originally from martha stewart, but we made a few modifications. thank you anna for the zucchini!

serves 4 •  total time: 40 minutes

• 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
• 2 T. cornstarch
• salt and pepper
• 4 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1 onion, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch stripes
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 c water
• 2 T. rice vinegar
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1/2 c. basil leaves, larger leaves torn in half
• cooked white rice, for serving (optional)

1. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels. In a medium bowl, toss chicken with cornstarch until coated; season generously with salt and pepper.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Cook the chicken, turning once, until browned, but not completely cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes total. Transfer chicken to plate and set aside.

3. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil, onion, bell pepper, and zucchini to the skillet; cook over medium-high heat, tossing often, until beginning to brown, 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

4. Add 1/4 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, and chicken to pan; cook, tossing, until chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in basil leaves. Serve immediately, over white rice, if desired.

bret took this image last night from our living room! he is amazing and has set up a system to control a telescope in delta, utah from anywhere and have everything run automatically so he can still get some sleep!

click image to see bigger

bret made these last night, and topped them with mango, banana, and sloppy strawberry deliciousness!

serves 4 •  total time: 30 minutes

• 1 T. yeast
• 2 c. lukewarm milk
• 4 eggs, separated
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 T. sugar
• 2½ c. flour
• ½ c. melted butter

1. Dissolve yeast in milk. Beat egg yolks and vanilla; add to yeast. Add flour, salt, sugar, and butter. Mix well with a hand mixer.

2. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and then fold into flour batter. Let rise until doubled.

3. Put a heaping ½ cup of batter into a lightly sprayed waffle iron and spread it out slightly. Bake for 3 minutes. Top with powder sugar, fruit, jam, syrup, whipped cream, etc.

here is my intro to digital final portfolio. i’m not sure how i feel about it, but i do think it turned out much better than i thought it would a week ago

so here’s what i’ve been up to:

1. school. i’m back in provo, and it’s great. except today it was really cold
2. my apartment is a little ghetto, but i like some parts of it. like the large-ish living room.
3. i’ve been doing a really good job with cooking. normally all i eat is pbj and ramen, but this year i’ve actually made meals. multiple times per week even. crazy, huh?
4. i’m taking a black and white film class where we use really huge cameras that i fail at using. it’s really confusing and technical. hopefully once i start using the cameras more i’ll get the hang of it.
5. the other photo class i’m taking is intro to digital. we had our first real assignment yesterday. (see image 1)
6. it’s autumn. bret and i went somewhere into the mountainous area of provo last weekend and took pictures. it was glorious. (see images 2, 3, & 4)
7. i went fishing, and i gutted a fish. true story. (see images 4 & 5)

1. adella, sharon, and i went up to provo for the weekend. i love provo, and a break from the zp was definitely enjoyed and probably needed. can i just say that this weekend is in the top 5 i’ve had all summer? of course i can. it’s true, and it’s my blog. haha suckas! anyway, adella and i spent time with these boys. fun time, fun times. i took some pictures, but film, so i still need to get them developed and scanned. also, i got to spend some time with hannah, which is always good. and…that’s it. i don’t feel like elaborating. ok, well i want to, but i don’t know how to write it without making it sound lame.

2. i have 11 more days until i’m done with work. less than two weeks!!! i’m excited, but there’s still a lot i want to get done before i leave, so i don’t really feel like the remaining time will go by slowly.

3. i received a letter from jericho. i think he must have too much time on his hands because i sent him a letter just a few days ago. people aren’t supposed to respond that fast, are they? and he even sent me pictures! (in case you didn’t know, pictures really are the way to my heart. [and in my world, pictures=photographs])

4. i also got a thank you letter from these people. if my weekend was cake, then that was totally the frosting. except i don’t really like cake or frosting very much. i’d just like to share this part: “you showed such patience with the children–they look great!!” yes, that’s right, i have patience and children photo skills. see mom? i can do this.

ok, now for the decisions part. i’m getting my hair cut when i go home, and i’m trying to decide how short to cut it. it’s getting really annoying, and i miss being able to blow-dry it in 30 seconds. i know how short i want to cut it, but i don’t want to be shunned by the masses. and by masses i mostly mean the male population that seems to think every girl should have super long hair. so here’s the decision: be shunned or have hair i hate. oh so difficult.

hahaha no, not really. this is more like what i do (ahhh…good ol’ group photos…):

how cool is this?