From What I Can Remember

From what I can remember (because sometimes my mom does have to call or email me to straighten out the story), my family was never big into desserts/food that included marshmallow.

This is one reason why I was devastated to have such a late introduction to all that is marshmallow fluff.

Not the point of my story.

Anyway… there always seemed to be a bag sitting around in the pantry. Lonely. Untouched. Often ignored/forgotten unless there was absolutely nothing else sweet that my brother or I could get our grubby little hands on.

We’d scale the counter and then the cabinets like little monkeys until we could blindly reach on some shelf (that in all reality was probably not that high) until we’d feel the squishy bag of glorified sugar. Victory.

It’s true. Marshmallows were really only sought out in times of desperation. Or for hot chocolate. Duh.

Because we rarely had rice krispie treats. I will say rarely because I don’t honestly remember eating them as a kid except for at classroom parties. Chocolate chip cookies and scotcheroos were more our thing.

So when I stalked browsed Picky Palate a little longer for a second dessert after picking out the cinnamon roll sugar cookies to make for my friend’s Packet Stuffing Party, I stumbled across Cookies n’ Cream Rice Krispie Treats and decided to give them a go.

Five ingredients? Seriously? They look fantastic and easy. Sign me up.

But when it came time to making them, I got stage fright. Frantically, I looked at my roommate and said, “I’ve never done this before, what’s supposed to happen when I put marshmallows in the microwave? How do I know it’s done???”

My roommate- and it should be stated that her baking consists of Break n’ Bake cookies from the grocery store- looked at me like I was crazy.

“You’ve never made rice krispie treats before?”

“No.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. I feel as if I’m going to screw up the easiest dessert known to mankind. What do I dooooo?!?!?!” (insert whiney voice here)

She talked me off the ledge and I read the directions again and gave it a shot. So easy a 6-year-old could do make them. Which is probably why they do. Shame…So I took my crumbled mess of oreos (ahem- Target generic knock-offs), rice krispies (ahem- Trader Joe’s generic brand), and the sticky butter/marshmallow stuff and mixed it all together.

After seperating it into two smaller pans, I stepped back and assessed the situation.Everything really is better with sprinkles.

Oh wait… no, that’s not right…

Everything really is better with sprinkles AND chocolate.Yes.

Yes it is.

No wonder I was never one to request the original rice krispie treat. There wasn’t enough chocolate. That must be it.

Well at least we know how to remedy THAT.Delicious. Light and airy, but still had plenty of crunchy sweetness to satisfy the kid in me.

And let’s face it- the kid IS the head of the household. Always.

Yes, I may  have gone a little overboard with all the goods to take to Annie’s party of five. But people at work enjoyed them. My roommate seems to like me more now. And even that one male friend of mine is getting a few to enjoy.

See? I’m nice to boys on occasion. And yes, I’d like to keep that fact hush-hush.

In other news, and to sort of sum up my baking efforts, it is no surprise that I was very much motivated to run 4 miles on Monday and 4.7 last night. My usual 3 just wasn’t gonna cut it.

It’s all about the balance, folks.

What’s a childhood treat you missed the bandwagon on?

Along with rice krispie treats, we also weren’t big on making s’mores. Seriously- it was the marshmallow thing…

Back To My Roots

Happy Weekend, kids!

Currently, I’m entertaining the family and basically showing them how awesome my home, Chicago, really is.

Now, if some of you don’t realize, I haven’t lived in the Chicago area forever. Originally, I hail from Missouri.

More specifically, a small town.

On a farm.Yeah- that’s me… sweet boots, right? And no, I did not feed calves all the time when growing up. But my dad let me help out randomly that day when I was visiting/there for a wedding.

My dad raises cattle as one of his many things that he does to keep our family up and running. He’s one of those crazy people that works from the minute he gets up until the minute he goes to bed. Yeah- I wouldn’t do it either. Did I mention he was also a high school math and science teacher for 30 years? Seriously- jack of all trades.

