Labor Day Weekend in Tahoe

I spent Labor Day Weekend with my family in Tahoe this year, and, despite the smoke rolling in from poor Yosemite, it was a lovely weekend. Saturday, with surprisingly clear skies, we hiked down to Emerald Bay and I paddle boarded for the first time which was really fun. We were almost run over by an exceptionally large ferry, but that's only a minor detail. Most of the weekend was filled with relaxing at the beach or on the water, and listening to live bands play at The Beacon Bar and Grill in Camp Richards. I understand that Labor Day was over a month ago, I've been extremely bad at uploading and sifting through all the photos I've taken this year, but here are a few of my favorite shots from my very relaxing, beach filled weekend.

{View from the beach at Camp Richards}

{The Beacon, Camp Richards}

{Emerald Bay, South Lake Tahoe}

{I named him Alvin, only fitting considering we had just watched Alvin and The Chipmunks the night before.}

{Having a little fun capturing the motion of the water, one of my favorite effects.}

{Walking to the beach at Emerald Bay.}

{More Emerald Bay hiking shots.}

{Camp Richards.}

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cocoa Buttercream Frosting

This weekend I celebrated the birthday of fellow foodie and long time friend, Dee. We met in SLO and became fast friends, sharing our love of food and running. When we first met and I told her I joined the Cross Country Team at Cuesta she quickly jumped on board. Our days typically became routines of practice followed by trips to New Frontiers, a local specialty market, and recipe experiments. She is definitely one of those people in my life that no matter how much time has gone by since our last visit, it feels as though we never parted. Like many of our fleeting obsessions, I recently discovered that we were on the same wavelength about sweet potatoes. So to pay tribute to the good ol days I made Sweet Potato cupcakes from this recipe and a variation of this frosting recipe where I experimentally added a tsp. Cinnamon and a tbsp. Cocoa. They turned out really well, just perfect for the occasion. 

Dee remains in SLO for the time being, and I in SF making it hard to see each other often. However, I believe that I will be seeing a lot more of her in the coming months, and I couldn't be happier.  

Today's Words of Wisdom

Be your own best friend, not your own worst enemy.

Life is unpredictable, it's what happens while you're making plans.

Live in the moment.

Live for what makes you happy.

Do what makes you happy.

No two peoples' biographies are the same, don't compare.

Don't take life too seriously.

Be kind, and be the best version of you.

A lot of this are things I've heard many times before, but often forget to remind myself when I'm lost in thought planning my future, worrying about who I am, what I'll become, who I want to be, who I don't want to be, what I don't have, or what others do have. A member graced me with these little reminders this morning, kind of out of the blue, but nevertheless appreciated. Very similar to the anecdotal and inspirational bumper stickers floating around social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, these reminders hit much deeper coming from someone you know speaking and standing right in front of you, and they couldn't have come at a better time. I'm thankful to be conscious enough to see/hear great people when they enter my life, and to be able to take in what they have to say about what they have learned over time and through their own experiences. Here's to embracing healthy thought, and learning to be less hard on myself about where I am in life, or where I'm not. Live for the moment.

We want more, we want more!

I was thumbing through Elle magazine this morning and was shocked to find an ad for Tommy Hilfiger. It's safe to say I haven't seen the inside of a fashion magazine in quite some time, but does that company really still exist? Who buys that stuff? Tommy Hilfiger has always been an eye sore for me, sticking to the primary colors, never venturing off or taking a risk with a nice deep green or delicate lavender. I mean, I guess it says it all in the label, but who wants to look like the America flag walking? And the style of clothes they produce! It's like Abercrombie College Ed meets 1950s school uniform meets Sailor. I'm no expert on fashion trends, but I swear their stuff looks exactly as it did 10 years ago shot on the same football field. Talk about limiting your clientele. I may never get it, but to each his own I guess...

Then my breath was taken.

I flipped the page, a Dolce & Gabbana ad. Now that's more my style.

Contrary to a lot of scoffing that might be going on right about now, it's not about the name brand. I've never owned a D&G item in my life, but these dresses! There were four, and unfortunately one was cut off by the binding so I wasn't able to see much of the details, such a bummer. The dresses varied in texture, some more heavy and tightly woven while others a bit more airy with a loose knit. The cut of the dresses were all fairly similar, more fitting at the top and tapering out at the waist. I just love everything about this look. The dresses were paired with deep red lipstick, hair in messy yet effortlessly elegant up-dos, and chunky jewelry. They may have stuck with basics as far as the dress colors go, but you can still do so much with whats there already. I was so intrigued that I could just hear the little girl from the AT&T commercial in my head chanting, "We want more. We want more. You really like it, you want more!" as I turned the page and realized this was a singular photo ad.

So then she googled, and she got more..

Neat Links

A few links I found this morning that I really enjoyed.

This one uses maps to express different facts and statistics about the world. #10 is my favorite, I just love the graphics and to see how much different countries rely on the internet. #36 is just hilarious!

