Grand Canyon NP, AZ
Yellowstone NP, WY
The Fiery Furnace, Arches NP, UT
Jenny Lake, Grand Teton NP, WY
Zion NP, UT
Grand Teton NP, WY
The Fiery Furnace, Arches NP, UT
Capitol Reef NP, UT
Arches NP, UT
Upper Falls, Yellowstone NP, WY
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Rose (& David) Out West: Unedited
I had a school assignment that involved photos of myself, which led to taking a deep breath and sort of looking through our May-June trip photographs. Editing is going to take...a while. Haha, enjoy. (:
Capitol Reef NP, UT
Arches NP, UT
Upper Falls, Yellowstone NP, WY
Capitol Reef NP, UT
Arches NP, UT
Upper Falls, Yellowstone NP, WY
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
30-Day Challenge Update I
Remember our challenge to use pantry odds and ends to both deplete continuously unused items in order to gain storage space, and also possibly rid ourselves of "inorganic"/non-ecofriendly foods and switch to a more local variety? Well we have been working on it. I thought I would go ahead and re-share the list of items we're fiddling with and cross off the foods we have been using in some meals:
Meal Breakdown
A. Chili, Cornbread & Rice, using the light red kidney beans, box of spanish rice, and the cornbread mix. Jonathan created the chili through a medley of spices, including our diced jalapeno peppers, and everything turned out delish.
B. Arugula Salad & Parmesan Basil Orzo, using the box of orzo and vegetable broth. The orzo was one of my favorites...so good, in fact, I bought more orzo this morning for us to cook up with the last can of vegetable broth!
C. Bow-Tie Pasta with Texas Toast, using, of course, the jar of pasta and three slices of the Texas toast. The bow-tie pasta was also in the pantry, though I didn't include it in the original Official List because we have a lot of half eaten boxes of pasta that really does get eaten.
D. BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Eileen's Mac & Cheese, Baked Beans, and Paula Deen's Peach Cobbler -- This was the most Southern meal I have ever cooked, but with the ingredients sitting in my cupboard, I saw no other way around it. To help me feel like less of a cow, we had friends over on Saturday night for dinner to share in all of this food. We ended up using the SBR's BBQ Sauce, the rest of a bag of chicken tenderloins, the humungo can of baked beans (which we still have leftovers of, by the way), and can of peaches for this whole meal. We didn't have any of the main ingredients for Eileen's M&C, so those were purchased, along with hoagie rolls for the sandwiches, and some Magic Hat #9. The cobbler was only so-so because I sort of forgot about it while eating dinner. Baking fail.
I went grocery shopping this morning after work to get a few things for this week's meals and I can't wait to share our further progress with you all later! For now, I need to sleep.
30-Day Challenge Official Food List- chickpeas (2 cans)
- vegetable broth(2 can)(1 can)
- refried beans (1 can)
- black-eyed peas (1 can)
- sweet corn (1 can)
-baked beans (humungo can)
- jasmine rice (1 large bag)
-light red kidney beans (bag - 16oz)
- white albacore tuna (3 cans)
- pasta sauce(2 jars)(1 jar)
-orzo (1 lb)
- spanish flavor boxed rice(2 boxes)(1 box)
- tomato sauce (8 cans, size 8oz)
-corn muffin boxed mix (1 box)
- flame roasted peppers (used, approx. 4oz)
- diced jalapeno peppers (used, approx. 9oz)
- buffalo wing sauce (used, approx. 14oz)
-Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (used, approx. 12oz)
-SBR's Hickory Brown Sugar (used, approx 9oz)
- SBR's Hickory Brown Sugar (18oz)
- Texas toast(6 slices)(3 slices)
-chicken tenderloins (6 pieces)
- chicken tenderloins(full bag, 32oz)(half bag, ~16oz)
- salmon (1 fillet)
- green peas (18oz bag)
- cut broccoli (16oz bag)
- Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamer (1 bag)
-peaches (29oz can)
- fruit cocktail (15oz can)
Meal Breakdown
A. Chili, Cornbread & Rice, using the light red kidney beans, box of spanish rice, and the cornbread mix. Jonathan created the chili through a medley of spices, including our diced jalapeno peppers, and everything turned out delish.
B. Arugula Salad & Parmesan Basil Orzo, using the box of orzo and vegetable broth. The orzo was one of my favorites...so good, in fact, I bought more orzo this morning for us to cook up with the last can of vegetable broth!
C. Bow-Tie Pasta with Texas Toast, using, of course, the jar of pasta and three slices of the Texas toast. The bow-tie pasta was also in the pantry, though I didn't include it in the original Official List because we have a lot of half eaten boxes of pasta that really does get eaten.
D. BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Eileen's Mac & Cheese, Baked Beans, and Paula Deen's Peach Cobbler -- This was the most Southern meal I have ever cooked, but with the ingredients sitting in my cupboard, I saw no other way around it. To help me feel like less of a cow, we had friends over on Saturday night for dinner to share in all of this food. We ended up using the SBR's BBQ Sauce, the rest of a bag of chicken tenderloins, the humungo can of baked beans (which we still have leftovers of, by the way), and can of peaches for this whole meal. We didn't have any of the main ingredients for Eileen's M&C, so those were purchased, along with hoagie rolls for the sandwiches, and some Magic Hat #9. The cobbler was only so-so because I sort of forgot about it while eating dinner. Baking fail.
I went grocery shopping this morning after work to get a few things for this week's meals and I can't wait to share our further progress with you all later! For now, I need to sleep.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
30-Day Challenge
Everytime we go out "west" (which can be as central as Texas), we are overwhelmed by each consumer's sense of responsibility: responsibility to their health, well-being, and their environment. We see this through the vast amount of recycling bins throughout the city in Austin. In 2009 we were in Seattle and there was a newly imposed citywide law that would charge for every plastic bag used in a grocery store as a way to encourage people to stick with cloth totes. While in Salt Lake City, we were overwhelmed by the cleanliness and folks' attitudes towards organic and local food. I read many blogs from the midwest areas that really encourage composting, using rainwater, and growing your own garden with those tools. People are athletically fit, preferring long weekend hikes over bar-hopping and couch potato-ness.
When we see all of this progressive action toward the environment and personal health, which is such a stark contrast to the places we have grown up in and now live, I get really motivated to make major changes. A lot of it falls through eventually; we are creatures of habit, and it is difficult to facilitate change without the support of your friends and family.
Most of you know that about six months ago (actually, maybe longer?), I started diverting from the vegetarian diet. I am living in a culture that generally promotes fried and buttery foods. Most restaurants cook their vegetables in animal fat or include meat in the mixture of greens. While living here, it has seemingly become impossible to keep up with any sort of healthy lifestyle [though this might be out of my laziness to seek healthier alternatives; I lived with a girl during my externship who was a devout vegetarian, but then again, she was surrounded by her supportive and like-minded vegetarian friends]. So, I've been eating chicken and turkey mostly and still feel wary about cooking it at home. With that said, I have created delicious Chicken Parmesan dishes and different Crock Pot varieties of sauce-based flavored chicken. I sometimes forget that I was vegetarian for three years because it has become so commonplace to not even think about what I am putting in my mouth. It is not until I am around older friends that I am reminded of my former sense of responsibility.
With all of this in mind, I am really wanting to make our household more progressive like those wonderful cities we have encountered. For most of our friends "in the South," progression is a scary, communistic word. We kind of think that's funny, but I know people, in their learned habits, are afraid of change and what that could mean. I think living in a progressive way makes more financial sense; the increased price of organic food now may save you the cost of health ailments in thirty years.
My mind has been festering with all sorts of ideas. Our friend, April, who writes about the sufferings of a corn allergy (which I believe is a result of this corn country we live in), recently rid her pantry of anything with corn in it. You should go to that link just to see the food products that each of us probably buy with some type of corn-based product in it. It's just weird. Anyway, April has inspired me to do some of my own pantry (and fridge) cleaning.
I don't know if every household is like this, but I definitely grew up with this problem: We tend to keep food in our pantry/fridge for inordinate amounts of time. The food was probably purchased with the purpose of using it for a meal, but maybe we changed the recipe or bought too much, or now we have part of a product leftover because we didn't need all of it. The food in our fridge tends to be half-used condiment bottles (other than ketchup or mustard) or items 1/3 used for a specific recipe that has now become forgotten behind the egg carton.
I would like to make use of these odd items, so I spent an hour after Sunday School cataloging each and every one of the things that I have been opening the door to for way too long, that has been sitting there collecting dust. My challenge is to use each of these items within the next 30-days. I am hoping that in that time frame, J. and I can think about what we want to do for future grocery purchases (do we want to switch to all organic?), which is one out of the many changes I want to make in our household.
Here is a list of the "odd items" I have identified in our cabinets/fridge. (Please note that I did not include arbitrary items that we do use frequently enough, such as... bread crumbs or peanut butter.)
Do you shop organic? Do you find it silly or does it have some real benefits? Have you seen Food Inc.? I haven't, but our friends seem convinced after watching it. What ways are you trying to be responsible to your health and environment? Does your kitchen pantry have odd items that should be used or donated soon?
When we see all of this progressive action toward the environment and personal health, which is such a stark contrast to the places we have grown up in and now live, I get really motivated to make major changes. A lot of it falls through eventually; we are creatures of habit, and it is difficult to facilitate change without the support of your friends and family.
