Bear and a Raspberry Galette

Pretty sure (well more hopeful as we don't need 2 bears to worry about) that this is the same bear that walked across our deck a couple days ago.  I ran and grabbed my camera, but by then he had vanished.  Amelia was in the back and didn't see him, but was told about him and reminded we always need to be cautious...not fearful...this was their home first.

  

And even though we had a bear on the deck, I decided it was ok to go for a stroll in a drizzle mountain shower as we had roofers pounding and playing heavy metal music on our roof.  I was figuring it would scare anyone away :)

We headed back as the roofers were packing up and walked around to the back of the house where I saw a big black glob further down our hill.  I grabbed Amelia and headed to the front door, telling the workers there was a bear in the back. 

 Amelia safely inside, I grabbed the camera and silently tiptoed out on the deck, but then the 2 guys came around to get their bear sighting and he quickly vanished down into the brush.

  

An hour later...he/she was back.  Had the camera ready this time!  We had a similar bear last September almost to the day (eek we had our first snow then!) and I am betting they get a bit more nervous as the season ends to fatten up, thus more brave (even with the pounding and heavy metal music) and  venture out of their comfort zone.   We have had many bears (can't remember if all were in September or not..will have to check that into that with pictures) and had brown bears as well, but where there is a brown...the blacks are far away.  Not sure why I am relieved about that...black bears are more aggressive.  

Amelia watched the bear out the window for a bit, but then went on to playing with Barbies....typical Alaskan girl.

Also, made a scrumptious Raspberry Galette (didn't have enough raspberries from the garden to make a full pie).  

Amelia said she had to dress up as it was a bit of an early birthday treat for Dad.  She had just hopped out from her bath...stringy, unbrushed hair and all!  

Raspberry Galette

1 pie crust (recipe below)

2 cups raspberries 

3 tablespoons sugar (I might use 4 next time depending on the sweetness of your raspberries)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 egg beaten

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch.

Roll out pie crust and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Spread raspberry mixture evenly over the top, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Fold the border over the edge of the raspberries, covering the filling by about 1 inch. Brush the edge with beaten egg.

Place into oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Here  is my pie dough recipe ... it is scattered about the blog too   I always make 3 crusts at a time.

Pate Brise (makes 1 double crust or 2 single 9-10 inch pie crusts)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup ice water 

Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. 

Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube.  

Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky...

don't process more than 30 seconds.  

To test, squeeze a small amount together: 

 If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time

Divide dough into two equal balls.  Flatten each ball into a disk, and wrap in plastic.

Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.  

Before I had a food processor I used a mixer...food processor is much easier :)

Also had a great dinner with friends at the Eagle River Ale House.  Amelia loves Dora and had to sit by her :)

Since Amelia takes hours to eat, we ordered her grilled cheese early and she devoured it quickly...before we were given ours.  So..she got an apparent gallon scoop of ice cream to work on as we ate.  She did not get far at all!  Maybe not a gallon but definitely a half gallon!

  

We also purchased a Stickley China Cabinet for our bare wall in the dining room.  I have been looking and looking for one,  but Rob spotted this on Craigslist.  Barely used and $1,500...for a STICKLEY!   I absolutely love it!

Filled it :)  With my $30 set for 12 of Bavarian Porcelain China with gold trim (another Craigslist find) and a few of my blue and white favorites that I don't use that often.  Would hate to have something break going in and out of the china cabinet on a regular basis.  Yep..pretty pleased!  Yes it is a pumpkin on top and ghosts hanging from the knobs...we have already decorated for Halloween.

Field Trip to Pyrah's Farm

On a rather windy (high wind warning was about to go in effect), chilly (luckily I had my hat to give her) and rainy day (although it didn't rain at all while we were there) we headed to meet her Pre-School class at Pyrah's Pioneer Peak Farm in Palmer, AK.  All parents and kids piled on a couple hay wagons for a jolt around the farm before we hopped off for some veggie picking.  Amelia was ecstatic.

We were off to a good start...

until they stopped to eat a few snow peas...then it was a slow crawl of a pace.  Notice we ditched the hat and gloves.

