Hop Valley Canning Party

I know...I know.  Two posts in one day.  Crazy!  Well, we did something fun this afternoon and I wanted to share.

We really enjoy Hop Valley Brewing in Springfield.  They have a great happy hour (fish tacos!), they hold blood drive events and promotions, and they have a new cask ale on tap every time we go in there.  Plus their waitstaff is really friendly and they have the hard chocolate mints as you leave.

Today we went to Hop Valley because they were having a canning party.  Within the past few months they have started canning their craft beer.  Normally you see craft beer in bottles but Hop Valley is the first local brewery to join the canning revolution.

Cliff and I got to can our own six pack of their IPA.  It is a small operation as you can only fill two cans at a time.  Their brewer told us that when they are cranking they can produce six to eight cans per minute.  There were quite a few folks excited to practice their canning skills.  We even got to meet the brewer's grandmother who was happily sporting her Hop Valley t-shirt and waiting for her friends to arrive to join in on the fun.  I love locally owned businesses.

How do you can your own beer you might ask?  What are the steps?  We knew you would want some photos to illustrate the process so we did the best we could to document.

1.  Get cans out of a sterile bath and place on the filler machine (that is my technical term for it).  Press the button and balance the cans on the platform as they automatically fill.

2. Watch the can fill. Once the foam hits the top a sensor will stop the flow.

3. Remove the full cans from the filler machine, pick up a top from the sterile bath, place the top on the can, put the can on the capper machine (another technical term), and press the button.

4. Remove sealed can and dunk it in a final sterile bath.  When six cans are complete place them in recycled plastic handle (thanks to another Eugene company) and take home to enjoy.

We had a lot of fun this afternoon.  A tasty hamburger, a great bbq chicken quesadilla, two good beers, and our very own canned six pack.

Pre's Trail

Did you know that running is big here in Eugene?  One of the many names for Eugene is Track Town USA.  Here are a few reasons why:  Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman developed what would become Nike shoes while with the University.  I'm sure you all know the story of the ruined wife's waffle iron.  The University of Oregon's Hayward Field is hallowed ground for Track and Field athletes. The Olympic Track and Field trials are routinely held here and in fact we will see world class athletes entering the area again this June for the event. Track Town Pizza is the best pizza in town (well that is beside the point but they honor all the greats with photos and posters).  There are tons of running clubs and events.  Miles upon miles of beautiful trails.  Being outside and being physically active are valued by the community.  In general, runners are everywhere.

It is hard to live in a town that is so passionate about running and not get motivated.  When we lived here before we really enjoyed running in Alton Baker Park.  There is a four mile set of running trails in the park named after Steve Prefontaine (or Pre).  Pre was a running star from Oregon that ran tack for the University in the early '70s.  At one point he held seven American records for middle-long distance events.  He is a big name around these parts and you will often see folks with his face on their t-shirts or on a poster/mural of him in local businesses.

Before he died he worked with Eugene and Springfield to create high quality running trails in Alton Baker Park (a.k.a Pre's Trail).  The trails run along the Willamette River, through grassy areas, by a small mill race, past a duck pond, by Autzen Stadium, and a happening dog park. The park is popular so you will always see people in their spandex running, walking with dogs, or strolling with a metal detector (I saw one yesterday!); but it is big enough that you don't feel like you are surrounded.  It is wonderful.   When remembering things I loved about the area I would always think back on jogging/walking on the trails. 

We went to the park yesterday because it was beautiful out.   I jogged about 2 1/2 miles and Cliff ran a little over 4 miles.  While watching others run by me I realized that I am probably one of the world's slowest and most awkward looking runners.  Oddly I'm not sad about that.  Instead I'm kinda excited about getting back out there again as I am just one of many unique Track Town residents.  If you can't run funny here then you can't run funny anywhere.

