for the love... of food

New Blog

2011-10-18T21:25:00.001-06:00

I created a new blog. Feel free to check it out here.

What does life give you?

2011-10-10T19:22:00.001-06:00

My life has been giving me all sorts of things lately which has kept me pretty busy. (And the lack of a working computer has not helped with my renewed blogging efforts.)

Life gave me apples:

I had never before canned anything and it was an adventure. I definitely learned a lot and in the coming weeks I was very glad that I had been given this "learning opportunity".

Little did I know that life was about to give me a lot of peaches! A 5 gallon bucket overflowing with peaches. My kitchen looked like this for an entire week while I made freezer jam and cooked jam and jello jam. I bottled peaches and froze peaches. It was crazy!

I am happy to report that my counter is now free of peaches and my husband and I have enjoyed some wonderful peach jam.

It's been awhile...

2011-09-05T20:05:00.000-06:00

I have been really bad at blogging. I blame lots of things and I managed to convince myself that one of these days I would get up the motivation to create a new blog. Well it still hasn't happened and so this one's for you Gina!

So much has happened since November. I've now been married for over 6 months! Time goes by so fast. And summer is wrapping up which makes gives me mixed emotions. I LOVE autumn and the changing leaves (and my birthday), but I will wish that I spent one more day sitting in the sun and being so hot I could barely stand it. I hope there are a few more ridiculously sweaty days ahead.

David gave me a garden for Mother's Day. He built a cute little wooden box on our "patio."

We planted some plants from Lowe's: a cucumber, a red tomato, a yellow tomato, and a green bell pepper, and some plants that I got for free: a pepper and 3 tomatoes of unknown variety.

It proceeded to grow like the jungle. On multiple occasions I went "pruning" or cutting off branches that didn't look important just so we could keep track of what was growing. The cucumber on the left started blooming and there were baby cucumbers all over the place.

Small bell peppers started popping up and I was getting really excited about it. The interesting thing was that the free plants seemed to be doing just as good (or better) than the Lowe's plants. As time went on this became even more apparent.

Tomato Harvest

This is our "harvest" from last week. Don't be decived by the apparent large size of the tomatoes, the largest was not even as big as your average cherry tomato. But they do taste good.

Here's a wedding picture to make this post less depressing. I still like gardening and I still really like food. Although David and I are starting a "wellness challenge" this week so we'll see how that goes. I also want a new name for my blog. Any ideas?

2010-11-14T19:05:00.004-07:00

I have internet... kinda. At least I have enough to blog. So here I go.

My new job is going well. Still working on meeting people and remembering names and faces, but overall really good. I enjoy menu planning and working on new projects and hopefully getting a few more kids to eat fruits and vegetables.

Mainly my life right now involves driving to Pocatello every weekend and wedding plans. If you want more of an update than that keep reading, if not you can stop now.

Engagement pictures... done. And although it has gone back and forth I am 96% sure which one is "the one."

Reception location...booked. I am really excited about this place and it's potential.
Temple time... booked. And I think we only changed the appointment twice. A big thank you to David who is very willing to make phone calls that I don't want to :)
Wedding dress... in the closet. So far I have resisted the temptation to try it on. (part of that might have to do with the fact that I can't get it on or off by myself)
Address collection... IN PROGRESS. If you have one that needs to be added to the list, feel free to post it as a comment. I am resisting the urge to make a facebook group.
Announcement design... also in progress. I met with the graphic designer last week and the first set of proofs should be coming this week.
Favors... bought. I am still amazed at David's great luck with these and the awesome price we got. There will still be some assembly, but we have some time.

With 89 days left to go, I think we are doing good. This weekend was a little break from wedding stuff and I got to see David take first in his Judo competition. I am so excited for Whitney to come this weekend and tackle a few more wedding items.

2010-09-13T11:47:00.002-06:00

Please excuse the mayhem while my life (and this blog) are under construction.

I just thought I should post something before I move and may not have internet for a while. No one could have predicted how crazy this summer would be, certainly I didn't.

As of Aug 28 I am engaged to David Scott, planning to be married on February 11, 2011 in Salt Lake. I was offered a position at the Ogden School District on Aug 25th and accepted the position and gave my 2 weeks notice on Friday the 27th. My last day of work at EIRMC was last Thursday the 9th.

So, now I have a week to move to Ogden before starting my new job on Sept 20th. Lucky for me I found a place to live last weekend, so I won't have to live in my car :) Also lucky is my wonderful fiance who is always wanting to help me do things. He is amazing!

Since I know very few people read this, and most of them already love me. I will post the first picture of David and I together. Taken while hiking in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I am still somewhat amazed that he wanted to see me again after seeing me like this for 4 days.

My summer

2010-07-21T19:14:00.004-06:00

Now that the summer is more than half over I finally got around to making my shirt. When I named my summer I don't think I could have ever predicted how applicable the theme would be. One thing I had never done before is make the delicious ice cream sandwiches pictured above. While on a 4 day long hike in AZ (another first) someone asked me what my favorite dessert was. I carefully pondered the question and decided to make chocolate cookie ice cream sandwiches when I got home. After a few sick days I did make them and they are definitely up there on my list of favorites.

Sometimes the label says it all...

2010-07-21T17:49:00.002-06:00

This made me think of my brother in law, who actually thinks that everything should taste like bacon.

