February 07, 2015

Win or Lose - Seattle is still 12th Man Fans

February 07, 2015/ Heather Brown

The city of Seattle has been in mourning this past week. Sadly, the Seahawks lost in the Super Bowl last Sunday. It sure was a close one, though, and it definitely was sit-at-the-edge-of-your-seat at the end. It was a good run, and a great way to end the season. Win or lose the city will continue to love it's Seahawks.

It's all really inspiring actually. Here I am, a girl that barely understands the game, wearing a Seahawks jersey and eating Skittles. The excitement that oozes from Seattlities is totally infectious. A years ago I didn't even know who Seattle's football team was, and now I know a few key players. Of course, it helps that we made it to the Super Bowl the past two years, but still you can tell the city bleeds blue and green. Heck, we even got the title 12th Man.

Now that the end of the week is here, you can tell it's settling down. There are less posts on Facebook, my co-workers are more cheery, and the city is moving on to other sports. But before it all goes away (okay, it never will) let me share some fun football stuff!

***

This Bad Lip NFL reading pretty much had me in tears. Oh, and here's another one. I die.

There was a Twitter smackdown between Captain America (Chris Evans), a Patriots fan, and Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), a Seahawks fan. The stakes? If the Patriots won the Super Bowl, Chris Pratt would visit Christopher’s Haven as Star-Lord and wear a Tom Brady jersey. If the Seahawks won, Chris Evans would have to visit Seattle Children’s Hospital to wave the Seattle’s 12th Man Flag in his Captain American outfit. We lost, but we also won because got Chris Evans followed through and came to Seattle's Children Hospital.

The game that got the Patriots to the Super Bowl had some controversy around it..Deflate-gate. But, don't worry, it was all Matt Damon -- I am the Locker Room Guy.

Did you miss the commercials? Here's the top 10. The Nissan one almost had me in tears.

This is a bit graphic so beware, but Conan with Marshawn and Gronkowski was pretty hilarious. Marshawn also shows Conan how to do his touchdown move.

I follow the Everywhereist and she gave some tips on how to overcome the sadness of losing.

***

And here are some photos from the season of the 12th Man Fans!

And now...

Go Mariners!

Go Sounders!

Go Seahawks! (next year, I feel it!)

February 04, 2015

Random Acts of Month: January 2015

February 04, 2015/ Heather Brown

Holy Moly! We've already burned through a month of 2015. Eecck! I say this ALL THE TIME, but where does time go? There is no keeping up with it - it flies!!!

So without further ado, here's my Random Acts of the Month for January 2015! Nothing too crazy this month, but I had some good times.

We started out the year, and I had some goals for the year - like yoga and trying something new in the kitchen. We'll see how that goes...

Football season was in full swing. The Packer's game was exciting. I'll talk about the Superbowl in February's recap. Maybe the city of Seattle will have recovered a bit by then.

Josh's company had their holiday party. Honestly, after a week into January the holidays were long gone, but the party was still fun. It was at Teatro ZinZanni, which is basically a dinner show slash cabaret show with a Cirque du Soleil twist. We had some good laughs.

I started a new series that will run occasionally on my blog called Daily Dinners. Two meals have been posted so far: Kale Mac 'n Cheese and Creamy Fennel and Pork. Did you make either of them?

We tried out a new coffee place in Pioneer Square called Elm Coffee Roasters. Tasty and totally hipster.

At work, our neighbors Blue Kai (also recently acquired by Uncle Oracle), invited our office over for lunch. On the way back, we lost our boss. Okay, well, we didn't lose him (he was hiding on another floor), but we thought we were pretty funny.

We have had a LOT of fog this month. There was one day that was really cool, and the fog changed by the hour. I captured this shot with the fog hanging out over Elliot Bay.

Then that same afternoon, I caught this shot of the fog hanging over the city. There is no picture of it because it would have been just plain white, but the fog also just swallowed us all. When we looked it was just white.

Josh and I enjoyed dinner at Cafe Turko. Super good and I loved the yam hummus. We also both enjoyed a spot of tea - Josh had sage tea, and I had pomegranate.

And now we're already in February. Sloooowwww down 2015. Sloowwwww it down.

January 24, 2015

Daily Dinners: Creamy Fennel & Pork

January 24, 2015/ Heather Brown

Here we go again with another dinner idea. Trying to write these really made me appreciate all the food bloggers in the world. It really takes multitasking to try and cook and take photos (and not burn down the kitchen - or burn your food).

This recipe is a bit more time than my first daily dinner post, but I liked the idea of sharing a fennel recipe . Fennel is in season right now and it's often neglected as a vegetable. Plus, it's not as common as broccoli and other such veggies, so it can be intimidating. That's why I'm here...don't be scared! Fennel is scrumptious and healthy too (check out these health benefits).

I love the floral, herby notes in fennel and adds any interesting layer of flavor. I prefer it cooked a bit, but you could eat it raw (like in a salad!). This recipe pairs well with pork, so that's what we'll use it for today.

I served the pork and fennel on top of whole grain extra wide ribbon noodles that I got from Safeway. I figured this meal has protein, veggies, and a grain - pretty balanced if you ask me!

If you're a visual person, here's the steps in photos...

Creamy Fennel and Pork

Recipe adapted from Better Home and Gardens

INGREDIENTS:

1 pork tenderloin (like 1 pound)
1 tablespoon snipped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fennel seed, coarsely crushed (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium fennel bulbs
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced *
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry vermouth or chicken broth
1/3 cup dairy sour cream
Sour cream (for topping)

* I am sensitive to garlic so I don't use a bunch. Feel free to add more. Also, love-love-love Dorot garlic cubes, and pretty much only use this when a recipe calls for garlic. I used two "ice cubes" in this recipe.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Combine rosemary, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper. Trim off any silver skin from the pork (optional really, but probably best if you do remove it). Rub the rosemary-salt mixture all over the pork.
Optional Step: I didn't do this, but it's nice to sear/brown the pork before roasting it. If you do, use about 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a plan, and sear each side for a few minutes.
Place the pork on a pan and roast, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes or until slightly pink in center (155-160 degrees F).
Trim and core fennel bulbs (reserve some of the leafy tops to top with at the end). Cut each fennel bulb in thin wedges. Slice up the onion.
Add fennel, onion, and garlic to an oven-friendly skillet. Cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Remove skillet from heat; add broth, vermouth, and sour cream. Return to heat. Bring to boiling for 1-2 minutes.
By now the pork is probably done, so take it out and let it rest for 5-10 minutes (don't cut it!). While it's resting, pop the skillet with the onions & fennel into the oven. Cook it for about 5 minutes to soften the veggies a bit more.
Serve pork with vegetables and juices. Top with reserved fennel tips and more sour cream.

