WIAW | Winter Staples

I started off the new year with the best intentions. I scratched out goals - goals for myself, goals for this blog. One of those being to participate in each What I Ate Wednesday link-up, another being to write a weekly wrap-up post on Sundays. I had plans to review 2012 in a variety of ways. You'll have to forgive me for not getting to any of those things just yet. We lost our funny, sweet, baby boy last week and my heart has been too broken for any new goals, new blog posts or really much of anything. I've been trying to write about it, about my baby Scrap, for days but it hasn't yet worked itself out. So, I thought I would try to get back into the swing of things with a WIAW post. Easy enough, right?

While I spent the start of the year with camera in hand at dinner time, I don't seem to have the energy to download or edit photos just yet - you'll forgive me, won't you? Instead, here is a look at some of our winter staples via Instagram. If you'd like to see more of our past eats, you can see old WIAW posts here - or, you can check out this week's link-up on Peas and Crayons for more colorful, interesting winter meals.

On Christmas, we spent the day driving. When you spend the holidays alone, well, there isn't much else to do. We're quite thankful for that drive though since it brought us our new favorite "restaurant"in Montana. Just outside of our town is a road that leads toward "Wisdom, MT" but it also leads to the Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area (a snowy dream in the winter) and the Sugar Loaf Lodge. The lodge serves multiple purposes - it houses travelers, it rents cross-country skis, it has its own gift shop of local Montana-made wares, and most importantly, it is home to the Soup Shack. Each week the cozy little cafe serves a few different homemade soups, each served with a thick slice of sourdough bread and whatever you'd like to drink (I'll take chai, please). And, they even make pecan pie! (one of these days, I'm going to cheat and have a slice). Since discovering our new favorite find, we've gone every weekend for a big, hot bowl of a soup and a look at the new snow.

At home we've been enjoying the same dinners over and over again. It has also seemed funny to me that avocados are ripe and plentiful during our winter. Thankfully though that has meant homemade tacos and nachos for weeks. I can't get enough guacamole so when avocados are available, we make the most of it. We try to keep things interesting with different toppings and combinations each week. So far we can't get enough.

We also recently discovered the best breading for gluten-free fried foods. With the ease of breading things, and the cheap ingredients needed, I can't believe that I went so long without trying it. I will post a recipe and tutorial, soon, but in the meantime, we will be busy enjoying breaded pork chops, homemade chicken nuggets and chicken parmesan.

Another dinner staple we've grown to love is risotto. I know that I already told you to make this recipe but it's so good that I have to say it again. We've been trying different varieties and my new favorite is italian sausage with spinach and tomatoes. I know that a lot of people struggle with risotto or look at it as time consuming or difficult but I've grown to enjoy making it. Risottos are gluten-free and easy to make without dairy, too. Plus they use few dishes and I happen to enjoy the slow-paced stirring required. If you have any great risotto recipes or favorite combinations, please share!

I promise we do eat more than dinner here but lately breakfast has been a struggle. Trevor can't have eggs or dairy, I shouldn't have oatmeal, and really, that leaves few options. We've been trying to pass off cookies and hot drinks as meals, instead. For Christmas we received a big box of gluten-free snacks and inside were the little gingerbread men you see above. I was nervous at first but now, I'm upset that I can't find them in Montana. My mom also tossed in boxes of chai tea and apple cider pods. While I've never liked hot chai lattes before, I seem to have fallen in love since Christmas - I can't get enough.

As for lunch, I'm on my own since Trev leaves by 5:30 and that has meant leftovers, macaroni and cheese, and my favorite - hot corn tortillas with ham and melted cheddar cheese. I wish I was kidding but those tortillas? I eat them daily.

Do you find yourself eating the same foods time and time again? We seem to rotate just a few basics with some variations. Lately I've started to look for more crock-pot dinners. If you have any recipes for quick, easy,  and gluten-free dinners - do share!

I hope to be back soon with stories of what we've been up to  but please excuse the quiet in the mean time.

Portraits | Eddie & Amanda

Despite the eight degree weather, we ventured out for Christmas portraits this weekend. Since the beginning of my weekend was spent finishing a 51 page paper, the cold air felt like a nice break.. at least for the first few minutes.This beautiful stream location is just minutes from our house, on the premises of an all but abandoned airport. Trevor and I used this location for some of our own Christmas photos and thought that it would be great for this session, though I always get nervous - nervous that a plane will try to land on the runway while I'm photographing a happy couple, or perhaps worse, the Anaconda police will arrest me for being there. Can you tell I worry a lot?

