where the wild things are

Ben and I stopped in Michigan on our Thanksgiving travels and went for a hike in the woods bordering the lake.

The atmosphere of a cloudy November day combined with forest giving way to seaside (freshwater seaside, anyways) reminded me of the set from Where the Wild Things Are . We didn't see any wild things though, just orange-coated hunters on the prowl for them.

It was nice to see some "big" trees, since the forests in PA are very young due to the logging a century ago.

Since our hike, I have made it back home to Illinois again and am very excited to be on fall break, even though it is already flying by.  

roasted seeds

I have been obsessed with winter squashes all season.

My favorites are the elegant (yet brutal to chop up) butternut

and the creamy and sweet buttercup.

Butternuts are best either chopped and roasted with olive oil and salt, or pureed into delicious soup (the best recipe I have tried is this one).

Buttercups are easy to eat in plain and simple baked slices. Yup, Slice ‘n Bake. You can even eat the crispy skin (although beware fiber intake).

When you’re cleaning the guts out of your squash of choice, keep the seeds and roast them! They are delicious. The tiny bit of extra effort is sooo worth it, and you probably have the oven turned on to roast the squash anyways.

Start by rinsing your seeds to get all the goop off, then toss them in salt and olive oil. The more salt, the better.

 

I don’t know the scientific baking procedure, but 30-45 mins at 350 will probably do the trick.

Be sure to check on the seeds every 10-15 minutes to give them a little stir and make sure they don’t burn.

When you hear seeds popping out of their shells (like popcorn noises) they are probably done! Taste test when you think they are getting close, and keep baking until they reach desired crispiness.

yosemite

 

While I was out in the field this summer

(field: -noun, the mystical place where physical scientists conduct their research in the off-season)

we took a weekend off to roadtrip down to Yosemite National Park.

Yes, this place is as glorious as it looks in pictures.

(although the pictures never show the hordes and hordes of tourists and vacationers, but what do you expect from one of the most famous parks in the world)

The park itself is massive, but the most well-known and photographed part is the valley, where the Merced River has cut through the granite outcrops and meanders through meadows and woods.

There are endless trails to explore, but since we were limited to only one full day, my glory-seeking guys made the master plan to hike Half Dome. Fifteen miles, 4800 ft elevation gain, no biggie. HA. 

I am so happy to have had the chance to be conditioned for this hike (the previous six weeks of daily high elevation hiking allowed us to make it in less than half the recommended time..woo!)

It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, but definitely the hardest physical challenge I have ever experienced.

We took the Mist Trail, which passes by Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. 

The mist is not so welcome when you are headed up in the chilly dawn air, but by the time we were heading down in the heat of the day the thought of making it back to the mist was probably the only thing keeping me going!

 This is Vernal Falls. The trail is mainly an enormous staircase cut into the sheer granite, going around and up over the falls.

 Nevada Falls, the second waterfall on the mist trail. By the time we reached this point the sun was coming up over the mountains and making rainbows in the mist.

 

[just looking at this picture makes my legs ache]

Most of the trail goes through the woods and is gorgeous, until you reach the final ascent of death up the bare rock. My legs were falling off my body after 7+miles of huge granite stairs. To be honest, there were parts where it felt kind of like Frodo's death march to Mt. Doom.

BUT the views are worth it!

 Once you reach the flat sub-dome area, you are greeted with this:

HALF DOME!!! dundundunnnnnn
 Yes, those are people. Climbing up the cables to get to the top of the dome.

Confession: by this point I was dizzy from the sun, my legs were dead beyond any point of death they had ever experienced, and all I wanted to do was collapse and inhale a pb and Nutella sandwich.

So I didn't attempt the cables, and I do NOT regret that decision. I don't think another couple hundred feet make the view any different.

It's kind of scary how they let anyone climb up to the top, regardless of age or physical ability!

 I can't wait to go back to Yosemite and camp for at least a week or two to explore the other trails and parts of the park. I can see myself hiking Half Dome again, but it is not one of those things where you forget about the pain when it is said and done and are left with only the exhilarating memories. I definitely am going to have to let a little more time pass before I destroy that mountain again. 

The War

My little friends have returned.

This time, I am going straight for the peanut butter-laced kill.

[and I almost killed my thumb in the implementation of the deathtrap]

happy birthday ben!

 Today is Ben's birthday. Yay!

He decided he wanted a giant cookie instead of a cake, so I used this recipe to create the COOKIE MONSTER

 It's hard to tell the size of this thing, but it is sitting on a striped placemat. So, the entire recipe makes a giant cookie about the size of a large dinner plate. 

(Don't tell me I'm the only one who has ever wanted to make one giant cookie out of an entire batch of dough.)

 Let me tell you that cake decorating is HARDER than it looks!!!

 The birthday boy requested ham for his special dinner (sick of all the veg meals I have been feeding him) so I baked a ham for the first time ever. Seriously, I have never cooked meat other than fish or chicken.

And oh my goodness it was so easy! I felt like Betty Crocker and it was awesome. I modified this recipe for sugarcane baked ham with spiced apples (downsizing to a small ham, omitting the sugarcane sticks) and the glaze was faaabulous. Kind of like a sweet caramelized ginger snap. If you ever have to bake a ham, this is the recipe to use, seriously.

I mean, look how excited it makes people:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!

i loooove you :)

wouldn't you think i'm the girl

Happy November!

and Election Day--did you vote?? 

Fall is officially dying. The trees are pretty much bare and there is frost on the ground in the morning.

I feel almost desperately sad, like I didn't spend enough time outside while the trees were in full blast and the weather was gorgeous, and now it's too late. 

But I am also super excited for the holidays, and going home for vacation! Thanksgiving! Christmas! New Years! My favorites!

At the same time, I'm kind of freaking out because since when is it time for the holidays??!! Gah!

 Maybe all these conflicting emotions are the reason why I have been struggling to get out of bed in the mornings this week...

Or maybe it is post-festivity letdown from a great Halloween weekend. 

Some years I am all gung-ho for Halloween, and some years I let it slip by.

This year might have been low key, but when I decided to be "Ariel with legs" (washed up on the beach version--yes I always work the red hair thing), Ben decided to be "Ariel without legs."  And I couldn't let the opportunity pass:

All I can say is that there is a true Disney Princess inside every little girl AND boy.

(And with long hair, my boyfriend may be prettier than me.)