Annual Rose Garden Trip

I know I did this last year, but I really really love visiting the rose garden here in Portland.  This year, since we've been having a milder summer (a.k.a. a complete dud!), different flowers were blooming than last.  Some weren't blooming at all; this was the case with my favorite, Rouge Royale.

"Black Jade"

"Carding Mill"

"Lady of Shalott"

"Reba McEntire"

 White Clematis

"Shockwave"

"Shockwave"

Bzzzz... "Monkey Business"

"First Prize"

"Molineux"

"Si" Micro Mini

"Carding Mill" - Probably my favorite of this year.

Midnight snack II...

Attention science geeks, stoners, pregnant women, and Portal fans:  Holy shit, you can make cake in a mug.  In minutes.  Yes you can.  No, really, you can.

How does it taste?  We liked it.  Not as good as regular cake, kinda spongy, chocolatey.  I admit it would probably be 100 times better with chocolate chips, as the recipe suggests.  Some reviewers say there is too much cocoa; this may be true as it was quite strong.  Don't try to cut out any sugar, it won't taste right.  And don't burn your tongue, it's pretty hot.

Midnight snack...

What the hell is it?

It's a Jicama, or a "Mexican Turnip".  This one is peeled, normally they look like this.  I doubt you have to actually peel them, but the sticker on mine suggested it.  Don't grab your vegetable peeler, though.  If you can get it started (say, near the stem?) the peel comes of by itself quite easily.  Alternatively, I have seen them in vegetable trays but this isn't very common.

What do I do with it?

My favorite way to eat them is raw with dip.  There are recipes, but I have been trying to incorporate more fresh, raw fruits and vegetables in my diet, and I feel very good.  Nutritional value?  Mostly carbs, fiber and water.  They are chock full of inulin(a kind of fiber), and are extremely filling.  Essentially they are a tasty vehicle for getting your favorite dressing from the bottle to your mouth, while sneaking 6 grams of fiber inside of you with you barely noticing.

How's it taste?

Crisp. Starchy. Wet.  If you like raw carrots or cut up sweet potatoes, you'll like this.  Its really crispy and satisfyingly fun to eat.

Cheap bike basket 30 second how-to. If you even needed a how-to.

It's already August!  Where have I been? The Pharmacy.  Biking.  Job interviews.

After a stretch of 6 days at the pharmacy in a row, I had enough.  I decided to, just for the hell of it, throw out two job applications.  Seeing as how I applied to 100 jobs and just got rude rejection letters last year, I figured it would take several months to even hear back from any of them.

I was wrong.  The first application I sent invited me for an interview.  Then they hired me.  In less than two weeks.  So I am now a part time library assistant in for the Oregon City library.  I am kissing my pill-counting days goodbye. You know, forever.

I've also been volunteering at OMSI on their grant-writing team, and I've been having a great time at it.

Happy cats are not on the sidewalk!  Happy cats are just on the porch!  

What else?  After gaining 8 pounds since January, I decided to start biking again.  And I'm doing it in style.  I recently purchased a red Electra cruiser and I've had fun taking it all over the city.  My old bike, which needs a bit of work, had a basket on it; this bike didn't.  An easy fix:  Any square basket and some zip ties.  I've found so many of life's problems can be solved with zip ties.  Its not incredibly stable and/or weight bearing, but a few books, a purse or a bottle of water would fit nicely into this basket and leave my hands free for riding.  And if it breaks I could probably buy six more for the cost of a real bike basket.

Total cost: $1.99.

On to the bike seat...an easy crochet project.  I devised a way to keep it on the seat, but I haven't ridden with it on yet.  Most people just lace yarn through the bottom and tie it on, but I thought for whatever reason I'd try something else...If my method fails I can just take it apart and lace it through the regular way.

Directions later if anyone is interested.

Here's a video for you:

baking blitz: the best-and maybe healthiest-banana bread recipe.

I love to try new variations on recipes I've made dozens of times.  This time I tried Oatmeal Banana Nut Bread, a standard recipe with the addition of quick oats.  

Right out of the oven!

 For mine I used butter for the shortening.  They came out quite delicious.  You can't really taste the oats after baking, so its easy to add more whole grain without really changing the flavor too much. It might be worth trying this trick with zucchini bread, too. In the end I really liked how these turned out!  To turn the bread into muffins I reduced the bake time to around 35 minutes, but my oven runs cool so keep checking them after 25 minutes or so.

Want them even healthier?  A review suggests using fat-free yogurt to replace half the butter/shortening.  I didn't have yogurt this time, but I'm going to have to try that next time!

Something for the Summer: Blueberry Lemonade

Summer's not really happening here, but I can still drink like it is!  I'm going to share my recipe for Blueberry Lemonade.  I didn't get any pictures, because it tasted too great and we drank it all right away.

1/2 - 3/4 cup Blueberries (Fresh or Frozen)
4-5 Lemons, depending on size
Sugar
Splenda
Blueberry Vodka (I had Smirnoff, but use your favorite.  Naturally flavored is best.)
Ice
Water

Juice the lemons, and add this to your pitcher.  (I love this one.)  Puree your berries or crush them up, and add them too.  I usually add 1-2 of the squeezed lemon rinds just to add more lemony goodness.  Cover this mixture with blueberry vodka and let it sit.

It should turn pinkish-purple from the berries.  Add sweetner to your taste. Depending on which vodka you use, you might not need to add as much sugar.  Some flavored vodkas have sugar added and some do not. I like to do half and half with Splenda and sugar because I like it really sweet without lots of calories.  Add some, taste it add some more.  You can even leave it out and add it by the glass later.  Fill the rest of the pitcher with as much water and ice as it will hold (or maybe not depending on its size.  Remember mine is 1 1/2 quarts or 1.6 L), and refrigerate.  The lemonade will get more purple and taste more like berries the next day!

Blackberries are next, because obviously Marionberry season is on and Stoli makes a lovely blackberry vodka.

Warning:  You can barely taste the alcohol in this.  Seriously.

Addendum:  Making this for kids?  Try a little Torani Blueberry Syrup instead of Vodka.

Cupcake Update.

Cupcakes up close.

Sugar shapes tutorial.