Iny's Prune Cake with Buttermilk Icing

I mentioned this would be the very first recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks. When making my menu, I tried to take into account any activities or events happening and tried to plan accordingly. Today was our day to bring snacks for our Sunday School class. I admit, I was a little nervous bringing something I have never made, but I have faith that the The Pioneer Woman wouldn't steer me wrong.

I contemplated making this last night, but I was too tired and I always think cake tastes better served fresh. After a few cups of my morning coffee, I was ready to start cooking. Luckily, I took pictures for all of you to see.

First I boiled the prunes

Sifted the dry ingredients together

Mashed the boiled prunes

Mixed the wet ingredients

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together

Add the mashed prunes

Before going in the oven

Right out of the oven

Making the Buttermilk Icing

Bringing it to a low boil

A yummy caramel color

The finished product

My house smelled so good and I couldn't wait to taste it. Normally, I never serve anything without tasting it first, but I didn't want to bring a cake to our class with a small piece cut out of it. In her book, The Pioneer Woman suggests not giving away the name of the cake. A lot of people have a bad connotation of prunes, although I personally enjoy them. It's just a dried plum, people!

All morning, I was trying to figure out how I would get around saying the name of the cake without lying at church. I know a couple of my friends read the blog, so if they read the post from Friday, then they would know. So I opted to say it was a Spice Cake with Buttermilk Icing. Everyone loved it and at the end of class I finally divulged my secret. I couldn't help, people kept asking what fruit was in it. I didn't even get a chance to try any until I got home. There wasn't much left, but it was delicious!

This was a very easy recipe to make and I'm embarrassed to say that this is my first cake to make from scratch. But after tasting this cake, I'm so tempted to never make a cake box mix again.

I ended up not making the BBQ Jalapeno Poppers this weekend. Our out of town guest, Jim, isn't a fan of jalapenos. I'm glad I asked before I started cooking. Instead, I will make them tomorrow and bring them to our bible study.

Challenge: Cooking my way thru "The Pioneer Woman Cooks"

Recipes completed: 1

Recipes left: 62

Flashback Fridays

We have an out of town guest this weekend and so I thought I would make it a part of my Flashback Friday. One of Adam's old friends and groomsmen in our wedding, Jim, will be paying us a visit tomorrow. He flew into LA earlier this week for the BCS Champtionship Title Game.

Adam & Jim met during his college days, while taking a summer school class at HCC. Although Jim went to UT, Adam saw past that and they became great friends.This picture was taken during Super Bowl 2004. I believe they were downtown, looking for celebrities.

I finally finished mapping out my calendar for cooking my way thru the Pioneer Woman Cooks. I'm giving myself a year, but as of right now, I should be done by the end of May. That is subject to change, especially since our busiest time of the year in our house are the months of February and March.

With Jim visiting and the fact that I love to entertain, I thought I would cook one of the recipes this weekend. Then I remembered that I need to bring breakfast for Sunday School this weekend, so I decided to bake another. I'm keeping it simple, and will be serving BBQ Jalapeno Poppers as an appetizer Saturday and for my Sunday School class, I will be making Iny's Prune Cake with Buttermilk Icing! In her book, she doesn't recommend sharing the name of the cake before people taste it. Check back for details.

Marc Jacobs Lola

Isn't it funny how a scent can take you back to a memory or a place in your life? Sometimes its your moms kitchen on a cold winters day and the smell of chili or pot roast fills the air. Other times, you are a teenager and it's the most awkward stage of your life. Whether it's good or bad, it is amazing what a certain scent can do to your mood.

I have found that when I wear perfume, I feel better. I'm not saying that you need perfume to feel good as a woman, I'm just saying that it can transform my mood. It's like taking a shower makes you feel better or if you drink coffee to start your day. For me, it's the same with perfume.

As a very young teenager, I remember two scents that I had to have - Vanilla Musk and Baby Soft. Wow, does that date me? I think almost every girl in Junior High wore at least one of those perfumes. In eighth grade, a boy I liked gave me Elizabeth Arden's Sunflower for my birthday. I wasn't really a fan of the scent, but wore it anyway, because it was a gift and I thought he liked that smell. The things we do for guys.

No one really wore perfume in my house, besides my mom and we had to spray it when we left the house due to allergies. Despite my junior high days, I have been pretty particular on the perfumes I wear.

