tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27355909404753808392024-03-13T07:58:33.646-06:00hors d'oeuvres for HawthorneSBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-30996567278852761362013-03-29T14:21:00.005-06:002013-03-31T14:04:39.793-06:00Crème de la Crème: March<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">I read a lot of blogs, and really love the "Friday Favorite"-type posts, which usually list/discuss top links to fashion, food, pop culture, etc. Since I'm not enough of a frequent blogger to do the weekly thing, I thought it might be fun to recreate the idea within a monthly parameter instead.</span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u><b>Twitter Fame:</b></u></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">After being a some-time Twitter participant for about two years, I finally experienced the celebrity re-tweet! Truly exciting to know that an "untouchable" celebrity actually 1) read my tweet, and 2) found it special enough to retweet it!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u><b>TV Junkies:</b></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Morgan and I are seriously addicted to a few shows these days. I would feel guilty about this, but I counteract the couch potato-ness with plenty of reading and exercising. Some of our </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">favorites:</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ypEBK03fBEk/UVX1str0MSI/AAAAAAAABME/ZpvPqR2cCCg/s1600/Picture+15.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ypEBK03fBEk/UVX1str0MSI/AAAAAAAABME/ZpvPqR2cCCg/s200/Picture+15.png" width="146" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-02J4UkKqB3g/UVX1tLcaJSI/AAAAAAAABMg/M3eeBL1-eZY/s1600/Picture+16.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-02J4UkKqB3g/UVX1tLcaJSI/AAAAAAAABMg/M3eeBL1-eZY/s200/Picture+16.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">"Game of Thrones" - We've been in a race to get through season 2 before the season 3 premiere on Sunday. This show is like "Henry VIII" meets "Lord of the Rings" and it is soooo wild! There are tons of characters and storylines, but I like that - it makes me feel smart to be able to follow/keep up.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J61sVnaYPWc/UVX1tUIJ1XI/AAAAAAAABMo/p-aSx96vtQM/s1600/Picture+20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J61sVnaYPWc/UVX1tUIJ1XI/AAAAAAAABMo/p-aSx96vtQM/s200/Picture+20.png" width="156" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">"The Following" - Apparently everyone on the planet is a traitor/spy/affiliate, according to this show. I cannot get over the massively tangled roles and relationships. How these writers come up with this stuff just boggles the mind.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">"The Walking Dead" - Never thought I'd be one for the zombie show, but man-oh-man, this one rocks. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Just heard today that 27 people will die in Sunday's season finale. Whaaaaaaat!?!?!?</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9-7LqtHUPzw/UVX10CcgvTI/AAAAAAAABNA/sMkWHfdNLFg/s1600/Picture+17.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9-7LqtHUPzw/UVX10CcgvTI/AAAAAAAABNA/sMkWHfdNLFg/s200/Picture+17.png" width="169" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">"House of Cards" - Kevin Spacey is an evil, political mastermind...and strangely hot. Robin Penn is better looking (and a better actor) than her <i>Princess Bride</i> days. Kate Mara is playing a game and you can't quite be sure she knows all of the rules. A dark, funny, dangerous show. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Behind-the-ball catch-ups: "Dexter" and "Breaking Bad" - we're working on these. Can't wait to be in real time eventually (if only to cease dodging storyline giveaways within social media)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u><b>Top Reads:</b></u></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">Speaking of books, I spent a majority of my spring break doing a lot of reading.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u>Gray</u> (Wentz) - Admittedly, I am a sucker for rock star autobios...anything to get into the head of a musician. There's something so seductive about the music world, even if I know full well that I am too uptight to ever hang there. This novel is listed as "semi-autobiographical," but let's just call it what it really is: Pete Wentz's journals in book form. I think he is a brilliant lyricist, and this book is a turbulent, emotional ride through his brain - kind of like a longer version of one of his songs. It makes me sad to read it...but in a good way. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u>Dark Places</u> (Flynn) - Ah, this author is my newest favorite! She writes with such twisted, mental angles. I could. not. stop. reading this one in particular, and was not able to figure out anything until the end (as was the author's intent). High marks for that!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u>Perks of Being a Wallflower</u> (Chbosky) - Haven't seen the movie yet; waiting to finish the book first. I am only just into it, but love the 90s/high school slant already. Can't quite figure out the narrator...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u>Cutting for Stone</u> (Verghese) - The setting of this book isn't one I would typically be drawn to, but the author sucks you right in from the beginning. I am taking my time with this book. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u><b>Yummy Success:</b></u></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://www.4tunate.net/2012/12/andes-mint-brownies-a-holiday-baking-addiction/" target="_blank">Andes Mint Brownie</a> - add a topping of crushed Thin Mints and they're out of this world!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vc_e-MVH27c/UVXw2mrAowI/AAAAAAAABLw/a4ogjmyjPU0/s1600/Picture+10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vc_e-MVH27c/UVXw2mrAowI/AAAAAAAABLw/a4ogjmyjPU0/s200/Picture+10.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2012/03/black-bean-spinach-enchiladas.html" target="_blank">Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"> - crispy edge-cheesy center perfection.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u><b>Pinterest Finds:</b></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://memorelli.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/true-to-content-context/" target="_blank">Vacation Postcard Book</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4T4QCCIPrjo/UVXw2u8X7-I/AAAAAAAABLs/0K0KInBqQZ4/s1600/Picture+11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4T4QCCIPrjo/UVXw2u8X7-I/AAAAAAAABLs/0K0KInBqQZ4/s200/Picture+11.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/yoga/poses/yoga-routine-before-sleep/" target="_blank">8-Minute Bedtime Yoga</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u><b>Worthy Website:</b></u></span></div>
<a href="http://www.tagxedo.com/">www.tagxedo.com</a> - a cool place to turn words into art.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fsfLs81L7nM/UVYB_j-PVDI/AAAAAAAABNM/qIuqV-Vzfgo/s1600/Edith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fsfLs81L7nM/UVYB_j-PVDI/AAAAAAAABNM/qIuqV-Vzfgo/s320/Edith.jpg" width="291" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u><b>Fashion Fave:</b></u></span><br />
<a href="http://www.bhldn.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/_/collector-s-lockets/productID/785900b1-a1f3-4fd7-a599-614fb09f0add/categoryID/b5370bc6-8ce9-4329-b918-7ce432825f45" style="font-family: Times;" target="_blank">Vintage lockets</a> - so gorgeous!</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u><b>Vintage Vault:</b></u></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">90s fashion...take me back to the days when flannels were cool.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u><b>Pic-of-the-Month:</b></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">Imagine Dragons concert at The Fillmore. Totally rockin'.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><u><b>Wise/Witty/Worthwhile Words:</b></u></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"I'm confused...how is two gay people getting married a threat to my marriage? Am I doing it wrong?" </i>~ James Van Der Beek, via Twitter</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Agreed, Dawson, agreed.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u><b>Upcoming Awesomeness:</b></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">*Trip to Tampa for a wedding reception (Cuban food/family time/travel fun)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">*End-of-Year countdown...only eight weeks 'till summer! </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">*Forthcoming info on the new Hanson album/tour</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">*New Fall Out Boy album release April 16th</span></div>
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SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-4506724570778348792013-02-13T18:48:00.001-07:002013-02-13T18:48:49.689-07:00Check out our wedding book!<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab" height="425" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/slideshow/slideshow-ui.swf"/><param name="flashvars" value="configXMLURL=http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/slideshow/config/config-share.xml&slideshowModuleURL=http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/slideshow/slideshow-module.swf&projectGUID=0IbsWLVuxYtQdD&swfName=slideshowFlashContent&showReplay=true"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><param name="quality" value="best"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><embed width="425" height="425" align="middle" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" name="wrapper" quality="best" menu="false" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" flashvars="configXMLURL=http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/slideshow/config/config-share.xml&slideshowModuleURL=http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/slideshow/slideshow-module.swf&projectGUID=0IbsWLVuxYtQdD&swfName=slideshowFlashContent&showReplay=true" src="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/slideshow/slideshow-ui.swf"></embed></object><div style="margin-top: 0; text-align: center; width: 425px;">
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SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-49682491250818878982012-07-03T13:13:00.002-06:002012-07-03T13:20:15.015-06:00A Day in the Life of EdithEdith is my 11-year-old cat, but she's basically my child. She's curious and moody and super-tolerant - both of my incessant smothering (a Penelope to my Pepe le Pew) and Morgan's misguided attempts to befriend her. Mostly, she's sweet and so, so adorable.<br />
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Ever wonder what your pet does when you're not home? I do. Since I'm around all day during the summer, I had a chance to follow Edith around one day and observe her activities. (Comically, I didn't manage to capture a pic of Edith eating, which she does OFTEN.) Overall, she really doesn't do anything interesting at all, but the exercise produced some pretty cute pictures :)<br />
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<br />SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-51469071685708223162012-06-26T12:21:00.001-06:002012-06-26T12:24:07.274-06:00Brunch fabulousnessThis past weekend, Morgan and I made a trip to Boulder for brunch. Boulder has an astounding number of great restaurants - especially brunch places - and though we have many favorites, we wanted to try something new. That something took shape in Centro Latin Kitchen, a place that has been around for years but one we've always overlooked somehow. Centro is probably better known for their drinks/happy hour, but we were so intrigued by a Latin brunch concept that we just had to try it.<br />
