Wishing You A Happy New Year

We've had typical Pacific Northwest weather this winter - rain, gentle misting, slanting rain with wind, sporadic downpours exiting the most beautiful, dramatic clouds, snow, and occasional sunbursts. We've managed to get out for some wonderful walks, one of which was a stroll along this lovely stretch of beach near Fort Worden. It was a bitterly cold afternoon on this beach, but I enjoyed the smooth round rocks and the driftwood.

This is bull kelp, the fastest growing seaweed in the world. It can grow from a tiny spore into a 200 foot long plant in one summer! By winter, the kelp are dying. Storms and waves leave them on the beach, where they appear as brown "bull whips." The decomposing kelp provides food and beach shelter for scavenging animals. By winter, the kelp are dying in the intertidal zone.

It was just a few days before Christmas when we drove into Port Townsend, with the thought of browsing through some of the shops. All year long this historic old town has quite a few tourists. The 'Bed and Breakfasts' were full, and holiday shoppers were packed like sardines, inching along the narrow corridors inside the shops.

It was almost too claustro -phobic for me, with the press of people, the hurrying -about. I picked up this little ornate doily and a warm wool scarf, and that was the extent of 'gifts for me' for this holiday.

We explored Fort Worden before we headed home, and since I was filming, George and I got separated. As I wandered through the old barracks, down a dark flight of stairs, I suddenly noticed that he was nowhere to be seen - in fact I could hardly see anything at all! I spread my arms out, inched along the dark corridors, and heard the faint sounds of dripping water and the laughter of children. (That is always a comforting sound!)

The place was intolerably spooky, a dark labyrinth of passageways and doors. Eventually I saw a bit of light, and walked toward it, then into a long series of empty rooms. I found a doorway out, walked up a hill, and noticed George. He said he'd been waiting for me. He asked me where I'd gone, and I said I took the stairs down into 'the dungeon', thinking that was where he'd gone. He replied with, " I wouldn't go down there! That's way too dark and scary!"

An old knob or ring on one of the doorways.

George and I hiked the Cedar Butte Trail near North Bend on Christmas Day. This is a moderate 4 mile hike (900 ft. elevation gain) up to the summit of Cedar Butte, and we unpacked our 'Christmas dinner' while sitting on snow-covered logs. I packed a large thermos of Bouillabaisse soup, a delectible Mediterranean fish stew, to go with a couple of peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches - how's that for extremes!

Bouillabaisse is an incredibly fragrant stew, with celery, carrot and onion, garlic, leeks, scallions and black-eyed peas, fennel seeds, Italian spices, saffron, and several crushed whole Mandarin oranges in the tomato-based broth. To this I added a bit of bratwurst and five different fish and shellfish - shrimp, clams, scallops, whiting, and miniature octopus.

I packed some of these Olive-Provolone crackers for a trail-mix, along with Mandarin oranges, tiny chocolates, and fresh strawberries. That was our Christmas dinner!

It was just beginning to snow as we descended our climb. We walked along an old gravel road, an old rail-bed, past Boxley Creek which was tumbling with the freshest coldest water, and down through the forest to the trail-head.

I've pulled myself away from the computer for awhile, in an attempt to try to come to terms with my vision issues. Lately, it seems like I'm unable to read, watch TV, drive, or work on the computer without my vision 'doing a dance', cavorting in sudden leaps and starts, regardless of what I'm trying to focus on. Even on my walks, everything is double and drifting, and I have to hold a couple of fingers over one of my eyes to get a clear picture. I'll be seeing my neurologist again, for further tests. Meantime, my doctor doesn't discourage me from walking, saying "just 'take a couple of hiking poles' if you get dizzy or unbalanced." Hmmmmmm. Has he ever tried jogging downhill while judging a curb? I'm hanging in there, feeling like a one-eyed pirate.

Well, I wish I could say that I paddled our canoe here this weekend, but such was not the case - my twin sister Bonnie sent me this photo awhile back saying that they'd hiked here.

While I can appreciate the climb that it must have taken to get to Birch Lake in the Flathead National Forest, Montana, it would have been a heck of a portage! Bonnie, shown here second from the right, says the portage to Birch Lake in the Jewel Basin would cover about three miles! The longest portage I ever remember doing was just under a mile - and my neck and shoulders took about two years to recover.

I have appreciated Bonnie's two photos, and thought I would share them here. She is quite the inspiration to me, hiking frequently in Glacier Park with her ladies group, and also leading some climbs for a local mountaineering group. I lived in the Flathead Valley for five years, when my children were little, and I never was able to be free to do the kind of hiking that she does. (However, I've made up for lost time now that my kids are grown, and almost gone.)

