En memorandum

So maybe you noticed there wasn't a fRecipe fRiday blog. It isn't because I procrastinated; it isn't because I forgot to bake anything. It's because my grandfather died. And the week before, my dog died.

I just thought I'd share some memories with you.

When I was a kid, probably about 6 years old, my family went out to visit my grandparents in California. As a kid, I was pretty good at picking my nose. One day my grandpa caught me in the act. He showed me his finger. Not just any finger, it was his half-finger--one that had been cut off at the second knuckle at some point. He told me that his finger had been bitten off by the booger monster. I did not pick my nose for months. I still get a little wary.

My chihuahua, Shadow, used to cuddle with me in my bed. For a year or so my family had to take care of my brother's chihuahua, Teequi. She also wanted to cuddle with me. Shadow would get to bed first and pick her spot. Teequi would come later and accidentally step on Shadow multiple times, making Shadow growl.

One night, Shadow decided to come to bed later. She hopped onto my bed, found where Teequi was sleeping, and walked back and forth and back and forth over her to spite her. My dog was so cunning. One time she even broke out of her pet carrier cage.

I'm sad. But things will look up eventually. My losses are here to remind me of how precious life is.

fRecipe fRiday...but on a fSaturday

Surprise! I put off doing my blog until the last minute yesterday and then realized that it was already 12:30 am! So I thought I might as well just go to sleep and do it the next day.

This week, I needed a quick supper. Like, done in 5 minutes. So, I made

eggs in a mug!

First ingredient--one large mug. Spray it down with cooking spray and crack two eggs into it. Beat it with a fork until it looks like this:

Pop it in the microwave for 45 seconds, and when it's done, take it out and stir it. Put it back in the microwave and microwave it in 30 second intervals until it is set and looks like you won't get a disease from it.

When you feel like the eggs are done, sprinkle some cheese, salt, pepper, and whatever else you want on the eggs. You can even stir it around a little more to mix it all up.

That was easy, huh?

One Whole Year!

Yesterday was mine and my boyfriend's one-year anniversary. That's right, one whole year of dealing with each other. I made Caleb a nice scrapbook of our past year....and he sent me on a scavenger hunt.

At about 4:30 he came in with a rose and a little note that led me to my green vase (originally filled with plastic flowers) that now held water and another rose, with another note. This one gave me hints that led me to the RFC house. However, I was allowed until 5:45 to go there so I could get ready for our date.

Off to find the rest of my roses!

At 5:45 I headed over, to find another rose telling me that I had to drive to a park (the only one in town that I cannot find on my own.) But that was okay, because he left a map for me to print out. So I took my vase of roses, buckled it up in the passenger seat, and drove to the park.

There Caleb was waiting at a table with a picnic set up--baked potatoes, crescent rolls, fried okra, and Sunny-D. A feast for kings, really. The next rose and note took me back to my apartment so I could park my car.

We exchanged gifts there, and I received a massive craft supply carrier with loads of paintbrushes, crayons, and a few various items.

Then I was told via rose/notes to put some pictures on my SD card, and once that was accomplished, we headed to Wal-Mart. We printed my pictures, bought Green Lantern and beef jerky (I feel as if the more I tell you about what we eat, the less classy we sound,) and went to Caleb's apartment.

There was a large (2 foot tall) canvas on the couch, along with a cork board with fabric and ribbons. The rest of the night I got to craft!

Here are the crayons plus the canvas. I took a blow-dryer to the crayons after hot gluing them on. It isn't the prettiest, since I didn't put them in rainbow order, but I like it. It looks like a storm.

Overall, a wonderful night full of beautiful roses.

fRecipe fRiday!

Growing up, the world's greatest dessert was the same for all of my family (or at least for my dad and me.) Every time there was a potluck at church, I'd slap some on my dad's plate and I'd grab a massive bowl for myself full of

BANANA PUDDING!

I was really nervous to make this, seeing as something this wonderful has to be an insane endeavor. And I was positive that I couldn't pull it off.

So go ahead and get out a fairly large mixing bowl and dump one 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk and 1 1/2 cups of water into it, then mix. Pour one box of vanilla instant pudding mix in as well and beat. Once it is well blended, put it in the fridge for about 5 minutes.

After you take it out, you are going to "fold in" 1 pint (2 cups) of heavy whipping cream. Supposedly you want to mixture to retain its thickness, but when the cream and the mixture wasn't folding like I wanted to, I just stirred it until it was mixed well.
Use a large glass dish/bowl/container and pour in one-ish cup. Put some vanilla wafers and banana slices on top. Pour another cup or so of pudding on top, and add some more wafers and slices. Do that one more time, using the rest of the pudding. Now you can create your masterpiece with wafers and slices. I did not get fancy.
Put the pudding in the fridge for a while (how long is up to you) and eagerly wait to eat some of the oncoming deliciousness. If you are concerned about the bananas going bad in the fridge, dip them in lemon juice before putting them on the pudding. I was not concerned with this because 1) I forgot to do that part...and 2) I will devour that pudding long before it thinks about going bad.

fRecipe fRiday!

This week I watched the movie Julie and Julia, while wearing pearls. For the movie, I thought it was only fitting that I bake something...with lots of butter. This week's choice was...

CINNAMON ROLL CAKE!!!

This really was not hard to make, except for when I broke my 1 cup measuring spoon. Not to mention it was super duper delicious. I highly recommend a glass of milk with this one.

First you are going to take 3 cups of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 and 1/2 cup of milk, 2 eggs, and 2 teaspoons vanilla, and mix it all up in a big bowl. Once mixed, melt 1/2 a cup of butter and gradually stir it into the mixture. Pour all of that into a greased 9x13 pan and begin to make the topping.

To make the topping, you'll mix 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons of flour, and 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon. Once well-mixed, pour as evenly as possible on top of the batter in the pan. Swirl it around using a knife, spoon, or other random utensil. Put the pan in the oven on 350 for between 30-35 minutes. The amount of done-ness is really up to you.

From this...

To this...

Onto this...

When the cake is almost done baking, you get to make the best part...the glaze. The recipe I used made so much glaze that I absolutely had to just eat the rest of it so it wouldn't go to waste. Stir 2 cups powdered sugar, 5 Tablespoons of milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla together. Take a taste and admire your handiwork. Take another taste. Now stop taking tastes so you don't eat it all before you put it on your cake!

Take out the cake when it is done, and after a few minutes, while it is still warm, drizzle all of that beautiful glaze on top of the cake.

Ohhh it's glorious...

A Wedding!

Guess what I got to do?!

I got to go to a wedding!

Aaaand since I've always thought it'd be cool to do a blog with pictures from a wedding...well, that's what I'll do!

This is my favorite picture from the night.