This photo, and several to come, are from a park inside city limits. This is a small portion of Pothole Falls on Lacamas Creek.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Photo #8
Spring is a wonderful, if muddy, time to hike. Here is a gem from this week.
This photo, and several to come, are from a park inside city limits. This is a small portion of Pothole Falls on Lacamas Creek.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
This photo, and several to come, are from a park inside city limits. This is a small portion of Pothole Falls on Lacamas Creek.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Flow: Starting Under Normal Circumstances
One of the most important aspects of this kind of cooking and living is working to establish flow. All the bits and pieces need to work together and make better things happen.
At Cascade Living I encourage you to find efficiency in your day to day living and even your thinking. If you gently observe how you do things, you will notice where things easily flow one into the other and jobs around the house happen with no stress at all. The way flow works in my experience though is things will flow, flow, flow, stop. Eventually I hit a blockage or obstacle that disrupts my flow. When this happens I react in different ways depending on the circumstances. Sometimes I just keep going and try to catch up with the flow again. Sometimes I stop and give myself a break and try again later. Sometimes, I get pretty upset that my flow was disrupted. Unfortunately, flow takes thought and practice to establish.
So how do you start?
Everything needs a place to go. Everything needs a time to happen. Over time the things that need to happen and the time available will fluctuate. Needs will change and so will priorities so flow is also a journey not a destination. It is a goal that will never be finished and done. The benefit of that is you get to enjoy the moments when it works right while they are happening. You will find flow and lose it again. So when you find it breathe it in, and when you lose it relax, you will find it again.
So start with one thing. If you have some energy and do not feel completely overwhelmed, I recommend looking around your house and finding the thing that is bugging you the most, while you are working to put it off. If you can just do it, do it right now. If you can't figure out where to start, try to break the job into smaller pieces. Get a piece of paper and write down a list of the parts. Set yourself a time frame to do the list, like: Do one thing on the list each commercial break, or once an hour. If you don't have a lot of time you can do one step each day, but that is not ideal! It feels great to just get it done. Check off each part as you do it. When you are finished be sure to really think about how it feels to accomplish this task. That feeling can be your first reward and help you motivate yourself to not let this thing, whatever it is take so much of your well being from you.
Do something nice for yourself when you are done. Call a friend, post about your victory on your Facebook or the Cascade Living Facebook Page, have a cup of coffee or tea, whatever will make you smile. Make sure you use this accomplishment to make you feel better, please do not beat yourself up about what else you have yet to do, or how long that job took. Getting one job done around the house that you a have been avoiding will free up your mind to find better ways of tackling that job in the future so it doesn't sneak up and ambush you anymore! (Or at least not anywhere near as often.) Motivate yourself with these good feelings.
For me, I get ambushed by my dishes all the time. I get so excited about the cooking that by the time I am done I am exhausted. It can be hard work just making sure everything that needs to get into the fridge gets there. So I will have to make a real effort to get unstuck and reestablish flow when doing my dishes. Sometimes I can just do them, sometimes I do need to make a list of each part and check it off. Day to day crises can and do get in the way of establishing flow. It can take a lot of tries to make a good habit around a job that you don't like to do. Be kind to yourself. If you know you always feel good when you are done it will be easier to start. Guilt is not a positive motivator and will not make things flow easily. You can be kind to yourself and still make better habits and choices.
Flow once established in one area really helps develop it in others. If you start small and build on your successes you will feel the difference. Things will get done and you won't have to even think about it, it will be just what happens. Start small and big things can happen.
Well, on that note, it may be time for me to tackle my dishes! I will write another post soon on how to get started when things are hard.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
At Cascade Living I encourage you to find efficiency in your day to day living and even your thinking. If you gently observe how you do things, you will notice where things easily flow one into the other and jobs around the house happen with no stress at all. The way flow works in my experience though is things will flow, flow, flow, stop. Eventually I hit a blockage or obstacle that disrupts my flow. When this happens I react in different ways depending on the circumstances. Sometimes I just keep going and try to catch up with the flow again. Sometimes I stop and give myself a break and try again later. Sometimes, I get pretty upset that my flow was disrupted. Unfortunately, flow takes thought and practice to establish.
So how do you start?
Everything needs a place to go. Everything needs a time to happen. Over time the things that need to happen and the time available will fluctuate. Needs will change and so will priorities so flow is also a journey not a destination. It is a goal that will never be finished and done. The benefit of that is you get to enjoy the moments when it works right while they are happening. You will find flow and lose it again. So when you find it breathe it in, and when you lose it relax, you will find it again.
So start with one thing. If you have some energy and do not feel completely overwhelmed, I recommend looking around your house and finding the thing that is bugging you the most, while you are working to put it off. If you can just do it, do it right now. If you can't figure out where to start, try to break the job into smaller pieces. Get a piece of paper and write down a list of the parts. Set yourself a time frame to do the list, like: Do one thing on the list each commercial break, or once an hour. If you don't have a lot of time you can do one step each day, but that is not ideal! It feels great to just get it done. Check off each part as you do it. When you are finished be sure to really think about how it feels to accomplish this task. That feeling can be your first reward and help you motivate yourself to not let this thing, whatever it is take so much of your well being from you.
Do something nice for yourself when you are done. Call a friend, post about your victory on your Facebook or the Cascade Living Facebook Page, have a cup of coffee or tea, whatever will make you smile. Make sure you use this accomplishment to make you feel better, please do not beat yourself up about what else you have yet to do, or how long that job took. Getting one job done around the house that you a have been avoiding will free up your mind to find better ways of tackling that job in the future so it doesn't sneak up and ambush you anymore! (Or at least not anywhere near as often.) Motivate yourself with these good feelings.
