all hallows eve and other ghostly things

i've been in one of those "thinking moods" lately. you know, the real deep: "do i want peanut butter and bananas on my toast?" kind of questions. and the all-consuming "do i wear bother wearing a coat today?" apparently i'm not in rexburg anymore. this means no snow... and we'll probably have yellow leaves on the trees until february. be jealous. but who bothers worrying about questions like "what am i going to do with my life?" they are highly overrated. i just plan on going with the flow and being a bum for the rest of my life. anyone who cares to come and join me, i'm going to start camping on the boise river and fishing for my food come march. ;)

besides that, nothin occupies my mind more than deciding what i'm going to carve into my halloween pumpkin. this was a decision of epic proportions. you better believe it! 
so this is what i came up with.

now before you go thinking i'm all creative and junk... i have to admit i did steal the idea. i am a mighty good copier, but my original thoughts are limited to things that i write down... here.
more on the halloween costume later. (they aren't quite done yet. yes. i did procrastinate. no. i did not decide what i wanted to be today. i've had this one in the works for a few months! i blame biochem.)

but i've been in a munchie mood lately. 
this is going into my tummy tonight. 

it makes me oh so happy.

find the goodness here.

grab and hold on for dear life.

how is everyone out there in the world?
having a fantastic day yet?

i think i am.
...not to mention i had the most amazint parfait for breakfast this morning.

this is just a thought on life that i have been having recently.
everything happens for a reason. 
(even looking for a job, and not getting anything!)
or applying to a program and not getting accepted.
it doesn't mean that you are a failure.
it just isn't the right time.
     or you are meant to do something else.

something that i've been learning is that i need to be more proactive.
i'm the kind of person that would like to believe in fate, but then i go taking it to the extreme and just expecting life to come handed to me on a silver platter.
(i've learned a very important secret)
it doesn't happen like that!
if you want anything to happen, you have to go out there and get it!
because you can do anything you want to.

this is a little blast from the past.
you gotta have some of these every once in a while.

now you have to go and try this.

i think that vanilla wafers are underrated.

friends forever :)

so i got an amish friendship bread starter a couple of weeks ago. 
it tried to take over my kitchen... 
but we solved the problem. and we ate it. 
all gone. 
we also gave 3 different starters away. 
but somehow, last week, i ended up getting a new one. (don't you guys have any other friends???)
so it's been sitting on my counter, just begging to be cooked up.
finally, tonight i got to it!
(we'll just pretend that it wasn't midnight when i decided to whip this stuff up...)


(i have no idea where this recipe originated. but i got it from here.)

amish cinnamon friendship bread

important tips:

• do not use a metal bowl or spoon for mixing (see my note about this below)
• do not refrigerate.
• it is normal for batter to thicken, bubble, or ferment

day 1: you receive the fermented batter in a 1 gallon ziploc bag. do nothing. just place the bag on the kitchen counter.

day 2: squeeze the bag several times.

day 3: squeeze the bag several times.

day 4: add 1 c. of flour, 1 c. of sugar, 1 c. of milk. squeeze bag.

day 5: squeeze the bag several times.

day 6: add 1 c. each flour, sugar, and milk. squeeze bag.

day 7: squeeze bag several times.

day 8: squeeze bag several times.

day 9: squeeze bag several times.

day 10: in a large, non-metal bowl, combine batter with 1 c. each flour, sugar, and milk. mix with a wooden spoon. pour four 1-cup starters into individual gallon ziploc bags. give away starters to friends with this set of directions. it is important to follow this sequence exactly.

to the remaining batter add:

• 1 c. canola oil
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1 large box of instant vanilla pudding
• 2 t. cinnamon

in separate bowl, mix 1 t. cinnamon and 3 T. sugar. sprinkle into well-greased loaf pans and coat the sides with sugar mixture. do not use pam or other non-stick spray. bake at 350° for 1 hour or until done.

variations:

banana bread:

• 1 box instant banana pudding
• 1 mashed banana
• 2 handfuls of nuts

chocolate bread:

