Ava

If you have read any of my posts in the past, you have probably seen a picture of my puppy... Today is her birthday, and I wanted to share the last year of her life with you. Because she is pretty awesome, and a constant part of my life... The longest I have been away from her is 8 hours when I left her home one day instead of bringing her to the barn with me...  Plus I'm a pretty lucky puppy owner because I have been able to know her for her entire life... ANYWAY... this is my puppy:

 

Day 1 - Guinea Pig stage... Still wet... not all the puppies are born yet. Ava is the brown one drinking... infront of the brown one with white on her. There were 9 all together... NINE!!!... Poor Cori (the mom)

Look at that big butt.. No wonder she ended up being the biggest puppy in the the litter!

This picture makes me smile EVERY SINGLE TIME... and it melts my heart and brings a little tear to my eye...

"seriously... stop taking my picture"

Ava makes a good pillow

Puppy nap time!

She was the first one to be able to get out of the puppy stall... climbed her way over 2 bales of hay. Sometimes she just chilled out on top of them.  Fun fact- she used to ride on the bale of hay that I was lifting into the wheelbarrow when she was this size... She STILL tries to go for hay bale rides some days. Except that now she is almost bigger than the bale of hay.

ABOVE: back view

BELOW: front view

<3 Long day of work <3

Tippy Supervising Puppy-Play-Time

Icicles don't make very good bones

First collar... and she was not very stoked about it!

It's pretty awesome when you get to cuddle with your brother...

... and your friend Scarlet

...Or both of them...

First hike

Trying to master getting out of the car by herself (its a long way down)

Helping in the kitchen

Playing in the mud  (that face is priceless)

stealing Fire-wood from the stack when you have perfectly good bones and dog toys to chew on... not cool

...helping at work...

"Hiking" at Barrier Lake (and by hiking, I mean, we intended to hike, but instead sat on the beach and let the dogs run around in the sand)

 Sourdough Bread AND Croisont assistant(s)

Sibling love (notice Ava's paw on Wilson's back)

Meeting her real Bio-daddy

CUDDLES.

"Helping" move hay during a wind storm

"Hey Carl, 'sup?"

"Helping" my mom make Lefse

Tasting the Lefse... It was Ava approved

Bath time... SO not impressed... EVERY time she has a bath... She tolerates it, but that is all.

WINTER... (was) here...

The best decision I have made in a while was taking Ava home with me... She is my best friend, and constant companion... We go everywhere together (to home, to work, to sleep... not shopping though , the store people would frown upon that).  There will be a ton more pictures of her on here... AND on intsagram... my new favourite iPhone addiction... FOLLOW ME THERE:

wlizardbreath

July 2011 Daring Baker Challenge: Fresh Fraisiers

Blog-checking lines: Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make Fresh Fraisiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

SIDE NOTE: I am trying to be more thoughtful (I don't know if that is really the word I'm going for, but it is the only one that comes to mind right now) about my pictures. Instead of posting them straight off the memory card, I am going to try and edit them a little before I post them... Hopefully this will make a difference and challenge me a little more.

Whew, this was a fun challenge. With delicious results. Since it was the boyfriend's birthday on the 15th, I made this as his birthday cake. Killed 2 birds with one stone, so to speak. I made this on the Saturday (the 16th). I got to sleep in until 8, then started whipping up the Pastry cream, followed shortly by the Chiffon cake (which I love, and will for sure be making again). I followed all the directions closely with the Chiffon cake and didn't change a thing.

With the pastry cream though, I used the recipe over at The Joy of Baking. I didn't really like the idea of the gelatin recipe that came with the challenge, so I wanted something that wouldn't make me cringe with the thought of where gelatin comes from.

Inside, I used strawberries and blueberries... and on the very inside, I just used cut up strawberries and a handful of blueberries. I topped the cake with whipped cream and more strawberries and blueberries, and a few cherries.

