Cookies, Cupcakes, and Cardio

Adamant Lodge- Revelstoke B.C.

August 11, 2011 by Jenn

This should be a cardio post coming at you since it takes place in one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been to, but, since we were there for my friend Kristen wedding, and arrived two hours before the wedding started, we did not get any cardio in!

Other than dancing that is!

Wedding dancing.

Beer dancing.

Oh, dancing.

Thank god I had left my camera in the room at that point. People mid-dance pictures are always mortifying . . . even if you’re not in the picture!

Adamant Lodge is the place that Kristen and Konrad met . . . awhhhhh. And fitingly, this is where they chose to get married! At first I debated about being able to go because it was quite a drive from home. In order to get to the lodge, you have to drive to Revelstoke B.C., and then into the bush, on bush roads for about 2 hours. It was totally worth it, and I’m so glad that I was able to get my schedule cleared for two days in a row.

After doing the two hour car ride–that should have been a truck ride–into the heart of the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia, we finally arrived, just in time to get ready for the ceremony . . . and with enough time for me to take these pictures!

The Ceremony

Kristen and Konrad are a great couple! I was happy to get to witness this next step in their relationship . . . and I was so happy to get to spend a whole WEEKEND WITH MY GIRLS!

Christy, Bestest, Me

Jill, Me, Amanda, Beautiful Bride Kristen, Kristy, Christy

This cardio post, is officially a FOOD (Random Jenn-ness) post, as the food that we were served was some of the best, most delicious I have ever had. We were clearly in the company of a five star chef. It was amazing.

The appetizer was a simple, refreshing Caprese Salad, with heirloom tomatoes, bocconcini and fresh basil.

For dinner, we had the choice of steak or salmon. Being the meat lover that I am, I went for the steak and I’m so glad that I did. It literally melted like butter in my mouth. Not that I actually know what butter feels like while melting in my mouth. But, I can imagine!

Christy got the salmon, and she happily let me take a picture of her plate before she indulged.

For dessert, I was eagerly anticipating what a chef of this quality would produce for a wedding cake! Unfortunately the chef had other plans, and produced a fresh raspberry torte. Of course it was delicious too! And pretty 🙂

All in all, it was a great weekend of friends, food, scenery and a great party celebrating two people in love!

Filed Under: Randomness

Rhubarb Pie

August 9, 2011 by Jenn

It’s no secret here on my blog, that I am a teacher . . . it IS a secret where I teach though! Bahahaha.

I’m proud to be a teacher, and love that I have such an amazing job to go to every day. I don’t talk about my teaching job on the blog for a couple of reasons, the most important being that I don’t want to . . . Kindergarten has nothing to do with Cookies, Cupcakes or Cardio. Duh.

I have been surrounded by teachers my entire life. Thirteen years of teachers in public education. Six years of post secondary teachers. My parents are teachers, some of my aunts and uncles are teachers. My friends are teachers. I. Work. With. Teachers. Every. Day. Need I say more?

Thinking WAY back to my teachers in elementary school, when we were able to spend all day everyday with one person, these individuals left the biggest impression on me. I remember some very fondly and there are some who I have managed to stay in touch with into my adulthood. That’s the great thing about living in a small town . . . and the completely weird thing about living in a small town!

One of these special teachers with whom I was able to stay in touch with was Mrs Casey and I had her in grade four and grade six..

She was a master of many domains, teacher, gardener, and chef! She took her love of baking and cooking to a level that not many people can say they have. She published her own cookbooks! I am a woman after her dreams. I hope that I get to do that one day soon too.

The recipe of hers that I chose to make is a simple Rhubarb Pie. Surprisingly, a plain Rhubarb pie recipe is hard to find! Most of them have strawberries included or are a cobbler/crumb/crumble recipe.

I have STILL not master the art of pie crust (no time!), so if you’re strapped for time like me, you should just concede and buy a pre-made crust. Have NO shame!

