Roasted Yams, Beets, & Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries

Since Thanksgiving Dinner is so laden with heavy, rich food I decided I wanted to try something with yams this year that was a little healthier. Here's what I did:

Roasted Yams, Beets and Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries

4 large garnet yams, peeled and cut into chunks (about and inch and a half square or so)

5 beets, peeled and cut into chunks

1 stalk brussel sprouts- I cut these guys off the stalk, cleaned them, cored out the center and pulled the leaves apart, discarding the innermost core part.

2 large handfuls dried cranberries

I mixed all of these together and seasoned with salt and pepper in a large bowl. Then I drizzled it all with a generous pour of olive oil and the juice of one fresh lemon from our tree. Tossed it all well and then spread it out on a baking tray (one with sides). Roasted at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes. My sister-in-law and I each tossed it all around a couple times throughout the roasting so it cooked as evenly as possible. So yummy! The smoky taste of the brussel sprouts is complimented really nicely by the sweetness of the root vegetables and the cranberries. I'll definitely be making this again!

Pistachio Cupcakes

My guy and I went to the opening of an art gallery in a little town in the foothills not too long ago. We hadn't seen our friends Dave and Michelle for a while so when Michelle suggested we check out her Aunt's opening and have dinner we were game. Why not? Something different, something fun. A nice little Saturday night. At the gallery opening they had an hors dourves table with lots of yummy little bites, our favorite being these tiny pistachio cupcakes. A portion of our dinner conversation then, of course, included Michelle and I trying to figure out how one would go about making these little morsels. Enter the internet. I found a recipe here that turned out pretty good. I made up my own version of a cream cheese frosting to go on top, though, because that's what those tiny little bites of happiness had on them. 

Just to be clear. I consider myself to be a pretty good cook. I can find my way around the kitchen with usually quite tasty results, no problem. However, I have never, nor will I ever profess to be an accomplished baker. Nope. So, yeah. This recipe called for a cake mix. It's not completely "from scratch". Whatever. It was easy and tasted good. I'm guessing it was the club soda that made these babies so incredibly light and fluffy?  

The recipe has you use the cake mix, 3 eggs, 1 cup canola oil, a package of pistachio pudding, and a cup of club soda. I used my KitchenAid stand mixer (which I LOVE) to mix everything up. Slow speed for 30 seconds and then on full/fast for 2 minutes. When it's done mixing, the batter is all fluffy and airy.

I am a big fan of cream cheese frosting. Our wedding cakes (yes, there were 2. I'm from Texas. That's how we do it.) both had cream cheese frosting. The wedding cake was layers of Italian Cream and Carrot Cakes with cream cheese yumminess and the Groom's Cake was German Chocolate with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Ahhhhh-mazing! But enough about that. The cream cheese frosting recipe I have in my trusty book is my mom's and it's incredible. But it also calls for a crazy amount of butter and I just wasn't feeling it. So, I stayed pretty true but just left out the butter. I used the whole package of cream cheese, 2 tbs orange juice, 2 tsp of vanilla and then I just added the powdered sugar until it tasted right. Again, I just set the KitchenAid loose with it. Then, I poured it into a ziplock bag and stuck it in the freezer to cool while the cupcakes finished baking and cooled.

Once everything was cool, I snipped off a corner of my frosting bag and did a pretty simple decorating job.

Since I'm a detail girl I figured I'd make the cupcakes pretty by sprinkling some pistachios on top. I don't know if you can get already shelled pistachios. You probably can, but I had unshelled in the pantry so there ya go. I shelled them, peeled off the skins, crushed them up a bit and dusted them on top of each frosted cake. I think they were a nice touch!

