Weekend

John and I had another fun weekend. Last week, we had so much fun getting lost in St Louis, our itsy bitsy town got hit with a tornado. We spent all week fixing up our house, getting it back to its normal state again, John spent a whole day putting back lose shingles on our roof, while I took advantage of the rain and planted wild flowers where I could. This is something you have to know about me, I have such a green thumb it is disturbing. LOL I will elaborate on this later. :)

So since we spent all week working on our house, John and I decided to go out of town in the weekend and visit our favorite stores and get lost... just go where we feel like going. We even went to a golf store just because... and I think John really wants to start golfing. He thought he was going to fool me by telling me he just wants to go in the store because he thought it would be fun to bother salesmen. 

He is just that way. When there's something he wants to do but he isn't sure if it would suit him, he starts acting crazy and I think it's funny so I just let him be. It is entertaining. 

We went to the Apple Store for an important appointment at the Genius Bar. I have not gone to that place and been treated like a fool even when I am acting like one. NEVER! Since we bought our Mac computers, I don't think we will buy anything else or from somewhere else again. We have had a bad experience with Best Buy with a PC computer {a couple of years ago} and we have vowed since then we are not buying anything from Best Buy or buy a PC ever again. I am just really impressed at the Apple customer service in-store and online. They don't leave questions un-answered. We went there for something that Apple Care or my warranty didn't cover but guess what, they gave me 100% service for free that could've cost us around $700! No questions asked. They didn't make me look like I was crazy either. They said they will call in an hour and a half after they have serviced my laptop. I didn't even take an hour and a half and I got the call. When I got back in the store to pick up my computer, it was there, it was ready and in perfect shape. :) They even took John's iphone and checked it out and showed him how to use some of the things he didn't know about his iphone. That totally made our day!!! : )

The rest of the day was spent walking around. We had iced coffee and fraps at Starbucks, Auntie Anne's pretzels, Orange Julius, looking at Adidas Originals and Nike+ shoes, some more eating... store hopping and a little bit of shopping. John and I love Adidas and Nike shoes. One thing I love about my husband is that he knows why some shoes are expensive, and some are not. So when it comes to our mootsies tootsies, we buy only what feels good and pretty too... and if they are a bargain, that makes it even better. :)

I don't really remember what we bought, it was all mostly for John. He is getting ready for marching season, and he's got a book to write and a whole lot of great things are getting ready to happen career-wise. I'm wanting to make sure he is dressed and well-equipped for the part. :) These past few weeks I have been making sure John is taken care of. He's got a lot going on in his head these days and I know that can't be always fun. So these fun weekends we've been having has helped him keep his balance between work and life outside work. 

We don't head home until we are so tired our feet hurt. :) It's just nice to be tired from having so much fun sometimes. It feels good!

We got home that night and had enough time for milkshakes before going to bed. And started a countdown until we start all over again. :)

When You Get a Bad Chocolate Craving...

Make this!

I am not one to count calories, I don't diet either... We only live once, why waste my time stressing over what I should and should not eat. When I want to eat something, I just go ahead and make it or go buy it. Last night I had a really bad craving for chocolate, but I didn't want to dive into the un-opened package of Oreo Fudgees in my pantry. (Those are really good by the way! They are good dunked in coffee.) So I looked through my overloaded [with recipes] clipboard. And down at the very bottom of the pile, I found a recipe I had printed out months ago!!! 

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE. I remember I printed it out because one of the Food Network cooks made one, but I didn't like it because she put spicy stuff in it... and I like my chocolate cakes sweet and decadent, NOT SPICY. So I scoured the internet for a recipe (without spicy things of course) and found one that got lost in the pile and got forgotten. 

So last night, when I found it, I just had to make it. I even drove in the rain to get the makings for it. I didn't need much. I just needed butter because I had used up all my butter to make swiss meringue buttercream to store in the fridge for future use. :)

Here's another look at this chocolatey heaven I made... John ate it his with moose tracks ice cream.  He was very very pleased. And I especially LOVED it. Sure gave me my chocolate fix!

Click here for a printer-friendly version of the recipe.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Adapted from About.com

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Oven: 350 degrees

Cake:

8 1-ounce squares coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

¾ cup sugar

3 large eggs

½ cup cocoa

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Glaze:

3 1-ounce squares coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate squares

1 ½ Tbsp unsalted butter

1 ½ tsp milk 

1 ½ tsp honey

⅛ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a 7-inch tart pan, in my case I used an 8-inch spring form pan. You can use any pan that has a removable bottom. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray the paper. 

Melt 6 oz of chopped chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. 

Add sugar and salt and reduce heat to low. Cook while stirring for about one minute, until sugar starts to dissolve.

Remove pan from heat. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. The mixture will look smooth and glossy. 

