My First Ever Blue Ribbon

Ladies and Gents, I have the bug! I have the Iowa State Fair Bug!!! 

I won my first and second blue ribbons last week in the Beginner's category.  I won the Beginner's Dessert, and then they took the winners of Beginner's Dessert, Beginner's Main Dish and Beginner's Bread, and they named first, second and third.  AND I WON GRAND CHAMPION!  I feel like Toddler's in Tiaras right now.  Speaking of... they should have a reality show about the Iowa State Fair food.  It's cut throat! Did you know that the winner of the Tones Spices Cinnamon Roll contest wins $3,000?!?!  DANG! Get ready to see some cinnamon roll recipes on here. #testing

So my winning recipe was Lavender Cupcakes with Lemon Curd and Vanilla Bean Buttercream.  I've made similar cupcakes before, but these were LCLCVBB 2.0.

The ingredients weren't anything outstanding, but the assembly was, as the judge stated, "ambitious".

Take your favorite vanilla cupcake recipe, crush some lavender, and toss it in.  Around 2 Tablespoons.

Lemon curd can be purchased, or made... But let me warn you, homemade lemon curd is one of the most delicious things in the world.  It's sour, sweet, buttery, warm... It's irresistible. 

Take your cupcakes and use a pairing knife to cut a pretty little hole.  Little enough to keep the cupcake from falling apart when filled, but big enough to get a good dollop of delicious lemon curd.

I even went so far as to cut a little cap to top the curd with.  I actually tried to use a special long frosting tip to fill the cupcake, and as soon as I lifted it back out, all the curd came squirting out the hole on the top... so I scrapped that and cut a well.

The frosting I used was a fairly basic American buttercream with butter, crisco, vanilla, vanilla bean paste, powdered sugar and cream. 

I watched the judging, and I was so nervous, but then they started to ooo and ahh over it, and then I overheard one of the judges say to the other, that was amazing... and then he replied, yes, the lemon was a fantastic surprise.  FIRST PLACE ALL AROUND.  Now, at this point, they hadn't even tasted all of the desserts, and hadn't even gotten started on the breads!  I tried to play it cool, but I was secretly celebrating and picturing where I plan to hang my blue ribbons.

I had two more entries after this, and I won one more ribbon after this one... so stay tuned! More recipes in the days to follow. 

Chicken Bacon Ranch Bites

I've been so busy this summer that I've been eating out WAY too much.  So lately, I've gotten pretty good at some quick dinners I can make at home. 

Enter Chicken Bacon Ranch Bites.  I made these bites the other day and brought them over to the BF's house and he was pretty pumped.  Meat wrapped in meat always gets a thumbs up from the men. 

These bites take all of 15 minutes to make...  less time if you don't have a single-serving Foreman grill.

All you need is....
2 chicken breasts
10 strips of bacon
Ranch Dressing Powder (you know, the stuff you mix with yogurt or whatever to make the dressing)

I cut each chicken breast into 10 bite-sized pieces and toss them in some ranch powder.  I never use the whole bag, so you can put it in a little baggy for the next time. 

Wrap each bite in 1/2 a strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick. 

Slap those puppies on the George Foreman Grill until the chicken is cooked through and the bacon is crispy.  I love using the Foreman because I feel like the bacon grease rolls off and it makes this completely fat free!  Right? RIGHT?!?!?! 

This makes 2-3 servings, depending on how hungry you are. 

Lavender Shortbread with Lemon Glaze - State Fair Recipe

So we continue with my losing recipes... 

This one is a real show stopper though.  Who cares what those people over at All Spice say.

Again, a last minute change on these was a detriment.  I overheard a judge say I should have left the lavender flowers whole for a more intense lavender flavor...  However, I was put off by the whole flowers that got stuck in my teeth and lingered in my mouth.  So I took a spice grinder and crushed them up.  That made the cookies AMAZING in my opinion. 

But my opinion doesn't win me any ribbons.  Jerks. 

Ahem, anyways... Here are my Lavender Shortbread cookies with Lemon Glaze. 

Makes 3 dozen
Ingredients:
3/4 lb butter
1 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
4 t crushed lavender flowers
1 t lemon zest

Drizzle
Juice and zest of one lemon
2 cups of powdered sugar

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy (3 minutes)
Add vanilla and beat well. 
Mix in flour, salt, lavender flowers and lemon zest.
Chill mixture for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out dough and cut out cookies with a fluted cookie cutter. 
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes
Cool on a wire rack. 
Mix the lemon zest, juice and powdered sugar until you get to the desired consistency.  Drizzle lemon glaze over cookies once they've cooled. 

I feel like this one had a chance.  I'm excited to see what the judges said. 

PS, do you think I could get free food at this place? 

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies - State Fair Recipe

Well, now that I know I didn't win any ribbons in the Iowa State Fair for these next few recipes, I can share them with you guys!

