Cinnamon Popovers

The chickens are giving us lots of eggs lately and I was getting tired of just frying them and eating toast so this morning I decided to make some cinnamon popovers. I've never made popovers before and I really enjoyed baking them. I used a simple recipe out of a cook book that my friend Pattie Read gave me, Chicken & Egg. 

Ingredients:

Popovers

1cup bread flour

1/2tsp cinnamon

1/4tsp nutmeg

1 egg plus 2 egg whites

1cup whole milk

1Tbsp unsalted butter melted

1tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

3Tbsp sugar

1tsp cinnamon

2Tbsp unsalted melted butter

The Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 450*F. 

Whisk the flour, cinnamon, & nutmeg in a bowl. In a separate bowl whisk egg and egg whites until smooth. Pour in the milk , butter, and vanilla, whisking until combined. Slowly whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until the dry ingredients are moistened and almost smooth. Let rest for 30 minutes. 

Coat five popover cups (or a wide muffin pan) with nonstick cooking spray (or butter works too). Pour the batter into the prepared cups.

Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temp to 350*F, with out opening the oven, and continue baking for 20 minutes or until puffed, golden brown, and firm. Using a thin knife, make a small slit in the side of each popover to allow the steam to escape. Turn off the oven and let the popovers remain in the oven for 5 minutes to allow the inside to dry slightly. Remove from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack.

Brush the tops with the melted butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture generously over the tops.

Serve immediately. 

Breakfast: North End Cafe

Saturday mornings are the best and my favorite thing ever is breakfast food! We go out every Saturday morning and visit one of our local restaurants that offer eggs, pancakes, and coffee. North End Cafe is a breakfast staple in Louisville. Ben's personal favorite is a stack of the cheddar bacon pancakes with a side of coffee...lots and lots of coffee. I'm a sucker for their cheese grits, I guess that's the southern girl in me--they remind me of the grits my Grandmother Magee would make me when I would visit her in Mississippi. Their french toast and breakfast burritos are awesome too and of course coffee is a must. 

-M.

It's Friday Y'all.

It's been established that we definitely live for the weekends. Its not that we don't love our lives during the week but we work really hard and the second that 5pm Friday rolls around we are ready to eat tasty food, drink good drink, and of course spend as much time with our friends as possible. After all we do have the best friends anyone could ever dream of. 

Last night we got a big group together and we ate at The Blind Pig in Butchertown. It was filled with rich conversation and pork infused dishes. Eager to keep the conversation going we headed down to Germantown and paid a visit to Smitty's bar, Four Pegs. The night continued to be full of laughs, more craft brews, and plenty of opportunities to meet  new people from all different places and walks of life.

Thank you Friday for giving us your night every week. We love sweet memories made and full bellies.

B.R.R.sday: Age 60

As Keri and I walk behind John Mumba holding hands—her talking to a boy in striped shorts and a faded Cincinnati Bengals shirt with cut-off sleeves, named Ford—I imagine a worm with angry eyes crawling just under the skin of the girl, Eleanor, we have just met. She was lying with one elbow bent under her glassy face, the long bird-tail eye-lashes folded on her forearm. I notice her shirt, frayed where it has been ripped, and stretched over her legs stacked and curved back, on top of a woven straw mat beside the water jug outside her house. John Mumba told us, in his British-educated Zambian accent, that her stepfather used her as “a good luck piece.” I chuckled, unaware, and said “she doesn’t look like she feels very lucky,” and he shook his head with the look of a veteran or an old surgeon.

“No, I would say no. Her step-father gave her to be raped (he said the word as if it rhymed with wept) to bring his family luck for the HIV and she got it.”

“It is a bloody sickness. It moves and hides in you like a bug.”

She was so beautiful and tiny and I could see a little pile of dirt beside her mat blow like a sand dune as she exhaled. I hear Keri ask Ford “how many brothers do you have?” and he shakes his head with his eyes closed and says, slowly, “one sister,” and I look at the watch that Liv gave me for my birthday—shiny in the sun—and want to throw it down and punch my heel into its glassy face.

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Chewsday: Books We Read.

Ben always reads long and intense books. I am making it my habit this year to read more books instead of articles. I love factual things and I really enjoy reading articles that educate me but for 2012 I really want to read more fiction. Just recently I was able to read a great book by Vendela Vida, Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name. It was a simple read with rich fictional content.