January 20, 2015

Orcas Island Family Getaway

January 20, 2015/ Heather Brown

Let's rewind for a minute, shall we? It may seem like a long time ago now, but really December was just last month. And I have to tell you about Orcas Island. I just HAVE to because it was too beautiful and too fun not to tell you.

My parents and sister all flew into Seattle to spend my mom's birthday weekend here in the Pacific Northwest. Then we all went together up to Orcas Island, which is one of the San Juan Islands.

Remember when Josh and I went to San Juan Island (oh wow, that post was pre-blog refresh)? Well, yet again the San Juan's swept us off our feet. We had such a great time, and we lucked out with beautiful, sunny weather...in December...yea, lucky.

We started out the trip by jamming all five of us into my car. It was a wee bit tight but we made it work. Sometimes it's lucky to be the driver.

Then, like all good Washington trips, our trip started and ended with a ferry ride. Ferry rides are awesome. They make me feel like little kid again - running to the front to catch a mountain sighting or just standing in the front with the wind in your hair. Or, to just chilling inside on your phone - cough cough (ha! caught ya mom & dad).

We stayed the night at Outlook Inn, which was an adorable hotel. With it being the low season, the prices were great. I'd definitely recommend it. It was decked out for the holidays, too. Love it.

We arrived late in the day, so it was practically dark already. Being more north, it tends to get dark around 4pm in the dead of winter. UGH! Honestly, it's the worst thing about winter. But on the island, it was sort of cool since it was so dark the sky was super clear and the stars sparkled. It was weird to have to use the brights on my car; I do that so rarely so when I do, I get sort of excited.

Dinner was at Sound Bite, or at least that's the name during the winter. Normally, it's Westsound Cafe. Actually, a fair warning, if you go in the low season, a lot of restaurants close. I tried two other restaurants before getting reservations at Westsound. I was nervous about everyone liking it, but it was really delicious.

Josh and I capped the night with a drink at The Barnacle. It's a great bar...go if you ever visit Oracas Island. Do it. Do it.

When we woke up in the morning, we looked out the window to see the fog resting over the water; it was magical. Then the sun started to break through, and the water shone with blues, pinks, and greens. I have to say, it's not a bad way to wake up.

One more photo of the morning fog for good measure.

Breakfast was equally as good as the view at Brown Bear Baking. Oh man, the orange sugar bun was killer. So So good. I'm drooling.

With full bellies, we headed out to Moran State Park and Mount Constitution, which boasts the highest point on the San Juan Islands. Admittedly, the views were awesome.

In good ole John O'Neill style, we stopped at many viewpoints. If you know my dad, and have traveled with us, you know what I'm talking about. I drove, so I had to take on the Captain duties.

While on the mountain, I convinced a random guy to take a family photo. The sun was a bit harsh (oh boo hoo, the sun was shining), but you can still see how beautiful my family is...we're like models really.

Sure, okay, I'll show one of just the view. It was hard to get the photo to match what we saw. The fog was like blankets in the valleys.

We went a little photo crazy at this viewpoint. What did I tell you? A good looking family.

After Mount Constitution, we spent some time at the shops in Eastsound. It's a quaint town with fun shops; my favorite was Darvill's bookstore. Then, we caught a few tastes of wine a the Orcas Island Winery. And that was about it. We had to catch the ferry back to the mainland.

The ferry ride back caught some great views of Mount Baker. Well, that is what I believe it was...definitely not Mount Rainer, though, I know that one.

As we rode the ferry, the sun started to set. Sooo pretty. Boats and sun and water.

Ah, I almost forgot, on the way to Orcas Island, we spent a few hours in Anacortes. It wasn't really planned, but we had to kill a few hours until the next ferry. My sister found entertainment in taking photos with all the sasquashes. Oh, there are more than just these three my friends. We roamed some antique stores and grabbed lunch at Gere-a-Delis.

So there you have it. A good weekend getaway to Orcas Island with the family. I can't wait to go back!

January 15, 2015

Daily Dinners: Kale Mac 'n Cheese

January 15, 2015/ Heather Brown

Week night dinners, le sigh. If you're anything like me you want something homemade, healthy, and tasty...pronto! After a long day at work you don't want to slave away in the kitchen. Your evening is valuable and you want to use as much of it as possible for relaxing, gosh darn it.

I'm always on the quest to find the perfect week night meal. I scour my favorite blogs and Pinterest daily to find the magical meal that checks off all my "perfect meal" requirements: healthy, delicious, easy, and fast. When you come upon a good recipe, it's like gold. Over the years, I've gathered a few keepers. So in the spirit of sharing, I'm starting a new series to my blog called Daily Dinners.

Have you ever gotten one of those emails that asks you to share a recipe, and then share it with like 10 other people. Gawd. Sure, I want a good recipe, but then it requires you to send it to a bazillon people. So, good news, no strings attached.

Oh, and I think you'll like them. I usually make enough for four servings. Josh and I eat them for dinner, and then bring the leftovers to work the next day. It's a good system, and my co-works usually drool over what I eat. I hope this series inspires you to make co-worker envy, drool-worthy meals!

Up first: Kale Mac 'n Cheese. I am not totally on the kale love train. People seem to swoon over kale. I like it, but only in certain preparations. Luckily, it works really well in pasta. And who doesn't love a mac 'n cheese. I grew up on the stuff - it's childhood on a plate...but all classed up with kale. And the amount of cheese isn't exorbitant.

Kale Mac 'n Cheese

Recipe adapted from White on Rice Couple

Ingredients:

10 ounces pasta *
1 large bunch of kale, stems removed & leaves chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (2% works well)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (more or less) of extra parmesan cheese for topping
1/4 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper, to taste

* Any type of pasta works - penne, elbow, rotini, shells. My favorite brand is Barilla Plus, and I usually use penne on this dish.

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta according to instructions. When there is one minute left on the pasta, toss in the kale. Drain it all together.
Heat a large pot (preferably one that can go in the oven) on medium heat and melt butter. Add the onions, and cook until soft, then add flour. Stir the flour so it coats the onions. Add the milk and chicken broth.
Allow the mixture to come to a gentle boil. After 3-5 minutes, the sauce will begin to thicken. Turn the heat down to low and add the cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Continue stirring until all the cheese is melted.
Add the kale and pasta to the cheese/onion sauce. Stir it all together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle the extra cheese and bread crumbs on top. Add some cooking spray on top, if desired (it helps make it more crispy).
Put the whole pan into the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until nicely golden.
Dig in!

