last weekend

Last weekend we headed out to Spring's Preserve for a hot date. Let me clarify by saying that any time the hubs and I do anything that varies from our day to day routine, it is referred to as a hot date. Going out to grab a sushi lunch? Hot date. A bagel and a hike? Hot date. Shopping for something other than groceries? Hot date.

It was our first time going to Spring's Preserve and I didn't really know what to expect. It's a pretty interesting place - they offer tons of classes, activities and demos - so you can really learn a lot while you're there. We didn't take any classes this time around, although we saw a few that we really would be interested in if we end up getting our house *fingers crossed.* This weekend, we just went to tour the gardens and check the place out. (PS Vegas dwellers - it's free admission the first weekend of the month, so um, a ridiculously cheap date.)

They had tons of fun plants, including a lot of desert friendly edibles - something we are very interested in. They also have pretty fun sculptures made from scrap materials (aka junk) scattered throughout the gardens and the rest of the preserve, all from artist Dave Thompson. It's only there until this coming fall, so it was fun to see the exhibit.

Later that day, since it was Cinco de Mayo, we stopped off for some Mexican food. It was sort of overwhelming in portion sizes, but delicious none the less. And, because we're early birds, we still made it home in time to watch the Derby.

The rest of the weekend was spent finishing up some projects. I was really itching to start some others, but ran out of supplies, so I think this week may be a trip to the fabric store so I don't run into this terrible problem again.

Last Weekend

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed out to Ice Box once again. This time, however, it didn't live up to it's namesake. The higher spring sun kept us warm the whole hike so the cooler area near the falls was quite welcome. The beautiful colors we saw on the trees and bushes were signs that spring has definitely hit the desert. I love how the colors just seem to pop so much more when they are surrounded by the stark rock. I particularly love the tree growing sideways from the rock. (also noticed that basically every hike you can do at the desert ends at a water source, coincidence?)

Also, this dog. This fat, lazy princess of a dog. She needed a lift for the last half of the hike. It was hilarious watching the guys switch off carrying her and lifting her over the boulders like a search and rescue team. I think now she needs a puppy pedicure.


*On another note, have you ever noticed how sometimes photos don't seem to do a place justice while at the same time framing or featuring things you couldn't even notice at the time?

natural egg dyes - success and failures

 This year, I wanted to give natural egg dyes a try. I read tons of recipes online that used a variety of different fruits, vegetables and spices. None of these sites, however, had any actual examples of dyed eggs (except one, which was a super done up mag photo - i question it's authenticity). It seemed people loved posting recipes for natural egg dyes, but no one actually bothered to post the eggs. Did they suck? Did the recipes work? I tried seven this year. Here are the successful attempts (all of these were left in for about 20 minutes, except for the cabbage, which was left in the dye for an hour):

 As for our not so successful attempts: carrots (for orange) did nothing, spinach (for green) - nada, cranberries - nope. Next year I think I will get some dollar store paprika for orange (I thought about it this year, but didn't want to run out and definitely didn't want to use our good Penzey's stuff for egg dyes). I'd also like to try and mix maybe the turmeric and the red cabbage to see if I can get a green egg out of it. And possibly, although only if I can find inexpensive frozen berries, raspberries for a more red-pink.

For now though, I'm happy with our little egg experiment. I think they are cute, pastel, soft colors and don't have any weird ingredients. It was kind of interesting though in that they didn't come out in the same colors they dried:

blueberries: these came out more purple, and as they dried they turned this deeper blue hue.

turmeric: they came out more gold, but once dried ended up as a nice, soft yellow


red cabbage: this surprised me the most. it came out much more purple and dried this lovely robin's egg blue.


beets: came out pink, as i imagined. the eggs i pulled out quickly dried more slight purple pink. the ones i left longer in the dye, assuming i would get a darker, more vibrant pink, ended up drying a reddish-brown.

Club Baked: Nutella Scones

My mom has always tried to instill healthy eating habits in me. We had rules in our house. One sweet thing a day, no cereal with more than 11g of sugar per serving. I was the only kid who read nutrition labels in the second grade. Grocery shopping included a lot of veggies and fresh foods. I got excited when I was able to pick out a new fruit to try because I knew I wouldn't get away with sneaking Bubbalicious into the cart. Eyes in the back of her head, she said. She cooked our meals, which I never thought was abnormal until I went away to school.

