The FALL hike: Lake Ingalls

FINALLY the scorching, 80-degree, excessively sunny Seattle days are behind us! Summer is by far my least favorite season in Seattle, and I do realize that I am in the minority of Seattlelites with that feeling. It seems like everyone waits all year-long for 40+ days of sunshine...not me! The only thing about summer is the sunsets that I enjoy- and I could live without them if it meant we would go straight from Spring to Autumn.

There are so many things that I love about fall in Seattle: the wonderful weather, crunchy leaves, cozy sweaters, wearing scarves,  pumpkin everything, foggy and misty mornings, crockpot recipes galore, new seasons of TV shows return, wearing boots everyday is a given, banks start putting out the good halloween candy for customers to take, watching Hocus Pocus, cuddling up with extra blankets, and clocks change which means one more hour of procrastination. However, the foremost reason I love Seattle is that it's the optimal and most gorgeous time for hiking the trails.

On my fall hikes must-list was to do a hike that was saturated with golden larch trees. To witness golden larch trees, Seattlelites must drive about 3 hours to the Central Washington area or drive to British Columbia. Timing your hike is important; the larch trees are only golden yellow for a short amount of time. The trail that I satisfied my larch need was Lake Ingalls.

Lake Ingalls is located in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and is a very popular hiking destination during the summer and fall months. It offers spectacular views of Mount Stuart, However, I went on this hike for the LARCHES, but got so much more out of the hike. I couldn't have asked for better weather. Along the trail in this Alpine Lakes Wilderness, you can also see Mount Rainier and Mount Adams. Wildlife is abundant including mountain goats, and at the lake chipmunks that will try to steal your lunch. There is a lot of rock scrambling on this trail, and there are cairns to help guide you around the rocks but it is very easy to lose the trail (as I did).

Below are some of my pictures that I took during the hike, with an emphasis on the larch trees and Lake Ingalls. This hike became my favorite hike EVER and solidifying once again my love for autumn and Washington.

At the end of the trail you arrive at Lake Ingalls. This is Mount Stuart.

Me at Lake Ingalls

Mount Stuart and a field of golden larch trees

Golden larches

Yellow is the new green

Aren't they beautiful

Lake Ingalls and the reflection of the mountains

Rock scrambling

Mount Rainier through the golden larches. 

Sunbeamin' through the golden larch trees

Saw six mountain goats along the trail

Looking up

Golden Larches everywhere

Up close and personal

Forest of larches

Entering the Alpine Lake Wilderness and where you start seeing golden larch trees

Standing at the top of a waterfall while Mount Stuart is showing up in the clear skies

Signage at the beginning of the trailhead

Climbing Coldwater Peak-Mount St. Helens

After almost 30 months living in Seattle, I finally made a trip to Gifford Pinchot National Forest, home to Mount St. Helens. Most everyone knows that Mount St. Helens is no ordinary mountain, but rather an active volcano. It had a destructive eruption in 1980 that was more than news-worthy, but few know that in 2004 it was once again active causing lava eruptions and small earthquakes. During the 2004-2008 eruption, the lava erupted added about 7% of the volume lost in the 1980 eruption.

This summer I have made two separate hiking trips to Mount St. Helens, one day-trip and the other a three-day weekend. The first trip (only a daytrip) was mid-August and we hiked part of the Boundary Trail from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. We hiked the Boundary Trail around Devil’s Elbow to the first overlook of Spirit Lake and then turned back. Also this trip we hiked the family-friendly Hummocks Trail. This day of hiking consisted of a complete overcast. It was so cloudy that we could only see the base of Mount St. Helens and not even a glimpse of the oh-so-famous crater.

This picture is taken from the same spot: showing how cloudy it was during my first visit compared to the clear skies on the second visit.

The second trip this summer was the weekend after Labor Day (three weeks after my first visit); we did a three-day weekend consisting of 35 miles of trails. We hiked Ape Cave, Lava Canyon, Windy Ridge, Coldwater Peak, Harry’s Ridge, and Coldwater Lake. Each trail provided a unique view of Mount St. Helens and it’s surrounding peaks and landscape. During this entire weekend it was nothing but clear skies, so I finally got to witness the crater.

