The Cyclist's Wife

Strawberries, Margaritas and Mom's

2013-05-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

Strawberries, margaritas and Mom's. These are a few of my favorite things.

I have been obsessed with strawberries since I was a kid. I'm sure part of that had to do with a certain doll named Strawberry Shortcake, but I wouldn't leave out the dessert either. The sweet little strawberry has always been my favorite fruit.

As we are approaching Mom's Day I thought it would be fun to do a post with my mommy, otherwise known as IronMom. My mom is a strawberry lover too, so I wondered, what could we do with this delicious little fruit?

Eating it by itself is always a good option, but we made you two delicious things instead.

First up, dessert.
Strawberry Margarita Tart.

A frozen dessert, with a hint of tequila, Cointreau and lime gives this creamy strawberry tart a refreshing taste.

Add to that a salty pretzel crust and the deal is sealed.

Don't forget to share it with your mom!!

Now, because we bought a ton of strawberries, we figured we should make something else for you too.

Next up (because when you have delicious strawberries, tequila and Cointreau at your fingertips), Muddled Strawberry Margaritas!

Muddling with your mom is fun.

Sharing a cocktail with your mom is better.

So, however you enjoy your Mother's Day, with strawberries, or tarts or tequila, enjoy your mom.
I hope all of you are so lucky to have a mom like mine.

I bought all of the ingredients for this post at my local Save Mart in Sacramento (Folsom & 59th). I must say, these were the best and sweetest strawberries I've found this season!

Things are happening here. #margaritaville @ Save Mart instagram.com/p/YolmAWHlhG/
— Sarah (@TheCyclistsWife) April 28, 2013

Strawberry Margarita Tart

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup finely crushed pretzels
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 overflowing cup of strawberries, stems and cores removed
5 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 can (7 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/8 cup tequila (Cazadores is my favorite)
1 tablespoon Cointreau

How to:
Start by making the crust.
In a food processor blend the pretzels until you have a fine flour.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and add brown sugar, mix well.
Add melted butter until combined.
Press into a greased 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. I recommend greasing with a cooking oil spray. The consistency will be crumbly.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Place in the freezer to cool.
Meanwhile, make the filling.
In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
Once the filling is mixed and the tart crust is cooled, pour the filling into the crust. Do not remove the crust from the pan yet.
Freeze for 6 hours or overnight.
Remove from freezer and let it defrost until the filling becomes firm, but not completely frozen.
Removing the tart from the pan is a bit tricky. Tap the removable bottom with the handle end of a butter knife to loosen the freeze and remove it very carefully. Don't rush. This is where I should have listened to my Mom and been more patient!
Top with sliced strawberries and lime zest.
Enjoy!

Muddled Strawberry Margaritas

Ingredients:
6-7 large strawberries, stems and cores removed
2 oz cold water
2 tablespoons sugar
8 oz lime juice
6 oz tequila
8 oz Cointreau

How to:
Muddle your berries. Add water and sugar to strawberries in a bowl. Use a wooden spoon and smash those strawberries until there are only a bit of chunks.
Mix the remaining ingredients well.
Salt glasses and place ice inside.
Spoon strawberry muddle over the ice.
Pour in margarita.
*This makes about 4 margaritas.

I was compensated for this post, however all opinions expressed are completely my own.

I'm baa-aack! Well.....sort of + a private beer tasting

2013-04-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogworld and friends! Oh how I've missed you.

I last said hello a couple of weeks ago when our kitchen looked like this...

YOWZA.

I'm happy to tell you that we have made quite a bit of progress since then. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen this sneak peek...

Let me just say this has been quite the endeavor. To be honest there were times it was a miracle it didn't end in divorce. However, there is a good reason that The Cyclist and I decided to take on this project in the middle of his last semester of school, but I'll share more on that later.

For now, let me give credit where credit is due. Even though this is a project "we" took on, I am not handy. This was primarily the work of The Cyclist with me helping where I was able....even when that meant occupying The Munchkin while our house was in disarray, which is a way better job and I know it. The efforts of my hubs here are truly admirable and I am a lucky wife. I lack words to explain how thankful I am not only for this kitchen, but many other things. So THANK YOU Cyclist!

In other thank you's, we had the help of friends and parents as well, which was truly invaluable. A big shout out to our own personal wood whisperer, Mr. F for being a huge, gigantic help. For reals. Thanks, all of you for everything.

In case you are now sick of me blubbering thank you's over our kitchen and bummed that I'm not showing before and after photos today (coming soon to a blog near you!), let's talk about beer.

Yes beer.

A midst the chaos of our kitchen, Mr. F's wife suggested we hit a private beer dinner at OneSpeed, a favorite restaurant in our hood. This was a brilliant idea that gave us a much needed break.

OneSpeed paired up with The Brewing Lair of the Lost Sierras for the dinner. The Lair itself looks like a sweet place and I'm excited to make a trip up there, but until then, let's talk about their beer and of course, food.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Antipasto - A selection of tasty, savory things to rev up your palate & appetite. Served with Uncle Elliot's, IPA.

We were actually greeted at the door with Uncle Elliot's IPA and mingled for a bit before sitting down to enjoy these tasty appetizers. Obviously we have a deviled egg there, but I seriously can't remember what the other starter is! Sorry, I should have taken notes. My brain is saying it was some type of liverwurst, but that sounds gross and it was good so...? I leave it to you to guess or comment. We were also served a mini hot dog in honor of baseball's opening day. It is not photographed because I ate it.

Let's forget about my transgressions and talk about the first course, OK?

1st Course - Crispy Fried Oyster Slider, Spicy Gulf Shrimp Mayo, Watercress, Fennel, Bacon-Onion Jam, Citronette. Served with Ambush, IPA.

They had me at fried oyster but add in all that other good stuff (bacon onion jam?!) and this may have been my favorite thing of the night. I tend to favorite things I can't make at home. I am not good at frying, so I had a soft spot for this dish. The bite of the Ambush IPA was a nice compliment.

Because OneSpeed pizza is a thing, of course there was a pizza course.....of course!

Pizza - Sopressata, Fiscallini Farms San Joaquin Gold Aged Cheese, Greens, New Potatoes, Spring Onions, Olives & Chile Oil. Served with Incognito, Saison.

Sopressata is an Italian dry salami. I found it to be mild as far as salami is concerned and it was a nice compliment to all of the other delicious items on the pizza. The chili oil gave it a nice kick. The Brewing Lair describes Espionage Ale as "a Red IPA with floral hoppy-ness and caramel malts".

It's totally normal to eat an entree after enjoying appetizers, a fried slider and pizza right?
Just checking.

Entree - Braised Shoulder and Shank of Yolo County Lamb, House Made Egg Noodles, English Peas, Asparagus, Spring Carrots, Rosemary and Salsa Verde. Served with Odd Job, Brown Ale.

This dish was local and good, after everything, I still ate it all. The Odd Job was one of my favorite beers of the night.

It would be a crime to not add dessert to this madness, so....

Dessert - Ricotta Cheesecake, Candied Hazelnuts, Espresso Caramel and Valrhona Cocoa Powder. Served with Stake Out, Coffee Stout.

