Auburn Wildfire

Yesterday, we were packing to spend three days on the coast at  Dancing Coyote Beach

 

We were married there, and love the whole Point Reyes National Seashore area.  We were going to take the kayaks, beach them in front of our cottage, and cool off from this awful heat wave.  Maybe some fresh oysters at Olema or Nick's....mmmmm.  


About 3 pm the sky.......... almost suddenly,  filled with an awful, low black smoke. It looked like a tornado was coming.  Garth took this photo from our backyard.  I went on the net and found out that there was a fire in town.

Then, we lost power (which, for us means  no cordless phone, a/c or water). We do have two corded phones and we received a reverse 911 call invoking mandatory evacuation.  Garth hitched up the trailer, we loaded some clothes, food, homeowner's insurance policy, passports (don't ask), medications, some jewelry, external hard drive, dog and cat food, cat box and Maggie and Missy.    We headed up I-80 and went to Ellen and Steve Johnson's house in Colfax and parked in their driveway ready to spend the night.  They had power, a/c, water....and most of all news!  At around 8:30 or so Garth determined that he was lifting our evacuation notice and we came home.  We started up the generator to get the refrigerator running and have a bit of light.  Power was restored somewhere  around midnight.  It is very hard for us to get our minds around all this. 

Here is where I am going for info. 

 

Now, here is the part that amazes me.  When you leave your home for what might be the last time, what do you take?   I have no idea why I took the passports, but..hey they are small.  On our way out the driveway, Garth stopped and ran back into the house and returned with a bunch of granola bars and a nice Cabernet Sauvignon  (good thinking).  My quilting friend, Elly, packed her new Janome and some quilts.  Since she was under voluntary evacuation, she and John and the pets eventually did not leave.  

What did I learn from all this?  First off, what is important to me:  my husband, my pets, the contents of my hard drive and a handful of jewelry.  Know your neighbors.  We live in the country, so that is almost a given.   Secondly:  You must have a cell phone that receives a signal where you are and a portable radio that can receive a signal.  We found that Garth's brother at Lake Tahoe and friends up in Colfax knew what was happening and we did not.  Had I not looked at the online news for those few minutes before we lost power, we would have been clueless and might have depended on rumor.   Finally:  take photos of items you own that are of value.    We are doing that this very day and will store them on a memory stick and online outside of the house.   Oh, and let's not forget that bottle of wine.

P.S.  By the way, I called to cancel our reservations this morning, and Janet at Dancing Coyote said she would send us a full refund.  That is another of the reasons we love this pretty place on the water.

quick and easy rack of lamb

We were out working on our river canoe skills today. On the way home we stopped at the market and bought a rack of lamb (already frenched), some red yams, parsnips & broccoli. This meal was prepped and ready to eat within 20 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 rack of lamb.
salt, to taste,
pepper, to taste

2 cups of red yams, 1 cup of parsnips, cut into small cubes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/2 lemon, juice of

Directions-

1. preheat BBQ to high. salt and pepper the rack of lamb and place on grill, cook, turning when brown and a few more time until an instant read thermometer reads, 125° F (about 15 minutes). take the lamb off the grill, tent it under some foil and let it sit for 5 minutes before cutting between the bones and serving.

2. toss the red yams, parsnips, chopped garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl, place in side a foil packet that you make and seal it shut. barbecue on high, turning the packet frequently for about 15 minutes.

3. Steam the broccoli for about 3 minutes. In a non stick skillet, sauté the garlic in the butter for a minute or so, add the steamed broccoli and toss and heat through. Add the lemon juice and toss and heat through for 30 seconds or so. remove from heat and serve.

Tangy, Cranberry and Mint Quinoa Salad

I have just finished making this to bring with me hiking this weekend. Quinoa is full of protein and all these fresh delicious ingredients will fuel my hiking and canoing adventures. My second mom made this for us last weekend. It was so tangy and delicious I asked her for the recipe. Like most moms she said, well you take some quinoa and cook it in some orange juice and water and then add some of this and some of that...... haha. I have given you measurements to how I made it. you can switch them around as much as you like.


Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa (pre rinsed)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup water
2/3 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup organic dried cranberries
1/2 cup celery, finely sliced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped fine
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped fine
1/2 lemon, zest of and juice of
1/3 cup walnuts, quickly chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the orange juice, water and quinoa in a med/large pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Stir once, cover and reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa has expanded to little swirls. stir, and set aside to cool.

2. Once the quinoa is cooled, add the celery, parsley, mint, red onion, lemon zest and juice, cranberries and walnuts. stir well to combine. add the olive oil and salt and pepper and stir again. refrigerates nicely for a couple of days.

Freddy Moran!

Yesterday was our Freddy Moran class. She was teaching the "Liberated Wedding Ring" technique. This is Freddy's quilt....Eighteen of us came at 10:00 am with our colorful scraps neatly folded and confined in their boxes and bags.....tidy workspaces.

A few hours later it looked like a technicolor fabric explosion.
The classroom was a fabulous mess!

Later, we had show and tell.....one of the gals had made a "Freddy's House" quilt with "Freddy's Garden" blocks....just look!! The quilt, the quilter with the lady herself. Some of us are still on a high from yesterday.







By the way, Freddy was talking about her visit to the Sisters, OR Outdoor Quilt Show
where she had an opportunity to connect with the quilters from Gee's Bend
who had quite an impact on her. This is a collection I truly crave to see. I am also trying to find a dvd of the documentary about these incredible women. Last month, Garth and I were driving through Ashland, OR in the late afternoon enroute to our B&B. We drove past the Southern Oregon University Museum and Library.....there was a banner on the wall that was advertising "The Quilts of Gee's Bend" exhibition. We had wi-fi where we were staying, so I went immediately online only to find that that very day was the last day of the show and it had closed. Someday!!

Pink Grapefruit Vinaigrette

Pair this dressing with delicate mild-flavored greens (like butter lettuce or green leaf lettuce) or even more robust greens (like spinach and romaine.) I simply threw the rest of the grapefruit on top and some walnuts. You could use oranges or a little stilton (if you eat dairy) , whatever you like. The lettuce is from my MIL's garden again. I brought home A TON of lettuce so I will be eating salads for the next few days. :)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. pink grapefruit juice
2 pink grapefruit segments (peeled)
1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp. shallot, finely minced
1/2 lime, juice of
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. cut off the skin and pulp of the grapefruit, Over a med bowl- using a sharp knife, cut between the section skins and free up the segments. Squeeze out the remaining juice and set aside.

2. Puree the grapefruit juice, 2 grapefruit segments, ginger, shallots and lime juice in a blender. add the olive oil and blend until well mixed. salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom 'Truffles'

4 Tbsp butter

1 clove elephant garlic

2 packed cups clean black trumpet mushrooms

2 packed cups chopped portobello stems

3/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp tawny port

3 cups juice from roasting mushrooms (you don't have this at home. sorry.)

1 tsp agar agar powder (equals 2 Tbsp flakes)

- secure bonbon molds with rubber bands and set in salt so that they are level

- in large saucepan sweat garlic in butter over low heat until very fragrant

- add portobello stems and 1/2 tsp salt; cover and sweat until portobellos are soft - about 8 minutes

- add black trumpet mushrooms and 1/2 tsp salt and continue to cook 8 more minutes

- add port and cook 1 minute

- add mushroom juice and simmer 5 minutes

- strain mushrooms and reserve liquid (2 1/2 cups)

- in a small saucepan bring reserved liquid and agar agar to a simmer, whisking often

- continue to simmer until reduced by 1/4 cup

- while still hot, puree this liquid with mushroom mixture in blender completely

- transfer to sauce funnel and fill bonbon molds; reserve extra liquid - it can be reheated to make a second batch

- chill completely and remove from molds

Chanterelles al Greco

5 lbs chanterelles

2 cups olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

5 tsp coriander seeds

1 bouquet garni

salt & pepper to taste

2 cups white wine

juice of 4 lemons

water as needed

- clean and trim the chanterelles as necessary; set aside

- in a large saucepan sweat the onion and coriander seeds in the olive oil over medium low heat until onions have softened

- add chanterelles and season with salt and pepper

- add remaining ingredients, adding water, if necessary, just enough to cover

- bring to a full boil, cover and remove from heat

- allow to cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally

- refrigerate overnight before serving