Barry & Blogging

Remember that wonderful Mother's Day gift that Omid gave me? Tickets to Barry Manilow?

Well, the Rose Garden screwed up and double booked a high school graduation for the same day & time. So Barry was cancelled. I am so bummed! I hope I don't have to wait another 8 years for Barry to come to Portland again.
Barry: When Will I See You Again?!?

On a happier note, I was chosen to contribute baking recipes for our local newspaper, The Columbian. My friend Michelle told me they were looking for food bloggers, so I applied and was accepted. My first post was published today in The Columbian's Sugar & Spice food blog. I wrote about those delicious Monkey Squares. Speaking of which: have you baked some yet?

Make This!!!

 

Banana Brownies a.k.a. Monkey Squares!

 

 

These are my new favorite baked item to take to potlucks. These brownies are so tasty! Much moister than banana bread with a browned butter frosting and oh so delish!  They bake up in no time & the frosting comes together pretty quickly too. I found the recipe via The Girl Who Ate Everything. Just click on the link for the recipe.

Make these! You will be so glad you did!

Note: I sprinkled mine with a little cinnamon. My kids also like these brownies stored in the fridge, while Omid & I prefer them at room temperature. Either way, these are a winner!☺

Make This!!

Katie brought the most delicious broccoli salad to share at our friends getaway last weekend. I love broccoli salad & have a very good recipe; but Katie's version blows mine out of the water.

Make this salad! It's a winner!!

Katie's Broccoli Salad

3 cups broccoli florets

½ cup chopped red onion

¼ sunflower seeds

½ cup chopped raisins

½ cup feta cheese

½ cup plain yogurt

¼ cup light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

·         In a bowl mix together yogurt, mayonnaise, sugar, and lemon juice.

·         In a salad bowl, stir together broccoli, red onion, sunflower seeds, raisins, and crumbled feta cheese. Toss with yogurt dressing, and season with salt and pepper.

·         Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Weekend Get-A-Way!

We spent last weekend in the Prosser/Sunnyside/Yakima Valley of Washington with great friends. We planned this trip months ago & were counting down the days until we could all get away & have a 'friends' reunion.   Katie & Tom live in Spokane, so we thought we would meet each other halfway in Yakima. The plan: stay at a B&B, eat lots of good food, visit wineries & catch up with one another!

 

Fun fact: We have known Katie & Tom for 16 years!☺ Katie & I met through Clark County Indoor Play Park & Omid and Tom knew each other from work. Katie & Tom moved their family to Spokane 7 years ago.

 

This was the view in sunny Goldendale, Washington. We left the rain behind in Camas.

 

I texted Katie every now & then with an update to where we were in WA. She did the same.

We arrived at the B&B within ten minutes of each other!

First minute together! A perfect photo opportunity.☺

After getting settled in our rooms, we met in Katie & Tom's room for  cocktails. After that, we moved outside so Omid could make us dinner. He made Persian jujeh kebab, mast-o-khiar & rice with tahdig. The B&B had a large patio area, so we took advantage of that.

♥

Tom & Omid discussing the finer points of grilling 'old school.' Then....Tom showing off his 'tiny fork!'

Fun fact: We are ALL WSU Coug Alum!☺ Go Cougs!!!

 



We invited other guests at the B&B to join us, but each of them declined. A group of three older women were so scared of us, they scurried through the patio area & dashed in the back door. They wouldn't even make eye contact. We were sad!

Happy birthday Lin!
Buttercream...just like you requested!

This was the bed in Lin & Ward's room. Check out that dip!

Shake that thang!
Wait....Katie? You stole my thunder!

We continued to have a lot of fun on the patio until 10:00 p.m., when we had to move it inside for 'quiet hours.'

Awwww! Katie & Tom:
You two are so cute!

Lin & Ward - you two are cute too!

Why is there no photo of Omid & I? Poor Omid had to go lie down.
So I took photos of my sweet friends.☺

Fun fact: This was the first time Omid & I had ever stayed at a B&B. I loved it! Nice digs & yummy farm breakfasts! 

 

The next morning, we met at 9 a.m. for breakfast. I made sure to smile & make 'eye contact' with the three older ladies from the night before.☺ Breakfast was coffee, banana bread, butter & fresh half & half from a local dairy, potato hash, kale & mushroom quiche, asparagus quiche, bacon & Greek yogurt with crystallized honey. Good stuff!

