Sweet Potato Casserole

Hello!

Sorry about the silence over the last week over here on the blog, I was really busy for the first part of the week (finals and other school stuff) and then I was super sick for the second part of the week. Good news is that I am feeling much better now and I have a few posts lined up for this week!

I made this sweet potato casserole about a week and a half ago - it's a dish that Matt always talks about. Personally I have never seen the appeal of sweet potatoes topped with toasted marshmallows but since he loves it so much I decided to give in especially since he was really sick over thanksgiving and wasn't able to eat any of his Mom's. Leading up to Thanksgiving he talked about how he was looking forward to it pretty frequently, I felt so bad when I found out that he got sick as soon as he arrived at home. Once we were both back in Portland - and he was feeling better - I decided to surprise him with a semi-Thanksgiving, meaning I roasted some chicken breasts in the oven, made some mashed potatoes, and made the sweet potato casserole.

 Sweet Potato Casserole (makes 2 servings)
1 large sweet potato
A couple of handfuls of mini-marshmallows
Salt
Butter
Pepper

To make:
Cut the sweet potato into uniform pieces (the smaller the pieces, the quicker it will cook). Place in salted, cold water - just enough water to cover the sweet potato. Bring the water up to a simmer - don't let it boil or the potato will start to break up. Cook for ~10-20 minutes (depending on the size), until a fork will insert easily into the pieces. Drain them and return them to the pot, now mash them. I used a fork but you could also use a masher, ricer, or an electric mixer. Add about a tablespoon of butter and season them with salt and pepper. Once they are seasoned split the mash between two small baking dishes. Top with marshmallows and bake in a 350˚F oven until the marshmallows are melty and golden brown (or you can just pop them under the broiler if you are in a time crunch!) Serve hot.

I was surprised that I actually liked these sweet potatoes. For years I remembered disliking the dish from the one time I had tried it (I think I was about 6 or 7). But now I am realizing that I am liking sweet potatoes more and more!

This would be an excellent and easy addition to any Christmas or holiday spread you might be planning this winter!

Have a good night!
xx C

Holiday Cookie Inspiration

Good afternoon,


I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was filled with yummy food, good friends, and lots of cuddles. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and it's not because of the presents that always come along with it. I love the fact that I can count on being able to spend the day with all of my favorite people. Since getting older, I haven't been able to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins as much as when I was younger (one of the cons of moving across the country). But every year we all make the trek to my grandmother's house in Fryeburg, Maine. I always know that there is going to be a tree, lots of lights, a fire in the woodstove, and cookies...lots of cookies. For most of the year I am not a huge fan of cookies but during the holidays I am a sucker for all sorts of cookies (especially sugar cookies with the little melted cinnamon candies)!

This year I am also participating in a cookie swap with some of my friends from school so I have been trying to figure out what type of cookie that I want to make for that! Here are a few that I am considering:

// Stained-glass cookies // My mom's ginger snaps // Peppermint-chocolate biscotti //
// Vanilla-Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies //

For almost two years while I was growing up I was gluten-free so I know how disappointing it is, especially around the holidays, to miss out on some of the baked goods. Here are two recipes that I think sound super yummy (actually the almond cloud cookies are one of my all time favorite cookies) and are gluten free. The almond cloud cookies (left) are dairy-free as well and the gingerbread men could easily be made dairy free too. 

// Almond-Cloud cookies // GF Gingerbread-Men //

I hope that all of your holidays are filled with sweet treats!

xx -C

DIY: Homemade Coconut-Lavender Sugar Body Scrub

Over the past few months I have seen many different "recipes" for different homemade body scrub. Some are salt, some are sugar, and some are a mix of the two. Some have scents and some don't. A few things that all of the scrubs had in common were that they were all easy to make and most of them were made with ingredients that I already had in my pantry. After doing some research I found a website that outlined the basic necessities for a salt or sugar scrub. I decided upon a sugar scrub (since it is a bit gentler on skin) and since I only had white sugar at the time I used that. I think in the future I might try to make it with brown sugar and see how I like that. I decided to use coconut oil since it smells nice and is very gentle. I also decided to add some lavender essential oil to add a soothing floral scent.

To make it it is super easy!

You will need:
2.5 cups sugar
1 cup oil
~.5 tsp essential oil

Mix the sugar, oil, and essential oil together. Since I used coconut oil I had to warm it up a bit before adding the sugar since it is solid at room temperature. Once the ingredients are well mixed I filled a few smaller ball jars with the scrub and added a few dried lavender buds to the top for decoration.

I was a little worried that the scrub may feel really oily and not wash off all the way, but it doesn't seems that way at all. The oils help moisturize, especially at this time of the year when I notice my skin is a little on the dry side.

