Day 22:

a photo of your town - all 4 I've lived in (if you count 4 months living somewhere. I had an address at least!)

Austin: 1990-2008 and it's still my permanent address! I love Austin!

congress avenue - looking at the capitol

360 bridge at sunset
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Heidelberg: 2003-2005 oh how I miss you

castle and old bridge
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Beloit: 2008-2012

the river

Auroville: Fall 2010

from above with the matrimandir in the middle

the village I worked in

Day 21:

a photo of you standing up

Another picture of me hiking in Honey Valley! What can I say, I loved it there (except the whole food poisoning part). Luckily, this was taken before that. Can you even believe this is in India?!?

Day 20:

a photo of something you enjoy doing:
How do I choose! Since I just got back from indoor conference, here's a picture of me pole vaulting.

Day 19:

a photo of you on a school trip:
I went to Winter Park in 10th grade with school! It was so much fun!!

Rosemary Cheese Rolls

As usual, I'll post the original recipe and make notes where I changed it.  I doubled the recipe, and it made 32 small rolls. I'd say one recipe really only makes 8 servings.

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Prep Time 2 Hours Cook Time 40 Minutes

Servings 16

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

• FOR THE BATTER:
• 2-¼ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast (1 Packet)
• 1-¼ cup Sifted All-purpose Flour, Divided
• ¼ teaspoons Baking Soda
• 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Freshly Grated Onion - I used onion powder - I was too lazy to check if we had onions or to cut one up
• 1 Tablespoon Dried Dill Weed (OR Crushed/dried Rosemary, OR Dried Thyme) I used about 3T rosemary for 2 recipes
• ¼ cups Very Warm (120 Degrees F) Water
• 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
• 1 cup Cottage Cheese, At Room Temperature - we only had ricotta, so I used half that and half sharp cheddar
• 1 whole Egg, Lightly Beaten
• 1 cup 100% White Whole Wheat (like King Arthur)
• _____
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter, melted
• 1 pinch Kosher Salt (a Hefty Pinch!)

Preparation Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together yeast, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, grated onion, and dill weed. Combine warm water and butter, then add to yeast mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally.

2. Add lukewarm cottage cheese, beaten egg and 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes. Beat in remaining all-purpose flour (1/2 cup) and the white whole wheat flour until well incorporated. Batter will be stiff.

3. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1-1 1/2 hours.

4. Stir down batter and transfer to a well-greased 2-quart round casserole dish. Since it seemed like so little dough, I made rolls instead of a loaf. It would also form into a loaf without a casserole dish. Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

5. Brush melted butter on the batter, and sprinkle with a generous pinch of kosher salt.

6. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

7. Remove from oven to a wire rack. Cool bread completely in the casserole dish before removing to slice.

Day 18:

a photo of one of your classes:
I don't have my full senior picture but this is a picture of all the seniors in band! Class of 2008!

senior recognition football game - Fall 2007

Day 17:

a crazy photo of you:
Spring Breeaaak!!

SB10!!! Jacksonville Beach, Florida

Bread Pudding

We had a lot of leftover bread that was just drying out in the co-op fridge, so I decided to make bread pudding with it for dessert. Even though it was a seedy whole wheat bread, it was still really good. We were also missing several ingredients, as usual, so I'll make notes on my substitutions. I don't think you can really go wrong with bread pudding!

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Ingredients:

- 2 cups whole milk or half and half (there was barely any milk so I used some sour cream and water-it was the only dairy we had!)
- 1/4 cup butter (we had a few tablespoons honey butter, so I used some oil, but it kind of floated to the top. I wouldn't recommend it)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark, depending on taste preference)
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups bread, torn into small pieces (french bread works best)
- 1/2 cup raisins (optional) (I used dark and white chocolate chips instead)

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Directions:

1. In medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat milk (or half & half) just until film forms over top. Combine butter and milk, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.

2. Combine sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Slowly add milk mixture.

3. Place bread in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.

4. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Pour batter on top of bread.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Serve warm.

