Beautiful Soup for a Beautiful Day

Today I went out of my comfort zone and joined a mommy and me work out group. I have been wanting to do it for a long time, but for some reason I always came up with reasons why I was “busy” or could do it. Finally it was time for me to start making new friends and try to get back into my old jeans! I found this group on meetup.com, there are more types of groups then you could ever imagine on there. I will admit at first I was hesitant… meeting up with a bunch of people I don’t know? But it was at a park in broad daylight… so I don’t think I was in a lot of trouble. It turned out great! The work out was short, but that was fine with me. I also met some really great moms and look forward to getting to know them. I was told by one mom that the zoo hosts a boot camp on Wednesdays, so I think I might check that out!

After that short work out I was motivated to do things around the house, cook, and play outside with Ivy and Chassi. I forgot how good if feels to work out in a group, and I definitely could use some more friends in the area as well!  I made the perfect meal for the day Curried Carrot soup! I of course found on Pinterest! 

This great photo and recipe are from  lot18

Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh local carrots (these are from Origins Farm)
• 1 medium or 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
• 1T olive oil
• 2T unsalted butter
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth may be used for a vegetarian/vegan version)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 1/2T ground curry
• 1t salt and fresh ground pepper

Slice your carrots thinly and evenly, reserving a few of the carrot tops for garnish when you are ready to plate. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the carrots and onion, stirring until coated and slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, curry, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. At this point your house will start to smell amazing!

Once the carrots and onion are softened, remove them with a ladle to a blender. Pulse the blender to make thick-textured, creamy soup. Transfer the soup to a separate pot, reserving as you finish the rest in batches. Reserve the soup to be heated later, or continue by reheating.

Note: All of the broth does not need to be transferred to the blender — just make sure you do get all of the vegetables. Any broth that is left over can be used to cut the soup if it is too thick.

Soup should be served in individual bowls drizzled with 1/2 teaspoon of coconut milk, dotted with your favorite hot sauce, and garnished with the bright green carrot tops.

Here is my soup! It was even easy to make it look good! 

 

 I was so happy with how it turned out! I was very easy and didn't take much time or ingredients. I didn’t use the carrot tops due to mine not having them when I bought them. I also used a submersion blender so I wouldn’t dirty too many dishes, and I think it’s easier. Ivy even liked it, she sat next to me and we shared the soup, I am such a proud mom right now!  I think this would be a great soup to serve to guests, its not spicy and even healthy!
Thanks for stopping by! Any questions or comments please let me know, I will respond ASAP! If you have a Pinterest recipe you would like me to try, please feel free to let me know!
 

 

 

Stuffed mushrooms

Zach has been gone for over two weeks, on the plus side we only have two weeks left! We have defiantly been keeping busy! With discovering the Galt Market with My lovely cousin June, and the Claudius, where I found squash blossoms (recipe to come.) To going up to the moutons to escape the heat (109F) with my other lovely cousin Lily and Luke.

Ivy having way to much fun with Chassis leash, and the swimming hole!

 

 I have not been cooking, but making a lot of salads with random things around the house and shakes the last few days. 

Today with the temps in the 80s I can now think about being in the kitchen, without the fear of melting! I found this great recipe for Parmesan & Herbed Quinoa Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms. It sounded like the perfect earthy/ healthy meal I needed!

 Recipe and photo from E.A.T

      Ingredients:

• 2 large Portobello mushrooms
• 1 cup of prepared quinoa (after you cook the quinoa allow to cool and incorporate thyme, salt, pepper, and diced cucumbers).
• Olive oil
• Thyme sprigs and leaves
• Salt & pepper
• Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wipe your mushrooms with a damp paper towel to clean. Remove the stem, place on a baking sheet and drizzle mushrooms with olive oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, then transfer the mushrooms to the hot oven to roast for 5-7 minutes.

Remove from oven and scoop quinoa mixture into the mushroom caps, add a pinch of fresh thyme leaves and grate fresh parmesan on top before returning to the hot oven and roasting for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted to your liking. I like to toss a couple whole sprigs of thyme onto the baking sheet at this point to use later for a garnish.

Remove and serve with that freshly roasted sprig of thyme.

 My yummy mushrooms! They look better in real life...

This was very easy! The hardest part was waiting for the quinoa to cook. I didn’t not have fresh thyme so I used my fresh oregano instead, and it was still delicious! I was also thinking that rosemary would be really good in it! I ate both mushrooms, so it might be a good appetizer, or pared with other food if you’re making it for guests.  The pictures on the website are really great too, they are what inspired me to make it! I just wish I grew the mushrooms myself. I really hope you like this recipe as much as I did!

