Uncategorized

Apple cider and salmon chowder – It’s falltime!

by Kristen James

I just put a pumpkin pie in the oven – the pumpkin was a little sugar pumpkin from our garden. It’s still fairly warm and very dry for an Oregon October, but I’ll take it, especially since the garden is still in full swing. I have watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, butternut squash, corn and peppers still getting ripe. Even with the warm weather, I’ve been enjoying some of my favorite fall recipes, like smoked salmon chowder. I caught the 35 pound salmon and smoked it myself.

Here’s my recipe. I love making soups and chowders

Salmon Chowder

 Brown bacon and crumble (or cut with scissors and fry)
Remove bacon and set aside; drain most of the grease.
Cut about 6 medium potatoes into small squares and brown in grease.
Let the potatoes brown a little bit and add chopped up onion. (I small onion)
Once potatoes are brown and starting to get soft (you can easily poke a fork into them), add the bacon back in.
Continue to brown potatoes and onions, add a little garlic, salt and pepper. (fresh ground pepper is best)
When everything is soft, add 1 cup flour and stir to coat everything.
Pour in milk until it’s about soup size. (Sorry, I haven’t measured how much milk. I just add it till I have about half a pot.)
Add smoked salmon to taste, or use leftover cooked salmon. (Or about 1 to 2 cups cooked and flaked salmon.)
Add about a cup shredder cheese and gently stir a little.
Add about 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, the real kind not the “snow cheese” you put on spaghetti.
Stir so it doesn’t burn and cook until everything is well blended. Soup thickens as it warms up.
*My clam chowder recipe actually says to use a pint of 1/2 & 1/2 or whipping cream, so you can use that instead of milk.
Despite the warm weather, my kids caught their first cold of the school year. We pulled out the apple cider to help.

We also picked apples to make applesauce and apple butter. I like chunky applesauce that you can make in a crook pot or big pot on the stove. It’s pretty easy, fun, and makes the house smell delicious while it’s cooking.

Chunky Applesauce

Peel a big bag of apples and cut them up into a big pot or crock pot- you can use really any apple that you like, and it’s tasty to mix varieties. It also doesn’t’ matter how many you use because you can adjust the spices.

Cook the apples, stirring every 10 or so minutes. If they’re dry, you can add a little water so they don’t burn. Usually the juice works fine by itself.

As the apple soften, smash them with a potato smasher. I stir and smash every ten minutes. After an hour or so, depending on how many apples you started with, you’ll have a pot of soft sauce with chunks of apple in it. I add a cup of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground clover to taste. This is the fun part. The kind of apple or mix will change the amount and kind of spices you use. You can continue to cook it down to the softness you want, and continue smashing for a smoother applesauce. It actually turns out a bit like apple pie filling, and it’s very good to eat while it’s hot. I make a big pot and then eat a bowl with the kids, put some in the fridge, and can a couple small jars of it.

I started canning this year and loved it. I learned how from a wonderful, informative site called www.pickyourown.org. It’s full of recipes, directions and pictures for canning about anything.

Happy Fall Time!

 

Un vaquero para navidad

by Kristen James

Haga clic aquí para previsualizar en Amazon - view on Amazon

Un vaquero para navidad….

Cuando su hermano alejado fallece, Missy se convierte de repente en la codueña indeseada de Rancho Marbella, cerca de Florence, Oregón. Después de la mala jugada que su antiguo jefe le hizo, Missy busca un nuevo comienzo. No tiene trabajo, y su reputación ha sido injustamente mancillada, de modo que esta parece ser la oportunidad perfecta—hasta que conoce al vaquero a cargo del rancho. Brent construyó su sueño a fuerza de perseverancia y con sus propias manos; él es responsable por todo lo que ocurra aquí. En secreto, se siente responsable por la muerte de su socio. Y no disimula que está convencido de que Missy no se quedará aquí por mucho tiempo. Las mujeres siempre se marchan. ¿Por qué ella ha de ser diferente? Ambos tienen un pasado que puede arruinar su futuro. ¿Puede él confiar en que ella se quedará? ¿Puede ella confiarle su corazón?
Gratis en Kindle 08 diciembre.    Amazon.es (Kindle)

Capítulo Uno

Si reconocía su nombre, el alto vaquero recostado contra la baranda del porche no reaccionó. Prefirió estudiarla con sus ojos azul cielo mientras caía el sol de plomo del atardecer. Ella había estacionado su coche delante de la casa y se había presentado, y ahora esperaba a que él dijera su nombre o la saludara.

