What we did today...

I felt very accomplished in my day today. I felt as if we had a lot to do an I think we were able to complete about 95% of it.

We cleaned up the backyard...hauled a bunch of stuff away...painted the picnic table(a fun color)...performed a menu tasting and completed Elliot's birthday shopping.

It was a good day. Nothing special, just good.


Yep its aqua. I love color, my husband is more conservative so I decided asserting my likes on my picnic table was probably safe.

These are the benches I left the stained legs...I kind of like it this way. I am open for opinion.


In other news the boy in the house is turning 9 and he wanted a skateboard. Yep, I bought a skateboard for my son....need I repeat. How does this happen. As you can see I bought the matching pads for safety:)

On Thursday the husband and I went on a little date to one of my favorite places in Bellingham, The Fork.....yummers I had the lamb....a direct quote from my good friend the Brewer,"Baby animals are the best." Let it be known.


On Friday we had silent reading time outside after lunch. I think it was the one nice sunny day;) The kids have been wonderful to have home. They are practically inseparable, which warms the moms heart.


And that catches you up. We had a great Fathers Day it was low key.

Menus For Next Week

I have a tasting on Monday....for a wedding in October.

I also have another dinner in the moo on Friday....Yay!

Here is the menu.

Menu

Appetizer
Crostini topped with goat cheese and a rhubarb chutney garnished with fresh thyme and drizzled with a balsamic reduction

Salad Course
Fattoush Green Salad – Filled with herbs, local lettuce greens, cucumber, tomato topped with a lemony mint vinaigrette

Main Course
Poached Salmon topped with fresh crab, and shrimp topped with a herbed shrimp béchamel served with local fresh and organic sautéed and roasted veggies
Paired with a lovely stack of baby potatoes cooked slowly and infused with garlic ad thyme

Dessert
Chocolate Silk Pie with a traditional graham cracker crust

Pretty straight forward but oh so exciting. The Salmon recipe is a new one for me. I have fiddled with it much over the the last two weeks and achieved something oh so lovely with it. And the chocolate silk pie was requested...people that request such things are the cats meow for me.

And Thats that.

Guess what else happens next week. The little man turns nine....yep 9, holy cow!

Food Pics From The Moo.

So heres a pic of the aforementioned stacked crab salad. Its a bit of a pain but delicious and beautiful so I find a way to manage through it;)


Something about these plates I really love. She has a whole set of them.

What you see in there....Crab, avocado, mango, tomatoes, strawberries, tomatoes, red onion, and sprouts. Topped with a ginger lime dressing. Its to die for.

These are my herb cream stuffed Spring Peas. Wrapped with none other than a delicate sliver of prosciutto. Its amazing how much flavor these little bites punch. They are a fan favorite.


And there you be. I have two more jobs scheduled out there in the next three weeks. I am so over the moon thankful to be able to use my gifts. And believe it or not surprised every time I book a new job. Its as exhilarating as the first jog I ever booked.

Next weeks job involves replicating an old family recipe of my clients...this is risky business pray that I do it justice. It also includes chocolate silk pie for dessert, per client request oh I love old time favorites they hold a special place in my heart.

Picture Heavy...I'll add captions.

We had a great weekend. It was almost as if we had escaped to a faraway island. We just wiped the slate clean and forgot about house projects the yards and life in general. And let me tell you it was fabulous.

We spent most of our time building a fort for the kids in the woods and clearing out spots for tent sites with my Dad. Like I said we like to camp up there over the summer and have been known to invite friends to camp with us. So there are three spots now that just need some leveling. If you would like to join us sometime let us know;)

If you are lucky, you are Elliot and you have a guy or two that can help you cut down some trees to collect branches to camouflage your fort. My Dad loves to get out his chainsaw. This post may increase your knowledge of us being fairly backwoods....judge on judgers:)




Also if you are Elliot you have a Graden Tractor fitted with a hitch that is perfect for hauling large loads of branches and the like.


Can you spy Elliot? Its a pretty great fort extremely hidden. The kids just loved it.

Every good hideout needs its own firepit.


And every good camp site has a cedar bench. Elliot's got a guy for that too....


This is what we call a redneck parade...

No one better leave me comments about safety. My kids wear helmets on their bikes...thats safety enough in my book:)

This kid is getting way to big. Is it just me or does he look about 13 in this picture.



This may be the best picture ever. I just wish the other two cousins had been there. I may have to photoshop them in.

The rest of my time was spent reading overlooking the pond and playing with the Josher. He's walking now you know, although he seems to think it is highly over rated with all of us around to carry him around....

We all slept in the tent trailer for the weekend, I think Grace loved it the most. The dogs loved it the least:)

We decide on a roadtrip to the Redwoods in Northern CA for vacation this year. I am very excited. Should be an adventure in many ways.

Camping Confessional

I love to Camp. Like really camp in a tent on the hard ground. I like to wake up with a scratchy throat from the oh to fresh air. I like to be cold and frosty at night. I don't require much. I like a flush toilet, but a shower can be optional depending on length of the trip if theres running water or a lake. Its in my blood its in my roots....I love to camp. There is nothing like camping its so simple and wonderful.

