Food Porn
Warning: This may induce drooling and an over-indulgence in baked goods.
Funfetti Pancakes via How Sweet It Is
Pull Apart Lemon Coffee Cake via Clockwork Lemon
Chewy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies via The Knead for Speed
Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies via Lovin’ From the Oven
Banana Cinnamon Bread Pudding via Kitchen Confidante
Oreo Brownies with Buttercream Frosting via Love from the Oven
Caramel Delight Ice Cream via Triple Scoop Desserts
[Slowly, but Surely] Answering the Call
Last week my beautiful friend Erin called some fellow bloggers to answer a few questions about “Who are you, really?” Though the “deadline” was supposedly Wednesday night {eek} I have been without internet in my new apartment and am just now getting around to it. However, it must have been fate because I didn’t know the answer to one of them until Thursday as I was unpacking. So here are my answers to Erin’s questions and a few added by my new wonderful neighbor Nicky as she blogged her answers.
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1. What is your most dear object – the first thing you would grab to save in the instance of a fire?
This was the question I didn’t know the answer to until the other day. When I first read this my first instinct was my phone or computer, but then I thought, No I do not want to be that person, and what is really of importance on either of those things anyway? I’m assuming I would have time to grab four things: 1. Lambchops- this beloved stuffed animal that I still sleep with just gives me that feeling of home and belonging. I plan to keep her and give her to my first born. 2. A birthday book my mom gave me for my 21st birthday that she cut out pictures of me and her and pasted inside that makes me cry every time I read it. 3. Similar to that, a scrapbook I just found again from Pops (my grandpa) that he made and gave to me my for my 16th birthday. It holds pictures from when I was younger that are nowhere else to be found and memories of me and him. This also makes me cry every time I look at it. 4. Along the same line, a picture I had framed of me when I was about seven on Easter sitting between Pops and Marnan.
2. What is your favorite dessert?
I’m going to have to follow along the same lines as Nicky and Erin, because who can choose just one!? Short answer: anything chocolate. Long answer: ice cream, perfectly made brownies, tollhouse cookies, tiramisu, creme brulee, cupcakes from Sprinkles, german chocolate cake, red velvet cake, chocolate from Switzerland…. If you can’t tell, desserts in general are my favorite.
3. What do you do when you’ve had a really no-good, rotten, bad day?
I call my mom. I vent and cry and vent and cry. I call Kyle and ask him to come over with dessert in hand (typically ice cream). I crawl in bed and watch the O.C.
4. If you could be doing anything right now – time, money, or resources be damned – what would you do?
Nicky and Erin took this as a very serious question and their answers were beautiful, but mine isn’t quite the same. If I could be doing anything right this second it would be laying on a HOT HOT HOT private beach somewhere with beautiful, crystal blue waters with Kyle and drinking endless frozen drinks. (Thank you snowmaggedon for this vision)
5. What kind of person do you aspire to be?
I want to be selfless. I want to be full of compassion toward every person I come in contact with. I want to live my life with the greater purpose of following God than simply living for my own reasons. I want to be passionate about whatever I’m doing, even if it’s not exactly what I thought it would be at that moment. I want to be forgiving. I want to be a giver.
6. What is your most valued characteristic in humans?
Trustworthy. Compassionate. Humorous. Joyful. (to name a few, because boy that’s a difficult question)
7. What is your favorite place to be?
Anywhere with Kyle- the one person that can make me laugh no matter what the situation.
8. What would you prepare for your ideal meal? [any time of day – breakfast, lunch, or dinner]
This special chicken my mom makes, fresh delicious veggies, including asparagus, Sister Schubert rolls and a warm, gooey, chocolatey dessert.
9. What do you consider to be among your most important decisions ever made?
Asking for Kyle’s AIM chat name from a mutual friend after he and I met for the first time (centuries ago). Choosing the UA. Going to LA for the IT project.
10. What is your favorite/best/most liked time of the day? Of the week? – and why?
Every Sunday morning going to church with Kyle. It’s so rejuvenating for the rest of the week and getting to spend it and share about it with the one I love is simply perfect.
11. What things/people/situations make you feel joyful?
Seeing friends I haven’t seen in a long time. Doing things that make me feel like a child (i.e. going to the premiere of High School Musical) Doing something/going somewhere solely because it means so much to the other person. Coffee dates. Spending time with people that aren’t afraid to laugh and do it often. Lots of sunshine. The last night of a vacation (though no one wants to leave, its often the best night) Babies.
