Thursday Things

1)     My birthday is tomorrow! My birthday is tomorrow! My birthday is tomorrow! WOOHOO!

2)     I’m so mature, what with almost being 20 and all.

3)     This is what my kitchen back home looked like after a day of recipe developing. Yes, that is maple syrup next to salsa next to spinach. There’s some BBQ chicken and eggs in the back too. I miss this.

4)     My camera charger has currently grown legs and walked off leaving me helpless to get the awesome picture of pesto I made at home off of it. My plan is to combine it with some cheese, cream, noodles, a lot touch of butter and throw them all into these guys, a birthday present from my best friend, and bake up some mac and cheese for myself.

5)     A flowered apron and sparkly earrings make me feel like a super classy lady. The dirty jeans and tshirt underneath the apron keep me honest.

6)     I was totally off my game today while baking. I tweeted how first I didn’t have eggs like I thought I did, then I used the wrong amount of butter, and then my cream cheese wasn’t soft enough.

7)     The finished product still turned out somehow. And it was mighty tasty.  

8)     P.S. – I’m super obsessed with this nail polish right now, it’s called Guava. Juicy right?

Thursday Things

1)     I’m (finally) finished with class for the quarter. And as is customary for me before the hellish, soul crushing experience that is finals week I made my way into Chicago to treat myself.

To breakfast.

And second breakfast.

Aaaaaand lunch.

2)     I get that Chicago is called the “Windy City” and it’s supposedly because of all the political hot air that blows around that city but yesterday, I swear, it was hurricane season on Lake Michigan. I was almost blown over multiple times.

3)     I found shelter from the elements at Trader Joe’s. I love grocery shopping there – it’s so fun and totally different from anything I have at home or even near campus. The products are quality, but creative, and nowhere near as expensive as Whole Foods. I picked up supplies to make some of these for a friend’s going away party.

4)     These somehow found their way into my cart too. I don’t know why these little toffee and chocolate bits of joy are called “pillows” since eating them made me ANYTHING but tired, but I’m not going to split hairs. I’m in love. And inspired. I now have vision of toffee coffee chocolately treats swirling around in my head. I guess that’s really no different than any other day.

5)     My trips into the city almost always last waaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer than I plan. But, because of that I usually end up finding things I didn’t plan on or expect to see. Like a new pair of shoes and a cute vintage apron to start out spring. Me = excited.

6)     I will most likely be wearing my new apron over spring break (in only 7 days!). I’ve been tapped to make treats and meals for and with my family, and I cannot wait. My dad wants banana pudding. I want to make it from scratch, no box. None. Notta. I’m having difficulty finding the right base vanilla recipe because they almost all use an instant box mix. I love box mixes as much as the next person but, I feel like if I’m going to wear the vintage apron I’ve got to do the vintage work, know what I’m sayin?

7)     I have major Spring Fever induced by the 68 degree temps we’ve had this week. I want flip flops and sundresses and ice tea nownownownownow!

8)     I don’t get that yet? Guess I’ll settle for extra puppy chow. I have to make sure it's good enough for those cupcakes. It's all about portion quality control!

Happy Thursday!

Amanda

Toffee Bars with Browned Butter Frosting

I like to think I’m somewhat up on trends. I love riding boots, long sweaters, and scarves. I get that. But sometimes I think I missed the boat on certain trends. Like furry vests (really?), platform heels (ouch!), or hipster anything (uhh, no thanks.). But, a trend I do get is browned butter. Oh man, do I get browned butter. 

Yes, there are food trends too. Think fad diets, the cupcake craze, and new-fangled kitchen gadgets. All trends. And so is sweet, nutty, and oh-so-addicting browned butter. I have seen it all over food blogs and Pinterest, from cookies to pasta.

Somewhere I didn’t expect to see it was my great grandma’s recipe notebook, but there it was! Some 70 plus years ahead of the times, my great grandma was putting browned butter in her desserts. So, it’s not surprising why I’m so drawn to browned butter. It’s in my blood!

Thursday Things

1)     It's officially March! I cannot believe we are already 1/6 of the way through 2012! Now that it is finally March I can proceed with a countdown of the following...

          

          Spring break (14 days)

          My birthday (29 days)

          The Hunger Games (22 DAYS)

2)     On that note, Team Peeta or Team Gale? I’m totally Peeta. He’s blonde and a baker, need I say more?

3)     I went on a field trip this morning. Yeah, field trips are still cool, especially in college.

4)     This is where we were.

5)     This was our view.

6)     I took this as a souvenir. They said I could. It's chocolate! But sesame. I'm unsure. 

7)     I'll take one of each please.

8)     And one more for good measure :)

Happy Thursday!

Amanda