Happy Moments

2010-06-29T21:52:00.002-06:00

On my google homepage I have a weather box that features the temperatures of 3 cities: my current hometown of Idaho Falls, Salt Lake City, and where I grew up Wellington, Florida. All winter I was tormented by the high temperature in Florida and the ridiculously low temperature here. As spring came I would feel a surge of joy every time I noticed that the temp in Idaho Falls was the same, or higher than that in Salt Lake.

Today, June 29th, will go on record in my personal almanac as the day Idaho Falls was warmer than Wellington, FL. This afternoon when I checked, the temperature reading was 83 degrees in Salt Lake and in Wellington, and 87 degrees in Idaho Falls. I know that it feels hotter in Florida with the humidity (and I think the high there today was in the 90s), but I am so excited to be warm, and even hot. I know that before I know it the days will be cooler and shorter, so I am going to enjoy each and every HOT day!

p.s. Even with the hot weather I am still sunburn free. We will see how long I can keep this up.

"I've Never Done This Before"

2010-06-23T16:44:00.002-06:00

I thought of a name for my summer a while back and just returned from my first big adventure. I left Friday June 11th after work and spent the weekend in Lehi/Provo before traveling to the Havasupi Reservation in AZ. Turns out that it is probably not the best idea to not sleep for 3 nights then drive 12 hours then hike 50+ miles in 3 days and then drive for 16 hours straight. My body is still a little mad at me, but it was wonderfully worth it. Pictures are still coming (if you must you can find some on facebook, there is a rather unfortunate one of me in the car), but here is a little of what I learned while doing something I've definitely NEVER done before:

Rock Climbing is easier when it's the only way up
Repelling is faster when it's the only way down
Both of the above are less scary when you have a harness :)
I have absolutely ZERO desire to jump off of cliffs
You never know who you are going to meet (and how they will surprise you)- After hiking to the Colorado River we met 3 fellow hikers who gave us some really good laugh

I had tons of fun and laughed a lot, but I am also happy to be back in my bed. Now off to plan my next adventure- let me know if you have ideas of things I've never done before, I'm up for anything (well, not anything).

Rainy days and Mondays

2010-05-24T17:29:00.004-06:00

Today is May 24th, and not only was it rainy and cold, but it was snowing! The day seems to have turned around now and the sun is out, so hopefully the week will turn out well.

Yesterday Jami and I had some people over for dinner and I made a chocolate angel food cake and served it with strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. I meant to take a picture of it before we ate, but it didn't happen and by the time I got around to it this morning, well, you can see for yourself.
I used one of my new favorite ingredients to turn a regular angel food cake recipe into a chocolate one.I am off to plant the strawberry pot that my sister gave me for my housewarming present, wish me luck! We'll see if I get any freaky strawberries like this one.

This Summer

2010-05-18T17:40:00.003-06:00

We got our first glimpse of summer this past weekend. I broke in my hiking shoes on Saturday and don't tell my mom but I may have a touch of a sunburn. On Sunday I walked around the neighborhood park and talked with one of my best friends. This summer is going to be great. My 4th nephew will be here in July and there are sure to be lots of good parties and even more delicious food.

Two summers ago a friend and I read an inspiring article entitled, "Every Summer Needs A Name" and we decided it is true. So, I need to come up with a name, hmm... Based on the rain/ wind that today brought I think I still have a week or two to brainstorm.

Where did I hear that?

2010-05-17T17:54:00.002-06:00

Lately I have been hearing quotes all over the place and I find myself wishing I had brought a pad and pen to random places like the movie theatre. Case in point:

"How can I help you if you don't even know who you are, stupid girl."

"Good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from previous bad judgment."

"Sometimes your whole life comes down to one insane move"

"You were right!" response-"Even a dead clock is right twice."

2 of these are from doctors, 2 from movies- any guesses?

Confessions of a Registered Dietitian

2010-05-10T21:13:00.003-06:00

1. I ate a package of Oreos at 10:45 this morning. I don't know if I didn't eat a big enough breakfast, or what, but I saw them in my desk drawer and exercised ZERO self-control.
2. I had exactly 1 serving of fruit and 1 serving of vegetables today (2 fruit if you count strawberry yogurt - I don't).
3. I was talking to a patient at work today and he referenced my husband, just FYI for those of you who don't know me (in which case I'm not sure why you're reading this, but feel free to continue) I don't have a husband. The commend caught me off guard, but because I didn't wish to continue talking to this patient I just walked away.
4. I have dinner group tomorrow and instead of planning a complete meal as I was carefully taught to do in school, I am just making things I feel like eating, so I hope that everyone else feels like eating Spinach and Chicken Calzones and Golden Raisin Scones.
5. I want to hire a dishwasher.
My new pans are beautiful, but not necessarily low-maintenance. Anyone want the job?

Nearing the End

2010-05-08T08:36:00.003-06:00

I am just about finished moving, for the second time in the last 30 days! And I decided yesterday while hauling boxes up the stairs the moving is not one of those things where practice makes perfect. Granted there are some things to learn, but for me more moving tends to lead to increased fatigue and frustration as opposed to knowledge. It's probably my attitude. Let's just hope it's over for at least the next month.

Thank you Benson (and Kim) for my housewarming gift- a strawberry pot
Thank you Rob for moving all of my big furniture and heavy stuff that I am afraid of

At least it was "a beautiful day" yesterday!

I love reading!

2010-04-22T19:28:00.002-06:00

I love that when I am not feeling good, or when unanticipated stumbling blocks cross my path I can escape to somewhere else for a little while.
Right now I am reading a book by Jon Krakauer called "Into Thin Air" and if you are at all adventurous you would love it. In fact right now I want to pick up the book and escape to Everest, but alas, sometimes we have to face our problems... maybe in a few hours.