We Like To Eat

When it looks like this outside all we want to do is eat.  Last Saturday-Tuesday we saw several inches of snow fall, melt, and then repeat the cycle all over again.  The valley doesn't see snow all that often so it really get everyone excited/anxious when the white stuff appears in the forecast.  I love snow.  Or at least snow like this.  We didn't need to drive anywhere so we hunkered down at the cottage and cooked.  It was pretty great.

Last weekend Cliff decided we should make a pretty magnificent breakfast.  We made Amish hashbrowns and an apple pancake.  We used the apple pancake recipe from our America's Test Kitchen cookbook.  It was super easy and really satisfying.  It called for a dusting of powdered sugar....but hey....I like powdered sugar so I figured a heavy dusting couldn't be all that bad (it wasn't).

 

Cliff made up the hashbrown recipe a few weeks ago but then checked online to see if anyone else made them that way and sure enough the Amish do.  We ate our breakfast at around 10:30 in the morning and seriously could not even think about food until about 7:30 that night. 

Last weekend I got to sip hot chocolate in front of the wood stove and watch the snow fall.  It was pretty amazing but I did learn that drinking a hot beverage in front of a very hot wood stove makes for a unexpectedly sweaty experience.

This week we also had a few hearty meals.  One day for lunch Cliff made hummus, I made tzatziki, and we pared them was curried potatoes and fancy tortillas made with "ancient grains".  The next day we had shredded cabbage salad with vinegar dressing, spiced black beans, tortilla chips, and Trader Joe's cheese and green chile tamales.  Side note: we have tried all three types of Trader Joe's tamales and while they all are pretty great the vegetarian variety is our favorite.  For dinner the past two nights we had homemade salmon cakes with fancy salad and sauteed spinach.  Tonight we thought to add Old Bay to the tasty, cornmeal coasted cakes and it was really good.   You should try it.  Everything we made was homemade except for the tortilla chips, ancient grain tortillas and the tamales.  I'm pretty proud.

I'm a little embarrassed to say this but within the span of seven nights we also made a hot fudge chocolate pudding cake, coconut banana cream pie, a chocolate pudding pie, and "light" oatmeal cookies.  We also made quite a few fruit smoothies (Greek yogurt is pretty amazing) so somehow I feel like it all balances out.

On Friday night our power was out so we couldn't open the fridge or use the oven.  What do you do when the lights go out and you are stir crazy?  Go to Red Robin of course!  I got a turkey burger with guacamole and bacon and Cliff got a burger with blue cheese and fried onion straws.  This outing made me realize that I need to try blue cheese some more.  I'm an adult and adults like fancy cheeses.  This may take a while.

Lastly, around Thanksgiving I read a book (written by an Emerson alum) who didn't eat out for two whole years while she lived in New York City.  The book made me feel more empowered about cooking and I generally chatted about the concept with anyone who would listed.  Brie (Cliff's cousin) ended up reading it too.  In the book the gal mentions the New York Times No Knead Bread recipe no less than 1,000 times.  Apparently it was a big deal back in 2006 (who knew?....well apparently Cliff did).  I wanted to try it but was nervous as I have never baked bread in my life.  Cliff bakes all sorts of bread and it is no big deal.  It is a big deal to me as I like for things to turn out perfect on a first try (realistic, right?).  Brie baked up a loaf in her toaster oven last week and challenged people to try the recipe as well.  Thanks Brie for the challenge to finally get my butt in gear.  I'm determined to be a legitimate cook!

 
The bread is super easy to make.  All you need is three ingredients, a little water, and time.  I got so excited about making it that I didn't think to plan out the timing of actually making the bread.  The recipe asks for about 12-18 hours for its first rise then two more before it goes into the oven.  No problem!  I should have counted out the hours before I decided to mix everything together at 11 a.m. yesterday.  I was not about to get up at 4 am (not a morning person) so our bread had an initial rise of about 22 hours.  Once again...no problem as the bread came out great!  I made a plain loaf just to see what we were working with and Cliff and I agree that we like our bread a little saltier.  With this said, we plan on making it more in the future with fun herbs and spices.

All of the cooking and baking this week has made me a happy camper!  Did you make anything tasty and exciting this week?

