Posted on by Wise Sass

Looking forward

3:30 AM observations. Take them for what they’re worth.

Sometimes when you look behind you, and you get just the right angle, you can see a beautiful thing.

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You may be tempted to turn around – after all, why leave safety, the known, when it’s there all pretty and deceptively gleaming?

You can’t get ahead and grow up in life without being brave and taking a few shaky steps into the unknown darkness.

On the other side you may find things different than what you’ve known before. Different, but inviting and beautiful in their own right.

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Don’t be afraid.

XOXO,

Stef

Posted on by Wise Sass

From me to you

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

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We are having a wonderful time on our vacation/family visit. I hope you all are having a great holiday as well.

Don’t forget to count your blessings!! I’m thankful every day for those up there and the hammy-ness of this one down here:

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XOXO,

Stef

Posted on by Wise Sass · 5 Comments

Almost Wordless Wednesday

What happened to October? It’s Nov 9 and I feel like October just swooshed past me like a semi on the freeway and left me rocking in it’s wake. And, because I’m still reeling from that blow, here are some pictures in lieu of a REAL post:

Mid-October we went to Tahoe. Beautiful, gorgeous, OMG-I-want-to-live-here-forever, Lake Tahoe.

We all contemplated the crystal blue waters in speculative silence.

We also went to a creek and saw a Kokanee salmon run. This is a spawning bed. After they spawn, they die. So it was both happy and sad. My oldest counted 56 dead fish. We made sure to illustrate the life cycle and how the dead fish are needed to feed other animals and provide more nutrients into the stream bed.

I also saw a Beyonce look alike. No, not THAT Beyonce, the Beyonce of the giant metal chicken variety. Naturally I had to take a picture with it.

And we took the kids horseback riding:

Then we left Lake Tahoe. I spent half the drive home in denial and curled into a fetal position whimpering. Very difficult position to drive in, I must say.

And then there was Halloween. Poof! Just like that. And we had fun decorating:

And we even had a pumpkin carving party with the neighborhood girls:

And I made ghosts on a stick for work and the girls helped me with the faces:

And my hubby taught them how to make pumpkin origami. At the end of the party they were stuffed with sweets and everybody went home with a carved pumpkin and a bunch of origami pumpkins:

And now it’s Nov 9. How in the world did that happen? Well, at least we’ve been having fun.

Side note – I do have blog post on my mind. Something I’ve been thinking about, mulling over, and I just need to marshal my thoughts and let them flow. Stay tuned.

Mwah!

Stef

Posted on by Wise Sass · 2 Comments

I’m so ready for fall

Pumpkins. The color palette of red, yellow & orange as the backdrop of our days.

The falling leaves, and leaf piles for diving into and driving through.

Crispness in the air. Baked apple crisp. Wood-burning fireplace smoke.

Halloween. Decorating. Fun, themed festivities.

I took this picture yesterday evening. The colors are so gorgeous. It may have been 80 degrees at the time, but I  looked at this tree and I imagined Fall arriving and settling in all around me.

The tree is indicative of Summer at the top and Fall at the bottom; blue skies & greenery evolving to rich golds & reds. We’re in transition and so is this tree.

Pretty soon we’ll have to close our windows. We haven’t run the A/C in weeks. It’s been so nice. Such a confusing time of year for dressing. Hoodies or sweaters in the morning and shorts and t-shirts in the afternoon.

We need to start preparing for winter. We need to buy some firewood for our outdoor firepit and our indoor wood-burning stove. My car needs new tires so I’ll have good grip on the slippery, icy, snowy roads this winter.

We should pull out the winter coats and see who needs a new one.

Last Saturday was my birthday and every year it heralds the beginning of my favorite time of year.

My birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Love, merriment, gaiety, joy, thankfulness and gift-giving.

Yes.

Welcome to Fall.

Posted on by Wise Sass · 2 Comments

A dinner inspired by Feta

Have I mentioned that I love cheese? LOVE it.

Sometimes I want a certain kind of cheese and it inspires the entire meal. One night last week it was feta cheese.

I HEART FETA CHEESE.

I try to keep feta on-hand for feta emergencies. (What? It could totally happen.)

