Life is Good! Even Without the Food.

photos by Scott Haydon with a little help from Trina Nazaroff. (Thanks Trin!)

I have disappeared off the face of this blogosphere. Not on purpose and I definitely haven't forgotten about any of you. We've had so much going on in "real life" that my ability to make food that I want to share with others has all but disappeared. Temporarily! I promise. I will be back in the kitchen, a brand new to me kitchen, soon.

I don't have a recipe to share with you today. Instead, I want to let you in on all of the big and wonderful changes that have been happening in my life. 

Number 1: Scott and I are having a baby! A baby boy, who is due to arrive this coming April. We've decided that his name is Theodore Kassidy Haydon. Although his nickname is currently a source of much discussion I call him Theo. I already love him.

Number 2: We bought a house! It needs so much work and it will be a long time before our to do list isn't a little overwhelming, but it is ours. 

We are making a home and a family all at the same time. We've spent the last few months full of stress and joy and anticipation and doubt and we are finally seeing a lot of our goals and ambitions coming to fruition. This life is big and scary and wonderful. I wouldn't want it any other way or with any other person.

The pictures above are from our gender reveal party. I made felt rosettes and Scott made felt mustaches so our friends and family could place their bets on boy versus girl. I also made a felt garland and some toppers for the cake. We got our cake from Celebrity Cake Studio in Tacoma (a wonderful place!). I baked some marbled cupcakes to go with the cake and homemade pretzels and pretzel dogs. We made a from-scratch lemonade and my Mom helped us out with a tasty delicious salad. It was such a great experience to share with our loved ones. I love this life. I hope you do too.

Food Matters Project: Black Rice & Garden Vegetables

photo by scott haydon

This week's Food Matters Project recipe was selected by Sara and you can see her take here.

I am late to the party. Although we ate this yummy dish on Monday I'm only now getting around to posting about it. We had one of those great holiday weekends. The kind where you have the perfect mix of doing nothing and everything. I got the house cleaned up, enjoyed a bbq with friends and managed to relax quite a bit during the break from my normal work schedule. I hope you enjoyed your weekend too.

Cocoa-Zucchini Cake w Brown Sugar Glaze

I am late night baking. My house smells amazing, and only partly due to a brand new candle I picked out at Pier 1 today. I also picked up a new cake stand (see above). We have been go - go - go for weeks and tonight is the first non-work day where I've found myself at home with an open evening. I've been planning on baking this cake for a few days now. We were gifted a beautiful garden zucchini and I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it. I grew up with my mom baking chocolate zucchini bread and I have always LOVED it. Although this isn't the same recipe my mom bakes from it still reminds me of home.

Speaking of home, I have some exciting news. Scott and I made an offer on a house. Right now we are at the wait-and-see part of the process but I am hopeful and spending a lot of time thinking about creating a home with my favorite guy. This is a big step and one that we've been talking about for most of the summer. If all goes well we'll find ourselves in a new space before winter sets in. Buying a house locks us into a location for a few years but it grants us so much freedom with how we live our lives. I won't have to worry anymore about using a jewelry hammer past 10pm! And I'll be able to dance around with my loved ones without worrying about pounding on someone else's ceiling. And I'll have my very own garden in my very own yard! These are dreams, people. Dreams made real.

Food Matters Project: Roasted Potatoes with Green Romesco

Hello! This week's Food Matters Project recipe is hosted by Mireya and you can see her recipe here.

I spent the weekend outside as much as possible. I went with some of my favorite people to the Golden Gardens Park in Seattle to kick back and watch musicians play at the Artist Home Bonfire Series. It was an amazing (and FREE) experience and I highly recommend that if you find yourself in Seattle on August 26th you should check out the last Bonfire Series event of the summer. I know I'll be there.

This week's recipe came in handy. I had a dinner potluck to attend and wanted to bring along something quick and easy and tasty. I am mildly obsessed with tomatillos so I took this opportunity to make a green version of Bittman's Romesco sauce.  Otherwise I followed the original recipe pretty closely.