January 11, 2015

Adventures in Death Valley: Part 2

January 11, 2015/ Heather Brown

Here's Death Valley Part 2, which I pinky swore in Part 1 that I would share. When I pinky swear, I mean it. I keep my pinky swears. I'm not sure what the cost is if you don't keep a pinky swear, but I don't want to find out.

We did a lot on our second day. Well, we did a lot on our first day. I guess we just did a lot on the whole trip. But the second day, we took the road more. We met some locals like Mr. Mule below. He had a friend, Mrs. Mule. They told me to say "hey" to you.

Oh man, the roads were crowded, I mean look at all those cars on the road in that picture. Crazy, right? Heh, got you. It was just wide open road folks, wide open.

The Open Road & Locals

Scotty's Castle

Out in the middle of the desert, there is a castle. It's Scotty's Castle, but it doesn't belong to Scotty (I should turn this into some kind of riddle). But seriously, it's in the desert and Scotty did live there. It's a long, fascinating story and we heard all about it on the tour. Basically, it's about a con-artis, a banker, and their unlikely friendship. Funny how life works out and surprises us. Here's the story as it was told on the tour (there may be some inaccuracies ; hey, I'm not perfect):

Scotty was from Kentucky and at a young age headed to the West to become a cowboy. He joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Shows. After about a decade with the show, be ventured on his own and started to tell everyone he found gold in Death Valley. He convinced some Chicago investors to support his mining expeditions, but went on to use the money all up in San Francisco pretending to be a rich from all his gold. The investors got smart and wanted to see the gold mine with their own eyes. Scotty took them, but staged an attack before entering the valley. It didn't go as planned and the investors caught on to Scotty's scheme.

Luckily, this didn't phase Albert Johnson, one of the investors, and he went on to become friends with Scotty. When it came time to build a vacation home, Albert picked Death Valley (it helped his health and full of beauty). Albert didn't want to make a ruckus about his vacation home, he just wanted a nice place to relax, so Scotty got to call it his castle.

There were so many intriquite features of the castle - like the red gate really and the J-S seals. The JS made sense after the tour and learning the history - J for Albert Johnson and the S for Scotty.

Funny enough, our tour guide was named Scott - he was sure to clarify that it was not Scotty. The history and the beautiful surroundings made this one of our favorite sites of the park.

Ubehebe Crater

After Scotty's Castle, we drove to the nearby Ubehebe Crater. Just the name itself is fun to say; try it: Ubehebe. The crater was created from volcanic activity - specifically, a large steam explosion. As a kid, volcanoes both terrified me and fascinated me. I have to say, Ubehebe gave me the hebegebes.

The other photo below was just a random stop on the way to the crater. It's rather funny because there was nobody stopping, but by the time we left about a half dozen cars had also pulled over. People see you looking at something and assume it's cool then they pull over as well. If you ever go to Death Valley, see if it works. Pull over and check if others follow...I bet you it will work. Seriously, though it was gorgeous - the blackened sand was really cool.

Rhyolite

Rhyolite's prime was just a mire six years - from 1904 to 1910. The town sprang up after a prospecting discovery in the surrounding hills. From there it boomed and people from all around flocked to the town. It even had a stock exchange and electricity. But it fell quickly, and is now a lonely ghost town in the middle of nowhere. My pictures show the casino, general store, bank, and a brothel (scandalous!).

There was a random Union Pacific train sitting in the ghost town. It's sort of sad to see a city just die and dwindle to rocks and rubble. I wonder if there are any ghosts hanging around. Oh my!

There was even a deserted truck (although, I'm guessing it's not from 1910 - just a hunch). And random cans and rust. But rust is pretty, don't you think?

Bottle House

One place still stands structurally intact in Rhyolite and that's Tom Kelly's Bottle House. No joke, this house is made out of bottles. Can you imagine living in a bottle house? I learned it was made out of about 30,000 bottles, and they were mostly Busch or medicine bottles (you know, Busch as in Budweiser). Pretty crazy stuff.

Borax Train

There are not very many places to stay when you visit Death Valley. There is the Furnace Creek Resort, which if you can afford, looks to be pretty nice (we had dinner there one evening). Or, the Furnace Creek Ranch, which is where we stayed. At the ranch, is the Borax Museum. We didn't go to the museum (there is only so much time!), but we did get a few pictures of the train used to transport the borax.

Red Rock Canyon

It seems backwards, I know, but before we left I grabbed a photo of t he Death Valley sign. Then we drove onto Las Vegas. Quite the change -- nature and nothingness to mega city and everything. We grabbed lunch at Honey Salt. It wasn't in the strip, just outside in one of the suburbs. And oh my it was good. I really loved the decor and the food was great.

We had some time to burn before our flight, so heck, let's see yet another National park. We did a quick drive through Red Rock Canyon. Yup, it's red. Actually, it's quite beautiful and we all agreed it would require a return but with more time.

We really fit a lot into two days at Death Valley. I would definitely suggest a visit, but maybe keep it to the winter season. The summers seem a bit hot, to say the least. I was also happy to be proven wrong about it being "just a desert." It's full of beauty and history - two of my favorite things!

January 07, 2015

Random Acts of the Month: December 2014

January 07, 2015/ Heather Brown

Dang, December was jam packed with fun and adventure. When I think about all the things we did, I get a bit tired. It was sooo worth it, though. There was lots of travel, cooking, eating, and time with friends and family. I don't think it's much of a stretch to say it was my favorite month of 2014 (of course, my love for Christmas certainly helped).

Here's my new approach to the Random Acts of the Month series. Fingers crossed you like it.

Okay, I know you're dying to know what all the photos are, so starting with the top left. Then to the right and down by row.

Una Noche en Espana at Hipcooks with my co-workers. We were stirring up some lovely sangria in that photo. Read the post.
Imagine Dragons rocked it at Deck the Hall Ball. Read the post.
Exploring Death Valley with my hubby and in-laws. Our after Christmas trip!
For my mom's birthday, my parents and sister visited us in Seattle. Together we went on a weekend getaway to O rcas Island, which is part of the San Juans. It was completely beautiful.
You can't have Christmas without Christmas cookies. My favorite cookie this year was the gingerbread macarons made by yours truly. Read the post (plus more cookies).
In-N-Out, now that's what a hamburger is all about. We spent some holiday time with my parents in San Marcos (North County San Diego) and ate some California food (and it wasn't avocados).
We saw A Christmas Story at the Seattle 5th Avenue Theater with my family when they were in town. The production was really well done, and it was a ton of fun. Don't shoot your eye out!
A lovely family photo on Christmas morning.
More Orcas Island beauty. Ahh, sigh.
Keely, my parent's Golden Retriever! She is such a love. I want a dog!!!!
The Sand Dunes in Death Valley.
We stayed at the Outlook Inn on Orcas Island. I would definitely recommend it. It was a great room, and the view in the morning was even better.
Scotty's Castle in Death Valley. A post to come as Death Valley Part 2.
Oh, hello there.
I had a blast at our Oracle Christmas Cookie Swap. I made the chocolate cookie at the bottom, a peppermint crinkle. Yum!
The O'Neill family Christmas tree. Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...you know where I'm going with that...
A pot of coffee at our favorite Encinitas coffee shop, Lofty Bean. Oh man, those salted caramel lattes are heaven.
Driving to Orcas Island!

