Merry Christmas 2019 and Happy New Year, 2020.

Merry Christmas 2019 and a Happy 2020 New Year to all family and friends, far and near.

It's been a while since I've written a Christmas letter, but for some reason it felt right to do it now.  Normally, I would open with either the first photo I took this year, or a photo of some religious scene I had noticed.  This afternoon, however, when I opened my January 1, 2019 photo collection, the image above jumped out at me.  It's a four photo panorama that I took at the National Bison Range, about forty miles east of home.  One of my favorite scenes, the Mission Mountains rise in the background.   This was not taken on January 1st.  I'm not sure how it ended up in the January 1st folder.  One of the joys of Lightroom, no doubt.  These four photos were actually taken on April 25th, 2019.  The image was so striking that I felt it would be a good place to start.  Below you can see the photo that really was the first one I took in 2019.  A view out over the Lower Clark Fork Valley just west of Plains.

Looks a lot more like January 1st, doesn't it.  It was taken in the later afternoon, so that helps to explain the darkness in the scene.

Mid January had things looking a lot more like winter.  This scene, shot out ouf front door on January 16th, gives you an idea of the snow and sun that Winter in Montana can bring.

 On February first, I captured this shot of the old Diehl Ranch which was being sold by the Lawyer's Nursery folk.  The farm is on the west side of Plains and is nestled into a big bend in the Clark Fork River.  The picture to me evokes a pastoral Christmas card feeling.

Judging by my photos, we didn't take any trips during February (other than our bimonthly visits to either Missoula or Kalispell).  Most of my February photos were of flowers here at home, either  orchids like the one above, or hibiscus which seem to bloom year round as long as I keep them warm and indoors.

March also provided a lot of floral photos, but we did some limited traveling.   A drive to Thompspon Falls allowed me to capture this view looking into Bad Rock Canyon between Plains and Thompson.

At the end of the month, I talked Kevin into taking me to Newport, Washington, then north along the Pend Oreille River almost to the Canadian border.  We stopped at the town of Metalline Falls, before turning back south and east to home.  One of the photos I took was this one of the Congregational Church in Ione, Washington.

April brought the first flowers blooming outdoors, the first of my surgeries this year, and the first CouchSurfing guest of the year whom I was pleased to serve as Tour Guide, taking him to Wallace, Idaho, the Center of the Universe, after all, Glacier National Park, and St. Ignatius, Montana, where we met some lovely people who host a monthly brunch potluck.  

Our (East) German guest at the Center of the Universe.  Or, does that sign mean that he's the Center of the Universe.  I'm so confused.

I consider this to be the best photograph I've ever taken in Glacier National Park.  Lake McDonald was so clear and calm.  Fiftenn minutes later, the wind had come up and this photo would have been impossible.  Still with our East German guest.

Early May had us take the back road home from Polson, crossing the Flathead River west of Ronan and driving into Hot Springs on the Little Bitterroot Road where we found this group of very pretty horses (and mules).  Late May brought us another house guest, this time through Warm Showers, and he was riding the route of the great draining of Glacial Lake Missoula.  Of course we had to go tothe Bison Range and see the Lake Missoula signage there.  Not to mention getting the chance to ask "Why did the bison cross the road'?

June brought car show season to Plains, starting with the Rehbein Ford sponsored Plains Day Car Show on June 1st.  I took a raft of photos, but missed a few and had to look up the owners.  One such, who wishes to remain nameless, actually took me for a ride in his hot rod.  In exchange, I gave him a portfolio of photos I took of his car.  What a hoot!

                      

June also gave me the chance to work on my photoshop skills by isolating this gorgeous white iris growing in our garden.  I do love my flowers.

That's enough for now.  You've seen what the first half of 2019 threw at us.  Looking back through the photos, it would appear that we did a lot more than I remember.  Guess that's why I take the photos

Second half the year to come.  Stay tuned.  Don't touch that dial!  (Does anyone today rememger a "dial"?

Love,

Bryan, for Kevin, Rocky, Digger and the Cat.

Instant Pot™ Cock-a-leekie Soup

Bryan's Instant Pot™ Cock-A-Leekie Soup

 Two days ago, Kevin roasted a small chicken in the oven.  It was delicious, but even though it was very small, there was still leftover chicken.  I could have made a salad, but we are living with soup weather, and since I had a portion of a leek left over as well, I thought, "Why not make Cock-a-Leekie Soup?"  Now understand, I have never made this particular soup before, so I wasn't sure just what to expect, but chicken soup is good, right?  And I like leeks, so what could go wrong?  As it turns out, nothing.

I wanted to make the soup in the Instant Pot™, so I looked up a recipe on line, just to be safe.  If you want to try the original recipe, you can find it here on eatathomecooks.com  If you'd like to try my Yes I Used Leftovers recipe, here it is.  Now I don't know about you, but if I'm going to be eating delicious home-made soup, I want some equally delicious home-made bread to go with it.  In this case, I made baguettes following Dan Leader's recipe for 4-Hour Baguettes.  I've made this recipe several times, and it's never failed me.  Rather than type it out, I'll just send you to the on line site where I found it, Food52.com.  You may have to sign up for a Food52 membership, but it's free and well worth the time.

