Old Family Photos & My husband's birthday!

My grandfather was a well known horse trainer, he invented a special kind of saddle and wrote a book on his method.  It's is my family's one and only claim to fame! He was also a pretty good photographer and has passed down these great photos to us. My grandparents had a horse ranch in Texas before moving to Colorado in the late 50's and building the ranch that would later become my home.

This is my grandpa

This is my grandma

Here they are in KS where my grandpa was stationed in the army

On the ranch with my uncle as a baby

Apparently hats are a great way to scoop up and drink water while hearding cattle!

I don't know who this is but he's pretty badass!

My dad and his big brother on Christmas day, this photo cracks me up :)

This is my dad doing some fancy tricks!

My dad is on the right, the other guy is some dude who came to our ranch to study with my grandpa.

                                   

Yet another un-named badass.

This was a road trip my grandma took before she was married, I LOVE these because it reminds my of "On the Road" a little bit :)

I am currently working on scanning all the old family photos onto the computer so we can have them forever. I think these are the best heirlooms, I just can't imagine anything more wonderful than seeing what life was like for my amazing grandparents. I feel so lucky to have these photos!

Also, today is my dear husband's birthday. He is 27 today, and it is our 5th birthday together :) We have been together since I was 19 and he was 22, and we have really done a lot of growing up together. This quote pretty much sums up how I feel about our relationship:

"We had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two." - Captain Corelli's Mandolin

He is the love and light of my life. I am so lucky to call him my partner in crime for life!

Halibut with lemon and paprika

I love the delicate texture of halibut, it's one of my favorite types of fish. I was super excited to get some on sale over the weekend. Last night I made it for dinner with a salad and a little pasta.

When I cook, most of the time I don't really have a plan, I just look in the fridge and see what looks good. When I'm seasoning food, I also let my intuition guide me. This is how I've learned to cook, through trial and error, and, for me, trying new things is what makes cooking so much fun.

Sorry I don't have any pictures, I really need to get better at taking pictures to post here, I will get better I promise!

Halibut with lemon and paprika

Fresh Halibut fillets

Half a lemon

Sea salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Sweet paprika

Take the fillets and dry them off on both sides with a paper towel. Now squeeze the lemon over the fillets, making sure the juice coats each of them completely. Next, cover the fillets with with a few pinches of salt each and a little ground pepper. Then lightly sprinkle with the garlic powder and paprika, you don't really need to measure this, just go with your intuition of how much is enough. Finally, sprinkle some of the zest from the lemon over the top of the fillets, and let them sit for a few minutes while you get the skillet ready.

Heat a skillet over medium high. Once the skillet feels hot when you hold your hand just above the surface, add a little olive oil, just enough to coat the bottom of the fish so it doesn't stick. Once the oil starts to give off little whisps of smoke, add the fish, skin side down and cover the skillet. Cook the fish like this until the fillets feel firm when you lightly squeeze the sides, and the flesh is completely opaque.

This comes out beautifully! The fish is bright white, with the vibrant reddish orange of the paprika, and the bright yellow of the lemon zest, it is a very colorful dish.

A peek inside my grocery cart

I think we all like to look into other people's lives a little bit, and that's why blogs are so popular. That's also why it's so much fun to look into other people's carts when grocery shopping and see what kind of stuff they buy (or at least...it's fun for me...maybe I'm a freak...). In celebration of a much needed shopping trip, and to give some ideas to those who are less inspired while grocery shopping, here is what was in my grocery cart this weekend:

whole wheat pita bread
flour tortillas
hummus
shredded chedder
shredded mozzarella
a ball of pre-made pizza dough
whatever fish is on sale that week (this week, halibut)
ground beef
local made pork beer brats
round steaks
chicken breasts
no bone pork chops
broccoli
field greens (salad mix)
sweet potatos
small red potatos
cilantro
avocados
baby carrots
cucumbers
tomatoes
apples
oranges
bananas
lemons
limes
grapefruit
light vanilla soy milk
half and half
yogurt with no hf corn syrup, and active cultures, my fav is Cascade Fresh
butter...sweet amazing REAL butter. I gave up on the smart balance type stuff because, taste wise, it just does not compare. I do use it sparingly however :)
eggs from a local eco friendly farm
granola with whole grains and low sugar
dark chocolate covered orange sticks (so delicious)
tortilla chips
organic salsa
coffee
when Zak is with me: diet pepsi :)


These are basically all the items we need to buy about every other week. Things like fresh produce, meat and dairy, not to mention treats! For these things, I go to Sunflower Market, it's a grocer that specializes in local, and natural food. Their meat is all hormone free and mostly comes from local farms, that treat the animals ethically. The things I buy at Sunflower are very affordable, some things are just a few cents more than what you would buy at a regular store (like safeway or target) their produce and meat are actually cheaper (seriously, 2 steaks for $5)!

