Stars and Stripes

For the America's Birthday this year we traveled north to the cabin in Wisconsin. The lake was amazingly low traffic and the boaters who were out were in full "4th" mode. I wish I had pictures of all the pontoons decorated with flags and streamers and ribbons. So much stuff that's it's surprise they had room for a beer cooler on the boats!

Every time we leave for the cabin I feel that we are packing for 3 weeks instead of three days. We have a cooler full of food, two smallish suitcases, bikes, games, the dog and all her toys, the new Duck Dog bed for the cabin, golf clubs, more food... *sigh* it's an adventure.

Mr. Mike had picked up a huge bag of cherries in our food preparation the week before. You have to prepare for the trip, because you never know what will be left up at the cabin. With three of our families trading weekends there's never a reliable stock (sorry guys but I used the last of the flour!)

So I made some 'stars and stripes' cherry turnovers...
And then a Cherry Pie...
There are still cherries left....

But there was more than baking with cherries this weekend. There was a lot of time spent on the deck playing yhatzee, cribbage, backgammon, cards, and bags.

There was a lot of time snoozing by the dog on her new cabin bed.

There was golf. There were trees, water hazards, and sand traps.

There was a bike ride.

And with all of our bike rides there was a pony. There's always a pony when we go out for a ride. I have no idea why.

Upside Down

Summer time is great for cool drinks and fruity desserts. I had a jar of canned currents left over from a cooking class and a pineapple that we never grilled up over the week. So I guess it was kind of enevitable. They were canned with sugar, cloves, and a bit of vinager to make them sweet and tangy.

The carmalized pineapple is a favorite of ours to make either sliced on the grill and served as a side to steaks or brushed with sugar and used as a topping on ice cream. Of course everything on the grill is a favorite. In the summer if we aren't grilling it's because it's raining out.

Some cool rain wouldn't be bad right now. It's in the 90's in Minnesota, full into the humid summers that contrast to the freezing winters. Maddie has gotten better about the heat. We used to wrap ice in a towl and lay it on the floor for her to sleep on. She was also a fan of snoozing directly over the vents behind the couches. Now she tolerates the walks and runs outside, but still has trouble with the really hot days. Her fur coat is made for the winter and she loves season, oh boy does she love it!



Pineapple Upside Down Cake
1 pineapple, sliced into hollowed circles
maraschino cherries or tart currents
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp butter

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk

Heat butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan till slightly carmalized. Add pineapples and heat through. Remove from heat, let cool, place in a pan and pour remaining carmalized sugar over top. Fill the hollow of the pineapple with cherries or currents.

Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and beat 1 minute. Pour batter over pineapples. Bake at 350°F for 20-40 min depending on pan size until a toothpick tested in the center is clean.

Let cool. Slice the top of the cake flat and flip over so that the pineapple is on top.

Weekenders

For Memorial Day weekend we headed up to my parents cabin in northern Wisconsin for a long weekend full of boating, fishing, biking, hicking, golfing, grilling, and everything else we could fit in.

We'd spent the previous week building a new 'Bags' set for the cabin. We tried to follow ACA standards and build the boards to a specific hight and weight the bags to an exact weight. While the boards worked out great, the bags done on my little house wife sewing machine burst after a few throws and I spent the rest of the weekend hand stiching the squares up before all the beans came flying out.

I will be ordering an industrial proof set this week.

We went on many walks with Maddie around the cabin and of course had to drive into Spooner and stop at the Bakery Shop and swing by the Natural Spring to fill up or water bottles before our bike trip. We had to search around for a place to ride but finally found a trail going behind some fields and into a woods that was peaceful and exciting to ride on.

Many of the spring flowers are opening up there. The woods are covered in white spots of Trillium flowers and there are some other little hidden flowers like wild violets and these forget-me-nots we fould on our walks...

It takes so little to amuse the puppers though. One floating log was all she cared about during our fishing trips (and about the only thing 'swimming' we saw)

A lot like Christmas

Oh yes, it's begining to look a lot like Christmas around our house. The stockings have been hung, the snow is falling, the tree in a box has been opened and the pine scented candle lit. Now ofcourse I would love to have a real tree, but our holiday schedule and the stay at home puppy just does not allow that.

The synthetic tree does have it's advantages. If that akward shapped ornament just won't fit between the branches, well bend the wires a little bit and now it does. Clean up is also a breeze. There aren't any annoying little needles laying around poking your slipperless feet. We still get to put lights up and hang all the decorations.

Christmas decorations we are not short on. Most of which I will admit are stolen from my mother. This year when I pulled out the boxes I was very surprised to realize how many there were. Each box brings a smile and a little excitment when it gets opened.

The Christmas house collection by Dept 56 is always fun for us to set up. The little elf houses have so much detail and cuteness that we just sit and stare at them, listing out our favorite peices. The new bookshelf that we had installed is a perfect place to showcase them.

The little pupy Madison wasn't quite sure what she thought of all the new items or the moving of all the furniture around. Like other dogs she believes that anything under 3 ft belongs to her and should not be meddled with.

She should enjoy the decorations. I've been collecting different Reindeer items now that we have a house to set up. Historically Finnish Lapphunds were bred to hunt and herd reindeer, but somehow they are just less interesting than the real deal.