For me, I get ambushed by my dishes all the time. I get so excited about the cooking that by the time I am done I am exhausted. It can be hard work just making sure everything that needs to get into the fridge gets there. So I will have to make a real effort to get unstuck and reestablish flow when doing my dishes. Sometimes I can just do them, sometimes I do need to make a list of each part and check it off. Day to day crises can and do get in the way of establishing flow. It can take a lot of tries to make a good habit around a job that you don't like to do. Be kind to yourself. If you know you always feel good when you are done it will be easier to start. Guilt is not a positive motivator and will not make things flow easily. You can be kind to yourself and still make better habits and choices.
Flow once established in one area really helps develop it in others. If you start small and build on your successes you will feel the difference. Things will get done and you won't have to even think about it, it will be just what happens. Start small and big things can happen.
Well, on that note, it may be time for me to tackle my dishes! I will write another post soon on how to get started when things are hard.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Friday, March 22, 2013
Experiments! Absorption Restoration?
After singing the praises of cloth napkins earlier this week. I had a conversation with a friend about them. They do have a down side, over time they lose absorption. I assume that is inevitable but thought I would do some research and experimentation into whether or not some of that absorption could be restored.
I did an internet search and found some good ideas from sites talking about cloth diaper care. This article in particular. I also read some articles on why the absorption dwindles over time. The main reason is buildup of detergent or fabric softener. Well I don't use fabric softener so I didn't have to worry there. But the laundry soap I do use could be the problem. The fibers can also wear out over time. Since my napkins have been in service for over a decade that may be just how it is.
I was ready to start experimenting! Before I even started my research, I grabbed a handful of clean napkins and started them soaking in white vinegar. Vinegar can be used to break down soap scum so I figured that might be a good place to start. Then I read the article I linked to above. So I devised a second cleaning method: washing them in dish soap. Finally I took half of the dish washed batch and gave them a vinegar rinse. So I ended up with three different processes to test.
Batch #1: Napkins washed in hot water with dish soap, rinsed in plain water
Batch #2: Napkins washed in hot water with dish soap, rinsed in water and vinegar.
Batch #3: Napkins soaked in pure vinegar and rinsed with plain water.
The napkins were then all dried separately. All we had to do now was devise a way to test for absorption. Hmm. I say "we" now because at this point I enlisted my son as a lab assistant. We finally settled on this method: We put each napkin on a plate, poured 1 measured tablespoon of water onto it and watched to see how much soaked in.
At the last second we realize we needed a "Control" so we grabbed two more napkins and tested them with no treatment at all.
Here are the results:
Control: almost no absorption, in fact you could play with the water, rolling it around the napkin.
The water just sat there.
Batch #1: (These were washed in dish soap and rinsed without vinegar) These still had beading water but a little bit of absorption.
Trust me it soaked in a little bit.
Batch #2: (These were washed in dish soap and rinsed in water and vinegar) These had better absorption, but not as much as I'd hoped.
Batch #3: (These were just soaked in vinegar then rinsed) These had some absorption, but not as much as the second batch.
Hmm. This worked some.
Thoughts and Conclusions :
Well, while these methods seem to work, they do so only marginally. I was dissatisfied with our results. So far the dish soap washing combined with a vinegar rinse seemed to work the best. I wondered if I could find a method that worked better. I went back to the results of my net search and read the articles again. I decided to try one more drastic thing.
Round 2!
Batch #4:
Based on the stripping cloth diaper method I tried a much more complicated method.
1. Put the napkins in a large pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the napkins by a couple of inches. Put the pot on the stove and bring the water almost to a boil.
2. Take the pot off the heat, and set it in your sink (the next steps may cause it to overflow). Add 1/2 tablespoon dish soap and mix well (I used a potato masher). After agitating the napkins and soap for a while add 1 cup baking soda. This will cause the whole thing to foam up. Mix well until the foam dissipates.
3. Drain and rinse in hot water. (I filled the pot covering the napkins and stirred well with my hands to do this). Repeat the rinsing process until the rinse water stays clear. (This took me six times.)
4. Add warm water to cover napkins again and add 1 cup white vinegar. Let sit for at least 10-20 minutes. Rinse once or twice more to remove the scent of vinegar.
5. Dry the napkins.
Then I called in my lab assistant and we tested them again.
We used a control again and had the same water beading results.
Then the Batch 4 napkins were tested.
See the water beading on the green part of the napkin? Uggh!
I was very frustrated, we tested 3 or 4 napkins and the results were no better than the first round tests. So my assistant and I talked about why that might be and what we could do differently. As we talked we played with the water beading up on the napkins. With this mild agitation the water started to absorb into the napkin. We realized that our absorption test was flawed. You don't use a cloth napkin by pouring stuff onto it. You wipe stuff up with it!
So we quickly devised a new test. We poured a measured tablespoon onto the open napkin, then folded it over and pressed on it. This showed how much it would quickly absorb. We then poured the rest of the water out of the napkin onto the plate and used the napkin to try to wipe the rest of the water up.
This new test showed drastic improvements between the treated napkins and the control ones.
Thoughts and Conclusions of Round 2:
So, this much more labor intensive method does show some results in restoring the absorbancy of my napkins. Unfortunately we fine tuned the testing method after we had finished the round 1 tests, so I have no real idea if the intensive method is really necessary. Maybe later I will try again.
