Hawk Mountain

Here we are, ready for a great hike!

Because of work schedules, we couldn't do a full weekend camping trip, but we were able to meet up with our friends to go hiking for the day at Hawk Mountain.

It was a pretty hazy day, so we didn't see any hawks. We stopped at all the lookouts to check out the views anyway.

When we got to the highest lookout, there were tons of people sitting around on the rocks, talking about the hike up & eating granola bars. We walked through them & kept going onto the Skyline Trail. The sign wasn't kidding; there were plenty of rocks to climb. It was fun!

Down we went! I was really impressed with how well the trail was marked. The marks were placed closely enough on the rocks that we could follow them for the easier route down.

I'm getting there!

My view from the bottom up.

We stopped for a water break when we got to the River of Rocks. It's fascinating how in the middle of the forest there are just fields of rocks with nothing growing.  Later, we stopped at the next rock field to eat lunch. Grand total, it took about 3.5 hours to complete the hike. It was a fun one - I loved all the rock scrambling.

Afterwards, we headed to Long Trout Winery. I saw a sign for it on the drive up to Hawk Mountain, & since we finished hiking earlier than expected, we headed over.

It was an interesting place, that's for sure!

Very hippie...even the names of the wine were all about peace & love.

The bar was crazy!

We tasted a few wines, & decided to purchase a bottle of the Burnin' Bra, a peach chardonnay. The description? "The 60's were all about the freedom of choice - so choose wisely and set 'the girls' free." It was fruity without being super sweet, so we all enjoyed it. There was a nice patio to sit on that overlooked a very wooded frisbee golf course where we watched people play while we visited.

Afterwards, we headed to their campsite & started cooking dinner. We had spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce & vegetable foil packets in the fire. Of course, we finished it off with s'mores!

Sampling the noodles.

The fire was pretty smoky!

There we go!

My rock/chair. It was more comfortable than it looks. Sort of.

We stopped at Cabela's on the way home. That place is seriously overwhelming. We didn't purchase anything, but this was the stand out item was the Luggable Loo. Ew.

It was a fun day! We went home & headed right for bed.

What's Growing Now: Early September

Our garden is still green & growing! We're getting end of summer tomatoes, eggplant, brussels sprouts, bell peppers, & jalapenos.

In the back bed, where the Bup put our last load of composted soil, we have a few head of lettuce growing. I was so excited to see them pop up, because I've been unsuccessful getting my seeds to start. It's been hot & dry the other times, so I'm hoping the last batch I planted will take.

The cherry tomatoes are still crazy. I'm getting tired of picking them!

Our purple bell peppers are still small, but they're ripe & ready to pick. I'm trying to leave some on the vine to see if they're change to red. You can see one in the top right that's trying to!

Baby squash! This plant is taking over, growing over the fence & out into the yard. I love squash, so I'm encouraging it.

Another part of the same squash vine has a spaghetti squash growing. I can't wait to eat it!

This bed has taken off in the last 2 weeks. There's beets, turnips, carrots, broccoli, & a random vine that might be cucumber.

The Thai basil we planted has taken off. It's so pretty with the purple flowers growing right by it.

 

Some bugs are eating the leaves of our eggplants, but they're still thriving. This has been the best year yet for us growing eggplants. We've even had enough to give a few away!

Kale & swiss chard, in all their glory. They just don't stop!

Amidst our sweet potato vines, we have another unknown vining plant. I think this might be a melon of some kind, but we won't know for sure until we cut it open.

I'm excited for winter, when the gardening slows down a little & we have some snow. In the meantime, though, we're enjoying the final harvests. It's great to have fresh produce even with the cooler weather that's here. Happy fall!

Take a deep breath

This week completely overwhelmed me. Little stuff irritated me for no reason. I couldn't focus on multiple things at once. Everything seemed like a huge monster task, ready to attack.

Nothing bad happened, it was a normal week. I'm not even sure what made me feel this way. It wasn't one of my busiest weeks, by far. I just feel like there's so much to do, to remember, to process, that I can't keep up. Like I'm letting stuff slip through the cracks but can't do anything to stop it.

I hit my wall after lunch yesterday when I was so completely exhausted that I didn't think I'd make it through the afternoon. I got home, wrapped myself in our fluffy comforter, & fell asleep. (This is HUGE for me. I love naps & never let myself take them.) I woke up when the Bup came home, about 30 minutes later, & was completely disoriented. I thought I was late for work. Nope, just for dinner! Slow Cooked Sweet Potato Chili, you are my friend.

