Month: April 2016

Weekend Things & A Spring Snowstorm

LaurenLeave a comment

Right now, I could complain about how I’m SO OVER snow, how I’m SO READY for warm weather and sunshine and plant-a-garden temps, how I was in SHORT SLEEVES last Thursday night before it started rain-snowing Friday night.

But my weekend involved not one, but two, cheese plates, a spontaneous Friday Date Night, lots of couch-lounging and pajama-wearing, a series win for the Rockies, coffeeee, home-cooking, coffee shop hanging, reading, granola-baking and friend time with Jenn.  So really, there’s nothing to complain about and even though I totally feel like I’m going to fall asleep at my desk today, at least I can dream about how good this weekend was!

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Joey surprised me Friday night by making dinner reservations at Americatus but then we were both so totally hungry by the time we got home that we went early… like 5:50 PM early.  Just a couple of young people acting like old people and eating dinner before 6 PM on a Friday night.  Don’t judge!  We had the place to ourselves for a good 45 minutes before a couple of other groups showed up.  But seriously, we felt like we’d found a hidden gem in Americatus.  Service was awesome and the food… GAH!  Gonna dream of that cheese board and gnocchi until the next time we eat here.

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I had an 11:30 massage scheduled on Saturday but mom and I decided to declare it a snow day instead, and even though that massage was going to be really nice, I was not disappointed about not having to go out in the cold.  Staying in bed till 9 and pancakes in my pajamas are not bad consolation prizes.  I did actually make it out of the house to work out real quick but then I promptly returned to my pajamas and baked granola and cookies.  That tweet is a true story.  Don’t even ask.Read More »

On Cooking Without Recipes

Lauren2 Comments

Last week, I was listening to the Bon Appétit podcast — the one and only podcast I listen to, lest I should become one of those people who begins every sentence with “I was listening to this podcast and…” — and they got to talking about cooking without a recipe.  Though I know there are plenty of people who have the skills/confidence to cook without directions, every time I come in contact with these people, my head kind of explodes.  I always always always cook with a recipe, whether it’s the first or the 100th time I’ve made a dish.

For some reason, it wasn’t until I listened to this podcast that I realized I’m probably a far better cook than I give myself credit for and I probably have enough experience that I don’t need to abide by the rules of the recipe, down to the exact teaspoon.  So Monday night, I quickly glanced over the recipe we’d picked for Taco Tuesday (something we don’t always celebrate, but we should always celebrate), and decided that was the only time I needed to look at that recipe.  I know how to make guacamole.  I know how to sauté veggies.  I know how to season by taste and hell yeah, I know how to assemble a taco.

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Outcome: TACO SUCCESS!

I’m so over corn tortillas, but that aside, these turned out so good!  I think Joey’s immediate response after the first bite was “UMMM YUM!” and it takes a lot to get that kind of comment from him — not that he’s hard to please, but quite the opposite and thinks everything is good, so it goes without saying — so I was really really excited.  This isn’t to say I’m going to start guessing how to roast large cuts of meat or attempt to bake cakes without knowing the specifics, but I think this dinner was a huge confidence booster and extra encouragement to trust myself in the kitchen more.  I got this 🙂