I’m certainly not the first person to pair gnocchi with peas, parmesan and herbs, but it was such a great combination that I had to share it here in case you haven’t tried it yet. I made gnocchi the day before with vodka sauce and it was AWFUL. Like so bad I couldn’t finish it so I tried again with an even easier take on the sauce.. garlic and herbs all day in this house. I was able to put this all together in less than twenty minutes, which means it’s the perfect ‘I don’t wanna cook, but I want a nice warm meal’ type of dish. If you’re vegan, leave out the parmesan and maybe substitute in some toasted pine nuts. You’ll also have to replace the butter, but that’s an easy one.
Science News
Even though our days are packed, one of the things that we always make time for is keeping up with the news. We think it’s important to be well informed citizens, so we read everything, but by far our favorite articles are those covering science, environmental, travel, and adventure topics. Today we thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite sources of science and travel news, and we would love to hear yours!
- Science Daily – I think this is one of the most comprehensive sources of science news on the web. It covers every topic from environment (our favorite) to health and physics to technology, making their subject lists extensive and easy to browse for the precise topic you are interested in. I also love that they start each article with a brief summary of key points. I dare you to go to their site and not waste a few hours skimming articles.
- NY Times – who doesn’t love the NY Times Science section? I particularly love their videos, illustrations, and interactive features (like this one explaining the higher number of earthquakes associated with drilling for geothermal energy in California). If you’re a teacher, those short videos can be such a great supplement to lessons; I would use them all the time at the college level, but since they are writing for the layperson, I think the material works at the high school level too.
- National Geographic & Outside Magazines – while hard copies can’t be beat, we love our favorite magazines in digital form!
Beyond the sites listed above, we like to follow a number of organizations doing good work. These entities all have their own websites, which is what I’m sharing below, but realizing that I don’t have time to visit their sites regularly, I’ve found that it’s much easier to keep up with their work by following them on Facebook (i.e. liking their page). This makes my Facebook feed so much more interesting and educational, and you’ll often find us sharing stories from these sites on our Live Seasoned Facebook feed. In fact, I find myself opening it with the intention of “reading the news”; crazy, huh?! Anyway, here are a few of our favorites:
- US National Phenology Network – a source of information for changes in the timing of biological activity. And we love that their Nature’s Notebook program provides an opportunities for amateur scientists to get involved and collect data. Want to learn more? We wrote about phenology in this post.
- Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology – a great resource for bird lovers. They have a free app that helps you identify birds and post identification contests on Facebook. If you go directly to their site, you can check in with a number of different bird cams (great for schools and kids!).
- National Park Service – Being lovers of national parks, it’s a no-brainer to follow this feed. They share bits of history as well as current events happening in the parks across the country. For example, the photo above was posted last week and introduced us to the Yukon Quest!
- Specific National Parks – similarly, we follow some of our favorite national parks, like Canyonlands so that we get all updates (from road closures to animal sitings) from our favorite parks.
- IFL Science – and finally, one of our favorite Facebook pages, with the best name is I F*cking Love Science. They often share some of the more bizarre science news as well as hot topics.
So that’s where we get a lot of our science news. Hopefully we’ve introduced you to something new and exciting. And we would love to hear from you! If you’ve discovered something that we haven’t mentioned, please tell us about it in the comments.
Sarah’s Warm Winter Drink
I really didn’t know what to call this warm milk creation. I certainly don’t want to call it that. It is kind of a mix between horchata and Spanish rice pudding, but I wouldn’t want to offend anyone by calling it that because I made this recipe up. I don’t really know if it is anything like authentic Spanish rice pudding or Mexican horchata and that’s why we’ll refer to it as Sarah’s warm winter drink, a name that’s completely non-descriptive, whoops. It’s a pretty awesome drink though and you can make it several different ways so don’t let its disappointing name discourage you. Vegan? We got you covered too. Like most recipes and projects on Seasoned, we try to give you the gist of the recipe, but encourage you to make it your own. Katie and I cook depending on seasonal ingredients and what’s in our cupboards, which means lots of these recipes are adaptable.
Happy Weekend
Homemade Lotion Bars
I feel like these homemade lotion bars should be rose scented to keep with this week’s unintentional theme.