Since the wind picked up...they needed to hold hands so they wouldn't blow away :)  Girls are very dramatic.  Notice we ditched the coat, but then needed the hat back...kinda like Little Bear.

It was a great 2 hours and headed home with a bag of snow peas, radishes, carrots, potatoes, kale and onions!   This will prepare her for our great Fall adventures back East that is coming up very soon!  Apple and pumpkin picking...here we come!

Amelia was under the weather this past week as well (of course, Dad has it now), but continued her improve ballet shows.  Then collapsed one afternoon on the couch as the cold finally wore her out.

First Day of Preschool, Circus Invites and Zucchini Pie

Hard to believe that this day has already arrived.

She walked in and said BYE!  No hesitation at all...I kinda figured it would be like that...she was ready.

Both Dad and Mom picked her up and dad gave her a new stuffy.  After lunch we had a little celebration with a cake.

The next day of preschool she was more excited than the first day and wanted to go an hour earlier.  I think she knew what it was this time. 

Also completed my niece Olivia's 3rd Birthday Invites this week!

I ordered the paper as I couldn't find any red 8 1/2 x 14 anywhere in Anchorage.  It arrived and was rather orange in color and thought ugh, but when I was looking for images I found many circus tents are an orange/yellow combination and decided I could make it work (not that I had any other choice)! 

Quite happy with how they came out, however, ran out of paper for the envelopes so had to revert to white...which didn't turn out that bad either....ESPECIALLY with CIRCUS STAMPS!!!  How lucky was I to glance at the display of new stamps while mailing a package and seeing those babies!

Here are the tools I used.  Were rather easy to make and assemble and had everything other than the red (orange) paper :)

Have to share the Zucchini Pie recipe I made, even though no one other than myself ate any of it. 

Noticed I sliced the first piece before I took a pic...sigh.

Zucchini Pie

4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
2 ears or 1 can sweet corn 
2 large zucchini, sliced thin (about 4 cups)
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 oz shredded cheese (I used mostly Mozzarella but threw in some Parm and Cheddar too)
3 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 375.  Heat the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat.  Add onions, zucchini and mushrooms...sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add corn to the pan and continue to sauté until the veggies are soft, 5-10 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Add basil, oregano and salt.  Stir once to combine.  Add the cheese and the beaten egg.  Line a pie pan with parchment paper (or you can grease with nonstick spray).  Transfer the mixture to the pan and arrange the top so the zucchini slices lay flat.  Top with a little extra cheese, cover with greased foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes to brown the top.  Let stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting into slices.

Deliciousness.

Week before Pre-School Fun

Rob was gone last week for work, so very little "project" work was done, however we did enjoy lots of playdates with friends, Taliah and Uriah...

...and since as we ate all of our own raspberries, we picked more at our neighbor Jim's in our new Elsa dress that we wore for 3 days straight...

...did tree faces outside that resembled an Andy Warhol or a totem pole, not sure which ...

...and had our first real "babysitting" with our friend Kayla's grandmother.   Kayla, whom we met in dance class, will be attending the same pre-school, and her parents and I went to the parent meeting...leaving the kids to play.  When we arrived back, all were dressed up and playing games.  I asked, "did you have fun?"...Amelia replied "yes, until you got here".  I don't think she will look back when school starts this week.  Quite a 360 from what I thought she would do a year ago.  She has morphed.

The next day the kids had their open house...and again, Amelia had to be bribed into leaving.  

When Dad arrived home, he brought a Lego kit back for her which will just add to the metropolis we are growing...she even has a Building Beauty Nightgown :)

oh...and one more Rhubarb dish :) :P...

Rhubarb Upside-down Cake

I won't share the recipe as it is still in the freezer.

It has marshmallows in it and figured Amelia would devour it.  She ate it but didn't ask for it again.  Maybe it is because we have had WAYYYY too much rhubarb! hahahaha.

Next time I will share a Zucchini Pie I made that was delicious, however, no one else ate it.  They don't know what they are missing. 

I also completed my niece Olivia's 3rd birthday invites that I will show next time as well.  Maybe, just maybe, I will have those counter stools completed, but doubt it ... it is taking me forever.