Pesto

I could eat pesto 3 times a day. I shouldn't, but I could. It's rich and bright and gives you really bad breath. Traditional pesto includes basil, pine nuts, and pecorino romano cheese, just to name a few ingredients. Do you know how expensive pine nuts are? What about basil when it isn't in season? I do, and its more than a girl like me can afford but I refuse to live without pesto so I compromise and improvise. I learned that you can use other greens in lieu of basil and less expensive nuts to replace the pine nuts. I usually make it vegan which also saves me some money but i'll offer both versions of the recipe here.


Vegan Pesto, Improvised
3 packed cups of spinach or arugula, or a combination of both
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup walnut pieces
roughly 2 tablespoons of olive oil to bring it all together
2 heaping tablespoons of nutritional yeast

In a strong blender or food processor pulse together the greens, garlic, and nuts. Add the nutritional yeast and olive oil and blend until its a consistency that you like. I like mine less chunky and more smooth. If you like chunks, that's cool. Taste- adjust with salt and pepper if you desire.


If you eat dairy or just don't know what the hell nutritional yeast is then use this version.

Pesto, Improvised
3 packed cups of spinach or arugula, or a combination of both
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/4 C parmesan cheese (shaved or shredded is fine)
roughly 2 tablespoons of olive oil to bring it all together


In a strong blender or food processor pulse together the greens, garlic, and nuts. Add the cheese and olive oil and blend until its a consistency that you like. Taste- adjust with salt and pepper.




Eat this on crackers, toss with pasta, dip carrots in it, dip your finger in it.
Enjoy!

ABC

Age: 24 (almost 25)

Bed Size: Queen. Thanks Meg and Quinn!!

Chore you hate: cleaning the blinds. WORST.

Dogs: Lizzies.

Essential start of your day: stretch and fuzzy

Favorite Color: Purple..Blue.. Orange... Rainbow?

Gold or silver: Silver

Height: 5'7

Instruments I play (or have played): Tried to play piano. FAIL.

Job Title: Porting Specialist/ SIP Relay Local Number Team Leader

Kids: I like other peoples kids until they scream or shit themselves.

Live: SLC, always
Mom's Name: Paula

Nickname: Candy, Candyass, Cand, The Great One (I made that up)

Overnight hospital stays: None! I've been lucky

Pet Peeve: Chewing with mouth open, lying, negative perspectives

Quote from a movie: You taste like a burger, I don't like you anymore.

Right: Wrong-o

Siblings: two beautiful older sisters and one handsome younger brother

Time you wake up: 6-7

Underwear: My mom makes me wear it.

Vegetables you dislike: Onion. Damn the onion!!!

What makes you run late: Kitten snuggles.

X-rays you've had done: None that I remember?

Yummy food you make: sandwiches. I make sandwiches. people seem to like them. also my potato salad.

Zoo animal: Monkeys are bad ass.


YOUR TURN!

OMG!!!

HE'S COMING HOME!!
I can't believe its been two years already. Some parts of it felt like they were passing painfully slow. Now that we've reached the end I feel like it went by so fast! I wonder if he is ready to come home. I hope he isn't too weird for too long.... I love you little brother boy.

what my dreams look like pt 2

Someday.
Yesterday my mother was showing me all the magical things she acquired when she and her sisters were cleaning out part of Grandmas sewing room. Zippers, lace, ric rac, fabrics, patterns, buttons, needles, beads, and doo dads of all sorts. My Grandma made everything at home! I know she sewed most of my aunts clothes and taught them how to sew too. I'm so grateful that my mom has tried to pass that on to me. I'm terrible at it but I can do straight lines and I want to learn more! I would love to make my own clothes and be as handy as my mom and her mom are.
Someday.

Want.

This is what my dreams are made of.

this too shall pass

If you followed the link in my last post to my mothers blog then I'm sure you read all about my Grandma Jean passing away. I was feeling too messy to write about it but my mom is stronger and braver and she wrote it all down, honestly and sincerely. The past month has been intense and emotional and overwhelming. But we made it through! I have the most incredible family and friends. I felt so much lighter and peaceful once my sisters got here. I need them so much more than they know. I am extremely fortunate. I miss Jean. She made things so simple, I want to be more like her. I could talk forever about the funeral and all the people who supported us and all my memories of Jean but it's still a little too tender and I'm going to keep it to myself for a while still.

Mom and I at the funeral luncheon.

The cats and I have moved out of my tiny one bedroom apartment at the Oxford Place. We are setting up shop and getting cozy in a big (bigger than I've ever lived in besides my parents) blue house by the capitol. I have my own freaking backyard with space to plant vegetables. The house has great potential and I'm excited to fix it up and make it beautiful. My life long friend Mikayle is going to move in with me pretty soon here. We lived together once before and it seemed to work out pretty well and I think we'll make a good team again. The house needs work but I've got permission to paint pretty much anything I want (turquoise kitchen here I come) and since the landlord is my best friends husband, I think any projects I want to do will be approved. Moving was stressful and emotional (why am I such a baby?) but with my mom and dad and my amazing boyfriends (curtis I adore you) help we got it all done. Lisa is a saint and helped me sanitize the kitchen. I do not know what I would do without her, she is a fabulous friend indeed. Did I mention I have a white picket fence now? Dreamy.

