LET IT SNOW!

It's a snow day in Portland today. This weekend we took a trip to Sisters. We hit some amazing snow. This is a picture from our cross country ski day. We were lucky to have great snow on both Sunday and for our snowboarding trip at Bachelor Monday. It was cold but it was soo worth the light fluffy powder we got!

Midnight City by M83

South Sister

We have always wanted to hike S. Sister. Just to say we did it... ya know? Over labor day we went for it. We set out Saturday; planning to backpack to Moraine lake, put our stuff down and summit that day. After getting a late start (we had to stop at REI for some booties for Addie) we headed out on the backpacking section of our trip. We hit Moraine lake pretty late but were still planning to summit. We were actually pretty lucky and got stopped by a ranger for taking a short cut. He slowed us down enough that we decided not to hike the whole thing that day. I think that was a good decision.

Now that we weren't summiting, we still needed something to do. We set out to hike at least part way up and see how it was. We came across some guys who were basically in the same situation as us but had gone further to the top. They were able to let us know that we could just bring a water filter and not have to pack as much water. (There is a 'lake' at the top).

The next day we set out to summit. We rolled out of bed at 4:30 and hit the trail at 5am. The sunrise was awesome! Matt got some good pics. The day was perfect. We managed to avoid most of the crowds with the 5am departure. That was AWESOME because it looked terrible to be climbing at 12:00 with 100 other people.

We ran most of the way back and hit our base camp around 12:30 or 1pm. The hike all the way to the bottom with our stuff was pretty brutal. It is definitely nice to go light.

Here are some pics form the day!

images © matthew jasperson 

Bright Side of the Road by randysandknop

I NEVER WIN ANYTHING!

I finally won! It was pretty much the jackpot...

After Matt and I returned from our S. Sister hike on Labor Day weekend (more pics to come) I had an email from Zappos with 'Zappos Couture Fashion Week Sweepstakes Winner!' as the title. I almost ignored it but I remembered that I had randomly entered that drawing about a month before. At 10pm on Sunday, I finally read the email. It said that myself and a guest were invited to NY fashion week. Paid airfare, hotel, fashion week tickets and a $1000 Zappos gift card! If it wasn't from Zappos I would have thought it was a total scam. But... It was real!! The whole thing has been a whirlwind but next week Matt and I get to go to three shows in NYC for Fashion week! I am sooooo excited!
Everyone at Zappos was so nice and they hooked it up!

Zappos Couture

I will post lots of pics when I get back. Whoot Whoot! NYC baby!





Scissor Sisters - Filthy Gorgeous (Untermensch mix) by untermensch

LAST HURAH OF THE GIANT ZUCCHINI

Last night I was trying to come up a recipe that utilized the leftover GIANT zucchini that our friends gave us from their garden. It was the first 'fall' day of the season in Portland and something warm and filling sounded good. It was delicious and super easy. I found this recipe on simplysugarandglutenfree. I used Muir Glen tomatoes (with basil) and they worked great.

I have included a great fall song to cook, eat and sip wine to. Enjoy!

Wye Oak - Civilian by cityslang

Stewed Zucchini & Chickpeas
adapted from 1000 Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles 
serves 4 – 6

1 tablespoon good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of a large onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic, grated on a microplane
28 ounces of whole tomatoes in the juice
5 to 6 cups of zucchini, quarted and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups cooked chickpeas (canned will work, too)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon whole greek oregano
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, or to taste

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium low heat.  Add onion and saute until soft, 5 – 8 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for another minute.  Add tomatoes with juice.  Use your wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes into small pieces.  Add zucchini, chickpeas, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a low boil then reduce to a simmer.  Allow to simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered, or until zucchini is still slightly firm.

Serve over oven baked polenta

Here is the recipe... It is much easier than I thought! I used rice milk and it added a slightly sweet flavor to it which I really enjoyed

Oven Baked Polenta
serves 4 – 6

3/4 cup stone ground cornmeal
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 cups filtered water
1/4 cup 1% milk or more water for dairy-free
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)
additional filtered water if necessary

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put cornmeal, salt, and pepper into a 2 – 3 quart casserole dish. Add filtered water and whisk together. Cover with lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and carefully whisk again. Return to oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove your so-simple-to-make polenta from the oven, stir in milk and butter. Add additional filtered water to reach desired consistency. (I usually add 1/2 to 3/4 cup.)

HAPPY GRADUATION CLAIRE

This weekend one of my best friends graduated from nursing school! Whoot Whoot! Matt and I were trying to figure out the perfect present to commemorate her day. We decided to make a picture 'shadowbox' of the trip to Thailand the three of us took together last year. Here are some pictures of the finished product. You can find the original images here: thebentmoment.com

  images © matthew jasperson

  images © matthew jasperson

  images © matthew jasperson

We found the red frame at the rebuilding center by our house.
http://rebuildingcenter.org/
It was already painted and the colors were perfect!

Congrats Claire! You worked so hard and now it's time to celebrate!

Holiday - Madonna v. Welcome to Atlanta - Jermaine Dupri feat. Ludacris by Theo*

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

images © matthew jasperson

thebentmoment.com

Sometimes you just don't feel like the real deal. Here's a yummy way to start that day. Some good morning tunes as well. 

Mango Smoothie:

1/2 mango

1/2 peach

handful of pineapple chunks

coconut milk or rice milk

Ice

(I like to add some unsweetened applesauce if I don't have a peach)

agave to taste

Blend and enjoy!


Rave On Buddy Holly by concordmusicgroup

BURN BABY BURN

Finally the weather is Hot!

Delorean - Subiza by Wimbot


Enjoy the Sun and Don't get too burnt!!