On [a late fall] Healthy Breakfast.

The mornings have been cold here lately. We were recently given a huge bag of pears that need to be eaten quicker than we would normally consume them. This morning I whipped this up for breakfast while we sipped our hot coffee and waited for the heater to warm our little home.

Lightly toast steel cut oats with butter in a sauce pan.

Add water at 2:1 ratio.

Rolling boil until all water is gone.

Add pears, chopped dates, crushed walnuts, and a dash of pumpkin spice. Top with either honey or brown sugar, depending on your sweetness preference.

Enjoy. Obviously, I did before I was able to take a picture of the finished product!

On [bringing you up to speed with] My 200th Post.

This is my 200th post! Can you believe that? This little blog of mine has changed so much in the last almost FIVE years! Hopefully it will be even better (and more consistent) moving forward! :)

I don't have a lot to say, and thanks to the flu shot I got yesterday, my brain is working at about half capacity. Apparently, Kelly and the flu shot don't mix. I had never received a flu shot until yesterday. That was only because my place of employment requires it. Next year, I might just rock a mask for flu season so I don't have to be a sicky from the shot.

How I feel right now.

You know what DOES mix? Kelly and SCHOOL. Holy cow. I tried so hard to be done with school when I finished my master's degree in December. Well, friends...I've enrolled in community college. I have this pesky little strength called input, and I just can't stop collecting new information.

Most people start out in community college, then maybe transfer to a university, and might finish up in grad school. I'm just doing things a little differently. And I love it. I especially love that I'm only taking one class, so I could potentially ruin the curve for all the stressed out full time students. Hehe.

And here are some terribly irreverent poke at community colleges, thanks to our good friend Sheldon of The Big Bang Theory.

On a completely different note, this girl is amazing! 

For more stories on amazing women around the world, check out the SheLoves Magazine online community.

In real life...
the husband and I traveled across the country to visit family a couple weeks ago. We had a great time hanging out with family, and it was awesome for Adam to show me places he lived and worked before he met me.

We also ate some delicious kolaches, which I have now determined that I need to attempt to make! Does anybody have any tried and true recipes, or should I just trust the power of Pinterest?

On [mailing] Biscotti: Lime, Cranberry, Coconut, Walnut Edition.

I mentioned in yesterday's High Five for Friday that I mailed Adam some goodies.

Big REVEAL time: Lime Cranberry Coconut Walnut Biscotti!!!!

I was feeling particularly bake-y, and was craving biscotti! I also wanted to mail him something that had a semblance of healthy. So I found a recipe loaded with fiber-licious ingredients: cranberries and coconut! I added walnuts, because, who doesn't like walnuts!

I couldn't decide if this recipe was especially Christmasy (the red cranberries and green lime, with snowy coconut) or more summery (the fruity drink lime and tropical coconut). Either way, the combination was delicious!

Unfortunately, I had the brilliant idea to food coloring dye the glaze bright green (I was thinking lime), but it turned out looking like dried snot. Oh well, they still tasted delicious, especially with hot tea!

On [making my own] Take-Out: Red Curry with Beef & Veggies.

Red Curry with Beef & Veggies
(adapted from back of the Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste bottle)
(makes 4 servings//390 calories per serving)

Bring 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk to simmer in large skillet
Stir in 2 tbsp. red curry paste and 1 tbsp. brown sugar
Bring to boil
Simmer 5 minutes
Stir in 1 pound meat (I chose beef, which I pre-browned)
Add some assorted cut-up vegetables (I chose 1 can water chestnuts, 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, 2 carrots, and a couple handfuls of spinach)
Cook until vegetables are "tender-crisp"

The original recipe calls for fish oil, which I didn't have on hand and didn't feel like buying (since I'm moving in 2 months). Instead, I added some salt and called it good.

Serve over jasmine rice.

For best results, watch while Skyping with your significant other. Enjoy with a tall glass of water.

