Baker's Corner: Cake Balls & Pops

I had my first cake ball not very long ago. Our Office Manager walked around and handed me a little ball. She was sampling sweets for our upcoming office holiday party. Looking at the ball, I was doubtful - will it be dry and untasty? But it was so cute and pretty, I couldn't resist. And I'm so glad I ate it. Delish! 

Luck had it that our Office Manager chose these delightful treats for the party. The display of cake pops at the party was mouth-watering, and so yummy. Then I learned these little heavenly pops and balls were made by my co-worker's friend, Dianne.

My luck continued because my co-worker told me Dianne was holding a cake pop class. Again, I couldn't resist, so I signed up. And that's how I came be make cake pops and balls this afternoon at Dianne's Delights.

Dianne was very sweet (pun intended), and was very gracious to share her tips & tricks. It turns out, the magic is in the technique. She showed us how to make them uber moist, how to roll the balls (without have to buy a silly cake pop mold), and to make the stick stay on the cake (which is pivotal for a cake pop, but sadly one of the harder things to do).

You'll see in my photos collage, some of the things we learned. Rolling the balls, dipping into chocolate to make the outer shell, and decorating them - we had pretty pink sprinkles for Valentines Day.

(Sorry my photos are a bit blurry, it's my phone's camera. I always feel awkward bringing my regular camera to these things.)

Cake Pop Making

Heather Rolling Away

Here's a photo of me in action. I'm rolling vanilla and chocolate balls. I bet you wouldn't have guessed, but rolling them into perfect balls is extremely difficult. They kept wanting to look more like spin tops than balls. Dianne would walk over and make a perfect ball - making it look so easy. Gosh! But mine were mostly round and still quite delicious. I guess I have to practice (to the joy of my husband and co-workers).

One of the best parts is seeing them come all together - with sprinkles and swizzles - too cute. We also made some totally cute heart shaped pops. Now it'll be tough to decide what to make for Valentines Day - Cake pops or Macarons. Hmmm, tough decisions. (Remember my macarons class? Loads of fun there, too).

Cake pops are great. NOW GO BAKE'EM.

Reading Rainbow #2

Reading Rainbow returns! I can't believe I last wrote about books two years ago - check it. What have I been thinking? I need to share the awesome books I read.

When I read a book I love, I get totally SUCKED into it. I generally read at night before bed, but then I end up staying up way too late - Josh loves it (cough, cough). This happened with the past few reads lately. Now you're curious, I know.

Unbroken

by Lauren Hillenbrand

OMG (and I only use OMG on very special occasions), but OMG, this is the most incredible story - and it's true. Louis Zamperini was an Olympian - ran in the 1936 Berlin Olympics - anticipated to be the first man to break the 4 minute mile, until WII broke out. He joined the Air Corps as a bombardier. His plan crashed in the middle of the Pacific, he and two others were on a raft for 47 days (a record), and was then was a POW. Truly an amazing man, and his journey is one that you must read. Preview his story with the Jay Leno interview, or on the CBS morning show.

Winter of the World

by Ken Follet

You really ought to read the first book, Fall of Giants, first because that is generally how series work (yes, this is a trilogy). Although I really feel that the second book was almost better than the first. It really brings you into WII Berlin and what life was like living through a war. I learned all sorts of new things, too. I love it when I learn when I read - entertainment and education, double whammy. 

(yes, I'm on a World War II kick)

Outlander

by Diana Gabaldon

This book came recommended to me by my office mate after we discovered we had a similar taste in books. This is another history book (fun fact: I was a Medieval Renaissance history minor in college), but it's historical fiction. This is a crazy long series, and I do plan on reading more of them. The main character is fun, and it keeps you reading. Careful though, there are parts that might make you blush. I liked how it brought you to Scotland and introduces you to the clan way of life. I

The book has you thinking, what decision does she make?  Now you have to read it to find out. I'm evil.

Shadow of Night

by Deborah Harkness

Before I start, I have to say, my sister know the author. She's a professor at USC and Lindsay covered her class while she toured for this book. Lindsay is cool like that.

