When I first met Daniel we had many “discussions” about whether corn and potatoes count as vegetables.  If YOU consider those vegetables, then we have always eaten a lot of vegetables.  I consider them to be “carbs” not vegetables.  To me a vegetable is something that actually has vitamins and minerals in it.  I know, call me a snob.  One of the things that Pollan pushes in all of his books is “Eat more vegetables!” Since we are such fans of him,and in light of the fact that we now have a child and have decided to be a better role models,  we try hunt out more vegetable recipes and grace our table with them.  We started a couple years ago with a CSA box.  (I had never heard of it either, but it changed our life!  Talk about getting vegetables in your diet!)

Today’s Food Friday is in honor of the fact that I can proudly say that now I no longer cower in fear as I put rutabaga or turnips or kale into our shopping cart.

Today’s Feature: Leek and Root Vegetable Au Gratin

Welcome to our regular blog post, “Food Friday”!   Every Friday we will share a photo of a favorite food item we recently cooked.  Daniel and I both love to cook and we both love photography. So we thought it would be fun to share that little piece of our life with you.

Brie Cheese with Fig Spread on Whole Wheat Butter Crackers

This is just a DELICIOUS treat that we sampled one day at  Beverages and More (one of our favorite stores…I suppose you will start to notice that as I continue to reference our trips there!).  Immediately I was smitten with this INCREDIBLE combination of food and had to bring it home to consume at my whim.  You too can try this delicacy with just a snap of your fingers (and, well, a trip to the store).

Welcome to our new regular blog post, “Food Friday”!   Every Friday we will share a photo of a favorite food item we recently cooked.  Daniel and I both love to cook and we both love photography. So we thought it would be fun to share that little piece of our life with you.

Steamed Artichokes with Chili Aioli. Hummus and Grilled Pita

This is not so much a “recipe to share”, as it is just a meal we ate for dinner, but to be honest I just thought it was both delicious and incredibly photogenic.  :)

To make: trim and steam artichokes, buy some yummy hummus (we prefer the extra garlic-y hummus at Fresh and Easy)l, brush a mixture of garlic, salt and pepper and olive oil on pita bread and grill until golden brown.  Chili aioli is pretty easy too (and delicious!).  Mix mayo, lemon juice, minced garlic, and 1/4 tsp. of chili powder.  DEELISH. Hope you enjoy!

I like lists.  And a clean house.  And toys neatly tucked into their designated baskets.  And the shoes by the door to be lined up instead of thrown into a pile.  And post-it’s.  Oh, how I love post-it notes….with lists.  Those sweet little yellow notes all lined up in a row on on my desk, each toting their own little arrangement of letters instructing me exactly what to do. Yep, that is definition of bliss to me.

Some may call it “type-A” and some may call it “detail-oriented”, but we all know what it means.  You may think we are  crazy, and chances are if you don’t then you are one  like me.  We are list people.  We are neat people.  We are the type of people that excited at the prospect of having a day off, not so we can relax, but so we can GET THINGS CROSSED OFF THE LIST.    But I am okay with it.  I own it.  I embrace it.  It is me.

So when my family in-law offered to take my two year old daughter for the day on Friday, I was so excited.  A million things raced through my head…a million projects that is.  Things that I have had on my list for months, that I just haven’t been able to tackle with toddler in tow.  I had no idea where to start!  But as the end of the week neared,  Daniel thought the idea of taking a day off sounded pretty good too.  And that is when I knew the list wouldn’t be touched this Friday.  I knew you see, because that is one of the reasons I fell in love with my dear husband.  He is the yin to my yang.  When I get all wound up and am drowning in a sea of  post-it notes, he comes in and whisks me away to a nice dry island with sunshine, a cold bottle of beer, relaxation, and absolutely no post-it notes.  So on Friday we had what he announced as “The Day of Yeast”, and nothing but relaxation and buckets of fun was had.

The “Day of Yeast” consisted of taking a tour of a beer brewery, doing 3 beer tastings at 3 different beer spots, and ending the day making some homemade bread (making homemade bread has become a new joy of ours since finding out you don’t need a bread maker to make AMAZING bread from this book.  We were enlightened by our awesome friend Jen!)

The Day’s Adventures:

We  have been wanting to take advantage of the fact that San Diego is one of the top craft brew cities.  There is a ton of breweries here, and plenty of good beer.  I am not a big beer person, but I am a sucker for a “behind the scenes” tour, so I was stoked for this adventure.  If you want an amazing behind the scenes tour from some of the nicest people I have ever met, check out the tour at Ballast Point Brewery right here in San Diego.   That was our first stop, and by far our best.  The second stop was Stone Brewery in Escondido.  This was not really my cup of tea, but worth the visit because of it’s breath-taking beauty.  Stunning.  All the pictures from our journey are from there, because to put it plainly, I was blown away by every detail, nook and cranny, and wanted to do nothing but take pictures.  (If you want to do your photo shoot there, I would LOVE TO do it!) Our last stop was none other than across the street from our house, at BevMo.  We love BevMo and just found out that they too do tastings of the yummy things they carry at 4pm on Fridays!  (And of course had to take advantage of their 0.05 wine sale while we were there!).  And then the bread was made.  The best loaf we have made yet!  Fluffy, buttermilk white bread.  YUM.

Here is our adventures in the form of pictures (cause as much I as I love to write, I know that this IS a photography blog!)

I am in LOVE with this rust wall (hence why my loving husband posed for me in front of it! What a guy.) Can’t you just imagine an awesome family portrait in front of it?

Then the bread making commenced.

Baking…

The baked loaf in all it’s glory. Ain’t it pretty?!

The End.  Hope you have a HAPPY Tuesday! Have a beer and a piece of bread…and you too can have your very own “Day of Yeast”!

Welcome to our new regular blog post, “Food Friday”!   Every Friday we will share a photo of a favorite food item we recently cooked.  Daniel and I both love to cook and we both love photography. So we thought it would be fun to share that little piece of our life with you.

[By the way, sorry for the delay in this week's Food Friday!  We played hookie today...and I forgot to put up my post first thing.  Daniel took the day off work, we dropped off Dayla with Grandma, and we enjoyed a "Day of Yeast" today!  Stay tuned for stories and photos of our day's adventures.]

Today’s Feature: Streusel Topped Blueberry Muffins