via sevenspoons
You can find the detailed recipe and directions here. Note, I would recommend eating this only after some hard exercise!!! :)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Frozen Eton Mess
You can find the detailed recipe and directions here. Note, I would recommend eating this only after some hard exercise!!! :)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Happenings
We've been in Loma Linda for a month, and in that time, we've done a lot of cooking, too much buying, and some fun exploring. We've made some new friends, became reacquainted with old ones, and are continuing to discover that our best friend is the one we wake up next to each morning. :)
In general, California has some nice things to offer. Warm weather, a long growing season, fresh oranges from the backyard tree, lots of fresh fruit and produce, and our first home.
But let me tell you, I've never seen a place with so many streets called "Orange Ave", "Orange St", "Orange Blvd", etc. And "Citrus St" with all it's variations is just as bad! I have yet to come across "Lemon Lane". When I do, I just might look for real estate along its delicious curbs.
One thing we've noticed is that Loma Linda rarely has clouds. In fact, it had been several weeks and we hadn't remembered seeing any. That's right, not a one! So imagine my surprise one morning when I was walking out to water "the babies" (That's what we call the plants in our little garden.) and I was faced with this:
Not only were there clouds, but they were separated from the clear blue sky in a very straight line. It was amazing! I couldn't get a full picture but the line of clouds went across the whole sky!
Food
I've been experimenting with several of types of breads. Our toaster oven, wonderful though it is, is too short to tolerate fully risen breads in a normal bread pan. The top comes out scorched because it's so high. So I've been experimenting with artisan free-form breads. This was my first attempt. The texture and taste needed some work but at least it looked nice! :) If you have any bread suggestions, send me an e-mail or leave a comment and I'll be sure to try it!
We can get lots of fruits and veggies for pretty cheap. The avocados on our tree out back haven't ripened yet, but we are eagerly awaiting the day that they do!
Yesterday I wanted to make a special treat so I assessed our limited supplies and found this recipe for Blueberry Crumb Bars. (Don't worry mom, I made the recipe quite a bit healthier). All in all, it was pretty tasty. If you decide to give it a go, I would recommend ice cream or something creamy to go with it. It can be a little dry (but that's probably because I didn't follow the directions to a T.) I also got a chance to use the awesome grater that Aunt Lyn gave us.
Garden
There are raised beds in the back, and we decided to start a garden. God blessed us with 8 free tomato plants to get things started. (I went to a nursery to get some vegetable plants and they only had a few withered ones left. The nice lady said I could have them for free!) We weren't sure if all the tomatoes were going to make it but they did and are now doing splendidly!
Here is our garden before planting and one little withered tomato plant!
We also got this little peppermint plant for free. Barry and I affectionately called him "Pepper Baby". We planted him in a pot outside our door and tried to take meticulous care of him. But he didn't make it, and we were very sad. Wasn't he pretty though?
In general, California has some nice things to offer. Warm weather, a long growing season, fresh oranges from the backyard tree, lots of fresh fruit and produce, and our first home.
But let me tell you, I've never seen a place with so many streets called "Orange Ave", "Orange St", "Orange Blvd", etc. And "Citrus St" with all it's variations is just as bad! I have yet to come across "Lemon Lane". When I do, I just might look for real estate along its delicious curbs.
One thing we've noticed is that Loma Linda rarely has clouds. In fact, it had been several weeks and we hadn't remembered seeing any. That's right, not a one! So imagine my surprise one morning when I was walking out to water "the babies" (That's what we call the plants in our little garden.) and I was faced with this:
Food
I've been experimenting with several of types of breads. Our toaster oven, wonderful though it is, is too short to tolerate fully risen breads in a normal bread pan. The top comes out scorched because it's so high. So I've been experimenting with artisan free-form breads. This was my first attempt. The texture and taste needed some work but at least it looked nice! :) If you have any bread suggestions, send me an e-mail or leave a comment and I'll be sure to try it!
We can get lots of fruits and veggies for pretty cheap. The avocados on our tree out back haven't ripened yet, but we are eagerly awaiting the day that they do!
Our little oven can make a pizza! Yaaayyyy!!!
Yesterday I wanted to make a special treat so I assessed our limited supplies and found this recipe for Blueberry Crumb Bars. (Don't worry mom, I made the recipe quite a bit healthier). All in all, it was pretty tasty. If you decide to give it a go, I would recommend ice cream or something creamy to go with it. It can be a little dry (but that's probably because I didn't follow the directions to a T.) I also got a chance to use the awesome grater that Aunt Lyn gave us.
