Ridgway trip.

In September, we took a trip down to the Ridgway area. That part of Colorado is so beautiful; the mountain views are striking and the camping is quiet and relaxing.

 

 

This year we decided to take a couple of day trips--a drive up Owl Creek Pass and Yankee Boy Basin, in addition to our stops in Ridgway, Ouray and Telluride. Here are a few shots from our week away.

The drive up to Owl Creek Pass

The Aspen Grove

Chimney Rock

 

Small waterfall on the way to Yankee Boy Basin

Yankee Boy Basin

homemade milk tea with boba.

I sure love me some boba tea, as evidenced by the boba milk tea glamour shot below.

I decided to try making it at home a few days ago and it was so fun and delish I thought I would share my recipe here.

I started by making a super strong cup of Earl Grey tea. I usually prefer Earl Grey over plain black tea, so I opted for that. You could probably make it with any sort of blackish tea you wanted. In a large mug, I steeped two bags of Earl Grey for 5 minutes (not any longer to prevent too much bitterness). My tea was pretty dark at the end of the steeping. Since I was going to dilute the tea with milk considerably, I wanted the starting point to be pretty dark.

As the tea cooled in the refrigerator, I busted out these quick cooking boba brought to me by a dear friend from the midwest.

I followed the directions on the back of the boba bag and cooked about 1/3 cup of dry boba uncovered at a slow boil for a few minutes until it plumped, then covered for 5 minutes. Easy peasy!

While they were still warm, I put them in the bottom of the glass I planned to mix the drink in. I poured in my cold Early Grey tea and added sweetened condensed milk and 2% milk until I found the perfect balance of tea, milk and sweetener. It was so good!

Corrie ten Boom.

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength, carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” ―Corrie ten Boom

thankful.

:: for such great friends and family who have blessed me with a special birthday
:: that fall is coming. I can't wait to drink more tea, wear scarves and be able to leave the windows at my house open without fear of melting
:: that my tomato plant produced at least one tomato. I know, one tomato is a pathetic harvest, but at least I got one

tomato pie.

 



 

 

Everytime I make this savory pie for dinner, we always talk about how it must be part of a proper hobbit's meal. Doesn't it sound like something hobbits would eat? Tomato Pie and sausages. I can totally picture a table full of hobbits devouring this pie for second lunch, or whatever afternoon meal hobbits eat.

I found myself with a vegetable drawer full of tomatoes a few months ago and searched around on the internet for recipes and ways to use them up. I stumbled on Simply Recipes' post about Tomato Pie and I knew I had to try it. Everything I have made from Simply Recipes has been so good, so I wasn't surprised when it was delish. Since making it that first time, we have it nearly once a week--it is pretty easy to throw together in a pinch.

Tomato Pie

adapted slightly from Simply Recipes' Tomato Pie

 



A 9-10 inch pie crust, baked and ready to be filled

3-4 tomatoes, seeded, squeezed and rough chopped (about 3 cups)

1/2-3/4 cup onion chopped

3/4 cup basil, rolled and chopped finely

2 cups shredded cheese, a mixture of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack

3/4 cup mayonnaise

about a tsp of hot sauce (I use Sriracha because that's usually what I have on hand)

salt and pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 375 F.

 

Spread onions in an even layer in the bottom of the pie crust. Top with a thick layer of chopped tomatoes. Sprinkle basil over the tomatoes.

 

In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise, cheese and hot sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Carefully top the pie with an even layer of the mayo cheese mixture. I use my hands to pat out thin hamburger pattie like pieces of the topping, then tamp them down on top of the tomatoes. There should be enough topping to evenly cover the entire top of the pie.

 

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cheese is hot and bubbly. Cool for 7-10 minutes and serve.

 

**A note about pie crust: I am cheap and too lazy to make my own pie crust, so I always buy the premade type from the store. It is important to follow the directions on the package to pre-bake the crust properly.

 

 

 

ing.

:: relaxing with the husband on a Saturday
:: dreaming up plans for our next vacation
:: thinking about how cool it would be to be able to see all the things on the bottom of the ocean. Don't you just wonder what all is sitting down there?
:: having fun getting this new blog all set up and pretty