I am not a huge fan of cheesecake. Don't get me wrong, I like it, it's just not on the top of my dessert fav's. This one was light (my guess is because of the ricotta), which was nice after all the food and beer already consumed My favorite part were the candied hazelnuts The Stake Out Coffee Stout was super coffee infused. I don't know how I would like it on its own, but with this dish it was really good.

So that is it! I hope to have a before and after kitchen post soon, but you can bet I won't be showing you until all of the final final touches are complete! In the meantime, there has been some good food generated from that kitchen already, but because we are still hard at work, my posts may continue to be a bit sporadic. :(

I miss you all and I hope to be back on the regular soon! Thank you for your patience!

♥TCW

A poem for you

2013-03-25T10:24:00.001-07:00

I dream of tasty things to make you,
But my kitchen looks like this...
So instead I paint and hammer and nail
And think of a delicious dish.
When my kitchen is bright and new,
When I have a sink and a counter too,
I promise to make something special for you.
Until then, my friends, I thank you for your patience,
I promise my ignoring you really isn't blatant.

Pinspiration {5 Ingredient Noodles: Veggie Laksa by Zen Family Habits}

2013-03-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

Veggie Laksa via Zen Family Habits, Pinned by: The Cyclist's Wife

Hi there tasty noodle dish! I found this veggie laksa dish on Pinterest via Zen Family Habits. I've made it a few times and it tastes as good as it looks.

The recipe calls for Singapore Noodles, which are rice noodles. When making this dish I've used both chow mein and rice noodles; they each work great. Using rice noodles keeps the dish gluten free.

The recipe also calls for coconut cream. You can substitute coconut milk (I did this the first time), but it is much better (thicker) with coconut cream. Canned coconut cream is now available at Trader Joe's.

I now often use the coconut cream in other Thai based/curry dishes to get a thicker sauce.

Along with this great noodle dish, Zen Family Habits also shares 3 additional 5 ingredient, 5 minute noodle dishes in the same post.

Happy Noodle Eating!

Do you have a noodle dish that Pinspires you? Tell me about it!

TCW

{Pi Day} Peanut Butter Pie + More!

2013-03-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Today is Pi Day. I am not really qualified to discuss pi with you, but I am qualified to discuss pie.
I figure those interested in pi are also interested pie.

Let's do this thing!

First I bring you my leeetle siiiiister's Frozen Peanut Butter Pie.

My sister lives in Washington and whenever she comes to visit our friends line up with their PB Pie requests. The line is long. Longer than 3.14 for sure.

As such, this pie is one of my favorites because it reminds me of my siiiister, who I don't see enough and miss often. And as sweet as this post of pie ode to my sister is, she probably hates me right now since she is gluten and dairy free at the moment.

Siister, I promise we'll find a gluten and dairy free way to make this!

Until then, peanut butter and cream cheese should be friends.

When I think of this pie I do think of my sister but what I picture are her hands. Where I often feel clumsy in food or craft there is something elegant about the way she moves her hands when cooking and creating.

Once your peanut butter and cream cheese are together, you should whip it.
Whip it good.

If you are my sister you will seamlessly move this delicious contraption to another bowl. If you are me it will blob into the bowl while some spills on the counter and you.

The original recipe of this delicious pie called for Cool Whip. Cool Whip scares me. It must have at least 3.14 x more chemical ingredients than good old whipped cream. So instead of getting on the Cool Whip bus, I think you should just whip some cream. My sister agrees.

Upon a visit from my sister two things happen: this pie and the onset of "let's make fun of Sarah day". (I'm Sarah, in case you were wondering.)
"Let's make fun of Sarah day" consists of The Cyclist and Sister picking on me incessantly I want to say their behavior is plain mean, but mostly it just makes me laugh.

It's funny how something as simple as a Peanut Butter Pie can bring 3 people together in teasing, fun and good eats. Hey, if I add The Munchkin to the mix, I think that brings us to 3.14!

So, enjoy your sister, make fun of her and make pie.....or pi.

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
10 oz. jar of fudge topping
1 Oreo crust

How To:
Mix peanut butter, cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until well blended. If using a stand mixer, transfer to a separate bowl.
Whip heavy whipping cream, remaining sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Transfer about 1/3 of the whipped cream to a separate bowl (this is for the topping) cover and place in the refrigerator.
Combine the peanut butter mixture to the remaining whipped cream and mix well.
Pour the batter into the Oreo crust.
Top with a 10 ounce jar of your favorite fudge topping.
Cover and place in the freezer for 2 to 4 hours or until it's set.
Once ready to serve, top with the remaining whipped cream, slice and enjoy.

Hey wait! I have something else for you. For the love of pie, I bring you these delicious looking pies from around the web.

Row 1: Shoofly Pie, Snickerdoodle Pie, Candied Yam Pie, S'mores Pie
Row 2: Chocolate Covered Pretzel Pie, Chocolate Cream Pie, Mud Pie, Cranberry & Wild Blueberry Pie
Row 3: Salted Honey Pie, Strawberry Skillet Pie, Apple Pie, Banana Cream Pie
Row 4: Banoffee Pie, Biscoff Butter (cookie butter) Pie

Oh my pie! What's you're favorite pie? Mine is Huckleberry, shown here as served at our wedding.

Enjoy Pi Day! And if you're out there saying you like cake, well this is what I have to say to that...

P.S. Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest! (It was the source for all of those delicious pie finds).

10 Reasons You Should Follow Me on Pinterest

2013-03-12T12:16:00.001-07:00

I'm just trying to help a girl (or dude) out. I'm terrible at asking for stuff. Really. I would make the worst possible salesperson..."oh you're not interested, OK, have a nice day!" I want you to follow me because I think I can help you streamline your pins and only grab stuff that's worth pinning.
I test the links! Don't you hate it when you pin something and it goes....nowhere. So annoying! If the link doesn't take me back to the original post, I don't pin it. What's the point of pinning a recipe if you don't have the recipe? Follow me, re-pin my pins and you don't have to worry about that.
I test the pins! That's right. I'm not just pinning my heart away. I'm actually trying out a lot of the stuff I'm pinning. I just started a Pinterest Project Complete! board, you can check out my "done" pins there and see what I thought. Sometimes I also blog about things that have Pinspired me.
I pin stuff any normal human can do. I am not Martha, far from it. I have limited time to complete projects. When I cook dinner after working 8 hours it better be easy, healthy and good. If something looks too complicated, I probably won't pin it.
My boards are organized. Looking for a good dessert recipe? Check out my Food! {Sweet Tooth} board. Looking for a way to cute up your kids room? Check out my Kids Rooms board. Want to DIY some beauty stuff? Check out my DIY Natural Beauty board.
I'm a picky pinner. If the picture is terrible, I probably won't pin it. Unless it is some ridiculously good sounding thing or cool easy craft, but otherwise, you won't see junk on my boards.
I'm kind of a pin freak. I pin a lot, so there is always new stuff popping up if you follow me.
My pins have variety. Looking for a new kitchen? Like Labs? Want some natural cleaning tips? Looking for somewhere to go? I love food, but it's not the only thing I pin. :)
Let's get to know each other! Otherwise, I might not see what cool stuff you're pinning, but if you follow me I will!
It'll be fun! Really, I promise.

So let's do this thing!

Click here and follow me!

♥TCW

Meyer Lemon Pound Cake

2013-03-06T15:31:00.002-08:00

Oh Meyer Lemon, how I love you.

