the goose loves the return of tuesday's ten

Just ignore the fact that today is Friday. Just like I'm ignoring the fact that I have yet to buy Billy his birthday presents. For his birthday tomorrow. And I'm ignoring the fact that I have more boxes unchecked, than checked, on my to-do list. Just join me in avoiding reality.

1. It's unfortunately hard to avoid reality when it made a bright-purple stain on your carpet. This one goes straight to dog-shaming.com, which is the perfect website for feeling better about your own misbehaving pets.

2. Billy brought home all of these. And we don't even really eat apples unless they are baked with cinnamon and sugar. So guess who's making birthday pies this weekend.

3. Jambalaya was on the menu last weekend, with grilled shrimp. And extra cajun seasoning.

4. I bought a half-flat of berries at the farmer's market last week, so it's berry-baking-time around here. These were raspberry cheesecake muffins. Yeah, I know. Cheesecake. In a muffin.

5. We took advantage of the long weekend (yay for labor day!) by packing a picnic and going to Champoeg Park about 45 min south of Portland. (That's pronounced "Shampoo-ey" for all you non-American Indian speakers.) Sandwiches, chips, and beer=best picnic ever.

And not a bad view, either.

6. Shady boys.

And tired beagle, aka angel beagle.

7. And no picnic is complete without a stop in historic Butteville (yeah, bring on the grade-school butt jokes) for some icecream. That's Birthday Cake on the right (for me) and marionberry pie on the left (for Billy).

Hot Stuff.

8. We finished up the weekend with some homemade bbq chicken pizza on the grill. That's Billy's first edition signature bbq sauce, homemade crust, and chicken/mozzarella/red onions/pineapple/green bell peppers.

Mmmm melty.

9. To keep other dogs (humans?) from discovering his little treasures, Bentley typically tries to hide his poops as they come out. See Exhibit A below. You bury that bum in that fern, Bents - nobody will ever find that poop. Especially since Dad's going to pick it up right after you're done anyway.

10. And lastly, as we move away from poop chat, since I probably won't be back here tomorrow, a very special happy birthday to my favorite husband Billy. Here's to the big 8-2. Or is it just 2-8? Time goes so quickly.

 Love you boo.

the goose loves blackberry pie

Last weekend was UP's Orientation. Can you believe I was moving into the dorms 7 Augusts ago? (Six full years since we moved in, right Jackie? Haha). Wow.

Anyway, Billy's still there, now on the operations side of everything, and worked really long hours from Thursday through Sunday while I hung out with the dog. On Saturday morning, after taking the dog to the dogpark, I got coffee and walked around the St. John's Farmer's Market, where I saw these lovely things:

 Yes ma'am, blackberries. Deliciously LARGE blackberries! And I knew I had to take them home that minute and make Billy a giant blackberry pie out of the berries. Because he loves pies, you see, and so far in our year plus of marriage, I've only made him two. A (most delicious) apple pie and an even more delicious (because it has chocolate) Boston Cream Pie. But two pies for almost 14 years of marriage isn't quite enough.

 So I handed $11 dollars over at the Farmer's Market and took my half crate of berries home, where I sorted and rinsed them. You can see Bentley carefully watching me. The lucky dog got the they're-so-soft-they're-practically-molding berries. Talk about a purple mess. :)

 And I found a recipe online, complete with illustrations.

 Blackberry Pie:

Ingredients:

Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust pie
6 cups fresh blackberries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

 

Steps:

1. If you are making your own pastry, prepare the pie dough according to recipe directions and refrigerate.

2. Rinse and sort the blackberries. Drain thoroughly on paper towels.

3. Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl. Add the blackberries. Toss lightly to combine. Set aside.

4. Preheat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the lower third of the oven.

5. To prepare the pie shell, lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the larger portion of the chilled dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Fit into a 9-inch pie pan, leaving a 1-inch overhang. (Fit purchased pastry into the pie pan.) Spoon the blackberry mixture into the pastry. Dot with butter.

