Salmon Tacos with Roasted Corn and Poblano Salsa

I’m having an affair. With my jean jacket. Wait, is that weird? To be in love with an item of clothing? Definitely Probably. But I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it!

We started flirting a few years ago, when it caught my eye across a crowded GAP Outlet. We went out casually a few times over the next couple of months, nothing too serious, just a little light layering. I didn’t want to seem desperate. We even separated for a few months and I turned to my wool peacoat for comfort and warmth during those cold and dark months.

Then, this summer, we made up. And were inseparable. We spent nearly every day together. Sundress, maxi dress, peasant skirt. Jacket, jacket, jacket. If I had been carrying around a notebook there would have been little doodles with “Amanda <3s JJ” or “JJ + Amanda = Togetha Foreva” all.over.it.

And now, as the weather gets cooler and hemlines get longer, I am still relying on good ol’ Jeanie. Keeping me warm on cool morning walks to class or managing to make an outfit both more casual and pulled together without looking too “done” – my jacket is there for me. In the summer. In the fall. Forever.

These tacos are the jean jacket of the food world. Comfortable and versatile, they can transition from summer to fall without effort. 

Thursday Things

1)     I cannot believe someone did this before me. Of course, for me to have written something like that or this or this while I rewatched the entire series of Buffy last year it would have required me to put down the white cheddar popcorn and  get into a sitting position. Which wasn’t going to happen.

2)     I started my junior year of college today, and all I want to do is go back to fifth grade. 

3)     I always knew Kelly Kapoor and I had a lot in common. The above being one of those things. Mindy Kaling did a such a good job on The Office and now her new show, The Mindy Project, is totally in my weekly lineup…along with New Girl, Modern Family, Bones, and I just started watching Parenthood on Amazon Prime.

4)     Apparently, I also have to fit schoolwork into my weekly lineup? And venture out of my apartment at some point in time to go to things like “class” and “work.” Don’t know what that’s about.

5)     My life has become very small (see numbers 1, 3, and 4 for evidence).

6)     Burns are the worst. Burns from hot sugar are the WUUUUURST. Ouch.

7)     There’s something about Fall that says straight-across bangs to me. Happens every year. I love them now, will like them in about a week, they will awkwardly have grown out in about two weeks and then I’ll pin my hair back until they’ve grown out long enough to be bearable. And the cycle will repeat. (Because I'm sure you wanted to know.)

8)     I had a little reunion dinner with a friend last night and I made an asparagus and leek frittata with goat cheese on top along roasted cherry tomatoes on a toasted baguette. Pumpkin cake for dessert. It was the perfect last night before classes.

9)     Speaking of pumpkin – I finally made a treat that has been on my baking bucket list for months. MONTHS. But I’ve been sitting on it, waiting for the right season and now it’s here. I can’t wait to share more than an Instagram picture with you!

10)   While we’re talking about pumpkin, once again, Jess nailed it. 

Thursday Things

1)     It was my dad’s birthday on Monday. He turned the big 49. Since I was at school and couldn’t celebrate with him I posted this picture to facebook and twitter. He was really not happy about it so I thought I should share it here too. It’s like the gift that keeps on giving.

1.5)    That little bug popper push toy thing to the right of my dad? Best.toy.ever.      

2)     I keep coming up with these random thoughts and observations that make me go, “Hey, I should put this in Thursday Things. I should write it down so I don’t forget. I don’t want to get up and get paper. I’ll remember it.” …I don’t remember it.

3)     Finally got my Pinterest boards organized! Don’t ask me how long it took. Suffice it to say at one point even I thought I had been on Pinterest too long, and that’s saying something. But it’s done, I did it, I can move on.

4)     I opened up the first can of pumpkin this morning. And went a little heavy with the ground ginger. My kitchen smells spicy sweet and is so toasty warm. I’m in heaven.

5)     Eating my first caramel apple on Tuesday was also a heavenly experience. Man, I missed those.

6)     I know it’s over a month away but Halloween lends itself to so, SO many good movies. I am already gearing up for the annual showings of Halloweentown, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Hocus Pocus (ß easily the BEST Halloween movie, bar none).  I’ve been humming this song ever since I finished my workout this morning.

7)     I really think I'm going to like this new series.

8)     Item number 1 on this list is precisely the reason I have never seen Toy Story all the way through. I would get too scared and shut it off. Judge if you must, but there was no getting past that thing (I hesitate to call it a toy) with my fear of spiders. Also, number 4? Scar-eee.

9)     I never thought I would see the day when I have three country station presets on my radio. But I do. I’m both proud and ashamed of this fact. 

Thursday Things

1)     Downloaded the Pinterest app on my phone. Life = over.

2)     Speaking of Pinterest, I am attempting to organize my Food board by dividing it up into a bunch of other smaller boards that have sub categories. So far I have a Cakes, Cupcakes, and Breakfast board done. Clearly, I prioritized.

3)     I wanted all of these when I was younger. Espeically 3. Those were fun until I was too big for them. And even then they only became less fun because I had to hunch and bunch and sqeeze myself into that tiny cab. I would still drive one now if my achy old knees would allow it. No shame.

4)     This matte finish top coat is fan.tas.tic.