There are raised beds in the back, and we decided to start a garden. God blessed us with 8 free tomato plants to get things started. (I went to a nursery to get some vegetable plants and they only had a few withered ones left. The nice lady said I could have them for free!) We weren't sure if all the tomatoes were going to make it but they did and are now doing splendidly!
Here is our garden before planting and one little withered tomato plant!
Here is our garden now!
We have 8 tomato plants, 4 basil plants, 1 pepper plant, 1 mint plant, 1 yellow squash, and 1 melon plant. There are a few more raised beds that aren't being used so we are hoping to plant an herb garden too!
Hiking
An old friend of mine from Southern lives here, and she has gone overboard in making us feel welcome and showing us around. We went hiking with her two Sabbaths ago and found a neat spot for further explorations (as long as one has a semi-off-roadable car....). We've also had fun going to thrift stores and canning pears that were on a ridiculously good sale.
Hiking
An old friend of mine from Southern lives here, and she has gone overboard in making us feel welcome and showing us around. We went hiking with her two Sabbaths ago and found a neat spot for further explorations (as long as one has a semi-off-roadable car....). We've also had fun going to thrift stores and canning pears that were on a ridiculously good sale.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Orphan Words
Jackie posted about this awesome project that Oxford is conducting to increase the usage and comprehension of English words that are quickly becoming extinct.
In their words, "Each year hundreds of words are dropped from the English language. Old words, wise words, hard-working words. Words that once led meaningful lives but now lie unused, unloved, and unwanted."
I have adopted two words:
1. Antipelargy - reciprocal kindness or love (especially the love children have for their parents)
2. Phylactology - the science of counter-espionage
By adopting a word, participants agree to try to use these words frequently in written and spoken conversation. I think I'll be able to use the first one but the 2nd one??? How often do you need to discuss "the science of counter-espionage"?"
Would you like to adopt an orphan word? You can go to www.savethewords.org to get started!
In their words, "Each year hundreds of words are dropped from the English language. Old words, wise words, hard-working words. Words that once led meaningful lives but now lie unused, unloved, and unwanted."
I have adopted two words:
1. Antipelargy - reciprocal kindness or love (especially the love children have for their parents)
2. Phylactology - the science of counter-espionage
By adopting a word, participants agree to try to use these words frequently in written and spoken conversation. I think I'll be able to use the first one but the 2nd one??? How often do you need to discuss "the science of counter-espionage"?"
Would you like to adopt an orphan word? You can go to www.savethewords.org to get started!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Yosemite
Apparently Barry and I have an addiction for traveling because after a few days of settling in Barry said to me, "Christy, it's time to go somewhere. I'm tired of being in one place". So we packed up and headed north for PUC in Angwin, CA. We spent Friday evening and Sabbath visiting Barry's Aunt Margo and Grandparents. Then we spent Sabbath evening with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins in Sacramento.
After getting some good family time in, we decided to head to Yosemite National Park for a day. We were only there long enough to get a feeling for the place but the feeling we got was good, very good. We plan to head back there for some extended backpacking. The backcountry is spectacular!
Here are a few pictures :)
Barry in front of El Capitan
Half-dome on the left
After getting some good family time in, we decided to head to Yosemite National Park for a day. We were only there long enough to get a feeling for the place but the feeling we got was good, very good. We plan to head back there for some extended backpacking. The backcountry is spectacular!
Here are a few pictures :)
Barry in front of El Capitan
Half-dome on the left
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Peaches and Barry
Barry is doing clinical rotations right now so he's actually home quite a bit without a lot of homework or studying to do. It's been really nice because we've been able to do a lot of things together such as canning and gardening.
It's peach season here and we've been enjoying it. We found a place to get good deals on fresh fruit and produce so we got 2 boxes of peaches and a box of nectarines. Two days ago we canned 11 quarts of peaches and this evening we're going to can some peach and nectarine sauce.
Isn't he handsome? My grammy and I especially like the crinkles around his eyes. They go nicely with my Grampie's bow tie :)
Monday, August 09, 2010
Arrival!
We left Zion National Park on a Sunday morning, the 25th of July. We traveled through Nevada but my camera was on a funny setting when I tried to take a picture of the welcome sign so I decided to create my own out of the blurry picture that ensued :)
Aaah... the sign we've been dreaming of for 4,000 miles...