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Centro opens at 9:30 on Sunday mornings, so we made sure to be there right at that time to avoid a crazy wait. Good thing, too - when we left about an hour later, the place was nearly full. Anyway, as we were seated, we were given a regular menu and a happy hour menu. Whaaaa? A BRUNCH happy hour? What a cool idea.<br />
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The happy hour menu featured a bunch of menu items (drinks, too) priced between $2-$4. We assumed that the super-low prices must mean that these dishes were mere bites, so we ordered several. < Wrong. The plates were surprisingly substantial; I could have ordered two things and been completely content, if not full. So clearly, this happy hour brunch is a smokin' deal for this place (especially since they have regular brunch menu items priced all the way up to $15).<br />
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The food: well, it was incredible. Each dish was just <i>special - </i>a creative fusion of flavor in just the right amounts. The sweet dishes weren't too sweet, the spicy dishes featured a delicious heat. Here's what we ordered:<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Coffee (with horchata [cinnamon rice milk] instead of cream)</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Smoked cheddar biscuits & chorizo gravy (the only item from the regular menu)</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Hash browns with pork green chile</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Chocolate-chunk pancakes with blueberry-tequila syrup (< gluten-free!)</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Burnt (bruleed) grapefruit </span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Breakfast taco w/egg and ranchero sauce</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Coconut-battered banana with vanilla anglaise</span></b><br />
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In all, the experience felt so contently unique to the average brunch meal. The ambiance is cool, the food outstanding, and we walked out of there with a second meal's worth of leftovers -- and a final bill of $22. Freaking awesome!SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-25079652750070391652012-05-06T20:07:00.004-06:002012-05-06T20:20:06.414-06:00Food Revelation: Cauliflower RiceI may never cook with rice again.<br />
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Earlier this week, I spied a recipe for cauliflower "rice" on Pinterest. Intrigued, I pinned it and figured it might be a useful recipe to try in the next month - especially since Morgan and I are trying to watch our carb intake before the wedding. We're big fans of cauliflower "mashed potatoes," and so using it to create rice didn't seem like a huge stretch. And when I decided to make crockpot Swedish meatballs for dinner tonight, the cauliflower rice sounded like a great replacement for the typical starch that would lie beneath these meatballs. </div>
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It's so impressive to me when people think outside the box with food (particularly vegetables) and find new ways to use it. Cauliflower rice is a perfect example of this - it's basically just steamed cauliflower that was cut up to look like rice. Mild and soft, the cauliflower soaked up the meatball gravy just as well as regular rice or noodles. I'm sure this cauliflower would sub in well for rice in any recipe - maybe in casseroles or soup. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Crockpot Swedish Meatballs with Cauliflower Rice</span></div>
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<i>MEATBALLS</i></div>
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<i>1.5# ground turkey, 3/4 c. fine breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 1/2 c. milk, 1/2 c. minced onion, 1 T. Worcestershire , 1 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper, 1/2 t. garlic powder, 1 t. dried parsley</i></div>
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<i>GRAVY</i></div>
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<i>1/3 c. flour, 2 t. paprika, 1/2 t. pepper, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. garlic powder, 1 t. dried parsley, 3 c. boiling water, 1 1/4 c. sour cream or plain yogurt</i></div>
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, milk, onion, Worcestershire, and spices in a large bowl. Drizzle 1/8 c. olive oil into a cast iron skillet. Roll meat into walnut-shaped balls and place in the pan. When all of the meat is formed, put pan into the oven and allow meatballs to brown, turning once. </div>
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Lightly grease the crock pot and set to high. Dump meatballs into crockpot, cover and cook 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, in the skillet, heat drippings, boiling water, flour, spices, and sour cream/yogurt. Pour gravy over the meatballs in the crockpot and allow to cook on high for one hour. Turn heat to low and cook 1-3 hours more before serving.<br />
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*Both the meatball and the gravy recipes can be adjusted to taste, and would adapt well to additions or changes. Next time, I'm going to add sliced mushrooms to the gravy, and oregano to the meatballs. </div>
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<i>CAULIFLOWER RICE</i></div>
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<i>1 head cauliflower, 1/8 c. olive oil, 3 chopped scallions, 3 minced garlic cloves</i> </div>
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Rinse and core the cauliflower. Cut into bite-sized pieces, and then whirl in the food processor. *A grating blade is the best, but if you don't have that attachment, just dice with the regular blade. Cauliflower should be small and rice-like (or resemble crumbled feta). </div>
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Heat the oil in a large pan. Add scallions and garlic and cook over medium until the garlic is lightly browned. Add cauliflower and stir to coat. Crank the heat to med-hi and allow cauliflower to brown. Cover the pan (so that cauliflower will steam) and stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. </div>
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In a bowl, layer cauliflower, meatballs & gravy, and peas. Yum!</div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-52147896696987390492012-05-02T22:48:00.002-06:002012-05-02T22:49:04.654-06:00Telluride - April 2012We traveled to Telluride this past weekend to finalize several details involving our wedding ceremony, <u>which is only a month away</u>. OMG.<br />
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Anyway, it was a great trip - very productive. We met our wedding officiant, who is a wonderful guy and the perfect person for the job. We also secured the wedding site, and saved a little time to have dinner with local friends. I'm so excited to marry my best friend in such a beautiful place! </div>
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Pics:</div>
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The view from our wedding hotel</div>
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Pastries from Baked in Telluride + mountain 'scapes = heaven</div>
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<br /></div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-25987950310165683832012-05-02T22:35:00.002-06:002012-05-02T22:38:19.600-06:00Wedding Travels - San FranI've been lucky enough to travel to two fabulous places for wedding-related tasks in the past month, one being San Francisco. My sister and I went to San Fran at the end of March for the wedding dress fitting, and had a great time exploring the city. We toured Alcatraz and hung out with our ultra-cool relatives, Uncle Paul and Tete Bonnie. It was a blast, although too quick of a trip. I learned a few things on this adventure, too:<br />
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1) The San Fran public transit (re: bus system) is confusing and inability to navigate it may result in copious amounts of walking through multiple neighborhoods. </div>
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2) When one is tired of walking said copious amounts, a sighted trolley may seem like an oasis in the desert. Be warned...the trolley is a dangerous, wild ride. How that dude controls a vehicle overloaded with annoying tourists - all with one pulley-stick-thingy - is beyond me.</div>
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3) If one should ever master said bus system and actually board a bus, know that one might still look like a tourist (despite efforts to seem otherwise). In these cases, it's best to not speak to the self-proclaimed meth addict sitting across from you. Just FYI.</div>
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4) After a long day of walking and riding buses, French-owned coffee shops sell delicious almond croissants. </div>
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5) Yes, it is possible to walk from Union Square to the Golden Gate Bridge. But it's a looooooooong way. :)</div>
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Here are a few pics from our trip...<br />
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Prime hotel location<br />
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Hang on around curves!<br />
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Fisherman's Wharf cuisine<br />
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Beautiful Golden Gate<br />
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Bizarre/beautiful monument thingy...still not sure what it was/who put it there<br />
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This was a steep hill. Believe it.<br />
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Oh, my sister Summer...she makes friends where ever she goes!<br />
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<br /></div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-48482565137870341542012-04-25T20:49:00.004-06:002012-05-02T21:55:36.946-06:00Long-Overdue Update, Part One: Bridal ShowerI haven't had much time to post anything new in the last few months, mostly because time is short when you're planning a wedding! However, a bunch of great things have happened lately, so here's a photo summary (part one)....<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Bridal Shower 3.3.12</i></span></b></div>
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My amazing friends - Elizabeth, Kasey, and Robynn - threw the most wonderful tea party bridal shower. The day included heirloom tea cups, specialty loose tea flavors, tasseography, and unbelievable food...as well as the company of some truly incredible women in my life. </div>
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The beautiful tea cups...</div>
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...and the incredible spread.</div>
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Ryan was allowed to attend the shower, too - but only if he worked as the "butler." He totally has a back-up career option if he ever tires of teaching...</div>
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The joke of the day involved my tendency to make faces in photos; I freaking hate taking photos! Since I usually look stupid anyway, I'll take matters into my own hands and just create stupidity of my own. <i>Example one:</i> Sexy coffee maker photo</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hj4o9fqArzU/T5i1ysSry5I/AAAAAAAABBY/gF1zeuY_2b8/s1600/IMG_4446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hj4o9fqArzU/T5i1ysSry5I/AAAAAAAABBY/gF1zeuY_2b8/s400/IMG_4446.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Example two: </i>So excited (!!!) bamboo steamer photo</div>
