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| fresh apple cinnamon waffles ready to be frozen and reserved to be enjoyed on a lazy morning! |
Random things that I love these
days:
1.
Cooking with wine // I’ll admit I’m pretty fascinated by the
science of pairing food and wine together and recently I’m especially excited
about cooking with wine. It not only makes me feel like a classy and
sophisticated lady it also takes my meals onto a whole new level of
deliciousness! For example the other day I made braised short ribs with sweet
potato mash and a combo of red wine, tomato sauce and beef stock as the
braising liquid. Oh my word, the flavors of the short ribs were rich, deep and
robust was the perfect companion with the soft and sweet potato mash. So far I’ve
been using an organic red table wine in marinara/pizza sauces, stews and shepherd’s
pie and have tried an organic chardonnay in a light pasta dish with pesto and
an Asian stir-fry with vegetables and tofu. Both wines very enjoyable on their
own! I learned that it’s important to only use wines that are drinkable, so
that means cheap and overly processed cooking wine is completely off limits! My
next conquest is trying beer and other dark liquors in my dishes and possibly
even desserts! I’m definitely looking forward to that.
2. Adding pecan
“Parmesan” in my salads // I first found the recipe on Oh She Glows and was immediately
hooked! It’s got a wonderful texture and is nutty with hints of cheesiness. It
adds volumes of pizzazz to any salad and it even works deliciously as a crust
for baked wild salmon. I love that the recipe calls for nutritional yeast (or
as we like to call it “nooch”), because we have a huge bag of it and it also
lends a cheesy and tangy flavor without the use of dairy. Nutritional yeast is
also high in the essential nutrient B12 and in protein which makes it quite
remarkable. That being said I totally recommend this pecan parm to anyone who
cannot tolerate dairy, a vegan or just someone looking for something new and
fresh to try!
3. Hanging out
with my parents // Currently Michael and I live relatively close to my parents we
like to visit them weekly. It’s really nice because we usually go over for
lunch after church on Sunday or on a Tuesday night for dinner. It’s especially
a treat when my sister Aria and my brother-in-law David join us. I love
spending time with my family and just catching up with the happenings of our
lives. I find it interesting how my relationship with my parents has changed
since I got married and in a pleasant way at that! I still respect them
immensely but notice things are a lot less tense and more laughable these days.
I’m going to miss these weekly visits when we move to Pennsylvania but am
comforted in knowing that they support our decision to move. Besides just
because I’m moving doesn’t mean we’ll never see each other again and the good
news is my dad can finally use skype! He got an HD camera for his TV on Christmas
and has been dying to use it. As for my mom, I will continue to call her on a
regular basis to catch up, and now that moving date is official I am more
excited than scared to see what the Lord has in store for Michael and I!
4. Cuddling
with Michael before he leaves for work in the morning // For me the delightful advantage of being married not having
to say goodbye to your husband and of course being blessed with a warm body to
cuddle with! Lately Michael has been spending a few extra minutes in bed to
cuddle before he gets ready for work and it’s honestly the highlight of my day.
I love that our affection has only intensified since we got married and
especially love the warmth that comes with cuddling. I like to think that the
moments we have to cuddle in the morning grant him with a happier trip to work.
It’s honestly the little affections such as this that nurture our love!
Other things I love are vscocam and
all its beautiful filters, the new activewear I got yesterday and making waffles
and freezing them for lazy mornings!
-Jessica
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