What I Wore Wednesday



{This is on the Mission Trip we went on to Nicaragua 2010.}



So I follow a few blogs and a couple of those have this "what I wore Wednesday" thing that they do. a room somewhere and the pleated poppy both do this little weekly diddy. I like to see the cute, creative outfits these chicks come up with. I always look at the pics and think, huh. Why can't I think to put things together like that? Now, I'm not saying I"m clueless when it comes to fashion. I can usually throw together looks pretty easily that end up at least on the good side of cute. But, I guess what I'm trying to say is that you won't see me doing a "what i wore wednesday" post (for reals) any time soon. Because, as the picture here shows, I live most of my life in scrubs. And the Good Lord knows that scrubs are ANYthing but fashionable! Comfy, yes. Easy, yes. Can I literally sleep walk into my closet and figure out what to wear each work day? Yes. Unique or creative, yeah. Not so much. So maybe here's to "what I thought looked reasonably cute Tuesday"....For now just know that on Wednesdays I wear black scrubs with bright purple Nike Frees (I think that's what they're called) with hot pink laces. I know. Exciting, right?? I figure at least my shoes are fun....:)

Dreaming of Biscuits



{Picture courtesy of this site, where I found the recipe I'm going to try out first. Looks tasty!} 



For some reason I have recently found my self thinking a LOT about the biscuits we used to get every Tuesday morning in the cafeteria at the boarding school I went to for highschool. Biscuits and gravy day was the one day I'd actually get myself out of bed and head to breakfast....otherwise, no dice. These biscuits, though, were amazing- super soft, pillowy and fluffy. The tops were just barely golden and the insides yummy and moist. I always skipped the gravy and went for butter and honey instead. Yummmmm. These are the biscuits that I now judge any other biscuit that I come across, usually only to end up disapointed. I'm tired of dry, crunchy biscuits. So. I've been cruising around on recipe sites in search of a good recipe. I found one to start the experimenting with. Stay tuned to see how it goes!

Parc 55, San Francisco

In July we spent a weekend in San Francisco to have some fun. I posted earlier here about the Friday night activities of that weekend. Well, on Saturday night, we stayed in SF again so we could go to a concert. What concert? Well, I'm glad you asked! The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit is group of guys from Oakdale, CA and we're lucky enough to be able to call these gentlemen our friends. People, let me tell you. These guys are such a good time! They played that weekend at the The Great American Music Hall in SF and it was a heck of a show. So much fun to see them play to a packed house in the city!

Anyway, we stayed at the The Parc 55 which is locate a very short walk from Union Square. Actually, it's just across the street from the Bart Station and Cable Car Station at Powell St. Can't get a whole lot more convenient than that! We booked the room for $85 on Priceline (score!) and were pleasantly surprised by both the location and the quality of the rooms, etc. The bed was super comfy, we had a great view, the room was reasonably quiet and cool...it's not every hotel in SF that can actually give you all of these things!

Most of the buildings in SF are pretty old with the majority of them being built after the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. People lived a bit more simply back then and as a result you'll notice that SF hotels rooms (if the hotel resides in a period building) are on the small side. So. If you find yourself in a larger room (such as we did at the Parc 55), it's a good indicator that the building is on this side of being newer. I am a fan of the new hotels and I love the quaint boutique hotels you find in the old buildings. Both have their charms.

Being the detail freak that I am I loved the necessity set up in the bathroom. Earplugs? Awesome. I didn't need them as the room was actually quite peaceful (and I had my ever-trusty sleep white noise machine tucked safely in my suitcase), but I thought it very clever to think of providing them for guests. And, I'll just say it. Hotels that spring a little more for quality products rather than random crappy bottles of worthless shampoo, etc, always get extra points in my book. Plus, I can squirrel them away in my bag and later use them in my guest bath baskets (more on that another time).

On an amusing side note, we discovered that Wyndham Hotels are where a lot of airlines put up their flight crews for the night. When we went to check out, the lobby was filled with flight attendants all decked out in various uniforms (Air China's were the prettiest) and pilots. I don't exactly know why I was taken by this, but I was. Weird.

As you can see in this photo to the right, we were blessed with beautiful weather that weekend. I'll say it again. I friggin' love SF.

