We’ll be taking a break for the next week or two, so we can get the site ready to publish. New graphics and layout updates in progress!
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Category: Life
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Ojai Farmer’s Market
I had a great time going to the farmer’s market. When I go to a farmer’s market, I like to do a complete walk-through before going up to any stand or trying anything. This allows me to strategize. I figure out what things I want most and what my budget will be. First, I stopped by a Rivendell Aromatherapy stand. I wanted to buy something just because of the name of this company alone. I ended up getting body wash, leave-in conditioner, pet shampoo, and scented greeting cards. Next, I tasted about 5 different olive oils and picked a nice one to use for Julie’s Pasta Sauce. Then Gar and I took a break and ate a couple of really good tamales.
What excites me most about any farmer’s market is the produce. More than anything, I look forward to being inspired to cook something featuring whatever produce looks and sounds good to me that day. This time some giant leeks that caught my eye. I also saw some organic potatoes and my mind was made up, I wanted to make potato leek soup.
I was also ecstatic when I found out that one of the cheese stands had cheese curds. Cheese curds are basically the building block of all cheeses; they are very mild and extremely tasty. My favorite thing to do with cheese curds is make poutine. Poutine is so good and generally consists of french fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy. I’m hoping to write a post about that soon.
I just love cooking on Sundays, especially after hitting up a farmer’s market in the morning.
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Morning Walk
Sunlight through the trees on a morning walk at Los Padres National Forest.
My dog Loki splashing around at Los Padres National Forest.
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Sunlight Through the Trees
Nature is magical to me and I find myself entranced by it every day regardless of whether I’m camping or not. The next few posts will be pictures from my week at Los Padres National Forest.
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The White Tree of Gondor
You know you’re a dork when you go on a stroll in the woods and you stop, gasp, and say, “I’ve found an ancestor of the White Tree of Gondor.” For those of you who don’t know, the White Tree of Gondor (I’m sure it has another name, I just don’t feel like getting out my books and looking it up) is a thing in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth and Lord of the Rings books. Now the cat is out of the box or hat or however that saying goes. I am a BIG Tolkien fan.
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Our Campsite
We made it to our campsite… and it was underwhelming. We had to reserve a spot because we’re in an RV this time. The site we picked looked great on the map but not so much in real life. I could have been happy there, but as soon as we parked I asked Gar to grab the dogs and come on a walk with me to scope out other sites. That’s the beauty of off-season camping, the camp isn’t crowded and you can basically choose any site you want. Sure enough, two sites down the road we found this beauty. It was entirely secluded, all you can see are trees in all directions. Also, it was right above the creek and you could hear running water no matter where you were standing on the site. I LOVE woodsy camping.