One Happy Lady

I turned 38 last Tuesday. I took three days off work and had the most wonderful of birthday celebrations. My days were filled with friends, food and time with Frank doing my favorite things in Fort Worth.

I made S'mores cupcakes again this year. Homemade and toasted marshmallows on top this time.

We go to the Japanese Gardens in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens every year around my birthday. It is the perfect time to see the leaves changing and the weather was just right.

On Monday we had an "Epic Picnic" and a hike in the Fort Worth Nature Center. It is one of my favorite secluded places in the area. There are hiking trails and they are actually hilly. I had been planning this picnic in my mind since our vacation when we picnicked in Central Park and Great Falls State Park. It lived up to my expectations!

On Tuesday night we had dinner with four of our closest friends. My friend Alley snapped this picture of my and I think I look so happy here. I truly feel honored and blessed to have a life filled with friends and love and to have spent my birthday enjoying delicious food and the beauty of perfect Fall days in Texas. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!

*I don't think I shared this but I twisted my ankle jogging about three weeks ago.  It could have been a lot worse, but I had to sit out for three weeks.  I'm finally back at it and do not want to miss any more of these perfect days.  I just need to be outside, especially when the weather is nice.  Not getting to run makes me tense and I'm so glad my ankle has healed.

Korean Short Ribs and not much else

Follow my blog with Bloglovin Looking through my photos on my camera roll I can tell that nothing exciting has been happening the last few weeks.  It is HOT.  I have no motivation or work out or cook.  It's all about keeping cool and staying still.  I'm ready for Fall.  I'm ready for running outside, sunset walks on the trail, working in the garden and just enjoying the weather.  Cooler days, please hurry.

I haven't been sewing much, though I did finish a knit top and fix a couple of things from my pile yesterday.  Mostly It's been work and vacation planning, which is oh so exciting!

We did cook something completely new to us, Korean style short ribs. They were amazing, so much flavor! I cooked them in the crock pot and it made the house smell so good. I think the marinade would be yummy on pork as well. We also tried a new restaurant, a Vietnamese place that had been recommended to me. My favorite thing was the Vietnamese iced coffee. After dinner we went to an Asian market and I almost bought the contraption filter thingy to make my own at home as well as the coffee itself. I talked myself out of it and now I'm kicking myself.

I miss my family

We went to visit my family in San Marcos weekend before last. It was a great weekend, with swimming, relaxing, visiting friends and my sister in law's birthday party. Of course it went by way too fast, and we came home exhausted, and then I proceeded to get sick last week. We did enjoy the weekend though and can never get enough time with our niece Karlie. I made her a Ballet Folklorico inspired dress. She is wearing it in these pictures that Frank took. My mom is going to add ribbons around the bottom of the dress for her.

These were taken at the San Marcos Farmers Market on Saturday.
 

I used Simplicity 2377 for the bodice and drafted a Double Circle Skirt.

We visited a friend who has some land and lots of animals in San Marcos.  Now I'm daydreaming (even more) of moving down there.  Summers are made for swimming and there are numerous swimming holes.  Not to mention that I miss my family like crazy and want to be near them.  Visiting three or four times a year is just not cutting it.  I want to dye fabric and sew with mom, see Karlie at least once a week, swim any and every day of the Summer and perhaps go back to being a country girl.  I'm not sure Frank is convinced yet.



My daydreams are contained in my Pinterst boards for the moment. They include living in the Airstream for a little while. I know it would be a challenge but I think I'm up for it. A hot tub wouldn't hurt!

We swam at Jacob's Well on Sunday.  Cold, clear water, my favorite type of swimming hole.
 

I made my Sister In Law a birthday cake, cause that's what I do for the people I love! It was Vanilla Cake with Caramel Sauce and (OMG! Where has this been all my life!) Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting.

Sorry for the super long post. I figured I better get it all in there since my blogging has been few and far between lately.

Chocolate+Caramel+Vanilla Bean=Magic

I wanted to make a birthday cake for my friend Susan and her daughter's birthdays. I chose the chocolate cake recipe that I used for Dad's birthday because everyone love it and said it was the moistest cake they had ever eaten. It is an easy cake too, I don't even use my mixer for this one. I topped the cake with a homemade Salted Caramel sauce, which perfectly melded with the cake. I topped it all off with a vanilla bean meringue, which I was afraid would be too sweet. When it was all put together it was a perfect balance of flavors. Everyone loved it and between the seven of us we finished it off.
 

