Travels with George and Marta – Page 31 – Journeys in the Botanical World

Dilly Beans

Posted on August 30, 2010 by MartaNovember 2, 2014

Our green and yellow beans have been ripening fast. The weather is also turning cold so the beans are toughening. They are starting to plump up their seeds. The Blue Lakes are still pretty meaty but our Yellow Romanos are getting tough. Sigh… The Yellow wax bush beans are going fast also.

So I needed some way to save a few of these. I froze a couple of quarts. I am not a big fan of pickled food but I decided to pickle a bunch of the green beans. I had a case of half pint jars so I picked a bunch of small green and yellow beans and set out to make some dilly beans.

I liked the sound of these Pickled Yellow Wax Beans and the Dilly Beans from Food in Jars. If you haven’t made pickled food before the instructions on The Blueberry Files were excellent – and also an excellent refresher on how to can.

I decided to use the recipe from Food in Jars. I had enough beans for about 5 jars so I cut the brine in half. I decided to use red pepper flakes and a couple of peppercorns instead of the cayenne pepper.

First I started the water boiling in the canner. This takes about 30-45 minutes to get to a rolling boil. This gave me time to prepare the ingredients. I measured out the size of the beans that would fit in the jar leaving a half-inch room and cut the beans. I prepared the garlic and spices. I sterilized the jars once the water was boiling and prepared the brine.

I measured the spices into the jars and then packed in the beans into four jars using the small extra pieces to tightly pack the beans. I used the extra pieces to make a fifth jar of cut beans. I poured the brine to 1/2 inch from the top, and then screwed on the tops. Set them into a water bath and boil for 5 minutes.

They looked great. I could hear them pop and seal as they cooled. I hope they taste good.

Spices for the dilly beans

Water bath

Summer goodness – ready for this winter

Photohunt: Framed

Posted on August 28, 2010 by MartaDecember 26, 2014

This week’s photohunt theme is Framed. I knew right off what I was going to use for this theme. It would have been difficult if I had not seen this piece of art.

So what is it? I don’t remember the artist but it was an installation at Fondation Maeght museum in St Paul de Vence France. I visited the museum as a class trip while I was studying at the Institut de Francais in Villefranche sur Mer. I loved the museum especially the outside garden area where there were many sculptures by Miro and Giocometti. This interesting piece was set up in one of the galleries along with several modern art paintings and made up of made up of different sized frames. I wish I could remember the artist but I don’t. We couldn’t resist using it to take our pictures which were automatically ‘framed’.

Everyone gathering around to get their picture taken in a frame

Group shot

Here’s mine

Here is a slideshow of the lovely town of St Paul de Vence

Meadowdale Park

Posted on August 27, 2010 by MartaAugust 27, 2010

I am back in training. We want to see the silversword in its native habitat so that means we have to hike down into the crater of Haleakala on Maui. I am not certain yet what hike we plan to do – Sliding Sands or Halemalu’u. Sliding Sands definitely looks to be an easier hike. Both start at the crater edge which is about 8,000 ft and descend about 1500 to 2000 feet into the crater.

I need to get in shape to be able to do the hike so I’ve started training. I’m starting out rather easy with a local hike – Meadowdale Park.

I normally use this park in the winter since it is a great place to go off season but since it is so close, I am using it as a training hike. It is a 2.2 mile round trip with a 450 elevation gain. It is good to trail to start.

I hiked the trail this week before the weather turned. I loved the filtered light from the alders and the babbling stream. It was a clear crisp day when I reached the beach. The Olympics were in full view. I was intrigued by the two fishermen along the shore where the stream emptied into the sound. The tide was low and the old fishing pier north of the beach was exposed so I walked along the beach. Several Asian women were harvesting seaweed along the rocks. Whidbey Island peaked through the pier blocks under the dock. It was a little spooky hearing the footsteps above.

I meandered back and climbed up along trail of Lund Gulch. It is such a great resource to have such a wonderful open space to explore. Hopefully it will do the trick and get me in shape for Haleakala. Here is a wonderful trip report of the Halemalu’u trail.

Haleakala from 14ers.com

Just leaving the parking lot and starting the decent into Lunds Gulch

Dappled summer sunlight along the trail

Alders climb high above the trail

Sword ferns shadow the trail

Along the rocky beach

Old fishing pier – now a beach camp

Peaking under the pier toward Whidbey Island

Trains rumble by on their way to Canada

Late Summer day along the Puget Sound with the Olympic Mountains in the distance

End of Summer – the chill is in the air

Bound for Maui

Posted on August 26, 2010 by MartaAugust 26, 2010

We are going to Maui! G has wanted to see the Silversword that grows in Haleakala . I was looking at airfare a two weeks ago and saw a RT airfare direct to Maui for $309. Yazza! That is good. We knew nothing about Maui – never been there. So I asked a friend for advice on where to stay. She suggested Napili Bay area.

I mentioned the airfare to G and he was very interested. I did a quick search and found these studios at Napili Bay resort. I don’t know what came over us but we booked both the air and studio without doing any further research.

I wanted to be on the beach this time. Our previous stay last year in Hawaii was nice but I missed access to the water and the sound of the waves. It is probably going to be really small and the area is pretty touristy but we’re prepared. We rented studio #106.

Right now – not much planned beyond a trip up into the crater of Haleakala to see the silversword and a drive around to Hana. Any recommendations?

Photohunt: Numerical

Posted on August 21, 2010 by MartaDecember 26, 2014

This week’s Photohunt theme is numerical. This was definitely a difficult theme for me. I don’t take a lot of pictures of items with numbers so it took a while for me to think of the picture above. We hiked to the top of Mt. Whitney in 2004. Mt. Whitney is the tallest mountain on the lower 48 US states at 14,496 feet . It took us just over 15 hours to hike the 22 miles RT with an elevation gain of just over 6,000ft. We had trained for over 6 months and we made it! It was an accomplishment of a lifetime.