One and a quarter baguettes

RECIPE:

Bryan's Instant Pot™ Cock-A-Leekie Soup

Prep time:  5 minutes, depending on what you have in the fridge

Pressure Cooker Time:  15 minutes under pressure, plus 12 minutes release time (and of course, however much time it takes your pressure cooker to come up to pressure).

Servings:  I don't know.  How hungry are you?  Are you one of those people who think that 1 pint of Ben and Jerry's is a single serving?  The original recipe claims that it serves 8.  I eat more than they do.

Ingredients:

• Left over shredded chicken ( I had about 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 leeks, chopped  and cleaned
• 5 carrots, pared and chopped
• 1/3 cup pearl barley
• dash onion powder
• 1 bay leaf
• dash of dried thyme
• 2 quarts chicken broth (I used Better Than Bouillon mixed in hot water)
• Salt and Pepper to taste (I forgot to add this, but Kevin added it after cooking)
• Dried prunes, diced, for topping, optional

Instructions:

1. Place chicken in the Instant Pot™
2. Add leeks, carrots, barley,  herbs and spices to the pot.
3. Pour broth over all ingredients and stir to make sure the Better Than Bouillon is well mixed.
4. Set Pressure Cooker for 15 minutes.  When time is up, let it release pressure naturally for 10 minutes, the turn the valve to release remaining pressure.
5. Remove lid and serve, adding the diced prunes if desired.

Now Kevin thought the prunes would not be a good idea, so he didn't add any.  I, on the other hand, wanted to check out just what they flavor they might add, so I chopped up about 5 small prunes and added that into my bowl.  Near as I could tell, they added a very small amount of sweetness to the soup, and I will add them again when I have the left over soup for lunch.

The baguette recipe, by the way, makes three nice sized baguettes, and at this point (10 am the next day), we have only one baguette left.  That's right, between Kevin and me, for supper last night and breakfast this morning, we already ate two of the baguettes.  Your mileage my vary.

And while I'm crowing (cock-a-leekie, get it?), let me tell you I just got the notification that one of my photographs has been chosen to appear in the January/February issue of Montana Outdoors, the magazine published by the State of Montana's Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks.  The picture they chose is shown below, and you can get your own copy of it by visiting my on-line sales gallery by clicking here at RedBubble.  I have chosen to show it as a Metal Print, but you can have it in any of a number of forms, including a mini-skirt, a clock, coffee mugs, or even a bath mat and shower curtain.  Just check out RedBubble.   And the photo itself?  One of my all-time favorite photographs, one that I took at South Sandstone Reservoir, south of Plevna in Fallon County, Montana, back in 2007.

South Sandstone Reservoir, Fallon County, Montana

Instant Pot™ Potage St. Germain

It's December, and while technically it might not be Winter, the air is cool enough, and there is snow and ice around, so let's make soup.  One of my all-time favorite soups is Potage St. Germain, a French pea soup that I first met through the three volume Illustrated Good Housekeeping Encyclopedic Cookbook © 1965 where I found the recipe in volume 3 page 1190.  I've been making this soup for a very long time, always faithfully following the recipe and always loving the result.  But I have a new kitchen gadget (those of you who know me personally know I belong to the Kitchen Gadget of the Month Club), and frankly, I'm in love with my Instant Pot™.  I've had it just about a year now--it was Kevin's Christmas present to me in 2018, and I'm learning all kinds of new tricks with it.  Two days ago, for instance, I made a risotta in it.  Heaven.  No standing at the stove stirring for half an hour.

Anyway...  When I made the soup earlier in the week, I photographed a bowl and posted that on Facebook and Twitter where friends asked for the recipe.  Since I adapted the Good Housekeeping recipe for the Instant Pot™, here, to the best of my recollection, is what I did (and I have the Good Housekeeping recipe right in front of me as I write this).

Instant Pot™ Potage St. Germain


1 Tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium carrot, pared and finely diced
The green part of a large leek, chopped or snipped
6 or so cups chicken  or vegetable broth
1 ham hock with some meat attached
1 cup shredded lettuce (or spinach--I used lettuce)
1 bay leaf
A few sprigs of fresh thyme (or a pinch dried thyme)
2 cups quick-cooking green split peas
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup shelled fresh or frozen peas (I used frozen)

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1)  Set Instant Pot™ to Sauté and let heat up.
2) Melt the 1 Tablespoon butter in the hot pot, then add in the onion, carrot and leek.  Sauté for 3-4 minutes until the onion is translucent and the carrot and leek has softened.
3) Pour in the stock, add the shredded lettuce, the bay leaf, the thyme, the 2 cups split peas,  the ham hock, salt (and I add fresh ground pepper), and the sugar.  Close top and set vent switch to pressure.   Set the Instant Pot™ to High Pressure and set timer for 7 minutes.  WAIT (It will take approximately 10 minutes for the pot to come up to pressure.)
4) When the Instant Pot™'s timer has counted down the 7 minutes, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then move the vent switch to release any remaining pressure.
5) When you remove the lid,  remove the bone and if you wish you may use an immersion blender to blend all those veggies, but I don't.  I find the pressure cooking does a pretty good job of mixing everything up.
6) While the soup is still hot, add the frozen peas, the 2 Tablespoons of butter, and the heavy cream.   By adding the frozen peas at the end, the heat of the soup will thaw the frozen peas, but without the pressure, they will remain whole and bright green.  Stir to blend and serve with a good homemade bread.
7)  Enjoy!