—El nombre no me suena —dijo quedamente, y la miró de arriba abajo. —Y créame usted, me acordaría de su cara.

¿Ah, sí? Aquello pareció ser un cumplido, pero no vino acompañado de una sonrisa. Missy no estaba segura cómo interpretarlo.

Su voz era como una suave brisa, pero el hombre parecía tan rudo como el paisaje que los rodeaba. Postura firme, mandíbula apretada, brazos cruzados. Quizás aquel cuerpo delgado era ideal para abrazar a una mujer, pero el vaquero tenía los ojos llenos de desconfianza.

El rótulo rezaba Rancho Marbella, de modo que sabía que no se había equivocado de lugar.

—Melissa Nelson —repitió. Qué incómoda se sentía. —Ben tal vez me llamaba Missy. —Ninguna reacción. Se frotó los brazos a través de su chamarra, sintiendo el frío de los vientos de Oregón y de esa bienvenida tan calurosa. —Soy la hermana de Ben. ¿No es usted el Señor Hatcher?

—No. —Ladeó la cabeza y siguió mirándola fijo como si nunca hubiera visto una mujer antes. La luz del sol comenzaba a desaparecer. Las gotas de lluvia le humedecían la cara mientras esperaba su respuesta. Cualquier respuesta. —El abogado de Ben la llamó —prosiguió por fin —y usted vino enseguida. Ya veo.

Llevaba un sombrero Stetson marrón claro, una camisa azul marino, vaqueros apretados, y botas. Parecía sacado de un póster de esos que las adolescentes pegan a la pared de su recámara para mirarlo en las noches de soledad, pero su aspecto sexy no servía más que para distraerla.

¿Cómo era posible que hubiera perdido el hilo de sus pensamientos por estar mirándolo? —Vine en avión de Nevada… él me pidió que viniera. —Quiso agregar que el Licenciado Hatcher había quedado de encontrarse con ella aquí. ¿No lo sabría ya este tipo?

—Ah, bueno, pase usted, entonces. —Dio media vuelta sin presentarse y caminó hacia la puerta de la casa. Ella lo siguió con un estremecimiento, ya no por el frío, sino por la corta distancia entre los dos. Él la miraba tan intensamente que le costaba trabajo respirar.

La recibieron los olores de cuero y de pino en el interior de la casa. Esta era definitivamente la casa de un hombre. —¿Cómo conocía usted a Ben? —preguntó.

Él abrió un clóset y le pidió su chamarra con un ademán. Ella quería una respuesta, pero decidió mejor quitarse la chamarra y entregársela, ya que la tela era delgada y estaba empapada de todos modos.

Él la aceptó con el entrecejo fruncido. —Compramos este lugar a mitades.

Ah, no. Ella no había considerado la posibilidad de que hubiera otros inversionistas. Esto explicaba por qué él estaba aquí. —¿Usted vive aquí, entonces?

Seguir leyendo en Amazon.com

Romance Mini “The Look”

by Kristen James

The pouring rain outside made it feel more like late evening than six in the morning. Annalisa stared out into it, her back to the office door. Sounds banged and clicked in from the busy shop outside as she tried to jumpstart herself.

The sound of the door swinging open did it. The outside noise jumped in volume, then dimmed again as it slammed shut. She spun around.

“We don’t need some change agent coming in here. We can handle this ourselves!” A very fit man with a long sleeve shirt and jeans threw a stack of papers onto her desk. Some slid across it and hung over the edge on her side. Spotting her, he stopped mid gesture and blank faced, watching her push the papers back into a somewhat neat stack.

The day went from bleak to super charged in 2.3 seconds, and not because he’d burst into the office. This guy needed to be in a clothing ad, maybe for outdoor gear. He had a movie star, Brad Pitt type face, and she imagined running her hand along his jaw, checking for stubble.

She sat and leaned back in her chair. “What kind of ideas do you have?”

