Huckleberry Picking Day

Ahhh, yes.  Once a year, it is my wifely duty to go on the annual huckleberry picking trip.  The whole idea has the most romantic sound to it, doesn’t it?  And once upon a time as a starry eyed city slicker woman in her mid thirties, who married a very passionate country boy who was farm bred and raised,  I actually got excited about the idea of  spending the afternoon out in the woods, gathering little berries to make a wonderful pies. Once upon a time….

Well reality has a way of spoiling the most romantic of notions. Our first huckleberry outing started out pretty well actually.  Dan had packed up a nice little picnic lunch to be eaten that afternoon on the mountain.  The scenery on the way to his hidden little spot was stellar for sure, although there was a narrow dirt road &  a few pot holes to deal with.  The car was not too badly damaged that first time out.  I just decided that it would probably be best if we took his car up next time, since he’s far more careless with my car than his own.

our favorite huckleberry picking spot

Once we reached the traditional Elliott picking spot, we piled out of the car with buckets attached to our belts, insearch of fruit bearing bushes. The bushes are prevalent.  But the berries are not always.  So it becomes a bit like finding a needle in a haystack.  Or hunting for Easter eggs.  A few hours of this is terrific.  But I learned that day that we do not drive all that distance to spend just a few measly hours searching for hucks.  We would stay until dark, until our feet were blistered and bloodied from walking through the woods on unstable terrain, until we had fallen into at least a half dozen holes, and bruised ourselves, until the mosquitoes had sucked all the lifeblood out of our bodies.  But worst of all, we had to stay long enough for me to do the one thing I have always dreaded more than anything else in my life.  Peeing in the woods. 

A very fruitful bush!

 At some point during the day, I finally realized I could no longer keep holding on.  I had to relieve myself. And so off I went in search of a hidden spot. (Not an easy task when you are picking berries with an entire family).  My stepdaughter had given me a few pointers on how to do it correctly.  I needed to find a fallen trunk somewhere, and squat over  it, like it was a toilet in a dirty gas station.  Lordy,  I truly would have rather just died at this point.  But off I went in search of a hidden spot with a fallen log.  It took a good 10 minutes just to accomplish this.  By now I was desperate.  I no longer cared too terribly much that I had to pull down my pants in the middle of the woods.  I prayed that one of my children, or worse yet a perfect stranger, would not stumble upon me there.  For one fleeting moment, I wished I could just be a guy and do it quick and easy.

And so I squatted and …that’s when  I discovered the whole tree log thing didn’t make a whole lot of sense…unless it was a really skinny tree.  Because as I sat there, I began to feel my hand get warm. “Please tell me this isn’t happening”, I’m thinking as I readjusted my body. And as I readjusted, I soiled my jeans. This was without a doubt one of the most disgusting moments of my life!  Thank God for Wet Wipes!  They came in mighty handy that day. 

 I think I decided at that moment that I really hated the whole idea of going huckleberry picking.  How can it be that this is like my husband’s most favorite day of the year?  So like any good little wife is supposed to do, I make compromises.  And I do this with him once a year.  Unless I can find an excuse to bail out.  I’ve gotten somewhat better at it though.  I remember to bring gloves, so that my hands stay clean.  The berries are very sticky and will stain your skin purple. I wear a hat to protect myself from sunburn and it helps minimize the yellow jackets and mosquitoes that fly around your head while you’re out there picking from the berry bushes.  I do pack some bug repellent, and try to wear gray or brown tones. (Stinging insects are attracted to reds and yellows). Most importantly, I bring Wet Wipes!

