Sometimes I don’t want to share every funny thing I find on the internet by hitting share on FB. Here’s what I’m entertained by right now.
Lucille or Kanye Quote? You decide via EW.
George Zimmer, founder of Men’s Wearhouse fired?!
Loca the pug that cannot run.
Sad Cat Diary and Sad Dog Diary.
Adorable Peter Pan at Disneyland.
I LOVE weddings, Moment Junkie features hilarious, emotional, and special wedding moments.
And this photo of the new tiger cub at the Point Defiance Zoo:
So cute!
xx
-h
The second week of summer share: broccoli, spinach, scallions (green onions), carrots, kale, lettuce, frozen blueberries and Rainier cherries!
I love Rainier cherries soooo much. On the menu this week? Lots of salads! My mom is making a chicken caesar romaine situation for a bridal shower we are hosting on Saturday, so she took the scallions. Speaking of scallions, my friend Allie posted on FB this week that she has to relearn that scallions are not a kind of seafood once a month. I had to LOL, because I do the same thing.
Have you guys seen this Martha Stewart seasonal produce guide? Love. Probably going to have to make that Warm Spinach Salad with Bacon this week with some tweaks of course like adding hard boiled egg and losing the pecans.
Want to learn more about our farm share?
xx
-h
As a kid, my grandmother always had cookies at her house. My parents didn’t keep junk food in the house, let alone cookies, so going to Grandma Jeanne’s always meant we would get to have either a ginger snap or oatmeal cookie after lunch. A couple years ago I made this Bon Appetit Chewy Triple Ginger Cookie Recipe and it was delicious, but pretty labor intensive given the amount of ingredients. Recently, I picked up the Tom Douglas Dahlia Bakery Cookbook and marked the recipe for Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies with Fresh Ginger. Last night I combined parts of both recipes for these Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies.
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
-3/4 cup (1.5 cubes) unsalted butter
-1 cup light brown sugar
-1 large egg
-1/4 cup molasses
-2 teaspoons fresh ginger peeled and grated
-2 cups flour
-2 teaspoons baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add molasses, egg, and fresh ginger and mix to combine. In a separate bowl whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and combine. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until evenly dispersed.
Refrigerate dough for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1/2 cup of sugar in the raw (or regular white sugar if you don’t have coarse kind) in a bowl. Form 3/4 inch balls of dough with your hands and roll in the sugar. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets 2-3″ apart and squish down with your hand so the ball is flattened.
Bake for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown and set around the edges but slightly soft in the center.
Tip: If dough starts to get soft while you are putting on cookie sheets, return to fridge until it’s set again.
These would make great ice cream sandwiches – put a scoop of chocolate ice cream between 2 cookies and wham bam, delicious dessert!
Enjoy!
xx
-h
This week’s farm share included: lettuce, baby turnips, carrots, apples, spinach, Swiss chard, green garlic, an onion and more strawberries!
We don’t have any major plans this weekend which I’m excited about. We’ll be getting ready for my future sister-in-law’s bridal shower that S and I are helping host.
Low-key weekends mean there is plenty of time for homemade pizza, so I’m thinking I’ll make this using the Swiss chard from our share using the green garlic.
My friend Lindsey came over early in the week to catch up and we made a delicious grilled salmon meal. I’m still working on the leftover including spinach salads for lunch.
xx
-h
See week 1, 2, 3, and 4 for more information on our Terry’s Berries Farm Share.
We’ve been taking some awesome trips around the Pacific Northwest lately including camping near Cape Flattery, the most Northwest point in the lower 48, then a jet boat tour through Hells Canyon with my family, and most recently to Orcas Island with and to visit some friends we know from Park City.
Stopped for late lunch at the Next Door Gastropub in Port Angeles on the way to Cape Flattery and walked to the top of the town stairs for the view of Mount Baker.
Sunset on Hobuck beach.
Hobuck Beach is one of the premier surf spots in Washington, which we realized once we pulled into our camp spot.
In the morning, as I was crawling out of the tent, our camp neighbor whisper yelled that he had spotted a whale in the bay. We scurried out and saw it blow once before it disappeared. A couple hours later we leisurely hiked out to the actual Cape point and spotted it again!
A couple weeks later we drove to Clarkston, Washington for a Hells Canyon Jet Boat Tour.
Heading up the calm part of the Snake River.
An old cattle ranch with no road access, now operates as a small museum, campground, and lunch spot for tour operators.
