So, this post is going to be short and sweet. There isn't a lot to say...
I have a heart for the Latino population. Whether that be in the USA or another country. I really want to find a job where I can pay off my debt. Another thing that would help with this endeavor would be a roommate or a super cheap place to live.
My intention then would be exploring ways to work with the people I love in a ministry setting... maybe even a missional setting.
This might be because we had a missionary speak at church on Sunday, but missions has always been on my radar. I love other cultures and want to get out and be there, reaching out to them.
So, please pray. If you're willing to be a prayer partner for me, comment or e-mail/message/text me. Or even if you know of a job that pays a lot. (By a lot, I mean $20+/hr or over $40,000 a year).
Monday, August 27, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Peanut Butter Cup Cake
As you all know, my niece (G) is so special to me. Last year, I made her an ice cream cake for her birthday. She doesn't like cake very much, but LOVES ice cream, so it made more sense to make an ice cream cake. Well, guess what? When you discover that you can't have dairy, a beloved ice cream cake is a really bad idea. So, this auntie (who remains unemployed and otherwise not busy), decided to conquer a dairy free cake. Since dairy has been a common allergy/food sensitivity, it isn't hard to find dairy-free cakes. But, the real problem comes in finding one that actually sounds/tastes good.
Side note: Duncan Hines is a dairy-free cake mix, in all the flavors I checked. I really wanted it to be something special, though.
G, a former peanut butter hater, has "fallen in love" with peanut butter since becoming dairy-free. I'm not sure there's a direct correlation, but it happened in that order. Even today, after helping me make the filling for her cake, she ate peanut butter right off the spoon. So, after discussing with my sister, we decided to make a "Reese's Peanut Butter Cup" Cake. This is where it gets fun...
I have to tell you a secret, a secret that hopefully my family won't know, because, honestly, I don't think they read this... there are vegetables in this cake. As I write this, the family hasn't tasted the cake. I will update based on their opinions of the cake... after we eat it on G's birthday.
I used 3 different recipes to make this triple layer cake. The top and bottom layer are Chocolate Cake. The middle layer is White Cake. In between each layer is Peanut Butter Filling. I originally was going to use PB Cup Frosting as the frosting on the cake, but when I made the "trial size," I found it was too thick. It just didn't taste how frosting should taste (in my mind). I have decided to use chocolate frosting for the outer frosting of the cake. Yes, this cake is RICH. But I'm looking at it, unfrosted, and would love to just cut off a piece... reminds me of an episode of The Cosby Show. This is one of my favorite episodes and still makes me laugh.
You still there?
The chocolate cake layers... I did the "smart" thing and made each layer individually (the white one twice, but that's another story). I wish I could tell you this was intentional, but it wasn't. I realized that the chocolate cake layer was thinner than I had anticipated and it would have been a short cake (but probably healthier!!).
On the chocolate cake, I followed the recipe very closely. I used flax because my mom had it in the pantry. Then I used all sugar. (Yes, very unhealthy.) I used 3/4 C Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips. I used about 1 teaspoon of vanilla because the stuff we have is tooooo potent. It seems to have gotten stronger with age, maybe it's really wine? Yes, I used CAULIFLOWER!!! I chose to use 2/3 C of canned coconut milk, no oil. The first cake, I couldn't smell the cauliflower at all. The second one, I could smell it... the only difference was the the order that I put things into the blender. I would suggest using a blender and chopping the cauliflower and liquid ingredients before pureeing. I cooked them for about 25 minutes each. They are both very moist and came out of the pan nicely.
The vanilla layer is where I have to lay down my pride... I made a mistake on this one. One that put the whole cake-making task about an hour behind schedule. Thankfully, I planned ahead this time and wasn't baking the cake the day of G's birthday, which is how I usually make cakes. So, my sad story first. I got all of the ingredients out, I mixed everything together, I put the cake in the pan that I used for the other layer (so they'll be the same size) and put it in the oven. I'm not good with knowing length of cook time on recipes, especially when they give you a 15 minute window. I pulled the cake out after like 20-25 minutes and it looked good. It was a light brown on top and when I pushed on the top, it sorta sprung back. It was hard to tell if the toothpick was fully clean, but it looked good, so I pulled out the cake. I was letting it cool down and it was taking awhile. I finally needed to get to work on the third layer (which I decided to add after seeing the other two layers were kinda thin). I tried to pull the cake out of the pan and it was stuck! Realllly stuck! I then, trying all of the tricks that I could think of, tried to pry it out of the pan. Well, part of it fell off and I realized that the cake was still VERY gooey on the inside. That's right, it wasn't done, so I spent about 5 minutes scraping it out of the pan and into the garbage. Man, I was feeling defeated. My mom reassured me that it was fine to make it again. I was a little irritated with that recipe, so I made the second chocolate layer before attempting the vanilla/white layer again.
