Late Fall and Early Winter Review: 2012 Edition

So much has happened, yet so little has changed.

I've been traveling a decent amount. Most of the travels have been through work, a few with family or for fun. Recent trips include New Jersey, Washington D.C., Chicago, and heading to Puerto Rico next week. Also on the docket for the next few months are St Thomas and San Diego!

I have a new niece. Her name is Sophia Elizabeth and I'm absolutely in love with her. I rode across Iowa/Illinois/Indiana with my mom in a flurry and was there in time for the birth. Can't express how thankful I am that my sister and all are happy and healthy.

My niece and nephew, Emma and Luke, will be coming home soon. The adoption process has been grueling and time consuming for my brother and his wife. My heart aches for them to be at home with Drew and Melissa. Advent and waiting brings on new meaning when you experience the longing and pining of adoption through the eyes of people you love.

THIS quote by Tullian Tchividjian has resonated with me lately: 

"Our dire need for God’s grace doesn’t get smaller after God saves us. We never outgrow our need for Christ’s finished work on our behalf-we never graduate beyond our desperate need for Christ’s righteousness and his strong and perfect blood-soaked plea “before the throne of God above.”

The crafty, crazy, apron wearing, spatula weilding side of me has been having a hey day lately.
I've been working on sewing a few Christmas gifts as well as baking up a storm. I also had a booth at the work Holiday Bazaar this week. I sold homemade oatmeal bread, 4 kinds of homemade granola, and 5 kinds of biscotti. I enjoyed the process of baking and packaging everything cutely for the bazaar, but was kind of freaking out the day before/day of the event. I realized that I had never been PAID to bake treats before. Part of the fun of baking wonderful goodies is the surprise and delight when they are gifts. This sneaky and scary voice in my head was making me super nervous about putting something so dear to me "for sale". Just plain afraid. Things went swimmingly at the bazaar. I sold almost everything I had prepared and had a ton of positive feedback. I needn't have feared. Then people at work started asking if I wanted to open a bakery or do that full time. I just don't know. A part of me thinks that would be amazing -- but having to run the legal and business fronts. Or even THINKING about getting funds to start that kind of endeavor? That terrifies me. And the what ifs start all over again -- what if I stop loving to bake if it's my job? What if I lose connection with humanity since I'd be working alone or with very few others? GAH. Someday. SOMEDAY, maybe I'll look into it further.

For now - I'm loving my job. The people I work with are wonderful. I finally feel like I'm in a place with my co-workers like I was in Austin at the Hyatt. We had our days of craziness with the actual WORK, but the co-workers and interaction made those stresses melt away. The PEOPLE made the job. Yes. I'm in a role that combines my past experinces (hotel sales, DMC internships, media sales etc) into this job that uses them all.

Life. Life is good. I'm thankful. Usually quiet seasons on my blog mean that I'm too busy living to remember to tell you about it. I'm okay with that :)

Pictures to go with the recent shenanigans: 

Blue sweater = work trip

I ran a 5K :)

Loved getting to spend LOTS of time with my coworker Jess as we worked on a big program together.

Sophia is so CUTE!

  



Thanksgiving with Sophia in Chicago!!



That's right...those are matching bowling shirts. Company outing with the Pharma Team!







Glass Case of Emotions.

Sad. To see the end of 180. To say goodbye to the girls I've grown to love.

Proud. Proud of my Older brother. Proud of him for finishing his Seminary classes. Had a blast getting to go to his graduation lunch.

Stressed, but accomplished. Seeing projects come to fruition under my care. Managing crisis situations. Finally starting to understand what I'm doing at work.  Learning to balance the have to do now list and the can wait til later list.

Empty. Painfully aware of how much I need Jesus. Seeing how often I THINK I have things under control, only to see them spiral away again. Those scary idols I thought I was rid of? They still come back. My need for security? My hate of dependence on others? My desire to have control? My elevation of money to the point of danger? Me. Getting in the way again. So good to reminded of my Need of Jesus.

