Just me

Recently anytime I have sat down to write a post my mind has gone straight to What would a blogger say? Which totally defeats the purpose of this whole blog. This is supposed to me uncut. But it is turning out to be an extremely forced blog. So I am declaring a fresh start! I will no longer feel obligated to blog, instead I will love it.
     I just finished going through a closest raid. This happens occasionally with my clothes, mostly when I get bored. I pull out all kinds of different clothes and just start building outfits. That way I can bottle all the spunkiness I have then and save it for later when I need outfits to go out in. I'm trying to figure out what I want to wear to lollapalooza. I have to keep in mind; comfort, coolness(as in the temperature), and of course the cuteness factor! I have one top that is white, rather see-through, high low; that I decided on. The shirt sounds odd but trust me it pretty freakin cute. My delimia with the shirt is that I don't want to wear a bandeau because then I have to wear a strapless bra and that just makes for a long uncomfortable day. So one idea was to wear a bikini top under it or just a black bra. I am going need some advice my bestest friend edible. My brother is going to be there friday with a bunch of his friends which I'm cool with and I know it shouldn't influence my outfit factor but it does. I always feel like I have to be someone different around him. I like really really look up to him, so I don't know if I subconsciously feel like I have to be the perfect girl around him. Which is stupid but I don't know how to shake it. I almost feel like he is always judging me, but I really don't think he is. Maybe I am judging myself and starring at my own flaws because I know that I am not as cool as his friends. Well after that little mental therapy session, I will move on.
     Those little plastic tubes that are little eyewear repair kits are the bomb diggity. They are essential for sunglass repairs. I have used mine countless times. Such an inexpensive fix for your favorite sun glasses. My second small little tidbit is the song The Walk by Mayer Hawthorne ft. Rizzle Kicks. It is fabulous, very funny with a catching tune. I've been listening to it on repeat the whole time I have been writing.
      I made the apple pie and scones today. The apple pie was decent, the crust was perfection! But the filling was just so-so. Maybe if it would have been accompanied with some ice-cream it would have made it a bit better. Honestly though who has ever had a bad piece of pie? The scones I haven't actually baked yet, instead they are chilling in the freezer. I'm going to bake them on thursday so that they will be all nice and fresh for Lollapalooza. Tomorrow (or actually today) I'm making gumbo and baguettes. So that should be very yummy. I hope that I have enough time for the baguettes tomorrow, because I have a whole slew of doctors appointments.
       Nightie Night,
            ~Sara

The great bread hunt

I have been on the hunt for the Jimmy John's wheat bread recipe. If  anyone knows it hit me up! I am absolutely in love with it. After a hearty search for the recipe with no I results. I decided to just start making my own wheat read, in hopes that will fill my need. I am a pretty good cook or I can at least follow a recipe and end up with a desirable result. But this bread is just killing me. On my first try I followed a recipe from Mark Bittman, but I had the wrong yeast. So it ended up pretty dense and didn't rise as much as it was supposed to. Today I went back for a second attempt and followed the Honey Wheat Sandwhich Bread from Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America.  I had the right yeast this time but I was lacking the bread flour. So I just used all purpose flour as a substitute, which I regret now. The bread didn't rise a ton but it did come out with good favors and wasn't dense. Slowly but surely I will perfect a recipe for homemade wheat bread. Once I do that I will share it, for all of those other struggling bread bakers out there.
       I went to a rummage sale and made a great haul. One of my finds was a pie top cutter outer. That was probably was not the exact name, but basically it is a giant cookie cuter which little cut outs of apples.  So in honor of it, I am going to make an apple pie. The second thing I plan to make tomorrow are some scones for breakfast next weekend. I'll let you know how both of those go and if they are really scrumptious I'll post them.
       

Mmm

Mellow, your soul feels heavy, content, but not excited. Their is a distinct difference between happiness and mellowness. Happiness involves excitement and generally is a reaction to something. While mellow can just come up and consume you. Indie music is mellows best friend. You can just ride each song and get the true feel from it. Instead of just listening to it as normal and taking what you want from the song. In this particular mood you see the whole song not just the chorus. The light seems to shine differently. Light seems to be beaming through windows trying to fill the house. Light is not aggressive but just striving to shine into every crevice. 

