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{thirsty thursday} — blue crab, old bay, and fat tire.
6 Sep
here’s my “true fat tire story” —
so… by now you probably all know that i got promoted at work – and if you didn’t, now you do 🙂
it’s a good thing. added stress is always annoying, and with management usually comes more stress… but i decided that on my shifts, there will be none of that, no drama, no “issues,” no stress. that’s just how i roll.
i digress.
so, after my promotion, i was all like “i want to buy myself a congratulatory meal!” and so, the first thing i always go to when i want to treat myself with food – is seafood. i love love love me some seafood. anything that’s been in the ocean, really. but my favourite go-tos are shrimp, crab, scallops, or salmon. mostly shellfish, mostly delicious maryland blue crab meat. i have been craving them ever since i made my homemade potato chips… when i visit NYC in october, i’m actually considering making a day trip back to the bay, to mow down on some chesapeake catches! Continue reading
{meatless monday} roasted rainbow zucchini pizza strips
3 Sep
HAPPY LABOR DAY! hope you are enjoying the weekend – getting some late sunshine, firing up the grill one last time, taking a final dip in the pool, and of course, eating and drinking!
i thought i’d share a fun recipe in honor of the holiday weekend.
these were super fun and easy to make. i made some in the past, but wanted to try a little different approach this time – mostly, more colour. i love zucchini anyway, but the inspiration for this dish was to use up some of the cream cheese i had in the fridge as well as a few of the tomatoes i had lying around – never want those to go to waste!!! when i spotted the multicolour ones at work, i had to snag them up. it’s too bad there aren’t too many “blue” foods, or i would’ve made a slightly more festive version 🙂 Continue reading
{thirsty thursday} – homemade salsa, guacamole, and ginger ale {{and GO BRONCOS!}}
30 Augi like making stuff myself.
salsa and guac are always so easy, super healthy, and a hit for any occasion. i sometimes just like to have it sitting out while i’m preparing dinner or of course, during any football game. i’m so happy it’s preseason! the broncos are playing super late tonight, so i look forward to catching the game!!!
{travel tuesday} — new york, new york
28 Aug
the people have spoken. and they’ve used the “like” button as their language. for 3-4 weeks i was posting images in “travel tuesday” that were from when i lived in new york. LOTS of you liked the posts – almost 20 on each one! some were followers, some just newbies to the blog that probably saw “new york” in the tags, and clicked on it. either way, the message was clear :
“WE LIKE NEW YORK!”
however, wanting/needing/appreciating diversity, i thought i’d try to post a different travel tuesday. variety is the spice of life, i thought… and i’ve been LOTS of other places… and last week i thought, maybe i should post about some OTHER place to travel to… a DIFFERENT place i’ve been or lived…
nope. no one cares. i had like, 4 “likes” last week…
so, i listened. THE PEOPLE WANT NEW YORK! and i can’t say i blame them…
{meatless monday} – simple and colourful pasta salad
27 Aug
i heart italian dressing.
and i’m always trying to find ways to put in on things. i would like to come up with a recipe of my own and just make it at home, but somehow i don’t seem to get the combinations right, it’s frustrating. so i just buy whole foods’ brand. and it’s probably just about the same cost as buying the ingredients to make yourself, to be honest. plus i love a light summer salad for dinner, but those days are almost over – womp womp.
mostly i just had this stuff lying around, so i put it all together with some veggie pasta and VIOLA! something to put italian dressing on! Continue reading
{thirsty thursday} – pan-seared sea scallops w/ an old-school abbey ale
23 Augdid i mention how i got promoted?!
so, when something BIG happens, i like to celebrate with food. and since i can’t eat a dozen maryland blue crabs right now, i opted for other aquatic delicacies…
a huge pile of freshly steamed wild-caught pink shrimp, colorado sweet corn on the cob, and delicious pan-seared sea scallops.
i take a lot of pride in being able to make really really good scallops. tender, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth amazing scallops! i call them “meat marshmallows” — so delicious! i’m really missing both the accessibility and lower cost of seafood from living on the east coast… this meal wasn’t cheap. but hey, i just got promoted, and so i wanted to treat myself! i deserve it!
if you’ve never tried to make your own scallops because you’re scared of screwing up, i’m here to take away that fear my friends. it’s really very simple to cook them, just keep it like most things should be in life –
low and slow. Continue reading
{wordy wednesday} – i am.