See what I mean...a busy month. A fantastic way to end the year 2014!

January 05, 2015

Adventures in Death Valley - Part 1

January 05, 2015/ Heather Brown

I want to tell you something...Death Valley is rad!

Hold up, let's back track a bit so you know where this is coming from.

After Christmas, my in-laws brought Josh and I to Death Valley National Park for a fun holiday trip. To be honest, I always assumed Death Valley was a large desert with nothing much to see - just hot and boring. Silly me! It's actually like a small amusement park with different "lands" (like Disneyland has "Adventure Land" and so on). There is Badwater Basin, Artist's Palette, San Dunes, and so much more.

I loved it so much I took over 275 photos. Wowza! So lots of photos to share. But, do you know what I have a problem with? Decisions. You know what's not good for a blog? Lots of photos and poor decision-making. I've had a heck of a time deciding which photos to share. Argh! I wish I could show them all, but that's guaranteed to bore you to death. I'll do my best to limit it, but I really want to show you the awesomeness that is Death Valley (not to mention, show the handsome people that visited it - eh hem, that would be the Brown family).

Because of all this awesomeness and lack of decision on my part, I'll be breaking this up into a two part blog post. This first post will cover our first day at Death Valley. The next post, which I pinky swear will come soon, will cover the last day. I might even through in a third post, if you're lucky, with some other random stuff. So get comfy, here we go...

Amargosa Opera House

We entered Death Valley from the Southeast entrance (map) since we were coming in from Palm Springs. One of the first attractions is the Amargosa Opera House. This was originally constructed in 1923 as a company town by the Pacific Coast Borax Company. It was abandoned and later discovered by Marta Becket who restored the building and turned it into an opera house.

We didn't see an opera show, but it was an awesome building and we arrived at sunset, so the lighting was just right. This was my first taste of Death Valley, and I was instantly intrigued.

Badwater Basin & Below Sea Level

Our first full day in Death Valley started with Badwater Basin. It is one of the lowest places on Earth, at 282 feet below sea level, and it's the lowest point in North America. See Josh in the picture pointing up? No, he's not doing a disco move, rather pointing to the sign on the mountain indicating "Sea Level." (see that tiny sign?!)

Below Sea Level @ Badwater Basin — Below Sea Level @ Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin got it's name from a pioneer/explorer that was traveling with his mule, and the mule wouldn't drink the water...hence the name, badwater. All around is salt encrusted ground, likely the culprit for the bad water. We broke off a piece of the salt rock, and sure enough it tasted salty. My favorite part of this site was how the water reflected the surrounding the mountains (as shown in the photo below).

Devil's Golf Course

Devil's Golf Course is similar to Badwater Basin except that the salt flat is more jagged and has all these crazy holes. The name comes from a guide that stated, "Only the devil could play golf" on its surface (according to Wikipedia).

As we looked around, there was a kid that kept saying that it reminded him of Frosted Wheat. I could see what he was saying with the white salt layer and ribbed-like ground. Clever kid, although he got annoying after the tenth time yelling this to his dad...

Artist Drive & Palette

The colors here were awesome. Unfortunately it was mid-day, so not a photographers dream; however, you can still see the various colors from teal to pin to red. I'm no geologist, but apparently this is due to oxidation of different metals and from volcanic ash.

We got out and hiked around a bit, but the drive through is also a must. This was one of my favorite sites of the park.

Devil's Cornfield

Another "Devil" named place. I guess the Devil comes to mind when you're at a place called Death Valley. Uh, hello, Death. Death...Devil...Hot....so, here's a fun fact: Death Valley is one of hottest (if not the hottest) place on Earth. On July 10, 1913 a reading of 134°F was taken, the world record hottest air temperature. Some other records say it's Libya is the hottest at 136.4°F. Oh snap!

Back to Devil's Cornfield. These are actually Arrowweed plants. The are left with there roots dangling out after the wind blows the sand away. Poor things; roots all exposed. How embarrassing.

Mesquite Sand Dunes

Sand dunes, now that's what I'm talking about. This is how I imagine Egypt and the sand near the pyramids. I love the ripple the wind creates on the sand. Sadly, there were so many tourists stomping around that finding a clean patch of sand was tough. But I found it!

Get this, people were actually sledding down the dunes. Crazy. How dare they mess up the sand! I hope they got sand in their underwear. Just kidding...it looked fun.

It was sunset as we explored the dunes, and I thought the silhouettes of the tourists was pretty rad.

Harmony Borax Works

You might have picked this up when you read about Amargosa Opera House, but Borox was a big deal in Death Valley. You might have used 20 Mule Team Bor ax at home for cleaning. I used it to get rid of fleas once. Yea?

Well, back in 1883-89, Borax was mined in Death Valley by Harmony Borax Works. Guess what they used to haul the borax around? 20 Mule Teams and wagons. Yup, that's right. Borax is no longer mined in Death Valley, but the mines and wagons are around for tourist to view.

So that ends our first day. Did you know you were getting a history lesson with this post. No sir ye. I surprised you, didn't I? But, not joke, we did all this in one day. There is still another full day to share with you. And as I pinky swore above, I will share it.

January 01, 2015

Bye 2014, Hello 2015

January 01, 2015/ Heather Brown

Happy 2015!

I have a really good feeling about 2015. I usually don't like odd numbers much, but I feel this is going to be a good year. As my mom would say, "I can feel it in my bones." Josh and I have big plans for the year - moving apartments, getting a dog, hopefully a big trip, and so much more. I wouldn't call them resolutions, but hopes and goals for the year.

As for resolutions, well, I really don't like them. I do like to have hopes and goals, though. Some hopes include...

Yoga - I started this fall, and I'm really enjoying it. I have a hard time stopping - like stop moving around the house and making my brain just STOP. When I do yoga, my brain just concentrates on the poses & movements which I imagine is good for me. So I'll try to do this more.
Cooking/Baking Technique - 2014 was the year of the macaron. And I am happy to report my last batch didn't crack. Of course, I'll continue to make these precious cookies, but I want to take on another technique. I was thinking cinnamon rolls, or something with yeast. Yeast scares me - so scientific. But I think it's good to keep trying new things.
Photography - I want to continue to learn more and take some awesome photos. A co-worker recently complemented my photos, and suggested I enter in an amateur contest. This year I think I might try it out this year.
Blogging - Just to keep doing it. It's hard to find the time, especially if I include pictures since they need to be edited first. Finding time can be challenging, but I'm hoping to keep doing at least one post a week.

