Hello BODC, I'd like to introduce...

I must confess. I took possession of the blue (albeit slightly purple) bidet to crack the nut of the BODC. No pun intended. Yes, fellow readers, I, Christy McDevitt now own the bidet complete with Ava nail paint detail. It will likely be the main character in an upcoming post but for now I'll stick to my introduction.

As I mentioned, I live and play in Bend, Oregon. Which is a place generally cooler than most vacation destinations. I enjoy biking, hiking, running, collage work, home repair, volunteering at Antioch Church. Where they are decidedly balls out with messages of worship like this.

Micah Bournes :: What Can I Do? from Antioch Church on Vimeo.

Micah just released his first CD Falling In Love. And was an intern here at Antioch. Last year was pretty crazy as I had three interns from the program living with me! They are all now living, playing and working in Bend. Totally amazing women.

Jen

Audrey

Kathie

I work for the United States Forest Service here as the Staff Officer for the timber program. In summer sometimes I fight fires. On really good days I get to fly in a helicopter and look down on the Deschutes River.

And some amazing aerial views of Paulina Falls. A great hike if you're visiting or live here!

The Forest Service here is super engaged with the community. One of the cool things my co-workers are proud of is a recent grant to establish a Children's Forest here on the Deschutes. See the video for amazing pictures of doe-eyed children looking well-behaved and panoramic shots of a meadow (Ryan Ranch) we'll soon be reclaiming as a wetland!

As far as domestic abilities go I enjoy cooking, baking, yard work (although that's been a steep learning curve), interior design, art, building things from wood which ranges from children's stools to a chariot I once fabricated for a drama production. Ah, but that's another story for another time.

Lately I've been enjoying baking some wonderfully sensuous vanilla scones. I admit the motivation was provided after I realized I was spending nearly $10 a week on the tasty version from Starbucks. Hmm.. need to pay more attention in the Dave Ramsey classes! I found this recipe at Restless Chipotle and made a few revisions.

One of my difficulties with anything vanilla, is that I get tired of buying expensive vanilla bean pods. Predictably I only use a small portion and the remainder turns into a crusty edifice to dreamt-about-but-not-baked recipes. Much to my relief I have discovered vanilla bean powder. Composed of ground up pods and seeds the stuff is relatively cheaper than fresh beans, tastes excellent and keeps much longer.

I would recommend the Madecasse brand. Recently named as one of the "50 Most Innovative Companies in the World" for building a chocolate company in one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the company their aim is to:

Make fine chocolate [and vanilla] in Africa. It's a revolutionary idea in the chocolate world (some would say even a bit crazy): And there are a thousand reasons why it isn't usually done. But, it's an idea that can make the world a better place, generating 4x more income than fair trade cocoa alone. Even Madecasse product you savor starts the change in one, small corner: Madagascar.

Jaovavy (farmer) with freshly harvested cocoa

Vanilla orchids are meticulously pollinated by hand, no wonder this stuff is pricey.

Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondova in Western Madagascar

Tim, co-founder chats with members of the Ezaka co-operative Ambanja,Madagascar

Go in with your friends and order several jars, save on shipping, or they make great gifts! Along with the recipe!

Madecasse Vanilla Bean Scones

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. sugar

7 T cold butter, cut into 1/2" cubes

1 c. sour cream (full fat is best)

1 t. vanilla flavoring

1 t. madecasse vanilla powder

(you can substitute 1 t. of vanilla flavoring if you don't want to help save the world with the other stuff)

1 t. madecasse pure vanilla powder

1 egg yolk

for glaze

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla flavoring

enough cream to make a thick glaze (only a small amount)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl.

Add butter chunks to the flour mixture. With hands, pinch butter chunks against bottom of bowl and squish with your fingers until they are all mixed into smaller bits (pea-sized or smaller).

In another bowl, mix sour cream, egg yolk, vanilla flavoring and vanilla powder in another bowl. Pour sour cream mixture into flour mixture. Stir gently with spatula until mostly mixed.

Using additional flour as needed, form batter into 3-4 fist sized balls. Place on cookie sheet. Pat balls into small rounds roughly 2" thick. Using clean, wet knife, slice rounds into six scones each. Gently separate scones by 1" or so. It's okay if they rise and touch each other during baking you can cut them apart later.

Secret Step: Let them rest for 15 minutes. That's right, you heard me. Before they go in the oven. Let them rest. Your scones will be amazingly soft, fluffy and dreamy. Your guests/husband will say things like, "MgHTh.. vis is vee beft fcone eeve eeveer thad MgthbBTh!"

Once they've rested bake for 15 minutes or until slightly golden on top.

Cool completely. Mix ingredients for glaze. Roll scones top side down in the glaze and place back on cookie sheet. It may take a couple hours for the glaze to firm up. Getting the right thickness of glaze is a bit of a tricky process. Too thick and it breaks the scones, too thick and it all runs off. Either way they are delicious.

Great this time of year to use for Strawberry Shortcakes!

Buns and rolls...

I am not talking about my buns (at four months post-partum they aren't worth mentioning) and I am certainly not talking about my rolls... we just won't go there. However, I am talking about two of the best bread recipes I have. For Cornmeal Yeast Rolls and Beautiful Burger Buns.

