Our Little Chukars

It was a beautiful Sunday evening around seven o'clock when my husband and I decided to go for a walk down to the trail by our apartments.  

We hadn't even gotten down to the trail when all of a sudden I saw little puff balls running towards me.  Yes, 12 little puff balls were running towards me.  I immediately directed Moydie's attention towards them and we were shocked!  At first, I thought they were quail because they were so small, but then I realized they were so small because they were around a day old! 

But where was the mother? We kept looking around, not touching them, so the mother could come protect and take care of them.  For 5 minutes we looked and watched, but no mother was to be found.  By this time the chicks were starting to hop on our shoes and were trying to find shelter from the wind.  So, we sat down and gave them shelter.  The chicks particularly liked cuddling in between my sweatpants.  

Oh dear, they thought I was their mother . . . 

but I couldn't take care of them like their real mother would.

I found the number for Lehi Animal Control and unfortunately, they told us to call back in the morning because they wouldn't come out on a weekend for non-domesticated animals.  Huh? Ok . . . so what were we going to do with them? 

I then contacted my mother and other bird-loving friends for advice and they gave us two choices- 

1. Leave them and hope the mother comes back. 

2. Take them in for the night and then call Animal Control in the morning.  

We tried #1.  

Bu guess what? All 12 chicks followed us 50 meters to the parking lot!  

I started panicking.  They were going to get run over. They were going to be eaten by dogs.  I knew their lives were over.  

So Moydie and I did the most rational thing we could think of in the moment.  I got a box from our apartment, filled it with a warm towel and we took the chicks home for the night.  

Before bed, I tried to give them some water, but just soaked the towel instead.  

I wasn't too worried about their intake of food and water just yet because I was fairly certain they were less than 2 days old and the nutrients they ingested from their egg would keep them nourished for at least 3 days after hatching.

  

We changed the towel, made sure they were warm, and once the chicks were comfortable and sleeping, we went to sleep as well.  

In the morning, Moydie called Animal Control and the chicks were rejected because they were wild game.  Moydie tried to call people who take in wild birds, but received no success.  When I came back from my morning run around 10 am, we decided to set them loose and hope the mother comes to find them.  

We took them back to the place where we found them and lo and behold we found their nest! We found 12 broken eggs with a pile of adult Chukar feathers . . . 

With this ugly evidence, we believed their mother was killed trying to save them from a predator the day before.  Even with this development, we still left them there in the nest just in case the mother was just moulting.  

We checked on them at 5:45 pm and we could only find 9, but they were pecking at the weeds and seemed to be getting water from somewhere because they were acting normal.  We still gave them each some water and we have hope they will survive because this time, they were running away from us and hiding in the prickly bushes.  Those little suckers can camouflage too! They blend right in with the sage brush and rocky ground.  

We'll call them our Chukar chicks and check on them twice a day.

We're praying the majority of them will live up to adulthood and have little chicks of their own someday. 

"This is the Healthiest Meal I Have Ever Eaten!"- Moydie

 

Spicy Quinoa Stuffed Avacados

 

Well, we did it again!! A Pinterest success!! This meal looked good and thankfully it tasted delicious because it was a little pricey. 

After Moydie took his first bite, he said, "This is probably the healthiest meal I have ever had!"

He's right, quinoa is chock full of protein and avacados are amazing!! Maybe that's why those ingredients are so expensive . . .

Anyways, here's the recipe and the original website.

 

Ingredients:



Avocados (1 small avocado per person)

½ cup quinoa

1 can black beans (rinsed)

½ chopped red pepper

½ cup corn

½ chopped red onion

¼ cup chopped cilantro + some for garnish

1 tbsp taco seasoning

Cilantro ‘sour cream’

1 cup cashews soaked for at least two hours

2 tbsp cilantro

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp agave (if you want it sweeter)

dash of salt

Directions:
Start by rinsing your quinoa well and then place it in a sauce pan and toast for about two minutes until the quinoa starts to smell ‘toasty.’ Add one cup of water or vegetable broth and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover. (To get fluffy quinoa, it’s really important to not stir it, just let it be, keeping a close eye on it)