Mud Dog

Ohhh, Ginger. Normally such a priss- she'll only do her "business" in one corner of the yard. She "tiptoes" through the grass when it's wet, won't go outside when it's raining. But the dog loves to dig. She is the digginist (a term my Dad once tagged to one of our dogs growing up) dog! Now, she is not a habitual digger. Usually, she doesn't waste her time. But every once in a while, she gets a wild hair and goes craaaazy. Point in case. A couple weeks ago, I get home from work after Dean and rather than immediately letting the girls in from the backyard, I sat down to chat with my husband for a minute. Apparently, this rubbed Princess Ginger wrong and she decided to let me know she did not appreciate this snub. Suddenly we hear this strange splattering noise outside under the family room window. Huh, ok. That doesn't sound normal, best check it out. I go to the door and see this:

Needless to say, Ginger did not come inside right then! She was promptly hosed down instead. Oh, well. I guess otherwise we may have not discovered the sprinkler head that was malfuntioning. It created the perfect muddy puddle for her to play in. I think the funniest part of this whole thing to me is that Lucy did not get one speck of mud on her. You know the whole time Ginger was digging her lil heart out Lucy was standing there like, "ooohhh, you're gonna get in soooo much trouble!" Dogs will be dogs, I suppose! Doesn't she look incredibly happy and pleased with herself though??

Sun Tea Summer



{Tazo Blackberry White Tea/ Lipton combination. Totally cute glasses were a Christmas gift from my
baby sis. She ordered them from Fishs Eddy in NYC. More on them another time.}

 A lot of my favorite memories of summer growing up center around my Grandma Mary Jane. She is one of the most amazing women I know and I am so honored to have learned so much from her. I didn't realize most of those lessons at the time, but as I get older I realize more and more just how wise she is.
Grandma introduced me to sun tea. Now, her go to sun tea was usually Red Zinger, an amazing blend of herbs, hibiscus and peppermint. And bright red in color. I have looked high and low around here and can't find that particular tea anywhere. I think I'm going to have to resort to ordering it online. I have to have my Red Zinger. Until then, I'm having fun trying out some flavor combinations of my own. Right now I tend to favor a mix of Tazo flavors and a little bit of classic Lipton.
The first thing you need to have great sun tea is a lot of sunshine. Luckily, we don't have a problem with that around here! Second, a good container. I found mine at Target. I prefer plastic seeing as I do have two dogs in the backyard that sometimes tend to get a bit rowdy. I personally don't feel like cleaning up shattered glass...Also, a spicket is a nice touch. Not completely necessary, though.
So. How to make sun tea. It's so easy it's almost embarrassing. Fill up the container almost to full. Throw in some tea bags- I usually use 4-5. I like my tea strong and with lots of flavor.
Put the lid on and then set out in the sun for anywhere from 2-6 hours, even longer if you want it stronger. Enjoy!


{Tasty mix. Tazo African Red Bush & Lipton}



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I learned the hard way that when washing the container it's best to NOT remove the spicket. It just doesn't seal the same afterwards and you could end up with a puddle of iced tea in your nice clean fridge. Not my idea of a good time. I just fill the container with enough hot soapy of water to fill above the spicket, swish it a around a bit and then drain it out through the spicket. Works pretty well. Now, time to order that Red Zinger.....

Hotel Adagio, San Francisco

When we decided to go to the Giants game with our friends Mikey and Tawny we all figured it would be a good idea if we got a hotel room for the night of the game in the City. That way we could all relax (enjoy a few drinks) and not have to worry about who was going to drive us back late at night. We went with Hotel Adagio on Geary Street just a few blocks up from Union Square. Hotel Adagio is owned by joie de vivre, a company that owns a number of hotels in the city. Seeing as we stay in SF quite often, I figured it wouldn't hurt to join their Joy of Life Club; basically a frequent stayer club. Also, they partner with Virgin America Airlines (who I love; more on them another time). Anyway, made the reservation for a room with two queen beds (we figured we'd save a few bucks and share the room with our friends). Good deal.


{Surprise! Hi, Mikey!}

 So. Upon check-in, I was greeted very warmly by the gentleman behind the desk and he informed me that they had upgraded our room since I am a member of their club. Score! We got our keys and headed to the elevator to check out our room.

We were on the top floor of the building (makes for an incredible view) in the penthouse suite. Double score! There was a master bedroom and a living room. Dean and I decided since it was Tawny's birthday (and seeing as she's on crutches and all) that she and Mikey should take the big bed. Dean and I took the fold out couch--which- I will add- was actually surprisingly ok, as far as fold out couches go.