Use mesh hand sieve to sift cocoa into mixture. This prevents lumps. Whisk until the cake batter is smooth

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes. The center of the cake should be just firm to the touch or it springs back to the touch. Be careful not to overbake the cake or it will come to dry. 

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Inverts the cake on a plate.

To prepare the glaze, melt 3 oz of chopped semisweet and 1 ½ Tbsp of unsalted butter in the same saucepan you used to make the cake. When melted and smooth, remove the pan from the heat. Add milk and honey and vanilla and stir until smooth and glossy. Let the glaze cool for 3 minutes before pouring it on to the cake.

Pour all of the glaze in the middle of the cake. Use a silicone or rubber spatula to spread the glaze evenly over the cake allowing the glaze to evenly run down the sides. 

Serves 6 

Hope everyone has a great week!!! :)

Pineapple Upside-Down Coffee Cake

Hi all! Here's something I want to share with you... I made this yesterday and I believe it is better than the pineapple upside-down cake that I'm used to. I do love the butter cake recipe I have but this recipe has more depth to it than I expected. Flavors are more pronounced too. :) I took a big bite of it yesterday and I was pretty impressed. 

Pineapple Upside-Down Coffee Cake

Adapted from BHG Magazine

Prep: 25 minutes

Bake: 35 minutes

Oven: 350 degrees

Cake Topping:

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

12 canned pineapple rings in juice, reserve ½ cup of juice 

Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

½ cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Maraschino cherries

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter or spray the bottom and sides of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set aside. For pineapple topping, melt ½ cup butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. Stir in 1 cup brown sugar. Bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently. Pour into prepared pan. Drain pineapple rings, reserving ½ cup juice. Fit 12 rings into bottom off pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together, flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. In a large mixing bowl beat softened butter, granulated sugar and ½ cup brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Add eggs; beat until combined. On low speed, beat in half of flour mixture. Pour in reserved ½ cup pineapple juice and the milk; beat until combined. Beat in remaining flour mixture and vanilla.
3. Spread butter evenly and carefully over pineapple slices in pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan or wire rack 10 minutes . Place a serving tray or baking sheet over cake; carefully invert. If any pineapple sticks to the pan, gently replace on cake top.

Printer-friendly version of the recipe here.

A few notes to my friends who are just now starting to bake:

• Preheating your oven to the required temperature is a very crucial part in the baking process. If you want your baked goods to turn out like how you see them in the recipe photos, preheat your oven. Better yet, get an oven thermometer. There are all kind available out there. Residential stoves are generally not accurate compared to commercial ones. So having an oven thermometer will put you on the safe side.
• When a recipe asks for packed brown sugar, don't press the sugar down onto the measuring cup so hard, it won't come out when you dump it into the batter. I remember doing this when I was learning how to bake. But of course, I was 10 years old. I packed all that brown sugar in the measuring cup like I was making sand castles! lol
• Stirring frequently and stirring vigorously are two totally different things. This is really important especially when you are making a syrup or melting sugar. When a recipe asks for you to stir frequently, it means to stir making sure that there are no sugar stuck to the sides of the pan ensuring that all the sugar is melting evenly and there is not a crust of unmelted sugar left on your pan when you're done. Also, stirring prevents the sugar from burning. When you stir sugar vigorously over heat, you are going to get crystalized sugar instead of the required melted sugar. ; ) So be gentle. 

Happy baking!!! :)

...and Moving On!

Hi all! Well, I finally got some much needed sleep. It took me a while but at around 2 AM, I had to just tell myself to let it all go and go to sleep, which I believe worked because that was the last thought I remembered thinking about when I woke up at nine this  morning. It will take me a while to get back to the normal way of life [which doesn't include getting up 45 times in the night to check on my basement or get on my computer to check the weather in the middle of the night]. Getting some sleep last night was a great first step. : )

After all that's happened, my husband John and I have decided a few things:

