How to throw an awesome croquet party...

Step 1: Find friends that own a croquet set

Step 2: Force all your friends to dress up 20's style

Step 3: Make lots of cute finger foods for munching

Step 4: Break out the champagne!

This idea was a tribute to the annual 20's style USNA vs. St John's croquet match. I love any excuse to get our friends together and play games and eat good food and thought this would be a fun, slightly different event. Of course I picked a date in June so that it would be nice and warm for an outdoor event, but thanks to the "awesome" Monterey weather, it was actually freezing! But look what good sports our friends were to come and dress up so adorable despite the chill!
The Menu:

Deviled Eggs

http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/recipesearch/recipedetail.jsp?recipeId=37001

Savory Blue Cranberry Shortbread w/ Caramelized Onion Cranberry Jam

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/savory-blue-cranberry-shortbread-with-caramelized-onion-cranberry-jam/detail.aspx

Turkey Club Pinwheels

*my own recipe: italian seasoned "flatout" wraps with spreadable garlic and herb cheese, topped with oven roasted turkey deli meat, lettuce, tomato, and bacon, rolled up and sliced into pinwheels

Filo Cups with Chocolate Mousse and Olallie berries

Filo cups: 4-5 sheets of filo dough with melted butter and sugar between each layer, cut into small squares and baked in a mini muffin tin 12 mins till light brown

Chocolate Mousse: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chocolate-mousse-recipe/index.html

Olallie berries: raspberry/blackberry hybrid berry from the farmer's market

Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Red Velvet:http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/grandmother-pauls-red-velvet-cake-recipe/index.html

Buttercream: adapted from the oreo buttercream in previous blog post (minus oreos, plus vanilla extract and 1 cup powdered sugar)

Cheese and Crackers!

Havarti w/ Dill

Baby Swiss

Assorted Water Crackers

Plus, yummy smoked salmon canapes, cucumber sandwiches, and egg salad finger sandwiches courtesy of my awesome friends! Yea... we had lots of food... it was yummy!

We'll definitely be doing this event again next year! Hopefully with better weather:-P

Oreo Cupcakes!

For Valentine's Day Sam brought home this amazing Oreo cupcake from Ms. Delish's Bakery and since then I have been obsessed with Oreos. (Yes hubby, I am blaming you for my obsession!) I have bought Oreo cupcakes from Ms. Delish at the farmer's market more than once and at $3 a pop I figured I should just learn how to make them myself. The problem is, I'm an icing person and perfect buttercream icing has been an illusive challenge for me over the past 5 years (since I officially became obsessed with buttercream after tasting our wedding cake). And I'm of the opinion that if icing isn't buttercream, there is no point in even eating it. ANYWAY... I searched the internet for an Oreo cupcake recipe and found the following icing recipe on a food blog which I very slightly modified. I used a boxed Devil's food cake mix for the cupcakes and next time, if I have enough Oreos I will drop an Oreo in each cupcake before baking. I've made my own chocolate cupcakes before and somehow they never turn out as delicious as the box kind, so I just don't fight it anymore!

From myfoodaffair.blogspot.com
Oreo buttercream frosting (see note)
adapted from Nick Malgieri’s Perfect Cakes

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups of unsalted butter, softened
12 oreo cookies, coarsely crushed
6 oreo cookies, quartered for decoration

1. Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot (approximately 160 degrees).

2. Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Stir in crushed Oreos.

Tip- you definitely need a candy thermometer to determine when the egg white have reached 160 degrees and are finished.

WARNING! This icing is daaaangerous! So good I could sit there and eat it with a spoon. Even Sam loved these cupcakes and he isn't a cake person at all. I think it is because there isn't loads of sugar in the icing so it isn't overly sweet. I did have to store the iced cupcakes in the refrigerator because due to the massive quantities of butter in the frosting, the frosting gets really soft if left out at room temperature.

Vegan fajitas & Sam's Favorite Vegan Soup

Since my "experiment" ended I've still been cooking mostly vegan and we've come across a couple new recipes that are definitely worth sharing! Both of these are super simple and require very little work, but are "simply" delicious!

