Favorite things about Switzerland

The unbelievable green grassThe desserts

The noise the cows make with their cowbells
The farmer's market every day
The nespresso machine in every home
The traditional Swiss apple tart
The cheese trays
The tiny desserts served with fresh figs
The views
The espresso
And pretty much everything else.

Everything pumpkin

I didn't grow up with pumpkins. They are not very popular in Eastern Europe, I think nothing could take place of the ever reigning potato. Pumpkin pies, soups, pumpkin patch and calling your significant other a "punkin' " - those pleasant traditions were not very difficult for me to adapt and I would truly miss them if I ever lived in Europe again!
When looking for easy yet impressive recipes on Pinterest, my new and already favorite website, I had many to pick from, yet I choose recipes that incorporated already pre-made Betty Crocker cake mix, in fact one of them WAS a Betty Crocker recipe. I know, I know... does that count as homemade then? Well, I will argue that we all need some extra help in the kitchen sometimes and as long as it was not purchased in the store, I am very happy with what I got! So here are the 2 tasty pumpkin recipes that you just MUST try!

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes (from Betty Crocker Website)

• 1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake mix - the recipe posted online asks for yellow cake, you can really choose any flavor, I picked vanilla
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Mix all ingredients and bake cupcakes 19-24 minutes at 350.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 stick unsalted butter or margarine
• 1 lb powdered sugar

Warm up cream cheese and butter so that it's easy to add and mix in the powdered sugar. It's that easy! You can really make this simple frosting into any flavor you want by adding some flavoring, looking back I wish I added some orange zest, but the cupcakes were delicious regardless.
Now, if you toast some finally chopped pecans with sugar, they could serve as a pretty garnish on your cupcakes!

Pumpkin Layer Dessert

This one is found on Pinterest as well, and it comes from another blogger, so I will let you just go to her blog for the recipe, just click HERE! The recipe is easy and very delicious and I will be making it for Thanksgiving in lieu of a pumpkin pie.

Falling

Summer is over and that means I will have to hibernate and wait another 10 months for my faves:

Strawberries from the farmers' market
Feeding Jackson ribs on the deck
Fish fry
Making pickled pike...
... and jams
Cherries
Flying kites

Give me some chawda

I love all things seafood and being surrounded by the views in beautiful Victoria, BC somehow intensifies the flavors!

If you lack ranch you can always dip the deep fried oysters IN the chowder!After the lunch it is time to walk around this beautiful city.

I've never seen more flowers anywhere else!

THE best fish n chips

When in Victoria, BC visiting Haultain Fish and Chips is an absolute must. Hands down the best I have ever had! Now, when in Rome do as the Romans do, sooo... make sure you splash the meal with vinegar very well!

Nutella. Enough said.

If you haven't tried this hazelnut goodness, you must! It is just gaining it's popularity here in the US, but I have known it's wonderful taste since I was just a kid. It was an all time favorite of ours and I even remember when my brother and I liked it so much that we kept eating it out of the jar with a spoon, (just as we are on the photo) conviniently leaving the inside walls of the jar covered in Nutella so that our parents thought the jar was still full. Imagine their surprise when they opened the "full" jar to make us a snack and there was hardly anything left in there!
The photo above was taken at the Camper Beach, our last camp site on the West Coast Trail. Tired, but full of hope, as we knew that the next day we would be finishing the trail.

Culinary adventures on the trail

Eating in style on the trail is difficult... but possible! Since we had to carry everything we wanted to use on the trail in our packs, the most meals were freeze dried and required adding boiling water. But let me tell you, any warm meal on a cool beach after a long day of hiking is welcome in my belly! The brands we used were Alpine Air and Mary Jane's Farm, which were ordered from this website by my father in law who always thinks of everything!

Hey, guys, leave some of that Chinese-egg-drop-soup-minus-the-egg for us, too!
Jeffrey cooking up cobbler for dessert. It certainly hit the spot!
It actually looks so good!
Aaron volunteered to wash the dishes.

The West Coast Trail

How did I get talked into that one? As a runner, I thought perhaps I would be in shape enough to tackle one of the toughest trails in North America, but let me tell you it was no cake walk to crawl through 75km, or 47mi! Let me introduce you to the wonderful (and painful) views of the trail along the so-called Graveyard of the Pacific...

Resting just hours before the hike at our lodge.
Our first campsite with a private cave and a waterfall!
View from our tent in the morning.
Views when hiking.
Getting down on a ladder straight onto a suspension bridge!
Beautiful sunset at another campsite, Tsusiat Falls.
Foggy morning.
Slowly but surely!
Climbing the ladders first thing in the morning, gotta love an energetic morning!Aaron getting across the river in a cable car. My turn next!

That's a big pack!
Along the trail.
Nice sunset again. Perk of camping on the beach every night!
Algae. Done! Camping last night and taking a boat across the river first thing in the morning!

Tomato tomahto

Next to an Italian wedding soup, tomato soup is my super favorite. Sweet, savory, appropriate for all seasons. And when you grow your own tomato plants you may know how much fruit you end up with! It's either a delicious insalata caprese (which I, incorrectly, make on a bed of lettuce), or...
Tyler Florence's Roasted Tomato Soup available here. Now, I have made some changes to the recipe that I thought would fit my taste buds better. When roasting the tomatoes, I certainly did not use the 1/2 c olive oil, not even close to it. Just a couple of tablespoons were enough! Roasting of the tomatoes and garlic certainly added a deep flavor. I also added some pasta for texture and basil for taste AND looks!

Como se dice

Being European, I haven't been exposed to Mexican cuisine until I arrived in the US and had my very first burrito at the Minnesota State Fair. This southern food did not spark my interest until college, though, when I came across every barbecue gathering's staple - chips, salsa and guacamole. Although most people buy the salsa and guac from their grocery store, there is so much more flavor when you just make it yourself. And it's so easy!
Traditionally salsa that we eat at gatherings should be called pico de gallo, as salsa just means "sauce", whereas pico de gallo implies that it is a sauce made of fresh ingredients (not cooked). Chop up a few tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Add chopped hot peppers - I used banana pepper. Salt and black pepper and voila - take out those tortilla chips from the pantry and start munching!
Traditional Mexican guacamole is made of mashed up avocados, chopped tomato and onion, lime juice and salt and pepper. You don't need a recipe, just make it the way it feels right to you.
And trust me, it is way better than the store bough version. Just look at how happy Sam looks.