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I always felt special growing up knowing that King Cake season always started on my birthday, January 6th. However, there are a lot of really bad King Cakes out there, so I rarely requested one as an actual birthday treat. Whenever I would go with my parents to visit my grandparents during Mardi Gras season I knew I was in for a treat -- I wasn't as interested in the King Cake as much as the candy, parades, beads, and doubloons. We'd inevitably go and visit relatives that were along one of the local parade routes and stand outside to catch our treasures. Of course, someone always had a King Cake and I would lurk around the kitchen and living room to see who got to keep the baby hidden inside.
I
usually don't attempt to make King Cake myself, because if not done just right it can be a dry, tasteless loaf with cloyingly sweet (and tacky) icing on top. However, I just couldn't resist giving it a try in honor of the Saints making it to the Superbowl. Last year around this time, I tried a recipe that was very tasty, but didn't really look like a King Cake. The texture and feel wasn't exactly as I had remembered either. So, my mom sent over a recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse that she really liked and I decided to give it a whirl. I generally turn my nose at Lagasse's recipes, since he isn't really from New Orleans, but in this case he did get the King Cake just right. If you've never had a taste before, I'd have to say it's closest to a slightly sweet dense bread with a pretty good hint of nutmeg. Very simple, but oh so tasty. Mine didn't bake up perfectly (notice the seam where the dough didn't rise together), but it was still beautiful. This recipe also has a hidden treat inside, a slightly sweet cream cheese mixture that keeps the dough really nice and moist. It seriously is one of the best King Cakes that I've tasted.
The icing is lemon juice, milk, and powdered sugar that made a nice crust when it dried. As I hurried to ice the cake during commercial breaks in the fourth quarter, I realized that I probably shouldn't have put it on the cake stand until the end. Oh well, the drips are just part of the charm, I guess. And all of those little stars? Well, our grocery store didn't stock Mardi Gras colored sprinkles, so Jesse's contribution to the King Cake was painstakingly separating the gold, purple, and green sprinkles from two jars. Hey! He offered (and seemed actually excited about his accomplishment).
My only complaint? I personally think that it has a bit too much nutmeg, but that may just be my pregnancy nose/taste buds working overtime. Oh yeah, and it is really large! Next time if I make it just for two, I'll definitely try to cut the recipe in half.
I've heard people say that sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. I think that's pretty true with illness, certainly this economy, and of course, my organizing projects. Sometimes you have to just explode a few boxes before you c
an pack their contents neatly away in their proper place. See? Even though the bedroom looks even worse than when we started, progress has been made. There are blank spots everywhere on the bookshelf. I'm hoping by the end of the weekend that at least half will be completely empty. I'd like to put down some shelf paper and maybe have a place to temporarily stash our clothes and sheets.
I also made floor plans of our two bedrooms last week and little scale paper pieces of our furniture. We've been trying to figure out a configuration for the the yet-to-be-purchased-but-much-anticipated-guest-bed in the back room. Until a few days ago, we'd been calling the back room the larger bedroom because, well, it looked a lot bigger. As it turns out, they're almost exactly the same size, but due to doors and built-in shelves the second (front) room it just has a lot less wall space. I think we've gotten a good arrangement figured out that will accommodate a daybed, Jesse's office desk, and a baby crib. Don't worry, we plan on making the crib a somewhat movable fixture, so please still come and visit us. You won't have to tend to our spawn as part of your room and board -- that is unless you're really dying to jump right in on night feedings.
Last weekend, Jesse and I also put together our Expedit shelf from Ikea. Once we get all of the crap cleared out of the hallway (like Jesse's muddy running shoes and miscellaneous items that have piled up in a matter of days) I think it's going to look pretty snazzy. Adult-like even. Gasp! The bottom boxes currently hold nearly all of my fabric stash, sorted by color. Since the top cubby holes look pretty lonely and are just begging for us to fill with more random items, I made another trip out to Ikea yesterday afternoon and picked up four more. I haven't decided exactly what will go in them, but I'm thinking art supplies and other crafty things that we don't use on a regular basis.
As for the rest of the weekend, Jesse and I plan on trying to set up our small TV with the digital antenna to see if we can catch the Superbowl on Sunday evening. I am planning out a delicious menu that will include braised pork (either made into a carnitas pie or tacos), fresh guacamole, chips and dip (of course), and a King Cake. I feel that it's only proper to celebrate the Saints making it to the Superbowl during Mardi Gras season (in addition to this being my official birthday weekend) with a King Cake. My mom passed along a recipe that I think I'm going to try this year that has a cream cheese filling. How could you go wrong? MMM. I can't wait for Superbowl Sunday!
As many of you read, my birthday was pretty uneventful this year despite being a huge milestone (the big 3-0). In fact, I didn't even bother to post an entry on my blog. At the time, I wasn't prepared to divulge the real reason that I could have cared less about January 6th, 2010, so I let you believe that I was just lazy or in a spiraling state of denial. Don't get me wrong, I was insanely lazy and maybe a little in denial, but there was a much bigger reason that I decided to postpone my birthday for a month or two.
I'm pregnant.
That's right, after two years of marriage and a year in our new city, Jesse and I decided to expand our family. The move to Portland in 2008 was not only to find a new cool place to live, but also to find a place where we would want to raise our children (someday). Making that decision took a lot of thought on both of our parts, especially since I'm in the process of switching careers in a pretty uncertain economy. However, when it came to figuring out whether to wait or just go for it, we both realized that there might never be that perfect time.
