insta-weekend

Weekends just go too quickly! We spent ours in Park City (childless, thanks to grandma and papa) and it was realllllllly hard to leave. We don't "go out" a whole lot because we don't have a lot of babysitting options, so when the kids are away......we cram in as much as we can.

 Here are a few quick phone snaps of the festivities (all of which included eating and/or mountains.)

We ate at one of our favorite places for special occasions up there--The Riverhorse. We hadn't been a few years, and we enjoyed our amazing meal while listening to the live music and watching it pour outside.....it was perfect.

We got up early for a ride. I must say this whole "riding a bike thing" has been really fun......I just started last week and have since logged 58 miles......my qauds are still burning.....fun stuff. 

We devoured sushi (hey locals--half off rolls all summer!) and ice cream and walked the streets of Park City, hand in hand, because....why not.

We saw Moonrise Kingdom which I really truly believe to be one of the best films ever. EVER. It was so wonderfully and brilliantly artistic, and I really appreciated all of the detail and subtle humor. It was such a smart movie, and I recommend it, if that sounds like your kind of show.

We set out on a beautiful hike......"set out" being the key phrase, because we never actually made it to our destination. We ended up in Urgent Care instead. 

You know, because we are so extreme and hardcore and adventurous. 

Well.....actually, because Robby has some crazy feet with nuts and screws and bolts rattling around inside, and his toe just likes to causally dislocate every now and then. 

When we are deep in the forrest. Next to a moose. No big deal. 

It's a funny story (now that it's over), and I will share it later, just for kicks.

.......

 

All I can say is, going out on dates is my very favorite thing.

How was your weekend?

ten.

ten. 10. عشرة. десет. 十. tien. kymmenen. dix. zehn. δέκα. tíu. deich. dieci. decem.ti. dziesięć. десять. diez. tio. สิบ. 

TEN. 

10 years. 

happy day, 

to us.

десет

late night (late night.....like the headlamps came out.....) 

mountain bike ride to get the party started.

happy weekend!

how to eat zucchini

Zucchini.

 

Do you grow it? Then you probably have 700 zucchini right now.......right?

 They kind of explode starting in July. The good news is, there are so many things you can put zucchini into, and so many ways to eat it (personally, I never get tired of it simply grilled.....yum)

**gardeners tip*** I kind of laugh that I am giving any kind of gardening tip, because I am still pretty clueless, but the last few years my zucchini have only done ok......we didn't have all the extras everyone always complains about. The plant would be LOADED with tiny zucchini, and then they would shrivel and turn yellow. From what I understand (please correct me if I am wrong--I know some of you are expert gardeners) this is because they aren't getting pollinated. This year I put a few little pots of petunias right next to my zucchini plants, and I also let my leftover radishes go to seed (they flower at the top). I have so many bees in my garden now (they are LOVING the radish blossoms!) and my zucchini have been doing better than any other year.....just a thought.

Zucchini is no super food, but it is still rich in fiber and has 40% your daily value of vitamin A in one serving. It also has smaller amounts of vitamin C, potassium, and manganese and a handful of B vitamins......and it's easy to grow, so eat up!

Grilled Zucchini and Squash

My favorite way (and it's very simple) to eat it, is sliced thin, tossed in olive oil,  fresh lemon juice, and salt and pepper. This time we mixed in some summer squash with it. Grill it for a few minutes on each side, give it a squeeze of lemon and VWALLA! The perfect summer side dish.

Have you ever checked your garden one night and all is well, and the next morning you head out and giant alien zucchini have taken over? They grow so quickly! When I have a few large zucchini around I love to stuff them.  The best part is really you can put ANYTHING in them. A lot of stuffed zucchini recipes are baked, but remember--my oven is currently off duty. 

So I wanted to put these on the grill.

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini

-Cut zucchini in half long ways down the middle. 

I then cut his in half, just so it was easier to work with and eat, but you can keep it whole if you want.

-Scoop out the seeds, so you have your little zucchini boat.

-Brush with olive oil.

-Place on an oiled grill flesh side down (medium-ish heat), close the lid, and let it cook for about 8-10 minutes. Check in on them so they don't overcook--all grills cook differently. You want them to be fork tender, but not quite all the way done.

-Make your filling. I used: (measurements approximate-it will all depend on how big your zucchini is)

-1 cup butter beans

-2 small tomatoes

-small handful chopped kalamata olives

-small handful of chopped green onions

-small handful of goat cheese

-about 1/4c basil pesto

-pinch of salt

mix together.

