Brewed Awakening = Fantastic

Taste testing at a Goose Island Brewpub

My standard-non adventurous beer

My relationship with beer started out...tenuous at best. Beer was not my favorite alcoholic beverage to sip at the local bar or get together, and in fact I usually only chose it last or when it was free. However after a few years of repeated trial, the taste grew on me. Now I have the taste for beers ranging from crappy,such as Busch, Natty Light, Premium, PBR, or Keystone to specialty brews that taste like banana bread(I KNOW IT'S LIKE A PIECE OF HEAVEN). My most recent beer experiment was with an IPA, previously my most despised beer, and I discovered that suddenly I LOVED IT. Apparently I am getting over my aversion to hops which is helpful because I was missing out on bunches of beer before. Now all I need to learn to love would be Stouts and I could drink anything. 

The Brewed Awakening is all about beer, incase you didn't get that from the title. It answers historical questions, technical questions, tells stories of breweries and brew masters, and SO much more. It makes me want to schedule vacations based on breweries, beer festivals, and beer release launches (who wants to go on a road trip?!)  Basically if you love beer, like beer, find beer interesting, want a topic to discuss at parties, or want an interesting read-this is your book. So in all seriousness, go read this book and learn about the wonderful creation of beer and all it's intoxicating delights. (Thanks for choosing it Cathy-you are bomb)


~Anne

FYI- My fave beer is basically anything by Goose Island (cough cough 312 cough) or Fat Tire :)

Thanksgiving-MUST EATS!

 

Thanksgiving is a phenomenal holiday-We eat, we watch football, we nap, the end. In honor of this holiday I wanted to share with you my absolutely must eats on, or around, Thanksgiving. If the following aren't offered at the feast, it is guarenteed I will be making or buying them in the next two to three weeks and chowing down. Enjoy :)

LEFSA-Buttered and sugared.

Stuffing-Crockpot style, made with veggie broth instead of H20.

Apple pie/crisp or pumpkin desserts- Because...yum?

Green bean casserole- Tradition. And again, yum.

Cookies- Can't beat easy and delicious.

Pickled herring- Becasue I'm strange and my taste buds enjoy odd food.

Enjoy the festivities and feel free to share your favorite Thanksgiving foods! :)

     ~Anne

**Photos by my amazing friend Mia, please check out her blog :)

Homemade Soup~YUM

Soup has always been my favorite cold, blustery, blizard-like weather food. When I was growing up my dad made THE best venison stew. It would last us for a week of dinners and was always so filling you never needed more than one bowl. Because of this, I prefer my soup more stew-like in consistency. In recent years soup, more specifically chili, has become the meal of choice to accompany watching Sunday football or hockey games at Mia's house.  This meal is usually accompanied by cornbread-Mia and I insist on this. However, since going vegetarian my homemade soup consumption has been lacking. I have tried canned soup for a quick fix, but it really isn't the same. So one day, after a co-worker was discussing their homemade chicken noodle soup, I decided to try cooking some vegetable soup.

So now canned soup is officially ruined for me. In the last 9 days I have made soup twice, meaning I have had soup for at least one meal 5 out of 9 days. It is ridiculously delicious, easy and quick to make, and there are leftovers-FYI leftovers are my FAVORITE meal, strange I know but I get it from my father. So, now I have my cold weather fix and don't have to settle for anything less than delicious:) br />

~Anne

A Week in D.C.

View of Georgetown

In October I went to Washington D.C. with my fiance to visit his sister. We had an incredible time despite the government shut down and abundance of rain. We didn't go to any of the mainstream monuments people assume you will see when in the nations capital. Instead, we spent our time strolling through Georgetown shops, jogging up and down the hills in Arlington (in the rain), eating sushi, and finding interesting pubs to sit down and chat.

This was my fifth visit to DC and I got to see a side of the city that I hadn't noticed before. There were so many different things to do and see besides the National Mall or the National Museums. We went and played trivia at an irish pub in Arlington and had (in my case vegetarian) chili from a "local" restaurant. We went to a cute little comic book store on U Street, then found the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum. The museum was tucked away back down an ally, but had all kinds of interesting artifacts and stories. We went to the Newseum, which was arguably my favorite museum due to me nerding out over media and news history. But lets be honest, my favorite place was the book store that contained a bar and restaurant-I never wanted to leave.

We ate sushi from restaurants and grocery stores that tasted better than we can find in North Dakota(I know it's not our fault, we aren't by an ocean). We traipsed through the rain, buying rainboots and breaking umbrellas along the way, to meet his sister for lunch at National Geographic. After a little trial and error we figured out how to navigate the metro, but we didn't try the bus system- it seemed more difficult. I drank home brewed (by Darrin's sister-I am not that talented) esspresso or cappuccino every morning from adorable little cups.

