How high can you go?

Annie can go pretty high! She loves all of her wooden blocks but does particularly well stacking these wooden ones. I think she just might be better at it than me. 

Adams meal...

Adam made us a beautiful fall roasted chicken. That's 2 times he has cooked this week, I have the best man!

Sealing in the juicy goodness..

Fall veggies..

A great meal with a glass of red...

Hot apple cider with cinnamon and mulling spices for dessert!

Homemade Hostess- Part One

This weekend I decided to give a new cupcake recipe a whirl. One of the people I worked with specifically requested I do some baking so I did, special, for this person.

I am doing the recipe in batches, but I am making homemade hostess cupcakes. Today I did the cupcakes. I am not really a fan of using any kind of cake mixes when I bake, so I tried out this new recipe and it was easy and soooooo yummy! Tomorrow I will make the filling and icing and then pipe the famous swirls.


Recipe for the cake:
Devils Food Cupcakes
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and garnish with chocolate curls just before serving.

The Scent of Rain and Lightning

The Scent of Rain and Lightning was my latest book.  It was a complete divergence from what I had been reading recently.

The story was a murder mystery set in the Midwest in a run down town called Rose.  The characters were comfortable.  The plot was decent but not great.  It got really good reviews online but I am not completely sold on the book.

It read to me much like an extended version of Law And Order.  The one thing I did like was the scenery.  I would say if you want a quick beach read that isn't completely mindless this is a good choice.  I would not however recommend the audio version.  The narrator did a terrible job differentiating one character from another and when she attempted it it sounded like a 4th grade play.

All in all I would give this one a 6.5/10.  So far my recent favorites have been The Help, and Room.  Not sure what I will be reading next but I am thinking a good romance to sink into the winter months with.

Happy Reading.

Dinotastic

Annie has some molars coming in and she is not a happy girl. I had bought her this dino pillow pet for xmas but she was breaking my heart with how sad she was so I gave it to her tonight. She saw it and said ROOOOOAAAR! Thats my girl. She has been very into Dinos and Dragons lately. Who knew?

Fall Day

Today was an absolute perfect fall day. It was blustery and crisp. I went down town to meet with Christine for some coffee and it was literally raining fall leaves. They were swirling around the downtown street making the rustic buildings lining the road seem like they belonged in a movie.

One of the things I missed about Fresno was the seasons. Being in this Valley I got them back and then some. I leave my house which is nestled in between the moutains and I am always smiling at how pretty and removed from everything San Ramon feels.

It got me inspired to make some cider with mulling spices and Adam made a roasted chicken for dinner. I hope everyone is having a beautiful fall!

 
Downtown...

Best Latte I have ever had at Sideboard.  This is no lie.  It was insanely good.

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