Big Tex

We would like to introduce the newest member of our Idaho family...Big Tex, our new utility trailer!

We started talking about buying a trailer as soon as we moved up here, but other things took precedent. But now, all summer projects lead to the need of a trailer.

Big Tex is going to really come in handy when Bruce cuts up all of that firewood and has to haul it up the driveway to the woodshed.

Speaking of the woodshed, Big Tex will once again step up to the plate and go to CdA with us to carry back all of the lumber and other material we need to finish the sides - just in time to give that firewood a home for the winter!










Big Tex has a handy ramp for loading, which will be nice if we ever need to take the snowblower, lawn mower, or other heavy piece of equipment somewhere for a tune-up or repair.

Yep, Big Tex is going to fit right in around here, and we plan on putting him to work right away. Carrying loads of gardening material, gravel, soil, furniture - oh, we have so many plans for Big Tex. But first, we need to go to the DMV and sign his adoption papers. Welcome to your new home, Big Tex!

Minding My Own Beeswax

I think the last time it happened was when I was nine years old. It's a vague memory, but a painful one. And it finally happened again. I got stung!

Yesterday, I was standing out at the end of our driveway, supervising Bruce as he worked on one of our many projects. Annoying, buzzing critters were flying all over the place, but I was playing it fairly cool. Hey, I'm a country girl now. I can deal.

I was wearing my cool new striped overalls and straw hat. Maybe that's why I got stung. I offended the Insect Fashion Police.

So there I was, minding my own beeswax, when I felt a little tickle on my right calf. Inside my pant leg. Immediately, I knew I was in trouble. Then the sting. Ouch! I wapped at my pant leg and then rolled it up to see smished insect guts and a stinger hanging out of my leg. I think it was a yellow jacket, but I didn't bother to look around on the ground for the rest of the carcass. Bruce carefully took the stinger out and proclaimed that it hadn't gone in too far and the poison sack had not been emptied. Goodie.

As I limped back to the house to take an antihistamine and put ice on the wound, I thought that it was a good thing that I finally got stung again. It's been one of my fears over these last many years, so now it's finally been done and I know how it feels. Then it started hurting. Really hurting. And it wouldn't stop. For hours and hours. And this is with the poison not being released and the stinger not going in all the way!

So then I started devising a plan to make myself sting-proof. Tucking my pant legs into my socks, wearing a long sleeve shirt with the lapels up and the sleeves tucked into gloves. And, of course, the headnet. I am going to look awesome! You know, I think I would look really cute in a complete beekeeper's outfit. Or maybe a space suit. Armor?

What's for Breakfast - Yami's Chile Relleno Bake

I adapted this from a Pioneer Woman recipe. She made hers without the tortillas, but served it with tortillas. I thought, wouldn't it be delicious with the tortillas INSIDE the dish, soaking up all of that yummy eggy goodness? Guess what? The answer is yes!

Words cannot express how yummy this is. Just make it and taste for yourself.

Start by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x9 glass baking dish with vegetable spray.

Drain one can of whole fire-roasted green chilies, slice them in half and scrape out the seeds.

Grate about 2 c. pepper jack
cheese.









Mix together 5 large eggs, 1 c. milk, 1/2 c. water, 1/4 t. cumin, 1/2 t. paprika, 1/4 t. cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

Tear two corn tortillas in half and place them in the baking dish with the straight edges against the sides.

Place half of the chilies on top of the tortillas.

Distribute 1 c. of the cheese over the chilies.

Tear two more corn tortillas into bite-sized pieces and layer over the cheese.

Place the remaining chilies on top of the tortilla pieces and finish with the remaining cheese.

Now pour the egg mixture over the layered ingredients.

Ready to go into the oven! 

Place the dish on the top rack and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Mmmm, I'm getting hungry...

Serve with avocado slices, salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, or whatever else you can dream up!

Breakfast!