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<i>Example three: </i>Almost-dropped-the-expensive-teacup-so-best-friend-had-to-help-out photo</div>
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<i>Example four: </i>Found-a-buddy-to-help-sabotage-photos photo</div>
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Hostesses + bride, stupid photo #55</div>
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Bad photos or not, it was a fantastic day - one that I won't soon forget. Coming soon: Long-Overdue Update (LOU), Part Two: Wedding Dress Adventure. Stay tuned!</div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-68202705372673120692012-04-25T20:04:00.004-06:002012-04-25T20:57:49.326-06:00Healthy Cookie Dough BitesSo...I have no idea how this recipe works, but it just does. These babies taste just like raw cookie dough - seriously! I traded the agave for brown rice syrup, but otherwise made just as directed. So delicious!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a3f98; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 33px;">Raw Cookie Dough Bites</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px;"></span></div>
<ul id="zlrecipe-ingredients-list" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-0" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: list-item; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">2/3 cup raw almonds</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-1" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: list-item; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">2/3 cup raw walnuts</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: list-item; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">2/3 cup raw oat flakes (see note below)</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: list-item; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">1/4 tsp ground cinnamon</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: list-item; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">1/8 tsp sea salt</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-5" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: list-item; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">1/4 cup raw agave nectar</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-6" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: list-item; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">2 tsp pure vanilla extract</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-7" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: list-item; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">3 tbsp cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips</li>
</ul>
<ol class="instructions" id="zlrecipe-instructions-list" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.4em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-0" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">In a food processor, process the almonds, walnuts, oats, cinnamon and salt to a fine meal.</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-1" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Add the agave nectar and vanilla and process to combine.</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Next, add the cocoa nibs (or chocolate chips) and pulse just to combine.</li>
<li class="instruction" id="zlrecipe-instruction-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font: inherit; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Roll the cookie dough into balls (about 1 tbsp each) and place them on a cookie pan lined with parchment paper. Place the pan in the freezer for about an hour to firm up. Store balls in a tightly covered container in the freezer.</li>
</ol>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-52535607403294782252012-02-11T16:41:00.004-07:002012-02-11T16:51:06.267-07:00(Almost) Week 7: Pumpkin Pie Quinoa BakeThe past few weeks have gone really well with the diet. I've lost 12 pounds in six weeks - right on target! One thing I actually like about dieting is that my love for cooking is constantly satiated (and challenged) because these days I am always on the hunt for healthy recipes. I'm glad that this favorite hobby doesn't have to suffer in my quest to be fit.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I found this recipe a few weeks back, and after making it again today, I feel it's too awesome not to share. It's loaded with cinnamon-y, reminds-you-of-autumn flavor, and highlights the superfood quinoa. Next time, I'm going to try replacing the pumpkin with banana and see if that results in something reminiscent of banana bread. Yum!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-smlMZ0uHz64/Tzb81dIps-I/AAAAAAAAA_8/bjPFWUKpkbg/s1600/pumpkin-pie-quinoa-breakfast-bake5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-smlMZ0uHz64/Tzb81dIps-I/AAAAAAAAA_8/bjPFWUKpkbg/s320/pumpkin-pie-quinoa-breakfast-bake5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #663399; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 30px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Bake</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #663399; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 30px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>adapted from <a href="http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/" target="_blank">www.healthfulpursuit.com</a></i></span></span><br />
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<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 1.667em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">2/3 cup milk </li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/4 cup pumpkin puree</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/4 cup quinoa</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 T. maple syrup </li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 t. coconut oil</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/4 t. pure vanilla extract</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/2 t. ground cinnamon</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">pinch ground nutmeg</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">pinch ground ginger</li>
</ul><div style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Topping:</strong></div><ul style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 1.667em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 T. coconut oil, melted</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 T. maple syrup</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1.5 T. rolled oats or barley</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/4 cup almonds, chopped</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 t. chia seeds</li>
</ul><ol style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: inside; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 1.667em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Preheat oven to 350F and lightly oil a 4 cup casserole dish. </li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">In a small bowl combine all ingredients, minus the topping. Stir until fully mixed, then pour into prepared casserole dish.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Cover and cook for 30 minutes.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Meanwhile, combine all topping ingredients. After the 30 minutes are up, remove casserole from oven and sprinkle topping over top of the casserole.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Return to the oven and cook uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Makes 2 servings.</li>
</ol>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-67486987708821613102012-01-23T07:30:00.000-07:002012-01-28T07:38:24.051-07:00Week 4 - Food Obsession<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #505050; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<div class="wordWrap" id="blogContent" style="color: #505050; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 535px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fTWzCdhxulQ/TyQIK-Cq2FI/AAAAAAAAA_0/e_Kl1j82psk/s1600/dre0050l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fTWzCdhxulQ/TyQIK-Cq2FI/AAAAAAAAA_0/e_Kl1j82psk/s320/dre0050l.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><span style="display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wow, it's the start of week 4 already!<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />It's also the start of a new year for me, as today I'm 34. When I think about it, I've been concerned about my weight for nearly half of my life. Today is no different, as I struggle with the dilemma that arrives on every birthday - to eat cake, or not to eat cake? To indulge, or act like it's just another day? That's the problem with having a birthday in January (always a big diet month), and being a complete foodie. Food is how I've always celebrated the high points in life, and how I've consoled myself in low moments. I know that I've got to change this relationship.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />It's funny to consider that I have a relationship with food, but there's no denying that I do. In fact, it's the one relationship I need to fix - and since my human relationships are healthy and happy, why not work on this one?<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />I'm tackling this situation much like I'd tackle an unhealthy human relationship: separate, contemplate, replace/renew. First, I’m going to focus on separation: stop connecting food to emotions. Because I’ve always celebrated and commiserated with food, this will be the toughest task. I find happiness/excitement in going out to dinner; I find comfort in a warm bowl of mac n’ cheese on a bad day. When my fiance lived out of state, my band-aid for loneliness/sadness took the form of potato chips or chocolate cake. And, because I was often bored and lonely, I would fill the time with researching new recipes or indulging in favorite ones. <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />These past few days, I’ve had to really separate myself from food. Otherwise, the single day of my birthday could snowball into 4, 5, 6 days of overindulgence under the “celebratory umbrella.” It’s been hard - really hard. Especially when things that seem normal, like eating a piece of birthday cake, end up compromising the day’s points. It’s why I’m thankful for the WW tracking system, as I was able to see that eating an entire piece of cake wasn’t an option today...but that eating a few bites AND enjoying the company of my coworkers could be enough of a celebration. <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />A last thing - my birthday present to myself was a digital scale, which, awesomely, arrived in the mail today! I’m excited to have a much more reliable version of a tool that will useful on my path to permanent weight loss.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />It's going to be a great week!</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</span></div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-33857266756436583082012-01-07T19:43:00.004-07:002012-01-07T19:57:06.460-07:002012 Resolution: Week 1So, this first week of my resolution has been interesting.<br />
<br />
It started with two days of a detox/cleanse, a.k.a. two days of hell/horror. Okay, it really wasn't that bad :) I thought it would be a good plan to trick myself into my 1200 calorie diet by detoxing right before. The idea behind this is that I'd be so sick of eating virtually nothing that I'd be EXCITED about 1200 calories. Guess what? It worked. By the end of detox day two (after 48 hours of nothing but mostly quinoa and vegetables), I was over the moon at the prospect of Wednesday's 1200 calorie menu. Coffee! Apples! Soup! Happiness all around.<br />