The recipe also included a sauce you can pour on after, but since I was out of the main ingredients, butter and cream, I made a glaze of leftover powdered sugar and cinnamon from Mexican wedding cakes someone had made. The pudding turned out a little tough, but like I said, it was really dry! I could hardly tear some of it to begin.

original recipe

Day 16:

a photo of the last party you went to:
the last real party I went to was probably a New Years' Party that my friend, Claire and her boyfriend put on. But here's a picture of our party from New Years 2010!

setting up the food! Claire's on the far left

Day 15:

a photo of you and someone you love:
I feel like I've posted enough pictures of my family, so I'm doing something different with this one.  This is the group from my study abroad program in India last semester, and I love them all!

Seeduction Bread

It's Tuesday again! Today I made pretty much a basic whole wheat bread with nuts and seeds. It reminds me of a bread my local bakery makes. This was actually the name of the recipe! I had to tweak it a bit because of the ingredients we had, but the original recipe is here.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
• 4 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
• 1 egg white, beaten (we were out of eggs so I just used butter - it turned out fine!)
• 1 teaspoon oats, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds, mixed

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Directions

1. Gently stir together the warm water, molasses, honey, and yeast in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Pour oil into the yeast mixture.
2. In a separate bowl mix together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, seeds and nuts. Stir the flour and seed mixture to the yeast mixture until it pulls together. Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 7 to 8 minutes, adding additional flour as needed. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, cover and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Grease a 9x13 baking sheet. A bread pan works fine too.
3. Punch down the risen dough and turn out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Form into a round or oval loaf shape and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Cover the dough and allow to rise until doubled in size again, about 40 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) toward the end of this second rise. Slash the top of the loaf diagonally with a sharp razor blade or serrated knife, carefully brush with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle mixed oats, sunflower and sesame seeds over the top.
5. Bake in preheated oven until the bread sounds hollow when thumped on the side, 40 to 45 minutes.



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Day 14:

a photo of one of your favorite family members:
how am I supposed to choose? let's just say my sisters. We have our differences but I love them!

Day 13:

a photo of you best friend(s). I have a lot...

best friends since 3rd grade

best friends from high school - we're still really close

best friends from gymnastics - this is a really old picture. they're all taller than me now

some of my best friends from college!

Day 12:

(another) photo of you:

this was taken during a stop on my way to college.  We visited my aunt, uncle and cousins in Duluth - my cousin had also just graduated.  It was a lot of fun!

Day 11:

a photo of your favorite film(s):

another favorite! I can never decide. But let me tell ya, this one is always in my top 10.

Caramel Apple Cake

This is the dessert I made today for the co-op. I didn't realize we didn't have eggs or butter until after i started making it. Luckily, I was able to borrow a stick of butter and 2 eggs, but I doubles the recipe so I was 2 eggs short. It still turned out fine. I baked it in a 9x13, and it definitely needed at least 40 min to bake. I think the middle was still a little doughy, but the edges would have burned if I left it in longer and I had to rush to get to track! Everyone loved it though, and I must say it was quite delicious! Definitely make this if you have a couple apples that are past their prime - we have many!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium tart apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
• Caramel Topping, heated

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat together sugar, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the milk, flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring just until blended. Stir in apples.

Pour apple cake batter into a greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350° until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center, about 30 to 40 minutes. With a fork, pierce cake all over. Pour hot caramel topping over cake. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping.

Caramel Topping 

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine brown sugar, butter, and cream in a heavy saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour caramel topping over hot apple cake.

Day 10:

a photo of you as a baby:

This isn't when I was an actual baby, but it's the only one I have on my computer of when I was little.

when I was about 4

Squash Braid

This is the bread I made for the co-op on Tuesday! Everyone loved it - it was really good!  We get some produce from a winter CSA, so we get a lot of squash. This was a good way to use some!

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
• 1 cup mashed, cooked butternut squash
• 1/3 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• GLAZE:
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. In a mixing bowl, combine squash, milk, butter, egg, brown sugar and salt; mix well. Add yeast mixture and 1-1/2 cups flour; mix well. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Divide into thirds; roll each third into a 18-in. rope. Place on a greased baking sheet. Braid ropes together; pinch ends. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Combine glaze ingredients; brush over braid. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Day 9:

a photo of your family:

my dad's side of the family (Christmas 2008 - in Austin!)

my family last summer!