Cornmeal Yeast Rolls are a tradition in my family. The recipe comes from my Aunt Ramona - one of the best cooks I ever met. No one is sure where she came by the recipe but it is pretty amazing. As Aunt Mona passed away a few years ago, making these rolls seems to keep her with us. Yes, it takes work, but you will be glad you made them!

1/3 C cornmeal
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 C shortening
2 C milk
2 beaten eggs
1 pkg yeast
1/4 C lukewarm water
4 C flour

Cook cornmeal, salt, sugar, shortening and milk in a double boiler until thick. Cool to lukewarm. Add yeast dissolved in water. Add beaten eggs. Let rise 2 hours. Add flour - don't add too much! The more sticky the dough, the lighter the rolls. Let rise 1 hour. Punch down and make into rolls. Let rise 30 minutes before baking. Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

I am telling you, those are awesome. My mom and I are in a magazine for those rolls. Seriously. :)

Okay, so I know that letting dough rise all day takes time and we are modern women. We have things to do! So perhaps you don't want to hang out in the kitchen making those rolls. Here is a very good, very tasty, fast bun recipe from my very good friends at King Arthur Flour. It is called Beautiful Burger Buns.

It is great - the cookbook version adds 1/2 tsp dried minced onion which I love. Again, don't use too much flour. Sticky dough = light bread.

I make the beautiful burger buns for our hamburger buns. Great for sandwiches too... and I am hoping they will be awesome with Meg's cheese! I bought cheese cloth today and will be trying to make Megan's cheese this week. I am going for it!

A Novice Cheese Maker

I have wanted to make cheese for years. I have sat in front of my TV watching boring documentaries on artisan cheese makers with my mouth agape and my heart in my throat. It is like magic. Some heat and some rennet . . . a curd forms! (how does that happen? It's so quick!). A culture, and the whole thing changes again. Magic!Poetry!

But I thought it was too hard or magical or large scale to do it in your kitchen. Then I started reading and it turns out all you need is a pot, a thermometer, and some cloth. You don't even need the rennet for the really simple ones. So here is a really simple cheese I have made in my kitchen. It is quick and easy and no one has died yet. Not even Grace and she is small and vulnerable to bacterial toxins.

Lemon cream cheese:

8 cups milk (whole milk is best, ultra-pasteurized won't work, non-homogenized is best if you can get it)

Juice of 2 lemons

Bring the milk to 180 degrees.

Add the lemon juice, turn off heat, stir a few times and then walk away and leave it alone for 15 minutes.

Strain it into cheese cloth or a linen or muslin cloth. And let hang for about an hour.

Turn it into a bowl. This is the whole original recipe, but I made some additions to the finished cheese that I think are lovely .

Add the following:

zest of 1 or 2 lemons

some maple syrup

a little salt

a big spoonful of plain yogurt

That is it! Try it! It is lovely on toast. When the curd separates it is the coolest thing in the world. It takes like four seconds. Magic. I can't wait to get my real cheese stuff and get started with mozzarella and the like. I can't wait to cut the curd and stretch it and drain it. And I will record the whole thing. I will suck up my pride and ask Mike to show me how to post photos and everything.

I feel the same way about beer and bread and pickled vegetables, but it turns out you can make those too! And yogurt! And it's not even hard.

Confessions of a fearful foodie...

Cheese? Canning? Meg is making cheese and Laura and Megan are canning? Wow. You two are brave. Since we are all friends here, I suppose it is okay for me to confess my single greatest food fear. Now, while you may be tempted to laugh... I just want to note that if you ever eat at my house you will be glad I have this fear.

Ready for it? This is straight out of my nightmares (just ask my husband - he has to listen to me every night after we have company for dinner). I am afraid that I will make a beautiful dinner, give someone food poisoning, and they will die. Yes, I am afraid I will kill someone with a food-borne illness. E. Coli, Salmonella, Botulism.... etc. As a result, I own more food thermometers than anyone I know (yes, I use them. I told you before that I am a nerd). So things like canning and cheesemaking have always scared me.

Sourdough doesn't scare me... even though the starter is immortal and lives in my fridge. I figure it gets baked anyway, so anything bad will probably die in the oven. (Seriously, if your starter turns pink or starts smelling "off" you just need to toss it and start over...) But cheese and canning, well, I have fear. Stupid and groundless? Yes. Terrifying? Well, no. But it still scares me!

So Megan and Laura, I can't wait for you to can and make cheese and tell me all about it. I want step by step instructions. With pictures. Or at least the name of a good book with pictures and all that jazz. The fact that you two are medical professionals and will certainly recognize the early signs of a toxic illness is only a side benefit. Teach me!

PS - Here is a great recipe for homemade muesli. My husband, a professional eater, brought it back from New Zealand.

1 C honey
1/2 C brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 C oil

Melt in a pan until even. Don't boil. Stir in the following:

6 C rolled oats
1 C oat bran
1 C coconut
1 C wheat germ

Cook in a low oven (250 degrees) for about 1 hour. I put it in a cookie sheet with a rim (officially known as a jellyroll pan) Stir every ten minutes. It will still be a little moist when you pull it out and will dry in the pan. You can add raisens, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, mixed fruit, etc.



If you are more in the mood for chewy granola bars - check out this link.