<br />
The next four days were mostly painless. There was a slight low blood sugar issue on Wednesday, quickly solved when I realized I hadn't eaten any protein, but otherwise everything went well. The hardest part about this diet so far is not eating after 7 p.m. I find myself rushing to get dinner made by then, and if I'm still awake at 9, my mouth thinks it wants something sweet. So instead, I drink tea...and last night, I tried chewing gum. That worked well - my mouth was busy engaging with a delicious piece of Trident Layers Cherry-Lime. Perfect solution.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hsfi9h-TqG4/TwkCkC7XGwI/AAAAAAAAA_c/21MjTNIwZQk/s1600/The-Now-Eat-This-Diet-DiSpirito-Rocco-9780446584494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hsfi9h-TqG4/TwkCkC7XGwI/AAAAAAAAA_c/21MjTNIwZQk/s200/The-Now-Eat-This-Diet-DiSpirito-Rocco-9780446584494.jpg" width="167" /></a>There have been a few nice surprises this week, too. First, I've discovered a really cool cookbook by Rocco DiSpirito. It's filled with all kinds of delicious recipes, all with low calorie counts - and, hooray - WeightWatchers point totals, too! Makes things much easier.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4_aTx0LiXOo/TwkEW_iKuYI/AAAAAAAAA_k/CTj_ckiqCMg/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4_aTx0LiXOo/TwkEW_iKuYI/AAAAAAAAA_k/CTj_ckiqCMg/s200/images.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellie's Balsamic Chicken</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MLag0qYQWi8/TwkEcP1o6UI/AAAAAAAAA_s/7_wAGZ0MG8E/s1600/enchiladas-ck-1173802-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MLag0qYQWi8/TwkEcP1o6UI/AAAAAAAAA_s/7_wAGZ0MG8E/s200/enchiladas-ck-1173802-l.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken Enchiladas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Another surprise was the high success rate of the two dinners I prepared for Morgan. They were scrumptious - and both under 350 calories and 8 WW points each. And while Morgan is almost always a good sport about diet food, it's a real bonus if he actually <i>likes</i> the meal and offers to eat it again. Click on these links to get to these recipes: <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/balsamic-chicken-with-baby-spinach-recipe/index.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Ellie Krieger's Balsamic Chicken + Spinach</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> and </span><a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-enchiladas-with-salsa-verde-10000001173802/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">.</span><br />
<br />
One final surprise - I lost four pounds this week! This is a quick drop, but it's not surprising; I think the detox probably had something to do with it. Regardless, losing is winning!<br />
<br />
Looking forward to the upcoming week, as it marks the beginning of my exercise plan. I think this will be more of a challenge than the dieting...mostly because I don't love working out. We'll see how it goes!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-72836848399519856722012-01-02T18:57:00.001-07:002012-01-07T19:03:08.850-07:00Get Fit Bride - 2012 Resolution<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">A few years ago, I heard a statistic about weight loss – something about how 92 percent of people who lose weight regain it within a year. Seriously, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">92 percent</b>??!?! Why even try then, right?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Yet, as a new year dawns once again, here I am on the weight loss hamster wheel. This has been a pattern in my life for the past seven-ish years: Jan – July = super motivated to lose weight (and usually do), Aug – Nov = get distracted/busy/tired and ultimately careen into the horrific downhill slide of December.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ah, December. It begins with the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Hey, what will a few cookies/eggnog lattes/etc. hurt?” </i>and ends with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“#%#*&, what have I done to myself!?!?!” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, I think I spotted an extra five pounds around my waist alone…courtesy of the 8,000 Turtle Bars I ate last week in AZ. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My 2012 resolution to lose weight may be the same, but the motivation behind it is much more intense. In addition to wanting to be the healthiest version of myself, I also have an awesome near-future goal: look great at my wedding. In the next three months, I’m going to commit myself to 1) consuming 1200 calories a day, and 2) working out seven days a week. Ideally, I’d like to lose 30 pounds before my wedding day in June, and hope that 25 of those pounds are shed before my March 29<sup>th</sup> dress fitting. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is a BIG goal, but I’ve got a couple weapons. WeightWatchers, for one. This has been the only “diet” to date that has actually worked for me to some degree. I love the flexibility of WW, mostly because I don’t feel deprived. A second weapon is Jillian Michaels. Her workout DVDs are quick and painful – this is good for a working girl. In the past, being diligent with Jillian has rendered noticeable muscle definition. That said, I’ve never truly attempted her 30-Day Shred in 30 days, and I’m excited to see what the results will be. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A forever list-maker, I think it’s always good to write important things down. So, here are my specific goals for this FitBride 2012 resolution:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Resolution: <b>Lose 30 pounds by June 1<sup>st</sup><o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Sub goals:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> 1</span>) Eat a diet of 1200 calories a day</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a) Avoid processed foods</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>b) No eating after 7 p.m.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>c) Enter all food into WeightWatchers log</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>d) Drink at least 80 oz. water each day</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2) Work out every single day<u><o:p></o:p></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a) Jillian/5-6 days</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>b) Walking/1-2 days</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>c) Key focus areas: arms and tummy</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: -1.0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Mantra:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">“Can I do this today? Just today?”</span><o:p></o:p></i></div><!--EndFragment-->SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-20686273914119647802011-11-27T12:49:00.000-07:002011-11-27T12:49:59.238-07:00I laughed so hard, I criedThere is something very wrong with the product advertised below...or something very wrong with a society that would actually support the existence of such a product. Morgan was quite intrigued by the side/rear zip feature, though - as close as one can get to a butt flap, I guess!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5S2p7AiNX9g?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-4587169777058459082011-11-27T12:32:00.001-07:002011-11-27T12:35:17.907-07:00Nutmeg Doughnut Muffins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1V8YybhNBdY/TtKPDJq8LJI/AAAAAAAAA_E/F4T4iScLyGw/s1600/IMG_4398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1V8YybhNBdY/TtKPDJq8LJI/AAAAAAAAA_E/F4T4iScLyGw/s320/IMG_4398.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Who doesn't love a powdered sugar doughnut? I remember reading a book as a kid where the main character dipped his powdered sugar doughnuts in coffee. Naturally, this sounded like an awesome combination, so one day my 12-year-old self snagged some of Mom's morning coffee and dipped away. HUGE disappointment - because what I didn't know then was that black coffee is gross, or that dipping doughnuts in coffee would be an epic fail until I was old enough to recognize that coffee tastes better - on its own or with doughnut dippers - with a little cream and sugar.<br />
<br />
Anyway, adulthood has left me consuming fewer doughnuts than my tastebuds would prefer - no thanks to mid-thirties metabolism. So when I stumbled upon this recipe at <a href="http://www.orangette.com/">www.orangette.com</a>, I was intrigued by the prospect of creating a (somewhat) healthier version of the classic powdered sugar doughnut. Yes, yes, the butter-flour-sugar combo in these muffins is naughty, but if nothing else, at least the fried food element has been eliminated! End result? Deeeeeeelicious, and highly reminiscent of the powdered sugar doughnut...and they're great dipped in coffee. :)<br />
<br />
I did make a few adjustments: used white whole wheat flour, doubled the nutmeg, and created mini-muffins out of the batter. Also tried a glaze on a few, instead of the powdered sugar roll - a move successful enough for me to think that these babies would be great with a cinnamon-sugar coating or dipped in chocolate glaze.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br />
</u></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Nutmeg Doughnut Muffins </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Recipe from <a href="http://www.orangette.com/" target="_blank">www.orangette.com</a></span></em></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">2 ½ tsp baking powder</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">¼ tsp baking soda</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">Scant 1 tsp salt</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">¾ cup plus 1 Tbs whole milk</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">2 Tbs buttermilk</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">1 ½ sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">¾ cup plus 2 Tbs granulated sugar</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">2 large eggs</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">4 - 6 Tbs unsalted butter</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">1 ½ - 2 cups powdered sugar</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and set a rack to the middle position. Spray a standard-size muffin tin with cooking spray.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg, and whisk to mix them thoroughly. Set aside. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">Combine the milk and the buttermilk in a measuring cup, and set aside.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or, alternatively, in a large mixing bowl with electric beaters nearby), and beat on medium speed for a few seconds, until the butter is soft and creamy. With the motor running, add the sugar in a steady stream. Continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until the mixture increases in volume and lightens to pale yellow. It should look light, fluffy, and wonderfully creamy, like frosting. This could take a couple of minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until they are just combined.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">With a wooden spoon, mix ¼ of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add 1/3 of the milk mixture. Continue to add the dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dries. Mix until the dough is smooth and well combined, but do not overmix.