 Longing. Longing for the day when there is no more hunger. No more pain. No more need for people to pack boxes of food for starving people around the world. I was so moved by the experience helping with Meal from the Heartland. The promo video they showed at the beginning before we served made me cry. The statistics of starvation are staggering. It made me ache inside and want so badly to get my niece and nephew HOME from Africa. The girls in the picture are another answer to prayer. Friends from my new Connection Group. The Sarahs.

 Thankful. For answered prayers. A while ago I specifically prayed for at least one friend at work. God provided. Her name is Amy. She is my cube-mate. And she is awesome.

 Delight. In creating new delicious treats. In making something beautiful. In sharing them with others.

Bad Attitude

My bad attitude ruined today's baking adventure. 

The challenge: make one gluten free apple pie, one gluten/dairy/soy free cran-apple pie, and one normal pumpkin pie. 

What I didn't think about before embarking on said adventure: pie crust ingredients=flour, water, butter or shortening (shortening has soy in it). In other words, I need to magically make a pie crust out of funky tasting flours and make it stick together with something other than butter.

I broke a plastic bowl. I slammed it against the counter. I was smashing the pie crust back into a ball for the 4th time since I couldn't get it to stick together or roll out. Then I burned my hand grabbing the pie out of the oven (oh hey self- a glass pie pan coming out of a 375 degree oven will be HOT). And I was just generally quite frustrated. My impatience made the process aggravating instead of just challenging. 

Everything ended up turning out okay-the realization was that gluten free pie crust WON'T taste exactly like standard pie dough. But it WILL come together and be special. Even if it's a failure, the fact that I tried is what matters to my food intolerant mother. The apple and pumpkin pies are still in the oven, but the cran-apple one just came out. 

So. What did I learn from today? 

1. Make a pot of coffee before starting something of this magnitude. I had no coffee today. Bad news. 

2. Use less coconut flour/coconut oil in the gluten/dairy/soy free pie. The coconut oil gives things a funky aftertaste

3. Use a foil tent on gluten free crusts- they burn even more quickly than regular pie crusts. Watch carefully! 
4. Recognize the whole process as an act of love. Look at that person. Love them through baking with a good attitude instead of getting mad. I failed at this today (SORRY MOM!). 

The Fall Fairy's Happy List

Some people say I'm over the top. THAT'S OKAY! I love fall. I'm not afraid to admit it. A simple pleasure of mine is baking and enjoying the season--so these first few weeks I've taken FULL ADVANTAGE! I've recently been dubbed the fall fairy (not sure if it was by me or by friends...I'll take it either way. Currently taking donations of wings, tutus, and other fairy-like apparel). Here are a few recipes, photos, and happies from a week of fall delights. 

1. Caramel Corn

1 cup butter 

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup light corn syrup 

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Over medium heat, combine first 4 ingredients and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda. Stir well. Pour over 8 quarts popped corn (in an air popper, this was two 1/2 cup batches of kernels). Stir to coat well (NOTE: it looks like not enough caramel to cover it all--but it is! It's PLENTY! Turns out super tasty and sweet and caramely). Bake in large roaster or pan for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to dry.

2. Crockpot Apple Butter

5 ½ lbs apples cored, quartered, and chopped (Tart apples work great or a combo of different apples)

3 cups sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon (I accidentally put 3 TBSP in---and it was fab. Spice it to your liking--I used way more than they said!! I think I used different amts in each of the 4 batches I've made, the average being around 2 - 2.5 TBSP, 3 for a big batch)

½ teaspoon ground cloves (OR MORE!)

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt (optional...I didn't really put it in)

Put chopped apples into the crock pot. In a separate bowl, Combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Pour over apples and mix well. Put crockpot lid on, cook on high for 1 hour. Decrease heat to low; cover and cook on low for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown. Stir occasionally (if possible, I left mine cooking from 5PM until 8AM the next morning and it was FABULOUS—so don’t fret if you can’t stir it or if it’s in a long time). Uncover and cook on low for 1 hour longer. If desired, whisk until smooth (I used an immersion blender to get mine to the desired consistency. Spoon into freezer containers (or mason jars!), leaving 1/2-inch head space. Cover and freeze or put them on the shelf if you chose mason jars (if you put them in unused mason jars with new lids while it’s hot, the pressure change will seal them!).