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I would love to hear all of my reader’s answers, but I know that probably won’t happen. So please, please comment with your answer to at least one question.
XO
Five Things
As I’ve mentioned on here before, cupcakesandcashmere.com is one of my absolute favorite blogs ever. (And if you’ve never looked at it, you better hop on that asap) Every Friday she posts Five Things- pictures of random things throughout the week that make her happy. Well, in accordance with my blog post about making the last week before school count, I’ve decided to do a similar post, noticing all of the little things this week that just gave me a little extra smile. (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right?)
{Cappucino with cinnamon at Common Grounds}
{New Essie nail polish L to R: Decadent Diva, Steel-ing the Scene, We Can Do It Pink!}
{Pho, pronounced Fu, from Silk Road. One of the weirdest and most delicious things I’ve ever eaten, along with one of the best nights in recent memory}
{If you’ve EVER seen the inside of our refrigerator, you’ll understand}
{I spy with my little eye a feather extension…}
Guac, Cyber War and Snoop Dogg
Welcome to my week in pictures. They may appear random, but I promise I have a connection with all of them. I hope my life is at least somewhat mysterious to ya’ll. Enjoy.
Goodbye Summer, my dear sweet friend
Ah, a breath of fresh air.
Summer is over and school has finally arrived. Thus comes with it routine (which I LOVE) and includes keeping my blog updated to the best of my ability and trying, once again…. drumroll please……
P90X.
As you may or may not know, I tried to work my way through the grueling 90-day workout plan last year and lasted about.. 30ish days. It was Christmas break then and my birthday and all was lost. But I’m back on the bandwagon and this time I WILL MAKE IT! (because I have the support of my readers, right?! Anytime you want to send me inspirational quotes or pictures, go for it 🙂 )
At the end of June I created a summer bucket list. I am now here to evaluate my summer and see what I did and did not accomplish…
1. Start a blog *obviously, CHECK.
2. Read all the books on my summer reading list *CHECK. best book of the summer/my life: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
3.Go to the drive-in movie theatre *sadly no, but I still have a few more months until it closes!
4. Do the Branson Canopy Zipline *this will be moved to my life bucket list
5. Make at least 10 recipes I’ve been saving for the last year *okay, I’m giving myself a little credit here. I didn’t make 10, but I probably made around 5 and for a girl who eats out constantly, it was a success.
6. Chase down the ice cream truck with the neighborhood kids and buy something *So I didn’t exactly chase it down, but I did run outside when I heard the song and waited for it for about 10 minutes before I realized my dreams were lost on another neighborhood
7. Go canoeing {despite my dislike of the river} *Well, I didn’t do this either, but I do have plans for this for next weekend!!!!! So I can cross it off prematurely right?
8. Go to a water park *CHECK and I earn double points for this one, since it was a water park I’d never been to and I didn’t get sunburned
9. Sleep in and not feel guilty about it *CHECK and proud of myself.
10. Go to a rooftop party *this too will be transferred to my life bucket list. I think I need to live in a bigger city..
11. Take walks after dinner to the school playground and just swing *CHECK, one of the most memorable things about my summer
12. Take fashion risks *I think I can cross this one off from just last week when I put pink in my hair, wore a leopard print shirt and had fake tattoos all over my body……..
13. Catch fireflies *Does it count if I have the firefly jar sitting outside ready for them?
14. Write a letter to an old friend *CHECK, and how refreshing it was.
15. Find several DIY projects and DO THEM *This was attempted one day with the roomies and what we ended up with was three exhausted bodies, a galore of unending puzzles and a growing pile of toilet paper rolls for my yet-to-be-started project.
COMING UP NEXT TIME: School time reverie and a Senior Year Bucket List
The new and improved 1-day cleanse
Well, I failed. My 2-day cleanse did not go as planned. Here’s the rundown of day 1:
- Woke up and made a delicious smoothie per directions, couldn’t even drink all of it. Boy did I think I was getting off to a great start.
- Since I woke up at 10, making it to lunch wasn’t too hard, so I put my snack of cucumbers on my greens and made a nice vinaigrette of oil and balsamic vinegar. I then put some Italian seasoning on my 4 oz. of chicken and grilled it on the stove. It was a delicious meal that was very satisfying and reminded me how much I enjoy eating healthy and how easy it can be.
- 2 hours later- I was starving. Now I think it was all in my head since I knew I was on a diet, but I was literally starving. I was headed to Borders and ordered a big cup of green tea that I was allowed to have as a snack (remember my post about tea?!). Needless to say, it wasn’t a great snack.
