trip report: denver

Zach and I went to Denver together for the first time this past Labor Day weekend. The trip was extra special because it was the first time I planned an entire trip without telling Zach. I surprised him with the trip and he didn't know the destination until we got to the gate at the airport. Here were some of the trip highlights:

Our first night there we went to a great wine bar where I had a Cab flight and Zach had a sparkling wine flight. Yum!

We went to the taste of Colorado twice while we were visiting and I think Zach's favorite part of the whole trip was getting free packets of Snyder's pretzels.

We hiked a little around the Garden of the Gods.

Zach's standing on one of the capitol steps, exactly 1 mile above sea level.

We drove up Pike's Peak in our rental. Zach was driving in manual like a crazy person, but he had a lot of fun. Here's a picture at one of the stops.

We made it to the top of Pike's Peak! Zach was worried we would get altitude sickness but we were just fine. We celebrated our accomplishment with fudge and donuts.

recipe: oil-free, mostly sugar-free, and vegan zucchini bread

My co-worker brought me a huge zucchini from his garden yesterday and the first thing I thought when I saw it was “zucchini bread.” Lately I’ve been trying to avoid processed sugars and oil though, so I assumed zucchini bread that met these requirements would be impossible to make. Well with the exception of 1 tbsp of honey, I was able to make a recipe that was pretty good. The key to my success was making date paste to substitute sugar. I’ve listed the recipe below (adapted from this recipe from Oh She Glows) plus a few pictures of the finished product. The bread is pretty moist (which makes sense since I used wet sugars instead of dry ones) but it’s very tasty and not overly sweet.

Ingredients

½ cup pitted dates + ¼ cup hot water for date paste

1 fake egg (either a flax egg with 1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp water or other egg substitute)

1 ¼ cup packed shredded zucchini (include peel)

1 Tbsp lemon zest

2 tsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp honey

1 cup non-dairy milk

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Soak dates in hot water for at least an hour. Process dates with water in a food process or blender to make date paste.

2. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Make fake egg and set aside to thicken.

3. In a large bowl, mix together date paste, fake egg, zucchini, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, and milk.

4. Carefully stir in remaining ingredients just until combined.

5. Pour mixture into a lightly greased loaf pan.

6. Bake at 375˚F for 40 minutes. At end of baking increase temperature to 400˚F and bake an additional 10 minutes. Allow bread to cool before serving.

 The corner piece is always the best.

Yum!

a racer's life is always on track

Peachtree Road Race 2013

Zach and I just got back from a trip to Atlanta where we ran the Peachtree Road Race. This race happens every year on the 4th of July. It's the largest 10K ever and the route is on one of the busiest streets in  the city - so it's really fun since a lot of the businesses along the street get involved and a ton of spectators come out to cheer on the runners. This year was our third time running the race and it was threatening to rain the entire time. We got lucky though and the skies were clear while we ran and we were both able to get our personal best times. Hopefully we can make it out to Atlanta again next year and carry on the tradition!

Me before the race, I ran with my rain jacket, which I didn't end up needing.

Zach before the race, he's very excited to be in wave A.

 Action shot of Zach near the finish.

Action shot of me near the finish.

After the race - we're a little wet and muddy, but happy with how we did.

trip report: MS Ride in Logan, UT

Zach just completed the MS ride this past Saturday, which is a 100-mile charity ride to support MS research. Zach worked hard to raise $690 for the charity and then completed his hard work Saturday with a strong 100-mile ride completed in 5 hours and 10 minutes! He felt awesome at the end of it and said it was his best cycling experience to date. Here are some pictures from the event:

Edwards Lifesciences team at the beginning of the ride. 

 

 The team is looking good.

 

Why is Zach the only one smiling in this picture?

Riders icing themselves at a rest stop. 

There's me with the volunteer team at one of the stops. 

My job was to give out bananas.

Zach crossing the finish line.