The plan was for Saturday was to visit several wineries. We picked a few on the map & actually visited five. The first winery, Omid & I dumped every single pour. The wine was so new, it tasted like vinegar to us. The second winery was run by former Cougs (GO COUGS!). Their wine was better than the first, but Omid & I still didn't want to purchase any. Next we visited another that had a good Riesling, but I have had better (stay with me here...it gets better!).

Girlfriends!♥

Love these photo bombing pictures of Katie!

Gorgeous Prosser, WA scenery!

Finally, we visited a winery that Omid & Ward had visited before & made friends with the owners. Ground squirrels in the area eat the roots of the grape vines, ruining the crops. Omid & Ward helped take care of the 'varmint' problem. This was my favorite winery of the weekend! It's called Pontin del Roza.

I took this photo for 'planter' ideas!
I also loved the quote on the rock.☺

Pontin del Roza winery is the first winery that offered a dolcetto wine. I'd never had that before. It was good. But the wines that Omid & I really liked were their sangiovese, merlot & Riesling. Their Riesling tasted like sweet honey. I've never tasted a Riesling like that before. Absolutely delicious!

Finally, a 'couple shot!'

The tasting room at Pontin del Roza is absolutely beautiful! It looked like something out of Sunset magazine. I loved every single touch that Scott & Dustin added to the room. I could live there. Seriously!

Wine & a picnic lunch at Pontin del Roza winery.
Thanks for the lunch, Katie!☺

Katie, Lin, Scott & me behind the bar at Pontin del Roza.
We felt special!☺

Friends: Old & new at Pontin del Roza winery.

Just to let you know how much we loved Pontin del Roza winery: we spent almost two hours here! We felt completely at home. I loved talking about the finer points of 'Shahs of Sunset' with Scott & Dustin. They weren't aware that Omid is Persian, but soon found out. So much fun! ☺

Omid & Ward playing bocce ball at Pontin del Roza.
When we first drove up, I thought this was a Zen garden.☺

We finally said our 'goodbyes' & headed to one more tasting room. This last place was awful! We were sure the employees were drinking. Tom paid for our tasting fees (Thanks, Tom!!), then they thought our group hadn't paid & other strange things were said. There were arguments among guests & insults traded as well. I couldn't wait to leave that place!

We finally left that tasting room & headed home so Ward could grill us tenderloin & scallops for dinner. After cleaning up, we all met in the dining room of the B&B and played several serious game of poker (all while listening (& singing to John Denver's greatest hits!). But first...Lin passed out dental picks for our teeth. Thanks to Katie for capturing the photos!

Lin was the big winner of the evening! I cashed out with $1. So much for my 'winning streak' at Christmas.

 

After playing poker, we hit the hay & met again for breakfast the next morning. On Sunday, we had croissant French toast, fresh whipped cream with pineapples & strawberries, steel cut oatmeal (which Omid & I each ate a 'bite to be polite", but we're still not oatmeal fans!), fruit plate and hearty sausages. Lin loved the steel cut oats. She took a heaping scoop & drowned it about 8 oz. of half & half. Wow!

 

After breakfast, we packed up & said our 'goodbyes.' I really didn't want the weekend to end. I had the best time catching up. It had been a year since we'd seen Katie & seven years since we'd all seen Tom. We decided to make this a yearly event. I am already looking forward to May 2014!

 

Fun fact: On our way home, Omid took us to the Legends Casino in Yakima so Lin could continue her winning streak. She didn't want to play poker, but played the slots instead. Did she win? Yes! Upwards of $30! Good job, Lin!☺

 

Surprise to us: this casino was 'dry.' No alcohol allowed on the premises. But...smoking was allowed. I actually felt sick from all the cigarette smoke. Yuck! We walked in a 'blue haze' wherever we went.

 

 

I loved our weekend away! Special thanks to my Dad for coming down to take care of Matty & Remy. ♥

Netflix This!!

 

Omid & I finally watched Silver Linings Playbook last night. It was very good! I thought it started out a little bit slow/hard to follow...(so don't multitask if you watch it), but it got much more interesting. It's sad/heartbreaking in a lot of scenes, but happy too! There were lots of scenes where we just laughed out loud.

Netflix this film!☺

I'm a "Fan"ilow!!

I received my Mother's Day gift a few days early:

three tickets to Barry Manilow!

I am so piggly wiggly about this concert! I cannot wait! I am taking my two dear friends with me. June 7th can't get here fast enough!!☺

 

Thanks so much Omidjoon! This is the perfect
present!! Love you lots!!

