Food.

It's Monday, have a cookie.

It's Monday......and it's the worst, right? 

So let's all talk about something fun.

Let's talk about food.

I get through my week surviving on many-a-granola-bar. They are quick, easy, and the right bar (like THIS one) can calm my grumbly stomach before I head into a test. But all week long I dream about all the real foods I'll eat on the weekends. I'll cook! I'll bake! I'll grill! Maybe we'll go out! mmmmm.

I used to be really up on my Where-To-Eat Game. ( I even had a page for it! It's so outdated now....) I knew all the popular places, and exactly what to order. We don't get out much these days, so I feel a little behind in the times.

For example, I just had my first Pho over the weekend and WHAAAATTTT??? (try it at Oh Mai! in SLC) How have I been missing out on this my whole life? Why didn't you tell me? Also, since I can't get down to the city every night to satisfy my cravings, give me a recipe so I can make my own! 

Do you make Pho? Teach me. 

Please, teach me.

As long as we are talking about restaurants, I'll tell you about my current favorite place to eat. The only problem is....it's about 4 hours away from my house. The Burr Trail Grill in Boulder, UT is THE best burger I've ever had.....and that's saying a lot, if you knew how many burgers, from how many places I've consumed these last few years. But it's not just the burgers, it's the appetizers, and the PIE, and the everything else. Robby and I hit it over the summer and then we were down that way last weekend, and it is truly the best party my mouth has ever had. Try it...if you're ever in the middle-of-nowhere, Utah. (They close in October for the season and re-open in the spring).

Last year the famous Whitney Ingram told me to check out Aubergine in Orem. Locals, have you tried this place? THE best place to get your veggie fix. Their Mediterranean salads are my favorite.

And one last place to eat. Fridays we like to climb and then head over to Whole Foods for pizza. You can pick any topping and any combo you want, and we love it (and $5 off on Fridays!)

With the temps cooling, I'm using my oven more, and brought back THIS favorite chicken bake last week. My kids down it, and it makes great leftovers too. I added some kale and pine nuts to the mix this time.

And before we end, let's not forget dessert. Cookies. I have been tweaking this recipe for the last few months and finally got it just they way I want it--not too crispy, not too cakey, just right.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

• 
  
• 1 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup Turbinado Sugar (this gives the cookies a perfect crunch)
• 1/8 cup molasses
• 2 tsp Mexican Vanilla
• 2 whole eggs
• 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine sugars, molasses, and butter in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Starting with the mixer on low speed and increasing until it is on medium, beat until the mixture is creamy and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for a few minutes each. Add the vanilla extract, then scrape the sides of the bowl, and mix to combine.

Combine the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl, and stir to combine. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture, then mix on low speed just to combine, adding the chocolate and pecans as it mixes. Stop mixing as soon as you stop seeing the dry mixture, the less mixing the better!

 Line the baking pans with parchment paper.  Place balls of dough about 3 inches apart on baking pans. Bake until golden and just set, 11-13 minutes.  Remove from oven; let cool on pan 4 to 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Your turn--tell me about your favorite food right now! Where are you eating? Share your favorite recipes! 

And PLEASE, teach me how to make Pho!

Happy Monday!

blog news

(lots!) more photo vomit coming soon

Back by request......my where-to-eat page! 

Updated with all our favorite places to go--most in Utah, a few in California, and some places we will HAVE to drive all the way back to Canada for. 

Check it out HERE, and watch for updates!

Happy August! Where did July go?
I'm excited to announce two new desktop calendars for the month--both can be downloaded for free! Just click on the size you need below.

Canadian Canola Field

1280x800
1440x900
1680x1050
1920x1200


Lake Louise

1280x800
1440x900
1680x1050
1920x1200


And lastly:
I am often asked if I have a blog button you can place on your sidebar that will easily link you to
The House.......I do!
It looks like this:

Grab the code over on the right sidebar--------------------->
and paste it into your own sidebar HTML
easy.
Thank you!


happy day!

a day in the city

The city: San Francisco

The weather: perfect. 60°. yellow sandals. light sweater. 

The company: He wore a blue sweatshirt. I like him.

The food: where to begin....

-Pamplemousse in Redwood City. This place is adorable and right next to my Dr's office....we will for sure find ourselves there again.