Rhubarb Pie

From Let’s Cook, Eh? by Pat Casey

What you need:

4 c. Rhubarb, cut into 1″ pieces

3 tbsp minute tapioca

1 1/2 c. sugar (a little more if the rhubarb is very sour)

1 tbsp butter

1 recipe of pastry for double crust pie

What to do:

Mix rhubarb, tapioca, and sugar. Let stand 20 minutes.

Prepare pastry….viola! Pull it out of the box like I did!

Pour rhubarb mixture into pie shell.

Dot with butter. Put on top crust. For freezing, stop here.

Make slits for steam.

Bake at 450F for 10 minutes and at 350F for 40-50 minutes.

The pie is amazing! The perfect tartness from the fresh rhubarb, sweet from the sugar, and man, can Pillsbury sure make a crust! Haha! I will definitely make this recipe again.

Thanks Mrs Casey . . . for so many inspirations.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake

August 3, 2011 by Jenn

My favourite SUMMER time treat is ice cream . . . maybe I should say cupcakes? Cupcakes don’t hold a candle to ice cream for me. I swear that if I were to open an ice cream shop to go with my cupcakes, I would be 500 lbs in about two months. I could never get sick of ice cream . . . but wait . . . I said that about cupcakes too. Maybe having an ice cream store isn’t a good idea.

What is better than diving your spoon into a bowl (or pail) of cold ice cream on a hot summer evening (right about the time that cravings start to hit after dinner has digested)? The best way to have ice cream . . . in the form of a Blizzard from DQ! Especially if it is a Buster Bar Blizzard . . . my new favourite flavour.

I can eat ice cream in disgusting portions. As in, I-don’t-need-a bowl-proportion . . . why bother dirtying a bowl when you’re just going to eat the whole container? Gross. I think I have a problem. Seriously.

Last summer, The Real Canadian Superstore, started marketing their “Ice Cream Shoppe” brand of ice cream flavours . . . and because my gluttonous indulgences last summer were enough to prove that these special ice cream flavours could be financially viable, the flavours are BACK this summer. Lucky me? Maybe, but unlucky pants.

I dread going passed the display every time I go to the store. It is SO tempting! I’m pleased that I have managed to put my cravings aside, and have by passed the display 7 times so far this month. Yes, I go to the store a lot. I have to. I run a bakery. Duh.

Here is my own creation! My first “original” food post. I do give credit to DQ though 🙂

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake

Oreo Crust.

Chocolate Ganache.

Vanilla Ice Cream.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake.

More Ice Cream.

Chocolate Chips.

YUM!

For your first layer, you need to make one 9×13 Oreo crumb crust. You can do this by combining the following:

• 1 1/2 cups of finely crushed Oreo cookie crumbs (approximately 20-22 cookies)

• 3 tbsp of melted butter

Press it firmly into the bottom of a greased pan, and bake for 10-15 mins at 350 F.

While the crust is baking, you can start on the ganache layer.

Heat 3/4 cup of whipping cream over medium heat for about 5 mins, or until warm. Remove from heat. Pour 1 cup of chocolate chips into cream and let sit for 1 minute. Stir until chips are combined. At this point, you can add any kind of flavouring that you feel would fit. I wanted to add one teaspoon of whiskey, like in the Irish Car Bomb, but knew I was going to be serving children, so I opted for 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Pour over cooled crust and spread to fill pan.

The next layer is easy! Vanilla ice cream baby! If you make your own ice cream, obviously use that, but for me, the Superstore ice cream lover, I opted for theirs. I let my ice cream sit out for about 45 minutes before spreading out on the cake as it makes it much easier for spreading.

Ever wonder what to do with the extra cake scraps you end up having covering your counter at the end of a day spent caking? Well, you can make cake pops, or you can crumble them up and use them on ice cream cake like I did here!

Putting more ice cream on top of the cake crumbs is next. This part proved to be the most difficult to spread in the process, as the ice cream kept sticking to the cake, and pulling up the crumbs. It looked messy, but tasted fabulous.

Top the whole thing off with chocolate chips, and there you have it . . . a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake!

With all this talk of Blizzards . . . I’m off to get one.

