Sunday... A day of thanks.

Connor and Daryl tested the Scottish Ale today.  This was brewed here and has been bottle-conditioning for a few weeks.  It was very good; nice caramel flavor and a hint of peated malt (smoked).

 We enjoyed a Sunday full of things to be grateful for... Time together, good friends, family, technology, malted barley, semolina flour, and pumpkins.  We will let the pictures do the talking.

This grain is a nice mixture of German and American malted barley...Hopefully it will yield a nice Vienna Lager in a couple months.

Homemade pasta... OMGosh.  It was the best... and the creamy, light mushroom cream sauce was amazing.

A simple crustless apple pie for dessert... from JTB.

Lefty wants in on the action!

The artist and his canvas...

Meet Bubba...

Meet Bubba's daddy...

Bubba had too much pumpkin ale!

A Pumpkin Perfect Saturday!

Today was by far the most beautiful day of the week.  We both had to do a little Saturday morning due-diligence, but by 2:30pm we were free and ready to explore some of Lewis County.  We decided that we should definitely go for a hike.  The weather was a perfect 60F and sunny with blue bird skies.  The Chehalis River runs through our area so we headed there for a hike.  On the way  there we ran into a pumpkin patch. Why not stop for some fun? 
We found a giant pumpkin man made out of hay bales...

A huge field full of gorgeous pumpkins... all grown right here - we couldn't believe it!  The owner said they were planted in June... and cut in early October.

There were so many fun little things for the kiddos to do. I stuck my big kiddo behind a Superman cutout.

Then he found the perfect pumpkin.

We continued on to our hiking spot - the Discovery Trail (part of Lewis County Community Trails). We also went here to celebrate our 2 year anniversary (see a pic of that glorious day here, we used it in our first post in August, even though the pic was from June). It is a gorgeous trail!   The working farm at the end of a road donated the land that cuts through their farm and leads to the river's edge. 

We were able to get right down onto the shore and do some exploring... good thing we were wearing our boots!

The trees were soooooo amazing...Made me remember a favorite poem called Trees by Joyce Kilmer... Imagine Granddaddy Love's recital version... he can tell a poem better than anyone in the world!

And there were Moo-Moos galore... especially little baby moos. Sooooo tute. Wished that Amber was there to talk to them with us!

We finished the evening with a seriously nutritious and delicious fall salad.  I found the recipe in an old Cooking Light... you can find it right here.  I was a bit worried about making it come together, but all of the ingredients tasted PERFECT.  Of course, the Chef did the chicken - it was divine!!! I have never had such delicious chicken... And all of the other ingredients really worked well together.  We shared a glass of local Syrah from Birchfield Winery.  Yum!

Daryl's 50th Birthday

Friday, October 21, 2011, our good friend, Daryl Lund, turned 50 years young!  Connor and I stayed up until after midnight on Thursday baking 3 different kinds of cupcakes... and trying to make sure we had everything ready for Friday.

 We made Red Velvet with a mocha cream cheese frosting... Pumpkin with a maple cream cheese icing... and (my all-time favorite can't have a bday without it) Funfetti with orange-colored cream cheese icing.  We think they were a big hit!

On Friday evening, Connor and Daryl went to Dick's Brewery for a beer after work.  Little did Daryl know that his cousin Julie and Marie had been plotting a small party.  Julie had invited Daryl's family, friends, and business acquaintances to stop by for a beer and cupcake.

After the little soiree at Dick's, we headed to Olympia for a lovely dinner party at Anthony's Hearthfire Restaurant on the water.

It was a lot of fun. Daryl's family was a treat to be with and we loved celebrating Daryl.

Oktoberfest 2011 in Leavenworth, WA

As a spur of the moment idea... we decided to travel to a small Bavarian village stuck in the mountains of WA.  Leavenworth, WA is well known for its tourist attractions - especially its huge Oktoberfest every fall. 

We left on Saturday morning and hit sunny, gorgeous skies by the time we got to the mountains.   The pictures do not capture how huge and breathtaking these mountains are... There was still some snow on the high peaks.  We crossed Stephen's Pass on the way there...and came back via Snoqualmie Pass.

Our tickets allowed our entry into a large festival area...complete with street vendors and four live music/food venues.  Connor got to work on trying the German lagers... Marie even tried a few!  We felt a little out of place... EVERYONE seemed to have on their German attire.  If we go again, we will also get into costume.

We also walked all over the little town and checked out all of their shops. 

We walked along the Wenatchee River and saw a few spawning salmon... There were a few anglers wetting their flies. Connor wanted to join in!

For dinner, we splurged at a nicer restaurant in town... We shared a sampler of traditional Bavarian salads to start (shredded carrot salad, potato/bacon salad, slaw, greens). 

And decided to share one starter (Escargot with wild mushroom sauce stuffed in fresh bread) and one entree (pork schnitzel and spaetzel).  Then, an apple strudel with vanilla ice cream for dessert.  Everything was delicious.

After dinner, we went back to the festival.  People were dancing, singing, drinking, and having a great time. We had a few more beers before heading to our hotel for the evening.
It was a perfect trip... but we were glad to come home to our kitten cats.

Maybe next year some of our brewthers or brewisters will join us on our Bavarian getaway? Until then... pfüad di!

FALLin' to the Tucker House

October 8+9, 2011-
It has been another busy but wonderful weekend at the Tucker house.  Too much to put into a blog...so I will show some picture highlights.
Connor harvested his Giant Sunflower... too bad it has started to rot.  But, we were able to salvage a few pieces.  We are trying to dry it; the seeds are HUGE!

 We had a lovely brunch on Sunday morning... Connor brought me flowers on his way home from work, I made pecan waffles, we had yummy toppings...and delicious coffee.

We canned pears... it was really very simple. Wash, peel, treat, halve/core, hotpack with extra light syrup, water bath for 20-25 minutes. 

Made a pear pie with a few of the remaining pears... and baked a few loaves of pumpkin bread.

Finished the day with a long walk.  Came home to steamy lasagna, Brussels Sprouts, and good bread!

Just wish we had some body to share all this good food with... we even cleaned the garage.  We totally have room for visitors. Come on over!