Weekend Things

I’m never sure how to proceed in the wake of tragedy.  On the one hand, it feels wrong to go on with regularly scheduled programming when our nation is grieving.  But then, in a small way, it’s also symbolic of what we have to do in times like these.  GO ON.  Hate is not the answer.  Terror will not destroy us.  Fear will not win.  I choose to believe that there are far more good hearts in this world than there is hatred and senselessness.  And so I’m focusing on the good and this weekend was good.

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We tried out a new pizza place for Friday dinner and WHOA.  Cart-Driver can’t be beat in the thin-crust artisan category and Fat Sully’s is a showstopper but Blue Pan, I think you’ve won my overall pizza heart.  I didn’t even know what Detroit-style pizza was before this, but I think it’s safe to say it’s my new favorite.  Would you just look at those crispy edges?!

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The rest of the evening was spent at Coors.  Let’s not even talk about how we were up two, with two outs and zero on in the top of the ninth and somehow managed to lose the game.  Instead, let’s talk about how they do this Tooth Trot every game and Joey gets so into cheering on someone dressed as a giant toothbrush.  His maturity astounds me 🙂

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Ugh, Saturday was just the best day.  And not because of anything life-changing, but just because it was summer and I ate breakfast (AND LUNCH) in the backyard and got to ride my bike to the Farmers’ Market.  And really, that’s all I need in this life to be happy.  Union Station just started hosting a Farmers’ Market so we rode over to check it out and I was delighted (and sort of surprised) to see how much produce they had!  I’m all for tents selling breakfast and lunch options but let’s not forget that FRESH PRODUCE is actually the point of a Farmers’ Market.

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I was seriously only going to allow myself to buy one item (Farmers’ Markets are not always easy on the wallet) but then I saw bunches of the illusive garlic scape, big pink radishes and the most gorgeous heads of MINI lettuce and couldn’t resist.  Then Joey forced me to buy some cherries.  Twist my arm, why dontcha? 🙂  I made a pretty lunch salad with our loot and felt infinite happiness.  Plus it gave me enough energy to brave the grocery store during Rockies game rush hour.

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The rest of the day was spent outside (shocking, I know) reading, while Joey built our second garden box.  I’m a bad wife and forgot to take a picture but it turned out SO GOOD and only took him half as long as the first one, so he’s pretty much a pro now.  I can’t wait to get them primed and prepped for actual plants.  We saw all these cute veggie seedlings at the market and it got us so excited to plant some of our own!  While Joey finished up, I headed inside and made us a Rhubarb and Raspberry Crostata for dessert.  Served it up with some ice cream later that night and it was the perfect end to a perfect day.

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Sunday started with a walk and breakfast with my parents.  We took them to Bacon and hoped for a good experience since it’s been sort of a mixed bag the past few times we’ve been by ourselves.  It’s not so much the food that’s off, but the service.  Our food seemed to take FOR-EV-ER but luckily, we were all too busy talking to notice it all that much.  We hadn’t seen my parents since we got back from Chicago so we caught them up on our trip and gave them some tips for their trip to San Fran/Oregon later this summer.

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Afterwards, I hit up Whole Foods — every time I leave that place, I’m thinking “get me outta here!” — then walked to pick up some more coffee beans for iced coffee and helped Joey prep some salads for the work week.  Got to watch the beginning of the Rockies game before heading off to yoga.  Yoga is good any time of year, but when you get to park on the other side of the bridge and walk over in that summertime sunshine, it just feels that much better.  We learned some new poses and it felt good to try something different, even if I looked like a mess doing it 🙂

Ended the night with more reading on the porch, Game of Thrones and a veggie and garlic scape pesto panzanella!  I’m all for a salad that involves cubes of bread and I only kinda still suck at poaching eggs.  Meanwhile, it’s Monday but I’m still gonna act like it’s the weekend, if you don’t mind.  Sending you all love, happiness and sunshine this week!

 

Make This Now

Hi!  Welcome to a new series called “Make This Now” where I get all excited about recently used and loved recipes and then I try to translate that excitement into a convincing argument for you to try those recipes yourself.  I think we’re both gonna love this new series.  Right?!

The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

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It’s always best to come right out the gate with a recipe for “the best chocolate chip cookies ever!”

I find cookies to be annoying because there are SO MANY small factors that can totally change the way your cookies come out.  We’ve all seen those charts that show what all brown sugar cookies vs. brown & white sugar cookies look like, or what baking soda vs. baking powder cookies look like, etc., etc.  Look, I do not have time to test all these factors, so when these cookies came out PERFECTLY, I was OVERJOYED.  They totally made me forget that I had walked back to my car after yoga to find I had a flat tire.  Not to be dramatic but these were the best cookies I’ve ever made or eaten, the end.

Roasted Veg with Nutritional Yeast

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Going to overlook the fact that Bon App staffers cannot say “vegetables” and insist on saying “veg.”  And you can overlook my questionable at-home outfit choices.

Guys, are you using nutritional yeast?  You’re probably either thinking “um that’s so 5 years ago” or “what the hell is nutritional yeast?!”  But hear me out while I profess my love for that yellowy powder.  It is the best, most delicious, most life-changing ingredient, vegan or not.  Joey straight up eats SPOONFULS of it, he loves it that much.  You know, beer, Santiago’s breakfast burritos, candy and nutritional yeast.  A totally normal diet for an adult male.  Make the broccoli version of this recipe or make the squash version of this recipe, either way, your life is about to change for the better.

Cast-Iron Pan Pizza

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Not to be dramatic, but this was the best pizza Joey and I have ever made.  EVER.  And we’ve made A LOT of pizza.

Can we just acknowledge that the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen is probably the best place to work?  They are always sending SnapChat videos of fun stuff going on in there and then they do stuff like provide us with informal recipes for the best cast-iron skillet pizza and I could not be more appreciative.  BA Brad knows his stuff.  We watched that little video (click the link!) about five times and followed the directions to a T and were rewarded with this amazing pizza delight.  Seriously, I was so impressed.  And brushing honey onto the crust before it cools?  Why had I never thought of that genius move on my own?  MAKE IT NOW.Read More »