....is a Save-the-Date for Jon & Janae

Jon & Janae are getting married!!!

*insert squeal of excitement here*

I've known them both since freshman year at UC Davis.

Janae & I bonded instantly over our mutual love of making things sparkle with glitter (which now includes what I'm going to share below). We also grew up about twenty miles from eachother in San Diego and (eventually) both moved back to America's Finest City. She's a wonderful friend and I couldn't be more excited about celebrating their big day soon! 

In college Jon and a few rowdy boys lived two blocks away from me and my roommates. Their house (self-titled 'the love jungle') was always full of excitement & entertainment. Jon is a sweetheart and it only takes a moment to see that he's enamored with my lovely friend. And they are both apart of so many wonderful memories over the last decade (eek!).

(Engagement Photos by BevM, 2013)

....is Buttermilk Crumpets, for Breakfast

This morning at the Breakfast Hub, Buttermilk Crumpets! Stop what you're doing, bake these crumpets, enjoy with a nice cup of tea and get ready to welcome Fall.

Happy Baking!

....the Wookie

Maybe you were expecting a star wars character....?

Last Friday on the way home from our LAdventure, CPB & I stopped at the Iron Press for a late dinner. We split their Burger with Stout BBQ Sauce topped with Bacon, an Onion Ring  & Potato Chips. AND a side of their Waffle Fries with Garlic Aioli dipping sauce. The two put together (plus a wonderful beer from local brewery!) was more than enough to fill us both. Their burgers look small, a quarter of a Belgian waffle makes up the top and bottom bun, but they are rich and filling. As we were leaving the waitress asked if we wanted any desserts. Her recommendation, the Wookie, is cookie dough pressed in a waffle iron topped with a scoop of ice cream. We were completely full and didn't order this wonderful sweet treat. Having just borrowed a waffle iron from MMcK, it got me thinking.... 

....is 'What's in the Fridge?', Pizza

On nights when I'm avoiding the grocery store I play a game called 'what's in the fridge?' 

I search through opened jars and ziplock baggies with only partial ingredients (which is why this pizza may look similar to last week's salad....). For this round I found a nub of Salami, a bit red Bell Pepper, part of a Shallot, 5 Olives (less, after I ate a few while chopping), a Tomato & Garlic. These combine with Mozzarella, fresh Pizza Dough & a little red gravy made for a delicious Pizza with enough left over for lunch the next day!

....is LAdventure: the MOCA, Morphosis & Ghery

Last Friday was my last Furlough Day! 

To celebrate our Final Furlough Friday I went on an art & architecture adventure to Los Angeles with CPB (& my brand new DSLR*!). It was a wonderful day packed with clay, architectural models, drawings, sketches, Morphosis & CalTrans, Disney & Ghery and the ever present LA traffic.

*Side Note: Did you know my blog photo's were all taken with an iPhone? They are, I have a little handheld camera but I think they come out ok on my phone and from my phone they can be easily posted anywhere I want them. The pictures definitely come out better when I take them in daylight, the images taken under the terrible yellow light of my kitchen don't look nearly as nice. This usually requires me running between my kitchen and dining room table (because it's by the window), it's an amusing production. My phone gets shoved in my pocket, covered in flour and sometimes passed off to CPB with specific directions on how to take the perfect picture (I'm a high maintenance photographer, he does a lovely job).  Also, the apps on my phone make it incredibly easy to write on the pictures. I'll continue to take most of my pictures that way for the convenience, but here's my debut with a high tech toy....

....is a Stout Brownie with Chocolate Stout Glaze

This Brownie is an another attempt at baking with beer. Ales and stouts can add flavor to savory foods and desserts and the carbonation can act as a leavening agent in breads and cake, creating a lighter batter and therefore an airier baked result. I wanted to improve on the Oated Stout Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting to make an even stoutier treat (and it allows me to use made up words like stoutier). 

MMcK came over for the final installment of the Furlough Bakery, though this won't be the last sweet treat collaboration we'll have to come up with a new name. We used a loosely translated version of Gwenyth Paltrow's Fudgy Choclate Brownies & a glaze intended for a Better Happier St. Sebastian Maple Doughnut

(I would really like to make these someday when I can borrow a friend's doughnut pan, after she moves home from Texas....)

....is Spinach & Arugula Salad

Somedays I need more greens in my life. (Especially after you see tomorrows treat!) I found a salad with a few unusual ingredients. I added the Salami and it reminded me of a lighter version of a Muffuletta. I suppose Pears aren't used on this sandwich but they added a crunch sweetness to compliment the saltiness in the Salami & Olives.