Thursday, December 8, 2016
11:30 am – 2:00 pm

We are excited to announce we will be having an end of the year celebration on Thursday, December 8th, in the 3rd floor staff room, from 11:30am – 2:00pm! The first hour will be a potluck lunch and the rest will be the Gift Swap Game; please feel free to join in at any point.

The end of the year celebration will be potluck style with the main course (a taco bar) provided. Please sign up for your dish with this spreadsheet. Because oven space is limited, we highly encourage the use of crockpots, rather than ovens, for warm food. We will have plenty of power strips for crockpots and the like!

Along with socializing and eating food, we will be having an optional Gift Swap Game starting at 12:30 pm. In order to save our pocket books, we ask you not to spend more than $10 on your gift. If you plan on participating, please make/purchase a gift that you think people would enjoy receiving. The game works best when all the gifts are wrapped in a box, bag, or envelope.

It’s time for the Fall Mingle! Join FSH@O and the directors for appetizers and drinks at Block 15 after work on Thursday, November 3, 2016.

FSH@O, Lisa, and Melanie will be providing some starter appetizers for attendees. Come dressed in your favorite team colors or OSU gear!

Drop in when you can. Spouses, partners and friends are all welcome. Per the rules of Block 15, all attendees must be over 21 to enter the reserved game room in the back.

Lisa and Melanie have given permission for all Extended Campus and PACE employees attending the event to leave the library at 4:45 pm to head out to Block 15 or to pick up other guests to bring to the event.

We can’t wait to see you there!

Block 15 Restaurant & Brewery
300 SW Jefferson Ave.
Corvallis, OR 97333

Thank you to everyone that made it out on Sunday afternoon for the FSH@O Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch! We encountered a lot of mud, but thankfully no rain!

For anyone interested, the Corn Maze takes about 1 hour to walk through in daylight using the map and guided clues. As you walk, you encounter a number of sign posts that quiz you on farm knowledge. Each answer choice is associated with a direction you can turn in the maze, so if you answer everything correctly, you’ll get through the maze in no time at all! You can also optionally enter your completed farm quiz in for a $100 gift certificate to the Melon Shack.

For the thrill seekers, in the evening, the Melon Shack converts the maze into a haunted corn maze, complete with skeletons, spiders and people who jump out at you…

I included some photos below of our adventure through the maze. Happy October!

Thanks to everyone who contributed and attended our 2016 Salsa Showdown! We had a few people ask for recipes, so I’ve provided a recipe for most salsas below. Thanks again, and remember to watch the blog for upcoming FSH@O events coming your way soon.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Salsa Chef: Staci B.

Ingredients:

• Approximately 25 tomatillos – quartered (halved if small)
• 3 jalapeños – chop into approx. 1 in. pieces. I left most of the seeds/ribs
• 1 medium red onion – chop into approx. 1 in. pieces.
• 4-5 garlic cloves – do not remove skins until after roasting
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro – stems removed (somewhere between ½ – 1 cup)
• 1-2 tbsp. lime juice
• 1-2 tbsp. avocado oil
• Spices to taste: salt, pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper

Method: In a roasting pan, combine tomatillos, jalapeños, red onion, and garlic cloves (in their skins). Drizzle with avocado oil, sprinkle with spices, and stir to coat. Roast at 425 degrees for about an hour, stirring half way through, until soften and browning in spots. Tomatillos will sort of melt. Remove from oven and let cool. Juices will thicken as mixture cools. Pull garlic out of pan, remove and discard skins, and return garlic to pan. 

In a food processor, finely mince cilantro and add lime juice. Add roasted vegetable mixture and process until finely minced. (Depending upon size of food processor, you may need to do this in batches.)

Chef Notes: Can be served warm or cold. Freezes well. Makes a good base for chile verde. Sometimes I add poblano or Anaheim peppers to the veggies to roast.

Pineapple Habanero Salsa

Salsa Chef: Rayne V.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups fresh pineapple, roughly chopped
• ½ cup white onion, roughly chopped
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, stems removed
• 2 habanero chile peppers (remove seeds for less heat)
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• Salt to taste

Method: Combine pineapple, onion, cilantro, habaneros, lime juice and salt in a blender, and blend until smooth. Refrigerate overnight before enjoying for maximum heat!

Bethany’s Basic Guacamole

Guac Chef: Bethany U.

Ingredients:

• 2 small avocados, mashed
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder

Method: Combine all ingredients until well-mixed. Add more lime, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste.

