Author: jstv

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Otters in the Pond, no really

On the eastern edge of Sunriver lies Lake Aspen, home to a mated pair of trumpeter swans, flocks of Canada geese, redwinged blackbirds, swallows, a bunch of ducks and an elusive family of Northern River Otters.

In one of our many walks along the shore of this small lake, JQ spied these otters darting in and out of the rushes, diving and sliding through the water. We spotted them again last winter poking out of holes in the ice and scampering on the frozen lake.

We make regular excursions to the lake, usually to catch a glimpse of the swans and numerous variety of birds.

So now the search is on for an otter sighting and … hopefully we will get a photo as well.

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Treasure on the river

The Crooked River, one of our favorite Oregon rivers.

Quarantine has closed campgrounds, state and national parks but not fishing. This is good news for us.

Once a week we head to our favorite stream with lunch and fly rods. Tip finds joy in both the ride up to the river and running the riparian.

If we are not both fishing, then Tip divides his time between JQ’s photographic adventures and checking in on Jack.

Enough time has been spent on rivers to develop good manners, for the most part. At some point in the day a stick is discovered, dropped at someone’s feet and thus a game of fetch is initiated … though it often involves much vocal encouragement.

This day was a bit different. Instead of a stick, Tip discovered a ball.

Bright orange, this lost dog toy became a treasured possession and required numerous rounds of ball throwing.

The shade side of a picnic table offers excellent cooling to rest up between expeditions.

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A picnic lunch

It seems we’ve moved past spring and gone right into summer. It was 72º on the river today. When you have days like that you need to pack the car and enjoy.

What’s for lunch gets packed into Ello© glass boxes and loaded into the cooler. Today we had chopped salad, grilled chicken, summer sausage, havarti cheese, crackers and chips, chocolate sandwich cookies, snicker bars and some fresh strawberries.

The cooler has  ice extender tubes but also cubes in a ziplock. The sealed glass boxes are stacked on one side and then nestled up to the ice are cans of beer and soda.

When it’s lunch time you have a smorgasbord of goodies to spread out on a picnic table and enjoy.

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Chasing Rain Clouds

A high desert spring day offered an assortment of cloudscapes, wildlife sightings, and a view of Fort Rock. The drive out Highway 31 towards Summer Lake is a tour through a variety of habitats, pine forest to lava beds and back.

This week’s escape from the house was a loop east on 31, out into the high desert and then back toward Bend and through a Ponderosa and lodge pole forest just south of Pine Mt. Observatory.

Partly cloudy forecast means something a bit different on the high desert steppes around Fort Rock. Here you can see the small storm cells moving over ridges. You’re greeted with bursts of sun amid the light rainfall.

The pocked face on the southside of Fort Rock didn’t offer up much raptor viewing. Song birds and ravens were in abundance, as was the occasional herd of migrating mule deer and antelope.

Not until we got near Highway 20 and were headed back to Bend did we encounter humans. As we headed home, trucks and their OHV loaded trailers headed to the network of paths crisscrossing the area.  By the time their engine noise filled the forest we were long gone.

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Pie for Dinner

Today’s quiche features cauliflower, carrots, kale, onion, and bell pepper, with a mix of monterey jack and parmesan cheese.

So, you are at home and out of harm’s way, good.

Now what’s for dinner? We came up with a new take on an old classic … Deep Dish Quiche.

By cooking it in an eight inch spring form pan, there is more room for the vegetables, cheese, and other fillings. Same amount of egg custard, just more of everything else. JQ never really liked the egg part anyway.

We’ve always used the Quiche Lorraine recipe out of Beard on Food (see attached). But we totally change out the fillings to suit whatever is in the fridge. This makes a perfect quarantine meal.

So the basic custard or crust ingredients are the same. However, it took about twice as long to bake … hey, it’s twice as thick! The results are a nice slice of dinner (or lunch) goodness.

Print Recipe

Quiche (Lorraine)

Classic quiche uses bread dough, but this is a pastry shell and then fridge raid to fill.

Ingredients

Pastry Shell

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 lb unsalted butter cut in small pieces at room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Filling

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • pinch pepper or more, if you like
  • 1 cup shredded cheese some or all Parmesan, we like a mix of cheeses
  • 1 to 2 cups lightly steamed vegtables and / or cooked meat

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425º. LIghtly butter the bottom of an 8 inch spring form pan (Beard uses an 8 to 9 inch tart tin) and cover bottom with a round piece of parchment.

Pastry Shell

  • Place flour in a food processor and add butter, then pulse until butter is cut into flour. Whisk egg with lemon juice and add to processor. Run processor until a ball forms. You can add additional cold water if dough is too dry. Turn out onto lightly floured surface, form into a ball. Chill for 30 minutes.
  • Roll dough out between parchment sheets to about 1/8 inch thick and transfer to the spring form pan. Be careful not to stretch the dough as you form it to the sides of the pan. Crimp the top edge. Fit parchment to the inside of the pan and weigh it down with a couple cups of uncooked beans. This will keep the pie crust from puffing up. I also add a foil shield around the top of the shell crust to prevent it from browning too quickly.
    Bake at 425º for 18 minutes. Remove the beans and brush the inside of the shell with a thin coat of mustard. Return to oven and bake an additional 3 minutes. Allow to cool a bit before filling.

Egg Custard and Filling

  • Beat yolks and eggs along with cream, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
  • Chop and saute onion in skillet until soft. Add chopped vegetables and cook no more than two minutes. Place this mixture on the bottom of the shell.
  • If you are using cooked meat, add that to the shell.
  • Cover with grated cheese, then pour egg mixture to cover all of the ingredients. I like to top with a sprinkle of pepper.
  • Bake in a 375º oven for about 60 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Near the end of bakiing (last 10 minutes), remove the foil shield to allow crust to brown. (If you are using a shallow tart/pie pan, cooking time is about 25 minutes.)