fruit & veggie nutritional regime

i could have just said 'diet', but i really hate that word.

no, i don't hate the word, i hate the negative connotation attached to it.

but, enough about my oddities.

have you seen the movie fat, sick and nearly dead? i might have mentioned it on here after i saw it. see it. enjoy it. be amazed at it.

a man, joe cross, decides he's had enough of his unhealthy lifestyle, enough of his lifestyle induced maladies (high blood pressure, overweight, an auto-immune disease) and wants to change. in a nutshell, he goes on a 90 day (doctor monitored) juice fast where he only drinks fresh juice. after the 90 days, he works back in solid foods and pledges to stay on a micro-nutrient diet.
the results are shocking. within 6 months, his disease is gone, no more medication, he's lost about 100 pounds and has a completely different lifestyle.

he travels america while on his journey and changes the lives of 2 other people along the way.

the documentary is amazing, won awards at film festivals and has generated an underground following, with people trying the juicing lifestyle for themselves.

aaron and i are now some of those people.

the reboot (that's the program name) website has many different programs and recommends one based on your needs. aaron and i are doing a 15 day juice and fruit/veggie plan where we can eat raw or cooked fruits and veggies, in addition to our juice. the website nicely lays out a sample plan, recipes with nutritional values and guidelines to follow.

today is our first day. here is what we bought last night to get us through 4 days.
that counter is about 2 layers deep in produce.

this is going to be a challenge. i predict mornings will be hardest for me because i always have a solid breakfast. getting used to the juice will be interesting. our mix today consists of apples, pears, blueberries, carrots, chard, and celery. getting out of the habit of eating my normal comfort foods will be difficult. however, that is exactly the point of this process. not to starve yourself or lose a bunch weight, rather to reboot or jump start your body to pack it with micro-nutrients and re-train your body to crave more fruits and veggies.

i can do this, right? we can do this. i'm very interested to see the results and how long i can hold on!

the vineyard

i found this really cool website while reading the ensign this morning. it's called the vineyard and it is an online database of ways to serve in the church.

you log on with your lds account and it has a multitude of opportunities ranging from language translation of church materials, tagging media clips, assisting with genealogy programs to comparing text in church materials to see if it matches.

what a great idea to put service online so members can do little bits and save the church a lot of time and money! next time i'm at home and watching tv, i'll log on. perfect for a sunday afternoon, too.

just thought i would share!

dippin pretzels

yesterday morning i dipped pretzels in vanilla flavored almond bark and was instantly transported back to childhood.

i vividly remember standing in our kitchen in folsom, taking a hot bowl out of the microwave, quickly stirring, throwing in a bunch of pretzels, stir again, taking them out one by one with a fork and laying them on wax paper to dry. it was night. the light over the stove was on.

not yesterday.
in my memory.

yesterday it was 7am and i was already breaking a sweat from this heat wave we're having.

aaron was skeptical about the vanilla flavoring. i was not to be swayed. he pointed at the chocolate flavoring. i made a disgusted face. having never tried them before, of course he was unsure. now, he's a friend for life.

isn't it amazing how scents and tastes can deliver powerful memories? i haven't had these pretzels in years. over a decade. but, each bite gives a happy memory.

side note: i know it seems like all i did this weekend was bake, eat and make food. i did a few other things, too, so don't judge. normally i'm not like this. or i forget to take pictures of it, so you don't know about it.

outdoor movie, part duex

on saturday night we watched back to the future at heritage park, in old town. it's across the street from the mormon battalion visitor's center.

it was such a hot day and lovely to sit outside as the air began to cool.

we had dinner at aaron's favorite place in old town then quickly scooted over to the park and got there just in time. thus, the bad picture since we didn't make it before dark.
i had forgotten many of the intricacies of that movie.

i just love it when cities sponsor events like this that are free and bring the community out to enjoy the city in which they live. it was such a nice way to spend a saturday night.

zucchini bread

we received a zucchini approximately the size of a child's baseball bat from friends in the ward.

i'm not kidding, it could stop an intruder.

the only option in my opinion was to make bread.