Adapted from the Food Matters Cookbook.

Romesco Sauce
1/2 cup almonds, roasted
1 large green bell pepper, roasted and roughly chopped
5 small green tomatillos, roasted and quartered
1 garlic clove
1 cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar

Combine the above ingredients in the food processor. Drizzle with olive oil until you've reached the consistency you want. I think I ended up with 3 tablespoons or so and my romesco was still a little chunky.

Place in refrigerator until use.

I roasted red potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper in a 405 degree oven for about 30 minutes. I recommend cutting your potatoes into consistent sized chunks and stirring occasionally until roasted to your preference.

Serve the roasted potatoes with the green romesco, and enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Pork Chop and Roasted Cauliflower

 

This morning I met up with two of my favorite friends, Melanie and Nichole, and headed out to try Flying Trapeze (at Emerald City Trapeze Arts) for the first time in my entire life. It was terrifying (exhilarating?). I can't even say that I was excited until after my first attempt. Even then, I felt like my whole body had turned into one big conduit of nervous energy. Melanie and I, as newcomers, learned the Knee Hang Trick while Nichole worked on some kind of advanced flying squirrel routine - I think called the Whip, officially. Both Melanie and Nichole successfully "made the catch" with their new tricks (meaning, they performed their tricks and interacted with a professional trapeze artist to dismount from their bars). I didn't go for a catch. I don't think I did too shabby for my first time hanging upside down by my knees but I was a little hesitant and okay with just practicing the move and dismounting via backward roll.

I spent the rest of my day drinking smoothies, eating frozen yogurt and photographing a family with my boyfriend. When I finally made it home for the day I decided to cook myself a "fancy" meal instead of clean up the house. (This meal isn't really fancy and is more just kind of thrown together using anything I could find in the fridge. But I'm still not cleaning up the house.)

Food Matters Project: Raspberry-Tequila & Peach-Coconut Sorbet

 

 

I'm having a difficult time putting into words just what the Food Matters Project means to me: participating (mostly) weekly with a group of amazing food bloggers, seeing the wide variety of dishes all beginning with the same source recipe, branching out and away from my normal selection of favorite dishes and creating new favorites. All of these things combine to equal something greater than the parts. Each food matters member has a goal to, at minimum, participate in a movement. It's mostly a simple movement. Make good food! Share your enthusiasm for good food with others! But if you think about it, in today's society of Go Go Go and On Line On Line On Line, we are all managing to take one day each week to slow down and make something special and good that we then share with the people we love.

I've been thinking a lot lately about living simply. This can lead to surprisingly grandiose thoughts like: Maybe I'll buy a farm! or Live off grid! or Hike the Pacific Crest Trail! or Travel the USA with my Vintage Teardrop Trailer! I know the reality of it is that - at least for most people - life equals a 9 to 5 job, a mortgage, and a schedule largely dictated by forces outside of ourselves. I can't help but desire something that involves hard work but a carved out freedom instead. Right now, I'm content to take small and constant steps toward the future, and today that means homemade sorbet.

Sorbet strikes me as the kind of recipe where you improve your skills with each making. This might be because I've never made it before but still chose to experiment with the ingredients instead of following a recipe exactly. Neither of my recipes turned out exactly the way I expected but I still like them. I anticipate that I will continue to try out new and interesting combinations until I find some favorites. I'm especially interested in combining fruits with fresh herbs. I also wouldn't mind trying out some fizzy options (aka. sparkling drinks with a spoonful or two of sorbet). I guess we'll just see what happens!

Cherry and Chocolate Ganache with Graham Cracker Crust

photos by scott haydon

My nephew was at our house for a visit last weekend. One of my favorite things to do with my nephew is "make it your way" meals. Most recently, we prepared some noodles and set out assorted ingredients (sauces, cheeses, leeks, tomatoes, shallots, spices) and each made our own mini baked noodle casserole. Delicious! 

