Grilled Tacos

Last weeks wonderful weather found David at the grill and my dear friend, Katie, and I in the kitchen whipping up some salads. Our new freezer was delivered that day and we thought we should celebrate with a dinner of grilled steak tacos, Ina's guacamole salad, brown rice pilaf and wonderful company. We had a blast eating, sharing stories, laughing and chatting until late in the evening... I do love summer!

Laundry Soap

As I mentioned in my counter spray post, I make all our own cleaning products, and have for some time now... which we love! They are very easy to throw together and I am always pleased with the results.

A few days ago I decided to make a few large batches of laundry powder after seeing this post. Her recipe is very similar to the one I have used in the past, however, my recipe made a smaller batch. Since it is summer (yippee) I have a little more time, okay a lot more time, on my hands and I thought it would be a great idea to make three large jars, all with different scents! I know this will come in handy once school starts again and I am up to my ears in first grade fun! Once all the ingredients are out, the powder come together in a snap. I like to use my cuisinart to grate the soap and then I switch to the steel blade and process the grated soap for about a minute. I then mix it all in a large bowl and place it in my jars. This time around I made non-scented, lavender and peppermint!

Dinner Out

A couple of weeks ago David took me out to a wonderful dinner for my birthday. We started with drinks at Wildwood and then we walked across the street to Paley's Place for one of the best dinners we have ever had!

amuse bouche: Creamed Goat Cheese, Beet Salad, Sprouts

cocktail: Clear Creek Pear Brandy Kamikaze

salad: Grilled Asparagus with Proscuitto, Soft Egg, and Mustard Seed Vinaigrette

dinner: Mediterranean Blue Mussels, Hand-Cut Fries and Mustard Aioli (mine, I didn't get a good picture of the mussels, but they were delightful)

Rabbit Ravioli, House Bacon, Local Mushrooms, Spring Garlic (David's, below)

Dessert: Warm Chocolate Souffle Cake, Toasted Hazelnuts and Honey-Vanilla Ice Cream

after dinner bite: Almond Short Bread

As you can see, the table became darker with each passing course... but oh did we have a great time. What way to celebrate a birthday!

Happy Father's Day Papou

Father's Day found us with two of favorite people! We stopped a Camp 18 for brunch and then we were off to Cannon Beach for the day! We walked up and down the main street, stopping in many shops, had an ice cream cone snack, a walk on the beach and an early dinner of clam chowder at a little restaurant before heading home. It was a great day!

Counter Spray

Here in the Sacoolas household I make all our cleaning supplies (we haven't purchased pre-made cleaning products in almost two years... how liberating!) We use homemade counter spray, dishwasher soap and laundry soap- all of which we love! All three are made from very similar ingredients making for a wonderfully simple cleaning cupboard and the joys of not having all those chemicals in our house.

Since we have done the switch over to homemade products, we have been very happy with the results. I find they work just as well as products purchased at the store, although you might need to bring a little elbow grease for tough stains and grime. AND, you can customize your own scents, making your home smell wonderful!

Below is the recipe I use to make our counter spray. I make two batches at a time, one to keep in the kitchen and one for the bathroom. For the kitchen I like to use a combination of Lemon and Orange Essential Oil and for the bathroom I use Lavender. The recipe below makes a little over a cup of cleaning solution, which lasts us well over a month.

Counter Spray

1 c. hot water

1 tsp. borax

1/2 tsp. washing soda (I have only been able to find this at Winco)

1/2 tsp. Dr. Bronner's Liquid soap

2 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil (a natural anti-bacterial)

*Kitchen- In addition to the tea tree oil, 4 drops orange essential oil and 2 drops lemon essential oil

*Bathroom- In addition to the tea tree oil, 2 drops lavender essential oil

Whisk hot water, borax and washing soda (I mix mine in a large pyrex liquid measuring cup). Add soap and essential oils and pour into spray bottle. Give a little shake before use.

**Above is my little bottle that I keep in the kitchen, behind it you can see our rag bag. I made it from an old kitchen towel and it is filled with cut up kitchen towels that were past their prime and old t-shirts that were way past their prime... both make the perfect little rags, especially in a house that is paper towel free**

Grams' Meat Loaf

(Grams' Meat Loaf, Baked Potato, Green Salad with Mimi's Dressing)

With the cold weather still holding on strong, David and I thought it appropriate to sneak in one more comfort meal before our many nights of dining in the garden. My grandmother's meat loaf is a go-to recipe when we want something warm and comforting. As soon as I started to saute the onions and celery the house began to hold that enchanting smell, taking me back to all the wonderful meals I grew up with and those I knew my mother grew up with as well.

This recipe is one that I love to make and one that is very dear to my heart. I love it for many reasons, some as simple as the fact that it is so easy it can barely be called a recipe, but other reasons are far more sentimental. As I mentioned, this is Grams' meat loaf, my mother's mother. Whenever I make it I can just imagine her in her little house on Jerris street, kids running up and down the stairs and that same wonderful scent coming from the kitchen.

I grew up with this meat loaf, and the ever anticipated meat loaf sandwiches the next day, and I know that one day my children will be enjoying the same comforting meal. Last week when I made the dinner above, David and I commented that we knew Papa was licking his chops up there, looking down on us with envy over our dinner to come :)

Grams' Meat Loaf

1 1/2 Lb ground beef

1/2 tsp. dried sage

3/4 c. quaker oats (I use homemade whole wheat bread crumbs)

1 stalk celery

2 slices yellow onion (I usually use half a large onion, or a whole small spring onion)

2 eggs (Ha! or 4 from our little girls)

1 1/2 tsp. season salt (or a mixture of onion powder, garlic powder and kosher salt)

scant cup milk

pepper

Sauce:

1/4 c. ketchup (homemade makes it all the better)

3 Tbs. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. dry mustard

Heat oven to 350. Brown celery and onion in a little bit of butter, salt and pepper. Mix all together and top with sauce. Bake 1 hour.

Let rest 10 minutes before slicing. Be sure to save some for those infamous sandwiches!

*Grams always made hers in a loaf pan... David loves the crusty end pieces the best, so I make mine free form on a half jelly roll pan.

Friday Date Night

David and I made a New Years Resolution this year... Friday nights would be dedicated to date night. We do tend to be those people, who make a resolution, only to have forgotten it by the 3rd of January, but not date night! We look forward to it all week long and usually start talking about where date night will take us on, oh, about Tuesday! We trade off weeks, my choice one week, his choice the next.

So, where can you find us on these date nights? Well, here is the list of our most recent visits...

Hall Street Grill (we love their happy hour burger)

Cafe Mingo

Cheerful Pitstop

Fire On the Mountain (best wings in Portland!)

Old Market Pub (David's go-to when it's his choice and he can't think of anything he'd rather do than sit back with a local organic beer and a good burger)

Pizza (homemade)

De Carli

La Hasienda Real (a Salem favorite that just opened in Beaverton!)

Laurelhurst Market

Helvetia Tavern (our guilty pleasure, we have been driving out to Helvetia for about 5 years now!)

A Pizza Scholls

Where should we go next?