Wrapping Up December: 2016

Ok, so I know it's 4 days into the New Year but......

December was way too busy and waaaaay too much fun to not wrap up 😁 This post is long and picture-heavy, and I have so much to discuss that I'm not even going to waste time on an introduction. Let's go!

That first picture is the garden on December 1st. The marigolds had finally had it, and so had pretty much everything else. I've still got some rosemary and some thyme alive, but that's it. The cold weather we had in Kentucky while the hubby and I were in Oregon even got my parsley. Darn it. 

Wrapping Up November: 2016

How is it December??

This year has simultaneously dragged on, and in the same inexplicable breath, flew by. Where did 2016 go? November was a pretty busy month for us, as it is for most with the Thanksgiving holiday. December is set to fly by too, as the hubby and I are leaving for Oregon in 15 short days!! I'm so excited, I haven't spent a Christmas in Oregon since Christmas 2009. It's definitely time to head home for a holiday!

But in November-

Homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream

+ Cinnamon Ice Cream Whisky Shooters!

My goodness, friends. That weekend? A blur. Is it over already? Where did it go? I feel like I've been going non-stop since Friday.

I know I say that every weekend, but this weekend was something else! What happened this weekend? Here goes!

Friday- The hubby and I had to drive to Columbus to meet with a neurosurgeon about my back. We got a speeding ticket on the way up. We cursed the holiday weekend and powered on to meet with the doctor. I really liked the doctor I met with, he was very professional and a lot of his patients are athletes. After studying my MRI, he's not sure if the problem is with my joint or with the actual disc. He agreed injections into the joint were the best place to start, or at least the least invasive choice. Twas' a good appointment and the hubby and I headed for home. We grabbed some sushi from Kroger, scarfed it down, and headed out to visit with the hubby's family. A little too much red wine was enjoyed, and we returned home around midnight.

Chicken Yakitori

It's that time of year again!

The weather is getting warm. Our days have been in 70's and 80's this whole week. Our forecast shows nary a night under 40º. It's those days when the sun is beating down on your shoulders and you have an ice cold beer in your hand that grilling is just... the best.

I mean, who wants to stand over a hot stove when the weather has just begun to break? I don't. The garden is just starting to grow and flowers are in bloom. If I can sit outside in a lawn chair and flip dinner every once in while, oh yeah, I'm gonna do it. 

Fruit & Cream Pops

One more popsicle recipe before summer is over, mmmmk? 

Kentucky is in the middle of a heat wave, so even though it's September and I've already switched out all my summer decor for fall, I want to share one more summer recipe. I'm going to miss summer and my freezer full of ready-made popsicles. At one point this summer, I had Raspberry Kiwi, Strawberry Chocolate, Raspberry Jam Pops, and these Fruit and Cream Pops all in the freezer at the same time. Such variety! It was like going to an ice cream shop. Or a popsicle shop. Hey, why aren't there popsicle shops??

6 Years

Warning- Picture heavy post.

Cookies and Cream Cake

Ah, cake. There are few things in this world as glorious as cake. In honor of the humble cake, here are a few of my favorite cake quotations-

The one everyone knows : "Let them eat cake!" Marie Antoinette 

Good advice: "When all else fails, bake a cake."

True life: "You only live once, lick the bowl!"

Cinnamon Sugar & Caramel Snack Mix

Holy addictiveness Batman.

This snack mix is good. This snack mix is great. This snack mix will make you want to do the happy dance around your kitchen as soon as it hits your tastebuds. This snack mix will make you smack the hands of all who come near that wonderful, over-flowing bowl of caramel-y goodness.

And the best part? It's super-easy to make. 

Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

It's finally time for...

The hubby's birthday cake!

This cake was a smashing success. It was gone in 3 days, and the only reason it lasted 3 days was because I asked the hubby to leave a piece for me to take pictures of. You know, when it was sunny and I had all this wonderful, natural light. Luckily, I was blessed with light on the 3rd day and by bedtime that night, the cake was a distant memory. Probably the fastest a birthday cake has ever gone in this house. I guess we really know what the hubby's favorite cake is now. 