My favorite trail was Coldwater Peak, and that is the one I will showcase in this blog post.

The trailhead begins at Johnson Ridge Observatory, which means I was repeating about 3 miles of the trail that I attempted in mid-August. However, since it was so sunny, it was like I was hiking a completely different trail. It became very clear to me how much the clouds covered up on my first visit when we got to the first overlook of Spirit Lake. Nestled between mountain peaks in the distance was Mount Adams. As we continued on the trail we encountered terrain that was only white ash, which has a very interesting consistency when hiking on it. We passed Harry’s Ridge side trail on our way to Coldwater Peak (we discussed hiking it if we still had the energy and stamina on the returned trip from hiking Coldwater Peak). Just around the corner from Harry’s Ridge was an expansive view of Spirit Lake and Mount Adams. As we stood at this overlook, Coldwater Peak stood behind us.

We began climbing Coldwater Peak, which had gradual switchbacks that allowed alternating views of Spirit Lake/Mount Adams/Silver Star Mountain and Mount St. Helens.  The trail up the mountain consisted of wildflowers, blown down trees (stumps only remaining) and very short trees. Once we got to the top, we were rewarded with an outstanding panoramic view of everything. Since it was an absolutely cloudless day, we could see everything from miles. Two things you cannot see until the summit of Coldwater Peak is Mount Rainier (the tip of the mountain) and the deep blue St. Helens Lake. The sweeping view from the mountain really allowed one to see the devastation of the eruption path caused by the volcano in 1980, and how the area is slowly recovering.

This is at the top of Coldwater Peak: Mount St. Helens and Spirit Lake in the background. The ridge in the middle of the picture is Harry Ridge, which we also hiked that day.

At the top of Coldwater Peak: Mount Adams and Spirit Lake in the background.

Panoramic at the top of Coldwater Peak: Views of Mount Adams, Spirit Lake, Harry's Ridge, and Mount St. Helens.

Panoramic at the top of Coldwater Peak: Views of Mount St. Helens Lake, Mount Adams, Spirit Lake, Harry's Ridge,  and Mount St. Helens.

Mount St. Helens Lake at the top of Coldwater Peak. You can see just the white snow-capped peak of Mount Rainier in the background.

Along the Coldwater Peak trail: blown down tree from the eruption of 1980 and Mount St. Helens.

Bridge along the trail to Coldwater Peak (in the background), you pass it along the way to Harry's Ridge too.

As soon as you pass Devil's Elbow on the Boundary Trail, this is the first overlook of Spirit Lake. That is Mount Adams in the background.

View of Coldwater Peak from the Boundary Trail.

Once we finished our lunch, we hiked down the mountain and decided we were committed to climbing Harry’s Ridge while we were in the area. From the viewpoint of Harry’s Ridge we were able to see the parking lot of Windy Ridge. The day before, we had drove over to Windy Ridge and climbed the staircase trail to the top. If you find yourself on the Boundary Trail, I would recommend making the side hiking trip over Harry’s Ridge because it does provide a different perspective and viewpoint.

Hiking Harry's Ridge trail with Mount St. Helens in the background.

View of Mount St. Helens from the top of Harry's Ridge.

Panoramic view from Harry's Ridge: Mount Adams, Spirit Lake, and Mount St. Helens.

Hiking back to Johnson Ridge Observatory, I couldn’t help but reflect on where I was standing, what I accomplished that day, and what I got to see. Weather is so variant in the Pacific Northwest, and this day was truly a rare occasion and I realized not only how lucky I was to see everything, but was reminded that I live in such an amazing place. People travel from all over the country (and other countries) to come to a place that I call home. I know this isn't the end of the story of my time spent at Mount St. Helens. This trip provided so many memories and continued my love affair with the Evergreen State.

You may not have a volcano in your backyard, but lace up your shoes and get outdoors and explore something, anything!

