Sunriver Fun - Playing in the snow & treats

Last weekend we drove out to Sunriver for a long weekend.  Time to play in the snow, soak in the hot tub, swim in the pool, and just hang out.  Sunriver is the perfect spot for that. Well, at least in my opinion :)

We rent a cabin {oh yes, complete with hot tub :)} and play outdoors.  This was the first time we have gone in the winter; prior to that it always either late, or early summer. The driving over the mountain pass has actually held us back in the past...you never know whether there is a snow storm up on Mt. Hood.

It was raining in Portland - snow storm on Mt. Hood - dry in Bend - snowy in Sunriver

Because of the snow storm on the mountain we left town {that is Portland} without any groceries, except you know Pasta, Earth Balance, a couple of packs of Oat Milk, and - yes - chips as a snack for the girlies...I have to admit so, that the last time we went out to Bend we realized that there is a Trader Joe's on the way.  Otherwise, I would not have left without our essential food items as sometimes it can be a little challenging to get "safe" foods for the girlies :). In any case  needless to say our first stop was at Trader Joe's where we stocked up on Soy Yoghurt, Chocolate Soy Milk, bread etc. - After dinner it was the perfect time for a soak with snow falling on our heads - such a nice change :)

We woke up to winter wonderland and decided to give Cross Country Skiing a try.  Do you remember our snow shoeing day?  If not, Mia Rose was not so excited about hiking on snowshoes, so it was time to give another winter sport a try.  We honestly, did not know how the ladies would like it.  It could go either way, right?  Well, if you know us a little bit you understand that we have to spend time outdoors. We love the outdoors...anyway we rented skis, drove towards Mt. Bachelor to "Meissner" Sno-Park, and gave it a try...

I think that we have found our winter sport!  Yes,  we all loved it - serene, beautiful, a good workout....the girls did such a fantastic job.  The first day we skied 2 miles, and the second day we went out for 3 miles. Take a look...

Cross Country Skiing at Meissner Sno-Park

See what we found...

Can you see "it" on Alena's hand?

and you know what? There was even a little coffee shop trailer at end of the trail and - now that IS the really big news - they had Vegan Hot Chocolate for the ladies.  We were so, so excited.  Alena asked first "Oh, I really wish I could have hot chocolate..." we asked and voila...THE perfect treat for both ladies as well as for both parental units...But you know, that it would have also been okay for both girls had they not been able to have a treat at the coffee trailer on at the Sno Park.

Easy Bread w/ Walnuts, Lentil Soup & Winter Break

The girls are already off from school and we not been getting out as much as we usually do.  I do think so that it is time for the girls to just relax a little at home.  We have been so busy so some rest is very much needed...

Yesterday the treat the girls treats in their  Advent Calendars was ticket to go to Burgerville for lunch.  Let me must say that they were excited about that :)  First they got their haircut, and the Burgerville for lunch.  Whoo-hoo....it is little things.


Take a look the ladies with the new hair...

For dinner I made a quick and easy lentil soup with those little mini sausages both girls love so much. I lost complete track as I did not manage to prepare - not even the quick version - the dough for No Knead Bread.  And you know, that you have to have crusty bread with lentil soup, right?!

In any case, I searched and found a recipe for a quick bread.  Figured there is no harm in trying it out - worst case scenario it will not be crunchy, right?  But...I am happy to report that it turned out delicious! I added some walnuts, and oh my delicious.  It took about 1-1/2 hrs from making the dough to delicious bread.  This one is most definitely a keeper.  

Easy Bread with Walnuts
4 C       Flour {I used my "standard" White Flour from Bob's Red Mill}
3 tsp     Baking Powder
1-3/4 C warm water
2 Tbl    Vinegar {I used red wine vinegar}
2 tsp     Salt
3/4-1C Walnuts coarsely chopped

1. Pour flour and salt in a large bowl.  Mix it up.
2. Add baking powder to the warm water.  Mix well, and then pour the mixture over the flour/salt.
3. Add vinegar and mix the dough completely.  It will be very shaggy.
4. Add nuts
5. Grease a Loaf Pan, and spread dough into it
6. Bake in convection oven at 375 F  {or standardd at 400 F - not preheated}.  After app. 15 minutes
    take a knife and cut dough from top to bottom about 1/2" deep.
7. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes - until top is golden brown {to your liking}
8. Take out of oven - remove from pan.  Let it cool down before slicing it!

Pine Nut Cookies #Dairyfree #Eggfree

It is already on to the second week of advent and also time to bake more cookies for the family.  Today I we made Pine Nut Cookies.  This is a quick and easy recipe.  I prepared the dough in the morning, rolled it up to chill.  After school the girls cut and decorated them :)






I have been staying away from pine nuts and substituting walnuts this past year as the origin of them is sometimes questionable.  But when I saw them at Trader Joe's last week, I just could not pass the package up.  Ron will be quite happy because these are one of his favorite Christmas cookies.

