Wow, it has been quite a while since I have written anything! Life has been so chaotic for the past several months, and I hope to do an update post soon, but for now I just want to share about an amazing weekend that I had with my family. I was so thankful to be able to go back to Pennsylvania for an event-filled few days. In addition to seeing my parents, brother, and his girlfriend, my twin sister and her family were able be there for the weekend as well! On Saturday, we went to church and then enjoyed the afternoon out on the lake. It was so relaxing being on the water, and we discovered a rope swing that the men enjoyed, rather precariously! That night, Cam and I went to our very informal 10 year high school reunion. It was a small group, but we still had fun hanging out and spending time with our best friend from high school, BriAnna, and her husband. My dad wanted to take a picture of us before we left to commemorate the ten years that had gone by, and I am so glad that he did!
My dad couldn’t resist the thrill of the rope swing!
Elle loved being on the boat and in the water!
Sunday was another full day. In the morning, we went to Oliver’s baptism service at BriAnna’s family church. It was so special to be there with other friends and family and see him be dedicated and welcomed into the church. That afternoon we attended his 1st birthday party where he had a BLAST with his cake, I think he enjoyed smashing it even more than eating it!
Oliver’s baptism outfit was precious!
Monday was filled with even more family time! My aunt, uncles, and all of my cousins on my mother’s side of the family came to Pennsylvania for a mini reunion. I have incredibly fun memories of getting together with my cousins as we grew up, and now, as we are all building our own families, it is just the best getting to watch all of the little ones play together. Altogether, we had nine children present, with seven who were under the age of four, including two new babies! It was wonderful being able to watch them interact with each other, both at the house and later at the pool. I am extremely grateful to have had that time at home with so many loved ones and am looking forward to the next time that we’ll all be together!
The whole group! ( minus Bren who’d left for work)
Autumn and Eleanor are only about two weeks apart in age!
The cousins and their children! From one month old up to a teenager.
Hello friends! It has been a while since I’ve had the chance to write, things have been very busy over the past few weeks! On Tuesday I returned home from my yearly Medical Dental Mission Trip to Honduras. I began going on this trip with my father and sisters when I was 16 and have only missed two years since. I realized while down there that this was my 10th year being a part of the team! This trip means so much to me and I hope to be able to continue the tradition for years to come. Every June, our team of medical and dental professionals, as well as general helpers, travel down to a rural village in Honduras, typically a few hours drive from San Pedro Sula, one of the largest cities. We typically visit a village for two years in a row and then move on to a different location the next year, where we go depends on the need of the surrounding area and whether there are facilities that will accommodate our equipment. This year we went to the town of San Luis, which is in one of the poorest departments (kind of like states in the US) in Honduras. This was my fourth time in San Luis as we had come here in years past due to the great need. In this town and the surrounding mountain villages and settlements, there are approximately 40,000 people. While some towns do have medical and dental services, most Hondurans are unable to afford to have the work done or are unable to lose a day of work in order to go to the doctor or dentist. Major surgeries and procedures would have to be performed in the city, hours away, which is just not an option for most of the people where we were. To give some perspective, even those people who are considered “well-off” in Honduras would be well below the poverty line in the US. Once we arrived in San Luis, we began setup of our clinic for the week. We had a general dental clinic for restorations, an oral surgery clinic for extractions as well as other facial surgeries, a medical clinic, optical clinic, and a pharmacy. We worked Monday through Friday from about 8:30 am until 6:00 pm, sometimes even later, and then worked a half day on Saturday.
People lining up outside on our first day of clinic. This year we were set up in a school.As most of the water isn’t purified, we tried to give piperazine, a de-worming medication, to as many people as we could.
Patients would begin to line up hours before we were open. Many had come from far away, some on foot, and hoped to be among the first patients seen so that they wouldn’t be making their journey home in the dark. Upon entering the clinic, patients would choose to either receive medical or dental care, and were then triaged to determine which specific need could be met. Almost all of the Hondurans who came to our clinic needed multiple areas of care, but with our limited amount of time and caregivers, we had to decide which need was most critical.