2014 you treated me good. 2015, I expected even better.

Happy New Years All!!

December 31, 2014

Christmas 2014 Flashback

December 31, 2014/ Heather Brown

Dude, Christmas was sooo totally six day ago (in my best beach dude voice). It's like New Years now, dude. Ok, I'll stop the "dudes" but I do want to do a quick flashback to my Christmas. Dude.

Josh and spent Christmas down in California with family. The first half (the days up until Christmas) was with my parents and sister. It was nice to see the fam and just chill out (not to mention, nice sunny weather!). We did lots of fun things like mani-pedis with my mom, walked along the Batiquitos Lagoon, ate some great food (In-N-Out, Q'ero, El Nopalito tamales, Honey's muffins, Lofty Bean lattes!!), played with the pooch, shopped, baked Christmas cookies - never a dull moment with the O'Neill family. It was a blast.

Then Christmas rolled around, and we got to opening gifts. I got some great things this year including a snug, puff jacket, earrings, booties - apparently, I was a good girl. Josh got some gift cards to go shopping (that's like two gifts in one - getting the card, and then using it!), t-shirts, and some other awesome gifts.

My parents and sister enjoyed the gift opening as well. My dad really likes the Geico Hump Day commercial (especially, the "Mike Mike Mike" part), so he got a t-shirt. My mom liked the fox wrapping paper I used (I'm a sucker for cute wrapping paper, darn you Paper Source!). Lindsay also liked the wrapping paper. Yay, foxes!!!!!

Sadly, Josh and I didn't get a Christmas tree for our apartment this year. Luckily, my parent's Christmas filled the hole in my heart and was really quite stunning.

And we can't forget the stockings. They are BIG for my family - both literally and figuratively. We have to go around a circle and open one-by-one. It really is a lot of fun. My stocking was made by my grandma, and I've had it since I was a little girl.

Around 2pm, we transitioned families. Christmas Day evening was with the extended Brown family in Temecula. It was great to see Josh's aunts, uncles, and cousins.

All in all, it was a darn good Christmas. Next, I'll tell you about my time with the in-laws in Death Valley. I just had to share Christmas before it turned to 2015!

December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas 2014

December 25, 2014/ Heather Brown

Oh boy, oh boy, it's Christmas! The most wonderful time of year. Time with family and friends, cookies and hot cocoa, giving and receiving. I love, love, LOVE it. And on this magical day, I wanted to wish you and your family a very, merry Christmas.

As for Josh and me, like last year we posted our Christmas letter on my blog. Read it here - it has a slideshow and it's not long, I promise. 2014 was a great year, and I hope you had a joyful year as well.

Merry Christmas!

xoxo, Heather

December 24, 2014

Baker's Corner: Christmas Cookies 2014

December 24, 2014/ Heather Brown

It's Christmas Eve and my cookies are ready just in time to set out for Santa tonight. And I tell you, he's got a lot of cookies to eat! Funny since at the beginning of December I was extremely worried I wouldn't have time to make barely any cookies. But somehow I managed to squeeze in several. Yay for cookies!

Gingerbread Macarons

Of course, I wanted to make macarons, my current favorite. Making macarons takes a quite a bit of time, but I divided it out between days. I made the shells on a Sunday (letting them dry before baking while grocery shopping), and then the filling later. The shells freeze nicely, in fact, the cookies freeze well which makes advanced baking a breeze.

Although I made gingerbread macarons last year, I tried a different recipe out this year. I think I liked these even better. I was more than ecstatic to see I had zero cracks in the shells. No joke, this fact made my day. Better yet, these were absolutely delicious. Huzzah!

Get the Recipe from It's Just Chicken

Peppermint Crinkles

I coordinated a cookie exchange at work this year, which I still hope to write about. I called it the Great Oracle Christmas Cookie Swap. For the swap, I made these peppermint crinkles. I hadn't made them before, but they turned out great (whew!). The batter seems super runny, but after refrigerating them, it works. Trust me. Another interesting thing with these cookies is that they only have 1/3 cup flour and include nutella. Beware, these are crazy chocolately.

Get the Recipe from Baker's Royale

Gingerbread Biscotti

This was the year of gingerbread I guess since I made the gingerbread macarons, pepparkakor which are gingerbread-like, and then these gingerbread biscottis. What's great about biscotti, is it's pretty easy. You make a log with the dough, bake it, slice it, and bake it again. Yes, biscotti is a twice baked cookie which makes them great for dipping in coffee or tea. I dipped mine in Trader Joe's Peppermint tea. Yum!

Get the Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Pepparkakor

No Christmas passes without making Pepparkakor. I have to carry on the tradition from my Grandma Norma who always made these. They are a Swedish cookie, and have lots of delicious spices like cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. This time I added a tad of cardamon and allspice. These are similar to gingerbread cookies, but thinner and crispier.

Recipe is a secret! (If you're nice, maybe I'll share someday!)

Krum Kager

This is another Grandma Norma cookie. For the longest time my family said these were Swedish cookies only to learn that they are actually Norwegian. Still they are Scandinavian, so we're covered. These are like a wafer-thin butter cookie that is made with a cookie iron and then rolled - sort of like a waffle cookie! They are pesky cookies since they are delicate and break easily, but they are so pretty. I didn't make the dough, my mom did that, but I did the cookie creation - pressing, rolling, and sugar sprinkles.

Another Handed down recipe, but this one is pretty similar from Recipes from Grandma.

Spritz

This is a John O'Neill favorite. He literally took the tin after dinner and started eating them. I'm not going to lie, but it was quite the battle with the cookie press. My mom had two cookie presses, and I killed the first part. Then the other one was battery operated and just worked poorly. But I conquered and managed to make these gems. Normally, I like to use green sprinkles, but we only had the colorful ones so just imagine they are ornaments on the trees.

Get the recipe below! You're welcome.

Spritz Recipe

From the Kitchen of Grandma Norma, Jan O'Neill, and now Heather Brown.

1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg yolk
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Colored Sprinkles - Red & Green for Christmas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees/

Cream butter, add sugar and cream thoroughly. Add extract, egg, and then flour. We recommend refrigerating this for 2-3 hours.