The next weekend our friends Quincy and Aaron visited from Park City, and we went up to Orcas Island to stay with Sheetal and Mike, more PC buddies.
The view from Rosario Resort, where Sheetal and Mike work during the summer. Rosario is a historic place going through a bit of a remodel. The changes will be a welcome update and we can’t wait to go back.
A major highlight of the weekend was brunch at Doe Bay, featuring all local produce and ingredients, I was instantly smitten. We were all blown away by the house infused arugula vodka used in the bloody marys that were dressed with a pickled fiddle head along with the usual suspects. The menu changes often and when I looked today the lox was no longer listed. Is there anything better then salmon, bagel, cream cheese, and oozy egg yolk? Plus everything was garnished with edible flowers from their garden.
The Doe Bay soaking tub cabin is an island destination for locals and tourists. The views from the cabin are sweeping of the sound and massive forests.
We are so lucky to be able to explore this wonderful world.
Enjoy!
xx
-h
Just discovered our friend Kris’ new project in Florida. Kris is the chick on the right singing. This awesome 10 piece soul/jazzy band that just came out with this music video. This song is CATCHY!
xx
-h
Yaaaaay! My bff from growing up is getting married! Over the weekend we threw her a kitchen themed bridal shower. Invitations from Tickled Peach Studio on Etsy. I did the printable version which was super easy.
We decorated the house with vintage tea towels, table runners, napkins, and cookbooks. Other then that decor was simple, picked up some flowers and put them in jars or glasses, and used strips of fabric for bows where it looked necessary. I borrowed a giant whisk and strainer from my friend Courtney and they were hilarious sitting on the front porch.
For dessert I made strawberry rhubarb raspberry crisp in jars that guests could eat at the party or take with them. We topped the jars with the metal lids and a piece of vintage fabric found at Kristen’s grandmother’s house, then screwed the rings on.
Rhubarb Crisp in Jars (makes about 32 jars)
You can half this to made 15-16 jars for a smaller crowd!
Topping:
– 4 cups oats
– 3.5 cups flour
– 2 cups pecans toasted then finely chopped
– 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
– 1 cup packed golden brown sugar
(or 2 cups of either)
– 3 sticks of cold butter cubed
– 5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Whisk the dry ingredients together then add the butter. Pulse in a food processor in batches until butter is evenly distributed and texture is crumbly. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a pastry cutter or 2 forks, but it will take much longer.
Filling:
– 5-6 pounds of berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
I used 4 lbs of strawberries and about 2 pounds of frozen drained raspberries.
– 7-8 cups of thinly sliced fresh rhubarb
– 2 cups granulated sugar
– 3 tablespoons cornstarch
– 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
– 1/2 cup orange juice
– 1 teaspoon salt
Mix fruit together and then add other ingredients on top. Gently stir until combined and cornstarch is absorbed.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange jars on parchment lined cookie sheets (half pint, wide mouth). Gently spoon fruit filling evenly into jars. I did them in batches of 12-15 and went back adding more to ones that looked like they could use a bit extra. Using the back of a spoon push gently on fruit to release any air bubbles. Sprinkle topping over fruit filling so each jar is filled to the brim. It will shrink down a lot. Bake 25-30 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm or cold, with ice cream or my favorite: homemade whipped cream. Can be made a day in advance. Wait until completely cool to put metal lids on in order to maintain crisp topping.
Enjoy!
xx
-h
Woo hoo! It is officially the first week of summer share from Terry’s Berries in Puyallup.
The first couple of summer shares include crossover between spring produce and the beginning of summer goods. This week we received: broccolini, spinach, kale, green garlic, lettuce, radishes, apples, and strawberries! We also purchased some ground cherry plants, which I’m super excited about!
When my mom came in with our haul she was beaming with excitement about STRAWBERRIES! The first of the season, they were still warm from sitting on the bushes in the sun. They are so sweet, juicy, and FULL of flavor. She said I was lucky they even made it the two miles from the farm to the office without her eating them all. I saved R a couple for when he gets home from work, it took some serious self control, because MAN, they are good.
Pretty much everything I have planted lately Judge has eaten including 4 established lettuce plants last week, nipped right to the ground, a spaghetti squash plant that was apparently talking smack or something to him. 5 primroses in early March and about 50 bulbs. I so thoughtfully planted the lily, daffodil, and tulip bulbs and then Judge dug them all up, gathered them, and brought them to his bed. I hastily threw them back in the ground after, so we’ll see what happens next spring. He stayed away from the mint, thyme, jalapeno, and tomato plants, so hopefully he will do the same for my new ground cherries.