Filed Under: Cakes Tagged With: cake, chocolate chip cookie dough cake, ice cream cake

Eager Hills Early Summer

July 24, 2011 by Jenn

I did this hike a couple of weeks ago now, and I’m just getting to posting about it. Sometimes, I take a lot of pictures, download them to my computer, and let them brew for a while. I’m convinced it makes them better.

I have done, and blogged about this little jaunt before (Midget Dog Party) and if you are in the area, it’s a must do! It’s easy, relatively short, and gives you spectacular views when you get to the top. You could run it for some serious cardio, and it would probably take you 15 minutes, you can walk it leisurely and it would take about 40. But maybe your legs are long. Mine, aren’t.

Oh Cranbrook . . . how lovely you are from afar!

This is the south view, looking back down the highway, towards town. Ruby can’t see it. She’s too short.

Ruby

This particular hike was Ruby’s outing with her new friend Daisy! Finally she has a dog her own size to play with. Daisy can’t see the view either . . . the grass it too tall!

Daisy

North view . . . I can see the dreaded Mount Stevens in their somewhere. That was an 8 hour hike of hell that I will never forget. Nor will Paul, as I cried the entire time. He wanted to leave me there for cougar food. I might have been having a moment.

Earlier in the year, when there was still snow on the ground (JUNE!), Paul and I bypassed the hike to the lookout, and went up the back side of Eager Hills. There are lots of trails throughout the area there as well . . . apparently you used to be able to hunt back there too. Not that that has any relevance to anything, but it’s a random fact. Maybe you still can, Paul’s response was “Look in the hunting regs.” I definitely don’t care that much.

I don’t see any snow on those mountains! Finally! The temperature has dropped again here, so I imagine it is just a matter of time. It will probably get really hot and sunny when it’s time to go back to the non-air conditioned classroom.

I guess the positive side of having a large amount of snow from last year, and coming our way this year is that we can burn, burn, burn! Backyard campfires in the fire pit, here I come! If I had time to head to a real fire pit, I would, but no such luck for this chick. Hopefully I don’t burn the house down.

All tuckered out at the top . . . you would be too if you had such short legs, and a long furry coat. Don’t worry animal activists, Ruby has had a hair cut, and she officially looks like the Pug that she is, for the first time in her life. No more hot, hot days for her!

Sun loving dog . . . sun hating dog. See the difference? Ruby will literally chase the shade around the deck. Everytime her body gets a little patch of sun, up she moves, only to repeat in five minutes.

Filed Under: Hiking Tagged With: Eager Hill, hiking

Fortunate Friday

July 23, 2011 by Jenn

You know how it feels when you’re really tired, and you just want to head to your bed, get tucked in, and fall into lala land? I’m there. Right now. Except . . . my day is not yet finished! I have a printer head to unclog so we can get our last cake of the day ready for pick up in the morning. I’m taking a break in front of my computer . . . mostly just so I can sit down. Something I haven’t done today. My poor poor feet!

I am fortunate to have an amazing lady to go to for pedicures! Thank you Sarah! I love the bright yellow sunshine toes 🙂

This week, I feel fortunate for the opportunity I have had to reconnect with some of my close friends. Geographically, we all live in the same area, but due to our hectic schedules . . . a baby, a marriage, a business, we haven’t been able to chat like old times. I am also fortunate for NEW friends . . . thanks for lunch Karen!

Now . . . into the meat (that was all fluffy) of this post:

I’m a teacher. I have summers off . . . that was until the entrepreneur bug became nestled in my bonnet!

I am fortunate that I have the luxury of being able to pursue a “hobby” and turn it into a business, while working during my “vacation”. I’m not complaining, seriously! I love caking, but I’m not going to sugar coat it (haha) it is incredibly HARD being your own boss. I used to say “I wish I was the boss of . . . (whatever I was currently involved with)” but once YOU are the boss, there is no one to tell you what to do. Think about that. NO ONE. Except YOU. YOU have to figure out everything, solve all the problems, look to the future, make all the adjustments and pave the road ahead.

I am fortunate to have this “problem.”

What makes it worth it? The excitement from the people when they get the perfect cake, the prettiest cupcakes, the tastiest treats! Today, I had the fortune of dropping off FREE cupcakes to our contest winners that follow JJ’s Custom Cakery on Facebook (here).

