Chocolate Cake

This is the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve found. Included are my notes that adapt the original Better Homes and Garden’s Recipe. Yum!

Pictures of cupcakes I made using this recipe 

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 30-40 minutes for cake. 10-15 minutes for cupcakes. | Makes: 12 to 16 servings. | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour*

Directions:
1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease bottoms of two 8x8x2-inch square or 9x1-1/2-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper. Grease and lightly flour bottoms and sides of pans. Or, grease one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. (You can omit all these steps is you use Baker’s Joy!) Set pan(s) aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder; and salt; set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined (3 to 4 minutes). Scrape sides of bowl; continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes more. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total). Beat in vanilla.

3. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed just until combined after each addition. Beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more. Spread batter into the prepared pan(s).

4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes for 8-inch pans and 13x9x2-inch pan, 30 to 35 minutes for 9-inch pans, 10-15 minutes for cupcakes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans. Peel off waxed paper. Cool thoroughly on racks. Or, place 13x9x2-inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly.

Notes:
* I substitute cake flour for the AP flour called for. 1 cup + 1 Tbsp cake flour = 1 cup AP flour. It makes a big difference. Also, This recipe makes a LOT! I typically cut it in half and still get 2 dozen cupcakes.

MMD Reading Challenge 2015

Ever since I started using Goodreads.com to track my reading progress I've been participating in their yearly reading goal challenge. In 2013 I exceeded my 60 book goal. Last year I exceeded my 24 book goal. This year I set the goal at 30 books because I read 31 in 2014.

My favorite blog at the moment is Modern Mrs. Darcy. It's mostly about reading, and a little about clothes and writing and her life with 4 kids. She has a reading challenge this year that is a bit different from just setting a numerical goal. I thought I'd easily be able to participate in her reading challenge whilst making my way through 30 books this year.

So check one book off the MMD reading challenge. A book I've been meaning to read: The Fellowship of the Ring.

I'd like to read another C.S. Lewis book for the 'book by a favorite author category'. But beyond that I don't know what my plan is. I'm just excited to read this year!

Lately in pictures

I don’t often take pictures of anything other than C now. And not much happens around here that doesn’t in some way involve her. But every once in a while  a picture is taken not of my daughter. And every once in a while I find myself cooking or baking or enjoying some baby-free time in the evening before bed.

The cats. They’re still here. Miraculously. They are a testament to how much I love my husband. Because they’re a pain, and they get hair everywhere, and they run around making a raucous right after I put C down for a nap. But I suppose they’re cute.  

We managed to have a wine and football night earlier this month. No baby allowed. It was the infamous Colts Patriots game. Poor Colts. But the wine was good. As was the company. 

This was one of, I can’t believe we had more than one, our warm days in January. See all that beautiful dead grass? That means there isn’t snow. Not nearly as much snow as last year anyway. In fact, there were puddles in the street that day. 

Another of our warm days. This was driving back from town. Yes it was ugly and foggy and rainy. But hello people, it was raining in January. Hallelujah. Small mercies. 

This was the garlic cheese bread I invented one Friday night. Had I cooked it 2 minutes less I think it would have been perfect. As it was it was still pretty good. And this was C’s first piece of “pizza”.   

Breakfast. Usually this is a Saturday morning tradition. But I believe this happened on a Sunday. J is our resident pancake/waffle guy. This was the first really cold morning we’d had in a while (negative double digits) so a hot breakfast was perfect. 

New recipe. Skillet chicken lasagna. It’s basically a deconstructed lasagna. It was also good as leftovers. I’ve never been the biggest fan of leftovers; but after becoming parents we LOVE leftovers. I understand their appeal now. 

I made a batch of the Pioneer Woman's snack mix a few weeks ago and we devoured it in record time. So here is batch number 2! 

This is fabric that I’m using to make a special 1st birthday project for C and MJ. A friend of mine with some special sewing skills is helping me. But other than this little sneak I can’t say anything about it yet! I haven’t had much time for sewing and it’s nice to be working on something again. (I’m dreaming of starting another quilt…)

The top fabrics are for MJ and the second set is for C.


OK, there is a baby in the picture! But it’s more an illustration of the silly cats who now spend meal times under her chair waiting for dropped food. (Which there is always quite a bit of!) 

First reads of 2015

"In a sleepy village in the Shire, a young hobbit is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power - the only thing that prevents the Dark Lord's evil dominion. Thus begins J.R.R. Tolkien's classic tale, which continues in The Two Towers and The Return of the King."