Pros:
-Vendela does a great job developing the main character Clarissa Iverton.
-You learn a lot about Lapland!
-Some people never change and that's just life--I love the realness of that.

Cons:
-I didn't want it to end!

-M.

One of the long, intense books I read recently, was Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich.
A gripping epic about family ties, growing up, and the power of love, Love Medicine is a good read for anyone interested in Native American culture, experimental fiction, or effective use of character. Erdrich's famous short story "The Red Convertible" comes from this book, so if that means anything to you, as it should, go pick up this book!

Pros:
-so many characters you'll never get sick of any one narrative voice
-such a huge time span you get to travel through many different ages and stages for several of the characters
-you'll learn a lot about Ojibwe culture

Cons:
-you have to use a family tree that is provided by the author to navigate much of the novel.
-This book is long...so if that bothers you...
-there are no real cons to any book...except those written by Joel Osteen.

-Ben.

Monster Monday: BATS

Just another day in the life...decided to throw in a quick load of laundry, I always do laundry naked which doesn't help my vulnerability much, and I kept seeing a shadow. I felt a little insecure and kind of creeped out but then I just assumed it was Ryder because he always watches me put the clothes in the wash. Then the shadow decided to move at rapid speeds so I looked up and there was a BAT flying towards my head! I panicked, frantically started flailing my body, and booked it up the stairs, screaming obscenities & forcing Ben to run down there & take care of the fast moving flying rat creature.

Ryder the Modernist

Kola the beauty

As for the other Monsters--they are doing splendidly! Ben was on a break from school for the holidays so we had the opportunity to spend lots of time together as one big happy family. We took the poochies on long walks as we dreamed about our future and what it will look like with Ben out of his masters. We found this amazing little trail right by our house that is alongside a creek and woods. The pups love it because they can run freely in and out of the water or jump up and over the cliffs. 

Ryder hasn't lost his appetite to eat everything in sight and Kola is still seeking an outdoor adventure every chance she gets.

the path

photo cred goes to ben

Family Christmas Photo--we are all looking in the same direction! Magical. 

Glacier National Park Pt.2--Mountain Goats.

I finally put together the footage we took from our trip to Glacier National Park in Montana. We went in June 2011 and every bit of this adventure was magical. We had the opportunity to be in the back country for five days, we hiked alongside majestic mountains, we stumbled upon a mountain goat family, we slept next to a glacial lake, we met fun hikers from California, and we praised God for His rich blessings in our life. Enjoy.

-M. 

By-the-way-Friday: Glacier National Park Video Part 1.

I decided to use some of the footage I took on our backpacking trip through Glacier National Park & put it to one of my favorite songs by Jose Gonzalez--heartbeats.

-M. 

Monster Monday: WeimaRyder

Ryder in the pool.

You might hear me complaining about how Ryder, my 95 pound Weimaraner sits on my face every morning until I wake up & pry him off of me. He's probably the biggest trouble maker you'd ever meet but his eyes still make me melt. I know he's "just a dog" but he's my dog and I seriously am happier because he's in my life. If he's not eating my freshly baked cupcakes, he's opening the lid to the toilet for an extra swig of water. He snuggles and lays on my body until I go numb. He has zero proximity issues and choses to remind me of that every chance he gets. I'll have a massive pup breathing on my face until I tell him otherwise. He jumps on my ivory comforter with his muddy paws. He eats snacks like there the last piece of food he'll ever see, smell, touch, taste...
I don't know--I guess I'm just obsessed.
-M.

Ryder in Ben's old t-shirt.

Weimaraners are the coolest dogs ever! Enjoy...

Palm Sunday: Backcountry Skillet Pancakes

We just made it back from our annual trip to the Smokies and it was better than predicted. We convinced our two best friends, Adam & Sam, to join us on our backcountry adventure which turned out to be the best idea ever. "Roughin' it" was probably an understatement--our first day was an intense 12 mile hike with heavy packs and hard terrain, we laughed as our toes began to ache because we knew it was only the beginning. In the backcountry there aren't many luxuries or glamorous things like toilets, running water, or high-end food so we made it a point to bring a little comfort from home. We premeditated our meals and we made sure to pack the pancake ingredients and the pour-over coffee. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day so I knew I wanted it to be special. Our first task was to boil the water for our delicious coffee, as we sipped our warm cups we then proceeded to mix the pancake batter. With a dash of cooking oil on the skillet we slowly poured the batter and dropped a few chocolate chips in for good measure. It was a timely task but worth every bite of comfort.
-M.