After running some errands, and eating a very tasty Pho lunch, we decided that we should make something with the best priced bing cherries I've seen all year. After talking about it we soon determined that a fresh (mostly non bake) cherry dessert sounded like a great idea. This led to some google searching and, with a couple of tweaks, the recipe you see here was born.

We took our tart with us to Monday Night Dinner and I'm happy to tell you that we did NOT have any leftovers. This tart was so good! The cherries mild tartness offset the intense dark chocolate-y sweetness of the ganache layer and the graham cracker crust crunch was perfect. This is a great (and easy) summer recipe. Truly, delightful.

Food Matters Project: Chicken with Corn & Black Bean Tacos

photos by scott haydon

This week the Food Matters Project dish is especially beautiful. You can meet the host, Jen, and see her recipe here. Summer has officially hit the Pacific Northwest and meals like this one are perfect for relaxing or celebrating this time of year.This meal was both brilliant and delicious and we will definitely be making it again. I stuck with the recipe, mostly, but instead of frying up tortilla strips I went with quick and easy tortilla wraps. Oh, and I added some black beans to the mix too.

adapted from the food matters cookbook

1 pound chicken breast, cut into strips
2 TBS olive oil
4 ears of corn, cut for the kernels
1 cup black beans (from a can or prepared ahead of time)
1 red onion, diced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
1 tsp chile powder
salt & pepper
1 tomato, chopped
1 orange, juice
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 avocado, sliced

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet with the stove top set to medium / medium high. Season the chicken with a bit of chile powder, salt and pepper and lay the strips in the pan. Turn the chicken over midway through cooking and then place the meat off to the side on a plate. My chicken pieces were pretty small and only took a couple of minutes per side.

Wipe out the empty skillet. Put the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet and return to the stove top. Add the corn and red onion and allow the ingredients to brown, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and add in the prepared chicken, black beans, bell pepper, jalapeno, chile powder, salt and pepper.

Allow the mixture to cool somewhat and then add tomato, avocado, and orange juice. Toss with cilantro.

Serve with tortillas and avocado slices.

Black Rice & Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potatoes

photos by scott haydon

 We just came back from spending the weekend near Mount Rainier National Park with a couple of good friends. Jacqui and I spent time scaling hillsides while the Scotts went fishing in Skate Creek. (I might be posting some trout recipes sometime this month.) The weather was beautiful and it was nice to let my body do some hard work. It feels great to fill your body with nutritious and delicious food. It also feels empowering to experience your body push through limits successfully. On our hike to the base of Eagle Peak we gained almost 3000 feet in 3 miles. It was HARD. And it reminded me that I need to always be looking for ways to be more active. I like to feel strong and capable. I also like to eat.

A couple of days before we left for Rainier, Scott and I ate this rice and quinoa salad. I'm in love with it. It was a super easy recipe and so tasty. I ate some for lunch at work the following day and even reheated it was delicious. I know that this dish will be a repeat in our house. I hope you enjoy it too.

The Food Matters Project: Berries & Chocolate Bread

Hi. I didn't really follow this week's food matters project recipe. Sure I utilized some kind of berry, some kind of chocolate and some kind of bread. But not cherry and not in panini form. You can check out Margarita's host post here.

We spent our Father's day weekend charter fishing in Westport. It was cold, wet and mildly nauseating. I know I'm making it sound fantastic. I think it would have been a way better experience if I'd caught a fish instead of letting the only one I hooked get away. I wouldn't call it a complete wreck of a weekend. I spent some quality time with the boy side of my family and Scott. I saw the ocean from both the shore and while at sea. I learned that if I take a dramamine, wear accupressure bands on my wrists and chew ginger gum I'm mostly not as nauseated as I'd expect (I'm positive this will come in handy some day). Besides, I love adventure.

On the car ride home, after spending hours eating nothing due to a large fear of accidentally throwing it right back up, I ate a ton of delicious homemade bread.