Luckily Eddie and Amanda were brave enough to come out in the less than desirable weather and even managed to walk on thin ice for their photos, quite literally. While we hoped to get a photo of everyone together, it was a bit cold for the pups and we all know that some dogs are simply camera shy. But can we just stop for a moment to talk about how cute that Pomeranian is? And Jagger? He's 15, and the snow didn't slow him down a bit.

The holidays are quickly approaching. Our own Christmas cards were sent out this week but if you've procrastinated, there's still time to have photos taken for your own cards - but you'll have to act soon. Our countdown has been hit or miss with closed coffee shops, and rainy days but we're hoping to get more into the spirit soon. Trevor starts a new job tomorrow, and I start new classes - the last of my undergraduate career - next week so it seems as though the rest of December is going to fly by. 

So tell me, what have you been doing to get ready for the big holiday?

Ten on Tuesday | Seasonal Teas

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

It should come as no surprise that come fall, I am all about hot tea - especially loose leaf tea. When I received this awesome tumbler (and a whole selection of teas!) for my birthday, it only fueled my obsession. Now, I can brew tea by the cup, while at work. Not only that but the tea stays hot for hours. May I suggest penciling one of these onto your Christmas list?

I know it's still early so instead of a "teas I'd like to find in my stocking" list, I thought I'd share with you some seasonal choices that I'm really looking forward to. These all come from three favorite companies - Teavana, Mightly Leaf and David's Tea. If you want to know more about the flavors or you want to send me some for my stocking, you can do so by clicking the links above!

Of the tea's shown, I've only tried the Masala Chocolate Truffle tea from Mighty Leaf, and the Sumarai Chai Blend that came as a sample with my tumbler from Teavana. From my recommendation, you can deduce that they were both delicious! I think the chocolate truffle is my new favorite! I will need to order some more tea soon and I can't wait to try to Toasted Marshmallow. Though, with -2 degree weather (and two feet of snow) projected, I'd be happy with any of the above.

So tell me, what is your favorite seasonal beverage? Are you a fan of loose leaf tea?

I'm never leaving my bed.

I don't know how many times I've said the words "I'm never leaving my bed" in the past sixteen hours but as more hours pass, the more sure I become of that fact. Though I'm sick with a wealth of bizarre problems most days of my life, I never seem to catch anything contagious. The last time I had the flu? A cold? It seems that until I catch one of the two, enough time passes to allow me to forget just how terrible I am at being sick. I whine. I cry. I beg my boyfriend to buy my tissues. I have to call off work. I sleep, a lot. And today? That's exactly what I'm doing.

My stomach hasn't felt quite right since last week but on Monday, I woke up and could hardly crawl out of bed and drag myself to work. Yesterday? I never made it to my Research Methods class. Today? Today, I'm not leaving my bed.

The boyfriend hasn't been feeling well either so we decided that it'd be a great idea to eat nothing but fruits and vegetables for three days, starting last night. After somehow braving snow tubing (more on that later), I wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed but Trevor insisted on a grocery store trip before hand. Somehow, in my sick delirium, I couldn't find my wallet anywhere (turns out it was in my bag.. on the top.. right where I put it.. and looked for it) so that meant a trip back to the grocery store for me this morning. But first, I took three Advil, my heart medicine and begged for a Benedryl but before I had time to be upset about the third, I was asleep. This morning, I woke up feeling even worse. I snuggled Buddy until Trevor was down showering then I called off work and headed to buy myself some fruit and vegetables of my own.

For some strange reason, the registers at Giant were not working and after completing all my grocery shopping, standing in line sniffling, sneezing and eyes watering for forty minutes, I ended up having to put everything back and head across the street to Weis where my shopping cart was quickly filled with two cantaloupes, two pineapples, three oranges, three gala apples, three overly-ripe bananas, two boxes cherry tomatoes, a head of broccoli, an enormous head of cauliflower, a big bag of spinach, baby carrots, and a little foam basket of mushrooms. Plus, a container of Simply Orange juice with pulp. (Trevor hates pulp.)