Pinterest Fail

I love Pinterest, I really do! What's not to love? So many awesome ideas in one place!

But I do dislike Pinterest's new 'website verification' system. I have spent way too many hours trying to get my website verified so I could have my pins profiled. I uploaded the verification file to my root file on my hosting site...only to have Pinterest tell me it's not there. So I spent several hours yesterday learning about html, ftp & root files when I should have been outside enjoying the sunny weather. I thought the error was on my part. I contacted my hosting site and they verified, that yes indeed, it was there & I did everything correctly. I even enlisted the help of my super tech saavy hubs & Pinterest still said they couldn't find my blog.  So...I tried the alternate route & added a meta tag to my blog. 

Not only was it not verified, but Pinterest told me I tried to verify my website too many times and have been locked out & I can try again later. What?! Something that should have been so easy to do, has turned into something that is beyond frustrating.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Update! Yay! Pinterest finally verified my blog! ☺ If you want your blog verified by Pinterest, check out these step by step instructions. Be warned: it could take up to 48 hours! Mine did. :/

Make This!!

Cinnamon Crisps!

I found this recipe via Healthy Recipes Twitter feed last night. I love when I have all the ingredients for a recipe and can make it right away.☺ This was really easy and my super-picky eater loved it!

Lightly grease a cookie sheet (I used coconut oil). Place won tons all over the sheet. Lightly spray the won tons with Pam cooking spray. Mix cinnamon & sugar together and sprinkle over the won ton wrappers. Bake in a 400* oven for several minutes (10 mins. in my oven) or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Make This...Or Not!

 

Since I have a giant bag of baby kale at home, I decided to make homemade kale chips today.

 

 

 

Only three ingredients needed: 2 handfuls of baby kale, sea salt & olive oil. I tossed the kale with about a tablespoon of olive oil.

Next I placed the kale on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkled it with a little sea salt.

Then I baked the kale in a 350* oven for ten minutes.

I really wanted to like the chips. But I didn't like them at all. They were crispy enough, but smelled & tasted awful. From now on, I will stick to kale salads and cubes for my smoothies.

I forced myself to eat half the pan (waste not, want not). Thankfully, Remy really liked the kale & ate the rest of it for me. ☺

Try This!!

This dried coconut snack is my new favorite find from Costco. I know it's been in stores for a while, but I just got around to tasting it. It is super delicious!

 

While I love the scent of coconut in candles, lotions & shampoos but am not a huge fan of the shredded coconut in baked goods. I decided to try this snack, as it's full of fiber & makes a perfect snack for the Shred. It's so yummy & has a creamy-coconutty taste that I really like. Be warned: it's not inexpensive - but sells for $8.99 for a 18 oz. bag. Kind of pricy. It is, however, good enough that I purchased two more bags this morning (as the first bag didn't even last a week in our house). We are loving this treat!☺

More coconut news: I learned from a coworker that dogs can eat fresh coconut. I Googled the info just to make sure it was safe for Remy to eat. Turns out - it is!

I purchased a coconut today and wasn't quite sure how to open it. I watched several videos on YouTube & tried the technique here in my kitchen. Coconut fail! What the videos didn't show - but absolutely-positively happened in my kitchen: coconut husk & chunks flying everywhere (including my eye). After cleaning up the huge mess, I took the coconut outside & threw it on the ground. Success! It opened up into 4 pieces & Remy ran right to it.

Remy sampling his treat.☺

 Here is a cute Vine video of Remy & his snack.

 

Remy made short work of these coconut pieces!

Edible Thanks

 

Today is 'administrative professionals' day!

 

Since I'm on a budget, I baked my gifts this year. What did I make? Lemon mini scones for the lovely ladies in Special Services.

 

 

Annette & Tami:

Thank you for all that you do!!

 

Make This!!

I am very late to the kale party, but I'm okay with that. I'll take 'better late than never.'☺ Before I began the Shred Diet, I only used kale to decorate a platter for salmon, turkey or other meat.

via Nutri Bullet

 Just last week, I made my own kale cubes to add to my smoothies.

They were super easy to make! I used baby kale (found at Costco). It's much easier to use (no de-veining required) & it doesn't taste old & leathery like the adult kale does.

