vacation all i ever wanted

the past couple of weeks have been a hell of a lot of fun. we all went down to prineville to go camping, and that was awesome. the reservoir was nice and warm, perfect for swimming or going on sea-doos or boating. there were a million kids there, and despite a few reservations on the parts of M and C, a good time was had by all. all the kids got along great, we ate some great dinners, got a ridiculous amount of sun (our new skins are coming in quite nicely, bytheway), and came home tired, dirty and happy. can you ask for more out of a camping trip? i think not. i worked a few days after we got back, spent one day majorly cleaning the house, and now we're back on vacation week part two. tomorrow we got on a small overnight camping trip with D's brother and family, which should be fun.

we've been doing crazy amounts of cooking as well on our little vacation. the weather's cooled down a bit, making grilling and baking a lot less painful and stifling. the other night i made pizza dough for the first time; a process that was a lot easier than i thought it would be. the results were good too, although the next time i make it i'll add a bit more salt to the dough and let it rest a bit more before baking. it made great zucchini pizzas, which is good because as those of you with friends or family who garden know, it's totally zucchini time. we've eaten it in salads, grilled, baked, in pizzas and added to just about anything that might need a touch of green. tonight i may make some muffins or something to use up some more of it! it's a green squash invasion, to be sure. on today's agenda as well is the making of some pork sausage. while out shopping yesterday we found pork shoulder roasts for only .99 cents a pound, which my dear sweet boyfriend couldn't say no to. the look on his face was like a boy on christmas morning! we're in the middle of grinding and cooling, waiting for everything to come down again in temp so we can grind some more and add some spicy goodness. we're going to try a couple new recipes, you can be sure i'm taking pictures and notes as we go along. the waiting is the hardest part for me, i just want to get in there and make it now, but if you go too fast the meat gets too warm and the results are lame. patience is a virtue and all that jazz.

this is one reason i want to marry D; i love days where all we do is cook and goof off and make stuff. i have fun with him, i get excited about trying new recipes and trolling websites to find new ones. it's exciting to be with someone who is so passionate about food and cooking and gets swoony about cuts of meat and fresh veggies. i can't think of a better way to spend a "staycation" than in the kitchen, radio going, good smells coming from the oven and a mess being made.