Euphemania: Our Love Affair With Euphemisms

Euphemisms, I kind of love them. They are especially amusing when I have to explain them to my Iranian father.  Whenever, he comes across them and does not know the meaning, he usually then comments; "how is anyone suppose to learn English with all this American slang?"  However, he is such a good sport; he has a notebook where he writes down the words/phrases so he can refer back to them if needed; even in his late 60s, my dad is still a dedicated student. The most recent euphemism I had to explain to my dad was "couch potato"; however, he called it "potato couch." After learning the meaning behind "couch potato" my dad then used it repeatedly for about a week to describe as many things as possible, including their cockatiel, Joey.

I recently read the book, Euphemania Our Love Affair With Euphemisms. It contains details about where euphemisms come from, why we need them, and what they tell us about who we are. The chapters in the book are: Mincing Words, From Bears to Bowdlerism, Speaking of Sex, Anatomy Class, Secretions and Excretions, Under the Weather and In the Ground, Comestibles, Show Me the Liquidity, Words of War, Brave New Words, and Why We Euphemize. The author, Ralph Keyes, has other interesting books that I plan on reading in the future. Here are some of the most intriguing euphemisms from the book:

• Winston Churchill asked the butler for some breast of chicken. A women sitting next to him told him he shouldn’t use such vulgar terms. Churchill responded, “What should I have asked for?” The lady then responded, “White meat.” The next day, Churchill sent the woman a corsage with the message, “Pin this on your white meat.”
• Patients who once had “nervous breakdowns” now have nervous breakthroughs
• In Midwest towns, brown paper grocery containers are called “sacks” not “bags.” This may be puzzling until you discover that bag is a euphemism for “scrotum” in some parts of the United States.
• “Bloody” was once the most offensive of words in Britain, today it’s a relatively innocuous piece of verbal punctuation
• Multipurpose euphemistic words: blankety-blank, doo-dah, thingamajig, thingy, whatsit, whatnot, and you-know-what.
• Tushie music is what a family in Los Angeles called flatulence. For a while a fart was referred to as “a one-o’clock” in Austraila because before World War II, a cannon was fired at that time of day from Fort Denison in Sydney’s harbor. A onetime euphemism or farting was talking German.
• Excrement is known as “happy toads,” “creating a big job,” “square root of four” and of course “number two.”
• Hell became known as Helen, Halifax, and hen. Or, as Canadians called the devil’s abode, h-e-double-hockey-sticks
• Instead of saying “Good God!” one could say “Good gravy”. Charlie Brown-a creation of devout Christian Charles Schulz-would never say “Good God!” He would say “good grief!” 
• Shakespearean scholar Pauline Kiernan has tallied more than 180 synonyms for female genitals in the Bard’s plays, 200 for the male version, and 700 verbal variations on sex plays.
• Bible euphemisms by American lexicographer Noah Webster:
• “Are there yet any more sons in my womb” was changed to “Shall I bear more sons?”
• Biblical mothers would no longer “give sucke” to their babies, in Webster’s Bible would “nurse their young ones.”
• The line “they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss” in Isaiah 36:12 was refined to read “they may devour their vilest excretions.
• Even seemingly inoffensive phrases such as “the river shall stink” in Exodus 7:18 gave way to “the river shall be offensive in smell”
• Euphemisms for trousers: irrepressibles, indescribables, ineffables, unutterables, nether garments, continuations, don’t name’ems, and mustn’t mention’ems
• Euphemisms for "panty” undergarment, underthing, unmentionable, or smalls (short for small clothes)
• Academy was a euphemism for “brothel” those who worked there were called academicians
• Sexual euphemisms: donating DNA, exchanging chromosomes, horizontal aerobics, hoochie coochie, hanky-panky, and roll in the hay.
• Using sexual euphemism with children: they have a special cuddle or they kiss and hug for a very long time.
• Anatomy euphemisms:
• Balding men can be said to have “high foreheads”
• Wrinkled faces feature “character lines”
• Among men who don’t feel tall enough  prefer to be called compact, trim, or diminutive
• Instead of stomach using words tummy, tumtum, breadbasket, Little Mary, midriff, midsection, abdomen
• When a picture of Barack Obama’s speechwriter Jon Favreau caressing the chest of a life-size Hillary Clinton cutout circulated on the Internet, columnist Kathleen Parker was reduced to writing that Favreau had been figuratively “captured clutching the prospective secretary of state’s, um, pectoral area.”
• Johnson is the last name most often used for the male sex organ
• Behind: buttocks, bum, derriere, heinie, culo, tushie, tush, and keister
• Secretions and Excretions
• Better mouths never “throw up” and certainly wouldn’t upchuc, retch, barf, spew, puke, hurl or hug the throne, but at times do regurgitate, purge or vomit.
• Under the weather and in the ground
• LOL was a euphemism for “little old lady” in hospital corridors
• When they can’t determine what-if anything-is wrong, some doctors say a patient has TEETH (tried everything else; try homeopathy)
• FLK for “funny looking kid” (one with an odd appearance but unspecified malady)
• Wallet biopsy (checking a patient’s ability to pay)
• Euphemisms for drunk: tipsy, all geezed up, and at peace with the floor