Most of you know that about six months ago (actually, maybe longer?), I started diverting from the vegetarian diet. I am living in a culture that generally promotes fried and buttery foods. Most restaurants cook their vegetables in animal fat or include meat in the mixture of greens. While living here, it has seemingly become impossible to keep up with any sort of healthy lifestyle [though this might be out of my laziness to seek healthier alternatives; I lived with a girl during my externship who was a devout vegetarian, but then again, she was surrounded by her supportive and like-minded vegetarian friends]. So, I've been eating chicken and turkey mostly and still feel wary about cooking it at home. With that said, I have created delicious Chicken Parmesan dishes and different Crock Pot varieties of sauce-based flavored chicken. I sometimes forget that I was vegetarian for three years because it has become so commonplace to not even think about what I am putting in my mouth. It is not until I am around older friends that I am reminded of my former sense of responsibility.
With all of this in mind, I am really wanting to make our household more progressive like those wonderful cities we have encountered. For most of our friends "in the South," progression is a scary, communistic word. We kind of think that's funny, but I know people, in their learned habits, are afraid of change and what that could mean. I think living in a progressive way makes more financial sense; the increased price of organic food now may save you the cost of health ailments in thirty years.
My mind has been festering with all sorts of ideas. Our friend, April, who writes about the sufferings of a corn allergy (which I believe is a result of this corn country we live in), recently rid her pantry of anything with corn in it. You should go to that link just to see the food products that each of us probably buy with some type of corn-based product in it. It's just weird. Anyway, April has inspired me to do some of my own pantry (and fridge) cleaning.
I don't know if every household is like this, but I definitely grew up with this problem: We tend to keep food in our pantry/fridge for inordinate amounts of time. The food was probably purchased with the purpose of using it for a meal, but maybe we changed the recipe or bought too much, or now we have part of a product leftover because we didn't need all of it. The food in our fridge tends to be half-used condiment bottles (other than ketchup or mustard) or items 1/3 used for a specific recipe that has now become forgotten behind the egg carton.
I would like to make use of these odd items, so I spent an hour after Sunday School cataloging each and every one of the things that I have been opening the door to for way too long, that has been sitting there collecting dust. My challenge is to use each of these items within the next 30-days. I am hoping that in that time frame, J. and I can think about what we want to do for future grocery purchases (do we want to switch to all organic?), which is one out of the many changes I want to make in our household.
Here is a list of the "odd items" I have identified in our cabinets/fridge. (Please note that I did not include arbitrary items that we do use frequently enough, such as... bread crumbs or peanut butter.)
- chickpeas (2 cans)
- vegetable broth (2 can)
- refried beans (1 can)
- black-eyed peas (1 can)
- sweet corn (1 can)
- baked beans (humungo can)
- jasmine rice (1 large bag)
- light red kidney beans (bag - 16oz)
- white albacore tuna (3 cans)
- pasta sauce (2 jars)
- orzo (1 lb)
- spanish flavor boxed rice (2 boxes)
- tomato sauce (8 cans, size 8oz)
- corn muffin boxed mix (1 box)
- flame roasted peppers (used, approx. 4oz)
- diced jalapeno peppers (used, approx. 9oz)
- buffalo wing sauce (used, approx. 14oz)
- Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (used, approx. 12oz)
- SBR's Hickory Brown Sugar (used, approx 9oz)
- SBR's Hickory Brown Sugar (18oz)
- Texas toast (6 slices)
- chicken tenderloins (6 pieces)
- chicken tenderloins (full bag, 32oz)
- salmon (1 fillet)
- green peas (18oz bag)
- cut broccoli (16oz bag)
- Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamer (1 bag)
- peaches (29oz can)
- fruit cocktail (15oz can)
Do you shop organic? Do you find it silly or does it have some real benefits? Have you seen Food Inc.? I haven't, but our friends seem convinced after watching it. What ways are you trying to be responsible to your health and environment? Does your kitchen pantry have odd items that should be used or donated soon?
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
We're hoooome!
Ahhh, we're back, in real live beds with real live mattresses. It's an amazing feeling (and I know J. feels that way too because he is currently curled up next to me, asleep). It's 0200 now, but it feels like midnight, which is still way past our normal time for going to bed while on vacation.
Our trip was amazing, simple as that. This week is already shaping up to be busy busy, though, so it might be a while before we do a full recap. I'm heading out in the morning for Savannah to meet up with some great nursing school friends for a week vacation with them. On Friday one of J.'s buddies is coming into town on his way to Virginia where he has a summer job planned. Anddd on Saturday I have to work a whopping 8-hours (hey, don't laugh, next week I am working 60!); I am getting off early to go to David & Kara's Wedding. YAY!!