{Living Room of our sweet penthouse room}

Waiting on the table when we arrived in the room were a welcome card and a bottle of wine! Granted, kinda cheap wine. But hey! Fun either way, right?? At any rate, I was impressed by the fact that they actually take the time to make you feel special for being a member of their club. I'm looking forward to future stays at their hotels now for sure. In fact, I did a little research and found that they also own Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel and Dream Inn in Santa Cruz. Definitely going to be looking into both of those. If not for a get-away for me and my guy then for a possible destination for our study club!

I am a big fan of the style of the decor they've gone with at the Adagio. Kind of modern and contemorary and at the same time comfortable and elegant. I wish I had taken a picture of the shower. It was o-mazing. I love those shower heads that are like rain falling. What are they called?

As I mentioned before, we had a great view from the top floor of the building. And we were stoked to find that we had a big balcony! One catch. No door! What? Seriously? And, as is common with a lot of SF hotels the windows didn't open very far. Boooo. Never fear. Eventually we discovered that there was a tiny window that DID open and it was just big enough that all of us were able to squeeze through and enjoy the fresh air and that beautiful view. Even Tawny demonstrated some serious agility and got out there broken foot in a boot and all!

{Tawny and the Panda sneaking in through the window!}

Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!

I can't even remember the last time I went to the zoo. While in the city (San Francisco) a couple weeks back (Giants' Game and stuff), we were trying to come up with something we could do that didn't involve a lot of walking. Well, in SF, that's kind of hard. Luckily, though, Mikey was thinking and brought up the point that some places have wheelchairs available. Oh, yeah, I guess I should mention here that the reason we were worried about all of this was because Tawny is on crutches. Broken foot. What did we come up with? The San Francisco Zoo! Yea!

{Oh, Hey. How you doin'}

{Pretty sure this dude wanted to EAT ME!}



{Totally looks like he's wearing a suit of armor}

 I was pretty impressed by the San Francisco Zoo. There were a lot of animals to see and their habitats looked pretty nice. I mean, it's sad because they ARE in captivity. But I guess if you're gonna be held captive, it helps if you're in a nice place!


{Don't worry, there's a thick glass wall between us!}



All in all, we had a great time. The lion in his cage inside the Lion House was pretty dang cool. A zookeeper was spraying goat's milk from a spray bottle through the bars of his cage and he was super into that. He never let out a full on roar but he did this low pitch kinda rumbly growl thing that definitely made the hair on the back of my neck stand to attention. Scary dude.

The gorillas put on quite a show while we there. There was one big ole silverback who was clearly in charge. He was just chillin on his rock watching everyone when all of a sudden, the urge struck and he showed everyone there just why he's the alpha. Let's just say there were some moms pulling their kids away from the gorilla exhibit at that moment! Hilarious!

The only exhibit that I wasn't totally cool with was the tarantula situation. I HATE spiders. I don't care if they're "good" spiders or what. If they have eight damn legs I am not a fan. And these suckers are HUGE. Ewwwww. Gives me the shivers just thinking about them. But hey, if you're into big ass spiders, go check it out!

Go Giants!!

I have never been a fan of baseball...until now. My baby sister dates a boy who played ball in college and at that time, I developed a little bit of curiosity because I was getting to know Hayden and his world. Still, though, I never watched it on t.v. Once in a while Dean and I would go to games in San Francisco, but I pretty much had no idea what was going on...Fast forward to 2010. The Giants make the playoffs. Suddenly, baseball has gotten kinda exciting in these parts. Dean starts watching a lot more games at home, and I end up paying more and more attention. Next thing I know these guys are heading to the World Series and I've really gotten into them. I love the Giants. They are a group of odd, quirky boys and I think they are so loveable. I was so impressed by them during the World Series and how they conducted themselves in interviews, etc. Naturally, I realize I am super biased, but whatever...