1. Chop the red onion and red pepper and add all the ingredients, minus the quinoa, in a bowl and mix well with the taco seasoning. Once the quinoa is finished and has cooled, add it to the vegetable mixture.
2. Put the mixture in the refrigerator to cool.
3. Drain the cashews and place them in a blender. Add ¼ cup water, apple cider vinegar, agave, and salt and blend. You may want to add more water until the mixture is silky and smooth but I recommend doing so a little at a time. Once the consistency you want, pour into a bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool
4. To assemble the avocados, begin by cutting them in half, removing the skin and the pit. I also scooped out part of the avocado to make a little room for more stuffing.
5. Scoop about ½ a cup of the quinoa mixture into each avocado, more if you can fit it.
6. Finish with a little cilantro ‘sour cream’ and some chopped cilantro and serve.

http://essentiallivingfoods.com/blogs/articles/7756437-spicy-quinoa-stuffed-avocados

 

Doesn't it look amazing?!

No Pinterest Failing in this House!!

 

Brown Sugar Baked Peaches

 

I found this recipe the other day on Pinterest and we just happened to have some peaches that were ready to eat! So last night, Moydie and I made these! It was so quick and easy, it might have to become a tradition every night!! Ok, maybe not every night, but we'll for sure do this again. 

Here's the recipe and the link to where it's originally from. 

 

Ingredients:

1 fresh peach
1 tsp. unsalted butter, divided
2 to 4 tsp. brown sugar, divided
Sprinkling of ground cinnamon, to taste

1.  Halve peaches and remove pit.  Place in baking dish, skin side down.

2.  Place 1/2 teaspoon butter in the hollow of each peach, top each peach half with 1 or 2 teaspoons brown sugar, and sprinkle with cinnamon.

3.  Bake at 375 degrees until peaches are tender, about 30 minutes.  Serve warm.

http://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2012/07/brown-sugar-baked-peaches-healthier.html

Hope you all enjoy it!

"The Olympian"

Funny story . . .

The girls on my team and I were cleaning out one of our friend's locker for her and we came across this book . . .

I read the first page and was hooked!

This book is about a runner who grows from being a good 400 meter runner into an incredible world-renowned athlete because of people who believed in him. 

The book is completely fictional, but the thoughts of the runner are completely real.  I think that's what got me hooked . . .  his thoughts mirror mine in training and racing.  It's incredible! It makes me think that the author has got to be a runner to match our thoughts that accurately. 

This book was published in the 60's, but the principles in there are the same as they are today.  I even gained a little bit of knowledge that I had not been aware of. 

I loved this book, but there were things that turned me away from it at times. 

1. In this book, there are some swear words.  This didn't bother me too much, because I sometimes am thinking a bad word in the middle of bad races and so I knew what pain he was going through when I came across those words. 

2. I think Mr. Glanville should have focused more on the training and races than on the social/immorality issues.  I understand he was writing a real book and he wanted it to be real, but sometimes I thought it was unnecessary and it made me sick.

But at the end of reading it, I wanted to keep it and read it again a few days before cross country started up again because it definitely pumped you up and kept you interested throughout the entire 276 page book. 

I would recommend this book if you are a runner looking for someone who feels your pain during intervals and competition.  It's amazingly written so you are right there on the track taking his splits.  

Relay for Life Band Gig

My husband is the lead guitarist for the band The Compilations.  (Look them up on facebook!)  The band has been together for over two years and we are finally super busy with gigs! 

This Relay for Life gig was on the 21st of this month and it was a blast! Mainly because I got to sing a song! Both of our female musicians are on maternity leave and on Tuesday before the gig, the boys asked me to sing Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" and it was awesome! They decided to have me sing it at the show! 

I was stoked! Moydie and I practiced it a lot before the gig because I had no desire to make the band look bad. 

Before the show, Moydie and I went to the car show!! He is in love with Jeeps and we will get one someday . . .

 

The gig went great!! I slipped up a tiny bit in the song, but Moydie didn't notice so I consider it not a mistake.  Our male singer had a friend come with her nieces and one of them is madly in love with Taylor Swift.  She screamed a high-pitched scream when she found out I would be singing that song.  She was part of the reason I was hardly nervous . . .How could you be with a little spunky girl dancing and singing in the front row giving you the biggest smile?!

