The Summer of Dreams Part I: Belgium and the Netherlands

Well now that its Thanksgiving, I decided that its probably a good time to start posting pictures from last summer. Maybe when I graduate I will have a little more time to blog. 

Part I

Belgium

I had the best time with my BFF Hanna exploring her new turf in Belgium! (HUGE thank you for letting me come visit!) For those who don't know what Belgium is like, all you need to know is that there are a LOT of castles. There are also lots of cows, chocolate, and waffles. And with a few exceptions, there were hardly ever any tourists.

Kasteel Gaasbeek

the grounds at  Kasteel Gaasbeek

Chateau D'Havre

Chateau de Beloeil

Bruges was my favorite

just outside Bruges

Ghent

The Netherlands

We took a day trip up to Amsterdam to go to the Anne Frank house. They didn't let us take any pictures inside but I would definitely recommend it!

 Here are some of the other things we did that day:

We had breakfast at a cute bakery called De Bakkserswinkel

We went to the Van Gogh museum.

We went to the Tulip Museum. Well, the gift shop at least.

We walked along the canals. I loved those fluffy purple flowers.

We also went to the I amsterdam sign. This is like the only picture I could find of the two of us together. Hooray for cell phone cameras!

Next stop: London!

back to real life

I have had the most amazing summer ever. I am so blessed.



But now I am home and ready to knock out my last year of college! Let's do this!

happy accident

I was going through the pictures I took in London and came across this one from Queen Mary's rose garden..Some how I ended up taking a photograph that looks just like my favorite painting in the entire world. Imagine that!

Nonstop traveling has been keeping me busy but I will try to get some fun stuff posted soon.
xo Heather

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

My little sister graduated from High School this week! Congrats Chelsea, I am so proud of you!

 As part of the celebration, we had a family dinner and surprised Chelsea with all of her favorite foods. My mom found a recipe for salted caramel cupcakes and asked me to make them. You should have seen Chelsea's face when she found out! She was so excited! They turned out really yummy so I wanted to share the recipe, although I apologize that I have no idea where it came from.

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Step 1: Prepare the caramel

ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon water
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature

Pour the sugar and water into a large saucepan. Heat on medium high heat and stir constantly until the sugar completely liquefies. Stir constantly and be careful not to burn the sugar. After all the sugar has dissolved, add the butter and vanilla extract to the saucepan and mix thoroughly. Once the butter has melted and the butter and sugar are completely mixed, remove from heat and, using a whisk, slowly whisk in the heavy cream until you reach a beautiful golden brown caramel color. Set aside and let cool and thicken for 5 minutes at room temperature. Refrigerate for 20 minutes (or longer) to thicken further before using in the cupcake and buttercream recipes and for drizzling on the finished cupcakes.

Step 2: Mix the batter and bake the cupcakes

ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup caramel (recipe above)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan(s) with paper baking cups, or grease with butter if you prefer. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar or 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition. Add the vanilla extract.
Slowly add one third of the dry ingredients followed by one third of the milk. Mix slowly, and then add another third of the dry ingredients, followed by one third of the milk. Mix slowly until incorporated. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Then, finally, add the last third of the dry ingredients, followed by the last third of milk. Mix slowly until fully incorporated. Add the caramel by hand and mix slowly, swirling it into the batter, but not mixing it in completely. Scoop the batter into the cupcake pan no more than 2/3 full and bake for 18-21 minutes (start checking at 16 minutes). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 3: Make the salted caramel buttercream frosting

ingredients:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup caramel (above) plus additional for drizzling on top

Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix on high speed until light and airy. Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost with buttercream and drizzle caramel on top, then sprinkle with sea salt.

I made a cake topper to match Chelsea's school colors and chose tassels to go with the graduation theme. You can find it in pink on my Etsy shop (here)


Enjoy!

xo Heather

how to make french macarons

if you have any questions feel free to email me or comment below.
xo Heather

Mango Zucchini Pecan Bread

My own twist on a classic recipe. Caution: It may be addicting!

 

 

Mango Zucchini Pecan Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

2 cups grated zucchini (about 1 1/2 large zucchinis)
1 cup diced mango
1 cup oil
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine zucchini, mango, oil, buttermilk, eggs, and sugars. Add vanilla and mix until well blended.
2. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together then add into mango/zucchini mixture. Beat well.
3. Gently stir in pecans
4. Split batter between 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove and cool thoroughly on wire rack.

Bon appétit!
xo Heather

Balsamic Caramel French Toast

I wanted to make something special for my mom for Mother's Day so I chose this recipe from my French Toast cookbook that I got in Paris. She loved it! However because I had to get everything done in time for church at 9am and my memory card was almost full from a wedding the night before, I didn't get to take a ton of pictures.

Pain Perdu au caramel balsamique (Balsamic Caramel French Toast)

serves 5-6

Ingredients:

12 slices of sourdough bread

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

8 Tablespoons butter

For the caramel:

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 Tablespoons pine nuts

Directions:

 1. Prepare the caramel: In a saucepan, mix sugar with 2 Tablespoons of water. Heat, stirring, until the mixture reaches a beautiful golden color. Add the balsamic vinegar and bring to a rolling boil.

2. Add the cream to the caramel and stir. When the mixture once again reaches a boil, remove from heat, mix in the pine nuts and set aside.

3. Prepare the French toast by dipping the slices of bread in mixture of beaten eggs and milk, then cook them in the melted butter (about 2 Tablespoons for every 3 slices of bread). Drizzle with caramel and serve.

Bon Appétit!

Zucchini Ricotta Crêpes

Nothing like cooking with home grown ingredients!

Zucchini Ricotta Crêpes

serves 4-6

For the crêpes:

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

1. Sift together flour, sugar and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs and milk together with an electric mixer. Beat in flour mixture until smooth; stir in melted butter.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 2 tablespoons for each crepe. Tip and rotate pan to spread batter as thinly as possible. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

For the sauce and filling:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
3 tablespoons low-fat milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 small yellow squash, chopped
1 cup chopped sugar snap peas
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Stir sour cream, 1/4 cup chives, milk, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl until combined. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, squash, sugar snap peas and corn and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low; stir in ricotta, Monterey Jack, the remaining 1/4 cup chives, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook, stirring gently, until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Fill crêpes with vegetable-cheese mixture and served topped with reserved sauce.
   
   
   Bon Appétit!

adapted from EatingWell July/August 2008

walnut raisin cinnamon rolls

Walnut Raisin Cinnamon Rolls aka "Life Changing" Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cups warm water
2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 tsp. salt
7 cups flour
2 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup chopped walnuts

icing:
8 oz cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 Tbsp milk

directions:
Combine milk, sugar, 1 stick of butter, and salt. Heat to dissolve sugar. Cool. Add half flour and beat well. Beat in yeast, eggs, and water. Gradually add remaining flour to form a soft dough, kneading about 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until double in size (1-2 hours). Punch down and let set 10-15 minutes. Roll out on oiled surface in a rectangle shape. Spread with remaining butter and sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and walnuts. Roll up lengthwise. Cut into 1 1/2 inch slices and place on greased pan. Cover and let rise till double (30 min-1 hour). Bake at 350 about 18 min.

For icing: Whip the cream cheese until light and smooth, gradually add about half of the sugar. Add vanilla and milk. Gradually add remaining sugar, spread over warm cinnamon rolls