Here we go!

The first order of business for me when we go on a trip is the food, ofcourse. Well I guess we have to find places to stay first and then find the best food in those areas. I'll do a trip breakdown and then highlight each of the places we visited.

Day 1- Drove to Boise and stayed the night

Day 2- Drove to Portland and stayed two nights.

Day 4- Drove to the Oregon Coast (Manzanita) and stayed for 4 nights.

Day 8- Drove back to Boise, spent the night and drove home the next morning.

BOISE: Who knew that we would find such a gem of a place in Boise. We kept hearing that Boise was pretty hip and we now have to say for ourselves that it defintely is a very cool little town.

Stayed at: The Modern Hotel, this place reminded me of an old fashioned motel I'm sure we have all stayed at a time or two when we were kids on a road trip with our parents. The difference is that this old roadside motel was updated with midcentury modern appeal.

This was a truly hip joint where all the locals hung out on a Friday night for a drink at their on-site bar/restaurant in the courtyard of the hotel. On our way back the night we stayed here again and on that night the Bike Coalition of Boise was having a fundraiser in the parking lot with live music and events, it was a great time.

We ate at: The night we got there I had found a local pizza hangout, and trust me when I say I don't have to twist my husbands arm to have great pizza! The name of the joint was called The Front Door, the veggie pizza was awesome, not to mention the excellent draft beer selection and our server was super friendly and gave us great recommendations for breakfast the next morning.

The next morning we went to Goldy's, everyone suggested this place even one of my clients from Salt Lake. Well it was a hit, even if we had to stand in the rain for a half hour to get in. The staff was so friendly and the food was great. I had a veggie scramble and one egg on the side and Billy had a breakfast burrito that was so big we had to take half of it to go. When you eat at the local places you get a unique experience and usually the best food in town..

On our way back through town at the end of our trip we wanted something different for breakfast, so I did search on my phone and found a place that was within walking distance of the Modern Hotel, a little joint called Big City Coffee.

This place was awesome, I ordered steamed eggs that came with avocado and salsa, steamed eggs? Yummy! And Billy ordered 'the usual' which was a bagel with cream cheese and tomatoes and the secret seasoning (delish!) with some fruit on the side. Also they have this huge desert case with mountains of scones, rice crispy treats, brownies and the like. Usually I have no problem resisting these kinds of temptations, but it was the end of our trip and I wanted to soak up every last bit, so I ordered a peanut butter bar and this scrumptious butterfinger brownie... there are no words that could accurately describe just how good that brownie was, absolutely amazing. We had seen that they were recently in Sunset Magazine which after having eaten there I can see that it was a well deserved mention.

Up next Portland.

Well 30 here I am!

That's right I'm 30, 30. When my husband asked me how I felt about turning 30, I said" well I earned everyone of my twenties so bring on the 30's." Since my husbands birthday is two weeks before mine and my mother and father in laws is a week before that were usually partied out by the time it gets to my birthday. Well not this year we wanted to do something fun to welcome age 30 in right, so we took a road trip to the Oregon Coast. I have to say I'm not much of a road tripper but this has to be one of the best trips I've been on. I know Billy felt the same way. So sit back relax and take a little drive to the coast, food, charities, free hugs and all! Don't forget the rain!

Letter to the Editor @ Sunset Magazine ( I had to write this for school)

Dear Katie Tamony:

I want to start off by saying how much I love my Sunset magazine, it was given to me as a gift a few years ago and I have kept my subscription renewed ever since. Countless travel, food, and gardening ideas have been inspired by your magazine. Thank you and I look forward to each issue.

In the September issue I enjoyed reading the article “Broccoli By the Sea,” about Darryl Wong’s business “Freewheeling Farms,” a farm that delivers their food by bicycle and also operates a CSA group. The thing that prompted me to write in was to respond to Darrly’s question “how can we get this food into Schools? Into Hospitals?”

I am currently enrolled in a Hollistic Nutrition School and the issue of getting healthy, fresh, food onto the plates of children and hospital patients is very important to me as well. A couple of ideas came to mind as potential avenues to look into.

