Vermont weekend + running=maple syrup scented pain

Logan and I spent the past weekend at a small inn in Vermont. It was absolutely gorgeous-trees everywhere, cute (and terrifying to drive in) wooden bridges and lots of delicious cheese and wine. We booked a package deal where we got breakfast in bed, a couples massage, a dinner with yummy wine and a super nice room with a humongous jacuzzi bath tub. It was so crazy awesome and I indulged pretty much every meal...and between meals. We found this small country store where they served "maple creamie", sounds weird but imagine the most yummy pancakes on earth and then magically transform them into ice cream. So wrong but so good. On Sunday we even went to Simon Pearce-a restaurant I have wanted to go to since I read about it in this article: http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-37926475 Everything was insanely delicious (just picture this: dark chocolate mocha woopie pie with cheesecake mousse and poached cherries) and I think I have eaten enough cheese for cows to cower in my presence for months. I also have had enough wine to pickle my liver.

Creepy but cool wooden bridge. Yes, you drive through it...it feels like the Headless Horseman could come out any moment.

Quechee Gorge...we actually hiked down to the bottom but it was full of obnoxious teenagers. yuck.

All gussied for Simon Pearce

Pretty falls area

The delicious Simon Pearce. I am still trying to find out who I need to bribe (and where I can get money to actually bribe someone) to eat out on the deck overlooking the water.

Beautiful Vermont...so green and mountainous and full of delicious cheese and wine

Anyway, I had lots and lots of yummy food and drink. It was awesome. We got back Sunday night (briefly contemplated staying up to watch the DVRed episode of True Blood but eventually succumbed to my food coma) and got up refreshed Monday. I had an amazing run on Thursday so I felt good about running Monday. I started my run and felt a bit icky, I figured I was simply sweating out pure maple syrup and it would get better...it didn't. Ugh, it was hot, I was barely plodding along and I seriously contemplated laying down in the middle of the trail and having the police come get me. I ended up going for 4.5 miles...*shame face* in like an hour. It was bad-lots of walking and LOTS of bitching. It was the first time that I kind of got the fact that diet does matter. I am not sure if it was the food, the wine or the combo but man, it was a miserable hour. Run on the docket for tomorrow so I have hydrated, eaten normal food and I am really hoping for non-dying results.

PS. The cheese, wine, ice cream, maple syrup etc. were totally worth it :)

PPS. I saw this picture in the Plymouth, VT town message board. It made me laugh and Logan looked at me like I was crazy...he obviously doesn't appreciate my nerdiness :)

To join the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance? Decisions, decisions....

Home Again

After a long weekend in Dallas and a week in Niagara/Finger Lakes area it is so nice to be home. The simple acts of sleeping in your own bed, making coffee in your coffee maker, using your own shower, and petting your own kitties are all comforts in their own right. The end of our trip marks the beginning of a busy season for my husband and myself so it is very bittersweet, however our trip was lovely. We went to an Ice Wine festival-ice wine is made from naturally frozen grapes and is only made is very limited quantities. It is very sweet and it usually an after dinner drink, similar to port. I have tried ice wine before and I was not a fan however I was able to try many varieties at this festival and found that I simply had not tried the right ones! I fell in love with Standing Stone vineyards and their Riesling ice wine, as well as Fulkerson's Cabernet ice wine and Johnson Estate Vidal ice wine. By the time we left the area we bought 8 bottles of wine and 4 bottles of ice wine (although one ice wine and one regular wine were for the neighbor who house and cat sat for us). It was such a fun festival, there were lots of wines to try, cheese and fudge samples as well as an ice carving demonstration.

Right as he was getting started

Sanding the ice sculpture

Finished product, only 45 minutes after he started!

After the wine festival we went to Niagara for a night. We stayed at Embassy Suites where we were all the way up on the 32nd floor and our suite had a great view of the Falls. Also Embassy Suites is one of the few hotels in the area that has windows that open so we were able to fall asleep to the roar of the falls (actually quite soothing).

American side of the falls, also called the Bridal Veil falls

Canada side of Falls, also called Horseshoe falls because they go all the way around making a horseshoe shape.

At the top getting covered in mist. It was so neat watching the water come plummeting down

We went behind and under the falls. This is a view from under to the side.