Living in Sacramento gives us great access to all kinds of fresh fruits and veggies, especially citrus.
I have a friend who says she can't understand why anyone living here would ever buy citrus.....there are so many trees to borrow from.

This is true. It is in fact her tree, from which I borrowed the Meyer lemons to make this pound cake.
Thanks Coco!

This could easily be served as a brunch item or dessert.
We ate it for dessert after scrumptious carne asada made by my Ironmommy. Yum.

I'm sure plain lemon pound cake is good, but I really believe the Meyer lemons make a difference. They have such a sweetness and even more so when baked.

This recipe was inspired by this one.

Ingredients:

Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
Unsalted butter to grease your baking dish
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
Zest of two Meyer lemons
1/3 cup olive oil (that's right, olive oil)
1 1/2 tablespoons milk (I used 2%)
3/4 cup Greek yogurt (I used the Trader Joe's low-fat version)
1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Note - you'll need a few clean bowls for this recipe. Lot's of bowls happening.

Limoncello Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Limoncello* (feel free to substitute with fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice)
1 1/2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice

How to:

Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
Pre-heat your oven to 325
Line the bottom of a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper
Grease the pan and paper with unsalted butter
Melt your unsalted butter and set it aside
Sift flour, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and mix well
Whisk 2 egg whites until stiff peaks form, transfer to a separate bowl**
Add 2 egg yolks, sugar and lemon zest to your clean mixer bowl. Beat on medium until the mixture turns light yellow and forms ribbons when beater is lifted, transfer to mixture to another bowl
Add olive oil, milk, Greek yogurt and lemon juice to your clean mixer bowl, whisk at low speed until combined
If using a stand mixer, switch to your paddle attachment
Add flour to the olive oil, milk, Greek yogurt, lemon juice mixture
Drizzle in melted butter and mix until combined
Add in the egg yolk, sugar and lemon zest mixture and mix until combined
At this time you should have combined all of your bowls except the egg whites
Fold in the egg whites to the mixture by hand
Now all your pound cake ingredients should be in one bowl, mixed
Pour the batter into the prepared pan
Bake for 25 minutes, then rotate the pan
(while the cake is baking you can get started on the glaze)
Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes
When done the cake should be golden and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean
Transfer the pound cake to a wire rack to cool
While the pound cake is still warm, pour over the lemon glaze and let it sit for about a half hour to dry

Limoncello Glaze
Using your mixer (again) with a clean bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, limoncello (if you're using it) and Meyer lemon juice***
While the pound cake is still warm, pour over the lemon glaze and let it sit for about a half hour to dry

*You can buy Limoncello at most well stocked groceries. We have an Italian grocery nearby that stocks several varieties. I happened to have Meyer Limoncello that my mom made from the same Meyer lemon tree where I got the lemons from.
**I used my Kitchen Aid mixer to make this, so I whisked the egg whites first, transferred them to a different bowl, rinsed out my mixer bowl and then did the next step.
***You can increase or decrease either ingredient to get the consistency to your liking. I like the glaze on the thinner side.

When I make this cake again, I will pour the glaze over on a different dish than I'm using to serve. You can see in the pictures that there was a pool of glaze around this cake. My step-dad enjoyed sopping up the glaze with his cake, so I suppose it all worked out, but, that said, I think it would be more eye appealing if it wasn't drowning in glaze.

The cake itself is super moist and refreshing tasting. This would make a great Easter dish.

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. If you could give me a Facebook like over here that would be awesome!

Have a great day,
♥TCW

Crystal Cove {Newport Beach, CA}

2013-03-04T14:32:00.002-08:00

Guess what? Today is March Fourth! The only day of the year that commands you.
Get it? March Fourth!

Anyway, in celebration of March Fourth! I am commanding you to come on a daydream vacation with me.

Let's go!

Today we're visiting the beach at Crystal Cove State Park.

Remember when we visited The Resort at Pelican Hill? Well Crystal Cove is right down the way.

It was a perfectly beautiful day summed up as follows:

Even though it was October it was literally the perfect day at the beach.

I have never been to a beach quite like Crystal Cove. There is a whole community of quaint cottages that are being restored to period. I loved that.

It is a great place and I only wish it was closer to home.

I'd love to take a road trip there and stay in one of the cottages.
(You can find out about reserving them here.)

We spent our time lounging on the beach, enjoying the weather and exploring.

I must credit The Cyclist for most of these shots. Good job Cyclist!

I noticed a little painting class happening, it looked like fun.

So, if you are in the area, I highly recommend a visit to Crystal Cove!

Thank you for Marching Fourth!....and daydream vacationing with me today.

Later this week: Meyer Lemon Pound Cake.

Also, please "like" my turkey burger here.

Thanks everyone! Have a fabulous day!

TCW

Everyday Granola

2013-02-27T12:27:00.000-08:00

Vanilla Granola. That is not what this is. Sort of. Just keep that in mind OK?

I think store bought granola is kind of a rip-off. The box should be cereal sized but it isn't. You eat it twice and behold!

Your tiny box of granola is empty.

Thankfully, It turns out granola is easy to make!

Not only is it easy to make but munchkin's like it too. The Munchkin tells us he wants "o-gurt and banilla". This translates to "yogurt and granola". But because his favorite yogurt is vanilla, we usually end up in a who's on first discussion.

(~~Banilla~~ Vanilla is not pictured here). It took us a bit, but now we know o-gurt and banilla means vanilla yogurt with granola. We are now practicing how to say "granola".

I like to call this Everyday Granola, because once you make it, you're going to eat it everyday until it's gone. Then repeat.

This ~~banilla~~ granola is good with yogurt, but also on oatmeal, with milk, or just plain!

This granola recipe was inspired by this.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:
3 cups thick-cut rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. wheat germ
1 tbsp. ground flax

Wet ingredients:
3 heaping tbsp. raw honey
3 heaping tbsp. brown sugar
3 heaping tbsp. coconut oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add-ins:
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins

How to:

Pre-heat oven to 300.

Add dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

Melt together the wet ingredients using a microwave or a pot (we don't have a microwave so I do it on the stove), mix well.

Once melted, pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and mix well.

Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray.

Spread granola mixture in a layer over the entire sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, then stir/flip with a spatula.

Return to the oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes more until light golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Stir while cooling based on how chunky you like your granola - if you like bigger chunks, don't stir it a lot (just remember you've got to transfer it to a container).

I store mine in the jar shown above, I believe it is airtight, but we eat the granola so fast it probably doesn't matter!

Makes about 5 cups.

If you like this granola recipe you might like this one too.

Enjoy your o-gurt and banilla!

Pinspiration {Asian Ginger Carrot Dressing by skinnytaste}

2013-02-25T12:32:00.002-08:00

Source: skinnytaste.com via The Cyclist's on Pinterest

I've been making my own salad dressing lately. Not only is it much cheaper than buying bottles from the grocery, it tastes better and has less "junk" in it. Usually my standard fare is olive oil with balsamic, a bit of brown mustard and brown sugar - or - olive oil with Meyer lemon juice and salt. Both good and easy to make. But when I came across this recipe from skinnytaste I knew I wanted to try it out. If you eat sushi or Japanese food, you'll recognize the flavor of this dressing as soon as you taste it - so good! - and a nice change to a standard dressing. There are lots of carrots at the farmer's market right now, so this is a great alternative use for them.

