April 6, 2011

Boozy Cucumber Coolers

I wanted to tell you more about the Joy Retreat but I’m kinda BUZZED right now. One more sip of this Boozy Cucumber Cooler and I’m gonna turn into a sappy drunk on you. Must temper that! Anyways…I’ve been SOO excited for Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day Cookbook to come out; it’s been sitting in my Amazon pre-order cart for MONTHS. When I came home from my trip, GUESS WHAT WAS WAITING AT MY DOORSTEP??!! As if my creative spirit wasn’t already triggered!

I had a brief moment to look through the cookbook last night and CUCUMBER COOLERS went straight on my TO-DO list for today. It was right next to pay doctor bill over the phone & reschedule hair appointment. Of course I had to be naughty and add gin to the original recipe. It was a rough day at work…what can I say?? I also didn’t have honey so I added agave syrup. Wait. I did have honey but it was all chunky & crystallized and I didn’t feel like melting it. I dove for the agave out of ease (gin is my truth serum). I’m kind of obsessed with this drink…and the cookbook (I have soo many recipes marked to try!) This cocktail is like a spa drink gone WILD. Cucumber is balanced with a dash of salt & a spike of lime… rounded out with my good buddy, GIN. I could get in trouble with these. Serious trouble. I’d better stay away from Twitter tonight!
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out & about, Uncategorized

April 5, 2011

Joy Retreat: Part 1

So after my lunch at Broder, I drove to Manzanita. The weather was kind of crappy….rain with lots of crazy big lumber trucks and me in my dinky rental car with some good music. There were a few moments where I thought I would fly right off the road but honestly, I really enjoyed the drive. It was so cool to see random waterfalls on the side of the road! There were some cute little farms too! After 2 hours, I arrived safely and dove right into the retreat. Met all of the ladies and went outside and took this photo with my phone. Hello Manzanita! How you doin’?
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out & about, Uncategorized

April 4, 2011

Broder- Portland, Oregon

I’m baaaaack! There’s TOO much to tell you; I don’t even know where to start! My batteries are finally recharged but I’m kinda having a hard time getting back to reality. So much laundry to catch up on, a toddler with a temperature and sooo much to unpack. It will get done. Yes, Tracy. It will get done. Tonight I was looking through my pictures, thinking… How do I even start? What do I tell you first??!

Why don’t we just start at the beginning? That seems like the best idea.

I flew to Portland, Oregon on Wednesday and had lunch with my dear friend Jessica & her adorable daughter. A few months ago, she took a few snapshots of her breakfast at Broder and I was intrigued by all of the cute dishware! I put in a request to go there for our lunch because I had to see one of their egg skillets in person. What a treat! The food was tasty and I thought of Megan the whole time. Have you been, Megan? I bet you have & I bet you had a good time.

There were soo many cute details! Let’s take a look:
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Photography, Uncategorized

April 2, 2011

365-Week 12

A food related photo every day til 2012. Here’s week 12:

89/365 BUTTER for coffee cake.

Uncategorized

March 30, 2011

Be back soon!

Hey! I’m at the Oregon coast right now teaching a few cooking classes at the Joy Retreat this week with Mati Rose & Hula. The next few days of my life will be geared around food, painting, polaroids, and JOY. Let me tell you that I’ve been looking forward to this for MONTHS. This mama SOOO needs her girl time! Things might be quiet ’round these parts, but brace yourselves…there will be LOTS of photos headed your way soon. I’m so excited to get my ART on with 19 other talented women. I’m also really looking forward to sharing my love of food with these ladies & teaching them a few things in the kitchen.

Wanna see what we’re working on in the kitchen this week? Come take a look!

recipes, Uncategorized

March 29, 2011

Blueberry Yogurt Cake

There are a few things I can guarantee in life. I can guarantee that my fingernail polish won’t last for more than a day. I can guarantee that it will rain the day after I wash my car. I can guarantee that I will always pick the worst lane to be in at the grocery store. I can guarantee that my brother will always open my fridge the second he walks into my house, and I can pretty much guarantee that this cake won’t last long in anyone’s presence.

See this cake? It’s a very moist cake filled with fragrant blueberries. A cinnamon spiced walnut layer is slugged right in the middle and a crunchy layer rests on top! I cut out a hunk to take this picture, and when I went to focus my lens on the pan, I suddenly noticed that almost half the cake was missing. Cooper and Casey were standing there… guilty. But really, who can blame them? The house smelled so good and they had to wait 45 painful minutes for it to finish!! If you make this cake, you’ll clearly see why I had none left only a few hours after it came out of the oven. Also…save yourself a few corner pieces. They will blow your mind.

around the home, Uncategorized

March 28, 2011

Found: At work!

Today I was searching for a pair of headphones at work and found this in a drawer. Baker’s Chocolate. UNSWEETENED. 4 WHOLE packages. WHAT?! I should mention that I work with my Dad and this is HIS drawer. If you’ve had Baker’s chocolate, you’ll know it doesn’t taste good. It’s not for eating. IT’S FOR BAKING! My brothers tricked me into eating a chunk when I was a kid and I’ve tried to avoid the stuff since. Seems that my dad eats a chunk every single morning. He says, “It helps lower my cholesterol and has a lot of fiber too!” I think it’s pretty gross, but now I know where I get my food hoarding problem from. I also know why he has chocolate breath when we are going over spreadsheets together. Thanks, DAD.

BTW, it’s in the top drawer if you ever need to steal some chocolate for baking.