Traffic on I-15 was ridiculous so we took a back road to cross over to I-40. Along that back road we found this little Post Office so we dropped off some thank you letters that we'd been writing. We wish we'd taken pictures of the other Post Offices that we stopped at along our way because most of them were literally in the middle of NOWHERE. We liked them :)
When we arrived, we were so grateful to be home that we didn't even think to take a picture or check the mileage! We felt terrible about this afterwards but I'm sure you can understand our plight. Instead, Barry put together this awesome map detailing our trip. We realized that, if you include our honeymoon, we have traveled from the most northeasterly location of North America to almost the most southwesterly spot of the U.S.
This route is 4,458.96 miles long but we ended up traveling much more than that because of our travels at each location.
Here are the stops we made:
A= Meat Cove, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
B=Harpswell, Maine (Barry's home)
C=South Lancaster, Massachusetts (Christy's home)
D=Mount Airy, Maryland (Christy's Grammie's home)
E=Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
F=Wewoka Woods Adventist Center (Oklahoma campmeeting with the Fisher Family)
G=Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
H=Arches National Park (Moab, Utah)
I=Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
J=Zion National Park, Utah
K=Loma Linda, California!!!!!!!!
Here are pictures that correspond with each stop.
And all the welcome signs (we missed some between Massachusetts and West Virginia)
We had a great time and saw many beautiful places, but we're very glad to be here! Barry started Medical school last Thursday and I am looking for a nursing job. Stay tuned for two more posts on our trip: a panorama picture post and a video blog!
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Zion National Park
We spent 3 nights at Zion and absolutely enjoyed it. Thursday and Friday nights were spent in the campground because all backcountry permits have to be made by reservation. This was our view :)
On Friday morning we awoke early to go stand in line to try and get a backcountry permit for Sabbath night (you can get them a day in advance). We arrived at about 6:20 am, which we thought was pretty early since the permit office didn't even open until 7 am. But there was already a long line at the window. Thankfully, most of those in front of us were trying to get day permits for slot canyon canyoneering. We only wanted a permit to backpack the West Rim, which is apparently much less popular, so we got our permit without a problem.
After securing our permit, we decided to day hike the Narrows, which is a famous and wildly popular slot canyon with the Virgin River running through it. Most of the canyon is very narrow, wide enough only for the river to flow through. Therefore, the only hiking path is the river itself. We certainly picked the right day to do it; temperatures outside the canyon reached well above 100 F. Apparently that's what everyone else decided to do as well and the canyon was quite packed for a while. However, once we got a ways up the river, the people thinned out and we enjoyed a wonderful cool hike sloshing through the Virgin River. I (Christy) slipped a number of times and managed to get myself thoroughly soaked.
After our return down the river, we found a really awesome swimming spot with small waterfalls on either side of it that dammed it up. It was quite deep and there were nice large rocks in the middle to sit on. We were too busy climbing up the waterfalls and jumping off the rocks to take pictures, which I now regret. Sorry!
The next morning we awoke early to catch the 6:30 shuttle bus to our trailhead and to avoid the heat of the day. We climbed over 50 switchbacks (yes, I counted. And the reason I don't know the exact number is because Barry and I couldn't decide on the exact definition of a switchback.) up the canyon wall to reach the base of Angel's landing, a large tower of rock that reaches out into the Canyon. We dropped our packs at the base and scrambled up the rather precarious trail to the top of Angel's landing. Thankfully, metal cables had been installed and they were very helpful. We don't have a picture of Angel's landing itself but we do have some pictures from the top. Here's one of Barry and I. (More panorama pictures are coming in a later post).
We got back to our packs to discover that some rather nosy Chipmunks had gotten in to my (Christy's) pack in search of food. Instead of taking the easy route through the openings, they had decided to do things the hard way and chew their way through. Thankfully the holes weren't large and will be easily repaired in all of my spare time while I look for a job here in CA. :)
We continued on past Angel's landing for about 5 more miles. Once the sun broke through the clouds which had mercifully hid the worst of the heat since sunrise, things began to really heat up. We had brought lots of water though and we stopped often for water breaks. Part of the trail had been blasted right into the edge of the canyon wall. It was the only way up and quite impressive.