So, spice up your salad with this dressing and enjoy something new and tasty!

Books of Late

2013-02-19T13:29:00.000-08:00

The Last American Man, by Elizabeth Gilbert

It's only fair to say that Elizabeth Gilbert also authored one of my favorite books of all time Eat, Pray, Love. I found The Last American Man after listening to an intriguing episode of This American Life, which I now cannot find. The podcast discussed the books main character, Eustace Conway and his record setting horseback ride across the United States. What was presented in the podcast turns out to be the shiny version of the real story described in the book. Eustace Conway is such an interesting and just amazing person. I seriously wish I could meet him one day. Elizabeth Gilbert, who is a friend of Eustace's manages to write about him in such a real, sometimes painful way. There is too much to share about Eustace Conway in this short review, but I feel like I should note that he has been living (truly living) off of the land since he was a teenager. The book is so full of information, history, environmental politics and points of view, but reads like a window into someone's living room.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, by Christopher McDougall

I don't typically read books like this (i.e. non-fiction) and I'd seen and heard about this book several times and continuously passed it by. I finally started reading it one evening when I'd run out of other books. It caught me from the first few pages. I really loved the story and the way Christopher McDougall told it. It was also so interesting to learn about the Tarahumara Indian tribe. The thoughts and style of the Tarahumara and Caballo Blanco turn any main-stream running theories on their head. If all of that wasn't enough, this book will totally inspire you to run. If I'm feeling tired when running now, I pretend I'm Tarahumaran. I also bought Chia seeds and I'm planning to attempt to make my own GU. In addition, I'm also now determined to teach myself to run in sandals. Seriously.

Wild (From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail), by Cheryl Strayed

I think the best way to describe this book is raw. After losing her mother at a very young age, Cheryl Strayed goes through an extremely difficult time in her life. She decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (which runs from Mexico to Washington state) in order to find herself. Her journey, both physically and emotionally, is pretty amazing. The book is everything: funny, thrilling, scary, sad, painful, happy, joyous ..the list goes on. Most of all, I think it's incredibly brave for an author to write in such a revealing way, exposing every part of herself. I both admire and respect her for taking the journey and sharing it with the world. In other news: our house has been inspired by the PCT. Shortly I hope to share some exciting things with you.

List of things I'm lovin'

2013-02-14T13:01:00.001-08:00

On this, Valentines Day, I bring you a list of things I'm lovin' lately. Now let's get our list on, shall we?

Rent the Runway - Have you heard of this? I saw it on The Egg. The title of her post caught my eye "always a bride$maid". So. True. When clicked to her page (you should too) and saw the fabulous bridesmaid gowns in the photo I thought, holy...how much did those cost?!

Via The Egg

See what I mean? But then she reveals to us Rent the Runway. A nifty service where you can rent a designer dress for around $100. They mail it to you (I think it also includes a back-up size), you wear it, act fabulous and send it right on back. What a great idea!! Seriously, who wants to pay hundreds of dollars on a dress (that's not as great as a designer dress) to never wear it again? Brilliant I say. Just brilliant.

Flipboard - I'm probably sounding like 1982 on this, but Flipboard (an app for your phone) is new to me and I'm totally loving it. I needed a good news app and my smart hubs recommended this one. It is extremely easy to use and flawless in its design.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies by Two Peas & Their Pod - Yes, I have a bit of a salted caramel obsession. It started at Molly Moon's and it hasn't stopped since. What I really like to do is try to get other people to love salted caramel as much as I do. The Cyclist told me about 82 times how good these cookies were, so I think I have a convert.

Via Two Peas & Their Pod

The Taste - Have you seen it yet? Here are my thoughts: Anthony Bourdain seems nicer than I thought he would be. I love that a lot of home chefs were chosen and are doing fairly well. It's cool/crazy/fair that judges can accidentally kick people off of their own team. I secretly want to be a contestant. My mom and I can't stand Diane, sheesh what a horrible attitude!

Who am I rooting for? Well our hometown dude of course! Chef Adam Pechal who has a couple of restaurants here in Sacramento. I also like Sarah, the blogger who is apparently also a pyromaniac.

Avocado on toast - Admittedly, I saw this on Shutterbean and thought it looked kind of weird. Then one day I tried it. Now I have it for breakfast almost everyday. It is so. freaking. good. Butter? What's that? Seriously, smash up some avocado, spread it on toast, be friendly with your salt and have breakfast, or a snack, or lunch.

Via you should follow me on Instagram!

Finding out I have Monday off - yeah, kind of rad. Three day weekend! Woot!

And.....last but not least.....and not just because it's Valentines Day.....

My Husband - Yes, The Cyclist. That's him.

He who loves me and who I love back. Who likes my food and my stupid jokes. Who says nice things and makes me smile. Who buys me a big girl camera and makes me cry tears of joy.

Who I am proud of and hope he is proud of me. Who said I could do this to him as long as I used good pictures. Who is my best friend. Who is home.

What....or who....are you lovin'?

Happy ♥ Day!
TCW

The Resort at Pelican Hill {Newport Beach, CA}

2013-02-13T14:48:00.000-08:00

Ahh vacation. I love it, don't you? Since I don't have one scheduled until June, I am daydreaming of vacations past. Why don't you join me?

In October my ridiculously awesome job took us on our yearly firm outing. You'll remember we previously went to Solage in Calistoga. This trip was to The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach.

Now, if this trip wasn't amazing enough, something even more amazing occurred: the resort called and bumped all of our "regular" hotel rooms to villas.

I say "regular" because their hotel rooms are not regular by any standard. But a villa? We're talking about 3,000+ square feet, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, full kitchen awesomeness. No bigs.

No bigs?! That's funny. It was more like "Wait. We actually get to stay here? Like, by ourselves?". Less cool was the ~~cheap as they come~~ economically friendly rental car we were driving. Driving that car revealed our true identity of those-who-do-not-belong. Thankfully we had a two car garage with our villa to hide our car in. Yes a garage!

Oh yeah, did I mention we also had a butler? I am so not kidding. We secretly wondered to what lengths could we request items. Hello this is Mrs. Oliver in Villa 32. I would like a bowl of green M&M's please. I kind of wish I would have tried this.

The patio and views were amazing. I could have sat out there all day.

But why do that when you have a pool that is like 3 football fields wide?

I took the opportunity to make us a nice breakfast to enjoy on the patio one day while we watched golfers and read the paper.

I wish the saying, "Let me make us a nice breakfast to enjoy on the patio while we watch golfers and read the paper" was something out of my normal life. Real talk: It is more like Did you feed the dog?What do you want for dinner? The car needs an oil change.

Of course being in Newport we had to spot at least one celebrity right? We did. He was in fact, our villa neighbor, just down the road.
The Lamborghini and Range Rover in his driveway was kind of a giveaway. Not to mention the hundreds of boxes of Nike's stacked 4 high in his garage. I will give you three clues: (1) He is a Laker, (2) He is tall, (3) His name starts with a K.

The grounds of the resort are really fabulous. It's hard to believe the place is fairly new; whoever did the planning and landscaping did a wonderful job. No matter where you go it doesn't really feel overcrowded or resort-y. Just relaxing and comfortable.