Quinn and Megan- Making my new house possible for me. I love them so much. So blessed to have her as my sister soul mate. You can kinda see the white picket fence way back in the background!

Elton and Coop stepping outside into their new yard. I hope they are brave and earn some street cred.

More to come, hopefully.

words

There are certain things I just can't find words for.
Head on over to my moms blog to read about my Grandma, if you want.

http://pollywog-jensenfamily.blogspot.com/

Caturday

I have a million things to do today.

But first, a nice yummy breakfast with Lisa. Sometimes I call her at 9am and wake her up and make her walk to my house so I can make tofu scramble and not eat it all alone. I won't say I never bribe her.

Green Tea, pancakes, and tofu scramble with bok choy.

Today is going to rule.

Chocolate Chip Cookies. The endless hunt.

The smell of cookies baking is something I was raised on. My mom bakes all the time. I suspect it makes her feel good. She baked for us, for family, for neighbors. All of our friends knew that when they came to play there would be cookies. Paula = baked goods, it's a fact. My dad has one cookie recipe in his head and he bakes them often. I've never seen it written down. He has it memorized. He always burns them, on purpose I think.

I have tried at least ten different vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes and I can't seem to find the right one. These are okay but not my favorite. Recipe comes from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Ingredients:

1 C margarine

1 1/4 C sugar

1 T molasses

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

Cream together the margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add the molasses and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

They're ok. Share your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe with me! I'm comfortable replacing up to two eggs but not more than that.

I gave up.

Clearly I have given up on the 30 day photo challenge. It was fun for a minute but I just can't blog every single day.

I have a lot going on right now. This semester is coming to an end and even though my workload is light it still stresses me out beyond belief. I don't test well. I get so nervous and anxious and suddenly everything I learned is gone out the window. I am really grateful that I have the opportunity to continue learning though and I'm trying not to mess it up.

Grandma is still living at my moms house. I am enjoying Sunday visits even though they have become more and more saddening. I don't know how my mom does this every day. Camille and I have decided that none of us are going to get old, we're all just going to die in a freak gasoline fight. Since i'm not having kids it really worries me that i'm going to be old and no one will be there to take care of me. I guess we'll see what happens.

I'm moving out of my apartment at the end of May. I pray everything goes well and works out like i'm planning. Megans fiance owns a house and the people living in it now will be moving out so that is where I plan to go. The house has a great backyard and I would be able to plant a garden! Plus having your best friends husband as your landlord is probably nice.

Sarah is coming home at the end of May. Its going to be the best summer ever.

I have so much to look forward to and life is good.

day fourteen.

14. A picture of you and your best friend

I have the best friends in the universe.

Lisa and I riding our bikes

Sarah and I at the only real party we ever had at our apartment.

Me and Megs.

I'd be lost without these three girls, no doubt.

day thirteen

13. A picture of you hugging someone




This picture makes me laugh for reasons I could never explain.

day twelve. easiest day of all.

12. A picture of you with your pets

day eleven

11. A picture that your hair looks nice in

This is kind of a weird one. I like my hair in this photo. I'm trying to grow it out so I can curl it again.

day ten.

10. A picture of you with family

This photo is kind of old. I can't believe Liv was ever that small and our new special Sammy isn't featured here but still this is one of my favorite pictures of us. Mostly because I remember how insanely hilarious it was to do this photo shoot. We probably took 25 different shots to make sure all of our eyes were open (kate).

day nine

9. A picture of you with friends

day eight

8. A picture with someone you love

My sisters and my mother are some of my best friends. And Olivia is an angel and she saved my life.

day seven

7. A picture of you when you were little



I was cute.

day six

6. A Picture of what you ate today - This was breakfast.

Banana nut bread!

What you need:

3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)


What you do:
Preheat oven to 350.
Mash bananas together with oil.
Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Flour, Sugar, Salt, Baking Soda, Pumpkin Pie Spice, and walnuts. It will seem dry at first but just keep stirring and it'll come together.



Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.



I loved this recipe. It was simple. No eggs, no milk, no substitutes for either. Very little oil. Mother approved. Grandmother approved as well!

day five

5. A photo of your Tumblr Crushes

http://everythingharrypotter.tumblr.com/

day four.

4. A photo of your favorite musician/band

No surprises here, I was raised on Jimmy Buffett. I couldn't find a real video for this song but it is my favorite of his.

day three.

