I'm sure you've guessed that I've been in a slump lately as far as blogging goes. Not to worry. I'm still cooking and Big Guy's still getting fed. It is just that, although hard to believe, I've kind of run out of things to say (also known as inspiration). It seems a trifle silly ....(hummm trifle - wonder if I should make one) to be paying blog hosts for something I haven't used in 6 months, so I'm switching to a "free" service as soon as I can find one that will support a blog of this size. Just in... Continue reading

Pardon my ignorance but I didn't know a huckleberry from nothin' until we moved here. Where I grew up in Northern Ontario, wild blueberries are more common and grow on low bushes close to the ground. They're really tiny, packed with flavor and take real dedication and a lot of patience to pick enough for a pie. Then while living in Western Canada I learned all about the larger more commercial high bush blueberry and about saskatoon berries too but here in Oregon, we're surrounded by wild huckleberries of the blue, black and red variety, along with copious amounts of... Continue reading

I'm as guilty as the next person in sticking to the usual tried and true mixed green salad so I'm here to tell you about a new kid on the block. Imagine the impact on the old taste buds of fresh herbs including parsley, mint, dill and chives tossed with fresh mixed greens and topped with tiny slices of dried figs, crunchy toasted walnuts and shaved pecorino romano cheese. Add a jar of rich and creamy dressing, sweet with maple syrup and tart from balsamic to the equation along with a touch of garlic and a hint of mustard. Pretty... Continue reading

We're having a very difficult time adjusting to living on the Oregon Coast. I mean what with moderate coastal temperatures, skin softening humidity that has made those well earned desert wrinkles disappear (well almost), sounds of ocean waves and green, green everywhere you can just imagine how uncomfortable we are. Now here I go telling you about the availability of incredible fresh locally grown fruit and berries ripe for the picking...heck you can see what an impossible situation we find ourselves in. Now that we have that out of the way, I have to confess I kinda' made this pie... Continue reading

Sometimes the simple things are the best and even moreso when you're camping although there are many who would ask "how would you know" and with good reason. My idea of camping is a 3 star hotel with a kitchenette and no WIFI. Lucky a single burner, a pot, a knife and a spoon are about all you need to make this quick and easy dinner. I'm warning you though - it is far from gourmet and certainly not calorically responsible especially when someone who will remain nameless goes back to the pot for thirds, but no matter. It's a... Continue reading

I'm not sure whether to call this effort a pizza or snazzed up flatbread although I suppose it could be one or the other or both, but I do know for certain it is a heck of a way to showcase some of Big Guy's home smoked salmon. I happened to have some homemade pizza dough in the freezer leftover from a previous pizza pigout, and quickly defrosted, it hit the gas grill for a grand total of 4 minutes a side. Cooled briefly, we topped the crisp and crunchy disc of deliciousness with a whipped up combination of cream... Continue reading

In my opinion, nothing screams of summer quite like the smell of a sweet juicy sun kissed peach. Add a grill and a few pork loin chops to the equation along with a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar and you'll find perfection on a plate. It is darned easy on the cook too. We've Williams-Sonoma to thank for last night's inspiration although their recipe calls for a basil garnish that I didn't have, but no matter. It is perfectly acceptable without. Simply pork loin chops seasoned with salt and pepper, then brought to room temperature before they hit the grill,... Continue reading

We've had friends visiting for the past couple of days and when it comes to summer entertaining and this type A personality, planning ahead is the key to keeping life rolling along as it should. It certainly kept J'Bug semi sane although Max and Finnigan's varying degrees of social skills or lack thereof darn near put me over the edge. Anyway, here's the low down on some of our menus during the past week. Korean Barbecue Flanken Ribs is a perfect summer night dinner because the meat marinates for a minimum 24 hours before it hits a super hot grill... Continue reading

