As I Depart...

Recently I have become obsessed with country music. I cannot explain why, but I just love the twang and the silly lyrics and the way country music focuses on the little beautiful things in life. Here are the lyrics to a Garth Brooks' song that I've found really inspiring as I'm about to embark on my trip. A country song as my new theme song?! Perhaps I'm more in touch with my American roots than I let myself think; and maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.

The River

You know a dream is like a river

Ever changin' as it flows,

And a dreamer's just a vessel

That must follow where it goes.

Trying to learn from what's behind you

And never knowing what's in store

Makes each day a constant battle

Just to stay between the shores.

And I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry.

Like a bird upon the wind

These waters are my sky.

I'll never reach my destination

If I never try,

So I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry.

Too many times we stand aside

And let the waters slip away;

'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow

Has now become today.

So don't you sit upon the shoreline

And say your satisfied

Choose to chance the rapids

And dare to dance the tide.

There's bound to be rough waters

And I know I'll take some falls,

But with the World as my captain

I can make it through them all.

Yes I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry.

Like a bird upon the wind,

These waters are my sky.

I'll never reach my destination

If I never try.

So I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry.

SnapShot

View from the McKenzie Pass, elevation 5300 feet, in Oregon. The black ground is lava, the white stuff snow, and the mountains two of the three Sisters Mountains. Taken on October 6, 2009.

From Me to You

I've turned our itty-bitty kitchen into a laboratory of sorts over the past month, cooking and baking up a storm, concocting all sorts of things that luckily, mostly yielded tasty results. Thank you Mom, Katherine, and Mike for lending your taste buds and tummies; your feedback was much appreciated!

Below is the recipe for my Zucchini-Carrot Fruit Bread, my favorite new dish. It's delicious and super quick and easy to make! The recipe makes one loaf of bread. Or, if you're going to New Zealand like I am, you can bake mini loafs so that you can take one...okay, maybe two...on the plane with you!

Zucchini-Carrot Fruit Bread

Preheat Oven: 350 degrees

A 9-by-5in. loaf pan, greased

Dry Ingredients:

3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour Sifted*

*Whole Wheat Flour is more dense than All Purpose Flour, so sifting here is very important because it helps lighten the batter. I suppose you could also use Whole Wheat Pastry Flour and say adios to sifting!

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

Pinch of Cloves

Wet Ingredients:

1 Egg

3/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce

1 Cup milk of your choice

2 tsp. Vanilla extract

Zest and Juice of one Lemon (about 3 tbsp. juice)

1 tbsp. Honey

1/4 Cup Raw Cane Sugar, plus extra for dusting

The Good Stuff:

1 Cup shredded Zucchini*

1 Cup shredded Carrot*

*I don't shred them super super fine because I love seeing the slightly larger bits of veggie in my bread. It adds gorgeous color and lets you know what you're eating!

1/2 Cup Raisins**

3/4 Cup assorted dried fruit roughly chopped (Suggestions: Prunes, Apricots, Cranberries, Cherries)**

**This is really where you can make my bread your own. Add your favorite types of dried fruit to add even more color, texture, and deliciousness to the bread! I happen to be obsessed with dried fruit, so I always have various kinds around, and I think that the Prunes and Apricots work wonderfully. Or you can keep it simple and omit the assortment. Whatever you do, add the Raisins! The bread is not super sweet and the Raisins add a juicy little surprise from time to time, really waking up the bread.

Directions:

1. Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg. Then stir in wet ingredients until blended. Fold in zucchini and carrot. Fold in raisins and other fruit.

3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over mix :)

4. Pour the batter into your pan, making sure it's spread evenly. Then dust the top with raw cane sugar (however much your little heart desires!). Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees or until the toothpick test comes out clean.

5. Try to let it cool before you eat it. Yummy!

Visual Memories

Sadly, I have run out of time to make any sort of substantial narrative, nor do I have time to edit our wakeboarding adventures (I'm not even going to pretend like I know how to edit water sports!), but here are some highlights from our time during Family Camp Part II, roughly chopped and mashed together as they may be. Whether we're in Thailand, England, Colorado, or the South Pacific, we'll always have these memories from our wonderful time together. I love you all and miss you oodles!!!