First, a friend of mine here in Salt Lake City, Utah is hosting a public pot luck picnic in association with “Slow Food Utah” to raise awareness for congress to pass a better child nutrition act that brings real food to schools. For more information go to schools.slowfoodusa.org/timeforlunch. I think this is something we can all get behind and support, children need to have proper nutrition in order to allow their bodies and brains to develop and give them the energy that they need to get through the school day.

Second, I recently read an article in the August issue of Vegetarian News, which referenced a group in the San Francisco area called “Physicians for Social Responsibility” who work with local hospitals to put forward menus that promote “healthy, environmentally conscious diets with less meat and more fresh veggies.”

I am excited to see that organizations like these are getting behind the need for real food in our schools and hospitals. Hopefully Darryl could find similar organizations in his area that could help him promote the message and help him push the envelope of his farm.

Brooke

Salt Lake City, Utah

Where has the time gone? Check these out!

Did I miss August? No, I've just been so busy I had a slight breakdown last week! I have a lot to catch up on but first I want to share a few things that you might want to check out.

FIRST: On Monday Sept. 7 a friend of mine is hosting a public pot luck in association with Slow Food Utah at the International Peace Gardens (1060 so. 900 w.) to raise awareness for congress to pass a better Child Nutrition Act to get real food in schools. Everyone is encouraged to bring a dish to share. Billy and I are going, hope to see you there! http://www.slowfoodusa.org/timeforlunch

SECOND: Another friend sent me a link for a trailer on You Tube called "Tapped", it's about the bottled water problem we are facing. It's effect on us and our health and the health of the planet.

Blog Disclaimer

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm sitting in bed blogging. I should tell you I'm sitting in bed so I can enjoy our new bedroom that my husband and I spent all last weekend working on. New paint, flooring and furniture. We are still waiting on the bed frame so our bed is on the floor right now which I don't mind, surprisingly! (remember I'm a control freak about many things my space being one of them!). Acceptance is the first step right?! Anyways on to the disclaimer, this month has had new challenges for me, a new location for my job and starting holistic nutrition school. So when my life gets too overwhelming I try to simplify, I need balance or I'm not my best. My blog is one thing that falls off the list of 'to do's'. Sad for you and more sad for me, I deal with guilt issues when I'm not able to do it all. I'm sure at times we all feel this way but just know that my blog means a lot to me and it means a lot that you are interested and making the recipes I share. This blog is about food and life and how the two can intersect in a healthy chic way that is responsible to those around us and most importantly ourselves. All I can really say is that I'm still making amazing things and sharing culinary delights with those around me, but in order to have order in my head I haven't had extra time to blog. I'll share a list of what's been happening in my kitchen and I'll make a good effort to follow up with the recipes. If not we'll move on and let go of the 'to do's!

P.S. I have some new pictures of the market, ENJOY!

-What's been Happening-
1. Grilled Pizza: We did a pizza on the grill for my mom's birthday, it was awesome the sweet roasted veggies and the crispy smokey crust were a huge hit. If you have not tried a pizza on the grill, HURRY summers almost over!

2. Peanut Putter Chocolate Cake: This was also for my mom's birthday, as if the pizza wasn't enough we finished the meal with a huge piece of this cake and loved every minute of it. (I found this recipe in Sunset Magazine)

3. Gazpacho: Surprising to me some people have never heard or tasted this wonderful cold summer vegetable soup. WHAT? Easy, delicious, healthy, light and refreshing, this has been our lunch for the past two weeks.

4. Wild Mushroom Ravioli: This is like summer in your mouth! Buy your favorite homemade ravioli, cook according to directions and set aside. Mix up 3 T. balsamic vinegar, 2 T. olive oil in a bowl add fresh lemon, sweet or regular basil, cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, toss with the ravioli and serve. Amazing flavor it's light and can be made in bigger portions for friends and family gatherings. (don't forget to add salt and pepper to taste) My husband thinks this dish tastes gourmet. Thanx sweetie!

5. Fresh Garden Saute: I took tomatoes, baby yellow squash, and tri colored green beans and whipped then into a saute with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Topped it with local beehive aggiano cheese. How lucky to have such fresh, flavorful food right out my back door.

IT"S HOT! And Farmers Market Is COOL!