But he does it all without complaining. And still found a way to spend plenty of time with me and my younger brother (better known as “kiddy one” and “kiddy two” if he’s referring to us).

He found time to do lots of things.

Like play pitch and catch with us (practice makes perfect).

Help us with math/science homework (gotta get you into college to make those big bucks).

Helped mom with dinner (the king of mashed potatoes).

Helped me move. Every single year of college. And to Chicago (even if they didn’t want me to go).

So thanks, Dad. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Happy Birthday!

So anyway, when the family trip to Chicago coincided with his birthday (pretty sure he does that on purpose to avoid any birthday surprises back home), it was clear, as a girl who loves to bake, I had to make something special for my Mid-Missouri guests.

Unfortunately, Mid-Missouri doesn’t really have any desserts that they’re “known” for. Or Missouri in general (Mississippi at least gets mud cake!). However, St. Louis does have their Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. And St. Louis is in Missouri.

Soooo… that’s close enough, right?

It’s another repeat of something I’ve done in the past, but hey- can you blame me? It IS delicious.I added chocolate. And sprinkles.

So that’s new…

Either way, we’ve got a schedule to keep and I should have been making breakfast about 15 minutes ago. But I just wanted to give my dad a little shout out and hope that his birthday (which was yesterday) was a good one!

Have a good weekend!

Another Excuse For Buttercream

We all have one.

Or two.

Or if you’re me, at least 5… maybe 6…

We’re talking about friends with babies. Not benefits. Babies.

And I’m totally cool with it.

Because I’m still working on keeping a house plant alive.  Does anyone really trust me with a child? Nope. Surely one day. But for now? I’ll live vicariously through others.

Like through my friend Jaime:Her little girl, Summer, just popped into this world to say hello a week ago. And I’m no expert, but find her quite a precious and adorable little thing.Because I often bring in treats to the office whenever I have extras from a baking spree, and because Jaime’s gone for a couple months, part of my bridal shower gift to her was to bring her baked goods throughout her maternity leave.

Really, it’s selfishness on my part. Because I’m just using it as an excuse to drop by more often.

Obviously, it’s all about me… right?

Fine. It’s not. It’s really about the cookies.I made these first for a reason.

Because I had a lot of malted milk powder hanging out from when I made the Chubby Hubby cookies. And there was this bag of candy staring me down:Robin Eggs that I got on clearance. It’s the last of the Easter candy that I had hanging around (no judgement about how little of the candy actually went into baking like originally planned, please).

I had to eat all the blue robin eggs. Because Jaime had a girl. So the blue had to go. And I’m not wasteful.

Anyway, if I had actually gone back and read the post about when I baked the chubby hubby cookies, I may have actually remembered how many cookies came out of it.This recipe could really be halved and no one would know the difference. Unless, of course, you’re cooking for a crowd. Or an entire baseball team. Then you should probably make the whole batch.

The recipe for the cookies was also the only one actually followed. When it came to the filling, I really wanted to make the oreo cookie knock-off filling. So I fired up the Google. And searched. And searched. And realized, without vegetable shortening, I was up a creek. Because this week was still a very busy one and a trip to the grocery store was not typed into my Blackberry calendar (aka wasn’t happening).Thank goodness I can always trust good ol’ buttercream to come through for me. Any recipe for it will do (I sort of always eyeball it)- just use at least a stick and a half of butter and a little more powdered sugar/less milk than you normally would as to get a thicker filling that won’t “smush” as quickly once you sandwich the cookies together.

It could all stop here if you really wanted it to. A classic sandwich cookie.Simple. Elegant. Satisfactory.

I am none of those things.

When it comes to baking, I’m a girl who lives in the excess.

*That rule also applies to pizza, wine, shoes and Vince Vaughn.

But anyway, when baking, why not go above and beyond?Because chocolate makes everything better.

As does crushed candy on top of your creation.

As does more chocolate.You can never have enough, to be honest.

It turns out quite pretty.And heavenly to devour when you’re in the market for a solid sugar rush.

Just make sure there’s a napkin involved. That is my disclaimer- I am not responsible for crushed candy getting all over your house.