So the answer is yes, you can restore some absorbancy. It may be more work than it's worth, but you may extend the life of your napkins by years.
I did find one style of my napkins did not absorb much at all no matter what I did. Since my napkins have been in use for over a decade, the tags are long gone, but I suspect that they are made of synthetic fibers. At least they feel more "plasticy" than the other napkins. I talked to a couple friends to get their thoughts about that conclusion, and we agreed that the synthetic fabric napkins just don't absorb well or last as well over time. Something to keep in mind if you are going to buy new napkins.
I hope this was helpful or at least interesting. Please leave comments, questions and ideas for future experiments in the comments here or on the Cascade Living Facebook page. I am toying with the idea of making experiments a regular feature of the blog.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
I did an internet search and found some good ideas from sites talking about cloth diaper care. This article in particular. I also read some articles on why the absorption dwindles over time. The main reason is buildup of detergent or fabric softener. Well I don't use fabric softener so I didn't have to worry there. But the laundry soap I do use could be the problem. The fibers can also wear out over time. Since my napkins have been in service for over a decade that may be just how it is.
I was ready to start experimenting! Before I even started my research, I grabbed a handful of clean napkins and started them soaking in white vinegar. Vinegar can be used to break down soap scum so I figured that might be a good place to start. Then I read the article I linked to above. So I devised a second cleaning method: washing them in dish soap. Finally I took half of the dish washed batch and gave them a vinegar rinse. So I ended up with three different processes to test.
Batch #1: Napkins washed in hot water with dish soap, rinsed in plain water
Batch #2: Napkins washed in hot water with dish soap, rinsed in water and vinegar.
Batch #3: Napkins soaked in pure vinegar and rinsed with plain water.
The napkins were then all dried separately. All we had to do now was devise a way to test for absorption. Hmm. I say "we" now because at this point I enlisted my son as a lab assistant. We finally settled on this method: We put each napkin on a plate, poured 1 measured tablespoon of water onto it and watched to see how much soaked in.
At the last second we realize we needed a "Control" so we grabbed two more napkins and tested them with no treatment at all.
Here are the results:
Control: almost no absorption, in fact you could play with the water, rolling it around the napkin.
The water just sat there.
Batch #1: (These were washed in dish soap and rinsed without vinegar) These still had beading water but a little bit of absorption.
Batch #2: (These were washed in dish soap and rinsed in water and vinegar) These had better absorption, but not as much as I'd hoped.
Batch #3: (These were just soaked in vinegar then rinsed) These had some absorption, but not as much as the second batch.
Hmm. This worked some.
Thoughts and Conclusions :
Well, while these methods seem to work, they do so only marginally. I was dissatisfied with our results. So far the dish soap washing combined with a vinegar rinse seemed to work the best. I wondered if I could find a method that worked better. I went back to the results of my net search and read the articles again. I decided to try one more drastic thing.
Round 2!
Batch #4:
Based on the stripping cloth diaper method I tried a much more complicated method.
1. Put the napkins in a large pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the napkins by a couple of inches. Put the pot on the stove and bring the water almost to a boil.
2. Take the pot off the heat, and set it in your sink (the next steps may cause it to overflow). Add 1/2 tablespoon dish soap and mix well (I used a potato masher). After agitating the napkins and soap for a while add 1 cup baking soda. This will cause the whole thing to foam up. Mix well until the foam dissipates.
3. Drain and rinse in hot water. (I filled the pot covering the napkins and stirred well with my hands to do this). Repeat the rinsing process until the rinse water stays clear. (This took me six times.)
4. Add warm water to cover napkins again and add 1 cup white vinegar. Let sit for at least 10-20 minutes. Rinse once or twice more to remove the scent of vinegar.
5. Dry the napkins.
Then I called in my lab assistant and we tested them again.
We used a control again and had the same water beading results.
Then the Batch 4 napkins were tested.
I was very frustrated, we tested 3 or 4 napkins and the results were no better than the first round tests. So my assistant and I talked about why that might be and what we could do differently. As we talked we played with the water beading up on the napkins. With this mild agitation the water started to absorb into the napkin. We realized that our absorption test was flawed. You don't use a cloth napkin by pouring stuff onto it. You wipe stuff up with it!
So we quickly devised a new test. We poured a measured tablespoon onto the open napkin, then folded it over and pressed on it. This showed how much it would quickly absorb. We then poured the rest of the water out of the napkin onto the plate and used the napkin to try to wipe the rest of the water up.
This new test showed drastic improvements between the treated napkins and the control ones.
Thoughts and Conclusions of Round 2:
So, this much more labor intensive method does show some results in restoring the absorbancy of my napkins. Unfortunately we fine tuned the testing method after we had finished the round 1 tests, so I have no real idea if the intensive method is really necessary. Maybe later I will try again.
So the answer is yes, you can restore some absorbancy. It may be more work than it's worth, but you may extend the life of your napkins by years.
I did find one style of my napkins did not absorb much at all no matter what I did. Since my napkins have been in use for over a decade, the tags are long gone, but I suspect that they are made of synthetic fibers. At least they feel more "plasticy" than the other napkins. I talked to a couple friends to get their thoughts about that conclusion, and we agreed that the synthetic fabric napkins just don't absorb well or last as well over time. Something to keep in mind if you are going to buy new napkins.
