vermont

The Great Outdoors

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That’s right folks the old man and I are headed to the great outdoors to test our camping skills.  Now this won’t be easy with our nice new tent, camping mattress and of course that newish camping stove but I think we can tough it out and survive. I will hopefully be back on Sunday with a nice post, unless of course a bear eats us, so until then here are a few things for your enjoyment (oh and don’t forget that there is still time to enter the Care Package Swap of 2010:

hmmm is this thing on?

Q: How many Canadians does it take to light a Camp Stove?

A: TWO (and no those aren't mine or my husbands if you were wondering)

Oh and I almost forgot to mention that I am participating in Project Food Blog check it out!

4 Summits, 3 Mountains, and 15 Miles later

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Yesterday the Hubz and I headed out bright an early to start on a 15 mile hike on the Long Trail. We started at Codding Hollow and hiked to Eden’s Crossing, climbing Laraway, Butternut and Bowen Mountains reach the summit at each and both the north and south summit at Bowen. This hike was one of the most difficult that I have done but it was an amazing time. We hit tons of mud, steep climbs, a set of stairs to get to Ritterbush Pond outlook which just killed me because it was at the last 1.7 miles and after 9 hours of hiking I was pretty beat. One of the most difficult areas however was a section called Devil’s Gulch which is all rocks, so there was a lot of sliding down on my bum to get through. One of the best things we purchased recently was a Camelbak backpack which was great because we had to refill the bladder twice, which made the Hubz happy because he got to use our water purification stuff. Next weekend we are hiking another section at Smugglers Notch while we camp so it should be an adventure.

Lookout at Laraway

Summit #1 Top of Laraway

Snacking on Laraway

Hubz and I at Laraway

1st Water Fill Up

Our Water Source- cool and refreshing

Top of Butternut Mountain- Summit #2

YAY! We made it to the top of summit #2

Bowen Mountain -Summit #3

Bowen Mountain- North Summit- Summit #4

Hot and Sweaty after about 5 hours of hiking

Devil's Gulch

Devil's Gulch

We Finished!

Road at Eden's Crossing

Anniversary Wrap-up and a New Recipe

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The Hubz and I just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary this past Monday May 31st and although we went away for the weekend to Portland ME we decided we should still do something special since we both had our anniversary off due to the Monday holiday.  After spending the morning working on packing up our belongings the Hubz suggested that we pack a picnic, go for a drive and find somewhere to enjoy our picnic lunch. So I started on lunch while he finished picking up around the house and we headed out for a drive.

We headed towards Adamant VT because the Hubz has had this odd obsession with it here are a few facts about this village (via wikipedia):

  • There is no true boundary to define the village, and as such there is great debate as to what constitutes residence. This is, however, purely theoretical as there is no legal, governmental or commercial status associated with residence.
  • The village was originally known as Sodom from its inception in the mid-1800s as a granite quarry-town until 1905 when residents petitioned the state legislature for a name change.
  • The village center is the Adamant Co-op, a general store and post office located at the junction of Haggett, Quarry, Center and Sodom Pond Roads. Founded in 1935, it is the state’s oldest co-operative.

The thing that interested the Hubz so much was the co-operative so we took a drive through back roads to this small, very pretty village and visited the co-op. Adamant’s mascot is the black fly so it is fitting that there was a huge sculpture of a black fly outside of the co-op/general store/post office.

After our stop in Adamant we headed down a back road to ….well we had no idea where…but we finally met up with a main road and stopped in Morrisville where we enjoyed our picnic lunch.

For our picnic lunch we enjoyed falafel chips with hummus, orzo salad and raw kale salad.

Q: What is your favorite dish to bring on a picnic?

On The Rise and an Earthlust Giveaway

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Hubby was running late at work tonight and since we were starving we decided to go to On The Rise in Richmond VT (finally).  We have wanted to try it forever but have never seemed to be able to make it there.  The menu is so vegan friendly there is even a vegan pizza! We ordered a small vegan pizza, a deluxe salad with marinated tofu, and a chocolate macaroon.  The food was delicious, fresh and amazing.

