heart-shaped plate

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”

- George Bernard Shaw

Guys. You know I love food. LOVE it. My roommates have nicknamed me "the granola" or "pumpkin" or just plain old "ultimate chef" (huh?). More than once, I've had a roommate hover over my breakfast/lunch/dinner plate and ask me what I did and how I did it and can-they-please-have-a-bite? Then they ask me what the secret ingredient is. Well, love is always the answer. Duh!.... And..... practice. If you want to like what you eat (and if you want your body to like it, too), you have to practice. Figure out what you like, and eat it. But make sure it's real food. Real food always tastes better. Seems like a no-brainer, but in this world of processed foods, we sometimes forget. Did I just admit to being a food snob? Why yes, yes I did. And I have no shame.

Sooooo anywho, the ultimate foodie, amy mathews kunihiro, has asked me to do a blog about food...specifically food for valentine's day. I do not own a fancy-schmancy camera, nor do I live in a place with great natural light. Therefore, I will probably be breaking some kind of copyright laws when I use pictures from other bloggas. But hey, I'm just sharing the wealth with you all. Here are some deeeeericoius foods I have been needing to make lately. And ones I think you should cook for your lover, if you happen to have one. I set it up by meal, because I'm just that nice.

for breakfast....

pancakes of course. these ones look taaaaaaasty-tasy. joy the baker has a zillion pancake recipes. aka we are breakfast-soulmates. I betcha didn't know that breakfast soulmates existed. Well, guess what, they do.

pumpkin spice pancakes

oatmeal cookie pancakes

buckwheat baby with salted caramel syrup

for lunch...

a yummy soup perhaps? and a roll or some other kind of carb. hey, it's valentine's day. I never said carbs weren't real food. Try these sweet potato muffins..they're flippin' good.

white bean and kale soup.

this sounds like it would be healthy (which it is) and therefore gross (which it's not). I lived off of this for a week...mmm. Really good with freshly-grated parmesan cheese on top.

for dinner...

chicken gyros with tzatziki sauce. homemade pita is optional...but honestly, it shouldn't be. storebought pita=cardboard. whole wheat homemade pita=a soft, nutty pillow of utter and insane deliciosity. OR there's chicken tikka masala. jamie oliver's is da bessst. seriously, favorite meal. or there's italian food. I know someone in Hawaii who is particularly fond of pasta...

spaghetti with lemon and olive oil

dessert must include chocolate. MUST. when you are brave enough, you can try them all. oooh just looking at them makes me esssited.

chocolate cheesecake squares

salted fudge brownies

glazed chocolate cake with coconut flakes

peanut butter pie with cookie crust

(sounds like pure insanity because it is)

what, you aren't full yet? don't worry, here's some nummy-nummy side dishes!

mini cheese tarts with blackberries

sugar and spice candied nuts

caesar salad deviled eggs

sweet potato fries

Alright, I think this is enough to induce a food coma. Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! Love yourself and eat something tasty.

where i'm going, where i've been

We're coming up on that time of year...the one where I start making long lists of things ter-do. Today I was telling a friend that I may or may not be at a very important event in her life sometime in 2012. But it's hard to tell because my life takes me to very unexpected places. And she said "that's incredibly true." Yeah. See for yourself.

tehuacan, mexico.

an oft-used storage closet (for once the name "sardines" is appropriate for this game)

trees in the jungle. barefoot.

six flags...mexico...rollercoasters. psyche.

very slanted alleyways in taxco, mexico. it's like italy (ish).

on top of very famous, very old pyramids. obviously enthralled.

inside of very scary, very ghetto "hotel rooms," underground, on the outskirts of mexico city.

inside of classrooms, teaching hooligans like this.

the zocalo.

in front of interesting foods, like mole.

this little house for 3 months.

behind the church, playing futbol every thursday.

in a boat, by the beach somewhere in mexico, with some crocodiles nearby.

the rigby idaho tv museum. what? we paid for this?

the very last Harry Potter premiere. sniffle.

the ragnar.

still can't believe i did that.

the taco bus, some five jillion times. (ok, this isn't that surprising)

some lovely summery bike rides.

and other pretty places in Utah which are kind of hidden.

Do you remember how I had a feeling that 2011 was going to be really awesome? Well, it was. And I know the same thing about 2012. I'm already seeing some interesting stuff in my crystal ball...

• florence+the machine. I'm late to this party, but I came nonetheless.
• graduate school, huh?
• EFY counselor, perhaps, perhaps
• many weddings, many weddings
• south america por la primera vez. ohhh yeah.
• graduation-station!
• new music! aha! this will never change
• a concert. dang right
• an adventure to Zion's
• missionaries coming home (a.k.a. Chelsea Ann Bedke and Courtney Gopp)
• mucho happiness

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, FRIENDS!

thanks for all who read this blog, stumble upon it by googling very weird things, and those who comment. I love all of you. Except for the creepstaches.

hooray for independence

and sunburns and freckles

and blonde streaks in red hair

and homemade chocolate chip cookies

and stargazing in the park

and jumping in puddles

and corn on the cob

and a temple on the hill

and grass between my fingahs

and Mo Tab Choir really loud

and freedom

and sacrifice

and just because cards

and camping smell

and garden tomatoes

and family, far away but still close

and the sea, for teaching me

and 3 Nephi

and modern-day prophets

and funny blogs

and curly hair

and air conditioning

and swimming all day

and clean bedrooms

and good, good books

and pain

and joy

and love, sweet sweet love.

happy 4th everyone.

it really is

christmas eve, that is.

Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets...And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came...And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

-3 Nephi 1:13, 15, & 19-

christmas-y 'n such

I dunno why I haven't talked about it at all because we are 1.5 weeks away, but you know, finals week is kind of kicking my trash....

BUT GUESS WHAT? IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!!

I love Christmas. Soooo much.

In order to help me get into the spirit of it while I am slaving away, I just play myself some good tunes. This song has been in heavy rotation. The whole album is amazing. Check it out.

Merry Christmas...in 10 DAYS!