I have some bottles of perfume that are 10 years old. So that goes to show that I don't douse myself in it or buy it very frequently. I like subtle scents that last all day long, but yet distinctive. Two of my all time favorites would be Mademoiselle by Coco Chanel and Obsession for Women by Calvin Kline.

This Christmas, my sister-in-law, Laura and her husband gave me a Marc Jacobs Lola gift set.

Not even sure if I would like the scent, I was a little nervous as I opened the box. Not only is the bottle distinctive, but the scent is intoxicating, one of my new favorites. Some perfumes you wear in the winter and others in the summer. This is one you can wear year round.

A mix of floral meets a sexy musk. I have never smelled anything like it before. Not only does it last all day long, I get compliments every time I wear it. If you are looking for a new perfume, you should try it out. What are some of your favorite perfumes?

Because it's been awhile

I just realized that I haven't posted any pictures in awhile, which means I didn't share any Christmas pictures. I was a little busy that day. I did however capture some great moments for our Christmas cards. Our little photo session lasted maybe five minutes and bribery was involved. If you look carefully, you will see that Mason is holding a sucker in the pictures. At least he smiled.

I seriously could look at those pictures over and over again. Mason is becoming such the little man these days and Taylor is changing all the time. Next week, I'll be sure to post an update.

For the past two nights, I haven't slept well at all. Funny that it started the first day of my official training for my half marathon. It's been the same dream over and over again. Basically it's about not training properly for the the race and when the day finally arrives, I barely can run 2 miles.

Everyone says that running is mostly mental and I completely agree with them on this. I used to be an avid runner, but only ran because I enjoyed it. I still enjoy it, only now I'm running for a reason. Motivation isn't an issue for me and actually my first day of training went very well. Once I got into my groove, it felt like old times. It was as if I reconnected with a long lost friend.

The challenge for me is finding time to run, when Adam is out of town. I have been looking for a a double jogging stroller, just don't know what to go with. So many choices and did I mention that they are pretty costly? I've looked on Craigslist, but usually only see single jogging strollers listed.

I also haven't forgotten about my cooking challenge. I'm in the process of trying to make a menu for the year. I'm spreading it out so that I don't feel too much pressure and not to mention that my husband would like to be home when I do most of the cooking.

Ten on Tuesday

This weeks questions come from Chelsea. I especially love how they are all cooking related.

1. Are there any movies that inspire you to bake/cook?
If you read my post from yesterday, then you would know the Julie & Julia is probably the number one movie that gives my all sorts of inspiration to cook. Another movie I love and always makes me think about cooking and entertaining is The Family Stone. They cook together, have a lovely holiday meal and it just reminds me of family. It's not really about cooking or baking, but my mind always wonders to that when they are in the kitchen or eating.

2. What's your favorite food blog and why?
The Pioneer Woman - She is a woman after my heart. She loves to cook, loves her man, and loves her family. And the food is divine!
Our Best Bites - You can find all sorts of recipes on this site and every one I have tried is delicious.
Bakerella - Who doesn't love sweets?
Recipe Rise - Rise & I went to elementary school together and she creates some easy dishes. She uses herbs from her garden and she loves to entertain.

3. Who's your favorite celebrity chef?
Giada De Laurentiis. She is beautiful and her recipes are wonderful.

4. What is your favorite kitchen tool?
My cast iron pans. They are perfect for cooking so many different dishes and will last forever. A close second is my coffee pot. It starts my day off right!

5. When it comes to cooking/baking what is your specialty?
If you ask my husband, he would say it's my marinated grilled salmon. A lot of people really like my queso, Mexican artichoke spinach dip, and my Oreo truffles.

6. When in the kitchen, do you wear an apron? If so, any cute ones you would like to share?
Yes, I love aprons. I wish I had more, it would be an addiction of mine. The only picture I have of my apron is Mason trying to put it on. It was a Mother's Day gift.

7. Is there anything that intimidates you when it comes to cooking/baking? (ex. pie crusts, yeast, sauces)

Most definitely yeast! I have it in my pantry and I have yet to use it. I want to but I'm so nervous.

8. What's the weirdest gadget in your kitchen?

Our Bagel Slicer. It's not really weird, but everyone always asks me what it is. I love Bagels and when Adam & I registered for our wedding, we both agreed it was a must in our house. Not to mention they used this slicer on The OC and if you know us, we loved that show.

9. What's your go-to music for cooking/baking?

I have never really played music while cooking or baking. The only time I ever put on any background noise is during the holidays. The noise from the kids in the house is enough.

