Just Horsin' Around

So, one thing I always try to do when I travel is take a tour of the land via horseback.  I had a horse and two ponies growing up, yes I was a spoiled only child, and I kind of miss being around horses.  However I don't have the time or the ability to commit right now, so on vacation is where I get my equine fix.

Last time I was in Maui I took a ride down into Haleakala Crater.  It was a a fun ride and the scenery was amazing.  But it was really long and a bit grueling.  There was a 5000 foot elevation change from the top of the crater to the bottom.  So, we decided to take a much different ride this time.

We decided that Ironwood Ranch looked interesting and was very near our condo.  When we finally got there we were informed that we were going to get our own private ride as the others from our party left a little earlier on their ride.  We then got to meet our horses Stephen Tyler (Eric's) and Jet Li (mine).
 

So, Eric hasn't really ridden much before, so he got the VERY tall, but very gentle Stephen.  Jet on the other hand, we were informed, was a little temperamental.  But I was just supposed to "show him who is boss."  I didn't mind cause I think having a bit of a challenge is kind of fun.  

The trails we took led us through acres and acres of ranch land and was definitely a much different type of ground than we were used to seeing down by the beaches.  Note that Jet has his ears turned back listening to me taking photos.  At this point I think we were probably still figuring out the "who's boss" aspect of the ride.  He's a champion grazer and that's a definite "no no" for the horses as they aren't supposed to have items other than their food provided by the ranch and there are a few plants along the way that aren't good for them.  

After we travelled through this gorgeous country and Jet and I took a minor detour through the brush because he didn't want to get his feet wet (who's boss apparently doesn't extend to the getting feet wet part of the journey) our guide informed us that the horse in the movie "Tangled" was based off of my horse, Jet.  Now, I've never seen the movie, but I hear that the horse is a very funny and quirky and definitely has a mind of his own.  That would be Jet. :)

After our ride we headed over to the ranch house to say goodbye and happened upon the ranch spider, Marvin.  Now, Marvin looked big and scary and like I would probably wet myself if he happened upon me.  They then informed me that Marvin was just a baby and would be getting much bigger.  Note to self.....avoid Marvin and his friends  

One of the added benefits of the Ironwood Ranch is that it's directly across from Maui Tacos.  Maui Tacos is an amazing "quick and fresh" little taco place in a strip mall that we discovered earlier in the week.  In our two visits we sampled the fish tacos, bbq pork tacos and the shredded beef burritos.  The best part of this place is the fresh salsa bar.  My favorites were the pineapple salsa and fresh corn salsa.  Eric preferred the super spicy chipotle salsa.

Such a yummy way to end a beautiful day!

Duke's Beach House

So, once again, I've been very lazy with my postings.  This is mainly because I'm so busy and haven't really had a whole lot of time to do anything crafty or try new recipes.  Part of the "too busy" was going on vacation with my hubby to Maui for Christmas and New Year.  We had an amazing time and already have plans to return next year.

So, I decided to add a new facet to my blog to include travel reviews.  I love, love, love travelling and always find something fun and unique to do everywhere I go.  So, I figured why not share this love and my experiences. 

So, here goes.....the first review is for Duke's Beach House Restaurant on Maui.  I wanted to find a yummy and fun place for New Year's Eve dinner.  I'd read a bunch of reviews and combed through menus and thought Duke's sounded amazing.  It's only been open for 2 years, but it's owner has several other restaurants that are highly rated as well.  Then I happened to run into someone who'd been there recently and gave rave reviews.  So, that was what pushed me over the edge.  I always like getting a recommendation from someone I know.  And a bonus was that I was able to make a reservation online using Open Table, so I didn't even have to call the restaurant.

So, after a long day in the sun snorkeling with sea turtles we headed over to the beach front restaurant that was only about 2 minutes from our beach front condo.  I know, talk about paradise, right?

We did have a little difficulty finding the place at first as it's not super clear that you actually have to park at a resort and walk through the resort to get to the restaurant on the beach.  The plus side to this is that you don't have to worry about finding parking as there is plenty.  Parking is usually at a premium in Lahaina around dinnertime. 

They had our reservation (yay Open Table) and we were seated right away.  The restaurant was beautiful with lots of cool design touches that Eric, especially, appreciates.  He noticed that our table was made out of one specific tree instead of a bunch of random pieces glued together.  The sun had set so the dining area was lit with tiki torches and super soft lighting.  The whole place is open-air, so the breezy is coming in off the ocean and you can hear the waves.  This mixed with the live musicians playing made for a super relaxing and beautiful dinner. 