Here's a sweet video of my husband rocking out on the guitar that night . . .



Isn't he handsome?! 

I love to sing, but since high school I haven't done that much instructional singing.  Because of my love for music and my obsession with Glee and wanting to be like Rachel, I signed up for private voice lessons for next Fall Semester at BYU hoping to come out of my singing shell and improve one of my talents.  

Greek Ribs? What's that?

Here is my lovely husband chowing down on some tasty Greek ribs!!  He absolutely loved this dinner!!
I've been going through our gluten-free recipes and I was feeling like ribs tonight to go with our potato salad that I made a few days ago.  So, the Greek ribs recipe won today! Here it is . . .

 

Ingredients:
3 lbs.spareribs or short ribs
1 onion (chopped)
8 garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper
2 tbsp oregano
Gluten Free Greek Seasoning (basil, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg)
1 fresh lemon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Line a cookie sheet with foil. Combine ribs with onions, garlic, pepper, salt and the oregano. Spread out on the cookie sheet and sprinkle Greek seasoning on the ribs. Bake for 2 hours until tender.
Finish baking by broiling for approx. 10 mins on each side. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on when ready to serve.

It turned out wonderful!! The spices and seasonings and the lemon juice made this ribs my favorite so far!!!

Here's the creamy potato salad recipe, too! These two recipes went very well together.  My husband called our meal very Mediterranean. 

 

 Ingredients:
3 lbs baby red potatoes, quartered
1/4 cup Italian dressing (any GF flavor you like)
8 oz. creamy/cream cheese chip dip (any GF flavor you like-although stick with the same type as the dressing you choose)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped

Directions:
Boil potatoes until soft, then drain and put in a bowl with dressing. Refrigerate for an hour to allow the potatoes to soak up the flavor of the dressing.
Once potatoes are cool, gently toss all remaining ingredients together and serve.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Yummy Surprise for Moydie

My husband, Moydie, is gluten-free and he loves baked goods.  Hmm . . . see the problem?

It has become my life mission to find him great gluten-free recipes for his favorite desserts.  I've baked him gluten-free Dutch apple pie, pumpkin pie, doughnuts, and cinnamon rolls!  And they have all turned out great!! I guess you can't go wrong with a recipe with sugar in it lol. 

Today is our 1 year 10 month anniversary and I've been wanting to make him these cinnamon rolls again so today was the most perfect day to do it! And it only took 40 min!! (I remembered these being really hard to make so I was surprised and happy that this time it went smoothly). I had dinner already made and before Moydie walked through the door, I had the rolls ready to go in the oven!! I actually had him turn around to let me put them in the oven so he couldn't see what it was!  When they started cooking however, he knew what was in the oven. 

He was so excited!! And . . . they tasted delicious!!   

Here's the recipe . . .

Ingredients:
¾ cup rice flour
¾ cup potato starch
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp xantham gum
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup milk mixed with 3 tablespoons melted margarine or butter
2 tsp cinnamon
½ cup sugar
¾ cup raisins
TOPPING
1 cup icing sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Sift together the rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, xantham gum, salt and sugar.
Whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil and milk in a separate bowl, then pour into the dry sifted mixture and blend well.
Grease paper (waxed) with a little a spray or oil, place the dough mixture on the paper, flatten then lightly butter the dough.
Blend the sugar, cinnamon and raisins in another bowl  then sprinkle the mixture on top of the dough.
Lightly grease your cupcake or muffin pan. Start with one edge and roll the dough to form a long tube shape.  Slice the roll every 2 inches and place each roll with swirl facing up in a greased muffin pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.
While your dough is cooking, mix together your icing mixture of milk, icing sugar and vanilla to make the topping for the dough. Remove the rolls from the oven when cooked and spread icing onto hot rolls and enjoy!

I got this recipe from Angie from the online Gluten-Free Club.  Feel free to use it!!

 

This was one of the perfect cinnamon rolls, close-up.  Yep, they tasted just as good as they look.  I love using my Mom's old pans by the way.  They definitely bring back memories from baking with Mom. 

P.S.  Right as I was writing this blog, our power went out for 2 hours!!! It was kind of creepy.