3. Pumpkin Muffins (or Bread)

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (or combo of all purpose and whole wheat)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans or muffins tins with 30 muffin papers. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, vanilla, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans or muffin tins
OPTIONAL: add one teaspoon of streusel topping (I recommend this!!) to each muffin. To make streusel topping, whisk together 4 tbsp flour, 4 tbsp white sugar, and cut in 4 tbsp butter until it is nicely crumbled in—also can add ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans). Great on top of the loves too!!
Bake for about 50 minutes for loaves or 20-24 minutes for muffins in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. WATCH THE MUFFINS! No one likes a dry muffin, especially not the fall fairy!!

4. Harvest Pork Chops (or Roast) - My sister made this recipe up. SO GOOD WITH CHERRIES!!

4 boneless pork chops
3 apples (peeled and cored)
1 cup Dried Cherries (may substitute craisins, but cherries are better :)
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup corn starch
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Mix together water, corn starch, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour mixture into crock pot. Add
apples and cherries. Place pork chops (or whole pork roast) over mixture. Cook on low 4-5 hours or high 3-4 hours. Serve with rice. Enjoy!!!

5. Bulk Pie Crust - also a family standard. We made 9 pies in one day then froze the other 11 pie crusts!

5 lb bag of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons salt
3 lb can butter flavored Crisco brand shortening
3 cups cold water


In a large bowl mix together the bag of flour and the salt. Cut in the shortening with knives or a pastry
blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cold water. Mix together. You may need to use your hands. Form into twenty balls. Bag or wrap the balls or roll out and place in pie tins and freeze until ready to use. When ready to use, thaw the balls and roll into desired thickness for your favorite pies. Balls keep for 12 months in the freezer. I have found this recipe to be both delicious and a huge time saver. I just had someone tell me that this crust was the best they'd ever tried--definitely a keeper! 

6. Dutch Apple Pie

Pie Filling

5 1/2 cups peeled cored sliced cooking apples

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup butter or 1/3 cup margarine, room temperature

Preheat oven to 375°F, Fit pie crust into pie plate. In a large bowl, mix sliced apples, lemon juice, both sugars,flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pile HIGH into crust.

Prepare topping:.In a medium bowl, with a pastry blender or a fork, mix flour, both sugars, and butter until coarsely crumbled. Sprinkle evenly over apples. Bake at 375°F for 50 minutes. DEVOUR with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or STRAIGHT UP!

6. Oatmeal Bread (This is a classic Family Recipe!!)

1 cup oatmeal
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. margarine or butter
Water
1 Tbsp. dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
5-6 cups additional white flour

Combine the oatmeal, sugar, salt, margarine, whole wheat flour, 1 cup of the white flour and 2 cups of very hot tap water. Blend together with a mixer until well mixed. While that is mixing in a separate bowl combine the yeast and a half a cup of warm water. Add the yeast mixture then additional 4-5 cups of flour. May mix using a dough hook with a mixture of by had. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 5-10 minutes. The dough will be very soft. Cover and let rise until double in size. Punch down the dough divide dough in half and place in two greased loaf pans. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Also--This bread freezes really well! Eat one loaf, freeze one for later (or make a double batch so you have 4 loaves). Best within a few days of baking (or thawing)  :)

The Waiting Game

The interview went well. Now I'm waiting. I got a callback to find out that the director of the division I'm interviewing into retired, thus setting off a string of promotions and transfers internally. I will likely have to interview again with the new boss since the original person I interviewed with will no longer be in that department.

What does one do with excessive time on her hands?

This girl gets busy.