You can make this the night before and just re-heat in the morning for a delicious, quick meal. Enjoy!

Fun Day

Yesterday, Bruce and I decided to treat ourselves to a "fun" day. We've been doing chores, working on projects, running errands and shopping. Not that I'm complaining. It's better than going in to work! But every once in awhile, you just need to have fun.

So after our morning chores around the house and yard, we drove to one of our favorite towns up here in the Panhandle: Sandpoint.
Sandpoint is situated at the northern end of Lake Pend Oreille, where it empties into the Pend Oreille River.

Traveling north on Highway 95, you approach Sandpoint by traversing a long, low bridge over the lake.

Pend Oreille is the fifth largest lake in the United States, and is over 1200 feet deep!

Our first stop is the Pend d'Oreille Winery, or as it's known to the locals, POW. As you can see, we have preferred parking right in front!














POW also has the Bistro Rouge Cafe, one of the best restaurants around. Eating here is one of the main reasons we visit POW. That, and refilling our Growliers (or "Growlers", as we like to call them).












The tasting room is beautiful, with a long bar, a shop with lots of wine and gifts, and tables for you to enjoy your delicious lunch.

The staff is so friendly. I could just spend the whole day here!

It's a little dangerous, though. I usually don't walk out with at least a few gifts in my bag. Gifts for friends, family, or...myself!









The first order of business today, though, is lunch. We're hungry!

And thirsty! I enjoyed a glass of Roussane, while Bruce had his usual Bistro Rouge.

Slante!

That's Our Spot.   

Mmmmm, lunch is served. Bruce devours his entire gluten-free Bacon, Gorgonzola and Date pizza. That's balsamic vinegar drizzled over the top.

I had two appetizers: bruschetta with tomatoes, chevre and mint, and ginger-garlic peppered shrimp. Heaven.










Time to walk off that lunch and go shopping! Sandpoint has a charming Old Town with lots of unique shops and landmarks. It definitely has charm!

The Panida (pronounced PAN-I-duh, instead of my preferred pan-E-duh) is a cultural center for theater, music and dance. Bruce and I saw Leo Kottke here last winter. 

Two more stops before heading home...

First is my new favorite store: Big R!
"Almost Anything...Big R's Got It!" Unfortunately, they  did not have the insect headnet I was hoping to find.









So we stopped at the Co-Op Country Store, owned by local ranchers, farmers and the like. They have almost anything too!

Hmmmm, they had a beekeeper's hat and head gear. That was just a little too much for me. I mean, I don't want to look any more ridiculous than I have to. But these flies and bugs are really starting to interfere with my gardening enjoyment. I will keep looking...










Bruce and I agree that if there ever comes a time that we feel we need to leave the country life and live in town, we'd like to move to Sandpoint. Just large enough to have a great selection of stores and restaurants, but small enough to be warm and friendly. Until next month, Sandpoint!

What's For Supper - Gazpacho and Salad with Homemade Pickled Red Onions

When it's hot hot hot and you have no air conditioning, a cold supper is just the ticket. Chilled Gazpacho and a crispy salad - yum! If you can, make the soup in the cool early morning and let it chill all day. At suppertime, all you have to do is throw the salad together and dish up the gazpacho. Supper!

First, pull your ingredients together:

4 tomatoes,  1 cucumber,  5 small sweet peppers,  1/4 red onion, 3 garlic cloves, 1 lime, 3 c. tomato juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried cumin, Tabasco, fresh basil, salt and pepper. Ready!

Roughly chop the tomatoes. Peel and seed the cucumber and roughly chop. Cut the tops off of the peppers and chop in half. Roughly chop the onion. Zest and juice the lime. Mince the garlic.

OK, at this point, I used my brand new Cuisinart to start chopping the veggies. I don't quite know how to use it yet. If you have a Cuisinart and know how to use it properly, go for it!



Chop the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and peppers separately and throw it into a bowl.