I like it plain. I like it in salads. I like it in pasta dishes. Now I even like it with sauteed chicken.

This is not my picture. I borrowed it. I promise I will give it back. Eventually.

Sometimes I buy it in blocks like this pic – often from the Ballard Cheese people (No, I don’t know them – I just love their cheese). Other times I just buy whatever is convenient – like the pre-crumbled Athenos brand that most grocery stores carry.

So last week I decided to make chicken with feta and basil from our garden. So stinkin’ simple.

Here’s the quick & dirty:

I simply sauteed frozen, unbreaded chicken tenders (we always keep a bag of  unbreaded chicken tenders in our freezer. They are much more versatile than frozen breasts!)  in butter & olive oil and added some garlic, salt & pepper, and minced up basil leaves.

I sauteed at medium heat with a covered lid – to keep it juicy – and then for the last 10 minutes or so left the lid off and added some Greek vinaigrette marinade/dressing to the pan. Once it was cooked I crumbled feta over the top and then put the lid back on and let it rest a bit while we finished the rest of the food prep.

My husband, Eric, has been on a white bean dip streak. He made hummus the previous week but felt the consistency was very thick and the garbanzo beans are harder to work through the food processor. This time he tried plain white beans called Cannellini beans. He mixed the beans, olive oil, minced garlic (real garlic cloves he cut up. Gotta keep fresh garlic on hand.), lemon juice and minced basil to a yummy deliciousness in the food processor. (Try to get most of the lumps out!) Eric thought the consistency was a little too runny, but I thought it was fine and the taste was fab.

Then he warmed some pita bread on the stove and cut it into triangles for dipping.

But we also wanted more. Just . . .  more.

And we realized that our little bubba, our pickiest eater, wouldn’t eat either of the things we made. So we whipped up a boxed Parmesan couscous. He loves couscous more than I can possibly explain to you and it couldn’t be easier to make. (Especially out of the box, but I’m sure on it’s own it would be just as delish and easy too. And maybe better than the boxed variety. Hmm, I should try that.)

Then we realized we had a baguette we needed to use. It was the crusty, thin kind – just the absolute best for making crostini. So I sliced a bunch of thin ovals and covered them with butter. Generally speaking, I like to use a spray bottle of olive oil for this purpose – but our bottle is on the fritz and, honestly, the butter gives a better flavor than the olive oil. Maybe the olive oil is better health-wise than the butter, but in flavor YOU CAN’T BEAT BUTTER. Then I arranged the bread rounds on a cookie sheet and threw them under the broiler until they were a golden brown.

Tastefully Simple Spinach & Herb Dip Mix

I had pulled out some cream cheese to soften so I just took this Spinach & Herb dip mix I had on hand and mixed a whole bunch of it into the cream cheese to top the Crostini.

NOTE:  In the interest of full disclosure I should mention that I just signed up to be a consultant for Tastefully Simple  – where I got this Spinach & Herb dip mix – but I also want to be clear that I’ve been using this stuff for about a year so this is not a fly by night, promoting my new product, kind of thing. My bottle of the Spinach & Herb mix is almost empty due to repeated use. I use it in cream cheese for Crostini (as I’m discussing here), on/in scrambled eggs, in dip mixes with sour cream, or mayo and sour cream, or mayo and Greek plain yogurt, or in seasoning steamed, buttered veggies. It’s one of the more versatile seasonings in my spice cupboard.

Then I spread the spinach herb cream cheese mix on the golden brown Crostini and DONE. Incidentally, I also served this exact same Crostini as an appetizer for a dinner we hosted a couple weeks ago and everyone just loved it.

So here was the end result of our meal. In hindsight, a salad or some steamed zucchini or broccoli would have been fabulous to offset the starchiness –  but at the time we didn’t have those on hand.  It was soooooo good though. Yummy. I had never made chicken with feta before but I see us doing that again sometime soon.

Happy cooking!

Posted on by Wise Sass · 1 Comment

The best BLT+C ever ever ever

This summer we spent several Saturday mornings at the Capital City Farmer’s Market in downtown Boise. I love it. (I’ve posted about it before, here).