So, when I made the vanilla layer, I modified it somewhat... I didn't use the cocoa (obviously) and cut back the vanilla to a teaspoon. Instead of using water, on the first cake, I used a full cup of canned coconut milk, as well as the oil. When I made it the second time, I used between 1/2 & 3/4 C of coconut milk and then 1/4 - 1/2 C of water, but no oil. I felt there was a lot of liquid in the cake and maybe that's why it was taking so long to cook. I ended up cooking it for close to 30 minutes.
My favorite part (because I've actually been able to taste it) is the frosting/peanut butter filling. I doubled the recipe because I knew I needed more than it called for. I was going to triple it, but realized I'd be using a lot of powdered sugar and didn't want to do that. I used about 6 tablespoons of peanut butter, NO vanilla, 6 tablespoons of almond milk, and only 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. I didn't want a strong chocolate flavor. In fact, the peanut butter pretty much overtakes the flavor, but that's what I was going for, so I'm happy. I mixed it in my mom's stand mixer with the whisk attachment and it turned out just how I expected.
UPDATE: We ate the cake for the birthday. Just about everyone ate their serving then my sister said, "is there cauliflower in this?" I could have kicked her... G promptly stopped eating the cake and won't try it now. Argh... thankfully, the rest of the family (and a family friend) all loved the cake, but felt the chocolate layers were quite rich. It is a very dense cake, so if I make it again, I will just do two layers. Only after being aware that cauliflower was in the cake did anyone actually pick up the flavor. I am able to taste it, so I might cut it back a bit to try to tone it down...
So, next time you can't get your kids to eat veggies, just make a cake and bake the veggies in. We have a HUGE zucchini to use... probably chocolate zucchini cake will be the next one. Just have to find Grandma's recipe somewhere...
Side note: Duncan Hines is a dairy-free cake mix, in all the flavors I checked. I really wanted it to be something special, though.
G, a former peanut butter hater, has "fallen in love" with peanut butter since becoming dairy-free. I'm not sure there's a direct correlation, but it happened in that order. Even today, after helping me make the filling for her cake, she ate peanut butter right off the spoon. So, after discussing with my sister, we decided to make a "Reese's Peanut Butter Cup" Cake. This is where it gets fun...
I have to tell you a secret, a secret that hopefully my family won't know, because, honestly, I don't think they read this... there are vegetables in this cake. As I write this, the family hasn't tasted the cake. I will update based on their opinions of the cake... after we eat it on G's birthday.
I used 3 different recipes to make this triple layer cake. The top and bottom layer are Chocolate Cake. The middle layer is White Cake. In between each layer is Peanut Butter Filling. I originally was going to use PB Cup Frosting as the frosting on the cake, but when I made the "trial size," I found it was too thick. It just didn't taste how frosting should taste (in my mind). I have decided to use chocolate frosting for the outer frosting of the cake. Yes, this cake is RICH. But I'm looking at it, unfrosted, and would love to just cut off a piece... reminds me of an episode of The Cosby Show. This is one of my favorite episodes and still makes me laugh.
You still there?
The chocolate cake layers... I did the "smart" thing and made each layer individually (the white one twice, but that's another story). I wish I could tell you this was intentional, but it wasn't. I realized that the chocolate cake layer was thinner than I had anticipated and it would have been a short cake (but probably healthier!!).
On the chocolate cake, I followed the recipe very closely. I used flax because my mom had it in the pantry. Then I used all sugar. (Yes, very unhealthy.) I used 3/4 C Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips. I used about 1 teaspoon of vanilla because the stuff we have is tooooo potent. It seems to have gotten stronger with age, maybe it's really wine? Yes, I used CAULIFLOWER!!! I chose to use 2/3 C of canned coconut milk, no oil. The first cake, I couldn't smell the cauliflower at all. The second one, I could smell it... the only difference was the the order that I put things into the blender. I would suggest using a blender and chopping the cauliflower and liquid ingredients before pureeing. I cooked them for about 25 minutes each. They are both very moist and came out of the pan nicely.
