Here is how blogging is like eating pancakes. You begin eagerly, excited at the possibilities. But, sooner than you'd expect, you start pausing between bites. The pauses get longer and longer. Then you kind of start to avoid it, realizing that you are full but continue to take a bite every once in a while out of some vague sense of obligation. This is what has become of my blog.

Usually end of the year blog posts are about making New Year's resolutions, but this one is all about admitting failure. I must now confess that I am not much of a blogger, though I occasionally do have things to say. My husband, by complement, is a great blogger and enjoys keeping family and friends up to date on our adventures. So he has graciously invited me to post on his blog when the urge strikes without the pressure of needing to keep any regular record of our lives. How will you tell the difference between authors? Here's a short key to help: Comics? Doug. Detailed description of food? Liz. Rants about fantasy or college sports? Doug. Recipes? Liz. Stories of our outdoor adventures? Either, though usually delineated by subtle references to snacks (Liz) or college sports (Doug).

Happy New Year, and Happy Reading!

To #4977
An Ode of Gratefulness

So this is awkward. I will admit that I am partly (mostly) to blame for your death. While you were munching away on mountain grass and doing other bovinely things, we were plotting your demise and trying to calculate how many steaks we could make out of you.

But we are thankful for you. And we chose you for a reason. We've seen the pasture you spent your life on. We can rest easy knowing that you were treated with kindness, fed with food that won't make you sick, and allowed to roam freely outside where you belong. We know that you spent your whole life from birth to our freezer within a 40 mile radius and used less gasoline to get there than I use in a few days of my life.

So we are thankful for you and the health you will provide for us, and for the community you create by bringing 8 friends together to share your bounty. Since you're inanimate now, you probably don't care, but if it helps, we promise to make you as tasty as possible and share you with friends 'round our table.

Sometimes being local means eating with hippies.

We found ourselves walking into a local eatery this evening for dinner and had some tasty sandwiches - a roast beef sandwich for Doug and a turkey sandwich with almond and sun-dried tomato pesto for me. The best part of the evening, however, was the company. We appeared to be the only functional adults in the restaurant. This entire place was run by hippies. Should we have taken a clue from the stale marijuana smell, the walls painted like a psychedelic dream, or the macrame curtains? It took forever to order our food, though we watched on, entertained, while two employees tried to make sense of the orders they'd just taken. They got most of them correct, but every 4th order or so came with a voice over the loud speaker saying "Umm...the person with the veggie sandwich with no pickles? your order is ready." "Ummm... if you ordered a chocolate milkshake, your order is ready." "Ummm...if you ordered chicken wings with your order and didn't get them, we have them up here." We waited patiently while others came to get the onion rings they ordered instead of their french fries. We got an order of chicken wings with our dinner that actually belonged to someone else who had been waiting for quite a while. I was hoping to get a knife but couldn't seem to get anyone's attention as they searched for someone's milkshake that had gotten lost. All in 30 minutes. It was quite comical. There seems to be a latent part of my identity that looks kindly upon the hippy lifestyle. I like being barefoot. My favorite t shirt for 2 years was a thrift store find with the words "Don't Bungle the Jungle" on it. I could do a great twirly dance at Dar Williams concerts. And I believe there is still archeological evidence of my macrame projects. But somehow I grew out of that phase. I've become a square. And yet, I'm okay with that.

Fall is here. School is in full swing. Our weekends are full of football games and outdoorsy pursuits with a mandatory Sunday nap. Someday I may launch a long political rant, but suffice to say my mood on the political climate is bordering on anxiety. And it never ceases to amaze me the American public's distaste for actually researching actual facts about the presidential candidates (Imagine someone's surprise if they did: "Huh, I looked up 'community organizer' on wikipedia and it turns out it's actually a good thing." "Huh, I checked the dictionary and it turns out the phrase Team of Mavericks is an oxymoron."). I'll stop here. Just do me a favor and think really hard before you vote. Really hard.