10. After several failures, what do you do to motivate yourself to get back in the kitchen and try again?

I'm don't like defeat, who does? So that in itself is enough motivation for me.

2010

I've been thinking about this particular post for almost two weeks. Ten years ago, I was turning 20 and starting off not a only a new year, but a new decade. 2000 was a life turning year for me. I wasn't that excited about turning 20, because that meant that I was in the same age range as the 20-29 year old. Even though I was all the way at the lower end of the spectrum, that frightened me. I actually cried on my birthday. Pathetic, I know.

In the past ten years, I have learned that age is only a number and you are as young as you feel. I don't really focus on age anymore, I embrace it! It sounds easy, but like I said, it has taken me ten years to feel this way. This is going to be a big year in our house. Adam & I both turn 30 within 15 days of each other. I love birthdays and they have always been a big deal in my family, no matter how old you are. For my birthday this year, I want to do something big. Even though my actual birthday isn't until March, why not honor it all year long? I want to give myself two presents this year.

I have been blogging for awhile and mostly blog about my kids, because they are just so darn cute. If you blog, you know how easy it is to stumble upon other people's blogs and get caught up in their world. It's like people watching, but on the Internet. Sounds stalkerish, I know, but I love to people watch. Usually, I come across other people's blogs, thru my friends. So if I like the blog and comment, I usually mention that we have a mutual friend. That being said, I have been reading Kathleen's blog for some time.

Kathleen I met many years ago at church and I have been friends with her family ever since. I love reading her thoughts on life and books. She has great taste in books! Not that long ago, she mentioned a new blog she started following, Lauren from Texas. Being from Texas, I immediately liked the name of her blog and decided to check it out. I was hooked. Then both Kathleen and Lauren mentioned Chelsea a couple of times in their blogs and the next thing you know, there is a new blog I like to follow. As you can see, it's easy to blog hop and meet new people.

All three of these lovely ladies have been talking about The Pioneer Woman for some time and mentioning her delicious recipes. Not that long ago, the girls met up and went to her book signing in Houston. Did I mention she has a new cookbook out?

I love anything involving food, and so I finally decided that I had to check out her site. If you haven't already checked it out, go ahead and take a minute. I'll wait. Isn't it wonderful! I couldn't help but wish I had visited her website sooner.

So when my sister-in-law, Emily, asked what I wanted for Christmas this year, I immediately thought of The Pioneer Woman Cooks. The day our Christmas package arrived, I opened the book and started reading. I'll have you know, that I read the entire cookbook from beginning to end that day. I couldn't put it down. It was pure bliss!

My first gift to myself this year, is cooking my way thru The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I came up with this idea thru watching one of my new favorite movies, Julie & Julia. If you don't already know about this movie, I highly recommend you watch it, especially if you love to blog and cook or just want to see a good movie.

In the movie, Julie decides to start a blog about cooking her way thru Julia Childs book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I haven't really eaten that much French food, and I doubt my family will, but I love to cook. In all honesty, my cooking is nothing compared to my moms cooking. I love good food and southern cooking just reminds me of home.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks has some fantastic recipes with pictures and step by step instructions. She doesn't seem intimidating and most of her cooking supplies I already have. I'm only missing a Kitchenaid Mixer in Candy Apple Red and a Dutch Oven in red. If anyone wants to send one my way, I love gifts!

I know this idea isn't necessarily original, but that isn't the point. I want to be a better cook and I know my family would benefit from this as well. It's the perfect gift I can give myself this year. As well as cooking these delicious, mouth-watering recipes, I'll blog about it and post pictures.

That brings me to my second gift this year, completing a Half Marathon! If I'm going to be eating all this southern cooking, I'm going to need to stay in shape. Actually, I have always loved running. It is very therapeutic for me and gives me the energy I need to keep up with Mason & Taylor.

So when my friend, Marissa, asked me if I wanted to run the Santa Barbara Half Marathon with her in May, I immediately said yes. It's always been a goal of mine to run a Marathon, even if it's only a half. My training officially starts today. It's going to be a challenge for sure, but I love a good challenge. If anyone is interested in flying up to Cali and running with us in May, let me know. The registration is still open and the more the merrier. Turning 30 is going to be great and I look forward to celebrating it all year long.

Mason & Luke Dancing

So much to write about, but for now I will post a cute little video Adam took with his blackberry of Mason and his buddy Luke dancing on New Years Eve. We decided to let the kids stay up and play and at this point in the night they were super hyper. Enjoy!