How To Quinoa: Life Lessons

Some may classify the stereotypical Seattleite (a person whom lives in Seattle) as one who always wears plaid, shields themselves from any bright lights or sunlight, believe umbrellas are for suckers and of course for tourists, recycling and composting are their religion, they can somewhat drive in the rain but it starts snowing and they start abandoning their vehicles on the road, 50% are either driving a Subaru or a Hybrid, and every dish could use some kale or more kale. I have embraced many of these stereotypes, and through excessive people watching have realized why Seattle is regarded as the most “hipster” city in the United States.

A book I have recently come across, How To Quinoa: Life Lessons from My Imaginary Well-Dressed Daughter, is basically a “how-to” on becoming exponentially more interesting and on-trend. The foundation of the book came from the Pinterest board, My Imaginary Well-Dressed Toddler Daughter. The daughter’s name is Quinoa. If you have no idea what “quinoa” is then you are in desperate need of this book, and you should immediately stop eating at Fastfood Restaurants. Here are some examples from the empowering, fictional, girl that will make you realize how uncool your childhood was, but how you can save your own child’s reputation.

The Rules of Being a Hipster:

• You do not call yourself a hipster.
•  If something is deemed “cool” or “mainstream” or “popular,” its appeal is immediately over.
• Only two neck tattoos, temporary or otherwise.
• One scarf at a time, fellas
• No well-tailored shirts, no cheap shoes (only expensive shoes that look like cheap shoes).
• Irony will go on as long as it has to.
• Mustaches. Period.

Essential Hipster Vocabulary List: mainstream, retro, on-point, vintage, locally sourced, mid-century modern, indie, early adopter, pickled, and organic.

Suspected Undercover Hipsters: Queen Elizabeth, Regis Philbin, Peyton Manning, Honey Boo Boo, and Jeff Gordon

Quinoa-approved names: Aioli, Asterisk, Cardamom, Chai, Chardonnay, Downton, Edamame, Farro, Fig, Hashtag, Iffy, Kale, Latte, Orzo, Paleo, Panko, Saffron, Sriracha, Twerk, Valium, Venti, Wasabi,  and Zoloft

The Seven Deadly Sins of Fashion: yoga pants, pleated jeans, fleece jackets, coveralls, toe socks, athletic jerseys, and Hawaiian shirts

Ten Buzzwords to Get Your Preschool Application Noticed: demonstrated interest, charter, rigor, assessment, e-learning, crowdsourcing, diversity, data-driven, activism, and tolerance.

The key to choosing worthwhile extracurricular activities, Quinoa says, is to follow three simple criteria: Can it be posted on Pinterest? Can it be posted on Instagram? Can it be posted on Youtube? Anything that falls outside these criteria is not worth her time.

Quinoa urges you to avoid these outdated and subpar activities: soccer, violin, finger painting, Gymboree, book clubs, mommy and me, swimming, and piano.