But oh, those views. I think the patio and the views were my favorite part of the trip. Other than spending 4 wonderful days with The Cyclist, that is.

Well, it has been nice daydreaming with you. When we take another break from reality, I'll share our day trip to Crystal Cove.

Until then, have a beautiful daydreamy kinda day.

♥TCW

Pinspiration {Thai green chicken curry by The Food Fox}

2013-02-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

Source: thefoodfox.com via The Cyclist's on Pinterest

How's that for some Pinspiration? I saw this on Pinterest and knew I had to try it. I learned a couple of things from this recipe.

1. Fresh coriander is cilantro. Who knew? I didn't.

2. If I knew it was this easy to make green curry, I would have been making it way longer than this!

Food Fox calls for 1 can of coconut milk but notes that for a thicker sauce, use coconut cream. So far I've made this twice, once with coconut milk only and the second time with 1/2 coconut milk and 1/2 coconut cream. When I make this again, I will be using all coconut cream. I like the sauce thick and in my opinion that is the best way to achieve it.

This is a great recipe that can be made fairly quickly after a day of work. It can also be easily changed around to add more veggies, tofu or whatever else you may like. I added eggplant for one of my tries and it was really good. For the full recipe click the link below the picture.

♥TCW

Orange Snickerdoodles.....50/50 Cookies

2013-02-06T13:41:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone. Orange you glad you stopped by today?

Oh my. That was terrible. Let's start over.

Hello everyone. Do you remember those 50/50 bars the ice cream trucks sold when we were kids? You know, orange Popsicle on the outside, cream in the middle.....or was that a Creamsicle? I don't remember. I do remember eating like 4 of them at one sitting and completely denying to my mom that I did it. Sorry mom. They were just so good.

They were also like that orange/vanilla ice cream you used to be able to get. The kind that came in a block carton and looked like a checkerboard on the side.

Did you know they don't manufacture the block cardboard ice cream cartons anymore? At least we can't get them here. I went looking and the grocery guy told me they are all round now.

Weirdly, all this talk of 50/50 madness is reminding me of a Garfield beach towel I used to have. It had Garfield all decked out with top hat and taps. I thought it was extremely cool and my brother thought I was a big nerd. I just couldn't understand why he didn't think that towel was *SO*COOL* like I did.

In weirder news, apparently my brain associates all things orange into one category. Garfield, 50/50 bars....you know, all that stuff. This is totally normal right?

Anyway, these cookies are like all that 50/50 stuff. There is something so right about orange and vanilla. Wrapped up in a snickerdoodle package these sure taste good.

This recipe is adapted from BHG's snickerdoodles.

Ingredients
1/2 cup salted butter*
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Zest of 1 orange (zest two if you want some extra zest to top your cookie)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

How to:
Preheat oven to 375.
Beat the butter and sugar until creamy.
Add baking soda, cream of tartar and zest of 1 orange and mix well.
Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.
Add flour in parts until it is all combined.
Cover dough and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour (or freezer for 20 minutes).
Combine 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon in a flat bottom bowl (or a pie pan).
Roll dough into 1 inch balls, then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-11 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack.
Eat!!

*I know I know. You're supposed to use unsalted butter in baking. For the most part I agree. But, in my humble opinion snickerdoodles need salted butter otherwise they turn out a bit bland. So there.

Happy Day to you!
TCW

World Nutella Day!

2013-02-05T16:32:00.002-08:00

That's right friends, today is World Nutella Day! Yum!

You may remember awhile ago The Cyclist created these yummy Peanut Butter, Nutella and Butterscotch Chip cookies....

I know. My photo is terrible. But it's only because we ate them so fast! They are a perfect way to enjoy World Nutella Day.

So go get your Nutella on!

DIY Natural Hand Soap

2013-02-04T14:52:00.000-08:00

Some things are not as pretty as others. It's a fact of life, I suppose.
But just because something is not as pretty on the outside doesn't mean it's better on the inside.

The oranges on our tree are a good example of that. They aren't shiny and perfect like store bought oranges. They aren't all the same size either. But oh those oranges! They are the best oranges. So good in fact, I'm willing to sit here and say I will never buy a grocery store again as long as I have that tree in my backyard.

This DIY hand soap is another example. When I saw it on Pinterest I was intrigued.

Source: thefarmersnest.com via The Cyclist's on Pinterest

A gallon of Mrs. Meyer's for about 5 bucks? Well OK! So what if it's in a recycled milk carton, right?

Beyond being less than $5 for an enormous amount of soap, I also liked the fact that it was not anti-bacterial. Why is all of the soap anti-bacterial now? We prefer to not use anti-bacterial soap for a variety of reasons, most of which are noted here, but also because, it's just really not necessary all the time.

Unfortunately, I could not find Mrs. Meyer's in the bar form in my local area. Instead, I headed to the co-op to see if I could find a way to make this recipe in an even more natural way.

I found a yummy smelling lemon verbena soap ($3.99) and a vegetable glycerin (about $3) in the co-op's beauty department. The helpful beauty lady told me the vegetable glycerin is a natural version of the liquid glycerin used in the recipe from Pinterest/The Farmer's Nest.

Another nifty thing about vegetable glycerin - you can add it to your everyday moisturizer to make it into a winter moisturizer, pretty nifty. P.S. Either "glycerine" is spelled wrong on that bottle or my spell check (glycerin) is wrong - you choose!

Anyway, back to this soap. I mentioned earlier some things aren't as pretty as others. Well, this soap is one of those things too. I'm probably just being a bit picky but here are the things that make it not as pretty as store bought liquid hand soap:

The Farmer's Nest says it has a snot-like consistency. This is kind of true, but I found it has set up a bit better over time. It does work just fine though.
If you re-use a plastic soap container (like I did) it kind of sticks to the sides. This is really not a big deal and could be easily fixed by buying a ceramic soap dispenser. I've just spent years paying too much for liquid soap so I don't have one. The sticking-to-the-side phenomenon is nothing crazy either, it's just that you can see some soap residue on the clear container. No bigs.
Sometimes you have to shake it. I noticed this more when I first made it, but not so much anymore.

But here are some other things:

This soap smells GOOD. Plus, you can make it smell like whatever you want - have fun picking out your bar of soap!
The find on vegetable glycerin was worth it alone. My skin looks really good even with dry winter air, but the soap is great too.
You still get a gargantuan container of soap for like $5!!
It's natural.

So how do you make the soap? There are full directions at The Farmer's Nest, but I'll give you my own description here:

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons vegetable glycerin

1 8oz. bar of soap (find a good smelling one!)

1 gallon of distilled water

Other Stuff

Cheese grater

A big pot

Electric hand mixer

How To

Grate the whole bar of soap

Pour the gallon of distilled water into your big pot and add the grated soap

Add 2 Tablespoons of vegetable glycerin. Turn your heat to medium high and stir frequently until soap dissolves.

At this point I transferred mine from my good big pot into a couple of old big bowls - this step is optional.

Let the soap cool for 10-12 hours.

After it is cooled completely it will harden. At this point mine was pretty hard, like thicker than normal Jell-O.

So, if yours is like mine was, get out your beaters and add a little bit of water* at a time while blending until you reach the consistency of liquid soap.

