Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The Weekend

Happy end of Labor Day Weekend!!  There were so many times I tried to sit down this weekend and write and then I got so caught up in activities.  Activities!

Friday night I went on my annual trip to the Sycamore Speedway to see some awesome car races.  Though this isn't normally my thing it's fun to do once a year. I get bored after a while but let's be honest, everyone is really just waiting for a wreck to happen.  When I have a kid someday I hope to include them in my once a year tradition at the speedway. I'll teach them to yell things like "Hammer it!"



Sunday I made an attempt at baking.  Cooking is also not usually my thing but I like to try something here and there. I've made this cake before and usually the results are a little better. This is a healthy-ish recipe that is simply a box of angel food cake mix with a can of cherry pie filling. I threw in some dark chocolate for good measure.  This was the first time I had a hand mixer for mixing (thank you wedding registry!) and I think I got a little carried away mixing it all up.  I know so little about baking but I think the mix was far too whipped. My mom also suggested my pan was too small.  So this happened:


And then this happened:
 It actually was still pretty tasty although a little too sweet for me.
I tried a different healthy-ish recipe that consisted of a box of cake mix and a can of pumpkin pie filling. Again, dark chocolate for good measure. I made this into muffins and they were out of this world amazing!  It was very cakey but not too sweet. I want to make these everyday for the rest of my life.

To make up for my sudden surge in baking my friend Janey and I have been getting up in the early hours every morning and walking. I am grateful to have a walking partner because I would otherwise sleep a little later and then feel bad all day for not exercising.  I get to see this in the mornings which is pretty inspiring!
 Yesterday was too depressing in the basement so I set up a studio outside.  I spray painted jars and hand painted sticks all afternoon and it was glorious.  I'm excited with all the new stuff I'm cranking out.  My studio is overrun with animal jars and glittery arrows and stick banners.  If only I had thought to use more feathers and glitter and craft paint in grad school.





How did you spend your weekend? Any healthy-ish sweet treat recipes you'd like to share? I'm listenin'

xoxo

3 comments:

kimjast said...

hi, Ann! I just had to respond to this one, since I have a really great recipe I've been making lately. Be well!

Maple Zucchini Bread from Epicurious, with my modifications to make it much better!

3 Eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup raw coconut oil, melted
1 1/4 cup real maple syrup
Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon (OPTIONAL)
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 C. ground flax seed
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3 cups well packed Shredded Zucchini (squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible)
1/2 C. flaked coconut, nuts, and/or chocolate chips (optional)


Preheat oven to 325.
In a large bowl, beat eggs, butter, coconut oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and syrup together. In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and then fold in the zucchini. Add any optional ingredients.
Pour batter into two greased and floured 9-inch loaf pans. Bake 50 minutes or a tester comes out clean.

A Beautiful Party said...

Thank you! I have always wanted to try a zucchini recipe. Maybe I'll toss a few dark chocolate pieces in? ( :

anna said...

I thought you might like this, especially when you scroll down:

http://chadwys.com/works_readymades11.htm

I love to bake, but I hate measuring, so it's always a surprise how it turns out :) Yours look tasty though!