At the top of the mesa was a spring where we filtered some water to replenish our almost depleted water supply. This was the only water source in the area so we filled up with as much as we could. We hiked about 3 miles further to our campsite. Despite the fact that the hiking distance wasn't actually very far, the hike took us well into the afternoon due to the heat and amount of elevation we were gaining.
We were super glad to arrive at our campsite and, after eating a hearty meal, we set up our tent to ward off an approaching thunderstorm. Mind you, we were on top of a mesa on one of the highest points around. It was quite spectacular, to say the least. From the opening of our tent, we watched thunder and lightening converge on us from three sides. Thankfully, it seemed to skirt around us a bit, and we both fell asleep in our tent while waiting for it to pass.
That evening we enjoyed a beautiful sunset before hitting the sack for an early morning hike out.
The next morning we hiked out (which took noticeably less time) and started our final day of driveing to Loma Linda, CA.
On Friday morning we awoke early to go stand in line to try and get a backcountry permit for Sabbath night (you can get them a day in advance). We arrived at about 6:20 am, which we thought was pretty early since the permit office didn't even open until 7 am. But there was already a long line at the window. Thankfully, most of those in front of us were trying to get day permits for slot canyon canyoneering. We only wanted a permit to backpack the West Rim, which is apparently much less popular, so we got our permit without a problem.
After securing our permit, we decided to day hike the Narrows, which is a famous and wildly popular slot canyon with the Virgin River running through it. Most of the canyon is very narrow, wide enough only for the river to flow through. Therefore, the only hiking path is the river itself. We certainly picked the right day to do it; temperatures outside the canyon reached well above 100 F. Apparently that's what everyone else decided to do as well and the canyon was quite packed for a while. However, once we got a ways up the river, the people thinned out and we enjoyed a wonderful cool hike sloshing through the Virgin River. I (Christy) slipped a number of times and managed to get myself thoroughly soaked.
After our return down the river, we found a really awesome swimming spot with small waterfalls on either side of it that dammed it up. It was quite deep and there were nice large rocks in the middle to sit on. We were too busy climbing up the waterfalls and jumping off the rocks to take pictures, which I now regret. Sorry!
The next morning we awoke early to catch the 6:30 shuttle bus to our trailhead and to avoid the heat of the day. We climbed over 50 switchbacks (yes, I counted. And the reason I don't know the exact number is because Barry and I couldn't decide on the exact definition of a switchback.) up the canyon wall to reach the base of Angel's landing, a large tower of rock that reaches out into the Canyon. We dropped our packs at the base and scrambled up the rather precarious trail to the top of Angel's landing. Thankfully, metal cables had been installed and they were very helpful. We don't have a picture of Angel's landing itself but we do have some pictures from the top. Here's one of Barry and I. (More panorama pictures are coming in a later post).
We got back to our packs to discover that some rather nosy Chipmunks had gotten in to my (Christy's) pack in search of food. Instead of taking the easy route through the openings, they had decided to do things the hard way and chew their way through. Thankfully the holes weren't large and will be easily repaired in all of my spare time while I look for a job here in CA. :)
We continued on past Angel's landing for about 5 more miles. Once the sun broke through the clouds which had mercifully hid the worst of the heat since sunrise, things began to really heat up. We had brought lots of water though and we stopped often for water breaks. Part of the trail had been blasted right into the edge of the canyon wall. It was the only way up and quite impressive.
At the top of the mesa was a spring where we filtered some water to replenish our almost depleted water supply. This was the only water source in the area so we filled up with as much as we could. We hiked about 3 miles further to our campsite. Despite the fact that the hiking distance wasn't actually very far, the hike took us well into the afternoon due to the heat and amount of elevation we were gaining.
We were super glad to arrive at our campsite and, after eating a hearty meal, we set up our tent to ward off an approaching thunderstorm. Mind you, we were on top of a mesa on one of the highest points around. It was quite spectacular, to say the least. From the opening of our tent, we watched thunder and lightening converge on us from three sides. Thankfully, it seemed to skirt around us a bit, and we both fell asleep in our tent while waiting for it to pass.
That evening we enjoyed a beautiful sunset before hitting the sack for an early morning hike out.
The next morning we hiked out (which took noticeably less time) and started our final day of driveing to Loma Linda, CA.
P.S. We've been here in CA for about 2 weeks now and Barry posted a blog over at www.barryandchristy.wordpress.com showing some things we've been up to :)
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