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.  Psalm 3:5

Apparently I'm not the only one, because I found a post that was perfect for me to read: Let it be Simple. Her "Cures for overwhelm" make me feel comforted. I can do this, too. Each time I do yoga, take time outside, or drink tea, I need to stop & think about all the little comforts that I take for granted.

Right after finishing that much-needed read, I went on to find this from Joy: Pink Raised Doughnuts with Toasted Coconut. Ok, yes, the doughtnuts are beautiful & I'm certain they're delicious. But more than that, her words of wisdom in the first few paragraphs are helpful.  Whenever I'm feeling blah, I need to focus in on what's good & beautiful in my life.

So as I come out of this little slump, I wanted to share it with you, in case anyone else is going through something similar, whether on a small scale, like mine, or on a larger scale.

I'm blessed in so many ways. So are you. Let's remember that.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.      Romans 15:13  

P.S. The pic at the top is from my run this morning. It doesn't do any justice to the beautiful pinks in the sky, but I had to try.

P.P.S. I'm hoping to have a few red & pink recipes up soon, in the spirit of Valentine's Day!

I'm Full of It

For having plenty of food on the table.

For friends who care.

For family that loves me.

For knowing a loving God, who has truly blessed me.

For hair-ties & ponytails.

For everyone who reads this blog.

For being able to walk.

For having a warm house.

For the lettuce & kale that are still growing in my garden.

For plenty of sweaters & blankets in my closets.

For having a job & the ability to work.

For freshly popped popcorn.

For a wonderful husband who treats me like gold.

For thick, fuzzy, snuggly socks.

For forests & hiking.

For lotion to soothe my perpetually dry skin.

For the time & the ability to read a book.

For chocolate.

For peanut butter.

For the person who decided to combine chocolate & peanut butter.

For clean water to drink.

For happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

Yummy Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas

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It's almost Thanksgiving!!! Is everyone done putting together their menus & shopping for food? I'm not hosting dinner, but I am bringing a few dishes to our dinners. We're having lunch with the Bup's family & dinner with mine. Talk about a lot of food & family! We did this 2 years ago, though, & it really wasn't that bad.

Since the main focus of both of our families' meals is the turkey, I'm bringing an alternate dish for us to eat & share. I'm also bringing a pumpkin roll to lunch. Everyone always gets excited for it!
Thanksgiving meals have never been my favorite. I think it's partly because the dessert table never has much chocolate on it! That said, I still get really excited about all the fall harvest flavors.

If someone offered to cook me the Thanksgiving meal of my dreams, here's what I'd pick. Lots of bloggers have been showcasing foods for the holidays, & here are my favorites! Just in case you're in the mood to cook for me. :-)

Main Dish:  Pumpkin Maple Baked Bean Cornbread Casserole from Oh She Glows
(This is what I'm planning to make & share!)


Vegetable:  Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples & Almonds from Happy Healthy Mama
(I'm a sucker for roasted brussels sprouts. Her additions look very festive.)

Stuffing:  Carmelized Autumn Fruit Stuffing Cups from How Sweet Eats
(pictured above - we had this for dinner last week & it was SO good!)

Salad:  Bliss Salad or End of Summer Salad from Peas and Thank You
(We had the Bliss Salad a few weeks ago & it was good enough to have again)
                             or
            Holiday Salad with Cranberry Apple Orange Vinaigrette from Oh She Glows
(This looks super festive. I love the color of the vinaigrette!)


Bread:  Flaky Crescent Rolls from Eat Live Run
(I always loved the ones from the can. These look way better!)
                              or
           Banana Cranberry Bread from Joy the Baker
(Can I just have both breads? Thanks!)


Potatoes:  High Protein Garlic Mashed Potatoes from Oh She Glows
(Anytime someone puts garlic into mashed potatoes, I'm in love. The beans are a great addition, too!)
                                 or
                Baked Curry Sweet Potato Fries from Joy the Baker
(The sweet potato fries remind me of the grilled ones I made over the summer. Thanksgiving isn't really the time for grilling, though!)


Cranberry Sauce:  Cranberry Pear Salsa from How Sweet Eats
(We tried this over the weekend. Yum!!)

Dessert: Upsidedown Cranberry Cake from Smitten Kitchen
(This is seriously delicious. I made it last year & can't wait to have it again. I think I'd double the cranberries.)
                               or
No-Bake Chocolate Pumpkin Pie from Chocolate Covered Katie
(Finally, some chocolate!)


Is anyone interested in enjoying a Thanksgiving feast with me? We can do a potluck! :-)

I'm making my list of what I'm thankful for to share with you. What are you thankful for this year?