The antique sleigh bells are slightly more fun since they make a fun noise and so do I when she noses them.

Now the next thing to make the holidays even closer are all the cookie exchanges.... bring on the sugar rush.

Pasta Puttanesca - The "scandalous" dish

Pasta Puttanesca… A delicious dish with a scandalous origin. It’s said that ‘loose’ women in Naples would cook this fragrant concoction from easily accessible ingredients in order to draw sailors in. Regardless, it is an incredibly simple dish to make with an abundance of flavor.

The original recipe calls for capers, but a genetic aversion to certain foods starting with the letter ‘c’ (ie: capers, cilantro, coconut, cloves) made me leave out the little green devils. I’ve also taken the time to make my own pasta. It always brings back memories with my sister growing up; stringing clothes hangers and clothes hangers full of fresh pasta. Once you get a knack for it, it really isn’t too bad of a process.

The focaccia bread was a new trial. I’ve been having a tough time getting my bread to rise recently, so I thought, ‘fine, I’ll just embrace the flat bread and go with that for awhile.’ Thankfully I found a lot of use for the loaf; I’ll post what the remainder turned into later.

Pasta Puttanesca
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly
3-4 anchovy fillets
10-12 Kalamata Olives, pitted and halved
1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, drained and slightly pureed
1/2 cup cream or milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp Rosemary
1/2 cup Feta cheese
1 pound spaghetti, cooked to al dente

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil and crushed pepper. Cook chicken breasts till done. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, cut into bite sized cubes. Add garlic, anchovies, and onions to previous pan. Sauté sauce until anchovies melt into oil and completely dissolve and onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add chicken, olives, tomatoes, cream, and rosemary. Bring sauce to a slow bubble, reduce heat, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes.

Add cooked fettucini pasta to the sauce with 1/4 cup of the Feta. Let cheese melt and pasta absorb some of the flavor. Serve with bread and more feta cheese.

Homemade Pasta

2 eggs

3 1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Knead all ingredients together on a flour dusted surface for 5 minutes until they form a ball which is not sticky. Wrap in plastic and let sit in refrigerator for another 1/2 hr. Using a pasta attachment or other tool roll out to 1/4 of an inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut into long strips or use fettuccini attachment. Let dry on a rack for 1/2 hr.

Bring a large pot of water with salt to a boil. Add pasta and stir, let boil for about 1-2 minutes or until pasta floats. Strain.

* A fury little kitchen helper is not required to gaurd the pasta.

Caramelized Onion Foccacia
6 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon fine salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1/4 cup rosemary, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the onions: In a large skillet, over medium heat, add 2 tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until caramelized and brown, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and let cool.

For the dough: Using large bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and warm water together. Let sit until the yeast has risen. Add 2 tbsp of the olive oil, salt and flour. Mix dough until it starts to form and come together. Oil the bowl with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn once, covering with the oil. Cover the bowl with towl and place in a warm, draft free place until the dough doubles in size about 1/2 - 1 hour. Spray grease a 9x9 inch baking pan. Punch the dough down and press the dough out into the pan, using a small wooden spoon handle (or your finger) push small depressions into the dough.

Brush the dough with remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle the dough with kosher salt and black pepper. Spread onions over the bread evenly. Sprinkle with the rosemary. Bake the dough for 30 to 35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Let cool on a rack. Slice and serve.

Little House on the Lake

Growing up in northern Wisconsin my younger sister, brother, and I had free range of the woods, lake, and other wildlife. We would wake up to loons crying through the mist, spend our day learning from our Homeschooled books, and fall asleep reading Little House on the Prairie.

There are some things in life that are only available in rural areas. The farmers stands along side the road being one and fresh spring water another. Only locals know of the springs. There is no google link you can click on with reviews. There are no signs pointing to the well worn trail that leads into the woods. And no water quite like it. These memories are part of my life and make me who I am today.


Although my family has moved just a little south now, we still have land and a cabin on that same lake. It has lovingly been named 'Blueberry' for the wild berry bushes that grow there. Every changing of the season brings a new reason to travel north.


Our puppy, Madison, especially enjoys the trips. Oh the smells and sounds that are up at the cabin!

The lake is especially fun for all the dogs. Our old family black labrador, Ranger, carried shore rocks up with him on every jump off the dock, while my parents current yellow lab, Dexter, just enjoys flying off the dock until he's too tired to swim back.

Madison however is not a swimmer and prefers to catch floating acorns in the shallows.

Cooking anything at the cabin can be a challenge. The limited pots and pans, some with dents, is always an adventure.

Fresh fish are also not so easy to prepare, as you have to catch them first. Something we practice rain or shine with a smile.

Welcome to BlogLand

With the changing of the seasons we tend to look inside, start preparing for winter, and in my case... start a blog.
After viewing eye candy in blog land for over a year I will attempt to add my sugar and spice to the mix. I hope it turns out well :)



I tend to follow 3 different paths in my life.

1) Job big or small, do it right or not at all. I attribute this to my father who said it often in my childhood. If you have a task, do it to the best of your ability, every time.

2) Practice makes perfect. Although you might not get things 'right' the first time you can always learn, always grow, and always ask for help.

3) Be healthy and happy. Good food and a healthy life will take you far, but a little fat never hurt anyone either! As my sister likes to say 'It's the holidays, add more butter.'