Fun fun!!
We met Kate, Nate and Karen for a little movie action this afternoon. The Road was amazing. So well done and very true to the book. I think I appreciated it more having read the book than I might have otherwise. It was quite somber and a bit gruesome, but totally well done.
I brought a handful of bars to share with the group for snacking…
We nibbled on this Tropical Fruit Bear Naked bar on the way there and shared the rest with K+N. I liked it a lot – these bars are like oatmeal cookies!! But Matt and I both agreed this flavor would be better without the strong lemon flavor.
LOVE LOVE Fruition bars!!!
And then I tried this Vega Vibrancy Bar. I’m not sure what the flavor was but I think maybe just the standard plain one. It was kind of datey and had the most delicious chunks of what I think were almonds – it was like toffee!! However, there was this overpowering blech oily taste – essential fatty acids!? – that Kate, Nate and I all thought was quite gross. But the texture was so good I ended up finishing most of it. I’d give it a solid B.
We arrived home from the movie ’round 7PM for some soup + schmoozin’
I wasn’t in the drinkingist mood, so I made some POM Mocktails for us
Seltzer, a splash of Sierra Mist that Karen left here, POM and cherries. I think I had 2 of these.
Souuuuuuup!
We used Bob’s Red Mill 13 Bean for the base. I soaked it last night in a bunch of water. Then today, we put it in a pot and brought to a boil (because of the KIDNEY BEANS) and then after it had boiled and simmered a bit and then put it in the crockpot with 1 can of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
After we came back from the movies it had bubbled over the side!! But it did taste amazing. Very creamy!
Topping bar provided by Kate + Nate! Plus hot sauce + red pepper flakes
I had seconds on toppings midway through!
Ain’t nothin’ like dippin’ some tortilla chips into chili! Had a bunch of these guys..
Caitlin and Jason brought over this DIVINE local Cinnamon Cranberry Goat Cheese!!
It tasted like ice cream!
Loved these Back To Nature crackers as well
Annnnddd I realized I had the ingredients for a spinach salad and TOTALLY FLAKED OUT!! I completely forgot to assemble it and after dinner I asked if anyone wanted any and everyone seemed full so we moved into dessert. Obviously.
However, upon opening the contents of this Women’s Bean Project Peanut Buttery Cookie Mix I found evidence of some WORMS!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!! So glad I gave it a close inspection (I’d had this in the pantry for a long time.) Going to totally inspect the pantry top to bottom tomorrow. Very, very scared of the Indian meal moths now!
Back-up dessert plan came from the freezer! Dancing Deer Maple Ginger Cookies from homecoming and VeggieGirl Brownie Points!
We started a game of Apples To Apples and I nibbled my way through one of each – a giant cookie and a brownie. So delish!
Such a good game!
Red wine was opened and I had a little to go with dessert. x2
At the end of the game we counted up our points –
10 for Matt
TONS for K+ N
Winner Caitlin and Jason!
And only THREE for me! I am a sore loser 🙁
***
Guy Knife Winners!
I can’t believe how many of you like to chop ONIONS! I normally never hack with my Random Integer Generator, but I gotta admit I couldn’t give the prize to someone who was going to chop onions first thing.
So the random non-onion winner is…
Rebecca, send me an email with your name + address!
***
That’s a wrap!
Christy says
Haha… “non-onion choppers” too funny 😆 And I love that game, I got it for my family last Christmas!
Emily Eats and Exercises says
I had a HUGE worm problem last winter. SOOOOO gross. The worst was a box of fancy chocolates that I had gotten as a gift. I put it on the top shelf of our pantry and forgot about it for quite a while. My boyfriend opened it up (it was still wrapped in plastic) and took a bite of a cherry-filled chocolate only instead of cherries it was filled with WORMS!!! Eeeewww. It makes me cringe just to think about. Blech.
On a much happier note – the vegetarian chili looks awesome – it’s going straight into my meal plan. Also, love apples to apples (and I’m always a sore loser as well 😉
Allie (Live Laugh Eat) says
I was caught eating cranberry goat cheese straight from the package yesterday 🙂 I think it tastes like flavored cream cheese!! Amazing!
Mama Pea says
Cockroaches, snakes, spiders & worms?!?? What kind of hell hole are you livining in? I want to come to an N&K get together!!!
halley says
I have that sweater! love it. btw your blog is awesome- I found it googling recipe ideas for oatmeal. you go girl!
Kath says
Welcome!
lynn (The Actors Diet) says
i love apples to apples – one of my favorite games to play with my family and folks of all ages….