Part of the reason I am up late is because I wanted to take care of some bills before I jetted out of town again. I decided to go through our receipts from the trip, and I figured I might as well give you all a post-vacation financial wrap up.
I wanted to preface by saying that we lost a lot of our usual motivation to cook while camping. When you're hiking 5-10 miles per day, you are simply too exhausted to foster up the energy to not only start a fire but also cook a whopping can o' beans on it. Besides, we love food, and we figured we should enjoy ourselves on our vacation by tasting some local fare. I think after a full day of activity, relaxing with some noms and beer is a perfect nightcap. This of course flopped our food budget...oops! But this is why we have a travel savings account. With a little bit of extraction of funds, we're okay. Besides, our bellies aren't complaining.
More on this trip later!
Our trip was amazing, simple as that. This week is already shaping up to be busy busy, though, so it might be a while before we do a full recap. I'm heading out in the morning for Savannah to meet up with some great nursing school friends for a week vacation with them. On Friday one of J.'s buddies is coming into town on his way to Virginia where he has a summer job planned. Anddd on Saturday I have to work a whopping 8-hours (hey, don't laugh, next week I am working 60!); I am getting off early to go to David & Kara's Wedding. YAY!!
Part of the reason I am up late is because I wanted to take care of some bills before I jetted out of town again. I decided to go through our receipts from the trip, and I figured I might as well give you all a post-vacation financial wrap up.
I wanted to preface by saying that we lost a lot of our usual motivation to cook while camping. When you're hiking 5-10 miles per day, you are simply too exhausted to foster up the energy to not only start a fire but also cook a whopping can o' beans on it. Besides, we love food, and we figured we should enjoy ourselves on our vacation by tasting some local fare. I think after a full day of activity, relaxing with some noms and beer is a perfect nightcap. This of course flopped our food budget...oops! But this is why we have a travel savings account. With a little bit of extraction of funds, we're okay. Besides, our bellies aren't complaining.
Pre-estimated Approximate Costs (for two people)
- Airfare: $612.80
- Car rental: $185.39
- Lodging: $141.00
- Fuel: $320.00 [based on approx. 2000 miles of travel (rounding up), a vehicle with 25mpg (rounding down), and gas $4.00/gallon (hopefully rounding up??)]
- Food: $150.00
- Activities: $150.00 (being generous, as most of our activities will be hiking)
--TOTAL: $1559.19 (and this amount reflects about 6-months of our allotted travel savings money)
Post-vacation Real Costs (for two people)
- Airfare: $658.80 (+46.00) *$23.00 baggage fee each way
- Car rental: $164.78 (-20.61) *using autoslash.com, we ended up saving another $20 the day we left, *and* we received a free upgrade to a Nissan Altima, which got approximated 37mpg for the duration of the trip!
- Lodging: $141.50 (+$0.50) *Jenny Lake Campground had a $0.50 increase, but it was worth it.
- Fuel: $251.72 (-$68.28) *With the better gas mileage than originally estimated, we "saved" a bit in this area. Unfortunately, gas prices were, at times, $3.99/gal. I am happy to report that we never paid more than this, and I think we only filled up half a tank at this price, so overall prices were better. I tried keeping an accurate mileage count, but that didn't work out..but I have a feeling we did more driving than originally estimated with our sidetrips and the area we covered at Yellowstone (ahem, the entire park, save one road).
- Food: $607.56 (+$457.56) *HOT DANG, I know. This amount includes snacks, groceries, and eating out. We spent about $100 on the groceries/snacks, and the rest were from dining out. For the most part the rest of the time we made our breakfast (or our friend Melanie, who we were staying with in SLC, made it for us!) and lunches, and ate at sit down places (other than two nights of fastfood) for our nightly meals. Like I said before, if we took the time to cook meals every night, we could have easily stayed within our $150.00 budget...but we didn't. It was a little shocking (okay, a lot shocking) at first to see the difference, but I have settled down, and I know it will all be okay. We did the same thing during our Chicago trip, so I just have to learn that we love eating good food on vacation and I should budget more money toward that area.
- Activities: $72.00 (-$78.00) *We stuck to free activities the entire trip, so this part of the budget was basically unused. I went ahead and included the $20 we paid toward the Fiery Furnace Ranger Guided Hike at Arches NP. Our plan was to horseback ride in Grand Teton NP but the company we were planning on going with hadn't opened yet (it was snowing in that part of WY!) and other companies were fully booked. WAH WAH. I also included the $52.00 parking costs we paid at the CLT airport.
-TOTAL: $1896.36 (+$337.17)
More on this trip later!
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