You're done!

*Because I added water I ended up with more than a gallon.

So, enjoy this soap! And remember even though it might not be as pretty as what you can buy in the store it is:

A whole lot cheaper
Works just as good
Smells better
Is natural
You know what you put in it!

Happy Soap Making,

TCW

**Here's where I'm sharing....
New Life on a Homestead

10 ways to know if you live in a cycling household

2013-01-30T12:53:00.001-08:00

Since cycling season is officially upon us, I thought I'd help you determine if you really live in a cycling household. Here are my top 10 clues:

There are more bikes than people who live there.
Asking "do you have a safety pin?" is not a real question.
You know what a SAG Wagon is.
The two most essential bathroom items are Butt Butter and Tegaderm.
There is an entire closet or area for bike clothes, err kits.
You should develop some type of new use for rubber with all the left-over tubes in your garage.
The purchase of a new bike is similar to the purchase of a new wardrobe: they are often replaced seasonally.
You know what a trainer is and it is set up somewhere in your house permanently.
You are familiar with the layout of numerous business parks (crit racers) and underused mountainous roads (climbers) in a 100 square mile radius.
You might have a child named after a pro cyclist, or you know someone who does.

Happy Racing!
♥TCW

Dinner Makeover {Cheeseburger, Fries + Shake}

2013-01-28T11:22:00.001-08:00

Happy Monday Everyone!

I am excited to be partnering with Save Mart and the American Heart Association for this post. I'm not sure about you, but January always brings the feeling of needing a diet overhaul. Full disclosure is probably appropriate though: as I sit writing this I've eaten two pieces of chocolate. Don't hate. We were given candy bars in a Christmas basket, it's a miracle there is any left.

Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of Americans? I didn't. The basis of a heart healthy diet is to eat low-sodium and low-fat foods. Being aware of sodium and fat intake can be good for all of us, especially after a season of (most likely) eating a lot of extra junk.

Today I'm going to take a family favorite - but not so good for us - meal, and show you a healthier way to enjoy it. On the menu is a cheeseburger, fries and a shake. This is a classic American dish that I think everyone loves, but unfortunately it's not that good for us. To change it up for a healthier alternative we are instead going to have a turkey burger (with cheese), roasted sweet potatoes and a 3 ingredient non-dairy banana shake.

Let's get cooking shall we?

I purchased everything I needed for this meal at my local Save Mart.

If you are a regular reader you know I am a lover of my local Farmer's Market for produce, but I am happy to say I was pretty impressed with Save Mart's produce selection, especially the heirloom tomatoes...

I did take some time to prepare and photograph this post, but turkey burgers with roasted sweet potatoes is something we eat on a semi-regular basis. Being a busy person/part-time mom/full time real-jobber/part-time blogger, I like recipes that I can make in a reasonable amount of time after I get home from work and this is definitely one of them. The banana shake is a new addition, but it was so good (and EASY!) that I know I'll be enjoying it more often.

Let's start with our potatoes. I used 3 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes.

In keeping with the low-sodium, low-fat guidelines, I used olive oil to coat the potatoes and seasoned them with garlic pepper and crushed red cayenne pepper.

For the burger, I used a lot of fresh herbs which gave it great flavor.

The shake is what I'm most excited about though. A 3 ingredient milkshake?! What the what? I think I just found a way to cure my sweet tooth. Can I let you in on a little secret?

When you put frozen banana rounds into your food processor, magic happens. I am totally not kidding. Banana ice cream. Magic.

This is really just bananas. Only bananas and nothing else. The consistency is like soft serve.
It is truly amazing. It is truly outrageous. Jem!
Err. Sorry about that. I might have watched Girls Just Wanna Have Fun while I made this. I'm suffering from 80's brain a little bit. The banana ice cream is truly outrageous though.

I scooped my banana ice cream into the blender, added 4 large ice cubes and 1 cup of Almond Breeze Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk.

Mix it all up and you have a dairy free 3 ingredient milkshake. It's even OK to have it for breakfast.

When you're done with everything you have a full healthy meal with no additional salt added, low in fat and lots of healthy herbs, fruit and vegetables. Most importantly, it's just as satisfying as that old cheeseburger, fries and a shake.

I served the burger and potatoes with a couple of juicy orange slices. Citrus is looking great right now and I have a wonderful tree right in my backyard.

The potatoes turned out nice, crisp and spicy. I was a little afraid to attempt a recipe with no added salt, especially potatoes, but I was very happy with how these tasted. I wasn't missing my salt shaker.

I used an Oroweat 100% Whole Wheat bun and topped the burger with fresh avocado, green leaf lettuce, heirloom tomato and sliced red onion. The cheese was a hard decision In the end I chose Tillamook sliced Swiss because it was lower in sodium (although higher in fat) than the goat cheese. This is a fine choice for us, but those on a heart healthy diet will need to make sure adding this cheese won't put them over their recommended daily fat intake.

Overall, it wasn't good or anything. Just kidding!!

For anyone just learning to cook or looking to avoid sodium and fat, here is my two cents:

Cook your own food. I'm not saying never go to a restaurant again, but by preparing your own dishes, as opposed to purchasing pre-prepared foods, you will easily avoid excess sodium and fat because you know exactly what is going into your food.
Shop the perimeter of your grocery store. Most of the things you will find in the "middle" is boxed, canned, frozen and/or pre-made and have much higher levels of sodium and fat than fresh items that you prepare yourself.
If you aren't a cook, don't worry. I'm a strong believer that anyone can teach themselves to cook. With every new recipe you try you will learn something new and before you know it you will have lots of menu items in your repertoire.

Here are the ingredients and how to for each recipe:

Banana Shake

Ingredients:
1 scant cup frozen banana rounds*
4 large ice cubes
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I used Almond Breeze)

How to:
Put the frozen banana rounds into your food processor and mix until they turn into an ice-cream like consistency.
Transfer the banana ice cream to your blender.
Add ice cubes and almond milk and blend until smooth.
Pour into your favorite glass, add a straw and enjoy.

*To freeze the banana in advance, peel it, slice it, freeze it. Freezing with the peel on will cause you problems. Trust.

Roasted Spicy Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
3 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 teaspoons garlic pepper*
1/2 teaspoon crushed red cayenne pepper*
2 tablespoons olive oil
Spray of canola oil

How to:
Pre-heat oven to 400°.
Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Add all cubes to a large bowl. Add seasoning and olive oil and toss until potatoes are coated. Lightly spray a cooking sheet with canola or olive oil spray. Spread seasoned potato cubes across the pan in an even layer.
Cook for 15 minutes, then turn potatoes with spatula.
Cook another 10 minutes.
Turn oven to high-broil and broil for about 5 minutes to crisp the potatoes.
Serve with ketchup or alone.

*I like things spicy and these potatoes did have a bit of a kick. If you are not a spicy food person, I would start by adding only half of the spices listed here.