Lazy Sunday

This weekend Cliff and I decided to go to RVapalooza at the Lane County Fair Grounds.  With not a whole lot going on otherwise we figured spending a few hours at a free RV show sounded like fun. Plus they advertised free snacks.  Who could resist such an event?

They weren't kidding when they said that there would be hundreds of RVs.  There honestly must have been almost 1,000 of all shapes, sizes, and price points.  Cliff and I strolled around with our free sodas and popcorn (at least until I spilled the popcorn) looking at different models.  Cliff and I like the idea of one day getting a camper.  We love road trips and camping (well I love the idea of tent camping maybe a little bit more than the actual experience) which means that a camper would be an awesome addition to the family.  Plus, to be a good Oregonian we need to have one parked out front of our house.  We could treat it as a guest house!  While we are a long way off from purchasing our dream on wheels it was a great way to spend an hour and a half on a Sunday.  Plus did I mention they had free sodas and popcorn?

A Really Long Walk

What do Cliff and I do when we are bored?  A variety of things but this week we decided to take a really long walk.  It was Cliff's idea actually.  This fall we talked about hiking our way from our house to the top of Spencer Butte which is about 10.2 times round trip.  One day we would like to run/jog it but first we needed to hike it.  Our decision to hike the trail on Tuesday was pretty impressive for three reasons:

1) It was beautiful  out on Tuesday.  High 50's and sunny.  That's right!  It is January in Oregon and there was tons of sunshine.

2) Cliff thought about the idea, vocalized it, and we were on the road in less than 10 minutes total.

3) I have a cold.  For anyone who has been around me when I am sick you will understand that it is a victory to get me to do anything but lay on the couch and moan.  I'm not all that good at being sick. 

We left around 11:30 am with a pack stuffed with two raincoats, mittens, hats, water, and snacks.  We even took a flashlight as we didn't know how long it would take us to climb the butte and get back.  It was so enjoyable.  The weather was crisp but not too cold.  The trail wasn't too muddy.  There was just so much sunshine!  We found a good pace where we were moving quickly but still able to talk.  After about 30 minutes I could actually breathe through my nose.  Fresh air does do a body good.  There weren't a ton of people on the trails but we did see more friendly faces and dogs once we got to the last half mile before the summit.  Once we reached the top (we only had to stop once the whole 5.1 mile trip up) we could see the Three Sisters Mountains which are about 115 miles plus east of Eugene.  We have gone up Spencer a few times this fall but this was the first time that we had a really clear day.  I think one of the reasons why I love Oregon so much is that you can see snow capped mountain peaks from the Willamette Valley.  The sight of snow on mountains is so special.  I took a photo but it in no way shape or form does the view justice.

After ooohing and aahhing over the view for a few seconds we stuffed our faces with a Clif bar, dried cherries, and tortilla chips.  After another quick photo (I always have to document) we hit the trail and headed back home.  We kept guessing which body parts were going to be the sorest the next day.  All in all it took us 4.5 hours to hike the whole 10.2 mile trail.  Believe it or not we were pretty proud of the time as there is a ton of vertical gain, we stopped for a snack at the summit, and I was sick.

It was a really great day.  Sadly, Cliff came down sick the following morning so the fresh air didn't ward off my germs.  But that is ok because we have tons of Cold Season tea (it tastes horrible but it works wonders), several movies from the library, and a super cute dog to cuddle with on the floor.

What will we do next when we get bored?

Happy Holidays!

Cliff and I were very lucky this year as we were able to go back home for ten days over the holidays.  We got to spend some quality time with family and friends in Virginia and Maryland.  We were always on the move but we got to hang out, eat amazing food, and reconnect with people that we love.

Before we left we got to have tea with Brie.  The place was really awesome as they had over 80 different teas available.   Per Brie's recommendation we ate at a Lebanese restaurant and had some really tasty falafel, homemade pita, tzatsiki, and other goodies.  It was the perfect pre-travel meal.  After dinner we spent the night at Kathy and Jill's apartment.  It was pretty wonderful to be able to see these folks over the holiday.  Yay!