I hope this was helpful or at least interesting. Please leave comments, questions and ideas for future experiments in the comments here or on the Cascade Living Facebook page. I am toying with the idea of making experiments a regular feature of the blog.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Photo #7
Here is a lovely photo for you.
This is a side stream falling into the Washougal River.
It is a gray and cold day here. It's nice to have a beautiful reminder that there are rewards to living in a place this wet.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
This is a side stream falling into the Washougal River.
It is a gray and cold day here. It's nice to have a beautiful reminder that there are rewards to living in a place this wet.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
I LOVE cloth napkins!
I Love my cloth napkins. I really do. When I think of the hundreds of hours of work they probably saved me, and the money!
I keep them in this basket on top of the microwave, where they are easy to grab as you walk by. I have about two dozen of these napkins in several colors and patterns. Most were gifts, so they didn't cost me a dime. The one set I did buy I got at Goodwill for $2.99. Considering that they are over a decade old and still really nice, I think that was a bargain.
I love how they make any meal seem elegant, even hot dogs! I love that I never have to run to the store to buy napkins and never have to take out a garbage can overflowing with napkins (of course with me it would be a compost bin!) Washing them is as easy as throwing them in another load I was going to do anyway.
Can you tell I really DO love my cloth napkins. I even love picking them up all over the house, because then I know people were using them! I urge you to try them out if you haven't yet, especially if you already have some you keep for special occasions and never really use. Life is a special occasion! Break out the cloth napkins. Maybe you will look forward to finding them odd places, too.
I hope you have a wonderful day,
Kristin
Monday, March 18, 2013
Tips for the Extreme: Pets-Dogs
Dogs
1. Buy the best dog food you can afford. Dogs can live a long time, buying a good quality dog food will help your dog avoid many long term illnesses. It only takes a couple trips to the vet to make up any savings you had by buying cheap dog food.
2. Feed your dog just enough to maintain weight. Now if you're buying expensive dog food you want to be able to use less! Feed measured amounts. We fed our dog the amount listed the label of his food. Then after a few weeks reduced this slightly checking to make sure he wasn't getting too skinny. We found an amount that works for us. Be sure to experiment though, the label was not written for your dog. Your dog has his or her own metabolism and activity level so the amount that works for one dog may not work for yours. Maintaining a trim dog will also drastically reduce the risk of many diseases that can cost a fortune to treat and may require a maintenance program that limits your future lifestyle like daily shots or medications.
3. No People Food! None of our pets gets fed any kind of people food. (I realize the dogs are vacuum cleaners and that can't be helped.) Aside from health and weight issues that can ensue, I do this mostly for behavior. I don't know if this works for everyone but it has worked for us. The extent of begging around here is sad eyes, no whining, or pushing mostly he just comes by when we are done eating to see if we dropped anything. He also doesn't steal food off the counter or table, (even the coffee table! when we are not home.) He knows that the food in his bowl is his.
4. If you do give people food or a bone for a treat make sure it has very little fat on it. Your dog can experience pancreatitis after just one treat. Our dog did. We gave him a big butcher's bone that was fatty. He couldn't keep food down starting the next day. Our dog fully recovered, but it was a scary time.
5.Dogs need exercise. Medium to large dogs can need a lot of it. I walk mine around 2 miles almost every day. He probably needs more, I know he wants more. Proper exercise will do wonders if you have neglected this part of dog ownership. I have a pretty mellow dog, but his behavior greatly improved once we got him on a walking routine. I appreciate the bonus of getting myself in shape while we walk.
6. Be responsible for your dog. Clean up after him or her, fix what they break, and keep them under control to the best of your ability. If you need a fence, get one. (I know this should be a no brainer, but my dog is in a cone right now due to another owner's carelessness.)
7. Have fun with your dog. Dogs can be a lot of work and a lot of mess and expense. Make time to just enjoy this amazing creature you have invited into your life. Give your pooch a little more scratching time or play time, whatever works best between the two of you.
8. If you are thinking of getting a dog and have never really had one, I highly suggest borrowing one before you make a decision. In this Facebook age you should have no trouble finding someone who needs a dogsitter for a week or two. You can really experience what dog ownership will look like in your house and life.
9. I know this is almost cliche but, get your dog neutered or spayed. There are so many reasons, here is mine: Every time a pet is put down at the Humane Society it breaks the heart of the amazing people who work there. The people at these organizations work there because they love animals. They want to be around them and often wish they could take all of them home. They can't. So do your part and help these helpers even a little bit.
I'll let my big guy tell you goodbye!
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Friday, March 15, 2013
Ask: How do you use what you don't save?
A friend recently asked if there were ways to use what I don't save. This was in response to this post, where I talk about what I don't save and why.
There are many ways to use almost all of the things that I don't save. It just doesn't fit in with my life right now. I can give you a list of possibilities for each item I listed in the previous post. These are listed in no particular order.
Onion peels- onion peels are great for dye. I have never tried this myself but I have heard you can use yellow or red onion skins to dye cloth or eggs. A quick Google search leads to many sites giving instructions on how to do this.
Broccoli, Cabbage, and other Brassica- The plant stems and leaves, that I don't save can be cooked in recipes calling for greens, gumbo or colcannon come immediately to mind. Broccoli stems, when peeled could be cut up and eaten raw either in rounds or matchsticks in a veggie platter.
Overripe bananas: Depending on your family's tolerance for overripeness, can be used in banana bread, cake, or smoothies. They are especially good blended while frozen. These can also be fed to chickens.
