I Know I've Been Putting A Lot Of Baked Goods Up Here But ...

This is possibly the prettiest looking food item I have ever produced :)

Just look at that swirl! These are Butterscotch Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies. I have yet to taste them, but they look absolutely delicious!
This is a little recipe from the Magnolia Bakery in NYC :) If you want the recipe, I can give it to you upon request. They aren't technically "brownies" when you think about it; they're more like "orangies".

I'm trying to decide what to make for the Annual Young Women's Camp Fundraiser Dessert Auction. Last year, I made flan which was delicious but under-appreciated (I know this because my parents bought it). At the time, I thought that flan was a pretty fancy dish that people would want to bid on, but I was wrong. I think it cost me more to make than it brought in.
So, this year, I am determined to make something that sounds so scrumptious that it will cause an all out bidding war!

What do you think?

Here is a list of some tasty sounding treats I am considering - please tell me which one you think will be the most popular:

Butterscotch Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies (pictured above)
Red Velvet Cupcakes (from scratch with the Hummingbird Bakery's recipe)
Black Bottom Cupcakes (chocolate sponge cake with chocolate chip cheesecake on top)
Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies (this is a three layer brownie)
Heath Bar Almond Crunch Cheesecake
Gooey Coconut Dream Bars (from Amy's Bread)
Zesty Lemon Bars (Also Amy's Bread)

So, tell me what you think! I will let Justin sample the Butterscotch brownies when he gets home to see if they are a real contender.

Another thought is: should I just make a dessert bread? Anyway ... I'm rambling.

What say you?!

The Hair, It Is A-Changing

Well, today was a momentous day. I have made a serious change... to my hair!

First, let me explain my hair history. I didn't have any hair at all until I was a year old, even then it was just fuzz. By the time I was two, I had pretty much a bowl cut just because it had finally grown down that long. Throughout the rest of my young life, my mom always had my hair cut with bangs. By the time I was 14, I had had enough of the bangs. I was finally old enough to have a say in what I looked like, and I decided to grow out my bangs.

It took me almost 3 years to grow them out.

Those of you who knew me back then know that I wore a headband everyday for years - this was because I was growing out my bangs.

So, ever since then, I have always kept to a similar haircut: Mid length and layered.

So, yesterday, I made a hair appointment and started thinking about change. I had contemplated various hair cuts over the years, but my highly analytical brain always talked me out of it due to the slow rate of growth if I didn't like it.

Today, I took the plunge:



With the talent of the lovely Tara (the only one I trust with my hair), I now have BANGS!

It was quite a shock at first. It didn't feel like it was my hair, more like I was wearing a nice wig :) But it is indeed my hair.
This is an after shot of the carnage. Almost half of my head was laying on the floor.

So, now and for at least a few years to come, I will look very different. I really do like it, but it will certainly take some getting used to. I feel so mod and fashion forward. Hopefully I can make the rest of my attire live up to the new do!

Another Week, Another Bread...

So, it seems that Monday has become bread-day.

I made a new bread last Monday, and I have made a new bread again this Monday :)

I've been looking through me cookbooks lately, and I was intrigued by Martha Stewart's recipe for Coca Bread.

Martha says that this is a traditional Spanish yeast bread (even though I couldn't find any pictures or recipes of it anywhere except in Martha's cookbook).

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup warm water (110F)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup milk, at room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter - plus more for the pan
• 1/4 cup honey, for drizzling

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine yeast and warm water; let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar, 4 cups flour, and salt. With a wooden spoon, stir in yeast mixture, milk, 3 eggs, and 1/2 cup melted butter until combined. Using your hands, work the remaining flour into the dough, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough isn't sticky.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until it develops a smooth satiny texture and springs back when you poke it with your finger, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, and place in a lightly buttered bowl, rotating the dough in the bowl to coat with the butter. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 400F. Generously grease two baking sheets with some of the melted butter. Turn the dough to a clean work surface, and cut in half. Place half of the dough on each prepared baking sheet, and press into two 8x17" rectangles. Allow the dough to proof(?) for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1 egg with 1 tbsp water, abd brush onto the dough.
4. Generously sprinkle the dough with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, and drizzle with honey. Bake until golden and crispy, about 18 minutes. Transfer the breads to wire racks to cool.

So, there's that. And here is the first picture of Coca Bread on the internet thus far :)
This bread is really more of a dessert or a sweet breakfast food. It is really sweet from the sugar and honey and it's absolutely fantastic when it's fresh and warm. It was nice and yeasty :)

I promise to write something about our actual life here soon. For now, it's just so much easier to enjoy the bread :)

Hollah for Challah!

So, I was inspired by a fellow blogger. She's one of the young women (I'm the 1st counselor in young women). She has started a brownie blog and it got me all excited; I was sending her all kinds of recipes which got me thinking about baking and it just opened the flood gates.
So, yesterday, I decided to make Challah.

Challah is the bread traditionally eaten on the Jewish sabbath. I was always intrigued by the name when I saw it in cook books, so I decided to take the plunge and make it!
It was a little different from other breads I've tried, but it came out really pretty! You actually separate the dough into three sections, roll them out like snakes, and then braid them. After you let it rise for about an hour, you beat an egg and brush it all over the bread.

The result of the egg wash was a nice shiny finish. With the braiding and the shine, it was really a very nice looking loaf. :)

I highly recommend it. If you're interested, here is the recipe I used and it came out great:

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp salt
• 8 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds (optional - I didn't use these)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water (110 degrees). Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, eventually kneading with your hands as the dough gets thicker. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 1 1.2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.
2. Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto a floured board. Divide in half and knead each loaf for about 5 minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep it from getting sticky. Divide each half into thirds and roll into long snakes about 1 1.2 inches in diameter. Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from the middle. Grease two baking trays and place a finished loaf on each. Cover with a towel and let rise for one hour.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each braid. Sprinkle with poppy seed if desired.
5. Bake at 375F for about 40 minutes. The bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Cool on a rack for at least an hour before slicing.

