52 hike challenge (#5)

I had such a good time hiking with Rose last weekend that I invited her along on today's hike. I really had NO expectation that she would even consider saying yes, but she did! So we packed up our supplies (tic tacs for her, cheese for Doug) and hit the road!

Here we are the the very start of our hike:

Here we are still having fun at the halfway point:

And just past the halfway point, the tides abruptly shifted- for one of the three of us. I'll give you three guesses as to who stopped having fun on this walk, and the first two don't count.

The second half of the walk was EXHAUSTING. I had to use every trick in my parenting repertoire to keep this kid going. It was pure torture. And it certainly didn't help when the kid who is terrified of cows and goats saw a cow up ahead that had escaped its pen.

We made it home eventually, some of us exhausted more mentally than physically! Now it's time for some Legos (for her) and some tea and a good book (for me) so we can each recover. Sigh.

52 hike challenge
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop

Bluebarb Lime Crumble (#11 TYSC)

Bluebarb Lime Crumble
#11 of the Treat Yo Self Challenge
Pie Chapter

This is another of Mike's selections, and by now you're probably recognizing a theme that he picks fruit-based recipes...preferably including blueberries. He's definitely had his eye on this one for awhile. We had a huge bag of rhubarb left in the freezer from last summer, but I didn't think we'd be able to get a good price on blueberries until the summer. Then, lo and behold, he got a surprisingly good deal on blueberries (organic, no less!) at the grocer this week, so this recipe quickly moved to the top of the queue!

I've never had blueberries, rhubarb, and lime together, so even I (the consummate chocoholic) was looking forward to this one. And as a bonus, I actually got to use two recipes for this one, because it includes "My Favorite Pie Crust" as the, well, pie crust.  The foundation of this pie crust recipe is basically the same as MY favorite recipe, but it also includes a few weird add-ins (baking powder? red wine vinegar?) and uses the dreaded Cuisinart. (More on my verdict later, but perhaps you've sensed my foreshadowing of displeasure?) The filling, however, looked amazing as I poured it into the pie crust, and I was excited to try a new crumble recipe. (My standard crumble includes oats and brown sugar - as well as the usual flour and butter - but this one just has butter, sugar, and flour.)

A couple hours later, this beauty came out of the oven:

And another couple hours after that (there is no torture greater than waiting for fruit pie to cool), it was finally set enough to slice and eat.

Verdict:  Ladies and gentlemen, we have another winner! I will now look forward to combining blueberry, rhubarb and lime at any opportunity in the future. The only change I'll make next time is going back to MY favorite pie crust recipe, or at least making it by hand instead of in the stupid food processor. I really didn't like to assemble my crust without the tactile feedback. I'm undecided on whether I want try her weird crust add-ins next time, but at least I now have an excellent new filling to add to my pie repertoire.  I'll look forward to making this again when rhubarb and blueberries are in season locally!

Banana Bread (#10 TYSC)

The Only Banana Bread You'll Ever Need
#10 in the Treat Yo' Self Challenge
Counter Cakes chapter

Once a month or so we drive to Helena for a Costco run, among other errands. While I love this excursion, I do have to carefully plan my weekend baking around this. (For example, no sourdough on Costco days!)  Since today was our planned Costco/Helena day, I knew I had to get any breakfast baking done early. So last night I planned an easy one: banana bread. Not only is it one of my favorites, but it would also get rid of the overripe bananas on our counter.

I was a little apprehensive about this recipe because, as much as I love banana bread, I usually like it with some add-ins. Like banana chocolate chip bread. Or banana bread with cranberries and walnuts. But when you have a title like "the only banana bread you'll ever need" I figured I should follow the recipe exactly before modifying it.

I suppose you can see that didn't follow the recipe exactly. As I mentioned, this was our Costco run day. Since I slept in (until 6:30!) I had to use our mini loaf pans, else it never would have finished baking by the time we had to leave! Luckily the mini loaf pans generally get things done in about half the time, and we were all happy to eat our personal loaves in the car.

Verdict:  I usually differentiate easy cakes (like bundt pan varietals) from quick breads (like banana breads) because "breads" tend to be less sweet than "cakes," at least to me. I would have named this banana bread as banana cake instead, which now helps me understand why it was listed in the "counter cakes" chapter! We all enjoyed this, but it definitely felt decadent so early in the morning. If I make it again (which I probably will, because I really enjoyed the strong banana flavor), I'll probably leave off the crusty sugar layer on top and would also add some diced walnuts to give it a little protein-y staying power. Bottom line is that I liked it, any it's likely only one iteration away from truly being the only banana bread I'll ever need!