Orzo with Spicy Buttermilk Dressing

      I made this recipe for SOB and everyone loved it! I served it cold because it was easier that way but you can serve it hot or cold. It's a different take on pasta salad, more of a southwest feel to it. I put some substitutes or suggestions in parenthesis for you. You could also add cilantro to this dish if it floats your boat.
~Enjoy Sara
P.S. Sorry I forgot to take a picture again :( I promise I'll get better.

Orzo with Spicy Buttermilk Dressing 

Ingredients 
1 cup uncooked orzo
1 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained
12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 green onions, sliced
1 cup edamame
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk (2% milk + 1 tsp. lemon juice)
3 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 Tbs. light sour cream
2 Tbs. light mayonnaise
1/2 to 1 tsp. chili powder (depending upon how spicy you like it)
1/2 tsp. kosher slat
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 peeled avocado, diced
1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley (1 tsp. dried parsley)

Directions 
1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse; drain well. Place orzo, corn and next 4 ingredients (though beans) in a large bowl: toss.

2. Combine buttermilk, and next 8 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle over orzo; toss. Top with avocado; garnish with remaining parsley.
Adapted from http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/orzo-salad-with-spicy-dressing-50400000112006/

SOB

SOB

SOB.... Not referring to its most common meaning. But instead Shipley Orchard Band. It's a gathering that my family puts on every year around the 4th of July. A lot of my cousins are really big into band music. So them and there friends but together a selection of band tunes all centered around a theme. Everyone brings a dish to share and we all eat and enjoy the music. Following the concert is a spectacular fire works show. I just love the finale because there is just so much stuff up in the sky you don't know to look. First you go for the sparkles, then you get distracted by a big boom, but then there a rainbow colored explosion that catches your eye, next is the spiraling stars, before you know it the whole sky is filled with nothing but lights. Anytime I watch a fireworks I also think of "The Sandlot". When it is the 4ht and they are running through the block party on the street to make it to the baseball field. They make it to the field and they start playing as usual. But once the fireworks start, they all stop and stare up at the sky. Still scattered around the diamond they watch in awe. Hope you enjoyed the fourth!
~Love Sara
P.S. not that this song directly relates to the forth of July but American by Lana Del Rey is AMAZING, just like the rest of her stuff.

Soba Noodles with Spinach, Mushroom, and Tofu

       I made this super yummy Japanese meal for supper tonight. My best friend is half Japanese and her family is really into cooking. So eating at her house is always so delicious and I always get to try new things. When my mom cooks at my house it is basically like the same 10-15 dinners over and over again. She is not the best at mixing it up or trying new things. Which is my speciality! I really like trying different ethnic food because I didn't have very much of it growing up. My friend really started rubbing off on me and made me realize that ethnic food has so much more flavor than regular american food. And more often than not it is also healthier because it doesn't have as many processed or fatty food in the dishes. So I made soba noodles with mushrooms, spinach, and tofu. I highly recommend this recipe, just make sure you cook enough noodles or aren't serving it to very many people. Because my family wasn't a fan of the smaller portions. It reminded me a lot of real Japanese ramen. If you have never had real Japanese ramen then it need to go on your to do list because it is out of this world! Also if you are in the mood for ramen you should watch the movie Ramen Girl. Very funny and also very educational about ramen. Here's the recipe below and sorry I don't have a picture of my own because I took a picture on snap chat and sent it . But forgot to take a picture with just my phone. I'm new at recipe posting so I'll get better with time. Also one last tip make sure you un shell the edamame beans before adding them. I had never used them before so I figured that one out the hard way. The shells are extremely crunchy! Also here is the website that I got the recipe from http://www.recipe.com/soba-noodles-with-mushroom-spinach-tofu/?crlt.pid=camp.jNT3xjbV

soba noodles with mushroom, spinach & tofu 

ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. (30 mL)

  canola oil
• 1 

  shallot, minced
• 1 

  carrot, finely diced
• 2 

  cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. (20 mL)

  minced fresh ginger
• 8 oz. (250 g)

  white or brown mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup (250 mL)

  frozen, thawed edamame
• 1-1/2 cups (375 mL)

  low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp. (30 mL)

  reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp. (5 mL)

  grated lemon zest
• 4 oz. (125 g)

  spinach leaves, chopped
• 4 oz. (125 g)

  firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/4 tsp. (1 mL)

  freshly ground pepper
• 6 oz. (170 g)

  soba noodles 

  
  

  
  

  directions

  1.