Pork bones and bits: You technically can make pork stock out of these. I find it really greasy and not very good. If the bones are raw you can give them to your dog, but try to clean off as much fat as you can first. (I will give more information about this, soon. Look for Tips for the Extreme: Pets.) Leftover pork bits can also be fed to chickens.
Chicken Livers: I used to use these for pate. I just have a hard time saving them up to get enough for a batch and then they end up freezer burned. I guess I could have developed a micro recipe that would make a small amount with one chicken's worth of liver? You could feed these to cats or dogs though. I don't. I have a very strict "no people food" policy for all my indoor animals.
Citrus Peels: You can scrub with them. I will sometimes scrub a messy sink with an orange or lemon peel. The peels pick up dirt and grime while leaving a lovely scent. Rinse well after scrubbing. You can keep extras in the freezer until you want to use them. You can make cleaning vinegar out of peels. You can find instructions on how to do this, here. You can use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest. This zest can be candied, used in recipes or frozen for future use.
These are just some ideas. I never said those items were not useful, just that I don't save them.
I hope some of this is helpful.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
There are many ways to use almost all of the things that I don't save. It just doesn't fit in with my life right now. I can give you a list of possibilities for each item I listed in the previous post. These are listed in no particular order.
Onion peels- onion peels are great for dye. I have never tried this myself but I have heard you can use yellow or red onion skins to dye cloth or eggs. A quick Google search leads to many sites giving instructions on how to do this.
Broccoli, Cabbage, and other Brassica- The plant stems and leaves, that I don't save can be cooked in recipes calling for greens, gumbo or colcannon come immediately to mind. Broccoli stems, when peeled could be cut up and eaten raw either in rounds or matchsticks in a veggie platter.
Overripe bananas: Depending on your family's tolerance for overripeness, can be used in banana bread, cake, or smoothies. They are especially good blended while frozen. These can also be fed to chickens.
Pork bones and bits: You technically can make pork stock out of these. I find it really greasy and not very good. If the bones are raw you can give them to your dog, but try to clean off as much fat as you can first. (I will give more information about this, soon. Look for Tips for the Extreme: Pets.) Leftover pork bits can also be fed to chickens.
Chicken Livers: I used to use these for pate. I just have a hard time saving them up to get enough for a batch and then they end up freezer burned. I guess I could have developed a micro recipe that would make a small amount with one chicken's worth of liver? You could feed these to cats or dogs though. I don't. I have a very strict "no people food" policy for all my indoor animals.
Citrus Peels: You can scrub with them. I will sometimes scrub a messy sink with an orange or lemon peel. The peels pick up dirt and grime while leaving a lovely scent. Rinse well after scrubbing. You can keep extras in the freezer until you want to use them. You can make cleaning vinegar out of peels. You can find instructions on how to do this, here. You can use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest. This zest can be candied, used in recipes or frozen for future use.
These are just some ideas. I never said those items were not useful, just that I don't save them.
I hope some of this is helpful.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Photo #6
Here is weekly photo #6.
This is a bend in the beautiful Washougal River.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
This is a bend in the beautiful Washougal River.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Cooking: Rescued Steak Fail!
Hello I have been busy in the kitchen this week, and busy in life. So of course the writing won't flow. I am going to have lots to write about in the coming weeks so this one should be the least busy on the blog for a while.
This week we were in and out of the house a lot. I pulled a lot of stuff out of the freezer and made plans. Too many plans. I filled the freezer with lots and lots of things to use later. I will talk about those in future posts.
Enter PLAN ONE! The first plan I had was to pull steaks out of the freezer and broil them for a quick hearty lunch before we went out for the day. I pulled out the broiler pan and plopped on the thawed steaks and let them cook for around 8 minutes on a side until they were well colored. I let them rest. After they rested I started cutting one of the steaks into personal portions. It was way underdone inside. I guess I need to read up on and practice my broiler technique!(Oh and using the meat thermometer might have been a good idea). I was flustered and we still needed to eat before we left so I started on quesadillas while I thought about the steak. PLAN ONE: FAIL.
QUICK TIP: you can avoid using foil for covering resting meat, just use a large metal pot lid instead.
Enter PLAN TWO! While I was flipping quesadillas, I thought, "Hey, why don't I throw the steak into the crock pot, pot roast style and we can eat it when we get home." So I pulled out the crock pot, washed and cubed some potatoes, and carrots, tossed them and the steak in and turned it on high. I also added half an onion for flavor and moisture. Good plan except for one thing, I'm the only one in my house who likes pot roast. So we ate it for supper but most of it was leftover. PLAN TWO: FAIL.
Enter PLAN THREE! So the pot roast/steak leftovers went into the fridge for a day. I came up with my next plan: One Pot Stroganoff! For this I used the steak meat and carrots from the leftovers. (Recipe to follow). It was a hit, someone even had thirds! The only complaint I got was about the carrots so I will not use them again or include them in the recipe. Unfortunately, I only used about half the leftover steak in this recipe and had a lot of leftover potatoes, so I still needed another plan. PLAN THREE: WIN!
Enter PLAN FOUR! Now what to do with a crock pot of potatoes and meat.... I made stew. I cut the meat into pieces. Well actually it broke into pieces. Mostly I removed the bones, fat and connective tissue, leaving chunks of shredded beef. I then cleaned dried out edges off the potatoes. I added the cleaned up meat and potatoes to my family stew base along with the pot juices and the onion cut into small pieces. I let this simmer for a while, but it cooked up fast since the veggies and meat were already done. Stew for another lunch and the rest went into the freezer. PLAN FOUR: WIN!
