broccoli cheese soup

as it is starting to get colder, it's time to break out the soup recipes! I decided this year I'd try something a little bit different: vegan broccoli cheese soup. I've had the recipe saved for over a year and finally decided it was time to make it.

this recipe calls for the ingredients to be blended together after they've been cooked. usually, I avoid recipes that require the blending of hot foods because I fear that I'll put everything into it, and it will explode all over the kitchen. trust me, get over the fear and....buy an immersion blender!

I'm kidding; I survived putting everything into the blender: the secret is to make sure the lid has the removable piece taken out so the pressure doesn't build up.

as for the recipe, I definitely stole it from A Beautiful Mess. they added cayenne pepper into it, but I decided to garnish mine with red pepper flakes instead. I still wanted a little bit of a kick, but I didn't have any cayenne pepper. you make due with what you've got in your pantry!

ingredients:
1-2 tables spoons of oil of choice (I used olive)
2 heads of broccoli, chopped
10-12 baby carrots, chopped
2-3 Yukon gold potatoes (or 1 large Russet potato), cubed
1 shallot
2-3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup cashews
32oz veggie broth
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 cup non-dairy milk of choice
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes for garnish

instructions:
1. add the oil to a pan and sauté the broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and cashews for one minute
2. add the shallot and garlic clove and sauté for another minute
3. add the veggie broth and cook until the veggies become tender and the potatoes can be easily cut - about 15-20 minutes
4. add the nutritional yeast and blend
5. add non-dairy milk and seasonings
6. garnish with red pepper and enjoy!

stay warm out there and eats lots of soup!

traveling with pups

we both have two dogs (a big & a little), and we both enjoy going places and really hate to leave the pups behind. in our journey of pet parenthood, we decided to figure out some unexpected (and expected) places you could take your pets and share those places with you! (note: we have actually tried all of these except one)

there are some things to consider before hitting the road with your pup:
1. it never hurts to call the store ahead of time - just to be safe. some locations might have different policies due to management.
2. bring any needed necessities for the visit - treats, leash (always!), and water (if you're in it for the long haul).
3. recognize how your pet acts is certain situations and know that you are responsible for how your pet acts in that store.

places to bring your pup:
1. Any and all pet stores (Petsmart, Petco, Earthwise, etc...)
keep in mind there will be other animals in the store so if your dog is hell-bent on catching that rabbit in the cage, you might want to consider leaving them at home because no matter how hard they go after the glass, they just won't catch it

2. Lowes, Home Depot, and Menards
since we tend to do a lot of DIY projects, we frequent these stores pretty often. personally, our pups have only travelled to Lowes and Home Depot, but it looks like a Menards adventure might be in the future.

3. Hobby Lobby & Michaels
more DIYs involve more trips to craft stores...

4. Atwoods, Ace Hardware, & Tractor Supply

5. Lush Cosmetics
we have yet to try this personally because both locations we frequent are inside of a shopping mall

6. Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods

7. Restaurant patios
some of our most frequented places in OKC are:

1. McNellie's 
2. Barrios 
3. R&J Supper Club
4. Anchor Down
5. Picassos

since we're on the subject of traveling with pets, we thought it would also be helpful to know the places that will give your pups special treats when stopping for that snack or caffeine during a road-trip
1. McDonald's
sure it's just a little baked biscuit, but they sure seemed happy & were less concerned about trying to grab my french fries

2. Starbucks
ask for a puppichino and wait for the photo-op (whipped cream + dogs is always a good time)

3. Cain's
I mean the restaurant is named after a dog....

4. Dairy Queen
pup cups are a summer favorite for my pups

5. Chick-fil-a

6. Sonic
once again, pup cups for the win!

in doing a little bit of research, I also came across two really great resources for figuring out dog-friendly places
1. BarkPost.com - not only does this talk about dog-friendly places, but it has many different blog posts about all things dog!

2. Dogvills.com - this is a comprehensive list broken down by state that was uploaded in January 2018.

happy adventuring with your pup(s); enjoy the dog days of summer!

turmeric latte - trendy & tasty!

as I have recently discovered the world of rainbow lattes and making them at home, I came across the beautiful thing known as golden milk. golden milk is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: gold milk. it's made from any type of milk, turmeric, additional spices, and some type of sweetener. it is warmed up and served in latte-esque fashion.

fast forward a few weeks later and I'm a turmeric-latte-loving fool. I want to be complete honest about my initial thoughts on gold milk: I was highly skeptical. a spice that is traditionally used in curry dishes used in a latte? hard pass. turns out I was totally wrong. it's actually so delicious and has many health benefits!

to name a few: turmeric (or the active ingredient known as curcumin) has been proven to help with inflammation, digestion, neurological health, and even skin disorders.

in my journey to make my own rainbow lattes, I knew I needed a yellow recipe. I came across this recipe by Ambitious Kitchen and decided to give it a try.

ingredients:
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup vanilla almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond-cashew blend)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I forgot to add this the first time, but it worked out since the milk was vanilla flavored)
1/2 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon + extra for sprinkling on top

instructions:
1. throw it all in a pot & bring to a boil
2. pour it in a cute mug & enjoy!

as a little bit of advice to increase the inflammatory properties, the articles I read said that adding black pepper increases the absorption of curcumin; I personally haven't tried it yet, but it might be something I add in future golden milk adventures!

hope you enjoy! 

p.s. be extremely careful with getting this mixture on things - it stains!

first post + watermelon pickle recipe

welcome to 2509! 

we've decided to open up our platform to other areas in addition to our beginning area: instagram. you can like us on facebook & subscribe to receive our posts via email in the right sidebar.

while instagram will be our main page for content and posting, we wanted to have a place to share longer posts like recipes, tutorials, ideas, and anything else we want to chat about.
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to get started here's a tiny bit of background about us: we're pretty average people trying to do big things. 

cody lives in OKC (Oklahoma City) & holly lives in LFK (Lawrence, KS).

we decided to put our heads together and create something that represents us both individually & as a collaborative.

2509 is us - it's as simple as that. 

now that the introductions are out of the way - let's have our first recipe!
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~ watermelon rind pickles ~

recipe by alton brown & altered by holly scheirman

as I've been cooking for myself for a minute now (okay, maybe a couple of years), I've come to discover I really don't like to waste food. usually I can give parts to my rabbit or compost it, but I decided after buying some mini-watermelons that I wanted to try to do something with the entire thing...

*googles: what to do with watermelon rind*

luckily, I'm not the only person who has searched that. there were many-a-recipe about pickling watermelon rinds.

I stubbed upon Alton Brown's recipe and decided to make it work with some minor alterations (AKA no ginger + no star anise):

Ingredients
Rind from a personal size watermelon
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flake
1 teaspoon allspice berries

Instructions
1. Scoop out melon (eat melon!) leaving about 1/4-1/2 inch of red flesh.
2. Peel off outer green with vegetable peeler and then cut into 1-inch cubes.
3. Bring the apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and spices to a boil over medium-high. Hold the boil for 60 seconds then carefully add the watermelon. Return to a boil and turn off the heat. Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 30 minutes.
4. Move pickles to jar & let cool on counter for 1.5 hours.
5. Refrigerate overnight & enjoy

the final product was so much better than I anticipated - I mean truly, who knew you could pickle watermelon rinds? now you do; you're welcome.

I have enjoyed mine as a snack, in salads, and even on avocado toast. the possibilities are endless! how would you enjoy your watermelon pickles?

thanks for reading - make sure to follow us on the social medias & subscribe to our posts. 

see ya next time!