life, & a granola (bar) recipe.

babies are mysterious things.
sometimes i wonder if it's phases that make them so difficult, or if it's based in their personality, or what. especially if they're fed and freshly changed and had a nap recently. (like the one above: s is 6 months old, and he fought that nap like no one's business. cranky babies fighting naptime is not fun. nope. and i'm pretty sure rocking chairs save lives. because babies eventually fall under the spell of spacial disorientation via said rocking chairs. thank God for those things.)
that's one thing i ponder, as i have 2 young nieces and a nephew --the latter of which is 6 months old, and fantastically (and i say that sarcastically) loud sometimes.
why do i think of all this? because i'm married and everyone asks when --whether in their thoughts mostly or not-- we will start to have kiddos. the answer is not yet. i have my fill of babies with my nieces and nephew. they're all cuties.
but, omg...gotta love their phases.

in other news, i adore the hoodie weather of yesterday and today. (just earlier this week, it was hot and windy. perfect for drying clothes on the line and saving the propane via the dryer.)
we haven't turned on the air conditioning since thursday. ceiling fans to circulate the air has been all that's needed since then. it's amazing.
oh my word.
hoodies and hot coffee and leaves just barely starting to turn.
i mourn the coming of winter after this beautiful, hot summer, and the autumn that is (hopefully) starting to set in.
but goodness, the fall day i feel all around me presently is such a relief.
such a beautiful relief.

i'm thinking of starting a new blog.
a different, clean, fresh place.
i started a new journal in the middle of a huge school-type notebook that i've been writing in since november 2012.
i got so tired of the plain bulky thing that i lugged everything in my purse.
so i dug around in a storage bin and found a few empty journals that i've either found or been gifted through the past few years.
and what did i do? i started a new, pretty, smaller, spiral bound, hard-back journal.
less space for so many words. less expectation.

also, i love hanging art.
this print from marisa's etsy is so cute, and i bought it in july 2011 for my house someday.
i'm thinking it'll look even better against pale yellow walls in the kitchen when we (hopefully sometime this year) paint it. :)

so, i started making no-bake granola bars.
and i can't find the recipe that i first used and adapted and memorized. i swear i pinned it, but it disappeared.
here goes.

no-bake granola bars

put in a medium sized bowl:
4 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups rice crispy cereal
stir to combine well.

simmer in a small saucepan:
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter
dash of salt
whisk steadily until the brown sugar is dissolved and the mixture has bubbled for a while.
add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg if you like the idea of some depth of flavor. (we like it a lot.)
take the saucepan off the heat.
drizzle a tsp or two of vanilla in and stir till combined.
pour over dry ingredients immediately and mix till dry ingredients are well coated.
pat firmly into a slightly greased pan, and refrigerate for a couple hours.
cut into bars, and enjoy!!

p.s.
if you're a blog friend of mine and you have Instagram and we're not friends yet, my username is love_beka_hill. i update that realm way more than facebook or my blog these days. hahah.

cilantro lime rice with pork chops & salad.

one day, i was craving chipotle's cilantro lime rice.
so what did i do, since after all....i live an hour away from any chipotle?
i looked up a recipe for it online. a gazillion links came up.
i skimmed one, made it to a T with all the details right, and since then, i just play it by memory.
this is awesome stuff, and it contains butter.
so it's all good going from memory, if you know what i mean. ;)

borrowed image

i melt a few tablespoons of butter in the pot i want to cook my rice in, and get it sizzling.
i love sizzling butter.
then i add the rice --for my family eating tonight, i made a too-huge batch of 6 cups rice, 12 cups water..... :P but at least i now have stuff to put in burritos whenever we're short on ideas for lunch for the next few days! hah.
so you add the rice. stir it around on medium-high heat, and smell its yumminess.

then, i squeeze 2-5 limes. depending on how limey you want your rice. ;)
dump the juice in the rice-butter mixture. or squeeze it right in.
now really inhale that smell. ohmygosh.
after a few moments of letting that sit on the heat --stir it a little, haha-- pour in the amount of water you need for the proper ratio of rice to water that you need.
put a cover on it, and let it cook according to the directions for the type of rice you're using.

