A Few Tidbits

Lately...

 Actually getting my butt outside to either walk or jog. It's a start!

 Louie loves laying by the warm vent

 Starting to bloom

 Louie hard at work next to me

 Did my first beer tasting!

 Took a drive to Deception Pass

 Bellevue Botanical Garden...where plants grow out of trees

 Suspension bridge at the garden

Perfect little pine cone

Dinner Party

This past Saturday Brian and I had a group people over for dinner. I was slightly nervous only because it was mostly guys, there was only one other girl, so I knew I had to make enough to feed everybody and their big appetites. So I'm sure it's not surprising, to those who know me, that I went with spaghetti and meatballs, salad and bread. However, what might surprise everyone including myself, is that I made a dessert! Panna cotta served with fresh berries on top. I had never made it before but it has always been a favorite of mine. Thankfully it's easy to make. From now on it will always be a go-to stress free dessert for me.
The recipe I used is from Giada's book Everyday Italian.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp unflavored powdered gelatin
• 3 cups whipping cream
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tbsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups assorted fresh berries

Directions:

• Place the milk in a heavy sauce pan. Sprinkle the gelatin over and let stand for about 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. 
• Stir over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves but the milk does not boil, about 5 minutes. 
• Add the cream, honey, sugar, and salt and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool slightly. 
• Pour the cream mixture into pretty glasses (if you are going for presentation) or a bowl like I did. Cover and refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours, and up to 2 days. 
• Spoon the berries atop the panna cotta and serve. 

Lately

I don't feel like I am exaggerating when I write that the weather has been pretty yucky lately. Although, two pluses have been that we had about 2 days of sun (was it last week? I can't even remember) and it's not quite as cold. Let me tell ya, those two days of sun go a long way when you see days and days of consecutive cloud cover. Meanwhile I have just been keeping myself busy with buying little fun crafty things from Michaels, visiting the library (finally got my card and checked out my first book!), cooking, listening to music and watching probably way more tv than I need to be. 

House plants make a room more cheery

Louie getting cozy

Constantly

Costco sized bag...set for a while

Louie's Lookout Point

The Sun!

Hangin

The park by my house...I will sit there when it dries up a bit

Favorite Smell

Caprese Salad

Kale & Sausage Rigatone