• 1 box of instant choc. pudding
• 1 T. cocoa
• 2 handfuls of chocolate chips

now for barb’s unapologetically non-conforming notes:

first, the bit about not using a metal bowl or spoon? horsefeathers. i think this falls into the “mystique” division. i always mix this up in my kitchenaid METAL mixing bowl. the only metal things that I really avoid are old aluminum utensils. aluminum is reactive metal. i haven’t personally seen this recipe react with aluminum, but i avoid it nonetheless. i suspect that the worst that might happen is the batter would take on a grayish cast.

second, it is NOT necessary to follow these steps precisely. if you forget to do anything with your starter for a week, don’t toss it out. if you WANT to delay making the bread up, stick the starter in the fridge. it will last MONTHS in a good, cold fridge. if it turns pink, it’s spoiled and THEN you should throw it out.

third, pam spray works just fine for greasing the loaf pans. maybe forbidding pam spray is supposed to make this sound more amish, but I MUCH prefer the texture that the pam and the sugar makes on the crust.

although my paper doesn’t say this explicitly, i have read many different places that only the amish know how to make the starter and it’s a deep dark secret. but that is also myth. i have no idea if this recipe started in the amish community, but there is nothing magical about the starter.

in fact, if you DO end up throwing out your pink spoiled starter, but have developed a taste for this friendship bread, you can start your own batch. simply put 1 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, 1 c. milk, and 1 T. yeast in a ziploc bag and let it sit on the counter. call that Day 1, and you’re good to go.

interesting note: there is a similar recipe in germany called hermann cake. this cake uses a starter as well. i’ve had hermann cake several times over the years in this country, so clearly that is also not a geographically proprietary recipe.

one thing that is NOT a myth is this. you MUST use boxes of instant pudding. cooked pudding mixes gives an entirely different and entirely unacceptable texture to this bread.

one last note: i’ve reduced the oil in the recipe to 2/3 c. with no bad effects.

bon apetit!

pssst. i've got a secret.

I have a secret dream of becoming vegetarian.

You might think this is a little strange... considering most people tend to choose that lifestyle because they feel some sort of moral obligation to furry creatures, etc etc... I don't. I think it just sounds cool. 

Guess what? I'm a vegetarian. 

Kind of rolls of the tongue eh?

Vegan Lentil Chili with Roasted Red Peppers, Olives, and Green Onion

from Kalyn's Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped in small pieces
2 tsp. finely minced garlic
2 T Chili Powder (I used Penzeys Regular Chili Powder, which is quite mild.)
1 T ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
1/8 tsp. dried Chipotle chile pepper (or cayenne; use more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
1 cup brown lentils
1/4 cup red lentils (or use more brown lentils if you don't have red ones)
3 cans vegetable broth + 1 can water
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 can (6 oz) black olives, drained and sliced
1 jar (12 oz.) roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
lime slices for serving (optional) 

Instructions:

Use a large dutch oven type pan so you have a big surface area for cooking the vegetables.  Heat olive oil over medium heat, then saute the chopped onion until it's starting to brown.  Add garlic and saute about 1 minute more.  Add the chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, and Chipotle or Cayenne powder and saute about 90 seconds more, or until the spices are fragrant.

Add the brown lentils, red lentils, vegetable broth, water, and tomato sauce and heat until the mixture comes to a low boil.  Reduce heat to a low simmer and let the mixture cook until red lentils are mostly dissolved and brown lentils are well-softened.   Cooking time will depend on how fresh the lentils are, but I simmered this for slightly more than an hour, adding more water a couple of times.  (Tomatoes make the lentils cook a bit more slowly, so if you're in a hurry don't add the tomato sauce until lentils are starting to get tender.)

While the mixture cooks, slice the green onions, drain olives and cut into slices, and drain the roasted red pepper and chop into small pieces.  When lentils are cooked, add green onion, olives, and roasted red pepper and let the mixture simmer 15-20 minutes more.  Serve hot, with slices of lime to squeeze into each serving if desired.