Latest food projects: a mozzerella cheese making experiment that did not turn out as I had hoped. Finding new uses for cabbage and beets. Tricking Doug into eating kale. Finding that dipping all other unwanted veggies in a beer batter and deep frying them is always a good solution. And I can't wait for apple cider and pumpkin products.

Also, as I write this, it is 10:15 p.m. and Doug is waddling around me with his snow pants and ski jacket on. Nevermind that it was in the 80s today. It's time to start thinking of skiing.

Hillman Sibling Vacation Video 2k8

I am mentally working on some posts about my adventures as of late, but for now a few recipes that make me happy.

The last few weeks, our CSA box has brought us lots of herbs, sweet onions, carrots, kale, beets, lots of lettuce, and today...summer squash and zucchini!

This is a recipe I watched Jamie Oliver do with zucchini. Penne pasta with bacon, zucchini, and a rich carbonara sauce. I really like watching him cook--measuring by handfuls and pinches not cups and teaspoons. We ate it too quickly to take a photo, but here is the foodnetwork version which is, admittedly, much prettier. Click on the picture for the link to the recipe.



And here is another recipe from the week. I have never had beets in any version but pickled (which I remember from my childhood being yucky), so I have a list of different recipes to try with this newfound veggie. This is a delicious cake, a little like carrot cake. If I made it again, I think I'd add some walnuts to the batter before baking. And don't forget the cream cheese frosting. Yum! I've posted the recipe below - click on the title for the original. I wish I had snapped a picture, because the batter goes in the oven bright red and comes out a speckled caramel color.

BEETNIK CAKE
INGREDIENTS:

1 cup vegetable oil 2 cups white sugar 4 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups shredded beets 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, with juice

3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2.	In a large bowl, mix together the vegetable oil and sugar until well blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the shredded beets and pineapple with juice. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt; stir into the beet mixture until just incorporated. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
3.	Bake for about 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. When cool, frost as desired, or eat plain.

My Favorite Kitchen Gadget, and Other Epicurean Musings

My favorite kitchen gadget. Oh, but there are so many to choose from, you say. The tea press is indispensable, and what about the fine grater that zests lemons and limes in seconds, and please don’t forget the food processor! These are all wonderful things, my friends, but for the summer at least, I have to go with practicality over finesse. As long as our CSA keeps delivering large boxes full of leafy greens, the revered kitchen gadget of the summer will be the salad spinner. It is unglamorous for sure, but when you hate washing lettuce as much as I do, it makes life a little simpler.

CSA pick up day every Thursday has become both like a culinary Christmas and a solemn challenge: How much lettuce can you eat in one week? No kidding. We currently have 5 bags of lettuce and 2 bags of spinach in our fridge. As the season continues, we are seeing more diversity in our produce, but salads of all kinds will likely be a staple of every meal for weeks to come. I have been trying to make some different dishes highlighting the organic local produce we get each week. Unfortunately, I am a better cook than food photographer, so you will have to live with descriptions and second rate photographs.

Grilled chicken salad with warm bacon dressing and crispy polenta cakes. I tricked Doug into eating radishes with this dish by grating it into the dressing.

Herbed spinach dip with crudites. Just add some yogurt, lemon, and lemon zest to a handful of spinach and fresh herbs (I used basil, parsley, and garlic scapes).

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. One of my best (and more attractive) pies to date. Mark Bittman has a great recipe for an all butter crust for those who don’t like to use shortening, and I think substituting a fruit liqueur like Grand Marnier for some of the water in the crust makes it delicious. I used fresh CSA rhubarb, but used grocery store strawberries, since it wasn’t quite strawberry season here.

