Archive for 02.08

es-ca-pade

So, for Valentine's Day Cody and I went up to Providence Inn, a cute little bed-and-breakfast by Logan. For you Office fans, it wasn't a beet farm or an asparagus farm (the Stalk Inn!! oh, I miss you, Office, come back!), it used to be an old church. And an old, pretty church it is.

We froze our butts off and my refusal to wear proper winter shoes kept my nice cotton flats soaked, but it was worth everything, even the two hour delay on the freeway! We got the Van Gogh room, it was the room I liked best. It had little Van Gogh prints everywhere, and there were free cookies by the kitchen...yay! We did find a surprise bag of Udon noodles out the window when looking for a place to stash our leftovers...that's what I'm holding by the window in the picture below. Anyway, I think we might have started a tradition! We both loved our time there. Go check it out!





yay condo!

So, we accepted a counter-offer on a condo! I'm pretty excited, it's a nice place and will work for us for a few years because it's a 3-bedroom, 2-bath and it's got all the awesomeness of us not having to do outside repairs and maintenance like we would in a house. I would link to the HOA page, but 1. I just can't find it and 2. I'm scared of the Internet. Anyway, it's sweet. You should come and visit if you get the urge!

oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

All right, I never have these cookies long enough to take their pictures, that's how good they are. Cody and I eat them for breakfast sometimes 'cause they taste that good (and actually seem a little healthy...for cookies, anyway). Anywho, here's the recipe:

Mix and store in a plastic bag for up to three months:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar (you can use raw or brown or granulated, they all work great)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon if not freshly ground)

When you're ready to mix the cookies:
1/2 cup room-temperature butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat thoroughly, then add the flour/sugar mix and mix just until combined. Add in:
3 cups oats (old fashioned or quick, I want to try steel cut sometime)
*and add one addition, then mix again:
1 cup chocolate chips
OR 1 cup cranberries plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon
OR 1 1/2 cup raisins

In rounded tablespoonfuls, bake on cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until just browning.

Happy eating!