This freezes well.  For best results, thaw in refrigerator overnight and then heat in microwave or in a small pan on the stove.

Did I mention that this winter has been one of the driest that I have ever seen in Eastern Idaho? It's crazy. 
Kinda feels like Mexico I think. 
Balmy.
(If I see anyone come into town with their Hawaiian-print shirt, I'll know that someone is reading this...)

But it snowed yesterday!
FINALLY!
Jess = :)

***

a little bit of every scattered thought.

how is everyone this (lazy) holiday morning?!


i'm fantastic... just in case you were wondering. :)
today is one of those mornings when life is just good. 
happy music-baking-motivated-i'm gonna go on a long run-type of morning!








so i have to work on my motivation to try this... because you know me, i am a very lazy person when it comes to my hair. anything that takes over an hour to do just isn't worth it in my book. 
this one looks like it could take a while...





and you remember that granola that we made like, two days ago?
it's gone!
crisis! i need to make some more!!!
this time, i think i'm going to try this recipe. and then maybe this one. this one??? (i have a surplus of recipes, most of which i haven't had the chance to try yet!) 


pumpkin granola
originally from baking bites


ingredients:
5 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
¾ tsp. salt
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pepitas


directions:
1. preheat the oven to 325° F. line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. in a large bowl, combine oats, spices, and salt. mix well.
3. in a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract. whisk until smooth. pour wet ingredients into oat mixture and stir until the oats are evenly coated. they will be moist. evenly spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.
4. bake for 20 minutes. remove pan from the oven and stir. bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the granola is golden and crisp. remove from the oven and stir in dried cranberries and pepitas. let cool completely. store in an airtight container.




i was reminiscing this morning... and decided to plan my next big adventure.

deja vu.

just a little musical background for your sunday morning.

i'm just sitting here preparing a lesson for church today (thanks to my new attempt at being social and outgoing, my bishop called me to teach a lesson.) note to self: no more being social until after all the callings are made...
just kidding!!!
have a beautiful, happy sabbath!

and one of these days, i am going to make this wonderful bread in honor of shabbat.


challah bread

(courtesy of allrecipes.com)

ingredients
2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup honey
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tablespoon salt
8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)

directions

1. in a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt. add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, graduating to kneading with hands as dough thickens. knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. cover with a damp clean cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.
2. punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board. divide in half and knead each half for five minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting sticky. divide each half into thirds and roll into long snake about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from middle. either leave as braid or form into a round braided loaf by bringing ends together, curving braid into a circle, pinch ends together. grease two baking trays and place finished braid or round on each. cover with towel and let rise about one hour.
3. preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each braid. sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired.
5. bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40 minutes. bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing.

my favorite pic

[21]

my favorite picture (of me) of all time.

why is that?

i think to me, this picture represents a lot of the changes that i've made in my life over the past four years of being in college. (no... not becoming more of a nerd...)

this picture represents how comfortable i am with myself. if you would have asked me to pose for a picture dressed as a nerd, and then told me you were going to post in on facebook... a few years i would never have done it. wouldn't have even given it a chance.

this picture also reminds me of the semesters that i have been able to live with my sister. (you see that empty spot on the couch next to me? she goes there.) i don't know anybody that can read my mind or function on the same exact wavelength as me all the time. we know what each other is thinking so often that it is actually freaky. if we weren't two years apart we probably could be twins.

in this picture, i felt good. i look at this, and i think of being healthy, happy, and even though i was stressed out of my mind with school - i loved life. looking at this picture gives me something to strive for. a goal to reach. 

my new goal for this year:

run a half marathon. 

anyone care to run with me? 

i want to make these sooooo bad!

gingerbread "clif" bars

:)

yum.

a castle on a cloud

day 16:

my dream house.

i tend to collect pictures, and i usually don't write down where i get them.

(so for the sake of attributing these... none of them belong to me... but i don't remember where i got them. oops.)