Turkey Burger with Fresh Herbs

Ingredients:
1lb lean ground turkey (I used Jennie-O Lean Ground Turkey)
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, minced
1/4 scant cup fresh basil, minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 slice of whole grain bread, ripped into small pieces
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon low sodium Worcestershire sauce (I used Lea & Perrins)
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Sides:
Oroweat 100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
Tillamook Sliced Swiss (1 slice per burger)
Avocado, sliced
Heirloom tomato, sliced (any tomato will do)
Red onion, sliced
Green leaf lettuce
Mayo, deli mustard, ketchup

How to:
Prepare all herbs and seasonings as noted.
Mix all ingredients in large bowl, use your hands to mix everything thoroughly
Once mixed, prepare patties. You should be able to get 5-6 full sized patties from the mixture.
Heat a grill pan (or fry pan) on medium to high heat. Place patty (or patties) in pan and begin to cook.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side until burger is cooked through.
If adding cheese, place a slice on top of your burger and continue cooking until melted.
Assemble burger to your liking and enjoy!

♥TCW

*I was compensated for this post, however all opinions expressed are completely my own.

**I shared some or all of these recipes on the following sites:
New Life on a Homestead
Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
My Sweet & Savory
hey what's for dinner mom?
Beyer Beware
Delightfully Dowling
Simply Sugar & Gluten Free
Real Food Forager
Growing Home
Learning the Frugal Life
Beauty & Bedlam
Kelly the Kitchen Kop
The Tasty Alternative
The Gluten-Free Homemaker
Whole Foods Wednesday
Lady Behind the Curtain
We are that family
Frugal Follies
Diary of a stay at home mom
Miz Helen's Country Kitchen
The Nourishing Gourmet
Tasty Traditions
Food Renegade
ann kroeker. writer.
Food Trip Friday
Cybele Pascal
Tidy Mom
Little House in the Suburbs
The Finer Things in Life
My Sweet & Savory
Hey What's for Dinner Mom

Chicken Pot Pie ♥ The Heart Healthy Way ♥

2013-01-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

In the winter months I love warm, savory food. There is something special about coming in from the cold to a cozy house that smells like good eats. I knew this recipe was a keeper when after a monster bike ride, The Cyclist came in the door and the first words out of his mouth were "something smells good". Win.

This chicken pot pie is from the American Heart Association's recipe page. I absolutely love pot pie, but the pre-packaged kind tend to have 30+ grams of fat per serving. Not good. As soon as I saw this healthier version, I knew I had to make it. After getting all of the goods at Save Mart, I got to work.

This dish gets its flavor from all of the seasoning, fresh herbs and veggies.

Not pictured - Parsley, it comes later. A couple of notes here: I used fresh pearl onions because Save Mart did not have any frozen. If you have the option to use frozen, I would do so because it takes a long dang time to peel those fresh onions! Also, when I couldn't find button or Crimini mushrooms, my friendly Save Mart produce man told me that they are the same as Italian Brown. Learn something new every day.

The recipe calls for a salt free all purpose seasoning, I chose good ole' Mrs. Dash because it's what my mom always had on hand.

It had been awhile since I'd had Mrs. Dash and I was impressed by the amount of flavor it has without salt.

I was also happy to see the recipe called for turmeric. I met turmeric awhile ago and I really love it. You can dye a shirt with it too.

You'll notice the recipe does call for salt, but it's only a tad bit - 1/2 teaspoon.

One more thing. This recipe calls for a liquor called Pernod. I thought I had never heard of it, but when I googled it I recognized the bottle. My Save Mart did not carry this, but to be honest, I don't know that I would have bought it even if they did. The likelihood of us using it outside of this recipe is probably pretty slim. Mark my words though, because now that I've said this I'm sure I'll probably find another recipe that calls for it.

Once you've got all your ingredients together it's time to start cooking the filling. I like that this recipe has you saute the herbs a bit before adding the other ingredients. I used my biggest skillet. You should use your biggest skillet too.

Once your filling is done, it's time to make your crust dough. Because it's doughy and crusty. Er, not crusty but you know, crust-y. The recipe has you roll it out on plastic wrap. Do this. You will have to flip it on top of your filling. It is a sheer miracle I was able to do this on my own. The Cyclist is the dough master of our domain.

Full disclosure here. The recipe calls for a trans-fat free margarine spread. We don't eat margarine. I used unsalted butter instead. This obviously upped the fat content, so if you are eating a heart healthy diet you can either follow the recipe and use the margarine, or, make sure using the butter doesn't put you over your daily fat intake. To note, the unsalted butter I used was also trans-fat free, so this is still a trans-fat free crust.

Once you've rolled your dough and precariously flipped it onto your filling you should give yourself a pat on the back for accomplishing such a difficult task. I did. The recipe says you should put your filling in a 3 quart casserole dish. I don't have one of those, so I instead used our cast iron skillet. I also opted to use the recipe's suggestion of putting an egg wash on the finished pastry.

As you can see my crust doesn't exactly go all the way to the sides. Since my name is not Martha this is acceptable. You can get this baby baking now!

While you're pie is in the oven I've got something else for you to do. The recipe says to serve the pot pie with olive oil mashed potatoes, but I couldn't find a recipe on American Heart Association's website, so I created one for you.

Typically I add more salt to mashed potatoes, but these didn't need it and they were super easy to make. The recipe is down below, you can easily make these taters while your pot pie is cooking.

Once you're done you'll have a tasty and heart healthy meal, that makes your house smell like home.

Because I am a full-time working lady, I will say that I probably wouldn't attempt this dish on a weeknight. There is a lot of chopping involved my friends. Not to mention there is also dough involved, which usually totally freaks me out. That said, you can make the filling a day in advance, which would make the process a bit easier.

The Cyclist and I both thought this dish was really good. It is both hearty and tasty and you won't miss the added salt. I am a crust lover and usually I would opt for the traditional pot pie which has the filling encased in a full crust (as opposed to just a crust on top), but I have to say, I didn't miss it. The filling is really good and with mashed potatoes on the side, you really don't need all that crust. This would be a great dish to make if you are having friends over for dinner too.

A few notes regarding my changes to the recipe:

I used fresh pearl onions instead of frozen. If making this dish again, I'd opt for frozen simply to save time on peeling those babies.
I did not use the Pernod.
I used unsalted butter (which is trans-fat free) instead of a trans-fat free margarine spread.
I used a cast iron skillet instead of a 3 quart casserole dish.
I did the egg wash as suggested by the recipe.

That's it! You can find the full recipe here.

And here is how to make those Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes....

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped in half
1 tsp. salt-free Mrs. Dash
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
1/4 cup milk*

How To:

Boil the potatoes until soft, about 15-20 minutes.
Using a stand mixer, mix with the paddle attachment until the potatoes are broken up.
Add all ingredients and mix well.
Switch to the whisk attachment and whip potatoes until smooth.
-or-
If you're using a hand mixer, first break the potatoes up with a wooden spoon.
Then, using your hand mixer, add all ingredients and mix well.
Switch to a whisk and whip potatoes until smooth.

*I used 2%, but to keep this lower in fat, use fat-free

Happy Heart Healthy eating!

♥ TCW

*I was compensated for this post, however all opinions expressed are completely my own.

