Mom's visit

eating mom's delicious cooking / a walk through washington park

hiking at chautauqua park / lunch at boulder

eating crepes in downtown denver / mom making kimchi

My mom came for her annual spring break visit last week, and we had a great time. The photos above are a pretty good summary of what we did here - show her around Denver, take walks/hikes and eat! She cooked lots of delicious food as usual, and made a few months' worth of various types of kimchi.

I wanted to take her hiking and got a recommendation from a friend for Chautauqua Park in Boulder. The length and difficulty were perfect for what we were looking for. W and I are thinking about tackling the 14ers, which are the mountains that are higher than 14,000 ft in elevation. There are 88 of the in the U.S. and 53 are in Colorado. Originally, I wanted to take my mom on one, but after some research realized that even the easiest one is fairly challenging.

The weather was perfect during her visit, and although spring is more of a gradual transition here than it is in the midwest, I'm enjoying watching the city become greener as leaves begin to appear on trees, and soaking in the beauty of flowering trees before they're gone.

Soondubu

A lunch from last week. It was perfect for a gloomy day.

Thanksgiving 2011

This year we invited some good friends over for Thanksgiving, who also don't have family nearby. All of the food was delicious and we went around the table sharing what we were grateful for. Afterwards we played Settlers. Not pictured here are the stuffing and the pumpkin pie W made. A picture of the pie is here.

This year's menu

We put the finishing touches on our Thanksgiving menu tonight! This year we're having a few friends over for dinner. There is a nice combination of repeats from last year and new recipes we're trying:

Turkey (12 lb Bowman Landes turkey from Weilands)
Apple-pecan cornbread stuffing
Gravy
Roasted purple yams
Green bean salad with almonds
Pumpkin pie

Friends are bringing:

Mashed potatoes
Cranberry sauce
Wine

I'm excited! W is handling everything except the salad, which is my job for the night. ;)

Egg salad

And I thought there was no food in the fridge.

Farm flowers

 We met a new friend last night, and he happens to work on a farm. So we drove over there today and got to pick a bunch of produce including different varieties of lettuce, tomatoes and bok choy. We also bought some fingerling potatoes, heirloom tomatoes and a pie pumpkin. I got to pick some flowers and take home this mini pumpkin. There's nothing like picking produce and then taking it home and eating it for lunch.  Yum!

Good morning

Homemade granola with oats, walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, pecans, golden raisins, flax seeds, cinnamon, salt, almond extract and olive oil.  Served with greek yogurt, topped with strawberries, fuji apples and chia seeds.  Side of green tea.

We've been trying to eat healthier these days, cutting down on sugar, meats and fats in our diet.  Thus, the meatless meals I've posted lately.  W has lost 7 lbs.  I made this granola without adding any sugar, honey or maple syrup, but I realize I don't miss it because the fruits add natural sweetness.  The ingredients listed above are all that I put in it!

Personal pizza

I mixed bread flour with wheat flour for this pizza. Toppings are green bell peppers and shitake mushrooms.  Side of water and a mini Fuji apple.

Healthy & delicious lunch

Nooroonji rice, egg, cucumbers, radish kimchi and bibimbap leftovers.

Saturday breakfast

I made breakfast this morning for the first time in awhile.  Omelettes with red bell peppers from Lynd's Fruit Farm, and fresh basil and onions from Jaclyn's garden; honeycrisp apples from Lynd's, and whole grain bread from La Brea Bakery.  Fall is here!

Fresh produce

 We just got back from Jaclyn and Brian's place with a handful of goodies from their garden.  I wish I could've taken a photo in daylight, but I wanted to grab a shot before W started cooking stuff up.  From the left going clockwise: basil, chives, bell  peppers, potatoes, onions, garlic, swiss chard, purple beans and tomatoes.  It was so fun to see their garden in full force and to get fresh produce.  I love it!

Long weekend

Summer has arrived in Columbus, along with festival season.  We ate lunch at the Asian Festival today (chicken adobo - not pictured, chicken on a stick, pad thai, quarter watermelon and patbingsu).  Then we headed over to North Market and got a quart of these strawberries, which were picked at the farm yesterday.  Hope you are enjoying Memorial day weekend.

More pizza

We've broken 2 pizza stones and have a new one now that we have yet to try.  Luckily BB&B has a great return policy.  Above: veggies & prosciutto topped with arugula.  Below: dandelion leaves from our backyard, and fresh roasted beets.

During my mom's visit I learned that dandelion leaves are really good for you, and they grow all over our backyard.  We picked a bunch for my aunt, and when they grew back we tried some ourselves.  This was also my first time roasting beets.  My mom cooked a Korean soup with the greens when she was here, and then I roasted these.  I love beets, and fresh ones are even better!  I can't believe I only discovered beets a year ago.

Fresh herbs

My friend Jaclyn brought us these herbs (chives & dill) the other day, freshly cut from her garden.  Last night I put them in a salad.  I had never had chive flowers before - they are delicious.  They taste like onions in flower form.  I loved the texture.  Everything was so fresh...I can't wait to start my own garden one day.

Late lunch

Since it's almost dinner time, I'm sticking with a light lunch today: multi-grain bread topped with pesto we made last night and prosciutto.  A side of mini heirloom tomatoes and two slices of brie.

Cherbourg Bakery

Today we stopped by Cherbourg Bakery in Bexley after our visit to the Franklin Park Conservatory (more photos on that later).  They have excellent coffee for $2 and we especially enjoyed the rosemary cornbread and ginger carrot muffin.

Tacos

Our favorite tacos and sope in the city, from taco truck, Taco Nazo.  When we first discovered the truck, we breathed a huge sigh of relief and felt like we came home.

Matcha macarons

I made matcha macarons yesterday using a modified version of this recipe from Tarlette.  I think they came out pretty good for a first attempt, but I undercooked them just a little, so they're breadier than I'd like. It was a fun learning experience - my first time using a kitchen scale and pastry bags - and takes lots of patience too. They turned out pretty cute though, didn't they?  I want to try them again - I know I can make them better! 

Leisurely day

I'm having a relaxing day today, which feels nice. It's been awhile since I had a day like this. Worked in the morning, ran some errands and fixed myself a nice lunch. The sandwich is multi-grain bread with ham, brie and raspberry jam. Spinach salad with grape tomatoes and beets. With green tea. Yum!  I also started this book last night, and really enjoying it.

P.S. Do you like my new look? I realized I wanted to post larger photos. In the process, I changed the fonts too.

Two years

We celebrated our two year anniversary late this year because I was in LA the day of.  A few weekends ago we took a day trip to Athens, OH.  We had an awesome lunch at Casa Nueva, a worker-owned cooperative restaurant.  How cool is that?  I had the tofu enchiladas. Then we went and chilled at a local coffee shop.