Moab Breakfast

Part of the fun in traveling for Red and me is eating. We love to eat and critique the places we try and the service we receive. All Red needs in the morning is some coffee to get started. I on the other hand need to eat something before I can start the day. Saturday morning I left Red catching some zzzz's and I ventured out to find breakfast. I ran into a place called The Peace Tree Cafe on Main Street in Moab. I had a pleasant enough experience. I ordered a ham, egg, and cheese croissant with a glass of orange juice. The staff was nice enough and my food was served in a timely manner. The only issue I had was with the price of my breakfast. My total came to be eleven dollars and some change. The breakfast was good but not that good. As I found out later most of the resturant fair in Moab seems a little on the pricey side. Tourists to my community can get a full breakfast for about six dollars at several local restaurants. I guess businesses will change what the market will bear but next time I go to Moab I will take into account the inflated cost of food and eat out less.

Colorado Litter

On Friday Red (my travel buddy) and I started our trip to Moab Utah. On the drive I noticed that Colorado has a liter problem. I was amazed at the amount of litter on the road side and in the green belts. The litter in Utah is slim to none. I have noticed this in other states as well. Driving through Wyoming, Montana, and Washington I have had similar experiences. Colorado roads are dirty. I hate to say this about my state but I think it is time for Coloradoans to take notice and even take action.

Dinner Rut

In my house we have been eating the same things for dinner for the last ten years. We have ten staple recipes that my mother and I make over and over again. Needless to say dinner is very boring and my mother posed the question of how to make dinner interesting again. In the past she has tried to make recipes that she finds interesting. This has back fired because what she finds interesting and what my father, sister, and I are willing to eat are different. After witnessing her frustration over and over again I came up with a solution. I have used other food bloggers indexes as a starting point for ideas for my family.
I have been an avid food blog reader for the last two years and many of the blogs I read have recipe indexes. I print off the indexes and mark the recipes I would like to try. I give the same index to my sister and she marks the recipes she would like to try. Again, I do the same with my father and then I compile a list of all the recipes we agree on and print them off. Once a week either my mother or I will cook one of the chosen recipes and if we all like the recipe it goes onto a recipe card for future making. We have come up with several new staple recipes and have quite a list still to try.
Some of the my favorite blogs to visit for ideas are: Simply Recipes, Hooked On Heat, and Chocolate Zucchini

My TOP 3

My TOP 3 are the semi unconventional items in my kitchen I can not cook without.
1) I can not cook without wearing my Crocs. My kitchen has hardwood floors and after standing for about half an hour I start to feel the tension creeping into my back. I slip my Crocs on and my back is a happy camper. I have tried wearing other shoes and while they give me more support and padding than cooking in my bear feet I still can't beat cooking in Crocs.

2) My cookbook stand is another thing I can not cook without. This item was a recent addition to my TOP 5. Last year for Christmas my mother gave me the stand. She told me that she noticed many of my cookbooks had flour and chocolate smears on many pages. The stand protects the cookbook I am using from my sticky/dirty fingers. My books while well used are going to last longer due to this simple but indispensible item.

3) My iPod is another item on the list. Many people I know like to listen to the radio while they cook. I don't listen to music I listen to audio books. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and I have a very long "to read" list. I multi-task by listening to books instead of reading them.

My Background

Reader for many of my posts to make sense you need to understand my living arrangements. I have been living with my parents for the last three years of my college education. Living with my parents is economical and in my instance my living arrangement is more like sharing a house with two other adults rather than my parents. However, all other things in life being great sharing a kitchen with my mother can at times be stressful. The stress comes from the fact that mom is a really good cook. So when I (the novice) take on a cooking project she usually tends to finish them for me. Sometimes this is a good thing. If I get myself in way over my head I know she can bail me out because her birth of knowledge is much wider than mine. However, sometimes she just butts into my cooking. So reader you will now know where I am coming from when I talk about where I am cooking and whom I share my kitchen with.

Solar Roast Coffee in the Independent

Solar Roast Coffee made the Colorado Springs Independent. The Cafe opened one year ago on March 5th 2007 in downtown Pueblo, Colorado. It is located on the corner of Third and Main. Stop in for a great cup of coffee and see what the buzz is all about.

Text Message Advertisements

I do not use text messaging as my soul form of communication like so many people my age. I like hearing the person I am speaking to and being able to have a back and forth conversation ins timely manner. Because I do not rely on text messages I do not have an unlimited plan. I pay for every text message I send out and everyone I receive. I do not mind paying for the convenience of text messages. I do mind having to pay to receive a text message advertisement from some random company I have never heard from. If text message ads are the next wave in selling then the phone companies will either have to find a way to block all incoming text messages of a customer wants or unlimited text messaging will have to be a standard in a calling plan. Just a thought. NMH