I love this series. It's got witches and vampires (and some other creatures), but not like Twilight. You're taken on a journey back into time where the characters meet actual people in history. It's a fun time travel, love story, vampire-witch story.

I've read some other books, which I might also tell you about in another Reading Rainbow session. I'm trying to get back on the Good Reads wagon - find me. 

Now GO READ!!

Looking Glass

Yesterday Josh and I along with our friends Aaron and Liddy went to look at glass. Now, you might think that sounds boring, BUT it's not. I swear, it's crazy awesome glass and it's at the Chihuly Gardens & Glass exhibition in Seattle Center.

You may think, "oh, it's a bunch of boring glass bowls and vases." Um, no. It's towering spirals and psychedelic forms. Sure there is a "bowl" here and there, but most entire displays of glass. Look at this display of glass. It's called Mille Fiore - Italian for “a thousand flowers” It's a strange garden, but a cool garden.

Chihuly Mille Fiore 

Chihuly Floating Boat

There was about nine rooms all with something new and amazing. I think my favorite was the Ikehana and Floating Boat exhibit. The boat with the balls made me think of Venice and Murano, and my visit there - what a great place. It's no wonder it made me think of Murano - it's the island of glass. Chihuly visited Italy and found lots of inspiration. But the idea of putting the glass balls into the gondola just screamed Italy at me.

Another cool thing about these exhibits was the reflective surfaces they used throughout the rooms. Sometimes you couldn't figure out where the glass stopped. If you looked down you saw the glass reflecting back. The Chandelier room really captured the use of the reflective surfaces and the black room. Can you tell that these were handing from the ceiling?

Chihuly Chandeliers

Space Needle and Chihuly

There was a sealife room - made me think of Little Mermaid. Here's a close-up of the little sea creatures hanging out on this sculpture.

The art continued outside, where there was the Chihuly gardens. Out of the gardens sprang up reds, purples, greens, and all sorts of swirls and spirals. On this picture, I was able to capture the reflection of the Space Needle. I was also able to grab the Space Needle with the red swiggles. Or check this out with the garden and random blue neon spikes.

Being in the gardens made me wish I had been there for the Top Chef episode where they ate some tasty food in the Chihuly gardens. Wouldn't that have been nice. Aww well, we had a lovely day even without Top Chef nibbles. 

Dale Chihuly makes some pretty awesome glass. Now, go look at it. See all of my pictures on my Chihuly Flickr album. Or, better yet, go visit (there's even a free audio tour for your smartphone).

Heather and Josh at Chihuly Gardens

Aaron, Liddy, Josh, and Heather at Chihuly

Looking Back 2012

We're already 19 days into 2013. Crazy. I wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to 2012, and capture some of the great times. I've created a lovely slideshow to show what my 2012 looked like in pictures. You'll find pictures about...

• Trip to Zion National Park
• Going to Vancouver with the in-laws
• My parents in town (x2!) - Wine & Leavenworth
• Snowshoeing & Mt Rainier
• Chicago with family
• Meandering Seattle

Enjoy the show! Now, 2013, here I come!

Christmas in California

Christmas seems like ages ago now. Hard to believe it was just a few weeks. I've been back to work for a week and a half, been sick, had a sick husband, and cleaned up the house. I guess that might be part of the reason Christmas seems so long ago. 

But it wasn't that long ago, and I haven't told you much about my actual time off for the holidays besides teasing you with Swedish Coffee Cake. 

Josh and I had a great time for Christmas. It was about 10 days in California. We started by flying to my in-laws in Palm Springs (actually, Indio, but more people know Palm Springs).

We did some relaxing, some shopping, and got our nails done. On Christmas Eve, we took the tram up to get a great view of the desert. 

The tram rotates 360 as it goes up to give you great views of the city below. Although the top is pretty darn cold. So cold there was even snow. In 15 minutes you go from the warm desert ground, to the cold snowy top. But you get some great views.

Going up the Tram

Palm Springs View

Christmas Eve we went to Southwest Church to celebrate with the candlelight service. Then we enjoyed a nice family meal at Indian Wells.

