A Very Fine Weekend
Here comes a long one, folks:
Let's start with Thursday. So I've got this deal worked out with my friends L and E, both lawyers for the county who also happen to be young and fun and in possession of a washer and dryer. I cook for them in return for the use of their laundry facilities. Not only does this mean my clothes are happier (laundromats are terrible for your clothes), it also means I get to test out fabulous dessert recipes on a willing audience.
For last week's laundry session I made a big spicy pot of tortilla soup in the slow-cooker and tried the recipe for "Very Good Chocolate Cake" from Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock's The Gift of Southern Cooking, which happens to be a bomber cookbook (Thanks Pam!). I rolled into the dudes' place with a steaming vat of soup in my passenger seat, all nestled up to the beginnings of the cake - a bowl of dry ingredients and a bowl of wet. Short on time and disinclined to deal with the making of buttercream, especially in a sparsely-outfitted bachelor kitchen, I paired it with macerated strawberries. Needless to say, it was a hit. This is indeed a very good cake - moist and tender, with a sweet, old-fashioned chocolatey flavor tempered by the inclusion of strong coffee. Next time I'm going to go all out and do it 2-layer style, with a full dark chocolate-coffee frosting and everything. After a few hours, a few beers, and some good conversation with E (who is a bit more reserved than the ebullient L), I headed home - all of, oh, 6 blocks away.
Friday happened in a very low-key way. Work, coffee and logo/design brainstorming with my friend the Food Bank guy, phone calls from a few faraway friends (B en route to Cali, Mom, East Coasters doing East Coast things), and an evening at home.
And then there was Saturday.
So Megan and I had planned to meet up in Baker City for some yard-sale-shopping, lunch, ice cream, and hiking. But when we got to Baker, there were no yard sales. None. There had to have been 15 in Ontario last weekend, so I'd assumed Baker would be swimming in them as well. Or... not.
Unfazed, we did a little downtown strolling. Baker has a great Western downtown that's a mix of old (traditional Western wear outfitters) and new (espresso bar and kitchen goods store). Also, there's some street art.
Next up we hit the Salvation Army. Oh, what a Salvation Army. Say hello to my new purple jumpsuit:
Megan made me try it on and I said only if you pick something too and when I opened the door looking like that, well, I don't think either of us has laughed so hard in a long time. Also purchased: $3 electric mixer. This is going to revolutionize my life.
We had an excellent lunch at tiny, intimate (and affordable) Prospector's, which doesn't have menus; the proprietess tells you what she's got for the day and then goes back to prepare your selection. She also makes chocolates - truffles, fudge, and peanut brittle. The cardamom truffle was especially good.
Juxtaposition: watching the Wrangler-clad proprietess enthusiastically greet a group of dusty roughneck friends and then turn around to explain to us in detail all of the sophisticated truffles in her display case.
After a 20-minute drive out of town, we found ourselves winding up a narrow, rocky dirt road toward our chosen hike for the day. After a few miles we saw patches of snow in the road. A few miles farther, extended stretches of soft snow, requiring a few rounds of gunning the engine and holding on tight. And then we hit the snow that would not end - higher than the car's undercarriage and too soft to hike on. We had not brought snowshoes and soon tired of the thigh-high slush. It did make for some funny videos, though. Afterward I noticed that the guidebook listed this hike as being open "July-October." Oops.
We had only one last option for entertainment - the Sumpter dredge. So we drove. A few miles out I spotted it: a garage sale sign! When we pulled up I knew we'd found a good one - big FREE pile out front, intriguing-looking items in the garage, and nary a cheap plastic tchotchke in sight.
We ended up staying for almost 2 hours. The older couple running the sale were the friendliest, funniest, most fantastic pair of Westerners I've met. People came and went from the sale and still we talked, swapping adventure stories (mostly listening) and joking and getting hiking tips for the area. They met over 30 years ago, talked for 3 hours, and promptly moved in together - nothing but a life well-lived since. I can't properly convey how much of a delight it was to meet and talk to these folks. And, since they're moving, we've now got a standing invitation to visit them anytime on the southern Oregon coast. We're totally going to make that happen.
Back in Baker we closed the evening with good conversation and then Blizzards from Dairy Queen. What a good day.