Clear your palate with a piece of leftover Christmas chocolate (Fair Trade Organic dark chocolate from Trader Joe's).

On Muffins, Mixing Bowls, and [birthday steak] Winners.

These little fall delights were so easy to make, however they ended in a casualty: that of my favorite red mixing bowl! I blame it on the strong biceps I've developed from my hours spent grooving at jazzercise.

My poor poor bowl :(

I found this recipe on Pinterest, of course. Does anyone look for recipes anywhere else these days? I think the muffins could afford a little more sugar, but the original recipe was intended to be healthy or eating well, or something.

They're real delicious. I wish I had put some walnuts inside of them in addition to the topping. Other than that, they were wonderful. The yogurt, which was probably the secret ingredient, made them especially moist and delectable. I used vanilla instead of plain, because who buys plain yogurt? Gross.

In other news, today is Rainboots & Beef's 4th Birthday!!!!!!
Congrats to Kristy, the winner of the steak giveaway! I'll be contacting you about getting the beef to you!!!

PS: This is recipe No. 10 of 25 for the [25 before 25] Pinterest challenge. Visit my Pinterest food, dessert, or snack boards and let me know what other recipes I. Also, check out the items left on the [25 before 25] list and tell me which item I should attempt next. 

On [procrastinating by] Baking Strawberry Banana Muffins.

It happens at some point every semester.

Rather than write papers, do research, and read countless chapters for my seminary classes, I decide baking is a much more pressing matter.

I find solace in the sugar and comfort in the cakes; I lose track of time as I taste the creations that come out of the oven. 

It happened earlier than later this semester. As it is my last semester (unless someday I decide to pursue a doctoral degree), I shouldn't be surprised the baking procrastination has arrived so early.

It doesn't help that I have a new (very sparkly) ring on my finger and my heart is (very definitely) back in Oregon. My mind is elsewhere; it is definitely not inclined to read, write, and research theology. So I'm stuck here baking to my heart's content until I am able to force myself to leave the world of food blogs and Pinterest and return to the world of Augustine and Barth; where we'll ponder the trinity and scripture instead of streusel and biscotti.

Normally when I have overripe bananas on hand I'll whip out a loaf of banana bread. But this time I wanted to try something new, so I searched Pinterest for "strawberry banana recipes" since I had some frozen strawberries I needed to use up as well. The options seemed to be: strawberry banana smoothies, strawberry banana crepes, or strawberry banana muffins. I wasn't in the mood for a smoothie, and I didn't think frozen strawberries would do so well in the crepes, so I settled upon this muffin recipe.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. The recipe sounded a little too summery for early October, but I went ahead and made them anyway.

I'm glad I did.

Muffins can be tricky: too dense, too chewy, too [fill in the blank].

I'm SO glad the recipe called for cinnamon. It gave it just enough fall oomph to make them October-acceptable. Next time I'd probably chop the strawberries into smaller pieces so the flavor would incorporate more evenly throughout. Otherwise, they were delicious and hearty. I'm excited to eat one (or two or three...) for breakfast tomorrow while I lock myself away to do homework.

This recipe is number 9 on my [25 before 25] Pinterest challenge. Go check out my boards on Pinterest and let me know what I should make next!

On [the taste of] Fall: Pumpkin Spice Style.

What goes together like peanut butter and jelly?
Macaroni and cheese?
Fall and Pumpkin Spice Lattes?
Pumpkin Spice Lattes and CUPCAKES!!!!
What?!?!
Yes, truth.

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend who lives 1,967 miles away (sad face) mailed me a Starbucks card with instructions to get myself a PSL (pumpkin spice latte). It came in perfect timing on a particularly craptastic day. The  PSL powered me through the rest of my longggg day, and inspired me to make something delicious for when he came to visit.

I pondered how I could accomplish a PSL/cupcake conglomeration until I decided to peruse Pinterest where I found this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Latte cupcakes.
Let.me.tell.you.