Here are the recipes for the Chocolate Cake (I halved the recipe and baked one 9" layer) and Salted Caramel Sauce .  I overcooked the caramel and it came out tasting slightly burnt. It isn't noticeable with the cake but I would not go by the temp on the recipe.  Mine never got that hot and still tasted burnt.  I think you are fine to just cook your sugar till it just starts to turn amber and then add your cream.

Vanilla Bean Meringue
Half of a recipe from Sugar Baby (an awesome book)

5 Egg Whites
1 Cup Sugar
Pinch Salt
1/2 Vanilla bean, seeds scraped from pod
1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer add egg whites, sugar, salt, vanilla bean seeds and vanilla extract.  Place the bowl over a bain-marie (a simmering saucepan of water). Clip on a  candy thermometer and whisk constantly until the sugar has completely dissolved (I stick two fingers in and rub to see if I feel any granules) and the temperature has reached 160 degrees F.  Immediately transfer the bowl to the mixer and whisk on high until the mixture holds soft peaks and the bowl no longer feels hot to the touch.

At the end of this step you have meringue.  You could go on to make Swiss Buttercream but I stopped here and topped my cake with meringue then toasted it with my torch.  Even though this was a half recipe I had a lot leftover and didn't do anything with it fast enough and it separated.  What a waste of Vanilla Bean!  I should have made Meringue cookies with what was left, or made an even smaller batch.

A coworker asked for some brownies for her birthday, because I had made them for her baby shower. So I made the famous Baked Brownies and topped them with caramel sauce about 2/3 of the way through baking. Another winning combo! My coworkers gobbled them up.

Favorite Breakfast

My favorite breakfast lately has been some combination of Egg, Greens and Veggies. It started as a breakfast sandwich with Kale or Spinach from the garden, but the Spinach is done now. I have been leaving off the bread lately to save calories. Mostly making fried eggs, but sometimes scrambled. I always add avocado if I have it and lately I have been adding goat cheese.


Isn't that tomato gorgeous?! Unfortunately that plant up and died on me, I'm not sure what happened.

Mmm, so yummy and healthy. I love it when those two things coincide.

Milkshake Smoothie

My favorite new treat is what I like to call a Milkshake Smoothie. I made the recipe up and it came out great, so I have to share.

 

Milkshake Smoothie
1 Cup unsweetened Original Almond Milk
3/4 Cup frozen Chopped Bananas
2 Teaspoons Raw Cacao Powder
1 Tablespoon Almond Butter

Blend and be amazed!

*I have tinkered with quantities and this is what I have settled on. Two Tablespoons Almond Butter is also delish but adds a lot more calories, so I stick to one. This is usually a breakfast smoothie for me. You could use other types of milk or nut butters and I'm sure it would work with regular cocoa powder, but the Raw stuff is supposed to be really good for you.

Frank's Birthday Cake

Frank turned 40 last week and we had a wonderful extended celebration. I made him the Apple Pie Layer cake from Momofuku Milk Bar. I still haven't bought the cookbook, but it is on my wish list. Everything that I have made from it has been fantastic, and this was no exception. I was told at dinner with friends that it was the best cake one friend had ever eaten, and that is high praise!

As with all of Christina Tosi's recipes, there were a lot of steps to this cake. There is the Brown Butter Cake layers, the Pie crumbles, Pie Crumble Frosting, Liquid Cheesecake and Apple Pie filling. I left out the Apple Cider soak because Frank isn't a fan of vinegary things. I also made this cake sans cake ring and acetate. It held together, but only barely. I think the presentation is a lot more beautiful with those gadgets. I will have to invest in those supplies for next time. You can find all the recipes for this cake here, if you are inclined to tackle it. It is most definitely a labor of love and I think it was befitting a 40th birthday!

Between a music festival on Saturday, dinner with friends on Sunday and a short trip to Austin last Monday I don't know how I didn't take any birthday pictures of Frank or Frank and I together.  I'm kind of sad about that now.  No capturing the moment, which is unusual for me.  I guess we were having too much fun. So just for fun I thought I would share this picture of Frank and our niece Karlie.  He is such a good uncle and she loves to be silly with him.  I think this picture illustrates that quite well.