Oh right, back to my birthday. So, that woeful case of morning sickness that started early on in December (and subsequently squelched all plans for cooking a delicious holiday meal) had me pea green straight through a better part of January. I think at the time of my 30th year on earth, even the word "birthday cake" sent me running for the bathroom. It was sad, but all I could eat was yogurt, apples, and cottage cheese and wanted to nap all day long. In my book, that is not a birthday.
However, today Jesse and I went in for my first ultrasound appointment (I'm 12 weeks along) and got a first-rate view of what will be our newest family member. It was so much better than birthday cake, presents, and a party combined. The baby is only about 2 1/2 inches long and has little toothpicks for legs and arms, but it was jumping around and giving us quite a show up on the monitor. At one point (while trying really hard to capture an important measurement), the technician mentioned that the baby was wearing the umbilical cord over its shoulder like a hand bag and wiggling its hands in front of its face. Naturally, our little jumping bean must have inherited its father's energy and mother's flair for the dramatic -- I think we're in for quite a ride!
Last night I got pretty frustrated trying to come up with a paper proposal for my economics class. I feel a little behind the curve, given that I've had exactly one economics class in my entire school career. Not to mention that it was just an undergrad entry-level class (for some reason I had convinced myself that I was going to get a business minor) nearly 10 years ago. For some reason this quarter, I decided to jump into a graduate-level course head first. At times feel like I'm just scratching the surface of all the stuff that I should get out of this course. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good challenge, but some days I feel a bit overwhelmed.
Given that the paper proposal is due this afternoon, blogging probably shouldn't be on the top of my priority list, but I can't help myself. I'm a consummate procrastinator. I work well under strict time constraints and there's nothing like feeling overwhelmed to make the mind wander. I keep staring at that messy built-in shelf and contemplate organizing just one of the plastic bins. But, oh wait! The Super Bowl is coming up in just a week and a half! I should really plan a menu for our non-existent party. Mmm. Carnitas. I better run to the store before it runs out of pork.
Don't worry, I've reigned in my thoughts and started cranking out a pretty good proposal topic. I decided to stick with stuff that I know, rather than racking my brain about watersheds or biodiversity. Historic buildings are the ticket to my success and Portland neighborhoods will be my case study. Why did I have to make this process so hard? I have to give credit where it's due though, Jesse sat with me last night and talked through some of my ideas that I had been rolling around. He also brought me this awesome snack this morning -- a blueberry bagel with cream cheese cut up into little bite-size pieces. I love bite-size pieces! They're perfect for snacking! He knows me all too well -- love is in the details.
Jesse arrived home from his business/week 'o fun trip to San Francisco last week to an apartment that was slightly cleaner and somewhat more organized (although, honestly, it was hard to tell the parts that I had tackled). Unpacking this apartment has been the bane of my existence. I hate having piles of stuff everywhere, but I can't seem to motivate myself to make any significant changes. There are so many things to do! Where do I start?!
One of the problems is that this apartment, while bigger, has about 50% less storage space. If you remember our place down the street, it had an entire hallway of marvelous built-ins with drawers and high cabinets that made unpacking and organizing much easier. We just don't have enough pieces of furniture to put our clothes and stash away things like cloth napkins and the state of my exploded fabric collection. I guess one solution would be to just go out and purchase another chest of drawers, but then, how do I know if it will be the right size/shape/color? It's a viscous cycle that keeps me in a perpetual state of organizational purgatory.
While Jesse was out, I was attempting to get all of the paperwork necessary to begin doing our taxes and accidentally knocked over a giant pile of miscellaneous papers. Just before winding back my leg to kick them all over the room in frustration, I decided that this would be my first conquest. No more un-filed papers! It took me all afternoon and my back and legs ached from sitting on the floor for hours sorting, filing, shredding, and tossing things away. I also cleaned out the file cabinet so we could start off the new year fresh without having to jam new important papers in with really old bank statements and nonsense that (I guess) used to be important. It felt good and more importantly, cleared up some precious shelf space in the bedroom.
Next on the agenda? Our closets and that beast of a built-in pictured above. I think we're going to have to break down and drive out to Ikea for another set of shelving for our massive, yet empty entryway. Maybe this time we'll splurge a little. Instead of playing it safe with our favorite, good 'ol Billy bookcase, we'll go for the more sophisticated Expedit series with cabinet and drawer inserts. It would certainly make stashing things a lot easier!
usually don't attempt to make King Cake myself, because if not done just right it can be a dry, tasteless loaf with cloyingly sweet (and tacky) icing on top. However, I just couldn't resist giving it a try in honor of the Saints making it to the Superbowl. Last year around this time, I tried a recipe that was very tasty, but didn't really look like a King Cake. The texture and feel wasn't exactly as I had remembered either. So, my mom sent over a recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse that she really liked and I decided to give it a whirl. I generally turn my nose at Lagasse's recipes, since he isn't really from New Orleans, but in this case he did get the King Cake just right. If you've never had a taste before, I'd have to say it's closest to a slightly sweet dense bread with a pretty good hint of nutmeg. Very simple, but oh so tasty. Mine didn't bake up perfectly (notice the seam where the dough didn't rise together), but it was still beautiful. This recipe also has a hidden treat inside, a slightly sweet cream cheese mixture that keeps the dough really nice and moist. It seriously is one of the best King Cakes that I've tasted.
The icing is lemon juice, milk, and powdered sugar that made a nice crust when it dried. As I hurried to ice the cake during commercial breaks in the fourth quarter, I realized that I probably shouldn't have put it on the cake stand until the end. Oh well, the drips are just part of the charm, I guess. And all of those little stars? Well, our grocery store didn't stock Mardi Gras colored sprinkles, so Jesse's contribution to the King Cake was painstakingly separating the gold, purple, and green sprinkles from two jars. Hey! He offered (and seemed actually excited about his accomplishment).
