i'll talk about the Minnesota State Fair which had its final day this past Monday, but that's a whole post in itself. first, i want to talk about the amazing meal i put together last night...


autumn is finally making its way back into our lives and i tend to "fall" in the embrace-changing-seasons camp which means that my roommate and i, after finally unpacking and cleaning up our new kitchen and living room, put together a comfort food meal complete with some three-buck-chuck red vino...


first, i boiled some sweet potatoes until they nearly mashed themselves, then mixed them with Earth Balance and powdered ginger. next, my roommate played sous-chef and chopped up some raw white onion which, along with some sliced baby bella mushrooms, were sauteed in extra virgin olive oil and then simmered until absolutely tender in some free range organic chicken broth. i heated up some Morningstar crumbles and added this, wild rice, curry powder, and garlic powder to the mushroom/onion/chicken broth concoction and after letting it simmer for another 15 minutes or so, we had the most amazing inaugural meal for the new apartment and new season. oh, and no meal is complete without some bread...tossed some sourdough rolls in the oven and we were good to go!


i'll be sad to see the farmers markets ending and even sadder when slushy snow begins to find its way on our streets, ice on our sidewalks, but in the meantime i'm all about the food and music that make this time of year beautiful and nostalgic and comforting. CHEERS!

it's been a little bitty bit since i last posted. i think i'll blame that on the weather because let's face it: when you live in minnesota, you try and pack as much activity into the few months of truly beautiful weather as you possibly can! the rest of the year you're at home hibernating so this is the time to be social, to be outdoors, and to have a blast. i'm guessing people who live in year-round warmer climates don't face the problem of running out of time to do all of these fun activities because they don't try to jam it into a few months' time.

anyway, what's been happening? well, there was the 2nd annual Memory Lanes Block Party which I've now attended both days of both weekends and hope to keep the tradition alive next year...below is Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles [and please note...click any of these photos to enlarge]:


the weather was sort of rainy that weekend and has been rainy a lot lately so that's meant a decent amount of comfort food being consumed...

pictured above: ramen, spinach, egg, ginger [of course]

pictured above: mini-bowtie, tuna, peas, soy cheese

pictured above: whole wheat rotini, steamed broccoli, homemade gravy

the tuesday after MLBP we decided to have a picnic for which laura put together this lovely pasta salad and we passed around a plate of caprese salad [soy mozzarella for me]:

the following weekend i went on a camping trip [the annual Chuckfest...camping, amazing food, lovely music, good friends...] a few weeks ago. i've been pretty active with my friends as well, especially now that the gang is all back in one place and everybody's done with school, at least for the time being. work at the museum is steady - and some days it's pretty awful because there's no air conditioning and this place holds heat like an oven - but i'm still loving the experience. i've been getting more serious about looking into grad schools, though; particularly on those rainy days when it feels so much like autumn and i get all nostalgic. so, i hope to take a roadtrip sometime this year to the various schools i'm considering and apply for the fall of 2011. i love my job but i also love learning and i have big hopes for the future.

after my "vacation" but due to the fact that the market has been MOSTLY flowers and lettuce, as pictured...


...i've been shopping a lot more at the local Tim & Tom's Speedy Market, where produce is relatively cheap and everything else is...well, not. it could easily be called Tim & Tom's SPENDY Market. so, in order to make the meals affordable, filling, and long-lasting, I got really into making pita-pizzas. crisp up the pita bread in the oven with a bit of olive oil, layer your ingredients, cook until the soy cheese melts...easy, cheap, and delicious! pair with some salad and you're good to go...

pictured above: tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, onion, mushrooms, soycheese...some of this went into a salad, some of it onto a pita pizza...all of it was delicious!

pictured above: soycheese pizza topped with garlic powder & crushed red pepper...not super attractive, but SUPER SUPER tasty...

pictured above: salad consisting of spinach, raw asparagus, beets, and goddess dressing.

anyway...friday night i went to an opening at the Weisman, yesterday i had brunch with my roommate, today i headed to the Stone Arch Festival with my mom & stepdad to celebrate Fathers Day...big couple of weeks ahead of me, too, starting tonight when i get off work...