Does your skin resemble dry, cracked, dusty earth? Mine does. It’s the worst, especially in the winter. Poor, poor me. No, but really, my entire body has dandruff and I know you probably didn’t want to hear that, but I said it. It is disgusting and it plagues me. Dry skin is the monkey on my back. You might think I’m being a little dramatic, but applying lotion six times a day (REALLY) is no joke! This is my life. Welcome. Instead of spending a quarter (maybe I’m being a little dramatic here) of my annual income on lotion, I mixed up a double batch of this homemade version and called it a day well spent. This easy lotion bar concoction only requires three ingredients! Yeah Kate, we know, your no-heat rosehip jam only has two. Congratulations. No, congrats to YOU after you read through this lotion bar recipe and immediately order the supplies. I applaud you. Happy moisturized skin to you my friend.
Rosehip Jam
While roses and treats are synonymous with Valentine’s Day, we wanted to turn that tradition on its head by suggesting you make a sweet rosehip jam instead! Plus, you can get around those thorny environmental and social impacts by skipping the bouquet this year. And, if you’re about to tune out because we’re suggesting making a jam, hang in there because this jam contains only two (2!) ingredients and doesn’t require any cooking. It’s that easy, folks. 
Two Bits
We want to break down these internet barriers and invite you into our lives and we’re hoping you’ll do the same. You are welcome to share your a bit of your week or day in the comments, or if they’re better represented by a photo, tag us on instagram @liveseasoned
Sarah Here:
Another week of job hunting and crafting in these parts! This week I designed, printed and put together these simple, but fancy-looking invites for a friend’s bachelorette party. I don’t know about you, but I love any chance to plan a party. When I lived in Philadelphia, my roommates and I would throw parties that would overflow out of our living room and backyard and into our alleyway (we had a pretty tiny house). We loved bringing a bunch of fun and beautiful souls into one place. Ah, parties. They make my heart grow. Just putting together these invites, finding a great airbnb, and activity planning pumps me up.
Pistachio and Orange Torrone
Orange is our ingredient of the season. You can find our full archive of zesty orange posts here, with everything from cocktails and cakes to candies and cleansers.
If you’re looking for a fun alternative to chocolates for Valentine’s Day, pistachio and orange torrone may be it! But I have to admit, it took me over two months to build up the courage to try making this recipe. Calder came across it in an issue of Bon Appetit while researching recipes for Thanksgiving. The ingredients were purchased, and I promised to make it for the holiday (Thanksgiving, not Valentine’s Day). Then I didn’t, and I didn’t make it for Christmas or New Year’s, but here we are and I’m finally making the sweet for my sweet!
Torrone is a nougat-type treat made from honey, sugar, egg whites, and nuts, commonly almonds. The nougat comes in two varieties, either hard and brittle or soft and chewy. This recipe is for the soft and chewy variety. Torrone is a traditional Spanish treat served at Christmas, and is popular in many countries that were previously under Spanish rule, including Italy, Latin America, and the Philippines. The combination of citrus flavor and pistachios in this pistachio and orange torrone recipe are characteristics of an Italian torrone.
Welcome February!
On the first Wednesday of each month we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us, with a particular focus on animal activity, celestial events, and our farmers’ fields.
Welcome February! Bye, bye January.. you suck. Am I the only one who thinks that? Hands down my least favorite month of the year, which makes February that much sweeter. Even though February is only a few days shy of a full month, it always seems to scoot on by. Here’s what’s happening this month:
Animal Activity:
I usually take a walk in the woods every day because it’s my job. Actually my job is dog walking, but they like to hike, I like to hike, to the woods we go! Anyway, this week I have been hearing and seeing a lot more bird activity. The squirrels started scurrying about more and more a couple weeks ago, but now I’m hearing lots of rustling in the bushes. If you focus your eyes you’ll notice little song birds hopping around in the brush. I also saw a few red-headed woodpeckers this week. It’s nice to feel like you’re not the only animal (besides the pups) in the woods.
Valentine Archives
Hey there sweethearts! With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we wanted to share/re-share some super simple projects for dressing up your space and celebrating the ones you love. And don’t forget to put on your favorite lovey-dovey playlist as you craft.
Instead of packing away the felt hearts I made as Christmas ornaments, I strung them on a piece of rustic twine to create a mini garland that greets guests right inside our door.
If you’re throwing a party, Sarah’s tassel and lace garland makes the perfect decoration and photo backdrop!