Now that I’ve left you good and hungry, I must leave you. It’s time for yet another road trip to St. Louis. This maid-of-honor is SO not going to be the one late for the rehearsal dinner…

Toodles!

Oh yeah… I should probably go water that house plant before I leave…

A Little Sunshine

Sometimes it just makes us feel better.

Even if it’s raining as I write this.

And even though it’s been a crazy week and a half (does this explain my random absences?), looking on the bright side can sometimes be helpful. Or necessary. Depending on the day. Like today. As it continues to rain.

And rain…

Anyway… let’s try this, shall we?-I heart my house, although we’re still getting used to it. Creaking wood floors, the vintage-style (i.e. “tiny”) bathroom with the worst placement of the toilet paper holder ever, the sky light in my bedroom (ok, not getting used to it and trying to find a classy way to remedy the situation other than duct tape some cardboard up there). But all in all, it’s becoming “home”. Slowly but surely.

A few have requested it, and you’ll see a pic or two in due time. But there’s still much to be done. Patience…

-As much as I want to bronze it up on Lake Michigan in sunshine and 85-degree weather, the cool down into the low 70′s has been extremely beneficial for at least one thing. My lunch running dates with my buddy. We’re still not quite sure how far we’ve been running (seriously only about 20-25 minutes), but I’m loving the little break up of the work day and am possibly becoming a little more fond of trail running (never thought I’d say that- road runner for life, ya’ll!).

We have plans to run today, but it’s looking pretty dreary out there. Better luck tomorrow?- Working out a little during lunch also leaves time after work for things such as cruisin’ the new ‘hood with my new roomie. On Monday, we found a few interesting restaurants/late night haunts. Picked up some takeout menus. Mexican food until 4:00 in the morning? Where have you been all my life??? 

Then a bird pooped on her shoulder and that was the end of our walk. Win some/lose some.-Sometimes the internet stops working at your house (ahem, another reason I’ve been absent). When you get home at 10:00 at night and want to use it, this is a problem. Hopefully it’s just a minor issue that will be resolved soon. Otherwise, I guess it means I’ll just be that much more productive at unpacking the rest of the house tonight?

Bright side… breathe… there is a bright side with that one…

-Yesterday was my dear friend Annie’s birthday and I was invited over to her in-law’s place for dinner. They’re also the same family that took me in last Thanksgiving. I sort of love them. And love that her mother-in-law can make some ridiculously good fajitas.

I brought the cake.Obviously.

Annie requested a cookie cake this year. With my love of cookies and sugar, this was not a problem.  I just hope she doesn’t mind the simplicity- finding my way around the new kitchen was a little harder than I thought it would be (babysteps…).Happy Birthday, Annie!

The trip out to the ‘burbs to have birthday dinner with Annie and her in-laws worked out extremely well. Because I technically still have a lease at my old place, the opening was taken to swing by and throw down 25 minutes on the elliptical and walk a little on the tread while visiting with Mon (she’s holding it down at the complex still!) before showering off and heading to dinner.

Friends and fitness are important to me. I fit them in whenever I can.

Now, if only I could stop playing phone tag with a few other people…

*Oh and by the way, when it comes to comments:

- It’s true. I’ve mentioned it before, and yes, there are people out there that just don’t like fruit. I would be one of them. Or maybe I’m the only one. There hasn’t been an official headcount. There are exceptions to my “no fruit, please” rule. As in, think of the most nontraditional fruits you can. There’s a good possibility I’ll like them. Like avocados. Or coconut (nut or fruit? Jury is still out…). Or lemons/limes. And artificially flavored things like cherry twizzlers. But I’m thinking that probably doesn’t count. 

You have no idea how frustrating it is to go to a party or summer BBQ and the only dessert option is a fruit salad.

I mean, come on… you’ve GOT to be kidding me.

But anyway…

And I can’t believe so many of you have never been ghetto enough to do the wine bottle rolling pin! Pretty sure that’s all we used one year in college- none of us wanted to throw down the $5 to buy one. It made more sense to buy a bottle of wine for that much, use it for such, and ALSO get a drink while we’re at it.