I'm not sure who started the rumor that tuna is chicken of the sea because in our house halibut holds the honor. Now there are tons of ways halibut can be cooked although I have to admit it is the one fish I have difficulty with because it goes from being barely cooked to tinder dry in less than a minute. Last night's creation is definitely going on our keeper list because it makes me look like I know what I'm doing. Last week when Big Guy's buddy John was here crabbing I cooked up a mess of oven fried... Continue reading

In case you're wondering what has happened in our world during the past week, it's been just a little busy around here. There's the fishing (halibut and salmon) ...and crabbing ...like this ...which leads to this and this There's been more blackberry picking and we've the scars to prove it as the two flats we picked in a little over an hour join flats of strawberries, blueberries, cherries and the odd bag of huckleberries in our freezer. Of course there's been plenty cookin' but not a smidge of bloggin', as you know. Oh and lest I forget, there's been a... Continue reading

Where I come from these are called Diddle Diddle Dumplings and were made famous by the Best of Bridge Ladies in Calgary, Canada who put out a bunch of fabulous cookbooks. You'll see Diddle Diddles on this site in several different versions including the original apple, peach, rhubarb and blueberry but this one is without question the new favorite in our house. Good thing too because we're living in blackberry heaven. Not your average cobbler, it may take a little more effort but believe you me the extra time is well spent. The unadorned berries are rolled up into a... Continue reading

Living at the beach is all about laid back, quick and easy although that theory doesn't necessarily apply to you know who. He was out picking luscious wild blackberries in our neighborhood at 5:45 this morning with the incentive of a cobbler or roly poly for dinner tonight. Just so you know, it took Big Guy all of 45 minutes to pick 10 cups of beautiful big blackberries and the season's just starting. Just imagine what he's going to bring home when I tell him there's jam, muffins, pie, cordial and more cobbler in his future. Anyway, last night's dinner... Continue reading

I'm here to sing the praises of one of America's favorite side dishes ...corn bread. It might surprise you to know that it is a popular dish in Canada too although as a farmgirl from Northern Ontario, I grew up calling it Johnycake. Anyway, there's many different ways to make and serve this down home hunk of goodness and there's even a whole bunch of 'em right here on this site but I'm here to prove there's more to cornbread than what you think. Don't tell anyone but I've been known to layer the batter on a bed of browned... Continue reading

This pasta salad is the kind of side dish that will go with almost anything but topped with peppered broiled salmon fresh from the ocean, it makes for one super fine summery main course too. Adapted from myrecipes.com, I couldn't see the point in throwing out perfectly good lemon rind so I took the liberty of adding it to the vinaigrette along with the juice, added more fresh dill and mixed snow peas with fresh asparagus for a little extra crunch. A quick blanch in boiling water followed by an ice bath brought the color out in the vegetables beautifully... Continue reading

Big Guy's back from his big adventure in North Dakota and out crabbing today so while I can't even guess what's in store for us today, I can give you an idea of the process after his success last week. While he doesn't have far to go since the bay is right below our house, crabbing does require a fair bit of equipment to say nothing of a pile of patience and the better part of a day's worth of time. You're looking at B-U-neek 2, Big Guy's fancy new "Freedom Hawk" kayak with a little electric motor so he... Continue reading

I'm taking the liberty of calling these cookies how I see 'em because along with the fact they're Big Guy's new favorites, experience (a lot of it) has shown one can throw almost everything but the kitchen sink into them and they'll be stupendous. Along with the usual butter/sugar/egg/oatmeal combination, these puppies have 3 cups of other good stuff - any combination, all of it up to your imagination, such as white chocolate chips, dark chocolate, semi-sweet, butterscotch, peanut butter flavored or cinnamon chips...you name it ... nuts like salted whole cashews, walnuts, almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts, dried fruit such... Continue reading

