Happy Halloween...

i LOVE old trunks.

yummy mummy's :)~

hope you all have a wonderful halloween! 

... and go ahead... eat that extra piece of candy before bed!

crush of the week....

this weeks crush is ben hill! i haven't been this excited about a new crush of the week in a long time. i had no idea who he was until 2 days ago and now we're getting married. i was browsing online, looking for stuff to blog and came across his picture. lucky for me, he's a model so there are TONS of pics of him online. he's 6'2", 33 years old, from georgia and hottttttt :) he's modeled for giants like louis vuitton, coach, hugo boss, calvin klein, giorgio armani, jimmy choo, and pretty much every other huge brand you can think of. tell me what you think...

love

i'm not sure what it is about this pic that i love...
but... ughhhh....

and now my 3 favorite pics. don't laugh.

shorts... no.  glasses... YES!!!!

the glasses KILL me.

just stop. seriously. stop.

♥

dear quinoa, i love you...

it's true. i LOVE quinoa. 

if you're not familiar with quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), you need to get familiar, real quick! it's been called the "most perfect non-animal sources of protein on the planet". What makes it unique is that it is the only plant based source of complete protein. "Complete" means that it contains all 9 of the essential amino acids that are crucial to human function and health.

-an excellent source of magnesium. 1 serving of quinoa can meet 48% of the daily value that we need.

-rich in protein, calcium and iron, which makes it a great meat substitute for vegans.

-gluten free, which makes it a great alternative to grains for people with gluten sensitivity.

when i first made quinoa, i did a recipe i found online. the preparation and cooking method was ridiculous. soak it for a long time, rinse it, boil it, blah, blah, blah (somewhere in there it required i do something with cheesecloth. huh, cheesecloth?!?! uhh, i'm fresh out of cheesecloth. sorry.) after looking at more recipes and reviews online i found out that most people cook it the same way you'd cook rice. 1 part quinoa, 2 parts liquid. bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer, let it simmer for about 15 minutes or til tender. strain in a fine-mesh-strainer-thingy. simple, done!

here are a couple of recipes i LOVE:

Black Bean & Tomato Quinoa

2 teaspoons grated lime zest

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup quinoa

1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 medium tomatoes, diced

4 scallions, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.

Cook quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt for 2 quarts water). use my directions above, or follow the package directions on the quinoa box. 

Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled Halibut with Orange Cilantro Marinade over Citrus Quinoa

2 ½ tbsp. Orange Juice

2 tbsp. walnut oil

1 ½ tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 lb. halibut fillet

1 cup quinoa

2 cups Orange Juice

1 tbsp. snipped fresh cilantro, divided

In zipper closure food storage bag, combine first 4 ingredients; add halibut, turning to coat with marinade. Refrigerate 30 min. Cook quinoa in 2 cups orange juice following pkg. directions.

Preheat grill to high; grill halibut, skin-side-down, on grill rack until interior of fish turns opaque (10 min. per inch of thickness measured at the thickest part.)

serve with quinoa and sprinkled with cilantro.

*it's sooooooo good! i didn't have walnut oil, so i just used vegetable oil)*

you can buy small boxes of quinoa at the grocery store...

but if you're like us, you'll fall in love with quinoa & you'll need to have 'backstock' of it in the cupboard. we now buy it from the bulk bins at Henry's Market and keep it in food storage containers in the cupboard. 

now i'm hungry.

crush of the week....

i was CERTAIN i already had this guy as a crush of the week. i looked back and couldn't find him though. i did have him on dudes and dogs back in february, so maybe that's why i was confused. either way, he deserved to be here a loooong time ago. 

this weeks crush is ryan gosling!! actor, canadian, hottie. wanna know something weird... his birthday is 6 days after mine (i kinda hate that i'm older than him by 6 days)... he was born in london, ontario, canada - i have family from london, england... he grew up in cornwall, ontario, canada - i have family from cornwall, england. it's kinda like we're long lost soul mates ;) hubs and i watched 'crazy stupid love' a few nights ago, and it's reignited my crush on ryan. after the movie hubs said "did you get a little teary eyed at the end?", i said "nope, but i DID get a little teary eyed when he took his shirt off. DAMN!". haha. (again, if i haven't said it enough... i'm SOOOOOO grateful to have a husband that doesn't mind when i make comments like that. i'd hate to have to hide those feelings inside. haha i sure am lucky.) anyway, it's a cute movie. i really liked it. i searched online for pics for this post and found a ton. i had 40 or more on my desktop that i was choosing from. seriously. i tried to narrow it down, but was having a hard time. although he looks like the same in almost all of the pictures, i still couldn't toss some out. therefore, this might be the longest crush post i've done.

love.

for realz? you look this good leaving the airport?

if you're gonna try to tell me you didn't fall in love with him in 'the notebook', i'm gonna tell you: 

a.) you're a big fat liar 

b.) you're crazy

you know you cried at this part. don't lie.

now go watch 'crazy stupid love', or you'll be missing this:

and this:

andddd this:

and THISSSS:

♥