California: Day 2

Day two was declared a lazy day upon waking up. JP made breakfast for us; a scramble with tofu, soy chiroso, black beans, and homestyle potatoes. The rest of the afternoon was spent laying around reading and watching hockey games. Before picking up burritos for dinner, JP and I raced out to see the sunset over the mountains along one of his cycling routes. A beautiful end to a relaxing low-key day. Birthday festivities were planned to begin early the next morning, so we certainly needed our rest!

California: Day 1

After sleeping in a bit, JP and I went out for a delicious breakfast at Herbivore. Tofu scramble for him, french toast and blueberry cornbread to share. We then went for a walk around Berkeley and grabbed a cinnamon roll topped with lemon icing and blackberries at Cinnaholic. With full bellies, JP whisked us away to the Golden Gate Bridge. I was a little child jumping with excitement and smiling so much that my cheeks hurt. It was the most beautiful and wonderful day for a visit to the GGB. We walked across the big red bridge and took pictures galore. These were definitely some of my most treasured moments from the entire trip.

It's been good

Summer break is officially over and school is now back in session. The last few weeks have been some of the best. I spent a couple weeks in Indiana with my family, went to the State Fair, learned to sew, visited friends, baked, and ate the most delicious food.
 

I cannot believe summer is over! It has been one of the best ones yet. I won’t lie – I’m pretty darn excited about this school year though. It’s already off to a wonderful and fresh start. I’m looking forward to all that’s in store!

-K

Busy busy!

[1] Beau, [2] Sugar, [3] Grandparent's field, [4] Beau and I early in the morning

[1] Harry Potter with Matthew, [2] Hello!, [3] Pretty new Pyrex bowl, [4] Mochi, walnuts, blackberries, and raspberries

[1] View from the house my dad and brother stayed, [2] Matthew and Dad, [3] Dad and I, [4] Blueberry pie

These past couple of weeks have flown by. It's too bad, because they were so wonderful. I would have liked for them to have lasted so much longer! My dad was asked to play in a three-day-long golf tournament (he came in second place!) in Asheville, so I soaked up as much time as I possibly could with him and my little brother. A few days later I went to Georgia to spend a little bit of time with G. It had been over a month since we last saw each other! It goes without saying that it was definitely great to see him. I was also able to finally meet his band-mates and Vanessa. It was a little funny feeling at first, because we all knew of each other, but had not truly met before. But, everyone was very sweet and it was a good time! After the guys' show I drove a little further south to spend the weekend with my grandparents. They live out in the country and have the most beautiful dogs who kept me company during the morning-time while my grandparents were out and about. It was quite a wonderful few days!

See- these past two weeks have been busy(-ish)! This is the last week of summer classes and then I will be spending the rest of my summer break in Indiana with my family! More on that later.

-K

The Blueberry Festival

This past weekend, there was word of a blueberry festival at the Roper Mountain Science Center. Blueberries AND science? Count me in! My friend Aaron and I met up bright and early for what was sure to be a delicious learning experience. And learn we did. Who knew that the pre-historic ground sloths were three times as tall as Aaron? I sure didn’t. 

It was hotter than blue blazes (I learned that phrase this past week. Thanks Grandma!) and ever so humid. Oh, sweet South Carolina in the summer. The science center is in an old school building with exhibits in all of the classrooms and on the surrounding land, there is a mock colonial settlement. There were demonstrations, samples of blueberry concoctions, pilgrims playing music, etc. in and around the entire “settlement”. You know, like any other blueberry shindig. It was a blueberry festival success.

-K

Vegetables in bread?

A couple of weeks ago I figured I would attempt making zucchini bread for Garrett when he came to visit. I had never tasted this strange vegetable bread before, so I approached it with great hesitancy. On my first attempt, I split the recipe in half and baked two small loaves; one loaf for Garrett and one for my friends and I. As soon as I took the loaves out of the oven, I dropped the majority of one loaf on the floor, so I was left with a small taste of what hadn't fallen on the floor and I hoped that the other loaf tasted alright. 

Fast forward a week and I decided it was time to attempt this strange yet tasty bread again. Well, I believe that zucchini bread is my new favorite thing. On top of the deliciousness of this bread, it has 1-2 whole zucchini in it, so it must be healthy, right?!

 I used this recipe with a few modifications, which I've noted below.

Zucchini Bread

2 cup grated zucchini
1/3 cup water
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil  

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon baking soda 

1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Mix wet ingredients into dry and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

 Yum.

-K

Cinnamon Toast

I've spent my whole life eating cinnamon toast the WRONG way. I had no idea until this woman brought it to my attention and I'm thankful she did. So, the following morning I tried cinnamon toast the RIGHT way (according to her, soon to be me, and probably you too). Oh my goodness! Who knew such a nice and simple treat could have such potential?!

You need to try this, seriously.

Cinnamon Toast - The Right Way (adapted from The Pioneer Woman, you can find the original recipe here)
*I altered the recipe to a single serving, replaced and omitted a couple items.
 
2 slices of whole wheat bread
1 Tbsp. Earth Balance, Softened
1/2 Tbsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir to completely combine the Earth Balance with a sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Spread onto slices of bread, covering the entire surface, all the way to the edges.
Place the bread on a cookie sheet and bake for 3 or so minutes (I honestly didn't pay much attention to the time, but it was much less than her suggestion of 10 minutes).

Turn the broiler on and broil until golden brown and bubbling (be careful not to let it burn!).

Remove from oven and enjoy!

How simple is that?

Exploration of Meal Planning

The house is feeling much more settled in and feeling a little more like home (as much as living on the university campus can feel like home) for the summer. Over the summer we do not have a meal plan, (but we do have a huge kitchen!) so my friends and housemates, Blair and Hanna and I have been making meal plans for the week so that we are sure to have food in our bellies and money left in our pockets throughout the summer.

 

I want to continue to be mindful of what I am putting into my body. Personally, I need to make sure that I am incorporating enough protein and iron, as well as all the other necessary vitamins and minerals from my diet alone. I've been browsing the internet for recipes, suggestions, and the like. Dorm-living, vegan friendly, and most of all - simple recipes, are key.

Burrito bowl: brown rice, black beans, tomato, avocado, broccoli

Salad with strawberries, apples, carrots, and raspberry vinaigrette

This actually turned out to be, dare I say it...fun? I believe I repeated, "We are so grown up!!!" to Blair tens of thousands of times between the process of writing out the grocery list to putting the groceries away in the kitchen. She is such a patient friend.

Here is a short list of various blogs and websites that I found especially informative as well as some recipes that I'm excited to try:

The Daily Green

• Dirty Dozen Foods
• Superfoods 
• Clean Fifteen
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

MyVega
Going Vegan
Peas & Thank You
Overnight Oats

Recipe:

I completely forgot to share this delicious recipe with you (especially Angie)!

Cranberry-Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg and pumpkin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into mixture until well blended. Cut the cranberries in half and stir into mixture along with the orange zest and walnuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.