P is for Pears and Pesto

Our neighbors up the street have fruit trees

and dropped off a bag o' pears a few days ago...

so I made a few pints of canned pears with ginger.

I just followed Joy Of Cooking's recipe for canned pears,

but added to each jar a nice piece of candied ginger...yum.

Meanwhile up in my veggie garden my Basil plants are resembling hedges-

So, here's my favorite Pesto recipe-

(it can be frozen as long as you don't add the cheese til defrosted)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paula and Jay's Pesto

2 cups fresh Basil

1 cup nuts

(pine,walnuts,even shelled sunflower seeds are tasty)

4 cloves garlic cut up

1 cup olive oil

1 cup parmesan,romano, asagio cheeses

(your choice-I like to mix 'em up a bit)

freshly ground black pepper

salt

(I don't use it, but some folks like it)

Put the basil, nuts and garlic into a food processor

Whirl/pulse til well acquainted

Add olive oil and process just til mixed.

Stir in cheese, black pepper and eat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Goes great on bread, pasta but not canned pears.

(Well, maybe on canned pears, but I haven't tried that yet)

Magpie #29

Hovering
Under
Missing
Me by
Inches
Nearby
Glimpses of
Beauty
In
Red
Dresses






I thought I'd try something different this week.
Not sure what you call this-but I hope you all
enjoy it! Visit Magpie Tales for more great poetry!
http://magpietales.blogspot.com
Cheers and have a great weekend.

It's Gorgeous in Manzanita Oregon!

I wrote this note below before I was able to post photos....
I am here in Manzanita Oregon...sitting in the local library...unable to post photos...BUT just visualize the most stellar day you EVER had at a beach...and that's what I am experiencing
Photos to follow when I get home in a few days....aloha!

And now....presto...the promised photos.........

Every morning the moon set a bit later
The beach was simply wonderful

We went to the dump one day to recycle
stuff plus take out the garbage...

We visited MJ Anderson's studio

Kites were flying everyday!

Children wading and surfers surfing........

Sand surfing.........

Everyday was gorgeous and brilliant

Red stool on loghouse porch

Lovely sunset shot...........

Post sunset poses...............

Our Playtime in Weed....

Russell and I had such a great time visiting our friends Bill and Ewana...
we always do! Could it be the fun times playing trianimos? Here's Bill
patiently keeping score and patiently ignoring our pouting (me)
and gloating (Russell).
Or could it be the always fabulous and delicious meals prepared by Ewana?
Nope! It's the fact that they are just doggone good friends we enjoy sharing adventures and good times with.....such as the Yreka Golden Fair.

While we were visiting we got to see Tony (Ewana's son )

get his old pickup out from behind the barn...now that was a process!
We went to the fair for 3 days-it was fun watching the families
and kids having so much fun!


Here are a few photos from our time at the fair:
First there was the C and W concert...

Then the rodeo! Yee Haw!

Finally, the Destruction Derby with one of the cars having Russell's name on it
as Bill and Ewana had cooked up this scheme to surprise Russell...it worked!
What a hoot.

All in all it was a splendid 5 days in the Mt Shasta area...

thanks Bill and Ewana!

Sudsy.....Magpie 28

Rub a dub dub

Ten happy toes in a tub

Total delight

~~~~~~~~~~

OR

Rub a dub dub

Ten toes in a tub

Mindless leisure

Total pleasure

Magic chemistry

Hydrotherapy

~~~~~~~~~~

OR

Rub a dub dub

I am so damn lucky

Soaking in hot water

with my rubber ducky

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yreka Golden Fair and Our Visit to Weed

I started to write this blog last week while we were visiting our friends Bill and Ewana.

Naturally, we had so much fun that this never got posted til now!

I will post this and will write the follow up tomorrow morning!

Enjoy our trip- we did!

