fall(ish) recipe: breakfast quinoa parfait

i saw this recipe the other day. and knew i had to try some version of it. here's what i came up with.

i cooked red quinoa with apple juice instead of water.
cooked down one chopped nectarine, 1 tablespoon agave, cinnamon and nutmeg.
and layered them in a small glass with greek yogurt.

it. was. amazing.

i want to add pumpkin puree next time.. make it even more fall.

october fun.

Hello friends.

the past couple weeks have flown by like crazy. (well, really this whole year has flown by like crazy)
its been a fun couple weeks so far hanging out with lots of family and friends. but i also miss my husband a ton (awww..)
the northwest is great as always. the weather has been abnormally warm for this time of year but its cooling way down now and this morning i woke up early to go to a dr appointment with my sister (to check on baby) and it was FREEEEEZING outside. my body was in shock. but i love when its so cold the only way you can warm yourself up is by drinking a big cup of hot tea. (aka perfect running weather, which makes me a happy girl)


NW 23rd. one of my favorite streets in portland.

Another great thing about being here.. going to this church. Josh and i have been listening through podcasts for almost 3 years. So it was really strange/awesome to be there in person. I love it and everyone is super nice. if you live in the area and you're looking for a church, check it out. they have services downtown portland and in tigard.

speaking of downtown portland, these little cupcakes are from saint cupcake, which is probably the cutest cupcake shop i've ever seen. we had pumpkin spice, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate cream cheese and "big top".

(if you ever find yourself in portland, you gotta come here. they sell "day old" cupcakes for super duper cheap too)

then there is Fubonn. I've been wanting to check this place out for AGES! I am a huge grocery store nerd. I love regular boring grocery shopping, but i especially love going in new-to-me grocery stores, and walking down every single aisle.. inspecting every single thing. I also love asian food, so i was in grocery store nerd heaven. (aka josh's worst nightmare.)

i was flipping out in the candy aisle, and the noodle aisle, and the sauce aisles.. not to mention the incredible selection of tea. it was amazing.
i got some noodles, tapioca pearls for bubble tea and ingredients for homemade pad thai.

i hope fall has been treating you well so far.

what i've been up to.

Dujour magazine guest blog

I guest blogged over on dujour magazine blog. Click over for an amazing chocolate doughnut recipe and browse the rest of the blog while you're at it.

I've been working with Dujour since July (suprise!), and I'm excited to be a part of the team. It is a wonderful magazine, with amazingly beautiful editorials. It's all seriously gorgeous. And the first print issue i was a part of will be out very soon. More details coming shortly. For now you can go drool over the website..

traveling!

Hello! The last seven days have been a whirl wind.

Last wednesday Vanessa and i made a mini road trip to Atlanta to do some (window) shopping and we met up with some super sweet blogger friends, Lauren and Rhiannon, for more shopping and coffee. It was perfect! (I didn't take any photos of my own, but you can see more on lauren's and rhiannon's blog)

rhiannon, myself, lauren, vanessa
(taken by drew, rhiannon's boyfriend, who is an amazing photographer)

When we got back, I had one day to pack for a month in washington. And on Saturday evening we started what ending up being a 56 hour (!!!!!) trip from georgia to northern california... with our cat. My sister met us there and we continued the trip through the night to washington.
So I was in a vehicle from saturday evening to tuesday morning, it was crazy. But our kitty was extremely well behaved about being cooped up for so long. He just sat in our laps or under a seat and was calm the entire time. I was very proud!



I'll be staying here in the NW at my sister and her husbands place for a month while Josh and the band record their album in California.

Happy first day of fall!

peach frozen yogurt

This just might be the simplest recipe i've posted. Some peaches, a cup of yogurt and some sugar. Ta-da, perfect frozen yogurt.

Peach frozen yogurt

1.5 pounds peaches
1/2 cup water
scant 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup plain yogurt
a few drops of lemon juice

Peel the peaches, slice them in half and remove the pits. Cut into chunks and add them to a medium size pot with the water and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add sugar, transfer to a different bowl and refrigerate. When the peaches are completely cool, add them to a food processor with the yogurt and lemon juice. Puree until almost smooth, but still some chunks.
Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.
Now sit down at your dining table and enjoy a big bowl.

. . .

This week I..

finished sewing a vintage inspired apron
bought a pumpkin (!!)
made a pumpkin spice latte
hung new bunting above our bed
cross-stitched a bicycle
and made the most delicious soft pretzels.. twice. (recipe below)












The most delicious soft pretzels
(wetzel and auntie annes who?)
Makes 8

(Note: Once you've shaped each pretzel you can then put them in the freezer. When you're ready to bake, just add 10-15 seconds to the boil time and a few minutes to bake time.)

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
  
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Source: Alton brown

Peach pie bites on a stick

I've been wanting to try these out since i saw them on bakerella.
and when i was trying to figure out this weeks menu for the farmers market i thought these little guys would be perfect. They were sort of time consuming but not too bad.


i didn't follow a recipe for the filling.. so if you have a favorite, go with that.

Peach pie bites

One recipe for a double pie crust (or store-bought)
3 peaches, skins removed and finely chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
egg white, for brushing


Stir together the peaches and brown sugar.

Roll out the pie dough pretty thin (thinner than you would a normal pie). For round pies, use a round cookie cutter (i didn't have one in the size i wanted so i used the lid to my glass teapot, whatever works.) For the rectangle pies, use a pizza cutter or knife.
Place the stick in the middle of the round/rectangle and spoon about a teaspoon of the pie mixture in the middle. Gently lay another round/rectangle on top. Press the edges together with a fork.
Brush the tops with egg white.
Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.