What a crazy life!

It has been FOREVER since my last post! I sincerely apologize. In the past month and a half, I have been busy with Christmas things, New Years things, traveling to Costa Rica, and heading back to school. Here's a little update on my life:

Christmas...

Waiting for Santa

Maple Pecan Buttons

Rugelach with Cinnamon, Walnut, & Chocolate Chips filling

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies dipped in White Chocolate with crushed Candy Cane topping

Chocolate Chop Cookies

Nanny Jane's Whoopie Pies

Boston Creme Pie....Tim's Christmas Present

Costa Rica...

That's just a little update on the craziness, but it helps to explain a little why the posts have been far and few. I will be going home again in a couple weeks for vacation, which will give me ample time to bake. I hope everyone else is enjoying their winters...I know it is VERY cold up here! Bundle up, bake something yummy, and stay warm! =)

Wow, twice in one day!...ok so it's technically two days, but it's 3:45am and I have yet to go to sleep. Yup, you guessed it, I'm up baking. I'm slaving away in the kitchen trying to finish my Christmas baking in full swoop...fingers crossed, but I am ready to hit my head against my soft, feather pillow...ahhh. I feel much more accomplished, despite the time day. All my shopping is finished, all my baking is started, now just to finish baking and finish making a couple gifts....then wrapping! I'm really excited to share with you all the goodies I'm in the process of baking...if I'm counting right, I have 6 (that's right SIX) different goodies...and I quadrupled one of the recipes...so really I have 9 (NINE!!!!) different things!! Stay tuned, I will be able to share them all on December 25th!

It's beginning to feel a lot more like Christmas: I'm finally at my relaxed holiday stage, I finally gave into listening to Christmas songs on the radio, I got my first Christmas card (that's sad) and I got to go see Avery's Christmas concert at school today. I think watching the little Kindergardeners sing all the traditional Christmas songs (like Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer) helped remind me what Christmas is all about. It's not about how expensive your gift is or how many presents are under the tree, but rather about the appreciating the little things in life. I'm so thankful for my family, and all their love and support. All I can hope for as we approach 2010 is a safe, happy, and healthy year!

I wish everyone the best of luck in their last minute Christmas doings! Merry Christmas to everyone...hopefully Santa is good to you =)

Thinking Ahead

I just went and did my Christmas baking supply shopping at the grocery store, and as I sit here in my kitchen I had the strange urge to blog. I realized as I was checking out I just spent $19 of my last $35 on baking supplies...O the life of a college student with a baker's dream. It's tough trying to justify spending all this money on baking when you barely make any. But, then I sit back and think that I am only building my skills and resume, which in time will pay off.

So why the Christmas tree on the beach? No, I am not on some fantastic beach writing this...instead I am looking out the window at snow, quite the opposite. I am actually thinking about summer. Lately my brain keeps wanting to jump ahead to summer time instead of thinking about the current things. It's been hard, but I'm trying my best to keep my brain on track. Truthfully I keep thinking about what I want to do. Should I stay home and work all summer? Where should I work? Can I find a job in a bakery? Or is there something more out there for me? So in the Christmas season, I would like to give a little wisdom to myself and others: Live in the moment, and enjoy life!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas (or whichever holiday you so choose to celebrate), and stay safe. Keep checking back in the next few days because there is LOTS of baking to be done!

Whoopie Pie Palooza and a Mini Vacation to My Favorite Spot in Maine

It's official, my whoopie pie palooza has begun. For those of you who do not know what this is, let me fill you in: I have taken on a personal challenge to find the "perfect" whoopie pie recipe. Mostly I want to find the "perfect" whoopie pie to sell when I open my bakery, but I really just love the excuse to eat tons of them =)

My first recipe came from my Maine momma. It is a top secret family recipe, which I only got because hopefully one day I will be part of thei

r family. So, unfortunately I can't share the recipe, but I am more than happy to make some for you.

I headed up to the Rockland, Maine area this past week for a mini vacation. I visited my Maine momma and the whole family. As part of my Christmas gifts to them, I included some home made whoopie pies. I was informed I did a very good job, so it looks like the palooza is off to a good start. I wanted to share a little fun info from my Rockland trip. So, below you will see a Christmas tree, but if you look close you'll see it's actually made out of lobster traps!! It is so cool! That's how Mainers do Christmas.

Let the Holidays begin....

And so it begins...MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! I went to my first Christmas party of the year, and it was a blast! I decided I would bring along some goodies, so I baked Chocolate Mint cupcakes with buttercream frosting. They were very yummy. I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season =)

Pizza

Hi Everyone!! I'm so sorry I haven't been more up to date with the blog. Life has been very busy lately, which hasn't left much time for baking. -very sad!- It's okay though, because each day I go through college without baking, I think about the fact that after school I will be able to bake everyday for the rest of my life. I spend a lot of time thinking about how I want to build my bakery, and what kind of goodies I want to sell. There's been a lot of dreaming and thinking going on up in my head lately.

But enough of my brain thoughts, I want to tell you all about my latest baking...PIZZA!! If you've been following the blog, you will know that over the past summer, my family took a liking to my pizza. It started out as just an adventure to see if I could make pizza dough on my own. I used the pizza dough recipe from Baking Illustrated, and like every other recipe I have tried from this book, it was a huge success. My family loved the pizza so much when I made it, that it became a weekly tradition at camp to make pizza for dinner. We tried many different toppings, sauces, and cheeses until we found our favorites. The reoccurring favorites were my infamous white pizza and the BBQ chicken pizza.

So, while I was home for Thanksgiving break last week, I made pizza. My mom went grocery shopping and I saw the blocks of mozzarella cheese in the bag...I knew she was going to ask me to make it!! I was very excited to get to bake, and surprisingly I had not lost any of my "pizza doing" touches. This time I made a white pizza, which is a sauce-less pizza with fresh mozzarella and garlic. And I also made a pepperoni pizza. I had forgotten how delicious it was, but obliviously my little brother didn't: He was working that night and didn't get to have any, but was begging me the rest of the time I was home to make more. Sorry, Andrew, maybe I can make it next time I come home. Take a look at the pictures above: it starts with the process of the dough rising to the final product.

Who knows...maybe The Messy Kitchen will have a Pizza Parlor attached to it?!?! I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season, and stay posted for more updates! =)

Apple Season

Not only did I have fun baking with pumpkin this past weekend, but I also tackled apples. I went apple picking with Deanna and the kiddos, and we got some great baking apples. I'm not sure exactly what type of apples they were. They're green, sweet, and HUGE (they're not Granny Smith)....but they're yummy!

So, I decided I would try making apple turnovers and tarts. They turned out delicious. These were also the first things that I have baked completely on my own without a recipe. I feel like I have accomplished a huge task in my baking career. =)

Everyone, stay posted because there is still more apply picking to come, and much more fall baking to be done!