Huckleberry picking is hard work.  If you ever see someone trying to sell you a gallon of huckleberries for $35 a gallon, let me tell you, that is a bargain! Huckleberries are so tiny that it takes several hours just to collect a half gallons worth.  See photos below.

huckleberries in the hand

an hours worth of huckleberry pickin in a half gallon bucket

By the time you’ve figured in your time spent up there and a full tank of gas, those little gallons are easily worth $100 each.  But if you happen to be married to someone like my Dan, the berries are worth even more.  Why, you ask?  Well, it just so happens that this year, I sort of thought we’d go ahead and take my car up again, since it has a little more room than his truck.  And we had a son coming to join us on this day.  Well, at some point in this trip, Dan jumped into the car and drove on up the road to get the car turned around.  As I mentioned earlier, the roads to these spots are narrow and unpaved.  I heard a crunching noise from where I stood waiting for him to return.  When he came around the bend it looked as if the entire underside of the car had been relocated to the front of the car.  And there was leaking underneath as well.  He had run over a tree stump, just a little bit, while making the turn around.  Truly, the damage was not as bad as it originally looked.  And I take full responsibility for what happened, since I knew in my heart it was wiser to take his truck than my car.  And yet I didn’t listen to my instincts.

Yet, for all my griping, I must tell you plainly, there is nothing more wonderful than a piece of hot huckleberry pie with a scoop of Eberhard’s Vanilla ice cream on the side. Priceless. And so, here is my recipe for huckleberry pie. 

 Priceless Huckleberry Pie

Mix 5 cups of huckleberries with

2 cups of sugar

1/4 cup tapioca

1/2 tsp almond extract

Let sit together in a bowl for about half hour.

Pour into an unbaked pie shell.

Top berries with 1 TBS butter

And top crust, add 5-6 slits in the top for steam vents

Bake at 400 for 45-50 minutes.

Serve w/ Eberhard’s Vanilla Ice cream

Enjoy!

The Farmers Wife

Welcome to another additon of  Tea On Tuesday. Today I am sipping Orange Pineapple Black Tea from my dining room perch, and enjoying another lovely Central Oregon day. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wondered how on earth I arrived here in Central Oregon. I am a Southern California girl at heart, who transplanted at a young age to Southern Nevada.  The Las Vegas area, where I spent most of my growing up years, is a desert.  The only thing that grows there is cactus, Oleander bushes, and weeds. I had never seen snow.  And animals don’t just graze in peoples front yards.

Yeah, it’s a different world where I grew up.  A home cooked meal meant going to The Railroad Pass Casino for their Sunday afternoon smorgasborg. Taking a hike meant driving to the Meadows Mall and looking for a new pair of shoes in air conditioned comfort.  How I arrived here in Oregon is one of God’s many mysteries. But from the start, it has been a bit like landing on another planet.  And 15 years later, I’m still scratching my head trying to figure it out.

I married an Oregon farm boy, who grew up and became a preacher, and later went into teaching and coaching. This means he knows literally every person in town, (even if he can’t always remember their names). He is very friendly, energetic, generous, involved in everything, (and forgetful).

I consider myself to be a tight person.  I have a small circle of close friends I’m fairly tight with.  And I’m cordial, but not overly personable, with everyone else.  This makes me look like a snob next to Mr. Congeniality, who continually volunteers us for any, and all, community events.  He is an extrovert in every sense of the word.  I prefer to be left alone much of the time.  I have plenty personal activites that keep me happily occupied all day long.  But more often than not, I keep busy assisting my husband with some of his activities.

Let’s take for instance farming/gardening.  My husband grew up on a farm, so farming seems to be in his blood in a powerful way. One thing I had to learn was that farmers get very attached to their little plots of land.  And they would really prefer to never move. Ever. They’d sooner sell their own body parts, than to relocate.

The farmer engages in weekly weed wars

Last summer I shared my gardening adventures here in a series of posts titled ” The Zucchini Chronicles”. Several women commented on how lucky I was to have all that zucchini. Bah, humbug.  Only a woman who has never been married to a farmer would dare to say that. The growing season in Oregon is very short. So while the idea of having a lovely little garden to go out and pick and choose all the fresh vegetables I want, any time I want, sounds deliciously inviting, the reality is that in a stretch of about  6 weeks,  we will harvest about 250 pounds of zucchini.  A variety of lettuce and spinach will also be brought in at the rate of  6-8 heads per week. Corn…oh mercy, we get a lot of corn. Carrots, potatoes, onions, peas, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, yadda, yadda. All of these things are good things in moderation.  But they can be overwhelming when they all come on at once. We have one refrigerator.  The produce drawer is broke from all the weight of the produce.  And this is just the beginning.  Last year, Dan planted an orchard as well, so we could have peaches, and plums, and apples, and pears too.

