{homemade sauerkraut}

13 Oct

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i’ve been wanting to try to make my own sauerkraut for a while now… as i’ve mentioned in the past, i’ll get on these kicks where i’m all like, “i can make that!” and i think that i can make TIME multiply and have more of it so i can actually MAKE all the stuff i say i can make… silly me.

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anyway, luckily this whole sauerkraut making process is super easy and not nearly as time consuming as one may think.  well, the actual “making” of it takes a little while, but preparing it does not.  it’s quite fun, too. you get your hands involved and you get to “play” with your food, which i always enjoy. 😉  plus, it’s oktoberfest!! and i’m part german, so it’s high time i learn how to make this amazing stuff so every october i can eat it. just kidding, that’s not my only motive.  sauerkraut is one of the oldest fermented foods out there.  and it’s one of those things that is actually pretty inexpensive to make on your own, but for whatever reason, can be kind of expensive to buy. this small batch didn’t cost me much. i had the salt at home, and this head of organic cabbage was $2. it’s loaded with probiotics and because it’s cabbage, it naturally contains a prebiotic as well. it’s just really awesome stuff. we should all eat more sauerkraut… in my humble opinion.

i digress.

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as i said, the process is very simple.  and so are the ingredients :

– one medium head of cabbage {organic, if possible}

– 1 1/2 tbsp salt {i chose himalayan pink salt}

– large glass container or fermenting crock {as clean as you can get it}

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begin by quartering cabbage and then chopping into “ribbons.”  add salt and begin to work in the salt using your hands.  this is the fun part.  you can literally {with clean hands, of course} squish and squeeze the cabbage all around. this will eventually cause the cabbage to wilt from working the salt in.

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it’s quite amazing how it works, and it’s just oh-so-fun. Continue reading

Image

{good morning, pink bubble gum clouds}

12 Oct

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{just some pics from my week}

11 Oct

happy october!

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happy non-gmo month!!!  yay!

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lovin’ these gloves i scored at a thrift shop…

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they are perfect for halloween! 😉

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stewin’ maters…

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and makin’ ’em into a meaty sauce… nom nom.

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pretty radishes!

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scary spider… but not really that scary.

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frost in the mornings… it’s a regular thing, now.

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feathers on eggs… not a regular thing, but i think it’s SO COOL!

{foto friday : for the love of leeks}

10 Oct

i recently had a random and brief discussion with a stranger about leeks.  he mentioned that leeks are prominent in french cooking, which i found intriguing.  he also said something like, “they have a lot of some magic property that is super good for you…”  which made me giggle… and which i later discovered was polyphenol – the super antioxidant we all love so much.

i’ve always been attracted to leeks, though i never really cook with them much.  i want to start using leeks more often in the food and foto kitchen.

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i plan to add them in a frittata… yum!  which actually, i do believe i’ve done before…

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{moab day two : arches and balanced rock}

8 Oct

this place is just so cool… there is so much ENERGY in moab!  i can’t think of what else to say…

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the famous balanced rock…

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and arches everywhere…

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also lots of phallic shapes everywhere… i know you were thinking it – everyone does. Continue reading

{fossil fun in fruita}

5 Oct

a little alliteration to start your morning 😉

aaaaaand, some pics from way way west-western colorado…

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to say this state is dry is… well, a gross understatement.

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dramatic sky.

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beauty.

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…fossils – whoa. Continue reading

{fall is for…}

4 Oct

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wearing beanies…

{crazy over-exposure!}

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and aspens… !

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and buying yourself flowers…

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and eating tomatoes…

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and squeezing in final trips to the farmers market…

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and seeing snowfall above 10K feet…

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and enjoying breezy landscapes…

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and making {chicken tortilla} soup…

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and eating {chicken tortilla} soup!

🙂

hope you all have/had a terrific weekend!

{mercury retrograde : october 4th – 25th}

4 Oct

it’s that time again!

you walk into the other room and suddenly completely forget why you went in there…

that’s right – it’s MERCURY RETROGRADE!

mercury will be taking his backward journey in the sign of scoprio/libra from october 4th through october 25th. as always, MR periods offer a chance for a “do-over” in some areas of our lives.  sometimes people from the past resurface or we get a chance to look at something from a different perspective, and perhaps make a different or more clear decision about it.  MR gets a bad rap, but it can really offer a second-chance in a way, we just have to be open.  mercury retrograde just wants us to consider things from ALL SIDES, and to make decisions from a more introspective mentality.  sometimes we need to see things form a different angle, and that sheds light onto a subject in a way we perhaps hadn’t noticed before.  conversely, sometimes MR periods cast “shadows” on matters… afterall, mercury himself is the epitome of duality – having both equal parts dark and light.  sometimes the key is to trust the saying, “if one door closes, another one will open.” the key is also to go within, and trust your intuition a little more.