Perhaps I wouldn't feel quite as terrible if I hadn't braved the cold and wind for a free trip snow tubing. Since I had to do laundry anyway, I figured I might as well go for at least a few photographs to send to Sean. So, it was decided.

At first, I thought it would be easy to spot Aiden headed down the hill - he and my dad were covered in camoflauge. What I didn't realize soon enough was that so was everyone else. It was free tubing night for Warrington Township, after all.

That also meant running into plenty of Aiden's friends - all girls, of course. It took much negotiating to figure out how five six-year-olds would be able to tube together. For whatever reason, I volunteered to take two of them down the hill but after realizing just how icy the conditions were, I begged for help. Plus, my mom had to say "don't let them tip out of their tubes!," just before we were about to go.

One trip down the hill was all that I needed to quench my thirst for adventure and snow. Besides, I wasn't nearly patient enough for the "magic carpet" ride to the top, and the line of people waiting for tubes was quickly growing. Instead, we took cover in the lodge with hot chocolate and brownies, of course.

There are talks of returning for another snow tubing adventure, Trevor in tow but for now? I've got two exams to study for, a project to start and finish (today), vegetables to eat, a box of tissues to use, and a few naps to take.

Winter Wonderland

I'm sitting at my kitchen table and as I write this, I can see through the window that the snow is still falling. Even with less than two inches expected, my yard has seemed to transform itself into a winter wonderland. The three story brick house which I now call home is surrounded by trees on all sides. Berry bushes line the front sidewalk. When the snow falls, it coats the branches of both and makes the entire yard look surreal. Coming home to snow here is always beautiful. Tomorrow's forecast for 45 degrees warranted a quick trip outside to document the splendor that snow brings.

Tonight, I'm staying home to watch the snow, snuggle up with my boyfriend, perhaps accomplish some homework, and make walnut crusted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus. How are you enjoying the snow day?

Baking Bread

It seems at though winter has finally made its way to the Northeast. I don't know about anyone else but I was craving snow in trees, icy sidewalks and a reason to bundle up in hats, mittens & scarves. I keep promising to be more present here but I've found myself lacking things to photograph in the midst of the nasty, rainy weeks we've been having. That being said - I have to make a disclaimer, there has been plenty going on in my life. Just not the sort of things that make good photographs.

Today is the only day I have between winter courses and the start of my Spring semester. After five weeks of slaving over my laptop with pages and pages of printed powerpoint slides, I'm finished (and with a 100% in my advertising course, too!). The weekend snow has kept me from getting much done in the way of errands but I did get to listen to a lot of Florence + the Machine radio on Pandora, read some of this book, and clean my entire apartment.

Luckily, my boyfriend loves to brave the snow in his big red, four-wheel drive, Tahoe. On Friday, we planned to see a movie but abandoned our plan for a comfy bed and watching the snow finally fall. Cliche? yes... but true. On Saturday, he rescued me after a slow night of work and we managed to make it to the movies. The first time we've ever gone to the movies together.. in six months. Unfortunately, I don't think we will ever go again after I slept through the entire 11:50 showing of Haywire. (Oops.)

Somehow though, I managed to leave my phone at home when we left for the movies. And even more incredible, I made it over 36 hours without it - and the world didn't end. (And my mom only texted Trevor once.)

Sundays are always my favorite part of the weekend though and this week was no different. After sleeping in, Trevor & I ventured to our favorite little lunch spot, a tiny cafe in Jacobus called Geezer's. Since the cook overslept, lunch was running late, so we finally took the time to explore the 30+ rooms of antiques found in Grey Beards Antiques and Collectibles. My boyfriend, the self-proclaimed "furniture whore" was enthralled by victorian couches, marble accent pieces and rustic wooden farm tables. I found myself gawking over cases of vintage jewelry and flipping through Beatles albums. It took serious effort for us to turn around and venture back down three floors of stairs for lunch. The best part? They serve the best chai & double lattes with your meal.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful - a trip to the gym, a ninety question Human Resources Management exam, a marathon of Clint Eastwood movies, and chinese delivered for dinner.

Have I mentioned that I love Sundays?

But the real reason I stopped to write today wasn't to just share stories of my weekend but to share a gluten free recipe that I fell in love with today. After being told that my medical problems are coming from anxiety, I set out on a mission to do more things I enjoy. Lately, cooking has become my favorite past time. And last week? I fell in love with baking bread. Since the last loaf lasted only three days, I ventured the freezing rain today for ingredients to make not only another loaf of bread but flat bread for packed lunches this week.