Every year I work in the general dentistry clinic, assisting a dentist while they do fillings, and this year I was lucky enough to be able to assist my father. I love assisting in the dental clinic, but being able to work with my dad made it even more special. The most common teeth that we see needing to be filled are numbers 7, 8, 9, and 10, the upper front four teeth. These can be more challenging cases as they require additional time in order to successfully fill and shape, or sometimes almost completely rebuild, the front teeth, but they are also the most rewarding as you are transforming a persons smile. My father aims to give them a beautiful transformation that looks natural with their other teeth. Some patients are openly ecstatic with their results, but others are so used to hiding their front teeth and their smile out of embarrassment that they are still hesitant to open their mouths after. This young girl was very shy before and after her work, but she told us that she was happy with the results. (We made sure to get permission before taking pictures.)
My father and I with a patient after restoring her upper front teeth.
Before
After
This year in the general dentistry clinic we had five dentists performing restorations, with my father being the only North American. We were blessed to have the largest number of Honduran dental and medical professionals join us to serve as we have ever had in previous years. At the end of the week, we had seen 192 patients in the general dental clinic and had filled 930 teeth. In the oral surgery clinic they extracted over 2,000 teeth and performed several cyst removals as well as other minor facial surgeries. I don’t have the full statistics yet for the other clinics but will update this once I do. This specific medical mission trip has been going to Honduras for over 20 years, and as some of the founding members of the team are now unable to make it we hope to find new members who feel called to serve the people of Honduras, whether it be as a doctor, dentist, pharmacist, or general helper. For the time that we are there, we seek to help as many people as possible, but we often leave feeling that we are the ones who have received a blessing. If anyone is interested in being part of this trip in the future or would just like some more information about what we do there please do not hesitate to contact me!
My father, mother, Dr. Laura, myself, and my older sister. Dr. Laura is a Honduran dentist who volunteered her time to help us in the dental clinic. She was so hardworking, always ready to see another patient, and her example gives us hope that the work we do to serve those in Honduras will continue even after we have returned to the States.
I love a good theme party, so when my husband suggested that we have a Hawaiian Luau party for his 31st birthday I was incredibly excited. Immediately, I began to brainstorm what kind of foods we would serve as the food is always my favorite part of any party. Carlos jokingly suggested that we roast a pig on a spit, much to my horror, but he ultimately decided on pulled pork sandwiches (with pork purchased at the store) and various sides. For an appetizer, we made bacon wrapped jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese, both a regular version and a vegetarian version. Accompanying the pulled pork sandwiches was a spaghetti salad as well as chips and salsa. For the vegetarians in the group, we used the Gardein sweet and sour porkless bites. I had never had this kind of sandwich before and I was amazed at how well the pork bites, coleslaw, and King’s Hawaiian rolls complemented each other. I loved it so much that we made it again for dinner last night!
These are delicious and found at many grocery chains as well as on Amazon
For dessert, I wanted to do a cake that was on theme, however, Carlos also wanted a special birthday cake. I decided to make two cakes as we anticipated having around 20 people, and we still ended up having mountains of cake left over! The on theme cake that I made was a Hawaiian Wedding Cake. This recipe came from one of the ladies who goes to my parent’s church. It is simple to make and turned out well, however I will adjust a few aspects of the recipe next time that I make it.
I followed the recipe, however I did find one direction confusing. Where it says “Blend cream cheese with pudding and gradually add milk,” I didn’t know whether it meant to blend the cream cheese with fully prepared pudding or to mix it with the pudding powder. My mother believed that it meant to mix it with the pudding powder, so that is what I did. It tasted fine, but wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked. In the future, I will mix the pudding powder with the milk first and then blend in the cream cheese. It is also important to make sure that the cream cheese is softened to at least room temperature. Another variation to the recipe that I will try in the future is to make it like a poke cake. This would allow the pudding and pineapple mixture to seep into the cake and have the flavors be better incorporated, rather than just having a cake layer and a toppings layer. Overall, the cake was quite tasty and I was very glad that I’d made it.
The second cake that I made was a Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting from scratch. I found the recipe on the Life, Love, and Sugar blog and followed the cake recipe to a T. The cake batter itself was so delicious that I literally said “Screw, salmonella!” and licked several spatulas clean. The cakes came out evenly and while they cooled I moved onto the frosting.