Don’t ever question the logic of a college student.

You’ll only confuse yourself.

Have a good one!

*The cookie cake was made with Andrea @ Can You Stay For Dinner’s fabulous chewy cookie recipe (used 1 1/2 the recipe). She probably knows I stalk her recipes page often because her food is amazing. The icing is buttercream with a little milk added to make it easier to work with.

A Typical Easter

Hello all! As you read this, I am most likely on a highway somewhere between Mid-Missouri and Chicago. Again.

I could probably drive the route with my eyes closed. Which may or may not be any different than driving it in thunderstorms and tornado warnings…

Anyhoo, it was a great couple days back in my humble little hometown.

There were workouts with Jillian (The Shred was picked both times over Yoga Meltdown and No More Trouble Zones- mostly because I wanted the cardio factor). There was an afternoon walk with my mom. The sun did decide to peek around the clouds for a couple of hours and we jumped on the chance to get a little vitamin D in our otherwise cloudy weekend. And then there was the workout of lifting the Easter basket.Over and over again.

And yes, my contribution to the Easter festivities was Goose Island. Typical.

At least my dad enjoyed it.

There was also the food.

Oh my goodness the food.

Have I ever mentioned how I don’t like ham? It’s weird- I’m a fan of everything pork (hellooooo bacon!) but ham is not my thing. So my mom decided it also made sense to make a full turkey. With the ham.It’s like Thanksgiving and Easter all rolled into one!

No complaints. Except from my stomach when it was about to burst at the seams after dessert.Remember how we talked about our dessert “go-to”? These are my mom’s. Coconut Cream Crunch and Almond Joy Cake. Obviously I needed multiple servings of both this weekend.

Screw the candy. This is where it’s at…

Actually, I take that back. I’ll take the candy, too. 

Don’t think I just sat back and let my mom feed me the ENTIRE time. For Easter brunch, we all seem to join in on the fun.

My brother didn’t really lend a hand to the cooking like everyone else did, but someone needed to take the blurry pictures. Typical.

Anyhoo, after three solid days of catching up with various hometown friends and family, I’m a happy girl. With a happy tummy. And happy yoga pants. Happy yoga pants that should probably be worn for the next few days.

Can we classify them as business casual?

I’m not just being sent home with candy (weeeee!) and leftovers (yay!), either. As a product of a farming family, I’m also being sent home with a couple of pounds of sausage, ground beef, steak and pork loin.

Typical.

This is why there is a cooler in the trunk of my car 24/7.

And also why I’ll be firing up the Google in the next few weeks to find recipes and, um, how to properly cook a pork loin.

What? I think this is why I end up having so many meatless days- not only am I too cheap to buy meat, I’m also too lazy to learn how to prepare it…

Whoops. What a dapper bunch we are.

I insisted on taking pictures outside this time. My brother and I never stop to make fun of how many pictures we have in front of the family room entertainment center. I could create an album. It would be a hundred pictures of various outfits and slow height growth (or in my brother’s case, rapid height growth).

But then it started to rain. Again.Typical.

Have a great Monday! Wish me luck that this drive back to the Chi isn’t nearly as treacherous as the drive out…

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut

My mom’s favorite candy by far is Almond Joy.

Who can really blame her? The sugary coconut-y filling goodness. The almonds. The chocolate. What’s not to love?(And who doesn’t love a pot of butter?  Oh geez…)

Actually, I used to not like Almond Joys. At all. And my brother and I would get SO MAD when mom came home with a bag of almond joys for the house. Because mom knew we didn’t like them and they’d be all hers.

See how smart she is?Over the years, this changed. I grew to love coconut. And now I’ll rarely go more than a couple days without. I’ll sneak it into oatmeal or every other dessert I make.Mom taught me well. 