I got to have a kitchen adventure and now I will share the new recipe that saved the day.
One Pot Stroganoff
>1/2 to 1 pound beef shredded if cooked, sliced thin if raw
>1-2 Tablespoons fat
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
1 pound mushrooms sliced
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons ketchup
3-5 cloves garlic
1 quart egg noodles (I use whole wheat)
1 quart water
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
Melt the fat in a dutch oven or large pan. Brown beef if raw. Add onions and mushrooms cook until slightly brown and soft. Add Worchestershire and ketchup and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add meat, if using cooked beef, and water. Bring to a boil and add the noodles. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until noodles are done. Turn off heat and add yogurt. Serve hot.
You can replace all or part of the yogurt with sour cream. You can also add peas or green beans if you like.
Cascade Factors:
Beef: This recipe can use leftover beef.
Fat: You can use beef fat skimmed from pan juices or stock to brown the vegetables.
The recipe itself keeps and reheats well. I put some in the freezer but haven't thawed it yet to see how well it survives the process. I will let you know when I do.
Well that's all the cooking I'm going to talk about today. I hope my experience helps you to not give up hope when you are faced with a plan that doesn't go according to plan.
Thoughtfuly,
Kristin
This week we were in and out of the house a lot. I pulled a lot of stuff out of the freezer and made plans. Too many plans. I filled the freezer with lots and lots of things to use later. I will talk about those in future posts.
Enter PLAN ONE! The first plan I had was to pull steaks out of the freezer and broil them for a quick hearty lunch before we went out for the day. I pulled out the broiler pan and plopped on the thawed steaks and let them cook for around 8 minutes on a side until they were well colored. I let them rest. After they rested I started cutting one of the steaks into personal portions. It was way underdone inside. I guess I need to read up on and practice my broiler technique!(Oh and using the meat thermometer might have been a good idea). I was flustered and we still needed to eat before we left so I started on quesadillas while I thought about the steak. PLAN ONE: FAIL.
QUICK TIP: you can avoid using foil for covering resting meat, just use a large metal pot lid instead.
Enter PLAN TWO! While I was flipping quesadillas, I thought, "Hey, why don't I throw the steak into the crock pot, pot roast style and we can eat it when we get home." So I pulled out the crock pot, washed and cubed some potatoes, and carrots, tossed them and the steak in and turned it on high. I also added half an onion for flavor and moisture. Good plan except for one thing, I'm the only one in my house who likes pot roast. So we ate it for supper but most of it was leftover. PLAN TWO: FAIL.
Enter PLAN THREE! So the pot roast/steak leftovers went into the fridge for a day. I came up with my next plan: One Pot Stroganoff! For this I used the steak meat and carrots from the leftovers. (Recipe to follow). It was a hit, someone even had thirds! The only complaint I got was about the carrots so I will not use them again or include them in the recipe. Unfortunately, I only used about half the leftover steak in this recipe and had a lot of leftover potatoes, so I still needed another plan. PLAN THREE: WIN!
Enter PLAN FOUR! Now what to do with a crock pot of potatoes and meat.... I made stew. I cut the meat into pieces. Well actually it broke into pieces. Mostly I removed the bones, fat and connective tissue, leaving chunks of shredded beef. I then cleaned dried out edges off the potatoes. I added the cleaned up meat and potatoes to my family stew base along with the pot juices and the onion cut into small pieces. I let this simmer for a while, but it cooked up fast since the veggies and meat were already done. Stew for another lunch and the rest went into the freezer. PLAN FOUR: WIN!
I got to have a kitchen adventure and now I will share the new recipe that saved the day.
One Pot Stroganoff
>1/2 to 1 pound beef shredded if cooked, sliced thin if raw
>1-2 Tablespoons fat
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
1 pound mushrooms sliced
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons ketchup
3-5 cloves garlic
1 quart egg noodles (I use whole wheat)
1 quart water
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
Melt the fat in a dutch oven or large pan. Brown beef if raw. Add onions and mushrooms cook until slightly brown and soft. Add Worchestershire and ketchup and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add meat, if using cooked beef, and water. Bring to a boil and add the noodles. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until noodles are done. Turn off heat and add yogurt. Serve hot.
You can replace all or part of the yogurt with sour cream. You can also add peas or green beans if you like.
Cascade Factors:
Beef: This recipe can use leftover beef.
Fat: You can use beef fat skimmed from pan juices or stock to brown the vegetables.
The recipe itself keeps and reheats well. I put some in the freezer but haven't thawed it yet to see how well it survives the process. I will let you know when I do.
Well that's all the cooking I'm going to talk about today. I hope my experience helps you to not give up hope when you are faced with a plan that doesn't go according to plan.
Thoughtfuly,
Kristin
Friday, March 8, 2013
Ask: What Next?
Hello All,
I know this blog is just starting and I don't have much of a readership yet, but I am working on a few projects that I would like to get some feedback on.
First I made a Facebook page for this blog. It is up and running right now. Click here to check it out!
I am hoping that this will make it easier for all of you to share your thoughts and ask questions. Let's see how that goes.
I also am in the brain work stages for a couple of projects.
1. A cook along series where I provide, shopping lists, recipes, budgets and detailed instructions on a meal plan. My vision is to offer these by subscription, for a certain number of weeks, say 12. If these are successful I can expand the program.
2. A cookbook, where I can give recipes for all the stages of a Cascade. It will take some work to make it easy to use, but if I work it out it should be a very unique cookbook.