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">Divide the batter between the cups of the muffin tin. Bake until the muffins are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-32 minutes.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*<i>Note:</i> My mini versions only took 12-15 minutes in the oven. After they were cool, I packaged them in threes and stored in the freezer for a quick breakfast grab.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U4HwCH0TVfs/TtKO7KvOvYI/AAAAAAAAA-8/NGIgrjeYcBw/s1600/IMG_4401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U4HwCH0TVfs/TtKO7KvOvYI/AAAAAAAAA-8/NGIgrjeYcBw/s320/IMG_4401.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</span>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-55786951497408640472011-11-03T19:03:00.001-06:002011-11-03T19:04:32.138-06:00"Get him a body bag, yeaaaah!!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hahaha - this scene never gets old. Morgan and I quote it to each other often, which results in hysterical laughter, every time. Just thought you all should join in the fun...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/U9xBJwkL3Oc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-61687494923300275052011-10-16T16:22:00.001-06:002011-10-16T16:27:55.580-06:00Wedding Photoblog 1 - Engagement, shower, bachelorette partyA year is a long time to be engaged, but in some ways, it's awesome to have so much time to plan and celebrate. I'm a BIG planner, so though we've already knocked out some of the most important details (venues, hotels, date, dress, etc.), there are tons of little things to work on whenever there's time. A goal for me during this year is to plan because it's fun, and to do so in a way that will ultimately allow for a stress-free event. I really want to enjoy the planning process - and upon thinking of this today, I realized how many awesome wedding things have already happened. Not wanting to let them slip away so quickly, I've posted some pics below that capture the highlights. I think I'll keep doing this throughout the year, too - sort of like an online scrapbook. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4OEInlvKbII/TptSLly4eoI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/Y0RwHfRfksE/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4OEInlvKbII/TptSLly4eoI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/Y0RwHfRfksE/s400/IMG_3635.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan proposed at a scenic overlook of the Dallas Divide, which is <br />
en route to Telluride. Truly, a most beautiful place!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nOuPm4lWNbI/TptRes2TIzI/AAAAAAAAA2o/2Ai46MV9yrc/s1600/IMG_3643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nOuPm4lWNbI/TptRes2TIzI/AAAAAAAAA2o/2Ai46MV9yrc/s400/IMG_3643.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M-jRkdALJso/TptRxqavi-I/AAAAAAAAA3I/YJ-dC67twy8/s1600/IMG_3781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M-jRkdALJso/TptRxqavi-I/AAAAAAAAA3I/YJ-dC67twy8/s400/IMG_3781.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ring has its own tales to tell; all of the diamonds<br />
are from Morgan's paternal grandmother.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TzazjYGwKMs/TptTJ20cHXI/AAAAAAAAA3g/nu26l6JczrI/s1600/f4306c34f346__1312509119000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TzazjYGwKMs/TptTJ20cHXI/AAAAAAAAA3g/nu26l6JczrI/s400/f4306c34f346__1312509119000.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In August, I met my mom and sister in CA to spend a weekend<br />
with Tete Bonnie, Uncle Paul, and cousins Annie and Rosie.<br />
On night one, they all surprised me with a shower! </td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wU2X1CsOJK4/TptTKnB0QVI/AAAAAAAAA3o/-viXwLSt3V8/s1600/SAM_0446.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wU2X1CsOJK4/TptTKnB0QVI/AAAAAAAAA3o/-viXwLSt3V8/s400/SAM_0446.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tete Bonnie makes a KILLER shower cake! Even better eaten<br />
cold, for breakfast!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-41CwMpV5gIc/TptTK-2cZhI/AAAAAAAAA3w/MR33Y_xOjfE/s1600/SAM_0465.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-41CwMpV5gIc/TptTK-2cZhI/AAAAAAAAA3w/MR33Y_xOjfE/s400/SAM_0465.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pJ6N81cDV7M/TptTbv-xl_I/AAAAAAAAA34/J4dkr9ZEfbA/s1600/IMG_3894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pJ6N81cDV7M/TptTbv-xl_I/AAAAAAAAA34/J4dkr9ZEfbA/s400/IMG_3894.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My wonderful friend, Tina, created these amazing bachelorette party invites.<br />
The party was actually a Hanson concert, and (I think) everyone had an<br />
awesome time! The success of the evening can be attributed entirely to<br />
Summer, Tina, and Kasey, who worked so hard to make it fun for everyone.<br />
I just love those ladies.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QRZScPWHzIY/TptTq7K8r6I/AAAAAAAAA4A/zA4hzBAoHL4/s1600/IMG_3958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QRZScPWHzIY/TptTq7K8r6I/AAAAAAAAA4A/zA4hzBAoHL4/s400/IMG_3958.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9nCju9K-P4c/TptUH7a37fI/AAAAAAAAA4I/zLoIUZPmihw/s1600/317066_2380451425698_1083035049_32788335_992875311_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9nCju9K-P4c/TptUH7a37fI/AAAAAAAAA4I/zLoIUZPmihw/s400/317066_2380451425698_1083035049_32788335_992875311_n.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xn4VyIpCB-s/TptUfaTUjHI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/U_tXG4CZZaI/s1600/IMG_3930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xn4VyIpCB-s/TptUfaTUjHI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/U_tXG4CZZaI/s400/IMG_3930.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We waited in line for several hours, killing time with food, drink, and games.<br />
It was a blast!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Adgzdpa7DeY/TptU7RKmX3I/AAAAAAAAA44/m_KcPNIntxg/s1600/313626_2380450985687_1083035049_32788333_2092499043_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Adgzdpa7DeY/TptU7RKmX3I/AAAAAAAAA44/m_KcPNIntxg/s400/313626_2380450985687_1083035049_32788333_2092499043_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8cmuar2Sm6k/TptUiROXptI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/uo4rA5J_odo/s1600/IMG_3940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8cmuar2Sm6k/TptUiROXptI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/uo4rA5J_odo/s400/IMG_3940.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer, Kasey, Katie</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1lpcB7McIRc/TptUlHdyFcI/AAAAAAAAA4g/zSbHAbZLHEo/s1600/IMG_3941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1lpcB7McIRc/TptUlHdyFcI/AAAAAAAAA4g/zSbHAbZLHEo/s400/IMG_3941.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So close to the stage - with Tina and Janelle</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NbT24JqV-Aw/TptUo83EDPI/AAAAAAAAA4o/_eXXzZMvdAQ/s1600/IMG_3946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NbT24JqV-Aw/TptUo83EDPI/AAAAAAAAA4o/_eXXzZMvdAQ/s400/IMG_3946.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanson <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN'; font-size: xx-small;">♥</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">♪ ♫</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqYSQ6-o64Y/TptU6-xxrpI/AAAAAAAAA4w/kvRKNeKIRqo/s1600/296463_2380453545751_1083035049_32788340_531380453_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqYSQ6-o64Y/TptU6-xxrpI/AAAAAAAAA4w/kvRKNeKIRqo/s400/296463_2380453545751_1083035049_32788340_531380453_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tina, Janelle, Robynn, Elizabeth, Ryan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RHajdxDVwMs/TptU8Z3BnJI/AAAAAAAAA5A/Xb_iPJTmUQU/s1600/166929_2380452505725_1083035049_32788338_1423074468_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RHajdxDVwMs/TptU8Z3BnJI/AAAAAAAAA5A/Xb_iPJTmUQU/s400/166929_2380452505725_1083035049_32788338_1423074468_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a great night - so lucky to have friends who are such incredible women! </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-67607476993456678012011-10-16T14:08:00.005-06:002011-10-16T16:29:39.019-06:00Scenes of Autumn Photoblog<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6j9S_6sC_C4/TpswlDdNLtI/AAAAAAAAAy4/EX8L_zyXWlQ/s1600/IMG_3999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6j9S_6sC_C4/TpswlDdNLtI/AAAAAAAAAy4/EX8L_zyXWlQ/s400/IMG_3999.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Historic Golden</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U4IWPb57plA/TpswqInT4dI/AAAAAAAAAzA/ZBMm-hZDMk0/s1600/IMG_4001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U4IWPb57plA/TpswqInT4dI/AAAAAAAAAzA/ZBMm-hZDMk0/s400/IMG_4001.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x3dXWrTZats/Tpswx6zRJeI/AAAAAAAAAzI/i5R70kTcabk/s1600/IMG_4004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x3dXWrTZats/Tpswx6zRJeI/AAAAAAAAAzI/i5R70kTcabk/s400/IMG_4004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden Farmers Market</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ATecSftfAlM/Tpsw0fp14NI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/6rkWL-7vuxc/s1600/IMG_4010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ATecSftfAlM/Tpsw0fp14NI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/6rkWL-7vuxc/s400/IMG_4010.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jE2b8ge2k2A/Tpsw1vEHlyI/AAAAAAAAAzY/4HacHYWH18w/s1600/IMG_4025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jE2b8ge2k2A/Tpsw1vEHlyI/AAAAAAAAAzY/4HacHYWH18w/s400/IMG_4025.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mini Mines fan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EdIsfunKz9Y/Tpsw3_LQnoI/AAAAAAAAAzg/Zf4g8RkXJSw/s1600/IMG_4039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EdIsfunKz9Y/Tpsw3_LQnoI/AAAAAAAAAzg/Zf4g8RkXJSw/s400/IMG_4039.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaf peeping</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0jcTfzEMZU/Tpsw51xk-XI/AAAAAAAAAzo/jdc2l0ZJykk/s1600/IMG_4043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0jcTfzEMZU/Tpsw51xk-XI/AAAAAAAAAzo/jdc2l0ZJykk/s400/IMG_4043.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-abgHd_z9zaI/Tpsw9w_-qoI/AAAAAAAAAzw/PPWSf2OAF7o/s1600/IMG_4046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-abgHd_z9zaI/Tpsw9w_-qoI/AAAAAAAAAzw/PPWSf2OAF7o/s400/IMG_4046.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Eldora, CO</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JrczIgnlFEU/TpsxBdI7TqI/AAAAAAAAAz4/goyJulxfxhU/s1600/IMG_4047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JrczIgnlFEU/TpsxBdI7TqI/AAAAAAAAAz4/goyJulxfxhU/s400/IMG_4047.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-apHGYNbCM94/TpsxEc1Z7WI/AAAAAAAAA0A/9vf1SJMvm9g/s1600/IMG_4072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-apHGYNbCM94/TpsxEc1Z7WI/AAAAAAAAA0A/9vf1SJMvm9g/s400/IMG_4072.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kOL_OVJhAEo/TpsxF32byXI/AAAAAAAAA0I/_51pcjFgCGg/s1600/IMG_4077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kOL_OVJhAEo/TpsxF32byXI/AAAAAAAAA0I/_51pcjFgCGg/s400/IMG_4077.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nederland, CO</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GlkTJjQ4Bzw/TpsxI4PxKXI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/NlLWwOyOaMo/s1600/IMG_4177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GlkTJjQ4Bzw/TpsxI4PxKXI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/NlLWwOyOaMo/s400/IMG_4177.