- I headed home for dinner where my mom was making me a delicious dinner according to my cleanse (the exact same thing as lunch). Thank goodness I got home and my parents said, “We’re starving. We’re eating early.” So once again I ate a delicious dinner of 4 oz. of chicken and greens.
- Now the plan probably would have been great if I’d gone to bed 2 hours after dinner, but I didn’t. I went over to the bfs where he was snacking on chips and coke and I was starving and wanting a chip more than anything. BUT I was good and knew I couldn’t eat just one, so I didn’t eat anything and sat there in starvation.
- I woke up this morning prepared to go forth for the second day of the cleanse. However, I was soo hungry and shaky that I felt like I could barely walk and was going to pass out. This is when I decided I was going to stop this silliness.
What I learned: Cleanses are kind of ridiculous. You should never starve yourself. I enjoy eating healthy. I love diet coke. so. much. I hate green tea. so. much.
I did eat healthy today though and even made a wonderfully delicious treat: Monkey Bread. This recipe is definitely one to be shared, as it tastes just like normal monkey bread, but so much healthier for you.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated), divided
2 tsp. cinnamon, divided
2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
2 tbsp. sugar-free pancake syrup
2 tbsp. brown sugar (not packed)
1 package Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheet
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Directions:
Fresh out of the oven
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix 1 tbsp. Splenda and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a large bowl or container. Set aside. Spray six cups of a muffin pan with nonstick spray, and set pan aside as well.
Place a small pot on the stove, but do not heat it. Add butter, syrup, brown sugar, 2 tbsp. Splenda, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Leave this on the unheated stove, to be melted and mixed later on.
Roll out the dough on a clean dry surface, and sprinkle evenly with baking powder. Gently smooth baking powder into the sheet with your fingers.
Cut dough sheet widthwise into six strips equal in size. Cut each strip into four squares. Roll each square into a ball, for a total of 24 dough balls.
Place 12 dough balls in the bowl with the Splenda-cinnamon mixture. Lightly toss to coat, and then place them gently in the muffin pan, with four dough balls in each of three cups. No need to press the dough balls into the pan — just let them fall naturally. Repeat with remaining dough balls, so that each of the six muffin cups contains four coated dough balls. Set aside.
Bring the small pot on the stove to medium heat. Stirring frequently, heat just until butter has melted and contents are mixed well. Evenly spoon the butter mixture over the dough balls.
Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, or until puffy and firm. Allow to cool slightly, and then plate and enjoy!
MAKES 6 SERVINGS (Well, I don’t know about that…What can I say? It’s just too good!)
Zucchini for breakfast, zucchini for dinner
My latest eating healthy adventures have been all about the zucchini, and both have surprisingly turned out great. So pick up some fresh zucchini at your local Farmer’s Market and try these out.
Zucchini Rotini from Women’s Health
2 c whole wheat rotini
1 c fat free cottage cheese
2 tbsp salt-free Italian seasoning
1/2 c shredded zucchini
1 c canned, diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 c reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
This recipe was very easy to make and very delicious, reminding me of spaghetti squash for some reason. I couldn’t find whole wheat rotini so I used linguine instead. Also, I HATE cottage cheese, but wanted to try this recipe anyway and loved it. I honestly couldn’t taste the cottage cheese at all. I baked mine in the microwave in a small bread pan and it worked perfectly. Though the recipe claims it’s only 2 servings, ours was easily 3.
Zucchini Zazzle from Hungry Girl
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
3 tbsp. crushed walnuts, divided
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine both types of flour, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
In a separate medium bowl, mix together the zucchini, egg substitute, applesauce, butter, and vanilla extract. Slowly add this mixture to the first bowl, and stir until thoroughly blended. Mix half the crushed walnuts (1 1/2 tbsp.) into the batter.
Line 9 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners and/or spray with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute batter among the 9 cups. Top each cup with a sprinkling of the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp. crushed walnuts.
Bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool and then enjoy!
Review
These turned out GREAT! The zucchini taste was very subtle and really just tasted like a good, healthy muffin. Though the ingredient list may look daunting, you most likely already have a lot of it in your kitchen. I used a bit more walnuts in mine than called for, and the batter actually made 12 servings instead of 9. One thing I would be wary of is how long they are in the oven. After 20 minutes my toothpick came out clean, but there were still random gooey spots in a few of the muffins I’ve found as I’ve been eating them.
Well, my next foodie adventure is this 2-day cleanse, starting today with one of my roomies and my mom. I’ll give you the reviews Thursday!
m.davis xoxo 
