Rhubarb-ade-a fun summer drink

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Jessica

I spent the last week and a half in Michigan with family and visiting friends (hence my absence from the blog-my apologies) and while there I had a drink called rhubarb-ade at a food co-op. Basically it’s a lemonade type drink but it’s made with rhubarb instead of lemons! It’s perfect for this time of year when people’s rhubarb plants are going wild. Lucky for me my mom’s rhubarb plants were growing like mad when I was there so we tested out a recipe and it was oh so good!

Rhubarb-ade recipe:

8 cups of chopped rhubard
4 cups of water
1 TBSP of lemon juice
1/2 cup of sweetener (I recommend agave, organic cane sugar, or maybe even maple syrup-I go light on the sweetener that way everyone can sweeten to their liking)

Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the rhubarb is very tender and can be mashed easily. You can let it cool a bit if you want but then use a fine mesh sieve to separate the solid rhubarb mash from the liquid. Add maybe 3 or 4 cups of cold water to the liquid depending on how diluted you want it (taste along the way). Then fill a glass with ice cubes and fill with rhubarb-ade!

Variation:

I also made a rhubarb-ade cocktail that was quite tasty but I could imagine a lot more recipes. I’d love to hear if you try any.

Fill a cup with ice, add a shot or a shot and a half of tequila, and fill the glass the rest of the way with rhubarb-ade.

Enjoy!

Walker moved to seattle a year ago last june

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Jessica

Things have been a little hectic around here with all the weddings and traveling that has been going on. I sort of missed the timing on looking back to when Walker moved to Seattle but I still wanted to share.

Last year at the very beginning of June Walker moved to Seattle. I went along and took a 2 week vacation with him while he settled in. Here are some of my favorite memories from that time. Even though it was Walker’s second time there it was all new because the first trip lasted about 36 hours and was basically spend interviewing.

Vegan caramels?

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Jessica

I love caramels! In fact I love most sweet things but caramels are just so buttery and wonderful. A couple of months ago when I decided to eat a more vegan diet I slowly came to realize all the things I would be missing out on, one being caramel.

I never even considered that out in the world there might exist a vegan caramel until I read this post. So I did some researching around and found a few different recipes but most vegan caramel recipes I found called for vegan butter and I wanted to avoid that so I ended up concocting one of my own. How were they you ask? Um heavenly! Shall I share my recipe? Alright I suppose so.

Vegan Caramel recipe:

-3/4 cup of coconut milk (use full fat canned and scoop 1/4 cup of the thick cream on top and them mix and measure out the remaining 1/2 cup)
-1 cup cane sugar (I used organic)
-2/3 cup brown rice syrup
-course sea salt
Note: This would make a pretty big batch so you may want to half the recipe especially if you want to make a few flavors

Before you begin place a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet for the hot caramel to get poured onto. Combine all the ingredients in a heavier saucepan and place on stove over medium heat. Stir ingredients to combine and get the coconut solids melted completely. Attach your candy thermometer to the side of the pot. Stir frequently and keep an eye on the thermometer. When your thermometer reads 242 degrees F quickly pour candy onto prepared parchment paper and sprinkle with salt. Let cool completely before cutting (preferably in a non humid area). Cutting may be tricky and if you have trouble fold over the parchment paper onto the caramel and cut long strips and then into squares or rectangles-whichever you choose. I wrapped mine in wax paper to keep them fresh and so I could gift them.

Variations:
-lavender caramels/Add only the coconut milk to the pan plus 2 teaspoons of lavender flowers, bring to a boil, remove from burner and let steep for 20-30 mins, strain the flowers out, add coconut milk back to pan, add sugars and proceed. I also added some lavender flowers to the salt for sprinkling on top.
-anise caramels/Add to the pan 1 teaspoon of ground anise seed. You can also add ground anise to the salt as in the lavender caramels.
-pecan and chocolate caramels/Right when the caramel reaches 242 degrees F add in about 1/3 cup of chopped pecans, stir quickly, and pour on parchment paper. Let cool completely, melt some vegan chocolate and drizzle on top, let cool completely again.

Enjoy! Also let me know if you try these or if you have any other flavor suggestions. I might try peanut better next. Mmm…This could be dangerous.

A malibu wedding

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Jessica

A couple of weekends ago we traveled to Malibu, California for a wedding. It was my first time in California and I enjoyed every moment of it. Well just about, there were a few drives through the mountains that made me a little nervous.

We had wonderful weather, beautiful backdrops, and time with some of our favorite friends. It was so nice getting to see familiar faces and laugh with friends. Six of us shared a 2 bedroom suite at the hotel which saved us some money and gave us lots of extra hand out time. It was a really nourishing kind of weekend. Anyhow here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend below!