 The 100-miler team at the end of the race.

trip report: Red Pine Lakes

I completed by second solo hike to Red Pine Lakes in Little Cottonwood Canyon this past weekend. I enjoyed a nice easy hike to the lower lake (~3 miles that I completed in 1.5 hours). The last part of this hike to the upper lake was NOT easy. I lost the trail a bit and had to do a significant amount of boulder scrambling to get up to the lake (the last .5 miles took me 30 minutes). All in all this was a great hike. When I go back with Zach I'm going to take him the correct way to the upper lake, then try to scramble over the mountain to White Pine canyon on the other side. I'm way too bad at route finding to try something like that on my own though. Here are some pictures from the trip:

Hiking through pretty aspens. 

There's a peek of civilization. 

Stream flowing through the canyon. 

Lower Red Pine Lake 

I scrambled up this boulder field to that top ridge to the second lake. 

Finally made it to the upper lake!

trip report: mount olympus

I did this hike last weekend but am just now getting around to posting. This was the weekend before Zach's 100 mile bike ride, so he had to train and didn't have time to go on a long hike, but with the temperature at a perfect 75 degrees and clear skies, I couldn't not go out - so I decided to hike alone for the first time ever.

I chose Mount Olympus since it's a pretty popular hike and close the where Zach was going to be riding. The hike ended up being a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. It's about 3.5 miles to the top, which took me about 2.5 hours. Then another 1.5 hours down to the bottom. The elevation gain was ridiculous, but I did feel very accomplished by the end of it. I'll definitely do this again with Zach, but I'll have to wait awhile until I forget how long and arduous the journey to the top is.

 I stopped for a short break at this stream about a mile in. I had no idea at this point how much longer I had to hike.

Here's a nice view of the Great Salt Lake that I got along the way. 

Nice view from the trail. 

Here's a nice flat, forest area at the mini-summit, before the last climb to the top. 

I had to scramble up these rocks to the top. This was the part when I was really missing Zach - especially when some other hikers told me they had spotted a rattle snake! 

North-east view from the top.

North-west view from the top. 

 South-west view from the top.

Southern view from the top. 

Scrambling down was worse than scrambling up - I had a few close calls.

bakers trade recipes on a knead to know basis

I made bread from scratch for the first time this past weekend (besides sweet breads like banana bread which I don't think count). I used this recipe for 9 grain, vegan bread. The bread turned out a little more moist and dense than I was expecting based on the picture, so after soaking the grains I'll probably focus on drying them more before adding them to the dough. But all in all the recipe was easy to follow and I'll definitely make it again.

The trickiest part was obtaining all nine grains to go into the recipe, especially since I hadn't heard of most of them. I was able to find them all at whole foods in the bulk bins:

Then I soaked the grains for a long time and let the dough rise for a long time. I mixed everything together, kneaded the dough, and then waited for a long time again. And eventually I baked it in the oven and got this nice loaf of bread:

This bread goes amazingly well with this raw cheddar cheese recipe. Try it out if you get a chance. Once Zach and I discovered this cheese and bread combination, the rest of the loaf lasted a few hours.

when they stepped in the mud, they softened their stance

Zach and I had a blast at the mud run this past weekend. I was feeling pretty sick, so we had to take it slow, but it was still very fun. The weather was great, the obstacles were great, and we didn't end up ruining any of our clothes. Here's a picture of us at the end of the race:

I'm looking happy because I haven't realized that I'll be picking dirt out of my ears and nails for the next week.

This race is so fun, it makes me feel like I'm on Wipeout. The obstacles included climbing over walls, running through tires, swimming through mud tunnels, racing down water slides, and tons of wading through mud pits. Definitely check it out if it's in your area, the mess is worth it for how much fun you'll have. Here are some more pictures from the race:

recipe: mole with veggies and tempeh

Zach and I made the most delicious meal this week. It's so good that we're going to remake it again this weekend because two days of eating it wasn't enough for us. If you've never had mole, it's a classic Mexican sauce with complex sweet/savory/spicy/smoky flavors. Usually the sauce is already vegan, but in this version there's also no added salt or oil. This recipe was adapted from this blog.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
3/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried coriander
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce (1/2 T chopped de-seeded chili, 1/2 T sauce)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate

3 bell peppers, sliced
1 jalapeno, sliced
1 pkg tempeh, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1 handful chopped cilantro leaves
1 lime, sliced into wedges

Directions:
1. In a pot, saute onion in water  for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, almonds, and raisins and cook for another 5 minutes - add water as needed to prevent burning.  Add the cinnamon, coriander, cumin, and oregano;  heat for 1 more minute.