One of my favorite things about the market is the cheese booth. It’s actually the Ballard family cheese booth and they make all their cheeses here in Idaho. Then they sell them to people like ME who love cheese. Yum.

One day in late July we were at the market and I made my usual beeline for the cheese booth. I had a few samples, swoon, and then I realized the dude behind the booth was grilling cheese. Yes, grilling. No bread. He added some spice and grilled it in a skillet. Then he handed me a piece and I said, “I’ll take it!”

Turns out it’s Halloumi cheese. Halloumi is a Greek cheese with a high melting point so it can actually be grilled, and slightly browned, without melting.

I immediately started thinking – what can I do with this?

I started looking around my kitchen. Okay, I had half of a baguette (because I love a good baguette and try to keep one on hand most of the time) so I immediately thought sandwich. Then I rummaged in the fridge and found bacon, grape tomatoes, and a spring salad mix. And thus the best BLT+C was born.

Toast or grill the buns.
Season the Halloumi to your preference and grill it.
Bacon. Sometimes I bake it. Doesn't matter. Cook it however you normally do.
Grape tomatoes. Any tomatoes will do. This is just what I had on hand. On hand. See? Get it. Ha ha.
Start assembling. Mayo first, then I pulled the arugula out of the spring salad mix, and then I trimmed off all the fat and just use the meaty bacon parts.
Add the sliced up tomato bits.
Fini!

I made 4 of these sandwiches and wrapped them up for a picnic. A few hours later when we pulled them out to eat they were just perfect. Crunchy, salty, cheesy, bacony. So yum. Try it.

-Stef

 

UPDATE:  My husband asked for these again this weekend and I made a couple tweaks that I wanted to share with you. I think this batch was even better than the first!

  • We used ciabatta rolls and I grilled them in about 2 tblsp butter in a big skillet on the stove at medium heat until they were deliciously browned. (Buttered the rolls and the pan).
  • For my Mayo spread I combined Mayo, Sweet Hot Mustard & Habanero Mustard. It was YUM. Mostly mayo and just a dollop or two each of the other depending on how you like it.
  • I grilled the Halloumi in the bacon grease. First I drained almost all the grease out of the pan but then I grilled the cheese on low-medium heat in the same pan. I also sprinkled the cheese with seasoned salt. It was good, but you can omit this step if you want to cut back on the salt.
  •  We used heirloom tomatoe slices fresh out of a friend’s garden.
  • We used a handful of baby arugula that we had bought in a package. We don’t eat a ton of arugula, but we can share it with our tortoise, Bob. (The arugula, not the sandwich).

End result was deliciousness. The tomato and mayo spread just oozed up into the airy ciabatta bun making the sandwich messy and good. The Halloumi was squeaky and tasty. Just a perfect sandwich. My husband told me no less than 5 TIMES how much he enjoyed it.

Posted on by Wise Sass · 1 Comment

The Spirit of Boise Classic

Last year I heard about the Spirit of Boise hot air balloon classic. It’s a yearly “festival” of sorts, where for 5 days they launch air balloons every morning at dawn. One night they have a “night glow” where they light up the balloons after the sun goes down but they don’t launch. And then they have a competition launch. During the one evening event they have a stage and band setup, they have food vendors, and it’s generally a very festive, fun, family-oriented atmosphere.

So last year I took my 2 boys to the night glow. I wasn’t prepared for the crowds, the dogs that people bring, and I wasn’t aware that they were doing the Mickey Mouse balloon early so it ended up being a rough night for us. My little Autistic guy had a meltdown when he realized we had missed Mickey. He had another meltdown later due to all the dogs and people. It was very difficult for me to do it on my own (my husband had another commitment that night). This year I was determined that the whole family should go, and that they should love it.

So they did! And the loved it. We should have taken jackets to the night glow, but otherwise it was perfect. We got there early. We were prepared with a blanket to sit on and a picnic. We had glow bracelets – very important for the kids at night events. The kids had so much fun they begged to come back for one of the morning launches – which we did this morning. We got up at 6 AM, before sunrise, to head downtown to the park where this event occurs and it was great. The balloons are just so majestic and awe-inspiring with their size, grace and beauty. I really want to go up sometime.