One of the portals directly behind the falls...frozen this time of year

 We also did an educational tour where we found out how the falls were formed. The tour had an interactive part where we got pummeled with fake snow, pelted with water and wind and eventually felt like we were going over the falls with the help of huge, wrap around movie screens and a moving floor. We also visited the Butterfly Conservatory where they had over 2,000 butterflies. It was nice to hang out in a tropical environment for a few hours-what a change from the winter outside!

Butterflies feeding, apparently they were quite hungry

After Niagara we traveled to the Canandaigua area of New York where we stayed at an absolutely wonderful lake cabin for 5 days. It was so restful just cooking, using the hot tub, playing games, star gazing, bird watching, hiking and just reconnecting with my husband. While we were there we went and hiked the "Grand Canyon of the East." It had three waterfalls on site and we hiked to two since the roads were closed. After seeing Niagara I expected to be underwhelmed but actually it was very beautiful.

Grand Canyon of the East, as a visitor to the real Grand Canyon I am not quite convinced :)

The Middle Falls

Pretty rainbow over the falls

We made our way home on Friday and have spent the weekend relaxing and getting ready for a busy few months. I can't believe we have been in Connecticut for 9 months; it has flown by so quickly. I am happy that we have been able to explore our new home as much as we have yet there is always so much more to see!
Happy Mardi Gras (almost),
Steph

Traveling Time

As the snow slowly starts to melt, things in our household are heating up as we prepare for our big trip for the season. Every year we try to take at least one bigger trip but this year has been full of a lot more weekend getaways as we explore our new state. This past summer we traveled to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard for a long weekend and had a great time checking out some of the most in-demand beaches in the country and eating lots of ice cream (Cape Cod is saturated with ice cream shops. Almost all of them make everything on site so the finished product is absolutely divine).

One of many, many photos of us eating ice cream from various parlors around Cape Cod

Since Logan has been so busy with his intern year we thought a relaxing trip would be the way to go so I researched for weeks to find a romantic lake cabin. I had the criteria of semi-remote location, lake view, hot tub, and fully equipped kitchen (we love to grill and cook throughout the trip). It took me a while to find the perfect spot but I finally "found the dot on the map" (that's their slogan) and was overjoyed to book The Quiet Place on Canandaigua Lake- one of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. They have several different options for cabins but we fell in love with the view from the Naples Chalet. Check it out, they look so nice and I bet it will be so romantic.
Our cabin website: The Quiet Place
Apparently Naples is the grape capital of the world and the home to Grape Pie. It is suppose to taste a lot like blueberry pie and I am excited to sample the unique deliciousness.

We booked for a week but then we found out about a Ice Wine festival (lots of free ice wine and tasty treats to go along with it) at the New York Wine and Culinary Center just a few days before we go so our relaxing, romantic lake weekend got a bit bigger...
We decided that we would drive up to Canandaigua for the festival and visit some friends in Rochester for a night then Logan pointed out that Rochester is so close to Niagara Falls (about a 2 hour drive). After a bit of research on Niagara Falls we decided to go for it, you're only young once right? Now we are spending a day in Niagara before heading back down to the Canandaigua area to enjoy our lake trip. Niagara in the winter is said to look absolutely beautiful and this will be my first time seeing the amazing falls. Apparently during the winter the mist from the falls will freeze the trees nearby creating a vision of water and ice.

From CanadaCool.com

Photo from:http://www.photography.ca/Forums/attachments/f32/5853d1267392844-niagara-falls-ontario-canada-5.jpg

We are planning on heading into Canada for the night (yay for another passport stamp!) and stay at one of the hotels with a view of the Falls. We have been told that a view of the Canada falls is better but the American view has a cool lightshow at night. We haven't settled on a hotel yet because we are messing with the details but I will definitely take tons of pictures and post them here.
I am huge fan of taking some time away with your significant other, friends or simply by yourself. It is a wonderful chance to reconnect, relax and enjoy your beautiful surroundings. Also, I also really like researching before heading off for a trip. I had not done this much in the past and then when Logan and I spent three weeks in Europe we used Rick Steve's guidebooks. They were incredibly helpful and I felt that it helped find great restaurants, we got some history on what we were visiting, and also saw some off the beaten path sites. For example, I had been to Paris before but I had never heard of the Alpine Garden in Les Jardin des Plantes and it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

