Just a Glimpse of the Engagements

I am actually an incredibly private person when it comes to personal things. I feel like I'm not alone when I say this. Though at times I can be incredibly vocal, this doesn't mean that I want to discuss every bit of my life. They call it "personal" for a reason. After being able to hoard the beautiful pictures that our photographer Kelli Dee Mortensen took, I decided that I am finally comfortable sharing just a glimpse of the engagements.



It was an old picture of my parents that inspired my "Engagements". They were on the shores of Japan playing in the water and looking absolutely in love. When the time came for me to be taking my engagements, I pictured them and decided that I wanted something similar. This is why we decided to take our pictures along Utah Lake off Provo Center Street.



The shores are definitely not as pristine as one might hope but it honestly didn't matter. When I arrived for the shoot, I was frazzled and stressed. Getting ready had been a challenge and I hated how I looked. However once we got there and started playing in the water, I completely forgot about my frustrations and just had fun.


For anyone that might be uncomfortable posing for pictures, I recommend getting your pictures in a setting where you can play. I can smile just fine for pictures but being in the lake really made the whole experience FUN.



A good majority of my pictures are not Vogue worthy. They don't capture images of a couple oozing with sophistication and elegance. Instead my pictures are relaxed, goofy, happy, loving, and natural.



In my parent's pictures, they were all done in black and white. Its a look that I don't see too often in a couple's engagement pictures. Now a days there are so many different edits you can use on your pictures that make them very unique. Still, I wanted more of a timeless look and asked Kelli if we could get some in black and white.



During our engagement session, we got a good mix between more posed pictures and natural shots.



Of course I like to think that all the pictures were natural and not posed but then what couple is ever standing the ideal distance apart from each other looking in love and looking perfecting into the camera? Pretty much just William and Kate.



The surrounding area near the Utah Lake Marina is incredible. Everywhere you look its green. It was beautiful! We found a grove of trees that were kind of bent at weird angles. I couldn't help but climb one.



If you don't want to commit to a "beachy look" for your engagements, I highly recommend exploring the surrounding areas of the Marina. We were literally what I consider half a block away from Utah Lake State Park (the Marina).



I loved every bit of my Engagements Photo Session. I had a blast playing with Luke in the lake. Kelli was an awesome photographer really making me feel comfortable. I also had my friend Ally there as moral support; she is the best!



For anyone thinking about getting any kind of formal pictures taken I would definitely recommend the Utah Lake State Park and Marina. Even if you don't want to play in the water, the surrounding wildlife is breathtaking. I was amazed at all the beauty found so close to Provo! And for any of you who are wondering, "The Engagement Picture" is not among the bunch. You'll just have to look out for it in the mail!

A Taste of Greece for Dinner

My first experience with the traditional Greek dish, Pastitsio was back when I was about 14 years old. My aunt, uncle, and cousin had come up to visit and for dinner we went to Aristo's in Salt Lake City. At the time I was much more picky about food which led me ultimately to chose Pastitsio off the menu. While we waited outside surrounded by exceptional smells in the dimming twilight, I saw other customer's plates. Nearby I saw was something that looked like weird lasagna. I secretly hoped that it was what I had ordered.  To my great surprise, the weird lasagna was exactly what I had ordered.

During my junior year of college, I got the incredible opportunity to go on Study Abroad where one of the countries I visited was Greece. There I renewed my love for Mediterranean foods and decided that I would bring a bit of Greece to my dinner table. I got the following recipe from Martha Stewart but changed it a bit to suite my personal taste.

Ingredients

For The Meat Sauce

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 white onions, cut into 1/4-inch diced pieces
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 2 cups water

• For The Bechamel

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

• Pasta

  • Unsalted butter, for baking dish
  • 1 pound Pastitsio noodles

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Prepare the Pastitsio noodles according to the directions on the package. If you cant find Pastitsio noodles, you can use any other tubular noodle (I used penne). To save time, I got started on the meat mixture as the water began to boil and cook the noodles. 

In a deep skillet, cook your onions in olive oil until soft. Add ground beef (traditionally lamb is used so you can experiment with what you like) and cook adding spices once meet starts to turn brown.

You can incorporate the cinnamon, course salt, ground pepper, and nutmeg one at a time but I found that while I waited for the meat to cook I could save time by gathering my seasonings together in one container. This also made for a more even dispersion of the seasonings and I felt it contributed to a deeper taste. 

Next add wine until it has almost evaporated. If you are worried about the alcohol content, it often evaporates during the cooking process. However if you feel uncomfortable adding wine into your Pastitsio, I don't see much harm in excluding it since the entire cooking process allows for a flavorful end dish. Around this time, your noodles should be fully cooked. Drain and let sit. Just make sure to try and keep them from clumping together! Oil is definitely your friend here though I would try to limit how much you use.

Now add the tomato paste, bay leaves, and 2 cups of water to your meat mixture. Let this simmer as you begin to work on the Bechamel.

In a large saucepan, melt your butter. Once the butter begins to bubble, add flour and baking powder. Stir it constantly with a wire whisk for one minute. The entire mixture will kind of clump into ball but you want to try and as much air into it as possible. Slowly add milk (I used whole milk but reduced or skim milk would work just as well especially if you don't want to add additional calories) and continue to whisk mixture until smooth. The mixture will eventually bubble and become thick, when this happens remove the pan from heat. Stir in Parmesan, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. 

 In a greased 9-by-13 inch glass pan lay pasta down at the bottom. Since I used penne, I laid them all down in one direction so that it imitated the long Pastitsio noodles I didn't have. If you are going to do the same with your noodles, try to get them arranged as quick as possible so the Bechamel wont lose heat and fluffy-ness. Pour meat mixture after removing the bay leaves on top of the noodles. Then pour Bechamel over the meat mixture and smooth with spatula so that meat is completely covered.

Bake mixture for about 30-40 minutes (I did mine closer to 30 minutes and realized it needed to be longer) so that the top is set and golden brown. The hardest part is waiting since your entire kitchen starts to smell incredible! Contrary to what you might think, the Bechamel mixture does not burn easily so you can leave it in the oven longer than 40 minutes (probably 45-50 minutes) to get that nice golden color on top. 

This is what my Pastitsio ended up looking like. It tasted delicious though if you want REALLY good Pastitsio, I would recommend going to Aristo's (or Greece for that matter) and try it out yourself. Your taste buds will thank you!