Top 5 Things I Love about Fall

5. Sweaters

OK, so everyone loves sweaters right? While I do get to wear light jackets year round thanks to our never-changing weather, I only bust out the knits during the fall. I have a whole drawer just for this season!

4. Colors of Fall
In a couple of weeks we get to escape coastal living. Two of Cameron's good college friends are getting married at this mill in Stockton, NJ. We're staying in Philly, and I'm really excited for a couple of days in the land of seasons. Plus the wedding looks like it's going to be awesome. A relaxed afternoon of "bluegrass, brews and BBQ".

3. Empty Beaches

We try to take our dog down to the beach everyday so that he can run around and get some of that endless energy out. Fortunately, we live about two blocks from the beach. Unfortunately, it is the beach right in front of the Four Seasons Biltmore. During the summer months the beach is filled with very rich Europeans who do not appreciate an extremely friendly and sandy 80-lb. dog.

2. Sports
Of course fall marks the beginning of Basketball season, and Jayhawk basketball is pretty much my favorite thing on TV (sorry Lost). Since meeting Cameron, I've also become a San Diego Chargers fan. I love making game day food, and spending an afternoon cheering on the Chargers with my husband. Last weekend I made Brie, Spinach and Artichoke Dip and Jalapeño Poppers. There is a little tension when the Chargers play the Chiefs, but I was never a huge Chiefs fan anyway. Besides there's nothing wrong with a little healthy competition. :)

1. Flavors of Fall
Of course food is the thing I look forward to the most! It's cool enough for baking, so I can enjoy my new homemade bread faze with out turning the house into a sauna. Fall calls to mind the rich flavors of squash, mushrooms, lentils, brown rice, apples, cashews, pecans, cranberries, artichokes, etc... Yum! I'm hungry just thinking about it.

Happy New Year!

So today is Rosh Hashanah -- Jewish New Year and the begining of the year 5770. Last night I cooked up a big meal before we headed off to the temple. (Jewish holidays begin the night before -- think Christmas eve.) I'm particularly proud of the challah I made. It was only my second attempt at challah, and while the first one was edible, it was not amazing. This time it turned out perfectly! In fact Cameron

said it was his favorite part of the meal, which also included Alaskan Halibut. If you know anything about Cameron, you know that's about the highest praise any food can get. If you're interested in making some yummy bread (and even yummier french toast), check out this recipe.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/My-Challah-235867

I used the pinwheel braiding technique to make a round challah for Rosh Hashanah (everything is supposed to be round on this holiday to symbolize the cycles of life). I really liked this technique and it gives you the ability to "fold in" extras to the bread like cinnamin and sugar or preserves.

On a side note. We found this short video yesterday, and it made me crack up! It was taken by Seth a couple days before the wedding. Enjoy!

AND THE WINNER IS...

Over the last two weeks we have been anxiously awaiting the results of our dog's DNA test. We've been debating getting it done ever since we got him. Every time we take him out people admire him and always ask what type of dog he is. It wouldn't be so bad if we had at least a guess, but he just doesn't seem to resemble any breed. When we got him, the people at the shelter told us that he was a German Shepard, Border Collie mix. Later on guesses ranged from Chow to Great Dane to Grey Hound to Visla. Everyone had a different guess, which is why we were shocked when the DNA test results came back with two breeds that NOBODY had ever guessed. So here it is...

37-74% Rottweiler

37-74% Siberian Husky

We've been a little bit skeptical, mostly because the results were such a shock. Of course genetics is a funny business, and I do remember that both of his sisters were black and fuzzy. We're just not totally convinced though...

Labor Day Weekend!

We spent the weekend in one of the most beautiful places on earth -- Pacific Grove, visiting Cameron's Dad. We had a really great time walking, hiking, going to the Monterey aquarium, and hanging out with some beautiful horses. Margaret even gave me a lesson on riding English style. I had no idea it was so different than Western!!

The best part of the weekend did not happen in Pacific Grove, but in Scottsdale, AZ, where Cameron's brother, Seth, got engaged! I'm so so happy for Seth and Stacy. I just love them both so much as people, and I'm really excited to see them finally tie the knot. Hopefully we'll all live close enough when we all settle down that we'll be able to see each other often.

What's in a name?

So I'm in the process of changing my name to Kaplan, and I've been really surprised how hard it has been for me. Since I was a child I always knew that I would change my name when I got married. I really want to have the same name as my children, and honestly keeping it just seemed pointless to me. It doesn't make the whole name thing equal between men and women because children take their father's name. Anyway I'm changing my name. It all feels so strange though! My whole life I have been Erin Larive for almost 25 years now, and it feels a little unnatural to introduce myself as someone else. To be honest half the time I still sign my name "Erin Larive", and I haven't quite figured out my new signature yet.

On a lighter note, here's a great recipe that I recently came up with. I'm pretty much in love with Tempeh right now. If you haven't ever tried it, you should!

Thai Tempeh Red Curry (Veagan)

Ingredients

Thai Red Curry Paste

Hot Curry Paste (Optional)

1 can Coconut Milk

1 can Bamboo Shoots

1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced

1 Package Tempeh

Pineapple Chuncks

Fresh Basil, chopped

Soy Sauce

Vegetable Stock

Lemon Juice

Cut Tempeh into cubes, and marinate for about 30 min. I use a mixture of low sodium vegetable stock, soy sauce, hot curry paste and a splash of lemon juice. (While the Tempeh is marinating I usually start the brown rice cooking.) Simmer the coconut milk and 2-3 tsp. of the Thai red curry paste for about 5 minutes, stiring occationally. I also add a little hot curry paste because we like it a little bit spicier. Add Tempeh and bamboo shoots and simmer for another 5 minutes. This is when I add the red bell pepper and about 3/4 of the basil because I like the peppers to be a little bit crunchy. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Add Pineapple and cook for another minute or so. (NOTE: It is important to add the pineapple near the end because otherwise it gets unbelievably hot.) Sprinkle the remainder of the basil on top, and serve with brown rice and beer.

Honeymoon

Cameron did such a great job putting all our pictures together for this slideshow! I've been meaning to post it for a while now, but we had to get it in the right format. Enjoy. :)

Home Sweet Home

The house is definitely feeling more like our house. Megan moved out last weekend and we basically spent the last week cleaning, organizing and most importantly, de-clutering. We've also been picking up a few things that we didn't get from our registry, so now the bathroom and bedroom are pretty much complete. :)

One of the most useful gifts that we received is our knife set. I can not believe how amazing the knives are, and how easy they make cooking! Since we returned from our honeymoon, we've been enjoying a lot more Mediterranean style food. I came up with this great dish. They are so good, I just had to share them.

Caprese on Toast

Ingredients

Tomato

Fresh Mozzarella

Fresh Basil

Aioli*

Baguette

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Simply slice bread (about 1/4'') and toast. Slice both tomato and mozarella as thin as possible. Spread a thin layer of aioli on the bread and layer with one basil leaf, one slice of mozarella and then a slice of tomato. Finally, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve imediately. Between 4 and 6 of these guys is a good sized meal, but they make great snacks as well! Each serving is about 130 calories, depending on the type of cheese used and thickness of slices.

*We make our own aioli using raw garlic which gives these little spicy garlic kick!