The vanilla layer is where I have to lay down my pride... I made a mistake on this one. One that put the whole cake-making task about an hour behind schedule. Thankfully, I planned ahead this time and wasn't baking the cake the day of G's birthday, which is how I usually make cakes. So, my sad story first. I got all of the ingredients out, I mixed everything together, I put the cake in the pan that I used for the other layer (so they'll be the same size) and put it in the oven. I'm not good with knowing length of cook time on recipes, especially when they give you a 15 minute window. I pulled the cake out after like 20-25 minutes and it looked good. It was a light brown on top and when I pushed on the top, it sorta sprung back. It was hard to tell if the toothpick was fully clean, but it looked good, so I pulled out the cake. I was letting it cool down and it was taking awhile. I finally needed to get to work on the third layer (which I decided to add after seeing the other two layers were kinda thin). I tried to pull the cake out of the pan and it was stuck! Realllly stuck! I then, trying all of the tricks that I could think of, tried to pry it out of the pan. Well, part of it fell off and I realized that the cake was still VERY gooey on the inside. That's right, it wasn't done, so I spent about 5 minutes scraping it out of the pan and into the garbage. Man, I was feeling defeated. My mom reassured me that it was fine to make it again. I was a little irritated with that recipe, so I made the second chocolate layer before attempting the vanilla/white layer again.
So, when I made the vanilla layer, I modified it somewhat... I didn't use the cocoa (obviously) and cut back the vanilla to a teaspoon. Instead of using water, on the first cake, I used a full cup of canned coconut milk, as well as the oil. When I made it the second time, I used between 1/2 & 3/4 C of coconut milk and then 1/4 - 1/2 C of water, but no oil. I felt there was a lot of liquid in the cake and maybe that's why it was taking so long to cook. I ended up cooking it for close to 30 minutes.
My favorite part (because I've actually been able to taste it) is the frosting/peanut butter filling. I doubled the recipe because I knew I needed more than it called for. I was going to triple it, but realized I'd be using a lot of powdered sugar and didn't want to do that. I used about 6 tablespoons of peanut butter, NO vanilla, 6 tablespoons of almond milk, and only 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. I didn't want a strong chocolate flavor. In fact, the peanut butter pretty much overtakes the flavor, but that's what I was going for, so I'm happy. I mixed it in my mom's stand mixer with the whisk attachment and it turned out just how I expected.
UPDATE: We ate the cake for the birthday. Just about everyone ate their serving then my sister said, "is there cauliflower in this?" I could have kicked her... G promptly stopped eating the cake and won't try it now. Argh... thankfully, the rest of the family (and a family friend) all loved the cake, but felt the chocolate layers were quite rich. It is a very dense cake, so if I make it again, I will just do two layers. Only after being aware that cauliflower was in the cake did anyone actually pick up the flavor. I am able to taste it, so I might cut it back a bit to try to tone it down...
So, next time you can't get your kids to eat veggies, just make a cake and bake the veggies in. We have a HUGE zucchini to use... probably chocolate zucchini cake will be the next one. Just have to find Grandma's recipe somewhere...
Monday, July 16, 2012
A Potential Direction?
For those of you who haven't been in the job search in more than 5-7 years, you might be surprised by what I'm about to say. It is really hard to find a job even with a Bachelor's degree. Years ago, people were saying that as long as you go to college, employers would be ecstatic to have you. Not so much now. Because a college education/degree has become so common, every job wants you to have a specific education and if you don't have it, don't even bother applying. I have 6 years of teaching experience and I might as well be a high school graduate, because that's about all I qualify for.
So, here are some jobs that I *do* "qualify" for...
1) teaching English classes in Asia (China, South Korea) or other foreign countries
2) fast food
3) maybe working at a grocery store (even there, people want that specific experience)
Yes, I am frustrated... as enticing as China is, it isn't. I can't imagine moving across the world ALONE for a minimum of a year. The only advantage would be that I have some dear friends who are in the adoption process in China and they'd most likely be making the trip to China while I was there. If I had a friend or husband to go with, then I might be more open. I'm just not adventurous/outgoing/confident enough to do that.