Happy scrubbing!
xx C

Giving Thanks

This past weekend I travelled up to Anchorage, Alaska to visit family. My aunt, uncle, and two cousins live up there and my mom and I have gone up there every year for Thanksgiving since I started college. Every year I look forward to the trip, mostly because I am always guaranteed a weekend full of snow, cousin cuddles, hot chocolate, and good food. Normally my aunt and uncle invite a few other families over so the Thanksgiving meal always involves lots kids running around and laughing. This year we went skating before the "big meal". Here are a few of my favorite snapshots.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

xx C

DIY: Homemade Soy and Beeswax Candles

Good Morning!


Here is a super simple DIY that I did over the weekend, for the past few years I have told myself that I was going to make most of the christmas presents for my family and friends...well I always put it off and am lucky if I find the time to make a batch of cookies for one of my uncles. This year I decided that I was actually going to make christmas presents and start early so I wasn't rushing at the last minute to finish them. Well this past weekend I realized that there was only a month until christmas and I hadn't started to make any of my presents. Whoops. I find that it is easier to make or give lots of little presents instead of just one big presents. Here is the first christmas present project that I did:

To make these candles you will need: 
Jars
Candle wicks (they come pre-cut or in a long length that you can trim down your self)
Sauce pot (to melt the wax in)
Old cup or some other vehicle to pour the wax into the jars
Essential oils (I used pine and lavender)
Wax (I found a homegoods place that sold both beeswax and soy wax for a very reasonable price, you can also find it at most craft stores but it can be a bit pricy)

To make:

Set the wicks up in the jars (I fashioned a tape "x" and poked a hole in the middle and that seemed to work pretty well.

To get the wick through the tape I dipped the end of the wick in the wax and then let it harden - this prevented the wick from fraying.

Melt the wax. Once it is melted add the essential oils (you can decided how much to add)

Pour the wax into the jars. Let sit for a few hours or until the wax is completely cooled.

*For the lavender candles I added a few lavender buds to the melted wax as a decoration.

xx-C

Sunday [Sorta] Muffins: Cinnamon Rolls

Good Morning [or afternoon]!

To start I have a few disclaimers for this recipe:
1: I know there is a GROSS amount of butter in this recipe [I even tried to cut it down but Matt was worried that they wouldn't be as "tasty" as before]
2: This recipe takes forever [like we ended up having these for lunch because it took so long, but it's worth it]

Now after reading the above why would I ever want to make these? Well, because Matt loves them - like he will eat about six of them in one sitting and he also talks about them all the time. It all started one weekend about two years ago when I woke up super early one morning and decided to try to make cinnamon rolls. I found this recipe online and went with it. I didn't realize until mid-mixing them that the amount of butter and sugar was impressive [or slightly gross] but since I already was in the middle of making them I just went with it. Well, the results were delicious and my entire house [at the time] enjoyed them. Now, back the the present, Matt asks "When are you going to make those cinnamon rolls again" about every week and a half. I usually am pretty good at thinking of reasons why I don't have the time to make them but every once in a while I give in. I think I have made them two or three times at this point, every time I try to decrease some of the ingredients [i.e. the butter, and sugar] but Matt always convinces me to follow the recipe exactly [minus the raisins and nuts]. I have to admit that it is always rewarding making these because 1: they really are delicious and 2: Matt loves them so much.
 These would be a good think to make for a special occasion or a holiday when you have visitors. Maybe christmas or easter? I think you could also make the dough the night before and cover it in plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge over night, I was going to try that out this time but I didn't get around to making the dough last night.

Cinnamon Rolls (makes between 12-16)
For the dough:
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or one of those packages)
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup warm water (no warmer than 90˚F)
Pinch sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 egg
Pinch salt
3-4 cups AP flour

Filling:
3/4 cup white sugar
2.5 Tbs. cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter

Icing:
4 tbs. butter
2 cups. icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3-6 Tbs. hot water

To make the dough: Add the yeast and pinch of sugar to the warm water [above on the left]. This is called proofing and it shows that the yeast are still alive. After about 5 minutes you should see that the yeast becomes bubbly and that shows that it is alive [above on the right].

In a mixing bowl (for this stage I use my kitchen aid with the mixing attachment) mix the egg, salt, melted butter, and scalded milk. Let the milk and butter cool slightly before adding to the egg, you don't want to cook the egg! Once the mixture is combined add 2 cups of the flour and combine. Now add your yeast-water mixture. Mix and add the remaining flour so it forms a workable dough. You probably wont need to add the whole 4 cups, I think I used 3 2/3 cups or something near that. At this point I put the bread hook attachment (or you can knead by hand) and kneaded the dough for about 7 minutes. Then place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a clean dish cloth, and place somewhere warm.