You can also use a blender, which is probably what I should have done, but I really wanted to play with my new Cuisinart!

Mix all the veggies together, then add the tomato juice, lime zest and juice, about 1 T. balsamic vinegar, 1 T. olive oil, 1/4 t. cumin, minced garlic, as much Tabasco as you like (be careful!), salt and pepper.



At this point, you can decide if you are happy with the texture. It was a bit too chunky for me, so I used our immersion blender to smooth it out.

This was probably a little too smooth, but that immersion blender can be mesmerizing...bzzzzzzzz...


Cover the soup and chill for at least two hours. Right before supper, throw a salad together. I used chopped romaine hearts, pickled sliced beets, homemade pickled red onion (recipe to follow) and crumbled feta.

Supper! Garnish the soup with sliced avocado and fresh basil. I also have an Asiago cheese/garlic breadstick on the side.

 

So here's how to make pickled red onions. It's so easy!

Peel a red onion. Halve it lengthwise, then slice thinly into half-rings. Or, I guess, you could use your handy Cuisinart! Stack the slices into a 1 qt. glass canning jar. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 c. white vinegar, 1 T. mixed pickling spice, 2 t. sugar, 1 1/2 t. course salt and 1 1/4 c. water to a boil. Stir until sugar and salt dissolve. Pour the liquid over the onions, pressing them to submerge. Let stand, uncovered, for 3 hours. Once cooled, you can refrigerate them, covered, for up to one month. Use them on sandwiches, salads, burgers, etc. They are not only delicious, but beautiful, too!

Summer in the INW

When we ventured up here last September to look for a house, it was in the low 90s. Everyone told us it was a "heat wave". I really didn't think summer in Northern Idaho (the INW - Inland North West) was going to be hot. Maybe warm. In the 80s.

Well, it's hot. Not Northern CA hot, but still hot. Especially because we don't have air conditioning. It was in the upper 90s today. Most of the time, we have a nice breeze flowing through the house to help cool things, but not today. Animals are wilting. Ceiling fans are spinning madly. Windows are flung open, waiting for the slightest wisp of a wind.

Luckily, it usually cools into the 50s at night. Once the sun goes down and the moon rises, relief is imminent.

The window seat in our bedroom is one of my favorite places to chill out right before bedtime. With the window open, I can curl up there and contemplate the moon, smell the fresh cool evening air, and, if I'm lucky, watch bats fly within a foot of the window catching bugs for their evening meal. Even with the unexpected summer heat, I wouldn't trade this life for anything.

Art in the Park

One of the things I looked forward to in living in a small town was to attend the events - the Santa Parade in December, the Mother's Day Bake Sale and Craft Fair, the 4th of July Picnic and Fireworks. One by one, these events came and went, and either we had other things to do, didn't feel like driving into town, or forgot they were happening. Since neither of us really like crowds, it didn't exactly break our hearts to miss the festivities.

Yesterday, our little town had its first annual Art in the Park. I needed to go into town anyway to run some errands (grocery store, post office, hardware store - the usual stops), so I decided to make the effort to walk over to the park and check it out.

 
There were quite a few people there, but I didn't need to worry about the crowd factor. The weather was perfect, warm with a gentle breeze. There was a singer/guitarist entertaining with folk and rock tunes.

  
About twenty booths were set up around the park with a variety of arts and crafts: paintings, jewelry, clothes, tiles, woodwork.

Look closely: can you spot Elvis?

I spied a bird necklace at the third booth I strolled past. My yogini sisters will appreciate the fact that I just had to have it!









I'm so glad I attended. It was a low-key event, the booths' vendors were friendly and helpful, the music was pleasant and the weather was perfect.

Note for my Gilmore Girls friends: I couldn't help but fall into a Stars Hollow fantasy while at Art in the Park. I kept expecting Kirk or Taylor to walk by, barking orders at someone. And I swear I saw Lorelai and Rory near the food trucks.