Lost and Found

Over Christmas, some friends back in Maine told us about a "lost" trail that they used to hike when they lived here about ten years ago.  At that time, it had been closed by the rangers and was no longer on any of the current maps.  Their stories of a beautiful creek, deserted trail, and cool summer weather really drew us in.  But there was one problem, they couldn't remember exactly where it was; all they knew was the general area and the name of the creek. 

Earlier this year (first 3 pictures) we decided to go in search of it.  First, we did some research.  But other than one obscure picture with a GPS coordinate and a google earth map of the area, we didn't come up with much.  We decided to give it a shot anyway; the lure of a lost trail was just too much!  

Once we were in the general area, we were discouraged to discover that there was much more snow than we had anticipated.  This would make lost trail hunting rather difficult!  We set off, wandering far beyond our actual destination and debating liberally about where this illusive trail might begin.  Eventually we heard a rushing creek and began to follow deer trails along the top edge of a very steep ravine.  We finally discovered an unmarked, well-traveled path that led down, down, down to the creek. It was a beautiful spot, and very chilly!  We followed a stomped down trail for a short ways, but then the tracks in the snow gave out.  We were at a loss to know where the trail continued.  After searching around for a while, we concluded that this was definitely a possibility, but we would need to return when there was less snow in order to make sure.  On the way back, we discovered a much more direct and obvious trail that led right back to the car.   We had ignored it on the way in because we thought it was to soon to be what we were looking for.

Last Sabbath we returned to follow the trail further.  And we can now say that we have "found" the "lost" trail!  No, I'm not going to say where it is.  But if you come visit, we'll give you a personal tour!  It's an incredible stream with lots of small waterfalls and beautiful scenery.  The trail was hard to pick out at times due to lack of upkeep and fallen trees but that made it all the more interesting.  We definitely plan to return in the summer when we can enjoy the water more.  Here is a few pictures from our hike.

Wholegrain Bagels

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Step One - Dough!

Step Two - Form the Bagels

 Step Three - Rising Time

Step Four - Boil

Step Five - Toppings!

Step Six - Bake and Consume!

Notes: 

• 100% Whole Wheat with sesame and poppyseed topping.
• Recipe found in Peter Reinhart's Wholegrain Breads.
• DELICIOUS and easy!  Already planning the next batch!

Neat finds

1. Wow...


2. Eagle Mom and Dad with their three eaglets!


3. This awesome wooden puzzle:

4. Beautiful wooden plates!

5. This Radiolab on the topic of music

6. An interesting blog about gardening and DIY.  Check out these two posts:

Heirloom Plants

DIY Philosophy

Oh!  And one more... You've got to check out this adorable, beautiful, priceless book.  Barry and I are going to be just like that when we are 90! :) :)

Bob and Rose by Millicent Harvey | Make Your Own Book

Enjoy!

No-bake Strawberry Tarts with Vanilla Cream Filling!

I had some leftover cream cheese from the Buckeyes, along with some fresh strawberries from the Redlands farmer's market that were getting a bit withered in the fridge.  I had planned to make these little tarts to use everything up but I haven't been feeling well and was pretty tired.  I don't usually make desserts when I'm sick (in fact, the last couple of posts about desserts are really an anomaly.  I don't actually make desserts all that often.) but I needed to use the cream cheese and strawberries up.  What's a girl to do? ;)

But then Becky Carlton showed up and provided more than enough energy to get the job done.  The  filling was so good that we were snacking on strawberries dipped in the extra cream sauce during the whole process!  Once prepared, these are best eaten the day of making them.  But the filling and topping hold well in the fridge if you want to prepare it ahead of time.

No-bake Strawberry Tarts with Vanilla Cream Filling
Makes 4-5 small tarts

Crust

9 graham crackers, crushed

4 Tbsp margarine, melted

(If you run out of graham crackers or don't have any, blend a mixture of nuts and skip the butter.  It works perfectly and tastes wonderful.  I happened to have some graham crackers this time so I used them instead.)

Creamy Filling

2 blocks tofu

4 oz Cream Cheese (that happened to be the amount I had left.  Use whatever you've got or not at all.)

Scant 1/4 cup sugar

Juice of 1/2 a meyer lemon

1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring (or the seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean pod)

Strawberry Sauce

1 cup strawberries, washed and hulled

Sugar, to taste (We used only a tablespoon because our strawberries were so sweet.)

Juice from 1/2 a meyer lemon

Garnish

Sliced strawberries

Mint leaves

Directions:

• Mix crushed graham crackers and butter in a bowl and press into small tart pans to create a firm crust. 
• Blend tofu, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in blender until smooth.  Pour into prepared tart crusts.  Smooth with spatula or spoon.
• Blend strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a blender until smooth.  Pour over top of the creamy filling in the tarts.
• Garnish with sliced strawberries and mint leaves.
• Chill & enjoy!

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Beanilla.