{Hey, Crawford!}

 So, this year we're hopefully on the quest for another series. We'll see. I still am not knowledgeable enough about all of this to tell you if we have a good chance or not. Dean says things are looking good- I'll go with that. Anyway, one Thursday Brewer/Dunn Night (more on those later), the four of us decided it would be a kick to go to a game for Tawny's birthday. Suddenly, the laptop is out and tickets have been bought! I like it....which brings us to just a few weeks ago. July 18 we were lucky enough to be at a game and watched our boys beat the crap out of LA (sorry, Bri). So much fun.  

{My two faves: Brian Wilson & Brandon Crawford}



We cheered enthusiastically (Mikey was hoarse for daaayys afterwards). We ate food that is terrible for us (um, hello, hotdog). We drank a few beers. Tawny bought a Panda Hat. Generally, we had an absolute blast. Since Tawny was on crutches we decided to hang out for a bit after the game was over rather than trying to fight the crowds. Kinda cool to see the field when it's all quiet and empty. The seagulls swoop in and start helping the clean up crew!




{Can you see the seagulls in the background??}



{Tawny's crazy cool Panda hat}

 



{Checking out the dugout. Too bad the boys were already gone!}



{Happy Birthday, Tawny!}



I Heart SF

I've said this a million times and I'll say it again: I heart SF. It's one of my very favorite places and luckily we only live about an hour and a half away! This makes for lots of fun trips to the "the City", as it's referred to around here. Some of these trips are planned in advance and others and completely spur of the moment. Because of this we've also developed a love of Priceline. This past weekend we had already planned on hanging out in the city on Saturday and staying the night after a concert. But, when our friend Brian called and said he and his lovely wife would be in SF Friday night, Dean and I were down for another night. So fun.

Before meeting up with our friends, Dean took me out for a reaaallly nice dinner. He even suited up for me! :) I rarely get the chance to dress up so when hubby suggested we get decked out I was totally excited. And it doesn't hurt that he looks damn hot (excuse me, but it's true!) in a suit. He found a restaurant called Benu for us to try out. What an experience! We decided to splurge and went with the- get this-- 18 course tasting menu. Talk about a time I was sad I didn't have my "big camera" with me! I tried to capture a few of my favorite bites with my point and shoot, but eh. Not even worth it. At any rate, I definitely tried some foods that I'd never had before that night. Heck, I had never even heard of some of them before! Although, I have to admit my obsession with Top Chef did come in handy.

 

After dinner we met up with everyone at Harry Denton's Starlight Room which is on the top floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, right in Union Square. It's a jazz club with tasty drinks. And, while the band is taking a break, they play "the other stuff" and the dance floor gets crowded. We had a great time, not that I expected anything different considering the company we were in! After drinks and a bit of dancing, it was decided that karaoke should be included in the night's activities. Bri's brother knew of a good spot...Bow Bow in China Town. Oh, geez. The boys sang their hearts out and a fabulous time was had by all. Totally can't wait til the next time Bri and Ches head up our way! 

Sweet, Sweet Summer Indeed!

I hate getting the mail. Seriously. I hate it. So much so that it usually ends up that when we actually DO get the mail, it's a humongous pile of crap with a few interesting things mixed in. Or bills. Lots of bills....So. When my magazines come in it's a happy trip to the mail box. My magazines being Food and Wine Magazine and Bon Appetit. I also came across this lovely issue of Martha Stewart's Living while in line at the grocery store. The pasta recipe pictured on the front had me at "tomato". Yummmm. Once these babies come in, I take my time going through them and inspecting all the new recipes and stuff. This ususally takes me a few evenings and then once I'm satisfied, I rip out the pages of all the yummiest looking ones and save them. More on what I do with all (and there are a lot) of these later...enter my ocd/type A tendencies.

