BSOM

20 June 2014

| Cemented Noonie |

Decided to take a trip out to the country a couple of weeks ago, back to my childhood home. It's always somewhat of a surreal feeling being back in my old bedroom, nostalgia running high. I've had the nickname Noonie ever since I can remember (although my stepbrother now calls me Midnight because I've gotten older lol), and it's ingrained around these parts.

I believe I was 11 or 12 years old when my stepdad decided he was going to pour some cement out on the back patio. Once it was laid and still wet us kids we're given the OK to go write our names (and our dog's name) in the freshly poured cement. My brother and I were of course thrilled. All these years later our names are still there, just as if they were put there yesterday. Life is funny like that.

Another one of my favorite childhood memories that lives on out at my childhood home are our old Christmas trees. My mom always liked to have the house decorated for Christmas before my birthday came along on December 8th, so at the beginning of every December the family and I would go to a local Christmas tree farm and go chop down our Christmas tree to bring home. Once the holidays were over we (well mom) would go plant the tree out in the driveway. This has led to a little flock of Christmas trees all planted along the driveway. It's been really cool watching them grow taller over the years, and it's really cool to know that they will probably be there for many for years to come.

Until next time friends...Cheers!!

<3 Noonie

18 June 2014

Apricot-Coconut Scones

There is nothing better than a fresh, well balanced scone.... Well any pastry for that matter. So today's experiment consists of apricots + coconut. Why you might ask? Because it's what was in my pantry and it sounded like a better combination than fig + coconut. I've been on this 'use the things in my cabinet' kick and so far they have been turning out wonderfully! I also like to research and use other bloggers recipes for inspiration, so for this recipe I combined the recipes from both of these bloggers:

The Little Eipicurean's Lemon Blueberry Oat Scones

Vegan Yumminess's Apricot Scones

My other new "thing" is making smaller batches of each experiment. I often end up with 40 muffins or 25 scones then I end up eating them all. And as delicious as they may be, I get tired of the same thing every day. So this recipe was for a more reasonable amount. I made 7 small scones, but you could also make 4 "normal sized" scones.

I hope you enjoy!

Directions:

1. Mix together dry ingredients + coconut oil

2. Mix in apricots and coconut

3. Mix in coconut milk 1/2 at a time (so you can control how dry/wet they are. Mix until they are the desired consistency: form into a ball without being too wet.

4. Lay on wax paper or a floured surface.

Form into a 1" thick flattened surface.

5. Cut into wedges and separate on the baking sheet.

6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (optional)

7. Preheat oven to 375'

8. Bake for 15-20 minutes

9. Prep the glaze: mix everything together until smooth. If you want to glaze the entire surface of the scones double or triple the measurements.

10. Once removed: drizzle glaze on top of scones + sprinkle with shredded or toasted coconut.

Yield: 7-8 small or 4 regular scones

Tips: go easy on the salt! I accidentally put too much salt in mine. I was able to add more glaze which masked the salt. But be careful.

Enjoy!

- Nelli

And I gifted a few

16 June 2014

Gettin' Outta Dodge

Ridin' along

I know, I know I've been on somewhat of a blog hiatus lately. Life has gotten a little busier and I've been so scatter brained it's been hard for me to focus on just one thing, including BSOM. Things haven't necessarily slowed down for me just quite yet and I'm still feeling pretty scattered so when a few friends suggested we get out of town for the day I was definitely on board! We hopped in the car and about an hour later we arrived to our destination, a really nice secluded area up in the mountains. Not only did we go to a place that was new to me, but I also had my first (well 2nd) experience fishing, which was also really cool! Couldn't have asked for a better day especially since it was about 10 degrees cooler where we ended up compared to the heat wave that was going on in the valley. Definitely a day for the books. Thought I'd share a few photos...ENJOY!