My first college football game- Utes!

Growing up, I went to a highschool without a football team.  Then, I went to a college without a football team.  Then, I transferred to a collage without a football team. Football was just something I never "learned to love" or appreciate.

Then I went to graduate school at a University where football was a part of the culture of the University.  Like our Uconn Huskies for my East Coast friends. 

(Except I am still not entirely sure what a Ute is...)

The Utah Utes Football is part of the Pacific-12 Conference (Pac-12) and is NCAA Division 1. 

I never really got a feel for college football, or never even attended a college football game for that matter, until last weekend. 

The Trax makes a stop at the University Stadium, and is my typical stop when I am going to class.  However on game day, the Trax stations are MOBBED with seas of red and white t-shirts, and they even put a few extra trains on schedule.   Young and old, there are many die hard Ute fans that have their gear and their padded seats.  They even close down some of the parking lots for tailgating before the game.   I should have known this was a bad sign.  I do not do well in MOBS of people and tend to avoid theme parks and such for this reason. 

I don't really "get' football, but being a student, I get a free ticket in the "Mighty Utah Student Section", called the "MUSS" and decided it may be a fun way to enjoy some sunshine and a beer while supporting my new school. 

Well, 

I found out very quickly that:

A.  Rice-Eccles Stadium does not sell alcohol.  Apparently this is a new trend among college football stadiums.  A trend I was very disappointed with on a hot Saturday afternoon.   While I get why crowds may get to rowdy, and underaged drinking may get out of control, it was a bummer to not enjoy an ice cold beer on a hot day. 

B.  Utah does not have any shade and the sun feels 1000x worst than what I am used to.  It literally feels like you are sitting under a broiler.  I ended up leaving after the half time break because I couldn't take the sun anymore.  

C.  You can keep buying $4 bottles of water, or wait in the hour line that wraps around the concourse to refill your water bottle at the bubbler/fountain because it is about 100 degrees in the sun on those bleachers. 

I wasn't very interested in the game to be honest, but I did enjoy the marching band and watching the crowd interact.  This was a great place to people watch and see die hard football fans in the act.  I really enjoyed watching the student section interacting at the game. 

While the game was something different to experience as a new U of U student and Utah resident, it really wasn't my cup of tea.  Mobs on the shuttle, Mobs in the concourse, no shade, and no beer. I repeat. no beer.   I told Thatcher we could consider going to one of the night games.  A hot coffee and a sweatshirt on the bleachers sounds much better than the intense Utah sun.

Another lesson learned in the "Bring your own shade" chapter of life in Utah.

Rice and Beef Stuffed Poblano Peppers with a Lime Crema Sauce (Blue Apron)

So the blogs been a little all over the place lately.

Gardens, and mountains, and Utah, Oh my! 

I did warn you things were going to change, but I hope you are all enjoying the snapshots of my life out here and the adjustments.  I know my mom is (hey mom..)

  I am going to try to get the blog in some sort of a balance between everything it was and everything I want to be.  A balance between my new adventures, my running goals, and of course... food.  

Well, the blog has been seriously lacking in the food department 

and I have been trying to find the time to share this amazing recipe with you guys.

Well finally, I did. 

Yes, it is a Blue Apron and yes, it was super easy--and delicious!

My only negative comment to this recipe is is there is no "side".  But it was so darn tasty that I forgive you Blue Apron for your lack of sides, I will add a small side salad next time and love you just the same. 

 So now, I present to you....

Rice and Beef Stuffed Poblano Peppers 

with a Lime-Crema Sauce

                                   Makes 2 servings, about 700 calories each serving.  
                            

Let me start by saying I was surprised how much I loved this.  I figured eh, your average stuffed pepper (minus the whole poblano thing).  Until I put in that cumin, pepitas, and currants.  The smell of cumin onions and garlic should be a new yankee candle (maybe?)
And then top it with this lime-crema creamy sauce, which perfectly balanced the heat from the poblano.

