Beer + Cabbage (Flowers)

My mom and aunt came to visit this weekend.  We made the most of our time by visiting the farmer's market, touring one of my favorite breweries, driving around campus, and checking out some of mine and hubby's favorite places to eat.  

The New Glaurus Brewing Co. has some seriously fantastic beer.  I enjoy being in Wisconsin where we have access to these local places.  AND we got to keep the glasses.  What more can you ask for?

Oh wait, these.

Cabbage flowers.  And eucalyptus.  Arranged together.  It smells fantastic.  This was my favorite find at the farmer's market.  For $5.00.  I'd never even HEARD of a cabbage flower before, so I bought it at the first vendor I saw.  Then as we were walking around I saw almost every single vendor with bouquets of these babies.  So...yeah.  Not as original as I thought.

It's purple.  And green.  And awesome.  Except I just picked up what I thought was a dead leaf bit on one of the flowers, and it turned out to be squishy.  And move-y.  So I shrieked and threw it back in the flower.  Cuz I'm brave like that.  Some sort of caterpillar thing?  I don't know, but it was terrifying.  And now it's still living in my flower arrangement.  Picking up something you expect to be not in any way alive and then finding out that it IS something alive = not cool.

They still look awesome though.  And are supposed to last for 3+ weeks.  Caterpillars and all...

UPDATE:

I was worried that when I flung Mr. Caterpillar back into the flower I had hurt him.  Never fear, when I checked a little while later he was crawling around inside.  Now hubby has rescued me (and the caterpillar) by putting him outside where he belongs.  Except now hubby tells me that we didn't do the caterpillar any favors.  He will probably be eaten by a bird.  Or freeze to death.  Whatever.  My flowers are now caterpillar-free (hopefully) and Mr. Caterpillar is back with his own kind (also hopefully).

Stuffed Green Peppers

 Made this for deliciousness tonight.

It's a perfect fall food.  Hearty and filling.  Oh, and cheese-y.  Melted cheese is very important.  So is what you pair with it.

Like crusty bread and a smooth local beer.  These are crucial elements.  Something about this meal screams for a brew to go along with it.  At least to me.

The key to making this dish is in melting the mozzarella on top for just the perfect amount of time.  Enough that it's good and gooey, and just crispy around the edges.  Too much longer and it becomes an unappetizing blob.  Nobody wants that.  It also helps when you're able to pick up some hefty peppers from the farmer's market.  No puny peppers allowed.

Stuffed Green Peppers

This is what I normally use.  It's one of those meals that is easy to adapt.  Mushrooms would be a great sub for sausage.  Other spices work as well, such as basil or thyme.  I've even used red or yellow bell peppers when I can't find 4 green peppers large enough, which makes for a slightly sweeter dish overall.

1 cup rice (I prefer Jasmine, but I've also used Basmati.  Brown rice would probably work here, too.)

4 large green bell peppers

1 sweet yellow onion

3-4 tsp. olive oil

2 links Italian sausage

3/4 tsp. ground fennel

3/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Grated Mozzarella

Salt and pepper to taste (I usually use garlic salt...which I tend to use in everything)

Cook rice according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat 9x9 baking dish lightly with oil.  Trim bottoms and caps of bell peppers; remove seeds.  Place hollowed peppers in baking dish.

Dice pepper caps, bottoms, and onion.  Heat 2-3 tsp. olive oil in large skillet.  Saute peppers and onions for 5-6 minutes, until soft and onions are translucent.  Remove mixture and add 1 tsp. oil to pan.  Remove sausage from casing and cook until browned, crumbling as it cooks.

Add pepper-onion mixture back to pan, add fennel and oregano, and cook for 2 minutes.  Add cooked rice and Parmesan, cooking until mixture is heated through and cheese is melted.  Add salt and pepper, and additional spices (if needed) to taste.

Stuff peppers with filling mixture.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Remove and top with mozzarella.  Return to oven for 5-7 more minutes, until cheese is melted and edges are crispy.

Fall

Hubby told me that he thinks I've been happier lately.  I told him this can be attributed to one thing.

Fall.

It's a season where there are just too many good things going on to not be happy.

This, for example.

Yup, hubby and me at the apple orchard.  Also it looks all casual, like we were in the middle of blissfully picking apples on the fancy apple-picking ladder and everything, but in reality we were walking in the orchard and all of a sudden there was this vignette of a tipped-over box of apples and a 3-legged ladder.  I ignored the sign next to it that probably said not to touch anything, and promptly turned this opportunity into a photo op instead.

