North Cascades | Caramelize Life

Feb 15

When was the last time you remembered to do this?

I took time out to nurture myself. It can take me awhile to realize that I need to refill my cup and a little longer to act on that realization.

I joke that life is either moving at warp speeds or trudging along. As I write this, the cartoon bubble pops up within my mind and I’m visualizing myself as a stick figure pushing and pulling at a life-size round clock with the large roman numeral numbers painted on it. By the time the clock begins to roll, gaining momentum it’s moving too fast and I can’t keep up! That’s typically when I realize I need to reassess my life strategies and take some time to nurture my being. So, I can keep up with all that life throws at me… sometimes I just need to go get a new pair of running shoes other times more is needed.

This (stick figure) is the limit of my artistic ability!

So, when three separate weekend opportunities popped up, I said YES to all of them! Then, it hit me that all three were right in a row and that was going to take some planning, help from friends and forgiveness on my family’s part.

How did I chose to refresh?

First, I sought out a way to feed my creative side. I did this by surrounding myself with others who are also passionate about writing, photography and food. This was an extended weekend of excursions, workshops and inspiring speakers who were only a short drive away in emerald city of Seattle at the International Food Bloggers Convention. A creative stay-cation of sorts.

Then, to nurture my adventurous spirit I couldn’t pass up a chance to road trip with girlfriends and celebrate a close friend’s 60th birthday in Canadian Kootenay Rockies of Nelson B.C .

Finally to squeeze it all in before my luck ran out, I packed a bag (a rather too large and heavy one) and hit the trail with a couple of friends, where we immersed ourselves in nature. This wasn’t hard to do with the technicolor views of the North Cascades Mountains framed with fiery berry bushes and golden rods of high alpine larch trees. This delight for the eyes combined with the indian summer temperatures we couldn’t have been more lucky.

So, if you are feeling like you could use a refill go ahead and hit refresh. Feed your creative side, nurture your relationships, follow your adventurous side and immerse yourself in nature. Start daydreaming it’s your gateway to adventure!

Caramelize life when you can and take time to nurture yourself.

~Rachelle

“Making Life a Little Sweeter through Food, Travel and Community”

Mar 21

9 Comments

Bruschetta In Eleven Minutes Tops!

A favorite in our home because we love Italian food anything, it’s healthy and a snap to make.

When my daughter was four she came in from munching sweet cherry tomatoes and basil in the garden and exclaimed ” We have a grocery store in our backyard!” Then she asked…”can we grow a mozzarella plant?” She asked the proper question; can we? If only that were possible. “I wish we could.” was my answer. However, these questions did open the door to researching how mozzarella is made, and where it comes from. I’ve not yet ventured to make it myself, but I hear Mozzarella is pretty easy to produce, so I’ll have to try it and get back to you about that.

Until then, here’s our favorite bruschetta recipe:

Bruschetta

1 Local baguette sliced (I love the Mazama Store’s because it has a wee bit of salt on top)
2-3 Red, preferably heirloom, garden tomatoes (however with snow still on the ground, organic vine-ripened tomatoes have the most flavor)
15 Basil leaves or as many as you have slices of bread
Fresh mozzarella (you can find the pre-sliced kind at some stores) to top the slices of bread
salt for sprinkling
Olive oil (Italian) to drizzle
Balsamic Vinegar (aged has a sweeter flavor, but any will do) to drizzle

Action:

1. Toast the slices of bread, or if you have time put them over the grill or gas burner, to toast
2. Add sliced mozzarella
3. Add Basil face up to catch some of the oil and balsamic drizzle
4. Add sliced tomatoes to each
5. Sprinkle with salt
6. Drizzle with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

Buon Appetito!

* Thank you to Diane, Geof, Linda, Marc, Hannah and Eva for patiently waiting to devour these tasty bites while E.A did his photo dance to capture the bruschetta when freshest.

Rachelle @ Caramelize Life

“making life a little sweeter, through food, travel and community”

Feb 14

We

We at Caramelize Life wish you a wonderful Valentine’s Day filled will all that matters most to you.

Cheers!

