five minute friday//foodie linkz

Thought it might not be riveting to you all, I do love posting a few of my favorite links each Friday.  It keeps me aware when I am scrolling through the dozens of blog posts I read each week and truthfully holds me accountable and to not let 3+ weeks go by without me posting on this space.  However, they have been feeling a little stale to me lately, so I'm going to try adding a little Five Minute Friday blurb where I write with no edits for 5 minutes straight. 

Hunter and I took off for a birthday celebration last Friday after work.  I need to get some photos and memories from our trip up on the blog.  It was a weekend of love, adventure and bliss that we haven't experienced in a while.  The 4 days we were gone felt like they were pulled straight from our adventurous 7 months in Bremerton last summer.  Even though this weekend is a long weekend with Labor Day, we decided against a quick trip to WY and are choosing to stay close to home and spend time with a dear friend who is only in Steamboat for a few short weeks.  Plus, I'm gearing up to start a part time job, so I would like to get our apartment and meal prep in order a bit more!  We've been doing Bountiful Baskets for a few months now, and it has completely restyled our grocery shopping.  I've been trying new recipes that use more of what we have on hand versus going out to buy a new huge ingredient list.  Cooking can get so expensive but I'm working to be a thrifty chef at the same time.  A tasty thrifty chef!  andplusalso, I've been using the magic of actual recipe cards more and more which makes me sound like one of those young bucks who is discovering a how cool funky and vintage a typewriter can be.  It seems kind of strange to me we are already entering September, but at the same time it feels just right.  Over the weekend, Hunter and I talked a lot about how adventurous our summer was last year and how different our summer has been this year.  Though we did more camping, backpacking and spent far more nights in a tent last year, this summer has been adventurous in a new way.  We've logged so very many hours on our mountain bikes which is a post and a half in and of itself.  We've spent more time enjoying creek side happy hours, had great BBQ's with nearby friends and just all in all had a really lovely summer.  

And now, a few { mostly food related } linkz to start off the weekend.

//this grilled sesame ginger cabbage.  cabbage has been my jam lately.  talk about thrifty cooking; i feel like a head of cabbage can be stretched to nearly a dozen salads + stir fries.  i need to try this salad/stir fry out sooner than later.

//this african peanut stew.  anyone who knows me knows asian food is my go-to-favorite-gimmie-more cuisine.  anyone who really knows me { aka has eaten too much thai/asian/Vietnamese food with me } knows that i like my meals flavorful and i like them saucy.  lindsey and i have had many a conversation over soupy curry vs thick curry.  i'm team soupy.  when i read the final sentence of this post about serving it over jasmine rice, i knew immediately it was the perfect recipe to try for a soupy gal like myself.

//this round up of back to school allergy free snacks is just the motivation i need to tackle homemade granola bars.

//this spicy sweet potato avocado toastadas sounds { and looks } like summer time dinner bliss.

//this inspiring post about keeping your closet to a minimum { say what?! a minimum!?? }  since moving to steamboat i've convinced myself that i haven't had enough clothes { i donated 80% of my wardrobe before moving to bremerton and about 18% of that remaining 20% is in storage }.  I've been hungry for deals and online shopping, but i just adore the spin of keeping our closet to a few pieces rather than a ton of pieces.  novel concept, eh?!  

aaaand a quick photo from a coffee shop in crested butte last weekend that stole my heart { and stomach } with their techniques, homemade bread and all around eye candy.

i made this :: thai coconut curry soup!

If I could eat one soup for the rest of my existence, it would be this Thai Coconut Curry Soup.  And that statement is a pretty tall order because I love soup.

I have made this 3 maybe 4 times and each time I make it I enjoy it { i.e. absolutely freak out about how much I love it } more and more.  That is rather rare for me because my cooking habit tends to be make a recipe once, love it.  Make a recipe twice and burn myself out on the flavors/textures the second time.  This soup is easily adaptable with whatever veggies you have on hand and I tend to up the amount of curry paste used { love me some spice! } and cut the cans of coconut milk in half { while using reduced fat versus the full fat coconut milk }.  