some of the other key things to remember during mercury retrograde are as follows…

try not to sign any major documents… and if you must, go over all the paperwork with a fine-tooth comb, as they say, and make sure to “dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s” – MR periods tend to cause our minds to easily overlook small but important details, so it is usually advised that one does not do something like say – purchase a home or sign divorce papers – and the like, during this time.  

allow for extra time during travel… or try not to do too much of it in general – MR periods tend to slow down travel/transportation overall but by allowing for extra time, frustration can be easily avoided. i always suggest leaving the house an extra 10-15 minutes early on your way to work, just in case.

do your best not to make any major decisions… mercury is the ultimate trickster.  it’s important to use this time to “incubate” your thoughts… pay attention to how they may change or how you may suddenly see something in a whole new way.  MR periods have potential to cause confusion, so it is advised to let your thoughts simmer rather than act on them right away.

triple check your work… in going along with “crossing all your t’s” and such {which is kind of a weird thing to say in this modern keyboard-driven technological world we live in}, MR periods beg for us to make sure to pay attention to the details.  it’s easy to forget something that may seem like a habit to you. so just do your best to take a few extra moments to make sure you shut the garage door, replied to that important email, or sent a text to the right person 😐

be conscious of your words and any miscommunication… it’s one of the biggest downfalls of MR periods. sometimes you may just NOT hear someone right, or sometimes you may struggle to find the proper words to express yourself, or sometimes you may misunderstand what a person said – or vice versa.  just slow down, go easy, and remember that it will pass.  and try not to hold a grudge against someone if there in fact is some miscommunication… you can always talk it out after the 25th 🙂

of course, if you are a natal mercury retrograde soul like myself, you always have the green light for any of the things listed above.  it’s not to say that these periods don’t effect us in these categories, it’s just that we have a different way of interacting with the energies, since we live it on a daily basis.

mercury will be traveling through scoprio and libra during these 3 weeks.  some areas of our lives in which MR may have an effect are – divorce, sex, death, rebirth, finances {scorpio} and relationships, partners, clients, fairness, equality {libra}.

if you want to read more of my rants about mercury retrograde events, you can click HERE.

and i hope you backed up your important stuff recently… just sayin’

have fun! ❤

{fried green tomatoes}

1 Oct

happy october!  are you loving the fall colours where you live?! this is my favourite time of year – i just love autumn!  it’s also when i was born, so i feel most alive during this season.  i’ve also been feeling very lethargic and sleepy… but i suppose that just comes with the change in season and light.  i kind of wish i could just hibernate all winter… snuggle with callee more and eat tons of comfort food.

i’ve been wanting to make fried green tomatoes for a while now… what, being born in the south and all, it only seemed fitting.  i can’t believe i had never tried to make them before!  have you?!  when i spotted these perfect tomatoes, i was inspired and excited. so – i practiced the KISS method :

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oh.so.simple.

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and beautiful.

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AND delicious!!!!

i fried my green tomatoes in real sweet cream butter after slicing them about 1/3 inch thick, then dipping them in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs with a little S&P.  i finished the ‘maters off with a topping of freshly-grated parmigiano reggiano. super simple, super easy, and super yummy!

{i’m lovin’ it…}

27 Sep

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…this random hash with onion, garlic, potatoes, bacon, tomatoes, and kale.

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…this. *giggle*

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…subtle reminders.

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…these $5 birks i scored at a thrift store in moab – never been worn!  

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…fresh halibut – worth the splurge!

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…fishin’ somewhere near paonia.

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…creating farm-to-table meals with elk meatballs, wild boletus mushrooms, sauteed swiss chard, fresh salad.

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…my new job.

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…a perfect tomato from a friend’s garden.

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…making wishes at the wishing tree.

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…a beehive, right by my house!

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…the fact that peach season is officially over… i enjoyed one final one for desert after the bronco game. 

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…my tomatoes are finally taking off.

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…tomato bounty!

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…glowing sopris… {and the fact that it’s still been nice enough to even wear sandals!}

enjoy your weekend!