I love food...

2010-04-05T20:58:00.002-06:00

... but lest you think that I am a very boring person, let me explain that I do love other things as well.
I moved. I would like to blame the fact that I have not posted in a few weeks on that fact. This evening I was unpacking my books and found myself going through old scrapbooks and journals and student planners and reminiscing about the great opportunities and experiences I have had. I love my friends, and I have had some really good ones!
I love to travel, whether it is all the way across the Atlantic, across the country (in a car with my sisters), to Boise for Valentine's Day, or just to Salt Lake for a fun-filled weekend adventure; I love going to new places and seeing new things (and eating new food!).
I love the rain, but NOT the snow.

I love lots of other things, but those are the ones that come to mind today.

Food group round 3 is up tomorrow with spaghetti pie, homemade bread sticks, steamed broccoli, and no bake cookies.
Oh, I also love my new counter stools. I'll be honest and tell you that I didn't know "counter stools" existed, but they do and they are wonderful.

I made a mistake.

2010-03-20T21:57:00.002-06:00

I said (out loud) that I didn't mind PDA. Fatal error. It has been following me around like my shadow. You would be surprised with all of the places that people have decided to be inappropriate while I was watching.
To name just a few: Wandering around the grocery store, walking on the treadmill (I bet you thought this would be impossible, I'll be your witness), institute, etc.

I stand by my ground, that subtle and G rated public displays of affection are ok, but this has got to stop.

Also, just let me know so I will not be out of the loop. In Idaho did the fast lane switch from the left lane to the right? I didn't get the memo, but apparently EVERYONE else did.

In food related news, I have my second meal for food group on Tuesday, any suggestions?

Dear Dove Chocolate,

2010-03-14T20:01:00.002-06:00

After having recently been disappointed with your product I have come across some other products that seem to offer what yours has been lacking. Perhaps these could help get you back on your feet.

1. Inside a Raspberry Chocolate Bar

2. I opened a fortune cookie to find this (I thought I tucked the fortune in my pocket, but now I can't find it, luckily I can always remember good fortunes!) "A bold and dashing adventure is in your future within the year."

Dove, please take note. I anticipate that I will continue to consume your product and I am hopeful that you will continue to offer me love advice in the future.

Passionately Yours (name that movie)

I am so tired!

2010-03-11T16:22:00.004-07:00

Today was the longest day at work, which is weird because I didn't go in until after 8 and I was home by 4, but I fell right into my bed. I am exhausted!

This may be why:

- I have started exercising, really exercising. I think this is the first time in my life that I can run three miles and not feel like dying. I am losing weight, slowly but surely. And, I have taken up Spinning on Thursday and Saturday which is really fun, but I think it may directly correlate to my current state.

- I have been apartment shopping for the past month and yesterday I found it, I am going to sign for it later tonight. The thought of moving makes me even more tired, but this new place is going to be worth it!

- I joined a dinner group. It has been really fun and it is good to socialize with people, but it is also another thing to fit into the mix and makes for some late nights at the gym. On the up side, I made chicken enchiladas on Tuesday and everyone seemed to enjoy them.
Side note: one of the members of the group doesn't like onions and I had heard that he usually picks them out of the dish. In my ridiculous efforts to please everyone, and to see if I could get away with it, I cooked some diced onions with my chicken until they were nice and soft and then folded them into my enchiladas. Ha! He didn't even notice and I felt very accomplished. See, everyone likes onions, just not everyone knows it.

Well, I am going to fit in a nap before I have to do something productive. Wish me luck making it to the weekend.

p.s. I almost forgot to mention that my first use of my new pans was cooking the chicken for the enchiladas. It was wonderful.

It's only Wednesday

2010-03-03T17:17:00.004-07:00

...but so far not too much to complain about this week. Here are a few of the highlights.

~ No work on Monday!
~ A haircut that turned out a little shorter than expected, but I really like it and it makes me feel ready for spring.
~ My tax return, oh the possibilities :)
~ An hour spent roaming the BYU bookstore and reading random Speeches and cookbooks.
~ Left over Valentine's Day chocolate.
~ New friends to share food with (I will admit that after last night's AWESOME Chinese food, I'm a little nervous about what I will make on Tuesday).
~I never thought that 40 degrees would feel warm, but it does and it is so nice!
Hopefully the rest of the week follows suite. March is turning out to be pretty great! I'll keep you posted on my tax return goodies, I think there is a set of Calphalon Stainless Steel pans out there with my name on it.

February

2010-02-25T17:26:00.005-07:00

It is the shortest month, so it's okay that I feel like I have been in whirlwind the whole time... right?

A few highlights of the month:

1. My AWESOME Valentine's Day dinner party. Everything turned out well (miracle) and I think everyone had a good time.
It's a miracle what a few hours in the oven can do.

2. My mom is the best mom in the whole world and even though her Valentine's Day package didn't get to me until 10 days after the fact, I still think she's great.

... which leads me to number 3...

3. I am sorely disappointed with Dove. I have already been let down by Martha Stewart, but it has gone too far.

I LOVE Dove dark chocolates and when I eat them I want a love related fortune, not this:

4. To counteract all the chocolate I rediscovered cross-country skiing and had a blast. (and the soreness that I felt helped me appreciate those Olympians who literally fly across the snow.)

So, overall a short, but fun-filled month. I am hoping that March will bring some slightly (or not so slightly) warmer temperatures.

At a loss for... food?