I say 'almost', because our youngest, Rahmat, is back home for a spell while he sorts out 'his plan'. It involves computers and math, textbooks, math problems, compass and protractor. I'm quite content that he is here, because he :
1. Keeps his room clean - for a guy. 2. Always asks what would be available to eat. This is important because some pantry items are off limits due to their necessity for an upcoming meal.
3. He is gentle and quiet, which means that we have a 'companionable silence' that is sweet. He is always imersed in a project that is interesting, even if it is something I can't really understand. I enjoy listening to his ideas and seeing his enthusiasm.
4. For awhile, I have the opportunity to feed him more wholesome meals than he'd get living alone. Guys just don't cook - or clean out the refrigerator often enough. I've been worried that he is too thin...but then my doctor recently told me that it is good for the heart and promotes longevity to be 'underweight'. So, not to worry.

However, I tend to celebrate a meal more if I see one of my children enjoying it! And, that is what I've done this weekend - just cook, while the rain ran in rivulets down the street. There is nothing more fragrant in a kitchen in the wintertime than home-made bread. These are the usual three loaves I make every week - whole wheat, with a smidgen of flaxmeal and wheat germ added.
I rolled out dough for bread sticks, adding a little Parmesan cheese and powdered sage. The sticks can be dipped into a salsa, or just enjoyed as a snack, like crackers, in front of the TV.
I really liked the Parmesan dough recipe, so I rolled it out and made these little 2 inch round yeast rolls to go with a potato -zucchini soup for dinner, pictured on the far right. I made a hearty tomato sauce/salsa for dipping and also for the base for a polenta lasagna I planned to make on Saturday.
This meal had asparagus wraps with the polenta lasagna, and cranberries inside baked squash. The asparagus is wrapped with thin ham slices, then dotted with mozzarella cheese and green onion. The polenta is just sliced, and layered with sauce, cheese, and topped with bread-crumbs.

I puttered on projects on the weekend, one of which was to caulk all the windows to help conserve heat. This is a fun project I've done for several winters now, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the weather-stripping - it reminds me of my spelt spaghetti! My goodness, between weather-stripping, spaghetti and bread sticks ....I've really been fixated with sticks and strands!

I had to move these two little figurines when I weather-stripped my window. They are an Irish pair, from the Celtic Shoppe down in the Proctor District not far from my house. I bought them over 10 years ago when we moved into this house. It's amusing, when it comes to home-decorating, much of what I've got has been given to me by neighbors and friends who want to get rid of stuff... and they think of me. I've got all kinds of dishes, teapots, nick-nacks, potpourri, candles, vases, and books that are cast offs or 're-gifted'. Most treasured are cookbooks, and I have quite a few.

I saw this memorable photo of our daughter Ruhiyyih recently, shown at Discovery Baptist Church's Nativity Celebration several years ago. Our daughter -in-law, Annie's mom (Kathy Hall) recently sent me a link to her photos this year of their current Nativity Celebration. Kathy is a professional photographer, and I thought her images were quite lovely. ( More on Ruhiyyih here, at Ruhiyyih's Reflections.)

Well, this has been a long post, regretfully, but I must add this final image, sent to me by my sister Bonnie. Now, originally it had some very begrudging commentary by Santa on 'modern architecture', which I'll leave up to your imagination. Just suffice it to say that as someone who spent four years studying art, it gave me quite the chuckle.

Whole Grain Spelt-Rye Spaghetti

This pile of 'twigs' on the right is my first attempt to make a more wholesome spaghetti for my family! I happened to be paging through one of my cookbooks - "Flavors of Tuscany - recipes from the heart of Italy", and I was impressed with how easy it was for Italian cooks to make their own pasta.

I was certainly ready to experiment. I'd been trying to find a whole grain pasta, made from Spelt flour. So, I bought Spelt flour, and a little dark rye too, mixed a portion of both with flour, olive oil, salt and water and began to mix it all together, clumping it into a ball which is then kneaded. Since these flours are a little heavier than white flour, I had to trust my instincts as to how much of the oil and water should be used.

I rolled out an oblong slab, about 6 inches by 14 inches, and cut a line down the middle. Then I cut very thin strips, which were then rolled much like kids roll clay dough. I did this on a thin kitchen towel dusted with flour held in place by some of my rocks. At the end of the shaping I slathered olive oil all over the spaghetti, and continued rolling them a little more. This oil coating will prevent them from getting 'pastey' when they are cooking. Since fresh pasta can dry out, I rolled them up in the towel while making my sauce.

I did nothing fancy with the sauce, just took out a large jar of sauce from the fridge and added sauteed garlic, onion, and finely-sliced leeks to add to the texture. I had a pound of lean buffalo, so I fried that up with salt and garlic, and added it to the sauce.

I used a huge 7 inch strainer-scoop to remove the spaghetti from my kettle.

Served with a glass of grape juice and a cup of tea, it turned out to be a delicious experiment - however I'll have to warn you: This spelt-rye spaghetti may not appeal to children. Once cooked, it has the same color as earthworms!

I'll end this post with this resolute little flowerpot I noticed in front of a shop along Ruston Way. It shows the very last of late autumn bloom, and has managed to survive several nights of freezing temperatures.