We decided to start off with two appetizers.  Our friend, Andy, who's originally from Hawaii had told Eric that he needed to try the Ahi Poke (raw Ahi) as he would love it.  We'd been trying Ahi Poke and Lomi Lomi salmon at different places around the island, so, the Ahi Poke rolls were a natural choice.  Calamari always seems to be good so we decided to go with that as our "backup" appetizer just in case the Ahi wasn't as great as we thought it would be.  We didn't need a backup as they were both fabulous!  Tender, delicious, wonderfully seasoned and beautifully presented.

POKE ROLLS

Hawaii’s favorite pupu! Raw Ahi, Maui onions, seared in rice paper

 

PANKO CRUSTED CALAMARI

Guava cocktail sauce, Meyer lemon remoulade

Next we had to try to make a decision about our main dishes.  Just the night before we'd had fresh Mahi Mahi from our deep sea fishing adventure, so neither one of us really wanted fish.  We both ended up wanting the same thing.  I felt like we should try something separate, but our waiter informed us that we wouldn't regret it, that it would be amazing.  So, we both decided on the pork shank.  Now, this is something that's not normally on the menu and only served on the holidays.  It's braised for 24 hours and served with a Kona coffee glaze, bacon brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes.  It was ridiculously good.  The meat literally fell off the bone.  The only complaint was that there was so much food we really should have shared a main dish. 

And, last but not least, you can't go to Duke's without having Hula Pie for dessert, at least according to our server and a ridiculous amount of reviewers on Trip Advisor.  So, the Hula Pie it was (to share) for dessert.

This picture does not do it justice.  It's ridiculously rich and creamy and chocolately and nutty goodness.  We were both so full, but could not stop eating it. 

KIMO’S ORIGINAL HULA PIE

This is what the sailors swam to shore for in Lahaina Oreo cookie crust, macadamia nut ice cream, hot fudge & whipped cream

Two very happy, but ridiculously full diners!

Happy New Year, Everyone!!!







Pico de Gallo

Last night was Taco Thursday.  This is a wonderful tradition from my husband's family where anyone and everyone comes over on Thursday (it has to be Thursday) to eat tacos, obviously.  It's a fun break in the week for everyone to get together and enjoy a meal and some laughs.

I tried a new recipe last night for the Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo.  Now, the Pioneer Woman is pretty much my idol.  She seems like an extremely happy and centered woman that's living a life of cooking, photography and animals.  Basically my dream.  She also has four kids that she homeschools, not my dream, but if I can trade those kids for dogs or something we're good to go.

So, I just re-read through my Pioneer Woman cookbook last weekend and was anxious to make something.  If you've never seen it I definitely recommend you go out and buy it right now.  It's full of amazing recipes, fun stories about her life and beautiful photos.

So, when Taco Thursday rolled around I decided that her fresh Pico de Gallo recipe sounded like the perfect match.  Fresh tomatoes, onions, jalepenos, cilantro, lime juice, a little salt, so easy and so yummy!

I forgot to take a picture in my frantic after-work cooking madness, but it looked almost exactly like the version on the PW website.  Definitely a new Taco Thursday staple.

And just as a side note, I think everyone should implement Taco Thursday or Spaghetti Saturday or Lasagna Wednesday (it doesn't have to rhyme).  I just know that every time we do it I'm happier the next morning.  There's something about family and friends coming together for the pure sake of enjoyment that really makes life special.

It doesn't have to be anything extravagant.  We literally decided to have Taco Thursday late on Monday night.  Grab a few groceries, invite some guests and before you know it you have 13 people at your house making tacos and building dinosaur poop out of play doh.  The point is it's about the people and spending time with those you love.  I'm pretty sure we could have served tv dinners and gotten the same enjoyment, but I'm guessing the chocolate marshmallow cupcakes didn't hurt anything.

Have a great weekend, everyone!  


     

Cooking with Honey

So, as I've repeatedly mention, my hubby is a honey fanatic.  He loves it on anything and everything and sometimes can be caught eating a spoonful directly from the jar.  So, with our recent successes with bees and a honey harvest, I've decided to try dabbling in cooking with honey.  So, you'll probably see quite a bit of posts with honey involved in the next few months.

Since I wasn't really feeling that great last weekend I was pretty much tied to the house.  So I figured it was a great time to start experimenting.  I'd gotten this great honey cookbook while in Savannah at the Savannah Bee Company shop.  This is an amazing company, I definitely recommend visiting their website, or by all means, check out their shop in Savannah.  It's totally worth the trip!