Heather @ The Joyful Kitchen says
Mmmmmmmmmm chili on a cold night…sounds amazing! Also, I’m still in love with those glasses…hopin’ Santa pulls through for me 😉
Hillary @ Nutrition Nut on the Run says
Apples to Apples, how fun! I love your Boden glass. They make for great pics =)
Kaite says
The goat cheese looked like an ice cream scoop! Sounds so yummy, I shall search for something like this… or mix my own up at home?
lisa says
next time you play apples to apples–it’s fun to have each person read the words off their winning cards, supposedly they describe that persons character. accurate or not, it’s a fun way to end. kinda softens the blow of losing as well. ; )
Jenn (www.j3nn.net) says
I LOVE Bob’s red Mill soup mixes! I have the Vegi mix and it comes out soo creamy. Yum! Perfect for snowy, winter weather. 🙂
Now I’m paranoid and going to go through my pantry and cabinets (which I should do anyway!) 😯
Jenn
Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg says
I love Apples to Apples! But I’m a total sore loser when I lose at that game. Okay, at ALL games.
Julie @savvyeats says
Love Dancing Deer cookies! Have you tried the chocolate tangerine cookies? Sooooo good!
VeggieGirl says
Haha, hooray for the Brownie Points providing back up 😀
Estela @ Weekly Bite says
I’ve never seen that game before! Looks like so much fun!
Allie says
oh my god, you have so many bugs. i close my eyes and get kind of nauseous when you talk about them. i don’t know how you deal with it!!! i’d cry. i don’t know if those brownies would have lasted as long in my freezer as they have in yours!
anon says
have you heard that the green card that you win are supposed to describe you?! hah
Stephanie says
For some reason I found that the Vega bars tasted much better if I chilled them in the refrigerator…. not sure if it changed the texture or what but that was the only way I would eat them when I was getting through the box – and I loved them like that! 🙂
Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down) says
What a fun night!! And you’ve made me intrigued about reading The Road now, although I don’t know if I could handle it. If it’s terribly scary, I’m the type to not be able to sleep at night. Maybe I could make it a “morning read.” Haha…I’m so bad when it comes to scary things.
The soup looks divine, by the way! 😀
Barbara says
Love the sweater from the last picture. where did you purchase it?
Kath says
Old Navy
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says
That goat cheese looks amazing!
emptynutjar says
I bought that soup too. Sounds like you enjoyed it 🙂
Madeline @ Greens and Jeans says
I LOVE your sweater Kath!
Stacey says
Looks like a fun night!! Hate that I couldn’t make it 🙁 We lefts Megans kinda late, but we DID have fun in the snow!!
eliza says
ahh i love apples to apples! such fun :)!! and everything looks so delicious as usual! fruitions bars are my favorite, love the strawberry one best! and love probars as well they are definitely in my opinion the best nutrition bar out there!
xx
Eliza
hemp jogger says
cant believe you discriminated against onion choppers. dont hate kath, dont hate…to each his own : )
Kath says
Well, it’s my blog so I make the rules. Sorry!
ari says
i agree, hemp jogger. i don’t think that’s really fair. but oh well.
Shannon (The Daily Balance) says
LOVE apples to apples! such a great game 😉
Ashley says
I hope you get the bug problem in the pantry sorted out. Maybe you just got bad batches of a couple of things? North Carolina is a buggy place, though–I woke up a few days ago and discovered a cockroach on the wall two feet from my head. He just wanted to come inside and get warm…
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope says
What a fun evening Kath! I always like it when a movie follows the book. And I always like reading the book first so it feels like I have some insider information. 😉
I’ve actually never played apples to apples before! Everyone talks about how fun it is, so I just invest in it! 🙂
Erin says
Your sweater looks so warm and cozy — I need one like that as I wait out this blizzard. 😉
Kristen @ Change of Pace says
That game is SO much fun! All the food looked great. What a fun night!
Deb says
Kath-
After you get your pantry checked for weevils and cleaned out, you can use bay leaves to prevent future problems. I place a bay leaf in all pasta, grain, bean products after they are opened. I have not had a weevil problem since I began doing that, you can also put a few of the bay leaves on the pantry shelf to prevent problems if the packages are not opened. Hope this helps!
caitlin says
kate and nate! my future friends!!
Penny says
I recently made 15 Bean soup. It was very good, but I didn’t think to put cheese on it! 🙁 Good idea.
Also, I play Apples to Apples all the time with the family. Great game!
Eileen says
We played apples to apples a lot a couple of years ago (bunch of grad students and I here at Tech) = tons of FUN! People are nutty with that game, I tell you!!
Jenna says
soup looks greeeaatttt!
Jenny says
I just got a crock pot and have been looking for recipes to try. this soup looks great! thanks for the tip 🙂
Angie says
Love Apples to Apples! What a fun night!
Biz says
Where did you get your rocks glasses? I love them!
Hooray for a non-onion lover winner! 😀
Kath says
They are Bodum. From my Open Sky Store!
Scott @DancingDeer says
Kath —
Thanks so much for sharing our Maple Ginger Cookies with your readers 🙂 And Apples to Apples is pretty much my favorite party game ever!
We really appreciate it 😉
-Scott @DancingDeer