"Pasta" Night

I am absolutely loving the weather change here in Portland. This means some oft favorite things are in season now; pumpkins, squash and apples. That being said, since it's cold, I decided to do a very warm meal last night. 

There has been a spaghetti squash waiting to be used in my house. So last night dinner was going to include that no matter what. I have always loved spaghetti squash because it's still hardy when you eat it, but it is such a good alternative to regular pasta. There are so many different recipes that I have for spaghetti squash, but my boyfriend wanted Italian. A creamy Parmesan tomato sauce was the perfect pair for this. I also made sautéed bell peppers with spinach and garlic to be pair with the "spaghetti". My boyfriend picked up a Grand Central Bakery baguette from Whole Foods. I didn't want butter with the bread, so we had olive oil and balsamic vinegar with it. This dinner just made me so happy because I was full when I was done eating, but felt good about what I ate because it is so healthy. 

I was also feeling very domestic yesterday (when am I not though), so I made an apple pie. We have an apple tree in our backyard so there is just and over abundance of apples. To make the filling, it was just a basic apple pie spice mix and the apples. The pie crust was actually Bob's Red Mill! It's a gluten free crust which is interesting to me because I have never done a gluten free pie before. But boy oh boy, it was so good! My boyfriend's sister is now gluten free, so I have been trying out tons of recipes that are gluten free. Anyone who is gluten free, I highly recommend this pie crust mix. It tastes just like my regular homemade pie crust. And of course, apple pie should always be paired with vanilla bean ice cream. 

Era Confusion

A couple days ago was adventure day! Our go-to place was Hawthorne, which is somewhere we hadn't been in a while. 

First stop was Grand Central Bakery, which was a very exciting stop to make! My amazingly talented boyfriend just got a deal with them, where he would trade his artwork for pastries! I could not be happier about this because it's a big thing for him, and we were getting free food! I chose to have the leek and cheese quiche, while he chose the zucchini quiche. We also shared the peach tart as well. I could not rave more about these pastries, because I was amazed by them. The quiche was filled with fluffy eggs and perfectly cooked leeks. The cheese was cooked so that it had a smokey flavor and complimented the leeks. The peach tart had a peach compote in the middle, which was not too sweet. I appreciated this because I like things to keep their natural flavor. The pastry itself was crispy on the outside, but warm and flakey on the inside. 

After we had our breakfast, we walked around and wandered into the different shops. Once lunch time came around, Mcminamins is what sounded good to us. We know that there is always a ridiculously long wait for everything there, but we went anyways. Even though our food took forever to get to our table (about 30-40 minutes), once it was set down, we devoured it. I had a sandwich that consisted of mushrooms, tomatoes and melted cheese. Cajun tots are a must when coming here, with a beer or cider. I chose to have the seasonal cider which happened to be a blackberry one. The cider was crisp and tart. It was the perfect refreshing drink to have especially because it was 90 degrees out. 

Once we walked around for a couple more hours, we were thirsty. I am now hooked on cold brew since I tried it for the first time at Case Study. So it was a no brainier to go there to get some cold brew. I ordered the lavender infused ice brew and was so happy once I had my first sip. There was a very abundant taste of lavender which was perfect. It is the best hot summer day drink because it gives you energy, is cold, and is refreshing. We also bought a bag of the coffee beans so that we can make some cold brew at home! 

My outfit was very much themed to the musi we were listening to the night before. Basically we watched all of the artists that performed at Woodstock, which is what influenced my outfit choice. The black maxi dress (H&M) was nice tans easy to walk in all day. I wore a crocheted duster (Forever21) on top to add that bohemian feel. It was very Stevie Nicks of me to wear. My necklace (Forever21 years ago) is a dream catcher that has neutral colors to match with the earthy look. My sandals (Forever21)  were just basic black ones to tie it all together. 

My hair was done on a whim. I had no idea what to do with my hair that morning, so I just started braiding the sides. Once both sides reached the back, I tucked it into the middle until it created almost a messy bun. I was instantly hooked once I saw what it looked like from behind. And it was really easy to do, which is the best part.