this and that

A peak at little bits of life over the past few weeks......

Piano Guys play at Red Butte Gardens (this song is my favorite)

Grilled swiss, apple and spinach with yogurt and fruit.

Cookbook shoot with Whitney. Blueberry Oatmeal Bars. yum.

Remember this house? It is impossible for me to drive by without stopping. 

Always hoping to see a ghost.

Still harvesting a few tomatoes here and there in the chilly morning air.

Bedtime stories in her room.

I forgot how much I LOVE fall running. 

The air is so cool and breezy, the light is so pretty and golden. It makes my legs happy to get out and run and run and run through the trees without the heat weighing them down.

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Happy Weekend!

just because

just because sometimes you need to giggle at an adorable baby.

my 6 month old niece. 

have a good day

mixed bean and bacon soup

Well. Fall is officially here.....and it's not messing around. 

Leaves are slowly falling and temperatures are dropping. We are pulling out jackets and fuzzy socks and rain boots. 

And of course......eating more soup.

Mixed Bean and Bacon Soup

serves four

1 small onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 carrots, sliced

2 1/2 cups prepared beans (about 1 cup of dry beans after soaking. I get the big mixed jar at Costco)

4 slices of bacon (if you are a lover of bacon, use a few slices more)

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups of chopped tomatoes (one 1 can if you don't have fresh)

2 TBS chopped fresh oregano

1 TBS chopped fresh rosemary

pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

In a large pot, cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside.

Using the bacon grease, (add a little olive oil if you need to) saute onion and carrots until they begin to get tender. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for a few minutes more. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add prepared beans, chicken broth, tomatoes, fresh herbs, and crumble the bacon into the soup. 

Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer at least until carrots are tender if you are in a hurry, but I like to simmer my soup for a few hours so all the flavors have plenty of time to dance together. 

Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!

Have you had a fall-y week? What soup are you eating?

a star valley fall

We grabbed our backpacks and jackets on friday and headed over the mountain and across the plains to visit sister in Star Valley, Wyoming. We usually visit a couple times a year--but this was my first trip there in the fall and I just fell in love. If I thought I could survive the winters......we just might have stayed.

a morning drive

a dark and cloudy fall morning. brisk air, a light breeze, and every color of the rainbow.

an afternoon walk

just a little stroll around sister's neighborhood.

an evening ride

bouncing up and down on the back of a 4-wheeler, we went UP a mountain on a dusty road and down into a valley dotted with ponds to explore. most of these were taken on the go!

wyoming winter  here

sledding here

another winter here

over the weekend....

over the weekend we skipped over the border to wyoming to play with cousins and let the cool fall breeze blow through our hair......

...more to come....

a beautiful mess

peaches. 

red and orange and yellow.

plump. juicy. perfect.

peeling

pitting

slicing

mashing

mixing

ladling (and all in our pajamas!)

sticky drippy golden mess.

beautiful,

mess.

notes

I use the low sugar/no sugar pectin and make freezer jam.

last time I made jam (here) I used honey, this time I had planned on it but found we were running low on honey (I like to plan ahead like that, you know.....)

This time I used organic cane sugar, and less than 1/3 of the amount that most jam recipes call for and it's deeeeelicious and perfectly peachy.

happy weekend!