Anyways, this week on the menu will be spinach/berry smoothies in the mornings. Lots of salads for lunches. And crispy broccolini for dinner at least one night!
Crispy Broccolini
– Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
– Trim ends and any tough parts off broccolini.
– Toss with olive oil, a splash of lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Should be enough to coat and brighten the green color.
– Spread on baking sheet and cook for 20-25 minutes or until crispy on the outside but stems are soft on the inside. Shake the pan about half way through to prevent from browning or sticking.
– Sprinkle a little shredded or shaved parmesan on top and enjoy!
xx
-h
It all starts with an innocent gym membership. Lifetime fitness is the goal, via your parent’s habits. You use your old tennis shoes, shorts, and t-shirts.
You start working out at the college gym and acquire some yogis from Victoria’s Secret and a couple of bright v-necks because that’s what everyone is wearing to workout.
For Christmas you ask for personal training sessions.
One day, you innocently wander in to LuLuLemon and try a pair of compression capris on. You have no intention of spending $90 on black stretchy pants, so you bargain with your husband that if you meet some extremely attainable goal you have earned the lulu’s.
A couple months later you try trail running with a friend and realize she has some sweet kicks that are super grippy on the rough ground, you pick up a pair with a discount code of backcountry.com.
Your coworker does spin 3 times a week at 5am, you try it, and wonder about buying clip in shoes.
A few months after that, you ride bikes downtown with all your roomies and you can’t keep up on your cruiser so you decide to sell it for a real urban bike. You obviously need some padded shorts (skort) to go with the new bike because no one like a sore hoo hoo. You get a cute under seat bag to stash your phone and money for rides. Then you need a squeazy water bottle because you can’t take time to screw the top off your nalgene while you’re at a stop light.
You’re husband convinces you to try mountain biking. It’s terrible. You decide to never ride a bike again. At least you’ve dodged the bullet of having to buy a women’s double suspension bike plus a full face helmet, knee, elbow, and wrist pads.
A trip to the outlet mall includes a stop at Nike and all of a sudden you’re hooked a sports bra that’s is $60, at least it holds the girls down. You buy 2 more.
You try yoga for the first time and buy a yoga mat.
You move and rejoin the gym. You resort to wearing old t-shirts because you’re not impressing anyone at the neighborhood gym you grew up going to.
An old friend loses a bunch of weight and gets super fit doing Insanity, you buy it off Craigslist from someone in a very sketchy deal. Shaun T. tells you that a heart rate monitor is necessary, you find one and geek out on the technology.
Your sister convinces you to try hot yoga, you buy groupons and utilize first time memberships at 4 different studios before committing to 10 day passes at a couple of them. You buy a hot yoga towel.
For your birthday you get a Brooks reflective yellow jacket for walking/running at dusk.
You join a new gym and try zumba. You resort to not wearing anything zumba branded, that seems too far.
For Christmas you get personal training sessions again and the trainer convinces you to buy some protein powder.
You walk into TJMaxx and forget what you’re there for, you see a neon pink workout tank and thoughtlessly throw it into the basket. You see someone wearing a witty tank on instagram from Etsy and buy one for your friend’s birthday and one for yourself.
In a day drinking blur you agree to run a half marathon. You buy a SPI Belt to hold your phone in a “non dorky” belt bag sort of way. You get fitted for new running shoes and drop $160 at the running store, but earn $15 in credit for your next purchase. On the way home you think about how cute the running skort is and how it would only be $30 with your store credit.
Pulling into the garage you see the ski gear needs to put officially away for the summer and your husband’s new golf shoes. Guess there’s two people with a bit of a product addiction in this house.
Now….how can I get my hands on another pair of those lulus.
Be active, be well, be wonderful!
xx
-h
Week 3 of reporting on our farm share. This week we received: green garlic, massive asparagus, Swiss chard, spinach!, lettuce, frozen blueberries, apples, and carrots.
I’m so excited about the first spinach of the season which will go into a dip for one of my bff’s bridal shower on Sunday along with the green garlic and some artichoke hearts. Those huge asparagus are perfect for a shaved asparagus salad. Swiss chard will be sautéed and included in an egg scramble for post long run breakfast on Saturday.
This is the last week of spring share, and the goods only get better from here as the growing season progresses. When I saw Terry today she was excited about strawberries coming on.
xx
-h