Now onto the giveaway: Earthlust sent me one of their stainless steel water bottles and guess what the sent me an extra one just for one of you lucky readers. EarthLust bottles are hand made from high quality #304 (18/8) food grade stainless steel, which is naturally safe unlined. They use non-toxic paints and BPA-free safe polypropylene #5 caps. I received one of the 13oz bottles and it is the perfect size to take every where with me.  I am thinking about investing in a 1L bottle for trips and such but the smaller bottle is great for everyday use.  I also love that they are unlined, unlike Sigg bottles which have a weird lining and make your water taste funny. Additionally, their bottles have some really great designs. So now it’s your chance to win this bottle (see below) isn’t it so cute?

Disclaimer: Earthlust provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

How to Enter: Please leave individual comments for each entry. Entries will be accepted until April 17th at 8am.

  1. Visit the Earthlust website and tell which bottle is your favorite. (Leave me a comment)
  2. Follow me on Twitter (Leave me a comment)
  3. Tweet about this giveaway (Leave me a comment)
  4. Become a fan on Facebook (Leave me a comment)
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Maple Sugar & Cheater Indian Food

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Hubby and I started off our morning with some cheater Indian food from Tandoor Chef.  I usually make oatmeal but I wasn’t feeling it since I didn’t have any bananas and we were in a time crunch as my ‘rents and G-Ma were on their way to pick us up to go visit a few sugar houses.  So thanks to Tandoor Chef who generously sent me a few samples to try we had pocket sandwiches which were yummy and had a really nice spice to them.

One feature I love about this product is how I can say everything that is on the package and how Tandoor Chef uses all natural ingredients so you can eat yummy food with out the gross additives.

Here is our yummy breakfast

The ‘rents and G-Ma finally showed up and we headed out to Morse Farms to see some sugaring and taste their maple syrup.  Unfortunately they hadn’t really started cooking the syrup when we arrived so we took a few fun pictures and headed into the store to taste the various syrups.  Before we left we went back to the sugar house to see the sap boiling.

Neil and his ol'buddy

Me and my G-Ma - LOVE HER!

After visiting Morse Farms we decided to stop for some lunch at Julio’s Cantina in Montpelier for summer yummy eats.  I got the veggie tacos which were filled with grilled mushrooms, onions, peppers, zucchini and summer squash and hubby got the veggie burger with his favorite fiesta fries.  After lunch we headed to Plainfield to visit another sugar house- Braggs.  This is my favorite of the two because it is smaller and I love their sugaring house. Neil and I went to get our yearly maple steam facials (haha) – it smells crazy good in the sugaring house and the steam is fun to bask in.

the 'rents- aren't they so cute? You can see the steam from the boiling sap in the back

I love mustard and I picked up a jar of this yummy Mustard today at Braggs

Once we got home Neil and I headed out to AT&T to pick up a cover for my work iPhone (per request of my boss) and I got a really fun dark pink one.  Then I cam home and had a great elliptical sesh and then a short power yoga sesh from yogadownload.com.  I had worked up a mini appetite after my workout so Neil and I shared a Jazz Apple sprinkled with a little cinnamon.  I decided that this was a perfect opportunity to try out my Biokleen Produce Wash which is great not only for washing produce but for cleaning your cutting boards.  I will be hosting a giveaway for this product soon! I really loved it  and to my surprise did not leave any residue on the apple.

Tonight we decided it was time to relax on the couch with a little bit of TLC’s Hoarding which my nice daddy recorded for us since we don’t have cable.  That show is crazy I couldn’t imagine living like that! We sipped on some new spring beer that I found at the Co-op Anchor Steam Brewing’s Bock Beer.  This beer was so tasty I think a new favorite.  We also decided to make dinner easy and had some more Tandoor Chef this time Pakora’s and Dal Rajastani.  They both were tasty however the pakoras were a bit dry for us.  Overall yummy though!

Question:  What did you do this weekened? Oh and what is your favorite cheater meal?