Phenomenal.

I used my own recipe for the frosting, but other than that, I followed the recipe fairly closely. (However, I used instant coffee rather than espresso powder, because apparently that stuff is so rare you have to order it online. No thank you!)

Go bake these for every fall event you are invited to.
Bake them for every fall event you aren't invited to.
Bake them for your friends.
Bake them for your significant other.
Bake them for yourself.
Bake them for your boss.
Bake them for you barista.
Bake them.
Now.

PS: This is recipe No. 8 of 25 for the [25 before 25] Pinterest challenge. Visit my Pinterest food, dessert, or snack boards and let me know what other recipes I. Also, check out the items left on the [25 before 25] list and tell me which item I should attempt next.

[25 before 25] Pinterest Recipe No. 7: Brownie in a Mug

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I hadn’t intended to make a brownie in a mug.

I hadn’t even pinned the link on my Pinterest dessert board.

Pursuing the Pinterest late one evening while simultaneously Skyping with some friends in the United States, I saw a friend pin a recipe I’d seen hundreds of time. It promised that I could make a perfectly delicious, ooey, gooey, delectable BROWNIE IN A MUG (with only six ingredients and 1 minute and 40 seconds of microwave time).

Just last week I tried to make brownies from scratch (ie: not using a box). They were delicious, but didn’t look anything like any brownies I’d ever made. I blame it on being in a foreign country where ingredients aren’t what they appear to be (and convincing myself that hot chocolate powder could be a reasonable substitute for “cocoa powder”).

My ugly, albeit delicious brownies (not in a mug).

So when this little pin told me a single serving of brownie deliciousness was awaiting me, I decided to try it.

I stirred the dry ingredients, mixed in the wet ingredients, and let the tiny particles of energy heat the liquid particles and sap all of the nutrition out of the dessert. (“Dessert has nutritional content?” you ask. Of course it does. You know that little tippy top of the food pyramid you learned about as a kid? —Nutrition, I tell you.)

After the microwave did its thing, the mug was as hot as a firecracker fuse on the 4th of July. So I carefully took it out of the microwave, and naturally, didn’t wait any time to dig right in. After burning my tongue on the first three bites or so, I could taste again. It tasted like chocolate cake, with too much salt. Maybe my measurements were off, maybe we can blame the foreign country again, or maybe this recipe simply stinks.

Next time you want brownies, put some effort into it and make a whole batch. If you don’t want to eat a whole pan of brownies, make them anyway and share with your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, etc. I guarantee they will appreciate it--unless they are on a diet, then hide them. 

The point is, don’t settle for a sub-par brownie experience just because you think eating out of a mug is cute. It’s not. Mugs are for drinking coffee, not eating desserts.

Let's count this for Pinterest recipe No. 7 on my [25 before 25] list. Visit my foods! board on Pinterest, and let me know what you think I should attempt to make next!

linking up with:

[25 before 25] Pinterest Recipe No. 6: Pineapple Whip

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After a three-hour bike ride, and maybe too much sun, the only thing I want is a huge cone of pineapple whip. It’s true, I could have wandered to every ice cream shop in Grenoble looking for something similar, but without any guarantee of pineapple. And maybe I wanted more than just a tiny scoop.

Everything is in grams instead of ounces, and I’m not exactly sure how “heavy whipping cream” would be translated into French…or if that is even a thing here. There is no crushed pineapple, but the ring-type will have to do. This is the tiny (petit) grocery store, not the big (geant) one, so I can’t find lemon or lime juice. The pineappley taste will have to suffice. I blend it all up and I stick it in the freezer willing myself not to go check on it every five minutes, which would let all the COLD escape.

I used this recipe that I stumbled upon on Pinterest a few months ago as a reference. It's from Prudy at Prudence Pennywise. That is recipe no. 6 made from Pinterest crossed off my [25 before 25] list.