Vegan Fajitas

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vegan-Fajitas/Detail.aspx

I love these fajitas! And they are extra awesome because you could really just use any veggies you have on hand or prefer and they would be just as good. I took the advice of one of the reviewers and added some lime juice to the marinade. They are great just like the recipe says but would also be good with a little more "heat" so next time I might add a packet of fajita seasoning while the veggies are sauteing. But maybe not, since they were so good anyway.

I think I even prefer these vegan fajitas to fajitas with meat because fajitas with meat are kind of hard to eat. At least for a very un-graceful eater like myself... I bite down and pull and entire piece of meat out of the fajita and have it hanging out of my mouth (pretty picture, right?). And I certainly didn't miss any taste, the marinade made them so flavorful. Will be making these again soon!

Sam's Favorite Vegan Soup:

Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple & Red Lentil Soup

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-Potato-Carrot-Apple-and-Red-Lentil-Soup/Detail.aspx

Yum Yum! Make this recipe vegan by substituting oil for the butter and leaving out the dairy topping- you won't miss it! I made this on our anniversary because we needed a quick dinner before we headed out to our church small group. It was soooo easy! And I got to use my immersion blender, which is always fun for me:) I used precooked lentils (they weren't "red" either) so I just added them 5 minutes before pureeing so they could just get warm but not overcook.

There isn't much more to say about this soup... it's really easy and really delicious. Sam loved it and it would be awesome on a cool fall day, which is pretty much what it feels like here in Monterey right now :-/

Camille's Awesome Veggie Enchiladas

I promised to share this recipe once I got it so here it is!

Today is actually Camille's 27th birthday! So in honor of her b-day, I'm finally posting this:)

If you love tomatillos like I do, you definitely need to try this.

Stacked Vegetable Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
1 medium white onion, sliced ¼-inch thick, divided
3 garlic cloves
2 serrano chiles, stemmed
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
½ cup Mexican crema (or creme fraiche or sour cream)
2 cups mushrooms (cremini are best, but any will work), cleaned, stems removed, and cut into ½-inch cubes
2 poblano peppers, diced into ½-inch cubes
1 ½ cups corn (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp cumin
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 handfuls spinach
10 corn tortillas
1 cup Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Salt and Pepper

For Tomatillo Sauce:

Adjust oven racks to lower middle and upper middle positions and preheat broiler. Toss tomatillos, ½ onion, garlic, and serranos on large baking sheet and place in oven. Roast for four to five minutes, or until tomatillos soften and start to turn black. Flip everything over with pair of 12-inch tongs. Return to oven and cook for another four to five minutes. Some black is okay, but adjust vegetables if they simply start to burn. Remove and let cool. Adjust heat in oven to 400 degrees.

Transfer all contents on baking sheet to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.

Pour 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil into large dutch oven set over medium-high heat. When hot, dump contents of blender in. It should immediately start to sizzle and bubble. Cook, stirring often with wooden spoon, until darker, about three minutes. Pour in broth and crema, turn heat to medium-low, and stir until mixture is smooth. Partially cover dutch oven, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

While sauce is simmering, toss ½ onion, mushrooms, poblano peppers, and corn with remaining oil, cumin and a pinch of salt. Roast for about 15 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure even cooking.

Remove vegetables from oven, add to a bowl, mixing in black beans.

Spread 1/3 sauce in bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add a layer of tortilla pieces to cover sauce. Top with ½ vegetable mixture, a handful of spinach and 1/3 cup cheese. Make a second layer with tortillas, 1/3 sauce, remaining vegetables, handful spinach and 1/3 cup cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, remaining sauce and remaining cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Enjoy!

In case you don't already have an awesome guacamole recipe, Camille's guacamole is probably my favorite ever. I feel like there are so many guac recipes that are just mediocre, but this one is really great!

4 Haas Avocados, mashed
1-2 Jalapeños, ribs and seeds removed, diced small
1 tomato, seeded and diced
handful cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
salt to taste

Add the ingredients together, taste and add spices as necessary/desired.