1. I made a new friend: Jane Austen. I've read Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion so far. I'm SUCH a fan. Yes, they drone on from time to time. Overall, though- I find myself relating and laughing out loud at some of the thoughts/exasperations of the characters. Their woes and excitements make me smile as I understand the soaring highs followed by tumultuous lows. Even the length of sentences speaks loudly to the art of prose. The ability of Jane Austen to make me laugh by the brevity of sentence. So fun.
2. I made greek yogurt in my crock pot. Once successfully, the second time was a failure. I followed my mentor Tori's lead--she had told me about making yogurt in the crock pot.
   
   I googled since I wanted to see if it would also work with greek yogurt. Came across this article that covered things pretty well. The only thing I adapted was wrapping the crock pot in a beach towel once I added the cultures --rather than putting it in the oven w/oven light on. The first batch was AMAZING. I put it into mason jars. Adorable and so tasty. Smiling apron picture is from the first try--I was happy that day. Second one--I decided to put it in the crockpot 'warm' setting like a few other websites suggested. FAIL. Burned it and turned it into reviling clotted curds of nasty. I need to make it again to redeem the activity.
3. I perfected the art of homemade cinnamon rolls. I crave cinnamon rolls on a semi-regular basis.
   
   I think it's some aspect of my inner child remembering going to the mall in junior high to ride the carousel then go get a GIANT Cinnabon. This recipe is spot on. The only thing that I changed was using regular cinnamon instead of the fancy kind she talks about. I cut it back to 4TBSP (1/4 cup). And watch the cooking time--mine took a little longer than 20 minutes. More like 25ish. One other bit of advice...don't crowd the buns. Let them do their thing.The pan that I let rise/proof longer and had more room in the pan turned out PERFECTLY. They were huge and gooey and delicious. The picture is pre-baked. They were even better when they came out!
4. Listening to some great new music. Favorite new albums on repeat are Bebo Norman's "Oceans" (especially the song God of my Everything) and Matt Redman's "10,000 Reasons" (Songs Never Once, Endless Hallelujah).
5. I got crafty. I saw this blog post linked to from someone's facebook. It's a fabric memory game. I decided to make it for a baby shower gift. ADORABLE! I made two sets...one with canvas backing and another with denim. They are a bit time consuming--but completely worth it. I found the little box/chests at hobby lobby. They look like they were made for the game!!                                                  
   
   
    
   
   In short (well, not really. this post is kind of long), I'm waiting. I'm learning to enjoy the waiting not just in anticipation of what's to come, but as a pivotal growth point in my current journey. The Lord has me waiting for a reason. Maybe to take time to enjoy HIM! and to remember other little things that delight my soul. God is faithful.

CHOCOHOLICS, UNITE!

I made chocolate cupcakes. I'm sharing the chocolate love with the recipe:

1 box Devil's Food cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup warm water (I USED COFFEE yummmmm)
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl on medium to medium high for 3 minutes. Batter will be thick. Divide into cupcake tins, should make 24 good sized cupcakes. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 20-24 min (toothpick test!)

While the cupcakes are baking--make the frosting:

1 8 oz package cream cheese at room temperature

1/4 C butter (1/2 stick) at room temperature

3 1/2-4 C powdered sugar
1/2 C cocoa powder

1-2 teaspoons milk/creamer/liquor/coffee (options are endless, I used hazelnut creamer) 

Blend cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add in cocoa powder until blended. You may need to add a little bit of milk or creamer (I had hazelnut creamer...it worked fine), depending on the consistency you want. My frosting was nice a creamy/fluffy texture. You also can add a little bit more cream cheese, if you want it to have more zip to it (or cool whip. also a fun addition). If you're going to add the milk/creamer/additional liquid to the frosting, I would go ahead and use 4 cups of powdered sugar. Have fun with the recipe! Especially when it comes to frosting--you find the best combos through experimenting. Once the cupcakes are cool, frost generously with frosting! 

Then EAT! They are REALLY good (I had two).

I am Anna Pascal

The pondering stage has begun again. Some call it unemployment, I prefer to call it a life analysis and search process. As I wrestle with the different options before me, one thematic element sticks out. If you know me, this will seem obvious --- I LOVE to bake. I have this fear of doing it for a living. I'm afraid that it will ruin everything I love about it. But the question keeps coming up in the back of my mind...is there a way to do it AND love it?