mince a decent sized bunch of cilantro, and after the rice is done cooking, stir it in.

now eat up! :D

~~~

...tonight i made it as a side to some pork-barbecue-spice rubbed pork chops that i grilled on the good old weber.

i do enjoy grilling. i get to try my skills out a few times every summer, with dad's advice either on the phone if he's at work, or helping prepare dinner. :)

gorgeous evening.

proof of spring coming to stay....soon! ;)

5 things about today.

1. ohmyword! the smell of coffee grounds is absolutely amazing.
tomorrow would be one week since i've brewed it at home.
i  fell sick with a funky cold last friday....had a cup at church on sunday; had an americano at caribou coffee after wedding dress shopping monday night; and had a cup of coffee at church again wednesday night.
but there's truly nothing like brewing your own.
my word.

2. the reese boy. anna usually nannies this boy, but she's gone on a roadtrip to minnesota with two of the other siblings --my favorites: the hilarious ones, caleb and rach, until next wednesday.
this boy is playing with duplos. it's quiet time. he's 3. twenty minutes till he goes home with his daddy. we just got home from a 40 minute outing at the park. fresh air, warmer than our past week has been even though it's windy. [i'm putting up my hopes for an indian summer...]
he has shown me today exactly how hilarious and cute boys can be...you know, instead of just dangerous and quirky as i'd viewed them before. heck, i look forward to maybe having a boy or two.....maybe. especially if they're as cute as my love. ;) the world is so huge and detailed and simple to them all at once. i never knew a balloon could be explained like that before this morning.
...but when it comes to bathroom matters [like this one time today, for instance!], that's where it'll truly get fun. i have a feeling that might be one of my least favorite things about having kids...........

Source: tumblr.com via Alba on Pinterest

3. i'm going swing dancing tonight, with ben and martha. [since anna's gone. gone. gone.]
we're gonna have fun without her. she'll be swing dancing at her own friends-of-friends swing dancing hall tonight or tomorrow with a whole new crowd. heh.

4. chicken curry for dinner? sounds fantastic. over quick brown rice. mhmmm.

Source: eatdrinkchic.com via Beka on Pinterest

5. mum and i have been discussing and looking at tutorials for birdcage veils. i like the idea of one based on a headband. not a clip with a flower, or bobby pins...obviously i'm not having an elaborate updo; my hair won't be that long by then. lol. and not too much poufing. and not too much flowery embellishment. heh. i can't wait to make one! it's amazing the cost difference between $100-$200, or diy with things you can get from joann's or michael's for a total of under $30. heck. yeah.
[btw, did i mention that i found a dress monday night? yes. yes. yes. i like it a lot, and am so happy with my choice.]

p.s. coffee is good. and it's great to be able to taste it again. mmmm.

poblano peppers.

i just tried take a nap; for 40 minutes; unsuccessfully. what with a decently late night last night, and swing dancing tonight along with getting home at nearly 1am . . . i kind of wanted to take part of the luxury.
anyhow. that didn't work.
maybe i got enough sleep last night or something.
and maybe i'm excited; tomorrow, justin's coming up for the weekend. :)
could be both. lol.
today we went to the farmer's market.
i got 5 poblano peppers, 2 eggplants, and two huge bunches of kale all for the grand total of $7.
heck. yeah.
and the lady who sold it all to us told us how she likes to prepare these wonderful, mild-to-medium heat peppers, which in the first place  i'd never heard of before. 
[i don't remember how much the chunk of gouda was, though....]

stuffed poblano peppers....i'm looking forward to making them.
when i do, shall post a picture and let you all know how it turned out.
i have plans for some yummy soups in this next week. ones i've never made before myself.
i can't wait. it's totally soup weather again. :)

do you like soup? what's your favorite??

chocolate and whipped cream = awesomeness.

so, the past few days i've been wanting french silk pie like nothing else.
i was thinking about it one day, and suddenly i couldn't stop thinking about it.
one of my favorite uncles brings french silk pie from baker's square to every christmas and easter; that's how it's become my favorite, and even been introduced into my life.
ah.
:)