2. Add the chipotle, adobo sauce, tomatoes with their juices, and vegetable broth.  Heat to boil, then add chocolate and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.

3. Meanwhile, grill peppers, jalapeno, and tempeh in a grill pan.

4. Remove sauce from heat and puree with immersion blender. 

5. To serve, drizzle sauce over a plate of grilled peppers and tempeh. Garnish with avocado slices, cilantro leaves, and a lime wedge.

recipe: blueberry pie smoothie

This smoothie is delicious, it tastes like blueberry pie filling to me, and is very simple.

Ingredients:

1 overflowing cup of frozen blueberries
1/2 banana
1/4 tsp cinnamon (add more to taste once everything is blended)
1 pinch allspice, nutmeg, or cloves (or all three)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (add more to taste once everything is blended)
1/2 cup almond milk

recipe: tropical kale smoothie

I've been wanting to make a smoothie with kale for awhile to use up some leftovers I have in the fridge and to get more greens in my diet, but since an arugula smoothie debacle from last week, I've been hesitant to try kale in a smoothie. I'm been afraid of overpowering the smoothie with a bitter kale taste and wasting a lot of perfectly good fruit. I took a risk with this smoothie this morning though and it was really good. You can still taste the kale, but it's not overpowering or unpleasant:

Ingredients:

1 large kale leaf, rough stem removed
1 peach
1 banana
1 cup tropical frozen fruit (my mix has mango, pineapple, strawberries, & papaya)
1/2 cup almond milk

mickey mouse gives some people disney spells

I love Disney! I’m planning out all of our vacations for the rest of the year and Disney World is the big one and the one that I’m the most excited about. I have our hotel picked out, all restaurant reservations setup (6 months in advance, of course), and now all we need is plane tickets.

A lot of people we talk to don’t understand our fascination with Disney World and why we enjoy going as adults without kids. So I’m going to try to explain my reasons for loving Disney World.

For me, one of the best things about being on vacation is being in a place that is very different from home. It’s not fun to go to the trouble of traveling somewhere to just end up doing all of the same things I would be doing if I had stayed home. I like going to Atlanta because my family is there, and I don’t usually get to see them. Traveling internationally is fun because I get to experience foods and cultures that are very different from those found in Utah. And being in Disney world makes me feel like I’m in this unique, detached world.

The Disney staff does a great job of manipulating every detail of their properties to make those places feel special. For example, when you’re at the Germany exhibit in Epcot all of the employees are from Germany and they’re selling real German food at the restaurant. Or if a little girl is dressed up like a princess and walking around a park all of the employees are trained to curtsy or bow to her and refer to her as “your highness.” When I visit I love trying to find these little details which constantly keep me impressed and happy, which are great ways to feel on vacation.

Additionally, there are so many fun rides, dining experiences, characters, shows, games, etc. at Disney that you’re constantly being entertained. Being there makes me feel like a kid because I’m not normally having fun so frequently in my normal life. So in conclusion, I love Disney because it’s very fun and very well executed. I appreciate entertainment mixed with efficiency and excruciating attention to detail.  If you’re questioning whether Disney really is worth the time and money, just give it a try and see what you think, you definitely won’t be disappointed. And if you’re an adult, try to schedule your trip so it coincides with the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. Now it’s time to share pictures, here are some from my recent trips:

Zach and I on Splash Mountain, ready with ponchos so we don’t get too wet

Zach and I on our honeymoon in front of Cinderella’s castle (we wore those hats the whole time)

Heather and I goofing off with masks before our Cirque du Soleil show

Heather and I with beer steins in Germany at Epcot

Dad, Heather, and I at Epcot

Hanging out with princess Jasmine near Morocco at Epcot (Heather’s not into it)

Sharing a margarita in Mexico at Epcot

Heather and I made potato heads at Downtown Disney

Elaborate Christmas lights at Hollywood Studios

Heather and I on the spinning teacups ride at Magic Kingdom

Mom looking crazy on the Buzz Light-year ride at Magic Kingdom