Our cat Mordred was accident- ally forgotten last night, left out in the cold on the front porch! When I got up at 5:00, to fetch the morning paper and get my coffee going, I heard his little scratches at the front door. Oh no! He'd spent the night curled up on the love-seat on the front porch, with 'who knows what'' prowling around the neighborhood. Raccoons, possums, and a white and tan tabby-cat probably cheated him of a good night sleep. When I opened the door, he bolted inside, found his spot on the living- room sofa, and spent most of the morning there.

I sat and read awhile, noticing huge snowflakes starting to fall. Pretty soon Mordred's eyes were closed, and his 'motor started to run'. Just watching a snoozing cat is so exquisitely peaceful.

I've spent the last week reading a bio-chemical assessment by Gary Taubes on contemporary attitudes towards nutrition and obesity . Taubes spent seven years researching data for his book, "Good Calories, Bad Calories". He utilized every science connected with the impact of nutrition on health, then wrote this controversial book. Rigorous, due to a mountain of data over the past 75 years, it is not easily processed, and leaves a few serious questions unanswered - primarily because research goes in directions sponsored by big food corporations. For those who struggle with problems of weight regulation and diabetes issues, this is an important book. He has drawn an amazingly detailed and compelling picture of how diet, obesity, and heart disease link together.

I started reading the book because of it's exploration of hormones, the endocrine system, metabolism, and the role of insulin in breaking down carbohydrates. His position on carbohydrates is solid - they head for the fat cells, and stay stuck there. It takes Omega3 fats to help pull the fat out for reduction diets. In all, it is a fascinating book, and it parallel's much of my own thinking on good nutrition and a healthy diet. His 'bottom line construct throughout the book may be "Americans just eat too much food."

Well, my inclinations this week have been a little festive: I've made Cardamon Cookies, to set aside for our Ruhi Class this upcoming week. I told my family - "Free samples", so I don't know how many will be left by the time our friends come over. You may wonder about all the rocks in this photo - they are a gift from Kathy, one of the participants in our Ruhi Class. Every week she brings me a new specimen - agates, fossils, petrified wood, crystals, coral, etc.

This week has been especially cold out - perfect weather for hearty soups and homemade bread! I chopped up these vegetables to put into a Tuscan soup featuring kale and polenta. Pictured here is one leek, and a little red onion. These are added to sauted onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. I then added one quart of organic chicken broth, fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary, one chopped small hot red pepper, fresh parsley and salt and pepper.

As the broth simmered, I browned several large bratwurst and then added them to the vegetable broth. When the brats were done, I added the kale leaves which have been torn into modest pieces, slices of the polenta, and a cup each of garbanzos and black beans. I simmer all of this together for about 15 minutes. An incredibly fragrant aroma fills the house - anytime greens are simmering on the stove with a bit of sausage, onion and garlic, George will be coming out of his study to check it out.

I served the hearty soup with bread I made on Thursday, a sprouted flaxseed whole wheat bread. Lavishly buttered, it hit the spot with my Tuscan soup! My daughter Laurel gave me the sprouted flaxseed at Thanksgiving, and said it is highly nutritious. I like it in bread because it gives a bit of chewyness to the texture, making it very hearty.

I'll end my post with these two photos, one of Laurel's kitchen and the other one of both my daughters last month, checking out the vegetables at the 'Whole Foods Market' up by Seattle. Ruhiyyih is on the left, Laurel on the right. We spent our afternoon making cinnamon rolls together - my first attempt to show my daughters the fussy properties of yeast, who, if surrounded by oil, throw up their hands in disgust, and refuse to perform. One little trick is necessary to get them activated - a warm environment and a little sugar....just like us!

Winter Storm Batters Western Washington

I received this beautiful image in my e-mail a few days ago, taken by Kathy Hall. While a few flakes were falling in Tacoma, snow was blanketing the Gig Harbor area. It melted so fast here that it only lasted a few hours - enough to remember winter wonderlands I've seen over in Montana over the years.

But as short lived as the snow was, the rain pounding Western Washington has created a state of emergency. 80,000 people are without power, the Interstate is closed down along flooded areas, and two people have died due to the storm.

I've heard this storm called the "Pineapple Express" due to the warm winds that swirl in. In spite of torrential rain and wind - almost hurricane velocities in some areas - temperatures were up to 59 degrees yesterday. When there was a lull in the storm I got outside for a morning and an afternoon walk just to feel the warmth on my skin. Yes - shirt sleeve weather!

Yesterday was considered one of the wettest days ever, with over 3.48 inches of rain. Flooding has caused washed out roads and embankments, sink-holes, snapping trees and power poles - and caused a train to derail. Schools are closed, and gas pumps are without power. Our local news program has been showing homes that have slid down hillsides. Rescue helicopters from the Coast Guard and the Navy were dispatched to rescue people and pets stranded in their homes. The water was 10 feet high in some places. It will take a long time to recover from this storm.

On a lighter note, I'll share this photo of my grand-daughter Daisy. Kathy e-mailed me this one too. Thanks, Kathy, for sharing your photos.

If you haven't been over to Ruhiyyih's blog, you'll want to check out the dance steps at her staff Christmas party!