We opened a few gifts on Christmas Eve, and the rest were finished off in the morning. Then the next part of the Christmas journey began. We packed up the car, and all four of us drove out to Encinitas.

Josh and I then spent time opening gifts with my family. We really rushed  because early afternoon guests starting arriving.

We had about 16 people at the O'Neill house for Christmas dinner. There was turkey, hame, potatoes, broccoli, jello, sweet potatoes, wine, cake, and cookies. It was an excellent way to finish off the Christmas holiday.

Brown Family at Christmas

O'Neill Family on Christmas Day

We stayed in Encinitas with my family after Christmas. Even though it rained a few times, we caught some breaks and enjoyed some sunshine (not to mention, warmer temps). We  headed out to Coronado and visited the Hotel Del (pic) and took a walk on the beach. Another day we went to La Jolla, but got caught in the rain. It was pretty awesome seeing the storm over the ocean coming towards us. There is a little more of a story here, but basically it ends with Josh and me getting soaked. But we warmed up with some delicious coffee at Bird Rock Roasters (BTW, another coffee find on our visit was the Lofty Bean in Encinitas - yay good coffee!).

What else did we do? Well, we enjoyed some time with family friends - the Hartleys, the Troglers, and the Richardsons. We ventured to the theaters and saw Les Misérables (worth a see!). And that's about it. Just some quality time with the families celebrating a wondering holiday. We flew back to Seattle New Years Eve into much cooler temperatures. 

La Jolla, A Storm is Brewin'

Because I can't post every photo, you may want to check out all my Wintertime photos on Flickr!

Switch up

First, let me fill you in on how my brain works. I write "switch up," and this song immediately gets stuck in my head. I'm weird, I know.

Now, why I was even thinking "switch up" in the first place. Well, as you can probably tell, I'm switching up the look and layout for my blog. Part of the reason is I want to be on SquareSpace 6. The other part is so Josh stops nagging me about switching to SquareSpace 6. Lastly, and mostly, because I like to think that as I get older, the more awesome my style gets and my blog needs to keep up with my stylin' ways.

This is the third switch up on my blog. Crazy right? Do you remember the look of my first blog. Check it. What to hear something even more crazy? I've had this blog going now since 2009 (first post). That's three freakin' years. Crazy, I tell you, crazy.

Now, on with blogging!

My Blog Layout Remembered

Buh-bye 2012, Hello 2013

Happy New Year! It's 2013! 

2012 went way too quickly. It seems every year I get older, the years go by faster and faster. So here we are at 2013. Hope this one goes slower. ;)

I just got back home to Seattle yesterday after a lovely visit to both parents in SoCal. New Years Eve was dinner with friends at Re:public, and then we all came back to our place to watch the ball drop. Not to crazy, but fun. 

I plan on give you my 2012 year in review once I've had some time to put some thoughts together. Today was all about getting settled and ready for work tomorrow. Until my awesome 2012 post is ready, here's 2012 in review from JibJab (please excuse any course language or visuals - I didn't make this, ok).

Baker's Corner: Swedish Coffee Cake

Hej! (That's hello in Swedish). That's about all I know in Swedish, and I had to look that up on Google. But I have Swedish in my blood (25% of it). My grandma (on my mom's side) was Swedish. She brought many Swedish sweets into our family, especially for the holidays. You may have heard me mention pepparkaka before - see post.

Well, another Swedish tradition in our family was my Grandma Norma's Swedish coffee cake. She'd make it practically every weekend. She didn't have a recipe - she'd just take a bit of this and a bit of that and throw it all together. And it always turned out.

I really enjoy this coffee cake - I like mine with raisins. Then there is the crunchy pearl sugar on top and the cardamon spice. Lather on some butter - hmm hmm hmm.

Jan and Heather (top left), Grandma Norma (top right)

As a child (I'm not sure how old I was, maybe 8 or 9 years), I decided we should record grandma's recipe. So I spent the day with her making coffee cake and try to take measure of the recipe as we baked. The recipe isn't too far off, although we're still trying to perfect it.

