new dish

i made this recipe last night and it was delicious. i'm always on the lookout for an easy pasta dish.

i didn't even have the pesto on hand that it calls for (didn't quite make it to trader joes this weekend) and it was still delicious. since i'm in love with pesto, i can only imagine how good it will be when i made the recipe correctly.

aaron hates tomatoes and hates pasta that isn't smothered in sauce, so i was unsure how he'd react, but he gobbled it up and wanted more.

hooray for new recipes.

oh, and i roasted my broccoli first instead of blanching it. way more flavor. also, i did most of the prep the night before and just re-heated while boiling the noodles. an option in case you need a super quick dish and can do prep ahead of time.

try it!

it's that time of year

the UP house, how cute.

the gingerbread is being rolled out.

literally.

this week marks the 2nd annual gingerbread house making party.

i have decided to try for a cape cod style home with details such as faux wooden siding in a cheery color, white picket fence, green turf and a host of other details.

i'm baking the gingerbread tonight so it will be nice and firm for wednesday. tonight is also time to dye the coconut for the grass and dip the pretzel sticks for the picket fence.

i've been working on this since last week, gathering supplies and cutting out my pattern.

who knew this was such a beast?

but, the finished product is so worth it. so is rocking out to Christmas music while assembling.

and, maybe in many, many years, my house will actually reflect the amount of time it took to put it together.

and, maybe, one year, i will admit that everyone knows it is a whimsical house and decorate it so, instead of acting like i can fool everyone into thinking it is a real, miniature house.

a candy land theme could be fun...

welcome Christmas traditions!

Happy Thanksgiving

aaron and i are starting a new tradition this year. it is reminiscent to our birthday tradition.

stealing the idea from a friend's family, at someone's birthday, we go around the room and each person has to say why they love the birthday boy or girl. it's super fun for 2 reasons.

1. you hear some really neat stuff.
2. it's the best when someone who doesn't know the birthday boy/girl very well is in attendance and you watch it get awkward when they try to come up with something.

maybe i'm the only one who thinks that is fun.

anyway, we've adapted that tradition to thanksgiving. each person will go around the room and say one reason they are thankful for every person in the room. i like it!

this year we won't be with family (well, blood family anyway), rather crashing a very large non-blood family party, so i don't think we'll impose our tradition on them. aaron and i will begin the tradition with 2 and hopefully have more to share it with next year.

i hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving and take the time to think about all you have to be thankful for.
the computer you're reading this on!
the eyes you're using to read it!
having something to eat today!
the clothes you're wearing!
i could go on!
i feel so blessed this year and am thankful to my Heavenly Father for all He has given me.

too good to be true

a le creuset store is coming to primm.

primm. you know, my favorite place on earth?

the outlet mall where the only WS outlet on the west coast resides?

the town where i'm forcing aaron to stay while we drive out to utah for Christmas so i can shop at the WS in the morning?

the place where the hotels slightly terrify me, but i'm staying there anyway with the back up plan of sleeping in my car in front of the WS store?

i didn't think this mall could get better. actually, i know almost nothing about this mall because i haven't stepped more than 50 feet into it. why would i? the BR and WS outlets are next to the door. i've always blown my spending limit after those 2 places.

however, my knowledge has just gained a gem. A LE CREUSET STORE IS COMING!

it will be open for black friday. oh, to spend black friday at this mall. i can't even imagine.

but, the whole point is that i will be shopping for amazingly beautiful cookware (yes, dutch oven, i'm coming for you) just before Christmas and now i can bargain shop between the two stores!

the wonder of it all.

your vote, please

update to the post below...

the link is not working for some people. perhaps there is a campaign to shun aaron's video or the response has been overwhelming. either way, not being able to vote is not cool. apparently you can 'like' the video from aaron's facebook page and it helps. i know nothing about this since i act like facebook does not exist. however, if you remember to check back in and try to vote later today or tomorrow, we'd love it! thanks!


aaron has entered a contest to win a $5,000 scholarship. i surely don't need to tell you how far that would go toward school. if we won, i'd probably pee my pants while screaming. too much info, but i wanted to emphasize how much this would mean.

he made a video and made it to the finals.

the problem? so did 50 other people that we need to beat.

how do we solve the problem? that's where you come in! the person with the most online votes is the winner. simple.

even better? you don't have to actually watch the video. in fact, i ask, beg, plead with you not to. i am in that video and it almost gave me a nervous breakdown. it tested our marriage. if i had any idea that all my friends and family would be watching me in it, i never would have agreed, but it's a bit too late now.

here's the link. all you do is click, rate it 5 stars, submit your rating, and you're done.

super quick and easy!

please vote today. voting closes on the 27th, so go now!!

