Spring Vegetable Penne (Thyme, Mushrooms, Garlic, Peas, Asparagus)

This recipe is taken from the May 2013 issue of Cooking Light and modified for our non-dairy, vegetarian diet purposes.

Olive oil
3/4 cup chopped sweet onion (like Vidalia)
1 4-oz package of presliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/2  cup low sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup pureed soft tofu (instead of half-and-half)
3/4 cup frozen green peas
3 tablespoons shaved Parmesan cheese (divided) (we omitted this, but will note in recipe)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces of uncooked penne
1 pound of asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt to taste

1. Heat skillet over medium-high heat and add oil. Add onion and mushrooms and saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add thyme and garlic; saute 1 minute. Sprinkle mizture evenly with flour and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and pureed tofu; cook two minutes or until slightly thickened. Add peas, 2 tablespoons cheese (omitted in ours), lemon rind, juice, salt and pepper); cook 1 minute or until peas are thoroughly heated.
2. Cook pasta according to package. During the last three minutes of cooking add the asparagus to pasta. Drain. Add pasta mixture to mushroom mixture, tossing to coat. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, if desired.

This was our very first summer porch meal! It was Memorial Day and as we ate and enjoyed our wine we noticed the beautiful sunset. Soon we noticed a bright "star" in the sky. We figured it was a planet and saw another appear to the left of it. And then another appear above it. It was still kind of bright out for there to be stars but it was odd to see what we thought were three planets so close together so I Googled and guess what? They were three planets!
Apparently there had been a very close triple conjunction between Jupiter, Mercury and Venus the night before. The last time this happened was in May 2011 and the next time will be October 2015.
What we were seeing was Venus (the brightest), Jupiter (to the left of Venus), and Mercury (the one that was above Venus). We were so lucky to have noticed what we were seeing.

Camping at Green Ridge, Shadow Mountain Reservoir

For Memorial Day weekend J and I went camping with two great friends of ours: Kelsie and Josh (getting married in October and we can't wait!) Anywho, it was a blast. Apparently it was one of the last campgrounds available that weekend and we were lucky it was. Over Berthoud Pass and just outside of Granby, CO at an elevation of 8,360 ft is the Shadow Lake Reservoir and the Green Ridge Campground.
A little about the campground: lots of amenities. Fresh water from a spigot that was drinkable. Bathrooms everywhere. Some had flush toilet and running water/soap, others were outhouse style with hand sanitizer. Both were in fantastic and clean shape.
A little about our friends, especially Kelsie: awesome. She planned a menu and packed all food (prepped) and goods needed that were communal. J and I were coming off a trip that arrived home late just to have to teach a water training class and we barely had enough time to pack for ourselves. Super lifesaver of her. We would not have had food.
There was a really fun hike that picked up outside of town that was part of the Continental Divide Trail and we made sure to hike a few miles of that. The rest of the time Josh fished, we sat in our hammock and read, we cooked, we enjoyed fire, and we generally just joked around and laughed.
This was also the two best nights of camping sleep J and I both ever had. I don't know what it was!
The bottom line was that the place was textbook Colorado beautiful and I also really enjoyed the temperatures. It was easily in the 70s during the day and 30s late at night. We tended to go to sleep around 10:30PM and not rise until 7:00AM on account of our sleeping bags being Super Warm.
Super bummed I don't have a group shot with my photos I have to post. But I promise we didn't do this alone...we would have starved. :P

Granby, CO located on SW corner of map. Marker shows location of campground on south-most point of Shadow Mountain Lake. The trail we took began in the city of Grand Lake north of the lake and we hiked along the east side of the lake until we began climbing a series of switchbacks towards a fire tower.

First Camping Trip of the Season!

The reservoir on our first evening.

Gorgeous sky.

J enjoying the hammock and the views.

The second evening of our stay. There is a little fog rolling off the water to the left of the lake.

Josh fishing! This was his super successful day. I saw him catch two I can vouch for. ;)

Our trusty happy little camping tent.