quick breads have become an obsession of mine.

i looked around online and found a highly rated recipe. if 3,000 other people loved it, i was confident i would, too. it did not disappoint.

the recipe, which yields a good amount of bread, only used half the zucchini, so i'm making more tonight! someone take away my spatula!

if you have vegetable weapons lying around and aren't sure what to do with them, here's the recipe...

ingredients
3 C flour
1 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
3 t cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 C oil
1/2 C applesauce
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
3 t vanilla extract
3 C grated zucchini
1 C chopped walnuts
***ingredient note: the original recipe calls for 1 C oil, but i halved it with the applesauce.***

how to
*grease and flour pans. the original recipe calls for two 8x4 pans, but i used an 8x4 and 3 minis. preheat oven to 325.
*sift dry ingredients in a bowl.
*beat eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla and sugar together in a bowl.
*add sifted ingredients to wet and beat well.
*stir in zucchini and nuts until combined.
*pour into prepared pans.
*bake 40-60 minutes
*let rest for 5 minutes in pan then cool completely on a wire rack.

we took the large loaf to a dinner last night and got rave reviews.

enjoy!

chocolate cream pie

today was thanksgiving.

in august.

a friend family invited us over for a thanksgiving feast. i was on pie duty.

after scouring recipes i decided upon a chocolate cream with oreo crust and pumpkin.

the grocery stores had another thing in mind. do you know how hard it is to find pumpkin in august? ugh, i'm going to have to hoard it so i can eat pumpkin year round. i went to 4 stores! i was so dismayed.

however, i steadied my course and focused on the chocolate cream. i'm so glad i did. it is amazing. once again, baking illustrated does not disappoint. i don't think it ever will.

k, i am so sorry for the lack of pictures. i had grand ideas, but i was so nervous about my custard being perfect that i only snapped 2. poor ones at that.
stirring the 2 types of chocolate in the custard. a heavenly smell.


the finished product, half eaten. i made whipped cream and added a layer to the top.

this is a gem of a recipe. rich and delicious. it took about an hour, start to finish. if you need to impress a crowd, give me a shout out and i'll send you the recipe.

temple walk

one morning i got this crazy idea.
it came to me while doing my hair.

i was re-watching sister elaine dalton's YW general broadcast talk from april. she spoke of john rowe moyle who was a stoncutter on the salt lake temple. he carved the words, 'holiness to the Lord' on the east side of the building. what makes him even more noteworthy is that he didn't live in salt lake during the 20 something years he worked on the temple. his family had a farm 20 miles away and he would walk each monday morning to the temple and walk home each friday night. as if that wasn't enough, during his tenure at the temple, a farm accident happened where he had to amputate his leg at the knee. once he was strong enough, he fashioned himself a new leg and continued his journey. such amazing drive.
some YW in the alpine stake in utah decided to take that same walk to the temple. they walked from the bountiful temple to the salt lake temple.

while struggling with my cowlick and listening to that story, i thought, why don't my yw do that? why can't they be as committed to the temple as he was? i wondered how far it is to the sd temple?

one crazy idea+a trusting bishop+an enthusiastic YW presidency=our temple walk

on august 13th, we walked 18.6 miles from our church building to the sd temple. we met at 4:30am and finished about 1pm. we had aid stations along the way, as well as motivating signs and ward members to cheer us on. i arranged to have sister olsen, the temple matron, meet us in the foyer and talk with us about our journey. she is a wonderful person (as is her husband) and it was the capstone of our trip.

my girls were fantastic. amazing. stupendous. i was worried about complaining along the way. i need not be. they never complained. toward the end i could see the pain on their faces, but they kept going. they had their mind fixed firmly on the temple and no one was going to stop them. i love them.
starting at 4:30 am!
encouragement along the way.
signs and quotes helped to keep us going.
finally, the end!

it was a wonderful experience and they're still talking to me, so score!

birthday

for my birthday, aaron took me to a sugarland concert. i'd seen them before, way back when they were an opening act and not a main act, but they were so good that i was happy to go again. they did not disappoint.