Once again we headed south for 5 hours to spend time with our

good friends Bill and Ewana and go the the Yreka Golden Fair

...it never matters what we do....

because we always have fun...here's our first day:

Tuffy-their 5 year old Cairn Terrier greets us with

wild abandoned joy...such a cutie!

We tour the vegetable garden and apple orchard- apples are turning red...

The corn is getting ready to pick... The little green house frogs eat the bugs... and the Pink flamingos can be seen everywhere!

Here's one amidst the green beans...

Pipe Down! Magpie #27

Pipe broken

Millions of gallons spew forth

While greed flows

Last Week Was Busy...........

First things first....new polish on my toes.....

please note: Life is too short to wear only one color....

Last Wednesday found us at Laurelthirst Tavern
for Happy Hour Music!

http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/res8u18i/laurelthirstpublichouse/
Our most favorite group Sasparilla Jug Band was playing
and is all this month from 6pm-8pm...go see them if you can!
http://www.sassparillapdx.com/home.html

Friday we drove over to Vernonia Oregon for

The Mountain Man Rendevous. All weekend

they were camped out having fun recreating the past

wearing circa clothing and shooting black powder rifles.

While Russell shot at targets, I sat peaceably reading at the campsite.

I took a few photos of the little pond nearby...

The cattails by the pond....

and grasses blowing in the wind.....

Saturday I drove down to Neahkahnie Mountain to
celebrate John and Amy's 22nd Anniversary,
Laura's 47th Birthday and Zan's upcoming move to Florida
(only for 18 months or so...)
Here's a shot of Laura and Zan enjoying sister time...

A shot of Saturday's dinner...lovely time

Sunday was the big party- a lot of good friends,

neighbors, and relatives showed up and everyone

had a great time.

Laura and Bill brought 100 avocados from their orchard

We had them arranged all over the house...

One of the many decks-it was a gorgeous day.

Magpie 26-Water

A watering can is so easy to use

Just fill it

And spill it

And your plants will grow

So simple and I'm so easily amused

Filling it

Spilling it

Watching the water flow

Around the roots the water oozes

I filled it

And spilled it

Voila! It's a garden show

O is for Oranges,Olives and Oregano

This photo was taken last week at Riccardo's Ristorante

It has nothing to do with oranges-but everything to do

with olives and oregano! It's a great local place to

have a tasty lunch or dinner and we highly recommend it!
http://riccardoslo.com/

Meanwhile, here's my secret (hahah) Italian Tomato Sauce recipe

thanks to our good friend Kit who shared it with me many years ago:

Kit's Pasta Sauce

as many tomatoes as you want peeled cored and cut in quarters

1-2 onions chopped depending on amount of tomatoes

celery chopped-1-2 stalks dependent

lots of garlic finely chopped

1-2 carrots chopped

Italian herbs including oregano!

hot pepper flakes

olive oil

1-2 small cans tomato paste

Heat olive oil in large dutch oven

Saute onions,celery,garlic and carrots til onion is translucent

add herbs and stir for a few minutes

Then add tomatoes and smash them a bit to release juice

Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1-2 hours.

What I do is use a slow cooker for about 4 hours or so.

Add tomato paste, blend well, use an immersion blender if you want

Cook your pasta of choice, drain and enjoy your pasta sauce!

Serve with lots of cruncy bread and.....a salad with oranges and avocados.

YUMMY

A Week with Grace and Other Things

Grace flew over from NYC for a wonderful week long visit...

We started out at the annual Oregon Brewers Festival...

Then had friends over for a good visit-here's Zan and Grace

We hiked the trails at Silver Creek Falls-
spent 4 hours and saw lots of waterfalls...

Our shadows in Silver Creek

Flowery meadows going home on the backroads...

Tattoo seen in the Pearl District

Kids playing in Jamison Parks fountain....

and the final photo is an homage to Magpie Tales and

my poem for this week having to do with odds and ends that I collect.

Scroll down a few posts and you can read it for yourself...