Winter Beautiful

I am so glad that I live in Colorado where I can enjoy all of the beautiful seasons!  Right now I'm looking forward to snow and wintertime.  

I know there are people out there that think I'm crazy, but I absolutely love snow!!  There's something so beautiful and peaceful about it, and it can turn any landscape in to a magical wonderland.  

Snow turns cities quiet and peaceful.  It makes everything look clean and pure and sparkling.  

I love coming in after running around in the snow to a hot cup of cocoa or tea!  I love watching the snow fall through the window while I'm snuggled under a big thick blanket.  

I love bundling up and walking while snowflakes are gently falling from the sky.  I love watching dogs leap into snowdrifts and burrow their noses underneath!  

Although I absolutely adore fall, I just love winter too. :)  

All images found via Pinterest. 

Over the weekend... Snowboarding, St Patty's, and the NEAT Market!

This past weekend was kind of crazy but totally awesome! 

John and I went up to the mountains to get in some Spring snowboarding.  I took the day off from work on Friday (it was a heck of a busy week), so we made our way up on Thursday night!  We stopped at a Mexican restaurant in Idaho Springs along the way for a delicious dinner! 

My big sister Amber gave me some money for my birthday, so part of it went towards this.  Technically it doesn't break my Spending Fast since she insisted I spend it on something frivilous. ;)

Mmmmmmm..... beer.

We left the restaurant and continued our drive up, until John realized he forgot his condo keys when we were just 20 minutes away from the exit.  We had to turn around and drive all the way back to Denver to get them.  That kind of sucked, but luckily I had the Twizzler's that Cat's $20 bought me for the trip!

The next morning we slept in a bit, and got to have a leisurely breakfast.  I made an over-easy egg with sprouted toast, my homemade caramel apple jam, and a cup of coffee.

Gotta love that morning light!

Eventually we got geared up and drove up to Breckenridge.  It was a GORGEOUS day, and we had SO MUCH FUN!!  It was about 50 degrees and sunny, and the snow was soft and awesome.  We boarded for about 3-4 hours, and got our picture taken at the top by Epic Mix!

We are such dorks.  :)
That was the day I enjoyed a free beer from Cat's $20 too.  

That night we hit the hot tub, then John worked while I watched an episode of "Weeds", and then "Notting Hill".  I forgot how hilarious that movie is!

Saturday morning, we got up late again (it was so awesome to sleep in 2-days in a row) - and I made some breakfast for both of us...

Asparagus with garlic, topped with scrambled eggs, fake mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, onions, and hot sauce.  It was DELICIOUS.

John made bacon to go with his (yuck).  But he seemed to enjoy it!  HA!

We headed up to Breckenridge again to meet up with our friends Becca & Ryan.  It was the first time I'd boarded with them this season!  Love those two - they crack me up...

Ryan was the catch of the day! :) 

John and I had to do a super awesome high-five photo as well.  I can't jump quite as high as he can.

That night we headed back to Denver for Becca & Ryan's St Patrick's Day party.

This is where the trouble began.... Haha!
John was playing "Drunk Driver".  You just start playing Mario Kart with someone, but you both have to finish your beers by the end of the round.  You can only start drinking after the first lap, and you have to bring your kart to a complete stop before you continue with the race.

Needless to say, John drank a bit much.  Case in point:

Haha!!  Kind of my new favorite picture of John.  Goofball. :)

Becca - ain't she just the cutest!?

The gang hangin' out & havin' some beers.  It's how the Irish would have wanted it!

The next morning John woke up with a raging hangover, and I woke up to get my things ready for the Neat Market - put on by Plants & Animals Denver! 

The Neat Market is a place with vegan vendors - food, crafts, animal welfare, etc.  It was really fun!  Although I only sold two of my hair flowers (one to my little sister), it was still a fun experience.

Our little table set-up.  How could you NOT want to buy one of these babies? ;)

My mom actually came to help me run the table, but she also sold some of her knitted tea-cozies that she made.  She actually sold more of her cozies than I did of my flowers!  People went nuts for them!  They are really cute though!

Watercourse Bakery was there selling their pastries and goodies.  We shared a Key Lime tart (vegan).  It was SO yummy.

This is the girl with Watercourse setting up.  I loved the light coming through the skylight during the day too - I'm so glad it wasn't just a big dark warehouse!

The people are starting to trickle in...

Our friend Deb stopped by to see us!  That was so nice. :)

My little sister Taryn stopped by as well!  She's wearing the rose hair flower that she bought, and she's helping my mom model a hair flower as well.