For other staples like flour, spices, zip lock bags, parchment paper, and toiletries I go to King Soopers because they are the cheapest in my neighborhood. When I shop, I look for what's on sale, then base all my meals around that. This way you can save A LOT of money. I also always look at the lables of what I am buying to quickly check to make sure there is no hf corn syrup, low sugar content, and to make sure the ingredient list isn't full of stuff I can't pronouce.

All in all, we spend a little more on groceries (about $300-400 a month) but it's worth it for me, and I compensate for it by going out to eat very rarely (once or twice a month), and going to starbucks very rarley (once a week or less).

Stay tuned this week, I will be posting some awesome old family photos of my grandparents and their horse ranch!

Homemade Pizza and Irving

Holy cow! We got 10 inches of snow overnight, soooo I am working from home this afternoon. Now the sun is out and there are huge clumps of slushy snow falling all around the house, I feel like I am working in and ice cave!

This weekend, my mom, my sister, and Zak's brother came over for dinner, and to wach the premier of Life on the Discovery Channel. We LOVED Planet Earth, we still watch the dvds every now and then, so we were so so so excited for the newest project from that team. My mom also brought over her new puppy Irving, a bichon friche. I usually don't really like small "lap" dogs, but he is so sweet I couldn't resist him :)

What a cutie! Oh yeah and my sister's pretty cute too ;)

For dinner I made Margherita Pizza. There was some very enticing pepperoni at the market, so I decided to throw them on too :) I like to make my own pizza dough, but in a time crunch I buy the uncooked dough from Sunflower Market (the Colorado equivalent of Trader Joes).

Margherita Pizza

Pizza Dough (I like this recipe from alton brown)

Extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Fresh tomatoes sliced thin
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Shredded mozzarella (you could also use slices of fresh)
Fresh basil, cut chiffonade style

Pre-heat the oven to 425, Roll the pizza dough out onto a pizza stone* or pan (I love my stone because the bottom of the pizza never gets soggy). Rub a little olive oil over the dough and scatter the garlic across evenly, leaving enough space around the edge for a crust. Let the garlic sit for about 5 minutes, this will season the oil a little bit and also maximize the nutritional value of the garlic. Now add the tomatos, use as many as you like, but make sure to leave about 1/2 an inch of the dough showing so you have a crust on your pizza! Season the tomatoes with the salt, pepper and paprika. Now cover the tomatoes with as much cheese as you like (you can also add any other toppings like pepperoni, or my favorite, green olives!). Cook the pizza until the cheese is just beginning to brown, and the edge of the crust is brown as well. Then you're done, enjoy!

The pepperoni were GIGANTIC, and delicious! 

*I usually do not buy so-called "kitchen gadgets" that have only one specific use because they will more than likely end up forgotten, collecting dust in the back of the deepest darkest cubbard in your kitchen. The pizza stone is not one of these gadgets. I use mine for baking cookies, bread, scones, you name it! The stone provides constant, even heat, and keeps the underside of your baked goods from becoming soggy. I also place it in a warm oven when I make pancakes, french toast or waffles, transferring the done items on to the stone to keep them warm until I have used all the batter. That way you can have them all at once, and warm none the less! 

New Blog Background!

I am so proud of myself! I figured out how to change the background of the blog! I got it from shabbyblogs.com. They have lots of awesome (and free) things for blogs on their website, check it out! I also added a list of some of the blogs I follow under the blog archive.

I have so much more to blog about this week, but I need to edit some photos first! Hopefully I will have time after doing taxes tonight. I made some pizza this weekend, and I must welcome the newest furry addition to my extended family: Irving, my mom's new puppy!!!! Stay tuned :)

Life List so far...

I have been keeping a life list inside of my head since I was a teenager. I was recently inspired to write it down and actively try to make it happen by four outstanding young men, and their quest that has been made into a show on MTV: The Buried Life.

I have come up with 40 things so far, some of them are life long dreams from when I was a kid, some are brand new. I will keep adding to this list as I cross items off, and will begin my journey to number 1 on May 8th!

I am fortunate enough to have already been able to cross off some items from my life list, things such as go hiking in a rainforest (in puerto rico), see the Rolling Stones live in concert, see a live sea turtle, go to a Regina Spektor concert with my husband (she's our fav), backpacking through eastern europe, road trip through Mexico inspired by the Motorcyle Diaries (years ago when it was safer). Writing down my list has been so theraputic for me in dealing with a less than perfect job, it reminds me that life can still be an exciting adventure and it gives me something to look forward too. Also, I believe that if you write something down, it will happen, try it!

