Homemade Granola

Over the past year, I have been slowly making changes in my life toward a more mindful existence. Buying locally, dining in restaurants that offer local, sustainable meals, and commuting by bus rather than driving. Admittedly, I have hardly made any progress in the commuting department -- time and daylight are precious to me, and I guess I'm selfish. But, I have been progressing in other areas of my life. So, keeping with my intention to live a bit more mindfully, I tried out a new granola recipe. Right now B. and I buy granola that is not produced locally and, while perfecting the recipe may prove to be a challenge, granola is an easy enough thing to make at home.

I was able to find organically grown oats from Denver in bulk at our local grocery store and the honey is local, too. Unfortunately, the other ingredients are not local, but bought in bulk!

This batch turned out a bit, um, toasted. Ben still thought it tasted good but I don't think I can decide if this is the recipe until I make another batch. I loosely used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. 

Celebrating in Steamboat

Ben and I had a lot to celebrate this weekend! For one, we made plans for a fall weekend getaway to celebrate my birthday which we weren't able to do in July. Moreover, we were celebrating our anniversary. It was a little over three years ago this autumn that we met. If you don't already know the story, I was dog-sitting for Ben's neighbor, Denise, for a month and, before leaving for Germany, she introduced us. I had already seen Ben in passing during a run with Denise and was secretly very interested in getting to know this surprisingly cute "neighbor". Over the course of the month, we spent time together nearly every day of every week and my crush on Neighbor Ben only gained momentum. At first, Ben played it cool -- in fact, he was a little hard to read (shocking, I know) -- so as the weeks passed and my time left in Boulder dwindled to days, I made a bold move (well, as bold a move as a shy girl will make) and put myself out there. As it turned out, Ben took the bait, hook, line and sinker. Now, I know his side of the story is a bit different (like, I was the one who was hard to read, he was the one sending all of the signals, blah, blah, blah), in any case, here we are, three years later, happy as ever.

We spent this weekend in Steamboat Springs in a cozy "ski in/ski out" condo at the Steamboat Resort. Steamboat had plenty to offer -- great trails outside our door for biking and running (of which, we did both), beautiful fall color changes, delicious local fare and relaxing hot springs:

Winona's -- a great breakfast spot. So good, we went twice!

The cinnamon roll as featured in Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines.

 

Yummy blueberry granola pancakes.

Orange Peel bike shop.

Mountain bike ride from our condo (North side of park, Burgess Creek area), down to the gondola base, up to Storm Peak and back to the condo.

Truffle Pig at the base of the mountain. We could see Storm Pass from our table which we had the pleasure of viewing during dinner.

Lunch next to the Yampa River.

Chocolate Soup!

 
And finally, for date night and to celebrate our anniversary, dinner at Cafe Diva. Hands down, this was the best restaurant we visited in Steamboat. The service was outstanding , the ambiance formal but comfortable, and the food in a league of its own. We had a fabulous time and both agreed Cafe Diva is the best restaurant we've been to in a long time.

Again, happy anniversary, Love!

Autumn in Colorado: Rabbit Ears Pass

"Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter."

~Carol Bishop Hipps

Autumn in Colorado: Boreas Pass