Mom and I decided to make it together this Christmas. It turned out pretty good. In fact, we have a Swedish friend here right now and when I asked how it compared to bread back home, he said it was "very similar, and good!" Booya!

If you want to give it a try, I've written out the recipe below (with improvements upon the original that I noted as we made it the other day).

Njut! (Enjoy in Swedish)

 

Grandma Norma's Swedish Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons fresh active yeast
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon cardamon
• 4-1/2 flour
• 1/2 to 1 cup raisins, optional
• 1/2 to 1 cup walnuts, optional (for top)
• 1/2 cup large, pearl sugar (for top)

Directions:

In a medium bowl mix together yeast, sugar, and salt. Let sit.

Meanwhile, in a pot, warm up the milk over medium-low heat. When milk is warm, add butter. Let melt together, then pour into yeast mixture. Mix together.

Next, add eggs and cardamon. Slowly start to add the flour. Once combined, cover with a towel. Let is sit for at least 30-45 minutes. To help it raise, you can put it in a low oven (100F or so).

Spread flour on the surface and knead dough. Add raisins, if desired, while kneading. Put dough back into the bowl, cover with towel, and let raise again. Probably about 45-60 minutes.

Cut dough in half, and braid into two loaves. Let raise for 45-60 minutes. Then stir eggs, and brush lightly over loaves. Sprinkle walnuts and large/pearl sugar on top.

Place in 350F oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden.

Note: I'm trying to decide on the last raise, when it's braised, if you should do the egg wash and sugar then let it raise, or put it after it's raised. This time when I did the egg after raise, it lost some of it's volume and was slightly more dense. Let me know your results!

Merry Christmas to All

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family!

Christmas Spirit

It's almost Christmas! 

I'm out of work. I'm with family. I'm sleeping in. Everyone is in the Christmas spirit. Weeeeee!

You can ask Josh, but I'm a Christmas fanatic. I just love it. I listen to Christmas music non-stop, I watch as many Christmas movies as possible, I bake cookies, and I love seeing houses all glowing with lights. It's a magical season. 

You know what brought a twinkle to my eye? That there was Christmas spirit at SeaTac. We saw those 18th century carolers, and a one-man band marching around the terminal. I just loved it.

I love wrapping and decorating for Christmas, too. Did you see my awesome wrapping paper? It's octopi wearing Santa hats and presents. Too cool. Or, how about my ornaments. The Frango makes me think of my Grandma Ruth - she loves Frangos. 

Another favorite is all the Christmas cards that come in the mail. I love seeing the pictures, reading the notes, and hearing from friends and family. And I love that people do it snail mail...electonic is just not the same.

And I know I already wrote about my cookies, but don't thse just ooze Christmas? And they are deliclious in your tummy.

If all this doesn't get you in the spirit, then I don't know what will. I hope you are feeling in the spirit. Now turn up the music and deck the halls!

Baker's Corner: Christmas Cookies

I have a tradition of making Pepparkakor every year at Christmastime. My Grandma Norma used to make them, and I carried on the tradition. They are the Swedish version of gingerbread cookies, but thinner. However, the past couple of years my mom has baking them. I love them, but we don't need that many pepparkakors. This year I thought I'd try my skills on something different. 

Macarons

You may recall that I took a macaron class recently. I was super excited after the class, so I thought I'd make some macarons this year. To make them Christmas-y I decided on pistachio since it's green. Yay!

Let me tell you, macarons are not just mix the dough and throw in the oven type cookies. It takes time and patience. You need to be careful, and precise. These suckers took me all day. I ended up having to through three rounds of them too (the first time I accidently used blue food coloring, the second I mixed up 0.7 vs. 7 ounces, and the third time was a charm). On top of that, I had to make pistachio paste and buttercream. But I was determined, and the result was totally worth it. Now oogle over them please.

This isn't the recipe I used, but it's pretty close. If you're so inspirated. Check it out.