2010-02-02T22:11:00.002-07:00

The Superbowl is on Sunday, and I happened to be invited to a party which, oddly enough, led me to a predicament that I did not expect- What kind of food do you bring to a Superbowl party? Not only do I have to admit that I have never attended a Superbowl party, but I cannot remember ever even watching the game.

Help!

Only 18 more days!

2010-01-24T22:52:00.002-07:00

I want to make another cake, so if you have any suggestions I'm open to new ideas.

Pink Lemonade

2010-01-23T21:39:00.003-07:00

A friend asked me a question recently that I thought I could address here: "Where does pink lemonade come from, because I have never seen a pink lemon?"

Well, Bryan, first off let me inform you that pink lemons do exist. The Eureka lemon has yellow skin, pink flesh, but clear juice- so no luck with the pink lemonade there.

After some quick (and might I mention, not so scientific) research, I have discovered that Native Americans first made "pink lemonade" from the Sumac plant. Now a days pink lemonade is made with red juices, grenadine, or just good old food coloring.

I hope that answers your question.

I found an interesting article in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition this past week, so if I remember to bring it home from work I will enlighten you all! Happy eating.

A really cool gift

2010-01-08T17:55:00.003-07:00

One gift that I received this holiday season that I love is "The Panera Bread Cookbook." before it gets into any recipes there is a very interesting foreword and then 2 chapters all about the art of making bread. I still haven't found 3 hours to try out the recipes, but I read through the text on the plane, here's my favorite part:

"Dietitians know that people in this country are not obese because they eat bread.... Americans aren't obese because they eat too many burger buns with their shakes and fries at fast-food restaurants, or too many bagels with their cream cheese schmears."

True story.

If you're pregnant....

2010-01-08T17:50:00.002-07:00

Check this out. I think some of the food options that they chose are rather interesting. I would have never thought to compare the size of a fetus to say a turnip, rutabaga, or Chinese cabbage.

I spent the last 2 weeks in Florida and for once, food did not predominate my vacation, but I'll post more about that later. For now I am working on regaining my routine and getting back to the gym.

December Has Been Crazy...

2009-12-27T12:42:00.009-07:00

... and then last week when time started freeing up I got sick and all I have wanted to do is sleep and watch ridiculous made for TV movies on lifetime.
But before all of that I took a trip down to Utah to see some friends and we went to see the lights at Temple Square, very fun, insanely cold. I always enjoy just relaxing with friends and making up new rules to make games funnier :)

I also was introduced to a new method for making gingerbread houses that is really cool. All you do is melt white sugar in a saute pan on the stove and then dip one edge of the graham cracker in the molten sugar and then add the other wall, within 30 seconds the sugar has hardened and you do not have to worry about your
little house falling down. I also got to make up some new ways to make trees- some of my gingerbread house making friends did not bring their creativity with them- I won't mention names.

My branch had a service auction and I had a lot of fun making caramel & candy covered apples, and I ate so much chocolate making them that it was probably better that someone else have the finished product.

Martha, Martha, Martha

2009-11-30T21:20:00.004-07:00

The other day I found a beautiful red casserole dish at Macy's and I justified buying it telling myself that I could bring it to Thanksgiving dinner. I trusted that a Martha Stewart dish would be the best quality. Well it isn't the quality I had an issue with. Martha had glued a paper to the bottom of the dish and it wasn't coming off. Not only had she bonded the paper to the dish never to be parted, but she had written something (important, I'm sure) on the back side of the paper. Now how was I supposed to get to that?

Luckily a little elbow grease went a long way, and I think the dish looked wonderful filled with spinach casserole.

Because I know how much I love food...

2009-11-25T18:41:00.002-07:00

my sister and I are going to do a 5k tomorrow morning, to hopefully offset some of the calories I am sure to consume. If you're around the Idaho Falls area you should join me.

http://www.pb-performance.com/pb/calendar.php?year=2009&month=11&eventId=25

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! (More on actual food and how Martha Stewart recently disappointed me coming up)

I love this video!

2009-11-18T16:58:00.002-07:00

"Haven't Met You Yet"
Michael Buble

Maybe I should be looking for more than food at the grocery store :)

Get Outta Town

2009-11-16T22:09:00.011-07:00

Once in a while, you just have to get away... When I planned this little getaway I was thinking that it would already be "winter" in Idaho Falls and I would need some time in the warm sun to thaw my bones. Lucky for me we have had a very mild fall and just this week (Nov. 15th) is winter really starting.

So a week ago on Thursday night my friend Jami and I flew away to "sin city." In true dietitan fashion here is my food diary:

Thursday night- Airplane treats. Since they no longer give you food on airplanes I have to bring my own. By the time we arrived in Vegas and got to our hotel, The Stratosphere I was way too tired to even think about food.

Friday- our day to be crazy. We started off CRAZY shopping at the outlet mall. What shopping trip would be complete without a stop at Auntie Anne's Pretzels? After some more shopping we finally left the mall and stopped by Quiznos for a late lunch.

I tried a sandwich called the Pesto Turkey Bullet. It's made on a thin ciabatta baguette and just the right size, and price ($3), for a mid afternoon snack. We headed back to the hotel with a few more bags then we intended and took a short stop by the pool before our next adventure.

I am proud to announce that Jami and I rode all 3 CRAZY rides that sit atop the Stratosphere tower. (Our favorite of the 3 rides, Insanity is pictured below.)

After we exhaled and safely had our feet on solid ground, we headed to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and dessert. I love the food there, but sometimes I struggle with the atmosphere, we were seated in VERY close proximity to the surrounding tables.