I had woken up this morning, tired, with a million things to do, and doing the deliveries was something that I was not looking forward to. I had a wedding to do, a huge edible image cake, and 200 cupcakes for the market to get ready!

Before I had even walked into the office where the delivery was for, I could see these two young women clapping through the glass doors. . . and it totally brightened my day! I couldn’t do anything BUT smile (Yes, me, smile. I did.).

I wish I had done my hair for the occasion.

They were SO HAPPY to be getting JJ’s cupcakes, and you know what? I remembered I was so HAPPY to be making and giving them. Thank you KPI ladies for making my day today. They told me that they read the blog, which is a HUGE deal to me, as I can never tell if anyone is really reading, unless they comment on my nonsense. Nikki (happy young woman) and her friend (sorry friend, I didn’t get your name) have started their own blog, so obviously we will be BFF’s for life. It’s all about salty and sweet things!! Yum! Good luck with the blog ladies, link to me, and thank you for making my day such a positive one.

I’m headed to bed, as soon as the printer ink head unclogs itself! Have a great weekend everyone . . . this little piggy is off to the market in the morning.

Filed Under: Fortunate Fridays

Silver Springs Hike

July 19, 2011 by Jenn

Living in the East Kootenay’s definitely has it’s drawbacks (uh, nowhere to shop!), but at the ripe old age of 32, I will finally admit that it also has incredible bonuses . . . the wilderness, the mountains, the trails, the lakes, the peaks!

I did not own a pair of hiking boots, cross country skis, a backpack, hiking poles, bear spray or gaiters until I met Paul. Pause and think about how romantic that all sounds. I had never seen a tick, a bear, a wolf, the peak of a mountain or an alpine lake.

I can truly say I had not seen true natural beauty until . . . . I went out and explored. I bet you thought I was going to say Paul, eh?

We have been to some incredible places together . . . some that I can’t wait to go back to, and some that I NEVER want to see again!

One of my favourite easy day hikes to do is located at Silver Springs Lake, near Elko, British Columbia. Silver Springs is a chain of three deep lakes, which is populated with cliff jumpers throughout the summer.

Dramatic cliffs line each of the lakes, and the scenery alone is worth the hike . . . not to mention the caloric burn!

Lining the lakes on one side is the path that winds along the shore of all three lakes. Talus lines the trail on many parts, and the trail is well travelled . . . but can sometimes be hard to find when you’re scrambling over exposed bedrock. Look for the trail inukshuks to guide you at certain points.

We went out on this hike with another couple and their dog, Buddy. It was nice to have some company as P and I are usually out traipsing around the country side alone with Ruby . . . our bear bait! I’m just kidding, it’s really Paul. I can run faster than him. I hope.

Along the path is some beautiful vegetation . . . I have NO IDEA what any of these plants and flowers were, but I thought they looked pretty. Maybe someone does?

Pretty green leaves

Pretty purple flowers

Pretty white flowers

Weird red fungusy thing

Pretty wildflowers

Our day was overcast, as you can tell, on the way out to the third lake. We briefly stopped to take a break, turned around, and the sky opened up. It DUMPED on us the entire way back, and I unfortunately had to put the camera underneath the rain cover in my backpack. If it hadn’t of been such an ugly day, I definitely would have cliff jumped from the third lake! It’s my favourite spot to do it. The cliffs are lower, and there is never as many people as there is at the first lake.

The hike is the perfect one for a day half day hike to get your legs going. It is flat, with the exception of the beginning of the trail, where it is straight up a creek bed! But don’t be turned off by that, it’s worth the climb.

Perhaps I should have encouraged him to JUMP (or P to push him) after ruining my picture like this!

This is the view from the top of the cliffs at the first lake, and is the most popular spot for cliff jumping. You can’t really tell how high it is, but when you look over the side, it’s HIGH!

