Summer Cooking Challenge

For me, summertime is just different than the other times of year. Sure, I still go to work the same, have the same responsibilities and duties, see the same people and for the most part stick to the same schedule, but it's still different. Days are longer, more time is spent outside, the BBQ is fired up more often and it seems there's a bevy of birthdays to celebrate, so see, summer really is special.

To make this fleeting time even more memorable, I thought I'd be intentional about challenging myself in the kitchen. I've created a sort of "summer cooking bucket list" that I want to try to complete between now and Labor Day. That list includes:

1. Caprese Salad.
It's too simple. Tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil and a swirl of vinegar and oil. There are several different variations out there, but all have the same basic ingredients. The Pioneer Woman has a beautiful recipe here.

 

This picture is my version. I used olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. I thought it was quite delicious and will be making it again, especially when our garden tomatoes are ripe. Dan (a despiser of fresh tomatoes) didn't care of the Caprese Salad and Lana took a bite, removed it from her mouth and gave it back to me, saying politely, "Here go Mommy." I guess she didn't care for it much either. Oh well, more for me.

2. Marshmallows.
Have any of you ever actually made your own marshmallows? I've been seeing this a lot lately in food magazines and cooking blogs, and really, it doesn't look too tough. Here's one easy-sounding recipe I've looked over. Although if I can successfully make marshmallows, I don't know that I'd be okay with them being toasted on a bonfire.

3. Vegetarian Dinners.
No, we're not going all herbivore on you. We just aren't going to have a freezer full of beef until the latter part of August, so I need to get creative. Sure, I could buy beef at the grocery store, but dang, that gets expensive. So we've been rationing out our remaining beef and including more pork, chicken, and yes, the occasional meat-free meal. So far I've made a veggie pasta primavera, a Mario Batali inspired homemade vegetable marina sauce with fresh pasta, and black bean chili. But those were my only three good ideas, so any recipes or ideas you have would be much appreciated. Lana has eaten these meat-free meals just fine and Dan commented on the lack of meat while eating two out of the three - not bad, I'd say.

4. Lemon Cheesecake.
Doesn't that just sound like the perfect summer dessert? Anyone have a trusted and tried recipe?

5. Turnips.
Our garden overfloweth with turnips. According to what I've been reading on food blogs, turnips are the root vegetable du jour, so apparently we're trendy. Yay us! So far I've made a roasted vegetable dish loaded with turnips, carrots, potatoes and onions.

 

We all liked it and Lana even asked for more at dinner, "More bege-ables please!"
I also made a broccoli-potato-turnip mash on Friday and it was a hit. However, we've got a ton more turnips to use up before the summer is over. Does anyone know how to preserve turnips?

So, what foods do you like cooking in the summer? Any other items you'd add to my summer cooking challenge?

Happy 4th of July! (only 10 days late)

For this year's Independence Day festivities, our family piled way too much stuff in the truck and headed west. Dan had several days worth of fun and frivolity planned for our Lynden visit, and he was certainly a master of negotiating the social calendar.

We had playdates at the park:


Lynden's Million Smiles Park is so cute and perfect for little kids.


The cousins had a great time playing together.


Lana liked driving the tractor.


And she overcame her fear of the slide with help from a friend.

Dan also arranged for us to go to three BBQs/fireworks shows in three days. That meant three BBQ dinners, three chances to catch on fire and three really late nights for Lana. We needn't have worried though - she was a champ and finally learned how to sleep in.


Playing on the gator with the big kids.


Getting ready for a road trip with a new friend. (Lana would later get run over by that little pick-up when a 3-year old with a short attention span got behind the wheel.)


Sparklers with Daddy!


Watching fireworks with the kids.


Lounging in the best chairs ever. I love those chairs and think we should own some, don't you?


More sparklers! (an no, no eyes were lost in this endeavor)


Spending the long holiday weekend with my family was awesome! Happy (late) Independence Day from the Lenssens.

And America's Next Top Model is.....

...Lana, of course!

Okay, so actually that show scares me, but these pictures certainly don't!


A couple weeks after the big birthday party, I talked Angela, my sweet friend/sister-in-law (she was my friend first, then decided she wanted the job of sister-in-law later) into meeting us at a local park for a little photo-shoot. Lana wasn't being super-cooperative, but you'd never know based on how awesome the pictures turned out.


(pretty in pink)


(peek-a-boo! I see you!)

Lana + Two = FUN

On Saturday our girl turned two! She started the day by dragging her balloons and running though the house singing, "Happy day to you! Happy day to you!" And what a happy day it was!