Pastry school / actual chef route seems absurd. Crazy hours, not my ideal lifestyle.

Own my own specialty bakery. Owning something requires finances and the desire to see it through --there's still the possibility of doing cakes to order etc.

FACS/Home-Ec Teacher -- Teach kids to bake and sew and have manners. Sounds fun. Could I handle the day to day? The planning?

A few of the snapshots of my life that keep re-playing in my mind:

• A conversation with a past co-worker: I had baked biscotti and brought them in to work last December. She took one, got all teary, grabbed my hand and said --Anna, PLEASE follow your dreams. You LOVE baking! Don't end up stuck in a job that you don't enjoy.
• A seminar from a year ago where one of the VPs of the company came down to Austin and asked everyone in management at Hyatt to stand up, introduce themselves, and say what their 'dream job' for when they grow up would be. Mine was to own a specialty bakery. 
• The doldrums I felt after meeting with the English Education Advisor at Iowa State versus the elation only a week later when I got the email from the Family and Consumer Sciences Education Advisor. 3.5 years to get an english teaching certification, 1 or 2 for FACS.
• I've made my own birthday cake or cupcakes for the last 3 years...by choice.
• The first thing I do when I feel homesick or lonely or down in an apartment is bake my mom's oatmeal bread. The process of proofing the yeast, kneading the dough, waiting for it to rise, punching it down, waiting for it to rise again, and having the rich smell of homemade bread permeate my surroundings makes me feel home.
• I read Bon Appetit Magazine COVER to COVER within 1 day of it arriving. 
• My happiest and most full moments over the last 3 years have involved farmer's markets, baking with friends, baking for friends, baking with my family, dreaming of baking, or eating.

My heart started beating faster and faster as the scene from Stranger than Fiction unfolded before my eyes.  I realized: I am Anna Pascal. 

So now I figure out how to make my job be something that makes my soul come alive. I think teaching kids to bake etc might be my ticket...I meet with the FACS Education advisor the first week of January.

An update of sorts

I'm alive.

Broken, but hopeful. 

• Learning more daily about this large, bustling, and windy city. 
• Loving my new church Missio Dei and the community I'm growing in through it.
• Struggling to thrive at work. 
• Adoring fall and crunchy leaves.
• Baking all things pumpkin (Try this pumpkin bread -Add a tsp of vanilla and a tad more nutmeg)
• Enjoying being a regular at the farmer's market down the street -especially the flower vendor!
• Headed back for my second football game of the season at Purdue in a few weekends with my sister and her husband. Check out the seats/tickets Joel hooked us up for the last time I went back for a game!

Not bad, eh? 

Then even more recently, loved going up to Minneapolis to see one of my dearest friends get married. I got to be a part of their big day too. Their wedding was such an encouragement - It definitely pointed to Jesus and the hope that we can have in the covenant relationship with Christ. A few snapshots that the groom's cousin took with his iPhone during the pictures session. I kind of love them:

God is who He says He is. I'm so thankful for that. 

Yet again I find myself in a season where I don't know what's around the corner. HE DOES.

I don't know why I have stirrings in the deepest parts of my soul for something different. HE DOES. 

He is sovereign. He makes no mistakes. He loves me. He pursues me. He chose me. He leads me. 

 

I read a post from a friend's blog that resonated with me (enough to awake the sleeping blogger). You should really read the whole thing, but I thought I'd share the end:

When our lives are stripped of their good circumstances, we get to see God as He really is. When we’re bare and feel empty and alone and hurt, we have nowhere else to go but to Him. And He meets us when we go to Him. We get to see that He not only exists, but that He’ll listen to our cries and, somehow, provide comfort. This is when God increasingly becomes a friend. It’s mysterious and it’s tragic and it’s good. Because HE is good.

foodie allergies...what to do?

