Angel's Rest and Oregon's Fall

On Saturday, the sun was out, and it was dry all day. We took that opportunity to try a new hike. Angel's Rest is so close to town, and had amazing colors. It's now one of my favorite hike. It was so pretty that I hardly noticed that it was uphill all the way!

Leaves-lined path
Creek & mini waterfall
Shiny/sweating on the way up. The mighty Columbia in the background.

Crock-pot #2

Chicken tortilla soup (sans tortilla) was excellent today. This is giving me great hope that this crock pot thing is going to work out! Maybe I just had bad recipes in the years before. Forgot to take a picture before dinner so there's none to post. Sorry. It tasted really authentic even without cilantro (ran out and the ones in the herb garden died/burned when it was too hot last month), avocado (left out on the counter too long) or sour cream (didn't buy) or tortilla (cutting down on carbs). Imagine what it could be with all the fixings! Thanks Sherri for the recipe.

Tried spinning (gym resistance biking) today and it was a great work out! Note to Julie- this will be something I'm doing for exercising in the winter. I'm embarrassed to say that at one point, I even got slightly light-headed. Maybe because I didn't eat much for breakfast. Will change that next time. I'm just excited to find something active that I'll enjoy throughout the gray season.

My goal this week is James 3:9-10. It seems like I need a daily reminder. Until next time.

Tuesday once more

The weather suddenly got cold and rainy almost over night. We pulled out our down comforter, sweaters and wool socks (I know, I go a bit overboard sometimes). Fall always remind me of stew or something simmering all day. So, braving that world once again, I took out the crock pot. Now you may think that crock pot-ing is easy, cheater way to cook. But for me, I've always managed to burn, ruin and destroy all recipes tried, no matter how fool-proofed the authors/reviews say. Well, I really only tried twice but failed both times. Got discouraged and stowed the crock pot away for good. Now what possessed me to try it again? Maybe the thought of cooking after a long 8 hours of work is tiring or just wanting fall comfort food. I'm trying my hands at pulled pork! 4 out of 8 hours into the process and no burnt smell yet. I'm crossing my fingers. If it works, I may try to chicken tortilla soup next time. In the meantime, I made Vietnamese Lotus Stem Salad with Chicken to hold myself over. Plus, it's pretty to look at and yummy to eat!

Today's Dinner

Tortilla Espanola with aioli. Easy and delicious!

Tuesdays in the Kitchen

As you may know, I have Tuesdays off. In the past month or so, I've used this time to catch up on sleep, run errands, go to the dentists, etc. Now that all major chores that require daytime, working hour presence are done, I find myself looking for a meaningful project. And since we're selling the house, I can make too big of a mess on crafts, etc. Two weeks ago, I wandered onto a Holy Basil food blog and now am hooked. Christine (the author) is a brilliant cook (chef? I'm not sure if she is a chef by profession). I'm overjoyed to find recipes such as Bo Kho (Vietnamese beef stew), Ca Kho To (catfish in caramel stew sauce), Bun Bo Hue, and various goi (Vietnamese salads). For so long, I've tried to replicate my mom's cooking but never could. You see, my mom, like most moms, don't measure. Tough luck for me.

So the project: to make something yummy every Tuesday, preferably Vietnamese food- to get back to my roots, to get to know and cook the food of my childhood, of which my husband craves for. No doubt, there will probably be an occasional Italian or American dish because to me, they're easier to make. And I will try to post pictures of the dishes. So far, I've made Pho and Ca Kho To in the last two Tuesdays. (No pictures, sorry. The project wasn't realized at the time.) And today, I made this- Cucumber Salad with Shrimp and Shredded Chicken.

Yum!

October

October? Already? Where did the summer go?

I'm settling into the new clinic. Routine is good, I think. Patient panel building is slow, but I'm making progress I think. One of the best things about this so far, is that I can do as much OMT (osteopathic manipulative treatment) as I want. I need to keep it up to retain the skill. The organization is being very supportive and even getting me a new OMT counterstrain table in the new year!

We're moving to the 'Couv (Vancouver, WA- for out of state readers). Sad, but true. My job is in Battle Ground, and it simply makes more sense to us. Our current house is on the market and we hope to move in the winter. We'll still continue to go to the same church and do the things we love in Portland. After all, it's only 10-15 mins away!

Pulling out my sweater from the winter clothes box this morning, I'm reminded that fall is here. Although I love fall and fall colors, I'm reminded that we need to be stratigizing for ways to be active in the upcoming colder months. Sadly, we may have to put our mountain bikes away soon, and go back to the gym. I may take up swimming. There's always P90x, but we like to be outside, and will probably miss summer a lot. Would love your suggestions.