Karlie's Easter Dress

Wow, I feel like I have so much to catch up on, especially here. Our lives aren't slowing down any. After we went to Austin for Dad's birthday my parents came up to visit with Karlie that week. Then it was Frank's birthday celebration and a quick trip to Austin to pick up a car. There just isn't much free time these days, and there never is this time of year so I don't expect it to change any time soon. I have been wanting to share this dress that I made for Karlie for Easter and am just now getting around to it. It got lost in the mail, so she didn't actually get to wear it until my dad's birthday party. Since I was there to take pictures that was fine with me!

I used New Look 6202 for the dress, which is a super cute pattern with a circle skirt. You can see my pattern review here. I went up to a size three and it should fit her for a good long while.  The bolero is self-drafted and based on her Snow White costume bodice, so it is more fitted.  I adore the look of the eyelet with the coral fabric and might have to make something for myself with that combo!  I also adore the Anna Maria Horner moth and butterfly fabric that I used in the skirt.  I think the whole outfit came together really well.
 



Here she is demonstrating the twirliness of her dress.

I also made here this skirt from a thrifted shirred tube top. I simply cut off the top part that was shirred, added a lining and put elastic in the waist.

I love to sew for Karlie and will continue to do so, I only wish I could find more time to sew for my own wardrobe!

I have to mention this cake that I made for Dad's birthday. It got rave reviews and is sure to be an often requested recipe. It is from Smitten Kitchen and her recipes never steer me wrong. It is a Chocolate cake with Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Frosting. Mmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I think it might be the moistest cake I've ever made, much less tasted! I left off the ganache topping, but the writing and dots are made with chocolate and added a nice texture.

Crack Pie for Robin

Robin wanted Pie for her birthday instead of cake. I used that opportunity to try a new recipe, "Crack Pie" from Momofuku Milk Bar. I still don't have the cookbook but have already made the Blueberry and Cream Cookies multiple times and they are a favorite. The Crack Pie recipe makes enough for two pies but I made it in one big casserole dish. Like the Blueberry cookies, this recipe calls for unusual ingredients and multiple steps. Also like that recipe, this one is worth the trouble!

It wasn't a very pretty dessert, but it sure was yummy. It tasted like a caramel pie.

The odd ingredient here was Freeze dried corn powder. After doing some research I figured out that you can make your own by grinding Freeze dried corn, easy peasy.

The additional step is first making An Oat Cookie Crumb. You mix and bake it in one big cookie and then crumble that. The crumbles get mixed into the cookie crust. I felt like the crust sort of melded into the pie, and I'm not sure if that is how it is supposed to be. Either way it was delicious.

I found the recipe over at Scarletta Bakes.

I Turn to Baking and Crafting

I saw the horrible news from Connecticut on my lunch break at work last week. My heart goes out to all of the families that were affected by such a senseless act of terror and to the whole community of Newtown. It was a gray day here, which felt appropriate. I went home from work and turned to my Christmas baking and crafting for comfort.

Baking and crafting are my small way of sharing love with my family and friends, and this year my coworkers. I love to bake and make things for people and I love that these small things can bring joy to others. We are having a much smaller Christmas this year because of Frank being sick and off work. At first that made me sad, but now that I'm not running around, stressed out and tired, I'm enjoying the season. We will buy a few gifts, but I'm making more and that is really what I enjoy about the season. Baking, crafting, eating great food and being with family and friends. That is what it should be about.

Love to you and yours this in this stressful holiday season.
xoxo
Ashley

Hello 37!

Birthdays are awesome. I sure enjoyed mine!
My sweet husband surprised me with flowers Sunday. Including my favorite Sumatra Lilies. I went out for a jog and when I came home he had them here.

We went to the Japanese gardens, one of our favorite spots in Fort Worth. It was beautiful, as always but we were a little disappointed that the leaves weren't changing yet.

I made the S'mores cake recipe into cupcakes. They were divine, possibly the best cupcakes I've made so far. I did a graham cracker bottom and put a little on top of each one until I started running out of the graham part. Next time I will double that portion of the recipe. I topped them with ganache and the marshmallow topping and torched them, that was fun!

We had dinner and drinks with friends Sunday night and it was just perfect.