Christmas Fun

Rusty-Boy and Hiedi had fun this Christmas opening their presents.

The mess was worth all the entertainment.

Bill had fun watching them.

Mountain Living goes Solar

Mountain Living has gone Solar.  It is so exciting to be producing our own energy.  We have been connected to our system for about 3 weeks, and have not yet gotten our first PG;E bill, but we have generated 155 kWh.  We have also saved 250 lbs. of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.  However, it has been raining for several weeks and the full capacity has not yet been reached yet.

This was the site we selected .

Bob's concrete laid the foundadion for the array.  Then the guys built the foundation.

The electrical work was in progress at this point.  There was a trench dug for the connections.

This is the finished project. 
These are the guys that worked on the project.  Eric,Joey, and Chad.  Thanks to all at the Alternative Energy Systems Inc.&Company.

Stuffed Eggplant

Stuffed eggplant may not look real appealing in this picture, but I promice if you make this meatless meal you will not be dissapointed.  Let's get cooking!
1 lg. eggplant        1 red onion, diced      4 cloves garlic, minced       3 roasted paseilla peppers      2 roasted bell peppers, diced and de-seeded
16 oz. red beans, cooked(canned may be used)      1cup sweed corn(canned may be used)                         
1 sm. jar artichoke hearts, chopped and drained      1 sm.can black olives, sliced and drained
2 jalapino chilis de-seeded and diced       5 lg. ripe tomatoes, chopped      1 cup grated parmesan cheese      1/2cup crumbled fetta cheese      1/2 tsp. ground cumin      1/2 tsp. tumeric      1 tsp.salt
1 tsp. black pepper      
Set eggplant on flattest side and cut out center portion leaving about 1/2 inch thick walls and bottom to make a boat-like vessel to hold stuffing.   Chop the middle portion into small chunks and combine with onions, garlic, peppers, and saute for 15 minutes or until tender.  Add beans, corn, artichoke hearts, olives, jalapinos, tomatoes and spices, cooking mixture on med. heat until tomatoes are mixed in and their juice becomes a sauce for the stuffing. Now add parmasan cheese and fold into mix.  Pour all stuffing into eggplant boat, letting it flow over sides into casserole dish.  Top with crumbled fetta cheese and bake in 350 oven for 45 minutes, or until browned well on top.   Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.   Serve with namm bread.   

Rusty Wins Again!

Hello, Bloggers!  Well, as you have guessed, I am not an english major, nor do I spell to save me from exile, so I hope you can enjoy the blog, mistakes and all...so enough, let's get on to blogging.  This summer was a good one for our year old Irish Setter, as he won alot of ribbons and a point toward his major.  He took a Best of Breed, Winners Dog, and First Prize at Yuba City. Then, he went on to take 1st Place in Specialty Show Sweepstakes and Best in Puppy Sweepstakes at Pleasanton California. Wow, what a busy summer.

Amberglen Visit

This weekend we visited the Amberglen Urban Farm and enjoyed beautiful vegetables, nice weather, and good friends.  Thank you to Asha and the rest of the Amberglen farmers for all their amazing efforts.

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Foodpusher

Grilling at Janes' house this summer was alot of fun.  Bill liked the stuffed mushrooms.

Snowdogs

The dogs had fun this summer in the snow at Lassen park.

Mountain Frog 

This is a little frog that lives on the patio.

more dog pics

Going on day trips with the dogs is so much fun!  We went to Lassen National Park this summer and found some snow for the dogs to play in.  I enjoyed playing in it myself!

basket case

This basket make by laura is created from pine needles and yarns.  The Mountains are a never ending source of inspiration and resources. 

Bill's Trout

Bill caught some trout up in Burney Falls this summer.

We grilled them with onion and lemon and garlic in the cleaned cavity.  What a treat! Thank you Bill!

Jane's Party

This Spring, Jane and Titus had a wonderful party.  Foodpusher and Asha hit the grill and rocked out some fantastic eats.  There were turkey burgers, hot dogs, grilled aspearagus, fruit kabobs, grilled mushrooms stuffed with shrimp and gorgonzola cheeese. It was a great time for all.

Rusty Wins

Hi all. It has been a long time since we have visited the Mountain Living Blog. Rusty-Boy went Best of Opposite Sex and Best in Specialty in April in Dixon California. In June we had a picnic in the meadow and lots of friends showed up. Food pusher brought four different kinds of sandwiches and a berry cake with chocolate ganache frosting. There was a fresh garden salad that Asha grew at the Amberglen Farm that was wonderful.

Let's Make Some Cookies

Mountian Man Cookies

3 eggs

3/4 C. brown sugar, packed
1/2 C. sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 T. chocolate syrip
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 C. flour
1/4 C. shreaded coconut
1/4 C. rasins
1/4 C.toasted pumpkin seeds
1 small pkg. white chocolate chips
1 sm pkg. chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs one at a time to creamed butter mix
Sift and add dry ingredients
Add remaining ingredients while mixing on low
Drop onto ungreassed cookie sheet
Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until brown

Enjoy!

My Dog

Here are some pictures of my doggies.

Red Miso Soup

Organic Red Miso Vegi-Soup
1 red onion
3 peeled carrots
4 stalks celery
4 large garlic cloves
4 red potatoes
3 T olive oil
½ C red miso paste
3 T olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 T fresh rosemary
2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
2 cartons low sodium organic vegetable broth (64 ounces).
½ C wild rice (uncooked)
¼ C soy sauce
1T red chili paste (Sambal Oelek)
¼ C Tamari Sauce
1 32 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 T rice vinegar
2 T balsamic vinegar
one package firm tofu
fresh sliced mushrooms (or one can straw mushrooms, drained)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
2 C chopped red chard

Sweat chopped vegetables in med. hot oil.
Add red miso paste and stir into vegetables ‘till melted. Add one bay leaf and fresh herbs
Add broth. While this starts to simmer, add wild rice mixture and stir. Add soy sauce, red chili paste (Sambal Oelek), Tamari sauce, diced tomatoes, rice vinegar and balsamic vinegar.
Add tofu cut into bite sized pieces and sliced mushrooms. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Bring to boil and turn heat down to simmer 40 minutes.
Add red chard chopped into large pieces omitting tough stalks and cook until soft.
Serve hot with brown bread slices on side.