I heart food

So let me just be real. I love food, probably too much. Cooking it, eating it, playing with it (bad habit) and ruining my clothes with it (yep, still a 5 year old).

During school Robert would always beg (really, though) me to let him cook so that I would have more study time, but I always declined his offer- not because he doesn't have mad cooking skills but because I find cooking therapeutic. There is just something about making something, not only edible, but absolutely delicious out of random things in our pantry that I found so profoundly satisfactory. So at the end of a long day, the first thing I want to do is whip up a nice well rounded dinner for my dear rubbertoe and I.

And in honor of my food obsessed brain today (and making a bomb.com meal tonight) , here are a few of my favorite go-to dishes. Are they healthy? That's relative. Do I have a major sweet tooth? No. Do I love ethnic food and spice? Yes. With those precautions, here you go- a list of my favorite foods that I think everyone needs to try because they rock my world:

My favorite well-rounded, feel-good, "clean"  meal:
Last week my sister and I were talking about how much we love well rounded meals when we feel clean, light, and satisfied afterwards, so this is mine!

• Salmon. There are a few recipes that I like, and I always seem to go back to my mom's marinade or a nice herb crusted salmon. 
• Mashed Cauliflower. My sister(s) Micah and Collette first taught me how to make this, and I make it differently every time. I did find a similar recipe that I have used a few times and enjoy. Mashed potatoes go well here, too.
• Spinach Salad. 
• Jim Lahey's No Work Bread. My sister and I found this recipe a few years back in my cooking bible How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I have finally figured out how to use Robert's sourdough start (yes, his Christmas present) with it, and let me tell you, it makes a KILLER sourdough artisan bread. Divine.

Go-to Desserts:

• Cherry Slab Pie 
• Deep Dish Cookie Pie I 1/4 this recipe and it was perfect for Robert and I (and probably a 3rd person). I also found that you could probably cut the sugar down by about half and still have it be too sweet. 
• Pierre Mineral Water + Crushed Ice + Stevia's Flavored Sweetners

Breakfast-ish:

• Peanut Butter-Banana Bread This was a Cooking Light recipe I found a few moons ago. I ended up cutting down the sugar down and adding more banana because bananas are so sweet. 
• Peanut Butter Cup Baked Oatmeal We literally have this for breakfast 5 times a week. 

Main Dishes:

• Homemade Indian Naan
• Sopa Tarasca (Bean and Tomato Soup) My sister first introduced us all to this soup from NPR's Kitchen Window at our Christmas Eve Palooza. Rocked my tastebuds.
• Tomato Basil Creme Pasta

And so there it is. A list of my favorite foods that may or may not make me want to weep because they are just that good.

Happy Sunday!

Graduate.

Last Friday Robert and I graduated from BYU-Idaho with our Bachelors.

It was a very long last semester, and I am proud to say that Robert and I both did better than we could have hoped! The last four years have been more than an adventure, and honestly I didn't think I would actually ever see my graduation day. Yes, it's cliche- but it really feels like it was just a few days ago that I was in a teal cap and gown, heading off to my new big adventure- college. Yet, here I am a college graduate, happily married and ready to begin a new stage of life. 

Over the last four years I was blessed to have opportunities that many people aren't given. BYU-Idaho has given me more opportunities than any other school could have; the professors have greatly impacted and changed both mine and Roberts life. We will forever be grateful to professors who took a sincere interest in Robert and I and who were always cheering for us and pushing us to our potential. 

Three cheers to graduating and taking a new big step in life!

Wedding, Depar Two?

First, let me say that tonight has literally been the first night in two months (hence the lengthy gap between blog posts) I haven't wanted to weep from overwhelming school. This is my last semester of school and definitely proving to be the most difficult, by far. I am sure one day I will look back and think, you know what? Being a poor married college student, with both of us completely swamped with work, school, and grad school applications was kinda fun. As for right now, it's not something that I would pass up Disneyland for.

My good friend Ally is a floral design major and had her big bridal/wedding show this weekend. A few days ago we talked, and it turned out that she needed to find someone to be the bride for her room; she had a specific dress she had to have the bride wear and it turns out that I was one of a gajillion people who fit into the dress. It was kind of like Cinderella. with a dress, minus the mice, and the true love thing. Since I fit into the bridal gown, I naturally had to have a groom. And who better than my dashing real life groom?

So today Robert and I spent the afternoon being props for and awesome flower show. But really. Ally did an awesome job on her room- she is a VERY talented florist. Her theme was a classic/vintage black and white. The pictures don't really do it justice.

My awesome little sister (besides the fact that she is 8 in taller than me) did my hair. To the right is the final product. 

A table runner made out of flowers. How cool is that?!

Even though it was far less enjoyable than our wedding (considering the people were really on there to look at the decorations and flowers- not us), it brought back many memories from the last time I wore a wedding dress and stood next to my dashing groom. 

Weddings are awesome. Marriage is so much cooler.