I tried really hard to take photos during our trip.  Sometimes I failed to document everything but overall I was pretty proud of myself.  Sadly we didn't get photos with our friends in Williamsburg (Rachel, Allen, the two kitties, Sara, Brad and Cati) or Shanann and Caroline in Maryland.  Our visits were short and I think I was just so excited to see them that it didn't register to take photos.  Otherwise, the photos serve as a highlight reel of our trip so we hope you enjoy!

The security line at PDX.  We made it from this point to our terminal in less than 30 minutes.  Portland International really is a wonderful airport.  Small, super clean, friendly staff, and they have a guy who plays the steal drums outside of a Hawaiian cafe.  Awesome.

Ok so I didn't take this photo.  I failed to take any photos at the ODU vs. VMI game on the 22nd.  We got to sit in the new seats and get to know some of the new faces on the team.  Their new players look really good and I think they are going to be a great team in another year or two.  Thanks articles.dailypress.com for the great photo!

We got to spend two nights with Dad and Grandma.  On Christmas Eve we went to Aunt Margaret and Uncle Chris's house for dinner.  It was really wonderful as we got to see the whole family.  After dinner we came home and exchanged gifts.  We got a new alarm clock that plays ambient sounds (think thunderstorms, waves, windchimes, etc.) and we gave Dad a webcam so that we can Skype. On Christmas morning we went to IHOP for breakfast (by the way their pumpkin pancakes are pretty amazing).  It was so warm that Dad was in shorts and Cliff was in a short sleeves. Great visit.

At the Lyddane house we opened presents, ate Christmas dinner, and then played several hours of Taboo and Mad Gab.   Here Cliff is trying to explain to Joe and Stephen which syllable they need to emphasize to get their phrase right.

The next day Cliff and I got to have Christmas with Mom, Pam, and Nanny.  We went to the Gaylord Hotel right outside of Washington, D.C.  We did this last year and it is quickly becoming a beloved tradition.  We exchanged gifts, ate dinner, and hung out all night.  It was really nice to be able to spend time all together.

While at the Gaylord, Mom and I went to ICE!  It was a huge room filled with ice sculptures.  The temperature in the space was between zero to four degrees so they give everyone these huge blue coats to wear while inside.  We didn't wear the hoods (we should have as it was so cold) as we were both creeped out by putting something on our head that sooo many other people had worn before.   I wish I had taken more photos as it was really neat to see what people can do with a ton of ice and nice lighting.  At the end Mom and I got hot chocolate to help us thaw out.

We finally visited Andrea's apartment in Baltimore!   Andrea had a Vaccaro's Groupon so we stocked up on fill-at-home cannoils, chocolate macaroon cookies, and cake.  You can't not go to Vaccaro's and stuff yourself.  We also got a Himalayan Feat from an Indian restaurant that is right around the corner from Andrea's apartment.  It was advertised to feed two people but based on Andrea and Joe's previous meals they knew it would feed more.  It was so much food!  The four of us couldn't finish it all.  It was the best Indian food Cliff and I have had in a long, long time.  We decided to eat in so that we could pig out in our pajamas... and believe me we did.

On our last night we all ended up at the Lyddane house.  For his birthday, Stephen got edible tablets that make sour foods sweet.  We decided to have a feast of grapefruits (many as you can see by the bowls and peels), lemons, pickles, coffee, and generally any other food that was in the house that we wanted to test.  There was so much fruit!  I generally hate grapefruit and even I was sucking it down.  We all ate so much fruit that our teeth started to hurt.  I love Lyddane activities.

 

In addition to the fruit feast we also had Lydanish (danish made by Stephen- this time with cream cheese and lemon filling).  We had to document everyone eating the official family food.  I feel like this photo has the makings for a 2012 Lyddane Christmas card.

We had a wonderful trip and were so excited to see everyone.  Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and may 2012 bring you much laughter, good health, and many happy times!