Roll out the remaining dough into a circle about 1 inch larger than the pie pan. Moisten the edge of the bottom crust with water. Fold the dough circle in half, lift off the work surface, place the pastry across the center of the filled pie, and unfold. Trim the edge ½ inch larger than the pie pan and tuck the overhang under the edge of the bottom crust. Crimp the edges with a fork or make a fluted pattern with your fingers. Make several decorative slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.

6. Make an egg wash by combining the egg with the water. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash. Sprinkle the 1 tablespoon sugar over the top. Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch any juices that overflow.

7. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

8. Cool the pie on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Mmmm, pie. And it was delicious. Although I'll admit the consistency was a little soupy. The pie itself was great, but oodles of juice poured from the sides when it was cut. No problem, really, because the juice is good on vanilla bean ice cream or for drinking up straight, but if you're a less-juicy person, you might add more flour or tapioca or something.

Billy was quite happy with his pie. He might even be willing to work long weekends more often, if it meant more pies. Lucky for him, his birthday is coming up, so he might get another pie for just getting older. :)

the goose loves berry daquiris

Here's our last berry post for awhile. They were all berry good, weren't they? I just think all of the thinks looked berry delicious - the berry cobbler waffles, the berry streusel muffins, and even the raspberry salad. But this one, by far, was the berry best. (Enough of the berry puns? But aren't they so berry punny?)

So why's this one the best? Not because it has berries, but because it has alcohol. Sweet sweet rum. Makes for a lovely afternoon or evening! (Or morning, if you're addicted like that.)

Billy and I decided we couldn't buy six pints of berries without making a mixed berry drink. And that's how our Mixed Berry Daquiri was born!
The recipe is very simple:

Mixed Berry Daquiris for Four (or for two very thirsty people)

--1 cup rum (or more, to taste :) )
--2 cups whole berries (any kind, really)
--1/4 cup powdered sugar
--1/4 cup lemon juice (more or less, depending on how tart you are)
--8 ice cubes

We used boysenberries, blueberries, marionberries, and raspberries.
Put everything in the blender, and blend.

If you followed the directions carefully, you should end up with a bright red, delicious mixture. If you have a husband like my husband, you won't have added enough rum to taste, and so he'll add a little more.

Then pour your daquiris in pretty glasses and stick some berries on the side. Float some blueberries in the center (or halfway sink them, like mine did automatically).

Take several pictures, from various angles, ensuring your white balance is accurate, while your thirsty husband hovers nearby with his mouth watering.

You like how I artistically kept the electrical socket in the background here? Yeah only the best photography from me.

The result? Deee-licious. Refill as necessary, unless you actually had two other people to help you drink these.

the goose loves raspberry salads

Usually I like to bake. I love making Brownies and Boston Cream Pie and Chocolate Chip Cookies among other things. But sometimes you have to counter the sweets with a little healthiness. So sometimes I make a salad. But to really be balanced, I put sweet things in it. Balance is good, right?

Like when I had an abundance of berries. After making delicious sweet things, like Berry Streusel Muffins and Berry Cobbler Waffles, I used my berries for health and made a rasberry salad. You've probably heard of (and salivated for?) strawberry-spinach salads, before? So this one is like that, but raspberry-romaine instead. And I even have the alliteration going still. :)

Here's my inspiration:To make my salad more dinner-like, and to add some oomph (yes, that's a real thing), I had Billy grill up a mahi mahi fillet (we got a package of frozen fillets from Costco - so easy and tasty!). I then roughly chopped it and added it to the salad when it was slightly warm still. I tore up some romaine and probably some other lettuce we had hanging around from the farm share. I included some sunflower seeds, cashews, baby tomatoes, bell peppers, and craisins. And to go alongside, Billy grilled some flour tortillas brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic powder.

