. Our friend Steve Heck bought a bar called the "Buck Inn". We wanted to see what it looked like and see the small town. It's cute and about 40 miles northwest of Reno. Steve is known for building sculptures from pianos. He was not in Doyle when we arrived but we stopped and had a drink. It's a cute little town, with a population of about 650 people. There is a small grocery store and the Buck Inn…that is really all that is there. We left Doyle for Reno. We were only going to stay for a night but while in Reno our breaks went out and we had to have them fixed. So we spent a couple of days looking around. I kind of like the large neon signs but walking through the casinos was ver strange. You enter one corner and end up exiting the building 2 blocks later. It's difficult to tell where you are as you can not see outside. We found a few crushed penny machines and wondered around Reno but were ready to leave after 2 days. We headed east to San Fransciso (well really we stayed in Oakland)!!! It seems that our Friend Steve was finishing up a sculpture for an artist community warehouse. Steve had installed a large sculpture with about 18 pianos as you pull into the space and was installing another smaller piece in the community kitchen area. We met up with Steve and spent the day helping him work through the process of moving and playing with the 4 pianos he was using to make the sculpture (mostly handing him supplies and beverages to stay hydrated).Since we were so close to SF we took BART into the city and wondered down Fisherman's Wharf. I collect crushed pennies and there as a place Musee Mecanique that had about 13 crushed penny machines. So off we went…the place is amazing. Musée Mécanique, one of the world's largest (over 200) privately owned collection of coin-operated mechanical musical instruments and antique arcade machines in their original working condition. We later met up with our friend John Law who has a office on top of the Tribune Tower in Oakland. John also repairs neon signes…the Tribune clock and the SF Port sign are a couple that he keeps in working order. 
We took a ferry into Sf on a different night with friends and had dinner. I was a able to go to City Lights Bookstore and see Brian Goggin's sculpture "Language of Birds". The morning we left we had one last stop Childerns Fairyland located on the shores of Lake Merritt in Oakland. They had a crushed penny machine…only problem is you have to have a child to go into Fairyland. We had no kids with us, I was able to see the crushed penny machine from the gate and the nice woman let me go get my crushed pennies. I would have liked to see the park but alas I was only able to get a photo in front of the old ladies shoe. 

Hood River in October

Sunday was my 8th anniversary. We wanted to head out of town for the night so we went to Hood River. We started the day at Salty's on the Columbia for their sunday brunch. My husband wanted an old fashion buffet brunch where you can eat anything you want, where they and men carving prime rib and making omelets. It turns out Salty's is the only place that does that type of thing any more. they had wonderful bowls of crab but other than that it was kind of uneventful. The bacon was good and so was my drink.
After brunch we headed out the Gorge to Hood River. It was kind of overcast but I had hopes that the sun would be out in Hood River. We stopped at Multnomah Falls to get a photo and a crushed penny. The falls was full of tourists and we fled after watching the train go past.
We stayed at the Hood River Hotel in downtown Hood River. It was a nice place the room looked out over the Columbia River. It was also the harvest festival weekend so the town was hopping. We walked around looking at murals and sculpture. Though I was not fond of the yellow woman the sunset lit really up the mountains on the Washington side of the river. On monday we took a drive up highway 30 stopping at a view point called Memaloose State Park Overlook, overlooking Memaloose Island.  Lewis and Clark called Memaloose Island "Sepulchar Island". It was one of several islands commented on by Lewis and Clark as containing burial vaults for the Indian tribes that lived along the Columbia River. Up that hight on the cliffs my husband posed by the Fleetwood, man that thing glides down the curvy roads of the old Columbia River Highway. We stopped in The Dalles and had breakfast at a place called Cousins, we got in right behind a group of over 50 people from a church in Salem. It was a cute place with a motel attached. They had the walls lined with preserves, green beans, cherries, corn, and peaches...to name a few. We then headed to the the local thrift store when I found a wonderful pair of curtains for $9. They look great in our living room, they really warm up the room. Winter is coming and it was time for a change. It was a nice weekend, but it's also nice to be home with the kitties too. 

A quick trip to Bend

A couple of weeks ago we took a quick trip down to Bend Oregon. My husband had not seen the beautiful drive along Highway 20 from Salem to Bend, I have not been down that road in over 30 years but I remember it as an idyllic drive.  My husband wanted to take the 78 Cadillac Fleetwood out on the road to see how she drives on long trips, this drive seemed like the perfect thing. We  also wanted to come around and over Mt Hood to pick up the Trophy Wife from my mothers place in Brightwood. I did not recognize Detroit Lake...it is painfully low, you can see all the docks laying in the dirt. Seeing the area where the HUGE B&B Complex fire was in 2003 was also a shock. A lot of the trees charred black but still standing, it was kind of depressing. We stopped in Sisters where we saw a wonderful exhibit of metal sculpture by Ken Scott. Just before getting to Bend we stopped to take a photo of the 3 Sisters. Those are beautiful mountains. In Bend we wandered around Bend trying the local beer and stopping at Mirror Pond in downtown Bend. We ate at a great restaurant called Pine Tavern looking over Mirror Pond. Leaving Bend we came home over Highway 26, picking up the Trophy Wife in Brightwood. I'm happy to have the Trophy Wife back, she needs some fresh paint and a little tender loving care from a mechanic.  