Quinoa’s Top Ten Charities: Kids Against Coveralls, Boat Rides for Orphans, Eighties Awareness,  Friends of Soy, Handbags for Hobos, Yachts for Tots, Makeovers for the Middle Class, Dry-cleaning for the Destitute,  and Eradicating Tie-Dye

Quinoa’s Respectable and Elaborate Playdate Themes: An Afternoon with Ryan Gosling, Mason Jar Mania, Snack Time at Tiffany’s, Mirrors! Mirrors! Everywhere!, and CSI: Preschool

When to Turn Down a Subpar Invitation: no dress code, mention of trampolines/bicycles/laser tag, fairy-tale princess dress-up, words casual or sneakers included on the invitation, BYO anything, crayon or lego affiliation, rumors of juice boxes or raisins on the menu, and locations with word “playland”.

Qunioa’s Essential International Phrases:

• “It’s a pleasure to meet me.”
• “Yes, I am the one you’ve been hearing about.”
• “Bring me a freshly baked pastry before my blood sugar drops any lower.”
• “I’ll take one of everything.”
• “This food does not meet my expectations. Please have the chef fired.”
• “Can you please remove these tourist from the area?”
• “I’m going to need you to speak English.”
• “Does this ancient artifact come in blue?”
• “Here, Driver. Please take this deodorant. And use it.” 

Disclaimer: There is more advice in this book. In addition, the photos in this book will instantly make you feel like you must throw everything out of your closet, hire a stylist, and replace everything you own in your closet and house to even begin to look a fraction of on-trend as the toddlers in this book. Yes, I was envious and jealous of every-single toddler featured in this book. And one of my favorite topics in this book is the page of acceptable children's name; it's absolutely genius!

My Keurig's Eulogy

My dearest Keurig, I met one of your cousins at a friend’s house. They asked me if I cared for a hot beverage (very Sheldon Cooper of them) and then began naming about 30 different blends of coffees, teas, and hot chocolates that I could choose from. I was intrigued with the capability of a single kitchen appliance, and it was instant love. Later, when I gazed upon you on the shelves at the Waterloo, Iowa Bed Bath & Beyond store, I knew instantly that your black and stainless steel look matched my kitchen appliances perfectly and when your screen would light up blue, it would be the perfect pop of color for my kitchen décor.

When I got you home, I took you out of your box and no assembly was required. I just needed to provide some water into your reservoir in order for you to begin producing the liquid of life, coffee.  I have always preferred coffee that doesn’t taste like food (i.e. French toast blends) and you had plenty of roasts to choose from that fulfilled this coffee need. I had a brief affair with your chai latte K-cups but it ended quickly and I used you mostly for coffee.  Your easy, no mess, no hassle brewing capability allowed me to kick a daily 8-shots of espresso habit that I developed in undergrad; you most likely saved my bladder, kidneys, and heart from a caffeine overdose. You instantly became a welcomed member of my kitchen appliance family, and were always proudly displayed on my kitchen counter. The day your blue lighted screen no longer shone brightly throughout my kitchen, I felt like a little piece of me would be forever lost.

Not only did you save my life, but you made my life a little less complicated by being so convenient. You gave me the strength in order to procrastinate and remain awake to actually complete assignments and study for tests in undergraduate and graduate school. My degrees I received in college belong to you too. You allowed me to greet each morning with a smile (after a cup of coffee, of course) and you made dealing with the world and people tolerable with caffeine racing through my body.

Somehow I have managed to make non-coffee drinking friends, and you allowed the option for them to be served tea through your awesomeness and ability to not judge them for drinking a subpar beverage.  Keeping K-cups stocked in my cabinet was too easy through the option of ordering them online through keurig.com or visiting the many different stores that carry these little pods of heaven. I still have almost 100 K-cups remaining in my cabinet, and every time I see them, I am reminded that they are most likely depressed because you are no longer around; they are orphans.

I still have not replaced you with another Keurig; it is just too soon. My friend gave me a French Press to utilize during my mourning period, but don’t worry my precious Keurig, it’s just a rebound coffee machine. Sure, the coffee is more aromatic and tastes better, but you have ruined me for all other coffee brewing systems.