Here are a few more pictures:

Trail Camp at 12,000 ft

Just after Trail Camp are the cables

At Trail Crest, 13,600 Ft, the trail joins the John Muir Trail.

Nothing but granite and rock before the summit

Happy hikers at the summit

Photohunt: Orange

Posted on August 14, 2010 by MartaAugust 14, 2010

This week’s photohunt theme is Orange. It is almost time for the gorgeous orange sunsets here in Washington state. They happen usually in August to September. This is a series of sunset shots that I took one night in September 2008.

Have a great weekend.

Vegetable Garden 2010 – #6

Posted on August 11, 2010 by MartaOctober 14, 2014

I was looking over the vegetable garden posts from last year and we are almost a month behind where we were last year. By August 16th, we had enough tomatoes to can a dozen jars. This year we only have a few Stupice that has ripened. I’m really surprised that none of our Sungolds have ripened yet. They are usually the first. I think they are slightly shaded where they are next to the garage door. Amazing how just the small amount of overhang from the eves will delay them by at least a week.

The zucchini is almost finished but the cucumbers are coming on strong. We have been harvesting our Maxibel bush green beans for about 2 weeks. I love these beans. They come on first and are so tender. They are not as meaty as Blue Lake but good flavor. They do ripen all at once since they are bush beans. Our pole beans are just starting to put on fruit. The first is the golden romano beans. This is the first year that we have planted these so well see how they do. I wanted to grow Goldmarie but couldn’t find any seed. We didn’t have anything else to order from Territorial so we decided to try an Italian variety. The Blue Lakes are just starting to come on. We also have some yellow wax bush beans and they are just flowering. Nothing yet. We also have some blueberries and strawberries.

Pole Green Beans

Maxibel bush green beans

Yellow Romano Pole Beans

Stupice

Still green Oregon Star

Still green Sungold

Cucumbers

Newport

Posted on August 9, 2010 by MartaAugust 9, 2010

I’m just back from Newport Oregon where I spent 5 days with some good girl friends. Our last get together was 12 years ago – or at least that is what we think. We are getting to the age now that we can’t remember.

Iron Peak – Face to Face with Mr. Billy

Posted on August 3, 2010 by MartaDecember 26, 2014

Iron Peak is one of our favorite hikes. We did it last year in late June. Our friend wanted to go hiking in the Teanaway and suggested that we do Iron Peak. It would be a good time especially with the late snow melt this year – we might even see a few wildflowers still on the saddle.

The day was foggy here in Seattle. We have had a strange on-shore flow this month bringing us foggy morning. It usually burns off by noon or early afternoon. It has been keeping the temperatures moderate. We did not get out of the overcast until we went over Snoqualmie Pass.

It was the normal drive of about 2 1/2 hours. The dirt road had been graded up to the turnoff for Beverly and quite a few potholes to slow us down for the last few miles. There were a couple of other cars at the trail head.

The trail was dry and dusty. I took my time since I’m out of shape. It was quite hazy due to fires around Wenatchee and in central BC. I was surprised that we could not see Mt. Stuart clearly. It wasn’t until the last mile or so that we saw some lupine and other wildflowers.

I mentioned last year that we had taken a picture at the saddle back in the mid-80’s. We took a copy along and looked around for the spot we had taken the picture. We couldn’t find it so we just found an interesting spot and tried to recreate it. It was fun.

We started back and our friend asked if we ever saw any goats. Nope. We had never seen any goat any of the times we had hiked this trail or others in the Teanaway or Esmeralda area. I had heard there were some but never saw one.

We hadn’t gone more than maybe a dozen steps when G who was in the front said “There’s a goat on the trail”! I thought for certain he was joking until I looked over his shoulder and sure enough – there was a billy goat coming up the trail. He was real interested in us and kept coming closer… and closer… We didn’t know the proper etiquette for meeting a goat. We finally start around him and he passed on by.

It was gusty at the saddle and one our hats went flying. The guys started down the other side to get the hat while I stayed up at the saddle. I turned around and there was Mr. Billy Goat again. He kept coming closer and closer but he just stayed at the saddle. Finally he found a spot where a horse had peed and decided it would make a good salt lick. We watched him snorting around in the dirt until we finally decided to head down and leave the mountain to him.

It was a quick dusty trip down the mountain and back to Seattle. But what an experience to come face to face with a Mountain Goat.

View towards Esmeralda basin from Iron Peak trail

Hazy View along the trail

View from the Saddle

Coming up the trail

This is my trail

I’m just going to stand here and block your path

Okay, I’ll let you go by

Hey – what are they doing?

I told you this is my trail

Gotta love the view

Photohunt: Public

Posted on July 31, 2010 by MartaJuly 31, 2010

Mercado Central – Santiago Chile

This week’s Photohunt theme is public. I decided to go to a country that I haven’t posted much about – Chile. We visited the long thin country in 2003. We did a lot of flying. We started in Santiago, then flew to the far north near Peru, then to the Lake district and finally ended with a 4 day trek in Patagonia. Loved it. It is a great place to visit.

The picture above is from the Mercado Central. It is the public market in Santiago. It is a large open building with the sellers ringing the outside. The inside is a huge group of restaurants specializing in seafood. All of the restaurants are out in the open – it is like eating in public. Beautiful and tasty.

Here are a few more pictures of some public places.

Public transportation – Metro – in Santiago. We were there just before Lord of the Rings (El Senor de los Anillos) was released

Public boulevard – Avenida Providencia

Public highway – waiting to pay the toll on Ruta 5 – Pan American Highway

Public Market in Valdivia