recipes

my sister posted about some delicious muffins that she made last weekend and i thought i'd do the same. this past weekend i made some of the yummiest muffins i've ever made, with the help of R's mom (they were out here visiting). i did take some pictures with the cellphone, but they're kinda blurry, not worth posting. and they cannot compare to the beautiful picture in the previous post. but watch out! these are healthy muffins!! (and R still liked them!)

MORNING GLORY MUFFINS (this is from the simonhouse cookbook)

2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/4 C white sugar (i did 3/4 C and they were just fine)
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon (okay i did like 3 or 4 tsp because i LOVE cinnamon!)
1/2 tsp salt

(i also added 1/8 tsp nutmeg and next time i'll add more. i LOVE cinnamon and nutmeg!)

2 C grated carrots
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C nuts
1/2 C coconut (which i skipped)
1 apple, diced

3 eggs
1 C oil (canola oil!)
2 tsp vanilla

in a large bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients. stir in the next 5 ingredients. in a bowl, beat eggs, oil and vanilla. stir into flour mixture until batter is just combined. spoon into muffin cups, filling almost to the top. bake at 350 for 17 minutes. makes 1.5-2 dozen.

so moist and yummy and delicious!!


now speaking of recipes, i'm in need of some help. we're having a potluck dinner for R's staff Christmas party, and we're supposed to bring our favorite international dish. (but not too 'americanized' ie. pizza). well, all the 'international' stuff that i make i think is pretty 'americanized', or it's too much work (ie. i make a mean enchilida), so i'm kind of stumped. any ideas for me?

also, due to the outlandish number of potlucks and gift exchanges i'm involved in this Christmas, i'd like to keep the cost down... so no meat dishes i guess. have any ideas??

For real....

I just found out that I passed my RN exam!! I can't believe that I'm finally FINALLY done! For real!

baking & sewing

i woke up yesterday morning and immediately got started on making a birthday cake for R and his staff to enjoy. i had decided to make a chocolate trifle - why i wanted to do so much work, i don't really know, when i could have just made something simple like chocolate cupcakes.

i decided to make the cake part in a stoneware 9x13 that i received as a gift years ago but never used. i always thought that it felt so rough - wouldn't everything just stick on? and it's so heavy. as i pulled it out of the box, i thought i had better wash it before it's first use, like i usually would. as it was drying on the counter i decided to check online to see how i'm supposed to use and care for this thing. over and over i kept reading "Never use soap on stoneware as the dish will absorb the soap and it will seep into your food causing your food to taste like soap". OOOPS! i quickly went and repeatedly rinsed out my dish, hoping to, I don't know, get the soap before the dish did. okay, and i'm supposed to cook a bunch of greasy dishes in it first, to "cure" it. oops again. but i figured that using it for a trifle would be a good trial because if it didn't come out quite right, i needed to crumble the cake anyway and no one would notice.
surprising, the cake turned out perfectly, it didn't stick, it didn't taste like soap and there's a little bit leftover. :) i brought the dessert to R's school at lunch to surprise him and i think i made his birthday a little happier and i know that the staff appreciated it too.

before R and i went out for dinner, i gave him a few presents. i was so SOOO pumped about one of his gifts. i sewed him a messenger bag and it looks so good! i'm quite proud of myself, as it feels like the majority of my little sewing projects only make it 3/4 done and then i just get too frustrated with my mistakes and give up. this is definitely the nicest thing that i have ever sewed from start to finish. he's been looking for a bag like this for probably a year now, so finally i decided to finally just make one.

the handsome birthday boy and his very attractive bag.


adjustable straps


and a plaid lining.

Happy birthday hunny. I love you.