What to do with all that stuff?  Many people have suggested canning.  Yippee-Cay-yae!  Think of all the time I could spend doing something I have absolutely no interest in.  Now don’t get me wrong, because I love to cook.  And I love fresh fruits and vegetables, in moderation.  But there are only two of us living here. A thousand square foot garden, plus an orchard is a lot of food to consume for 2 people during a 6 week harvest. I have learned to make pies. (I’d rather make cake and cookies).  But farm boys eat pie.  Lots of pie. That’s why he planted an orchard, so I could make more pie.

And yes, we have learned that some produce is freezable.  But freezing produce is also time consuming.  There is a process of cleaning, drying, blanching, separating, freezing, removing from freezer, and transferring to Food Saver Bags, removing air, and re-freezing.

Anxiously awaitning another zucchini harvest

One of the things Dan likes to do with produce is decorate, especially if there is company coming.  I will be busy in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning, setting tables, etc.  I usually like to lay food out on the counter, buffet style, and let guests help themselves.  About 5 minutes before showtime, when there is nothing left to do but make sure the toilet seat is down and clean, I walk swiftly through the kitchen and find that suddenly a harvest has appeared on the counter, and the buffet food has been ”adjusted” accordingly.  Half dozen heads of corn, a couple heads of lettuce, and 3 dirt covered onions have mysteriously appeared, as if part of the buffet line.  Earwigs are scampering in all directions. The doorbell rings.

This is the life of the farmers wife.  It is a good life, albeit frustrating at times. Thank God, the season is short. This too shall pass. In the meantime, I’ll grin and bear it, while I throw another pie in the oven. Below is my recipe for French Rhubarb Pie.

French Rhubarb Pie

3 cups rhubarb, diced                                          3/4 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla                                                           1/3 cup margarine

1 TB flour                                                               1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar                                                           1   9 inch unbaked pie shell.

1 egg

Combine Rhubarb with next 4 ingredients, (left column). Toss until well mixed and spoon into pie shell.

Combine the next 3 ingredients, (right column), mix well until crumbly.  Sprinkle over rhubarb filling.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 350, and bake 40 minutes longer.  A quick,  easy, (and delicious way), to utilize  your rhubarb.  Rhubarb really doesn’t freeze that well.

Want more recipes?  I post recipes on two other sites.  Check out www.sconeyisland.net  and http://gatheringtimes.shutterfly.com

Blessings-

Tea Lady Darla

Delicious Tea Smoothies

If you’re looking for something cold, refreshing, and nutritious to drink this summer, try one of these yummy smoothies.  They are simple to make and sure to please.

  Raspberry Tea Smoothie:

1 cup of  raspberry herbal ice tea

1 cup of frozen raspberries

1 cup of vanilla yogurt

Whip ingredients together until smooth in a blender or smoothie maker.

 

Irish Breakfast Smoothie-

1 cup of strong Irish Breakfast tea, chilled.

1 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup cranberry juice

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 banana

Mix all ingredients together in a blender until smooth and creamy.  Do not overblend!

You will love these summertime smoothies! For more tea recipe ideas, visit my website at www.sconeyisland.net

Looking For Tea Party Recipes?

Greetings tea fans.  Just want to update you about what I’m up to these days.  I have completely re-modeled my website to include a recipe page, tea articles, a tea store, party supplies, fun ideas and links to other related sites. This is still a work in progress, but I invite you come take a sneak peek by clicking here- Sconey Island.

So, if you are looking for tea party recipes, I will have them listed over there. Please stop by and visit me there.  I will be adding more recipes throughout the month.