I chose to sprinkle the raspberries on top of the salad right before serving - I was afraid that mixing them in would lead to raspberry breakage, which looks like bloody guts.

Let me point out that this salad would be perfect for Valentine's Day. You didn't count all the red things? I'll help you: raspberries, raspberry dressing, craisins, baby tomatoes, bell peppers, and love. Bonus points for grilling sundried-tomato-flavored tortillas and sprinkling them with red pepper flakes. :)

the goose loves berry struesel muffins

So we're still on a berry kick - these are actually from Sunday morning. And boy, were they delish!!

I found the recipe for Blueberry Streusel Muffins from The Girl Who Ate Everything. Christy has a pretty awesome blog, and I've tried her recipes before, like the Chicken Pillows. So I was prepared for an awesome Sunday-Post-Church-Breakfast. And I was not dissapointed! I had berries on hand and was ready to go.

Butter and sugar - my favorite part.
Here's her recipe, all printed out! Click on the link above for the full recipe.

Mmmm streusel! Just brown sugar, butter, and a little flour. I might have eaten some straight.
My mini muffin tin, all lined up!

After making the batter, I folded in the good part - berries! I used raspberries and marionberries.

The raspberries were softer, so they were crushed by the mixing process. I like it that way - it dispersed their flavor and color, giving my batter a pinkish hue! The marionberries stayed more whole, so you'd get a big chunk of berry in the muffin.

Before baking, you sprinkle with streusel! I was rather generous with the streusel...Some streusel for the muffins, some streusel for me...

After making 18 mini muffins, I had just enough to fill up a baby ramekin. Of course I covered that in streusel, too.

Billy enjoyed it very much! I filled the muffin cups fairly full, so I had nice big overflowing muffins. I think I overmixed the batter a bit, because they ended up a little flat on top. Oh well. You can still see some pink in there.

Mmmm berry muffins. How I love you so.

the goose loves berry cobbler waffles

Really, who wouldn't love mixed berry cobbler waffles? I mean it's got it all - berries, cobbler, and waffles.... mmmmm. So I visited one of my favorite foodie blogs, How Sweet It Is and was inspired by her recipe for Blackberry Cobbler Waffles. Having a love for berries and a husband with a hunger for a delicious Saturday morning breakfast, I thought it fit the bill perfectly. Sorry the recipe is hard to read - just click on the link above for her beautiful retelling of it. Having an abundance of all berries BUT blackberries, I naturally improvised. The type of berry most ready to be used were the tayberries, a Scottish variety representing a mix between raspberries and blackberries. So I was halfway there, at least!

I just want to take a minute to show you how well my measuring cups and bowls match. And of course they are purple. Oh, and here is my puppy, sitting in the sun like a cat. Waiting for his waffle (HA). So I mixed up some tasty waffle batter according to the recipe. The part that makes this cobbler-like is the addition of uncooked oats. Yum. And then you add the star of the show!

And here's the magical part. Also, let me throw a shout out to Carolyn Blumenson and her lovely mom, who purchased this waffle iron for my bridal shower last spring! Thanks, ladies! :) Heat up the iron, spray it well with Pam. Dollup about a cup of batter onto the center, making sure to include several berries! Spread it out around the pan, and close. Then flip over, so it fills the iron. And maybe you'll have some tasty seepage around the edges... And about two minutes later, voila! Waffle goodness. They aren't actually the prettiest waffle ever, considering the berries make the waffles look like they have bloody guts. And I'm still working on making a perfectly pretty crispy golden waffle. It takes lots of practice (but Billy isn't complaining!). Oh and Bentley's moved from the sun, now, to sit on my foot. He's hoping he can be a visual reminder that he hasn't gotten his waffle yet. Bad news, Bentley... you aren't ever getting one... I'd eat one of these right now. And topped with a few extra berries, ready for Billy to devour.

So that was the start of our berry-feasting-weekend. So many more berry-filled goodies to come!