Tonight = book club...! I didn't read the book but I'm excited anyway
Monday = Sarah...I wish the weather forecast wasn't so dismal as I'd love to head to the beach.
Tuesday = my stepdad [he needs me to help him set up a new cell phone] + my therapy appointment
Wednesday = cooking & Top Chef night with Brooke [NOT going to Stink Lines show...trying to avoid unnecessary drama]
Thursday = possibly dinner with my biodad before he heads to the lake[?]
Friday = possible date-night [?]
Saturday night = Pride
Sunday night = heading up to the lake with biodad for a 5-night, 4-day stay

all in all, it's shaping up to be a great summer!

despite how thoroughly exhausted i am today, i can't stop thinking about how great last night was and how wonderful my friends are. we went out dancing and i didn't pay a dime, and then S slept over at my place and we stayed up far too late talking. we hadn't had a really good talk like that in a long time so it was nice. we also hung out in the park by my apartment this morning before she left. her bike got stolen overnight (from the 24 hour grocery store she'd left it locked by before going into the club last night) and she had to walk home today from midway but even still, i think a good time was had by all. however, i didn't take any pictures last night so you'll just have to use your imagination: there was a lot of dancing, a lot of sweating, and a lot of talking.

i DO have photographs from the last few weeks, though, so i can catch you up on all you've missed.














i woke up early for a therapy appointment one Tuesday so L and i visited the farmers market after. the selection was minimal but i still had spinach from the st paul market the previous sunday so we decided to do some cooking. we made pasta salad and spinach dip. oh, and we enjoyed wine in the afternoon. i felt like i was on Cougar Town and in the best way possible. there was of course some rockband played...several times over the last few weeks. heck, we even made brunch...and lefse!


okay. i'm sick of the messed up formatting so i'll end this now. but the point is: i may not have been in the best mood/frame of mind, but i've had good friends, good family, and good times to get me through. <3<3

har mar superstar + grilling...i feel summertime!

this was an eventful weekend full of fun [and with it, pictures]. saturday after work, b and i got dinner at pizza luce. no pictures, but it was delicious. then we spent some time with boo while getting ready...

and what were we getting ready for, you might ask? well, i had the fortune of winning tickets to the Har Mar Superstar WAMplified performance which in many ways was born from a lot of sessions during my internship at the Weisman last year. it was a fun night, full of sweaty Har Mar glamour.

later we spent some time singing karaoke at grumpy's. i sang 'tears dry on their own' by amy winehouse and b + l sang a few songs together...here they are performing a cher gem.

my friends and i decided, after they demolished the produce section at trader joe's the other day, to grill after we were finished with family time on easter. so, in the early evening b picked me up and i hauled my little charcoal grill into her backseat. we spent hours outside chatting with friends, taking pictures, and eating delicious food. i have a feeling this will be a regular occurrence this summer. here are some gems from the long, wonderful evening.

i hope you all had lovely weekends. i'm grateful for my friends and family who make each day worth waking up!

well, i'm already missing summer. don't get me wrong, december is one of my favorite months of the year...starting with my birthday on the first and going straight through to new years eve, it's a busy but joy-filled time of year...however, after all of the great, fresh produce i got from the farmer's market this summer, i'm getting pretty sick of frozen veggies. i miss big, beautiful salads like this [which was made from ingredients shown above]:


however, this autumn i made a lot of great food using the produce i DO have access too. i made a few different lentil loaves, starting with this one:

[messy and kind of unattractive...just like meatloaf! haha.]

i served it beside some mashed up baked squash with a potato to which i added some Earth Balance, garlic, parsley, and black pepper...it was delicious! the lentil loaf itself sort of crumbled apart, but the flavors were all great.

For dessert, my friend helped me put together a vegan chocolate pie. it turned out really tasty...very rich and creamy:

I have more autumnal food pictures [and they're much prettier than these] that i'll post another time. for now, i'm just excited about the delicious wintery/comfort food we eat on christmas eve eve every year: baked vegan macaroni and cheese anyone?