Apple Pumpkin Beer Bread

Fall is slowly winding down. Daylight savings has come & gone, so now it's dark in both the morning & evening. This makes me want to curl up on the couch with a blanket & a mug of hot tea every.single.night. Not good. Especially when things like meetings & life get in the way.

You're probably ready for me to let go of fall, since I've been talking about it for months now, but I'm trying to hang on a little big longer.

This bread, with its fall flavors of pumpkin, apple, & spices helped just a bit. It's sweet enough to be dessert, but healthy enough for breakfast. Or as a mid-day snack to tide me over until dinner.

Start by mixing up the dry stuff, complete with lots of warming spices! Depending on how spiced the pumpkin beer you use is, you may want to reduce or increase the spices. I used Post Road Pumpkin Ale, which is slightly spiced but not over the top.

Chop up the apples & stir together the wet ingredients. There will be leftover beer, but don't worry about that. I'm sure you'll find a good place for it. ;-)

Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and mix away.

Then add the apple chunks, stirring just until they're combined. Don't over stir.

Pour the batter into a loaf pan. I put a baking sheet under my loaf pan while baking, just in case, and it did catch a few drippings of batter. I wanted a nice big loaf, so I didn't want to cut back on the ingredients, but I also didn't want to have to clean the oven!

 

Once it cools, you can slice it up & enjoy!

The chunks of apple cooked into little pockets of sweetness, complimenting the spiced bread. Each bite has all the fall flavors, kicked up a notch with the slight hint of beer. I hope you enjoy it!

Apple Pumpkin Beer Bread

Yield: 12 slices

2 1/2 c white whole wheat flour

1/4 c ground flax

1/4 c toasted wheat germ

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

pinch nutmeg

2 c chopped apples

1/4 c coconut oil, melted

1/2 c pumpkin puree

3/4 c agave nectar or maple syrup

3/4 c pumpkin beer

1 T vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray a glass loaf pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine white whole wheat flour, flax, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  In a separate bowl, mix together coconut oil, pumpkin, agave nectar, pumpkin beer and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until no dry ingredients remain. Add apples and stir just until combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cook in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely before slicing.

Pepper-only Pizza

We did fall pizza night in style.

Pumpkin ale? Check! Leaf plates? Check! Linens leaf napkins? Check!

I pulled our frostbiten pepper plants last weekend & in the process got 3 baskets of bell peppers. Yikes! That meant we'd get to put lots of peppers on our pizza. Hence, "pepper-only" pizza. Get it? We like dumb vegetarian jokes, okay??

It's Saturday, you should have pizza. You've have a long week. It'll feel like an indulgence but you'll pack in the veggies, too.

First, I made Alex's Ultimate Pizza Crust. If you like thin & crispy crusts, this is for you!

Once you have the crust, you can top it any way you like, but here's what we did:

Spread a layer of bbq sauce on one & minced garlic, olive oil & tomatoes on the other.

Then throw on lots of chopped onions!

Top it with LOTS of peppers, any color you like.

Add a generous sprinkle each of Italian seasoning, garlic powder, & basil for extra flavor.

Toss on several handfuls of swiss chard for some extra greens.

Bake at 400*F for 15 minutes.

Add a sprinkle of mozzerella cheese, but not a super thick layer. Let the veggies shine!

Bake another 7-9 minutes until slightly browned.

Slice & enjoy with linen napkins & beer.

Classy.

October Snow

There is something very wrong with that picture.

Flower & snow do NOT go together!

But they did on Saturday. Everything was covered in a blanket of white!

We declared a snow day & watched it fall from the warmth of our home.

For awhile, we were afraid the tree branches were going to break. At one point, the Bup went onto our front porch stoop & was able to knock snow off of a branch with a broom. Usually you couldn't even come close to touching a branch from the stoop, but the snow was SO heavy!

We worried that the branches would knock down the power lines. The power flickered off & on a few times, but we were fortunate to not lose it for any length of time.

Right after the snow started, we covered the garden. The tarp covered the purple bell peppers, the glass "greenhouse" went over the lettuce, and we put a tee-pee sheet over the other lettuce patch.

The kale wasn't fazed. Snow? No biggie!

I picked some swiss chard & then we left the rest to chance. The big leaves collected a lot of snow, so some of the stems snapped, but it didn't kill it.

It was so strange to see all that snow during October!

Our garden survived the snow storm, only to get frost bite the next night. :-(  The greenhouse lettuce is still alive, though, so we have fresh greens for a little longer! I'm hoping with the warmer weather we're getting now that a few of the plants that didn't get too much frost will perk back up.

I saved my last roses from the snow. They're a nice bright spot on the counter to remind us of sunshine.

How did everyone else in the northeast survive the snow?