I MADE PANTS!!!!

I bought a men's pant pattern when Josephine's Dry Goods was closing in Downtown Portland. When I bought the pattern I looked at the size it said 34-36-38-40...I thought that meant waist. No it did not. When I finally pulled out the pattern the waist size only went to 34". My husband said he was a 36. So I took an on-line Craftsy class on how to enlarge and reduce ready made patterns, it was called Create Any Size: Grading for Sewers. I found this to be very helpful. I had asked my husband over and over about his waist size and he kept repeating that he was a 36...that's what his Levi's said & they fit!! So I enlarged the pattern to a 36" waist. Well guess what...they were too small. I had completed the body of the pants and put on the waist band, had my husband try them on and he immediately stated they were too small. I said they were a 36", I said that I needed to measure his waist...my measurement came to 42". He then asked me if I was saying he's fat...what? NO...I'm saying you're not a 36". An argument occurred and he stated again that the Levi's were a 36". So when he left the house I measured the Levi's that he claimed fit him...the tag did say 36...but in fact the waist measurement was 39"!!! So I removed the waist band and the darts in the back of the pants. I did not want to give up on these pants because it was only the second time I have put in a front zipper and I was quite proud that it worked and looked decent. I had him try on the pants again, I ended up putting smaller darts in the back of the pants & I made a new waist band that was 40".  Today I had him try on the pants with the new waist band and he loved the fit. They are snug but not tight. He can wear the pants with out a belt and they will stay up. The fabric I used was from a couple years ago, I bought 4 bolts of fabric from a woman on craigslist for $60. At that price it's as cheap as muslin fabric. I don't like to make simple muslins...I like to make wearable muslins. These pants are quite loud and they are a nice medium weight cotton. Now that I understand the pattern, I can make him a pair of Jeans or some nice wool pants. The pattern is Vogue 8719, and it's a fairly simple pattern. This project took me about 10 hours total, the next pair should only take about 5 hours to make. Or maybe I will make a pair of pants for me!! 

As a reward for completing the pants I made a couple more triangle bags. These are heading to a friend that requested one...and today is her birthday. Some cute Melody Miller fabric with a crushed penny from Portland.... Happy Birthday!! 

We finally repaired out front stairs!!! I do not have a before photo but believe me they were awful, moss had grown in the cracks and the treads were rotting out. We painted the stairs several years ago in an effort to make them last and it worked. But now it was time to really fix the stairs, mostly I wanted a clean look when you came up the front stairs. I mean it's the first thing people see when they approach your house..so make a good first impression. Rotting stairs are not a good first impression. 

Yea!!! I saw my tote bags in the store again. This time it's the illustration my niece did for me of a hedgehog wearing glasses reading a book. They started selling over the spring break and they ordered 25 more hedgehogs.  I was delivering 125 bags of the skeleton carrying books, that bag is doing great. 

Bargain Fabric & a Fish Toss

I love finding a bargain. I find that I'm lucky when it comes to locating a fabric bargain. Last week I had some errands to run and on the way back home I found that I was close to Scrap. Scrap is a local creative reuse store and donation center in Portland Oregon. It started out as a place to donate extra art supplies that you no longer use, such as paper, paint brushes, creative magazines, corks, tile..you get the idea. Last summer I bought a mannequin. They also take Fabric. I stopped and see if there is anything that I needed before the holidays. I always find some gems at Scrap and this visit was no exception. In the fabric area I located 5 1/2 yards of some black wool for $10.50, 10 yards of some pink cotton material for $18, 1 yard of some beautiful red paisley for $2 and 5 yards of some cute pink flannel with flowers for $9...SO for about $40 I was able to get 21 yards of fabric!! The wool will more then likely turn into a shirt for my husband...maybe a jacket for me. The pink cotton will be use for quilting after I make a western christmas shirt for myself, the pink flannel will be made into a couple pillow cases and the paisley will be used in a quilt. If you are ever in Portland and not sure what you want check out Scrap, they always have amazing items that you never knew you needed.

The Fish Toss is also happening again this year. This is something that my husband & I started on News Years Day 1/2/2010 at the Red Fox...they are were usually closed on New Years Day and we convinced them to open for a couple hours and host the fish toss. Chuck bought about 2 dozen cat fish and it cost $5 to throw a fish. The person that tossed it the farthest wins the kitty. The first year we thought we would have about 10 people....more then 30 people came out at 1pm to toss a fish, watch the event or just have a beer and laugh. I made t-shirts the first as an incentive for people to come out. I get a tab at the bar for the shirts. I stopped making them a couple years ago as things always get a little hectic around the holidays. This year they asked me if I would please make them 20 shirts. Since I'm currently unemployed I had time and printed the shirts. Now I have to go back in and add the RED FOX in red ink. I also made a Fish Toss onesie for one of bartenders Jake who's partner is due December 26th. If you have had kids you know that the onesie's are something that you use every day in fact I have heard that you can go through 3 or 4 onesie's in a single day with a newborn. The fish toss has now become a tradition for the bar...this is the 5th year.  People are always looking for something fun and different and I think a fish toss on new years day is just the thing. Join us if you can!!!