July Buffet

At the risk of executing a random post with pieces that don't fit together, I'm taking a drafting liberty and sharing photos and videos from the last couple of weeks in our house.

Another sunny day, another hike in paradise. Last weekend it was along the North Fork Nooksack River, a beautiful river that I'm working hard with a coalition of local folks to protect under Wild and Scenic designation (think a National Park but for a river). The Nooksack is a fantastic whitewater boating river, and it's the gateway to North Cascades National Park and the Mount Baker Wilderness.

Glacier Creek and Mount Baker

The trail along the river.

Ryan and Arlo taking in the river.

The North Fork Nooksack in the beautiful North Cascades.

Arlo fell asleep upright. Poor little guy.

Hours earlier, this water was snow on Mount Baker.

Now for something completely different.

Arlo is enjoying feeding himself, discovering new things, and learning to play soccer (yes, you read correctly). Our favorite thing, like many parents, is when he laughs himself silly. See the videos below for some unbelievably cute giggle episodes from July. Also, Ryan was inspired by the Women's World Cup and started Arlo's training regimen.

"Food on the face? What food on the face?"

It's a dog! It's a horse! No, It's Super-Arlo!

Now that he can crawl, Arlo is exploring the world and developing superhero skills. Ok, not superhero skills, but I thought a comic themed video was appropriate nonetheless.

Beautiful Bend

About 5 years ago, our close friends/family (Hannah is Ryan's cousin) moved away from the Pacific Northwest, and the world hasn't been the same since. Luckily, Hannah and her family recently moved back to beautiful Bend, OR, and while they were in the middle of unpacking and getting settled, they were generous enough to open the doors to the full Nonerick crew, Soma included.

It was a great trip. Hannah and I got pedicures and went out for dinner and a show by 90s band and movie soundtrack staple, Toad the Wet Sprocket. Ryan and Hannah's husband, Chris, enjoyed mountain and road bike rides through an amazing landscape.

Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures of the beautiful surroundings, but I did take pictures of our trip to a farmer's market and special "Thank You" dinner.

Xander and Hannah watching Ava and Ryan assemble kabobs.

Ryan, Ava, and Ava's bear sous-chef skillfully assembling vegetable kabobs.

Funny Ava!


Arlo insisted he could help. Maybe in a year or two, kiddo.

Yummy cherries and berries. It must be summer!

Arlo loved the music at the farmer's market.
Even though he was exhausted and crammed full of raspberries, he found a little energy to dance.

Hannah, Chris, Ava, Xander, and Max: Thank you for showing us a great time in your beautiful new city!

Epic Hike

We celebrated Independence Day by hiking to Lake 22 in the breathtaking Cascades mountain range. I could go on and on about the remarkable views and the fantastic time Ryan, Arlo, Soma and me had, but I'll leave it to the pictures since they are worth a thousand words.

Drifts of snow at the top of the hike reminded us of the winter and spring we just left behind.

Welcome!

Arlo (finally!) took a cat nap on hour 3 of our hike.

The beautiful Lake 22 on the northern face of Mount Pilchuck.

Lake 22 x 2

Ryan and I thought this was debris from an avalanche caused by our record breaking snowfall.

The view halfway up the trail.

Ryan and Arlo having a great time!

Something tells me this tree is pretty old.

We decided this could be our mailbox when we move in.

One of many waterfalls on the way up the trail.

Ryan and Arlo enjoying the view.

Yummy! Lunchtime!

Arlo can crawl!

Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself!

Old Fashioned Goodness From My Kitchen

I'm just an old fashioned girl. A few years ago, I got into canning, and after taking last year off to focus on gestating a new person, I'm happy to report that I'm back in business. This weekend, I made some strawberry jam. I'm looking forward to many more canning adventures this year, so stay tuned for more updates from the kitchen.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies

Complete with fresh homemade strawberry jam.

As a kid, I fondly remember my grandmother and mother canning jams, apple butter, tomatoes, and many other tasty treats. It's amazing that with all the food technology in the world, I tend to think simpler is better when it comes to food: organic over food grown with a veritable chemistry lab behind every seed; preparation that focuses on a few good things together (e.g., a salad with good fresh lettuce and a light dressing is better than a ton of bland vegetables drowned in dressing); and changing ingredients with what's in season as much as possible.

Homemade salad dressings are one of my favorite things. Spending money on jars of dressing only to have most if it go bad in my fridge drives me absolutely crazy. Making your own dressing is EASY -- think oil and vinegar with a few goodies -- and creativity is more often rewarded than punished when it comes to the salad. Like putting blue cheese and walnuts in your salad? Try putting them in a basic vinaigrette instead of on your salad.

There are other important benefits to making your own salad dressing. First, you make a little bit, which can still last you a while and give you just the right amount of dressing you need. Second, it's generally healthier for you for a number of reasons including the fact that you tend to need less dressing to flavor your salad. Finally, you can use homemade salad dressing for more than just salads. Sandwiches and burgers love a good dressing.

Ok, enough talk, here's a picture and recipe for a creamy herb dressing that I made this weekend.

Creamy Salad Dressing with Herbs

I didn't really measure the ingredient proportions on my creamy salad dressing recipe, so the following recipe is a rough estimate. Obviously, make yours to taste. I put my dressing in a container so it could be used for a few salads over about a week.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• A few pinches each of any fresh herb combination. I tend to like 3 herbs that compliment each other. In the dressing photographed above, I used fresh flat leaf parsley (way better than the curly leaf when it comes to flavor), basil, and mint.
• A tablespoon or two of light mayo (you can also use Greek yogurt for a slightly more tangy flavor)
• Salt and pepper
  

Combine all ingredients and whisk together with a fork or small whisk. Enjoy!