So, I quickly flipped through and found a simple sounding recipe for Honey Oatmeal Cookies.  I gathered all the ingredients and made a few adjustments based on what I had in the house.  The recipe called for peanuts and I substituted pecans.  Peanuts or boring and pecans just seem more Southern to me.  And I substituted chocolate chips for the raisins that were originally in the recipe.  I don't really like raisins, so rarely have them in the house.  I contemplated using dried cranberries, but figured chocolate chips would go over better with the hubby.

The honey looked really pretty as it was being added to the mixture.

And using honey instead of sugar totally made the texture different.  Look at that creamy goodness!

The cookies turned out perfect.  That had a really light and airy texture.  Not at all as heavy as the other recipes I usually use and they had a little bit of a sweet coating on them as well from the honey.

Yep, they definitely got the seal of approval from the hubby and I even liked them even though I'm not a big honey fan.

Now, those of you that know my hubby know that besides honey, he loves blackberry pie.  Since I hate making pie crust he usually gets blackberry cobbler.  I'd made a blackberry cobbler two days before that had already disappeared (not that I had any).  So I decided to go back to that lovely honey cookbook to see what I could find.

What I found was apple crisp.  We have a TON of apples from our trees and I hadn't made anything with them yet, so that seemed like a logical solution.  They're really tart and shiny and beautiful and I'm so proud of my hubby for his success with the orchard (I'm calling it that now).

Super simple recipe, pour in the most important ingredient........

I swear my hand isn't that giant, it's just some tricky angle.

Top it with the crunch crust ingredients.......

Bake until it's a nice gooey, golden brown.....

Now, this was a little too much honey for me ( I like my honey hidden so I can't taste it).  But it looked amazing.  It was all bubbly and beautiful and got a positive review from the honey lover in the household.

I do think I'd peel the apples next time just because those particular apples have a bit of a tough skin and I think it would help to make everything blend.  Overall, I'm liking the cooking with honey sofar.  Everything seems like it's a bit lighter and not so sugary sweet.

Note:  I'm not sure why it appears as though I was cooking in a dark black cave, but the lighting was not being cooperative that day.  :(

Happy Experimental Cooking!

Fall Harvest

I love Fall.  It's my favorite season.  There's just something about the crisp air, dark nights, fire in the fireplace and Fall food that makes me happy.  It's been a very busy month and an especially busy and stressful last couple of days.  So, today was all about a warm house, cooking and relaxing with the puppy dogs while the hubby was out elk hunting.

I just love Fall Harvest foods.  As you saw in my previous posts we harvested the honey and got the bees all ready for colder weather and the apple trees are producing and will be ready for picking in a week or so.  Hopefully there will be some left as the helpful dogs keep picking and eating the low growing fruit.

My mom was generous enough to give me a bunch of apples from her early blooming trees and several kinds of squash that are ready straight out of her garden.  I love that she has a garden since all I can seem to manage are a couple tomato bushes in planters by the deck.  And even those really rely on my hubby for water on a regular basis.

So, since today's focus was food and relaxation I started the day out by going and picking a bunch of her delicious apples so that I could start making some applesauce and apple butter.

Now, there are seriously very few things that I dislike as much as I dislike peeling apples.  That's why I never make apple pie, that and the fact that making pie crust is one of those things that I dislike just as much.  My mother-in-law is my hero because she bought me an amazing apple peeler/slicer/corer that makes life ridiculously easy in the apple department.

It's seriously the miracle gadget.  It makes it so easy and fast to process all the apples that before long you have a pot full of apples, cinnamon and cloves bubbling away on the stove.  And by that time the house of course smells amazing.

Apple butter is my all time favorite spread.  I could eat it straight out of the jar, but usually control myself long enough to toast a piece of bread, but not always.  I just love the sweet and slightly tart flavor and the spices make it just perfect.  Even though I don't like cinnamon, it's a must have for this recipe.

And, before long......that apple butter is in the jars, canned, sealed and labeled.  Just waiting for me to break out the toaster for a taste, but I'll refrain cause it just gets better when the flavors have been allowed to mix together for a couple weeks.  Let the countdown begin.

Applesauce is another easy product to make and can and with the abundance of apples at our house, my mom's house and our friends' houses it's a must for Fall canning.  I like to make mine without adding any sugar and leaving it chunky, so no food processor required.  So that means the only ingredients required are apples, water and a little lemon juice.  What could be easier?  That's what I made with the apples left over after my double batch of apple butter.  Yum!