Green Bean & Tomato Salad

I love summer and all the yummy fresh veggies that are available in our area. I "borrowed" this salad from a spot here in town called Camp 4 Wine Bar. D and I stopped in there a few weeks ago to enjoy some tasty paninis and salads for lunch and the owner, Damon Robbins, brought out samples of the latest salad he's been working on. I, of course, paid very close attention when he told us what was in it! I tried recreating it at home and I have to say it turned out pretty good! Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

About a pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-3 inch pieces

2 large tomatoes

Feta cheese

3 fresh basil leaves

Dry sherry

Olive Oil

Red wine vinegar

Salt

Pepper

To start, I placed the beans in a steamer basket in a pot and steamed them until they were just barely cooked. Still nice and crunchy. Once they were done, I immediately placed them in an ice bath to "shock" them, or stop the cooking process. While those were cooling, I got the tomato yumminess going. Cored, seeded and chopped the tomatoes. Minced the basil. Mixed this all in a bowl with a cap full of Dry Sherry (Damon actually said he used Sherry vinegar. I didn't have any of that so I improvised...), about a tbs of olive oil, a couple shakes of the vinegar and some salt and pepper. To serve, I made little piles of the beans on each plate and then settled a hefty scoop of the tomatoes on top. Finished off with a little crumbled feta and voila! Delicious....on a side note, I picked up the tomatoes and the beans at my favorite fruitstand. You cannot beat the freshness and flavor of veggies fresh from the farm rather than sitting in the grocery store. I've gotten to where I just don't eat tomatoes when they're not available at the stand because they're just not worth it. No taste. Mushy. Yuck. Oh, and I got the basil from my own lil backyard herb garden! Yumm!

Rancho Pescadero

In March of this year we were lucky enough to go to some dear friends' wedding in Cabo! D & I and some other friends decided to be adventurous and venture out past the resort where the wedding was to be held. We discovered Rancho Pescadero in Todos Santos, Mexico. This is a little town a little over an hour from San Jose Del Cabo (where the airport is). Love. Instant love.

The resort only has something like 15 rooms. Pretty quaint. The rooms were so incredible. Luxury all the way, and they thought of everything. From the bathrobes hanging in the closet to the fresh fruit and coffee delivered to our room each morning to the straw hats and magazines for use at the pool, what's not to love?? I'm a detail girl so they had me right away!



{Our amazing room}



I am a big fan of relaxing by the pool (preferably under

an umbrella for the majority of the time!) with a good book and a tasty beverage. The pool at Rancho Pescadero does not disappoint. We really enjoyed the "water bed", chaise lounge type chairs for two that were actually IN the water. My favorite drink on their menu was the Jamaica Margarita, or Hibiscus Margarita. Yumm. Refreshing, not too sweet  and herbal. Right up my alley! I'm now on a mission to recreate this at home. Hopefully, more on that later! Anyone know how to make Hibiscus-infused vodka?? (I plan on making it a martini....tequila is usually reserved for vacation only!)

 

{The "waterbeds". Love it.}



One of the features of the resort that originally piqued our interest was the fact that they grow all of their own produce there on the ranch. We tried the restaurant for dinner, but the real star was the poolside lunch service. I had a Nicoise salad made up of fresh cut rainbow chard, seared yellow tail caught just that morning and pickled veggies made in house. Yummm. Another dish I want to try my hand at recreating here at home....

Finally, I love the fact that they have all kinds of things for guests to use that are free of charge. They don't nickel and dime you for every little thing. We did yoga each morning in the pavillion. There were fishing poles, surf boards and beach cruisers available. Very cool.

A Fresh Start

My profile "blurb" states that I am a girl who married my best friend and that I love the life we've created together. So, I think I've decided the direction in which I want to take this blog. Since getting married and setting up a real home with my hubby I've discovered that I love to cook. Seriously. I LOVE dinking around in my kitchen and experimenting with new recipes. Luckily, the hub is a very willing guinea pig, which just makes it all the more fun for me!

{Yummy flat bread pizzas: Margherita & Sweet Potato/Walnut/Red Onion...More on these later!}

Also, the boy and I absolutely adore getting out of town and seeing new places, visiting old friends and trying new restaurants. Sometimes we go way far away and do exotic things. Other times, we simply head out and enjoy one of the many fun destinations that are within just an hour or two from home. 

{Great times with great friends~ Ledson Winery, Sonoma, CA}



{My parents' place on the Au Sable River in Grayling MI.}



{Brooklyn Bridge!!}

So yeah, I think this is going to be fun. A little travel, a little food, a little fun with some of my type-A/OCD tendencies sprinkled in. Meaning I'll share some of my secrets to staying sane and things I've found that I feel make life easier. Well, at least my life!