So here’s some pics from both events:

Boise State University Broncos won their first game of the season last night. The balloon had to represent this morning:

On the road before sunrise this morning! The sun is hiding behind those mountains:

Posted on by Wise Sass · 1 Comment

What kind of week has it been?

Well, my friends, it has been quite a WEEK. I tried to slack-off, I really did. Despite my best efforts I actually earned my pay this week. In fact, I may have kicked some well-needed booty too. (I’m being cheeky – just go with it).

No, but really, work is killing me. Like, to death. I have worked 10-12 hour days entirely too much this week. Early meetings with the Brits and late evenings playing catch up. I don’t typically talk about work here – and I’m not going to start now – but because of the horrendous week I seriously need a pick me up and OH MY GAWD thank goodness it’s Friday. Friday before a 3-day weekend no less – bonus!

So let’s look at some of the good stuff that has happened over the past 6(ish) days:

On Saturday we got our 7 year old a big boy bike and, oh my goodness, he’s actually a BIG BOY now. But he’s my baby too. Tear. He and his brother spent the weekend riding bikes together. Look at them on bikes together. Just LOOK. It was just YESTERDAY when they were babies, right?

On Sunday I went crazy and got on a cooking trend that still hasn’t let up. Every day this week I’ve made something new. It’s my goal to eventually get the recipes up here, and the pictorials as well – for the ones I actually did pictorials on – but I can’t guarantee how quickly that will happen. In the meantime here’s a few things I made:

Because I knew I had a heinous week ahead at work and with my little one starting school this week I decided to make breakfast burritos in advance.

Here’s the ingredients:

And apparently I made 12. Aren’t these pretty? 45 seconds in the microwave and I have a portable, protein-rich breakfast meal. Yum.

Monday night I made fried rice for the first time. No pictures. I was in the zone. It turned out well. I said YUM and so did the hubby.

Tuesday I made pesto for the first time ever. Seriously! And with basil from my own garden. It was so, so good. And then I cooked some chicken, baked some pizza dough and threw it all together with zucchini and tomato for a yummylicious pizza. Like whoa.

And I’ve been obsessed with fruit this week. Pineapples and strawberries are manna straight from heaven. (I didn’t really cook anything here, except some whipped cream. I just had to include the picture because of the YUM factor).

It’s a good thing I’ve munched on so much fruit because tonight I decided to make sweet potato tempura. Deep fried (oh the horror) with a Greek yogurt and garlic dip. I ate it too quickly to take pictures. Nom nom.

I’ve also managed to work-out a couple times this week so far. Last night I really wanted dessert but I put my work-out clothes on and GOT ON THE ELLIPTICAL INSTEAD. Gasp. I can hardly believe it myself. I must have been a rainbow sherbetty blur on the elliptical in my pink yoga pants, orange tank and teal blue sports bra. Stylish, I am. (Thank goodness my husband loves me).

But do you want to know the best thing I did this week? The very best?

I was a mom to my boys. I squeezed them and kissed them and tucked them in at night. I sang a lullaby to them every night before bed. I got them up in the morning and picked out their clothes and helped them get ready for school. I fed them. I cuddled them. I loved them.

I made this one giggle and smile naturally. He doesn’t do that much; he’s usually all about the cheesy fake smile when the camera comes out.

And I got this one off on his first day of 2nd grade at a new school. I was so nervous, and we had some hitches from, as my mother-in-law put it, the “ineptitude of the adults around him” (not meaning us, but school & district officials) and he, my little dude, just breezed through and he’s adjusting wonderfully.

And that, my friends, has been my week. I guess it was pretty awesome after all.

Posted on by Wise Sass · 1 Comment

On Vacation, Part 3: The party’s over already?

