March is for New Things

I think anyone who reads this blog already knows that we bought a house.  But we did!  We closed a week ago today, and got the keys on Friday.  It feels really surreal so far.  Each time I pull into the driveway to bring in more boxes, it seems both more and less familiar to me.  "This place is ours," I keep reminding myself.  But it doesn't FEEL like ours yet.  It doesn't have our furniture or our smell or our personal touches.

But it does have our money.  A whole lot of it for the next thirty years, or until we sell it (which will definitely come first).  I keep wondering, was it worth purchasing, worth spending all our money?  I'm sure once we move in, that answer will be a resounding YES.  At least, I hope and pray it will be.  In the meantime, and since I wrote our last rent check today, I just keep getting the slightest bit anxious about all that.


Still, I'm so excited to have a home!  And a dog.  To tell people our address, and not have to add "apartment #..." to the end of it.  I'm excited to hang curtains and to pick color schemes to decorate.  To have front porch parties.  To install a gas stove line because it doesn't matter that it requires tampering with gas lines and cutting holes in walls.  I'm excited to sleep in an open and airy bedroom.  To have natural light pouring in.  Give me a few weeks, and hopefully I'll have a whole new perspective on this whole house thing, since we'll be living there.  Officially.  Crazy!

In the meantime, I'm so grateful to have the ability to buy a home right now.  We've had a few recent small windfalls that have really made this home-buying thing possible, and I attribute that 100% to God's tender mercies.  He knows our hearts and our desires, and He has helped to make this possible for us.  I'm forever grateful.

On to other March New Things, I received a call today that I will no longer be needed to work at Tulie Bakery.  I knew this was coming.  In fact, I even requested it myself.  But it still hurts, just a little.  I mean, firstly, I'm REAL excited to have my mornings back.  Waking up at 4:30 a.m. was certainly taking its toll, and I've been tired more often than not for the past few weeks.

But... I'm sure going to miss baking on a regular basis.  It's so funny, because it's not like I don't bake at home.  I do.  A lot.  And I learned a lot at Tulie that I can bring home to my own kitchen!  (And have done already, like that swirl work above that I learned there.)  But something about working at the bakery felt very chasing-my-dreams-esque, and I'll miss that.  I hope to be able to increase the little side business for baking for people.  And who knows, maybe one day, we'll have the finances available that I can go to working at a bakery full-time, rather than just for fun on the side.  For now, the little cakes I make for others will have to do.  And I'll get to keep improving my work!

My hair... that can't really be considered a new thing at this point, can it?  But I still often feel like I'm getting used to styling it.  Every day feels like I have a new hair style because my hair grows or lays differently.  I did buy a new curling iron! And this was the result:

I loved it in the morning.  By the end of the day... I felt a bit like a poodle.  So... we'll have to give it another shot, and hopefully my confidence in a curly short cut will increase.  (Oh my gosh, so excited to no longer have a BRIGHT yellow bathroom.)

And, now on to nothing new at all:

Ray still loves to eat horrifyingly enormous burgers.  This one wasn't even an on-the-menu burger challenge!  He just did it for kicks, I guess?  In related news, Lucky 13 has really delicious burgers.  Go there!

And that's all the new for now!  Pretty excited about life.  And a little anxious at times... But what do you do.

Mini Batch Cupcakes: Fresh Strawberry on Chocolate

Listen, I know I JUST posted a dessert.  But I'm apparently not getting anywhere on this diet, because I went ahead and made another dessert.  To be fair, I made a mini mini batch of cupcakes.  Only three!  So I can't be tempted to eat a ton at once.  Progress.

Have you ever been to Sammy's?  There was one in Salt Lake for a half a second until it closed down.  I'd call it a tragedy, but since I only went there twice in the entire year or two it was here, I can't exactly act too disappointed.  There's still a Sammy's in Provo, as well as in Rexburg.  So attend one of those when you can!  It's worth an extra drive.

Sammy's makes a cupcake shake, using Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes.  And a craving struck big time tonight.  But since I'm no where near a Sammy's, and since I can make pretty dang good cupcakes if I say so myself, I figured I'd whip one of these up on my own.