Time at home and moving has meant lots of high qual bonding time con mi MADRE. She has some not so fun dietary restrictions that have opened my eyes to the challenges that people with food allergies face every time they want to cook or eat out at a restaurant. I've been attempting to bake things that my mom can eat. My mom's food qualms: Gluten, Dairy and Soy.

One cookie success:

Power / Energy Cookies (adapted from another recipe that still had dairy in it):

1 cup applesauce (previous recipe had 1.5 cups of butter or margarine, I subbed 1C applesauce and 1/2C canola oil to be sure to stay gluten dairy AND soy free--if you don't have allergies, butter away in place of the applesauce and oil!)

1/2 cup canola oil 

1 cup brown sugar 

2/3 cups white sugar

2 eggs 

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups all-purpose wheat flour (I used gluten free flour mix)

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp xanthum gum (only needed if you're using GF flour mix, this is what makes it stick together)

2 cups oats (if you're making these GF, make sure to get GF oats!)

1/2 cup coconut

3/4-1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup of dried fruit (I used craisins)

1 cup of chocolate chips (for gluten free/dairy free, be sure to get GFDF chocolate chips)

Start with applesauce and oil in a large mixing bowl.

Stir in sugars, add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Add flour, then baking powder, xanthum gum and soda.

Blend until all flour is moistened.

Add oats, nuts, fruit and chocolate chips and stir.

Drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 F for approximately for 15 minutes.

Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and cooling rack for 20 minutes more.

YUM. Very hearty. Non allergen people liked them too! Lots of room for alterations (take out coconut, more nuts, vary what fruit to add etc). 
Hey you blog readers-do you have any recipes you think would be good to try gluten free/dairy free? Let me know--I'm thinking of even trying to make that banana cake from a few posts ago into a GFDF masterpiece. Ha. THAT could be challenging!

Another success was by the FABULOUS Chef Kevin from the Hyatt - he made a farewell dinner for us when my mom was in town to help me move. It was AMAZING. My mom has mentioned at least 5 or 6 times and told a bunch of her friends how great the meal was (so Kevin-if you opened a restaurant in Ames, Iowa, my mother alone could fill the tables with her friends!). How wonderful it was not to have to worry about her allergies since he had them taken care of. What we had was a 5 course foodie fest that was gluten, dairy and soy free. It was super. Kevin is proof that yes, it CAN be done: Gluten Free Dairy Free food can taste good AND still have normal textures. A pork taco with mango salsa; potato cake with carmelized onions, spinach, mandarin oranges and smoked salmon; chili seared scallops with watermelon arugula salad; venison with fresh lentils and some awesome kind of cherries; lastly three fresh sorbets. HOLY CRAP. 

A few envy worthy pics from the night:

Hips, say thank you to David Lebovitz

Want wow factor for your next girls night or family gathering?? Dying to put on a few extra pounds to "fill out" that perfect dress? Want your friends to drool and clap like newborns?? MAKE THIS CAKE! It's called Banana Cake with Mocha Frosting. Yes.

Holy Cow. You had me at banana chocolate--then add the mocha ganache frosting and candied salted peanuts?? Life changing. I initially saw the recipe in David Lebovitz's new cookbook "Ready for Dessert"- I took a picture of the title of the cookbook and the name of the recipe for this specific cake because the picture and description were mouth watering.

Many dreams of banana chocolate gooey deliciousness later, my work lovelies suggested a last hurrah baking, wine and cheese extravaganza at my friend Jen's house the weekend before I moved. 

The four of us (no picture was taken the night of) kept getting more and more excited as the cake came together. The smells from the kitchen did not disappoint. Meet the ladies:

L to R: Jen, me, Emma, and Dawn

The recipe is long and the picture looks complicated--it's NOT a difficult recipe! The banana cake is similar to banana bread and the frosting is just melted chocolate and butter! Looks professional. Tastes AMAZING. Lots of layers of flavor. Dude. Click on this link to the LEGAL copy of the recipe and get baking!! Your mouth will thank you. You can work out later to make up for it.

Photos of the cake taken by the lovely Dawn Mitchell!