Blessings,

Tea Lady Darla

Flakey Ham & Cheese Bites

I made these delicious little morsels yesterday for a Superbowl party and got rave reviews.  I’ve also served them at tea parties.  They are so easy to make, I thought I’d share the recipe with ya’ll.

you’ll need:

1 box of frozen puff pastry

thin sliced deli ham (I use honey ham)

1 Tbs. dijon mustard

I cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese

1 egg

First you will need to defrost the pastry sheet according to the package directions. Then you will roll it out on a floured board.  (Actually, I just use my Pampered Chef stoneware cooking sheet cause it saves a step when you need to transfer it to a cooking surface). Roll it to about a 10 x 15 size retangle.  Mix the mustard with a tablespoon of water and brush onto the pastry, coming within half inch of the edge. Place sliced ham pices over this, and sprinkle w/ shredded cheese.  Add another layer of ham and cheese.  Now, roll out the 2nd pastry sheet to the same size.  Lightly score the top of this sheet in a diagonal crosswise pattern. A light brushing of plain water around the edge of the first pastry sheet will help seal the two sheets together. Now top the first pastry sheet with the 2nd one which has the scoring on the top.  Seal around the edges.  Use extra water if needed.  Mix the egg with a tablespoon of water and lightly brush the top of the surface. You’ll bake this at 400 degrees until it’s golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let it sit a few minutes before cutting into bite size pieces using the score lines as a guide.  These are really tasty, very easy, and make wonderful little finger foods for your next tea party.

The Zucchini Chronicles

Seriously folks,  what have I done to deserve this?

Okay, I confess when I first moved here from the Las Vegas area, I thought it was rather charming to have married into a farming family, being that there is no such thing as a farmer in the desert where I used to live.  We bought a house on a 5 acre lot with fabulous Smith Rock views.  And my husband planted a huge garden in the yard.  I’m talking HUGE!  Like about 40 x 70 feet worth of huge! There were peas, and carrots, onions, lots and lots of corn.  And zucchini by the ton.  It was all so quaint back then….going out into the garden to pick the fresh vegetables we’d be having for dinner.  Not only was it quaint, but very practical for a blended family of nine big eaters living on a $600/month grocery budget. No one ever warned me about zucchini.  The only thing I knew of zucchini growing up near Las Vegas was that you could find it in the produce section at Smiths Food King at 2am when I did most of my grocery shopping, like all good residents of Las Vegas do.

In my husband’s garden, the zucchini plant seemed to thrive….and not just thrive but take over, for crying out loud. I tried every zucchini recipe known to man to try and break up the monotony of having to eat zucchini everyday.  I finally came upon a recipie for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread that my kids seemed to love and would actually eat without complaining. (recipe below). And so I made Zucchini Bread until my refrigerator was filled to overflowing. And the freezer too.  But my husband continued to bring me newly harvested zucchini almost daily.  So we started taking bags of zucchini to church with us to give away to the parishioners.  More often than not, we had to just leave a huge bag sitting conspicuously somewhere and pray that a starving, homeless person would be blessed by it. I read somewhere that if you live in farming country, you don’t need to plant zucchini.  All you have to do is park your car in a public spot and leave one of the windows rolled down for about 15 minutes.  (Make sure it’s only one  window rolled down, lest there isn’t enough room left for you to drive home after your car has been blessed).  So true.  But this poor little desert dweller didn’t know these things when I first arrived here.

Now last month I took care of my husbands garden while he was in Zambia.  And I actually thought I was doing a pretty good job.  More than anything I was thrilled that the zucchini’s hadn’t started coming on yet.  That was an answer to prayer actually, considering I was living here alone, and I don’t care much for zucchini in the first place.  And in the 2nd place I hate making zucchini bread.  All that effort would be better spent on making one of my favorite desserts like Chocolate Thriller Dessert with cream cheese and coffee flavored filling  on a dark crispy cookie crust.  Yowsers! Making zucchini bread can be an all day chore, so I’ve let Dan know that I’m only gonna do it one day a year.  And he’s got to figure something else out the rest of the time.

In any case, in one of my e-mails to Dan while he was away in Zambia, I reported to him that things were going very well in his garden overall, with the exception of an occasional deer visitation, and that the zucchini plant didn’t have any vegies set on it yet.  And he e-mailed me back, suggesting that I fertilize   the plant.  I couldn’t sleep that night as I pondered his remark.  Could it be that all those years I had slaved to figure out something to do with the never ending zucchini harvest, he had actually been fertilizing the thing to make it grow more?  Say it isn’t so!  Surely he loved me more than that!