Cousins, cupcakes, dancing and presents. What two-year old wouldn't love that? (click on collage to see pictures larger)

 

Some Lynden family were even able to make the trip across the state for the occasion, making the day extra special. It was great for us grown-ups to catch up with family we don't see often enough and Lana couldn't be happier than when she's included in whatever the big girls are doing (and kudos to the cousins who lovingly include her).

Lana's second year was definitely full of changes. She learned to walk and talk and (sort-of) tell knock-knock jokes. She's shown that she likes pink, sparkles, farm animals and pretending to take pictures while saying "cheeeeeese!" Her favorite songs are, "round and round" (Wheels on the Bus), "sing moon!" (Goodnight Moon), "sleepy bear" (a silly song I just made up one day) and "mommy Jesus" (I still haven't figured out what this song is, any ideas????). Through it all she is a delight and joy and I can only imagine what we have to look forward to in year three.

Only Three More Sleeps!

Then we will celebrate my baby girl's second birthday!

 

(Being only 24 months and all, Lana hasn't yet developed the reasoning and thought processes involved in getting excited for an event more than 20 minutes away so I've been getting excited for her, ya know, in case you couldn't tell.)

Outfished!

Since we've been married, Dan and I have made the Memorial Weekend at Henry's Lake Fishing Trip a pretty-much annual tradition. We happily embarked on the adventure as recent newlyweds and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. You can read about our first trip here (and yes, that picture was on our Christmas card that year). We skipped the next year because I was very, VERY pregnant and it would have been unwise to travel so far from home. However, the following year we had a great time at the cabin. You can read about it here. The important thing to remember about last year's trip is that I definitely caught the biggest fish of the trip. This has been an annoying thorn in the flesh to my subtle-yet-competitive husband.
Well Dan, you can relax, this trip you definitely outfished me, and here's the proof:

 

No only is his fish much larger, he caught three to my one.

Dan, my dad, my Grandpa Cy and I loaded up in the boat Saturday morning. It was the first day of fishing season on Henry's Lake and despite snow and low temperatures earlier in the week, we weren't about to miss fishing. I dunno if it was the cold or if our lures weren't all that attractive, but the fishing was tough. After a couple hours I had one on the line, but it got off on the reel-in. I sort-of redeemed myself by bringing in another, this time all the way to the cooler. It was a relief to finally get one in the boat. More time went by and we were all getting good and frustrated. My dad and grandpa were getting cold, but then the fun started. Within about 30-40 minutes, Dan caught three fish. It seemed like he would just get his pole in the water, and BAM! another hit. One of those fish came in at about 3.5 pounds, much larger than the measly 2-pounder I brought in.

Here's a picture of the whole family with the fish. No, Lana didn't go out on the boat with us (that'll have to wait a few years), but she did think the fish were pretty neat.

 

What do you think? Should we use this for our Christmas card this year?

Yellowstone National Park: A True American Treasure

One of the really neat things about our Memorial Weekend Fishing Trip tradition is the opportunity we have to visit Yellowstone National Park. My Grandpa Cy's cabin is less than 30 minutes from the west entrance, so there really is no excuse not to visit. Other years when we've gone sight-seeing, we've stopped at Old Faithful and walked around some of the sulfur pots. This time, with the cold and a nearly two-year old, we opted for different sights.

This time of the year, spring is usually well on it's way to making a home at Yellowstone, but this year it was apparent that winter is not letting go without a fight. It was cold and impaired any attempts of hiking, but oh so very beautiful.

 

We always are lucky enough to see bison and this year was no exception. We saw quite a few baby bison too. Once Lana got a good look at these enormous creatures, she couldn't get enough. She would get so excited and shout, "See bison! Hi bison!" Or she would be sad when we wouldn't see any for a while. "Where bison go? Want bison!"

 

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is certainly not to be missed. I had only seen it in the summertime and the different season sure gave me a new perspective. The waterfall is incredible. Here I tried to get Dan and Lana with the waterfall in the background. My husband and daughter look good, but this picture doesn't do justice to the beauty of the waterfall.

 

Here's a better one. Views like this are what postcards are made of. We actually braved the cold and walked out to a spot called Artist Point, which is appropriately named and certainly the best place to photograph the waterfall and the roaring river beneath.

 

Stay tuned for more about our day fishing. Alas, this year I got out-fished by Dan! I'll post the pictures to prove it.

Duathlon - In Words and Pictures

Well, last week I did something I never thought I would actually do. I competed in a duathlon! It was the Palouse River Duathlon (2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run). I'd set a goal for myself to do more running this year and compete in at least 2 5k races and 1 10 k race, adding the bike was not in my plans, but my friend/sis-in-law, Angela, encouraged me to give it a try. Once I told my race-loving dad about the event, he wanted to do it too, and I couldn't back out.

