An Inexpensive Vacation Peppered with Family Tradition

The Fourth of July Weekend is approaching and I'm so excited to vacate town for a couple of days! The bf and I had some options to leave town, but went for an inexpensive trip up with my family to the Hoag Cabin in Mineral, CA. Mineral is tiny. When I say tiny, I mean population 90, and I think that number is inflated :)

The Hoag Family Cabin was constructed in the early 1900's and has been a place to gather ever since. Many of my childhood memories of Summer and Fall surround being at The Cabin. A lot of my friends had fancier places that they went with their families, but our cabin was rustic and authentic. It was a battle just to convince my Grandma "Maga" to even allow a microwave in the place! 

I enjoy taking a walk around the grounds, swinging on the porch swing attached to two pine trees, and reminiscing about "cooking" meals for my dad on the rusted wood stove in the dirt. Pine needles, grass and rocks made up a culinary masterpiece. I would bang on the old hanging pots and yell, "DINNER'S ON. COME GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT!!" until Dad came to claim his plate. I would wait for his gratifying, "Mmmmmmmmmm!" and move along merrily to the next adventure.

This weekend will likely not consist of fake spaghetti, but it will be full of memories, drinks a-plenty, hikes, and Rummy tournaments. Bryce (the bf) beat me last summer, so I can't let that happen again. I am a sore loser, but it's all in good fun. 

I'm all stocked up with s'mores supplies, Heinekens, Salsa, Vodka, Tonic Water, Skinny Girl Margaritas, Patriotic Flair (oh yes), and a new recipe for Red, White & Blueberry Trifle. All in all, breathing the fresh mountain air and catching up with the ones that I love will bring a lot of peace to my racing mind. 

Enjoy your Holiday Weekend! 

Freckles Emerging & Flowers Blooming

It's a beautiful weekend and I've been trying to be out in nature enjoying it a bit more than usual. I think my soul needed it more than I had even realized. I walked to Raley's last night to buy a bottle of Zinfandel and I thought that I should really do that more often. The summer temperature and air is so pleasant and sense-heightening. I felt kind of a rush of endorphins mixed with a sense of freedom (and excitement about my $8 Sterling Vintner's Collection wine, down from $15.99!).

In the midst of my walk, I was having a deep moment, inhaling the scent of some kind of sweet flower, and I thought of a few lines of a poem in my head, which I allowed to come to fruition today. I know that this isn't exactly flowing with the theme of my blog, but the purpose of this post is to show the value in life and being present. Thankfully my blog is about value in all of its forms, so I'm okay with sharing a little artsy verse with you today. I'm open to titles if anyone can think of one :)

Fresh cut flowers must envy their firmly planted ancestors

Roots bound and bonded with the ground

Boasting a scent that lingers on

Not an impermanent fixture in a vase

Needing to be re-cut and maintained

Only to one day give up on the hope of flourishing

Exuding beauty in view and aroma

Here one day, and trash the next

I still feel remorseful throwing them away

When they were once so vibrant and so young

But I can't deny that they are not what they once were

They are wilted, I am guilted, and their beauty is gone.

_


Yeah, a little somber, I know. I was 2 glasses of wine deep on my walk (the walking was a good choice for multiple reasons), and I felt pensive about life and how all things are ever-changing.

Enough with the deepness for now. I'm excited to spend some quality time with my family today and tomorrow since I don't see them nearly enough. I will be taking full advantage of their pool and hopefully gathering a little pigmentation to my skin (really I just get slight color and more freckles that end up running together to form some semblance of a tan). I wish I had this chair. Seriously, it's a motorized pool lounge with cup-holders! I love it :D

I am really going to try to be present in each moment this weekend and focus on giving my mind the rest that it needs after working so damn hard during the week. For this same reason, I've also been dabbling in Yoga & Pilates; both of which have proved to be very beneficial. It's strange how just breathing in a controlled state can affect your sense of being and make you more aware of the world around you.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their weekend in the sunshine and splendor :) Try to take some time to breathe... Your mind will thank you! Also, if anyone wants to buy me the pool lounger above, I am totally okay with that.

Lots of Flavor, Minimal Investment & Local Business Support!

I've probably mentioned at some point recently that work has been draining me to the core. Don't worry, I didn't send you an invite to my Pity Party, but I am trying to make excuses for my lack of cooking/recipes-related posts. I've actually cooked some new things like this Grilled Chicken Bruschetta from Gina's Skinny Recipes, and I made some of my own modifications to it as well (and took the time to photograph as I went), but I just haven't had the energy to type any more or look at a computer screen for a minute longer once I'm home from work.