A quick stop off at the M&M store (we practiced some good self control there) and we were on our last ride of the night at New York New York.

Saturday-

The majority of the day we spent at the Hoover Dam. I had driven over the dam before, but it was really cool to get to take a tour of the inside and learn more about how it works. We also got to eat some "dam food" at the High Scaler Cafe. I had a really yummy crispy chicken wrap. (Note: Las Vegas has a lot of overpriced food, but in my opinion the Hoover Dam was the worst.)

Once we got back to Vegas we changed and went on our way to our worst meal so far. We ate dinner at Maggiano's. I don't recommend it. To make up for it we got a nutella crepe from The Paris and enjoyed The Fountains at the Bellagio. I think I could watch those fountains everyday and never get bored.

Sunday- We went to Sunday brunch at a little cafe called Serendipity 3. It was the best meal of the trip and our flamboyant waiter only made the experience more memorable.
After the best meal we had had all weekend it was time to get back on a plane and come home. Lucky for us my sister knew that we were not ready to transition back into real life just yet and she had homemade enchiladas waiting for us when we got in.

After a weekend of warm weather it's hard to believe that it's almost time to start making fudge and Christmas cookies.

Who said you have to carve a pumpkin?

2009-10-31T20:18:00.002-06:00

I'll fill you in on more of my Halloween weekend adventures later (after all of them are over!) Have a happy Halloween!

Random thoughts for today

2009-10-23T21:05:00.009-06:00

1. When someone asks me what my favorite flower is I never say roses. I don't have favorite flower, per se, I think I always answer that question differently. But it's not roses. That said my mom sent me a beautiful bouquet for my birthday. It contained bright green spider mums and roses in two shades of pink and other whitish flower that I can't remember the name of. They are on their was out and as I passed by them today I had the fleeting thought that roses really aren't that bad; what did roses ever do to me? I think I might like them, don't get me wrong, they are not my favorite and I never want to smell like roses, but sometimes it's nice to have them on the coffee table.

2. This is how I feel after this week at work, the days seemed to last forever.

3. Should I buy myself a birthday present? Is that something grown-up people do?

4. I love the rain, but I am afraid that it may be a sign of colder and wetter things to come.

5. I spent way too much time debating the purchase of a saute pan today, now I know that is not something normal grown-up people do.

6. I discovered a new disease to add to the list of things not to get. It's called cyclic vomiting syndrome. I don't think you want all the details, but trust me that you don't want to get it. My heart goes out to people I see everyday that struggle with challenges that I cannot even imagine.

That's all folks!

How can I make this about food?

2009-10-19T17:49:00.017-06:00

I have been a slacker and haven't posted in a whole month, which means that my birthday has now come and gone. But, oh, it was wonderful! Because I feel obligated to talk about food I will recount my birthday through a food diary. (Other RDs that are reading this, don't judge me!)

Friday night:
I ate with some friends at The Snakebite, my favorite little hole-in-the-wall restaurant here in IF, while I was waiting for some other (procrastinator) friends to get up here! So, I had: salmon sandwich, waffle fries, and chocolate cake.

Later Friday night:
Friends FINALLY got here and because it was "1:30 night" we stayed up talking and laughing, and I'm pretty sure I ate something. (pic: Megan and I playing Cat's cradle... kinda)

Saturday morning:
Breakfast at my sister's house with the whole gang. Muffins, fruit, juice, banana bread, yum!

Saturday midday:
We drove to Rexburg to go to bear world! Pringles in the car, free fudge samples, etc.

Saturday before the game:
5 guys burgers and fries, we all shared fries, but I think I still ended up eating 4 whole potatoes.

BYU won! But on the Bryan scale of football fun the game was a 3, so not a total victory.

Saturday evening:
Jami hosted a wonderful party for me, complete with fruit, veggies, yogurt covered pretzels, cookie dough truffles and it goes on and on, and then Casady (I love her!) made me a delicious birthday cake. I don't think anyone got a picture of it before it caught on fire (a story for another day) but it was beautiful! (And someone bought me "Five" to have with my cake :)

Later Saturday evening:
This is the only part of the day that I didn't eat, but I should have had the diet coke that Megan got for me because Tiffany kept wanting to "talk" about stuff and sorry Tiff, but I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Way too few hours later/ Sunday morning:
Another breakfast at my sisters, cereal and Reed's choco milko. (pic: after church we walked around the green belt and discovered waterfalls and rock alcoves)

Sunday afternoon:
A beautiful "Thanksgiving dinner" spread complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, spinach casserole, and home-grown mushroom gravy- and for the third time that weekend, cake! (above: in between dinner and dessert; below: trying to burn off all the calories we just consumed and posing for our album cover photo)

Thanks to everyone who played a part in making my birthday weekend wonderful! It wouldn't have been the same without you.

Only 1 month left...

2009-09-17T17:20:00.003-06:00

...until my birthday! I love my birthday. It is in the best month of the best season. And it is just another wonderful excuse to be surrounded by lots of friends and WAY too much junk food. Well, there was that one year that my roommates decided to be healthy :)

Don't worry, there was still plenty of chocolate and candy and ice cream to go around.

Home is...

2009-09-08T21:11:00.003-06:00

Let me start off by saying that I had an AMAZING Labor Day weekend filled with so many good friends and even more good food. I probably shouldn't have eaten at all today, but I did. I'll fill you in on the weekend's goodies later, but first here is what happened today.

