Hey there! If you’re at all curious as to why posting didn’t occur yesterday, it was because my roommates and I cancelled our cable/Internet service, so I was essentially disconnected from the outside world the latter half of the day. When I told my mom that we had cancelled our cable, she couldn’t believe the words she heard. “How are you going to blog!?”, she exclaimed. Haha… oh Mother, it’s temporary – duh. I could not imagine not having constant Internet access. It’s probably not a bad thing that I can’t hop onto the world wide web at the click of a finger for a few days, seeing as I spend an ungodly amount of time in front my screen. There are actually other activities to do in life, such as go see a chick flick with your roomie. Letters to Juliet was adorable, no? I promise you though, hooking up the Internet is at the top of my list of things to do when I return.
Return? Yes, I may have made a spontaneous trip today to Sonoma County [hi, Jenna!] for the holiday weekend. It’s sort of nice not having any obligations; I can just get in my car and go. The normal 3-hour drive took closer to four with the holiday traffic, but it wasn’t too terrible as I had some car snacks to nibble on during the stop and go.
Crunchy Flax PB + 1/2 Banana on Quinoa – I’m obsessed – Wheat Bread [all courtesy of TJ’s]
Organic Carrot + Cuc Stix
Little Blue got me safely to my grandparent’s house – with 200+ miles added to her odometer – where my mom had happened to arrive just a few minutes earlier. It was so good to see family – I’m quite the homebody. We chit-chatted it up for a bit before I broke out my computer to connect to the wireless Internet. I was having withdrawals already. Then we enjoyed hearty homemade vegetable soup, a splendid salad, and locally-made multigrain bread for dinner – mmm.
I provided the dessert for tonight:
I’ve had a serious itch to bake lately. Yesterday afternoon I whipped up a batch of Congo Bars. I called up my mom for the ‘blueprint’ of our traditional recipe, and then added my own style to the sweet batter.
Chewy Congo Bars
Dry.
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2 c. whole wheat flour + 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
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1/3 c. unsweetened coconut
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1 T baking powder
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1 tsp. salt
Wet.
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2/3 c. unsalted butter, melted
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1 c. brown sugar
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1 c. granulated sugar
plus…
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3 eggs
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1/2 T pure vanilla
Additional.
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1 c. toasted, chopped almonds [toast @ 350* for 10 minutes]
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1/2 c. each Guittard extra dark & milk chocolate chips
You know the deal: Mix together dry ingredients. Set aside. Mix butter and sugars together. Add eggs + vanilla to butter mixture. Combine thoroughly. Pour into dry mixture. Mix just to combine. Fold in additional ingredients [nuts + chips]. Reduce oven to 325*. Spray baking dish with chlorofluorocarbon-free canola oil, plop batter into pan evenly and bake for ~30 minutes — until golden brown + a pretty ‘cake’ tester is free of goop. Let sit, then cut into gigantic bars. Take a plate with you to a picnic or the park, and I guarantee you’ll make a few new friends.
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Speaking of yesterday…
Breakfast
1 c. TJ’s High Fiber O’s + 1 T walnuts + 1 tsp. unsweetened coconut + 1 small organic peach + 3/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
I wouldn’t mind being a fish in this bowl ; )
Dinner
Organic Baby Spinach, Organic Strawberries, Red Onion, Avocado, Chevre, Honey, Olive Oil, Balsamic + Fresh Black Pepper
BTW, this is last photo shoot on my u.g.l.y. [but clean] carpet. It can make the most delicious eats look entirely unappetizing. My apologies. I’m “pulling a Jenna” at the moment living sans furniture.
Rumor has it I’m making waffles for my grandparents in the mornin’. Mama Hill must catch some zzz’s before she has to get back to the kitchen. Night!
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Do you have a “home away from home”?
What are your holiday weekend plans?
Do you go nuts, too, without Internet?
everything but the kitchen sink.
sunshine in a jar.
Why I Eat The Way I Do
{vegan} almond apricot quinoa muffins.
a pancake celebration.
Not having internet for a day annoys me, which is quite bad! I didn’t go on the net all day yesterday and I did miss it a bit. But as you say we do need to live life too!
I love seeing my family and catching up on all of the news from home. Like you, I love chit-chatting with them. I don’t really have a home away from home (that’s quite sad!) – my flat that I share with my bf is becoming OUR home but nothing will match up to my parent’s house.
Holiday weekend plans – my bf and I are at my parent’s house right now. It was our 4-yr. anniversary yesterday so we went shopping and then for a nice curry (so romantic!) Then today we are having a family lunch and watching a load of sport! Tomorrow we are going back to our flat to relax on the last day of the holiday! I hope you have a great time with your family.
Sometimes it’s nice to get away from the computer screen and Internet! I took a little hiatus from it earlier this week and it felt so refreshing! But of course I’m addicted so I always come back.
Such a great summer salad! Strawberries + goat cheese + balsamic = heaven.
My home away from home is my parents house. They still live in the same house I was brought home from the hospital to and I lived in for 18 years before going to college. I feel totally relaxed there.
I don’t go crazy about not having internet. It’s just when I get back on I have 1,000 e.mails, 1,000 new posts on my google reader, and it just takes a while to play catch up.
I bought that Quinoa bread a while ago and thought it was pretty good!! It didnt keep me very fully though :[
haha thats so cute they thought of your blog when you had no internet!!
mmm those coco coco congo bars sound delicious. Sure they will be a hit!
wow what great eats! My home away from ‘home’ would definitelty be Melbourne!!
SO fun to have you here tonight at family dinner! We miss you, but are really proud of how well you’re doing.
BTW – where was MY congo bar?!? ;-)
My home away from home is my parents’ house. Thankfully both live in Austin about 10 minutes from me so I can go to either one and feel totally at ease! :)
I go insane without internet, like panic attack state, especially if it is unexpected.
All of your food looks so fresh and delicious, way to go!
Hi there! Gosh TJ’s is INCREDIBLE and I always seem to go through phases where I’m obsessed with a certain product or two before moving on to another one. hahaha.
I’ve gotta try that nut butter! TJ’s sprouted wheat bread is freakin’ awesome too!
You are a fab baker! Look at that creation… I’m totally craving sweets now! :)
yummm that pb & banana sandwich is looking so so good! & i’m glad you had a great weekend at home – no need to apologize for the floor pics – gotta do what you gotta do!
your mom sounds so cuteee :) love how much she loves your blog.
xoxoxo
Oh… strawberry and spinach salad… thanks for reminding me to add that back into my weekly rotation… it’s been too long!
My home away from home is the grocery store :) HA. Or my parents’ house… I love visiting “home”.
Haha, I took a last mintue trip back home to Maryland in my car “Old Red”. I love made up car names :)
Your photos are fantastic! Amazing food!
I have to locate that quinoa bread at TJ’s – quinoa is definitely one of my favorites!
My home away from home is my boyfriend’s in Ann Arbor :-)
I ran a half-marathon this weekend…’twas wonderful.
i think my home away from home is the gym! i’m there so much! but nah, i feel really comfortable at my best friend’s parents’ house!
Finally catching up on reading your blog – and your second posting for your new internship.
What is the title of the first posting? You may have mentioned it somewhere, but I missed it.
Loved having you here for the weekend, along with your Mom. The Congo Bars were yummy and it was great that you prepared the delicious waffle breakfast for us – served on the deck looking toward the trees, golf course and mountains. A great visit. Thanks sweetie.
Grandma