before today, i had never gotten around to making it.
but this afternoon . . . mhmmm, i decided; after i cooked up the sweet/buttery carrots and had a pesto-chicken-lettuce wrap for dinner [with dad, anna, caleb and rach; along with some epic, hilarious conversation about the future] . . .

i made this crust from betty crocker:

for pastry:

1 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening / or butter

2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

i made the filling from this recipe, by jenna at eat, live, run but a side note –i doubled it, because she makes it halfway full…i prefer full pies:

for filling:

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 stick butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

my favorite part of making this? 

eh....making the crust dough flat and spread out by my floury hands was really fun because i couldn't for the life of me find our rolling pin. :P 

and....the final stage of whipping the filling. oh my, that part is beautiful to watch. :) 

rach insisted on taking pictures of me . . . the person so psyched to make the dessert she was telling everyone about as something that 'you know where that goes...' because of the calories. lol.

though...i may have whipped the whipping cream just a wee bit past the perfection mark....

i have a feeling it'll taste fine. ;) juuuust fine. :) :)

see? good but not perfect. :)

who else loves french silk pie?

if it's not in your top favorite desserts, what is your list made up of??

i ♥ strawberries.

whole milk vanilla yogurt
frozen strawberries
honey
vanilla
blend in the vita-mix until smooth....
mmm....enjoy.

:)

cornbread. mmm.

firstly: here's the basic recipe for cornbread.

way back on march 13, danny and i were in the kitchen one morning and decided to make cornbread for lunch/snack.
mmmm.
the family loves having it with just milk and maple syrup [the real stuff, since we make it] poured over top.
ohmyword, it's good.
and he's always so flippin' excited to be in the kitchen and help with anything.
so it's cute. :)

basic corn bread
    1 cup corn meal
    1 cup all-purpose flour
    1/4 sugar
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 cup milk
    1/3 vegetable oil
    1 egg
1. preheat the oven to 400.
2. combine dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another. combine the two and mix until just blended. pour into greased pan. use and 8 x 8 pan if you like it fairly (2 to 3 inches) thick or 13 x 9 pan if you like it thin. i used a 13 x 9 pan for the loaf pictured here, which produced a 1 inch thick loaf.
3. bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. remove and serve while still warm.
♥
enjoy!

sisters and carrots.

firstly, some things that cracked me up:

hah. right.

who likes peeling and slicing [by hand; not food processor] carrots??
raise your hand. heh.

that girl enjoys pulling the smolder all too often. the second picture we took had us both smiling, but she wanted me to post this one instead. ;)
anyways, those carrots . . . are something you don't want to make more than twice a year.
butter, brown sugar, a dash of salt. carrots, with all the nutrients simmered out of them.
oh boy.

p.s. my laptop's power jack got fixed yesterday by my brilliant brother, ben. i'll have to post some pictures and the story sometime soon. ;)

link love.

oh hello friend.
is brilliant.

yep, they're all mine: for the love of lists, subtitled: why i love yoga.
darn, this makes me miss it. and the yoga place just upped their session price from $12 to $15.

penne a la betsy?
flippin' amazing. i love seafood.
i am going to make that someday. soon. i am.

a caffeine addict's guide to the world: slideshow.
after browsing through that and reading this, i will never be surprised by how anyone takes their coffee.

i want to buy this. i don't care if it's from britain...[we don't normally go for sellers outside of the u.s. but a good record? why not.] which reminds me. i have a post to write about swing dancing. :) that's why i want this dress. it would be perfect.

in the end, that dress would still be cheaper than this blue velvet vintage dress.

a paris shower curtain? well gosh, why not. hahah. and it's from target. the place of decent prices. ;) well, compared to the triple digit price it might be if it came from bed bath and beyond or anthro. :P

aaaaaand i did a guest post for the lovely ladaisi! she published it today, so hop on over there and see what's going down. it's about books. you might like it. :)