1. We are definitely going to finish updating this house to sell in a year or two. And move on to a newer home, in a newer neighborhood... We both believe we have earned our stripes fixing up old homes. 
2. NO MORE BUNGALOWS. We hope! We love the character of old homes, but they are a lot of work and a pain on the rear especially the ones that have not been updated in two decades, just like the one we live in now. But I guess, not everyone is like us. We love to take care of our home, we make it pretty and instead of sucking the life out of it, we bring new life to it by updating it and making sure that all its guts are in tip-top shape.
3. If job situations do not get better in a year or two, the next house we are buying will be... well, let me put it this way, NOT HERE. 
4. Come hell or high water, I am going to get certified and will get back into teaching. : ) See the smiley face? I believe being a housewife is awesome... No clocking in and out, No boss, and I work when I want to. I have embraced it and I totally love it, but I think it is time to move on now and play awesome English teacher again. It is time to get back into those high heels and nerdy leather totes. [Yes, I taught in high heels. It was hard to think straight without them.] 
5. Definitely going where the Husband is happy career-wise.  He is great at what he does. And I have seen him work very hard for 6 or 7 years on the program he's been on. Him and I have decided, get the program that suits him... by hook or by crook. :) His specialty and his prowess is rare nowadays, I think he deserves to be in a place that respects the skills and the talent and the ear of people like him.
6. Maybe a baby? I don't know. That part is still a little gray [to me] as of this writing. I still cannot see why I  should or have to.  People always say, "you are not getting any younger." And I just laugh, I am really liking not having to lug a stroller and a child around when I want to go places. I am also liking that no third person is dictating where and when I CAN or CAN'T go. I will adopt when I am too old to have children and I start wanting one... there's only a million of them all over the world waiting for people like me to decide. :)
7. God is Listening. We know He has been and He always is and will be. There's been many, many times since John and I got married that we would go through rough times... but NEVER and I say NEVER have things NOT WORKED OUT at the end of the day. And even at times when we forget to pray and acknowledge Him, He Listens and answers our thoughts. So one thing I have learned, never tell God what to do. He knows his way around the ropes. And where he guides, He will most definitely provide. Worrying solves nothing and changes nothing. 
8. WE ARE GOING TO GET PAST ALL THESE. Yes we will. This is not our first rodeo and will most agreeably not be the last. : ) We are pretty resilient people and we are very very strong together... Not perfect, but we know that most of the time, when things get bad, we just need to stop and talk... and sometimes agree to disagree.   

Today I am just grateful for my husband. He is by no means perfect, but he is my perfect match. We aggravate each other sometimes, but we get over it... then we laugh about it later. Sometimes, you just gotta allow yourself to get mad and get upset when bad things happen [especially the ones that no one has any control of]... It will all be okay. Trust me, it will be. : )

Easter 2011

Easter this year was a little bit off because of the preceding event that week. The tornado hit, everyone lost power, it was hard for some of the family to think about partying and getting together. This is also the first Easter Brandi isn't with us. For John and I, that was hard all the more for Pat and Charlie [Brandi's parents] who went ahead and did not show up for Easter dinner which was held at Grandma and Grandpa R's because Mom and Dad didn't get their power back until the night before Easter Sunday. We traditionally have it at my in-laws but this year we had to change locations.

It is a given, pretty much every time there is a family gathering, I get to make dessert or I don't bring anything at all. lol That's just how we roll! This year, for Easter, I decided to make a happy cake. I got the idea from pinterest.com. I saw a photo of rainbow jello and tons more of rainbow everything including ROYGBIV stuff. So I made this:

The idea of the roses also came from a photo o I saw on pinterest. Apparently I didn't pin it because I couldn't find it anywhere in my boards. Sad. But I will keep looking and I will give credit where credit is due when I find the person responsible for this prettiness! 

As if the roses weren't happy enough, I made the inside ROYGBIV. Check it out!!!

Any crazy or non-crazy person alike can make this cake given you have a little bit of a crazy imagination. The cake took quite a few hours to make [from mixing, baking and cooling]. Do not ever frost your cakes when you are not sure that they are COMPLETELY cool. I've made that mistake before and I am never doing it again. In fact, now, I go to the extent of freezing my cakes before I do anything to them. I let them sit in the freezer for an hour before I start going nuts with the frosting.  

Anyway, Easter dinner went as planned and the food was awesome like it always is. And the cake, Yes! The cake did like it was supposed to... IT MADE EVERYONE SMILE! : ) This was my intention. Not just my family here but the whole town and a couple neighboring ones suffered the wrath of Mother Nature that week and had to deal with the loss of power... I thought I could make a bit of a difference at least in my family's disposition when they see this cake. And it did its job and even more!!!

I just used my favorite white cake recipe. I made 2 batches but I only used 1 1/2. Divided the batter equally among 6 bowls and colored them with the colors of the rainbow. I have six 9 inch round cake pans so it wasn't any trouble for me. Not every normal has the stuff I have so yeah, take your time and bake the cakes one at a time if you only have one 9-inch round pan. It is worth it, trust me!

This whole thing was made from scratch but if you choose to use box cakes, go ahead... It doesn't make you less of a person to do that!!! I am all for quick and easy. Except that that day, I had nothing but time to kill so I did it. :) Had I been in a hurry, Betty Crocker would've been my best friend. 

Here's something I thought about while I was making this cake: What if I flavored every layer like their color? You know, RED could be CHERRY... YELLOW could be LEMON... so on and so forth. Hmmmm... 

Now, go make something!!! :)