She also attempts to teach me other things. Like how to stuff a turkey (one of these days I’ll pay full attention and not laugh when a finger gets sliced during the demonstration). And that you should always line your cabinets with shelf paper in a new apartment before using them because only god knows who’s been there (I did half of them after the last move- that’s progress, right?).Granted, those things I’m still not quite sold on, but hey- she always has my best interest at heart. And I’m lucky to have her.

My brother and I may look across the dinner table at each other with raised eyebrows on occasion. Or roll our eyes while on the phone with her as she gives us a “friendly mom reminder”. But this only makes me all the more thankful. Because I love that I’ve seemed to inherit her quirky ways. And her genuinely positive outlook on life. And her sincere kindness (although an ex or two may debate this…).But anyway, because one thing I know for sure is that my mom does not make a road trip to Chicago without a bag of almond joys to share in the car, I decided to make something of similar fashion to share with her as the family all travels to meet up in St. Louis.

Almond Joy Brownie Bars!I was a little surprised at how fudgy they turned out- given the choice, I prefer a brownie that is the perfect balance between fudgy and cake- a perfectly chewy brownie. In that regard, I was nervously watching these babies cook up. I prefer cupcakes and cookies because of this, too- soooo much easier to tell when they’re “done”.However, the coconut/sweetened condensed milk combination absolutely MADE the brownie. I licked that particular bowl clean, too. Not kidding. My stomach hurt afterwards.

But anyway, I hope she enjoys them. 

Happy Birthday, Mom.I know I’m a handful, but thank you for everything you do. I love you!

My “Go To”

Everyone has that one thing they use as their “go-to” for parties/gatherings/holidays. Something easy to make, travels well, and is easy to serve to the masses.

This is mine.Scotcheroos. You’ve probably seen one version or another floating around on the interwebz at some point. The reason is because they’re delicious. And amazingly addicting. My friend calls them “butterscotch-covered crack” and of all the things I’ve ever made, this is the one that is most requested.

I even made them as part of the dessert when I made my friend Jaime’s wedding cake.  And yes, I do believe rice krispie hybrids can be considered fine dining.

But a lot of people don’t know my secret.

It’s one of the easiest things I know how to make.This may damage my credibility as a baker, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take.

The thing I like most about this recipe is that it’s about 20 minutes start to finish. And the majority of it happens in one big pot.

Also… there are measurements. But if you decide not to follow them precisely, you won’t be penalized. In my case, I up the peanut butter and decrease the sugar. Just a little. Or a lot. Depending on the day and mood…My mom makes this a lot to “have around the house”. Which is sort of silly because it doesn’t stick around the house very long. My brother takes out a row of them at a time. Or at least he used to when I was still around before moving. Pretty sure there’s a black hole at some spot in his 6’7 frame. Silly boys and their metabolism.But now that I’m thinking about it… I may have taken a row of them down at a time, too.Did I mention my sugar tolerance used to be amazing?  It still is… but now I’m buzzing if I have two. You’ve been warned.Scotcheroos

Again, I will stress that approximations are totally allowed. They’ll still turn out better that you’ll imagine. Promise.

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups rice krispies

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Mix corn syrup and sugar in small saucepan and heat until it comes to a boil and sugar dissolves. Stir in peanut butter. Then stir in rice krispies a cup at a time (as to prevent cereal flying everywhere). Dump it all into a coated pan and press to make solid.

Melt chocolate and butterscotch together. Spread over top of rice krispie mixture.

*I also melted a little more butterscotch in the saucepan I was already using. And drizzled it over the top of the chocolate. Because I’m fancy like that.And thanks for all the good thoughts about the leg! Right now we’re not “freaking out”. I’m not worried about the leg because I know I’ll be good to run by race day- it’s just going to be ugly.

And this is all requiring me to be patient. Which is hard. Because that’s something I generally AM NOT when it comes to such things.

Hopefully your Tuesday goes well. However, if it doesn’t, don’t be upset. Tuesdays hardly ever do. That’s just the way it goes… :pLater everyone!

What My St. Louis Friends Were Hiding

Good morning, kids!

Sleep well? Stay out too late? Haven’t gone to bed yet?