-Fill your zucchini and top with another sprinkle of goat cheese 

(you can never have too much goat cheese)

Place them back on the grill, this time skin-side down, close the lid and let them cook for about 5 more minutes, until zucchini is all the way tender, and filling is heated through.

Top with a sprinkle of chopped arugula.

 

 Like I said before, you can add anything in to the filling. The beans made them perfect for lunch, but if you want them as a side dish, omit the beans and add some more veggies--maybe peppers and artichoke hearts. Skip the pesto and mix in some lemon juice and olive oil. 

Swap the goat cheese for feta. Endless possibilities!

 

enjoy!

Here are a few more ways that I have used zucchini in the past:

Pumpkin and zucchini bread.

Black bean, corn, and zucchini salad (great with the fish tacos)

It can be thrown into pasta like this one with arugula pesto.

Add it to soups like a simple minestrone.

from around the web:

Zucchini Cobbler over at Happy Yolks

Zucchini Toasts from Sprouted Kitchen

Bacon Zucchini Quiche from Always with Butter

Spicy Zucchini Frittata  from Whole Living

Chocolate Zucchini Cake from Apt 2B

Also check out reader suggestions on my facebook page (here!)

How do YOU eat zucchini?

the story of us: part 1

In just a few days we will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary. TEN YEARS!!! I decided I wanted to recap our last ten years worth of milestones--large and small--over a few posts in the next few weeks.

So, 

here we go.

It all Happened So Fast

"You really need to meet four-fingered Rob" 

My roommate kept on insisting.

(side note: My husband lost a finger when he was two. Hence, "four-fingered Rob".)

Wait--which one was four-fingered Rob again? Was he the one who asked me to move from in front of the tv because I was blocking the Tony Hawk game they were playing....?

(yes, that was him, and that was our first interaction. yet here we are, ten years later....)

I had been visiting his apartment for a few weeks--I was friends with his room mates, but for some reason hadn't met him yet.

And then it happened.

I was over at his place working on some math with friends, when we just started to talk.

and kept talking.

and talking.

and talking.

 

The hours melted into days into weeks into months.

We became such good friends--so quickly, and enjoyed spending time together with our mutual friends as well. We were all about fun fun fun.

We went snowboarding. I turned 19. We played ping-pong (ok so there isn't a lot to do in Rexburg Idaho in the dead of winter) Ate terrible food at JBs. We went to the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake (ok, so we went to Salt Lake and just hung around Olympic "stuff" with our friends......what college student could afford to go to an event?) We ate a whole lot of nachos (remember this post?) 

He turned 22-I made him a shirt. He worked at Franklin Covey, I called him a nerd.

 He let me borrow his car, his longboard, his graphing calculator.....true love folks.

We went to San Francisco.

We climbed up a hill.

He proposed.

I said yes. (it's true!)

We picnicked in Golden Gate Park.

He played the guitar.

 

Back to school.

Twitterpated.

School's out.

Wedding plans.

Separated for 2 1/2 months.....me in Montana, he was in California.

It was TERRIBLE. 

We worked. hard. Saved money. He roofed (hey Roseville friends--my husband roofed your Target!) 

I sprayed weeds for the county. (yes you heard that right....hey-it paid pretty good money for a 19 and soon-to-be-married-girl.....and that's what you do in Montana, you wear coveralls and spray weeds.)

July 13th, 2002 in the Oakland, California  LDS Temple.

Married. Forever and ever andeverandeverandever.

Happiest Day.

Scorching hot.

We looked 12.

That was a mighty poofy dress.

 

We spent time in Monterey. Carmel. 

We road-tripped up to Montana. Camped in Glacier National Park.

Listening to Dashboard Confessional along the way.

And then moved in.

To our house.

home sweet home.

haha.

This is where the fun begins.

Rexburg was in the process of going from a two year school, to a four year university. The town wasn't ready quite yet. There really weren't a lot of options for married students to live......so we kind of had to take what we could get.

And what we could get was the basement of an old house with 6 girls living above us.

Oh and other minor details like the fact that we didn't have a front door (just a piece of plywood leaned up against a gaping hole in the wall) until late October. (uh yeah.....Rexburg is cold in October). 

Or the fact that the first month of living there the landlord was actually living WITH us.