Push dough into cookie press, and then press onto a greased baking sheet. Shake on sprinkles before baking. Bake 7-10 minutes in 350 degree oven (Note: watch the temperate, the original recipe called for 400 but we found that too hot and burning the edges).

Let cool 1-2 minutes, and then remove from pan. Let cool and enjoy!

December 22, 2014

Cooking Classes are so Hip

December 22, 2014/ Heather Brown

If you know me, you know I love being in the kitchen. I especially like baking, but I also enjoy cooking as well. So when the opportunity to get my team at work to a cooking class came up, I didn't pass it up.

As a team, we're always talking about doing some sort of outing. There is talk of indoor sky diving, trapezing (is that a word? trapeze, anyway...), or some other crazy adventurous activity. Let's be real people; we're all uber busy and finding time to plan and go on an outing is tough let along doing something crazy. I figured we were more likely to actually make it happen, if we did something reasonable - like a cooking class! (eh hem, I should also tell you that I really wanted to do a cooking class). It didn't take too much to convince the team, but as the instigator I got stuck with the planning. Oh well, I guess my job is project management.

With 18 people on the team, the planning wasn't the easiest, but somehow I managed to get everyone in line and find a day that worked. We landed at Hipcooks (uh cuz, that's where I wanted to go, and as the planner, I get to make the ultimate decision - score!). The class we ended up taking was Una Noche en España. At first, we were all poo-poo'ing doing tapas, but afterwards we were all singing it's praises. We made all sorts of tasty tapas like...

Spicy candied nuts
Pure de garbanzo w/ pita toasts
Manchego con Membrillo (Spanish cheese with quince paste)
Tortilla Española & spicy salad
Camarones Bravas - garlicky saffron shrimp
Empanadillas Argentinas
Flan with caramel designs

My favorite...hmmm, that's tough, but I think maybe the hummus. No, wait, the flan. Ahh! It all turned out great. And we didn't use any recipes - just what our instructor, Jenna, told us, and by tasting as we went.

I was usually the volunteer when nobody wanted to do something - like use your hands to mix the raw eggs with the potatoes for the tortilla ("gross"), or pour the flan mixture into the ramekins ("scary"). And why? Because I have a cooker/baker reputation to uphold at the office. But we all had a hand it the cooking.

After we cooked everything up, we got to sit down and enjoy the fruits of our labor. It was glorious.

It was a blast cooking and getting to know my co-workers. Now, I want to host a Spanish Tapas (not topless) party.

Check out all the photos on Flickr.

December 15, 2014

Deck the Hall Ball Experience

December 15, 2014/ Heather Brown

I must be getting old. I can't remember the last concert I went to. Could it have been Vertical Horizon? No way. Ah, maybe it was Franz Ferdinand? That might actually be right. Oh goodness me. It's not like I'm a major concert-goer, but come on. Good thing I remedied that dry spell with Deck the Hall Ball last Tuesday. We went with a few of Josh's co-workers, and got some great seats. The experience was freakin' awesome. Now, I want to go to more concerts - yay!

Don't let the concert name confuse you, it wasn't really a Christmas concert. Just a good time of year to have an awesome concert with a good line-up. It started at like 3pm, and considering it was a work day, I only saw the last four bands. However, the last four were probably the best. There was:

Young the Giant - I actually have what I believe is their first album, Young the Giant. I decided to buy it since I really liked the song, My Body. Then I learned I liked others like Cough Syrup and I Got. It's pretty easy-on-the-ears music and one can sway to well.
Cage the Elephant - To me, this is pretty hard rock. But I enjoy Ain't No Rest for the Wicked, Shake Me Down, and Come a Little Closer. Oh, and I just learned I like other songs like Cigarette Daydreams and Take It or Leave It.
Weezer - I loved it; their act was so hipster and geeky. It was exactly what I thought. Fun fact: My phone ring is to Island in the Sun. I usually answer at the "hip hip" part. Gosh, so many fun songs. Favorites include Island in the Sun, Undone, Buddy Holly, Troublemaker, and Beverly Hills.
Imagine Dragons - They were the final act and the band I looked forward to the most. They did not disappoint. I sang along, bobbed my head, and maybe even raise my arms and yelled out at some part. Dudes, they rocked it. I think they played every song on their Night Visions album, which I own. The last song played was Radioactive and it blew me away. They put on a great show!

I'm sure by now you're feeling a bit left out. Well, here's a quick glimpse into some of the concert:

Wasn't that fun? Sing with me now....

December 04, 2014

Random Acts of the Month: November

December 04, 2014/ Heather Brown

Goodbye November. You leave us with just one month left of 2014. How is this possible? It's cazy talk, bit it's real. Times flies.

So, November. The main event for me every of November is Thanksgivng.. You know what drives me nuts? That Thanksgiving gets shoved aside for Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. In fact, I'm Mrs. Christmas. But I let's show some appreciation for Thanksgiving. Okay, enough rants and back to November and photos. Here we go!

Joy the Baker his a real human being and I met her // I made pumpkin macarons - two of my favorite things // Our Thanksgiving Pumpkin Praline Pie. Bam.

Kids with crunchy fall leaves // Fall sunshine // Josh on our Thanksgiving Dat walk at Discovery Park

Warming up with tea at B. Fuller Mortar & Pestle // Thanksgiving Dinner Cheers! // Drinking our "apple a Day" at Schilling Cider

Plaid Friday with co-workers - oh, true Seattlites // Guess who got promoted? This girl. And they gave me a trophy

Stuffing myself at lunch with a Workgiving // Our Thanksgiving Feast at Golden Beettle

Snow day in Seattle (and some freezing temps - yikes!) // Post-Thanksgiving cranberry turkey sandwiches from Homegrown (it's what ya gotta do if you don't have leftovers)

Okay, now bring on December and Christmas!!

November 29, 2014

Baker's Corner: Joy's Book Signing & Pumpkin Pie

November 29, 2014/ Heather Brown

I mentioned yesterday that I was going make a pie for Thanksgiving. And I did! It was glorious! The inspiration came from a recent book signing I went to for Joy the Baker. Time out...yes, OMG, I met Joy the Baker! She's real. And she baked! Ahhh! Okay, calm again.

At the book signing Joy, demoed the making of pumpkin praline pies using a recipe from her new cookbook, Homemade Decadence. And you know what's even better? Joy, and the folks that hosted the signing at Book Larder, made everyone mini pumpkin praline pies. Deliciousness. I new at the moment I devoured my mini pie* that I decided I would make this pie. (*I also plotted a way to sneak a second mini pie. Sadly, it was a no go).

