Snapshot Sunday: June 30

Do you ever have those weeks that end up being just 100% more fantastic than you thought they would be? This was one of those weeks for me.

Went out for a birthday dinner with a friend.

We're foodies so presents involve dinners out.

We went to the Walrus and the Carpenter for happy hour.

We ate 4 kids of oysters, smoked trout (below), duck proscuitto with pickled blueberries and bread and butter. Amazing.

Restaurant Graffiti.

Does anyone else find it incredibly difficult to read graffiti or is it just me?

Berry Goat Fro-Yo from Molly Moons.

So refreshing and good.

Popcorn chocolate chip cookies. Good like woah

I'll definitely blog about them at some point

Thursday night we had our last small group of the year.

We had it on the rooftop patio of someone's condo with an incredible 360 view.

Sunset from the same patio

City skyline in the other direction

We got to borrow Seth's cousin's canoe yesterday for a 4 mile canoe ride in the sound

It was 85 and HOT. Don't know how I ever survived in AZ.

A little crow on canoe for you.

I hope you also had a fantastic week and that this next week is even better!

Dinner, Lately

When I'm cooking dinner I often forget to take pictures. I'm too hungry by the time I start cooking so I just plow through the recipe and before I know it I'm eating and haven't documented it at all. Which, I need to do sometimes.

Anyway, I thought I'd share links to a few delicious meals I've made lately.

Sweet Potato Hash with Fried Egg. I served it with Trader Joe's apple chicken sausage. The husband was a huge fan. Totes gluten free too.

Cheesy Broccoli Orzo. Really easy and I loved this. Perfect combination of pasta and cheese.

Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas. I made this and ended up having a few people over for dinner and they both were impressed. I skipped the chili because I am a spice wimp. Also totes gluten free.

What have you made for dinner lately?

One Pot Pasta

I've probably talked about this before but I am a huge leftover fan. Like, fo real. I rarely make a meal without planning to have a meal for work. In fact, I've cooked a whole meal with the sole purpose of having it for leftovers. 

I did this with this one pot pasta recipe. I made it at about 3 in the afternoon just so I would have some for work this weekend and ended up eating a whole bowl of pasta in the middle of the day. Second lunch? First dinner? Yep, it was that good.

This is a super simple meal. Solid ingredients that come together to make really tasty, salty pasta with lots of veggies. And you only get your cutting board and one pot dirty. Win-win-win.

You layer your pasta, a can of diced tomatoes and a sweet onion into a pan.

Part of the magic of this is that you use broth to cook the noodles instead of water. I used some homemade vegetable broth but you could use chicken broth too. Finally, add the spices. Let it boil and cook until all the liquid evaporates and you've got a meal. Feel free to eat it in the middle of the afternoon, or the next day if it lasts. 

One Pot Pasta

serves 4-6

adapted Apron Strings Blog

Ingredients

• 1 box of whole wheat linguine 
• 1, 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 sweet onion, cut into pieces
• 1 large bunch of basil, ripped into pieces
• 2 tsp diced garlic
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp dried oregano (or fresh if you have it)
• 1 tsp 21 seasoning salute (from Trader Joes)
• 4 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 box cherry tomatoes
• parmesan cheese

To Make

1) In a large pot layer the linguine, diced tomatoes, sweet onion, and basil. Pour over broth. Add spices (garlic, red pepper, oregano, seasoning), salt and pepper, and olive oil.

2) Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. After it boils, cover, reduce to a simmer and let cook another 10-15 minutes. Stir frequently while it simmers. Reduce until just a little bit of liquid is left at the bottom of the pot, to your preference. Towards the end add the cherry tomatoes so they get warm and a little soft.

3) Serve in large bowls, add S&P as it needs and top with parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Observation Tuesday: Volume 55

Likes I've loved lately.

• I'll agree to more of these than I care to admit. 25 Signs You're Addicted to Reading Books. 
• Fun Food Facts! 
• The more I know about Mr Rogers the more I like him, some facts that will warm your heart. 

Snapshot Sunday: Lopez Island

 For our anniversary this past Tuesday, Seth and I went and played on Lopez Island in the San Juans and I may have discovered one of my new favorite places. It's a gorgeous little island (actually one of the 3 largest in the island chain) with stunning scenery and lots to do.

We stayed at the MacKaye Harbor Inn on the south side of the island.

It was a beautiful little bed and breakfast that did not disappoint. We stayed in the blue room, with its own little bathroom and view of the harbor. Mike and Robin were fantastic hosts and had a bottle of wine in the room when we got there. I spent the idyllic afternoons sitting in the chairs on the deck reading. 

The breakfast spread included homemade granola, fresh fruit and the best rhubarb muffin my husband has ever had.

