she sits alone at a table in the library. she has a computer and a notebook laid out in front of her like I do. she wears headphones, a baggy sweatshirt, cargo pants and xtratufs. she is engrossed in her work, but gets up to move a little, then sits back down every once in a while. nothing is unusual except for one thing.
there is a piece of birthday cake sitting next to her. where did the birthday cake come from? did she bring it, or did someone give it to her? how did the librarian allow this? a singular pink candle sticks up from the yellow cake with the white frosting and sprinkles. it doesn't look like she's eating it. so many possibilities, but I'll never know for sure.
And we got another 16" today. Guess the blizzard warning was right after all. I think we have far exceeded our annual limit for snow...here's to hoping it's time for spring now.
there is a man, hands shoved deep in his pockets, head down, heels scuffing the pavement as he paces back and forth. back and forth. back and forth. he clearly is experiencing internal turmoil.
he does this for forty minutes, pacing in front of the apartment door. why is he pacing? he leaves the door and walks around the block twice before heading in. he's been outside for at least an hour by now.
why was he pacing? there is so many possibilities that are running through my mind as I sit here.
I used a can of shredded chicken, Vegenaise (a vegan mayo because I’ve been reacting to stuff in regular), paprika and celery salt for the chicken salad. I added some bacon crumbles and spinach which made it even more amazing and rolled it up into tortillas. I sliced them and placed them in our preheated Air Fryer (we have a Foodi which is multipurpose and amazing) for about 7 minutes on 350.
They were really really yummy and so fast and easy to prepare.
What do you do when you have a bunch of sugar cookie dough in the fridge, don't feel like dealing with cutouts, and have random frosting you need to use up?
I present to you, cookie pizza. A thick rolled out sugar cookie, topped with green frosting, pink dinosaurs falling in love, and a couple shamrocks, because it's St. Patrick's Day. You're welcome for coming up with it first.
We got several inches yesterday-now we're expected to get dumped on by over a foot of heavy wet snow. *So fun*
My aunt sent me the recipe for vegan cinnamon rolls and I had to try them out…they were delicious!
We’ve figured out that I’m not technically allergic to gluten, I can eat homemade gluten products without an issue but store bought stuff is.
Anyway, these turned out so good and they weren’t difficult to make!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegan butter melted (I love Country Crock’s Olive Oil vegan butter)
2 cups almond milk, room temp or even slightly warm (I used macadamia nut)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 packet of active dry yeast (this is about 2 1/4 tsps)
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 cups flour, divided
——
1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
Brown sugar (as much as you prefer)
Cinnamon (as much as you prefer)
——
I cup powdered sugar (I just used a blender to make regular sugar powdery-ish)
2 Tbsp almond milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Prepare a 9x13 pan by oiling it.
Combine the melted butter, milk, and sugar in a large bowl. The mixture should be warm. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the mixture and let set for a few minutes.
Add 5 cups of flour and the salt and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place (the keep warm setting on an oven is very good for this, or near woodstove) for one hour, or until nearly doubled in size.
Add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour to the dough and turn out on the countertop to knead gently until the dough isn’t sticky. Add more flour as necessary. Roll the dough into a large rectangle about 1/2” thick. Spread the softened butter onto the dough and sprinkle with as much brown sugar and cinnamon as you like. Roll the dough into a tight log and cut into even pieces (mine made 20 rolls).
Place the rolls in the prepared pan and cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake for 25-30 minutes (mine took 27 minutes) until golden brown. Prepare the icing in a small bowl and drizzle over the warm cinnamon rolls.
Enjoy!
For the past month or so, I've been teaching my horse Zebedee how to "hug" (wrapping their neck around you while you put your arms around their neck :) He is very eager to please and picks tricks up quickly, and this one has been going very well!
Teaching a horse to hug is actually quite simple.
First, you just get in position; facing his neck/shoulder and putting both arms around the base of his neck). I always work this on his left side.
Then you use the cue word-I use "Zebedee, hug!" As you say the cue word take your right hand and pull the leadrope gently so his neck comes around your back. I hold it there for three seconds before release and reward.
Zebedee was given a lot of treats from his previous owner, when we got him he was incredibly pushy because of this. I try to limit the amount of treats he gets so he mostly gets verbal praise and lots of pets, both of which he responds well too. All that to say-I've seen people train their horses to hug by positioning themselves, using the cue while simultaneously holding a treat in the left hand.