Fast forward to college: Shopping with my roommate senior year, she mentioned that she wanted meatballs. So, I steered our cart towards the meat section. She looked at me like I was crazy and asked, "Where are you going?" I told her to the meat section, so she could get meat for meatballs. She then introduced me to the frozen foods section, two whole aisles of food that is already made. And then pointed out the meatballs. In a bag. Ready to be eaten. (Did you also know they made french toast like that? Sheesh, the education I got that day.)

So, I immediately text my mother (who I think might still have this text message): "You did not prepare me properly for the world. Did you know that they have meatballs already made in the freezer section? They make lots of things already made. How could you not tell me this?" I'm paraphrasing, of course, but that was the gist of it.

Her response of course, was that I could make my own meatballs, freeze them individually on parchment paper and then bag them up to have my own ready made meatballs in the freezer. Totally missing the point that you could buy them that way.

Anyways, that whole meatball intro was to help you understand my culinary background and it's lack of processed foods. And the fact that I've never in my life had Nutella. 

Deprived. I know.

Anyhow, now that I am all old and grown, I have this pesky milk allergy and I can't have Nutella. (Thanks Mom, seriously, all those years that I missed out.) So, for the Club Baked Nutella Scones recipe, I made the "Hazelnut Spread" recipe that was found in the cookbook. And my loving husband said that it does not taste like Nutella. Great...

Despite that fact, I continued on and made the scones. I actually love scones. They are easy to put together, quick to make, and can have almost any flavor, sweet or savory. These are no exception in ease of preparation and the flavor is nice. A chocolate scone with a layer of Nutella (or, in my case, hazelnut spread) running through, topped with another drizzle of Nutella and crushed, toasted hazelnuts.

My only complaint: These are dry. I get that scones are dry. But I guess I got spoiled with the scones recipe from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book, my preferred scone recipe that makes a lovely, as moist as a scone can be, scone.

All in all, these weren't bad. And I'm glad I got to try sort of, almost, but not quite Nutella.

This recipe was hosted by Lorraine, so go over and check out her blog for the recipe.  Check out the Baked site for the other baker's takes on this one!

**We were recently at a party with the hub's co-workers and their families. One of the other girls said something about wanting almond butter, and did I know anywhere to get it, to which I replied "Just make it." Not realizing that this was weird until the hubs called me out on it. Outcast for life. Thanks, Mom.

It was a wild time...

During our weekend in California, we stopped at the San Diego Zoo. It was a hilarious time, and we will definitely have to make a second (or third!) trip as it was too big to take in in just one day. Plus, I totally want to do the "Skyfari."

 

 I loved that Jessica was "The Queen." The hubs thought that it was hilarious that she had a "big appetite."

Last Weekend

The hubs and I went to California and I saw the Pacific for the very first time. Even though it was very very cold, I just had to touch it. I feel like it doesn't count as a trip to the coast until you get a little wet. 

We took a little walk along the coast, checking out the cliff houses, the plants and wildlife before we realized that we needed to turn around before high tide took over the beach. From the dunes, we watched my first west coast sunset. But fear not, we'll be back.

 

 

Last Weekend

Last weekend Nick and I headed out into the (finally) fabulous fall desert weather. It was perfect for hiking - not to cool and not too hot. I packed up some apples and pumpkin gobs (gosh I need to share that recipe with you guys) along with some water and spent the day relaxing, enjoying the scenery, and of course, climbing on rocks. Nick and I were both avid climbers as children, much to the dismay of our parents, and climbed anything and everything. According to my mom, I was in a walker for all of 30 seconds before I climbed out onto a chair and then onto a table. Nick would climb his mother's kitchen cabinets just to steal chocolate. Almost all of the childhood pictures I've seen have him standing on the top of something he climbed (the large whale statue at Sea World for instance) with his brothers posing firmly on the ground. (Based on this, I am already fearful of what our children will end up like...)

But, now that we are in the desert, with rocks 'a plenty, we both have an outlet for all our climbing around. It was a great time, heading off the beaten path at times to check things out, or just to see if we could get there. And with plenty of trails and routes around these parts, and each one changing so much with the seasons, we are sure to have plenty to keep us entertained.

1 year.

