Mmmm... Tasty!

At the beginning of the summer I purchased a cropshare from a local organic farm (Bell Organic) with my co-worker Sharla. This entitled us to 18 weeks of vegetables and 12 weeks of fresh fruits. I figured I spend money on fresh vegetables and fruit anyway, why not get some premium super fresh produce, support local business, and broaden my horizons and try some new veggies all at once?

For me this proved to be a good investment--having fresh vegetables and fruit in your fridge all the time is something I've definitely become accustomed to. We get everything from spring mix lettuce, cabbage, carrots, garlic, kale, swiss chard, onions, green onions, basil, cilantro, beet greens, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, cucumber, watermelon, peaches, nectarines, etc. Sounds good doesn't it?

As a result I've been trying to use up vegetables by finding new recipes. My favorite recipe site is allrecipes.com and that's where I found my new favorite dish: Black Bean and Couscous Salad. It tastes so summery and fresh and is delicious with chicken. Try it out for yourself!

Black Bean and Couscous Salad

• 1 cup uncooked couscous


• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth


• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice


• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin


• 8 green onions, chopped


• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped


• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro


• 1 cup frozen corn kernals, thawed


• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained


• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 2 qt or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes

In a large bowl whisk together olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.

Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refridgerate until ready to serve.

Ta-da! Doesn't that sound easy and delicious? I like to add chicken to this recipe to make it more of a main dish and sometimes I throw in other veggies I have on hand as well. Enjoy!

China Trip

I went to China again with work at the beginning of August and this time I went all by myself. It was a good trip and I have such great co-workers over there. All things considered there were no major travel problems... except for the fact that I had to take a ferry from Hong Kong to Macau, go through Macau customs, take a taxi from the ferry port in Macau to the Gongbei border crossing, walk across a bridge to China, go through China customs, and take a taxi to the BDEA apartment... on the first night. Yeah, that was an adventure but luckily it all worked out and the rest of the trip went well.

Below are some photos from the trip (in no particular order)...

View from the balcony of the BD Asia apartment in

the morning. Not so bad, eh?

Some of the random climbing holds at this outdoor

climbing wall in Zhuhai. So random...

Me climbing and my co-worker Sam belaying me. We started garnering quite the crowd.

From L to R: Sam, Me, Stone (the owner of the climbing wall), and William

This is the type of high speed ferry we take from Hong Kong to

Zhuhai. It's a 70 minute ride across the Pearl River Delta

and can be pretty choppy.

A view of the Hong Kong skyline from the Kowloon side.

This is along the shore by the BD Asia apartment

in Zhuhai on my way to the ferry.

My co-worker Alice and her husband Fool at the beach

Alice and I at the beach. (Alice is the coolest!)

We had to buy my swimming suit from this little shack

at the beach because I hadn't brought one with me. It

was definitely on the small side but I made it work... I

wasn't going to miss my chance to swim in the South China Sea!

Alice, me, and Fool. Fool is a car salesman and considering he

rarely talks to English speakers his English was quite good. He LOVED

that I drove a Jeep and told me lot's about cars in China.

His comment when he saw this photo was "I look so strong."

He was totally kidding and it was hilarious.

Little villas on the mountainside by the beach. The sand at the beach

was really more like clay, the water was super warm, and the waves

weren't very strong. It was a nice way to spend a Saturday! (especially because

we had some tasty seafood and got massages after :))

That's right, I'm laughing while trying to climb. (at BD Asia's

climbing wall) Mostly because I know I'm a crappy climber and William

was taking photos. Haha.

This was the street I walked along every morning

to get picked up by the BD van. It is so beautiful and green!

These are some of my co-workers that came to dinner

with me and suprised me with a birthday cake! They

are so nice and very smart. From L to R: Ariel, Lisa,

and Alice. Alice even gave me a very pretty Pashmina scarf

that was made in her hometown. It's pink and gold and I LOVE it.

The aforementioned cake. Yummy. All the fresh

fruit on top was so delicious. They had me take home the

leftovers and eat them for breakfast the next day.

The whole crew at the hot pot restaurant. From L to R: Lisa,

Ariel, me, Alice, William, and Sam.

This is Chinese Hot Pot. The best way to describe it is that

it's kind of like fondue. They have a hot stone in the center that

stays warm for up to 4 hours. The water surrounding the stone is split into

two sides so you can have one filled with hot spices and the other

filled with mild. We cooked potatoes, tofu, lettuce, yams, mushrooms, beef

lamb, noodles, and all sorts of stuff in there. SOOO good.

Friday night after work I went out with some co-workers and we

played pool and then I watched them play Mah-jong (it's like a

really complicated version of dominoes). Lot's of fun.

The trip was great but it's always nice to come home!

This One Time When I Went Climbing...

Ok, so in case you didn't already know my co-workers are all uber fit athletic dudes. Not in your typical American sports of baseball and football, although I have no doubt they would excel at those as well, instead they choose the path less traveled. Or should I say the rock less traveled... hmmm...

Anyway, just a few weeks ago two of them were kind enough to take me and two of my other female co-workers climbing. I was slightly nervous as I hadn't climbed outside since high school (yikes!) but I was stoked nonetheless. The route they chose is called Steort's Ridge (picture below). It's a super mellow 5.6 route but it's pretty fun because it's 3 pitches and you get to repel down.