But it was home....our very first.

He continued work at Franklin Covey.

I was at Sam Goody.

We went to school together in the mornings.

We took a New Testament class together.

He helped me study my Spanish.

He had foot surgery and was on crutches forrrrrrrever.

I carried his books, and used his temporary handicap parking pass.

Marriage had its bonuses.

I could barely cook.

We were poor.

But found money to snowboard, and eat cheap mexican.

And a lot of cold cereal.

We moved out of the basement--bought a condo!

We were so grown up.

 

We ate our first meal in our new home.

We didn't have a table. 

We covered an old couch.

Bought a house plant, because that's what grownups do.

It died.

He worked at Wal-Mart.

I worked at Target.

I finished school.

He did too.

He got a job.....in California.

Goodbye, Rexburg.

......to be continued

early morning adventures

"ok you're going to want to lean back--really far--so your stomach is almost over your seat. 

Otherwise, you're going to flip over the handlebars"

This is what he said to me as I was on my way dowwwwwwwn a terribly steep, and monstrously rocky mountainside. 

Yeah-not before I did it, but DURING......that's how we roll--literally--down the hill.

He mountain bikes--it's kind of "his thing". 

I run. He bikes.

 It works out nicely--we can talk trail mumbo jumbo and get nerdily excited about a lot of the same stuff. 

He has been begging me to get a bike and take me on one of his favorite trails....and it finally happened!

a trip down memory lane: With the exception of a few recent family bike rides, I haven't really pedaled my way around since I was newly married.

I headed off to college with a bike as my only mode of transportation. It was shiny red, heavy, and cheap, but I was excited for a way to haul groceries and school books. My roommate also brought a bike, and we happily rode our way around the little streets of Rexburg, Idaho.

When Robby and I were newlyweds, we only had one car. His work was twenty miles away, and since I worked only a few miles from our house I continued to ride my bike to work. One night after closing up shop, I made my way home through the dark and quiet streets. 

With no warning, I was hit from behind......with water balloons.

One.

after.

another.

Girls giggling and speeding away. (girls are the worst)

Wet, angry, and (even though no one else saw) completely embarrassed, I pedaled my way home....head hanging low. Soon after that, I got my longboard for my daily commute, and we eventually got a second car. My bike riding days were over.

Until now.

We laughed at my last biking memory as we loaded up the bikes and headed out for our ride. 

(so happy grandma and grandpa were here so we could do it!) 

We caught the 5:30(AM!) shuttle that takes us up the canyon for our ride.

I was nervous.

So nervous.

I didn't even know if I remembered how to shift--let alone ride up and down a mountain, over rocks, narrow winding paths through trees......it was all foreign to me.

We unloaded our bikes just as the sun started to peek up over the mountains and through the clouds.

The day was perfect. Cool mountain air, a breeze, early morning sunshine.

Our ride started out on a slight downhill, winding through a meadow and tall silhouettes of trees. 

wow. 

I was quickly getting the hang of it.....

.....and then we started to climb. 

Up "Puke Hill". 

Perfectly named--because that's exactly how you feel by the time you (finally) get to the top.

A few more climbs, and then we began our huge descent. 

down, down, down the mountain. 

rocks. roots. switch backs. streams running across the trail.

AMAZING views. 

and me, 

squealing, screaming, giggling the entire way down.

and just like that, I'm converted. 

my biking days are here to stay.

Trail Stats

Trail: Wasatch Crest Trail 

Trailhead: the trail starts at the top of Gaurdsman Pass (in the parking lot) up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We rode to the park-and-ride at the bottom of Millcreek Canyon.

Distance: 22 miles

Elevation: 1096 gain (we got up to 9900!) , 5842 loss. 

Notes:

-We rode about 6 miles on the road down the canyon after the trail ended.

-I reallllllllllly want to run this trail. 

-As I runner I didn't feel like this trail would have been a very technical run. There were some parts up on the top--along the crest--that was rocky, but still runnable. 

-But as a brand new mountain biker, I was constantly on the lookout for roots and rocks that threatened to throw me into the bushes (they didn't get me this time). 

Favorite part: As we were speeding down a portion of the trail (well, I felt like I was speeding.....but the boys were way ahead, and I was eating dust), we splashed our way through a few mountain streams.....the best!

Pitstop: breakfast burritos at Lone Star afterwards.