Below you'll find the recipe for three cupcakes.  Just three!  That can in no way be considered indulgent.  Share one with a husband, roommate, friend, or child, and you barely have enough left for yourself!  I had planned on husband eating a shake with me, so I knew the cupcake had to be chocolate.  And we had some strawberries at the end of their life in the fridge.  I've been meaning to make fresh berry frosting for a while, so this was a perfect excuse.

Seriously, this is nearly as easy as that microwave mug cake, but a hundred times better tasting.

Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes (via)
Yield 3 or 4

1-2 Tbs. chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1 Tbs. butter, room temperature
1/4 c. sugar
1 large egg (about 1 Tbs. white removed)
2 Tbs. oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. greek yogurt or sour cream
1/4 c. flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbs. cocoa powder
2 Tbs. room temp water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tin with 3 or 4 cupcake liners, or spray with cooking spray.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave at short intervals, or in a pot on the stove top over medium low heat.  Set aside to cool slightly. In a small bowl, use a fork to blend the butter and sugar together.  Add cooled chocolate to butter mixture and blend well. Add egg to mix and combine.  Add oil, vanilla, and yogurt and again mix to combine.  Measure the flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder into the bowl, then use your fork to combine until no dry streaks remain.  Add the water, and mix til just incorporated.  Spoon the batter into your prepared cups, filling the cups just 2/3 of the way.

Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Remove the cupcakes onto a rack to cool (you can place them in the fridge at this point, for about 10 minutes, to quicken the cooling).

Small Batch Fresh Strawberry Frosting (via)
Yield about 1/2 cup

1/4 c. chopped strawberries
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. water
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. butter, room temperature
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. heavy cream
pinch of salt

Combine strawberries, sugar, and water in a small saucepan, and place over medium heat.  Allow the strawberries to begin to soften, and use the back of a wooden spoon to smash strawberries as they cook.  This should only take two minutes or so.  Add the splash of balsamic vinegar, and continue to cook til the mixture thickens a bit, about two more minutes.  Remove from heat and set in a bowl to cool (it can still be slightly warm, but not much more above room temperature.)

Place 1 Tbs. strawberry mixture with the butter in a small bowl.  Use a fork to combine well.  Add powdered sugar, cream, and salt to the bowl, and use an electric mixer to whip to combine.  If mixture seems too runny, add additional powdered sugar.  If it seems too thick, add additional cream until the preferred consistency is reached.

And if you want a shake?  Just put 1/2 cup of milk, 1 cup of ice cream, and your frosted cupcake into a blender!  Done and done.

Sesame Ginger Blondies

So Husband left for the gym, and I've been stressing myself out over our upcoming home purchase.  Seriously, I'm shocked that I haven't just cried every day for the past two weeks trying to deal with this whole home thing. I don't know if it's because I'm overly anxious, or under-ly fond of our realtor, or because things have been more difficult than they really ought to be, or because money is running short, or, or, or... Yes, it's all of these things.

When I'm stressed, I bake.  And I also come up with super weird flavor combinations?  Husband, being the sweet man that he is, gifted me with the below pictured ginger preserves, and I wanted to do something fun with them.  I remembered this recipe for jam blondies, and the wheels began to turn.  And then I saw this recipe for sesame cookies.  Sesame and ginger are such perfect flavors together!  It was decided.

And then of course I did something even more weird, and added soy sauce to the batter.  It was a perfect decision.  As was the super light ginger soy glaze I added on top, just to infuse a bit more of those Asian flavors.

P.S.  I thought for a second that it would be funny to name these bars Harajuku Girls (get it, Asian blondies...?  Huh... Huh...?)  Buuuuut I figured that probably wasn't very politically correct.  I'm just saying, though.  If it starts to catch on, you heard it from me first!

P.P.S. I know not everyone will be gifted with a beautiful bottle of ginger preserves.  Mainly, let this blog post be a lesson to you that if you're craving something that is typically meant for dinner, try throwing it in your dessert!  You may just come up with something delightful!  And also, I have a feeling, if you don't have ginger preserves, that you could mix a good bit of ginger powder in with some honey and marble that into these beauties instead.

Sesame Ginger Blondies
inspired via Joy the Baker

1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar, unpacked
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt
1 1/4 tsp. sesame seeds, divided
2 Tbs. to 1/4 c. ginger preserves

Optional: Soy Ginger Glaze
1 tsp. ginger preserves
1/4 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. water
1/4 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8"x8" pan and line with parchment (if you have it.)

