Recent Baking Endeavors...The Calm Before the Storm.

A couple of weeks ago I volunteered my baking services for a couple of special occasions. I was getting together with some college friends one night, and the next night was a Tepe birthday celebration. There were a couple of recipes I had been wanting to try and these opportunities presented themselves. (Little did I know that this very weekend would be the calm before the storm.)

I receive weekly emails from Pillsbury which include everything from recipes to coupons. A recent email included the recipe for Grand's Little Pies. They looked simple enough so I decided to give them a try. (My friend Alecia referred to these as "Barbie Cups.") They are simply biscuit dough placed inside a muffin tin, filled with a fruit filling, and topped with a pecan crumble.  I chose to fill mine with an apple filling; they were a big hit with my college buddies.

These little pies were quick and simple, and very tasty too. Would be great with ice cream!

My second baking endeavor came after I found a recipe for homemade Funfetti cake. I follow a few baking blogs and Sprinkle Bakes is one of my favorites. She posted a recipe for the cake several weeks ago and I was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to give it a try. My father- and sister-in-law were both having October birthdays and the family was getting together to have a dual celebration. And after finding out that Jess had a personal love of Funfetti, I knew that this cake was destined for the occasion.

The recipe was a simple white cake with lots of colorful sprinkles added right to the batter! These sprinkles are made to add to ice cream and worked perfectly in the cake.

See all those wonderful sprinkles??!!

I made the mistake of skipping the step where I was supposed to line my baking pans with parchment paper. Did I learn my lesson? I think so.

I was left with one cake that was salvageable, and one pile of cake pieces. So instead of a beautiful two layer cake, I had to settle for one and hope it would be enough to feed everyone. But those scraps were happily eaten by Dan and I throughout the next several days.

The final product turned out well, complete with homemade buttercream frosting and more sprinkles on top. It was a perfect birthday cake.

The very day that I spent baking, having a relaxing time in the kitchen, was the day that I received the call from a principal offering me a job teaching 6th grade math! So I now refer to this weekend as the calm before the storm. It was my last weekend before starting a full-time teaching job, which I knew would change my life dramatically. I was terribly excited and nervous at the same time, but knew that I was up for the challenge!



Welcome Fall

This weekend Dan and I had nothing special on our calendar. And what a great feeling it was! Cooler weather had finally arrived and it brought along with it those wonderful feelings we hadn't felt in months: raised windows letting in the crisp, fall air; wrapping up in a blanket watching a movie; actually wanting to drink a warm cup of coffee in the morning; wearing warm socks; drafts in our apartment; and lots of cold-weather eats!

Saturday morning I celebrated the coming of fall with baking my first loaf of pumpkin bread! I saw the canned pumpkin at the grocery and couldn't resist! Last year I took a recipe for banana bread and altered it, substituting pumpkin for the banana. But this year I decided to use a recipe from Alton Brown, a Food Network chef and host of one of my favorite shows, Good Eats. And while his recipe was good, it fell just short of spectacular, so I took it upon myself to take it to the next level by adding mini chocolate chips. The end result was just perfect!

The combination of pumpkin, cinnamon, all spice, and chocolate chips create the perfect seasonal aroma and flavor!

Every year during the first weekend of October, Louisville hosts the annual St. James Art Festival. Fortunately for us, it happened in our neighborhood of Old Louisville. UNfortunately for us, it happened in our neighborhood of Old Louisville. We are lucky that the show that hosts hundreds of artists from all across the country happens literally in our backyard. We got to see so many great pieces of art! However, it did create a minor headache for us and our parking situation, since we rely on the street for both of our cars. So we decided to hibernate inside most of the weekend, securing our highly valuable parking spaces. We spent a couple of hours Sunday walking around the art show. It was a picturesque fall day spent walking around historic Old Louisville and enjoying the art pieces-everything from jewelry and pottery to clothing, paintings, woodworking, metal sculpting, and photography. Unfortunately we couldn't afford the $1800 painting I fell in love with, so we got the next best thing: fresh kettle corn!

There were people everywhere, walking from booth to booth or sitting at a picnic table enjoying one of the many food vendors. We even spotted Lucy's long-lost twin! The fountain (above) is in the middle of St. James Court. The road is lined with historic homes and is only about two blocks from where we live, so we walk in this neighborhood pretty often. There is also a park, Central Park, right across the street from St. James that we walk through often.

 Nothing like fresh kettle corn!

Here are a few shots of our street and apartment, for those of you who haven't visited.

Our building on 2nd St. Our apartment is on the second floor.

To round off the fall-themed weekend just right, I decided to try a new dish for dinner: chicken pot pie. We thought it would really hit the spot on a cool evening. I used another Food Network chef recipe, one I found online by Emeril Lagasse. And despite the fact that it called for made-from-scratch pie crust for the top, I decided to be brave, face my fear of pastry dough, and give it a try. Dan and I were both pleased with the result. I'm also pleased that this meal will give us leftovers and keep me from having to cook one night this week. Ha ha!

I think I've earned my right to buy frozen pie crusts from now on. :-)

Another weekend in the record books! Welcome Fall!