It was tough and I had a good time and I'm glad I did it. Here are some pictures.

Here we are, me and my dad, all happy and confident before the race.


Me and Angela with her brother-in-law, Rob. He ended up placing really highly and pretty much rocked the race. You can read more about Rob's race here.


Me and Angela coming in at the end of the first run. Look, we're both still upright and (sort-of) smiling!


Right after switching to the bike. I was hoping the first part of the bike course would allow me some rest after clocking in my fastest two-mile run in years (19:35-ish. I hadn't had a less-that ten minute mile in a race since high school cross country) but instead I had just enough time to catch my breath before hitting the first hill on the bike course. On the last hill, between mile 8 and 9, I completely geared wrong while climbing and threw my bike chain. I was frustrated and mad at myself for making such a stupid mistake and I was shaking so badly that I couldn't put the chain back on myself. Fortunately, a good Samaritan stopped and helped me with the chain, even though her own race suffered for it.


My dad leaving the bike area for the 10 mile ride. It was mostly gravel with some killer hills. It took me about an hour and 10 minutes to complete the course. My dad was faster than me - lots faster. The gravel and steep hills didn't seem to bother him. We were told there were four hills. I dunno who was doing the counting, but there were WAAAY more than four hills.


Here I am at the start of the final run. Tired, red-faced and running ugly, but still running.


Here's my dad, all done crossing the finish line. He did an awesome job, beating his goal time of 1:30.


And here I am. Finally within spitting distance of the finish line. My goal was 2 hours and I came in at 1:51. Woooo-hoooo! Yup, I felt as tired and awful as I looked, but dang, it was good to be done.

Like I said before, I had never done anything like this before. I didn't really know what to expect and a lot of people finished before I did. There were definitely some seasoned runners and bikers in the race that knew what they were doing and recorded some insanely fast times. One thing I so appreciated though, was even the been-there-done-that athletes were gracious and encouraging to beginners like me. I certainly never felt looked down upon because of my obvious lack of race experience, in fact, several of the more seasoned competitors could be seen at the finish line, cheering on other racers. When I crossed the finish line, I was being cheered on by people I didn't even know. What a neat community!

As far as I understand, the race director wants to make this an annual event. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in here's this years website. There's also a facebook page you can check out. I know I'll be there next year. How about you?

Apparently t-bone steaks are what we eat for Mother's Day

As is evidenced by these two photographs, taken exactly one year apart.

 

It's neat to see what has changed and what hasn't. Lana's face has thinned out and she's gotten a lot more hair. However, her carnivorous ways remain and we couldn't be happier.

Trip Down Memory Lane: Mother's Day Edition

Here's a bit of a Mother's Day letter I sent to my own mom this year. Why is it we never appreciate the sacrifices others make for us while we're living in the middle of it all? I guess a sense of reflection and a step back are required to fully take it all in. Oh, and enjoy the photos - they're done in the "Classic Scrapbook" style. Anyone else guilty of that?


Dear Mum,

I suppose one silver lining on the dark cloud of brain trauma and subsequent memory loss is that you forget all the crappy things your kids did (or didn’t do) for you on Mother’s Day.

Sorry Mom, but we were really rotten in the celebrating you/giving credit where it’s due department. One reason (aside from our own inattentiveness and lack of planning) was that we three kids showed livestock and our first show of the year always, always fell on Mother’s Day weekend.

Instead of spending the day at the spa or being taken out for a fancy brunch, you were busy helping us wash our animals, keeping our show times straight and searching for a lost grooming comb or show stick mere seconds before we entered the show ring. Other mothers received flowers and pedicures from their children while you helped yours clean up manure and scrape dirt off steer hooves. It wasn’t glamorous and we didn’t say thank you very often. You certainly deserved better.


If you ever wished you were somewhere else on those livestock show weekends, you never let it be known. You were the biggest supporter of each of us and did everything you could to ensure we were prepared to do the very best we could every time we entered the show ring. You were genuinely thrilled with us when we did well and offered comfort when we were frustrated with a poor performance. If it had been acceptable to wear a #1 FAN t-shirt and wave a foam finger, you would have willingly done so, all in the name of supporting and encouraging your children.


So this Mother’s Day, walk over to the trophy case in the front room. See those plaques, banners, certificates and trophies from several years of livestock shows? Imagine they’re engraved with the words that should be there. World’s Best Mom, Most Willing to Sacrifice for her Children, Best Supporter, and Least Thanked – Most Appreciated.


Happy Mother’s Day Mum! We love you very much and I promise, we’ll do better.