When my parents were my age about 20 years ago...yep. They bought a 1960 something tent trailer. My mom had arthritis real bad and couldn't sleep on the ground anymore. But let me tell you it had no electricity, propane hook up, lights, nothing it was an aluminum box with two mattresses and a smallish cabinet for dry goods. It was modest and lovely and was made out of the most wonderful shade of camping green canvas. Do you think us kids were allowed to sleep in that thing. Heck no! Actually correction, once my brother and I's tent was infested with deer flies and my parents let us sleep in their lovely little house to allow our tent proper fumigation, and one other time we were tenting at the wonderful Silver Lake and what would you it poured down rain;) My brother and I had a literal river flowing throw the middle of our sleeping bags so for one night we were allowed to sleep in the trailer to allow our sleeping bags to "dry." No less I have wonderful memories of the tent trailer and on special occasions my Dad would haul it out for sleepovers. WEll in recent years the tent trailer has been on its last legs and to open it up it takes much prying and nursing and jostling and my dad has been the only one to be able to open it up and so started it quick demise.

Ove the years Brain has talked about getting a trailer...although I can appreciate trailers and the luxury and comfort they promise, I am so not a trailer camper. So his dreams slowly softened into mentioning a tent trailer. This I could get behind. By the way it took a good two weeks for my body to recover from camping in the tent last year. I hate to admit it but my arthritis did get the best of me and my hips were in much pain. But back to the dreams of the hubdub. We have strict rules int his house. All extra purchases must be paid for in cash, so that we can truly enjoy them. Things must be able to be just that things and we always buy used. It can be a hard pill to swallow sometimes but in the end it has provided us with ease and less stress and it works for us. I thought possibly all the parameters would stall the find but Brian got his wish. My sisters neighbors had a tent trailer and put it up for sale. And it was within our price range so after looking at it with my Dad they decided they wanted to buy it too and since they only camp one week out the year sharing seemed like the perfect plan. So we now are proud co-owners of a-wait for it- 1980 coleman tent trailer. Complete with state stickers emblazoned across its backside.


She is a real beaut.

Thats That Grace reading the newspaper at the table.

The tent trailer came with some stipulations. I am quite ritualistic about a few things when we are camping. One of the things is my kitchen. When we camp I set up my "kitchen" at the picnic table the same way every time. I have done this for the last 10 years and I plan on doing it the same way for the next 10. We eat outside period! May seem funny and weird but its how I roll, I like the challenge, I like the simplicity. And the other stipulation is that I can do some updating. Nothing to complicated just some new drapes and things. If you want to see a real makeover you should check out The Vintage Dutch Girl. She is amazing!

So I was thinking....


We should be using this thing this weekend. Bum deal is I got some Sunday responsibilities. But since my parents property is like a park, we decided to just go camp up there.

So I am packing our bags and we are going to make the long trek up the mountain;) I have packed the kids sleeping bags. And my grandparents camping quilt that has been passed down and down and down. It is one of my prized possessions. Its made of the craziest polyester fabric scarps and the softest cotton creates the backing. It is super heavy and I love that it is stil be used for what it was intended for. We are also bringing hot dogs and smore stuff.


Did I mention we have camping companions as well.

Yep the Josher is bringing his family too.

Should be fun. Cheers to a summer full of possibilities and new adventures!

Menu for tomorrow.

I'm back in the Moo tomorrow....Yay!

Appetizer - Spring Peas stuffed with Herbed Cream wrapped with prosciutto

Salad- A repeat - Stacked crab salad - by request

Dinner - Signature Salmon -Yep I have one of those
Sautéed Broccoli Raab and other assorted greens (hard to decide until you ge to the veggie stand)
Israeli CousCous with cherries and arugula topped with a light orange vinaigrette

Dessert - Ricotta Tart topped with a fresh strawberry compote.


Thats it for tomorrow.

But tonight is a celebration for a new Dr. in our midst. Our bro Jordo is now a Dr. folks. So to celebrate the good Dr. we are having an extremely heart healthy meal of chicken and waffles with mac and cheese and wilted greens. Thats right suckers thats how we do around here sometimes. And it will be darn good!

Congratulations Dude we are over the moon happy for you!

Cheers to Good Food, Good Friends, and Good Times - wether you share a meal over a pizza or filet mignon may it be a good one.

Sometimes....

Sometimes our days call for a wiping of the schedule canceling all previously made plans and dedicating ourselves to our children. This happens on a whim sometimes. Saturday I woke up not wanting to do any of things I was expected to do and hole up with my little family and plan a day of exploration and wonder. We did that with most of our day on Saturday much to somes chagrin. I was happy, the Beejer was happy and my little cherubs were happy. This is my ultimate purpose to have a happy little family. Its not something you can always explain to others but then again I don't really feel the need to.

So we went on a hike to the beach. Reveled in Gods creation with the warmth of the sun and the sound of the waves hitting the shore. And enjoyed our family. I love these days and I wouldn't trade them for the world.


My kids are pretty attached lately. They like to be together wherever they go. I love it! Doesn't mean that they don't have the occasional squabble though.


Elliot continues to bless me with humbleness when it comes to this awkward photo smile stage:)


It was a beautiful day.


The flesh of my flesh who finds even rocks beautiful. She brought back a whole bucket.



It was a great day!