3. A picture that makes you smile

Dancing with Olivia. No place i'd rather be.

day two.

2. A picture of yourself a year ago

This was exactly one year ago. I had just made Kayla cut my bangs into the unfortunate shape you see below. The V bang. What was I thinking? I don't think my sisters will ever stop making fun of me. Anyway this was a nice day my uncles Chris and Kim came to visit with my Grandpa Lisle. I love my uncles very much and I hold a special place in my heart for each of them. I always know when my dad is talking to Chris on the phone because of the way he laughs. Their relationship is really tender.

Chris and I

Doin it.

Just saw this 30 day challenge on Says blog and thought I'd jump on the train too.

So here we go:
1. Your current facebook picture

Sarah took this picture one evening at my apartment with some friends. Elton sits on my shoulder like that every morning. He likes to walk around with me but doesn't usually do this when others are there. A bit shy I guess but he comes out to play for Sarah because she is their long lost mother.


2. A picture of yourself a year ago

3. A picture that makes you smile

4. A photo of your favorite musician/band

5. A photo of your Tumblr Crushes

6. A Picture of what you ate today

7. A picture of you when you were little

8. A picture with someone you love

9. A picture of you with friends

10. A picture of you with family

11. A picture that your hair looks nice in

12. A picture of you with pets

13. A picture of you hugging someone

14. A picture of you and your best friend

15. A picture of you today

16. A picture from the last time you went out of town

17. A picture of your favorite movie

18. A picture of a celebrity you find attractive

19. A picture that means a lot to you but not many people will understand

20. A picture of your favorite meme

21. A picture of your favorite video game

22. A picture of someone from your favorite sports team

23. A picture of your city

24. A picture of your desktop

25. A picture of the weather

26. A picture of you doing something physical

27. A picture of you with beautiful scenery

28. A picture of something you despise

29. A picture of something you miss

30. Anything!

I'm back

My oven has been out of commission for almost a month. When I noticed it was a definite fire hazard I stopped using it and called my landlord right away. He is usually very quick to fix any issues for me but 3 1/2 freaking weeks later I have my oven back. But its not my oven, its a new oven. Not a new new oven, I'm not that spoiled. But its new to me and clean and shiny and I can't wait to use it....



The question is... what do I bake first?

pumpkin oatmeal cookies?

risotto and roasted asparagus?

enchiladas?

sweet potato fries?

Infinite possibilities!!!

secret pleasure with dill

I don't know if anyone else would enjoy this sandwich type thing but I absolutely drool over it. Something about the dill and cream cheese combined with the refreshing crisp crunch of the cucumber just makes my mouth water.

What you need (for one serving. use common sense for more than one serving):

2 slices wheat bread of your choice, TOASTED

2 Tbsp tofutti better than cream cheese

1 heaping Tbsp fresh chopped dill or a good tsp. dried dill

1/2 cucumber sliced thin

salt to taste

What you do:

Toast bread

In small bowl combine cream cheese and dill and salt to taste.

Spread mixture on toasted bread. Top with sliced cucumber. Voila!

Easy as 123 and you'll be satisfied I assure you.

Red Lentil Delight

Every Sunday I drive out to my parents house to spend time with them. I try to use the time wisely for laundry and homework but most the time I end up eating and napping with Grandma. I have learned that unless I come prepared with something from my own pantry, my dinner wont be as satisfying. Not to say that my parents don't cook well, quite the opposite actually. They're the best cooks I know! Always whipping up tamales and Chile verde or a big pan of enchiladas. (we are way too gringo to eat this much Mexican food) The meals aren't exactly meatless though so I know I have to bring something for myself to compliment whatever they've got going on. Anyway, I brought red lentils. I wanted soup. It's still pretty chilly outside and I think rainy March weather is perfect for good hearty soups. I knew my mom would have everything else I needed so I got to work.


Red Lentil Soup

What you'll need:
1 T. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped (I used about 10 baby carrots)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 1/2 C red lentils
4 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1 tsp. chili garlic sauce (optional)
1 tsp. "poultry" seasoning (I found this amazing seasoning at smiths and its basically just rubbed sage, thyme, rosemary)
salt and pepper to taste

What you'll do:

Heat olive oil in a good sized pot on medium high heat and add onion, carrot, and celery. Saute for about 5 minutes. I'm a firm believer that 90% of good soups should start this way. (mirepoix)


Add the rest of the ingredients. Lentils, broth, bay leaf, thyme, chili garlic sauce if using, "poultry" seasoning, salt and pepper.



Stir everything together, turn heat down to medium, cover with a lid and let it cook for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 or so minutes. Taste and season as you wish with more salt or pepper or any spices you see fit.

It magically turns into a creamy lentil delight. It is filling and good for you! It isn't the most attractive looking soup though...

Sorta looks like baby food?

Aren't my parents cute? Making gravy for their mashed potatoes. My dad is a gravy genius.