***

now if anyone else out there is like me - and LOVES hot chocolate... but for the sheer fact that i would sit and drink cupfull after cupfull... (calorie counters cringe at the thought)

i found this to be a good alternative.

and homemade. (gotta love that, huh?!)

homemade sugar free/ fat free hot chocolate

3 cups instant powdered milk

1 cup splenda

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1 sm. sugar free/fat free jello vanilla pudding, instant

mix all of the ingredients in a gallon size zip lock bag and close bag - mix. store in air tight container or the zip lock baggie. to make a cup of hot chocolate, use 1/4 cup of mix to 1 cup of hot water.

serves 18

i also have a fetish with mugs. i want this one.

...or for a single serving  (i mean... am i really going to make 18 servings worth of hot chocolate???)

1 cup non-dairy milk (you can also use unsweetened almond milk)

4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 packets stevia

Optional: pinch of cinnamon and a dash of vanilla 

first measure out one cup of milk, and then transfer 2 tbsp of it to a mug. Heat the rest of the milk on the stove top or in the microwave (it took me about one and a half minutes in the microwave) until steaming but not boiling.

while the milk is heating up, add the cocoa, stevia, vanilla and cinnamon to the 2 tbsp milk in the mug. stir it together until it forms a chocolaty paste.

once the milk is heated up, add it to the chocolaty paste and stir till combined. just whirl a whisk between your hands back and forth to froth it up if desired.

***

i bet there is no better remedy for a stuffy head and sore throat than a hot cup of chocolate and nice warm toes by the fire  errr... space heater? (we'll just pretend for imagination's sake, shall we?)

brick walls

well. it has been one hay of a crazy week!
6 tests this week? seriously? my teachers really are trying to kill me.
i have so many muscles floating around in my brain right now, i can't even do anything without thinking about that muscle... it's origin and insertion... other movements it performs... nerve innervation... thanks again teacher. 
it almost makes me want to go back to high school. 
i said almost. 


you know those days (or weeks, or months... or states of mind) when even things that you used to enjoy become drudgery and just another thing that you have to check off your "to-do" list? i felt like i was getting that way over the last few weeks. and i didn't like it. not at all. (i mean, i was taking choir as a fun class... not another class to cause me stress!) 
this last week has been one of a fair amount of self-discovery. 
with registration coming up, i have had to decide if i am going to graduate in just one semester, or if i am going to wait and finish up some prereq classes for when i start applying to grad schools next summer. (eeeeeeeeeeek!) 
part of me wants to curl up in a really tiny ball under my covers and never come out. but the other part knows better than to give up. the other part (which for whatever reason doesn't like to speak up as often as it should) never gives up. and it always gives it 100%. it doesn't sit around complaining about how hard it's life is. sure, we all have problems. 
{deal with it.}

now if this doesn't make your day, i don't know what will.

grilled cheese croutons

when i was younger, i remember thinking that we lived in crouton.

why, you ask?

i remember specifically asking my mom what the name of the city that we lived in was called... looking back, she was probably a little distracted, but at the time, as a 4-year-old, the entire world lived only to serve me. hence my mom's response of "crouton" might have been in reference to something other than my inquiry. i can't really be sure about that. but it's a hunch. (not much has changed since then... hehe.)

tonight we made such a nommy dinner!

nom nom nom...

gimme a few seconds, i gotta swallow. 

so grandpa gives us 3 pumpkins and I have no idea how many buttercup squash. and we have to use them all before they start to go bad.. ugh. good thing we loooooove squash! 

this is pretty much the recipe that we used. 

looks pretty tasty too!

i wish mine looked that good...

(here is a variation that uses cous cous instead of rice... it is also a little sweeter than the one that we ate for dinner tonight.) 

happy cooking!
peace out!
  :) 

it's rubbing off on me...

i have to try this.

amid all of the "other productive stuff" i was doing today... i found this blog. 

me likey.

pretty much everything about the blog. her clothes, style, diy projects. they're going to keep me fairly entertained and busy for the next little while. 

