Vegetable Upside Down Cake

It's no secret that I like cake.  I think I've established that already.

Some of you probably think that I am one of those people that has to pinch my nose to eat vegetables though and you would be wrong.  I don't mean to call my readers out or anything.  I'm definitely not trying to alienate you, but I just thought you should know that I actually really do like green things.

Even though it seems like all I eat are cookies, cakes and bread, most of my diet actually does consist of normal food.

When I saw this recipe for vegetable cake (not like carrot cake), I was pretty excited.  When I smelled it baking away in my oven, I was even more excited.  And, when it came out of the pan looking exactly like I had pictured it in my mind, I was beyond excited.

Then, I tasted it, and I loved it!  Imagine a bunch of roasted vegetables with a giant dumpling or biscuit on top.  The cake soaks up some of the juices from the veggies and it is wonderful.

365: Week 2

January 6 | Unique

Homemade Grape Soda

Austin and I like to shop at Costco for produce despite the fact that there are only two of us and we can never really eat it all before it spoils.

We try our best to do a good job with planning meals and desserts that will use the whole pallet of berries or case of apples, but there's not really that much we can do with 5 lbs. of grapes.  I learned very young what happens when you eat too many grapes at once so just eating them was out of the question.

So, when I was sitting there with a lot of grapes leftover, I did the natural thing.  I googled "grape recipes."  Did you know you can make a grape pie?  Or did you know that you can make your own grape soda?

Homemade grape soda tastes nothing like that bright purple stuff that comes out of vending machines just FYI.  It tastes like actual grapes.  I guess if you wanted that fake flavor, you could probably throw some purple Jolly Ranchers in there, but I have a feeling you might like this non-artificial flavor better anyway.

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

This cake is classified as a "1 bowl" cake which is pretty much a requirement for any recipe that I make.  A recipe better be really good if it's going to require me to wash more dishes than the absolute bare minimum.

That means that all those recipes that say, "sift dry ingredients together; set aside..." never get made.  Or at least, I never follow the directions.  'Cause really the only downside of cooking in my mind is the dishes that come along for the ride.  So, in an effort to create as little hassle while baking as possible, skip all of the sifting and combining, and just throw all the ingredients into your KitchenAid, pour into your cake pans and call it good.

Ok, there's one little disclaimer, you will have to either wash and reuse your mixing bowl or use a second bowl to make the frosting.  But really, 2 bowls for a layer cake made from scratch is not too bad.

Oh yeah, before I forget, let me mention that this cake has a great chocolate flavor.  The type that's not too rich and fudgy but still has plenty of the chocolatey goodness to satisfy your cravings.

Mushroom Asparagus Risotto

I am generally the type of person that is resistant to change but I'm trying to be more laid back about it and just accept it.  Probably because with everything going on in my life right now, I've been pretty much forced to get used to it.  No use resisting the inevitable right?

I am definitely a routine-oriented person.  I like to get up at about the same time every day, go to the gym, come home and drink my coffee.

The only things that I do like to change up pretty often are my hair (cut and color) and my food.  That's about where my adventurous side stops.

This morning I cut off 3 inches of hair and I made mushroom asparagus risotto!  Crazy, right?!

I guess you'd have to know that I don't like mushrooms to understand why that would be even remotely adventurous for me.  (It's definitely a texture issue.)  So in this risotto, I just chopped up the mushrooms really little so it has all the flavor still but none of the sliminess.

Most of the time, Austin and I eat risotto as a main dish, but you could easily serve this as a side dish alongside any protein really.

365: Week 1

After some internal debate, I decided that I couldn't just stop taking a picture a day, so I'm doing it again for 2014.  I really like looking back through the pictures that I took in 2013 and I also like the reminder to use my camera as often as possible.  

This year, my goal is to be a little more regimented.  I'm going to follow along with the Capture Your 365 group and also meld their photo ideas with my own.  And this year, I'm trying to use my DSLR more than I did last year (hopefully very few iPhone pictures this time around!).

January 1 | 11:48 p.m. was when I decided I wanted to keep doing this.  It's kind of a picture of 'celebration' I guess.

Asparagus Leek Soup

Every year I make myself a new set of New Year's Resolutions.  I try to diversify them as much as possible.  One is always a fitness/athletic goal (run a half marathon this year!).  One is about a hobby (i.e. read 30 books).  Maybe I'll throw in a professional or a personal resolution too (move back home to Utah).

Last year, one of my resolutions was to complete a 365 project which I actually did!  I had some climbing resolutions which I did not complete, so I'll tack them onto the 2014 list.  I can't remember what else was on the list to be completely honest, but overall, I felt pretty successful in 2013.

This year, I decided I should add a food-related resolution since I spend so much time thinking about food anyway.  Here's what I came up with: experiment with foods that I have never cooked with before (2 times a month).  If they're successful, I'll share them here, but if they're not, well...I won't lead you astray.

When I made this asparagus leek soup, I had to look up youtube videos on how to clean, cut and prepare leeks.  I really didn't even know what they looked like when I went to the grocery store to buy them.  This soup doesn't count towards my goal though since I actually made it in 2013 - just holding myself accountable :)