Fun Bonfire Treats

As I mentioned in my last post, my family and I just returned from our annual trip to the Oregon Coast, where we spent three (rather chilly) days making sandcastles, eating massive amounts of saltwater taffy, and warming ourselves next to smoldering bonfires. Our beachside dinners are nothing special; just the typical grilled hot dogs, store-bought potato salad, and, of course, s’mores. But the s’mores, mind you, we take very seriously. Between my nephew’s raging sweet tooth and my dad’s brilliant homemade bonfire forks, s’mores have quickly become the main attraction of our trip. This year I decided to shake things up a bit with two different flavors of s’mores, which we started referring to as G’mores (gourmet s’mores). Both variations (Strawberries & Cream and Triple Chocolate) got the seal of approval from my sugar-obsessed nephew (and the rest of the clan), which was all the taste-testing I needed. So with tomorrow being Labor Day and the vast majority of us camping or grilling out, why not try a new twist on this all-American favorite? Continue reading

Soup Bowl Recipes Goes to the Beach!

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Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone! I’ve been a little slow to post this past week because we just returned from vacation and I’ve been buried under piles of laundry and welcome-home-chores, however, I’m back and I’m ready to share our trip with you.

As I said, we just returned from our annual summer trip to the Pacific Northwest (home for us) and our yearly pilgrimage to the beach. Every summer my entire extended family packs up their shovels & pails, camping gear (although we never end up camping out on the beach), and my dad’s custom campfire forks (more about that in a later post) and heads south to the Oregon Coast. Although there are many salty, windswept towns to lodge in, we always stay at Cannon Beach. Located just 80 miles NW of Portland and 200 miles due South of Seattle, this seaside town provides miles and miles of beautiful beach, tons of great restaurants, and more shops and art galleries than you can shake a stick at. Take a look at some of the highlights of our trip…

A panoramic view of Cannon Beachimage Continue reading

Olive Stuffed Arancini

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Arancini is a traditional Sicilian dish made of little balls of rice that have been rolled in seasoned breadcrumbs, then fried in oil. Yum, right?!  The rice (or risotto) can be left as-is or stuffed with a variety of tidbits like cheese, ham, peas, or my personal favorite, olives. The first time I tasted one of these mouthwatering flavor bombs was on a walking food tour through Greenwich Village while I was living in Manhattan. I was handed this crispy round thing that looked a little bit like a hushpuppy, but was so much better. Since then, I’ve seen them on menus at the occasional Italian restaurant, but not nearly as much as I’d like to (seriously, these things need to become more mainstream!) – so I decided to make them myself. And share them with you. Because I’m nice like that. Continue reading

Aaaaand, We’re Back…

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Whew! What a whirlwind month we’ve had! After recovering from our crazy move to Texas, fighting a constant battle with our new internet provider, and taking an exhausting two week, action-packed trip to the Pacific Northwest, I’m finally home and ready to start cooking and blogging again! But first let me fill you in on the second half of our Alaskan cruise. As you’ll see from the photos below, we had an awesome time, saw some incredible sights, and ate and drank WAY too much (in case you’re wondering why my next couple posts may be heavy on the salads).

In my last blog post I left off at the beginning of Day 3, just before we disembarked at our first port of call in Juneau, so naturally, that’s where I’ll pick up. Continue reading

Howdy, Ya’ll!

Long time no see!

First of all let me start off by recognizing that my pants are on fire. In my last post I said that I wouldn’t neglect my blogging responsibilities during our southbound move, and I did. I lied and I’m sorry, we had a rocky transition from Kansas to Texas. What was supposed to be an easy door-to-door move spanning a couple days ended up being a comedy of errors that left us without furniture or internet for nearly two weeks. In fact, the only reason I’m able to post this blog is because I’m sitting in the Dallas airport enjoying free wifi while waiting for my flight to Seattle — we decided to hop a last-minute cruise to Alaska for a quick vaca before heading back to our new house to finish unpacking the mountain of boxes that are anxiously awaiting us. I appreciate ya’ll (yes, you can look forward to me use “ya’ll” from here on out) being patient with me. I promise I’ll be back to posting recipes soon. In the meantime, check out some photos I took during our move… Continue reading

SoupBowlRecipes is Moving!

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Being at the whim of the Army we are occasionally (and by occasionally I mean every 1-2 years) asked to pack our bags and make home in a new state. For the past 12 months we’ve enjoyed living in and blogging from Kansas, with its four seasons, its picturesque farmland, and its Mid-Western comfort food, but all good things must come to an end, and so it’s time to mosey along and get acquainted another part of the country.