another birthday gift aaron presented me with is this lovely graffiti like shirt.
we had joked at the county fair about getting some of these shirts because they are so awesomely bad. aaron found a vendor in the mall who made them, so he ordered two; one for me and one for him. his has a big heart on it with 'aimee' written inside the heart. mine is a homage to my deceased dog.

at least it was supposed to be.

aaron ordered the name 'scruffs' to be airbrushed on the shirt.

my dog's nickname was 'fluffs'. close, but not quite.

so, i have an airbrushed shirt that calls for reverence for a dog that never existed.

it only enhances the shirt in my opinion.

we wore our matching shirts to the concert. luckily, we weren't the weirdest ones there.

it was an outdoor concert, at a field at ucsd. sugarland was awesome, as usual. i think even aaron might have enjoyed himself for a nano-second. they played all their hits and covered songs from brittney spears to michael jackson to dolly parton's 9 to 5.

it was a great time!

my mini

this is my mini, circa 2005. yep, i've had my ipod for 6 years. i'm pretty proud of that. have you seen my cell phone? got both beauties in the same year and i'm still rockin' both of them. however, i'll be the first to admit it has seen better days.

i'm using it right now and took an objective look at it. it's a sorry specimen. you know you need a new ipod when...

...you pull it out in public and people aren't sure what you're holding
...the wheel looks like it survived a rain storm in a sandbox
...the volume control is on the fritz (have no fear, i've learned you just have to pause it to change the volume. easy fix!)

don't tell aaron about it's quirks. he's been begging to pull me into current technology, but i'm kicking and screaming. have you seen me on facebook lately? didn't think so.

i still have my original crimper.

these electronics have stuck with me for so long, why shouldn't i stick with them?

i think i'm like kramer in the episode of seinfeld where he and a car salesman take a test drive and become obsessed with seeing how far they can drive without filling up.

use it up, make it do, or do without, right?

good things to come

i love watching the mormon messages. in fact, i'm all about the mormon channel and most any video clip i can get my hands on from lds.org. there is so much great stuff on there. i watch/listen most mornings when i'm getting ready for work.

it makes an ugly process more bearable.

this morning i watched this one, good things to come, featuring commentary and a story by Elder Holland. i enjoy Elder Holland immensely. hearing him speak is such a privilege. he is always upbeat and encouraging. i receive so much strength from his words.

if you're going through a trial and clinging to the hope that one day things will get better, watch this. especially pay attention starting at the 4 minute mark. i am so thankful for apostles and the inspired words they share with us.

Good Things To Come

chocolate chip cookies

the cookie monster strikes again.

i love chocolate chip cookies. like, a lot. this morning, while getting ready for work, i was pondering all the reasons i love chocolate chip cookies. i'm obsessed. i love most cookies, but chocolate chip are my favorite. that's not to say ALL chocolate chip cookies are good. don't get me wrong, i can be a bit of a cookie snob. but, nothing beats a good chocolate chip cookie.

there are 3 main categories:
1. thin, crispy, buttery
2. cakey, soft, pillowy
3. thick, chewy, textured

all chocolate chip cookies fit into one of these categories. i promise. last night i was on the cookie prowl and knew i needed to make chocolate chip. it had been a long week, weekend, day and i needed the comfort of a batch of cookies. while scanning through my martha stewart cookie bakebook, my eyes fell upon this picture.

that's all she wrote. the search was over. i knew i was destined to make #2 that night. so i did. don't mess with destiny. they are divine. the heavens parted, i wept. you can, too. here's the recipe:

2 1/4 C flour

1 3/4 sticks butter, softened

3/4 C white sugar

1/4 C brown sugar

1t salt

2t vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2t baking soda

2 C chocolate chips

Walnuts (my addition)

cream butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2 mins. add eggs, salt and vanilla; mix until blended, about 1 minute. add flour and baking soda in batches, just until blended. hand stir in the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.

bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes. let cool for 2 minutes before moving to a wire rack to finish cooling. put a lot in your mouth before they cool completely because they are delicious warm.

enjoy!

lady friend visit

i'm in the middle of a visit from an old friend.