“Who are you?”

“Looks like I’m the person you’re looking for. Mr. Rici brought me in to see how we can improve the processes out there.” She glanced down at his papers to keep her eyes away from his tall and lean figure, the piercing blue eyes set in a firm face. Soon she realized he had thoughtfully written out several process improvement ideas with calculations on how much time each would save.

Sometime during her scanning, he asked, “Do you have a name?”

She finally looked up and realized he’d sat down and had been watching her for several minutes. Evaluating her. Memorizing her. His face had softened considerably and now he stared at her in wonder. She’d been about to compliment his ideas but got caught up in gazing back at him.

Oh yeah, her name.

“I’m Annalisa Gildhart, and you?”

“Dan.” He extended his hand in a polite gesture. His shake was firm but not too hard…and they didn’t break the physical contact right away. He nodded toward the papers. “You know, people aren’t expecting you to listen to our ideas.”

She smiled, thankful for his honesty. “I’m here to help, believe it or not, and that means working with you to keep this place running. These are great ideas, Dan.”

A slow smile spread across his face, and the flirtatious tilt to it made her think he’d reacted more to her smile than her words. Still, he looked pleased and not quite so tense.

It was her that was tingling inside.

Dan leaned back and studied her. Change always made people nervous, but he almost looked like he’d be willing to drop the old us-against-you routine. Oh, she hoped he’d keep that attitude and prevent a hotbed of tension. Everyone would have to work together or this place would be closing within three months.

“So you might be around a while?” He asked, his smile lifting even more on one side.

“Yes,” she answered simply. She actually hadn’t flown in for this job; she lived here.

They were smiling across the desk at each other when someone else rapped on the door and cracked it. “Mrs. Gildhart, you’re on. Everyone’s gathered for the morning meeting.”

She pulled in a deep breath as she rose, then grabbed the papers. She’d like to show them she was on their side and wanted their ideas.

Dan gave her a reassuring smile. “This revamp is starting to look much better than I anticipated.” The gleam in his eye sent shivers up her back as she stepped out of the office.  Annalisa agreed. She just hoped she could concentrate on work with him around… but, wow, those jeans looked good on him.

 

Copyright Kristen James, all rights reserved.

Love Yourself & Live Your Dreams

by Kristen James

Love Yourself! Amazon Kindle link.

Special Release!

Love Yourself & Live Your Dreams…  Why Not?

You have one life to live. You have one person to be.

Do you know your life is your time to shine? This ebook is about loving the person you are and living your life to the fullest!

Loving yourself starts with one small step, but it leads to healing, growth, confidence, opportunities and happiness. I lived in fear and held myself back until I realized each person, including me, has value and something special to offer the world. So do you.

Things became very clear when life knocked me flat on my back five years ago. If I didn’t love myself, who else would? I share how I broke through a glass ceiling of negative beliefs and how you can love yourself, believe in yourself, and live your dreams.

Let’s change I CAN’T  into  OF COURSE I CAN!

 

 

A Lost Creek…

by Kristen James

My extended family went camping this last weekend on the South Umpqua River and explored the area around our usual camping and swimming spot. We were surprised to find a tunnel under the road with a small fish ladder running through it and a pool in front of it. The site is actually marked as a salmon spawning habitat, and the spawn must have happened recently because I spotted a salmon head floating in the water. I wish the picture captured how beautiful the spot really is, but I’m more of a writer than a photographer. The water was blue and deep in the pool and green foliage surrounded all of it.

 

 

Here’s the view looking out from the tributary and pool.

We had a great time but the three days flew by. The spot where we camp is right next to the river, and there’s a channel carved into the riverbed rock. It makes a fun place to jump in and ride the current down for a ways.

 

 

We also spotted a new plant this year that looked rather ghostly.

My sister Karen researched it and found this interesting blog all about it:

http://seabrookeleckie.com/2009/07/10/forest-spirits/

It’s related to the blueberry plant! I’ll let you go read the post.

For my next adventure I’m headed over to Eastern Oregon. It always feels like a different state to me because it’s so very different than this side of Oregon. We have towering trees and streams while Eastern Oregon has scrub brush, desert and beautiful rock formations. Happy travels to everyone this summer!