Also this.

Yup.  That photo was already taken two years ago.  Two years and six days ago, to be exact.  And since the second year was loads better than the first, that makes me all kinds of happy.  Not to mention we went away for a cuddly get-away this weekend.  Shopping in Galena (where I picked up this beaut and this deliciousness), a cozy overnight stay in Dubuque, and a massage to finish it all off.  Plus we spent our time resting (after shopping, and before going out to dinner) by watching Hercules.  The Disney version.  Clearly we know how to celebrate.

This, too.

I made creamy sorrel spinach soup last night.  It was an overall meh, and my favorite part was that I got to eat bread with it.  Until I warmed up the above for lunch today.  Totally.  Different.  Soup.  Some sort of magic must have happened in my refrigerator last night, because I ate two big bowlfuls of it.  And more bread.  It was amazingly good.  And it thickened up overnight, turning into a rich, veggie stew-like bowl of yummy-ness.  Note to self: make the day before consumption.

And the last thing that's making me happy: the hot apple cider I am drinking right now.  So good.  This place clearly knows their way around cider.  I was all sad earlier because I didn't want to make coffee and didn't have any tea, but wanted something hot to drink.  So I moped around for awhile until I remembered apple cider in the refrigerator and it turned out to be exactly what I needed.  Cheers.

Good-bye, Old Friend

It is a sad day.

My constant companion of the past five years has gone to sleep for the last time.  

My dear design school laptop.

We went through everything together.  My first design project.  My last design project.  Every project in-between.  Countless late and sleepless nights.  We planned parties together.  Played games together.  Planned a wedding together.  Created surprises together.  He played music and videos for me, constantly and uncomplainingly.  And in the end he was just worn out.  Three power cords and two batteries later...it was just getting to be too much for him.  I don't blame him.  He worked so hard.

One of our first projects together.  You can tell we've been there all night due to my lack of makeup and any attempt to do anything with my hair...

And junior year.  Who could forget our office project?  I guess it's a miracle he lasted this long, considering that I never spilled anything on him, even though I had drinks such as that extra-large-vanilla-latte-triple-shot-whatever next to him so very often....

It's kind of amazing, actually, all of the things that have happened during the past five years or so, that this laptop has been a part of. Things that he enabled me to do.  I am sure going to miss my design school laptop.  

But in the meantime...

  

I have a new friend to get to know.

Free Time

So far with the extra free time I have had (from not having an evening job) during the past month, I have...

• met friends for coffee
• started yoga again
• felt free to go back home for an entire week for support and love following a family tragedy
• had friends over for dinner
• finally taken advantage of Restaurant Week
• begun projects for the apartment that I have been waiting on
• spent more time reading my Bible
• had more time with the hubby
• painted my nails
• been able to cook and bake much more often

so, so far...

free time rocks.

In fact, I think free time is fantastic.  Before, when I would be doing just-because-I-like-doing-them things, (i.e. cooking, design things, catching up on my  Real Housewives, etc.), I would feel guilty.  Guilty that I really had other "more important" things that I should be doing.  Things that were related to work.  In fact, sometimes doing these things that I enjoyed doing almost felt like chores.  Self:  "If you don't bake these cookies right now you won't have any other time to do it.  You like doing this, remember?  Now bake, dammit!"  But now my free time is just that.  My free time.  (Ok, if you want to get technical, it's actually God's time, but it's kind of like He is giving it to me, so then it is sort of like my free time again, right?)

Being raised in a world and culture where everyone is all "go-go-go" and a mark of success--even badge of HONOR--seems to be having NO free time, this is nothing short of a revelation.  The culture I was raised in looked DOWN on those who had free time.  They were dismissed as slackers.  It has honestly taken me until now to not look down on people whose time is not filled up with work and activities.  

Obviously, I have never really had free time.  Not in high school, when extracurricular activities and homework took up my after-school hours, not in college, where work and design projects dominated my time, and not even post-college, when wedding planning and work literally took over my days, evenings, and weekends.

Not until now.

This is amazing.


Also amazing?  My gold-tipped nails.  Which I was able to do myself.  Because I have free time.  Win.

Nothin like puttin a little extra bling in your day.

***I think it is important to note that while I now have extra free time, it is NOT idle time.  It is time to build myself up, while pursuing activities, interests, and relationships in my life.  Yup, even while watching the Real Housewives.