Michigan

Entries Tagged as 'michigan'

Center Zine

1.29.2013

Sorry to hound you with ANOTHER post not related to food (is this even a food blog anymore? Just joking!) but I’ve been busy spending the last few days organizing. I finally updated the VV facebook page (the old one was a little bit…okay, a lot outdated). And I also organized my 10,000+ (eeep!) photos from the last few years.

This leads me to the topic of this post. I am sort of a Film nut. I know digital is all you need these days with filter programs like instragram and vsco but there is something about 35 mm film that I cannot give up. The whole experience of traveling the country with a few disposable cameras is like no experience that an Iphone can replace. Within the last two years, Wyatt and I have traveled North [Lake Michigan], East [Maine, Pennsylvania], South [Florida, Austin], and West [Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Portland, Seattle] and every time we bring our Fisheye, Holga (for double exposures), and expired disposable cameras (we usually pick these up from goodwill for a buck). This has caused the product of dozens and dozens of beautiful (film) photos. I have no many that I didn’t want to just make…a Facebook folder out of them (LAME) so I created this little online zine. It’s nothing special (I am no designer by any means) and won’t ever be in print but it’s a nice little zine of my favorite film pictures. Check it out here!

A Look Back at 2012

12.31.2012

No food post today. Just a small reflection 2012 and thoughts on opening the door to 2013. 2012 was a year of change…for both the better and the worse. I graduated from Indiana University, moved in with Wyatt, scored a full time job working with indie rock music, adopted Tuko, and continued to blog almost daily here on VV.

Graduating from college was both exhilarating and a let down. I had spent my whole life dreaming of moving away and going to school but graduating made me realize that I probably should have dreamed bigger. I came out of college feeling lost and restless and full of doubt. Scoring a full time job out of school should have probably made me proud but instead it left me feeling empty and wondering if this was the climax of my life. It’s been six months since I graduated and I am in a much better place then I was but am still hoping 2013 will bring a bright and fresh outlook.

Despite being filled with so much doubt, 2013 was also an amazing year of learning and discovery. We had wonderful year raising our oh so hyper puppy Tuko, I took up yoga, many friends moved away and I met many new ones, we moved into our first official ‘home’ for me to decorate all by myself, we finally adventured to the southwest, and my cooking and photography continued to grow.

As we move into 2013, I am hoping for more adventure and new discoveries. I tend to make goals every season but still wanted to make a few 2013 resolutions…here is what I’ve got so far:

1. More adventures close to home

2. Less doubt, More Risk

3. Less processed foods

4. Work on photography

5. Keep moving forward & always improving

6. Continue to surround myself with positive people

Hope everyone rings in the new year with their favorite people. And I hope you continue to follow VV in 2013… I’d like to think it’s only getting better every day! Annnnd to end the post, here are a few favorite photos from the year:

Searchable Saturdays

9.15.2012

photo from our camping trip last weekend at Lake Michigan

And here are a few of my favorite web links from this week…

1. I have been doing the yoga journal fitness challenge and it has been a great motivator! It’s pushed me to wake up early every morning and do one of their work out videos (which gets sent right to your email!).

2. My friend, Kristin, and I have been doing weekly craft nights which as been a nice way to push each other to actually do all the DIYs we swoon over. This week, we tackled how to make billy buds…so simple and they look awesome in my vintage vase!

3. Brown Butter Espresso Chip Muffins…what more do I need to say?

4. Harvard is doing a series on famous chefs and the science behind food. I bring this up because they post videos online for you to watch the lectures! How cool is that?

5. A great tutorial on how to properly frost a scallop cake!

6. I am a total photoshop nut and love using actions as shortcuts. Have you seen the 70s action that pioneer woman has up for free download? LOVE LOVE LOVE.

7. Been doing research on vegan cooking shows lately and came across this adorable show called Save the Kales! Highly recommend

Well, hope everyone enjoys their weekend and is whipping up some delicious fresh tomato dishes before the season is over!

Stuffed French Toast

8.15.2012

We live on a traffic-crazed road so behind our house there is an alley system that we use to drive up to our house or ride our bikes downtown or to take little Tuko for walks. I bring this up because although I am totally over 90 degree weather and being constantly sticky, I will greatly miss the foliage that decorates our long alley system once summer comes to an end. It gives us shade from the sun when we are biking and it’s where I pick my wildflowers for our dining room table.