I made lemon crinkle cookies for my dad’s birthday today! I love making them because they’re easy, quick to make and foolproof. Plus, they’re a family favorite :)
Ingredients:
1 cup softened butter
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 whole eggs
2 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 cups AP flour
powdered sugar for rolling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking stone or line a cookie sheet. Using a handheld beater or stand mix, beat the butter and sugar together until combined. Add in the vanilla, lemon, and eggs and beat until well mixed. Then add the dry ingredients. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough in your hands and then in the powdered sugar.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are starting to set. They will firm up more as they sit, so be careful to not overbake. Let them cool for 3 minutes on the stone before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
I’ve made a mistake…I went to the coffee shop…and I got the same thing I did last time. I haven’t been wanting to add a syrup flavoring because it’s already almost an extra dollar to get it dairy free…but next time I will! But, here’s a picture of it anyway!
I made these for my meals that I packed…they are so fast and easy to make, simple to pack, and delicious. I used Siete’s Almond Flour Tortillas, refried beans, diced chicken and Daiya cheese. The thing about dairy free cheese is that it’s not actually cheese. Less is more. If you have more, it’s disgusting, sticky, and overpowering.
I just spread a thin layer of the refried beans on a tortilla, added a thin sprinkle of cheese, a few pieces of chicken and put it on our stovetop griddle (you can also use just a pan) until it was golden brown, flipped it and let it cool before I put some avocado in it. They are really good and completely allergy friendly!
These peanut butter banana cookies were really good! Here’s the link to the recipe I used Click HERE
Combine 1/4 cup mashed banana
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
2/3 cup coconut sugar
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsps vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda.
1/2 tsp salt
Coarsely chopped peanuts (opt)
Granulated sugar (opt)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
You can choose to roll the dough in granulated sugar and chopped peanuts if desired.
Stir together all the other ingredients in a medium bowl. The dough will be thick and sticky. Let it sit for 15 minutes. It will thicken as it sits. Roll the dough in the peanuts and sugar and place on a baking sheet. Leave 2” between the cookies. They spread a lot! Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges begin to look crispy. They will dry out as they cool, so don’t overbake (guilty). They’re crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. They are so good!!
Note: I don’t know if the issue was me…but the dough never seemed to actually thicken (there was no way I could roll it). I just kinda plopped it onto the baking stone and sprinkled peanuts on top. They also seemed like they took longer to bake, but I did slightly overbake a batch. I definitely will be trying this recipe again, so we’ll try again. But, they still taste really good!
For the first time in forever *literally singing* I am excited for summer! I know, I am strange, but summer has never had an appeal to me. It’s always been the time where schedules and routine go out the window, the heat is mostly unbearable, and it’s kinda…boring but chaotic at the same time. Of course, some of these things have changed over the years (especially now that we have horses) so here are some things I’m looking forward to this summer!
1. Work - I’m excited to get back making some money…I’ve got a good feeling about this year.
2. My Birthday - 2023 is my sweet sixteen, and I usually hate getting older (i know, strange) but I’m very excited for my birthday this year
3. Getting my license - I am so so so excited to get my license, mostly because I will be able to work more and get together with friends.
4. My Project - if you haven’t seen my last blog post, I am doing a ‘23-‘25 project where I basically document tons of moments. There was this quote I saw once and it went something like ‘moments not remembered don’t become memories’ or some thing along those lines. I’m on a mission to make memories!
5. The Farm - I love being a farm girl. I love chores and working with the animals and all the things. So, I’m really excited to go on trail rides, work on training, grow my herb plot, not have to freeze and work around the weather :)
Those are just five things I’m looking forward to! Again, I have a good feeling about this summer and I’m so excited to see everything that happens!
Starting NOW, I am going to be doing this idea I saw that really resonated with me.
I will be taking a ton of pictures up until my graduation (2025) with friends, family, food, beautiful things…pictures of special moments.
I love those little things that bring me joy in the day to day but they’re so easily forgotten or covered up by the inevitable annoying or frustrating things.
Hopefully, documenting all these moments will remind me how blessed I am and I can’t wait to make a video at the end!
