August 2013 – Notes From a Messy Kitchen

Tailgate Friendly, Messy Kitchen Approved: Spicy Buffalo Hummus

Notes from a Messy Kitchen

The great thing about making your own hummus (other than the fact that it’s so freakin’ easy that why wouldn’t you make your own hummus?!) is that you can make any flavor you want! Anyone want to venture to guess what variety this girl chose? That’s right. The BUFFALO CHICKEN...

Johanna

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Takeout Tuesday, August Edition: DC-3

Notes from a Messy Kitchen

The final Tuesday of August snuck up on me. Gosh, I can’t imagine why? But you know what that means… TAKEOUT TUESDAY! To commemorate the end of Summer, I went with an iconic summer cuisine: hot dogs! We started with some buffalo hummus (recipe to come!) with baby carrots and...

Johanna

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Healthy Dinner or Game Night Snack: Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins

Notes from a Messy Kitchen

As my husband has been reminding me on a near hourly basis, football season is coming. And we all know that the start of football season is directly correlated with an uptick in the consumption of beer and all sorts of comfort foods: wings, chips and dips, mozzarella sticks, potato...

Johanna

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Putting off “Reality” and the End of Summer

Travel

Let’s be honest, it’s been a tough transition back to work and back to reality. Luckily, we had a tubing trip this weekend to soften the blow. We’re only about half unpacked from Colombia, but we were off again to float down the Shenandoah one last time before Summer 2013...

Johanna

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Raw Vegan Chocolate Caramel Tart with Orange & Sea Salt

Notes from a Messy Kitchen

Ever since I read The Help, I can’t think of chocolate pie without thinking of Minny and the terrible awful thing she did. Well, with regards to this chocolate pie, the only terrible awful thing I did was wait so long to share it with you. I made this way...

Johanna

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The Beaches of Tayrona National Park

Travel

Saturday we’re off again, this time to camp for a night on the beaches of Tayrona National Park. As we hop on the bus, Kim pops her head out the window and waves. She, Diego and Ewout – friends from the trek – are headed to the same place. This...

Johanna

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Catching Our Breath in Santa Marta

Travel

Our new hostel in Santa Marta is in a beautiful restored colonial mansion with balconies overlooking a swimming pool in the courtyard and a rooftop overlooking the city. After our trek, air conditioning feels like a gift from the Gods. It’s owned by two American brothers and has a very...

Johanna

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Hiking through the Colombian Jungle: Our Trek to Ciudad Perdida

Travel

Monday we’re off for a four-day, three-night trek through the jungles of Northern Colombia. We are hiking to Ciudad Perdida, an ancient city at the base of the Sierra Nevada that was rediscovered in the late 1970’s and only in recent years deemed safe for tourists. I don’t know what to...

Johanna

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Taganga, Four Loko and the Kindness of Strangers

Travel

Sunday we’re catching an 11:00am bus to Taganga, a small fishing village just outside Santa Marta. What I’ve come to understand about all forms of transportation here is that you really just can’t expect to have any idea when or what´s going on. Around noon a van arrives – we aren’t really...

Johanna

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Playa Blanca and My New Business Plan

Travel

Saturday we’re off for a day on Playa Blanca. First we fuel up on pancakes and coffee, another much appreciated offering at Mamallena. We’ve bought tickets through our hostel, but they must be exchanged for other tickets at the port, which must be exchanged for yet more tickets and something...

Johanna

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Month: August 2013