Any answer is acceptable. It is the weekend, after all…

I slept fabulously (thanks for asking).

It’s a good thing, too- today is a busy one. I’ve got only a little bit until I’m picked up by Megan to travel to Madison, Wisconsin to see Holly the Healthy Everythingtarian! We had been discussing a road trip for a while now. Sure, there’s snow everywhere, but it’s almost perfect timing- we’re all starting to get a little stir crazy with all this crazy weather.

Anyway, since Miss Holly is nice enough to put up with us Chicago gals for the next 24 hours, we thought it would be a good idea to come with gifts in hand. 

I’ll use any excuse to bake a little more this week.

A few months ago, at a party, I was in a circle of people who had pretty much all met for the first time. When I said I was originally from Missouri, one girl grabbed my arm dramatically and said, “oh my god, since you said you were a baker, do you make ooey gooey butter cake, like, all the time???”

Huh?

“Ooey gooey butter cake.  I heard it’s a St. Louis thing.”

Huh?

This blew my mind.  I’m not from St. Louis (I’m from the middle- on the map there are a bunch of trees and rivers- that would be my hometown!). But still- a good majority of my college friends ARE from St. Louis. And I’ve never heard them talk about this thing that sounds too good to be true.

I do recall an old roommate’s mom bringing a buttery cake to go as a side for breakfast once. But just the once. What gives, St. Louis?  Why are you hiding this from me???

So I googled. Because that’s what you’ve gotta do when something bugs you. From what I can tell, it traces back to the 1930′s as an “accident” in the kitchen. And it’s sort of like Chicago’s deep dish- there are a few contradicting accounts/debates of who came up with it first.  Ooooohhhh… it’s a mystery!

Anyway, I emailed Megan the recipe Smitten Kitchen uses and said “it’s so on!”  But I went back to it later on and realized I don’t really have the time on a Friday night to be messing with yeast and dough rising and all the time that would have to go into the cake. And I recalled the girl at the party discussing how you can use yellow box cake mix.  So I googled more.

And finally, I found the adaption she was talking about.

I really do want to try the recipe from scratch one day. I’m not one to often use box mixes because I enjoy baking and prefer to do it from scratch because it’s the “process” of baking that I love so much. But if you’ve only got an hour (seriously, it doesn’t take any longer than that start to finish), this recipe that was a guest post on Confessions of a Cookbook Queen is great. Check it out!

The two main ingredients I had to acquire:

Grabbing the “lower fat” version was a total accident. I was in a rush last night when I went. I also went to pick up the ingredients over lunch, but sadly left them at the office.  I bet the cream cheese I left at work was the right kind…

But to be fair, I will be raving about this dessert at the bottom of the page. So maybe it doesn’t matter? Because I’d probably buy the lighter cream cheese again if it’s going to continue to yield fantastic results…

The cake mix portion makes the “crust” and the cream cheese mixture is the “filling”. According to the recipe, you bake it all for about 40-45 minutes. I pulled it out just shy of 40 because it had the dark edges as they said it would:Then, let it cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

But if you’re like me, you get nervous with cakes.  I’m always terrified about things not getting “done”. This also applies to cooking meat- I slice the crap out of chicken before I’m satisfied that it’s fully cooked.  You can never be too careful…

Plus, I figured it’d be easier to transport in bars. So I broke out cupcake liners and sliced it up like little pastries: This also meant I could try it. Which is mandatory- I’m not about to tote along a recipe I’ve never tried before and serve it to someone. That’s too dangerous.

So I ate a piece. And another one. It’s ridiculous how good this is. So rich. And buttery. And sweet. I used to be one to believe that no true dessert was actually dessert unless there was chocolate involved.  Things like this are really going to start changing my mind…

According to Wikipedia, this cake is also served as a breakfast pastry (which is what my roommate’s mom served it as). Oh St. Louis.  You kids really know how to rock out breakfast.

Now I have to go call some of my STL girls and yell at them for never turning me on to this cake…

Not Until December

That’s what I said over and over.