5)     There are some days when a girl just needs to buy half a dozen doughnuts and share them with her family and friends. Today was one of those days.

6)     I also shared them with myself.

7)     That Lowe’s commercial where it shows the couple doing renovations in slow motion looks like a lot of fun. I sometimes wish I could have slow-mo in real life. Also montages. Montages in real life would be awesome. Like in “The Devil Wears Prada” where Anne Hathaway’s character is walking around NYC streets looking fabulous in all these different coats. That could be my life on loop and I would be totally fine with that.

8)     After a roller coaster weekend I am officially moved in a mostly settled into my apartment. I could not have done it without my family and friends helping me, we managed to get the trailer unloaded in only 30 minutes and I was unpacked in less than two days.

9)     Perhaps the unpacking went so fast because I somehow, kinda, sorta, maybe, might’ve left my clothes at home. I was left with pajamas and grungy workout clothes for three days until I could get back to rescue them. *Facepalm*

10)    So, what am I wearing now that I have my closet at my disposal once again? You guessed it, sweatpants and an old work shirt. *Facepalmsquared*

Fig and Goat Cheese Breakfast Biscuits

“Are you learning anything new at the bakery?” my grandmother asked as I was elbow deep in biscuit dough. I tried to scrape the sticky mess off my fingers and think of a decent response, both efforts were futile.

“Oh, I don’t know. Not really. Maybe?” came my reply as I sprinkled flour onto the table and over my rolling pin. After forming the lump into a somewhat recognizable shape, I began to roll. My grandma watched and waited, nipping off a bit of dough with her fingers and tasting it, giving me her approval.

“You know, I always use a pizza or pie cutter to even out the edges when I’ve got a dough like that,” my grandma said after her sample. I took a knife and evened out the edges, giving myself a neat rectangle. Hmm, that’s better, I thought.

I spread not-so-softened goat cheese over the dough, taking care not to tear it and using my fingers when necessary; her eyes watched me the entire time. She mentioned something about whipping it with honey, for added sweetness. I contemplated and then disregarded it, staring at the lumpy goat cheese before me.

Thursday Things

1)     Let’s get this over with…PUMPKIN SPICE IS BACK!!!!!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. MY LIFE IS COMPLETE. CANNOT STOP DRINKING. I LUUUUUUUUUUV PUMPKIN SPICE! *faints with a face covered in ground cinnamon, clutching a coffee cup*

2)     Yes, I am that clichéd. Yes, I am that one-track minded and unoriginal. I want fall just like every other person out there. I am professing my love for the upcoming season much like the rest of the internet. Oh well.

3)     I can’t stop the Fall Train anyways, I’m making my first trip down to school in two days. And because of that I was gone for 12 hours (yes, TWELVE) running errands and buying last minute things for my apartment. It has been a long day.

4)     While I was packing this week I found a bunch of old issues of Food Network Magazine. Like, two years’ worth. Before I could consider if I had a hoarding problem, I began flipping through them and rediscovered some recipes and ideas that I had flagged as interesting and promptly forgot when the next issue came. Seeing all these recipes kept me from packing made me want to focus more on cooking from the books, magazines, and recipe collections I already have. I don’t do that enough.  

5)     Don’t think a short workout can make an impact? Think again. What I did this morning took me only about 20 minutes, including warm up and cool down, and the actual workout portion took me just over 7 minutes. Try this the next time you’re short on time: after a quick warm up that includes some light cardio and stretching, do 25 reps of weighted squats into an overhead press (I used 10 pound hand weights and was sufficiently challenged, but go higher or lower in weight depending on where you are physically) immediately followed by 50 jumps with a jump rope. Repeat this cycle 4 times as fast as possible. Yes, that’s it. Just that one pair of exercises four times. Cool down and stretch afterwards.  Trust me, you’ll feel the work.

6)     Finding Nemo in 3D. Oh yes.

7)     Apple Pie Bread. Yes, apple.pie.bread. It’s totally a thing.

8)     Damn you, Ulta and your 21 Days of Beauty. Damn you (but not really)!

9)     Now that my return to campus is imminent, something that has been bugging me all summer really can’t be ignored any longer. See, when I first went away to school, I kept thinking that people I saw on campus were people from my hometown. I kept finding my friends’ doppelgangers at the student union or spying my old biology teacher in line at the grocery store. Everywhere I looked I spied a stranger who at first glance was an old friend. It’s like my brain was trying to acclimate itself to a new surrounding by putting familiar faces in it. That was bothersome three years ago, but even more annoying now is that the roles have reversed. I’m not seeing people from back home at school anymore, no, I’m seeing people from school in my hometown! It’s totally thrown me for a loop.

10)     Wow, that’s a lot of writing up there. I apologize. 

Peanut Butter S'mores Cups

This is it.

These s’mores cups are my last attempt to grasp hold of summer. To enjoy the fleeting heat and streaks of sun. To ignore the fact that it’s already September (woa) and already Labor Day (double woa).

I love fall. It is my favorite season. But I’m not quite ready for it. I want the boots and the sweaters and  the caramel spice and the falling leaves just as must as anyone else, but not right.this.minute.

I am done with work for the summer. I am putting off packing for school. I am looking at reading lists and scavenging for used books. I am dragging my feet.