J, Kels, and Sir Francis. It's breakfast time aka time to make fire.

More hammock time.

More fire time.

Last morning at the lake. :)

-TJ

Breckenridge to (Almost) Copper Mountain

Our friend Drew, J and I took a drive up to Breck for our first cycling trip of the season. Our original plans were a little-over 30 mile ride around the lake with lots of fun up- and downhills at altitude to get us going. We were following the directions out of the newest 5280 Magazine which listed this cycling path. Somewhere along the way, the writers of 5280 were not clear in their directions (at least to our group) and we missed the turn off for the lake. We decided to just keep taking our original trail (the Blue River Trail) all the way to Copper. It was supposed to be a little over 30 miles as well so we were all for the same amount of distance. Unfortunately, as one can tell from the map below, we had to stop short of Copper as there was an enormous amount of snow and ice covering the entire trail. We put up with it for a little bit but when we arrived at one large patch that stretched all the way around a bend in the trail as far as we could see we decided that it was time to turn around.

Great pictures though! ;)

Our trail from Breck to Copper. Just about 14 miles one way to where we biked: Breck Rec Center to just outside of Copper.

J and I at one point along the scenic path.

J after we navigated one of the stretches of ice and snow (by walking our bikes across).

This is from where we stopped, looking back on what we had done. In the other direction there was nothing on the trail but snow and ice as far as you could see.

Threesome! Arranged in height order too. Ugh. :P

J doing his thing. That's the expression I should have.

Me doing my thing. I only look like I know what I'm doing.

Leaving Breck we decided to drive home heading over Loveland Pass. First you take Swan Mountain Road which presented us with this gorgeous view of the lake we were supposed to have cycled (taken from Sapphire Point).

Loveland Pass.

Had to take a goofball picture. It was rather warm in Breck when we finished our ride. The nice warm weather didn't last at the top of the pass.

-TJ

Big Island Style!

When J and I traveled to Hawaii in January we were able to spend a few days on the Big Island before heading to Maui, where our vacation was actually planned. Problem was, the Big Island had totally won us over...so we decided to go back this past April and hang for a week on the Kona side, chilling with friends and exploring new places.


In Kona, we visited Kona Brewing. Twice. They have some great brews, surprising awesome and flexible food choices, and a really nice outdoor seating area where one can sit and relax.
J and I also hiked to some petroglyphs that were preserved near where we were staying.
We drove up the beautiful Saddle Road (also somewhat eerie at times) to the visitor's center at Mauna Kea (the observatories for which it is known for are at the very top). There we watched a video about both the observatories and the land, watched the sunset from above the clouds, and stargazed. We also learned about "invisible cows."
Possibly one of my favorite days was when we set out to hike down to Kealakekua Bay, where Captain Cook landed in Hawaii. The hike down was easy enough (but back up it was rather strenuous). When we arrived at the bay we found the Captain Cook monument, lots of kayakers and hikers lounging underneath the trees of the rocky area, and snorkelers enjoying the pristine water.
After our hike back out at noon we headed to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau. We didn't actually park there, though, as that beach has a fee and we were more interested in the snorkeling than the beach. It turns out, just immediately before the entrance fee area to the beach there is another one way turn off where you have access to an incredibly rocky beach area. Sunbathing this is not. But J and our friend Justin swam with Spinner dolphins while I watched a green sea turtle (honu) lounge around in a tide pool.
After that, traditional Hawaiian shave ice at Scandinavian Shave Ice in Kona. Side note...awesome pretzel place just around the corner!
J and I have an affinity for the tiny town of Hawi, so we took one day to drive up and visit. Drinks at the Lighthouse Liquor and Deli and a short stroll around town and we decided to go snorkeling. It was really my first time, minus an ill fated dip in Kauai a few years ago. We first stopped at Kapa'a Beach, where we watched one couple jump in and out of the water between waves at a very rocky outcropping. Not really my thing, so we drove just south of there to Mahukona Beach, which is really an abandoned sugar company and harbor. It was a great first snorkel, and actually quite beautiful. Apparently there is even a ship underwater you can snorkel and check out. We didn't find it unfortunately! We then crashed Hapuna Beach, in a way. We actually learned we went to beach 69 (named so because it is found at mile marker 69). It is part of Hapuna and was really quite stunning. We just decided to sit and enjoy the view there.
Our longest day involved driving from Kona side all the way through Hilo and down to Kalapana to meet for the lave flow hike that takes you to the "shore" created by molten lava flowing into the sea. The drive started off winding through Waimea and on to Honokaa where Tex's Drive-In is located. They are known for their malasadas (Portugese pastries). We had guava and custard. So amazing! We had these last time we were on the Big Island and were pretty much all we could talk about the night before our drive. After that we checked out Akaka Falls which are 442 or 443 ft tall (different signs say different heights). Either way, the Akaka is a gorgeous free-falling waterfall that was amazing to see. We then stopped in Hilo, with our malasadas wearing off, and ate at Lucy's Taqueria (another place we were treated to by Maria the first time we arrived). We met up again with Jorge, our trusty papier-mache order/table holder. Then it was a drive down to Lava Tree State Park, a small park but beautiful nonetheless...especially the drive in where the road is canopied by beautiful, tall, umbrella-like trees. The climax was the hike over the lava flows to the sea. It took about an hour and a half, after which we played on the lava flows (super sharp, 50% silica rock!) and watched the sunset over the awesome power of fire and water. We hiked out by the light of the full moon and our flashlights. Bonus: we were able to drive the winding, hilly, foggy Saddle Road through the interior of the island for a second time...this time in the pitch dark!