This link is all about recycling or alternate use of the random items you can find around your house to make life that much easier.

I love the following:

5. I definitely have piles of wires in boxes and around my room that could definitely use a few tricks like this to make things look a bit more organized.

6. This just looks fun. Plus factor: If I don't feel like using all the batter at once it doubles as a storage container. 

7. There are just so many possibilities, you could turn your keys into a fashion statement.

12. I always lose track of the things I loan out. This is a good idea in theory, but I have a feeling that with the amount of photos I take, I'd probably lose track of that too.

18. If I can't see it, chances are I will forget it exists. This is a great solution!

33. This is just genius! 

34. One word: Yum!

36. I love onions, but can't stand cutting them. So curious to see if this actually works!

40. Ninja shirt folding? Nuff said!

If this link doesn't make you smile today, I don't know what will. Cute.

The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies

Discovered this today on Cupcakes and Cashmere's "Links I Love" post. Definitely going to use this as a guide to experiment with some cookie recipes. So excited!! She also posted a part 2 here. Tessa's post is so inspiring. I'd love to try this experimental approach to some other common recipes such as various healthy baking substitute and how they affect taste and texture.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Sweet potatoes, like pumpkin, have become a huge obsession of mine. I'm more than willing to try anything pumpkin or sweet potato (or, to be frank, both combined sound pretty good too!). I also have this huge obsession/love for making homemade Gnocchi. I've already tried making pumpkin gnocchi in the past, which turned out like dessert for dinner, sinful! However, in the past few weeks I've discovered the art of Sweet Potato Gnocchi, placing them at the top of my Gnocchi list (no that doesn't actually exist, but maybe it should...)

I've been incorporating sweet potatoes into my diet for their great lasting energy benefits and as a source of good carbs and fiber, plus, lets face it, they are simply delicious. A while back I was in Trader Joe's and noticed that they started carrying sweet potato gnocchi in their freezer section. Being a gnocchi addict and it being all I will order at Italian restaurants given they are made in house, I have made it a rule that I will no longer buy prepackaged gnocchi when I can easily make them from scratch. Fresh is always better, in my opinion. That being said, I have probably made sweet potato gnocchi using this recipe about 4-5 times within the last month or so. They are a bit time consuming, but definitely worth it, and if you make a large amount you can divide them up and have enough for the rest week. This recipe is just as good cold, topped with a bit of goat cheese, and great for on the go or to take to work.

Goat cheese is a simple topping and very delicious, but they also taste wonderful drizzled lightly with a brown butter sage sauce.

Tips: I chose this recipe for it's simplicity without detracting from flavor, but there were a few things I struggled with initially..

1. Baking the sweet potato to puree/mash. The various sizes of sweet potato can cause hiccups in the process, and may extend the time it takes to make these pillows of joy. I recommend paying attention to the ones you choose when at the store. Try to pick ones similar in size and length so they cook at relatively the same speed. If you choose the longer skinnier potatoes they will cook more thoroughly in a shorter amount of time. I, regrettably, did not do this the first time around. I made the mistake of just grabbing a few, one long and skinny, one fat and short, threw them into the oven on a cookie sheet and ended up checking them every 5-10 mins after the initial 30 for about an extra 20-30 mins because the fatter one just wasn't cooking thoroughly. I still ended up with a half soft, half uncooked potato that made my gnocchi chunky. They still tasted great, flavor-wise in my opinion, but they weren't that pillow-y soft texture you normally expect in a gnocchi. I also don't have a ricer which may have made a huge difference, but if you are careful, in this way, this recipe is completely do-able by hand.

2. Checking for a done potato. The recipe suggests cooking the potato until soft to the touch. This is also where I went wrong and wound up with potatoes that I couldn't puree by hand. I recommend poking the potatoes a few times with a fork to allow heat to get to the center, and also as a means to check the softness at the center. The first few times I attempted this recipe I pulled out and began peeling and cutting the potatoes because they felt soft only to discover they were still hard in the center. Deceiving.

3. Flour to preference. I wanted to use less flour, but still maintain a dumpling-like texture. I have yet to perfect the whole wheat gnocchi, and until I do I want to try to minimize the amount of white flour I use. I discovered in my most recent and most successful attempt that you really don't need all that much flour. Depending on the amount and size of the potatoes used you can get away with a fairly small amount of flour. This recipe calls for 2 cups of flour with 2 8oz. potatoes. However, in total (flour for dusting and rolling included) I probably used about 1-1 1/4 cups. I added flour in 1/4 cup increments, and as soon as it became workable I used what remained for dusting and rolling, so essentially the outside was floured but the inside remained sticky. I believe this made for a more creamy less dense dumpling, which I quite enjoyed.

4. (Optional) Let them rest in the cold. This most recent batch was made from two potatoes that I had baked the day before, and stuck in the fridge for about a day and a half. This, I believe, made them much more malleable and less stringy. Although this step is optional, I feel it contributed to a softer gnocchi. Being in the cool climate after being in the oven allowed moisture to absorb back into the potato.