That being said, I'm considering pursuing my Master's in Math Education... now, you might be going back to my first post that said I don't want to teach anymore... I've been toying with the idea of teaching math for about 5 years... it was something I should have done when I went for undergrad... but I can't live with regret... anyway, it is a better option than trying to find a job that doesn't require a specific level of education or having to pursue a Master's in something that is totally off from where I'm at right now. I know there are a few companies out there that don't have a lot of requirements and pay well, but I can't put all my eggs into one basket that any of those will work out.
I'm going to consult with God regarding this idea, but if it is what he wants, then I'm going end up doing whatever I can to make ends meet then looking into this plan...
So, yes, your prayers are greatly appreciated.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Peanut Butter Cups, Seriously?!
I had a friend tell me once that peanut butter and chocolate is the best combination for candy. Then, all of a sudden, a candy company started using that for part of their slogan/advertising... hmmm
Anyway, my niece is just starting to enjoy peanut butter. (She likes this chocolate silk pb that someone makes and also nutella, though.) She has enjoyed peanut butter cups longer than peanut butter itself. My mom, brother, and sister all like peanut butter cups. If you haven't figured it out yet, I like sweets. My fabulous grandpa gave me that gene... candy & baked goods & ice cream... I could survive.
I found this recipe Peanut Butter Eggs and knew I had to try it. Once I tried it, I knew I had to make more. The first time that I made these, I only had chunky peanut butter. I also didn't have the stuff to make the chocolate. My mom has this amazingly large slab of chocolate that she won at an auction. She has barely used 1/4 of it, so I used some to make some delicious treats for her. I followed the recipe with the pb, powdered sugar, and salt. Then after I waited entirely too long for the pb chunks (didn't have the egg shape, just more of a ball) to harden, I melted the chocolate in a glass container in the microwave. I dropped the pb pieces in the chocolate, then stuck them back in the freezer. These turned out delicious, so I knew I had to make some more.
So, let me tell you what I did to modify the recipe.
1/4 C creamy peanut butter
1/4 C powdered sugar
I mixed these together. I found that I liked the mixture to be a bit more sticky because it made the pb taste a bit better. I know that I added a bit of each until I got the right consistency.
2 T cocoa powder
3 T melted margarine (we use Fleischmann's which is basically just oils solidified)
Agave nectar
I mixed these together. I wanted the chocolate coating to have some sweetness to it, but didn't want to use a bunch of agave, either. I mixed the cocoa powder and margarine together. If it seems dry, you can add more margarine. I added the agave to help make it more wet. I found that it worked well even though it was still thick. You don't want it to be liquid like melted chocolate.
I smushed the chocolate mixture on the bottom and sides of some mini muffin pans. (In the future I'd use liners.) After I let those set for about a half hour, I used a cookie scoop to put some peanut butter mix in the chocolate. Then I scooped the remaining chocolate on top of the peanut butter.
For this recipe, I found that I had extra peanut butter, so I melted some milk chocolate for the rest of the family.
I let the cups freeze for about an hour before carefully removing them to a plastic bag.
Lessons learned:
1) Use mini muffin liners
2) Let the cups get really frozen
3) When you want to remove the cups from the pan, if you don't have liners, make sure to let it sit a few minutes, then carefully remove
4) Mini muffin pans are rather large for a pb cup...
My niece liked the bitter taste of the candies made with cocoa powder. I thought it tasted good, but the chocolate was rather thick.
Overall, no one has complained about these peanut butter cups since I've started making them. Maybe I'll make a HUGE one for my niece's birthday since cake is out of the question.
Anyway, my niece is just starting to enjoy peanut butter. (She likes this chocolate silk pb that someone makes and also nutella, though.) She has enjoyed peanut butter cups longer than peanut butter itself. My mom, brother, and sister all like peanut butter cups. If you haven't figured it out yet, I like sweets. My fabulous grandpa gave me that gene... candy & baked goods & ice cream... I could survive.