So, yeah. There it is. You should totally try it. Maybe you will become addicted to making bread like I have :)

Swedish Weave and Me

Well, I've started back up at an old hobby again after a long absence: Swedish Weave.

Most of the time when I tell people that I get a weird look and, "What's that?" In fact this little "show and tell" style blog was inspired by a friend of mine asking to see pictures of my newest project. Add that to the fact that I just got all of my off camera lighting equipment, and you get nice pictures :)

This one was my first ever large project. I was 17 years old and it took me 52 hours to complete (I know that because I kept track so I could use it as one of my Laurel projects for my Young Womanhood Recognition Award). It fits a twin size bed.

This one I made for my Grammy :) This is the first one that I made with a backing - it has yellow fleece on the other side. I still have to put a binding on the edge for her, but it is entirely usable. This one is lap quilt size.

This was my first project using this really neat lattice floss. It is actually cut out and graduates in color. This one went from blue to black. Yes, I know, it's Orlando Magic colors, but I just liked the lattice :) This one is also lap quilt size.

This was another attempt to use the cool floss. I had intended it to be a baby blanket - well that would have to be one small baby. I'm not sure why I thought it would be big enough, but it's not. I does look cool though.

This one is my latest project. I started it over a year ago for Justin. I had planned to give it to him for his birthday, and I did but it wasn't finished. Then, it just kind of got put aside and I forgot about it. So, last week I came across the bag it was in and decided to finish it. And finish it I did. This one is a bit bigger than a lap quilt, but still not big enough to wrap up in.

So, Taylor dear, my fellow wielder of yarn, I hope this answers your question. And I have supplied pictures of my newest blanket. It's the biggest one I've ever made. It's as tall as me (5'7") and as wide as my arm span (?") and I'm trying a graduated boucle yarn to give it a 3 dimensional look. It'll be fuzzy :) As far as the pattern, the brown row that is in the middle of this picture will be in between every other line (as it is in the picture) and the teal lines and the boucle lines will alternate.

I know every girl has their craft (I have too many to count now), but you should try this out. I really enjoy Swedish Weave.

Our First (Real) BIG Christmas Tree

Well, I was going to say this was our first tree, but two years ago, Justin bought me a 3 foot tall tree for us. So, this is our first tree as a married couple :)

We have both always known we wanted to do a real tree - both having come from typical fake tree using families. So, we went down to the tree filled tent in Titusville and started the hunt.

I really can't even tell you how happy Justin is about having his picture taken here :)

And I even got the guy who worked there to take our picture with our perfect tree.
I know. I'm a big nerd.

So, once we managed to fit it into the car and got it home, we spent the day covering it with lights and decorations. The result is a very traditional looking Christmas tree.

We have even started a tradition over the last few years of collecting ornaments form all the places we go. This picture shows some of them off nicely, including the conch shell angel we got in the Bahamas just 6 weeks ago.

The dog has been very curious of the tree (I know, he looks really creepy in this picture). I kept having to make him get out from under it while I was putting the lights on. Now that it's up, he rather enjoys having another bowl to drink from :)

All in all, he's fine with it now that it's up and he can lay on the tree skirt - which is a flannel blanket. The only thing he's unsure of are my cute-sy snowmen that I have on either side of it.
... He doesn't trust them. Plus I'm afraid he will eat them, so I've had to place them up higher.

We are both very happy with our tree, and we can't wait to get all the other decorations up so we feel really festive throughout the month :)

Megan's California Adventure!

I was lucky enough to be able to visit two of my best friends, Heather and Kevin, in Los Alamitos, California for a week! Isn't my husband nice ;)

I had lots of fun, despite what Heather says. The two of them were getting over colds, plus Heather has reached the "horrifically uncomfortable" stage in her pregnancy (ok, she didn't say it was THAT bad, but she was uncomfortable), so we didn't want to be traipsing around everywhere the whole time. We had a really fun time just hanging out which we haven't been able to due since they moved and abandoned me in Florida.

Heather helped me catch up on some movies I have missed - by the way you should so see Dan in Real Life if you haven't yet. It's amazing. We went to Seal Beach Main and shopped in all the quaint little shops. We had some terrific food throughout the week, including the most obscenely large slice of chocolate cake I've ever witnessed at a place called Claim Jumper. I even got my In and Out Burger fix :)

One day, we went to the Los Angeles Temple, which was really neat. It's such a big temple! It's also amazing how quiet that area is when the rest of the city is so loud. And how cool is it that I was able to go with a good friend of mine :)





Then we drove around Beverly Hills and saw a lady on a power chair with the most blinged out leopard print jacket I've ever seen. One day, we went out to Seal Beach and took some maternity pictures for her little girl that is due some time in the first week of December.

The week culminated with Heather's baby show thrown by some friends of hers at church. It was really a nice party.

And, no Heather isn't throwing up into that gift, I just couldn't resist posting this one ;) Sorry Heather. It was too good.

This is Heather with her mother in law and sister in law.

This is our one picture of the two of us together :)

And this is a sampling of the crowd from the shower.

I really did have such a good time. From the weather to the relaxation - it was everything that a vacation should be. Plus, I got to hang out with two of my favorite people. What more could you ask for? I loved California and I can't wait to take Justin back sometime. Plus, I need to meet that baby! :) After all, I helped build her swing.