I was at my sister's house reading a magazine and one of the features was a collection of readers' opinions of what home means to them. Some were typical "home is the smell of my mom's perfume", some a little more interesting "home is where I can wear yellow yoga pants and a holey shirt and not worry about being ambushed by a makeover crew", and some were downright weird "home is the smell of my husbands neck right below his ear." However odd some people are the question got me thinking (though not too hard and honestly I would have never thought about it again if what home is to me hadn't smacked me in the face a few hours later.)

Let me back up a few years and explain. When I was younger my favorite ice cream flavor was vanilla, and I was not afraid to admit it. As I got older I fell into some traps, thinking that more is better and obsessing over my love of chocolate, I soon fell away from my classic flavor in favor of New York Super Fudge Chunk, Fudge Brownie, and other dare I say trendy flavors. I think I was a little afraid to miss something if I stuck with vanilla.

Today I apologize to vanilla. I am no longer afraid to admit that deep down you have always been my favorite. I don't need anyone to mix in chocolate chips or snickers bars or little pieces of bubble gum. All I need is vanilla, and that is home to me.
Thank you Haagen-Dazs Five for helping me remember what it feels like to be home.

Mango Salsa

2009-08-29T19:15:00.014-06:00

Next weekend is labor day and I am heading to Provo for a weekend-o-fun with my old college friends, I can't wait and in my anticipation I started preparing for the trip today. I don't think there is a better place to start than with food :) I know that I will be eating a whole bunch of junk food, a minimum of 2 late night Wendy's runs, plenty of Diet Coke, and smiley face fruit snacks, so I thought I would contribute something (relatively) healthy-- Mango Salsa. I will post the original recipe below, but I adapted it a little bit today, mainly because I left my grocery list at home.

Start by dicing some onion.

Add some diced red bell pepper.

I forgot how hard and annoying it is to cut mangoes. It works best for me to cut the flesh from around the pit (the pit won't just pop out like an avocado). I discovered it does work pretty well to take the skin off with a spoon, my knife was taking off too much of the good stuff!

Next add a finely diced jalapeno pepper, you could also use a serano pepper, those tend to be a little more spicy. (I seeded mine because I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy things.)

I added a whole can (minus what I couldn't help myself from eating) of pineapple and a whole can of peach halves, both roughly chopped.

Last, but definitely not least, a few tablespoons of lemon juice and lots of cilantro, and other mango because I have lots of hungry friends.

I made almost 8 cups of mango salsa! I guess the real test is how much will actually make it to Provo when I have to look at in the fridge everyday.

Brittany's Mango Salsa:

2 mangoes
1 c each roughly diced canned peaches and pineapple
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 c sliced green onions
1/4 c snipped cilantro
2 Tbsp lemon/ lime juice
1-2 jalapeno/ serrano peppers, seeded and diced

To market to market

2009-08-23T20:05:00.009-06:00

I am trying to hold on to what I have left of summer, and I know of no other way than with fresh fruit, perfectly ripe and sweet.

I was at Albertson's the other day and I found a little basket of pluots. They are a variety of plums and they are super-sweet with bright red flesh.

I never know what to do at this point. They aren't like apples and you can eat all the way around the pit (which was surprisingly small), but for some reason it just feels wrong. Don't worry I ended up eating every little bit!

I was also FINALLY able to go to the Idaho Falls farmers market. It was small, but fun and I left wishing that I had a house full of people to feed that would justify buying multiple loaves of bread and way too many pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables. I managed to restrain myself and left with only peaches and raspberries.

I'm hoping I can squeeze a few more weeks out of this summer before I have to go into hibernation mode, wish me luck!

Grab a snack...

2009-08-19T21:40:00.004-06:00

... I just found something really entertaining. One of my co-workers told me to look up the literal video of Total Eclipse of the Heart, it's hilarious. I recommend watching the original first. Enjoy!

Original video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=840B27zYfOk

Literal video:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9gcyi_total-eclipse-spoof_music

There are a whole bunch of other 80's videos, I liked Making Love Out Of Nothing At All a lot!

Original video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lE6Htee0sA

Literal video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GlJbyMrytA

More about food soon to come!

Tubers

2009-08-17T21:42:00.008-06:00

Tuber: noun
1. a short, fleshy usually underground stem bearing minute scale leaves each of which bears a bud in its axil and is potentially able to produce a new plant.
2. one who travels down a water current in a rubber tube.

Webster.com did not have the second definition listed, but I went tubing last weekend near Lava Hot Springs and I definitely saw signs that directing tubers to go this way or that, and I followed because I was a tuber.

But this post is mainly concerning the first definition of tuber. This is one of my first food mysteries. I never quite understood the difference between a yam and a sweet potato. And as everyone was telling me how healthy sweet potatoes are, I became even more confused. My sister called me up one day explaining that she had purchased a tuber that was labeled as a sweet potato at the store with the intention of making sweet potato fries. (yum!) However, when she got home she realized that the tuber she fad purchased had white flesh, not the orange flesh she was expecting.

So... what is the difference between a yam and a sweet potato and why is the American food industry all mixed up?

Misconception #1: Sweet potatoes are orange. I call this a misconception because it is only half true. In fact there are two varieties of sweet potatoes widely available in the U.S. one has orange flesh and the other a whitish/ yellowish flesh. Both taste great!

Misconception #2: Yams are orange. False. And if you have not traveled to Africa or South American it is unlikely that you have ever seen a true yam, never mind eaten one. Around the time I was unraveling the yam/ sweet potato conspiracy a friend of mine traveled to Africa and was able to eat true yams, which have white flesh and are mild in flavor. Here is a picture he took of a yam plant.