22 Aughello you faithful readers, you.
so much is happening. a lot of energy is coming from everywhere.
i have been through some of the worst – i mean, the worst depression of my life… i’m comfortable in saying that i’m out of it now. i don’t want to think it has potential to ever surface again, but i’m a rational person – it might. however, i feel so completely different lately that i don’t know if it will ever have as much reign over me as it did this bout. i’m telling you, it was awful. be thankful i didn’t blog about it, even though sometimes i wanted to – just to get it out of my head.
whatever, i don’t want to waste too much energy even talking about the fact that i suffer{ed} from that horrible debilitating condition. well, it’s the human condition, actually. suffering, pain, fear, separation… we all deal with it, in some fashion. some of us talk about it, some of us take it out on others, some of us take it out with drugs, some of us live a secluded life avoiding interacting with anything or anyone at all…
i guess my point is, i have so much to write about lately because now that i’m out of that horrible dark tunnel, i see the light and it’s so incredibly bright i can hardly stand it. it’s like my favourite quote –
“our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. it is our light, not our darkness, which most frightens us.”
yeah. good stuff. and so, i’m feeling somewhat like that – only, less afraid, more excited. i’m like, “holy crap that light is so damn bright – i can’t wait to be sucked up in it and spitting it back out at everything i see!!!” Continue reading
{meatless monday} – super easy and pretty rainbow tacos
20 Aug
these could not be simpler. nor more delicious and healthy and light and good for you.
– whole wheat locally made tortillas, warm them up if you like
– organic black beans, drained and slightly heated via stovetop w/ a little S&P
– fresh avocado, chopped
– organic cherry tomatoes, chopped
– organic sharp cheddar cheese, shredded {normally i’d buy white, but the colour is only from annatto and i’m down with that, because it makes the rainbow in my rainbow tacos look really great…}
– sweet onion, diced Continue reading
{foto friday} – the time i watched a praying mantis bathe herself…
17 Augthis was hands-down, one of the coolest things i’ve ever witnessed with my own eyes.
this post is kind of wordy – as i tend to be when i write. get me in front of people for a speech?! pffssthh, forget it. i’m a hott mess. but writing — now, writing i can do!
—
last year – around this time, a little later – i’ll say late september… i found a pregnant praying mantis on our front porch, just hanging out in the honeysuckle bush my roommate has planted by the kitchen window. i about fell over. i’ve had a total fascination with these neat little creatures my whole life… i never really understood what the draw to them was, but last year when i saw one i did a little research. there are lots of different opinions and thoughts as to their symbolism. they are said to bring stillness, sense of peace, and more internalized thinking. because they are so mindful about their every move, the mantis is known in some parts of the world as being very spiritual and she is looked upon as almost a meditation resource. i thought i read somewhere that they can also represent death… a surrender, a letting go, etc. and ironically enough, i lost my grandmother about 2 months after i saw that praying mantis last year. Continue reading
{thirsty thursday} – homemade black bean & tomato hummus w/ a pumpkin ale
16 Aug
too soon?!
it’s not quite autumn, i do realize that — but the air in colorado has been changing and i even saw some yellow leaves on a green tree on my walk around the lake the other day… just sayin’ – pretty soon, they’ll be tons of corn and pumpkins!
and besides, i love blue moon beer. i’ve tried {almost} all of their beers and i have enjoyed each one.
simple black bean hummus :
– chickpeas {“this” many}
– 1 can or box black beans
– some tomatoes {did i mention how i don’t measure…}
i used these delicious little cherry tomatoes and golden nugget tomatoes. how incredible do just their names sound?! yum.
throw those three simple ingredients in a food processor, add in a little S&P, and spin in some EVOO as needed – start with a little, add as you go if necessary…
blend until desired texture… you know, like – hummus 🙂
serve with whatever. for lunch, i smeared some on a slice of naan bread. pita would work, too. add in some falafel and make a wrap out of it…
or, dip some blue chips in it. YUM!
i accompanied it with this yummy brew.
who cares if it’s kind of an autumn beer?! it was spicy-ish, less pumpkin than spicy – at least according to my palate. i love the colour and i really enjoyed it. warm and complex, it would be good alone as an after-dinner drink, or with a mild dish like this hummus or even a mild cheese.
{meatless monday} – spaghetti squash w/ spinach
13 Augi heart spaghetti squash. a lot.
i love the texture, the colour, the crunch… it’s a great vegan option — in fact, why didn’t i make this on my cleanse?! i think it wasn’t available in organic at the time… anyway, here are the {uber-simple} ingredients i used :
{foto friday} – my blog “assistants” and some farm fresh eggs
10 Augmeet my cats :
ferris bueller loves to help out in the kitchen. and by help out i mean – get totally in the way and make me always almost step on him and spill stuff… but he’s got so much personality! super chatty, and no doubt a gemini, just like his owner – my roomie.