Anyway I would love feedback on these ideas, either here or on the Facebook page. Thank you for reading.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
I know this blog is just starting and I don't have much of a readership yet, but I am working on a few projects that I would like to get some feedback on.
First I made a Facebook page for this blog. It is up and running right now. Click here to check it out!
I am hoping that this will make it easier for all of you to share your thoughts and ask questions. Let's see how that goes.
I also am in the brain work stages for a couple of projects.
1. A cook along series where I provide, shopping lists, recipes, budgets and detailed instructions on a meal plan. My vision is to offer these by subscription, for a certain number of weeks, say 12. If these are successful I can expand the program.
2. A cookbook, where I can give recipes for all the stages of a Cascade. It will take some work to make it easy to use, but if I work it out it should be a very unique cookbook.
Anyway I would love feedback on these ideas, either here or on the Facebook page. Thank you for reading.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Photo #5
I hope you enjoy this waterfall.
It is near Bend, Oregon.
I hope you have a lovely day,
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Cooking: Pork Roast and a Note on Side Dishes
I came to a realization this week. I have simplified my meals to one pot meals and pretty inclusive main dishes. I really do not make side dishes that often. I just heat up frozen veggies, make carrot sticks, etc. and prepare some fruit and go from there. I could make a salad but I'd be the only one eating it and I don't like salad that much. I look for vegetables I can add to my main dishes, I don't really look for side dishes at all. I think about how to incorporate vegetables into every meal, or quickly cut up something to serve raw. I guess I'm a main dish girl. So when these cooking posts show up, many of them will not have side dishes. You can assume we ate some carrot stick or frozen peas, and I will assume you made yourself a beautiful salad, or fancy side dish that appealed to you. If you readers want more side dishes I can work on that. For now I will just let it go.
Now on to the cooking!
Pork Roast
1 or 2 Tablespoons of oil or fat
1 Pork loin roast> (I use a 6" length of a whole pork loin)
Seasoning Salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I cook my pork roast in a cast iron dutch oven. You can use any pan for the browning and another for the baking if you don't have a dutch oven. Preheat dutch oven over medium high heat. Add fat and heat to a sizzle. Add the pork and sear on all sides. I sprinkle the top with seasoning salt after each turn.
Cover roast and bake until meat reaches at least 145 degrees on a thermometer. Bake 30 minutes and then check the temperature every 20 minutes or so until done. The baking time will vary considerably depending on how hot your pan was when you seared the meat, how cold the meat was when you started and the actual weight of your roast. Remove from heat and let the roast rest covered for 15 to 20 minutes.
The roast will shrink as it bakes. Now it is ready to slice and eat!
Cascade Factors:
Pork roast leftovers: In my house leftover pork gets made into barbeque pork sandwiches, one of my favorites. I also set aside some cubed pork to make egg roll filling. This time I used some to make the fanciest ramen noodle soup my daughter has ever eaten. Of course it can be used in any stir fry. It can be spiced and shredded and used in carnitas. It can be cubed and frozen to be a quick addition in the future. I may have more ideas later, but for now it never lasts that long. How can it when we make things like this:
We had a lot of fun cooking this food. I am encouraging my kids to share more of my enthusiasm in the kitchen. I think the meals are getting better and my life a measure more cozy.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Now on to the cooking!
Pork Roast
1 or 2 Tablespoons of oil or fat
1 Pork loin roast> (I use a 6" length of a whole pork loin)
Seasoning Salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I cook my pork roast in a cast iron dutch oven. You can use any pan for the browning and another for the baking if you don't have a dutch oven. Preheat dutch oven over medium high heat. Add fat and heat to a sizzle. Add the pork and sear on all sides. I sprinkle the top with seasoning salt after each turn.
Cover roast and bake until meat reaches at least 145 degrees on a thermometer. Bake 30 minutes and then check the temperature every 20 minutes or so until done. The baking time will vary considerably depending on how hot your pan was when you seared the meat, how cold the meat was when you started and the actual weight of your roast. Remove from heat and let the roast rest covered for 15 to 20 minutes.
The roast will shrink as it bakes. Now it is ready to slice and eat!
Cascade Factors:
Pork roast leftovers: In my house leftover pork gets made into barbeque pork sandwiches, one of my favorites. I also set aside some cubed pork to make egg roll filling. This time I used some to make the fanciest ramen noodle soup my daughter has ever eaten. Of course it can be used in any stir fry. It can be spiced and shredded and used in carnitas. It can be cubed and frozen to be a quick addition in the future. I may have more ideas later, but for now it never lasts that long. How can it when we make things like this:
We had a lot of fun cooking this food. I am encouraging my kids to share more of my enthusiasm in the kitchen. I think the meals are getting better and my life a measure more cozy.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Cascade Living! (Not Just Cooking)
As I start getting back into the swing of living a
cascading life, I am really becoming kind of obsessed! Since I am publishing my
thoughts I get to take you with me.
I start looking at what I have available in my kitchen,
think about what each thing could do in a new “life”, and work from there.
Using thought I make my groceries go further, making my life better. It becomes
a habit, and I start applying everywhere.
Next
it moves to objects. Everything that was waste, becomes raw materials. Juice jugs become storage containers.
T-shirts become rugs and baskets. I find more and more ways to use the physical
materials in my life. I start finding
materials and inspiration all over my house. This can get out of control, but
that’s another blog post. I happily
buzz along using up things that most people would throw, or give away. Every
object in my life becomes part of a cycle.
