After the extended weekend in Petoskey, I'm so relieved that we don't have to go anywhere this weekend. Who knew you could be more exhausted after a vacation?!

I'm Good to Go!

I had big plans for baking snacks for mini vacay this weekend.  And I got it all done!!!!

2 loaves walnut-oatmeal bread   CHECK
1 enormous bag of chocolate-coconut granola   CHECK
1 batch fluffy homemade marshmallows   CHECK

*whew!*  I think I was a little over zealous in my desires.  Any ways, whoever said that making marshmallows was hard, lied.  These were a cinch to make!  I pretty much am in love with Two Fat Als.  So much so, that I created a wish list on Amazon just to remind me that I need to get it whenever I have the chance!  My only regret on making the marshmallows, was that I was NOT prepared for the mess that dipping them in the dark chocolate would create.  It killed our kitchen! :(  *note chocolate drips all over stove top.

And of course I had to sample my bounty!  I think you all should come check on us this weekend at Dan & Michele's condo.  Come Monday, we might all just be in a sugar coma.

I did it!!

Or, rather I tried.  Adam's working late this week.  It's the first week of the new semester for Ivy Tech, so in other words......Adam gets to work loooooong hours.  So I had to entertain myself somehow.

I've been getting snackies ready for Petoskey!!!!  Yep, it's that time of year again!!  Anywho, I MADE BREAD!!!  Like real bread, like loafs of bread, not just fruit breads.  The recipe I found for it is from this neat little food blog I found.  The couple seems alot like me and Adam, recent college grads, and frugal foodies.  Two Fat Als gave me the idea for Walnut Oat Bread.  I have yet to try it.  And I'm dieing to!  But my taste buds will have to wait 'til Petoskey.  Mmmmm.......fresh bread smothered with Nutella............I can't wait!!!

Let them eat cake!

So as I mentioned the other day, I was highly anticipating my Mom coming for a visit this weekend.  Her birthday is Tuesday this week, so Adam and I gave her an early birthday celebration.

For her birthday, I baked a cake!!  Not just any cake.  I baked a three layer fluffly, yet crummy buttermilk cake, loaded with macadamia nuts.  Between those layers was a raspberry filling, and the whole package was covered in a velvety white chocolate buttercream frosting!!!  Something like this one here.  Except I cheated, and bought my buttercream frosting and added melted white chocolate to it instead, because there's this cake decorating place in Fort Wayne (which my lead to more vices).  And lemon leaves are hard to find around here.  Maybe if I lived in Florida??  Probably not though.  But I decorated my cake a little differently.

My Mom loved her cake!!  Along with the dinner we made her as well (Sticky Orange-Balsamic Glazed Chicken & Lemon Risotto).  After church, bread & dipping oil, a glass of wine, dinner & dessert, we were all pretty miserable........by miserable, I mean stuffed beyond all belief.  So we spent the rest of the evening listening to jazz, drinking tea and watching Mom open her birthday gifts.  It was a great time! :)

While mom and I were in the kitchen, I asked Adam to take some pictures of the cake for the blog.  This is what he came up with.  I love it!

On a side note, it's a busy week, getting ready for Petoskey and the big ski trip.  And I have a few things planned to make to bring up with us, as treats for the evenings.  Hopefully I'll have enough time to get pictures of them for the blog.

Tomorrow my mom is coming in for a visit. I'm cooking dinner and baking a cake! And I can't wait!

So, i've decided that i want to blog, again. But decided i won't limit myself. Don't worry, i won't get rid of the recipes, but try to include more. Stay warm!

I'm baaAAaack!

So I was pretty over-whelmed there for a while... Adam and I tend to be such busy people. But today was such a great day that I just had to share it with everyone. We accomplished a lot, and all before 2:00. Started off the day making breakfast. Adam took care of the coffee, and I took care of our ham, egg & cheese bagels. After our bite to eat, and a quick gathering up of ourselves, we headed out to the Kosciusko County Farmer's Market. Now, the last few times we were out there, I was a little bummed with their selection. But then again, I think Indiana is about two weeks behind in the planting season. But I managed to find some organic thyme, the last of an Amish family's bucket of peas, and some freshly picked berries (I think wild raspberries.) Then it was off to puruse some garage sales. Although the ones we found were a bit of a let down, the last one led us within two blocks of the library, which reminded Adam that he still hadn't gotten his library card. So after some official paper work, and with a new plastic card in hand, we took a stroll through the stacks of books. I found the book Son of a Witch which is a sequal to Wicked. A series by Gregory Maguire in which the books are based around the plot line of The Wizard of Oz. (On a side note, Adam and I just came back from seeing the musical Wicked down in Indy. It was my birthday present, and a GREAT show!) And Adam found some computer books along with a "cooking with herbs" cookbook. Then it was a short walk to Central Park for the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival, and we were lucky enough to catch a performance of the Lake City Skiers. Then, it was off to the sale at Elderbearman for some deals. And there's this tent that's been up for a while where they sell produce just down the road. They're never open when I drive by it during the week, so I wanted to see what it was all about. Well, we ended up finding ourselves some very ripe tomatoes, and onions larger than softballs. Finally, we took all our new treasures home with us. But that wasn't the end of the adventures. My first project was making a peach cobbler. I'll let you be the judge on it.

Then, I shucked peas, made salsa, made another run out to Owen's for a few things we needed for dinner. Then proceded to make Fajita Burgers. Yeah, delish!! Oh and I can't forget, we harvested the mint too all in the middle of this. We have so much mint in our window planter. It's pretty much growing out of our ears. I told Adam he needs to see if any of the ladies at work want any, they'll definitely "ooh" and "ahh" over him more. They already think he's the best thing since sliced bread. But here's the rest of our bounty from today.

While in the middle of shucking the peas, I came to the conclusion that summer is finally here. I guess most of you already knew this, but all the things that remind me of summer are among us. Food from the garden, days by the lake, and the start of the county fairs and community festivals. Safe to say, I think our first official summer as "Hoosiers" will turn out pretty fair. And yes, I am officially a Hoosier........ Just got my Indiana driver's license this past Tuesday.....