The yam is growing underground and in order to be harvested the plant has to be removed from the ground. The rest of the pictures he sent me are actually of another tuber known as cassava, (Cassava starch is what tapioca is made from) but he assures me that the process is similar in yams.

After the tubers are collected they are peeled, cut, cooked and eaten in a number of different ways.

So the next time you pick up that big can of "Yams" and turn it around and see "Ingredients: Sweet Potatoes" you can think about a little Ghanaian boy who is actually eating yams for dinner, and know that you, in fact, are not.

Sunday Afternoons

2009-08-01T13:44:00.006-06:00

In my previous post I mentioned my love of picnics. For my last picnic my friend Megan and I made a strawberry rhubarb pie. It was wonderful! The recipe didn't call for a crust on top, but I couldn't resist.

Thanks to Megan for making the crust from scratch, (she is an amazing partner in the kitchen!) and to Jen, the photographer, and to all those who ate the pie with us, I'd weigh 500# by now if it weren't for willing volunteers to eat whatever I make.

I don't know of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon, than eating fresh pie with friends, on a picnic.

RANDOM

2009-07-28T18:36:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since I've posted and I am not exactly sure where July went, but it is almost officially gone. I have been super busy with work and moving to an apartment (that is on the other side of town, but feels forever away), so I have been neglecting the food, though I have not stopped thinking about it, so here (in no particular order) are my random thoughts:

1. I love picnics! I have to thank Whitney and Megan for making me go on them, but I am always happy that I do. Really I think I just love eating outside and any excuse for a party. (And Matt missed it, but we had scrabble cheese-its that were yummy and educational.)

2. Cinnamon. I know I have taken WAY too long answering Bryan's question. He asked, "Why is cinnamon hot/spicy in foods like gum and gummy bears, while it is not hot on things like Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Snicker Doodles?" I thought about it, performed some very scientific kitchen experiments and consulted a food science expert and still I have no concrete answers, but I have a few pretty good hunches-
a. Theory 1: The amount of sugar, here is a very simple kitchen science experiment: pour a little bit of cinnamon on a plate, get a good amount on the end of your finger and taste it. If you get enough and your cinnamon isn't too old I think you will be surprised how "spicy" it actually is. Part 2 of this experiment is to add sugar to the cinnamon. (No less than 2 parts sugar to 1 part cinnamon). All of a sudden it is sweet and yummy.
b. Theory 2: There are different kinds of cinnamon, though according to my expert only one is prevalent in the U.S., so this is less likely.
c. Theory 3: Red dye. Now I know that this is highly unlikely, but I would just like to point out that all of the "spicy" cinnamon foods are red, coincidence?

Bryan- you can decide for yourself which theory to believe. Let me know if you have any other pressing questions.

3. This thought has been stewing for a while, but started when I went out to dinner for a birthday party. I noticed this pattern occurring in myself and in those around me. We go to a restaurant, sit, immediately open the menu, stare at it, if you are me you then drink 3-7 glasses of water, stare at it some more, order something that you have settled on, eat it (and drink another 5+ glasses of water), and then say something like "I wish it had come with broccoli instead of carrots." Or worse, sometimes before we even order we say, "I want chicken, but with pasta instead of rice," and then because we don't want to be the confusing/ complicated customer we order another chicken Caesar salad.

So, here is my revolution! I am going to stop ordering what is on the menu. I have worked at food institutions for long enough to know that the customer is always right and if I want an entree of salmon to come atop a salad, they will do it, if I want rice and pasta with my chicken, they will probably do that too. Why do we let ourselves be limited by the options they have created for us?
DISCLAIMER: Restaurants do have menus for a reason and have a limited amount of ingredients and time in which to prepare your meal, so please be reasonable in your requests and understand that special requests sometimes come with a special price tag :)

Happy eating!

Love

2009-07-08T20:26:00.002-06:00

Love is the only way to describe the way I feel about my Kitchenaid. I get a little bit happier everytime it perfectly distributes chocolate chips, or kneads pizza dough so I don't have to. For its 90th Anniversary Kitchenaid has released a special edition mixer, available exclusively through Williams-Sonoma. I already have a mixer (and I much prefer my almond color to the fire truck red), but I am already awaiting the 2010 release of the glass bowl. Is there a saying about good things being worth waiting for? I am sure this falls into that catagory.

Happy mixing!

Food on the Fourth (and the third!)

2009-07-05T20:55:00.006-06:00

Lucky for me I was invited to my brother-in-law cabin for the 3rd of July to celebrate the holiday. We had a blast! My mother taught me not to show up to something empty handed, so I tried out a new recipe for rolls. They were a hit.

Oatmeal Rolls--

1 cup oatmeal
2 cups boiling water
3 Tbsps. butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1 1/2 tsps. salt
2 Tbsps. yeast
1/2 cup warm water
5 cups flour

Mix first three ingredients and let cool. Add sugars, salt, yeast, and warm water. Add flour. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Let rise in large bowl for at about an hour. Punch down, then form into 20-24 dinner rolls. Put in greased 9x13-inch pan. Let rise again. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350F. Brush with butter while still warm.

(Hint: Once you put the rolls in the pan, let them rise for at least 30 minutes before baking, and they will be fluffy and delicious!)

Before we enjoyed our own private fireworks show (Thanks Margaret and Brett!), we chowed down on brisket, scalloped potatoes, salad, and make-your-own ice cream in a bag. We all ate way too much, but you are allowed to do that on holidays, right?