To fill it: After about 1 hour to 1.5 hours the dough will have doubled in size. Place it on the counter and roll it out until it is about 15 inches x 9 inches (I rolled it out on a cookie sheet because my table has an oiled wooden top and I didn't want the
oil to get into the dough). Combine the cinnamon and the sugar together and mix.

Now spread some of the melted butter on the dough (leaving about 1 inch across the top so it will be able to close) and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar on top.

You can either not use all of the butter or you can pour the rest over the top of the cinnamon sugar.

Carefully, starting at the bottom, roll up the dough. Use a little water to make the end stick to the outside of the dough so the cinnamon rolls will stay together.

Now slice the dough into 1 inch slices and place in a greased 13x9 inch pyrex pan. Let the rolls double in size again (~45 minutes) and then bake until golden (~30 minutes) in a 350˚F oven.

Icing: Whip the butter and sugar together and add the vanilla.

Slowly start adding the water until a smooth consistency forms (you won't need it all). If the icing is too runny you can always stir in more sugar.

Spread the icing over the top of the warm cinnamon rolls. Now it's time to eat them! Enjoy!

xx -C

Sophie's Visit

This past week one of my oldest friends came to visit me. We had been telling her for years that she would love Portland and finally she came! She was here from Saturday to super early Thursday morning - this was probably the longest time that either of us had been in the same state since I graduated from high school. Well we didn't waste any time together and we packed in all of the food, laughing, and exploring that we could in to her visit. Here of are some of the highlights:

Left: At the chinese gardens in Portland // Right: Beer tasting at Deschutes brewery (It was her 21st birthday the day before she came!

// Treasures from the mandatory Voodoo doughnut visit //

// Mexican hot chocolate //

// Old dirty bastard //

// We made butternut squash ravioli (I'll be posting the recipe soon! //

// Birthday dinner at Pok Pok //

// Pok pok's famous fish sauce wings //

// Food cart crepes for dessert //

// Portland Zoo //

I think this past week has been one of the best in a while, I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard!

Hope you all are having great weekends!

xx -C

DIY: Radiator Shelves

Happy friday!

This week seems to have flown by especially since one of my friends from home was visiting until yesterday! I will be posting a few photos from her visit tomorrow! A few weeks ago Matt and I made these shelves, they were super easy to make and didn't take all that long either!


Since moving into my house I have realized that 1) there isn't actually that much room and 2) there isn't very much horizontal storage room either. To solve this problem I have been trying to figure out a way to add shelves and utilize space. I have also been wanting to get a few larger house plants that would add some green to my home, especially since we are entering the cold, rainy season in Portland. My house is heated using radiators and they are placed right in front of the two windows in the living and dining rooms. These windows would be the perfect place to put the plants that I have been dreaming of. Unfortunately the window sills aren't wide enough to hold plant pots and since the radiators are right in front of the windows I can't put a shelf or a table in front of the windows either. After a lot of pinteresting I found a picture of a home that had built a shelf above the radiator, in the picture it looked like a pretty simple project so Matt and I decided to give it a try!

You will need:
2 brackets per shelf (I made two shelves so I needed four)
4 3/4 inch screws per shelf
4 screws that will anchor it into the wall (since I have plaster walls I had to use special screws; usually at home improvement places that have a display that will tell you which type of screw to get for each type of wall depending on how much weight you think the screw will need to hold. I think I got screws that can hold up to 80 pounds)
Polyurethane
Foam brushes (one for each coat of polyurethane you are planning on using)
Sand paper
1 wooden board (I got one that still had some bark on the outside and it was 10 inches wide and ~50 inches long)

How to make:

1: We sanded down the boards because they were pretty rough.

2: Once they were smooth we applied our first layer of polyurethane. Then let it dry for 4 hours.

3: We then sanded the board and applied a second coat and let that dry for 4 hours. (We did a total of 3 coats.)

4: We attached the brackets to the boards first since we though it might be difficult to attach the board to the brackets after screwing the brackets to the wall by the radiators.

5: Then we brought them inside and pre drilled the holes in the walls for the brackets.

6: Finally we attached the shelves to the wall. Ta-da!

Over all the project took a few days since we had to let the polyurethane dry between each coat, but the actual hands-on time was minimal. I am super happy with the results and now I want to make a few more of these shelves for the other radiators in my house! Also now that I have my shelves its time to go plant shopping (another one of my favorite hobbies).

xx-C