My first book of 2015 and one I've been meaning to read for several years. The only reason it took me so long to read was because it was too scary to read alone at night before bed and J flew a lot of evening shifts during those weeks. I didn't want to put it down. My one complaint were all the names of people and places, sometimes three times over in different middle earth languages, constantly used. It got confusing, and as most of it was in reference to history not crucial to the current events of the story line, I found it unnecessary. However that's a minor complaint. This was a fabulous read and I can not believe I waited so long to read it.

Trivia! I didn't realize this 3 book series was originally written as 1 big book. I'm still going to break between them parts to read something else, but I am going to read the whole big thing this winter! Also, as always, the books are far better than the movies. 

 

"Strong-willed and independent, Rachel Held Evans couldn't sew a button on a blouse before she embarked on a radical life experiment--a year of biblical womanhood. Intrigued by the traditionalist resurgence that led many of her friends to abandon their careers to assume traditional gender roles in the home, Evans decides to try it for herself, vowing to take all of the Bible's instructions for women as literally as possible for a year.

     With just the right mixture of humor and insight, compassion and incredulity, 'A Year of Biblical Womanhood' is an exercise in scriptural exploration and spiritual contemplation. What does God truly expect of women, and is there really a prescription for biblical womanhood? Come along with Evans as she looks for answers in the rich heritage of biblical heroines, models of grace, and all-around women of valor."

This author is someone I ran across from reading other spiritual memoirs the past few years. I've perused her popular blog from time to time. She typically represents the opposing viewpoint on many issues related to my Christian faith. Which is why I like to hear from her; I think it is healthy to hear different opinions and challenging to learn about other's perspectives, be they ever so uncomfortably contrasting.

I went into this book not expecting to love it. But I did. The things I loved the most were her discussions about the Orthodox Jewish interpretation of a Proverbs 31 Woman and her invention based on that of the Woman of Valor. I loved her discussions about justice, because it's an area I struggle with and am so inadequate in. She challenged me and also gave several real, small every day examples of how you can chose social justice in the midst of your life. I loved that she used the Bible so much to explain and back up her writing. Mainly I just loved how loving the book was, how loving her message was and how instead of coming away feeling guilty for my many failings I came away encouraged as a woman.

It's not a great work of theology, but it is well written and researched and relate-able. Of course I didn't agree with or love every single she purposed in the book. But I liked that just as much. It gave me a chance to think about some issues and why I disagreed. A must read!

I'm reading book #3 of 2015 now. Part two of the Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers.

9 months

Weight: 15 lbs 12 oz

Length: 26.4 inches

Head Circumference: 43.2 cm

Eyes: Blue; those beautiful eyes still haven’t changed one bit.  

Hair: We’re not sure again. It’s coming in thicker and it looks a bit darker, sometimes even red. I can’t wait to find out what color it’s really going to be! 

Firsts: She pulls herself up unaided on everything! She took her first steps holding on to her elephant while playing with daddy at the start of this month. Now she will take a few wobbly steps with help. She had her first piece of pizza!  She went to the store and sat in the grocery cart for the first time this month. She was very well behaved and had fun taking in all the sights. She watched The Sound of Music for the First time.

Other fun stuff: She’s had 2 more immunizations. She officially sits up on her own with no help and can push herself to a sitting position unaided. She also likes to sit and bounce on her knees, again no assistance required. She’s had a real growth spurt too. I can not believe how much she eats. We’re feeding her table food 3 times a day now and she continues to nurse and have a bedtime bottle. She’s started occasionally using a sippy cup.

She still likes to read and definitely has favorite books. She will turn pages for you. She’s teething and it’s been quite ugly. We can actually see top teeth although they haven’t broken through her gums. So sleep has been rough and J and I have taken to shifts at night in the hope that the other parent can at least get some sleep.  

She likes to babble, but pretty much everything is Dada right now. She sometimes calls J Dada on purpose. She loves music and although we don’t do much TV (she’s not interested most of the time anyway) she does like to watch musicals. We listen to Pandora a lot. The stations rotate through Hymns, Classical, Broadway Musicals and Disney.

Her jumper is getting used. She’s figured out how to bounce/jump in it and enjoys that. Especially when someone jumps along with her.

Here is her month in photos!