It was no longer a typical stuffed pepper but so darn good.  If your stuffed pepper recipe needs some spicing up (pun intended) try this recipe for a nice change. 

• INGREDIENTS
• ½ Cup Long Grain White Rice

• 3 Cloves Garlic

• 1 Bunch Cilantro

• 1 Lime

• 1 Yellow Onion

• 2 Poblano Peppers

• 10 Ounces Ground Beef

• 3 Tablespoons Dried Currants

• 3 Tablespoons Roasted Pepitas

• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

• 2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin

• ¼ Cup Mexican Crema

"In this dish, you’ll be using a special Mexican ingredient: crema. It’s a creamy, tart condiment similar to sour cream and crème fraîche, In this dish, it provides balance, mediating the rich spiciness of the stuffed peppers, the toastiness of the pepitas and the sweetness of the dried currants."--BA

The following instructions are from the Blue Apron site and a printable PDF can be found HERE!

1.  Rice Rice Baby

In a small pot, combine the rice, 1 cup of water and a big pinch of salt. Heat to boiling on high. ** Once boiling, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer 14 to 16 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Fluff the finished rice with a fork.

**Or just use a rice cooker for perfect fluffy rice (every time) 

2.  Prep

While the rice cooks, preheat the oven to 500°F. Wash and dry the fresh produce. Peel and mince the garlic. Pick the cilantro leaves off the stems; discard the stems and roughly chop the leaves. Quarter the lime. Peel and small dice the onion.

3.  Roast em 

Place the poblano peppers on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven 5 to 7 minutes, or until the skin is browned and blistered. Remove from the oven and set aside. When cool enough to handle, make a lengthwise slit in each pepper. Using your hands, open each pepper; remove and discard the ribs and seeds, keeping the skin of the pepper as intact as possible. Return the prepared peppers to the sheet pan and set aside.

4.  Make the Filling

While the peppers cool, in a large pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium until hot. Add the garlic and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the tomato paste and cumin. Cook, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes, or until toasted. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking the meat apart with a spoon, 2 to 4 minutes, or until browned and cooked through. Stir in the currants, pepitas, cooked rice and ¼ cup of water. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes, or until well combined; season with salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Stuff and Bake

Stuff each prepared poblano with as much of the filling as possible (reserve any extra filling to serve on the side). Bake the stuffed peppers 4 to 6 minutes, or until heated through and the filling is brown on top. Remove from the oven.

6.  Sauce and Plate

While the peppers bake, in a small bowl, combine the Mexican crema, the juice of 2 lime wedges, half the cilantro and 1 tablespoon of water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. To plate your dish, divide the stuffed poblanos (and any extra filling) between 2 plates and top with the lime-crema sauce. Garnish with theremaining cilantro and lime wedges. 

Impress all of your friends and come back and thank me.  

Too hot?

If you aren't into the heat of the poblano,

 substitute one of the bell peppers and enjoy!  

No meat for you?

 Leave out the beef and get crazy with some beans or whatever meat substitute you desire!

Red Butte Gardens, Salt Lake City, Utah

This past weekend was a three day weekend in honor of Labor Day, and a chance to start checking some things off the bucket list.  Because it was a holiday weekend and the southern Utah parks would be packed, we decided to stay local Saturday and do something fun in the city.  Saturday we went to the Pioneer Park Farmers Market (mentioned HERE). After hanging around for the day, we ventured out in the early evening.  I (finally) got out of my comfy clothes and put on this curt skirt/tank combo.

I have been trying to get in the habbit of reserving my running clothes JUST for running.  Living in the city I have more of a reason to get dressed and do fun stuff so this is absolutely helping.  I wore this fitted black and white skirt, a simple black tank, big "gold" leaf earrings,  flip flops and my favorite Steve Madden purse. 

Once showered and dressed, we headed to campus to check out the Red Butte Garden down in Salt Lake City,  another stop on my Utah Bucket List.