-Tony's. My mouth is watering as I think about this place. I wish I would have ordered a months worth of meals to bring home and freeze. If you find yourself there, be sure to order the baked burrata--burrata is like mozzarella--it was baked with pesto and sundried tomatoes, and then spread over crusty toasted bread and prosciutto....yes. Re-read that, and think about it for a while. It was amazing. The pizza itself was  perfectly cooked--we were right by the oven--and then immediately brought out to us, hot, chewy, perfect.

-Dottie's True Blue Cafe: This place comes with several warnings. 1: Be prepared to wait outside in line for about an hour.
This place is gooooooood, and everyone knows about it--and they only seat 40.

 2. Be prepared to wait outside on one of the stinkiest streets of San Francisco, where homeless men will yell at you and throw their trash in the street.
3. This breakfast is so big, and so awesome, you will be full  for days. Weeks. Sooooo good. We got to sit at the counter and watched in amazement at how quickly the cooks worked in their tiny kitchen. Seriously worth the stinky wait.

-The famous Tartine. I have been dying to go here forever, and I must say it did not disappoint. We had planned on stuffing ourselves with one of their amazing sandwiches and dessert, but we were still feeling the food coma from Dotties, so we did what anyone else would have done in our situation.....we had dessert for dinner instead. I can't wait to get back and try more....one of everything is my ultimate goal.

The doctor: (just joining us? read here )We love my doctor. He is very relaxed, and reminds us a bit of Jimmy Fallon. A super genius Jimmy Fallon who's trying hard to fix me. He was really excited about my progress, and I get to take a break from 3 of the 4 antibiotics I've been on for the past year (hooray!), and load up on a bunch of supplements, magic potions and brews. He's pinpointed some co-infections that tend to go hand in hand with Lyme, and we are now targeting those.....we have found a new path and I like where it's taking me. 

The adventures: We really just love to set out with no plans (except for the food, which is calculated out crumb by crumb), and wander. Friday night we explored the streets, and got our glute workout on those crazy San Francisco hills. Saturday we roamed the park, made our way up to Coit Tower, and hit the farmer's market.

The photos:

the end.

see more san francisco here

fleur de sel

I am so excited to show you my recent work with Fleur de Sel--a Salt Lake City based private chef and catering service! Along with their mouth watering seasonal, organic, and local cuisines, they also offer flowers, decor, and even full event coordination.....it's your one stop shop! 

Check out Fleur de Sel....they have so much fun stuff coming your way over these next few months, and these girls (liz of Fleur de Sel,  jana and caroline) are amazingly talented, and so much fun to work with. 

And be sure to check out their pies for your Thanksgiving feast!

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving flowers by Glo Garlock Designs

Christmas

New Years

Wedding

the end.

friday love (the sweet and condensed version)

Craziest week ever!
My head is no longer attached. 

But it's finally Friday, the kids costumes are done, and we are ready to weekend it up!

I love that the kids are home from grandmas and our lives are back to crazy normal.

I do not love Robby's new school schedule for this block....but I DO love that we made it through the first block! Hooray! Only like 700 more to go.

I love that my plans for tomorrow include "SLEEP IN". I have never been so excited.

I am still in love with all my team mates and miss them and love thinking about all our fun memories. 

I love reminiscing about everything I ate at the Belagio Buffet last week after the race, including: 

(note: I am NOT a buffet person.....they almost always gross me out. But it was really hard to count this as a buffet, this stuff was GOOD)

(note: forgive the random combos.....I am not very good at "buffeting")

plate 1: a made to order crab and spinach omelet, baked halibut, the best new potatoes ever, and a cute little crepe.

plate 2: red lentil soup, fresh sourdough, some kind of awesome salad, heirloom tomato quinoa with mozzarella

plate 3: miso soup, sushi, the best mashed sweet potatoes I've ever had

plate 4: fresh bagguette wih whipped cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers and red onion

plate 5: Tiramisu, some chocolate peanut butter cake thing, an eclair.....NONE of which were even a little bit good (one bite of each was more than enough) Skip the dessert and opt for more awesome sweet potatoes.

We LOVE the pumpkin patch!

I love love LOVE that I got to so see Ingrid Michaelson play this week!
The show was amazing and so so fun....that girl is a riot! It was like a concert + comedy show all rolled in to one. She sounds great and even covered Led Zeppelin and Britney Spears.
If she's coming somewhere near you--GO!!


Happy Happy Weekend and Happy Halloween!


What did you love about this week?