Sunday, February 9, 2014

Winter morning…

I'm sure to a lot of the world, this is all old news, but for us, the frozen-over winter morning is an extraordinary thing. I slipped out—still in my pajamas with my big coat over meto catch a few of these master pieces before they melt away...
Icicles in Portland Oregon, portland blogger, winter in portland

Icicles in Portland Oregon

Icicles in Portland Oregon

Icicles in Portland Oregon

porltand blogger, blogs based in portland, portland oregon winter pictures

Icicles in Portland Oregon

Icicles in Portland Oregon

Icicles in Portland Oregon

Snow in Portland Oregon

Icicles in Portland Oregon

What's your weather like?


                                                                           ~ Marica

Saturday, February 8, 2014

A Simple Recipe for Gluten Free Waffles…

Waffles are incredible. What an amazing invention!!! But truth be told, regular waffles leave me feeling over-stuffed in a not so pleasant way. The following recipe I made for some friends who are currently eating gluten-free, and I think I just might like these waffles better than regular waffles… 
gluten free waffles
 We also had a frittata
frittata
Which made the meal feel like complete luxury...
gluten-free waffle recipe, portland oregon, waffles recipe, healthy waffle recipe, healthy waffles


Gluten Free Waffles

This recipe is simple, and you don't need a whole ton of weird ingredients to make it work. 
I prefer tapioca flour to corn starch, but I recently ran out, so I used corn starch.

Start your waffle pan heating.

In a large bowl mix:
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 butter melted
1 +1/2 cups milk

Sift then add:
1+1/4 cups sweet rice flour
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1/4 teaspoon salt

Add stirring gently:
5 egg whites beaten stiff
(save yolks for this recipe…)

Cook in your waffle iron like you would any other waffle recipe.


Happy Weekend!!
   
                                                      ~ Marica


P.S. We are getting MORE SNOW!!!!!

Friday, February 7, 2014

Coconut Cream Pie, but no cream...

A couple of days ago I made a coconut cream pie, and it was exactly that, a "coconut cream" pie.
I had bought two cans of coconut cream from Trader Joe's, the thick creamy kind, planning to
make chicken marsala, but instead they became a most decadent pie… 


Coconut Cream Pie

Start by preparing a crust. I used the crust recipe from this post
except I used an egg instead of the water… If too dry, add a few drops of water at a time. 
Recipe from The Blue Heron Ranch Cookbook

Roll out the crust, place in a buttered pie pan, poke a few holes with a fork so the crust
doesn't bubble then bake at 375 degrees until done, 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

On a dry pan place:
2/3 cup dry shredded coconut 
Bake until golden, maybe 6-8 minutes?? I didn't time it…
Spread half of the coconut over the bottom of the pie crust
and save the rest for the top of the pie.

Filling

Combine in a medium size heavy pan
and stir until smooth:
5 egg yolks (save whites for this recipe...)
2/3 cups raw sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
pinch salt
2 + 1/2 cups thick coconut cream 
(I used Trader Joe's canned coconut cream)

Place over medium heat and cook, stirring CONSTANTLY until thick.

Remove from heat, and add, stirring until smooth:
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
3 tablespoons butter sliced into piece

Pour immediately into the crust and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

Cool in the refrigerator for at least several hours. 


The filling for this pie is based off of the recipe for Vanilla Cream Pie in the Joy of Cooking.


Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!
                                      
                                                                 ~ Marica

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Snow...

We are getting snow again…
 An unexpected wonderful snow…
By late afternoon it was several inches thick so we headed over
to Cathedral Park to play for a short bit…
Snow in Portland Oregon
     It was freezing!!!
But the kids got their first ever chance to slide down a hill…
Which of course was very worth it…
My phone read nineteen degrees…
Snow in Portland Oregon
 Causing the trudge there and back to leave our fingers feeling raw and bitten…              
Something the kids are not used to… Neither am I for that matter…
But all I could think was hurray for snow!!! 
And as I said before, what a lovely surprise!

                     

                                                                  ~ Marica

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Samurai Exhibit…

A few weeks ago we managed to slip by the Portland Art Museum to see a samurai exhibit . . .
samurai
 In addition to samurai, there was also many other incredible pieces of art . . .
In the first room we found beautiful ancient Chinese statues …
Chinese art, Chinese statue, portland art museum exhibit
This one was my very favorite . . .
Chinese art, Chinese statue
It felt like an honor to be allowed to be this close to these pieces of work . . .
Chinese art, Chinese statue
Another set that truly struck me was the Japanese paintings . . .
Each detail was so extraordinarily perfect. The lines precise and tasteful . . .
The trees . . .
The horses . . .
The gentle slops that show the wind constantly moving . . .
 The samurai suits were too amazing to be real . . .
samurai
Very elaborate and in depth . . .
samurai
Each item had such careful stitching . . .
It must have taken forever to complete one of these . . .
samurai
From helmets . . .
samurai helmet

samurai  helmet
 And masks . . .
samurai mask

samurai mask
  To shoes . . .
samurai  shoes

samurai  shoes
Even their horses had masks . . .
samurai  horse mask
It was a remarkable experience . . .
Getting to witness this all in person . . .


                                                                Cheers ~ Marica

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Invited to tea time . . .

We are at an exciting new stage. A stage where I am being invited to tea by my children. 
Every so often the kids will spend a flurry of time in the kitchen scurrying about, mixing and pouring, adding and tasting. 
I'm usually not allowed in the kitchen at this point. Then, roughly an hour later I'm told "it's tea time!!" 
What's most amazing is that their desserts come out incredibly.
 I've yet to have something that isn't honest-to-goodness delicious.
The boys tend to skip recipes and just go full throttle by the seat of their pants. My dear girl, on-the-other-hand, carefully measures and completes each step along the way. 
Her desserts are decorated and presented in a most satisfying fashion. 
I love these little tea times. I remember being a kid and setting the table up nicely for some special treat I had concocted. I'm so glad to see my kiddoes enjoying the very same thing. And now, here I am, getting to enjoy it from the other prospective.

                                                                                                Cheers ~ Marica

Monday, February 3, 2014

Frilly Pictures...

I usually like my pictures to sit as is, but recently I had fun messing with the adjustments 
and settings available on my computer. The following are a few of the ones that came 
out especially nicely. It's funny what a little fuzz and fading can do.
donut, doughnut, back to eden bakery


cathedral park portland oregon, oregon blogger, portland based blog

honey bee pictures, art photography, portland blogger

petite provence, portland oregon blogger

                 Hope Everyone is having a nice start to February!

                                                                                            ~ Marica