Well, my marriage is going to survive this crisis somehow, although I’m hanging on by a thread today as I stare at yet another zucchini harvest. Trying so hard to not cry over it. And feeling guilty for not being more grateful, when I know good and well there are starving people all over the world.  My husband reminds me of the little orphans in Zambia who get one bowl of rice every day to eat….if they are lucky.  I’m so sorry!  I do feel like the Israelites in Exodous who complained about having to eat manna everyday.  It is a bad thing to complain about having to eat the same food everyday. So I’ll try not to complain about the zucchini so much.  But could someone explain why my husband does this to me, and thinks he’s doing me a favor?!

Here are a few recipes for those who are having their own zucchini crisis:

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP ZUCCHINI BREAD

• 3 eggs                                                    1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups sugar                                           1 tsp salt
• 1/2 oil                                                    1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup appleasuce                                  3/4 cup choc. chips
• 1 tsp vanilla                                            3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 oz.unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 2 cups flour                                                                      

Mix together in large mixing bowl eggs, sugar, oil, applesauce and vanilla, beating at slow speed 1 1/2 minutes till well blended. Add zucchini and melted, (slightly cooled), chocolate. Stir to blend well.  Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to chocolate mixture stirring well. Add chocolate chips and nuts an stir till just mixed throughout.  Pour this mixture into a greased and floured 9 x 5 loaf pan, and bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes. Wooden pick should come out clean when inserted into center.  Cool for 15 minutes before turning it out of pan.  Enjoy with a hot cup of White Blossom Earl Gray Tea from Silverleaf Tea Company.  Link is in the right hand column.  Use coupon code Newsletter08 to recieve a 20% discount.

Blessings-

Tea Lady Darla

New Recipes And Discount Shopping

Hi tea lovers.  See my page titled Easy Tea Party Recipes to find some quick recipes you can whip up in no time.  I have also included a discount code for Silverleaf Tea.

Enjoy-

Tea Lady Darla

Summer Recipes and Contest Announcement

Hi tea lovers. It’s time for Tea On Tuesday, you’re virtual tea room. Today I am serving my guests Blue Mango green tea from Teaporia.  It’s slightly sweet with pineapple notes.  Very yummy and refreshing, it also makes a great iced tea. When making iced teas, make sure you use two-three times the amount of tea leaves you’d normally use for steeping hot teas. This will assure you get a good strong blend that won’t taste watered down when ice is added. If you’d like a free sample, please send an e-mail to tealadydarla@aol.com, with the words “blue mango” in the subject line.  I have also made a delicious spinach quiche to enjoy.  It’s so simple to prepare using the Simply Spinach dip mix from The Taste Of Gourmet.  I love using shortcuts from The Taste Of Gourmet’s product line, because they specialize in making homemade foods quick and simple to prepare! There are many recipes on the website. And this month they have announced a recipe contest I thought you’d be interested in hearing about. The winner will receive a $100 shopping spree from Taste of Gourmet. The winning recipe will be posted on the website and at the Crown Restaurant in Mississippi! The drawing will be held on Sept 1st, and it must include any Taste of Gourmet product as one of the main ingredients in the dish. Send your recipes to evelyn@tasteofgourmet.com .

Now here is my favorite recipe for Simply Spinach Quiche:

1 package Simply Spinach Dip mix from Taste Of Gourmet (click link in the menu at right)

1 1/2 cups cream

3 eggs

4 oz. swiss or cheddar cheese.

1 pie crust, lightly baked.  (I like using Marie Calenders piecrust for best results, unless you’ve got time to prepare you’re own homemade crust.)

1 Tbs. butter.

Mix your first 4 ingredients together in a large bowl, then pour into crust. Dot with butter and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until set.

You may serve this warm with a salad on the side drizzled with Sweet Vidalia Viniagrette. You now have the makings of a fabulous luncheon! Don’t forget the iced tea!