I will be making this cake again, although I will probably make it smaller, and use whipped cream in the middle instead of pastry cream. I think the lightness of the whipped cream would suit my taste buds better.

I am really proud of my challenge this month, and can't wait for this post to be posted. Also, make sure you go over to the Daring Kitchen website and check out the other Daring Baker's Creations.

(OH, also, I don't really like Marzipan, so no Almond Paste top for this girl, although the pretty pink top would've been nice)

I would have loved to have used my own strawberries in the cake, But they aren't quite ripe... we do get one or two every few days though, but not enough of a crop at one time for this whole cake.

Oreo Cupcakes

I have had cupcakes on the mind a lot lately. A new girl we have at work introduced me to Cupcake Wars. I'm kind of addicted now. You should watch it... It is incredible what they create in such a short amount of time. And with such weird ingredients. Watch the Sea World episode and you will know what I'm talking about.

This cupcake, I just HAD to try. I saw the recipe and I went and bought Oreos JUST to make these cupcakes. And OMG they are amazing. The recipe makes 24, But I scaled it back to 12. I also changed the frosting, from the original. I'm going to give you the ingredients for 24 cupcakes, since my conversion skills suck, But I did learn something new while Converting-something I should have probably known before. 1/8 cup = 2 TBSP, 1/4 cup = 4 TBSP
And one little bit of advice: Don't use the giant-sized muffin liners like I did.


Oreo Cupcakes
yield: 24, Original recipe: Annie's Eats

24 Oreo Halves, with cream filling attached.
2 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Butter
1 2/3 cup Sugar
3 large egg whites
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup milk
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (quarter them)



Preheat oven to 350 F; Line cupcake pan with paper liners. Place the Oreo halves in the bottom of each liner, Cream side up.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy at medium high speed. Blend in the egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the Vanilla. Turn the speed down to low, and beat in half the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, Then mix in the remaining dry ingredients (i did that last part by hand). Gently fold in the chopped Oreos until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.

Divide evenly between your prepared liners, Bake 18-22 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Whipped Cream Butter cream Icing
1/2 cup softened Butter
3 cups Icing sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 tsp Vanilla

Cream butter until REALLY light and fluffy
Slowly add Icing Sugar Vanilla and whipping cream until It is the right consistency for your taste. You want it Thick and Fluffy.

Put into a piping bag and pipe onto the cupcakes, And then top them with the other Oreo halves without the cream attached.

Vanilla Frosting Cookies

I just got my Challenge for June, for Daring Bakers... and I can't wait until the 27th to share it with you too! It is something I have wanted to make for a long time, but just never have, and now I HAVE to... excited!!

I still have a bunch of photos of things I made with my dad when I was at home. I'll try and harass him for the recipes and then show you on here sometime in the near future!

And I tried... I TRIED to make the cashew oat milk like Joy said... But I just couldn't drink it. It was nasty. If that floats your boat, then I applaud your taste buds, But I just couldn't stomach it. I really wish I had just eaten the raw cashews instead. and I'm really glad that I'm not lactose intolerant, because the cookie recipe I'm about to share with you is amazing dipped in milk if you cook them a little too long like I did. They are also good dipped in coffee.

When I saw these cookies, I HAD to try them. They have SPRINKLES! I have sprinkles in my cupboard... They have frosting IN them... I have frosting in my Fridge... match made in heaven!

I took a bunch to work, and they were a massive hit.... Sprinkles and Frosting, whats not to like?

Vanilla Frosting Cookies

1 1/2 cups Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking soda
3/4 cup Vanilla Frosting
1 egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup Sprinkles (more or less, whatever looks best to you)

Preheat the Oven to 350 F, and Line a cookie sheet with Parchment paper
Whisk the flour salt and baking soda together in a large bowl
In a separate bowl, Combine Frosting, egg, Vanilla and Sugar. Beat at medium/high speed for about 3 minutes
Add wet mixture to the Dry mixture and combine

Fold in the chocolate chips and the sprinkles



Drop by tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheet, and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
Enjoy!