Caramelized Onion & Roasted Jalapeño Guacamole

Guac Chef: Mark S.

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet onion
• 1 pat of butter
• 1 Tbsp of sugar
• 2 jalapeños
• 5-6 small avocados
• 2 roma tomatoes
• ½ cup salsa verde
• salt
• cilantro

Method: Caramelize onion with butter and sugar; set aside. Roast jalapeños and remove peel; set aside. Dice tomatoes. Combine ingredients and add salt to taste. Add freshly chopped cilantro as garnish.

Corn Salsa

Salsa Chef: Heather D.

Ingredients:

• 4 ears of corn, husks and silks removed
• 3 ounces cotija cheese
• 2 ½ tablespoons Zoi Greek yogurt, honey
• ¾ cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 jalapeño, minced, ribs and seeds removed
• 2 garlic gloves, grated or minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Kosher salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Red pepper flakes to taste

Method:  Cook corn on a grill over high heat, charring in spots. Once cooled, cut the corn off the cob intro a large bowl. Add crumbled cotija cheese, yogurt, onions, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic and lime juice to the bowl of corn. Stir. Season to taste with Kosher salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, additional lime juice, additional cilantro leaves, additional cotija cheese.

Garlic Limenero Salsa

Salsa Chef: Nick H.

Ingredients:

• 7 Roma tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced
• ½ red onion diced
• 7 cloves garlic minced
• ½ jalapeño, small dice
• 1 habanero, minced
• handful chopped cilantro
• ½ lime, squeezed
• 2 small cans tomato sauce
• Chili powder to taste
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• 3 angel tears
• 1 eye of newt

Method: Combine diced tomatoes, red onion, garlic, jalapeño, habanero, cilantro, lime, and tomato sauce in a mixing bowl. Add chili powder, cayenne, and salt to taste. Angel tears and eye of newt are optional. Voila!

Do you have a killer salsa recipe you’d love to share?
Are you interested in a little friendly competition?

Well, FSH@O would like to invite you to:

SALSA SHOWDOWN 2016!

Monday, September 26th
From 11:30am-1:30pm
In 4142 (large conference room)

Bring a decent sized container of your own salsa*,
and put it to a taste test against your coworkers!

Awards are bragging rights and the
opportunity to enjoy delicious salsa
with all the amazing people who work here.

*some chips and utensils will be provided,
but we encourage you to bring what you need.

Event planning is underway for the following fun fall 2016 events:

• Salsa Show Down — Large Conference Room (4142) — Sept 26th 12:00 noon – 1:00
• Staff Mingle — Block 15 again — timing TBD
• Maize (Corn) maze! — Farm TBD — Oct 14th or 21st
• Halloween Costume Competition
• 2016 Ecampus Division Bake Fest — early November — give folks a change to test out their holiday recipes or get inspired

Hope you can join us for some—or all!—of our fun events.

Summer may be on its way out, but there are still sunny days ahead. For example, the 88º forecast for this coming Saturday, September 10th! Join Ecampus staff on a lively but leisurely hike on the Powder House Trail at Corvallis’ Peavy Arboretum.

Info on Peavy Arboretum trails is available. You can download a trail map.

More about the Powder House Trail:

Powder House Trail begins at a 1300′ viewpoint at the end of the 530 Road. Highlights include views of Soap Creek Valley and a stroll along Cronemiller Lake. Most of the 2.5 mile hiking trail is downhill, ending at the Forestry Club Cabin at 550′. Hiking time is 1-1/2 hours.

The plan:

Meet at the Peavy Arboretum main parking lot just before 10:00 AM. The troupe will depart for the hike at 10:00 AM.

Come for the exercise and to mingle outside of work—not to mention being literally outside—to help wrap up what has been a gorgeous summer. See y’all there!

Tuesday, August 2nd
4:30 p.m.
Avery Park – Lions Shelter
Corvallis

Burgers/veggie burgers, hot dogs and buns provided

Please bring a dish to share.

Extended Campus -PACE families, friends and pets welcome.

Please RSVP by Monday, July 25th to help us with our headcount.

And fill out our potluck signup so we don’t all end up bringing the same side dish.

We’ve purchased an alcohol permit again this year, so adult beverages are allowed.

Lisa has given all staff permission to leave work at 4:30pm to attend the cookout.

Additional details:

You can still sign up after July 25
Coolers provided to keep food cool on the 4th floor on Aug. 2
Please bring favorite – family friendly lawn games

There will be plenty of fun games for all ages to play!