I found this recipe Peanut Butter Eggs and knew I had to try it. Once I tried it, I knew I had to make more. The first time that I made these, I only had chunky peanut butter. I also didn't have the stuff to make the chocolate. My mom has this amazingly large slab of chocolate that she won at an auction. She has barely used 1/4 of it, so I used some to make some delicious treats for her. I followed the recipe with the pb, powdered sugar, and salt. Then after I waited entirely too long for the pb chunks (didn't have the egg shape, just more of a ball) to harden, I melted the chocolate in a glass container in the microwave. I dropped the pb pieces in the chocolate, then stuck them back in the freezer. These turned out delicious, so I knew I had to make some more.
So, let me tell you what I did to modify the recipe.
1/4 C creamy peanut butter
1/4 C powdered sugar
I mixed these together. I found that I liked the mixture to be a bit more sticky because it made the pb taste a bit better. I know that I added a bit of each until I got the right consistency.
2 T cocoa powder
3 T melted margarine (we use Fleischmann's which is basically just oils solidified)
Agave nectar
I mixed these together. I wanted the chocolate coating to have some sweetness to it, but didn't want to use a bunch of agave, either. I mixed the cocoa powder and margarine together. If it seems dry, you can add more margarine. I added the agave to help make it more wet. I found that it worked well even though it was still thick. You don't want it to be liquid like melted chocolate.
 |
| Made with cocoa powder mixture |
For this recipe, I found that I had extra peanut butter, so I melted some milk chocolate for the rest of the family.
I let the cups freeze for about an hour before carefully removing them to a plastic bag.
Lessons learned:
1) Use mini muffin liners
2) Let the cups get really frozen
3) When you want to remove the cups from the pan, if you don't have liners, make sure to let it sit a few minutes, then carefully remove
4) Mini muffin pans are rather large for a pb cup...
 |
| Made with melted milk chocolate |
My niece liked the bitter taste of the candies made with cocoa powder. I thought it tasted good, but the chocolate was rather thick.
Overall, no one has complained about these peanut butter cups since I've started making them. Maybe I'll make a HUGE one for my niece's birthday since cake is out of the question.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Extra Special Oatmeal Cookies
Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - found on QuakerOats.com
Ingredients
1/2 C plus 6 T butter, softened
3/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt 3 C quick oats 1 C raisins
Oven: 350
Cream butter & sugars. Add vanilla & eggs, beat well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add dry mixture to wet mixture, mix well. Add oats & raisins, mix well.
Cook 8 to 10 minutes.
So, that's my basic recipe. I made a few modifications. These WON'T be tummy friendly, because I don't have the right butter. I used 1/3 C agave nectar + 1/8 C sugar instead of the 1/2 C granulated sugar. I also cut the vanilla in half because I have very strong vanilla. I used 1/2 C plus 4 T of butter. I used 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 t salt. I wanted a mixture of oatmeal cookies, so I used butterscotch, chocolate chips, M&Ms, raisins and walnuts. I ended up using butterscotch and walnuts together to balance the two tastes. I also combined M&Ms with chocolate chips. If you divide the batter evenly, you can do about 1/4 C of the mix-ins. Or just add as much as looks good.
All About Agave said that the agave might make things brown a bit quicker. I don't want to ruin the cookies, so I set the oven to 325 (also good because my mom's oven runs a little hot). 
I cooked each batch for 11-12 minutes. My favorite of all the batches I made were the oatmeal raisin (go figure!). But, my favorite cookies of all time are oatmeal raisin.
Ingredients
3/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt 3 C quick oats 1 C raisins
Oven: 350
Cream butter & sugars. Add vanilla & eggs, beat well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add dry mixture to wet mixture, mix well. Add oats & raisins, mix well.
Cook 8 to 10 minutes.
So, that's my basic recipe. I made a few modifications. These WON'T be tummy friendly, because I don't have the right butter. I used 1/3 C agave nectar + 1/8 C sugar instead of the 1/2 C granulated sugar. I also cut the vanilla in half because I have very strong vanilla. I used 1/2 C plus 4 T of butter. I used 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 t salt. I wanted a mixture of oatmeal cookies, so I used butterscotch, chocolate chips, M&Ms, raisins and walnuts. I ended up using butterscotch and walnuts together to balance the two tastes. I also combined M&Ms with chocolate chips. If you divide the batter evenly, you can do about 1/4 C of the mix-ins. Or just add as much as looks good. 
