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Clean that produce

Fresh produce, fruits and vegetables, make up a major part of our diet. No shopping trip is over until the produce is rinsed, because along with dirt and general produce department grime, even the stuff marked organic might still hold trace chemical residue. We’ve discovered a simple method to ensure a clean rinse on all the raw fruit and vegetables going into our next meal.

Citrus essential oil, vinegar and water make up the initial bath, you then rinse with water and give veggies a quick spin. Finally, we pack everything in “Debbie Meyer’s” green bags to get a longer fridge life.

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Essential Oil Fruit and Vegetable Wash

A simple, cheap way to remove dirt and pesticides from fruits and vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 1 quart filtered water
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar
  • 2 drops Lemon essential oil Use citrus essential oil of your choice.

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in bowl.
  • Place produce in cleansing bath and let sit for approximately 5 minutes. 
  • Slightly agitate veggies to help knock loose any dirt clods and debris.
  • Rinse produce well in colander.
  • Dry. (We use a veggie spinner.)
  • Place clean produce in green bag or container. (Debbie Meyer GreenBags)

Notes

Optional: Store mixture in squirt bottle to spray on produce. Then rinse and dry.

 

 

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Nutty twist

We frequently look for new and healthy ways to eat. Finding a way to enhance fresh fruit, without adding sugar, seemed like a worthy challenge.

We found a simple, easy way by adding one additional ingredient.

We selected a mix of fresh berries and made it even more delicious, with the addition of toasted unsweetened coconut.

Stovetop toasting is remarkably quick and easy, and it has the added benefit of leaving your kitchen smelling great. It only takes a few minutes and is well worth the effort.

 

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Berries with Toasted Coconut

A healthy, refreshing treat.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword: berries, fruit
Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

  • 1 cup berries mixed
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes lightly toasted

Instructions

  • Select your choice of fresh berries. Rinse, dry and place in serving container.
  • Warm a pan on medium heat and measure coconut flakes into pan. Lightly stir until flakes begin to brown and you smell warm coconut. 
  • Sprinkle toasted coconut onto berries. Enjoy!
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Roadside geology


 
It’s a bit of an understatement to say Central Oregon has a unique geological history. Nearly every hillside and canyon in the region tells a story, exposing a variety of volcanic eras. According to “Roadside Geology of Oregon,” we live on the volcanic plateau. Walking ancient lava flows is so cool!

Northwest of Bend, a man-made lake occupies a space made up of igneous rock, once cut into by three rivers. This is where the Metolius  and Crooked join the Deschutes river. The waters of Billy Chinook draw hundreds of power boaters from May to November, however in the winter months, the canyon walls are quieter and we can indulge our geological interests in relative peace.


 
Mountain View Drive, a few miles off Highway 97 and northwest of Culver is a good starting point.  From it’s many overlook pullouts, you get a “whole picture view” of the plateau and canyon walls.

Next it’s down to the floor and the Crooked River Day Use area.  The deserted boat ramp is a nice place to stop for some lunch by the lake. The sun has made it to this level by noon and is warming huge boulders that serve as picnic site buffers.

Drive up the Crooked river branch and you are able to see textbook examples of columnar basalt that lava flows laid down millennia ago. Cross over the lake and stop to see one of the more recent rock formations in the area, a Petroglyph Rock.

We are now on the Metolius River branch and climb out of one canyon, across a flat, and drop into Fly Creek, where at USFS road 1170, the pavement ends.   A short distance farther and you pull into a turnout on the right. Down the gravel path is the Balanced Rocks, another geological oddity with Lake Billy Chinook and the snow covered peak of Mt Jefferson in the background.

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An Eastern Loop

With an outlook for sun and no snow storms, we headed northeast to take a couple of days and do some birding along the Columbia River flyway. There have been a lot of day trips to nearby hiking sites, but a bit of cabin fever and the prospect of seeing a wide variety of migratory birds drew us to Boardman and the Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge.  Fifteen hundred of the 23 thousand acre reserve is irrigated crop lands providing cover and food for the waterfowl and raptors.

Highway 97, north of Grass Valley and almost to Biggs, was covered in freezing fog that left a beautiful covering of rime frost on everything. The ODOT trucks had been through with de-icer so roads were drivable and we enjoyed the photo ops the eerie scenery offered.

We stopped off at a dog-friendly motel in Boardman and did a quick refuge scouting trip in the evening light. The skies were covered with a solid blanket of gray and temperatures hung just above freezing. There is permitted hunting on the refuge that would have closed on the 12th of January, except a government shutdown shortened that season even more. The area we wandered is dotted with trails and hunting blinds making access to viewing really easy.

What strikes you first is the cacophony of sound as you exit the car.  There aren’t any ducks or geese in sight, but you hear what must be hundreds of them. There are eagles and hawks in nearly all the bare trees that sit in groves throughout the area.  We returned at sunup to even greater numbers and a louder chorus. A longer (higher magnification) lens is on JQ’s wish list, but still we got some great images.

The trip home started by heading farther east to Pendleton and catching Highway 395 south along the eastern edge of the Blue Mountains.

A few miles out of Pendleton we drove into a bank of freezing fog and frost-covered scenery that lasted nearly to Battle Mountain Summit.

The highway winds southerly through forested valleys from Dale to Long Creek, finally turning west at Mt Vernon. Here you pick up Highway 26 and drive through the geologically rich Picture Gorge and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

Of course we sidetracked to the Painted Hills unit and here we got treated to stark evening sun that brought definition to the folds between painted mounds just for JQ’s camera.

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Better than boots

Tip has a set of ‘dog booties’ that were supposed to offer protection from sharp rocks along the stream. The trouble is, while he’ll tolerate wearing boots, it’s not easy getting them on. It’s more of a problem in the winter, where it’s difficult to find a dropped boot in snow if they fall off.

 

Not sure how we discovered Musher’s Secret. We were looking for a winter solution to paw protection and found it’s easily applied. A couple of times a week we gently rub it into his pads, letting the warmth of hand and paw effect the absorption. It is a ‘tolerated’ process, but goes on quickly and is trouble-free protection. Effective both winter and summer, I think we’ll still use booties when traversing lava and obsidian lined trails.