This cake worked for everyone. I had bought mini-vanilla cupcakes at the grocery store for the kids, as I wasn't sure if they would eat the cake after they learned it was called carrot cake. We are talking, like, extremely picky eaters here. To my pleasant surprise, only 1 of them put up a fight over the carrot cake and by the end of the day, even he had tried it and liked it. You know it's good when the kids devour it. My niece said she wanted this cake for her birthday. Minus the walnuts, of course. Psssh, kids.

I'm not the world's best baker. I get really nervous every time I have to serve cake to a large crowd of people. Will it be dry? Will it taste good? Is it too sugary? Too dense? I get worked up every time, imagining all the ways the cake could go wrong. Does this feeling go away with time and experience? I don't know yet, because I was beyond nervous as we cut into this cake. Turns out I had nothing to worry about, because I was immediately met with rave reviews. The cake is super moist and flavorful. Not too dense. Not too sweet. Just flat-out mmm, mmm good. 

My other worry? It wasn't big enough to feed a crowd. This concern turned out to be a non-issue. The cake feeds plenty.

Everyone loved the frosting in the middle. The hubby's aunt exclaimed her excitement as soon as the first piece was cut (she's a frosting nut!). The maple-y, creamy frosting works amazingly with the cake. 

The hubby's family just loves to celebrate birthdays...

Putting candles on the cake.

My MIL and I lighting the candles.

Birthday boy blowing out his candles.

Instead of a crazy picture of the whole family, I thought I'd share one where we all look quite normal. You know, because we are normal :)

I'm afraid I have some bad news, and you all probably saw this coming. I'm taking next week off from the blog. Boooo. Yes, I realize I took 2 weeks off in September. The audacity. However, this is technically, technically, my honeymoon. Plus, after calling AT&T yesterday, we realized we have no international plan on our phones. Sooooo, the internet is not something I'm going to be using a whole lot of down in Mexico. I'm sorry to take so much time off this fall, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles. 

Ha ha. What a perfect foodie metaphor!

See y'all in a week!

Ingredients:

Cake-

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup canola oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup pineapple puree (I took 8 ounces sliced, canned pineapple and pureed until smooth)

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs, room temp

3 cups grated, peeled carrot

2 inches fresh ginger, grated

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Frosting-

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Butter and flour 2 (9 inch) springform pans. 

2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour through nutmeg. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

3. Combine oil through pineapple puree. Whisk until well blended. Mix in the vanilla. Mix in the eggs, one by one. Add the flour mixture, mix until well blended. Using a spatula, fold in the carrot and ginger.

4. Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting. 

5. To make the frosting, combine cream cheese through maple syrup in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer (you could make this in a stand mixer as well), beat until fluffy. Let chill for 20 minutes in fridge before using, to hold its shape.

6. To assemble the cake, frost one entire cake. Then place the second cake on top, and continue frosting the whole cake. Sprinkle the walnuts on top, if using. Slice, and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe by Rasa Malaysia.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Caramel Mocha Poke Cake

Classic White Birthday Cake

Pecan Pie Cake

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party

Lately: Fall 2014

Happy Sunday!

I thought I'd throw in an extra post this week, just for fun. Plus, it's Sunday morning and I don't have much else to do. The hubby worked last night and as such, is snoring lightly while he naps on the couch next to me. The dogs must be exhausted from guarding the house all night in the hubby's absence because they are passed out as well. Why not sneak in a little blogging time while the rest of the house slumbers? Here's what's been going on lately-

The hubby was synching his phone to the computer after the latest IOS update, and we discovered he had a bunch of photos from when my parents came to visit. I thought I'd share a couple that he took. This one is one of my favorites. Am I a baby? Or a turkey? I can't decide. 

Dad signing the Oregon plate at Hillbilly Hot Dogs.

Family baseball night. Dad making contact with the ball.