sandy is here for a few days until she heads to the northern part of the state.

saturday afternoon we headed to the beach where we walked, talked and ate way too much food. here we are in ocean beach after eating at the tiny restaurant on the pier. it was a beautiful day and so nice to be out on the water again. although i live by the ocean, i don't visit it nearly enough, and it reminded me of my days in sb.

it's funny to ponder how our lives have changed, but really aren't that different. we're older, to be sure, but not so different. navigating married life, no kids, trying to figure out our next steps, strange family ties, even the same calling (yw pres)! almost 2 decades of friendship and we're still going through the same things and tied together by the past and the present. life is funny that way.

since i haven't gotten my butt out to chicago, i'm glad she came here.

(but really, can you blame me? here vs chicago?)

screen on the green

each summer the san diego museum of art puts on a series of outdoor movies that correlates with a current exhibition. i simply love this.

i love balboa park.

i love new old movies. new to me, old in the production sense.

i love being outdoors at night when my apartment closely mirrors a sauna.

i love the candy.

i love people (and dog) watching.

i love the planes going over scarily close while preparing to land.

i love a lot of things about these nights.

we went last friday night. and i didn't have the temple the next morning. score!

here's the large screen.

here is take out from our favorite restaurant, kiki sushi.

a movie wouldn't be complete without a mutual favorite candy.

waiting for the movie to start.

we watched the train. a great b/w movie about how the nazis are trying to steal all of france's paintings as allied troops close in on paris. time is running out for an art-obsessed nazi general and the people (including burt lancaster) trying to stop the train of paintings from leaving the country. has a little bit of everything: war, action, art and classic lines. my favorite?

crazy nazi general to burt lancaster: "a painting means as much to you as a string of pearls to an ape".

i'm on the hunt for outdoor movies in sd. we've got 2 more this month!

extract update

here are a few pics from my extract process.
precious beans.
liquid.

beans split, in liquid.

the concoction rests in my closet where i frequently stare at it and shake it.

it has taken on a deep caramel color.

i am intrigued. excited. dream of what's to come.

blue monster

this is posted just to make me laugh.this was a very hot day. 90's, with no a/c, second floor. hot.

i had just pulled clothes out of the dryer and was lamenting how the hot clothes compounded the nasty heat we couldn't escape. i didn't even want to touch the towels.

what does aaron do? he puts one on his head and starts chasing me around. i was laughing so hard and running from the heat.

does being smothered by a hot towel or running to avoid said towel make you more hot? questions to ponder.

i grabbed the camera and got a perfect shot of what was haunting me.

4th of july

this is a little late, i know.
we spent the 4th of july at my gma's house with my family and had a great time. the usual stuff, hiking, running, eating, eating, more eating, spectacular city fireworks, near death from fireworks done at home, baseball in the backyard and lots of other fun things.
my lack of pictures is telling. that i'm not to be trusted with the camera.

furniture please

i want. this is part of william sonoma's warehouse sale.

who knew they had a warehouse? how can i get inside?

i've been wanting a settee for the foot of my bed. i'm not sure i could actually sit on this - too marvelous.

the website says it's delivered with white glove service. i'm not sure what that is either, but i want that, too.

bean love

zapp & roger talked about computer love. i'm talking bean love.

last week a highly anticipated package arrived.

vanilla beans.

i took to calling them 'my precious'.

i've been dreaming of these beans for months. my anticipation was so elevated because i'd been lazy and hadn't ordered them.

at long last, they were in my hands.

in fact, i was stalking them on line through their tracking number and when the usps said they had been delivered, yet i couldn't find them, i went a little nuts. amazingly, the admin employee, who handles the mail, that i harassed came back to work the next day. the excitement took over. i'm not proud.

why the dog and pony show about the beans?

i'm making vanilla extract. and i'm excited. delighted. enthused. elated.

this process takes 2-4 months, so i'll be posting the project near the end of the year. i know you're on pins and needles until then, but you must calm yourself.

i started it yesterday. we'll chat again in december.

(can you believe it's happening right now in my closet?! whoot, whoot! ok, bringing it down a notch...)