FALLing in Love

Warm sunshine breaking through crisp fresh air. Feet crinkling fallen leaves on the sidewalk. Trees changing the hillside into a collage of yellow, orange, red, and brown. Pumpkins. Cinnamon. Cloves. Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce. Molasses. Butternut squash. Pumpkin Bread. Yum. It must be Fall, and I'm in love!

Growing up, Fall always was my favorite season. It meant the start of school, field hockey games-way back in Middle School when I actually played sports, raking leaves into a large neat pile only to jump in it into disarray mere minutes later, breaking out lightweight sweaters and scarves, falling backwards with an extra hour of sleep, candy corn, and settling into the coziness of the holiday season. Living in Los Angeles for the past few years where the only season is sunshine, I quickly forgot how much I enjoy the freshness of Fall (although I did still manage to eat many a candy corn!). So Yay that I'm in Portland experiencing the season before jetting off to Summer once again.

We went to a farm on Sauvie Island the other weekend in search of our mandatory October pumpkins, and it was so much fun! We started our day by eatting lunch, which for me was a fresh piece of corn on the cob with salt and butter. Seriously, the most delicious thing I've eaten in weeks--and I eat only scrumptious food. I'm salivating just thinking about it again! Sweet, savory, crunchy, complex yet comforting, corn on the cob really is something I could eat everyday for the rest of my life.

Our tummies full of starchy goodness, we hopped on a wagon and got a ten-minute ride out to the pumpkin patch. Pumpkins. Everywhere. I didn't even know where to begin my search! Big ones, little ones, green ones, orange ones, rotten ones; too many choices. After an eternity of cross-comparing my top five, I settled on my slightly lopsided, pale orange baby, which still had its leaves intact from when I picked it off the vine. Why did Petunia win? Her texture; she was the smoothest pumpkin I ever felt. So soft and silky that Mike, awestruck, said "that pumpkin is so smooth it's sexy!" Also, Petunia sounded nice and hollow, a sign of a healthy pumpkin, and I couldn't wait to harvest and toast her sexy seeds.

After the pumpkin patch we made our way into the Pumpkin Patch Market. Upon walking thru the doorway I went bug-eyed and uttered a small squeal. So much fresh food! I left Katherine and Mike behind and embarked on at least an hour-long visual, olfactory, and tactile journey through the rows of buckets of farm produce. I walked by familiar types of pears, bananas, broccoli, and peppers; I perused unknown crops of peaches and plums, as well as the juiciest, most succulent red tomatoes ever. There were these crazy big white beans encased in a purpley-pink marble pod. Fresh fennel. Sweet potatoes. I found more ears of corn. Before I knew it, my basket weighed a good ten pounds and I could no longer lug it around--after all I didn't come to Sauvie Island for an arm workout!--so I did what any sane person would do and traded in the basket for a cart.

Then, I caught a whiff of the most appley apple scent. I started smelling every type of apple in sight until I found the source of that sweet fragrance. Imagine the smell of applesauce, then intensify it by five and that's what the one apple in my hand smelled like. It was the most aromatic apple I'd ever encountered. To be honest, I can't even remember the name of the type of apple it was, all I knew was that I had to buy these two-toned pale green and pink fruits and see if the flesh tasted as good as the way the skin smelled; they did not disappoint.

Before leaving the farm we all got carmel apples for the road. I've never been a huge fan of carmel apples--they're sticky and they fall off their wood pole and what am I suppose to do with the apple once the carmel is gone?--but this was totally different. I realized I'd never had carmel until that moment. Dark, thick, soft, and not overly sweet, this carmel didn't leave stringy bits over my chin or stick my teeth together. I savored every bite of that sweet treat, shaking my head in disbelief at the divine flavors tantalizing my taste buds the entire time. I confess, I am now converted to a lover of carmel apples, if only the ones from that wonderful farm on Sauvie Island.

Take advantage of the bounty of deliciousness that Fall brings. There are so many types of yummy squashes that cook up in no time and add gorgeous color to your day. Few things can top a hot root vegetable soup on a cool and cloudy evening--can cooking get any easier than throwing things into a pot and letting them simmer for an hour?! I think not. Alas, I must be off. Petunia is staring at me, and while I have enjoyed having her as the centerpiece for my table, I want toasted pumpkin seeds more!

SnapShot

This photo pretty much sums me up as a child. What a sourpuss. I'll admit that I still have these moments on occasion. I'm not sure Mr. Chris knows what he's getting himself into traveling with me!