    Red Butte Gardens is basically a big beautiful garden and arboretum at the edge of the University of Utah campus.  The entire campus just keeps climbing up and as I learned, it is a TERRIBLE place to bike to. There are several hiking trails from this area and some great hikes.  This picture above is taken from the entrance of the gardens, with a gorgeous view of the city below. 

Once you go through the visitor center (10$ for adults, free for students- that's me!) we headed upstairs, and out into the gardens.  There were paved and dirt paths winding through this gorgeous garden.  What caught me off guard was the warning signs regarding the snakes (rattlesnakes!) and how they tend to hang around the gardens.  The signs warned to stay clear of the snaked and report their location at the visitors center.

At first, before I got to the gardens, I kind of had this "it's just going to be a garden, lets stroll quick to say we did" attitude.  I was pleasantly surprised.  There was so much to see and I could have definitely spent another hour or so in here if our rumbling stomachs and threat of dark didn't kick us out! 

The park was laid out very well and had so many fun parts.  The kids section of the park was absolutely adorable.....for kids and grown-ups alike (above is me posing at the entrance).  The gardens were themed around nursery rhymes and stories and had a lot of fun activities and things for the kids to do.  There were fun walk throughs, fountains, activities, sculptures, and I loved the whimsical feel in this part of the garden. 

I think the rose gardens, the fragrance garden, and the herb gardens were some of my favorite parts.  They had all the different areas labeled and marked very well.  The roses smelled amazing and I spent half of the evening with my face stuffed in a flower. 

I also felt the need to touch feel and smell everything.  

And may or may not have wound up with some cactus needles in my fingers....

There were also tables, chairs, benches, and swinging chairs throughout the entire garden.  I saw a few couples enjoying some wine and snacks, sitting on a bench or gazing out at the pond.  It looked like the most adorable Saturday evening, enjoying wine and snacks on the garden.  Not sure if it is allowed but I will basically be smuggling wine and cheese in this garden.  Every weekend. 

(it's free for me!)

My favorite areas: Medicinal Garden, Herb Garden, Floral Walk, Fragrance Garden, Children's Garden, Courtyard Garden, Water Pavillion Garden (above), and the Terrace (below).

(daydreaming of wine and cheese in the garden)

Towards the end of our garden walk, we came across the amphitheatre. "From May through September the Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre is home to a variety of outdoor performances. This 3,000-seat venue in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains is not only the site for our Outdoor Concert Series, but also Sundance Film Institute screenings, Greek Theater, and Monday Family Night events. The Amphitheatre has lawn seating, an area for food vendors and merchandise, and all the perks of being in the Garden. Bring a picnic and enjoy live music, independent movies, local theater, and cultural performances. For more information, click on the links below."

What sounds more perfect than that?
Pack a picnic, sit on the lawn and enjoy a concert? Perfection.

Did I mention, this summer Amos Lee, Sarah McLachlan, Gavin Degraw, Matt Nathanson, Natalie Cole, Ray Lemontagne, Sheryl Crow, David Gray, and Ben Harper all stopped by to give concerts here.

I will DEFINITELY be back to see a summer concert here at Red Butte. 

I instantly fell in love with this beautiful garden, with a it's backdrop of stunning mountains.  There was a variety of flora (and fauna! the cutest little quails running around) and truly something for everyone here.

If you are in Salt Lake City, add this stop on your list.

You will probably find me by the fragrance garden with a glass of Rose ;)

Check them out on their website HERE

A Hike in the High Uintas

This weekend was my second weekend in the city, after moving out to Utah from Connecticut.  I have a bajillion things on my bucket list, and of course, impatient me wanted to start RIGHT AWAY.  While I really wanted to do the southern parks (Arch, Moab etc) I knew they would be swamped on this Labor Day holiday weekend.   So instead, we opted for some local sights.  Saturday we went to the famer's market and the Red Butte Gardens and decided to do a more local hike Sunday.  After doing some research, I decided on a hike in the High Uintas mountain, about 1.5 hours west of the city.