I came back to Idaho Falls for the 4th and again enjoyed some scrumptious food. We made hamburgers and strawberry shortcake (with home-grown strawberries). I was even able to catch some of the Melaleuca Fireworks. Did you know that Idaho Falls is home to the biggest firework show west of the Mississippi? I didn't, but even from 3 miles away it was amazing!

I hope everyone enjoyed celebrating our freedoms as much as I did- and that we will all be able to fit into our pants tomorrow!

Hospital Food

2009-06-22T18:32:00.002-06:00

Granted hospital food does not have a good reputation, but luckily they don't make the employees eat it! I just thought I would update you all about my fast approaching start date. I was all set to start next Monday the 29th, but because all of my paperwork went through faster than expected (we can all breathe a sigh of relief that I don't have TB!) my boss called me today and said that I can start on Wednesday! I am just the slightest bit nervous, but I'm sure once I get there and get oriented I will only be excited.

I'll keep you posted on exactly how bad the food is.

For the love of shrimp and tofu

2009-06-13T15:27:00.003-06:00

I don't like shrimp or tofu, but I have a new found respect for each.

Let's start with tofu. I spent the summer of 2007 working at a Girl Scout Camp in Park City and because I had a few weeks before my new job started I decided to help them out this summer while camp gets set up. I spent a week at a camp in Provo and last week in Park City. When I arrived at each I was informed of the number of vegetarians and vegans I would be cooking for. I had very little experience with tofu, but with some advice (and some experimentation) I think my skills have improved. The creation I am most proud of I called, tofu stir-fry. I started with some sauteed onions and garlic, added 1 package of firm tofu (seasoned with salt and pepper), minced celery and carrots and let it go for 10-15 minutes. Then I added a few handfuls on sliced mushrooms and let those saute for another 10 minutes. This is the weird part. I have always thought it was weird that I didn't like mushrooms, but I love the smell of them cooking. I think I have discovered that I only don't like raw mushrooms because when this stir-fry of sorts was done, it was good! We didn't have rice, but this would have been perfect over rice with a little soy sauce. I know a lot of you think I'm crazy, but the key to tofu is to not mess with it. If you let it cook in the pan without stirring it for 5-10 minutes then the outside will brown similarly to chicken. (If you keep stirring it will keep breaking up and even after 30 minutes will still be soft and mushy)

Next is shrimp. I don't like shrimp either and that hasn't changed, but today I went kayaking on the Great Salt Lake (so fun!) and I learned a lot about the brine shrimp that live there.

1. There are only 2 places in the world that brine shrimp are harvested: Great Salt Lake and the San Francisco Bay
2. The majority of the shrimp you eat in a restaurant come from the orient and those shrimp were fed brine shrimp.
3. Brine shrimp have live young (in the spring) and lay eggs (in the fall). I have never heard of another species that does that.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera on my kayaking adventure, but some of the people I went with will hopefully be emailing me their pictures.

Everybody knows something

2009-06-07T22:59:00.002-06:00

It is an interesting thing to know a lot about food, because everybody knows a little about food. I don't know a lot about engineering or physics, so when someone tells me something about those subjects that seems remotely plausible, I tend to believe them.

Food is different.

I constantly find myself observing conversations (or arguments) between people who have heard different things (from unreliable sources) concerning food. And, even more aggravating, I have found that people don't like it when I interrupt and tell them who is right. Not only do they not like it, they tend not to believe me and continue in the argument, convinced that what they read/ heard/or made up is the truth.

Case in point: A few weeks ago I was at FHE and I observed a conversation/ argument about protein and exercise. Neither of the participants knew of my experience in the nutrition field, but another innocent bystander did and we were able to laugh about it together.

Anyway the point is that by the time you are in an argument about whether you should be eating protein before or after you work out you have already decided that your opinion is right. I offer you a solution. Let me know your burning question and I will do some research and offer you my opinion (and maybe some expert opinions as well). That way you will at least be able to site some sources while you are battling it out.

Remember middle school?

2009-05-27T21:45:00.002-06:00

I don't remember everything from middle school, but I do remember that I didn't know what high fructose corn syrup was. But today when I was teaching a group of 8th graders about food science and drawing some simple chemical structures a student asked me to draw the structure of high fructose corn syrup. I didn't know what to do.

But he got me thinking, what is the big deal about HFCS (as the cool kids are calling it)?

I have heard the rumors that HFCS is the culprit behind the obesity epidemic in America and that I shouldn't eat any food if HFCS is one of the first 5 ingredients, but I hadn't heard any scientific evidence to back it up. And after looking into, I can't find any.

HCFS became popular in the '70s because it was cheaper and easier to transport than traditional sugar, but as far as I can tell the majority of the sugar in the American diet is still good old sucrose and there is no evidence that HFCS is any worse for you than other sugar sources.

While I'm on the subject of sugar. I learned something interesting about Splenda (sucralose) today. It turns out that it was discovered when one researcher misheard his colleague say to "taste it", he actually said to "test it"- turns out sometimes mis-communication can be productive.

So, whether you choose to indulge with corn syrup, splenda, or just regular sugar the most important thing is probably just to not eat too much.

Beginnings & Carrots

2009-05-25T23:56:00.000-06:00

I was never going to be a blogger. My life is not interesting enough for anyone to want to read about it. But a few weeks ago I discovered something and I thought, does everyone else know this?

Baby carrots are just normal carrots that are cut to look like mini carrots.

I felt betrayed. I have spent the last 5 years of my life learning about food. I love food. How could I not know this, and what else is going on that I don't know about? So, I am spreading the word.