{moab in fotos : day one}

24 Sep

i had the privilege of taking a little vacation to moab last week. i was desperate for a getaway. when i found out moab was only 3 hours from where i lived, i was super excited to visit.  of course, after my accident in december last year, i haven’t been able to do much traveling or road-tripping like i like to do.  thankfully, i met someone recently who has a similar love for the great outdoors and for adventures on wheels, and we were able to take enjoy a little getaway together…

the first stop was actually near the colorado/utah border, but i’m saving those pics for another time.  i just wanna get right to sharing the images from moab.

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drive-by {foto} shooting 😉

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i so wish i would’ve had a sticker to slap on there…

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“castle valley”

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the landscape in moab looks so awesome in black and white… but the colours are also so bright and vivid. we arrived to our first camp-spot just before sunset.  the light from the evening sun casts the most glorious glow all over the rocks.  we had a mix of clouds during the time the sun was going down, but i can only imagine how that place lights up with full sun…

i can’t decide if i prefer the B&W images or the colour.  what do you think? 

———

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Continue reading

{getting balanced in moab}

19 Sep

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i just returned from a {much needed} camping trip with a special friend and i can’t wait to share more fotos from this awesome desert landscape!  ❤

hope you all enjoy your weekend! 

{september bounty – eat the rainbow!}

19 Sep

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between farmer’s markets, my new job, and cool new people in my life – i’m one blessed {and grateful!} lady!  ❤

{ocean clouds}

17 Sep

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when i walked out my door the other morning and saw these clouds, i literally stopped in my tracks and exclaimed, “what the —- {bleep!}!?!” i ran inside to grab my {old, but still working} camera, but the fotos don’t really do it justice.

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it was as if the sky had become the ocean.  the clouds looked like waves crashing on the shoreline.  it was both eerie and awesome. and during editing, i had a little fun with the colours…

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this just makes me miss the ocean, even more.  and it makes me want to be closer to the water, even more.  a plan i am working on making a reality very soon.

{speaking of peaches…}

14 Sep

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…what is it with things growing together lately?!  😉

{peach pickin’ in paonia}

13 Sep

i totally fell in love… with this great little town… paonia.  i actually considered moving there before i moved to my little neck of the mountains… but i hadn’t yet visited and i’m super glad i had the opportunity to this week! i had heard that there were farms up in paonia where you could pick your own produce for a nominal fee… and obviously – i was all over that!

the season for peaches is almost over, but orchard valley farms still had plenty of trees to harvest from! i had never done anything like this, it was quite the experience! ❤

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i left my camera at home, because this was sort of an impromptu trip… but i had the trusty iphone.

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hehehee {not a real person, but totally fooled me!} 😛

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entrance to the garden and grove… {those are “peach pickers”}

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peach trees galore!

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ladder to pick the really big ones at the top!

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like this! 😀

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sipping wine and picking peaches… what a day!

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pumpkins!  {no pickin’ pumpkins, though!}

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no picking wine grapes either… but the merlot/cabernet blend from black ridge winery was just wonderful!

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then i spotted this door on the way out… 🙂

enjoy the weekend!

 

{mini caprese stacks}

10 Sep

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finger food is my favourite!  i believe in touching and playing with your food!!  😉

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and i’m kind of obsessed with tomatoes… i eat them with almost every meal, it seems. i love the colourful variety of them.  little, big, funky shaped, speckled… deep colours, bright colours…

i especially love to make little snacks with tomatoes – any way i can.

and so, i present to you… the most adorable mini-caprese stacks ever.  at least by my standards.

😉 Continue reading

{food photography : watermelon radish}

7 Sep

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how cute are these?!

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i don’t even know what to say about this adorable vegetable. when my new boss {i left the corporate world last week – details to follow!} told me that this looked like a watermelon inside, the first thought in my head was, “well, that would fotograph just perfectly with black lava salt!” 😀

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now, i am not the biggest radish fan on this earth, but i do occasionally get cravings for them. i roasted some once, which totally changes their flavour – almost making the “bite” more tolerable.  radishes are high in vitamin c and potassium, and they are a very low-calorie food.

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these watermelon radishes are so pretty…

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and sure enough, are a bright magenta colour inside!

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watermelon radish…

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so i obviously had to cut them into little watermelon-shaped slices…

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sprinkle on some wonderful black lava salt.. for taste, and for effect! 😉

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hello, watermelon radish!

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nom nom… nom.

{cool as a cucumber}

30 Aug
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cool as a cucumber

 

😉

{zucchini “mini-me”}

24 Aug

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when a friend of mine pointed out this super-cool-looking zucchini squash to me… i exclaimed, “i wanna take a picture of that!” 😉

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i always buy the “weird-looking” produce… mainly for this here bloggy blog, but also because – weird is cool.