Peanut Butter Mud Bars [Wenatchee food photography]

When I found this recipe on the Bake or Break blog, I knew it would move immediately to the "make right away" mental list I keep running. Friday night was the first down time I've had in a while and despite the big snow we have right now, I ventured out for all the ingredients. It wasn't the easiest recipe but really nothing to shy away from and SO WORTH IT. Very good, rich, and with a cold glass of milk, really deserving "awesome dessert" status. I will make these again.

Friday 5 [Wenatchee photography + design]

1. We recently got a new couch, which led to a bit of a reorganize of the living room that exposed MORE WALL FOR HANGING ART. Yay! I was running out of wall space. This is a decent sized piece (13x25) listing my all time favorite music artists. The ones I've loved for years and imagine I always will. I'll be that grandma still listening to Eminem.
2. Had a two-family back-to-back mini-mini session last weekend. Quick way to get a few "Christmas card photos" without all the time requirements of a full session. I've shot both of these families before and it's always nice to see everyone and be amazed at how big the kids are getting!
3. Did you hear that this new Coke can, which donates part of the proceeds to helping Polar Bears, is being pulled because people complained it looked too much like the Diet Coke can? Are you kidding me? An absolutely gorgeous design that is being used for good, for the benefit of such an amazing creature that can surely use our help and that's all being scrapped because it confuses all the poor coke drinkers? I LOVE Coke -- grew up on it and think it kicks Pepsi's ass, but if it takes me a whole second longer to PAY ATTENTION and grab the right can to benefit something besides myself, then I'll do it. I'm equally pissed that people are so self-centered that they complained about their inability to read the can and also that Coke caved in and pulled the cans. Sure hope they still donate an equal amount without people purchasing the official can. (And I also think it's stupid that an organization capable of donating big money only does so if we jump through their hoops. You wanna' help the Polar Bears, just help them already.)
4. Have you heard of Pinterest? I'm sure you probably have, it's like a virtual bulletin board, where you can "pin" and categorize anything. Anything you find or see on the web, or that you can upload from your computer. The pin links back to the original site, so you can always get back to that information for later reference. Love the convenience of knowing "I saw it somewhere...." really is somewhere I can find again. Yummy recipe? It'll be in my "I want to taste this" board. Awesome DIY? It'll be in my "I want to make this" board. Easy-peasy. I've been on Pinterest for quite awhile and have quite a few boards -- so if you want to see them, just follow me.
5. I tried to make these adorable rainbow cupcakes for Indie's birthday this week. (Found them on Pinterest!) From the get-go, I had problems. But, I kept going and...ended up with a LOT of half-assed looking cupcakes. I wanted perfectly flat tops, not the domed, rounded cupcake tops I usually get. First batch were hugely rounded. Made a second batch, using my own brain to try and solve the problem. They were about half as round. Went to the internet to try and solve the problem and ended up with a third batch that was pretty flat, but when I tried to make them totally flat, using one of the tips I found online, all the tops ripped off. Sigh. Started a 4th batch, no kidding, and they weren't much better. I finally gave up and we had a TON OF CUPCAKES all over the kitchen. Fine if we were having a huge party. However there are only 4 of us here to eat them. Went to frost them and about half-way in realized I didn't have all the ingredients. So I winged it and the frosting, while tasting pretty good, had an odd consistency. The next day I added the white frosting "clouds" and went to the the store to buy the rainbow candies used for the rainbows. And after several stores, realized I was not going to have rainbows. I bought some "Fruit by the Foot" fruit snacks, because they were the closest things I could find. I quickly discovered they were too flimsy to hold the arc shape. But still, I soldiered on. Finished ALL THOSE CUPCAKES only to wake up in the morning (the actual birthday day) to find all the rainbow-fruit-by-the-foots had collapsed and the colors had bled into the blue frosting, which had also turned into an even weirder consistency. I can bake, really, but I do not know what gremlins were afoot in my kitchen this week. Luckily the taste-good gremlins still allowed them to taste REALLY GOOD, despite their ridiculous appearance (much worse than the in-progress photo here, because I refused to take their picture after they got so silly.)

Moist banana bread [Wenatchee food photography]

There are a zillion banana bread recipes out there and after tinkering around with a basic recipe, I came up with this one. It's super moist and for the first time, made me love a banana bread ALMOST as much as zuchini bread. The addition of chocolate chips on top adds a little something without adding TOO much. It's versatile. If you have 2 bananas, that's okay. If you only have all-purpose flour, use as much as you would if you added up the other flours/oatmeals. One kind of sugar, same thing. The only thing I wouldn't skip is the sour cream, it's the key to moist. But, feel free to substitute yogurt instead. I wrapped the individual mini-loaves in "Martha wrap", which is a brown parchment paper bonded to a thin aluminum foil. (In theory it sounds like a great product, but I'm not in love with it.) It did work well to make cute, little brown-paper wrapped loaves that stayed shut.

Blueberry muffins [Wenatchee food photography]

Muffins are so good, pretty easy, filling and delicious. But if I had to choose one, a standby, it would be the humble and common blueberry muffin. You can find them almost anywhere and they're (almost) always satisfying. It was what my mom made often, on weekend mornings or when we were camping, and what I remember as my favorite breakfast. Of course then, my mom made them from a box mix. Always with the little can of blueberries. My mom never drained the berries, always including the "juice" in with the called-for liquid. Added more flavor she said. I was an adult before I realized that blueberry muffins aren't supposed to be that greyish-greenish-blue in the batter.

This morning, nursing a sore body and skipping my Saturday morning at the gym, I decided blueberry muffins and scrambled eggs would be the perect start to the day. I love the internet, where a few clicks on the keyboard brings a multitude of options for just about anything. I chose this recipe from allrecipes.com and was not disappointed. The best part about muffins is the leftover ones waiting to be the perfect snack later in the day.

Peppermint Ice Cream [Wenatchee food photography]

My husband doesn't have a big sweet tooth and so his birthday came and went this past weekend with nary a cake or candle. But then Monday night he asked if I would make him homemade peppermint ice cream and, of course, I could not say no. I was curious if this recipe, which is so easy with only 3 ingredients, could be as good as he was wanting. His family used to own a Bresler's ice cream shop and his favorite ice cream was Peppermint so I knew he would be a good judge on its flavor. I made and froze it last night and tonight, after an old school dinner of pork chops, mashed potatoes and green beans (he cooks!), we finally got to dessert. His verdict is that it is "reallllly gooooood!" I'll take it.

Peppermint ice cream

1. 2 cups heavy cream
2. 1 (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
3. 1 package Starlight mints or candy canes, crushed
4. Red food coloring, if desired

Whisk sweetened condensed milk and crushed peppermints together in large bowl. Add 6-10 drops red food coloring, if desired. In separate bowl, whip heavy cream to stiff peaks. Gently but thoroughly fold whipped cream into sweetened condensed milk mixture. Spread into 2-qt. plasticware container with lid. Cover and freeze at least 6 hours or until firm.