I promise I'll share some original and modified recipes soon, but for this post I am, instead, going to focus on some easy Food Finds that I have been turning to on the nights when I don't quite feel up to firing up the oven.

Farm Star Pizza!

The Boy and I LOVE Farm Star so much. We love it partly because it's just down the road, but mostly because it is delicious! Their pizzas are affordable and just the right size for 2-3 people. Plus, they use locally grown, organic ingredients. You can truly tell that the ingredients are fresh and the crust is not too thick, but not too thin at the same time. I would recommend Farm Star to anyone looking to try something new in the Pizza genre and they even have Gluten Free crust options. Our personal faves are the Nanny Goat and Mr. Green Jeans. Check out their Menu!

To go along with the Farm Star theme, the Red Tavern is having a deal where they give any Happy Hour patrons from 5pm-7pm a free slice of Farm Star Pizza with the purchase of one drink. Pretty awesome! Take a look at their Wine List for planning your pairing in advance. I especially appreciate that they are offering New Clairvaux Winery's Tempranillo (and by the glass!) for some more local representation.

Since everything is so easily connecting, I have to end this post by advising any locals to visit New Clairvaux Winery! It's a short drive from Chico to Vina (about 25-30 minutes maximum) and it's a great feeling of "getting away" without actually leaving the area. The winery offers tours of the grounds, which are gorgeous, and also has a tasting room where you can sample your choice or Red, White, or Both and pay a minimal $5. They also offer some hospitable cheese and crackers on the house! The only thing that would be better is if you could purchase a bottle and picnic there, but a few bad folks ruined it for the masses, so they do not allow picnic-ing at this time. It's never a bad idea to pick up some of their very reasonably priced wine to take home for a relaxing evening. I always enjoy my visits there and the staff is incredibly friendly. If you're interested in visiting New Clairvaux, take a look at their "Visit Us" Page.

There are a ton of other great places in the Chico area, but I realize not all readers live in Butte County. I would advise to look around your town for some family-owned businesses using fresh, locally-grown ingredients and give them a try! Yelp and Urban Spoon are great resources for reviews on restaurants and other establishments if you're on the fence. If nothing else, take some inspiration and make some of these fabulous meals for yourself. I am definitely looking into making some fresh (and even healthier) versions of my fave Farm Star pizzas!

Pine Nuts Ruined My Liiiiiiiiife!

Okay, maybe not my life, exactly. The saying, "It just left a bitter taste in my mouth" has been my life, essentially, for the past TWO days, and not in the figurative sense (which is probably worse), but in a completely literal way.

It all started on Monday when I was excited to consume my Luna Bar breakfast, and suddenly the bar tasted terrible and incredibly bitter. Being the optimist I am, I instantly blamed the isolated bar and didn't jump to conclusions, only to find that the bitterness followed me to lunch... And my afternoon protein shake... And dinner. Noooo!

So, the rational-minded me was no longer present at this point and I went to Google, sure that I would learn I had a brain tumor or some other kind of life-threatening disease... The oddest thing was, I typed in "Bitter Taste in Mouth" and found that nearly all of the first page's results involved PINE NUTS! This would mean nothing to me if I hadn't, out of pure snacking desperation, consumed a hefty handful of the little goobers only a day prior! I had most of a bag remaining after making Pesto, and figured they'd be a nice snack full of healthy fats for my body and mind... Well, that was a mistake.

My particular nuts were purchased from Trader Joe's, which are apparently notorious for the condition of "Pine Nut Mouth"... Yes, the condition has a name! PineNut.com gave me some insight into this condition that is strangely common and I find myself confused and perplexed by the entirety of the situation. I guess, just like many other industries, times are tough for Pine Nut producers and they've been taking some short-cuts mixing in older, non-pristine (and BITTER!) nuts with their suitable nuts.

The moral of the story is, don't eat straight Pine Nuts from Trader Joe's (or Costco either according to PineNut.com) or you may develop the same condition I am suffering from now. I should be back to normal within a few days, but I can't even enjoy the finer things in life for the time being, and that is no fun! On the off -chance any readers are standing at their pantry, debating on whether to eat those random Nuts of the Pine, don't do it! Go to the store and get some almonds :)