This happened...

I realized the last time I published something on my blog was right before I started having morning sickness that lasted 9 months.  Then this happened on Christmas Eve...

I'm hopeful that I can get back to blogging and a sense of normalcy.  I have a list a mile long of things I have been waiting to cook/make since last April.  I basically quit cooking anything that takes more than 20 minutes and because of that we have been living off of things that don't require a recipe--weeds and sausage (Mario Batali), pork chops with kale and sweet potatoes, chicken soup/salad/tacos, pasta salad with apples, radishes, arugula, and chicken (Alice Waters), and a myriad of other quick and easy non-recipe needing meals.  Just to add to it, I have been avoiding dairy for a month and a half and of course all I want is a big wheel of cheese and a glass of chocolate milk.  I guess this is what I get for living off cheese and chocolate milk for nine months.  So here's to starting to feel a little bit normal! 

I love surprises.

From Seed to Skillet

My step-dad sent me the above book as a surprise.  I love surprises.  I used to tell my mom that I didn't care what I got for Christmas or my birthday as long as there was one surprise.  This was a perfectly timed surprise because this is what my day looks like today:

Bunton's Seed

Wedding Dress Cookies

I made these for Amanda's bridal shower.  They were a hit and they tasted great.

Recipe- Bakeat350
Cookie Cutter

Peanut Butter and Jelly Valentine Cookies

I made these cookies for a "crafternoon" ala Martha Stewart.  We made Valentine's.  Here's a link to the recipe.  I really dislike sweet things, but these were GOOD.

How to be Happy, Damn it.

It seems like every direction I turn there is something about being happy and how to get happy. It's winter, what do they expect? Winter makes people unhappy. It wasn't until yesterday that I realized that I actually might "get happy" if I was doing something about it. Number 1 - Exercise is better than prozac. Number 2 - Write down what I'm grateful for. Number 3 - Do something creative.

1. I'm going to yoga this morning and I went to the gym yesterday.

2. I'm grateful for...

• the 19 three, four, five, and six year olds I see almost every day.
• my family
• my friends
• clean laundry
• when it snows in winter
• sparkly things

3. Be creative...

Valentine's barrettes from the purl bee

Big Herringbone Cowl from the purl bee

make a photo wall like this and buy these pillows if I win the lottery

Banana Berry Cake

Every time my mom comes into town she wants berries for breakfast, so I went to the grocery store and basically bought her every berry there was at Whole Foods in the Winter.  Surprisingly, I found blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries.  Although they cost about 12 dollars combined, I made a delicious banana berry cake out of the leftovers.

This is my go-to banana bread recipe because I can whip it up in under ten minutes.  I'm a fan of butter, but I always forget to leave it out overnight and I don't have a microwave.  Enjoy!

Banana Berry Cake

Dry:
2 cups flour (can use 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white if you want)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Wet:
3-4 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil

Other:
1-1 1/2 cups berries
2 less-ripe sliced bananas for the top

Mix dry ingredients together.  Mix wet ingredients together.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined.  Fold in berries.  Pour into a springform pan and cover with sliced bananas.  Bake for approximately 55-65 minutes at 350*.

Winter

This is what winter makes me want to do.