hiatus

well, i am going on hiatus, as i will be very busy. but you can check out my other two blogs to see what i will be up to.

stumptown runner: http://stumptownrunner.blogspot.com/
beth draws: http://bethdraws.blogspot.com/

vote for me to win a design sponge scholarship

i am a finalist to win a scholarship through design sponge. please vote for me to win! it is super easy and there are no forms to fill out. just follow the link, click next to my name and hit submit. the money will go directly to my tuition for w+k12 next year. please tell your friends to vote as well!

http://www.designsponge.com/2011/12/2011-ds-scholarship-grad-finalists-voting.html

gingerbread houses and the holiday season

the other day we got together with some friends and had a ginger break making party. we turned on some rudolf and got to work. we did it elementary school style and built them with graham crackers. i was surprised to find that many people had never done this before and had no idea how to build a house. when i was in school i think we did this just about every year before christmas break until i was in 7th grade.


and practice makes perfect as i was able to make a beautiful house adorned with candy. todd took some design liberties with his and made some sort of marshmallow fortress. they have been sitting on the kitchen table and he has slowly been eating his over the past few days. this seems disgusting for me as the candy surely must be stale by now. oh well, sugar is sugar.

art show

last night i was part of a group art show. the theme of the show was 1" buttons and 50 artists all designed one. when you get to the show i was provided with 20 of my own design and you could purchase a bag of random buttons for $5. didnt get the one you wanted? well then that means you have to trade.

there were definitely some buttons that people were dying to get. todd was really working the crowd and got just about ever button that we wanted. he was really good at bartering with other people. some people brought in their own buttons too from the outside which was really cool. i wish i would have thought of that because i have tons of buttons that i have collected through the years.



there was a really cool vending machine back behind the show. it stocked only healthy snacks and looked like a dragon. too bad it didnt dispense our chips when we bought them. i guess it really is a healthy snack machine.

thanksgiving

thanksgiving this year was wonderful. we celebrated with friends in a nearby town. the house was set along a river and had a heated spa. everyone brought over a dish and we had all of the fixings. todd and i brought yams, homemade pickles, veggie tray with homemade dip and a mushroom and butternut squash bread pudding.

i got the honor of carving the turkey, which is not really an honor, but i was the only one who knew a little of what i was doing. i have never carved a turkey before, but i have carved many a chicken so it was not too bad. i think i actually did a pretty decent job and everyone was very happy about it.

after the big meal we went out for a soak in the spa. few things are better than sitting in a hot tub of water while the rain drops down on your head. i really wish we had a jacuzzi at our house. you would never get me out of that thing.

here is the recipe for the bread pudding. i got it from sunset magazine and thought it was really wonderful. it took some time to make but was not overly complicated. it makes a fantastic side of a main vegetarian dish.

wild mushroom and butternut squash bread pudding

• 3 cups cubed butternut squash, cut into 3/4-in. chunks
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon pepper, divided
• About 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 3 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced and rinsed well
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 pound mixed wild mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 6 cups cubed rustic white bread, cut into 1-in. cubes, lightly toasted
• 3 cups half-and-half
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded gruyère cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Heap squash on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with oil and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Bake, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden brown, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add leeks with 1/4 tsp. salt; cook until softened. Add garlic, cook 2 minutes, and add mixture to squash.
3. Melt remaining 2 tbsp. butter in same pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, until mushrooms have released their liquid and are beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in thyme.
4. Add mushrooms to squash-leek mixture. Stir in bread; scoop into a buttered 9- by 13-in. baking dish.
5. Whisk together half-and-half, eggs, remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper, the flour, and parmesan in a medium bowl. Pour custard over bread mixture and let stand 10 minutes. Top with gruyère, then bake, uncovered, until cheese is melted and beginning to brown and custard is just set (poke with a knife to check), 30 to 35 minutes.
Make ahead: Through step 4, 1 day ahead, covered and chilled; or finish bread pudding 1 day ahead, chill, and reheat at 375° for 30 minutes.

*note: i used a gruyere and cheddar blend i bought at trader joes. instead of white bread i used sourdough. i highly recommend the sourdough as it adds another level of interest and tang.

new foods

since i have another half marathon coming up real soon i have been trying to eat healthier so i can feel good and perform my best. in the past couple of months i have found that todd and i have been eating out more due to social situations. every week there seems to be unlimited reasons to go out and get a bite and/or a drink. while this is tasty and fun it does take it's toll on the wallet and the waistline.

so, to cure this i have been cooking healthy, loading up on grains and eating tons of veggies. i can already report that i am feeling much better because of it.

one of my newest favorite foods has been brown rice. i have never been much of a rice fan mainly because i always seem to have trouble cooking it. with white rice it seems to take hours to make and in the end my rice is still crunchy. ok, its not that bad, but it is way too much work for something i dont quite care for. but brown rice is different.

brown rice has a nice little bite to it and is harder to screw up than white rice. you can't really make it mushy and i have not burned the bottom yet. i have been preparing it plain and have also been mixing in some seasoning to change things up. the great thing about all this is that brown rice is better for you than white rice. in the past month we have gone through two small bags of brown rice. previously i think a bag of white rice would hang around for the better part of the year.

my other new favorite thing is kefir. it was introduced to me by aubree and i love the stuff. yogurt is great but i never eat it when i buy it. kefir is like yogurt you can drink. so you get all of the health benefits and probiotics and it is easier for me to eat. i bought the nancy's organics blackberry flavor and its great.

last night for dinner i made turkey meatballs with peas and a curried creamy sauce over brown rice. tonight we shall have some cod fish tacos and hey, maybe even some more brown rice. or maybe potaotes. i dont want to wear the brown rice thing out.

early thanksgiving

last week my parents came up to portland so we could cook an early thanksgiving dinner. we photo failed though because no one really took any photos of that dinner. we decided to keep it really simple and did the run of the mill sides, and of course we did two turkeys. one roasted turkey in the oven and another smoked one of the grill. smoked turkey is my favorite. both of them came out really great though and though we usually try to make it into a weird competition, we all agreed this year that it was a tie.

the weekend was filled with some relaxing, grocery shopping, boutique shopping, record shopping, cx racing and some beer tasting too. i don't know how we packed it all in in such a short amount of time, but we did.

of course we played some charades and some taboo as well. the guys always insist on being on the same team even though they lose horribly each time we play. dudes may be better than girls at some things in life, but games are not one of those things. the girls always dominate, especially when it comes to charades.

for example, todd shouting out "liquid slide" "beer slide" "drink slide" repeatedly when the word was "water slide".

this week has been packed with work and different projects. i am trying to work as much as possible before school starts up next year. the more money i can make the better to help pay for tuition and living expenses. the weather here has turned gloomy and very cold so i am counting down the days until i drive down to san diego for my winter vacation.