A New Career! (kind of)

I believe God created each of us with a purpose. I believe that purpose is to bring glory and honor to Him. And I believe He made each of us with certain gifts and abilities such that the way we bring glory and honor to Him will be uniquely personal.

For me, I am a teacher. There is no question about that calling in my life. Whether I am actually employed in the formal act of "teaching" is another question, but being a teacher is part of who I am, it is part of how God made me. I didn't always know this, but over the years it has become abundantly clear.

Every single job I have ever sought after has involved teaching. One of my first jobs was as a life guard and swim instructor. I have been a swimmer my entire life and it is a passion of mine. And... as most of you who know me can attest, I am passionate about sharing my passions! (Which I am sure can be down right annoying for some of you who have ever gotten me on a subject I am passionate about-haha!) I am also a "people-person" so teaching kids to swim was so much fun for me because I got to share something I loved with little people.

One of my most-loved jobs, which I worked at during the summers during college, was on the waterfront staff at a summer camp teaching sailing and waterskiing. When I showed up at camp I didn't know how to sail or waterski, but since I was already a lifeguard with an obvious affinity for the water, I learned, and then had the opportunity to teach my new skills all summer. There are few things more exhilarating than gliding across the glassy surface of the Chesapeake Bay, whether in a sailboat or standing on a thin strip of fiberglass. And it was such a joy to be a part of the moment a kid first gets up on skis and gets to experience that for the first time.

My first college degree was in youth ministry and Christian education, and during college I volunteered at a local church with the middle school ministry leading a small group of girls. I loved it! I felt like there was nothing more important that I could be sharing with others than a love for God and spending time in His Word learning to be more like the person He created us be. I interned full-time at the same church right after college before marrying into the military. Interning was a great experience but I realized that I spent more time in the office planning and managing programs and volunteers than I did with the students.

During my time following my new husband around for his career, I often worked as a substitute teacher and fell in love with secondary education. This led me to go back to school for my second degree in mathematics education. I then had the opportunity to teach at a few different schools when we were stationed in Hawaii for a couple of years. I felt like my life was complete. I loved my job. It required lots of time outside of "work" and was physically and emotionally exhausting at times but every moment I felt like I was doing what I was created to do.

Towards the end of our time in Hawaii we got pregnant with Quinn and then as soon as we arrived in California, he was born! And what a blessing he is! It is a privilege and a joy to be his mommy and I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom who gets to be part of every little milestone in my child's life. That said, I did have a bit of an identity crisis after he arrived because I just didn't know who I was if I wasn't a school teacher. God had to gently remind me that my identity does NOT come from my career, but from being a child of God. He had to remind me that my purpose in life is first and foremost to bring glory and honor to Him, and at this time in my life raising my child is the best way for me to bring glory and honor to Him.

Finally, this brings me to the new "career" that I am so excited about! I love being a stay-at-home mom and feel fulfilled in my role. And I am a bit of a group exercise fitness fanatic and still want to maintain a bit of 'myself' outside of being a mommy. So I am super excited to start training to be a TurboKick and PiYo instructor! This is the perfect balance for me at this time in my life. I get to combine my love of group-x fitness and my love of teaching, and it requires only minimal time away from Quinn (time that I already spend away from him anyway, because whether I am teaching or not, I still go to the gym).

I just ordered the home-study materials so I cannot wait to get them and get started! I've also spoken to the TurboKick instructors at my gym who say they are really in need of new instructors and that they will be happy to help me train by letting me team teach classes with them and will help with my audition when I am ready. I also know that my gym needs a new PiYo instructor after our most recent one left.

So here I am, almost (but not quite) done with my third degree (M.Ed. in Instructional Design) and I'm already starting the next thing... I think Sam was already taking bets on how long it would take me to start something new after finishing my Masters, but I bet none of you put your money on before I finished my Masters :-P

*PS- TurboKick is a high-intensity, choreographed, cardio kick-boxing class, and PiYo is a blend of pilates and yoga.