day trip!

Nothing terribly exciting to report on my end . . . let's just say vacation agrees with me! :)

A few photos from a day trip I took to Great River Bluffs State Park on Thursday:







It was a cold, somewhat windy, kind of gray day, but we still had a bunch of fun! Moderately tough terrain, gorgeous views, good food (soup and sandwich picnic, packed by yours truly,) and great company made for the highlight of my vacation!

(And yes, if you are wondering, this "friend" is an important one . . . but I'm not ready to blow his cover just yet. The same mystery friend/helper in the kitchen that I've eluded to a few times over the past month. He'll get introduced soon enough!)

Merry, merry.

Whew, it's been a year for me -- I had appropriately named 2011 "the year that doesn't quit." As I'm preparing to stay up super-late for Christmas Eve service tonight, (on very little sleep, and a teensie little nap, thank you very much,) all sorts of thoughts are swirling around in my head. Mostly, what a year it's been! As I learned in yoga class, the universe never hands you anything you can't handle -- I knew that all along, but it was hard to see while in the thick of things, you know? Life is reasonably calm and relatively stable nowadays, things are clipping along nicely, and I'm looking forward to being off work until JANUARY 3RD! Wahoo!

I wish you a merry, merry whatever -- Christmas, Santa, New Year, Hanukkah, Solstice, time away from the grind to relax with important people. And I leave you with some shots from a hike I took with a friend yesterday at Afton State Park. Unseasonably warm, gorgeously sunny winter days make for great hiking, and even better pictures:










I'll be back soon with food -- I plan to feed myself well and often during my vacation! I can't wait. :)

birthday fun for me

Thought I'd post a little recap of the birthday fun I had! My day was filled with food and fun, with my favorite person (yes . . . Dan is back, slowly but surely, and we'll just say I'm feeling "cautiously optimistic.")

Our day started at Midtown Global Market, where the first order of business is usually giant burritos:

I love Los Ocampo veggie burritos, although they do tend to be heavy-handed on the rice. Pros? Tons of veggies, excellently-seasoned beans, plenty of cheese and sour cream, and the sauces! Holy hot and spicy, but SOOOOOO good!

After lunch and some browsing around the market, we headed down to Northfield for the afternoon and evening. We started with a long, pleasant, but muddy hike at Nerstrand Woods:











(I told you it was a muddy hike! Still haven't cleaned my shoes . . . sigh. I should probably take care of that tonight!)

After our hike, we spent some time bumming around downtown Northfield -- lots of cute shops, although most weren't open because it was Memorial Day! Boo. Anyhow, we still had fun walking around and exploring the few places that were open!

Before leaving town, we enjoyed dinner at The Tavern. While we're not ones for typical American/bar type food, the Indian restaurant we had planned on visiting was closed, so we came up with a pretty good second choice.

To start, we shared the cheese plate:

Aged cheddar, herbed goat cheese, and feta, with crostini, crackers, apples, and the most amazing rhubarb chutney! I swear, I could have downed a glassful as a beverage! (Or maybe it would make more sense as a soup? Anyhow, you get it!)

For my entree, I chose the Thai Salad:

The salad was packed full of fresh veggies and fried wonton strips, and came with the most delicious, super-spicy Thai dressing! Usually when something is labelled "spicy" on an American-type menu, I'm left disappointed . . . not this time! Yum yum! (The bread and butter on the side was fresh, homemade, and delicious, too!)

Thanks, Dan, for a great birthday!

cabin culture

It seems as though everyone in Minnesota either has a "cabin," or knows someone who does. (I grew up in Wisconsin . . . while in WI we do go "upnorth," people rarely own cabins -- renting is much more common.) I learned, my first few years living in Minnesota, that "cabin" didn't necessarily mean what I thought it did, (rustic, wood-paneled house in the middle of the woods, totally isolated, possibly on a lake,) but rather, "cabin" could mean a house north of the cities in a small town, a house on a lake, anything! Imagine my disappointment, the first time I went to a friend's "cabin" in college!

Anyhow, Dan and I rented a cabin at Wild River State Park this weekend, and had what I would call a "true" cabin experience! Check it out:


VERY rustic, eh? We had heat and electricity, bunk beds with mattresses, and a small table with two benches . . . and that was it! No showers, short walk to the outdoor latrine, and the kitchen?

What kitchen? This just means we had to be resourceful. We had to bring in all of our water, (including water for washing dishes,) and there was no cooking allowed in cabins, except for Crock Pots and "coffee pots," whatever that meant. I figured "coffee pot" included "electric teakettle," right? :) So we had plenty of hot tea and coffee, snacks like fruit, Chile-Lime Peanuts, and brownies:

(Impulsively, I discovered that brownies made with coconut oil instead of butter are FANTASTIC!!!)
And had simple meals, like Smoky Split Pea Soup with Cheese Muffins:

And instant oatmeal with sliced banana:


More importantly, this trip really wasn't about the food. Even though I can rarely pass up the opportunity to prepare a healthy, filling meal for us while on the road, our focus was definitely on doing STUFF, instead of cooking and eating! We read the paper, attempted the crossword puzzle, had a late-night campfire in the bitter cold, played Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit, lost ourselves in our books, and rented cross-country skis for both fantastic exercise and beautiful scenery:

We had so much fun this weekend, we're talking seriously about repeating this trip sometime next month!

If you live in/near MN, I HIGHLY recommend the cabins available for rent at MN State Parks! They are rustic, and do require a (short) cold walk to go potty, but the cabins themselves are gorgeous, well-maintained, affordable, and just what you need for a simple night/weekend away from "real life." :)

I'm so glad we've discovered a way to "camp" in the winter! Wahoo!

"upnorth"

Dan and I have been "upnorth" for the past four days, arriving home LATE last night! We left early Friday morning to spend two nights in a cabin in Beaver Bay, MN, with Dan's family, and then spent an additional night in a hotel (the luxury! no tent required!) in Grand Marais, MN. I think the north shore might be one of our favorite places on Earth.

The last four days have been filled with lots of hiking, a little biking, (we now have a bike rack for the car! Woo! Thanks Sandy and Pat!), great meals, giant ice cream cones, pie, quality time with family, beautiful scenery, waterfalls, fog and mist, shopping, reading, visits to four state parks, a smattering of food network watching, and plenty of relaxing.

Enjoy the photos!




































During the trip, I had a chance to pop in the bulk foods store in Beaver Bay, the Cook County Co-op, and a few other cool places in Grand Marais. Treats from the north shore will be featured next!

Time to start the laundry. Does anyone else experience the phenomenon that vacations generate twice as much laundry as time at home? Strange.