Raspberry & Almond Muffins

Yesterday I had my first successful baking experience using only almond flour. I have so many friends who are avoiding gluten or following some kind of paleo guideline to eating that it makes sense for me to experiment with gluten free baking. These muffins were meant to be a yummy surprise for a camping trip this weekend but the trip fell through and now I'm sitting at home on a Sunday with a surplus of baked goods. I know what I'll be eating for breakfast.

These muffins are particularly good right out of the oven. The following day they prove to be a bit more oily then I'd like. Next time I make this recipe I am going to try substituting applesauce for the olive oil and I'm also going to combine the fruit with the batter instead of creating separate layers.

The Food Matters Project: Mexican-Style Fruit Salad w Fish

I had a lot of fun with this week's Food Matters Project. Thank you, Sarah, for picking such a fun recipe! I've been wanting to try out a sweet potato crusted fish recipe I ran into quite some time ago while lurking on pinterest. This gave me the perfect opportunity.

I don't know about you guys but this life is busy. I just tried to schedule hiking with a friend on a Sunday coming up and realized that I have 3 unplanned Sundays between now and SEPTEMBER. That's crazy. I can't wait for it to be true summertime when the sun doesn't go down until almost 10pm and it becomes easier to go play outside after work. Slowing down to plan out a meal, prepare the ingredients and share the results with the people I love best feels so important and so good.

Asparagus, Leek & Bell Pepper Frittata with Sweet Potato Hash base.

I am in love with sweet potatoes. It's no secret. They are tasty and delicious and versatile. You can use them in savory dishes, and sweet. We eat a lot sweet potatoes around here: as hash browns, medallions, fries, etc. I love that they fill you up AND they're nutritious too! Also, a lot of sweet potato varieties are mistakenly advertised as yams at your local grocery store. It's so weird! The only time you'll typically see "real" yams is at the asian market.

This dish was incredibly easy to make. You can substitute any vegetable you have in your kitchen. I often make a mini, non crusted, souffle version of this dish in ramekins or muffin tins to take to work.

Brown Sugar Apple Bundt Cake

I spent yesterday playing outside, baking and chatting with a good friend. Eowyn is a modern day awesome lady. She works outside of her home but still manages to garden, make delicious meals, bake bread, homemake anything that can be homemade, run an etsy shop and be a great mom and wife. You can meet Eowyn here and see her etsy shop here. When I made my way to Eo's after a lazy morning at home I found her just finishing up making sunscreen and about to hang laundry outside in the bright sun. We took a walk around the backyard - checking out the new chickens and the garden beds. Then we had a picnic. I'm not joking when I say this woman does everything. Lunch included homemade yogurt with honey and fruit. It was awesome.

The Food Matters Project: Quick Salsa (and other stuff)

Hello everyone! I just got home from the most wonderful birthday weekend. We started out our weekend early with a very small get-together Thursday night. We barbequed all sorts of burgers (beef/turkey/veggie), roasted some sweet potato fries and ate the most delicious cake I've ever tasted. I am lucky enough to call Jacqui, of Good Things Grow, my friend. The darling birthday cake she made for me is literally the prettiest cake I've ever received.

Strawberry-Pistachio with Cream Cheese Frosted Deliciousness.

photo by scott haydon

We followed up our lovely Thursday evening with a three day trip to Pacific City, Oregon and the always amazing experience of Cirque du Soleil when passing through Portland on the way home. I had such a good time. The weather was great and we could see the ocean from our balcony. I can't think of a better way to spend my 32nd birthday.

Oh, and I forgot to mention it - but I am quite possibly the luckiest girl alive. My boyfriend's birthday gift to me was the creation of "our song". He collaborated with Elk & Boar and came up with a song that pretty much sums "us" up. I'm not one hundred percent sure how to share it with all of you but here's a sound cloud link if you're familiar with that application: http://soundcloud.com/scott-haydon/dark-eyes . Thursday night, in front of a small group of our friends, Scott played this song for me for the very first time. He wrote all of the lyrics down on a large sketchbook and flipped through the lyrics while the song played. It is the single most romantic experience of my life. Sharing that moment with people we love, although a little embarrassing for someone as shy as I am, is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I love you, Scott Patrick Haydon, and you are my dream.