I cooked each batch for 11-12 minutes. My favorite of all the batches I made were the oatmeal raisin (go figure!). But, my favorite cookies of all time are oatmeal raisin.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Hot Summer Day...
I think I'm going to put two posts into one post for the sake of you, my readers. Which, by the way, I'm loving the support I'm getting from all of you!!
As I'm writing this, it is a comfortable 82 degrees in my apartment. I'm sure it would be much hotter, but I've got these older (but very practical) curtains on all 4 of my windows in my living room. Which, if you've never been in my apartment, is about 50% of the space in my apartment. The bedrooms put together are smaller than the living room, but that's okay with me. So, the reason these curtains are so great is they keep the sun out. They also do a fairly good job of regulating the temperature. I say 82 is comfortable today because it was about 95 all day, with heat indexes above 100... so the fact that I'm writing at 9 pm and it is 82 is good... I have a small fan blowing on me, so I might find it more uncomfortable if that wasn't the case. Wow, holy tangent!
A few weeks ago, I applied for a job with a Christian organization. This organization works with families. The position that I applied for is working with youth. I don't want to give more information, but the job sounds like it would be rather challenging, but has the potential to be rewarding. I also found another job that is working with a nonprofit organization that aims to help teen girls. This one is something I would really enjoy. The drawback is that it isn't Christian in nature, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't enjoy it. I have yet to apply for this position, but I intend to do that soon. The job search is hard. I found that even though I have a Bachelor's degree and 6 years of job experience, I'm unqualified for many jobs that are available. I am continuing to look for jobs, especially those that are working with youth, but I'm open to finding a job working in an office.
Knitting... I have a project that I'm dying to tell someone about, but I can't. I know, that only peaks the curiosity of everyone reading... but I will share about it when I can... which will most likely be when the project is finished! I just have to remember to take "along the way" pictures. I should actually start a blog on that specific project...
So, anyway, I do have a project that I can share!! I started last fall on a Christmas present for my brother... I thought, for sure, that I'd find time to finish it and he'd have a hat to wear for winter. Well, Christmas came and went and the hat was not done. So, I tried to finish it many times after that. Finally, I finished the hat, but I had to stitch it together. I tried doing it by hand and that just wasn't happening. I ordered some yarn from Lion Brand and got some yarn needles, so I finally finished this gift on Wednesday.
I gave my brother his hat and after he laughed, he said "This doesn't look feminine does it?" haha I love him!!
This wasn't my first hat. I actually made a few last summer/fall. One is very feminine. The other was a typical red knit hat with a large pom on top!
I have added a few pictures of some scarves that I knit last summer. Here is the pattern for the Zig Zag Scarf. Mine didn't turn out as long as the one in the pattern, partially because I used different yarn than what was called for. Also, because I didn't have enough yarn to make it longer. I would probably use a thicker yarn or larger needles to make it a bit wider and longer next time.
As I'm writing this, it is a comfortable 82 degrees in my apartment. I'm sure it would be much hotter, but I've got these older (but very practical) curtains on all 4 of my windows in my living room. Which, if you've never been in my apartment, is about 50% of the space in my apartment. The bedrooms put together are smaller than the living room, but that's okay with me. So, the reason these curtains are so great is they keep the sun out. They also do a fairly good job of regulating the temperature. I say 82 is comfortable today because it was about 95 all day, with heat indexes above 100... so the fact that I'm writing at 9 pm and it is 82 is good... I have a small fan blowing on me, so I might find it more uncomfortable if that wasn't the case. Wow, holy tangent!
A few weeks ago, I applied for a job with a Christian organization. This organization works with families. The position that I applied for is working with youth. I don't want to give more information, but the job sounds like it would be rather challenging, but has the potential to be rewarding. I also found another job that is working with a nonprofit organization that aims to help teen girls. This one is something I would really enjoy. The drawback is that it isn't Christian in nature, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't enjoy it. I have yet to apply for this position, but I intend to do that soon. The job search is hard. I found that even though I have a Bachelor's degree and 6 years of job experience, I'm unqualified for many jobs that are available. I am continuing to look for jobs, especially those that are working with youth, but I'm open to finding a job working in an office.