For this trip, we have combed through many books on the Finger Lakes and now, Niagara Falls to find the most delectable eateries, greatest places to hike and most beautiful views. I hope all our research pays off but I am just so excited to get away with my wonderful husband and share a cool new experience with him.
Happy Trails,
Steph

When times get tough, make vegan cupcakes

I am feeling a bit down today. Logan is on call (as he is every 4th night this month) so he left before 6 this morning and I won't see him until tomorrow afternoon. If I were in Tulsa this would be no big thing--I would hang out with my mom and aunt, have girl time with Katie and Ashley, catch up with work friends, church friends etc but here I am kind of aimless. I just really miss having people around.I entertained for one of the first times yesterday...wait for it...I had the 12 year-old girls who raked my yard in for hot apple cider and then they proceeded to talk my ear off for an hour so perhaps I should rephrase to I miss having people my own age. My neighbors are a good 10-15 years older and have kids so we are in very different life stages. I miss having someone to talk about the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy, to play silly games like Cranium and to simply share a glass of wine while chatting about newlywed life. I think Logan and I are going to have some of his work friends over this weekend so at least I'll get to entertain myself by creating a Halloween themed cocktail and fun spooky finger food.

On a happier note, Logan and I have continued to explore Connecticut. We went out to Storrs (home of the University of Connecticut) and we walked around the campus. It does not hold a candle to Norman--in my humble, unbiased opinion :)-- but it is stunning. The school has a farming program so they have a working dairy farm on site. They make ice cream there and have a Dairy Bar. Check out of the website but I warn you, you'll probably crave ice cream!
http://www.dairybar.uconn.edu/
IT.IS.AWESOME. They have tons of homemade flavors and so I sampled pumpkin with graham crackers and Logan had Pistachio with walnuts and they were some of the best ice cream either of us have ever tasted.

Logan enjoying the beautiful day and his delicious ice cream

The fall colors are absolutely beautiful here. It is one thing I will say that I will miss we move back home is the fall color in New England. We walked around the pasture area just enjoying the view and the crisp fall temperatures.

Can you believe this is on a college campus?

So, in closing the vegan cupcakes...I halved the recipe and made 6 chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting. There are still 4 left but the night is still young. Vegan recipes are great to half because there are no eggs so it is super easy to make only as many as you want. This was my first time trying vegan baking and honestly, if I wasn't the one who made it, I wouldn't have known. They are moist, chocolatey and delicious and since you don't use butter or eggs the calorie count is much lower. Anyway, they definitely make for a tasty treat!

Mmm....Cupcakes :)

The recipe is really easy and seems like it can be adapted easily since I tossed in some Godiva Chocolate liquor and it turned out great.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes (recipe makes 12 cupcakes)
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar (1/2 splenda works fine)
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt


*I reduced the vanilla a little bit and added in some Godiva liquor and it was very yummy*

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then mix the soy milk and vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes so it can curdle (I know, kind of gross but will be worth it). Add the sugar, oil and extract to the mix and beat until nice and foamy. Get all your dry ingredients together and add them to your wet ingredients in two batches and beat until no big lumps remain. Pour into your cute cupcake liners and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting or it becomes a big mess!

Chocolate Ganache Frosting
1/4 cup soy milk
4 oz semisweet chocolate bits
2 Tbs maple syrup ( I used sugar free since that's what I had and it worked fine)

Heat your soy milk until boiling and then remove from heat and add chocolate and syrup. Stir until it is nice and smooth (you should now taste it...just to make sure its good...and maybe a second taste just to be 100% positive). Just dip your cooled cupcakes in and give them a nice chocolate bath. Let them sit for a while and the ganache will be less drippy but trust me, a hot ganache cupcake is just as delicious, if not more so, as a cold ganache cupcake.

Recipes from:
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero
http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cupcakes-Take-Over-World/dp/1569242739
-I highly recommend this cook book. The recipes are yummy and have some really tasty sounding treats like Smores, Toasted Coconut, Green Tea, Hazelnut Mousse, Chai Latte, Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes but also your old favorites of vanilla and chocolate with a ton of great variation ideas.

Vegan baking. Who knew it was so easy and delicious?
Steph