There is lots to do on the island, but not so much it's overwhelming. About a mile away from the inn was Iceberg Point. We did a mile walk through some woods and walked out to an incredible view. We even saw an orca whale.

The island is also ideal for biking. It's (relatively) flat with minimal traffic in most parts. We did a twenty-two mile ride and I enjoyed (almost) all of it. The last few miles were a little rough :)

 On our bike ride we stumbled upon Watmough Bay. It's a 1000 foot walk through woods to end up in this little oasis. It was so stunning.

 Our best meal was at the The Bay Cafe in the main Village area. The truffle mac and cheese was a highlight for sure.

 My other favorite part was the lemon mascarpone cheesecake.

 We had a few good cups of coffee (or I did, Seth had an italian soda) at Isabel's Espresso and Caffe La Boheme.

There was lots more we could have done; other restaurants to try, kayaking, paddleboarding, befriending someone with a sailboat, parks to visit. In fact, I already told my family we need to go next time they visit. 

Recipe Fails II

Sometimes things don't go as i hope. And by sometimes I mean more often than I would care to admit. But for your entertainment I'm admitting it today. 

The first recipe fail I'd like to tell you about was a Chocolate Chip Cookie Milkshake. I had some left over cookie dough so I baked a few. 

After the baking I took some homemade vanilla bean ice cream, milk and the cookies and blended away. My hopes were high.

My hopes were then dashed on the rocks. It was g-ross. Kind of grainy, not smooth and tasty like I had hoped. I may have still finished it, but I blocked it from my memory. 

The next fail? Homemade energy drinks. I did hot yoga for a long time and still like to workout a fair bit. I thought I'd be legit to have a homemade Gatorade, without all the sugar and fake stuff.

Everything starts out fine and dandy. Fresh lemon and lime juice, agave, water, sea salt.

Somewhere along the line things get a little iffy. I don't know if it was the weird brown color, the salt or what but man it was not refreshing.

I'm gonna stick with water for a little while. I'm still searching for a more reliable energy drink recipe. Let me know.

Any recipe fails you've had lately?

Dried Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you know those people in your life that always have delicious food? They can just throw stuff together it seems and it's awesome? Well, my sister's sister-in-law is one of those people.

I distinctly remember staying at their place once on a road trip through Montana on our way to Glacier (where else?) and having dinner. We picked up pizza from a local favorite, and she threw together the most fantastic salad and had fresh fruit crisps waiting for after. I don't even love salad that much but hers was so good. And fruit crisp? Perfect. 

Why am I bragging on her? Because that's where we got this recipe. And by we I mean my sister got it and I stole it from her. These cookies are great. And I don't even like white chocolate chips. 

They're almost a shortbread type cookie, so soft and chewy and delicious. Just how I love my cookies. 

This recipe makes lots of cookies so you can save some dough for later if you want don't want to make them all. And they don't spread too far so you can really put a lot on one baking sheet. I highly recommend these. 

Dried Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes ~36 small cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup soft butter
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 4 1/2 c flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup dried cranberries

To Make:

1) Preheat oven to 350* F. In a mixer, cream sugars and butter. Add in vanilla and eggs and mix until light and fluffy.

2) Pour in flour 1 cup at a time until well combined. Add in soda and salt. Finally, stir in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries until well mixed. If you want to bake later, can be refrigerated for several days. 

3) Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until browned on bottom. Let cool on rack for 2 minutes, transfer to rack and let cool there. Enjoy! (Can be stored in airtight container for several days) 

Two Years Ago, in numbers

Credit: Kimberly Jarman Photography

It was easily the best day of my life. Fourteen months of expectation, planning and details. One-hundred and eighty of my closest friends, family and the love of my life. Good food, dancing and starting the rest of my life with my husband.

The last two years haven't been easy but they've been fun. One cross country road trip, two house rentals, six new jobs, countless new recipes. 

Seth, thanks for being my husband. Thanks for challenging me, for growing with me, and for moving to my dream city with me. Can't wait for the next 50 (give or take).  

Snapshot Sunday: June 16th

I haven't done a true snapshot Sunday in a few weeks for some of these overlap from a few weeks ago.

In Sweet Peaks in Whitefish, MT.

ha...

Some people in my neighborhood have crazy beautiful gardnes

B-o-w-l-i-n-g, we go bowling, bowling, bowling

My baby and me

(a song my mom used to sing from the radio, if you see me i'll sing it for you)

Picnic in the park.

I'd never been to this park in Settle before and had no idea this view existed. amazing.

Sun! Flowers!

Discarded jewels.

    

On a walk.

Cap'n Crunch on my fro yo. heck. yes.

Finally, selfie of my haircut. 

Think I found my new stylist.