  Bring a 5- to 6-quart pot of water to a boil.

  2.

  In a 10- to 12-inch saute pan, warm canola oil over medium-high heat. Add shallot, carrot, garlic, and ginger and saute for 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms, reduce heat to low, and cover pan; sweat mushrooms until soft, about 4 minutes. Uncover pan and increase heat to medium-high again. Stir in edamame and saute until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir together broth, soy sauce, and lemon zest and pour into pan. Bring to a boil.

  3.

  Stir in spinach a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until wilted. Stir in tofu, then turn off heat under pan. Season to taste with pepper.

  4.

  Drop soba noodles into boiling water; cook until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse with cool water to remove excess starch. Add noodles to saute pan and turn on heat to medium-high. With tongs, toss noodles with vegetable mixture just until heated through, then divide among shallow pasta bowls and serve.

  
  nutrition information

  Per serving: Calories 240, Total Fat 12 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 360 mg, Carbohydrate 22 g, Fiber 4 g, Protein 15 g, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

The beginning .....

       Where to start? Well I'm not quite sure. I guess I'll just start of by saying that this is a personal blog. So there is some stuff that I might share on hear that might not totally be the social norm. But that's okay right? Because nobody wants to her about someone's life that is super edited and not quite real. So you are going to get the full and totally exclusive view of Miss Sara Koebel's mind. Lately I have been thinking about how lucky I am which is something that I usually do when I need to remind myself to get over myself. I've been rather moody lately because recently a lot has changed in my life. It's a long story so I will just rewind back to February of 2013. <---- So for starters I graduated high school a semester early. Which was cool because I enjoyed high school but I had a more interesting opportunity waiting ahead for me.

        I have been riding horses ever since I was little. I mean seriously riding horses, not just taking a couple riding lessons. Like the majority of my life was all about horses. My mom and I spent so much time together because she rode horses too. She had always been there for me. My horse trainer moved out to Virginia to be a rider for a MEGA famous Olympic rider. I was kind of heartbroken when she left because she was just a cool person. Like a kind of person that I want to aspire to be like. So my mom because she live vicariously through me, like to the extreme. She found out that Phyllis Dawson (which the olympic rider that Cindy rides for) takes on working students. A working student in the horse world is basically a person that works for free in exchange for riding lessons. Although to you that may seem slightly idiotic but to a horse crazy person it seems like a marvelous idea. So long story short I became a working student and headed out to Purceville Virginia in February to be a working student. At first I was super apprehensive because: 

1. first time living on my own 

2. being so freaking far away from home (12hours) 

3. Whether I could handle the work load (Because I was kind of burnt out on the horse thing at the time because I had been doing it for so long)

4. If people would like me (I sound like a little girl but that's okay because it was true) 

But despite all of my worries everything turned out absolutely perfect. I made some really great friends and had a lot of good times. I also just learned such an unbelievable amount about horses and about life. Everything was going great for me and my horse. We were about to advance up to the next level and then chaos struck. 

Me and Miss Libbs

       It is kind of a long and stupid story but basically I got kicked by this horse REALLY badly. Like worse than I thought it was. I ended up rupturing my spline and bleeding internally, broke three of my lumbar spine, and fractured my elbow which required surgery. Libby and I got shipped back home since I was unable to work with my injuries. So now I am back in good old Bloomington Normal. Basically those are the changes: 

1. I am back living at home 

2. I have a broken elbow 

3. I can't work 

4. I can't ride 

5. I miss my friends in Virginia

      But these are all minor and not very permanent problems expect for the last one. So this post wasn't so that you would feel bad for me it was really just for me to have write it all done and put it out there so I can stop pitying myself. That's all I have for now but I am really liking this blog idea and I have a feeling I will be posting a lot. 

~Love Sara