Next,
I put myself, my physical energy and my time into the cycles. I work on
building routines that flow easily from one thing to the next. I combine trips
to the store, start keeping better and more detailed lists, and organizing
household schedules. I start getting more done with less energy wasted on
worrying about what to do.
After
a while, years probably, I get comfortable and my vision of cascading widens. I
start looking differently at my effort and energy. The physical objects start to have less value than my time. Do I
really need to wash that, convert that or store that? How much energy and time
is that going to take me? There is a reason some of this stuff feels
overwhelming. It is not enhancing my life more than it is draining my energy. I
am working now on simplifying my life. Adding thought rather than physical
energy. This takes time and energy,
too. Although with practice, I am finding I am getting more efficient at it.
While
I am still processing and working at the simplifying level, I am becoming aware
of where it will go from here. Next,
comes my thoughts. I am already starting to ask myself, “Do I even need to
waste time thinking about this?” It will be fascinating to see where it goes
from here.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Monday, March 4, 2013
Tips for the Extreme-Yardcrafting
If this interests you at all I recommend the book, Northwest Foraging, by Doug Benoliel. Yes this book mostly pertains to the Pacific Northwest of the United States, but many of the plants in there are universal, you can find dandelions and plantains in Hawaii and Europe, too.
This website also looks helpful: www.wildcrafting.net . It has pictures, common and scientific names of plants.
Anyway on to the tips!
1. Salads are more interesting and colorful with yard collected greens and flowers. Violet flowers, violet leaves, chick weed, miner's lettuce, day lily flowers, and clover flowers can enhance the beauty and flavor. If you can handle a more intense/unusual taste, add sorrel, dandelion, or new day lily leaves.
2. Yardcrafted greens such as dandelion, sorrel, plantain, wild mustard, and curly dock mingle well with other cooked greens such as spinach or kale. They also work in soups, and gumbo.
3. You also may have wild herbs such as mint, oregano, yarrow, or pineapple weed that make pleasant tea.
4. I collect dandelion flower buds and use them as a vegetable in my spring stir fry dishes.
5. Summer gives me wild strawberries and blackberries. Winter gives me rose hips.
6. You can make candied flowers from things around your yard, day lilies, violets, lilac, roses, evening primroses, etc. This link gives good instructions on how to proceed. http://homecooking.about.com/od/dessertrecipes/r/blmisc69.htm
7. If you really get into this concept. You can probably find many roots, mushrooms and local berries that are not obviously edible but grow everywhere. Ask around and see what lives near you.
Ok now a quick talk about safety. Please don't eat something if you don't know what it is. While most things that are bad for you are only toxic (they make you sick) some are deadly poisonous. So please be careful. There are lots of websites and books that can help you learn to identify what is what.
Don't eat sprayed things. If you spray your yard with fertilizer or pesticide, you have probably killed all the edible weeds anyway. But if you are picking from roadsides or city parks they are probably sprayed. You can use those spots for identification practice though.
So I encourage you to at least spend time outside exploring the world and the little details right in your back yard. Pick some flowers, breathe some fresh air, and find some wonder right where you live.
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
Friday, March 1, 2013
Ask: What not to save?
I was recently asked, "Are there any leftovers you do *not* save?"
This was a tough one for me, I save a lot.
I really don't save things that can't go into the stock pot:
onion skins, carrot peels, pork, brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.)
I also don't save things I find I don't use. These are things that are useful to other people but I don't use them:
citrus peels, chicken livers, overripe bananas
I rarely freeze finished meals. We usually pick at them until we are sick of them or eat them too fast to save. I may save parts, leftover meat is a prime example, in ready to use portions, but I don't usually save, say, casseroles or finished one pot meals. I probably could save these things, but I find I don't use them that way.
I am trying, (albeit, with some limited success) to streamline my leftover and storage processes. I am making a goal for myself to only keep what I have a real plan to use. "Someday" and "Might Be Useful" are not plans! It may help if I put a note on things that might not be obvious, in case I forget what crazy experiment this "object" was supposed to be a part of. So if I revisit this question in the future, my answer will be different. As the tastes of our household change so will what I save.
To be clear, even though I do not save these things, I do compost them. So while I don't toss them in the refrigerator, they don't go into the trash.
Thank you so much for the question!
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
P.S. I would love more. Ask away in the comments below.
This was a tough one for me, I save a lot.
I really don't save things that can't go into the stock pot:
onion skins, carrot peels, pork, brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.)
I also don't save things I find I don't use. These are things that are useful to other people but I don't use them:
citrus peels, chicken livers, overripe bananas
I rarely freeze finished meals. We usually pick at them until we are sick of them or eat them too fast to save. I may save parts, leftover meat is a prime example, in ready to use portions, but I don't usually save, say, casseroles or finished one pot meals. I probably could save these things, but I find I don't use them that way.
I am trying, (albeit, with some limited success) to streamline my leftover and storage processes. I am making a goal for myself to only keep what I have a real plan to use. "Someday" and "Might Be Useful" are not plans! It may help if I put a note on things that might not be obvious, in case I forget what crazy experiment this "object" was supposed to be a part of. So if I revisit this question in the future, my answer will be different. As the tastes of our household change so will what I save.
To be clear, even though I do not save these things, I do compost them. So while I don't toss them in the refrigerator, they don't go into the trash.
Thank you so much for the question!
Thoughtfully,
Kristin
P.S. I would love more. Ask away in the comments below.
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