I used about 2 cups of kale at a time & added a tablespoon of water. I blended the kale until it was liquefied & added 2 more cups along with another tablespoon of water. I repeated this step again & again until I had a blender that was 3/4 full of kale juice (about 1/2 of the Costco-sized bag). Then I poured the kale juice into ice cube trays & froze them overnight. The next morning, I popped the cubes out & placed them in a gallon size freezer bag. So easy & so good for me!

Try it!

Make This!!

 

Sweet & Spicy Candied Nuts!

 

 

I love a good candied nut on top of salads and pasta; or even by the handful. I'm not picky that way. I spied this recipe on Dorie Greenspan's blog this morning, and immediately ran to the kitchen & made a batch. 

These are very easy & oh-so-delicious. I toasted my nuts beforehand (350* for 6 minutes) even though Dorie didn't say to. Why did I toast my nuts? Suffice it to say that I have made enough candied nuts over the years that weren't toasted before hand and I ended up with nuts just didn't have that extra crunch that I crave.

I increased the cayenne pepper from one pinch to 1/2 a teaspoon as Omid & I like our nuts 'spicy.' ☺

Here's the link to the recipe. Make these nuts!!

Netflix This!!

We finally watched 'Life of Pi' last night. Oh my goodness! What a movie! The storyline alone is amazing ... and the computer animation isn't that bad either. ☺

If you liked 'Cast Away' with Tom Hanks, then you will like this movie. I laughed and cried. Omid didn't want to watch it and was captivated from the start. That fact right there should sell you on this movie.☺

Netflix this movie!! It's GREAT! I will tell you though - I did feel a little nauseous at times (from the rollicking boat) - but I get car sick easily too. :/

Willamette Valley Wine Tasting

Omid & I spent yesterday on the Willamette Valley Wine Trail. I happened to win a weekend pass ($90!) to the event. Omid was gracious enough to give up a precious fishing day so we could go together. We had an absolute blast & met a lot of nice people.

 

Our first stop was at Kramer Vineyards to pick up our tasting glasses & bracelets for the event. We were both chewing gum - which in turn had us quoting the movie Sideways. We cracked up at ourselves for how funny we were (& we hadn't even had our first tasting yet). We are both huge merlot fans which of course led to more Sideways quotes. ☺ All I can say is that my hubs is a lot of fun & I am so thankful he finds humor in the same things I do!☺

 

Let's get this party started!!
 

 We didn't care for any of the wines at Kramer. We really like Muller-Thurgau, but the MT at Kramer was too acidic for our tastes.

Our next stop was at Quail Run Creamery. J. Albin Winery was pouring at this event. While we didn't care for the pinots here, Lynn Albin, brought out a bottle of something that wasn't on the Wine Trail tasting menu: a J. Albin cabernet. We liked it so much, we bought two bottles.  My favorite part about the stop at Quail Run: baby goats! I neglected to get photos, but they were so cute & loved being pet/talked to. Of course, that opened up the 'we need a pet goat' conversation.☺

After this stop, we drove to Carlton, Oregon (ten minutes away) to stop in at the Noble Pig tasting room. I was hoping to get a chance to meet Cathy Pollack. I love reading her Noble Pig blog. Unfortunately Cathy wasn't in when we popped by & the tasting room was busy (so we didn't get a chance to taste). Next time!

We visited Plum Hill Vineyards next. Omid & the winemaker had a fun & spirited conversation. Such a nice man! PHV had a tasty chardonnay (tastes like vanilla!). But...since I'm not really a chard fan, we visited the alpacas (who were deathly afraid of us) then moved on.

Our next winery was Montinore Estate. I liked everything about this winery. From the entrance (a gorgeous wrought iron gate) to the tasting room. At Montinore, we finally tasted pinot noirs that started to taste delicious! We also got great service here. Super nice staff + a bonus discount to boot.

Cheers!
 

Montinore Estate panoramic view.

We decided our last stop for the day would be at David Hill Vineyard & Winery. This was my absolute favorite place of the day. We actually stayed at this winery for almost an hour & a half. The tasting room manager, Michele Andrich, was the nicest person. We chatted with her for a long time. We also joined the wine club at David Hill. The wines were just amazing. If you visit the Willamette Valley for wine tasting - please put David Hill Vineyard & Winery on your list.

Omid sampling the David Hill 2009 Estate Pinot Noir: 'Black Jack"

When I look back on the day, we started out at a winery which didn't fit our tastes at all & ended at a winery that fit our tastes to a T.

A most successful 'date' day!♥

Purchases of the day.
Already looking forward to our next dinner party so we can share these
fabulous wine finds with our friends.☺