The Food Matters Project: Roasted Asparagus & Sweet Potato Soup

photo by scott haydon

I didn't participate in last week's Food Matters Project recipe. As much as I love whole wheat anything, we're taking a break from grains for the time being. We're also taking a break from lentils so I've taken some definite liberties with this week's recipe as well. The lovely Adrienne selected Mark Bittman's Roasted Asparagus and White Bean Soup for the group. Asparagus in any form is amazing and it's a definite staple in our house.

We shared this meal with a couple of our favorite people and everyone attested to its tastiness. It also came together rather quickly and easily so we'll definitely be making it again.

Mango & Cucumber Salsa with Pork Tenderloin

We made a delicious dinner the other night. One that we plan to make again and again throughout the upcoming summer and barbeque season. I like this meal for several reasons. One, it's an extremely simple recipe that doesn't take much work to make it all come together. Two, it is easily modified to fit the ingredients you have in your kitchen. Three, it's uber healthy and light and refreshing. Plus, Scott likes it and if there'd been any leftovers, I'm sure they would have been awesome. I already know that I'd like to try this out again using granny smith apples in the salsa.

The Food Matters Project: Mostly Whole Wheat Pizza

photos by scott haydon

I had an excellent weekend in two huge ways. (Three if you count the pizza!)

One, a friend who is like a sister to me had her first baby ever. We got to meet him last night and he is beautiful. He is new. His life is just beginning and we got to witness it. He might have flipped me off while I was holding him but I think it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship anyway. Michelle Ann, I am so proud of you and so glad to meet your baby and share a part of your life.

Two, Scott got his hands on a brand new Canon 5d Mark iii - which means I just inherited a Canon 50d.  I have a goal of taking my own food blog pictures. I also have a goal of being at least 1/10th of the photographer/life documenter that my favorite boy is already.

Roasted Bell Pepper & Kale Pesto Meatloaf Medallions

photo by scott haydon

Today I don't have anything to say.

We ate this meal a couple of nights ago and it was amazing. Scott and I loved it. It was a good night with good food and my favorite boy and a couple of How I Met Your Mother episodes. Tomorrow night we will be making our own pizza from scratch for the latest Food Matters Project recipe. Our last pizza. We officially start our Summer of Paleo on Monday. I'm excited to see what kind of creativity and health benefit we get out of the dietary and lifestyle changes we make. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

(This meal is Paleo-allowable.)

The Food Matters Project: Tofu Braised in Rhubarb Sauce

Hello again! Welcome to this week's Food Matters Project recipe! The recipe chosen by Camilla is Fish Nuggets Braised in Rhubarb Sauce.

I love fish. But I didn't make fish nuggets. I chose to make tofu braised in rhubarb sauce instead. Rhubarb is not for the faint-of-heart-or-loves-everything-sweet type. Rhubarb is strong and sour and bitter. It needs a lot of sugar to turn into the strawberry-rhubarb pie or crisp that most of us grew up eating. I've never made a crisp before and now, after working with rhubarb, I'm curious about using it in a dessert and will probably try a crisp later this spring.

On a side note, Scott and I are jumping on the paleo bandwagon (with some built-in cheat days) so the Food Matters Project might get a little more complicated for us. Whenever possible I'll try to adapt the recipes to meet paleo requirements. I already know that I'll make pizza from scratch though, so SHHH, I'm pretending that doesn't count. Paleo in the summertime is a fantastic thing. I am practically drooling from thinking about all the barbeques and salads and kebabs and fresh vegetables and fruits we'll be enjoying all summer long.

Okay, back to rhubarb sauce. . .