Fillin' In The Blanks Again

I've been a little MIA this week,

Mainly due to laziness and lack of sleep.

I promise some good recipe posts next week,

And another Wedding Wednesday,

And a post on our white water rafting trip last weekend

which was SO fun!

In the meantime, I'm filling in the blanks on Lauren's page.

Head on over and join in!

1.   My favorite color is       Green, for no particular reason other than I love it.  Looking around my apartment now I'm realizing there's green everywhere!

2.  My travel destination of choice is    anywhere new.  I'd love to visit South America, Canada, Italy, Sweden, New Zealand....this list never ends!

3.  My favorite  food is     ice cream.  I'll never tire of it!

4.  My happy place is   the beach, or somewhere near the water.  I think I've always been a water person (hence, I was a swimmer) and feel so calm when I'm near the water.  Whenever I'd come home from living in the mid-west, I'd always have to take a drive along the coast to see the water.  It just feels like home to me.

5.  My favorite saying is      And miles to go until we sleep.  It's from a Robert Frost poem that I had to memorize in 7th grade, but I always loved it.

6.  My dirty little secret is      I'm a physical therapist and I hate working out or going to the gym.  So boring.  I need to fine a sport that motivates me to get off the couch!

7.  Something friends might say about me is that I   cry easily when I'm stressed or frustrated.  I think all my friends from grad school saw me break down at some point or another.  One time in the middle of the anatomy lab while studying for a test.  Ah, good times!

Happy weekend!

Cinnamon Blueberry Muffins

We are going camping tonight by the Kern River.

Near Bakersfield,

in the middle of nowhere,

so we can go river rafting on Sunday morning.

Woo hoo!

Since we have to check into the rafting place at 7:45am

I knew we'd need some quick and easy breakfast options

because there is no way I'm waking up any earlier than I have to on a weekend.

So I looked up a few blueberry muffin recipes

and settled on this one at Epicurious.

Mainly because it had the fewest number of steps

and I already had everything needed.

And it included cinnamon.  Yum.

They turned out soooo good, 

Bursting with blueberries.

And super easy.

You just need a spoon, a whisk, and two bowls.

Cinnamon Blueberry Muffins - from Epicurious

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 400.

Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together butter, brown sugar, milk, and egg in bowl.

Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

Add milk mixture to flour and stir until just combined.

Fold in blueberries gently

Spoon into muffin cups.

Bake about 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

And wish me luck that I don't fall out of the raft and get washed away!

Wedding Wednesday - The First Look

The First Look.

It's getting to be pretty common nowadays to do the First Look, where the bride and groom set up a little photoshoot when they see each other for the first time before the ceremony.  At first we didn't think we wanted to do one.  We liked the idea of him seeing me for the first time as I walked down the aisle.  But then I started to get worried about the photography timeline, about getting all the pictures of the wedding party and family that we wanted, and still having time to enjoy cocktail hour.  I also started reading about how much brides and grooms enjoyed this time together, alone (mostly), before the craziness of the day started.  I knew that once the wedding started and guests and families were involved, we would be pulled in a million different directions.  I wanted to feel that there was a special chunk of the day that was just ours.  And so we decided to do the "First Look"

The photographer stationed my groom on the walkway outside our venue.  I was to come out the front door, walk up behind him, and tap him on the shoulder.  Here's how it went...

In the end we were both so happy that we chose to do the first look.  Tor commented that he was feeling nervous and anxious all morning, and that seeing me helped calm him down.  I loved having this time together, even if the whole thing lasted about 5 minutes.  I also loved that we had a TON of time for wedding party and family portraits!  For anyone leaning towards doing a First Look, I would say go for it!

Up next...wedding party and family portraits!

All photos by Kristen Grinnell Photography

Field Trip: Wine Tasting in Santa Ynez

I could lie

and say that these photos are from this weekend.

But I'm not a liar (usually).

These pictures are really from Mother's Day

and they've been sitting on my computer for months

and I've just been too lazy to post them.

So here you go.

Our wine tasting trip to Santa Ynez,

just outside of Santa Barbara.

If you're ever in the area

I'd highly recommend taking a wine tasting trip

because the area is beautiful

and you get to drink wine!

Baking with Mom - Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake

My mom made this beautiful cheesecake for a 4th of July party.  Doesn't it look so sinfully good??  When I saw the picture posted on her Facebook page I told her she had to post in on here.  I recommend you run out and make this cheesecake ASAP, and then send me a slice!

From my mom...

Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake
-from Taste of Home, June/July 2011 edition

The Crust
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
3/4 cup butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

The Filling
5 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup half and half
3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk
1 cup crushed strawberries
1 cup crushed blueberries

1.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and lemon peel.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Whisk egg yolks and vanilla; add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball.

2.  Press into the bottom and 3 inches up the sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan.  (Don't make the same mistake I did - I greased a coated pan and when the crust cooked it slid down the sides.  However, I baked it a little longer and it turned out good.  Nobody knew the difference!).  Place pan on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degress for 5-8 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on a wire rack.

3.  For filling, in a large bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Beat in the half and half, flour, lemon peel, salt, and vanilla.  Add the eggs and yolk; beat on low speed just until combined.

4.  Divide batter in half.  Fold crushed strawberries and blueberries into half of the batter.  Pour into crust.  Top with the remaining batter.  Return pan to baking sheet.

5.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 300 and bake for 60-70 minutes longer or until center is almost set.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.  Refrigerate overnight.  Remove the side of the pan.

6.  Garnish with assorted berries.  (I had sliced some strawberries and added the raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries and mixed with a little sugar.  I spooned these into the center of the cake).

Makes 16 servings.

Warning- this is not an inexpensive cheesecake to make because I had to purchase all of the fresh berries.  BUT it was wonderful and only 2 pieces were left at the end of the party, and there were 3 other desserts there!


The only thing wrong with the picture is I forgot to put my little American Flag on top before I served it!