Pine Nut Cookies
3/4 C vegan "butter" {I prefer Earth Balance sticks}
1/3 C sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
1 Tbl almond, soy, or hemp milk
3/4 C pine nuts and additional pine nuts reserved for decoration
2 C Flour

1. Grind pine nuts to a meal
2. Cream margarine in a mixer then slowly,
3. Add sugar, vanilla extract, pinch of salt, and "milk". Mix it well for 1-2 minutes; then
4. Add pine nut meal and mix it well for another minute or so.  Then,
5. Add flour and mix until a dough forms.
6. Separate dough into two or three parts.  Place each individually onto ceran wrap, before rolling each
    piece into a roll.
7. Place in fridge - and cool for at least an hour before baking
***Preheat oven to 375 F***
8. After dough is cooled - line cookie sheets with parchment paper and cut dough into individual rings  
   {medium to fine thickness}.  Decorate each cookie with reserved pine nuts
9. Bake for app. 10 minutes - they should be light golden; and cool them.
10. *Optional* Sprinkle powder sugar over the cooled off cookies

Place in cookie tin when they are completely cooled off {if they last that long}

Green Bean Beef Stew

Is such a sweet memory of summer.  I remember blanching the beans thinking how delicious they will taste when it is cold and rainy out. Oh, and they were delicious.  Just as good as they tasted in the summer - this meal was a hit for the entire family.  Mia Rose declared "I love beef" while Alena stated "Mama you make the best food"...how can that not make a Mama happy?!  Oh, and yes Ron also very much enjoyed the meal.

Oh, and do you see the ornaments on our 2012 advents wreath?  We are so proud of them - the girlies made them while they were off on Thanksgiving break..and yes, there is only one candle this year.   I know, I know not traditional but it still looks very pretty :)

Green Bean Beef Stew
Splash of olive oil
1 onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 lb. of good stew beef {I like mine cut into smaller bite size pieces}
1 Tbl Herbs de Provence
1 C white wine
4 C of water {or more you may have to adjust it}
3 potatoes {I used yellow skin} peeled and diced
2 C of green beans {I used frozen}
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. In a stock pot heat olive oil and when hot, add the onion with a pinch of salt.  Cover and
    sautee until onion is soft, then
2. Add garlic and sautee for about a minute before adding;
3. Beef, and Herbs de Provence.  Stir it all up and satuee for another couple of minutes until the meat
    is slightly browned from each side, then
4. Add White wine, and water and bring to a slow simmer.  Cover - and leave on low for at least 40
    minutes. Then,
5. Add potatoes, return to slow simmer and when they are soft,
6.  Add green beans.  Return to a slow simmer and leave for about 15 minutes.  Adjust salt and
     pepper.

Serve with slices of thick crusty bread!

Vanilla Crescents #Dairyfree {Vanillekipferl} #Cookis #Xmas

Today is the first of advent and there is no way to let the day pass without at least one kind of Christmas cookies, or Weihnachtsbroetle as I like to call them :) Baking cookies before the first of advent just does not feel right to me.  It is just me; I talked to my Mom today and she told me that it was a tradition to bake cookies on this day.  They always made their cookies on the first of advent.  So maybe, it is in my blood....

I make Vanilla Crescents every year and this year I tried out another recipe {click here for last year's version}.  The ones today turned out fantastic - a big part is that I used real vanilla bean instead of vanilla sugar.  It makes a huge difference...they do not look as beautiful as last year's {I just checked it out} but believe me when I say that they are delicious.  Oh, and the house smells amazing...

Vanilla Crescents 
10 Tbl Earth Balance {140 gr}
1/2 C Sugar {100 gr}
1 Vanilla Bean
2 Egg Yolks
1-1/2 C Flour - generous {200 gr}
1 C  blanched almonds and/or cashews finely chopped {100 gr - I used almonds & cashews} - almond
        meal

Sugar Crust
2 Tbl Sugar
4 Tbl Powdered Sugar
   1/2 of {above} vanilla bean - vanilla scraped out.

1. Cream softened margarine in mixer, and slowly add the sugar;
2. Slice half of vanilla bean open and scrape vanilla out and add to the margarine/sugar mixture - blend;
3. Add the egg yolks and continue blending until fully incorporated;
4. Add flour, and nuts; blend well until it is all nicely incorporated into a dough;
5. Divide the dough into three parts.  Roll each part out into a long roll; wrap into ceran wrap. Let
    rest in fridge for at least an hour;
   * Preheat oven to 360F

Here they are...from step 6 to finish :)

6. Cut each roll into about 1/4 - 1/2" pieces; and roll each individual piece into a smaller roll and form
    into a crescent;
7. Bake for about 10 minutes {check frequently - they should remain light and not turn brown}
8. mix the sugar crust by combining 2 Tbl Sugar, 4 Tbl Powdered Sugar, and vanilla from the other
    half of the vanilla bean;
9. let cookies cool down a tiny little bit, then carefully roll them in the sugar mixture, set them aside to cool down entirely before placing them into cookie tins.

Jubelale Beef #Stew - #Dairyfree

It has been rainy, dreary, and chilly here in Portland; November weather.  It is the time that winter ales hit the stores and Jubelale from Deschutes Brewery in Bend is one of our favorites.  This is also the time to cook filling meals, one that take a long time to cook and make you feel all warm as well as cozy inside.  The #SundaySupper team a couple of weeks ago was Dishes that keep you warm and I made a Chicken Mushroom Stew.  There were so many fantastic dishes and I finally tried one of them yesterday, Beer-Braised Beef from Chris who blogs as The Sustainable Dad.  Let me just say, this recipe is a winner!!!

I made the following modifications but followed the rest of the recipe

-  2 lbs. of beef stew {instead of 3 lbs}
-  added 2 rustic chopped carrots with the onions
-  added 1 Tbl Herbs de Provence
- added 3 medium sized, diced yellow skinned potatoes for the last hour
oh, and yes I used 1 bottle of Jubelale which was delicious.


This is an amazing recipe - so, so good!!!