Since my mom had given me an acorn squash from her garden earlier in the week I decided to experiment with stuffed squash.  I've never made or eaten it, but it always looks good, and really, how hard can it be?  So, I cut the squash in half, put in a pan, filled the pan half full of water, covered with foil and baked it in the oven for about 45 minutes.  This nearly cooked the squash through so that I'd just have to stuff it and cook the remaining bit.

I wasn't really sure what to stuff it with, so I raided the fridge.....extra lean elk sausage, red onion, mushrooms, apples, garlic, spinach, cous cous and feta cheese.

I mixed that all together in my new favorite cast iron skillet and by the time it was done, I was ready to eat it all on it's own.

But no, I piled the mixture into the squash halves, topped them with salt and pepper and popped them back in the oven for another 20 minutes to cook the rest of the way and give the stuffing a nice crispy top.

All I can say is....wow!  It was so good and I had tons of leftovers.  I'll definitely be experimenting with stuffed squash again.

Since I've got another huge piece of some large orange squash in the fridge I think squash casserole will be on the menu tomorrow night.  Wish me luck!

Happy Fall, Everyone!



 

It's Fair Time!!!

It's that time of year again......Quilcene Fair time, that is, Saturday, September 17th.  Come visit us at our booth we'll be sharing with The Picket Fence and Buzzy Bee Creations. 

Below is a sneek peek of what we'll be offering. 

CBM Creations will be featuring:

Locally Produced Honey

Hand-crafted Jewelry

Photography

Aloette Products

The Picket Fence will be offering:

Clothing and Hats Featuring the New Quilcene Logo

Fall Decor and Other Amazing Finds



Buzzy Bee Creations will be displaying:

Handmade Aprons

Rustic Fall Wreaths

Stop by to say hi and check out what we've got.  We'd love to see all of you!

Check out the other exciting events that will be taking place at the Quilcene Fair!

Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch...You Know That I Love You!

So, this is our first year with an official honey harvest from our bees.  And by "our bees" I mean my hubby's bees that he handles completely while I take the occasional picture.  I've only been stung once in my life, I was 7, and don't really want to remember what it feels like.

I came home last Friday to find my hubby and his friend in our kitchen with honey harvesting equipment strewn about on every available space.  Nightmare visions of myself attempting to scrub honey off of my kitchen appliances for the next several months danced in my head.  But, I should have never doubted my boys.  They did an amazing job and even cleaned up after themselves.  They had a moment of panic when they realized that the heated knife had melted bee wax onto my granite countertops, but relaxed when they realized that granite is tough and bees wax can eventually be scrubbed off of it.

Harvesting honey turns out to be quite an interesting and amazing process.  First the "caps" must be cut off of the honeycomb.  When the bees have completely filled the comb with honey they cap the whole thing off with more wax to keep it safe.  Then the frames with honeycomb are put into the extractor and spun until all the honey has been forced out of the comb and onto the sides of the extractor.  Then the extractor drains into a food grade bucket with a filter to purify the honey.



Honey transferring from extractor to filtered bucket

Honey being filtered

Then the honey gets added to jars.  In the case of our friend that means "chunk honey" which includes a bit of the comb in the jar as well. 

Then it just needs to have a lid added and it's ready to be enjoyed. 



Saturday morning brought the processing of my hubby's honey.  He wanted to do a double fliter of the honey which took a little longer so we decided to wait until the next day to put it in jars.

That's a lot of honey and we haven't even finished harvesting. 

It's super clear and beautiful.  I don't even like honey and this made me want to start brainstorming recipes so that I could use it. 

A special half gallon had to be pulled out for our friend Kenna, the highly allergic to bees, honey lover.  Without her we wouldn't have started on this little adventure.   

Not bad for our first harvest.  30 - 9 oz jars and an additional 1/2 gallon.  At this point I was having a hard time keeping my hubby and his sister, Becky, from bolting to the fridge for some yogurt on which to pour this beautiful honey.

It's so pretty I can't seem to stop taking pictures.  Even if they are being taken with my Blackberry. 

All packaged up and ready for the Quilcene Fair. 

I do have to say that this was a super fun and exciting little challenge.  I can't wait until the hubby checks in a few weeks to see if we have more to harvest.  I'm not sure how all these farm-like/self sustaining projects happened, but I'm sure glad they did.  I love that we get to share with our family and friends the little joys that we've slaved over.  

Happy Honey Day Everyone.