I was excited to make a peanut butter buttercream frosting for the first time, and it did not disappoint! The recipe called for 9 cups of confectioner’s sugar, however I only used about 7 cups and I used both additional milk and water to get it to the consistency that I wanted. This lightened the flavor and thickness of the frosting, yet it still packed major peanut butter flavor. Copious amounts of leftover frosting were eaten by myself, my husband, and a few of his friends. I’m still working on my technique when it comes to frosting and decorating. I seem to learn new tips and tricks every time that I hope to implement on my next baking endeavors. I know that cutting off the rounded tops of the cakes will give a more neat and uniform look, but in the past when I’ve attempted this I’ve cut them unevenly, so I didn’t want to risk it this time. Any tips on how to do this well would be greatly appreciated! I loved using the peanut butter chips to decorate and the piping helped to dress up the cake as well. I didn’t end up making the ganache as it was already quite late once I finished the cake, but I would like to try it in the future. My husband loved the cake, which is really all that matters, but I was also happy with how it turned out. It is not as moist, in my opinion, as other cakes that I have made, but the explosion of peanut butter in each bite alongside the creamy frosting definitely makes this a recipe worth repeating!
The Hawaiian Luau Birthday was a tremendous success, filled with laughter, food, and family. I am beyond thankful that I get to celebrate these special occasions with Carlos for the rest of our lives, and that he has family so close by to share in them with us.
It has been a busy past few weeks! The most exciting event was the birth of my niece. I’m very lucky to have many nieces and nephews from my husband’s side of the family, but this was the first baby from one of my siblings. My twin sister had a little girl and she is so precious and immensely loved already. I was able to go to meet her a few days after she was born, and sharing that time with my parents, sisters, and my brothers-in-law was incredibly special.
In less exciting news, I spent the majority of last week sick and in bed, although the timing of my sickness was rather fortuitous as Wickham was scheduled last minute to be neutered, therefore my being home with him for his recovery was quite helpful. They say that the recovery process for male dogs is much quicker than when female dogs are spayed, however it can still be a challenging 10-14 days. He is still a puppy and constantly wants to run and play, activities that do not aid in the healing process! Keeping him calm without walks or active play is a real struggle, he and I will both be relieved when he can resume his daily exercise! Despite his dislike of the cone and diapers while he heals, he is still so sweet and loving. As he grows and we see more of his personality emerge Carlos and I fall more and more in love with him. He has been the perfect addition to our little family.
A few weeks ago, I found out that my brother-in-law would be in town to celebrate his birthday with family and friends. I immediately began to think about what kind of cake I could make for the celebration. Baking a cake from scratch is such an exciting and rewarding experience for me. I very much enjoy watching a myriad of ingredients turn into batter, and then into cake, and ending with a frosted masterpiece. I was doubly excited because making the cake gave me a chance to use my new rotating cake stand and bench scraper, wedding presents from my mother. I love trying out new recipes, although it can be slightly nerve-wracking when serving them to others after a first attempt, and I found this recipe for a Strawberry Lemonade Cake in the Tasty app. Overall, the process was simple and straightforward. I would definitely make this cake in the future, it met with rave reviews and was almost entirely gone by the end of the night! Making and dividing the batter into pans was a smooth process, the only note that I would make is that if you don’t have three of the same kind of pan the cakes may come out of the oven in varying colors. I had two darker pans, and the cakes in those pans were more browned than the cake made in the lighter pan. All cakes were properly baked and there wasn’t a difference in taste, simply in appearance. This isn’t an issue unless you plan on having a more naked style cake.
The middle cake was less browned, but all three were well baked.
The frosting is made using whipping cream, which I typically prefer as it is lighter and not as sickly sweet as buttercream frosting can often be. It took a few minutes longer than usual for the heavy whipping cream to whip, but once it did I added the strawberry preserves and it was delicious. For anyone not used to using whipping cream, be careful not to over-whip or it could turn into butter rather than frosting! The light strawberry frosting was the perfect complement to the lemon cake and was quite easy to spread. I intend to use this frosting recipe for future cakes, but will try using different kinds of preserves. A chocolate cake with an orange frosting sounds like an excellent experiment! I let the cake have a slightly naked feel, but still used generous amounts of frosting on the top and sides. The layers of strawberries and frosting between each cake also made each bite super flavorful and moist.