Last Thursday morning when we woke up we knew we had less than 48 hours left in California. At least me and the hubby did. Time to cram EVERYTHING IN that we hadn’t done yet. Oh, wait, that’s not possible? Okay, let’s go to the coast instead.
We crammed the 6 of us into my stepdad’s truck, plus all our junk for an overnight stay, plus snacks – because, helllloooo, ROAD TRIP – and we were off! Then we stopped at 15 places like the bank, the gas station, Rite Aid, etc., before we left town. But then we were off!! Woo-hoo. 
We made it about 45 minutes to Kettleman City. If you don’t know, Kettleman is a town that survives for the sole purpose of being a major pit stop for people traveling down the I-5 corridor. Back in a previous lifetime I used to go on patrols in this town with a law enforcement type friend of mine so I got to know the area better than most people who pass through. There’s very little to recommend it other than all the country roads, away from the light pollution, and the gorgeous starry skies. Oh, and the In-n-Out Burger. Yep, forget the starry skies – In-n-Out is probably the best thing about Kettleman. 
So, duh, we stopped there. Now I typically order straight off their simple menu – just a cheeseburger (no grilled onions or tomatoes), but In-n-Out has a not-so-secret-menu that they don’t advertise. You just have to know what to order. For examples, you can say you want your burger animal style and they will add pickles, extra spread & grilled onions and Mustard fried into the patty. Or a 4×4 is 4 meat patties and 4 pieces of cheese – this is the largest burger they will serve. You can also order a Flying Dutchman – you can Google that one yourself. Or, if you are brave, just order it next time you swing through In-n-Out and find out what it is. But, hey, cool, right? Secret menus FTW. 
Okay, back on the road after our burger fill. Morro Bay or BUST! And my bladder nearly did. But we made it to our hotel/motel place. (Never stayed there before. It wanted to be good but it just didn’t quite make it. Sad Panda.) But YAY. Morro Bay. 
Morro Bay. Ah. My heart belongs to Morro Bay. I love Cambria and Cayucos and now Avila Beach as well, but there’s just something about Morro. It tugs at me. It’s my spiritual home. I want to eventually live there. In my good, long retirement years. (Fingers-crossed).
We drove out to the rock first thing. What rock, you ask? Well, this one:
Confession: I didn’t take this pic. I don’t know who did, but I do know that I love Google Images. Amen.
Big, right? And awesome too. 
So we went out to the left side of the rock and hung out on a little beach there for a while. I snapped some Instragram pics (duh) while hubby and the boys climbed all over tarnation. (Spell check doesn’t recognize “tarnation” as a word. Obviously spell check isn’t Okie or Southern at all. It’s a word, dang it). 
Boys. Hubby. Tarnation. 
I perched on a rock (not THE rock. a significantly smaller one) and snapped away. This was at the rock (yes, THE rock) looking back at the little coastal village that is Morro Bay:
And then I said, oh, look, there’s a boat!! And let’s use a different IG filter:

With a boat or without, with an IG filter or not, Morro Bay is gorgeous. It’s quaint. It’s touristy but not. You get the impression that the locals just go about their business and they don’t mind the tourists too much at all. There’s the embarcadero for that, but the little downtown area really shouldn’t be missed; little book shops, antique stores, unique coffee places, and all with a coastal charm. Love, love, love. 
We stayed at the coast that night and until about 4 pm the next day before jumping back in the car to drive the 2 to 2 1/2 hours back to my hometown. Then the hubby and I packed and fretted about leaving our boys with their Grandma & Papa for “up to two weeks.” We had made the decision long ago but that didn’t make it any easier. In the end, we got up the next morning at 3:30 AM, kissed our sleeping boys, and drove to the airport. We were back home (via two planes and 3 airports) before they even woke up. 
It’s been 5 days since then and they tell me they don’t want to come home. They want to stay at Grandma & Papa’s where they can swim every day and go kayaking at Shaver Lake and go to the Zoo and go to the movies and go to Adventure Park as well. Well, YEAH. Duh. So apparently Grandma & Papa will return them kicking and screaming at the end of next week. Something to look forward to.
Oh, yeah, one last thing. 11 years ago today this happened:
 
Don’t we look ridiculously young? We were. We were leading with our hearts. Happy 11th wedding anniversary to my life partner. Mwah!
(And, yes, there was nothing in the champagne flutes. They were/are awesome, and engraved (thank you Auntie) but at the time the photographer wanted to snap the pic we didn’t have an champagne or sparkling cider available. C’est la vie, I always say.)

Things I love in this blog post? At least 3: Morro Bay, vacation, and my guy. (In no particular order).