You worked hard your entire life and I will forever owe you for your servitude and devotion.  May you rest in peace and continue to provide coffee to the millions. You touched my life, and I will never forget all the coffee-infused memories you gave me during your nine years.

Smitten Kitchen Part III

For the past few months I have continued to cook my way through my favorite cookbook, Smitten Kitchen. Here are my most recent adventures and my advice/opinion about the recipes that I have attempted. I continue to recommend that if you do not own this cookbook you definitely should!!

Maple Bacon Biscuits

First off, my family doesn’t eat pork products; therefore, the bacon aforementioned will be turkey bacon. And since I have never had piggy bacon I can truthfully state that turkey bacon is absolutely as delicious as pork bacon (ignorance is bliss, right?). However, for extra flavor the author used bacon fat in the biscuit dough, but turkey bacon is very lean and lets say I got about three drops of bacon fat instead of two tablespoon. Therefore, I had to add extra butter to the dough. Also, I was making these for Father’s Day, and my parent’s did not have buttermilk; therefore, I made my own, using skim milk and vinegar.  These flaky biscuits were very delicious! The maple syrup and bacon in the dough made them irresistible to everyone, and there were zero leftovers.

Yummy turkey bacon peeking through the cooked biscuits

Fig, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt Challah

I love fresh, hot bread; however, I have not been able to find a bread recipe that convinces me to put in all the extra work making homemade bread myself; instead of just buying bread from a bakery. The consensus about this recipe is that it was flavorsome but it too much work for this cook. The flavor combination was what intrigued me, with main ingredients being: honey, olive oil, figs, orange zest, and orange juice. If I was to make this again, I would triple the orange zest because there was barely a hint of it on my palate. I do not have a stand mixer with a dough hook, so I had to make the dough by hand (which it gives these directions as well in the recipe book). The making of the dough and fig paste gave me zero problems, just took a plethora of time. The problems that arose for me dealt with the weaving of the challah….my weaving skills are subpar at best, I got the eight-legged woven-headed octopus, but something went wrong with my left-right jumps that followed. So my challah didn’t look Food Network worthy, but I put it in the oven because looks aren’t everything.  The cookbook states that the bread is done when a thermometer reading of 195 degrees is obtained….my bread was done at 165 degrees. The bread was good fresh out the oven but I swore that it was not worth to make it again, and if I craved fig challah again, that I would buy challah from a bakery and then add some fig paste to it. However, I felt that as I nibbled on it for the next few days (I took the leftovers on a weekend hiking trip), the flavor got more intense and the inside remain soft and moist.

My misshaped baked challah bread

Finished weaving and added egg wash; ready to place in the oven

It was after this step that I screwed up the weaving process

The two long ropes with one cut in half so you will have four ropes to do the weaving

Applying the fig paste to the rolled out bread dough

Bread after it has raised twice it's size

Fig paste

Before the bread dough had risen

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

I love the dough recipe in this cookbook, and the Everyday Margarita Pizza I have already made several times. The next pizza featured in the cookbook is Shaved Asparagus pizza. I have made this recipe twice. The second time I added sun-dried tomatoes; in addition, I added more green onions than the recipe asked. In the end, when the pizza was taken out of the oven, I added red pepper flakes and more Parmesan cheese as toppings. I can see myself craving the Everyday Margarita Pizza more often than this pizza, but this Asparagus Pizza should definitely not be overlooked, because it was a refreshing twist on a pizza.

Getting ready to go in the oven

Fresh out of the oven, just look at that irresistible crust

Adding the finishing touches, the green onions (not shown are the sun-dried tomatoes)