Buckeye Bars (#9 TYSC)

Buckeye Bars

#9 of the treat yo self challenge

Bars chapter

Is there any better dessert flavor combo than chocolate and peanut butter? (Spoiler alert! The answer is NO!) I adore Reese's peanut butter cups, especially the holiday editions (Christmas trees, Easter bunnies, etc) that don't have that icky ridge of chocolate around the circumference, and instead just have the perfect ratio of chocolate to peanut butter throughout. When I was in grad school I used to melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in the microwave and eat it with a spoon from a mug. I still have dreams about the "chocolate peanut butter revel" ice cream served by my college haunt, Hogan Bros in Northfield, MN. 

So, yeah. Chocolate and peanut butter is kind of my thing.

On this Friday night after a long week at work, I was craving some baking time to relax and transition to the weekend. It had to be an easy recipe, a quick in-and-out of the kitchen. I perused my book while Mike put the finishing touches on dinner....and then I saw it...JACKPOT.

There was no photo with this one, so I forgive you if you aren't already familiar with the wonder that is a Buckeye Ball. Or Buckeye Candy. Or just Buckeyes. Apparently names vary, but the deliciousness is constant.

Usually they are individually shaped, which I think makes them way too futzy for a Friday night. So the idea of a Buckeye BAR sounded perfect. And less than 20 min later, I was in heaven.

Verdict:  "Heaven...I'm in heaven..." https://youtu.be/WOYzFKizikU  I restrained myself and only ate one last night, but I don't see this little pan lasting long! It's like the best Reese's you could possibly imagine, no joke. YUM.

52 hike challenge (#4)

What a treat - I had company on my hike today!  I mean, more company than just Doug the dog, my standard hiking companion.  

Rose wanted to see if her friend in the neighborhood was interested in a play date, so she accompanied me on my hike. I like to go counter clockwise on my neighborhood loop, so she was a trooper and did about 3.75 miles (of 4.5). I dropped her off, and then did just that final part alone (with Doug).

Today was the first day above freezing in weeks, and the first day above zero in over a week. I had forgotten how "warm" 40 can feel! It was lovely. 

This is where the neighborhood T Rex lives

So many missing teeth! :)

52 hike challenge
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop

Monster Cookies

Monster Cookies
#8 of the treat yo' self challenge
Cookie Jar Contenders chapter

The instant Rose saw this photo of cookies with Reese's pieces in them, she was sold! There was no way she was requesting any other recipe in this book. And I have to admit they looked pretty good to me too - like a peanut butter cookie married an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and they threw Reese's pieces confetti at the wedding. What's not to love?

No new techniques or anything fancy, just a new combination of ingredients in slightly different ratios that most of the cookie recipes I used.

Verdict:  Pretty good! Next time I would refrigerate the dough longer before baking, and also shape the dough prior to refrigerating. Also, the cookbook author stressed that the cookies should definitely NOT be baked any longer than 12 minutes...but mine must have been bigger than hers (I ended up with 4 dozen, rather than the 5 dozen she predicted) because my first tray was clearly underdone and subsequent trays took more like 15-17 minutes. But with those tweaks, I would definitely make this recipe again! And I'm sure Rose will be asking for it again soon :)

Scone-top Blueberry Muffins

Scone-top Blueberry Muffins
#7 of the treat yo' self challenge
pastry chapter (?)

Rose's school switched to a four-day week this year, so she and Mike get to hang out together every Friday (not that I'm jealous or anything!). When I left for work yesterday, I asked them to pick out a recipe or two to try this weekend and let me know if there were any special ingredients I needed to pick up before leaving town. A few hours and a handful of texts later, we had a plan!

This is Mike's selection. (Rose's selection will be coming later this weekend!) He loves blueberry muffins and he loves scones, so I should have known he would choose this one! We already had a bag of blueberries in the freezer, as well as some leftover buttermilk in the fridge, so the only other non-standard ingredient we needed was the zest of a lemon. (Side note: Did you know you can freeze lemon zest? I'm going to have start doing that when I juice a lemon, so I'll always have zest on hand in the freezer!)

This was another recipe where I was introduced to a new technique. Usually I use my KitchenAid for EVERYTHING that I don't do by hand, but this one called for the use of a food processor to completely obliterate the butter into the dry ingredients. Since I couldn't do that by hand or in my trusty stand mixer, I had to pull out ye ol' Cuisinart from the back pantry.  I know some people love their food processors, but for some reason I've always avoided them. I was probably afraid of the sharp blades as a kid, and that fear just lingered irrationally into adulthood. So I'm not sure if the Cuisinart was completely necessary this time, but I did follow the recipe's technique to a T, just to be on the safe side!

Verdict:  The three of us all had different responses to this one. Rose happened to get one absolutely loaded with blueberries, so she said it was great except "too blueberry-y." I thought it tasted pretty good for a blueberry muffin, but blueberry muffins just aren't what I'd pick from a muffin line-up. (Give me banana with chocolate chips any day!) Mike, on the other hand, said "Wow! This one is definitely a keeper!" So I guess if you like blueberry muffins then you'll love this recipe :)