The frosting is generous on top and between each layer, with a slightly naked feel around the sides.
I’m still learning how to frost and decorate cakes, but I loved using the bench scraper and rotating cake stand. They were so helpful in keeping the frosting in even amounts around the sides. I had originally intended to decorate the top of the cake with sliced strawberries, but when it came time to blow out the candles it seemed unnecessary. If you do choose to do so, be careful not to decorate the top of the cake with the sliced strawberries in advance. If you do, the strawberry slices will leak juice all down the sides of the cake. The strawberries between each layer of cake will not do this as the frosting on the sides holds it in. I had so much fun making and frosting this cake. It is light, delicious, and tastes like a summer picnic!
Simple and delicious! Sliced strawberries and lemon peel could be used to make a more elaborately decorated cake.
I’m not much of an inventive cook or baker. This is something that I would love to improve at, however, I’m currently a strict follower of recipes. I’m always amazed by those who can whip something up in the kitchen without meticulously measuring ingredients and following step-by-step instructions. My tomato vegetable pasta sauce is the only recipe I’ve created on the fly, and even though it is super simple it is still one of my favorite things to make for dinner. I came up with this recipe a few years ago when I wanted pasta but was out of canned marinara sauce. It is a very basic recipe and allows for a lot of variation. It serves 4-6 and takes about an hour from start to finish. I often make a hearty version, but it can be made to be more like a traditional marinara sauce by using a blender, food processor, or immersion blender after it has finished cooking.
Once all of the fresh vegetables are in the pan, I add two cans of Italian diced tomatoes. You can also use regular diced tomatoes, you will just need to add extra seasoning. The sauce should begin to bubble nicely. I add generous amounts of pepper, additional Italian seasoning, oregano, basil, and a little bit of salt. This is all to taste, if you’re unsure of how much to add start with a smaller amount and you can add more if necessary. Once all of the seasonings are in, cover the pan and lower the heat to halfway between medium and low. Allow it to simmer for approximately 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the carrots are tender, the sauce is ready!
I enjoy it with whole wheat pasta and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. The sauce is flavorful, full of vegetables, and, in my opinion, much better than canned pasta sauce! I’ve also made this using only tomatoes, onions, garlic, and seasonings if you’re in the mood for a tomato basil sauce. The recipe is pretty much the same, however you’re adding a much higher amount of fresh tomato instead of the zucchini and carrots and it doesn’t require as long to simmer. This is one of my comfort foods and I can’t wait to make it again this week!
This weekend has been relatively uneventful. I’ve been sick for the past few days, only venturing out of the house twice, and have spent the majority of the weekend in bed. I spent much of that time catching up on my tv shows, but I also thought a lot about last weekend. Last weekend was the BEST. My husband was home and it was filled with fun, family time, and food. Sunday was the most action-packed day, and it was literally one of the best days that my husband and I have had for a long time. We were able to fit a lot in, but decided what to do as we went along, so it didn’t feel like we were trying to cram too much into one day. We slept in, as much as you’re able to with a five month old puppy, and started the day off with a long walk with both of the pups. We walked to one of the parks in our neighborhood and back, which was about three miles round trip. Izzie loved it, and Wickham did so well for all of his tiny four pounds! He walked all of the way to the park, and then was happily carried by Carlos on the way home. After our morning exercise we felt no guilt whatsoever in making vegetarian biscuits and gravy from scratch. We found the recipe a few weeks ago and this was our second time making them. They are amazing. My meat-eating husband says they are better than regular biscuits and gravy and has even declared them his favorite breakfast! He makes the biscuits while I make the gravy, and making them is almost as enjoyable as eating them, especially when you have a mimosa while cooking! The only variation that we do from the recipe is adding more vegetarian sausage patties than the listed amount. We prefer a chunkier gravy, filled with bits of sausage, so we add 5-6 instead of the 2-3 in the recipe. The end result may not be the prettiest, but it really is one of the most satisfying and delicious breakfasts that I have ever had.
After our incredible brunch we went to see Black Panther, and if you haven’t seen it yet I would highly recommend that you do! I’m a huge nerd and love superhero movies, and this one definitely delivered. We ended the night by ordering pizza and laying in bed watching The Office, which is always a good combination. Just thinking back on last weekend makes me smile,and helps me to momentarily forget how under the weather I’m feeling.
