A road trip to Red Rocks and a photography contest

On Saturday we drove to the nearby town of Morrison to surprise Beli with a visit to the kid size village, Tinytown. I think hubby and I were more disappointed than Beli when we discovered it was still closed for the season! So we continued driving west to the next touristic attraction, Red Rocks Amphitheatre. 

We were screaming, "Look Beli, look at the deer!" she could care less. She was more interested in wanting to know, just exactly where was her surprise we promised!

 Surprise!!! 

 She was not amused!

 We walked indoors because it was too windy and cold.

 Hubby and I attended the 1964 Beatles tribute a few summers ago, it was alot of fun!

 Overall, it was a great day, and it was free of charge! I also found out, via this link that Red Rocks is hosting a photography contest. I'm considering submitting some of my photos.  What do you think? Any advice, suggestions?

Getting settled in our new home

 The first few days I felt lethargic, almost jet-lagged. I figured it must be the 12 hours of driving, but it was actually the effect one gets when living at high altitude, we're at 5,280 feet above sea level. We drank more fluids (Hubby also experienced headaches) and after a couple of days we felt much better.

When we lived in Iowa we were always traveling between my parents and my sister's home so it was natural when Beli asked, "a donde vamos?" She wanted to know where we were going. I would say. "Grandma's house" or  "your Aunt's house" depending which house we were staying at. Now that we are in Colorado, Beli wakes up every morning and says, "this is my house!" not once or twice but several times a day. I reply, "yes Beli this is your house, do you like it?" and she beams with happiness as she replies"yes!"

Our home is perfect for our needs. It's fully furnished (a great find since we're on a tight budget), it has a backyard for Beli to run around, we are in close proximity to the city's park and trails, and we have the nicest landlords. We were welcomed  with a handwritten note and a batch of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and a carton of milk!

On Friday we spent the day outdoors basking in the sun as we planted flowers and herbs. Beli chose most of the flowers, the pink ones (geraniums) are hers, the yellow ones (pansies) are daddy's. 

 The following day Beli found all the plants indoors. I explained that it was too cold outside.

 It snowed last night!

Beli insisted that she would take care of the flowers in the meantime.

  There are days when she terribly misses her cousins. Yesterday she told us, "I want Dominik's house, I don't want my house in Colorado."

Overall, she is happy and quite creative with her surroundings!

Artwork

Have I mentioned what a talented and wonderful person my Mother-in-law is? Not only is she a terrific cook, but she also paints!

A couple of years ago she traveled to Colorado to help us take care of Beli while I returned to work full-time. Now, you can imagine the culture shock she experienced living in a foreign country where she didn't know anybody, didn't speak the language, couldn't really walk anywhere like she was accustomed to?

And so she turned to her paintings for comfort.

I hope that one day as my Croatian improves; I will be able to express myself and tell her in my own words, how grateful I was for the sacrifice she made.

I have insisted that she needs to place some her paintings at a gallery. I think they are amazing. But she is too modest and argues that it's only a hobby. What do you think she should do?

Not quite the Rocky Mountains but this will do

With an elevation ranging from 5280 to 14,000 feet the Rocky Mountains are no match to Mosor Mountains 4393 feet, but I'm content with just viewing these snow-top covered mountains to reminisce of beautiful Colorado, my previous home state.

And just as quickly, I recover from the Colorado Rockies home-sickness feeling when I drive towards home and this view comes into sight.

AH, Home sweet home!

Disclaimer: I was not behind the wheel when taking these pictures.

Roaring Fork Ratatouille

Weather forecast once again: pada kisa, lluvia, and more rain! This calls for a hearty stew!

I promised you I was going to prepare that spicy couscous a few days ago . But I have something even better!

My hubby found a recipe with polenta and spinach but I thought I would give it a twist. I read the ingredient list and I didn't have all the items but I didn't let this small detail discourage me from cooking. Did I mention it is raining?.. ..AND I am not feeling adventurous enough to run outside and jump in the puddles of water! Therefore I improvised and used what I had in the pantry.

Plus I have a great helper in the kitchen.


She is also improvising and thinking of adding kiwis into the recipe.

So this is what I prepared: couscous with spinach, roaring fork ratatouille. Sounds intriguing right? I found the recipe in The Best of Simply Colorado Cookbook I purchased several years ago.





Original recipe:

cooking spray

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

1 small eggplant, peeled and cubed

2 medium green bell peppers, sliced into strips

1 C. tomato juice

3T. dry red wine

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried basil, 1 tsp. dried marjoram, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano,1 tsp. salt

1 medium zucchini, sliced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 C. water (if needed)

Lightly coat large pot with cooking spray. Add onion, garlic and saute until tender (about 5 minutes). Add eggplant, peppers, tomato juice, wine and seasonings; mix well. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 10-15 minutes). Add zucchini and tomatoes, cover and simmer 10 more minutes or until all vegetables are tender. (Add water as needed.) Serve on a bed of rice. ( I used couscous!)

My version didn't include red wine, bell peppers, nor tomatoes instead I used mushrooms and tomato paste with extra tomato juice.
The couscous, I prepared according to the directions on the box. I also added frozen spinach (I know, you are probably thinking weird! but remember, I am improvising).

In addition I prepared grilled red bell peppers topped with olive oil and garlic.



Despite the alterations I made with the recipe the stew turned out yummy.
We enjoyed our delicious, healthy and warm meal as we watched the rain fall outside our balcony window.




And what a beautiful view of the roaring waves crashing against the rocks!