Cheese Please

Andy and I had fancy cheeses at our reception, but really got hooked on cheese tasting on our honeymoon. We stopped in Carmel and ended up in a tiny wine and cheese shop. They told us as long as we were there, they'd keep feeding us cheese. We were there for half and hour.

We miss you, Carmel!

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when we stopped at Harmon's to visit their fantastic cheese counter. The cheese monger (who also did our reception cheeses), suggested that we attend the 2015 Chocolate and Cheese Festival at the Natural History Museum of Utah.

Of course we had to go!

We attended with Andy's parents and participated in one of their workshops--Chocolate and Cheese pairings. That's right. Chocolate. With cheese! I never would have thought it would be good! The pairings they chose were actually better together!

I also never knew chocolate was so complex! If they smoke the cacao beans to dry them, the chocolate takes on a smokey flavor. It was like chocolate jerky! Also, did you know cacao beans grown in different areas take on different flavors? We bought some chocolate where the beans were from the Dominican Republic and it tasted fruity! The only ingredients were cacao and honey for sweetness.

Fantastic Cheeses by our friends at Heber Valley Artisan Cheese

If you have never gone cheese tasting, I highly suggest you go. It's so much more exciting than you would think (yes, there are more cheeses than cheddar, parmesan, and mozzarella!). If you're feeling truly adventurous and want to expand your culinary horizon, try pairing chocolate with cheese. I found a wonderful quick guide here, and Cuisine magazine published an issue entirely on cheese that is also fantastic.

Happy Tasting!

Zoo-Lander

Every once and a while, Andy and I have a Salt Lake Day. These excursions date back to our first big date when we went to the Leonardo, the Living Planet Aquarium, and Ikea all in one day. Our Salt Lake Days have continued and we've since taken trips to Tracy Aviary, Comic Con, Capitol Hill, and now Hogle Zoo.

Although my memories of the zoo have always included massive crowds, sweltering heat, the inability to see any animal, and screaming children, I have always enjoyed the zoo. To avoid reliving most, if not all, of these unpleasant memories, Andy and I planned to go to Hogle Zoo on a Friday morning. In the winter.

It was amazing.

There were a total of maybe 30 visitors to the zoo that day. Yes, it was a brisk day, but we could go to each exhibit and enjoy the views of the animals by ourselves!! There was no one around! We got to see every animal up close and personal (behind glass or a fence). There were no screaming children, and no one to block our pictures.

Andy and I are true explorers

We were also very lucky to have visited around feeding time. All of the animals were up and active. The lions and tiger were roaring as they were impatiently waiting for their food.

We even got to see this gem!

It even tried to woo me!

Our trip to the zoo was very enjoyable. The lack of crowds, due to the season and the time of day, made for a very quiet afternoon, and I actually preferred the cold to the blistering summer heat. I highly recommend Hogle Zoo and deem it an acceptable outing for any time of year. 

Indian Cuisine

I've been trying to stay on top of having a regular date night each week. It's sometimes hard with school, especially about the semester, but with my Fridays being free after 10 am, I can usually rustle up something before Andy goes to work at 7 pm.

This week's Destination Dinner: India!

I used Tasty Kitchen's Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry paired with KitchMe's Naan Bread recipe. Tasty Kitchen's recipe is insanely easy. You throw everything except the chicken in the food processor, then throw everything in the crock pot! My crock pot seems a little hot headed, and it only took 2.5 hours on low, and I also don't like coconut, so I used regular milk instead. I did have to buy the specialty spices at our local Asian Market, but otherwise, everything can be found at your grocery store. With extra spices added, our curry turned out great! It also kept getting better as we had it the next few nights!

KitchMe's naan was more difficult--mostly because I'm not a very skilled bread maker. We ended up with thick pieces of naan, but they were oh so delicious! We added minced garlic to our dough and that really made the bread pop! That and the copious amounts of butter used to cook it ;)

I'm no food photographer, but you get the idea.

About

I'm Hannah. A recently married 20-something student with a story to share. My partner in crime, Andy, and I are continually trying to find new things to do. These are our adventures.

Andy and I at Alcatraz Island