Today I'm celebrating my one year wedding anniversary. So, this week, for August Break, I'm recapping my honeymoon pics. Good thing this challenge doesn't have rules, because I am pretty sure this is cheating. Whatevs. Check out these posts (one, two, three, four, five) for a look back at some of our first year adventures!


Above photo by Catherine McKinley Photography.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, but ya know, I'm partial to mine - so Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Cake made from scratch by my talented little brother.

Blog Love and a Hello from the Road

We're still gypsies, traveling around the country with a suitcase. I can't wait until we get settled in our new home later this month so that we get our kitchen back. We've been eating out a ton and I miss having a space of our own to cook in. There have also been some delicious looking recipes posted recently that I can't wait to try (check them out after the photos).

Margarita Fish Tacos from Food for My Family
Watermelon Raspberry Granita from Kitchen Konfidence
Chili Lime Sweet Potato Taquitos from The College Culinarian
Better Than Fried Artichokes from Eat, Live, Run
Cauliflower Patties from Recipes from Europe
Orange Cinnamon Rolls from Foodies at Home
Tiramisu Cupcakes from Eat, Live, Run
White chocolate Covered Crispy Peanut Butter Eggs from Lemongrove Avenue
Cake Pops from Andrea the Kitchen Witch
DIY Saltwater Taffy from Creature Comforts
Honey Pie from Cocina Diary
Portobello Fries from The College Culinarian
Avocado & Grapefruit Salad from A Cozy Kitchen
Whipped Cream and Blackberry Tarts from Cocina Diary
Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake from Andrea the Kitchen Witch
Lemon Corn Waffles with Blueberry Sauce from Lemongrove Avenue
Homemade Shamrock Shake from The Brown Eyed Baker
Baked Doughnuts with Cinnamon Sugar from The Brown Eyed Baker
Honey Yogurt Ice Cream from Bojon Gourmet
Vanilla Honey Peanut Butter from The Comfort of Cooking
Italian Strawberry Creme Cake from The Comfort of Cooking
Avocado Ice Cream from Two Peas in Their Pod

Also, some very cute decor ideas:

DIY hanging mason jars from Going Home to Roost
DIY Repurpose Books into Picture Frames from Creature Comforts

And just in case you haven't noticed - I have re-done and re-published my "Daily Reads" page, which includes many of the blogs above and many more worth checking out! 

Our Kitchen

Before we left Florida, I figured I would take you on a tour of our itty bitty kitchen* for a couple reasons. First, because I am a neb nose** and love to see other people's kitchens and living spaces. The second reason is because we live in an apartment. We don't have any fancy storage spaces built in, we don't have a fabulous professional stove. No butcher block island here. No ma'am.

On a lot of food blogs, when I see their kitchens, it looks like a magazine spread. The colors, the design, the storage, their perfectly placed everything. And I think, of course they can cook. They have counter space. They have a six burner oven. So, while our kitchen is a bit more, um, realistic, I wanted to post it to encourage those of you who live in itty bitty kitchens that you can cook and make great tasty meals.

We use every inch we have, including the walls. On one side, we have pots and utensils, along with a bit of book storage.

Bread board, pot rack, box lid turned utensil holder

Our apartment issued stove and our personal toaster oven (which is used far more than our big one). Salt pig and oil are standing by for frequent use. Our case iron skillet practically lives on the stove.

Our spice drawers.

Sink and the dishwasher that sounds like an airplane. We also park our mixer and blender there. It's our baking and smoothie corner. Our pasta maker is attached to the overpass.

Under our cabinets. We did our best to maximize space with the racks on the top shelf.

Our main work station. We put as much on the wall as we could to maximize the little amount of countertop that we have.

Hanging our measuring cups makes them easily accessible.

Our most used cookbooks are in the kitchen. We store others in the living room.

Our pots hang on the wall so we have more cabinet space for other items.

Our little kitchen has served us well. We've modified it as much as we are allowed so that it was the most useful for us, and in most instances, those changes have increased our storage space and efficiency in the kitchen. As we head across the country, we'll miss our itty bitty kitchen, but look forward to maybe, just maybe, not having to wear noise cancelling headphones when we run the dishwasher.

*I realize that our itty bitty kitchen is probably a luxury in New York City, but in the burbs, where kitchens are frequently the size of our apartment, ours is pretty small.

**Pittsburgh for nosy. I'll get you all educated, slowly but surely.