by Krista | Oct 8, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Last week I was delighted beyond measure to be invited on a 4-day trip to Cancun with four other bloggers courtesy of Royal Holiday. They were truly lovely people, bending over backwards to make sure we were safe and happy during our stay at their beautiful Cancun Caribe Park Royal Grand all-inclusive resort.
It was my first trip to Cancun and I loved it. The weather was hot and mostly sunny with a few tropical rain showers to keep things interesting. I can’t wait to tell you about the delicious food, Mayan ruins, and the underground river I swam, but they will have to wait for another day.
Today I have two things to tell you about. Here on my blog I’m sharing a few photos of the exquisite flowers I saw on my journey, and if you click here, you can see my article on The Travel Belles where you’ll find pictures of the exquisite beaches and gorgeous turquoise ocean. I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
What is your favorite flower?
by Krista | Oct 1, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Happy Friday, dear ones!! This is my last day in Mexico and soon I will be flying home to my beloved Washington and my own comfy bed and cozy little apartment. 🙂
How are you today? How was your week? Are you looking forward to your weekend?
Today I’m going to share with you a few photos of the beautiful old growth forest my friend Stacey and I explored last week. It is located in Point Defiance Park, a gorgeous spot about a 45 minute drive from Seattle. We meant to hike further than we did, but we kept getting distracted by glistening water droplets and clusters of shiny berries and the cutest little mushrooms poking up from the forest floor.
Then, just as we thought we couldn’t take in any more beauty, we had some unexpected visitors that delighted us beyond measure. 🙂
I hope you enjoy this little jaunt with us, and have a wonderful weekend. 🙂
by Krista | Sep 24, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Good morning, dear ones! 🙂
Today I’m writing you from my brother’s kitchen table where I’m tucking into fried eggs and slices of fried turkey. Mmm. My dear friend Stacey is visiting from Texas and we are about to brave the stormy skies and head to Point Defiance to hike along the coast. I can’t wait!!
We may get drenched but we’re feeling very Seattle-ish in our jeans and fleeces and think the gorgeous forest and rocky beaches will be well worth a soaking. Can’t wait to show you pictures next week!! 🙂
In the meantime I’ll share with you some “rainy forest floor” shots I took a while ago. 🙂
Now I must finish my tea and then we’re off!! 🙂
I wish you a beautiful weekend, dear friends. Do you have any fun plans you’re looking forward to?
by Krista | Sep 17, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Good morning, dear ones! 🙂
I fell asleep last night to the lulling sounds of rain pouring on my roof and the delicious scent of homemade meatball soup lingering in the air. Needless to slay I slept like a rock and woke with my heart full of gratefulness for this crazy, good week.
I’ve had pain – lingering car accident issues – but I have an amazing chiropractor who not only massages and adjusts but also cheers, supports and encourages. I daresay every patient feels like she’s their biggest fan.
I’ve been stressed – so much work to do – but have been experiencing the amazing peace you get when you breathe deep, let it all go, and just focus on one thing at a time, urgent things first. I keep thinking of The Tortoise and the Hare and smiling. 🙂 “Slow and steady” really does win the race.
I’ve been hurt – painful emotional situations – but oh, this is the part that makes me happiest, I didn’t get CRUSHED!! 🙂 Instead of being overwhelmed by pain and the accompanying false guilt and pressure to fix everything, I could simply acknowledge the hurt, weep a bit if necessary, then step back and remind myself: “Send them love, send them light, then let them go.” I love Elizabeth Gilbert for teaching me that. What a beautiful way to deal with crushing folks. 🙂
Once I started thinking of things I was grateful for, I couldn’t stop!!
- The Belgian restaurant, Chambar, my friend Drea took me to in Vancouver. Oh! If you ever get to Vancouver, please go to this restaurant and order, well, anything! I had the Grilled Ostrich appetizer with Prunes and Sweet Onions, Braised Lamb Shank Tagine with Honey, Figs and Cinnamon for entree, Blackberry Tart with Lemongrass Coconut Ice Cream for dessert, and a foamy Latte after dinner. I also had the best beer of my life, a Belgian Trapiste: Rochefort 10. That meal took all my fun money for this month and the tastes, the atmosphere and the company made it worth every penny. 🙂
- I had one guest post and one article run this week!! The post on a Rainier Cherry Tart with Maple Cream is here at Lazaro Cooks, and the article on The Country Escape of Marie Antoinette is here at The Travel Belles. If you have a moment, I’d love it if you’d stop by, have a read and leave a comment letting us know what you think. 🙂
- My dishes are all done!!! Seriously – that makes me really, really happy. 🙂
How about you, dear ones? How has your week been? What are you celebrating as you look back?
Since it’s Friday, I’m starting my day with something special: a Blueberry Plum Smoothie. Mmm, it’s so creamy and scrumptious filled with red plums, plump blueberries, peach Greek Yogurt, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and a spoonful of lemon-flavored fish oil to fill it full of healthy Omegas.