OK so summer may not be offical yet at least as far as the calendar goes but the air is scented with the first sign of the season - at least in our house it is. We've a dehydrator full of ruby red Hood strawberries on the go and believe you me, you can't beat the aroma of those beauties. That, along with 8 one quart bags of the gems in the freezer and this pie took care of two flats of the juicy sweet berries to say nothing of our Saturday afternoon. Talk about a labor of love. Now... Continue reading

In case you're wondering why JBug's Kitchen Antics has gone from "every day" to twice or three times a week, here's the reason. It's not that I haven't been cooking every day and as much as I'd like to blame this blog's service provider as they've been undergoing challenges recently that have stretched my frustration level to a breaking point, the real story is that I think I may have finally converted my Type A inner clock to "coast time". Coast time is our local version of "manana" or when 9 o'clock means noon and 1 pm means 4 which... Continue reading

Summer's knocking on the front door and with the long weekend upon us, what better way to celebrate the season than with a cool as a cucumber chicken salad. Not your ordinary salad, this one's loaded with crunch from sweet bell pepper, cucumber, water chestnuts and peanuts. The crunch quotient is increased even more with the addition of chow mein noodles which pair beautifully with a simple Asian influenced dressing. I almost called it a vinaigrette but that wouldn't fit because there isn't any vinegar in it. Picky huh. Next time you're looking for something different to add to your... Continue reading

One of the many joys of living on the Oregon Coast is the availability of sea creatures including but not limited to salmon. Big Guy made sure our freezer was well stocked with his catch last year and darned if we're not almost out and counting the days until season opens again. With several months left to wait I was blessing my lucky stars that we'd decided to set aside a few packages including one of belly trimmings. Skin removed, we chopped the fish and combined it with green onions, soft breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, lemon rind and juice and even... Continue reading

The resident carnivore's nuts about hot dogs, particularly chili dogs and for the sake of harmony in our marriage it behooves me to cater to him every once in a while. He's often claimed he could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner so I took him at his word just to see if he'd ever get enough. Of course the first go round was in the dinner category with the dogs nestled onto a warm soft bun (yup, trust me it is under there somewhere), loaded with double dogs and slathered with lots of sweet spicy Coney Island chili.... Continue reading

Although ground beef is a King's ransom these days, if and when you manage to find it on sale, stretch it out and feed a crowd with this quick and easy one pot wonder. Loaded with all the things that normally go into a traditional stroganoff including mushrooms, onion, and sour cream, this one's beefed up even more with the addition of dry marsala wine and nice chunky egg noodles are included in the pot too. It tastes pretty gourmet and is sure to please even the pickiest eaters in the family. Good thing we don't have any of those... Continue reading

Gone are the days that turkey was the forgotten bird relegated to a few special occasions throughout the year. Thankfully it is a lot easier to find turkey parts at the local market which opens the kitchen door to lots of possibilities. We've cooked and shared turkey bird many different ways with you during the past 5 years. I know, isn't it hard to believe JBug's Kitchen Antics is into its sixth year? What with over 1,600 posts under our belts, I suppose it could explain the reason we're having trouble coming up with new and exciting things to make... Continue reading

I don't know if you've noticed but we're crazy about the flavor of cabbage rolls around here so this is last night's version. Not a casserole because this one's cooked on top of the stove; not a roll because...well, they're not rolled or stuffed; not a soup like the last one (below), this version's more like a stew. Adapted from Taste of Home, I took the liberty of making a few changes by adding onion and more spices to the mix, particularly after reading some of the reviews that indicated the recipe was on the bland side. Well, let me... Continue reading

Tacos are a great solution when you're looking for a quick excuse for dinner and/or your family's not big fish fans. I'm not saying we're not because we are but who can turn down a piece of fish coated in a light beer batter and fried until golden? Come to think of it the same beer batter could make darn near anything palatable (think fair food like twinkies, oreo cookies or such). Kind of magical I'd say particularly since there's only 4 ingredients in it too - flour, salt, pepper and warm beer. Who knew? Anyway, I know we've had... Continue reading