Candy Cane Cookies

I didn't want to leave it at just macarons. I wanted to make a cookie that screamed Christmas. I found these Candy Cane cookies and knew these fit the bill. To make them, I had to find the special kisses. Don't they look tasty?

Well, they are tasty. And they are even tastier in a cookie. They are sort of like peanut butter kisses, but pepermint style. And don't let the peppermint scare you; they aren't over-powering. (Note: I did use the peppermint extract, but I used only half what the recipe called for).

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh no, it didn't stop there. For weeks Josh has been begging for chocolate chip cookies. Poor guy. I told him this is the holiday season and is strictly for holiday cookies. Chocolate chip cookies fall into the year around cookie category and shouldn't take up good holiday-cookie-baking time. But he looked so sad, so I gave in. The recipe I've picked up later is from Pioneer Women. The secret ingredient is instant coffee - you can't taste the coffee, but it adds a lil' something-something to the cookie. It adds depth to the cookie (oh yea, that sounds good...depth). Recipe: Click here. Adjustments: I used all butter (skip the margarine); used all semi-sweet chocolate chips; the instant coffee I used was VIA; the flax seed I ground in an old coffee grinder. Boom.

 

By the way, did I mention I made these cookies all in one weekend? Yes, I'm crazy like that. I think the next batch will be after Christmas.

Party...On A Boat

Yes, I was at a party on a boat. You know...On A Boat! (Oh, you're not "in the know" - well, I'm referencing this SNL skit). So yea, I'm on a Boat. 

The party (on a boat) was actually my office party. Our office is cool like that...to have a party on a boat. Must be all the creative juices that flow in our office. 

It was Thursday night, and we all got dressed up in our cocktail attire. Don't we look smashing?

 

The party, that was on a boat, was on the MV Skansonia - actually an old ferry boat. There was all sorts of drinks, food, and sweets. I especially enjoyed the cake pops. Look at these goodies (picture taken by a fellow co-worker. I forgot to take pictures...too much fun!).

Oh, and did I say there was a flipbook booth. You heard me right, a flipbook booth. You remember those little books that you fan through really quickly that show a little movie? Josh and I had a pretty awesome video.

The Flipbooth

So, that's about it. We ate, drank, danced, talked, flipbooked, and had a jolly good time. Thanks Uncle Responsys!

Christmas is a-Glow

Look at our Christmas tree! It's all a-glow. Isn't it beautiful? I have a secret on how to take this photo. Check out this blog. Or, here's the stats: ISO 3200, f/1.8, ss30th. Note: You'll need a DSRL camera. 

With the same camera settings, I also got these shots:

 

As for the tree, we bought it the first weekend of December. Growing up my family always bought the tree mid-December. For me, this always seemed way too close to Christmas. You put all this effort into decorating it, so why not enjoy it for the whole month. So now, that's exactly what Josh and I do. 

Here's us at the tree lot. We caught a nice 30 minute window of no rain. Sweet!

The Christmas season is here, and I'm all a-glow! 

Mastering Macarons

Saturday I took a most awesome class at Sur La Table called Mastering Macarons. I went with my fellow baker and friend, Beth.

It was not just some demo class, but a hands-on class where you get to do the baking with a professional guiding you. The instructor, Mary, was a quirky one, but also quite qualified. She made it funny and informational.

There were about fifteen of us (or so), and we broke out into four groups and we each got our own workstation. Beth and I lucked out and got our own station, right next to the instructor...score!

For the class, the instructor would show us a technique, and then we got to try it out ourselves. Each station got a different flavor macaron. We got banana.

Some tips I learned, and will now share with you (because your special):
- Take the egg whites out at least three hours ahead of time
- Shift the flour four times (yes, four!)
- Don't over beat the eggs - soft peeks, not stiff peeks
- Wait to put the macarons in the oven (patience, my friend)
- Cool them upside down

Some of the flavors we all baked were: chocolate, hazelnut, pistachio, and banana. For fillings we made: chocolate ganache, banana, and praline buttercream. Look at these beauties...

Next weekend's challenge is making some on my own. Yay!