Our last day was spent at a black sand beach on the Kona side with our fabulous friend Maria. We returned all of our rentals and sat down for dinner at the Lava Lava Club at A-Bay, which is becoming a another tradition. Afterwords, Maria treated us out to a night at the Blue Dragon, a very local, very fun and hippie restaurant and live music venue. It was the perfect toast to a perfect trip. :)


View the scrapbook below! :)

Petroglyphs.

Foggy Saddle Road, leading us through the interior of the island to Mauna Kea.

Get your red lights on, you astronomers! (At the Mauna Kea Observatory Visitor's Center.) Oh, and it's cold...the top of the mountain is 13,786 ft.

Climbing above the clouds to the Visitor's Center in Mauna Kea.

Hiking the trail down to Kealakekua Bay....goats!

Finally made it to the refreshingly perfect and crystal clear water. Yep, that is a school of bright yellow fish.

J and Sir Francis at the Captain Cook Memorial.

J cooling off in the perfect water (did I say perfect already?)

I was in my element...so very happy to be there. :)

On to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau...this is from J's pics: a pod of Spinner dolphins...it was so exciting!

My little friend that was chilling in the tide pool, just happy being a turtle.

Shaved ice after our long day.

J and I had a northwestern Big Island adventure. After visiting Hawi we snorkeled at Mahukona.

This wasn't from Mahukona, but we had forgotten the GoPro, so I am substituting a picture from a rocky spot just north of the very busy Kahaluu Beach Park.

J in action at a different snorkeling spot.

Ending our day of snorkeling at Hapuna. Sigh...on to the Hilo side via...

Malasadas! A personal fave!

Malasada lips. One of my favorite pictures.

The spectacular Akaka Falls.

Lucy's, and our good friend Jorge.

The tree cover on the way to Lava Tree State Park.

The lava fields. Time to start our hike towards that plume of steam in the distance.

Twas a wee bit windy.

Our line of troopers, always heading to the water.

Finally!

As the sun set the view became more dramatic.

So much power and change...

J was in super-explorer pose when I was lucky enough to snap this.

So I had to get in on it.

The sun finally bid farewell...

...and gave way to another stunning light show.

And then the full moon rose and helped light our hike back to civilization. Here J is working by flashlight.

Our last day we hung out with Maria all day and it was awesome as always!

Maria and J at Lava Lava on A-Bay. I can't wait to be back again. 

-TJ