I refuse to put up my Christmas tree before December.  Not sure why.  Maybe because when I was little, we didn’t put the tree up until two weeks before?  Who knows…

So anyways, here I was swearing against it.  Over and over.

What did I do last Saturday?

I put up my tree.

My thought process was this…  Clearly, I have time.  I am not going out tonight.  There’s nothing else to do while I watch this movie.  I’d rather not throw it up in a rush if for some reason I’m crazy busy the next week (doubtful, but anything’s possible).

So I put it up while watching the movie Grown Ups.  Errr… tis the season?

Sad tree:Yeah, I have to straighten it with a magazine… shhhhh!

Bedazzled tree:It looks pretty much the same as last year, just in a new spot due to the acquirement of bigger furniture.  With a few extra ornaments.  And lights.  Because I live on the belief that the more glitter there is, the better.  This applies to every aspect of my life but my hair.  In my opinion, glitter does not go in one’s hair unless you’re on the way to prom.  Or if your place of employment involves a curb. 

There are exceptions to every rule.

Speaking of Christmas, this is an example of the goods that have been coming in:I considered sharing it.  But then I took a bite. 

No. I’m not sharing this one.

I had a permanent smile for the rest of work.  And even when I entered the gym later on.

The sugar was most likely the fuel for my decent 2 miles at an 8:20 pace.  And then the 25 minutes on the elliptical. And ab work. 

Maybe I should have cookies like that every day.  Even if it cancels out the time spent at the gym.  Worth it?  Very likely.

I’m so happy it’s Thursday.  It feels like last weekend was AGES ago, but at the same time, this week of work has flown.  How is that possible?  Let’s hope it continues.

When do you start getting into the “holiday spirit”?  I feel weird saying that it really doesn’t affect me much until the week before.  Most likely because I celebrate Christmas in Missouri and so I don’t feel like it’s really here until I’m planning my trip…

The Best of Intentions

Hey kids!  How was the weekend?  If you missed it, mine was full of crappy runs and late night meals.  After such a busy Friday and Saturday, it was nice to have a long Sunday to do whatever I wanted.  I had planned to break down and use that pumpkin I picked out from the pumpkin patch.

It started out innocent enough.Well.  Sort of.  I’m not a big fan of knives.  They terrify me- so I was not too keen on getting out the biggest one I own.  I am convinced my fear of them comes from a story my aunt told me about how when I was a baby in a high chair and I made a lunge and grab for a big knife by the blade.  Everyone in the room yelled and ran towards me.  As a child, this can be a very traumatic experience.

What’s something you’re scared of?  Aaaaannnnndddd… go!

Because of this fear and a few graphic visualizations, I made sure a few friends had 911 on standby.  The pumpkin was big.  Which caused bakeware issues.  But I made it work and had it roasting in the oven in no time.

It took almost 90 minutes.  Geez.

The roasting was the easy part, though.  Getting it into puree form was a mess and a half.  Pumpkin is really moist (I really hate that word, by the way), so trying to get the moisture all out was painfully messy and time consuming.And after all that, I had to throw in the towel.  Because it just did not taste right.  Or ever achieve a decent consistency.  Part of this, according to my friend, may be because the pumpkins were raised for carving and not eating (at a different size it might have tasted better?).

Either way.  All that work… for nothing.  Ugh. 

At least it was a learning experience.  Now I know I’m not cut out to bake pumpkin.  And also to always have a backup ready!Just because I had a 3-4 hour mishap, doesn’t mean I wasn’t giving up on the end goal! 

The end goal being sugary goodness, of course. 

I made white chocolate pumpkin blondies thanks to a recipe I found from The Girl Who Ate Everthing’s blog. 

The end result?  Light and lovely.  Honestly, I was expecting them to come out a little more dense and chewy (which I always prefer).  But they were still very much delish and I would make them again. It’s hard to find fault in anything that includes white chocolate.

Today’s task is trying to give most of them away- I cannot be trusted with a full pan of blondies laying around.  That is for certain.

I guess it’s time to dive into my morning.  Peace out, kids!