-everyone looks great here so of course my dress is blowing all funny.
-we rode to all of the wedding activities on school buses! fun!
-some pretty friends.-my favorite Walker and me picture from the weekend.
-checking out the shoreline and look-palm trees!
-the bride (middle) having a singing moment with friends.
-pure joy!
-hanging with some of our handsome guy friends (a fighter pilot and a firefighter-oh my!)
-Walker with his dude friends.
-me with my lady friends.
-I don’t remember exactly what is being said here but I love this one of the bride and groom.
-having a margarita at the post wedding brunch.
-all weekend we ate so well! yum!
-ha! a goofy bunch saying goodbye.

A few michigan highlights

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Jessica

I was super excited to be home in the middle of May because I know that’s when the morels come out! I had big hopes of going on a mushroom hunt and finding the mother load. Mostly though I just took a lot of walks in the woods. I got about 10 mushrooms and found 3 ticks crawling around on me. Yuck! Luckily none of them were attached. Creepy.

-Oh I also found some wild leeks.
-my mushroom hunting outfit. You know so I could see the ticks on me.
-Mago wondering why I put him in a t-shirt.
-My morels!
-Little Molly B being cute.

Mother’s day

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Jessica

The blogging every day of May challenge has been keeping me busy but I still want to make sure I share some pictures of my recent trip to Michigan. Luckily I was able to book my trip so that I was home for mother’s day and that was really fun. I think it’s been at least 4 years since I’ve been able to do that. My sister was with us too and we went with my aunt to see my grandma jenny and have a picnic. It was a good day.

May project: my typical day

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Jessica

It’s day 15 in the blog every day challenge. Today’s prompt are showing photos from a typical day.

Currently I’m visiting family in Michigan so my day yesterday was anything but typical but I’ll share anyhow (also there are a lot of feet pictures). These were all taken with my iphone so the quality is perhaps not the best.

-My mom owns a salon and spa so I went into work with her to catch up on some blogging and try out an easy curl effect under the dryer.
-Then I took a lunch break (leftover vegan pad thai) and read a book.
-Then my mom sweetly offered to give my a much needed pedicure. I read a few magazines.
-I cuddled with my mom’s little dog a lot. We had some good laughs when I put my scarf on her.
-I went to jazzercise with my mom (she goes most days and is a little off her schedule with my visit).
-We made meatless tacos for dinner.
-And ate them outside until it got too chilly.
Then we lazied around and watched a few tv shows.

What’s a typical visiting family day like for you?

May project: 10 happy things

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Jessica

Today is day 14 of the blog every day in May challenge! Today it’s 10 things that make me really happy.

1. The process of making tea (not necessarily drinking it)
2. Going to the farmer’s market
3. Foraging in the woods (berries and the elusive morel are my favorite)
4. Watching the sun set or rise
5. Cuddling
6. Listening to my favorite music while taking a walk
7. Eating chocolate
8. Laying on a blanket in the sun
9. Finishing a successful knitting project
10. Swimming on a hot day

Remembering our cinco de mayo fiesta!

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Jessica

I’m finally getting around to sharing some pictures of the Cinco de Mayo party we went to. Our good friends were co hosting it with another couple. The party was a little more interesting due to the fact that the power went out in the building where we were all gathering. So we had to navigate completely dark stairways to get the the apartment. Luckily it was sunny out so our party wasn’t in the dark.

After food and some trivia we headed to the courtyard outside where the pinata was destroyed and where we could enjoy the warmth. Near the end of the party a few of us played pin the tail on the donkey and had a few good laughs. I think Walker was cheating a little bit with his leg us like that. Oh well, it was a good afternoon.

May project: foraging

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Jessica

It’s day 2 of the blog every day of May challenge. The topic today is educate us about something you know a lot about or are good at. I chose foraging. I’m not an expert by any means but having grown up in the woods and on a summer camp I’ve picked up a thing or two. If you’re starting from scratch though I would recommend a few things.

-DON’T ever just eat something you found in the woods unless you’re absolutely sure it’s edible and even then proceed with caution.
-take a foraging class with someone who has been doing it for a long time
-I don’t recommend foraging for mushrooms unless you’re with an expert (they are easily to mistake with deadly consequences).
-borrow from the library or buy some foraging books with good photos.
-it’s good to know which plants have poisonous look a likes.
-take a walk and test some of your skills but I wouldn’t recommend eating anything until you’re more than 100% sure of what you’ve found.
-when you’re more comfortable with identifying edible plants I would still start off with the most recognizable ones like wild strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or if you live in a place like Texas-pecans.
-if you don’t feel comfortable with what you’ve found just don’t eat it.
-I pretty much stay away from anything that looks like a wild carrot because it looks so much like poison hemlock and that is not something you DO NOT eat.
-if you’re looking for a more informed foraging blog to follow I recommend Langdon Cook’s blog. He’s a forager in my neck of the woods and he knows what he’s doing.

I’ve been foraging for years but I stick to what I know-mainly wild berries, cherries, apples, wintergreen and their berries, juniper berries (for tea not eating), sorrel, and a few others.