Monday, July 30, 2012

Marc & Marie's Engagement Party


It was a blessing to celebrate Marc and Marie's engagement yesterday. We had an early evening fiesta with our families and a couple of very close friends. 

Gabby took the photo below as one of their official engagement photos recently and this one sets the tone.  



Here's a little peek at our evening which may serve as an explanation of my recent lack of blogging. 

My friend Maryanne was one of the first people we met when we moved here years ago and her son Jake is one of Marc's oldest friends. She sweetly decided on the theme of the party and made this gorgeous banner and helped me with other projects, too.


There were lots and lots of of handmade banners and I made custom labels for wine bottles with another Gabby photo of M&M for them to give to our guests. It was a really easy and fun project.


A peek at the dessert table and yes, the teeny flags for cupcakes to match the banners just might have been a teeny bit of overkill.


Pinterest lead me to these custom match boxes - they made me far happier than they should have. But really - a match made in heaven matchbox? I ordered them from Gracious Bridal. They were wonderful to work with and so fast.



Setting up the tostada buffet - an easy way to accommodate our vegan, vegetarian and omnivore loved ones. See that covered blue bowl - Gabby's mango salsa. Under the foil? A huge amount of Gabby's Cheesy Rice. Don't you love the bucket of flowers complete with their wedding date?? Marie's mom Terri found the buckets and customized them beautifully.


Marie's sister Elizabeth made a custom table runner that decorated the table outside. She also kept me sane through out the night.


Marie's parents gave them a beautiful bench and surprised them by putting it in the garden.Terri and Elizabeth made cards for everyone to fill out date night suggestions.  


The cards were clipped to the tree and I know Evan's suggestions will come in very handy. Maryanne made the flower clips - they were gorgeous.


Marc and Marie testing the bench out.


Oh how I love this girl!


And this boy - oh look at those eyes!


Here's Marie with her family - Jerry, Elizabeth, Marie and Terri. 



Somehow Joe was left out of our family shot but I love this pic with my mom and dad.


Gabby and Mike with my favorite little buddies. A photo of all four of them is rare and Marie did a great job taking this one.


Such a nice evening spent with friends and family and soon to be family. 

xoxo

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Spicy Sriracha Potatoes


This post was supposed to be about Marc's first cooking lesson but I have to blog this recipe quickly so that I don't forget the measurements.  These are just too good to wait. And I just got too excited to eat this plate to take the time to take better photos. Potatoes do that to me.

Recently Chris and I went to PF Chang's for lunch.  Every time we go - which really isn't often - it's a great gluten free experience. Friendly waitstaff and one of the largest gluten free menus around - you can't go wrong. Our last couple of visits we've had the spicy Dali Chicken.  It's the hottest dish on their menu and we just love it.  But the chicken doesn't thrill me nearly as much as the spicy potatoes and leeks.

I've wanted to give the dish a try for a while and didn't have much luck finding a recipe in any of my books or online that looked right to me. I knew I'd have to wing this one.

This afternoon the bowl full of tiny organic rainbow potatoes sitting on the counter just called out to me so I just dove in.

I decided to skip the chicken and make these vegan. Chris volunteered to slice the potatoes thinly while I tried to figure out what to use to spice them up. We threw them in the hot pan with coconut oil. Aren't they the prettiest potatoes ever? 

Garlic, cumin, Sriracha hot chili sauce and green onions were lined up on the counter and tossed in one at a time. PF Chang's uses leeks in their dish but I had green onions and they worked really well.
From start to finish these took only thirty minutes. The potatoes were so thinly sliced that they cooked in no time at all. A few stuck a bit but the browned flecks were really yummy  and added to the dish so don't worry about that.

The garlic went in just after the potatoes had started to get soft and all the seasonings went right in after that. That quick! And we absolutely loved this dish.

Marc wants to make these together soon so he can make them for Marie.  Chris would like me to add some veggies to the potatoes next time so I think I'll start with several handfuls of kale or spinach.

So next time you're in the mood for something spicy, try this.


Spicy Sriracha Potatoes

In a large pan over medium heat saute:

1/4 cup Coconut Oil
5 cups Potatoes, thinly sliced

Some potatoes will brown a bit, some may stick, just scrap them off the bottom and gently move them around. When potatoes are soft and just cooked through add:

3 Cloves Garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons Sriracha Sauce
1 Tablespoon Gluten Fee Soy Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1 cup Green Onions, chopped

Stir until everything is mixed and heated through.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!








Thursday, July 5, 2012

She Said YES!!!


Yesterday Marc proposed to our sweet Marie and she said yes! We feel so blessed that Marie will be our daughter in law, especially blessed that they are following God's will for their lives and blessed to be planning their wedding with Marie's wonderful parents.

An autumn wedding means not too much time for planning their perfect wedding but we have amazing friends and family on both sides that are willing to dive in with us. Like Gabby who took these beautiful shots of Marc and Marie.  It's going to be a wonderful, wild ride.

Marc has asked to learn to cook some healthy, frugal, gluten free meals that will fit into their newlywed budget and we'll be sharing them here so they can access them easily. In fact, he's already put his first pot of pinto beans on the stove for the meal he's making for tonight. I look forward to spending time teaching him a bit more of why I do what I do in the kitchen but mostly cherishing our together time.