NWOutdoorGrrl

I don’t remember the last time I visited Mt. Rainier when there wasn’t snow at Paradise. It was a rare treat these last few days to wander the hiking trails, even if the mountain was a little shy about showing herself.

It’s time to have our house repainted (the joys of homeownership!), so I went to the paint store to see what kind of yellows I could find. We most likely have decided to paint our house “friendly yellow.” (Can I have the job of naming paint colors in my next life?)

In the mean time, walls of well-lit paint chips make for interesting Photoshop fun.

This vintage utensil is no match for a sharp knife and quick hands

I found some great bargains on seasonal produce in Leavenworth last week, which means I have an abundance of fruit that needs to be preserved ASAP. I love our dehydrator and am experimenting a bit with different ways to dehydrate apples, pears, tomatoes, peaches, and bananas. Here are some tips I’ve picked up that you might find useful if you’re also dehydrating similar foods.

Tomatoes: Slice these fairly thickly (~3/8 in.) and dehydrate at 155 degrees. This is much hotter than you would normally dehydrate fruits and vegetables, but it partially toasts the tomatoes, giving them a rich sweetness. I love popping a tomato chip in my mouth (yum!) and I can’t wait to use these in place of store-bought sun-dried tomatoes.

Peaches: Thankfully, there is no need to peel peaches before dehydrating them. I was dubious at first, thinking the skin would be bothersome. It’s not and I hardly notice it at all when I’m munching on my dried peach slices.

Bananas: Okay, I didn’t get these in Leavenworth, but I had some that needed eating quickly, so I thought I’d throw them in the dehydrator. I cut each banana into 8 “sticks” by cutting the banana in half and then cutting each half into four pieces lengthwise. These turned out great! I’m thinking they would be excellent dipped in peanut butter or Nutella for a calorie-dense hiking/climbing snack.

Pears/Apples: Again, don’t peel, just core and cut them into slices and throw into the dehydrator. The dried pears are especially sweet and taste better than candy!

Fruit leather: Finally, I made what I’m hoping will be a great fruit leather using 2 apples, 1 pear, 1 cup blueberries, and 2 tbsp ground flax seed. This amount of fruit makes two round leathers about 8″ across.

Mashing the grains to extract flavor and sugar for OMG!

After the successful debut of Buzz Light Beer and Saison of our Discontent, Black Cat Brewery is expanding its offerings to include a classic bitter (brewed by assistant brewmaster, Nick) and a seasonal spiced pumpkin porter.

The Bitter End should be in bottles by mid-week and will be drinkable by the end of the month. Oh My Gourd! was brewed today and will likely end up in bottles in about 2 weeks. Then it will need some mellowing time. Look for samples around Halloween.