As we all start this weekend, I raise my smoothie glass to you and thank you for your comments, your emails, and even just your presence. I love getting to know you and hearing about your lives and hopes and struggles. I’m so glad you’re in my life. 🙂
Blueberry Plum Smoothie
(Serves 2)
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 red plums, pitted and sliced
1 small container peach Greek yogurt
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp lemon-flavored fish oil
Directions:
- Add everything to blender or food processor and whir until smooth.
- Pour into two glasses and serve immediately.
by Krista | Sep 10, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Good morning, dear ones! 🙂 How are you this fine, Autumn day? I am sleepy (up waaaay too late last night!) but so excited to be sharing my first giveaway with you!!
You’ve been such dear and supportive readers and this weekend I want to say thanks. A friend gave me a marvy collection of the most delectable salts from around the world, and I am giving away one cork-topped jar of artisan salt to three of you. I will ship anywhere in the world so you are ALL welcome to enter! 🙂 Winners will be announced next week and will receive one of the following salts:
- Flower of Bali from Indonesia
- Peruvian Pink from Peru
- Flor de Sel from France
To Enter simply comment below or on Facebook at RamblingTart. I’d love to know where you’re from and what you’d like to see more or less of on RamblingTart. Is there a country you’d like to learn more about? Perhaps a specific cuisine? Anything at all! I’d love to know your thoughts. 🙂
In the meantime I’ll share with you a positively SCRUMPTIOUS and easy crockpot roast I made this week. I salted and peppered the beef, placed it in the crockpot and sprinkled it with sliced garlic and fresh rosemary sprigs. Then I mixed 1 can of mushroom soup, 1 can almond milk and one envelope of onion soup mix and poured that over the beef, turning it a few times to coat. I popped on the lid and cooked it on low for 8 hours. Oh mercy. My house smelled positively heavenly when I woke the next morning and the beef was fork tender and savory as can be. The soups make a divine gravy so all you have to do is shred the meat, pour on the gravy and you’re set. 🙂
Happy weekending, dear folks!! Good luck with the giveaway. 🙂
Easy and Tender Crockpot Roast
1 medium sized roast
salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 sprig rosemary, leaves removed
1 can mushroom soup
1 cup almond milk or regular milk
1 envelope onion soup mix
Directions:
- Salt and pepper beef and place in crockpot. Sprinkle with garlic and rosemary.
- In small bowl mix milk and soups and pour over beef, turning to coat.
- Set crockpot to low and cook 8-10 hours.
by Krista | Sep 3, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Good morning, dear ones! 🙂 It’s Friday at last and the sun is shining gloriously!! I do love Autumn in Washington. 🙂
The other night I had to slip out of the house to capture this pearly glowing sky framed by thousands of cedar fronds. It felt fairytale-ish, like I was looking at a portal into another world. So beautiful. 🙂
Are you excited for your Labour Day Weekend? I sure am!! I get to drive down to Seattle to hang out with my brother, sis-in-law – hooray! We’re going to go hiking and shopping then will soak our weary selves in their hot tub. Can’t wait!! Tomorrow we get to meet up with dear friends at a fabulous Argentinian restaurant for great talks and all manner of delectable food. I don’t think I’ve ever had Argentinian food, have you? Do you have any recommendations or “you-simply-MUST-try-this” ideas?
As a hostess gift for my siblings I’m bringing a Nectarine Blackberry Galette. It’s baking as I type and ohhh, it smells so good! 🙂 I love galettes – a sort of free form pie. Simply roll out the dough into a circle, pile your choice of fruit in the middle, fold over the edges, bake and there you go!! Simple, easy, and so yummy. I made mine with a mix of whole grain, all-purpose, and semolina flours, and confess it has a bit of a blue tinge because I didn’t have sour cream or yogurt, just blackberry kefir. 🙂 I mixed the fruit with real maple syrup, dotted it with butter, then brushed the dough edges with water and sprinkled them with sugar to give them a nice glittery crust.
I hope you have a beautiful weekend, dear folks!! Talk with you soon! 🙂
Nectarine Blackberry Galette
(Serves 3)
Dough Ingredients:
1.5 Tbsp kefir (or sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk)
3 Tbsp ice water
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp semolina flour (or cornmeal)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold butter, grated
Dough Directions:
- In small bowl mix kefir and ice water.
- In large bowl stir together flours, sugar and salt.
- Add grated butter and work into flour. You want a mix of small and pea-sized pieces.
- Drizzle kefir/water over dough a bit at a time, tossing with a fork after each addition.
- With hands gather dough into mound and press together into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 2 hours.
Filling ingredients:
2 nectarines, washed, pitted and sliced
1 cup blackberries, washed
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp sugar
Galette Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Roll dough out to about an 8-inch circle and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
- In small bowl gently toss fruit with maple syrup to coat.
- Pile fruit in center of dough, leaving a 1-2 inch border.
- Sprinkle with butter pieces.
- Fold dough border over filling, leaving center exposed. Brush pastry with water and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until pastry is golden and flaky.
- Using the parchment paper, transfer galette to cooling rack and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Cut into wedges and serve at room temperature.
