Project!

DIY woodsy wedding table numbers over at Eat Drink Chic.

Lost in the wedding blog rabbit hole.

Since getting engaged a couple of months ago I've gone a bit nuts on the "research." The freedom of suddenly being able to peruse wedding blogs openly, instead of stealthily under the cover of darkness, has been enticing. I dove in head first. I lost hours, and eventually whole afternoons, to emerge, blurry-eyed, with nothing to show for it besides some robust browser bookmark folders. I think I've had some time to adjust, and can safely navigate the wedding-web world without feeling completely lobotomized afterward. So, in celebration of my new-found control, here's some recent inspiration:

Really into the burlap. This wedding is featured at Elizabeth Anne Designs.

One way or another I'm going to find a way to get logs on the tables. Also from Elizabeth Anne Designs.

Thinking about doing something similar, involving apples. So excited about the apples. More at Ruffled.

I love the idea of incorporating rustic, earthy items like twigs and nuts into bouquets. We're getting whatever is in season that week from a nearby flower farm, and my floral-designer sister-in-law is going to help arrange. I'm kind of excited that we won't know exactly what we're getting until we go pick them up. I said I wanted "seasonal" and I'm going to get it, alright. (Photo above also from, surprise, Elizabeth Anne Designs.)

Hi.

I'm alive. Just going through a bit of a blogger identity crisis, I guess. I've taken a step back, trying to decide what it is I want to write about. (I'm not sure how many different ways I can spin my scones.) My priorities seem to have subtly shifted, and I think I'm still sorting them out, myself. Anyway, in the meantime I've been spending some time on Tumblr. I see some real benefits to the format, but I can't decide if I want to make the switch, or just keep posting small bits there.

I'll figure it out, and soon. I miss you.

Martha vs. the Apples: Round 1

Around this time every year I get overwhelming urges to harvest. Not necessarily because I really want the bounty, but because I'm in love with the idea of the activity. So this past weekend I dragged Beardy up to Kiyokawa Orchard near Hood River so I could spend about 15 minutes walking through the trees, removing the fruit with my own hands. And I would have spent more time doing it, except that in that time I'd already amassed 25 pounds of Golden Delicious apples, and had no real plan in store for them.

Last year I spent about six hours making apple butter, which delivered 3 pints in the end - and although it was delicious, this time around I was looking for a better return for my time. I got a hot tip on some Cheddar-Apple Scones, and wow. They are everything that I hoped they'd be. I'm not even going to bother sharing the recipe here since I followed it exactly from Smitten Kitchen, where it appeared slightly adapted from a book called The Perfect Finish, by White House executive pastry chef Bill Yosses. I've had a copy of this on my desk at work for months, and this recipe proves it warrants a closer look. These scones are the perfect blend of savory and sweet with a crispy-on-the-outside texture. I made three batches of dough, freezing two of them to bake later. Genius tip. So, that took care of three pounds.

Project #2: Applesauce. I've never delved into the sauce before, mainly because I didn't have a food mill. I took this opportunity to pick one up. I wanted to can it so I vowed to make a ton. I recently spent an evening making and canning salsa verde to emerge from the process with one lousy pint. Never again. If I am canning, there is going to be formidable volume. So, I tripled a recipe I found in my new go-to canning book, Put 'em Up, and started with 9 lbs. of apples and ended up with about six pints. This recipe was easy, especially appealing because it didn't involve peeling the fruit. And it's good. Real good.

Homemade Applesauce (super-sized from Put 'em Up)

1 1/2 cups water
6 T bottled lemon juice
9 lbs apples, cored but not peeled (I used Golden Delicious)
1/4 cup sugar
1 T cinnamon

Mix the water and lemon juice, and pour it into the biggest pot you've got. Core the apples, and coarsely chop them, adding them to the pot with the lemon water as you go, so the apples don't get brown. Heat on medium high, until the apples are bubbling vigoriously, then simmer until tender, stirring frequently. Pass the mixture through a food mill, then return to heat and add the sugar and cinnamon. Stir until sugar is dissolved, and remove from heat. This is where I canned the sauce, using the boiling-water method, but it's good in the fridge for five days, and frozen for up to six months. If going that route, allow the sauce to cool before refrigerating/freezing.

Twelve pounds of apples down, thirteen left staring me in the face. Thinking there's some frozen pie filling and spicy chutney in my future. Stay tuned. The apples will not win.

Sangria Saturday. And Sunday.

We had a little BBQ yesterday, on one of the few super-hot days we've had all summer. I've vowed to not complain about the stifling heat, since we've been cheated out of a real summer this year (more whining about that here) - so instead, I made Sangria. Problem solved.

I adapted this recipe from one I found on Epicurious, because unfortunately my gathering didn't require a 2-gallon barrel of party punch. I couldn't help but toss in some seasonal fruits, too.

Sangria

3 liters red wine (I bought two 1.5 liter Costco-sized bottles of Shiraz)
3/4 cup brandy (I used Apple Jack)
1 quarts orange juice
1 cups lemon juice
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 quart chilled club soda
2 oranges
1 lemons
2 limes
2 plums
1 pint blackberries (Hey, why not?)

Pour the wine and brandy into a large punch bowl, or a couple of large pitchers. I used two big glass containers with lids. Stir orange and lemon juice with the sugar until sugar has dissolved. Then add to bowl/pitchers and stir to blend. Add soda, thinly sliced oranges, lemons, limes, plums and blackberries. I let the mixture sit in the fridge for a couple hours, then ladled it out and served it over ice.

Bye summer. Thanks for stopping by. Briefly.

XOXO PDX

Sometimes work and pleasure overlap, and when they do, it gets posted on the blog. Those are the rules. I made them.

I recently did an interview with Liz Crain, who wrote a little book called the Food Lover's Guide to Portland. Besides making me wish that I'd been clever enough to think of the idea myself, she's a real peach, and was really fun to chat with. Stroll over to Powells.com to read our conversation.

Kitchen Mini-Makeover

I don't know about you, but every couple of months I go through a phase where I loathe all of my material possessions. I despise my wardrobe, glare at my furniture and sometimes make drastic, regrettable hairstyle decisions. Since it's not in my best interests to trade in all my stuff every time I get into one of these tizzies, I throw myself a small bone. Today it was a some kitchen pick-me-ups: some summery pot holders, pretty dish towels and wooden utensils. All of it for under $10, courtesy of those clever Swedes.