I found multiple recipes but settled on using a recipe from this blog as my basis. If you know me though, you know that I never follow recipes very well and with only a trip to Walmart, I knew I'd be struggling to find brown rice flour or tapioca starch.

I know that most of you reading this don't eat gluten-free but I think this is a great flat bread, either way. Plus, baking bread is one of the best ways to spend a rainy, icy, cold, winter Monday.

You will need: 


1 Cup of Stone Ground White Rice Flour

(I use Bob's Red Mill, which I bought at Walmart)

1/2 Cup of Corn Starch
2 Tablespoons of Sugar in the Raw

(you can substitute regular sugar, if you prefer but I am trying to make a conscious effort to eliminate processed sugar)

2 Teaspoons of Xantham Gum

(you can find this in the gluten free section at Giant or Walmart, I prefer Bob's Red Mill for this as well - it's slightly expensive but the bonus is that you'll have plenty left for other recipes!)

1 Packet of Fleischmann's ActiveDry Yeast (located near the flour)
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (I used Bertolli Classico)
2 Eggs
Parchment Paper
A Standard Cookie Sheet

To make:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut a piece of parchment paper to cover the cookie sheet. If you don't have parchment paper, you can oil and dust the pan instead. (That being said, I really recommend the parchment paper!)
• Mix together all of the dry ingredients including the rice flour, corn starch, xantham gum, yeast and salt.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all of your wet ingredients (water, vinegar, oil & eggs). If you have a standing mixer, use that bowl. If not, use a hand mixer to quickly combine the ingredients.
• Slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients while beating at a low speed.
• After combined, beat on a medium speed for about four minutes if you are using a standing mixer. If you are using a hand mixer, mix until the dough becomes too thick for the mixing blades.
• Scoop the dough out and place on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
• Wet a metal spoon and use the back to spread the dough evenly on the sheet. Try to get it to be a uniform thickness across - this is easier said than done. Just make sure to reach all of the edges of the pan and not to leave any areas too thin.
• Here's where you will need some patience (a lesson I'm learning from baking breads) - place the dough in a warm spot to rest and rise for about thirty-five or forty minutes. I kept my cookie sheet on my stovetop. It's difficult to get bread to rise properly in this weather!
• Once your dough has set, bake it for approximately 12 minutes. The top will be slightly browned when it is ready. It may also have a bit of a crust to it but that will go away as your bread is cooling.
• Allow the bread to cool for at least ten minutes before using.
• To cut the bread, a pizza cutter works wonders. I was able to make four large flat bread wraps from this batch.

For lunch, I made this sandwich from the bread that had finally cooled. It's filled with slice of Muenster cheese, three pieces of ham, three pieces of turkey, two pieces of bacon, fresh spinach and a mayonnaise spread with garlic power, onion powder & italian seasoning. Just fold it over & stick a toothpick in the center to make it easy! The bread is the perfect texture and has a very light taste. Many gluten-free breads fail on both of these levels so I was pleasantly surprised by just how delicious it was! And I have to say, I'm not dreading packed lunches quite as much, now. Plus, it allowed me to eat some nice dark leafy vegetables, one of my newest goals. (More about that, later).

The rest of my Monday will be spent in a less relaxed fashion. As soon as this next loaf of whole-grain bread comes out of the oven, I'm off to a neurology visit. After that? Laundry and worrying myself to death over the first day of classes.

Hope you are finding a pleasant way to spend this rainy cold day.

& to all a good night.

I sort of missed the "Merry Christmas to All" part, oops.
None the less, even a day late, I hope that Christmas was merry for you.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I was full of cheer.
Stockings were hung (and full of treats). "Merry Christmas" banners decorated my apartment windows. You could see my tiny tree twinkle from outside. I planned to watch Elf six-hundred and fifty-two times. I counted down the days. I shopped. I wrapped gifts. I shopped more.

And then, Christmas came and my Christmas spirit was gone.

The story doesn't quite end that way though. Despite a stressful week and nothing going as planned, Christmas is Christmas and I loved it none the less.

