weekend on lopez island.

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ahoy!

pete and i spent the weekend on lopez island in the san juans. we are so lucky to be able to go up there as often as we do. its such a laid back, slow-paced, and friendly community of folks. not to mention b e a u t i f u l.

here are some snaps from my iphone 6.

^ just enjoying a bask in a grassy knoll by the water with our friend, mr. american bald eagle. we saw several bald eagles that day, actually. 

we rode our bikes over to pete's aunt & uncle's house one afternoon, and ended up hanging out there with his uncle lark and cousin peri all evening. i've probably mentioned here before how much i loooove their house that uncle lark built. so magical and fairy tale like out in the woods of the island. downright talented folks in this family, by the way. 

lark is a glass blower and used to hand blow these beer yards as prizes for the lopez island brew festival. he told us that glass beer yards came to be back in the day so that people could easily hand beer up to carriage drivers that were seated way up high. i never knew! just thought it was some sort of las vegassy gimmick. but ze beer yard served a real purpose. and he gave this one to pete! now if only we could find a safe place to store this thing in our house......

^ just roasting snausages with lark's glass blowing tools. naturally.

below is pete's parents cabin. built in 1890! we think it is now the oldest structure on the island. pretty crazy!

this is a great place to just walk around, bike, picnic, read, visit. which is exactly what we did.

back to the mainland. and for a stop at the skagit tulip festival :) more photos to come. 

another lovely lopez island weekend in the books. 

 

 

qp

mocha coconut green smoothie shake.

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mmmmmocha coconut. yummerz.

i was thoroughly obsessed with the mocha coconut flavor at starbucks ages ago when it first came out in frappuccino form. cut to me working there for 4+ years during college and such. i consumed alllllllll the mocha coconutty things that establishment had to offer. they're still delightful, but i haven't had one of those sugar blasted concoctions in foreva.

this smoothie/shake came to be after my gum surgery when i reeeeeeally wanted to drink coffee, but couldn't have hot liquids yet. i suppose i could have made iced coffee, but i was hungryyyyyyy too. 

i can't quite call this a healthy green smoothie because there is ice cream in it. haha. well when you have a lame gum surgery there are only a few things to eat worth looking forward to. so the chocolate ice cream stayed. 

one could use a few tablespoons of cocoa powder as an alternative, but the texture of the ice cream adds some goodness to the beverage. if you don't want to use ice cream, perhaps do 2-3 TB of cocoa powder and 2 bananas for extra sweetness and texture. that sounds goooood, too.

coffee coconut green shake

i love aeropress coffee. its so easy to make one cup. easy to clean. its fresh and strong and all the flavor makes it to your cup.

this smoothie shake hit the spot! and i got my coffee fix. and some green nutrients! and ice cream, too. :)

Mocha Coconut Green Smoothie Shake

Serves 1

Ingredients:

  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 3/4 cup chocolate ice cream
  • 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee or fresh espresso
  • 1 TB coconut syrup OR 2 tsp. coconut extract
  • 4 ice cubes
  • 1 TB espresso powder (optional)

Instructions-

Brew a strong half cup of black coffee. I use the Aeropress, but you could use 2 shots from an espresso machine, a small strong cup of french press, etc. 

In a blender, add the spinach, greek yogurt, banana and black coffee. Blend until combined. Add the coconut syrup or extract, chocolate ice cream, and ice cubes. Blend again until smooth. If desired, add 1 TB of espresso powder and pulse quickly to incorporate.

Serve immediately and ENJOY!

 

 

 

qp