It starting to really heat up in the city of salt and it's got me thinking about what we're all eating. In yoga this week my teacher (Scott) is having us do a practice that is cooling to our bodies instead of the crazy sweaty routine we usually do, (which I'm kind of thank full for, but don't tell him!). The point of this is to not over heat on the inside when it scorching on the outside. There's a reason we crave soup in the winter and salads in the summer. Our bodies are telling us what they need temperature wise. I know for me I crave spicy food all the time, I love spicy food but in the summer it makes me feel sick because I've raised the internal temp too much do to the temp outside. Why do you think cold watermelon tastes so fresh, and COOLING in the summer?, Well for one thing it's high in water so it does cool us down as well as refresh us. If we can all start to think about food in the way of what our bodies need do to what season we are in, it will save us some money in the pocket book as well as feeding our bodies what it needs at that time. In addition when we eat what is in season we are getting the most out of those fruits and veggies on a nutritional level. So what's great about the Farmer's Market is that the guess work of knowing what is in season is done for you. I will kind of have an idea of what I want to make for the week before I go to the market, but there are plenty of times I will make something based off what I find that week. For the money saving part when you buy fruits and veggies out off season you are paying for the travel it took to get to you, also food shipped into the country from another country has to go through it's own type of food quarantine. So the longer it takes to get to you that is precious time to produce, as soon as it is cut from it's source it starts to loose it's vital nutrients. So again the farmers market offerings are as fresh, local and delicious as you can get! On a little side note it forces me to try new things our bodies want and NEED a variety of fresh organic colorful food, so I encourage you to try something you've never tried who knows you might find something awesome.  This happened to me this week, I was buying some mushrooms and the guy selling them had some 'sea greens' I had seen them the week before and was to shy to ask about them (I know me shy?, there's an oxymoron!) so this week I asked he let me try and I bought some and used them in the veggie stir fry I made for lunches this week. There crunchy and slightly salty like the sea!  So go on eat something COOL and buy it from a HOT farmer. :)

* Sea Vegetables: Offer the the broadest range of minerals of ANY food, containing virtually all the minerals found in the ocean- the same minerals that are found in human blood. They are a n excellent source of calcium, iodine and sodium, a very good source of folic acid and magnesium, iron, potassium, riboflavin. In addition sea veggies contain plant compounds with cancer protective properties which can help the body's inflammatory response.

Sunday, Sunday- 10 Grain Hot Cereal

I don't know about you but I'm a very routine person, to my own default at times. I'm aware of it enough to know when it is time to shake things up. But Sunday's is one of those days that our routine makes us feel complete. Food plays a big part of this, at our house we go through food phases that turn into routines for awhile. Recently we used to do fajitas night every Thursday and even my clients would ask ' you guys having fajitas tonight, it's Thursday?' So for the past couple month's our Sunday breakfast is a steaming sweet bowl of 10 grain hot cereal, fresh squeezed orange/grapefruit/carrot juice, and of course a luscious chai soy latte. I think the reason our weekend breakfasts are so vital is because we don't see each other during the week for that meal, so we really look forward to that time together. When we were dating we would pack up a breakfast picnic and go to the park, but now that we have our own house we enjoy our comfy couch or the deck in our back yard. I hope this recipe feels with you warmth and and love. Enjoy.

*Whole grains in your diet may reduce your risk of certain chronic diseases. Certain cancers especially gastrointestinal cancer. Heart disease: antioxidant's contained in whole grains may work with fiber and other compounds to reduce your overall risk.

-Hot Cereal-

I buy Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Hot Cereal

1. We follow the directions on the back, but we split it in half. They suggest using water but we use soy milk or soy delicious coconut milk.

2. When it is done cooking we scoop into two bowls and top with sliced almonds, walnuts and a drizzle of agave syrup.* Agave syrup if you don't know about it is like honey but it is a low glycemic  sweetener. That means it won't raise your blood sugar it is natural and is 25% sweeter than sugar. It can also be used in place of sugar when baking, for every 1 cup of sugar in a recipe you only need 1/3 cup of agave. AWESOME, give it a try.

-Orange/Grapefruit/Carrot Juice-

This makes a fair amount of juice for two but I bet you could get 4 small servings.

8 oranges, peeled

4 grapefruit, peeled

6 carrots

1. We have a juicer so we juice all of these together and divide between glasses. If you have a good blender you could try it that way. You would probably want to strain it first and then divide between glasses.