Farmer's Market

We have a lovely Farmer's Market in Hayden & Coeur d'Alene. The best in the area, I think! Jessica and I visited it a few weeks ago and enjoyed the hustle & bustle of the market, the colorful fruits and veggies, and delicious brick oven pizza made right on the street! Here are some photos to feast your eyes upon! Enjoy!

I love the dahlias you can find at the Farmer's markets! So big and so many different kinds!

This is quite possibly the best bread ever made! They bring it in straight from the oven and it's always still warm. It is light and airy and melts in your mouth! So delicious! My favorite one is the Parmesan.

  Huckleberries!

 Beautiful heads of Garlic!

This is the pizza! So delish! Fresh tomatoes, fresh goat cheese, and arugula! YUM!

New Job!

Today I start my new job as an RN. I graduated in May and have been searching for the perfect job since then. It never came and never came. I was certain I would land a job in Pediatrics at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital where I volunteered and completed my precepting. However, some unforeseen events at the hospital prevented that from happening. I slowly gave up my dream of pediatric nursing and started to look elsewhere. Being granted an interview was almost impossible. No one is very interested in new graduates right now as the market is flooded with experienced nurses looking for jobs, as well. So I searched and searched and made connections and still nothing came of it.

So I decided to start a business or two. One with my husband, the other for myself. I figured running businesses and being an entrepreneur is what I want to do anyway and the nursing thing just isn't happening for me right now. God will bring me the right job when I'm ready.

We were offered to purchase an established commercial snow plowing company and accepted the offer. That's what my husband will do to keep busy in the winters. It has been fun learning to run a business and set up all the little details. It is very rewarding but an extreme amount of hard work. And the real hard work doesn't even start until it snows!

The other business, as you may already know, is my event design company. Running an event planning company is a dream of mine! You can see my companies here and here!

And with all of these exciting events, God also brought me a job as an RN. Of course, everything all happens at once. We are busier than we've ever been and our lives are only going to get busier from this point forward. But it's perfect. I couldn't ask for a better life!

So my job will be a full time RN for Hospice of North Idaho. It is not pediatrics, it is not hospital nursing, and it is something I never thought I'd be doing. But I think it will be perfect for me. The schedule is awesome, very flexible. I will eventually have my own patients and go to their houses each day to provide in home nursing care. Of course, this new job will be my first priority but it will still allow me time to run our businesses and keep up this blog. I have a lot to learn about being a Hospice nurse. Thankfully, my friend Amy (who told me about the job) will be there and I will have a larger support group of experienced nurses and health care professionals to help me along the way!

Well, I'm off to my first day of work! My first day ever at a "real" job! I'm nervous and excited and ready to accomplish this 10 hour day!

I'll let you know how it goes!

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

I have never successfully made cinnamon rolls. They usually never rise or turn out too dry. This recipe from Pioneer Woman was great! Probably due to the excessive amount of butter and frosting! These are a great Sunday morning breakfast that you can start the night before. Here is the link to her recipe.

Ingredients

■1 quart Whole Milk

■1 cup Vegetable Oil

■1 cup Sugar

■2 packages Active Dry Yeast

■8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour

■1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder

■1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda

■1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

■Plenty Of Melted Butter

■2 cups Sugar

■Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon



MAPLE FROSTING:

■1 bag Powdered Sugar

■2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring

■½ cups Milk

■¼ cups Melted Butter

■¼ cups Brewed Coffee

■⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.

Recipe from Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/


Her picture tutorial HERE is fabulous to follow!

Potato Soup

This potato soup is lovely on a crisp fall day. It's hearty enough to fill you up with out adding meat but of course, my husband requested his with sausage. It was still delicious!

Ingredients

2-3lbs Red Potatoes with skins on if you like

3 medium carrots

3 stalks celery

1 large onion

3-4 cups of milk

4-5 cups of water

2 TBS Butter

1 cup shredded Cheddar

Chopped Scallions

Salt & Pepper

1 lb Sausage (if desired)

Directions

There are two ways to make this soup: a quick way and a little bit longer way. Both are delicious.

Quick Method

Place diced potatoes, carrots, onions, celery in a dutch oven or large pot. Fill with water just to the top of the veggies not above the veggies. Let the veggies simmer in the water until most of the water is evaporated. Then use a masher to mash some of the veggies but still leave some whole for texture.

Add the milk, salt, and pepper.

Garnish with shredded cheddar and scallions.

Longer Method

Saute the onions and celery in a saute pan with butter until soft.

Boil Carrots and Potatoes in just enough water to cover the veggies. Boil until the water is almost gone.

Add the sauteed onions and celery. Mash with a masher but leave some veggies whole.

(If you like a more blended soup, you can use an immersion blender to puree the soup or a food processor.)

Add the milk, salt, and pepper.

Saute sausage in a saute pan. Add to the soup if desired.

Garnish with cheese and fresh scallions or chives.

How to Blanch & Freeze Broccoli and other Green Veggies

Wash your fresh trimmed broccoli or other veggies (kale, green beans, peas, etc)

Prepare a boiling pot of water and an ice bath.

Dump your fresh Broccoli into the boiling water for 30-60 seconds.

It will change to a brighter, darker green.

Remove the blanched Broccoli with a slotted spoon.

Place it directly into the ice bath.

After it cools for about 60 seconds, drain it on paper towels or dish towel. Pat dry.

Once you Broccoli is dry, place it in a freezer bag.

I learned this trick on a cooking show. If you don't have a vacuum sealer but want to get most of the air out, you can use a straw. You seal the bag except for a place for the straw. Then suck all the air out by mouth. then quickly seal the rest of the bag. This gets rid of most of the air and prevents freezer burn.

Label and Freeze for up to 6 months!

This is great to use in soups or add to a pasta dish! It only takes a few seconds to warm up and cook completely!