My running joke as of late is that I hope that some of my co-workers hardcore-ness will rub off on me and I think this is just the start of it. Following are some photos but be warned, climbing photos never seem to be that good or make anyone look attractive, just sayin'...

Talena and I taking a rest at one of the anchors Bob built.

I know it looks like I'm gingerly touching the rock but don't worry, I crushed it.

Check it out, that's me up high and Talena down low.

Sharla taking in the lovely view of Big Cottonwood Canyon

From left to right: Bob, Talena, Me. This was at the bottom of the third pitch.

We climbed that arete above Bob. So cool.

I can't wait to do it again!

The More Funner Summer...

In my last post I briefly mentioned my plans for a "more funner summer"... all grammatical errors aside I know this intrigues you so here's the 411....

Since moving to UT I have been somewhat of a social hermit. My social circle has consisted of my parents, the Watkins, and my co-workers. I'll be the first to admit these are some high quality people but there's something to be said for having some friends your own (relative) age. A few weekends ago, my favorite ex-New Yorkers who now live in SLC told me about an impromtu trip to Moab and invited me to come along. I'm never one to pass up on some red dirt and arches so I packed my bags (and tents, and camp chairs, and headlamp, etc...) and joined for a weekend of good company and warm weather. Needless to say, the trip did not disappoint and on our return to the North we began making a "to do" list of sorts for the summer. Here's a small taste of what we've planned:

• Drive-In Movie


• Baseball Game


• Diamond Fork Hot Pots


• Yellowstone or Yosemite Trip


• Havasupai Trip


• Hiking


• Camping


• Fishing


• Visit Antelope Island


• Rodeo


• etc.

That's not even half the list... I view it as a foolproof way to get the most possible fun into every spare minute with no "what should we do this weekend?" crap. Good news is, so far it's working. This weekend we went to the Drive-In movies and saw Super 8(ok I only saw about two thirds of it because I fell asleep) and we went to a Bees game that lasted 12 innings. After the baseball game there were fireworks. That's right fireworks weren't even on our list and we got to see them, it was like an unexpected 2 for 1 bonus. What an awesome weekend. The next one can't come soon enough...

xoxo

Retired Glamor Shot...

BrittBritt and I in Kennebunkport, Maine.

New England suits us well, no?

Oh Right, I Have A Blog!

Hi friends!

Wow, it seems I forgot or got extremely lazybecause I didn't blog for well over a year. I'll be the first to admit how extrememly pathetic that is. Good news is I'm alive!... in case you were wondering.

This blog is in some MAJOR need of updating... I don't live in California anymore. That was sooo 2010 :) I feel like I've come full circle spending time on both coasts now that I'm back to the lovely Beehive state. I really loved Volcom and miss so many of my California friends but I'm pretty darn happy with my decision to move back. Here's the top ten things I love about being back in Utah (in no particular order):

10. Driving. I really like driving, especially with gas prices that are cheaper than California
9. Skiing in the winter as much as I want/can afford
8. Sunday dinners with my grandparents
7. My awesome job!
6. Neilsons Frozen Custard... need I say more?
5. Living with the Watkins
4. Limitless options for great three-day weekend trips within driving distance (Moab, Jackson Hole, Las Vegas, Zions, Lake Powell, etc.)
3. Everything is cheaper here than it was in NYC and CA
2. The mountains. I LOVE the mountains.
1. Spending more time with my family!

Being back is great. I'm looking forward to my "More Funner Summer" (explaination to come in a future post) so stay tunned for more info!

xo!

Moving?

Many of you have probably already heard but let me confirm the murmurings... I'm moving. No exclamation point because moving cross-country is terribly annoying. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. So far I've shipped 9 boxes plus one for my bike and don't forget I still have what will fit in my luggage too.

I threw/gave away bucket loads of stuff, pushed two 45 Wall-luggage-carts full of boxes too and from FedEx(thank you Carly for your assistance), cleared out my Manhattan Mini-Storage unit, sold my bed frame and mattress on craigslist, rolled my massive dresser on the aforementioned luggage cart to my sisters apartment, and much more... you get the picture. Thank heavens I'm pretty much done.

Leaving New York City is hard to do. When you go elsewhere and ask for brunch suggestions people name chain restaurants (tsk, tsk!). Your $20 mani/pedi now becomes $40. All those great winter coats and boots you own get shoved to the back of your closet because you actually drive places rather than walk. I will definitely miss the city.

But in case you couldn't tell, I am excited to move. I'll be working in Costa Mesa, California for Volcom. I'm glad I made a good enough impression during my internship that they wanted me back! I'll be living with my best friend Tori (yay!). After a few years of the constant roommate shuffle, it'll be nice to settle in with such a gem :) I'll keep my natural blonde-ness for a bit longer... New York's lack of sunshine was dulling the locks. Best of all Southern California is COMPLETELY different than NYC. You can't even compare the two... beach/broadway? surf bums/guido's?... see, they are just too different. I think I'm lucky, getting a taste of two of the best places the 50 states has to offer. So take care NYC and as my man Jay-Z says "On to the next one..."

xoxo
WDM

Sidenote: California visitors are SOOOO welcome!