(I take no credit for coming up with this recipe, I have linked the website where we found it and just wanted to share it as we love it so much.)
I love to bake and try out new recipes, whether it be for a special occasion or just for fun. This past week was Valentine’s Day, and, while we don’t usually make a whole ordeal of it, this year was our first Valentine’s Day as husband and wife and Carlos had been gone for a few weeks, so we decided to go all out! We had a dinner planned at our favorite restaurant, but I wanted to do a few things to surprise him as well. I decided to make red velvet truffles, as that is Carlos’ favorite kind of cake, and they looked festive and delicious. They also looked relatively simple to make, about which I was horribly mistaken! These were a NIGHTMARE to put together! The first baking mistake was my own, putting too much batter into the pan. It overflowed into the oven and I had to clean out the oven, put some of the batter into another pan, and attempt to bake it again. The cake ended up being a bit crispy around the sides, but still tasted delicious. You then crumble the cake and mix it with cream cheese and roll it into balls before coating it in the chocolate. Perhaps if I had not left my cake in the oven for so long it would have mixed better with the cream cheese, but I found the mixture too dry and it didn’t form as easily into balls as I would have hoped. When it came time to melt the chocolate I was ready to create delicious and visually appealing truffles, but this was not to be. The white chocolate seized as I attempted to melt it, a phenomenon that I did not understand and had to look up. Essentially, the white chocolate heated too fast and became hard and lumpy like butter rather than melting. I had to go to the store and buy more white chocolate. I melted it much more slowly the second time, but the white chocolate was still quite thick when melted, and as soon as it touched the cake balls they began to crumble apart, mixing in with melted chocolate. I tried several different methods, but they refused to look picture perfect. I decided to cover half of the truffles in milk chocolate, which was far preferable both aesthetically and taste-wise, in my opinion. My husband preferred the ones coated in white chocolate, which made the laborious process worth it, but I can safely say I will not be attempting red velvet truffles again for some time! They received rave reviews from several friends and family members who tried them after Valentine’s Day, so overall they were a success, despite their frustrating and time-consuming creation. I am under no false pretenses as to their appearance, they were not overly pretty! The milk chocolate ones looked passable, at best, but I am glad that I attempted a new recipe and that I was able to share them with others who enjoyed them. I also set up a little cheese board with Valentine’s Day themed cheeses, which we didn’t end up trying until the following day, but they were all amazing and we loved the unusual flavors. Valentine’s Day, and all the foods that accompanied it, was a smashing success and I loved having the entire day to spend with my husband.
Much less visually appealing than I had anticipated!
The milk chocolate covered truffles were infinitely easier to make and looked more appetizing.
The sad mess that was the white chocolate red velvet truffles.
The least offensive, visually.
Valentine’s themed cheese is always a good idea!
We couldn’t have a cheese board without Brie cheese, both Carlos and my favorite.
Well, where to begin? I decided to start a blog as a creative outlet for myself. I love to write when I have something that I am passionate about or interested in, and having a forum where I am free to share my thoughts and opinions sounds like a lovely idea. I intend to write about whatever excites me throughout my daily life, whether it be a new book that I’ve discovered, a fantastic cake recipe, or a splendid bargain that I’ve come across. I love baking and cooking, I’m an avid reader, and I enjoy fashion, make-up, and working out. I have a wonderfully supportive husband, two adorable dogs, and a socially insecure cat. IÂ love food. I’m a vegetarian, but please don’t think that in any way limits the kinds of food that I enjoy. One of my favorite things is to discover a new (to me) restaurant and I haven’t met a cuisine yet that I didn’t like. (Aside from a steakhouse, because, you know, being a vegetarian and all.) Cheese is one of my favorite things and few foods excite me more than a good cheese plate. Add wine to the mix and I’m as happy as can be! That will conclude my introductory post, but I hope to add at least one more this week as I prepare for Valentine’s Day (i.e. baking.) It’s a bit nerve-wracking putting my thoughts out for anyone to read, but I’m excited to see where it goes, even if they are only read by my friends and family.
Brianne Elizabeth 