Filed Under: Cardio, Hiking Tagged With: cardio, hiking, silver springs lake

Oreo Peanut Butter Mini Pies

July 17, 2011 by Jenn

In the last couple of weeks, I have made over 700 cupcakes. Jebus. That is A LOT of cupcakes when I take a moment to think about it. To add to that, I have probably made about 10 cakes, 2 of which were HUGE wedding cakes!

But, there comes a time when it is so much fun to make something new! When I saw this post on ….. I knew that I had to make them for the upcoming market. Adding them my arsenal of cupcakes, cakes and cookies at the farmers market proved to be successful!

I have never actually worked with pie dough before, and I realize know that I have enter a whole new realm of the baking world. It’s not so simple as throwing together some cake batter in my KitchenAid Mixer! Due to my time constraint, rookie status, I opted for a pre-made pie dough . . . *GASP* . . . I know, I know, but since then I have tracked down a recipe that I will try for upcoming pie postings. Everyone can let out their collective sighs of relieve . . . now. Phewf.

This recipe is not my genius . . . though I am thinking of a variation of it . . . can that be called “mine”? It comes from one of the websites that I frequent for new and awesome ideas. The combination of Oreo, Peanut Butter and Pie Crust, is simple, amazing . . . and definitely requires a cold glass of milk near by!

I have no idea where Jenny of Picky Palate gets her amazingly simple ideas from, but she is brilliant in my eyes. She is the one who created the Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip cookie that has become a blogosphere sensation!

Oreo Peanut Butter Mini Pies

From Picky Palate

You are going to need:

Two refrigerated 9 inch pie crusts (If you cheated like me, or your own tried and true recipe)

20 Oreo Cookies

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray 10 muffin cups with Pam, or non stick cooking spray.

2. Unroll pie crusts and cut out eight 4-inch rounds (I used 3 7/8 pastry round cutter and managed to get 10 pies). Press into prepared muffin pan.

3. Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter over each cookie then stack 2 cookies on top of each other.

Place 2 stacked cookies into pie crusts.

With remaining pie dough, cut long thin strips to prepare lattice top. Follow Jenny’s photos on her post to make lattice tops as her pictures tell the story!

4. Brush melted butter over tops then sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake for 22-26 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool then remove from pan.

Makes 10 pies.

I mean it when I say have a cup of milk near by. Your tongue is likely to be stuck to the roof of your mouth! Enjoy.

Filed Under: Other Baked Goodies Tagged With: oreos, peanut butter, pie

Cricut Cake Cakes

July 5, 2011 by Jenn

What the eff is a Cricut?

I had NO idea when I first heard about it, but it has turned out to be one of the great things that make caking a little bit easier. Sort of. This machine can be very temperamental.

When I first heard about it, I thought it was a CRI-(rhymes with TRI)-cut. But now I have learned that it is “crick-uht“.

Like the noisy insect in the bushes when you’re camping.

You would have thought that the cricket shaped logo would have given me a heads up! Duh. Not surprising that that one got away on me if you know me.

This is a Cricut Cake. It is a pain in the a$$ but it does some pretty cool things when it wants to. A refined adjective to call this frustratingly beautiful red machine (I love red electronics) would be FINICKY.

You need to have a perfect combination of gum paste and fondant, but it can make you cool crowns, and Happy Birthday signs!

You have to have the mixture at the correct temperature . . . too warm and it won’t cut, the blade with just rip the fondant. The Cricut Cake cut this image out of the girl guides, which was perfect for a Brownies wrap up!

You have to have the blade at the correct depth (I’ve heard this is a complaint also from the Cricut Expressions for scrapbooking, but I don’t claim to know anything about paper) . . . too high and it won’t cut anything, too deep and it cuts into your cutting mat. The depth was perfect for these butterflies and yet another Happy Birthday sign!

These cake pops were topped with flowers and butterflies cut from the Cricut Cake.

For a horse lover . . . horse shoes, and a different Happy Birthday sign.

Filed Under: Cakes Tagged With: cakes, Cricut Cake, cricut cake machine

Adamant Lodge- Revelstoke B.C.

Rhubarb Pie

Eager Hills Early Summer

Fortunate Friday

Silver Springs Hike

Oreo Peanut Butter Mini Pies

Cricut Cake Cakes

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