Crunchy herbed chicken, lemony risotto with peas, and a garden salad. One of my favorite things about cooking is the chance to put together meals with friends and make dinner a community event. Anne provided from her garden tomatoes for the salad, and the thyme and oregano, which flavored both the risotto and the batter for the pan-fried chicken. The CSA provided the onions and peas for the risotto and the lettuce and radishes for the salad. I don't think I've ever had peas that weren't frozen, and these were delicious. Which leads to your fun food fact for the week: Peas, a legume, have been cultivated for about 9,000 years. Legumes were so well regarded in the ancient world that the four major legumes known to the Romans became names for prominent Roman families: Fabius from fava beans, Lentulus from lentils, Piso from the pea, and Cicero from the chick pea. Now don’t you feel smart?

Ever wonder what my kitchen looks like in the aftermath of these experiments? I absolved Doug of his dishwashing duty this night:

Should we as Americans (and especially those of us responsible for educating today's youth) be concerned that it requires multiple signs and fences to keep people from stepping into an active steaming geyser?

Well, we've done it. 3 National Parks, 13 Days. 2,400 Miles. 5 Showers. After a few days of unpacking, doing laundry and dishes, airing out tents and sleeping bags, etc. it feels like we are home. Doug is doing a fantastic job chronicling our trip here, so take a look if you are interested. I still feel very fortunate that we had time (and the benefit of a relatively fuel efficient car) to explore some of the most beautiful parts of our country. While planning, we were a little disappointed that we planned the trip so early in a year with such heavy snowfall, as we weren't able to access all the places we wanted to see. But we were thoroughly rewarded with some early season perks, such as pleasant weather, an astounding display of wildflowers, and waterfalls that would knock your socks off. Doug compares my awe of waterfalls like a child's love of unicorns or rainbows. And it's probably a fair comparison. I will add a video from one of my favorite hikes, to Osprey Falls in Yellowstone. For a comparable effect of the power of this waterfall, place your computer on the bathroom counter plugged into some large speakers, and aim your shower head (cold water of course) on your face as you watch this.

I've been trying pretty hard to avoid blogging, but I couldn't resist on such a momentous occasion such as this:

I'm pretty sure I can say that it's the only being I've spent more time with in the last 4 years than my husband. And while it doesn't possess his good looks, wit, or dishwashing abilities, it can boast in its sleek appearance, and virus immunity. That's right. My little G4 IBook. And today it begins its 3rd life of sorts. We replaced the hard drive in October, and after watching its battery life deplete and the final death blow that severed its power adapter last week, it now has a shiny new battery and adapter. So it's truly a laptop again. I can work in the office, on the couch, outside on the patio for the next 5 hours and 20 minutes without reaching for the power cord. Wahoo!

Of course there are other summer accomplishments and activities that I am proud of as well. School is out and I am enjoying my make-up free, cooking, napping, and book devouring existence. A few things of note (with illustrations for you visual learners):

The first week of June brought me to Boston and other old New England haunts for the nuptials of my good friends from Bloomington, Brandon and Rachel. It was a gorgeous wedding and a good chance to see some IU friends. The trip also gave me a chance to see some other friends living in New England, though I am notoriously bad at photo documenting these visits.

The IU Girls

Jackie and I, post kayaking, enjoying the Portsmouth Chowder Festival!

Doug has done a much better job at documenting our outdoor adventures on his blog and flickr site. Most recently we had a pleasant day hike around The Loch and Mills Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. We are getting ready and excited for our upcoming trip to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Seriously, who wouldn't want to spend their 2nd wedding anniversary with a moose???

I've been an unambitious chef as of late, but am working up to greatness. I finally got some herbs and tomatoes planted this week, and this afternoon we go to pick up our first share of CSA veggies! Last year my culinary project was a dessert of the week throughout the summer which yielded some tasty results. This year my challenge will be to cook a meal each week highlighting some of the fresh, locally grown, ingredients that come to us from Grant Family Farms (or from our back patio as the case may be). I probably won't get into full swing until after our vacation. In the meantime I'll post a pic of my most recent carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (courtesy of me and my wonderful kitchenaid appliances).