back to basics. again.

Oh hi!  I missed you.  Like a lot.  I didn't want to be friends for a while because I didn't want to admit that I failed.  I didn't want to tell you about it either, because I didn't know how to talk about it.  I kept thinking I was ready but I was lying to myself, and to you.

So here's the deal.  I got dumped.  Hard core completely blindsided dumped.  I never in a million years imagined I'd be abandoned by my husband with a 7 month old baby because the pressures of our life were just too much for him to handle.  But there it is, out in the open finally, so now I can talk about other things. Other wonderful, beautiful, delicious things.  I have to be honest, I hardly bake anymore.  I hardly create anything at all for that matter, and my soul is very angry with me for not doing the things that make me so happy. 

Kyleigh astounds me daily with her sense of wonder. With the size of her heart and the way she makes me fall in love with her all over again everyday.  I would tell 32 year old Kyleigh to follow her dreams and do the things that make her soul happy.  I would tell her to keep her chin up and try again.  I would tell her I love her, and that she's beautiful, and that just because things don't work out the way you expect them to, doesn't mean they're not working out exactly the way they're supposed to.  I would tell her to get back up and be the hero of her own story.  I would tell her that she's a hell of a lot stronger than she realizes, and that the only way to make things better is to try.  Harder. I have to do the same if I ever expect her to take me seriously.  So here I go, getting back to basics. Again.

a bit of an update

This past weekend I made cheesecake pops for a friends birthday celebration.  They were adorable and I think my favourite part about them was the packaging.  I have a weakness for packaging and making things look pretty.  When I was finishing them up I had a thought like so many other thoughts I have when I bake something; you should blog about this.  But then the days go by and I realize I haven't blogged about it or anything in some time.  And then I remember that the last post I started to write was about me wanting to blog more.

Here's what I've been up to lately:

Angie's Dessert Table - Norman Wedding
Banana Pancakes in abundance - Kyleigh loves them!
Mini Strawberry Tarts with Vanilla Pastry Cream - Baking date with Bryan
Lemon Cranberry Scones - Because I love them
Super amazing white chocolate cranberry cake - Family Christmas
Chocolate covered marshmallows - Christmas Treats
7 dozen Sour Cream Cookies - Cookie Exchange
Circus Cake - Everett's 1st Birthday
Rainbow Cake - Colton's 2nd Birthday
Cheesecake pops - Leanne's Birthday

Any suggestions on what you want to hear about first?

Kyleigh is 1!

Kyleigh turned one!!!

 

Actually Kyleigh is 18 months old now, but back on May 18th she turned 1, and my sisters and I threw a beautiful brunch to celebrate her amazing first year.  In the days ahead I'll be sharing with you some pictures of the party, but I first wanted to share a couple of slide shows that my sister Margie from fresh images made.

 

I had a lot of fun making the cake for her to smash. I have to be honest, she was more afraid then anything, and the majority of the damage was done by me and my sisters.

It was such a delicious cake! Vanilla with Swiss meringue buttercream. I'll share the recipe soon.

happy anniversary and cake one year later

 

Photos courtesy of fresh images

Josh and I recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary.  I still can't believe we've been married a year, and yet at the same time I can't believe it's only been a year.  What a whirlwind it's been, and truly it's the most amazingly blessed year of my life.  

As is tradition we decided to keep the top tier of our wedding cake to eat on this one year occasion.  Part of me was skeptical as to how it would actually hold up a year later, but that was before the cake got moved from St. Catharines to Fergus and then to Guelph.  I really wasn't expecting much but I have to say I was beyond pleasantly surprised.  It seriously was fantastic.  So fantastic you NEVER would have known it spent a year in 3 different freezers.

Thank you so much Sharlene from Sweet Celebrations

for the most delicious wedding cake a girl could ask for. (Even a year later.)

So looking forward to what the next year will bring us.  Whatever it is, I'm sure there will be more cake... lots more cake.

 Photo courtesy of fresh images

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

 

Have a safe and happy halloween!

pumpkin... in a lot of forms

Fall and pumpkins are synonymous in my life and this fall has not failed me.  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin granola and pumpkin smoothies so far have topped my list.

This pumpkin pie is delicious and not too sweet.  Thank you Martha Stewart, you continue to exceed my expectations! The only thing I did was add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.  The pie tasted even better the next day.

 

I found this pumpkin doughnut recipe on pinterest.  As a side note, I'm kind of obsessed with pinterest.  It can get bad.  I feel like I turn into this drone who can only scroll down and say things in my head like "just one more picture..." On the bright side, I do find things inspiring enough to pull away from the screen for a little while.  These doughnuts were one of those things, and a hit in my house.  

Another pinterest find, this pumpkin granola was really good.  I've since decided I like my granola much plainer but for what it was it really was delicious.  

Josh makes fun of my love affair with chocolate chips.  I eat them with a lot. Popcorn, cereal, almonds, chips, alone... I seriously think if there is one thing I couldn't live without it would be chocolate chips.  And coffee but definitely chocolate chips. 

 

The pumpkin smoothie I made up after seeing a bunch of other recipes.  It was super easy, fast, delicious and nutritious.

 

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

from back to basics

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 frozen banana

1 Tbs whey protein

1 Tbs maple syrup

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

In a blender (or magic bullet in my case) blend all ingredients and then enjoy!

I love everything about the fall.  

We'll see what other goodies I can come up with in the next little while.  I'm thinking apple picking and apple sauce. Whatever it is I know my kitchen will smell delicious!

vegan chocolate cupcakes

My last post was all about the lemon cake I made Margie for her birthday.  Along with that cake I also wanted to make something special for our wonderful friend Ashley, who also happens to be a vegan. 

I've never made anything vegan, or at least anything baking wise that's vegan.  As far as daily meals go I can sometimes get a little lazy and a lot of the things I eat end up begin vegan without my even trying, but that's not what this post is about.  

I found a recipe for vegan chocolate cupcakes in a book I downloaded for free on amazon for my kindle app.  It's from a book called Cupcake Recipes To Impress Your Loved Ones by Chris Cooker.

I must say I was very intrigued by the idea of vegan cupcakes, but while these look delicious, the actual cake came out so dense I had a hard time really enjoying them because of their texture.  The buttercream on the other hand was delicious!  

Despite the fact that I would probably not make this recipe again, I'm really interested in trying the whole vegan thing again.  Hopefully round two turns out delicious tasting as well as delicious looking.

Fingers crossed.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

from Chris Cooker

1 1/2 c flour

1 c brown sugar

1/3 c cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c water

1/4 c almond milk

1/4 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup oil

1 tbs vinegar

2 tsp vanilla 

Preheat oven to 375

Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.

Mix together dry ingredients and set aside.

Combine wet ingredients and add to dry until batter comes together.

Fill muffin tin evenly with batter and bake for 20 mins

Let cool before frosting.

Vegan Chocolate Buttercream

 from Chris Cooker 

1/2 c vegetable shortning

1/2 c vegan butter or margarine

4 c powdered sugar, sifted

1 c cocoa powder, sifted

1 tsp vanilla

3-6 tbs almond milk

Cream together shortening and butter with either hand or stand mixer.  Add sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder, vanilla and slowly add the almond milk as needed.