also, if you do watch the video, please know a few things. i had flown that day. it was late at night. i was extremely tired. i'd been up since very early and got almost no sleep the night before. i was ambushed. i hate the camera. i was on the verge of crying. i had flown that day. also, i hate the camera. like, more than any human possibly could. i just thought it was my duty to prepare you for the horror that awaits you when i flash on the screen.

new soup recipe

it rained all day on saturday and i knew i would want a hearty soup.

this recipe made the cut because i had all the ingredients on hand.

i have high culinary standards.

it turned out to be a fabulous recipe that i will put in heavy winter rotation.

here's what i like about it:
1. it is a great base recipe that you can alter as you'd like.
2. the creaminess and thickening is achieved from a roux, rather than using heavy cream. i used non-fat milk.
3. it is super simple and quick to throw together.
4. it tastes delicious! aaron approved and he is weary of my soups because i usually fly by the seat of my pants, add so much yummy stuff that it turns into all chunks, no liquid.

try it today!

*the adjustments i made were- take out the meat (big surprise), add roasted broccoli and other veggies, used broth rather than bullion cubes and water, left the skin on my potatoes, added a bit of cheddar. have fun with it!!

emoticon madness

let me clearly state, i am not a fan of emoticons.

:) or :( or ;) - i do not enjoy. the one with the tongue sticking out? that really gets my goat. in fact, before i was married, i wouldn't go out with a new guy based solely on the fact that he would text or email me an emoticon. they were serious business.

do lots of people i love and adore use them? absolutely.

but, do i cringe every time i see one? you betcha.

i've never confessed this on a mass scale because i don't want to make emoticon lovers feel bad. so, all you emoticon people who send them to me, don't stop now. i'll know why and things will get awkward.

this is all fascinating back story to my present situation.

aaron knows my emoticon disdain, so he regularly emails them to me. but not the ones you can create on the keyboard, rather the ones you can insert in gmail. they are intense. various colors, movements, graphics to choose from give the sender a smorgasbord of feelings to convey.

the problem is (which is my original issue with emoticons) they don't always convey what you're trying to say and a lot can get lost in translation.

case in point; i began sending them back to aaron when i really was annoyed. then temptation got the better of me and yesterday i wrote him a riddle, mostly comprised of the gmail emoticons. i was so excited for him to unlock the riddle and respond, but i never heard back. later that night, while he was in class, i text him and asked if he received my riddle. here is his reply:

"do you mean the one with a pile of poop in it?"

i dropped my phone. i was horrified and i paused. i would never send a pile of poop. he's totally mistaken. i sent a beehive with cute bees buzzing around it. i text him so and his reply:

"nope, that was a pile of poop with flies swarming it"

could it be? i started laughing so hard i couldn't function. no wonder he didn't reply. i thought it was magical that gmail would have a beehive. how sweet.

and that, folks, takes me back to my original point of why i hate emoticons. once again, i'm firmly planted in the 'i don't use those' camp. it feels good to be back.

you can judge for yourself. i've posted the beehive/poop below. in an email, the bees/flies are moving around. what do you think?

simply too cute

new icing!

i made these cookies this weekend.
pumpkin cookies with brown butter icing.
they taste just like pumpkin cookies should. moist, tender, light with the perfect amount of pumpkin.
too often pumpkin baked goods (cookies, muffins, bread, even pie!) are thick, chewy, dense and stick to the roof of your mouth.
and i love that you have to pipe the dough on the cookie sheets since it is like a mousse.

however, without this particular icing, these cookies would be just another cookie. they work together beautifully, but the icing steals the show. mercy.

the browning of the butter brings a caramely flavor to the forefront and the evaporated milk kicks the richness up a notch. i love that it isn't a cream cheese base since i am not a fan! i believe i will be using this icing for my cinnamon rolls from now on. a true winner!

make it soon!

brown butter icing
4 C powdered sugar
10 T unsalted butter
1/4 C, plus 1 T evaporated milk
2 t vanilla extract

Put confectioners' sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Immediately add butter to confectioners' sugar, scraping any browned bits from sides and bottom of pan. Add evaporated milk and vanilla; stir until smooth.

pure magic. i kid you not. this will woo all your friends!

machines for everything

today i tried a new restaurant for lunch.

sushi freak.

the concept is genius.

it's a build your own sushi bar.

you can order one of their pre-made rolls: california, philadelphia, spicy tuna, etc... or you can pick and choose your own. you pick a wrap, seaweed or soy, pick your meat fillings (everything from krab to salmon to tofu to tempura, it's all there), pick 2 veggies and add any toppings or sauce you'd like.