I'm sure you're like, "ya ya ya"...you met Joy the Baker...big deal. But, I counter that with this question: Do you like what I bake up? Well, many of these goodies are Joy's recipes. Appreciation! Also, we are both Joys. Her first name is Joy, my middle name is Joy. It's meant to be...we should totally be besties. With her in New Orleans, I don't think it'll happen.

But Let's get to my pie now. Here's me Heather Joy the Baker and the new cookbook...

I've had a sugar pumpkin on our table as decoration for a few weeks. I knew it was going to die soon, so I decided to make pumpkin puree. I don't always use real pumpkin because honestly the canned stuff works totally fine and is still delicious. But i didn't want to pumpkin to rot and then not have a chance to fulfill it's destiny. Doesn't every pumpkin dream of becoming a pie?

{Pumpkin Puree} It's actually easy...I swear. Cut the pumpkin in half and place face down on a foiled pan (with cooking spray). Bake in a preheated 350 oven for ~1 hour. Let it cool and then scope out the seeds (the "yucky" stuff as my younger self would have said). Then scope out the flesh. I used my hand mixer to smooth it out, but I'm sure a fork or something would work as well. (Psst! I do this with butternut squash, too!)

{Pie Crust} Seriously, though, the canned stuff is just fine. So, now onto the pie crust. Joy's buttermilk pie crust is wonderful and pretty forgiving. Josh specifically complimented the crust, so that's a win as well. I made the crust the night before and just popped it in the fridge overnight. Tips...

Cold Butter - The one of the keys to success with pie crust is to make sure the butter is super cold.
Butter or Shortening - There is the age old question: butter or shortening. Joy says butter. Think about it...butter tastes better, so wouldn't you naturally want to put what tastes better in the crust. Uhh, makes sense to me.

{Pie Curst Rolling} A few tips Joy shared about pie crusts.

Don't overwork the dough. Try to keep the rolling to a minimum. If you roll it out and then the dough springs back, then you're close to the end. BTW, I hate when recipes say don't overwork or overmix. Well, gosh, what does that mean exactly. I especially liked this tip.
Rotate it. When rolling, rotate the crust as you go. Do a roll or two, and then turn it.
Lift it. When you near the edge of the dough, don't continue to push down so the roller hits the table. Roll and lift. This will keep it from thinning too much at the edges.
The Transfer. This tip is from a friend: To transfer the crust to the dish, roll it around on the rolling pin, and then un-roll it over the dish.
The Pan. Oh, and Joy recommends a thinner, tin pie pan. This heats up the crust better. Don't use glass...apparently glass takes a long time to heat up.
Pre-Bake? Not really necessary, unless you're doing a cream pie.
The Edges. Use your thumb and forefinger of one hand, and the forefinger knuckle of the other. I need to practice this one myself!

{The Filling} This is probably the easiest part, if you ask me. This recipe had you heat up the pumpkin, sugars, and spices. This melts the sugars and make it smooth. I opted to use some milk instead of all heavy cream. I don't think you could really tell. I think you can use heavy cream, half and half, or evaporated milk as the dairy component. I hear that this is what gives the pie the velvety texture. You chose you're own adventure.

{Baking} This seems easy, but I've had troubles in my past pie making with this part. How jiggly is it supposed to be? I think a bit of jiggle is good, but no goopey. Are you with me? So give the pan a shimmy. Does it look more fluidly or more like jello? Jello is good. This is just my advice. I have much to learn, but it worked on this pie, so...yea. It baked for 15 minutes at 400, then reduced to 350 for the remaining 45 minutes. Bam!

Wait that's not it! There is more!

{Topping} This pie had a pecan praline topping. I mean, more sugar? Yes, please. I did only half the recipes for topping, and I'm glad I did. It really didn't need more than that. Next time I'll toast the pecans first, too.

Okay, now time to devour!!!

Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Praline Topping

{From Joy the Baker's Homemade Decadence}

Filling:

2 c pumpkin puree
1/2 packed light brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
2 t cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 t allspice
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t cardamom
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c heavy cream
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

Topping:

1/2 c packed light brown sugar
6 T unsalted butter
3 T heavy cream
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla
3/4 c coarsely chopped pecans

Put a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400.

Roll out pie crust and put it in a 9″ pie dish. Try the buttermilk crust recipe I suggested above.

For the filling, combine pumpkin, sugars, spices, and salt in medium saucepan over a medium heat. Cook until the mixture bubbles and becomes fragrant, 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in heavy cream then whisk in eggs and vanilla.

Transfer filling to the prepared crust and bake for 15 min, turn the oven down to 350 and cook for 40-50 min, until the center no longer jiggles (think jello).

This needs to cool for 30 minutes, make the topping while you wait by combining everything except the vanilla and pecans in a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3-5 min until thick and bubbly. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla and pecans. Once the pie’s cooled for the 30 min, pour topping over it, let it cool about another 30 min on the counter, then transfer to the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

November 27, 2014

Thanksgiving is Here!

November 27, 2014/ Heather Brown

Thanksgiving is here! Somehow 2014 is just flying by and it's already the holiday season. Josh and I are keeping it pretty low key this year for Thanksgiving. Later this evening we are heading over to the Golden Beetle where they will have a Thanksgiving feast waiting for us. Yes, it'll be there all cooked and ready for us to devour. No kitchen required. Although, I have to say, I do enjoy being in the kitchen - seriously, I do - but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to cook a turkey, all the sides, and dessert for two people. Instead, we're going to have a professional chef cook it for us. And to fulfill my kitchen needs, I am making a pumpkin pie from scratch. Bam! That's how you do Thanksgiving for two.

I'll share food and pie photos once it's all done and the dinner is eaten. In the meantime, let me tell you about our Worksgiving. Last Friday we had a Thanksgiving potluck at work. People, it was big. There was a ton of food. We really out did ourselves.

I made the Rustic Herb Stuffing - same as I made last year. I had to transfer it to a crockpot to keep it warm at the office. I think it may have dried it out a bit, but it still had good flavor. Here's the recipe.

So that's really all I got for now. I'll leave you with some fun Thanksgiving links to check out....

The Thanksgiving Recipes Googled in Every State - Check out what foods folks are eating today across the country. Not sure what frog eyed salad is, or why someone would make funeral potatoes? It's a thing, though, apparently. But I do have to say I'm intrigued by the idea of a cookie salad or pumpkin crunch.
The Oatmeal's Thanksgiving as a Kid vs. Adult - Although some of it is a bit crass, it has some truth and is pretty comical.
'All About That Baste' Parody Video - More butter!
23 Thanksgiving Facts - Okay, so thousands of turkeys die each year of heart attacks. And did you know Romans ate stuffing? Or you can tell if a cranberry is sweet if it bounces (bounberries!). Fun facts!