My mom gave me $5 to spend on something, so I got this little organic plant!  It's actually Grapefruit Mint - so mint with a citrusey aftertaste.  I can't wait to try it in iced tea and mojitos over the summer - yum!!

After we closed up our table at the Market, I went home and made vegan cupcakes.  I joined some of my derby friends for a potluck dinner, and it was lovely to see them all!

When I got home that night I had time to catch about an hour of "Frozen Planet" on the Discovery channel.  It was AMAZING, and I really enjoyed it.  Eventually I climbed into bed and slept like a rock!

So I had a truly wonderful (and busy) weekend!  How was yours? 

My Weekend & Vegan Broccoli & Potato Soup!

Hope you all had an amazing weekend! 

I went to a free boot camp on Saturday morning and almost died (yes, I swear - it was the hardest workout I've ever done), then I got to have some quality time with my friend Katy.  We all went to an art gallery for an open house, and see my friend Marco's band play - again for FREE!  I love all the free stuff I'm finding so far! ;) 

 I loved this girl's work - it was really beautiful! 

There was another artist there that we really loved - he did all kinds of portraits (very design-like), and they were very colorful.  I was a little intimidated to take pictures of them though since we were standing there talking to him!  Ha! 

My friend Marco (on the drums) plays for a band called Doubters.  I'm not sure if that link worked, but it should go to their Facebook page!  They were really awesome - very 90's alternative rock, and made me think of early Thermals stuff.  I enjoyed the show a ton, and you should go check 'em out sometime if you're ever in the Denver area!! 

 Katy & I were tappin' our feets and boppin' around the whole time!  They really got us going! 

 

Sunday I had book club (no pics unfortunately), but it was a lovely time! 

That night I decided to use up some ingredients that I had in the fridge, and came up with one of my new favorite recipes!  I have been crazy about soups lately (probably the cold weather & all).  

Vegan Broccoli & Potato Soup
Makes about 6 servings


Ingredients
1 head of broccoli (just the florets), or about 1 1/2 cups frozen
1 medium baked potato* (diced)
1/2 a medium yellow onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 a package of Firm Tofu (pressed with a paper towel to remove extra moisture, and cut into large chunks)
1 cup Soymilk (or Almond milk), unsweetened 
3/4 cup cooked brown rice
4 cups (approximately) low-sodium Vegetable Broth
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp Braggs liquid amino acids (or Tahini / Soy Sauce) 
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive oil
Whole wheat bread (optional - for croutons)

Instructions
Place a large pot over medium-high heat, and add olive oil.  Add the onions & the garlic, cooking for about 2-4 minutes, until slightly clear. 

Add the broccoli, and cook stirring for about 1 minute.  Add the vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, Braggs, brown rice, and baked potato.  Cover & simmer for about 25-30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, place the tofu in your food processor or blender.  When the soup is done simmering, scoop out part of the chunky stuff (very little liquid), and add to the food processor on top of the tofu.  Blend until smooth, place in a large bowl, and set aside.  Add the rest of the chunks into the food processor (you'll have some broth left in the pot), and blend well - then return everything (including the bowl you set aside) to the pot.  

Turn stove on medium heat, and add the soymilk, and the salt & pepper.  Keep an eye on it, as sometimes soymilk can bubble over - just keep it medium to low & simmer for another 5 minutes or so. 

If desired, cut whole wheat bread into cubes and place on a cookie sheet.  Spray with spray oil (Butter-flavored is best), and sprinkle with garlic salt.  Pop into the oven at 450 degrees for about 5-6 minutes (or until slightly brown).  They might still be a little squishy, but John and I liked them that way! 

*You may not have a baked potato lying around, but I had this leftover from earlier in the week - that's why this recipe is so great for leftovers!  But just as a tip, baked potatoes are GREAT meal starters for vegetarians / vegans.  You can make a bunch on a Sunday to start your week, just leave 'em in the foil and stick 'em in the fridge. 

I love to heat up some of Amy's Vegetarian Chili and dump it over top of a potato, or do a Mexican-style theme with beans, brown rice, Daiya "cheddar" shreds, tomatoes, hot sauce, and shredded lettuce.  Sometimes when I'm being really lazy I will make a can of vegan cream-of-mushroom soup, add a little cornstarch to thicken it, and slop it over a baked potato like a gravy!  It's SO GOOD and great on a cold winter's day!  

They are also great thickeners for soup (as you can see!).  An added bonus: potatoes are a good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber - and for the thrifty vegan, you can't go much cheaper than potatoes!  Win-win!  :)