Tuesday, January 6th  She was playing with her elephant, a Christmas present from Papa, after dinner. She loves this thing so much! It’s her only toy that requires a battery and she thinks the music and lights are just the best thing. She also enjoys chewing on the bee.

Wednesday, January 7th  Playing in her new toy box, a Christmas gift from Aunt Abbie, in the morning.

Friday, January 9th  Morning playtime, again. And her dressed for the ND weather and too adorable for words! We were on our way to get a shot which didn't phase her aside from about 30 seconds of screaming. She did however keep her eye on the immunizations tech until we left! Smart girl.

The many faces of bath time. C loves bath time! She likes playing with rubber duckies and bath time is daddy time (unless he’s working).


Monday, January 12th  Great literary taste already (she tried to pull my Harry Potter books of the shelf).

Tuesday, January 13th  Always chasing the cats now! And some of her meal time facial expressions. She loves eating! And doesn't like it when dinner is over.  
Wednesday, January 14th  Tickles and laughing with Dada

Thursday, January 15th  We had a blizzard today! Nap time and play time since Dada was home.

Friday, January 16th  She’s getting so big! Morning play time. 
Sitting with Dada. Such big smiles!

Saturday, January 17th  Blueberry oatmeal for Breakfast. She must have been extra hungry because she ate the entire batch (which usually feeds her for 3 days). And what a cute mess it was!

Sunday, January 18th   She is finally big enough for her high chair (thank goodness because Mommy was getting tired of cleaning her bumbo after every meal!) I had to: this is her poop face!  But on to the real cute pictures. She is so expressive! I can’t get enough of her smile. It’s so big!   
Monday, January 19th  (MLK Day)  Dada had the day off work and didn’t have to fly! Miraculous. So we went into town and met Uncle Andy for pizza at our favorite local place and enjoyed the beautiful 35 degree weather.

Wednesday, January 21st  Playing!

Thursday, January 22nd  Teething is in full swing :-(

Friday, January 23rd  Her first time watching The Sound of Music. She loved it! Anytime I need a few minutes I put it in and she is just enthralled; she loves the singing and dancing.   Later we all went out for a walk! Daddy had the day off and it was nearly 40 degrees. Unheard of in ND in January.

Sunday, January 25th  Hanging out watching MythBusters with Daddy. Our little nerd in the making :-)
And playing with her favorite elephant before bath time

Wednesday, January 28th  The lack of daily pictures is due to no one getting any sleep. C is teething and it’s been bad. Probably the worst stretch of bad sleep we've had thus far. Wretched teeth. This was the morning after I got literally about 2 hours of sleep. And that wasn't even 2 hours in a row. So what did we do? Played with wine (I was kind of hoping she’d figure out how to get it open and drink some…) and then we went in to town and visited the chiropractor who confirmed that she’s working on multiple teeth and then went to Target for some essentials and a nonfat chai tea latte for Momma! With the warm weather it was great to get out of the house.

I guess I made up for no pictures for several days all on one day! I got some summer clothes for her and we had a modeling session with her sun hat that evening. Too adorable. 

Friday, January 30th  I made a garlic cheese bread pizza to go with our normal Friday night pizza. C got a piece (I thought mostly to teeth on) but she ate the whole slice and loved it. Her first pizza! So proud.

Sunday, February 1st  Making funny faces. It’s a good thing she’s so darn cute!

Tuesday, February 3rd  (Happy Birthday Luke!) C loves taking out all the board games. I hope this means she will love playing them as much as Mommy does in a few years. I also got a shot of her in baby jail, aka. the laundry basket on top of the washing machine. It was the only way I could get any laundry done! I hope she’s taking notes. I expect her to take over in another 3 years or so. :-)

Wednesday, February 4th  She’s always pulling up and standing now! It’s her favorite thing. And the last picture was reading before bath time. She loves reading (how could she not?!) And currently her favorite books are Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre (BabyLit Books) and a new book she got for Christmas; God Made You Special. The last book is her first taste of Veggie Tales. :-) 

Thursday, February 5th  She’s now able to pull herself up on just about anything, including the furniture. And she loves to try and get the cats! Her newest face is a big smile with her eyes squeezed shut. It melts my heart.

Friday, February 6th  C is 9 months old today! They say time goes by so quickly when you have kids, but this is the first month that really feels that way. And she’s grown and changed so much this month! Here’s her “official” photo shoot. And then she discovered her hair bow and decided it’d be better off her head and in her mouth… And one bow later she was done with pictures!