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Once completely melted, turn off heat and add brown sugar, stirring to combine.  Pour butter-sugar mixture into a bowl, and add the egg, vanilla, and soy sauce.  Mix with a fork til well combined.  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix together until no white streaks remain.  Add 1 tsp. of the sesame seeds, and mix to incorporate.

Pour blondie batter into the prepared pan.  Dollop ginger preserves into batter, and run a knife or fork through the batter to marble the preserves in.  Sprinkle the top with remaining 1/4 tsp. sesame seeds.  Bake for 20-23 minutes until edges pull away from pan (try not top open the oven in the middle of baking or your middle will sink.)  Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, then use edges of parchment to remove blondies to cool completely.

For optional soy ginger glaze, melt together the preserves, soy sauce, and water until liquidy and slightly syrupy.  Add powdered sugar and whisk with a fork til incorporated.  The glaze should coat a brush, but run off easily (you want it fairly runny).  Brush glaze over blondies while still hot from the oven.  You won't use all of the glaze; you just want a light coat with some parts of the blondie not saturated.

Chop in generous squares and serve.  These would be excellent with a honey ice cream or as a dessert following an asian meal (not authentic in the least, but great flavors to mirror the food!)

Friday Morning Q&A

>What did I spend more time on than I would have liked in order to please my mother this morning?
 Researching some kind of tapestry that my mom saw whilst at the Mexico Anthropology Museum that showed evidence of confirmation of Book of Mormon history (namely the Jaredites and/or the people of Lehi).  I found it by the way.  If you're interested, it's here.

>What song did I sing along to, loudly, on my commute to work this morning?
Miley Cyrus's The Climb.  No shame.  Guys, remember when she wasn't crazy, and just semi-annoying?  Now she is a bit crazy.  But... I do love Wrecking Ball. (Not the video. Just the song.)

>What thing am I most excited for in 2014?
The thing is, we're buying a house.  We're literally currently under contract and have deposited $1,500 in earnest money and have an inspection scheduled for Monday.  But it's not that.  I could not be more excited about the prospect of getting a dog, the exact second we're holding the keys to the house.  Maybe this sweet little guy or this cutie or this sweetheart or ohmygosh this guy or ack, this cutie or... can you tell the specific kind of dogs we like?  We're really into labs, australian shepherds, border collies, etc.  And I just can.not.wait. This will make my life.

>What did I have for breakfast?
A smoothie.  Because I'm trying to be fit and healthy.  It was actually quite delicious, even if it did have kale in it.  I used this recipe for a blueberry ginger smoothie, except, yeah, I definitely didn't go for "goats milk yogurt" or almond milk or a mint garnish.

>How are my nails currently painted?
This is exciting for me!  When I'm working at the bakery, I can't paint my nails.  You know, the idea of chipped nail polish ending up in someone's fresh raspberry tart is just unappealing. However, I was called and asked not to come in yesterday morning, so I painted my nails!  Woooot. Desert Haze by E.L.F., one of my favorite nude colors.

>What do I want to do tonight?
Maybe go on a groupon date.  Use our groupon for Pat's Barbecue, then our groupon for the Midway Ice Castles, and then our groupon (okay, our living social deal) for Leatherby's.  This is shooting high, so it probably won't happen.  Especially since husband spends every waking moment he has either at work or studying. But... the break could be nice.

>Where was I last night?
With Ariel, at the Edison Street Organ Loft watching Charlie Chaplin silent movies while a guy played the accompaniment on organ.  It was super super neat to watch.  (Though... silent movies definitely can be... slow.) The Chaplin movies are playing again tonight, as well as a second set playing at the end of Februrary, if you're interested!  Also, they have a Valentine's Day Sweetheart's Ball that sounds adorable, and I might talk husband into taking me.

>Why did it take me so long to write a blog post?
I've been too busy living maaaaaan.  Actually, mostly, I just don't know when you guys care to hear from me.  And then when I do want to blog... it seems like a daunting task.  And then also, I get to hang out a lot with all the people that read this blog anyway, so I'm like, they already know what's going on all up in my life.  If you want more blog posts, let me know.  Maybe I'll start setting up a weekly schedule to do it.