callegurl loves to hang in the “studio” and make sure lighting is taken care of and she also provides the cute factor, which she has perfected exceedingly well. she is most likely a scorpio or cancer, very emotional, independent, and kind of hard to tie down, just like her owner – me. Continue reading
{thirsty thursday} — homemade potato chips : a tribute to the east coast
9 Aug
when people ask, “where are you from?” you probably have one solid answer, right – “california, wisconsin, canada, las vegas, china, etc…” ?! well, i usually respond with, “i’m kind of from all over…” because, i am. i mean, i just never respond with the place i was born and stop — i don’t claim one place as ‘home’ — i am really, kind of, from all over…
a little history on me :
– born in south carolina, didn’t stay long…
– lived in pennsylvania for a year {ish}
– massachusetts for like another year or so, i think…
– then maryland for a while, with some
– long summers in oklahoma
– then colorado for a while…
– long summers in virginia
– colorado again… always came back to colorado
– then back to maryland for a while
– then back to colorado
– then back east to new york
– and now here we are… once again, living in colorado. i always come back to colorado… i suppose there is something to be said about that…?! Continue reading
{meatless monday} – sweet potato, carrot, & falafel open-faced pitas
6 Aug
good morning, happy monday, hope you all had a nice weekend.
i was delightfully lazy yesterday, glued to the couch and the olympics most of the day. i completely heart sundays for that reason. if i want to go somewhere, i can – but mostly it’s just my day to rest… and eat. 🙂
this dish was created because i always keep falafel in the house – it’s one of my protein staples, and i love love love it! i also had another bunch of the purple carrots – and i know they compliment sweet potatoes well. i had almond milk in the fridge, and i keep the spice on hand because i love curry spice! i didn’t have any tomatoes around, so i used tomato paste for a little extra flavour : Continue reading
thirsty thursday and foto friday – combined! {breakfast pizza and beer, nom nom}
3 Augpizza and beer, anyone?!
breakfast pizzas are popping up all over pinterest and blog sites alike, and i was so eager to try one of my own. after 14 days of cleansing, i have been obviously rather ravenous lately. carbs, bacon, eggs, and cheese were all that would suffice last weekend. so, i made my own organic breakfast pizza and served it with a delicious farmhouse saison… you’re going to want to try this. Continue reading
meatless monday – “nutri-tatoes”
30 Juli’m not feeling very well at all today. so this is going to be a quick and to-the-point post. a simple vegan recipe that i feel the whole family will love…
super easy to make, too. keeps well in the fridge, can be reheated, and of course – good for you! i had these quite a few times on my cleanse, as i could feel my body needing the protein. Continue reading
thirsty thursday – watermelon mojitos
26 Jul
oh boy, you are seriously going to want to make sure this is on the drink table at your next summer BBQ!
i can’t take the credit for originality on this, however – i’m a huge rachael ray fan… and she had this on her show a few weeks ago and i was uber excited to have company over so i could test it out. i think i pretty much insisted my brother come by for a visit, mostly to force him to drink my concoction 🙂
click HERE to watch rachael explain the whole recipe. Continue reading
black bean quinoa w/ heirloom tomatoes and pale lager
23 Jul
yep, that says pale lager. i had beer, too!! 🙂
so, this was my first “solid” meal after my cleanse. this was the first grain and/or legume i had in 7 days! so weird. hard to believe i made it through that cleanse. the middle ground was definitely the hardest, but today i feel great! i also did a ton of “other” cleansing last night to include a calcium bentonite clay mask, mustard seed bath, sage-smudging, and meditation by candlelight and incense. i literally feel anew today. it’s a weird space to be in, actually. i’m not entirely sure what the next step is. kind of a void, if you will. but it’s not a negative thing. it’s just that i feel so fresh and new and it’s like i want to reinvent myself and the world around me… i can’t help but think of one of my favourite bloggers when i say that – it’s like i want to create a new mantra for my life… and so i will.
today it started with gratitude, snuggles from my kitty, yoga {this video is similar to my morning practice – also what got me started doing yoga!}, and a detox tea.
last night for dinner, this is what went down : Continue reading
“i see you” {AKA audrey michelle’s very emotional, real, and cathartic DIY cleanse update}
21 Jul
well, here it is – the official “end” i suppose.
{oh and by the way, this is one LONG AND WORDY POST! be forewarned.}
i made it 5 whole days {entering my 6th now} eating only raw or steamed organic fruits and vegetables, juice, water and kombucha. funny thing is, i don’t think i’m going to stop. i had absolutely no idea how this cleanse would effect me – i certainly didn’t fathom it effecting me more on an emotional level than physical. and i dare say – spiritual. it almost brings tears to my eyes {again} as i write this.
yesterday was rough. the worst day to date. so why the hell would i want to keep putting myself through this?! good question… Continue reading
i am audrey michelle
i am a minimalist
food & foto 