This picture makes me laugh, I'm not sure what I'm doing. The hubby commented that I look like I'm doing the Heisman poise. Maybe??

We've still got Sam the Cat living out back. He's gained a decent amount of weight, and still doesn't appear to be leaving the yard. He's become a backyard fixture, I've gotten quite used to him. He's such a good natured cat. I still wonder where he came from.

He loves the sun, he loves to play, and he especially loves rolling around on the cement of back porch. He's not so fond of the dogs, who still haven't learned proper cat socialization yet. Surprisingly, Gizmo is adjusting faster than Haloti. 

But Gizmo still loves to watch Sam out the back door and bark at him. I haven't shook him of that habit yet.

Well, it's fall here so the garden is pretty much done. I say pretty much because I still need to gather what green tomatoes are left and then compost the plants. I've turned what's left of the lettuce out to the wildlife, all the jalapeños have been picked, and my tomatoes look like this-

Pretty much just brown vines. I learned so much this year. I know when to seed next year. I know what I want to grow next year. I know what pests and diseases (ahem, the spotted cucumber beetle, blight, the tomato hornworm, to name a few) I need to combat next year. I'm armed with a list of helpful plants to grow around my garden to attract the right predators. I'm ready, I'm excited, and...  it's still October. In other words, a looooooong ways from Spring :)

One thing I learned this year was the best way to grow cilantro, for us. I started the summer with cilantro starts. I bought 3 and planted them in a row. This wasn't enough cilantro, as I exhausted that supply with 3 batches of salsa. Next, when I went to plant, I only dug 5-6 small holes and dropped a few seeds in each hole. This technique didn't produce enough cilantro for me either, I used it all up with 2 harvests. I finally took a large pot and dumped half a seed packet in the dirt. This resulted in a large, full pot of cilantro. Within 3 weeks. Next year, I'm going to plant a pot and then stagger more pots throughout the summer. The basil and cilantro were the herbs I went to the most. In fact, the herb garden is still going pretty strong-

It's not really starting to brown, either. I love that my herbs are still right out there. Well, except for the basil. I used all that up about a month ago. Which means, the bottom tier of my herb garden is just dirt. One might think it's just dirt, right? Nothing exciting about that. I thought that too, until I looked out in the yard one day and saw this squirrel-

He was furiously burying nuts in yard. All over the yard. I watched him for quite a while. Since I was inside, I wasn't able to get an awesome picture of him, unfortunately. I was shocked when I watched him jump right into the herb garden and start digging where the basil used to be.

Later that day, the hubby and I went to check out the herb garden. The hubby couldn't resist trying to find the hickory nut the squirrel buried in there. To our surprise, we did find it. At the very bottom. The bottom is about 2 feet down, by the way. We couldn't believe how deep the squirrel was able to bury that nut. Crazy! We re-buried the nut, and had a good chuckle over the incident. 

The hubby loves pugs, so I couldn't resist getting this picture to send to him. I was at my sister-in-law's house for her birthday, while the poor hubby had to work. She was dog-sitting for her friends who happened to be out of town. That's a big puggy smile, if you ask me :)

I participated in a 5k last weekend that was my very first trail race. I actually had no idea that it was going to be a trail race, because I'd ran it the year before when it was very much not a trail race. I learned the night before it was a trail race, and I'd chose to make the best of it. I hadn't done any training on trails, mainly because there are none around here, but my plan was to take it slow. Make the best of a bad situation, I told myself. And that's exactly what I did, because I ended up getting 1st in my age group and earning my first medal! It's been a goal of mine to earn a medal, so I'm very proud.

I think I mentioned that the hubby's birthday was last week, and we had the whole family over for cake and ice cream. Here's the whole crazy group, complete with vacant, unhinged gazes.

See what I have to deal with?  :)

I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Have a great week!

Extra-Crumb Coffee Cake

Ok, ok, I have food to talk about.

Later.