It was a laid back, go with the flow, stop to enjoy the roses type of vacation and I hope to repeat it. What travel adventures have you had lately?

No-Shame November

Photo compliments of Mia

I got really excited when I read Molly Yeh's NO-SHAME NOVEMBER post because it meant I wasn't alone. November is the start of North Dakotas long, long, long deep freeze of a winter. Basically, it's the perfect month to start being lazy and eating a lot of food (AKA preserving and storing energy to survive winter). NO SHAME NOVEMBER means I don't have to feel bad about any thing AND that other people are doing the same things!

So this is my list of completly shame-free indulgences for November or, lets be honest, all winter:

Pie/Banana bread are the best desserts and I wont feel bad leaving none for the other guests

Wearing sweat pants to bars because...I can.. and after skating for an hour or two jeans are just not that comfortable

Green bean casserole and stuffing are my Thanksgiving faves, don't touch them or you might loose a finger!

Hockey, both watching and playing, means drinking SO much beer... generally of the crappy or light variety

...It also means constantly having a hockey stick in the back seat of my car #SorryImNotSorry

Mis-Matched Socks of the festive variety (I mismatch socks all the time-whoops)

Breaking out Christmas decorations... BEFORE Thanksgiving

Obnoxious Renditions of Classic Holiday Jams

Well, that's really all I should post, hope you all have a fabulous NOVEMBER!

Conversations and Cooking

This last weekend my wonderful friend, Mia and I ventured to Fargo for a cooking workshop hosted by Wolftree. The food and drink were delicious and fun to make, but the conversations and people were the best part. There were people from all different professions and of various ages talking and laughing over home made bread and mulled wine. The conversations transitioned from courteous small talk to indepth disussions about photography, art, writing, religion, and everyday life.

During these conversations we made some pretty epic food. My favorite part was the bread. I am a big bread person. Homemade, hot out of the oven bread is the best for those chilly fall or winter days. We made some INCREDIBLE challah bread and muhammara dip to go along with it. Our muhammara was a yummy combination of spicy and sweet, and made out of these awesome fire roasted peppers. 

Challah, pronounced hal-lah, is fun to say, delicious, and can be customized to any meal or tastes.  At the workshop I made my mini-loaf with poppy seeds.  It was perfect for dipping in the muhammara and squash soup.   Others added different spices and seasonings such as orange zest, raisins, or sesame seeds.

We were given some extra dough to take home with us, so Mia, Judy(Mia's mom for those of you who dont know), and I spent Sunday morning making challah flavored with cinnamon.  This was one of our better ideas and hopefully will be repeated often. After showing Judy how to make the beautiful and tasty loaves, we all sat down for a late breakfast filled with silly jokes and funny stories.  

Most of my best memories involve food.  Meals, cooking, and baking seem to bring out the conversationalist and jokester in all of us.  So this holiday season take your time and enjoy the preparation as well as the meal. Take a second slice of pie and tell an extra joke because life happens in the little moments we often forget are so important.

Making a Change

In March of 2013 I went on a trip with my friend of about 18 (maybe more) years.  Sarah and I took a train from Fargo, ND to Chicago, IL. The train ride was long and delayed, but we still managed to have a grand time eating cheap personal pizzas and dreaming of Goose Island brewpubs.

On this trip I made the crazy and unexpected leap from life long omnivore, verging on carnivore, to pescetarian.  A pescetarian is basically a fish eating vegetarian.  This change happened completely unintentionally and was unnoticed until we started our train ride home. I felt completely different after a week of fresh produce and less fat, despite the fact that we consumed copious amounts of beer.  My stomach had been bothering me for months and finally it no longer hurt and I felt so much healthier.  So since then, other than a few minor hiccups, I have remained on my "fish" diet.

The main issues I encountered during my switch were after I returned home to ND.  The abundance of options suddenly disappeared at restaurants and I was left with a choice of a house salad or mac and cheese.  Now both of these are good options, but it makes going out a little boring when there could be so much choice.

The next issue was the reaction I received from many people who have known me for years.  They couldn't believe I would willing give up so many delicious food options.  I have had many friends ask me how I can stand to go to my old favorite haunt, the Parrot's Cay, and not get their main attraction-hot wings.  Believe me when I tell you I have caved, and payed for it.   So if anyone knows of a place in ND with a good veggie burger, please let me know. ;)