Growing up, my grandma made loads of baked goodies for the Iowa State Fair.  Her entire basement was covered in blue, red, white and purple ribbons.  Her freezer was always full of the "rejects" and practice batches, and soon she became just the local bakery of the neighborhood.  We would take 3-4 bags of cookies home with us every Sunday. 

I love baking, and I'm always making her recipes for my friends and coworkers... So this year I bought 5 entries to the fair and decided to try my hand at some competition.  Just to see if the Blue Ribbon winning gene was passed on...

Well................. I haven't won anything yet.  But they at least let me in the doors! 

So here's my first ever State Fair entry, Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I had made the cookies before and I was pretty happy with them, but I felt like it was missing something, so I added chocolate chips, because I love chocolate chips.

WELL GUESS WHAT?!?! They didn't like the chocolate.  It overpowered the bacon.  Honestly, I prefer a subtle bacon flavor in my dessert, so these were pretty delish to me.

I got there and immediately felt a sense of dread.  I had just made some plain 'ol chocolate chip cookies... and people had made entire cheesecakes, pies, cake pops, ice cream sundaes... The list goes on and on.  Everyone was vying for the $200 prize.  I just wanted to bake with bacon.  

Of course, as soon as my stone-faced judge was done with the cookies they put them right next to the fancy cheesecake.  Clearly my little cookies had a little inferiority complex happening.

My little league bench warmer in the big leagues...

Anyway, they taste darn good, and they're a fun twist to an old favorite.  So give them a shot.  


Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes 3 dozen)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 t maple extract
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 strips bacon, cooked and chopped
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:
Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy (3 minutes)
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one
Add vanilla and maple extracts
Mix in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt)
Add the chopped bacon and chocolate chips

Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

I even added a little sprinkle of sea salt to the top of the cookies to give the bacon flavor something to hold on to...  But alas, no ribbon yet. 

I have a few tricks up my sleeve for next time, so these cookies aren't going down without a fight.  I get my scores back after the fair, so I'll let you know what they said. 

Thoughts on Happiness

So I’ve been dolling out advice left and right lately.  I’m not sure what makes me the go-to expert about life in general, but I’ve always been a sounding board for my friends, and I kinda pride myself on being able to give straight-forward, true-for-everyone, honest to goodness truth be told advice without inserting my opinion based on whatever baggage I carry around myself. 

One thing on my mind grapes (that one’s for you, A) lately is what happiness looks like, and how it’s attained, and how it differs from joy. 

I think happiness is one of the universal goals of everyone.  It’s the desired consequence of nearly every deliberate action. Joy, however, is a character trait that is built over time by repeatedly choosing happiness. 

Happiness is usually a result of our consequences.  However, it can be something you chose to be, or be without, because of or in spite of your circumstances.  If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, happiness is in the eye of the “experiencer”…  Your experiences and circumstances can dictate your mood for the day, or you can. 

Joy, on the other hand, is the consequence of years of choosing happiness. 

Most of the time, women especially, we spend so much time planning the future, making sure that we won’t be hurt somewhere down the line, emotionally, financially, physically, that we forget to be happy about our life right now.

How can Gandhi or Mother Theresa be the experts on joy and happiness when they have also chosen poverty and simplicity as a lifestyle.  They have chosen to be without things we expect to make us happy, yet they have also chose happiness and are joyful because of it. 

Novelist Jonathan Safran Foer wrote, “You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.”

For me that means that closing yourself off to the potential for heartbreak or suffering in turn closes you off to happiness and in turn joy. 

I listened to a sermon a few months ago, and what the pastor said stuck with me.  Depression is living in the past, and anxiety is living in the future. If you’re worried about something, you’re trying to will the future into changing before you even get there.  Worrying about the future won’t make you happy.  There’s no way.  It won’t change the future and it won’t make you happy.  Stop worrying.  (Easier said than done, right?) While you’re busy living in the future, there is life going on around you, waiting for you to experience it and find happiness within it. 

You’re in charge of your happiness.  As Abraham Lincoln explained, “People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Some people are mean.  They are most likely always going to be mean.  They choose to be mean.  It isn’t a reflection of you. Your worth isn’t dependent on what someone says about you or how they treat you.  They are either going to like you, or they won’t.  But you are never worth less than you decide you’re worth. 

Sadness isn’t enjoyable. Misery isn’t celebrated.  There are many people whose circumstances warrant sadness and misery and much more.  But choosing those emotions and traits after the grief process will only prolong the pain. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”

So today I’ll choose happiness in my circumstances.  Despite struggling with body image, despite making mistakes, and despite being unsure about the future.  I’ll choose happiness because I want to continue to be a joyful person. 