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

November 15, 2014

The Hunt for Fall Leaves (and Pumpkins)

November 15, 2014/ Heather Brown

I constantly feel like the White Rabbit with my blog. I look at time/date and say to myself, "I'm late, I'm late for a very important post. Not time to say hello good-bye, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late." There are at least five things on my list to write about here. Some of them can wait (like all the wonderful books I've read recently), but others might seem odd to post later on (like pumpkins in December). Fall leaves and pumpkins is pretty borderline as it is. Soon we're moving on to Christmas with trees and candy canes, but in my book pumpkins and leaves are totally game up until Thanksgiving. Cool? You're okay with that? Good.

I had a slight obsession this year about going out to see fall leaves. I absolutely love the fall and the want to see all the fall colors overwhelmed me (and probably Josh). The first weekend we went out to find fall leaves, I thought we'd find them at Bellevue Botanical Gardens. I found out about it in this article about fall leaves in Seattle. Makes sense, right? Wrong! We saw some but not much. Severely disappointing. I think I complained so much that Josh promised to try again the following weekend.

So the next weekend we ended up going outside of Seattle to Snohomish's Lord Hill Park. We had a heck of a time finding it, and when we did find it finally, it started to rain. You'd think I was kidding, but I'm not. But we did get a few minutes on walking in, though. And there were some fall leaves. Unfortunately, I think what I had in my mind was like this (click to see), and what I got was what you see in my photos below. Someone probably should remind me that we don't live on the East coast...

As you can see, there were some leaves & some colors, so we found some fall. But you know what was annoying? Well, when we'd drive around, I'd see all sorts of fall leaves on trees along the road. Gah! I really wanted them all clumped together in a park where I would frolic around in glee and take awesome photos. No fall frolicking really happened, but my must-see-fall-leaves obsession was slightly abated by the end.

With my fall leaves fixation (somewhat) taken care of, we turned next to our hunger needs. We ended up at a place, or should I say bus, called Old School BBQ in Monroe. Yes folks, this was a bus turned into a restaurant. One bus was for the ordering and the kitchen, and then there was another bus for dining. How sweet is that? And the BBQ was delicious to boot.

Talking about things I get fixated on...pumpkins. And not my pumpkin eating obsession, but the pumpkins themselves. When I was little my parents would take my sister and me to Bates Nut Farms. I just loved it. Even thought I'm not a kid, and we don't have kids, I still wanted to find a pumpkin patch. I'm weird & I'm aware of it.

After lunch it was raining, and I decided we should squeeze in a pumpkin patch to our day (Craven Farms to be exact). But it was raining pretty hard. I told Josh we'd just drive there and if it was still raining, we'd skip it. I tell you, it was destiny. The rain stopped and the sun came out right as we pulled up.

But it was MUDDY. Like, totally muddy. And wet. But look at the pumpkins....PUMPKINS!

Remember how I just said it was wet, well when I tried to lift the pumpkin the stem was soggy, slimy, and wet. Please note that no pumpkins were harmed in my attempts to pick them up (I know you're not supposed to pick up from the stem). The photos were only for show. But they were indeed quite heavy.

Yay! Pumpkins. Hay rides and corn mazes.

In one day we managed to find fall leaves and pumpkins. Not bad in a days work.

Maybe in December we'll go snow and Christmas tree farm hunting....(don't tell Josh)

November 08, 2014

Baker's Corner: Pumpkin Obsession

November 08, 2014/ Heather Brown

I think you know by now that I have a bit of a problem...it's an addiction, really. It consumes me (well, maybe I should say I consume it) starting September and lasts well into the winter. Guys, it's pretty bad. I think I need an intervention. It's...it's...PUMPKIN!

I'm in a bit of a panic. Fall is slowly fading away into winter, and I have a whole list of pumpkin things to make. I mean, look at this Pinterest board. I think there are 86 pins and counting. This pumpkin stress causes me to hoard canned pumpkin and my apartment just isn't big enough.

The good news is that I have made some progress on the pumpkin baking front. I must go into detail here since it's my favorite ingredient...EVER.

Yay! I found a recipe for pumpkin bread that I absolutely love. It's not too sweet, but not too savory either. I took Simply Recipes pumpkin bread and added some Trader Joes candied pepitas on the top. I also left out the orange zest and walnuts - I'll make it again with that included because it sounds delicious; I just wanted it to be more traditional tasting. The end results: Magic.

This is a secret recipe from my friend Sarah. But if I were to steer you in a direction for a pumpkin bar recipe, you might try this one. These are just delectable little bars. You take one slice and then you just have to take another. It's an addiction.

Pumpkin can be for every meal! This time I made it for breakfast. I took this recipe and made just a few adjustments based on what I had in the kitchen. I used only cranberries and left out the flaxseed, but then I added a few pistachios because why not. Then of course I paired it with Chobani pumpkin yogurt because again...why not.

Oh man, I've been wanting to make these forever. And I was pretty proud of myself. About half the shells cracked, but I figured it out and the rest were perfect. I took just a base macaron shell recipe and added 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice. Then I took this filling recipe but used regular milk instead of coconut milk. And I exchanged two of the tablespoons of sugar with brown sugar because that's what Annie did and I trust Annie. However, all the spices and sugar made it a brown color, so next time I'd probably keep with the regular sugar. They were delicious, but Josh thought they looked like mini sausage sandwiches.

I love Jamba Juice's pumpkin smash smoothie, so I created one for home since there isn't a Jamba Juice that close to us. It was dang similar I tell you. Give it a whirl with this recipe.

Two of the four years (appox) we've lived in Seattle, there have been the most delicious pumpkin pancakes at 5 Spot. Not sure why (dear god why!?) they didn't do it this year, but they almost make me cry they are so good. My quest ever since has been to find a recipe that gets me close to these heavenly pancakes. I got pretty close with these (pictured) and these. Gah, so good.

Cookies! Oh pumpkin in cookies is a favorite. These pumpkin cinnamon cookies were a hit at my office (see the tin, my co-workers love it when they see this tin). I couldn't find cinnamon chips anywhere, so I did some with white chocolate and some just plain. Either way, they were da'bomb.

SoI understand sometimes you don't feel like baking something, but you have a pumpkin craving. I know how that feels...it's no good and needs to be remedied immediately. IMMEDIATELY I say! And I'm not beneath just going to pick up something at the store to fill the pumpkin void. My main go to is: Dreyer's Slow Churned Pumpkin Patch Ice Cream. Or, the Trader Joe's Pumpkin Macarons. But really you can just pick up something at TJs since pumpkin seems to have taken over the shelves there (this is a great TJ review site to tell you if it's good, too).

P.S. Check out last year's pumpkin obsession (or here, too).