(unfortunately we don't get a newspaper... so i have to go and find me a garfield comic. stat.)

is anyone else excited for halloween?

i know i am.

(i have this problem of getting really excited about the next holiday... and especially about forgetting poor thanksgiving.)

not this year!!!

i saw a christmas commercial yesterday. and my resolve just about wavered.

but i stayed strong!

but my sister and i made a new resolve that it's going to be party central at our apartment.

:)

bubbly toes

do you ever have a day when you don't know why, but you just wake up and feel glum?

i have a solution for you:

(just try it one time and tell me that it doesn't make your whole entire day that much better!)

last night, the sis and i decided that we needed to use the massive amount of food that we had just received from the parents... and grandpa.. and winco...

(i think my roommates hate us. we take up at least half of the refrigerator.)

but we got squash.

buttercup squash.

and a lot of buttercup squash.

and guess who got a box of apples from grandpa's tree yesterday?

it was meant to be.

my version of buttercup squash & apple soup

kind like this one. and this one. but mostly different.

ingredients:

chicken stock (mom got us some rotisserie chickens from costco... so we de-boned them and then used the carcass to make stock)

2 buttercup squashes

3 onions - roughly chopped

2-4 apples cut into large chunks(depends on the size... and how much you want your soup to taste like apples)

cut the squashes in half and throw them, the roughly chopped onions, and chunked apples on a cookie sheet that has a little bit of water on the bottom

bake in oven until you can easily scoop the squash out of the shell (we left ours in about a half hour at 400)

throw the squash, apples and onion in stock, let simmer and cook together for a few minutes (you can season it with salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, chicken bouillon... i don't ever really measure when i'm making soup. i go purely by taste)

throw it into a blender - and voila!

yummy soup and a very happy tummy.

one proud nerd.

call me a nerd, but i love science. 
call me an even bigger nerd that i watch youtube videos about science. 





(you know you wish you found this first...)


but guess what? today is friiiiiiidayyyyy! :) 
and friday is the day that:
1- i can stop thinking about school for the next 48 hours
2- i can have adventures (and not feel like i should be at home studying)
3- no homework
4- my parents are coming up to visit!
5- did i mention i get to go shopping with my mom???
6- i don't have to wake up at 6. (wait... that really happens any other day of the week???)
7- quality time with me and my book. because i promised myself that i will finish one book every other week. (by the way, this is book #2)
8- i don't have to be any where important. so i can sit on my butt and look up useless things like this:





9- and this: 

(this just makes me want grilled cheese ohhhhhh so badly! i should stop torturing myself because i don't get to eat lunch for another 2 hours... this is just cruel...)

http://www.grilledcheesesocial.com/ has some of the BEST looking grilled cheese sandwiches i've every seen in my entire life. i mean, this chick has the art of perfectly grilling a cheese-which down to a science. nay, it is art. pure and simple.

if you really want to get down to the science behind the grilled cheese, check out the sporkful.

they are my new favorite when it comes to analyzing the nitty-gritty necessities of good cookin'.  

10- lunch today: leftovers from last night's cooking escapade.

 this is yet another one of those meals that just kinda... happened. we threw in a couple of onions, green onions in the fridge, an eggplant, peppers and jalapenos, leftover hamburger and spinach that was not lookin so hot... (not slimy... just a little wilty...)

toss it all in a skillet with some spices and BAM! 

PRESTO!

the most time consuming part of the dinner was finding out how to get the blasted cabbage leaves OFF of the head.

how do you perform this feat you ask?

you toss the head of cabbage into boiling water for a few minutes, and then the leaves just come right off!!!

simple as that.

then we threw those in a casserole dish, covered it in prego or ragu... and then topped it with some cheese right before it was done.

oh heavens.

yum.

don't tell anyone... i think i had two.

but it was gone so fast i'm not really sure.

11- friday is just a good day.

:)

now go partyyyy!