Fruit Salad Brownies

I've been eating some seriously healthy food lately, and anything that isn't healthy, makes me wanna yammy.  Like the quesadilla burger I had the other day... woof, way too much grease. 

Anyway, I have a major sweet tooth... but we all know hitting up the cupcake shop everyday isn't gonna do the trick, and I could do froyo... but let's be honest, I basically put a cupcake on my froyo.  PS did you hear Orange Leaf has a "No Bake Cookie" flavor right now?  YUM. 

Ahem, anyway... 

So I made some brownies with some serious fruits and veggies packed in, and you CAN'T EVEN TELL.
 

Here's the 411: (the recipe is a little bit whackadoodle because I cut my original plan by a quarter.) 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 large banana mashed
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups finely shredded or grated zucchini (one large)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

I grated the zucchini with a food processor and then threw everything in my trusty Kitchenaid (except the chocolate chips) (those go on top) (okay, do that now). 

It all goes in a big old pan and ya bake it at 350 for 20ish minutes. 

Cut it in 12 pieces and pour a big glass of milk. 

And now look at these adorable kids at this wedding we went to this weekend!  Too cute!!! 

Bandwagon Haters and Lebron James. A Rant.

Sit down and shut up, because I’m about to go on a rant like you’ve never seen. 

Topics to be ranted about:

Bandwagon fans (I’m pro-bandwagon)

Lebron

I have a little question for those of you who can’t stand bandwagon fans… 

Did you see Mumford and Sons live at some small venue before they got big? 

Did you always drink PBR and now you’re annoyed that EVERYONE drinks it?

Did you have cupcakes at your 10^th birthday party and now hate it when people bring them in to the office…  Because you liked cupcakes before there was a show about them. 

That my friends, makes you a hipster. 

Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?  I loved cupcakes when I was 10, so they’re MY thing.  You don’t get to love cupcakes, even though they’re awesome and handheld and can easily be transformed into a cupcake sandwich. 

If your mom didn’t love them, you don’t get to love them.  If you didn’t live in Cupcake City, you’re a bandwagon cupcake fan and you need to close your eyes when Cupcake Wars is on. 

So you never really gave much thought to cupcakes, you stuck to muffins and lemon bars, but then you stopped in a bakery and tried one and now you want to try them all?  TOO BAD.  They’re my thing. 

Outside of that “hipster” community, sports is the only entertainment source in which you are chastised for recognizing talent along with mainstream America.  

That's like saying, you're not allowed to see a movie if you didn't see it before it got good reviews.   

So go ahead and like that team that’s playing well, even if you don’t have a tie to that city…  It feels amazing to have “your team” win a championship, no matter the length of time it’s been “your team”.  And as a fan of sports (don’t worry, I’ve been one my whole life, I’m not a bandwagon sports fan) I want everyone to experience that amazing feeling. 

My second point… Lebron James.  AKA MVP AKA The most polarizing sports figure since…. Any other amazing sports player. 

Every single time a championship comes up, in any sport, Iowa bandwagon haters come out of the woodworks.  They’re more obnoxious than the actual bandwagon fans! NEWSFLASH: we don't have any professional sports teams in Des Moines, so unless you moved here from a major metropolis (why?) literally EVERYONE is a bandwagon fan.  It's like hating immigrants and then celebrating your Irish heritage on St. Patrick's Day.  You never thought of that one, did you?  Whoever came over from Ireland from your family was an immigrant.  (a little explanation just in case you're dumb)

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been having a conversation and mentioned that my boyfriend is a Heat fan. 

People are all, “WHAT?! WHAT IS HE THINKING?!”

And I’m all, “He’s a big D-Wade fan”

And they’re all, “Okay, that’s okay then”

Why is that okay, but being a fan of the best basketball player in 2013 (Lebron) isn’t.

So he’s damn good and he knows it…

Are we not allowed to recognize our own talents anymore?  Next you're going to tell me women aren't allowed to love their bodies despite being beautiful.  


You know who else is good and knows it? 

1. Morgan Freeman
2. Justin Timberlake
3. Steve Jobs
4. Julia Child
5. The Queen
6. David Beckham
7. Kate Upton (she's good at being pretty and she knows it)

And we freaking love them! Can’t get enough of Justin Timberlake’s new album, everyone cried when David Beckham retired, thank goodness he’s still looking fine, amiright? We bought every damn thing Steve Jobs told us to. Don't get me started on how many times that video of Kate Upton doing the Dougie was viewed...  But Lebron took it one step too far.  He moved to a town where he could be insanely successful and make his dreams come true.

Tell me you wouldn’t do that if given the opportunity.  Whether your dreams mean the right job, a more temperate climate, a new adventure, a good school for your kids…

Whatever it means, do it.  Because there will always be someone there to call you out for not being “born and raised” in the town you live and being “too good” for the town you’re from.  But you’ll be laughing all the way to success.