Crackers

As most of you know, I recently moved back to my parent's basement.

It was going to be a temporary/transitional thing, since I have a well-paying job and no real reason to live at home. But, turns out, living here, is awesome.

And, my parents are psyched that I've decided to stay forever. Promise. Ask them.

I'm officially starting grad school in the fall, so at the very least, I can justify another two years...right? Right.

One thing, they don't love is when they go out of town I get bored and bake. They don't mind the baking so much, because I always clean up after myself*, what they mind is that I rarely bake or cook when they're actually around to partake.

This time around, I made crackers. Yum.

What You'll Need:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. vegan butter (I use Blue Bonnet Light, because it's cheap, like me)
1/2 cup water



What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Mix dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl

3. Piece in butter and add water.

4. Knead until dough is smooth, I started out using a spoon to avoid stickiness. 

5. Roll out dough, until it reaches desired thinness. 

6. cut into squares and season. I seasoned mine with salt, because ...duh. 

7. Bake at 450 for ten minutes

*LIES

Emily's Birthday at Kaffe Mercantile

I haven't posted about a good place to eat in awhile, today's post attempts to remedy that a little bit.

Emily and Jess

I have this "friend" Emily. It's her birthday. We had lunch at Kaffe Mercantile, one of my favorite places in the world.
She's a little crazy; the best things she ever did were to make a cute baby and get me as a friend.
Happy birthday dummy-face.

Sara: we like her.

They have a very cute patio, but it was too hot to sit out there today.

They sell things from great, local artists

Vegan cookies! Vegan drinks! Yummy, vegan sandwiches!

Sad face, because all the coke is gone.

She broke her mom's phone ... :O

Skirt in the Dirt and Soup

I ran a race this weekend, with my mom and her friend Lesli.

It went pretty well, out of 500 runners, I got 6th overall and 4th in my age group (19-40).  I was also stung, by a wasp, on my butt, so even though the race was really short (5k) I'm adding an additional nine miles for mental anguish.

I wanted to milk this for all it was worth, but my boyfriend got sick and one-upped me.

So, instead of going to a concert and having fun, we stayed home and I made soup.

Noodle Soup for the Sick

1 bunch chopped of kale
2 sliced or chopped carrots
1 sliced red pepper
Chopped mushrooms
1 sliced jalepeño
6-7 green onions
1 ginger root
4-5 cloves of garlic
Cilantro
Whole wheat spaghetti noodles
9 cups of vegetable broth


Directions:
1. Sauté garlic and roughly chopped ginger for 2-3 minutes. Add green onions, jalepeño, and broth. Simmer for 20-25 minutes
2. Cook noodles in a separate pot then strain.
3. Strain broth into a large bowl and pour broth back into pot.  Simmer until veggies are cooked through, 10-15 minutes. Add noodles and heat for 1 more minute, until both noodles and broth are hot.
4. Serve with sliced green onions and chopped cilantro.

Pineview Reservoir and Mustard Potato Salad

Yesterday, after work, I went up to Pineview with my family and some friends. We rented kayaks and paddleboards from Weber State's Outdoor Rec program and hung out for a few hours.

My mom made a great salad, adapted from the Barefoot Contessa's Mustard Chicken Salad. It turned out fabulously and was perfect to have on rolls at the beach.

Ingredients:
3 - 4 Roasted Potatoes
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups Vegenaise 
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roast potatoes for 35 to 40 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, add the broccoli florets to a large pot of salted boiling water. Cook for 1 minute, until crisp tender, drain, and place into a bowl of ice water until cool. This will stop the cooking and set the bright green color.

Whisk together the Vegenaise, wine, mustards, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the tarragon, broccoli, and tomatoes and mix gently to combine. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

Jess: cutest baby girl ever.

Summer Squash Risotto

I wanted to be blogging more, much more, than I have been.

I've been happy.

But, tired, busy, distracted. Maybe a little stressed.

Mostly, I find that I don't have that much to say.

Last Friday, I had some friends over for dinner. It was nice to catch up and enjoy the sunshine :).

Blake, my friend's baby

I made a *delicious vegetable risotto. I started with this recipe, but quickly changed it and adapted it. And, I just realized, I somehow forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Sorry.

Summer Squash Risotto with Mushrooms and Roasted Peppers

Serves about 6

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 cup white wine
5-6 cups vegetable broth (I use Better Than Bullion brand)
1 1/2 cup Arborio rice
2 medium zucchini
1-2 cups roughly chopped mushrooms
2 roasted peppers
Freshly ground pepper

1. Wash squash & cut into 1/2 moons about a 1/2 inch thick. Set aside.
2. In a large, heavy saucepan,  heat olive oil, & add onion & garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes over medium heat.
3. Stir in the rice, & cook 2 minutes until opaque. Add wine & stir until absorbed.
4. Pour broth into rice, one cup at a time, stirring frequently over medium heat, after each addition. Wait until broth is almost completely absorbed before adding more.
5. While rice is cooking, chop and roast peppers on the grill. (You can also use an electric grill, like a George Forman).
6. Saute Mushrooms in olive oil
7. After about 15 minutes, add squash & mushrooms to rice. Continue stirring & adding broth until the vegetables are tender & the rice is al dente but looks creamy, about 5 minutes.
8. Remove from heat, add pepper to taste.

Serve with grilled bread.

*At least I think so