Let's talk "House of Cards". Does anyone else watch that? Who am I kidding? Tons of people watch it. You can add the hubby and I to that list. I'm utterly fascinated with the show. Love, love, love it! For those of you not familiar with the show, it's a highly fictionalized look at the inner workings of Congress and the Presidential Administration. It stars Kevin Spacey as the House Majority Whip who weasels himself into the Vice-Presidency with majorly manipulative plans to take on the presidency. The writing is superb, the characters are complex and full of nuance, and honestly, I can't stop binging on it. The hubby and I will soon be done with Season 2. If not today, then soon. Kevin Spacey is quickly working his way to my shortlist with his take on this character. I've never watched a show where I'm so acutely aware of how much I loathe the main character. Yet, I'm rooting for him. All the way. It's a full on love-hate relationship. I love to hate the guy. My brain realizes that this guy is seriously twisted, yet my heart says, "Wow, he's good!". I find myself secretly hoping the "good guys" lose. Who am I kidding? There are no good guys on this show. There's only the seriously corrupt and the sort-of corrupt. It really does make you wonder if the government is really like that. I'm sure it really is. The name of the show is so appro. A "House of Cards" built on [male cow poop] that could come tumbling down at any moment. Take one card from the wrong spot, and the whole sham collapses. "Breaking Bad" may have some competition on my list of best show and character development of all time.

Ok, now we can talk about Coffee Cake :)

This was made by special request for my mother-in-law. She was having her pastor and his wife over for coffee, and wanted to serve a cake. We finally settled on coffee cake. Coffee cake, forever and always, will remind me of Christmas. There wasn't a childhood Christmas morning to be had without a freshly baked coffee cake. Indeed, the smell wafting throughout the house as I baked this had me pining for eggnog and candy canes. Alas, it's not Christmas yet, it's not even close to Halloween! Oh brother. Coffee cake is similar to regular cake, in that I creamed the butter and sugar, mixed in eggs, mixed in dry ingredients and milk, etc. The difference is I creamed a lot less butter and sugar than I normally would. Waaaaay less. One of the biggest reasons I hear people say they hate coffee cake is because it's dry and flavorless. Here's the thing- it can be. Coffee cake is one of those baked goods where it's super-duper important not to over-bake the cake. Over-baking will leave you with dry, humdrum cake. Pull the cake at the right time though, and you will be rewarded. Therefore, it's very important to keep a vigilant eye on the cake when baking. 

I made sure to pick a recipe with plenty of crumb. The crumb is one of the best parts. I received a call late the afternoon that my MIL was serving this- the cake had been a hit. Not only did the pastor's wife proclaim it delicious and ask for the recipe, but their son ate 2 big pieces! I was pleased since coffee cake rarely makes any kids list of favorite baked goods. In fact, my MIL confessed to sneaking a couple of pieces before her guests arrived. Coffee cake success, if you ask me!

Now for some bad news. I'm going to be hit-and-miss here on the blog for the next couple of weeks. The hubby and I are headed to Minnesota at 4 am tomorrow, and as I mentioned before, we will be returning from Minnesota with my parents in tow. They'll be staying with us until the 23rd, so I imagine I won't be around the computer much until after then. That's just how the cookie crumbles, folks. 

Or maybe how the coffee cake crumbles. Oh, how I crack myself up! :)

Have a great week friends!

Ingredients (serves 9):

Cake-

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

Topping-

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 cup butter, cold

Icing-

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tbsp vanilla coffee creamer

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly coat a 9 x 9 square pan with cooking spray.

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour through salt. Whisk to combine.

3. In a larger bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Mix in egg. Mix in vanilla. 

4. Add half of flour mixture to bowl, and mix. Mix in half the milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Spread the batter into prepared pan.

5. In a small bowl, make the topping. Combine flour through butter. Cut into mixture with a fork or pastry cutter. Continue to mix until you have a coarse, crumbly mixture. Spread topping evenly over the cake.

6. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. I started checking my cake at 15 minutes, and pulled it at 18. Prepare icing- whisk powdered sugar and creamer together. Add more creamer to get desired consistency. Drizzle over coffee cake. Cool, then slice into 9 squares. Serve immediately. Store in an airtight container.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Sweet Anna's. 

Looking for other recipes to serve with coffee? Try these!

Mocha Swirl Muffins

Chocolate Chip Coffee Muffins

Cherry Pie Bars

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesdays, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party

Lately (Summer 2014)

I can't believe it's the last day of August. Tomorrow is September, summer is officially over, and all I have to look forward to is...

-the leaves changing color

-low humidity

-baking with pumpkin

-going to Cancun in October!

-breaking out the long pants. Hoodies. Boots.

-football

-chilly morning runs

-not having to run the air conditioner

-root veggies coming into season! 

-feeling the desire to turn the oven on again

-jacket weather

-apple cider

-Halloween

-all my shows coming back!

Ok. I must confess. I don't hate fall, and I might even be looking forward to it a little bit. But just a little bit. Don't worry summer, I will miss you! To gear up for the switch in seasons, I thought I'd share some summer happenings-

My little bro came out to visit in August. He arrived in Kentucky to relax for a week, right before he went back to school. He's a high school teacher and basketball coach. A little gearing up before the school year, if you will. We had a great visit, with lots of running, sight-seeing, Cincinnati Red-ing, swimming, and eating. Oh, plus an inordinate amount of video game playing. Ok, so I wasn't involved in that part! Haha. This picture was taken at The Yardhouse, a great bar and grill right next to Great American Ballpark. I mean, look at the size of those beers! Heaven...

The hubby and I are never ones to be serious!

Summer is watermelon season, and guess who loves watermelon? My crazy puppies. I couldn't cut into one this summer without being harassed. Come to think of it, they do the same whenever they hear a banana, a bell pepper, or a carrot on the cutting board. At least they're healthy monsters :)

Giz can't jump as high to get his watermelon, but he tries his best!

Sometime during this summer, I was out running by myself. It was a fairly hot day with high humidity, and the 5-miles I ran might as well have been 26.2. It was a miserable run, what with sunscreen-soaked sweat dripping and stinging my eyes every 2 seconds. But I pushed through, and as I was walking to my car, I froze. About 10 feet from my car was this baby bunny. He was so adorable. I'd barely taken a picture on my phone where there was a sudden rustling near me. Something sprang out of the bush close to where I stood, almost making me jump 10 feet in the air. It was his momma. She ran (hopped?) over to him, and they ran (hopped??) away. It was a sweet moment in nature, and it made melting away on that run almost worth it. Almost :)

Gizmo's selfie.

Haloti's selfie. I can't decide whose I like better!

A Chinese fortune I received. I normally roll my eyes at these silly, traditional scraps of paper stuffed inside those crunchy cookies, but I liked this one. In fact, I even put it in my wallet. A positive affirmation to keep on keeping on. 

Bib and goodies from our 7-mile race.

Crossing the finish line of that 7-miler. I'm so super-proud of that time. I've said it before, and I'll say it again- I am not a born runner. It's never come easy to me. In fact, I always tried to avoid sports involving running as a kid. Soccer. Basketball. Track. I stuck to volleyball. Minimal running. However, with the proper training, I'm slowly and steadily getting faster. I may never run a marathon, but I've come a long way since that girl that started out last September not able to run 1 mile. I couldn't feel better about my accomplishments this year.

A brotherly tongue bath is the way these pups start most days :)

To celebrate this holiday weekend, we had a family cookout at the hubby's sister's house yesterday. Everyone in the family has busy, full lives, so we really relish the time we all get to spend together. We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill, stuffed our faces with cupcakes, and even managed to take some family pictures. Oh, and if you thought I was the one to remember to take pictures, you would be wrong. So woefully wrong. LOL.

Happy Labor Day Weekend friends! I hope anyone and everyone is sending summer out with a bang. Because, before you know it, there will be pumpkin on this blog :)