First Days and Sugar Houses

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Yesterday was my first day of work and it was great! I was super nervous at first and a bit overwhelmed but by the end of the day I was feeling comfortable with the position and I am excited to go back to work next week.  My second day I have to travel for a meeting which is fun so we will see how that goes but so far I am loving it (haha okay it’s been one day).  Also did I mention that I get to have an iphone for work! Hello colour me pumped!

After work hubby and I decided to stop and get a beer to celebrate my successful first day of work.  Since it was dinner time we decided to go out (again) for dinner.  I don’t know what is up with us we never go out to eat this much, usually only once every 10 or so days but this week we have been bad about it- I blame the awkward days, poor planning and no real grocery shopping.  However this week will be filled with lots of home cooked meals as I went to the market yesterday and picked up lots of yummy produce.  Anyways we stopped at The Alchemist but it was packed and there was a 45 minute wait for a table so we left and walked next door to The Reservoir where we had some yummy beers, a huge plate of hummus, salad and grilled bread and a housemade tofu/bean burger YUM!

I was pretty tired out after my first day back in the working world so we spent the rest of the night home hanging out on the couch watching a little L&O.  Since we ate dinner so early we were hungry later on in the evening and decided to munch on some Veggie Medley Straws that I was sent to sample from The Mediterranean Snack Food Co. and they were super yummy! I also had another Inko’s White Tea this time Original.

Now I need to get myself in the kitchen and make breakfast and do some dishes before G-Ma and the ‘rents get here so we can go and see all the open sugar houses. Each year on this weekend the Vermont sugar houses are open for the public to come and visit and try their maple syrup and have sugar on snow with a pickle (to cut the sweetness) and a cider donut. It’s a been a tradition with my family to go and visit the sugar houses however since I haven’t been home for many Springs we haven’t all been out together. Neil and I went last year to the sugar house near our house but it was pouring and cold booo!

Last year wet and cold at Morse Farms

Hubby With his New Friend at Morse Farms 2009

Is there a family tradition that you do each Spring?

Celebration Dinner

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Sorry bloggies I haven’t posted much in the last few days but things over here are pretty crazy with starting a new job.  Yesterday I met up with a friend from my old job for lunch at Kismet and I gave you all a chance to pick the dish.  Well there wasn’t a majority on any dish so I decided to go with the steamed veggie and grains bowl with the miso ginger sauce and it was amazing! I can’t wait to bring Neil for lunch so he can try it too.

This week has been pretty crazy and we seem to have no food in the house so we have been bad and have been eating out a lot.  Last night we decided to go out for a celebration dinner (for my new job) at Positive Pi and both got huge salads for dinner. Neil’s salad was mixed greens with broccoli, tomatoes, walnuts, marinated tofu and red onions with a lemon tahini dressing.  I got the Mediterranean salad with no feta and added some marinated tofu to mine.  It came with lots of kalamata olives and pepperoncini with a lemon oregano dressing- SO GOOD!  I also got a glass of proseco – well actually a mini bottle of it which was so fun.

Neil's Giant Salad

My Giant Salad

Today I’ve been working on getting the bedroom picked up, doing laundry and cleaning out my closet.  I’m at the point where I have some spring/summer clothes that are in the “loose 5-10lbs and they’ll fit pile” so I have removed them all from my closet and boxed them up and will try them on again in 2 months or so – hopefully they will fit by then.  I have felt like there is a ton of clutter in my closet right now so I only want to have clothes that I will wear right now and  that fit in it.  I took out winter sweaters and pants, as well as  dresses that are too fancy for everyday wear and have boxed them up so when we move in June there will be less work.  I also removed all of the clothes that I’ve been holding on to for years and don’t wear anymore and will be bringing them to consignment and whatever they don’t take donate to Good Will. However now I am looking at a very empty closet which is depressing. I think I need to go shopping.  Okay enough rambling about my closet.

Good news on the giveaway front I am putting together a box of goodies for a big Spring giveaway.  I think I am going to call it the “Spring into Veganism Giveaway” and it will have lots of little treats.  So keep your eyes peeled for this giveaway!