Rachelle @ Caramelize Life
“Making Life a Little Sweeter through Food, Travel and Community”

Oct 2

1 Comment

Caramelize Life Cooking Class @ Sun Mountain Lodge

It was a perfect time of year and a wonderful opportunity to work with a fantastic group of women in a garden to table cooking class.

Caramelize Life was kindly invited by Methow Arts Alliance and Sun Mountain Lodge to bring local produce and share simple recipes that could be made quickly at home with a lovely group of women visiting the Methow Valley.

It happened to be perfect timing for the class as the garden was in full production and ingredients were as fresh as could be. On stage were succulent Heirloom tomatoes, fresh herbs, a selection of creamy chèvre from Sunny Pine Farm and locally sourced salmon.

We all had a splendid time whipping up seasonal fair and an even better time sampling from our work.

~cheers Rachelle@caramelizelife

Aug 15

21 Comments

Best Place to Live in the Wild West

I feel a little like that proud Mother who can only see the positive in my own child despite the realities that we are all human. Truth be told, this is how I am feeling about my community right now. This last week has been eventful.

My family and I were just returning from a vacation we enjoyed with friends at lake Tahoe and witnessed other close friends tie the knot atop of Squaw Valley. Both places were incredibly gorgeous and filled with laughter and good friends but our trip was cut short on our return to Seattle when I happened to scroll through some Facebook postings and saw that a neighbor had just exclaimed”Somewhat disconcerting when the Smokejumpers are jumping above your house and three fire trucks are sitting on the road.” What? Did I read that correctly? Turns out that 4 smokejumpers landed on our hill to fight a blaze that had been ignited by a lighting strike. Have any of you felt that sinking feeling when something happens and you are too far away to do anything about it…personally?

We cut our visit with Grammie short and hustled (read: 4 hours) home over the North Cascade Scenic (not today) Highway to take care of our home and animals. All along the way our friends were keeping us updated, <I love the internet> on the positive aspects to the event “they didn’t send a whole smokejumper crew just 4 guys so that is a good sign” said Sarah Berns. Our neighbor, Hannah Dewey, gave us the hourly play by play complete with photos texted to us of the blaze that her smokejumper husband, Patrick, was fighting behind our home. They dug fire lines along with ground and air support teams to make sure the already brittle and dry sage and bunch grasses didn’t ignite with a gust of 90 degree August air.

We had luck on our side, the winds died down and an early response from a seasoned fire crew saved our bacon. All is well and we quickly returned to our bucolic country lifestyle.

So grateful we are to the men and women who put themselves in harm’s way for their fellow men, women and children. You all make a difference in our lives and we are thankful, thankful for the nation wide community of firefighters who travel all fire season, thankful to our community for keeping us updated and thankful for our community beyond who checked in.

That country lifestyle is just part of why we live here, but I am sure we all have a part of that wherever we live. It’s the individual who chooses to make a difference.

Have you ever left a community event feeling inspired, maybe with that Ah ha! moment of satisfaction “this is why we live here”? Each year I search out Sunset Magazine’s annual “best towns to live in” issue, curious to see who out there is raving about their slice of paradise.

Community makes a place and each of us has the ability to enrich ours, and in so doing, make life just a bit sweeter.

The other night I had one of those Ah ha! moments at Spring Creek Ranch‘s first Celestial Cinema evening of the summer. The stars aligned and I felt like I had just walked into that idyllic country life set only seen in Hollywood.

83 degrees, a slight breeze, familiar faces, local eateries selling their goods, children playing on the lush green lawn. Listening to friends connecting and catching up by sharing summer vacation stories. Ahh… this is why we live here.

It is the people that make the place.

So fittingly, let’s collectively create a Recipe for Community. Like the story of stone soup, tell me the qualities you feel make a place special to you. Just add your ingredients in the comments and I’ll update the recipe.

Here are a few thoughts to start…

A group of dedicated people
Energy
Action
Curiosity
A desire to connect
Caring
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Related Posts:

Rocking Horse Bakery

How about a shout out for the 70 firefighters working the fire in the mtns above Falls Creek!
Organized by the North Cascades Smokejumpers, The Rocking Horse Bakery is proud to have been able to provide an air drop of muffins, scones and other tasty treats for the crew’s breakfast this am!

Seattle Times
A sign of community and neighbors making a difference