another day in paradise

What day is this anyway? I’ve absolutely lost count which means we really are on vacation. The big guy dug his quota of clams and cleaned them while I put the final touches on dinner last night so they’re all ready to go into the pot. Course we’re all heading to the bay a little later at low tide to help him find some more.

The big guy drove to Roseburg to pick up the Jeep yesterday afternoon but Max and I stayed here to get the house in order. What we really did was go on several long walks and revel in our luck. You see we booked this place sight unseen except for some on-line pictures so we weren’t quite sure what we were getting. Bayshore Vacation Rentals didn’t let us down – we’re in the prettiest, sunniest, sweetest little spot on the Oregon coast. I swear! The house is very well equipped, cozy, bright and in a quiet location.  The bonus is that unlike the place we’ve rented the past 3 years, this one is very clean so I haven’t spent one minute cleaning up other people’s messes to make it habitable … except for our messes of course.  The only negative is that we don’t have WiFi so my posts aren’t going to be as regular as they usually are. Oh don’t worry, I’ll write every day – after all JBugs Kitchen Antics is about every night food for every day people, but the timing’s likely to be a little sporadic.  But please, don’t stop visiting – the adventures have just begun!

Dinner last night was a take on Beef cooked in beer which I’ve shared with you before, but a much simpler version. Hey we’re at the beach and I didn’t bring a lot of spices with me. I did however bring my favorite oval cast iron dutch oven and last night it was put to good use.  Beef chunks browned with bacon, lots of onion and the absolute freshest garlic I’ve seen in my life.  When was the last time you had garlic right out of the ground? It’s firm, juicy cloves are wrapped in the thinnest mauve colored skin that you can imagine. Five cloves went into the pot and I darn near added the rest of the bulb!

Anyway, I digress. I added a can of beef broth and bottle of dark beer, covered the pot and shoved it in the oven for an hour, after which some carrots joined the pot. Left uncovered in a slow oven for another 2 hours the liquid thickened, carrots cooked down and we were left with what you see. Over mashed potatoes and with a salad, dinner was sublime. Kinda’ proves that you don’t need anything really fancy to put a great meal on the table.

Funny thing is I’ve planned a whole bunch of soups, stews and braises for this week but you’ll just have to bear with me. I realized it is likely hotter than stink where you are but put them on the list for a rainy day, OK? It’s a lot cooler here than it is in Tucson and darn it all, I’m taking advantage of it.

Today’s agenda - breakfast at the Flounder, clamming, groceries and the gym likely in that order. We’ll take you on an adventure later in the week but for right now we just want to stick close to our little spot in heaven. By the way the sun’s just coming up, sky’s very blue and I can see the white water from my kitchen chair. We slept like logs …all 3 of us. Life is good. No scratch that. Life is GREAT!

Comments

[Mags]

I'm so envious of you two off in your little neck of heaven on earth. I wish I was there so I could see the ocean!

[June]

Mags, me too and we could cook up a storm together! It's been another gorgeous day - sunny, light wind, mid 60's. Perfect!

[Sarah G]

Don't worry. We will actually be hanging on your every word...whenever it comes through! Love to hear about vacations. Do not, and I repeat, do not put blogging above this wonderful vacation!

[June]

Sarah - I have to admit I've been feeling a might lazy and uninspired in the blogging department but I promise to get with it soon!

[Nanan]

Love hearing about the fun times! Great sounding stew! Glad the cabin is a winner! Enjoy your days of bliss!