Where are we going, you ask? Well I’ll tell you. Drumroll please……. Continue reading

Farmers’ Market Ratatouille

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Hi, my name’s Emily and I am a farmers’ market junkie. No really, I have a serious problem. When May arrives and my local farmers’ market reopens for the summer, I visit every week. Sometimes twice. It takes me hours to peruse every stand and talk to every farmer. I usually spend way too much money buying way too much produce - more than my family could possibly eat in one week. When I get home I artfully arrange my trophies in cute little baskets on my countertop, and because I’m a total geek, I take pictures of my displays and text them to my husband with cheesy notes that say: “Look what’s cookin’ tonight!” or “Got Produce?” His replies go something like, “Um, that’s a lot of peppers, honey.” By the end of the week I’ve only used about half of what I bought, and I’m left with extremely ripe, eat-me-right-now veggies that are in threat of going to waste. Which is how I found my other addiction: ratatouille. This super healthy, one-pan meal uses up all my leftover odds-and-ends-produce, freeing up my counter for another visit to the market.

 Farmers’ Market Ratatouille

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This vitamin-rich dish can serve as a vegetarian entrée (say on Meatless Monday), an accompaniment to grilled meat, or an easy sauce when thrown into a pot of cooked pasta. Sometimes I even spoon it over a slice of toasted baguette for a quick lunch. 

Farmers’ Market Ratatouille

Serves 4 as an entrée or 6-8 as a side dish

  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
  • 2 zucchini squash, diced
  • 2 yellow summer squash, diced
  • 1 small eggplant, skin on, diced
  • 4 tomatoes, seeded
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme, minced (or another fresh herb such as oregano, basil, or parsley)
  • Kosher salt
  • Fresh crack black pepper

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In a large straight-sided skillet set over medium-high, heat oil until shimmering. Add onions and peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add remaining ingredients to the pot, stirring and cooking for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low, cover pot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until everything has softened, about 30-40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread to sop up all those lovely juices.IMG_7146

Local Farmers’ Markets

These days almost ever town in America has a weekly farmers’ market (typically open May through October). My local market runs twice a week during the summer, which is a great way to feed my addiction, but come December I start itching for a fix again. Thankfully, I’ve always lived within a stone’s throw of a major city that has a year-round farmers’ market. Usually housed in an permanent structure, these markets are just like the townie ones only on steroids. In addition to selling produce, farm-fresh eggs, and meats, many of these larger markets will offer an array of other attractions such as local cuisine, homemade soaps and lotions, art, flee market items, and rides & games for the kids. I’ve visited quite a few over the years, but my favorites are Pike Place Market in Seattle, Union Square Greenmarket in NYC, and City Market in Kansas City, MO, which I’ve visited a few times this season already…IMG_0070 (1)

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*To find a farmers’ market in your area, click here.

Palm Springs Family Fun!

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Palm Springs Family Fun!

After four straight days of lying by the pool, playing games, and binge-reading gossip magazines, we made the unanimous decision to get off our lazy bums and enjoy the rest of what Palm Springs has to offer. Here’s what we did…

Hiking Indian Canyons – http://www.indian-canyons.com

Indian Canyons, once home to the Agua Caliente Cahuilla Indians, offers miles and miles of beautiful hiking through desert and mountains, and gives you a glimpse into the lifestyle of its former inhabitants with remains of rock art, house pits, irrigation ditches, and so on. Note: It’s best to do these hikes early in the day, as much of the trails aren’t shaded and can get pretty toasty.

{ Yep, we’re climbing that! }image

{ Such interesting topgraphy here }image

{ Is it just me, or does this rock look like a beautifully marbleized rib eye steak with a parsley garnish? }image

{ My 7-year old nephew blazing the trail }image

{ One of the many house pits we saw }image

 

Palm Springs Villagefest – http://www.palmspringsvillagefest.com

Every Thursday evening starting at 6:00 p.m., downtown Palm Springs closes its main street (Palm Canyon Drive) to traffic and opens it up to pedestrians. Over 200 booths of art vendors, food purveyors, musicians, and palm readers line the street — and with shops staying open late (10:00 p.m.), you’re guaranteed a night of entertainment the whole family will enjoy.

{ Some of the louder pieces of art Villagefest has to offer }image

{ The Toddler twirling among the art and enjoying the attention she was getting from passerbys who gathered to watch her spontaneous performance }image

{ Oh, I definitely have to get me one of these! }image

{ Handmade pillowcase dresses. Btw, I just noticed the “No Pictures” sign – Oops! }image

{ Paella with chicken, clams, and prawns, oh my! }image

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{ This year I noticed a street running perpendicular to Palm Canyon Drive that had booths filled with farmers’ market items like fresh produce, organic honeys, flavored popcorn, and awesome beef jerkey }image

{ My Toddler wasn’t so sure about meeting Charlie Chaplin }image

{ Winding our way back home after dark }image

{ …buuuut, we couldn’t resist roasting pink marshmallows at this firey booth before calling it a night }image

 

Vintage Shopping Whether you’re in the market for kitschy antiques, vintage cars, or second-hand clothes, Palm Springs has it in spades! Below are some frocks I just had to share with you…

{ A dress, hat, and accessories worn by Lucille Ball on the I Love Lucy show }image

{ Silver go-go boots straight out of the disco era — too bad they weren’t my size otherwise you’d see me wearing them in my next blog post }image

{ And some other funky finds from Villagefest }image

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Cool, right? Yeah, I thought so, too!

Ok, now back to the pool. Hmm, I wonder if my lawn chair missed me while I was gone?