Last night I rode my bike down the alley to get to our local co-op. I went there to browse and pick out goodies for the ‘Foodie Penpal’ (more on this in future posts) group I joined this month. Basically, you are assigned one person who you send up to 15 dollars worth of goodies to and then someone else sends you things and you get a new person each month. I love this idea but it kind of makes me wish I had a real pen pal (one whom you contact more than just once) that I could send a box full of local goodies and spices to and say ‘hey. make this!’ and then we can text each other pictures of the recipe and geek out over food. You know…the kind of friend you never meet (because they live in Portland or Vermont) but you feel a silly connection with them anyways? Woah, this is quite the scenario I’ve come up with…perhaps I have been seriously listening to wayyy too many ‘Joy the Baker’ podcasts lately.

Anyhow, to do another 360 (is this already the 3rd time I’ve changed the subject?) Wyatt has been on a serious health kick lately (let me remind you this is the guy who use to need pizza and gravy in his life at least once a week). I am 100% behind him on this because I prefer to eat as healthy and organic as possible but sometimes a girl just needs to eat what she wants.

My craving for french toast started last Friday when I picked up some Michigan maple syrup and a fresh baguette for Saturday’s breakfast. However, Saturday morning came and we had to clean our house in anticipation for Wyatt’s parents coming and no french toast was made. And then his parent’s stayed until Sunday and bought us some delicious local muffins on Sunday morning (which meant no french toast- AGAIN). So as I was sitting at my desk on Monday morning, I decided I NEEDED to make this french toast for lunch (I mean…in addition to my constant craving, the baguette was probably going to go bad if I waited any longer!) However, when I got home I was met with a very annoying ‘I don’t think I want that much sugar for lunch. I don’t want any- thanks’ response from Wyatt which made me feel guilty so I made us veggie sandwiches instead. Defeated, I decided that I would go to yoga on Monday night and if I still was craving it after (I usually only want huge salads after feeling amazing cleansed from yoga), I would make it regardless of any response from my sugar-hating boyfriend. And alas, yoga made me feel great but so great that all I wanted to do was continue to please myself. I ran home, didn’t say a word to Wyatt, and created these little puppies.

Woah, this has been a rant of a post sort of day!

Stuffed French Toast (or French Toastie Sandwiches?)

1 stale baguette, sliced
4 ounces of cream cheese
1 pint fresh raspberries (or blueberries or blackberries or strawberries)
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk (soy or regular)
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
butter or oil (to coat the pan)

Spread cream cheese on one side of half of the sliced baguettes. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium. Dunk the non-cream cheese side of the baguettes in the egg mixture and put on preheated skillet. Dunk all of the plain baguettes in the mixture and place in the skillet (you will probably have to do this in rounds because you don’t want to crowd the pan! Just make sure you have an even number of cream cheese to non-cream cheese slices). Cook for 2-3 minutes (or until browned and flip the non-cream cheese slices on top of the others to make a sandwich (and so the cooked side is inside the sandwich). Flip all the “sandwiches” and cook on the other side for 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and repeat with the rest of the baguette.

Lather in fresh butter, raspberries, and drizzle maple syrup. Enjoy with a Bloody Mary or Mimosas!

Weekend Adventure // What’s In My Bag?

6.08.2012

Hey everyone! Hope that you are having a fantastic friday and getting geared up for the weekend. We are going on ANOTHER weekend trip to Chicago which means pool day tomorrow, sunsets at Lake Michigan, and adventuring in the city on Sunday!

The only drawback to this is that we have to drive 4 hours North first. Luckily, I have my travel bag packed full of supplies! Although this includes cards, CD mixes, and magazines..I will only show you a glimpse of the snacks I am bringing (hey…this is a FOOD blog, after all).

1. Primal Strips. These things are my FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE snack food. They are so freaking delicious! It’s like having teriyaki flavored beef jerky without all those gross thoughts about ‘what really is beef jerky?‘. They come in a variety of flavors (and other brands but none that I have found with as much flavor and appealing texture). This hits my savory craving every time.

2. Hummus! It’s the perfect snack for summer because it’s relatively healthy and very fillings without making you feel bloated. And the variety of flavors are endless!

3. Although I prefer my hummus with warmed pita, unless you are willing to stick the pita on your dashboard to heat up, these pita chips are a pretty darn good substitute. They are super crispy and contrast the smooooooth hummus perfectly.

5. Can’t have all this savory without a bit of sweet! We packed some Pocky for our sweet treat but that is sometimes substituted with homemade muffins or cookies (depending on how much time we have before-hand).

And we’re off! Hope everyone has a wonderfully delicious weekend and we’ll see you Monday!