After working a busy lunch shift on Friday, I was exhausted and ready to be done with all the plans I had made for any Christmas events. I calmly declared that I was un-decorating that night and refusing to celebrate. After a hot shower, a steak dinner with my boyfriend, and perhaps most importantly, a Texas Roadhouse Sweet Tea (it was Christmas, after all) - my mind was changed. As Trevor and I scanned the aisles of PetCo for chew toys, I started getting excited about Buddy opening his stocking. At Toys R Us, we waited in line as the cashiers struggled to find a price tag and despite the obnoxious repeating jingle over the radio, and the overly bright fluorescent lights, I realized just how excited Aiden would be to open his gifts.

Perhaps I didn't realize just how excited he would be. It became clearer when he woke me up at 3:06 a.m., jumping up in bed and yelling "WAIT. Is it time to open my gifts yet?!"

My answer was "Most definitely not."
What I meant? "UGH. Go back to sleep. And quit kicking me while you're at it, too."

(My back is still aching from two nights of sleeping very little and doing so in the most uncomfortable of beds.)

My family isn't much for traditions. We don't take family photos. We don't add special ornaments to our tree each year. We don't order Chinese for Christmas Eve.. but somehow, it's become somewhat of a tradition for Aiden to open Christmas gifts in nothing but his underwear. Appropriate? Maybe not. But this year he at least chose holiday spirited ones in Christmas colors. For the first five minutes, we managed to laugh as he wore nothing but a Santa hat & matching underwear. Unfortunately, the hat itched and the photo opportunity had come and gone before I had stopped laughing.

  

But quickly enough, I was laughing again because honestly, look at that face.
How can you not laugh?

(He's a funny kid.)

While the plan had been to wake up with Trevor & Buddy on Christmas morning, things didn't quite work out that way. After a day of grocery shopping and baking quiche until one o'clock in the morning, my chef-extraordinaire was exhausted and not looking forward to an early morning. (And perhaps I would have been disappointed if that turkey, bell pepper, asiago & Gouda quiche wasn't so damn good.) I can't say that I was any less tired, myself. And the drive to Wellsville? Well, I was okay with only making it once.

But after building a gingerbread house with Aiden, having a sibling sleepover, playing Apples to Apples with my parents, playing Santa, waking up early, doing absurd amounts of Human Resources Management homework and having Christmas dinner with my family, it was time for the drive home and a five minute nap before celebrating again.

I'd like to say that it was a magical relaxing evening with cookies, presents, Elf and an early bedtime.
While there were wonderful presents involved (and wrapped well, too), I forgot my gluten free cookies at home and had to take an exam before bed.

Perhaps my favorite part of Christmas was that my boyfriend didn't mind laying in bed with me as I spent hours whining about winter classes, how tired I was and how much I wanted ice cream.

(He's a keeper.)

Over all, it was a great Christmas but I'm glad it's over.
I've had my share of ribbon, wrapping paper and crowded store lines for the next twelve months.

Unfortunately, while I've had my share of winter class homework too, I've got a few more weeks to go.

Snow Days

Central Pennsylvania has been enjoying a few days of East Coast snow. Just enough to break out the shovels, not enough to beat the midday sun.

We're trying to make the most of it, though - with snowballs, muddy snow angels and photos of the fun.

Unfortunately, I'm sick. The kind of sick where I can hardly stand to hold my head up much longer than I have to. The kind of sick where I can only hear through one side of my head, and can hardly swallow either. The kind of sick that ruins my last days of freedom before school and work start again.

But we're trying to make the most of it.

Aiden's doing a pretty good job of it. Bundled in his winter coat, hat and snow-covered gloves, he makes his way out of the house each morning to throw snowballs at the tallest tree in the front yard, the only enemy he can find for his snow-ball battle. Sissy isn't a good target with the camera around her neck and everyone else is too smart to go out in the cold.

But the snow brings the cold with it. And the cold? It brings runny noses and frozen fingers. Jack Frost always chases us in after a few minutes to the warm fire and toast with Hot Chocolate. 

This face means "Jen, you better run!"

But in the moments between freezing and thawing by the fire, we have fun. We laugh. We throw and dodge snowballs. We try to pick the frozen snow from our gloves. We dive onto the ground for snow angels, only to find that the ground beneath is bare of grass and that our measly inch and a half of snow can't protect us from the muddy consequences. 

And we do a little dance of thanks for the snow as we kick our boots, shed our coats and make our way toward the wood stove inside.