It makes a huuuuuuge batch which is another reason I love it so.  I know it's an extra good soup recipe because not only do Hunter and Bob gobble it up { they aren't as big of soup fans as I am }, but Hunter specifically asked for this particular soup when we { i.e. me } were hankering for soup a few weeks back.

Moral of the story: Make the soup.  Love the soup.  Eat the soup.

link it up

//this girl and her sweet blog post!  i love reminiscing on our insanely fun and ridiculous memories.

//these funny face straw toppers.  i think the blog post mildly puts me to shame as i wouldn't use these for children, i would use these for an adult party!  so silly and fun.

//this round up of great branding.  one of my favorite slow/fast food restaurants meets good branding and leaves me a happy { hungry } gal.

//this brunch me pinterest board i finally started.  brunch is my love language.  end of story.

//this marinated fennel + tomato salad is a salad i can get down with.

ending this post with a few photos from my birthday celebrations this week.  heavens to betsy have i felt the birthday love near and far!

#links

//this bathroom tour of natural living products!  drea can do no wrong in my eyes so it was awesome to get an insider peek into her daily all natural routine!  hashtagwannabehippie

//these gouda grits + brown butter shrimp.  i don't like shrimp.  like really don't like shrimp.  but if I'm going to eat shrimp, it's going to be with grits and brown butter.

//these carrot apple muffins.  like my pinterest board states: I don't bake.  but if i baked, i would go outside my comfort zone and bake these muffins!

//this post about what vegans bring backpacking had me seconds away from quitting my job and packing up my life in a backpack.  you think i'm kidding.

//these watermelon st germain cocktails are what summer evenings are made of.

::via::

i made this :: kale bagels!

I pick savory over sweet 9.86589 times out of 10.  It isn't unusual for me to wake up on a Saturday morning craving one of three things: crispy potatoes, homemade pretzels or freshly homemade bread of any variety.  Pancakes?  Waffles?  Not for this girl.

I had initially planned on making everything bagels from my I'ma Cook You list, but after purchasing Home-Cooked Vegan Comfort Food and seeing their recipe for Kale Bagels I quickly switched my bagel tune.

The weather on Saturday afternoon was equal parts rainy + sunny which was perfect for a leisurely afternoon of finishing up a { OlsonField book club! } book while stirring + mixing + let rise bagel dough.  

When I let a month or two go by without baking bread it always sounds daunting and time consuming at the thought of cooking up a batch.  But, when I bake every few weeks I'm reminded of how much fun I have baking bread!  It forces me a few hours spent in a { quiet!!!! } house with just me, my thoughts, sticky hands, activated yeast and perfectly risen bread dough.  Not to mention the smell of freshly baked bread brings back approximately 325,149 memories of my childhood and watching my mom bake bread for us each week. 

These bagels turned out far, far better than I had anticipated.  I think they are best lightly toasted with some Earth Balance { and sea salt! }.  It totally got me into the bagel groove and I am so excited to try my hand at different varieties of homemade bagels!

#emo followup

I saw this quote on Pinterest last night and I thought it the perfect summary to yesterday's post.

::via::

#emo.

I shot down the mountain to Denver this past weekend (aka two weekends ago now.  aka this post has been sitting in my drafts for too long).  Amos Lee played at Red Rocks on Friday evening with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and there was no way in haillll Mary and I were going to miss out on that show.

Ask Mary about the time she blacked out and bought 2 Amos Lee tickets 6+ months in advance.

I got to Denver around 3p and was excited to buzz past my old office quickly before meeting Mary before the concert.  My excitement quickly faded when Denver traffic hit me square in the face.  The anxiety inducing, vehicle stopping, assholes behind the wheel traffic.

I lived in Denver for almost 7 years, right?  You would think the commotions of a big city wouldn't have phased me much if at all.  You would think it might even be mildly comforting to me considering singing sirens at one point acted as a lullaby to me for crying out loud!