The High Uintas Wilderness Area is the largest wilderness area in Utah. It also contains the highest peaks in the Uinta Mountains, and in the state of Utah, Kings Peak.   The Uinta Mountains are one of the few mountain ranges in North America that run east to west instead of the traditional north to south. The mountains run just south of the Wyoming/Utah border for 100 miles from Flaming Gorge to Kamas.  Within these mountains are about 2000 lakes, many of which are full of trout. After reading about this mountain range, so close to the city, I decided Uintas it was.  How the hell do you say that? Yeah I wasn't sure either.   Until I asked a local on the way home at the smoke shop "you-in-tas"

The drive out to the Uintas was gorgeous.  We stopped along the way at a few pretty sights to take pictures -  above is me posing by the Jordanelle Reservoir (now on "the list" as well).  Jordanelle Reservoir is fed and drained primarily by the Provo River, and is impounded by the Jordanelle Dam, an Earthen dam (Wikipedia).  This is a great spot for "beaches", water sports, swimming, boating, camping and hiking.  Once we got to Kamas, Utah, we said goodbye to cell phone service and took the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway into the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.  

We had over 20 miles on this beautiful scenic road (closed in the winters) and once again the views were stunning.  There were many scenic overlooks and areas, so we stopped to snap some pictures of Bald Mountain (below) and the beautiful Uinta mountain range. 

Our drive to the trail head also took us by Provo River and this adorable waterfall. 

After a beautiful drive with many pitstops, we finally made it to Mirror Lake, one of the most popular (and driveable) lakes in the Uintas. 

 Mirror Lake has a surface elevation of 10,050 feet and has a max depth of 35 feet.  There are multiple campgrounds, a boat launch, hikes, and trail heads in this area.  While we stopped here for a few pictures and to admire the view, we decided to go to a less popular area and hike to the lakes only accessible by hiking the trails. 

Thatcher, Olive and I packed water, sandwiches, beer, water, and all the essentials we needed into our packs (even Olive carried her own supplies in her Ruffwear saddlebag/harness) and headed out on the trails.

  

The sights were absolutely breath taking.  The trails were well marked and took us by some of the many lakes in the Uinta mountain range.  I brought my GoPro which did a fantastic job of capturing the beauty in these mountains. 

Our favorite spot was right here at Bonnie Lake.  This lake.. that backdrop.... This picture doesn't even look real.  We stopped to catch our breath, enjoy the view, and watch some people fly fish. 

When it was finally lunch time, we stopped to enjoy our sandwiches and a beer (in our LBMO wedding coozies!) by this quaint little brook. Olive also had a chance to take off her pack and enjoy a snack with us. 

We passed along several other little lakes along the way and each one just proved to be prettier than the last.   By the end of the day we had hiked 6 miles and saw a side of Utah we didn't even know existed.  I knew southern Utah had it's dessert and famous parks, and I knew northern Utah had its mountain and its skiing, but to see these sights, and these lakes on top of mountain was breath taking.  

We got back home to Salt Lake City, a little more in love with Utah.  We did some reflecting and researching on this mountain range.  We kept hearing that this mountain range had the highest peak in Utah.  Thanks to instagram (#kingspeak if you are intrigued) we saw amazing photos and stories of this hike. 

Kings peak is on many people's bucket list. This 28 mile round trip hike is usually done in 2 days, but I have read about people doing it between 1-5 days.  Kings Peak (13,528 feet) stands taller than any other summit in Utah.

Kings Peak's topographic prominence is 6,348 feet and ranks 19th in the contiguous 48 states. It is one of 57 so-called Ultra prominence peaks, those with more than 5,000 feet of prominence. Prominence, as defined by Wikipedia, is "the height of a mountain or hill's summit by the vertical distance between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit. It is a measure of the independence of a summit."

We did NOT hike King's peak this trip but after seeing all of the amazing pictures, this will have to be added to the bucket list.  So who wants to come on a 29 mile hike with me?

I loved the High Uinta's and I will definitely be back to hike these woods again.  Maybe all the way to the top.  

(Summitpost.org)