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkin patch</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dKuK28HLrew/TpsxM1i3Y1I/AAAAAAAAA0Y/jkFrx9bXDGQ/s1600/IMG_4179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dKuK28HLrew/TpsxM1i3Y1I/AAAAAAAAA0Y/jkFrx9bXDGQ/s400/IMG_4179.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pommer tots</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LUpn7Gt5x8A/TpsxO_ftpOI/AAAAAAAAA0g/eNTM4akJzJA/s1600/IMG_4181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LUpn7Gt5x8A/TpsxO_ftpOI/AAAAAAAAA0g/eNTM4akJzJA/s400/IMG_4181.jpg" width="297" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5jtbORAABs/TpsxRbRrMwI/AAAAAAAAA0o/5bwZaqgaA4M/s1600/IMG_4184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5jtbORAABs/TpsxRbRrMwI/AAAAAAAAA0o/5bwZaqgaA4M/s400/IMG_4184.jpg" width="325" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorado <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">♥</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-64901813648693383942011-10-02T16:47:00.002-06:002011-10-02T16:50:55.364-06:00Cincinnati Chili<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WaAGJaGF64Q/TojqRu6nwSI/AAAAAAAAAy0/UyxuZf-Aebk/s1600/CincinnatiChili.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WaAGJaGF64Q/TojqRu6nwSI/AAAAAAAAAy0/UyxuZf-Aebk/s320/CincinnatiChili.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">In 2010, I had the great pleasure of visiting Madison, WI, on two separate occasions. Madison is probably one of the only cities in the Midwest to where I would wholeheartedly move – such liveliness and charm! There’s a restaurant downtown called The Old Fashioned, a place that ranks in my top 10 of favorite dining establishments. The beer cheese soup! The cheese curds! The cherry and blue cheese salad! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ahh, anyway, my immense love for this restaurant will be left to a later blog, as this one is all about a dish I saw on The Old Fashioned’s menu: Cincinnati Chili. To sum up, it’s a giant bowl of chili with the works (onions, sour cream, cheese)…ON TOP OF SPAGHETTI. Yes, yes, you read that right – chili spaghetti. Apparently, Cincinnati Chili is a big deal – a quick Wikipedia search rendered multiple recipes, photos, and instructions for ordering the dish (bowl, 2-way, 5-way, etc.). I will admit that my original thoughts on chili spaghetti were strangely close-minded. Honestly, it just sounded weird. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A few months after my second visit to The Old Fashioned, I decided to taste test this Cincinnati Chili at home. I was admittedly nervous – how odd, too, for the ingredients add up to carb-and-comfort-food heaven, a place I like to visit often. In a bowl, I layered steaming spaghetti, shredded cheddar, piping hot chili, and topped it off with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of scallions. As the sour cream melted and oozed over the surface of the chili, I jabbed a fork into the mix and twirled. The cheese, trapped between tendrils of pasta and chunks of chili, had melted into a delightfully gooey sauce. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Oh, my.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One perfect bite and my mouth was filled with an amazing combination of textures and flavors. I cannot even accurately explain it other than to ask you to imagine all of the components of comfort food (soft, warm, cheesy, creamy, hearty) in one place at the same time. I’m not sure what is more unbelievable – that such deliciousness exists from such simple ingredients, or that I lived 33 years of my life without this dish.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Suffice to say, Cincinnati Chili is now a year-round staple in my kitchen, though I especially love it in the autumn and winter seasons. I made it for Morgan a few weeks ago, and he wasn’t quite as impressed…he prefers regular, tomatoe-y spaghetti. So now I just freeze single servings of chili, which make for a quick trip to carb-and-comfort-food heaven on any chilly eve. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It should be noted that an <i>authentic </i>Cincinnati Chili recipe includes cinnamon, cloves, and chocolate, but I'm partial to my own chili recipe. Also, the picture above is not my own - I'll be sure to update with a photo of my version when I make it again. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-variant: small-caps;">Cincinnati Chili<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For the chili:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">1½ lb. ground beef or turkey</div><div class="MsoNormal">2 pkg. chili seasoning (low sodium)</div><div class="MsoNormal">1 red pepper</div><div class="MsoNormal">1 green pepper</div><div class="MsoNormal">1 jalapeno pepper</div><div class="MsoNormal">1 clove garlic </div><div class="MsoNormal">2 cans kidney beans</div><div class="MsoNormal">3 15 oz. cans tomato sauce</div><div class="MsoNormal">1 can sliced black olives</div><div class="MsoNormal">1 T. sugar</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Dice all three peppers and mince the garlic. Brown meat in a large Dutch oven and drain fat. Add pepper and garlic to meat; cook on med-low for 5 minutes. Sprinkle chili seasoning in and stir to coat. Add beans, sugar, and tomato sauce. Simmer on low for 2-3 hours, adding water in small amounts if chili gets too thick. Add the olives in the last hour of cooking. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Now, layer the following items in a bowl, in this order:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">- whole wheat spaghetti, cooked/drained</div><div class="MsoNormal">- shredded cheddar</div><div class="MsoNormal">- chili</div><div class="MsoNormal">- sour cream</div><div class="MsoNormal">- scallions</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This dish is massively filling, so go easy on your portion sizes at first. Allow to cool just enough to eat without scalding one’s tongue, and enjoy! <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-35434805684182748802011-09-25T12:30:00.001-06:002011-09-25T12:45:21.720-06:00So, I broke up with Facebook...In a manner disturbingly similar to how breakups often work with real people, I simply cut myself off – cold turkey. Sure, I gave out a warning for a few hours, just in case one of my “friends” needed it, and I emailed this blog address to my <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">actual </b>friends, just in case they wanted to keep up with it in the future. But otherwise, with the click of a button, it was over. Ouch.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If I could explain why in a single statement, “I don’t think this relationship is working for me anymore,” should cover it. Over the past few days, I’ve mentally tracked the pros and cons to my relationship with Facebook, and eventually concluded that said relationship was unhealthy – toxic, really. For example:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large; font-variant: small-caps;"><u><b>Love</b></u></span><br />
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>simple photo sharing<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>keeping up with long-distance friends and relatives easily</span><br />
-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>knowing others’ business (yes, this was a pro – I’m nosy)</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><u>Hate</u></span></span></b><br />
- others’ annoying posts (i.e. political/religious slants, braggy, TMI, etc.)<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">- wasting time stalking people I barely know anymore</span><br />
- general clique-y-ness formed when show-offs get together and blab their combined awesomeness all over cyberspace<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">- knowing there are people on my “friend” list who are not friends and should not know about my daily doings – yet feeling trapped in this “friendship” because de-friending is way too harsh</span><br />
- feeling like a bitch because I wouldn’t accept friend requests from everyone<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">- finding myself irritated/frustrated DAILY by what other people were doing and saying on FB</span><br />
- feeling like a fraud/creeper when I knew personal information (i.e. pregnancies, deaths, drug addictions, break-ups) about people who I haven’t spoken to face-to-face in years<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">- realizing that these same people knew/shared personal things about me, too</span><br />
- constantly de-tagging myself in photos because I looked like an a-hole in said photos and didn’t want to world to see that (when, in fact, they did, regardless of the de-tagging)<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">- knowing that I couldn’t just minimize my time on FB, that I didn’t have the self-control to just leave it alone for a few days; in a sense, I was “addicted”</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If the above lists were representative of a real relationship with another person, the immense outweighing of <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">hate</span></b> over <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">love </span></b>would certainly inspired me to end it, and the situation was no different with FB. Realizing that there were so many things I wanted to do but couldn’t find time – and then seeing that I was spending hours a day on Facebook – really got me thinking. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For some people, Facebook is an awesome thing. These are people who have figured out how to manage the connection, how to keep Facebook from taking over their lives. I am not one of these people, and the only way for me to take back my life was to stop – </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Just. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Stop. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Quitting has been sad…and I am embarrassed to admit it. I’ve felt a bit like there’s a hole in my soul; like there’s a big party happening somewhere and I’m not invited. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But on the flip side, there are so many great things I will have time for now; things that have been horribly neglected during the course of my five-year relationship with Facebook. Things like<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"> blogging, reading, trying new recipes, working out, spending quality time with Morgan, planning our wedding, answering emails, visiting friends – in person.</span> And though my most popular cyberspace outlet is now gone, there are still millions of online distractions with which to engage: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Pinterest, Hanson videos, friends’ blogs, cooking websites, NPR, Netflix streaming.</span> And, now when I see an old friend or long-distance acquaintance, the experience will be genuine because that element of mystery will have returned. Maybe my high school reunions will actually feel special now! I’m excited to move on; I’m excited to be free. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Goodbye, Facebook – it really wasn’t you, it was me. But in the end, it was for the best!</div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-87919701439465966782011-09-06T20:32:00.000-06:002011-09-06T20:32:31.724-06:00Dear Hanson (a love letter)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LtkeBRHYIKY/TmbW2K5NrjI/AAAAAAAAAYw/8-qMKl34nok/s1600/hanson+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LtkeBRHYIKY/TmbW2K5NrjI/AAAAAAAAAYw/8-qMKl34nok/s1600/hanson+logo.png" /></a></div><br />