Flat Roasted Chicken with Tiny Potatoes

This was my first time working with a whole chicken, and anytime I have to deal with raw meat, (especially poultry) in that moment, I am always wondering why I am not a vegetarian, and then when it’s cooked and tastes so delicious, I know why I am an omnivore. This recipe was no exception. Preparing the chicken for the oven, I removed the backbone with my kitchen shears (by the way, the sound of cutting bone is more cringe-worthy than nails on a chalkboard), and then I discovered that all the inners (liver, gizzards, heart, etc) were still inside. I know people can probably make delicious dishes out of the inners of animals (my father is one of them) but I will not be a taste-tester for you; so my chicken’s inners went unused, until some kitty cat finds them in a landfill. I followed the recipe except I put my whole package of fresh thyme in it, because I love the taste and herbs spoil in the refrigerator too quickly. This recipe requires so few ingredients but the flavor of the drippings was amazing. For leftovers, I took all the meat off the bones and I am letting them soak in some of the drippings in the refrigerator. The chicken part of this recipe I would make again; however, the tiny potatoes were barely mediocre. I have concluded that I enjoy fingerling potatoes over golden potatoes for future recipes.

Getting ready to go in the oven

Right out of the oven. I used my cast iron dutch oven to cook this dish

Cooked chicken with the drippings and fresh thyme

Harvest Roast Chicken with Grapes, Olives, and Rosemary

First I need to inform you that I think olives are the second worst smelling food in my opinion (bananas are first); therefore, I left the olives out of this recipe and put more grapes instead. This will be my go-to chicken recipe for the future;  it was so savory, filling, and mouth-watering. For the recipe, I just used chicken legs, although the recipe states that any part of the chicken can be used. I did not use fresh rosemary but rather dried rosemary from my spice cabinet. The sauce was what made this recipe outstanding, and there was definitely some slurping of the sauce when I was devouring this dish.

Almost ready to serve...yum yum!

Buttered Popcorn Cookies

I made this recipe with my niece, so I am definitely going to “blame” the imperfections that happened in this recipe on her. This recipe intrigued me because I was so curious on the texture of the cookie with the popcorn in it. This was my first time making stovetop popcorn and I definitely didn’t experience beginners luck; there was a lot of burnt popcorn on the bottom, but I had doubled the amount of popcorn in the beginning so we could snack on it, so I had enough for the recipe even thought 50% was burnt beyond use. Another friend has attempted this recipe, and she used an air popper for her popcorn; therefore, if you just have microwave popcorn I think it will be fine. The cookie batter of this recipe was divine, and yes I risked salmonella to taste test it. In the batter, I tripled the amount of vanilla. The baked cookies smelled beyond mouthwatering; just think of the smell combination of buttered popcorn and freshly baked cookies, delicious right! My family tried the cookies but my niece and I were the only ones that had seconds. The cookies were satisfying but the texture was so unique that I could see how some may not like it; plus I think my niece and I over whipped the batter so the cookies came out of the oven a little flat. I was thinking about using the batter from this recipe and putting some butterscotch or M&Ms for a future cookie.

Uncooked cookie with popcorn in it

Freshly baked popcorn cookies

Blueberry Cornmeal Butter Cake

When I drink my morning cups (yes, cupS) of coffee, I usually eat something for breakfast with a little bit of sweetness because I drink my coffee black, and my coffee is always a plain roast (no flavors resembling any kind of food, hazelnut/French toast etc). This cake was perfect for my coffee snack, breakfast, after lunch snack, and dessert; I think that covers all the times I ate it. My favorite part of this recipe was the streusel topping, and it was my family’s favorite as well. I used a longer pan than what was recommend, so my “bars” were not as thick, but that didn’t make them any less scrumptious.  Also, we did not have sour cream so I substituted yogurt instead. Another great thing about this recipe is that I always have all the ingredients (except blueberries) in my kitchen. This will definitely be a recipe I make in the future.

Unbaked batter without streusel topping

Unbaked batter with streusel topping 

Baked cake

A slice of all kinds of blueberry goodness

Olive Oil Ricotta Cake with Concord Grape Coulis

I was making this recipe for my family in Missouri, and their small town grocery stores do not carry Concord Grapes; therefore, red seedless grapes were substituted. Anytime lemon is added to a food, such as a bread or cake, I have always enjoyed it, and in my opinion there can never be too much lemony-flavored in desserts. A topping suggestion for the cooked cake is confectioner’s sugar, but there was definitely enough sweetness in the grape coulis.

Grape Coulis

Baked Oil Olive Ricotta Cake

A lemony masterpiece