Happy First Birthday to Our Sweet Mountain Munchkin

The fact that Ford will turn one at 3:00 AM tomorrow morning means that one year ago, after 24 hours of labor, I was saying "to hell with this natural childbirth hookum, give me the damn epidural!" And the sweet, empathetic anesthesiologist gently asked if the MM and I would like a moment to talk about my choice and I yelled "No, dammit! I don't care what he wants!"  Ah, childbirth.  A wild and crazy start to the most wonderful, exhausting year of our lives:

Happy Birthday, Fordo! We love you!

When Winter Squash is $0.69/pound

It's time to make soup! Squash is in season right now and there's a huge bin of them at The Good Food Store, which is a couple of blocks from our house and feels like my home away from home.

(Note the pre-wedding "china" in this old photo. I forgot to take a photo last night in our pretty Deruta mugs)

My favorite recipe is from the February 2007 issue of Bon Appetit for Curried Butternut Squash Soup. I like this one because it uses Thai red curry paste instead of yellow curry powder for the kick.  We like our Thai spice, so I usually add an extra half or full teaspoon of the curry paste.  It only serves 6, which goes quickly in my house, so I'd recommend doubling the recipe.

Here it is:

• 2 2-pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeded
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped peeled apple
• 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
• 2 14-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup whipping cream (I just used whole milk)
  
• 2 tablespoons honey

• 6 tablespoons sour cream, stirred to loosen
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush cut side of squash with oil; place squash, cut side down, on large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Scoop squash out into large bowl. Measure 3 cups squash (reserve any remaining squash for another use).
Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and apple; sauté 5 minutes. Add curry paste; stir 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, and 3 cups squash. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered 1 hour. Discard bay leaves. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth**. Return to same pot. Stir in cream and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Rewarm over medium-high heat.
Divide soup among bowls. Drizzle with sour cream; sprinkle with cilantro.

** I use my immersion blender right in the pot and save myself a big, splattery mess on the countertop.  Easily the best $30 I've spent for a kitchen item. 

Bon Appetit!

They Call It Lucifer Lake

Because is was hell getting there!

Watching the sun set from the edge of the alpine lake with no other human souls for miles was well worth the slog and a lovely way to spend my birthday weekend.

The MM contemplates his place in the world

Then of course we had to descend what we climbed....

The puppies have mostly recovered, and the Chops Man is hungry for more.

A Few Things About Rainier

It was really windy and wet


Pink Paintbrush!!

There were also:

Some very large trees


A very tame (and wet) grouse


Glaciers! (That's the Nisqually Glacier)
And no, I never did see the summit, but we still enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Road Warriors

We've put a lot of miles on the Jetta lately, traveling around Montana and soon all the way to Mount Rainier and the Seattle area for the long weekend. Between travel and house guests, it has been a whirlwind of a first summer in Montana. I'm sure we'll miss the warm weather and good company soon enough, but I'm looking forward to a few more weekends 'round these here parts come fall.

Our trip to Livingston this past weekend was so lovely. Breathtaking country to explore and no particular agenda, no phones ringing or TV, just letting the day lead us where it wanted to. We must have spent at least an hour catching HUGE grasshoppers and chucking them into a little pond to watch the trout rise. I had no idea I'd find this so entertaining : )

The dogs didn't want to leave! Wouldn't they love their own 1500 acres on which to run free (wouldn't we all?!)

Glassier

That's sort of the British phonetic spelling for one very lovely National Park where I spent last weekend with my mum!

Witnesseth:

A Little Preview

Until I can embed an entire slideshow from our trip to Glacier....

Lake McDonald at dusk--just amazing.

Montana Adventures: Blue Mountain

We have another favorite after-work outing spot: Blue Mountain. One of the few places around town where it's cool to have your dogs off leash, Blue Mountain is far better than the in-town dog parks because it's wide open! Plenty of space for the poocher hounds to roam and lots of other dogs to meet and greet.

It also has some killer views looking northwest across the Valley and back towards town. My plan was to bring my mom out here tomorrow afternoon for a leg stretch after she flies in from Virginia (wahoo!), but I think it'll be a little too hot. There's always Pattee Canyon....

Oh Come Now, Pottery Barn

Let's be completely honest about your new Simone bedding, which you're describing thusly: "We collaborated with one of America's oldest and most respected fabric design houses to create the blooms and scrolls of this evocative bedding. A blend of soft, textural linen-cotton lends dimension to the leafy pattern."

Was that the same fabric design house that sold the same material to discount textile stores like Printers Alley where I picked it up two years ago to recover my thrift-store armchair?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Montana Adventures: Mission Falls

Last weekend we did an impromptu afternoon hike into the Mission Mountains to catch a glimpse of Mission Falls. The best shot I snapped was still from pretty far down canyon, and we ran out of time, but hello! That is one huge waterfall. We are now itching to get back, climb above the falls and camp beside what is apparently an amazing snow-fed lake in a hanging glacial valley (My adventurous self just mumbled something in her sleep and opened one eye in potential interest).

The lower part of the canyon turned out to be this amazing little lush, green ecosystem tucked away from the beating sun of St. Ignatius/Arlee valley. Huge cypress, ferns, even moss green alongside the trail and I could almost, almost smell things growing in the woods the way you can in western NC.

Of course, as soon as the canyon opened up farther upstream, the trail was totally covered in poison ivy, at which point I had a minor shit fit and had to head for the car. Nothing like a rash that requires prescription steroids when you have cruddy short term health insurance to put a damper on the afternoon. But I digress.

Site of the Poison Ivy Meltdown

We dig the Mission Mountains and will be heading there when the larch turn yellow. That's fall to you, city peoples.

Bivy Testing

The Mountain Man will be spending Wednesday night in this

before he summits this:

Flikr Photo From The Sewbot

Without sounding ungrateful for my beautiful Montana surroundings, dare I say that I miss the Tetons? That I'm getting a little teary just thinking about them?

Montana Adventures--Pattee Canyon

Missoula can get pretty hot and dry in the summertime, and our new favorite spot to take the dogs in the evening is Pattee Canyon. We usually have to duck a few frisbee golf discs (folf in the local parlance), and then head into one of the prettiest Ponderosa Pine forests I've even seen (much softer and greener than in Flagstaff, AZ). Since the MM was a forester in a past life, he knows these wonderful things like the bark of a "Pondo" smells like vanilla.

Isabel got some hot spots and we had to partially shave her hind quarters to let them heal. She's been a little self-conscious since then.

Looking south toward the Bitterroot Valley and Lolo Peak way in the background

When Life Hands You Radishes...

Make this Orzo Salad With Radishes and Chives. The mix of tart radishes, lemon juice and fresh chives blends so perfectly with the orzo and a bit of mayonnaise, (I've been buying mayo made with canola oil) salt and pepper. I've made it twice this summer and it keeps well for a day or two in the fridge. Yum.

Flickr is Blogger is Twitter is Flickr

Er. Something like that. So now I can take a picture with my iPhone, email it to my special Flickr/Twitter email account and somehow the photo is now in my Flickr photostream and linked on Twitter, which shows up on Blogger. Confused? Me too. But I kinda love it. Witness the my latest tweet to the right over there.

The Farm Through Time

February 1st


February 5th


March 16th


March 29th


April 17th

When I lived in Kelly, Wyoming, I photographed the Gros Ventre River through every season. In Charlottesville, it's been this view of the Blue Ridge from the farm that I see each morning when I take the dogs out. It's dear to me and I will miss this view. I'll be looking for a new one to follow through the seasons in Missoua.