Wedding Then Anniversary

I was originally going to break this up into two posts, but time kept slipping away. Then as I was taking a shower this evening (yes, I'm a night shower person, deal with it), I had a revelation...wedding, anniversary, those go hand-in-hand, I can easy make into one.

And so, my friends, this is a single post about my two weekends in November that involved a wedding one week and an anniversary the next.

First, the wedding. 

Josh and I headed down to see our college friend, Manuel, get hitched. And Josh was special enough to be in the wedding. What better place to see your college friend get married, than at the church on your old campus, eh?

It was nice to be back in our old stomping grounds and hanging out with "the gang" - just like the good, old days (wow, I'm already using that phase). However, it was weird to be in our old stomping ground, but not living there. It's not like you need to do tourist stuff. So then there's shopping, but we only brought a small suitcase (and there's that money thing). 

But I digress; back to the wedding talk. The wedding was very beautiful. Alley, the bride, now friend, was gorgeous and radiating happiness. I just love weddings. They are just so happy! The ceremony was at the Mission Church, and the reception was at Dolce Hayes Mansion. I have to give it to the bride & groom, they went all out with the reception. There were chandeliers, uplights, and a photo booth. 

 

Did I mention, there was a photo booth? Oh yea, we had fun with that. Good times were had by all. And so as not to bore you with all my pictures, here's a college. Or better yet, check out the wedding photographer's photos.

Next, the Annivesary.

Big news for my parents...they have been married 40 years. That's a mighty long time together, and they're still going strong. I flew down home to join in the celebrations.

We did all the usual Heather-at-home activities. We went to Honey's for breakfast (I got a muffin, big surprise). We went to the Forum, UTC, and Golden Spoon yogurt. But, the big event was Saturday night dinner for the big celebration.

We went to a restaurant called Hexagone in Hillcrest (French, of course). Sadly, the restaurant didn't live up to our expectations (this reviewer says it all for me). But, all that aside, it was good to be with friends and family.

Brunch at the Cottage the next day made up for Hexagone's mistakes. We had them put candles in the french toast, and they gave my mom a free bag of granola. And everyone was happy once again.

It was great to celebrate with my parents on their big 40th anniversary, and I'm so glad I was able to fly down and join in the fun.

Now, you know why I was so busy in November. Two back-to-back weekends of travel, with crazy busy work weeks in between. I think I'm almost caught up now, almost. ; )

Turkey Eating

As I mentioned in my post on Thanksgiving, Josh and I were doing Thanksgiving on our own this year. As you may have picked up from reading my blog, I actual enjoy the kitchen. I decided to take on the turkey challenge this year. Alright, not a whole turkey, but a turkey breast (and I got a thigh, too - that sounds funny). 

You can't have turkey without all the fixings, so make a couple of sides, too. To Josh's dismay I passed on stuffing this year. Honestly, I haven't found a stuffing I really like. And with me being the cook, I decided it was not a priority. However, I did make my favorite Sweet Potato Casserole (recipe here). It's oh-so-good. It's practically dessert! And to tempt you more, it's from Cooking Light, believe it or not! 

I also make some Brussels Sprouts. I steared away from my usual Brussels sprouts recipe this year to try a different variation, Caramelized Brussels Sprouts (recipe here). This recipe is from a blog I've recently started following called Eat Live Run. She has some pretty good looking food, and these sprouts didn't disappoint. Plus they are on the stove top and my oven was busy. 

To wrap up the food goodness, I made a Sweet Potato Pie. Now, I was extremely worried about this pie. You can ask my mom or Josh -- I talked to them both as it was in the oven. I said, "I just don't know, it's not setting." I was very upset. All this time to make it by scratch and it was failing. NOOO! But, luckly I was wrong. The pie came out great. In fact, it was crazy delicious. I wish I could mail you a piece. I think it's the strusel topping that took it to the next level. I'm salavating now. I should go grab a slice.

Do I have you begging for the recipe now? Okay, my Thanksgiving gift to you...