My Life List (so far)...

1. Become a yoga teacher

2. Attend a Holi celebration (Color Festival) In northern India

3. Swim with great white sharks (in a cage)

4. Learn how to make a really good parisian macaroon

5. Give birth naturally, without an epidural, outside of a hospital (laugh all you want, I think I can do it!)

6. Travel somewhere awesome with my grandma, mom, and sister

7. Roadtrip across North America

8. All out food adventure in France

9. All out food adventure in Italy

10. Guest host/appear in a cooking show

11. Get a black belt in a martial art

12. Become a registered dietitian

13. Experience zero gravity

14. learn how to SCUBA dive

15. Do the voice for a cartoon (don't care if it's in a movie, just something for myself)

16. Gain more self discipline

17. Participate in some kind of cooking competition

18. Go whale watching

19. Learn how to sew

20. Be more physically fit than I ever have been

21. Eat fresh seafood in New England

22. See penguins in antartica

23. See polarbears in the arctic circle

24. Brew my own beer

25. Preform an awesome action/fighting sequence like in a movie (I think there is some company that does this in Japan)

26. Travel to all 7 continents

27. Meet a real geisha in Japan

28. Read all the Harry Potter books to my children

29. Get a half sleeve tattooed on my upper arm

30. Live on a little farm in the country

31. Volunteer/work closely with animals

32. Build my dream home with my husband

33. Successfully quit a bad habit

34. Learn how to swing dance

35. See Metallica in concert

36. Stop being jaded

37. Have a group of close female friends

38. Volunteer on a regular basis

39. Become an expert gardener of vegtables and fruit

40. Swim with dolfins

Spring in Colorado

Today I read many a blog post about packing away the heavy coat and boots, starting the seeds for the spring vegetables, and all the blossoms that are apparently appearing on trees elsewhere in the US. Here in Colorado, it has been heaviliy snowing since late last night. I yearn for the sweet sunshine, green grass, and that first day you can leave the house with a sweater instead of a jacket. I do love the snow though, I always feel a little excited when I wake up and look out the window to see big fluffy flakes coming down and a white blanket over everything. These late winter/early spring snow storms do make me grumble when I have to get out of bed and go to work though. Today my husband sent me this to make me smile, and it worked :)

Zak is such a positive minded person, and that is one of the many things I adore about him. Here's to seeing the positive in everything!

Ridiculously cool!

Ok Go Has some of the coolest music videos around, but this one takes the cake in my opinion! It's like if the dudes from MythBusters (LOVE that show) were trapped in that old game Mouse Trap.

Birthday!

Today is my birthday! I am a huge fan of birthdays, I think everyone should celebrate them with gusto. I am now 24, and for some reason, this random age is the one that made me go "wow, I am definitely ageing!". I don't really feel "old" it's just a little shocking to me for some reason. I am now in my mid 20's. I'm cool with it though :) To commemorate my experience, here is this weird picture I found when I googled "ageing"

It's a little creepy, no? Well, let's hope that when I am an old lady I will at least have a cooler hair do than that :)

Last night my mom had Zak, his brother, and I over for dinner. We made steaks on the grill despite the cold sleeting weather, and my mom made my favorite cake. It's just chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, but the recipe she uses somehow makes the cake soooo chocolaty it's almost black! It's so cool looking and delicious!

I seasoned the steaks by coating them in whiskey and then covering them with salt, pepper, garlic, lemon zest and cracked mustard seeds. It was really yummy. I pride myself in being a very intuitive cook, I almost never use a recipe, and measure by sight, but for some reason, I cannot cook meat properly without a thermometer. My husband on the other hand, in typical man fashion, will take command of the charcoal grill and use his "spidey sense" to know when the steaks are perfectly medium rare. It's truely amazing, and I am envious. It does make us a pretty good dynamic duo for cookouts :)

I'm still pretty sick, I went to the doctor on friday and instead of getting any answers about what's going on, they only gave me more questions. So now I am going in again this week for further poking and proding. Here's hoping they will be able to help me feel better soon!

Tonight, we will eat pizza and watch Coraline! We might even sneak in a few games of super mario on the wii if we're feeling really crazy, that's right, I know how to party on my birthday :)

Sick sick sick...

I swear I haven't givin up on blogging already! I have been sick for the past few days, and can barely get through work, yet alone come up with something coherent to post here. Hopefully next week I will be all better! Also: I turn 24 on Monday, WOW!