 

Any questions or comments please let me know! If you find a recipe on pinterest you would like me to try first, don’t be afraid to ask!  

Dog food and smoothies

I have been learning that I am not the best blogger! I don’t always have the motivation to sit down and write about what going on! On the pulse side however I still love to cook sooo I can still write about the wonderful world of Pinterest and some of the amazing edibles I find on there!

               I am not as big of a fan of cooking for myself, but a girls got to eat! With my plan to try and eat healthy I have been making a plethora of smoothies! They are delicious, nutritious, and most importantly quick and I can eat them while playing with Ivy!

               I am a mom who lets Ivy crawl around and explore, as long as she won’t get hurt. Today she found Chassi’s water bowl…

she thought it was sooooo much fun! Just splashing around and have a good ol time! Chassi however was slightly distressed, she would run to me and then back to the Ivy and back and forth.

 

 After the water was gone she moved onto the food bowl…

 

 Chassi was trying to eat her food quickly, but that didn’t stop the lil miss. She grabbed a handful of dog food and sucked on it for a while…

 

this is a girl who hates peaches… but likes dog food?  When she eventually spit it out Chas was right there to clean it up! At least we buy the expensive dog food right?

               The smoothie today claims that the fat will just fall off! Who wouldn’t want that?  All you have to do is blend together:

This is the vibrant green smoothie from The Beautythesis

Two handfuls of baby spinach

1 apple

1 banana

1 cup of yogurt

5 strawberries

 ½ and orange

 Mine was defiantly not as vibrant, I don't know if that is good or bad?

 

I didn’t have oranges so I used simply orange juice. It was very easy and tasted quite good! I would use a frozen banana so the drink is colder, but it my own personal preference. I don’t know for sure if this will make the fat melt off, but its good and obviously good for you!  

Thanks for checking it out! if you have any questions or comments please let me know! I will respond ASAP! If you have a Pinterest recipe you would like me to try please feel free to ask!

A trip to the Zoo and Brownies too

Today is day 6 of Zach being deployed, things are still running as usual. Chassi (my dog) is happy she gets to sleep in bed with me every night… To keep my mind off missing Zach we just try to stay busy!

Today my lovely cousin Juniper Invited Ivy and I to the Sacramento Zoo! This was Ivy’s first trip to the zoo and I definitely think she liked it! Well she loved watching little Claudia run around! I also had a great time hanging out with my cuz, it’s always a good time when we hang out! One of the great thing about going to the zoo, is that you walk all-around, which is great exercise that you don’t even realize you’re doing! You get to see so many cool animals, and you’re outside all day! This definitely needs to happen more often!

Claudia and Ivy

 

This evening I was craving something sweet! Trying to stay healthy and eating sweets is not always the easiest thing, and O man can I make desserts! I went to my trusted Pinterest for ideas… I found some really delicious ideas, but not so healthy… Then I stumbled on Jillian Michaels brownie recipe, she’s the guru of being fit! I might try her work out videos some day when she stops scaring me… I will admit I was slightly hesitant on this however, I love brownies, and I’ll be honest I think box brownies are the best! There are very few desserts that I think are better from a box, but as of now I still think box is best with brownies! That however did not stop me! I still wanted a healthy dessert!     

This was the image that popped up on Pinterest

 



Fudge Brownies

Ingredients

Olive oil spray for the pan

2/3 cup mild honey, such as clover or orange blossom

1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

               1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

               2 tablespoons olive oil

               1 large egg, at room temperature

               3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

               Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8-inch square pan with olive oil spray

2.      Place honey in a glass measuring cup. Microwave until honey is runny and just bubbling, 45 to 60 seconds. Add cocoa and stir with a fork until well combined. Let cool to room temperature

3.      Meanwhile, in a small bowl, place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined.

4.      In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk together until well blended. Add the honey- cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and stir until no traces of flour remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

5.      Bake until the surface looks dry around the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to I, about 25 minutes. Do not over bake. Place the pan on a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing into 16 squares. (Store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

Here is my result ( this was taken a few days after they were made) 

 

         When they came out of the oven I was excited to try them! I’ll be honest not my favorite… I only had normal honey so they had a very strong honey flavor! The texture was also odd… I don’t really know how to explain it, not fudgy but not fluffy either. And not that perfect fuggy fluffy texture you want from a brownie… a weird spongy texture I guess. I will not be trying this recipe out again! But with cooking you always find things you don’t like, but that means I am now on a hunt to find a brownie that can compare with the box!

*They did get a bit better the next day, and I did not refrigerate.

       Thanks for stopping by! I’ll keep you posted on the elusive brownie hunt! Please feel free to leave any questions or comments, I’ll make sure to get back to you ASAP!