1. Make a crust. I grabbed the crust from this recipe. (I actually want to make that pie too)

2. Make the rest of the pie using this recipe. (I bet you can use this strusel topping on any pie!)

3. Bake and eat. 

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. Now....on to Christmas!!!

Give Thanks

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

As corney and cliche as it sounds, today I've been thinking of how thankful I am for my husband, family, friends, and country. I love you all so very much. Now...let's eat Turkey!

Okay, not quite yet with the turkey. It's still in the oven, but it smells heavenly. It's just Josh and I this year sharing a little feast of our own. I'll share photos and recipes later (if it turns out good that is, if not, I don't want to share any "loser" dishes, ya know?!). 

We started our Thanksgiving out with some Peet's Coffee (I had a delicious Gingerbread latte...yum!). I thought their coffee carrier turkey was too cute:

 

While I cook and wait for my food, I thought I'd enjoy a nice glass of sweet, sparkling white wine. I just bought it at Whole Foods this morning - Fior d'Arancio. So delicious. Me and sweet wine! Probably why I'm so sweet (cough cough). And you guesssed it, we're having Brussels sprouts as a side dish (see the prep work going on behind my glass?).

And while you wait for your supper, or get over the food comma, have some laughs with this guide to Williams Sonoma that I found. HA! 

Still Here

Dearest Blog-reader friends,     

I am still alive. I am still goign to write this blog. I am sorry. 

Seriously, I've been away the past two weekends and the week inbetween the weekends have been hectic. But fear not, I have lots of good content to wirte about and I'll be writing again soon.

Forgive me?

Sincerely,
Heather Joy

P.S. Until I write again, feel free to draw some stick men.

Circling Seattle

Back at the beginning of October, Josh and I visited the latest addition to the Seattle skyline, the Great Wheel Seattle (or simply known as a ferris wheel). 

It's a pretty cool ferris wheel on the Seattle waterfront. It is enclosed, so less freaky for me (recalling my freak-out going in the Chicago ferris wheel). And it keeps out the rain. Luckily, it wasn’t raining when we went around (but it rained shortly after--hey, this is Seattle, what do you expect?). 

 

You know what else? It goes around not just once, but five times. That’s five times more than Chicago’s wheel (sorry Chicago, just sayin’). 

As you circle around, you can see Puget Sound, ferries, and skyscrapers. 

 

I think just the ferris wheel itself is cool. All the beams, and the shape. It just interests me. Is that weird? 

 

All in all, it’s a nice addition to the Seattle skyline. We enjoyed our go-around, and it was a great activity for Josh’s birthday.

Bakers Corner: Pumpkin

I know I already told you about pumpkin. But when you love somethinig, you really feel the need to share it (or push it upon others). Really, you MUST try this. I KNOW you'll love it. Hee Hee.

Josh asked me the other day, "Do you think you'll get tired of pumpkin?" My answer was, "Nope." I will not tire. I will continue to eat pumpkin everything all season. In fact, I'll eat it all through fall, winter, and into spring if I can help it. 

So, let's talk about pumpkin. My favorite so far this season...Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. No joke, these were a HIT. A hit with our church friends, a hit with my co-workers, a hit with Josh and me. They were heavenly.

You're probably drooling. No? Well, out of the kindness of my heart, I'll share the recipe. I combined two recipes: Use this for the Whoopie cookie, then use this filling instead. Have fun with that.

Wait? You want more? Alright, if you insist. I also made a tasty pumpkin coffeecake.

This was very good. And guess what, if you want, you can eat it for breakfast. Here's the Recipe.

Today I'm either going to make Pumpkin Toffee Cookies, or Pumpkin Gingersnaps. Tough decision.

Oh, and I ain't done yet. I don't always bake, you know. I buy tasty things too. Like these pumpkin macaroons that we picked up on our fly-by trip to the Bay Area from Chantal Guillon. I've recently discovered my like of macaroons. So light and tasty with a slight crunch. I'll have to try to make them myself someday (but they seem kinda hard to make). Aren't these little treats cute?

 

I will leave with this: pumpkin is everywhere. In your ice cream, in your coffee, in your donuts...everywhere. Get with it, and eat it.