It was better than I expected, but not quite the same as what you'd find in Springfield. I wish I had a picture for you, but we ate it all before that could take place. It was that good.

[25 before 25] Pinterest Recipe No. 5: Fortune Cookies

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The dreamy cookies I thought I was making.

Tonight I finished my 300 question take-home final, and decided I needed to celebrate. I had already eaten dinner, so I began to peruse my Pinterest dessert board.

My pantry and fridge ingredients are sorely limited due to my upcoming departure for France (2 and a half weeks!), so I settled upon a fortune cookie recipe that I had pinned several months ago. It only called for five ingredients and a little creativity. The instructions didn't appear very hard, and the results looked fun and delicious. (For my full review of the recipe, check out my guest post on my mom's blog Me and Pinterest.)

For the fortunes, I found inspiration on my "Truths!" board (basically motivational quotes that I like). I copied the "fortunes" onto little strips of paper using a purple pen. The tiny detail of the purple ink is important.

The fortunes I put in my cookies.
My favorite one is at the very top:
"Keep calm and sing Soft Kitty."

I mixed up the ingredients as instructed.

I flattened small circles of batter onto the cookie sheet and put then in the oven for 5 minutes.

I promptly fortuned, folded, and pinched in the allotted 30 seconds.

The three cookies from the first attempt.

I must admit, part of it was my faulty technique, but I think the batter was the wrong consistency too. They didn't like to fold without tearing, and they were way too hot to pinch correctly.

The final product.

They did improve with each batch (because you can only bake 2-3 cookies at a time). At least they tasted ok, as long as you didn't eat the paper fortune that had become soggy with the ink seeping into the cookie's dough.

If you can't read the fortune, it says, "life is to important to be taken seriously."
Very fitting for this culinary failure! :)

This was a failure, but I would be inclined to try them again with a different recipe. They would be adorable at an Asian themed party--or just for fun with homemade Chinese food. Although, I would be sure to make them the day before (or buy some as backups)!

I'm counting this as Pinterest recipe number 5 for my [25 before 25] list. Go check out my Food board on Pinterest and let me know what I should make next! Also, if you have a fortune cookie recipe that actually works, send it my way!

linking up with:

[25 before 25] Pinterest Recipe No. 4: Easter Edition

My small group at church rotates bringing snacks. When we had sign-ups a couple months ago, I [strategically] chose the Wednesday before Easter, so I would be able to test some of my Easter Pinterest findings on my Holiday board.
Unfortunately, the morning of the event, I realized one the pins I had pinned did not have a proper link. But I was not swayed. I just had to make it up as I went along.

This idea for Peeps comes from
Leigh Anne at Your Homebased Mom

I found these devilled eggs on pinterest. Unfortunately,
the link sent me to some obscure place where I could not find the recipe. 

my chocolate dipped peeps drying

My bevilled/devilled eggs--easter style. I think they are adorable.

To create the color on the devilled eggs:

1. Hard boil the eggs.
2. Let them cool.
3. Peel them.
4. Slice in half.
5. Take out yolk, and put in reserve bowl.
6. Fill three [dark in color] mugs with water.
7. Add 5-10 drops of food coloring into each mug.
8. Place egg halves into the various colored water. [Make sure they are fully submerged.]
9. Leave for 20-30 minutes, depending on how dark you want the color.
10. Make yolk mix however you like it. [I add mustard, mayo, salt, pepper, and paprika until it reaches the desired texture and taste.]
11. Arrange [formerly known as] whites on a plate/platter.
12. Fill eggs with yolk mixture. [I used a ziplock baggie with one corner sliced off, resulting in a makeshift piping bag.]
13. Enjoy.

I thought both the eggs and the peeps were delicious. However, I learned that people either love devilled eggs or hate them. People feel the same way about peeps. I love both! 

Go check out my Pinterest food board, and let me know what recipe you think I should try next for my 25 before 25 challenge!