I can't wait to get out again!

to market, to market

from last saturday's market....

cherries. 

peas. 

eggs. 

potatoes (our favorites were the blue)

raspberries.

can't wait to see what we get tomorrow....

What are you finding at your farmer's market this week?

happy birthday america!

red white and blue. stars. stripes. cousins-running, jumping, scootering. five of them. in tie dye. watermelon. ice cream. baseball. sandbox. swing. firey sunset. sparklers. 'round the fire. s'mores. sticky fingers. dads lighting fireworks. screams. cheers. giggles. orange moon. good night. 

happy birthday america!

ps. it's RAINING!! 

no-bake cookies

Oh the thought of baking.......

Usually something I get so excited about. A cozy afternoon with the oven on, maybe rain on the windows, and the smell of cookies swirling through the house.......

But as I sit here right now, peeling my sticky shirt out of my armpits (you are doing it too), baking is the last thing I want to do. You know what I'm talking about.....right? The oven has been locked and banished until the weather cools. So these are the cookies we turn to if we need a treat. 

I posted these a couple years ago, and I've since made a few modifications which I LOVED. And after I made them, I realized--hey! These are vegan! You are welcome vegan friends.

These are quick and easy to whip up on a hot day, and the ingredients are items I always have on hand. They don't have any refined sugar or flour, so they can double as both a cookie or an afternoon snack.

perfect. 

 

No Bake Chocolate Coconut and Almond Cookies

(globs/balls/bites/whatever you would like to call them)

1/2 cup raw honey (you can play around with this and add a little more if you are using unsweetened almond milk)

1/4 cup + 1/8 cup unsweetened baking cocoa 

1/4 cup vanilla almond milk 

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup almond butter (make your own! recipe here)

2 cups rolled oats 

1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

a few drops of pure vanilla 

pinch of salt 

In a medium sauce pan mix honey and cocoa. Stir over medium heat until well combined.  Add almond milk and coconut oil. Continue stirring, and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in almond butter, vanilla, salt, oats and coconut. Drop by spoonfuls onto lined cookie sheets. 

We like to put ours in the freezer and eat them straight out!

enjoy!

Do you have a favorite no-bake treat?

Have the HAPPIEST 4TH of July tomorrow!

how to tie-dye

What screams summer more than tie-dyed shirts......nothing! 

This might be my new favorite thing......and it's so easy! I don't know why we've never done it before. The kids had so much fun picking their colors and patterns (I did the actual dying or it might have been just a huge giant mess little bit messy....)

No white shirt is safe now.....we will color the world. 

The cheapest way to tie-dye is to just get yourself a kit. (most craft stores carry them in all different sizes. I got mine at Joann and used the 40% coupon from their app) 

The kit has everything you need (dyes, application bottles, rubber bands, gloves) 

Grab some white tees, and an old sheet or blanket to put down over your work surface and you are set.

Choose your pattern. 

The kit came with a few ideas, and I also found this nice little cheat sheet.

 

Bulls eye pattern.

Lay the (damp) shirt flat, and pinch it in the center (this is your top)

 

Pull the shirt up so it's long and skinny, and section it off with rubberbands. You can do as many sections as you like. Use the applicator bottle to color each section a different color. Don't over saturate the fabric, but make sure you get into all the creases and get all the white.

I left the bottoms edges white so the bottom color would "fade out" into white. 

fancy, I know.

When you are done dying, wrap your shirt in plastic wrap and let sit at least 6 hours. 

Ours sat for about 12-the longer they sit, the deeper the colors will be. 

(It was SOOOO hard waiting to "unwrap" them to see what they looked like.)

After it's unwrapped, take the rubber bands off and put your washer on the largest load setting with warm water and a little bit of laundry soap. Wash and dry. 

(wash them separately from your other laundry, but I DID wash the two dyed shirts together)

Spiral Pattern

On a damp shirt, pinch where you want the center of your spiral to be and twist. 

Keep twisting until it's all the way wrapped up.

Use three rubber bands to section the spiral into 6 sections. 

Color each section (do the backside as well).

Do the same as above (wrap in plastic, let rest for a least 6 hours, wash, dry)

I told them to look "bored" in their white shirts. 

This is what I got. Zoolander and some kid sleeping. 

(and yeah, that kid needs a haircut)

Just like that you have their new favorite shirt. 

Seriously, it is impossible to get them to wear anything else now.

....guess we'd better make more.