it's like subway for sushi. you watch them make it in front of you and you're out the door in less than 5 minutes. very tasty, too.

it might be helpful to share with you that i love sushi. love, love it. i don't go for the wild kinds, but stick with fish i recognize, like tuna. most of the time i don't even have real fish and get a california roll. but, man, that california roll hits the spot.

a few years ago i developed the crazy notion that i wanted to learn how to make sushi, so i got a copy of sushi for dummies (highly recommend it) and made my own! i would love to make it regularly, but if you're not in the habit, it sure is a lot of work.

not for the kids at sushi freak!! they have these awesome machines. i couldn't believe my eyes. my favorite was a machine that put rice on the paper! that was the hardest part for me. you lay the mat down, cover it in plastic wrap, slap some rice evenly on seaweed paper then quickly flip it rice side down on the plastic wrapped mat, fill, roll up the mat, take off the mat, the gently remove the plastic wrap and hope your rice stays put. whew. check out this beauty.

the sushi man put the paper on the belt, pushed a button, the paper went in and quickly came back out perfectly covered in beautiful rice. my eyes were like saucers.

i must mention the rest of my roll was completely made my hand, lest you think i was at a short circuit sushi bar. but, how exciting! i want one. the website says it has a hopper capacity of 7.5 kgs of cooked rice. i have no idea how much that is, but i want a hopper!

i think i would start the tradition of sushi sunday at my house.

outliers

i love this book.

absolutely love it.

everything i've read by malcolm gladwell i've loved.

outliers takes a much harder and wider look at success; how people who we think are lucky or wildly successful had many factors go into their achievement. factors that could have happened to you or i.

to me, it is a wildly motivating book that teaches you to look at the whole picture.

his research is fascinating and thorough. i couldn't tear myself away from the book.

here is malcom's take on the book.

read it today!

a new fave

there has been a restaurant in sd i've always wanted to try.

charming does not begin to describe the atmosphere.

it is located in old town, on the same plot of land as the historic, haunted whaley house.

quaint old street lamps, brick laid pathways, creaky wooden floorboards - i eat it up.

plus, i haven't found a good cajun restaurant since santa barbara and i was itching for some creole dinning.

we're currently seizing the day and crossing items off our bucket list, so we gave it a try.

oh mama. it was so delicious! one of those meals where you wonder how it could be this good. you eat slowly because you know each bite brings you closer to an empty plate and you don't want to think about the horror.

the two owners run the place. literally. one cooks and the other serves. -side note: the cook had a straw fedora on and a tommy bahama shirt. i kid you not. - it is a very small restaurant and the service is slow (hey, there's only one guy), but why would you want to leave? historic pictures and plaques adorn the walls and the smell is delicious! the price is a bit of a deterrent, so we won't be going weekly, but it was amazing food and i'm so glad we had the experience!

media fast

the week before conference, our ward was challenged to participate in a media fast.

give up all non-essential media.

tv.
internet.
email.
music.

you get the picture.

after the media fast was over i still kind of forgot about most media.

but, i'm back.

lost in translation

last week we found ourselves unexpectedly in canada.

the occasion was sad, but good to see family and friends. aaron always loves going home so much.

i know there is much ribbing that goes on in america of all things canadian. being married to a canadian, we have a rib sensitive household and sometimes even i want to scream, enough with the canadian jokes!

it's like being left handed. believe me, i've heard them all. your joke will not be unique or funny, thanks. it grows tiresome.

aaron has a large family, so we customarily see many faces when we visit, but this time we saw a lot of very extended family. many he had never even met. i share this tidbit to demonstrate that my circle of canadians was widely expanded last week.

and i was surprised at how much they bagged on the american accent! for the most part, they love america, but they sure think they know the best way to say things. most of the people didn't know i was american and i only overheard conversations, so in no way were they being disrespectful. i found myself giggling at most of it.

here is a few gems:
pasta vs. paasta (long a)
mazda vs. maazda (long a)
a comment about how we say milk. couldn't figure that one out.
in-sur-ence vs. IN-surence ( i was corrected on this one).
various other ditties were noted.

all the encounters were made up of, 'can you believe they say it that way? sheesh.' i was so amused.

speaking of oddities, they call their bar donuts, long johns. i believe i've discussed that on this blog before. aaron tried to convince me everyone called them that, but i stopped him in his tracks. a snapshot from a 7-11 proved my point. you would not see this in america. no way.

i also saw ketchup flavored chips and pickle doritos.

oh boy.

we're not in kansas anymore, toto.

it's good to be back!

cookie funny

as a self proclaimed cookie monster, i couldn't help but laugh when i saw this.

look at the panic in his googly eyes.

i've felt that before.
hope you have a good friday.