One Year.

Today marks one year. One year of adventure, hard work, travel, and home ownership. One year of fun, food, and learning. Happy one year anniversary to the guy who is the perfect balance of work and play, the calm to my crazy, and the ultimate handyman.

Oh, AND - Happy Birthday, to this same guy who agreed to share his wedding day with his birthday. For the rest of his life.

Mount Rainier and Seattle Trip Part 1

So, after this post you won't hear me bragging on how cool the northwest is, at least for a while. The third and final week of training for work was two weeks ago. Back in the spring, we decided that September would be a good month for Jacob to fly out and meet me at the end of my work week so that we could explore Mount Rainier and Seattle for a few days. 

Warning - this post is a total mix of iphone and "real camera" pictures.

Jacob flew in Friday evening and we started out the trip right - beers at the local brewpub in Tacoma.

Followed by a stroll through downtown.

Saturday morning we woke up early to fog and drizzle but decided we would make the trip to Mount Rainier National Park anyways. Good thing we did, because the weather was out of this world. 75 degrees and blue skies. It was breath taking.

We hiked a 5 mile loop that took us up to the snow fields at the base of Mount Rainier. We could just barely see a few hikers close to the summit of the mountain while we were hiking. It was super cool.

After hiking 1700 feet of elevation over 5 miles in just over two hours, we were tired. We drove around the park and hopped out of the car when the scenery was ripe for pictures.

Sunday, we packed up, dropped our rental car back at the airport, and took the train into downtown Seattle. Apparently there was a Seahawks game that day?

To be continued...

Blackberry Gin and Tonics

Hello! Sorry for the period of absence from the blog. I was in the great state of Washington for the third and final week of work related training last week, and Jacob flew out over the weekend so we could spend some time exploring Mount Rainier National Park and Seattle together. We had an absolute blast.

While no gin and tonics were consumed on our trip, we did eat and drink some fabulous things. I can't wait to tell you all about them in my full recap very soon!

Let me just say, I was very skeptical of gin before I first tried it. I had heard so many people talk about their deep hatred for the liquor and so I stayed away from it. But then, one day, Jacob talked me into taking a sip of his gin and tonic. YUM! So refreshing, light, crisp, piney (in a good way, I promise), and slightly sweet. It's now my go-to "fancy" drink. This past week I decided to switch up the normal gin and tonic by adding a few frozen blackberries to my drink. It was fabulous. If you are over the age of 21 and not pregnant, I highly recommend you try this.

 This creation is just a slight twist on the classic gin and tonic. Frozen blackberries were the only "non traditional" ingredient.

Fresh black berries would work just fine too.

The gin to tonic ratio I usually stick to is 1/3 gin to 2/3 tonic, poured over ice.

A squeezed lime wedge is very necessary, in my mind.

Enjoy!

Roasted Veggies

Most of the time, a side dish for us is a veggie. In the winter, this almost always means a roasted veggie. In the summer and on warmer days I try not to turn on the oven if I don't have to, but a lot of nights even when it's warm we end up roasting our side dish. I just love roasted vegetables.

All of the vegetables I roast carry the same general rules for cooking and ingredients:

1. Trim and wash veggies.

2. Chop into pieces that are all relatively the same size.

3. Toss with olive oil and salt.

4. Place on a baking sheet or dish lined with foil (for easy clean up).

5. Roast at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden and tender.

Roasted okra. This was a recent experiment and I loved how it turned out! We will be doing this again very soon.

Roasted potatoes and onions. I like to leave the skins on red potatoes. The color and texture are great!

Cauliflower and broccoli with all the usual ingredients + curry powder!

Butternut squash and cabbage. A little rosemary added to the squash for extra fall flavor.

Tomatoes! Delicious on pasta.

Mixed veggies - great for cleaning out all those random quantities of veggies sitting in your produce drawer. Picture here; zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, broccoli, carrots.

Beets! A little different way of roasting these guys, find the recipe here.

Broccoli, mushrooms, and zucchini.

Kale! When you roast kale according to the "general" directions, it turns into kale chips! More one that here.

Brussel Sprouts. Yum. Follow the same directions as normal veggies require, except substitute soy sauce for salt. A family favorite!

As fall comes nearer I hope you can put these roasted veggie ideas to use!

Grilled Portabella Hoagies

Portabellas. The vegetarian's steak. Earthy, meaty, and rich. I love these things. I do not, however, love the price tag that is associated with them. They're no where near as expensive as some of the true specialty mushrooms, but they aren't exactly button mushroom price-range either. I was so excited when I saw last week that these guys are for sale as a bulk item for just $3/pound at my local grocery store! A package of three costs close to $6, but one pound (equaling 4 medium sized mushrooms) only cost me $3!

Jacob and I have been on a real vegetarian kick lately. I don't think I've purchased any kind of meat in several weeks. This was just one of my newest creations using non-meat main dish ingredients. Start by cleaning the mushrooms using a damp paper towel. If you rise the mushrooms they tend to get a little soggy and beaten up. Just dust the dirt off with the paper towel.

Marinate the mushrooms in a mixture of soy sauce (my favorite marinade ingredient), olive oil, and fresh garlic.

Veggies. Have you all noticed that we really like clover sprouts?

I picked up two little hoagies from Harris Teeter's bakery section. $.75/each!

Dressings. Horseradish, whole grain mustard, hummus, and white cheddar cheese.

Grilled, seasoned, and put together. Along side some steamed broccoli and a few plantain chips (from Trader Joe's). A great labor day dinner, or weeknight meal!

Grilled Portabella Hoagie Recipe:

Makes 2 Hoagies

- 4 small portabella mushrooms, cleaned

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tbsp (2-3 cloves) garlic, minced

- 2 hoagie buns

- A few pieces of sliced white cheddar (or the cheese of your choice)

- Lettuce, tomato, sprouts, any topping you wish! Hummus, horseradish, and mustard are great as well.

Directions:

- Mix together the olive oil, soy sauce, and garlic in a small bowl.

- Pour the marinade over the mushrooms and place in a ziplock bag.

- Let the mushrooms sit for 20 min or up to 3 hours in the fridge.

- Grill the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes per side or until tender.

- Let the mushrooms rest for 5 minutes so the juices don't all escape when you slice them.

- Slice the mushrooms into 3 strips each, top with cheese.

- Toasts the hoagies and top with all your favorites.

Happy Labor Day!