Then there was a camping trip...

Friday night. Last minute. Packed up the car and got out of town. Okay, so it was just a 25 minute drive up the canyon, but we take every chance we can get to get out of Provo for a breath of fresh air. We even brought the Brandleys with us. Its much more fun to breathe fresh air with friends.
Alas, upon arrival, the Brandleys discovered their bag of mountain biking gear had been left at home, so Laci and I drove back to Provo while the boys built a fire. I told them they had to take pictures while I was gone. This is what I got:

Gotta love the brats. The next morning, we were brought back to consciousness by the babbling brook behind our campsite. Beautiful. We peeked out and the Brandleys' bikes were still keeping company right outside our tent.

Above-mentioned brook.

We woke the Brandleys up and they discovered an unfortunate surprise. Laci has what's referred to as a "Camelback Fail". In the dead of night, her camelback just decided to leak. All over the entire tent and their clothes for the next day. We felt sad for our cold friends. Good thing we were able to jump into our car and crank up the heater before heading up to the Alpine Loop for our mountain bike ride!

The Alpine Loop (rode the Timpanooke trail). This is what makes living in Utah worth it. Amazing.

I'm pretty sure my eyes are closed in this picture. Bummer.

The Brandleys. They are now hard-core mountain bikers. This trail was the test of our summer riding and they passed with flying colors!

Our entire morning was a little bit behind schedule, so by the time we were heading back to the car we REALLY needed to get back to the car so Chad could go home and go to work. On the last downhill portion, we had a little problem. Scratch that, a very LARGE problem. It was a moose. Actually, two moose. The one who was standing directly on the trail ran off when the boys first arrived on scene. Then we were left with the very large male moose about ten feet to the left of the trail. What to do?

... sit and wait. He wasn't moving. I wouldn't move either if I were him. We sat and contemplated our options and after deciding that riding back up the huge hill and the entire loop, we should just chance it and ride by at a peaceful, leisurely pace. If all went well, he wouldn't charge!

Good news: we survived! Apparently he really didn't care about us at all. Good thing.

Long live summer!

The Car Museum at Little Giant Ladders

Cars can be beautiful things, sometimes even pieces of art. In Springville, UT there is one of the most beautiful collection of cars I've ever seen. Old cars, new cars, cars with history, beautiful cars, and everything in between. Just south of Provo... in Springville of all places! Not only that, but it is kept in the warehouse for the Little Giant Ladders company. Apparently the founder of Little Giant Ladders, Hal Wing, is good friends with Mr. Mac (the Winn family) and hooked us up. He is a funny old man who has a real passion for cars and loves to give tours to family and friends... lucky for us!

Chad and Mark were astounded, amazed, in love.

There was a big group of us on the tour... all of the boys were hanging on to Hal's every word.
Hal Wing himself. Laci wanted his glasses. Jacie wanted his ring, some major bling.
This one was my favorite. Beautiful.
This was President Roosevelt's car. Everything original... even the interior. It was made especially for him and his family during his presidency. Crazy. Beautiful. Maybe someday we might own a beautiful car... maybe.

Garlic Beef & Green Beans

I recently found this recipe on The Crepes of Wrath and wanted to give it a try. It was amazing. Chad gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up.

Garlic Beef & Green Beans

2 tablespoons olive or peanut oil
2 pounds sirloin/top round/filet/flank steak (whatever you have on hand), sliced into long, thin strips
1 onion, diced
1 pound green beans, cleaned and de-stemmed
1/4 cup water (if needed)
Rice, cooked according to package directions (for serving)

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon olive or peanut oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup Hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons Sriracha (I used 2 teaspoons)
1/3 cup water

1. Slice your beef into long, thin strips. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive or peanut oil in a large saute pan over high heat and add in your beef. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until almost completely cooked (it can still be a little pink, as it will continue to cook a bit on the plate) and remove with a slotted spatula onto a plate with paper towels so the juices drain a bit.

2. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of juices out of your pan and add the diced onion. Cook for 5 minutes over medium-high heat until softened, then add in the cleaned and de-stemmed green beans. Add in 1/4 cup of water, if needed (just enough so the beans can steam), and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently.

3. While you cook the onions and green beans, heat 1 tablespoon of olive or peanut oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat, then add in your minced garlic. Cook for 3 minutes, until fragrant, then add in the rest of the sauce ingredients. Stir to combine, then cook over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes until bubbling and slightly thickened.

4. Add the sauce to the pan with the onions and green beans and cook over medium-high heat until thickened a bit more (about 3 minutes). Add in the beef and cook until heated through (about 3 minutes). Serve over rice or more vegetables. Serves 4 (or serves 5 when served over rice).

A Brandley-Bennett Summer

As Fall Semester is creeping ever closer, I've been thinking a lot about this summer. How is it that it doesn't matter if you took classes or just spent the whole summer playing and frolicking about that the summer always seems to just zoom by? It's just one of those things. So as I was thinking through some of the fun things we've done, I was realizing a pattern; many of our activities involved our very good friends, The Brandleys. So here is a post dedicated to all things Bennett & Brandley. Doesn't that sound like a super fancy law firm?

We've played lots and lots of games in order to establish which family is superior in the world of board games. In order to avoid any kind of contention, I'll say we're about tied.
There's been many much mountain biking (in various Utah locations). We were at Lambert Park in Highland when I took some of these pictures.

Laci likes to watch while the boys load the car. Apparently so do I, because all I did was take pictures while they worked. What good husbands we have!

Kind of a frightening picture... can you tell I was holding the camera, taking the picture myself?

Our car looks so much cooler when we've got 4 bikes on it! That's what the Brandleys do in our friendship, they make us look cooler than we really are!

Last weekend, we went out to Payson and shot skeet with our shotguns and targets with the Brandleys handgun (for a full evaluation of all things firearm, just ask Chad and Mark, I stopped listening during that conversation), followed by a delicious dinner at Fat Jack's Pizza (they have the best cheese sticks in the whole world).

Even though Laci's from Texas, she had never shot a shotgun before so Mark had to show her how its done.

This may be my favorite picture of the evening... it was her "thinking" face. I call it, "The Thinker".

They've even come over for dinner a time or two. One such occasion was when I was trying out a recipe for Ragu alla Bolognese. It was delicious. There was alcohol in it.

Ragù alla Bolognese
Crepes of Wrath

3 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, diced
4 stalks celery, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
5 slices thick-cut bacon, sliced into 2-inch pieces
1 pound ground beef
28 oz. diced tomatoes
6 oz. tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried or fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 bay leaves
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream or half & half
1 pound pasta
Parmigiano-Reggiano

1. Melt your butter in a large pot or pan over medium heat. Turn the heat up to medium-high heat and then add in the diced onions and sliced celery. Cook for 5 minutes until softened then add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

2. Add in the bacon and cook for 5 minutes or so until slightly crisp. Add in the ground beef and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until cooked through. Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, basil, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.

3. Add in the white wine and heavy cream or half & half and stir. Bring the bolognese to a simmer over medium heat and cook for an hour or so until reduced, stirring every so often so that it doesn’t burn.

4. Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, and add to the bolognese. Stir to combine. Serve and top with some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serves 6-8.

What would a good summer be without friends?