Even with the mild anxiety (side note: a Steamboat coworker of mine spent a week in Denver with her sons last week and had similar a reaction to the traffic and commotion.  I blame/thank our quiet small town for our inability to tolerate traffic/too many people) to all the people, I had the weekend of my dreams.  It included so many of my very favorite things it was almost overwhelming.  I didn't take too many photos because I was too busy yoga'ing at Red Rocks, holding 5 day old babies, playing with 1.5 year old babies, drinking bottomless mimosas with 3 grown ass babies (love you Mary, Steven and Todd!!!), drinking bottomless bellini's with 2 beautiful babies (WUT?  When you live somewhere that does not offer bottomless brunch beverages and bottomless brunch beverages just so happens to be one of your favorite things in all of existence, you say yes to bottomless brunch beverages 2 mornings in a row simply because you can.) and a night out with my bestest of all best friends that trumps any night out I've had in 7+ months.

See those girls in the above photo?  These girls have my heart.  I was reflecting last night how that group of girls has been together through the highest of highs (new jobs, new boyfriends, new fiancés, new husbands, brand new babies, work promotions, new homes, personal goals, moving, travels) and the lowest of lows (breakups, cheating men, loss of jobs, loss of apartments, death, illnesses, broken hearts, broken homes) and truly every single thing in between.  I can safely say they have seen me at my happiest and they have seen me at my lowest.  And I feel confident saying that I've seen them at their happiest and I have seen them at their lowest.  What a beautiful and profound fact.  The thought that we could gather together after a solid year plus of being together, and pick up EXACTLY where we left off gave me goosebumps.  The joy behind the hundreds of memories we've created simply can not compare to many things.  I'm not setting this up to say that I haven't met life long friends outside of these girls, or that I can't meet life long friends outside of these girls, but they really are the bees knees.  I was talking to Jaime about new friends and new coworkers and she looks at me with a sly smile and goes "Well, they have pretty big shoes to fill."  And  man oh man is she right.

Needless to say I left Denver emotional for so many reasons.  I was leaving so fulfilled (literally and figuratively speaking.  I ate so much {too much?} good food!!!) with the variety of friends and family   I was able to catch up with and the dozens of new memories made.  Corny?  Yes.  True?  Absofreakinglutely.

link me.

//this video that puts a huge smile on my face.  it brings me back to my farmers market days and that makes me happy and sentimental all at the same time! 

//these 5-ingredient peanut butter protein bars.  they look like the perfect recipe to introduce me to homemade granola/bar making!

//this big ass salad.  the title of the salad is right up my alley and toped with pickled onions?!  sheet yeah.  

//this resistance band loop leg workout!  love me a quick workout for the mornings before jumping through the shower.

//this for obvious reasons.  #unitedinorange i'm slap happy that football season is right around the corner!

Have a fantastico weekend err'body!

:;via::

#dreamboat

The more and more I over share on Instagram, the more I'm realizing the hashtag dreamboat ends up in almost every photo posted.  My Instagram feed may be a little boring predictable as lately I feel like it mostly consists of landscape/outdoor shots, but I would also follow that up with the oh so annoying favorite hashtag of #sorrynotsorry. 

It may sound corny, but 9.9 times out of 10, I do feel like Steamboat really is a dream/too good to be true.  The fantastic amount of outdoor activities available, the rolling mountains for miles and miles, the camaraderie of a small town vibe...I could go on and on.  I would love to share some of my favorite photos that I have posted on Instagram accompanied by the oh so true hashtag of #dreamboat.  

Sigh.  #happy.

link a dink.

//this video of pets interrupting yoga.  i had the biggest smile on my face the entire duration of the video, but at about 2:22 I was straight up laughing out loud.  oh my goodness.

//this heirloom tomato bruschetta from a house in the hills.  yes.  in all variations of the word...yes.

//this post on time spent consuming vs creating.  great read!

//this three-ingredient salsa.  nothing says summer to me more than fresh salsa from freshly picked { from garden or farmers market! } ingredients.

//this slow cooker black bean soup.  every black bean soup i've ever had has kind of just been mehhhhh, but i could see how making it from dried beans vs canned beans and adding my own seasonings might make all the difference!

//this little round up of seattle favorites.  we all know i love me some seattle and seeing these little snippets makes my heart happy.

//this article on things you learn when you are in a good relationship.  i think #3 is my most favorite!