I was 19 in '97, when your first song made it big, far too old to possibly enjoy a bubblegum hit sung by a bunch of kids. But something about the <i>sound</i> drew me in. It was different - the arrangement, the vocals, the beat. My sister was 15 then, and in a time when we had nothing in common, suddenly, we had your music. We spent hours upon hours that summer dancing and lip synching to the <i>Middle of Nowhere</i> album, plastering our bedroom walls with your Teen Beat photos, trying time and again to make our parents REALLY listen and appreciate your talent. We squealed with glee when your videos appeared on MTV and dissected each and every shot on film, hoping to demystify your creative brains. It was a wonderful summer.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Years passed, and my sister and I phased through different paths of life, all the while keeping up with your music. We've seen every show we could - The Orpheum Phoenix (2000), Nita's Hideaway Tempe (2003), The Marquee Tempe (2005), The Ogden Denver (2009), TLA Philly (2010), The Fox Boulder (2010), Cain's Ballroom (2011), The Fox Boulder (2011). We've watched as you guys grew up - got married, had kids, became masters of your own independent label universe, and used your talents to give back to others. We've been on this road with you, made possible through your music and your incredible communication to fans through the newest age of online streaming. We've joined your crusade against poverty in Africa, worn TOMS and then removed them for a walk. As if your music wasn't inspiring enough on its own, your philanthropic hearts take it to the next level. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Last May, I journeyed to your hometown for a Members Only Event. Your hometown is just as charming and genuine as you all are, and the MOE, not surprisingly, was an incredible gift of music and friendship. It seems funny to reference "friendship" with people I've not known as friends in the traditional sense - but that's how you guys present yourselves. You invite your fans into your lives. There's an obvious level of trust you've established with your fans, and it fosters an authentic sense of respect in return. Never in my life have I seen such a gesture of kindness from a band to its fans. </div><div><br />
</div><div>So all in all, thank you. Thank you for your philanthropic goals; they inspire so much compassion in the world. What you started with your walks has begun to trickle into the world. There's a frozen yogurt shop that just opened near my home this past spring, and its owners donate money to local schools each week. Inside the shop, there's a big poster stating the owners' inspiration: Blake Mycosksie of TOMS shoes. I thought it was so cool to see others catching onto that "giving circle" philosophy - something that I've learned about from you guys. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Thank you for your camaraderie with your fans - for the late-night gas station streaming events, the MOE photo sessions, the funny website blog updates, the 2+ hour long concert sets. These things only begin to explain why we all love you! And, for forever and a day - thank you for your music. It's been a beacon in the night, a shoulder to cry on, a source of comfort in high and low points in life, a definition of heart and soul. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ke9Txk8siA0/TmbXj4bsaoI/AAAAAAAAAY0/yxvmdd9drJY/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ke9Txk8siA0/TmbXj4bsaoI/AAAAAAAAAY0/yxvmdd9drJY/s320/Picture+1.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-42721992656082264732011-08-21T19:50:00.006-06:002011-08-21T19:55:36.777-06:00Sunday SoupI just love soup. Warm, hearty, and served in a bowl - it's the ultimate comfort food. During the school year, I typically make a batch of soup each weekend to eat for lunch that week. Any leftovers beyond that are frozen for a quick, last-minute dinner option.<br />
<br />
Last fall, I posted soup recipes each week, and I hope to continue that practice this year. Here's a new one that highlights one of Colorado's greatest seasonal crops: Olathe sweet corn.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_lFRqSYL-4Q/TlG1gaPliFI/AAAAAAAAAYs/q9NU_ed43SM/s1600/IMG_3888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_lFRqSYL-4Q/TlG1gaPliFI/AAAAAAAAAYs/q9NU_ed43SM/s320/IMG_3888.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sweet Corn Chowder</span></b></u></div><div style="text-align: left;">1 1/2 T. butter</div><div style="text-align: left;">2 slices bacon, diced</div><div style="text-align: left;">2 shallots, diced</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 yellow onion, diced</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 t. dried basil</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 bay leaf</div><div style="text-align: left;">6 ears sweet corn (Olathe is best)</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 t. salt</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/4 t. pepper</div><div style="text-align: left;">2 c. chicken stock</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 c. milk</div><div style="text-align: left;">2 T. scallions, sliced thin </div><div style="text-align: left;">Fresh grated Parmesan</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Remove husks from corn and slice corn kernels from the cob. Cut cobs in half and place to the side. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Melt butter in a heavy pot over medium. Add bacon and cook for 4 minutes. Add shallots, onion, basil, and bay leaf; cook 5 minutes. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Add corn kernels, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute. Add stock, milk, and corn cobs (about 6 halves) to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Remove corn cobs and bay leaf from the pot. Using an immersion blender, partially puree the soup. Season and serve, sprinkling with scallions and Parmesan. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Serves 4-6.</div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-11756782069863167872011-07-20T21:25:00.165-06:002011-07-20T22:21:37.893-06:00Summertime Pasta<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I just love pasta, pretty much any day of the year. However, as pasta typically serves to be a comfort food for me, so I have many warm and cheesy recipes for cold winter nights. In the summertime, I struggle to find pasta recipes beyond the typical antipasto or macaroni salad - delicious, yes, but so boring. So if you're looking to add some pizazz to your summer pasta options, here are a few creative options.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #505050; font-family: proxima-nova-1, proxima-nova-2, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">_____________________________________________________</span></span></span></i></span></i></span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #505050; font-family: proxima-nova-1, proxima-nova-2, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></i></span></i></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_sieH74hlB4/Tieetb5HiOI/AAAAAAAAAYk/CfKGo_97rA0/s1600/dsc026001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_sieH74hlB4/Tieetb5HiOI/AAAAAAAAAYk/CfKGo_97rA0/s400/dsc026001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Matchless Macaroni Salad</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">An old standby of my mother's - from the Colorado Cache cookbook </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2 </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> 1/2 cups seedless green grapes</span></span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">8 oz shell macaroni or </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">bowties</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">8 oz pitted ripe black olives, drained + halved</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3/4 cup chopped green onions</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3 oz blue cheese, crumbled</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">salt and pepper to taste</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1/4 t. garlic powder</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3 T. lemon juice</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 cup mayonnaise</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Combine hot macaroni with grapes, olives, onion, cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mix together lemon juice and mayonnaise until smooth. Combine macaroni and mayonnaise until evenly mixed. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Refrigerate covered several hours or overnight. Add more mayonnaise if desired, before serving. Serves 8-12.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #505050; font-family: proxima-nova-1, proxima-nova-2, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">_____________________________________________________</span></span></span></i></span></i></span> </span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #505050; font-family: proxima-nova-1, proxima-nova-2, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></i></span></i></span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sZZpBCOl9pI/TiegMmO_w-I/AAAAAAAAAYo/JG39uKWd5jc/s1600/IMG_3731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sZZpBCOl9pI/TiegMmO_w-I/AAAAAAAAAYo/JG39uKWd5jc/s400/IMG_3731.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nouveau Macaroni Salad</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From </span><a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">www.101cookbooks.com</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.101cookbooks.com"></a>, one of my favorite healthy cooking sites. </span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Unique and refreshing!</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">1 pound elbow macaroni</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">4 cups thinly sliced green onions</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">3 medium cloves garlic, chopped</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">salt/pepper to taste</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">zest and juice of one lemon</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1/3 cup grated Parmesan</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">4 big handfuls arugula (or spinach)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1 large apple, diced</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">Cook the macaroni in a large pot of well-salted water per package instructions. Set aside at least 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Then drain pasta and set aside. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large skillet until hot. Add most of the green onions, all of the garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions soften, and the garlic begins to take on some color, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a couple minutes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">Use a hand blender or food processor to puree the green onion mixture along with 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, zest of the lemon, half the lemon juice, and the reserved pasta water. Puree and taste. The green onion flavor should be assertive. Stir in the Parmesan.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #505050; font-family: proxima-nova-1, proxima-nova-2, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Combine the macaroni with the green onion sauce in a large bowl. Toss well. Add the arugula and most of the apple and toss again. Taste, and add more pepper, salt, or lemon juice if needed. Serve topped with the remaining apple and green onion. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Makes enough for a crowd or potluck</span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span></span></span></i></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">_____________________________________________________ </span></span></span></i></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></i></span></i></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PQm6o3e68Kw/TieaDxZj-tI/AAAAAAAAAYY/9UL_ePzy3DI/s1600/IMG_3761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PQm6o3e68Kw/TieaDxZj-tI/AAAAAAAAAYY/9UL_ePzy3DI/s400/IMG_3761.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fresh Corn, Zucchini, and Cream Pasta</span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I threw all of these ingredients together one night and discovered a quick and delicious summertime dish. Other add-ins would be great with this, too - like spinach, asparagus, or cherry tomatoes.</span> </span></i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">2 cups cooked pasta (fettuccine or penne would be great; or cheese ravioli for added decadence)</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 T. olive oil</span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 cup fresh summer corn</span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 cup diced zucchini or summer squash</span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1/4 cup real bacon bits (or just real bacon, cooked and crumbled)</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 T. fresh basil, chopped</span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1/3 cup sliced green onion</span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Salt and pepper</span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1/2 cup half and half</span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">shredded Parmesan for sprinkling</span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Place a large saute pan over medium high heat and add oil. Toss in corn, zucchini, and bacon bits and saute for several minutes until vegetables are lightly browned. Add basil, onion, and salt/pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook for a few more minutes. Finish off with half and half, allowing the liquid to bubble and coat the vegetable mixture. Toss in pasta and split into bowls. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">Serves 2.</span></div></span></span>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-80354590246635825162011-07-14T19:58:00.008-06:002011-07-14T20:22:16.623-06:00Identity crisis averted, [no] thanks to a sans-pants bear<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="line-height: 130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyone who knows me well can attest to the fact that I dislike Winnie the Pooh. I never really got into the cartoon as a kid; something about Pooh's slow voice and obsession with honey was really annoying. Not to mention the weirdness of his name altogether. And really, let's think about this: Pooh doesn't wear pants...and he plays with little boys. It's all very wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="line-height: 130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So this evening, my sister and I were discussing personality traits and their relation to the Pooh characters. Summer is very intelligent and aware of the trends in pop culture, and I will admit I was intrigued. Which Pooh character was I? The only characters we could remember were Eeyore (depressed), Piglet (follower), Tigger (hyperactive), and, of course, Pooh (obsessed/perverted). Surely there must be other character traits to choose from in life! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="line-height: 130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I went online and googled "Which Winnie the Pooh Character Are You?" and found a plethora to choose from. This one seemed reputable, if only for its name: "The Deep and Meaningful Winnie the Pooh Character Test" (</span><a href="http://www.okcupid.com/tests/7755608336260521742/Deep-and-Meaningful-Winnie-The-Pooh-Character"><span style="color: #001ee6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">http://www.okcupid.com/tests/7755608336260521742/Deep-and-Meaningful- Winnie-The-Pooh-Character</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">). After answering about 30 interesting and semi-thought-provoking questions, I clicked the "finish" button and waited apprehensively. Who would I be? Strange little Piglet? Surely not Tigger - he's too wild. Please, please, please...not Pooh. I can't be Pooh! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="line-height: 130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My result: Rabbit. Well, hey there! Here's a character I didn't even know about...and what do you know, the description seems fairly accurate:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="color: #831610; font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;">_______________________________________________</span></b><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-70kfA-wXVFg/Th-hcdAribI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/zI70p91lW7k/s1600/6429197118433323205.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-70kfA-wXVFg/Th-hcdAribI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/zI70p91lW7k/s200/6429197118433323205.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 34px;"><b><span style="color: #831610; font-family: Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">ABOUT RABBIT: </span></span></b><span style="color: #831610; font-family: Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Rabbit is generally considered clever by his many friends and relations. He is actually a much better reader and writer than Owl, but he doesn't consider it worth mentioning. Instead, Rabbit's real talent lies in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">organizing plans. </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">He organizes rescue parties, makes schemes to reduce Tigger's bounciness, and goes on missions to find out what Christopher Robin does when he's not at the Hundred Acre Woods. Sometimes, however, his plans do not always go as planned.</span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 5.5in; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="color: #831610; font-family: Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT YOU:</span></span></b><span style="color: #831610; font-family: Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> You are smart, practical and you plan ahead. People sometimes think that you don't stress or worry, but this is not the case. You are the kind of person who worries in a practical way. You think <b>a) </b>What are my anxieties about and <b>b)</b>what can be done about them? No useless fretting for you. You don't see the point in sitting around and waiting for things to work out, when you could actually work them out today and save yourself a lot of time and worry. Your friends tend to rely on you, because they know that they can trust you help them work things out. You sometimes tend to be impatient with people who are less practical in their ways. You don't have much patience for idiots who moan about things but never actually DO anything about them. You have high expectations of everyone, including yourself. When you don't succeed at something, or when something goes wrong despite your best efforts to prevent it, you can get quite hard on yourself. You need to cut yourself some slack and accept that everyone has their faults, even you. Let yourself be faulty, every now and then, for the sake of your own sanity.</span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="color: #831610; font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;">_______________________________________________</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;">So there you have it...I'm a Rabbit. I suppose I'll sleep better tonight with this knowledge :) But in all seriousness, I did read an article recently on how the longevity of these Winnie the Pooh characters can be attributed to the fact that they are realistic and representative of most personalities in life. Think about it - I'm sure you know a <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06;">Tigger</span></b>, an <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Eeyore</span></b>, or an <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">Owl</span></b>. And I'm sure some of us can even think of a few <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Poohs</span></b> in our lives. So, who are you?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="line-height: 130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>p.s.</b></i></span></span><span style="line-height: 130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> This post is a result of too much free time, neither of which is a bad thing.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;"><span style="line-height: 130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b><br />
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<span style="line-height: 130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>p.p.s.</b></i></span></span><span style="line-height: 130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> If you happen to take this quiz and score a Pooh, I won't hate you (or question your motives around children). Promise.</i></span></span></div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13250171972319154912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735590940475380839.post-32799641151777144012011-06-30T21:23:00.001-06:002011-06-30T21:27:33.111-06:00Meatball TrickFor most of my childhood, my parents made spaghetti & meatballs once a week during football season. That's right - every single week. Nope, we're not Italian...just football people. You see, it was my dad's tradition as a coach to invite the top four players of the week to our house for dinner, and spaghetti was the natural choice. Mom would make the sauce, and Dad would make the meatballs. He taught me how to make them without a recipe - add the egg and breadcrumbs, then the milk; add the spices - and you'd know you'd added enough oregano if the meat smelled right. Next, he'd fry the meatballs in a covered frying pan, which he usually placed on our deck outside to keep the house from smelling like smoke and grease. The finished product was delectable - fragrant, chubby balls of meat with a crispy, crunchy exterior. Add 'em to a bowl of Mom's amazing sauce and voila! A most memorable meal.<br />
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</div><div>It's been a long time since I've had Mom and Dad's famous spaghetti, and I'll admit that I miss it enough to make a big batch once a year. The sauce is no problem - just let it simmer on a stovetop all day. But the meatballs have long been problematic in my kitchen because I don't have one of those covered frying pans. Reluctant to panfry on the stove (eww, too messy), past attempts to bake them have left me with so-so meatballs only because they're missing that crunchy crust. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Last week, I discovered a solution. Bake the meatballs in a metal pan, and then leave them undisturbed for about 10-15 minutes so a crust can form on one side. Next, turn them and repeat the process. When two sides are darkened, wiggle the pan so that the meatballs spin in all directions. Then leave them in the oven awhile longer so that crust may continue to cook and brown. The end result is something quite similar to Dad's - though only a close second :) Oh, and only the inside of my oven gets spattered in oil (and that's a part of the kitchen no one sees)! I'm sure many cooks of the world have known about this trick for years, but if you haven't...try immediately, and enjoy! </div><div><br />
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