**I shared this post on the following sites:
Simply Sugar and Gluten Free
Real Food Forager
Growing Home
Learning the Frugal Life
Beauty & Bedlam
Kelly the Kitchen Kop
The Tasty Alternative
Lady Behind the Curtain
We are that family
Diary of a stay at home Mom
Miz Helen's Country Kitchen
Pennywise Platter Thursday
Tasty Traditions
Food Renegade
Ann Kroeker. Writer.
Food Trip Friday
Tidy Mom
Little House in the Suburbs
The Finer Things
Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Delightfully Dowling

Pinspiration {Tom Ka Soup by An Urban Cottage}

2013-01-21T12:34:00.002-08:00

Source: anurbancottage.blogspot.com via The Cyclist's on Pinterest

I mentioned on Facebook a little while ago that I had been not only pinning things onto my Pinterest boards but actually trying them! Yay me. This delicious soup is one of them!

Hello tangy, tasty, veggie filled soup. This is soup-er delicious and easy to make (ah, see what I did there? I know. I'm sorry). You can also use whatever veggies you would like. I didn't use baby corn because I didn't have any on hand. I did use zucchini and green beans. I did not cut pretty carrots. I'm not that fancy. The veggies stay nice and fresh in this soup since you only blanch them. The broth has a nice sour-y taste; I did add a tablespoon of brown sugar per An Urban Cottage's suggestion in order to balance the sour. Click the link below the photo to get to the recipe at An Urban Cottage.

And then go make this soup-er soup.

The end.

Cycling, doping and jackassery: Lance Confesses

2013-01-15T12:37:00.001-08:00

Let me start out with an apology for my language here. I'm going to be using some "language" in this post. I understand not everyone appreciates a potty mouth so I think its fair to put a warning up front. That said, in my opinion, certain words are just the best words to use when describing things. Now lets get started, shall we?

I'll just come out and say it. I think Lance Armstrong is a jackass.

So Lance finally admitted to doping. Good job Lance. Seriously. It's better than never admitting it I suppose. But don't you think you could have done it prior to posting twitpics like this?

Back in Austin and just layin' around... mob.li/_r4zAz
— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) November 10, 2012

You may remember I've written about Lance before. And, although I don't feel like I was backing him in one way or another, I still think he had some good points at the time he decided he would no longer challenge the USADA. I also still stick to my original notion that the USADA needs to change their processes in charging and pursuing athletes for doping.

But since then, a whole bunch other stuff has been made public and a whole bunch of other things have happened. And, although I purposely failed to state my position the last time I wrote about Lance, I'll admit now that I always leaned toward the notion that he probably was doping....and so it seems he was.

The thing is, as a PR brained person (fun fact: my degree is actually in PR), it surprises me that Lance actually continued to lie after all of the other things came out and did stuff as dumb as tweeting that picture. From a PR perspective, up until the release of the USADA's release of "overwhelming evidence" against Lance and then his ultimate confession, the dude was a PR dream come true. He's good looking, well spoken (even on the fly and in the face of negativity), successful and doing major charity work, among many other things. It was easy to believe him and sometimes even root for him.

And then the evidence surfaced.

Now at this point, if Lance wanted to keep up his PR cred, he should have done one of two things:

Take a big dose of shut the hell up. Sit back, be quiet and only be seen doing damn good things. Then later in life, after the dust has settled, re-emerge as a good dude; OR,
Admit it. Just freaking admit it. Say you're sorry, and then later in life, after the dust has settled, re-emerge as a good dude.

But instead, something else happened....the jackass Lance emerged. Don't get me wrong, it has been present in the past, but now it just seems to be inevitably clear. Lance is just a jackass. To me, the most damage he's done to his career has happened in the last six months. It's not the actual doping that will ultimately hurt Lance, it is his overwhelming efforts to continuously lie about it, even after the evidence surfaced. People don't like liars.

Now, I highly doubt his PR people were directing him to keep lying and tweet pictures like the one above. If they were, Mr. Armstrong, you should fire them. What's more likely I think, is that Lance the jackass still felt like he was untouchable even after the evidence surfaced. So he just kept lying.

In cycling, just like the NFL, MLB and NBA there are athletes that dope. It is the shameful non-secret of (what now seems like) all sports. Lance, pretty much like everyone else, got caught up. But then it seems, old Lance just got too big for his britches. He thought nobody could bring him down. I think he may have even believed himself. In the process of this, he became the ultimate jackass. Maybe it was the glow of all those yellow jersey's that blinded Lance. Who knows?

But. While I sit calling Lance a jackass, there is a twinge that says I also feel sorry for him. I mean, this really could have happened to any cyclist.....or maybe not. Because at the same time that I feel that twinge, I remember who we're talking about and I go back to thinking that Lance is just a jackass.

Either way, I think Lance waited too long to eat his piece of humble pie. His apology and admittance definitely should have come before that tweet and picture. It certainly should have come sooner than yesterday. So where does this leave Lance? Time will tell. But I think later in life, after the dust has settled, Lance could re-emerge as a good dude. As long as he stops being a jackass.

Books of Late

2013-01-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

Is it possible to really love and be disappointed by a book at the same time? I suppose if it is true in life it can be true in reading. I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this book; the visual imagery you get is outstanding and the imaginative plot is great. It was the ending that disappointed me. I felt like there were loose ends that were not tied up that should have been. Couldn't we learn Mr. A.H-'s whole name? This is book is a rare instance in which I think the movie version will be better.

Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer

I personally think Jon Krakauer is a great writer. Into the Wild is one of my favorite books of all time. One that I keep and re-read. The story is intriguing, haunting and sad. I still wonder if Christopher McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp was brilliant or crazy or both. In any case, he was brave. His story is definitely worth reading. It should also be noted that Krakauer changed his theory regarding Christopher's death after the book was published. The movie version of this book is also outstanding, but seriously, read the book too.

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

This book grabbed me instantly and I couldn't put it down, for that, it's worth reading. I also liked her style of writing. However, I was not thrilled with the outcome of the story. I just kept thinking, "really?....like really?". I might be alone in this boat, as this book as received rave reviews. That said, I haven't really heard a full opinion of what others thought of the ending....please feel free to comment here. If they make a movie of this book (it looks like this will happen), I'll be curious to see if they change the ending.

What are your books of late?

Too cute not to share....

2013-01-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I see things and I think, "what a brilliant idea!". Which is usually followed by, "why didn't I think of that?".

This Pregnancy Journal is one of those things...

Seriously. What an adorable idea (and a great gift idea for any of your prego friends or family members).

Have a fab day!
TCW

A few good things to start out the year....

2013-01-07T17:09:00.003-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I know we're a week in but I'm still trying to get my barrings.
Anyone else with me on that?

My New Year's Eve morning started out with a good thing...

....this bottle of champagne on my porch from my awesome neighbors. This seriously put a smile on my face. It's nice to be surrounded by nice people. Thank you neighbors! {You know who you are!}

This was followed by greeting The Cyclist at the airport after he'd been gone for 5 days. Yet another good thing.

We then lickety-split headed up to Tahoe to spend NYE with good friends and good food.

If you don't have any friends from New Mexico, you should find some. It means pozole and tamales. That is a good thing.

Oh yes, the dogs got to join us too. Good things all around.

We even made it to midnight! This is a true feat for us over 30 peeps.

Waking up to Tahoe snow and sun is a good thing.

A nice breakfast followed by a walk with the doggies is good too.

Luna thinks so.

Morning sun and a new camera is a good thing. {Thank you honey!}

After our morning walk, The Cyclist and I headed up for a view of Donner Lake before heading home.

I hope the start of this year is a sign of things to come.

Happy New Year to you!
TCW