Knitting... I have a project that I'm dying to tell someone about, but I can't. I know, that only peaks the curiosity of everyone reading... but I will share about it when I can... which will most likely be when the project is finished! I just have to remember to take "along the way" pictures. I should actually start a blog on that specific project...
So, anyway, I do have a project that I can share!! I started last fall on a Christmas present for my brother... I thought, for sure, that I'd find time to finish it and he'd have a hat to wear for winter. Well, Christmas came and went and the hat was not done. So, I tried to finish it many times after that. Finally, I finished the hat, but I had to stitch it together. I tried doing it by hand and that just wasn't happening. I ordered some yarn from Lion Brand and got some yarn needles, so I finally finished this gift on Wednesday.
This wasn't my first hat. I actually made a few last summer/fall. One is very feminine. The other was a typical red knit hat with a large pom on top!
 |
| I used two yarns to create this scarf. |
I have added a few pictures of some scarves that I knit last summer. Here is the pattern for the Zig Zag Scarf. Mine didn't turn out as long as the one in the pattern, partially because I used different yarn than what was called for. Also, because I didn't have enough yarn to make it longer. I would probably use a thicker yarn or larger needles to make it a bit wider and longer next time.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Banana Bread
I fell into a fortune of bananas that needed to be used at the beginning of the month. The bananas were in good shape when I received them, but I knew that if I let them sit for awhile, they'd become perfect for some delicious banana bread (one of my own guilty pleasures). So, I decided to go on a hunt for a banana bread recipe that my wonderful niece could enjoy. Having heard of Chocolate Covered Katie a few months ago, I knew that was the first place I should look. Katie, the blogger/creator of this website, eats completely vegan, which means everything she makes is dairy and egg free. Honestly, if you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions, but LOVE sweets (like I do), she has so many delicious and mostly healthy recipes.
Here is Katie's recipe for Fat-Free Banana Bread. I didn't strictly use her recipe because I didn't have some of the ingredients. Instead, I used this recipe.
So, some specifics about my delicious Banana Bread. In the recipe that I used, it called for milk alternative... I used canned coconut milk. The only vanilla I have is PURE vanilla from Mexico, so it is potent! I cut the vanilla in half. I added a small amount of agave just because I wasn't sure how an 8 year old would feel about the banana bread being unsweetened.
Cooking the bread took a lot longer than I had expected. I cooked the loaf for about a half hour, then had to cook it another 15-20 minutes, at which point I put some foil over the pan. If you stick the knife in the bread to check it, don't be afraid if it is a bit gooey inside. It will still be okay to eat!!
When we took the banana bread out, it was amazing! It had a great texture and density. My niece, who is almost 9, LOVED it! She was thrilled that it wouldn't hurt her tummy, but also loved the flavor. I followed the advice online and stored the bread in the fridge. Next time I will probably follow CCK's recipe, but add some Enjoy Life! brand chocolate chunks...
If you look at this picture, you can kind-of see the inside of the loaf to see just how moist it is. I felt that the banana flavor blended well with the other flavors and wasn't overwhelming. If my niece liked nuts, I would add some chopped walnuts, but this was delicious, too. To add a little bit of sweetness, we also drizzled our pieces with honey!! Yummy!!!!
Here is Katie's recipe for Fat-Free Banana Bread. I didn't strictly use her recipe because I didn't have some of the ingredients. Instead, I used this recipe.
So, some specifics about my delicious Banana Bread. In the recipe that I used, it called for milk alternative... I used canned coconut milk. The only vanilla I have is PURE vanilla from Mexico, so it is potent! I cut the vanilla in half. I added a small amount of agave just because I wasn't sure how an 8 year old would feel about the banana bread being unsweetened.
When we took the banana bread out, it was amazing! It had a great texture and density. My niece, who is almost 9, LOVED it! She was thrilled that it wouldn't hurt her tummy, but also loved the flavor. I followed the advice online and stored the bread in the fridge. Next time I will probably follow CCK's recipe, but add some Enjoy Life! brand chocolate chunks...
If you look at this picture, you can kind-of see the inside of the loaf to see just how moist it is. I felt that the banana flavor blended well with the other flavors and wasn't overwhelming. If my niece liked nuts, I would add some chopped walnuts, but this was delicious, too. To add a little bit of sweetness, we also drizzled our pieces with honey!! Yummy!!!!
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