Baking Bonanza

Throughout this pregnancy I have been craving anything and everything sweet. I don't care what, who, how or why, I just need something SWEET. Forget dinner, I'll take some cake. And maybe a cupcake for breakfast. And some brownies for lunch. Thank goodness for multi-vitamins, because I don't think I'd be getting the proper nutrition otherwise.

Most of my cravings have been satiated by my own baking. Although, I can't seem to figure out how to make a great Lemon Tart, so I will continue to turn to Raley's for that one. Shawn's employees are always so happy when I bake because I always make a huge batch, save about a fourth of it for home, then send the rest off to work with their boss. I like to think that's how he keeps his good name and well-loved stature. ;) My containers come home washed and ready to be refilled. I love that.

Hold on to your aprons and get your napkins ready because the following photos have been known to cause a drool effect.

Inspired by one of my favorite baking bloggers, Bakerella, I tried my hand at making some yummy cake balls. And, oh my goodness, were they delish!

Such a simple recipe: crumbled up cake (made from boxed cake mix) and mixed with one container of frosting (also store-bought).

Rolled into balls and allowed to set in the fridge for a few hours to overnight.

Then, dipped in melted chocolate and placed in cute little mini-cupcake liners. You can even get any color of the candy melts at Michaels and dip them in those. Then they'd be fit for any occassion!

Yum-o! These babies just melt in your mouth!

Next up are the super-rich and super-satisfying, feel-good recipe for Brookies - that's right. Half brownie, half cookies, my friends. I also got this recipe for my favorite Bakerella and I completely and utterly enjoyed them.

Look at that thick batter of deliciousness...

Rarely do I even bake anything with pecans as an ingredient, so it was a welcome change in flavor. These are absolutely spectacular and must be tried, if you haven't yet!

Next, I tried a recipe for Tres Leches Cake that I found in my Food Network magazine. The recipe caught my attention because the ingredients are so basic - so much that I had every single thing in my pantry, including the different milks, that I just had to give it a try. I'll admit, this one only came out so-so. After I searched for the recipe on foodnetwork.com, I found that it didn't get very good ratings. There are also many other ones, particularly by Emeril Legasse, that have gotten great reviews, so I think I will have to try my hand at Tres Leches again soon. One thing that shocked me was how much milk the cake soaks up! It must have been about three or four cups and the cake soaked up every last drop of it. Crazy.
If you don't know this already, Ina Garten aka the Barefoot Contessa, is my idol. I freakin worship her and her cooking and just LOVE watching her show. She is pretty much my version of Julia Child, except Ina doesn't wear pearls while she cooks. :) One day I was craving chocolate cake, so I found this recipe for Beatty's Chocolate Cake on foodnetwork.com. It turned out so rich and amazingly delicious, I couldn't stop myself from eating it all. I'm a total coffee lover and the coffee flavor in the cake was just ah-may-zing. I deviated a little bit and used a recipe for mocha frosting that my friend Ashley shared. It paired so well with this cake, it was unbelievable! Thanks, Ashley!

Ashley's Mocha Frosting Recipe
1/2 cup softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
2 tblsp cocoa (sifted)
2 tblsp HOT espresso or strong coffee
1 tsp vanilla

Sift powdered sugar and cocoa into the softened butter and moosh together. Add HOT espresso and vanilla.

*I always double the recipe. Nothing ruins a cake more than a cake without enough frosting.

Such a dream!!!!

Next up is a great recipe for Chocolate Bliss Cheesecake, which I found right off the box of Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Squares! :) I always love looking at the recipes on packages, because they are usually very simple and also very yummm.

In yet another simple recipe, an oreo cookie crumb crust PLUS

a creamy concoction of cream cheese and chocolate EQUAL

This super delicious chocolate cheesecake!

The last, but not least, recipe is one I found on epicurious.com (one of my favorite recipe websites) when I was trying to figure out a dessert to make with some ripe nectarines I had sitting in my kitchen. This Nectarine and Mascarpone Tart is a total knock-out!

An unexpected, yet perfectly paired, gingersnap crust. That's right, a box of gingersnap cookies run through the food processor.

The filling was a rich and creamy, but not too sweet, combination of mascarpone, cream cheese and sour cream. Topped with a brushing of peach jam, I had myself another delicious treat to share with family over dinner.

I love to bake, as you can see! And this is definitely not the last you'll see of this topic on my blog. So much fun to find great recipes and try them out at home. I've got lots of great people to share the finished product with and can't wait to make more. 'Til next time!

Halfway there...

When I received my weekly e-mail sent by Fit Pregnancy this morning, I was a little shocked after reading the first line: Hello, Katrina. Around now, you should feel a psychological boost: You’ve made it halfway already! I thought to myself, "WTH?", for two reasons. 1) Seriously? We are HALFWAY there? And 2) Seriously? I'm supposed to feel a psychological boost? Umm, the last few days it's been more of a psychological deflation.

I've had nausea from 2pm until whatever time it is that I'm finally able to wrestle myself to sleep. I've also had an f'ing migraine that has lasted 2 days and counting now for which I tried a new migraine rx my ob gave me that ended up making the pain worse and even added pressure to the otherwise lacking list of ailments. Whoever said that the second trimester is the "honeymoon stage" of pregnancy needs to be kicked somewhere that hurts because this pregnancy has been kicking my ass since the day we found out.

It's been hard...but it has also been exciting. Exciting to go to the dr every few weeks with the boys and let them hear their new baby's heartbeat. Exciting to be laying in bed ready to throw up, then suddenly feel the movements of our little miracle fluttering around in my belly. Exciting to be laying on the couch and have the boys run up to me and say, "I want to give our baby a kiss." They can't wait to meet their new little sibling and I can't wait to to start our new voyage with a beautiful new addition to our family and create more unforgettable memories. I'm already imagining the immediate burst of energy I will have as soon as I pop this baby out!

Halfway there....that's all I can keep saying to myself to get me through these difficult days. We are all halfway there....

A week of soccer camp comes and goes...

Last week, the boys participated in British Soccer Camp led by Challenger Sports. I thought this program was a pretty cool one because they bring over college-aged soccer players from Europe and let them teach soccer to kids. It's a great win-win situation, because the coaches get explore a foreign country while teaching what they love and the kids get to learn soccer! Being that they were imported, it is needless to say that the coaches were these adorable boys with accents to die for. haha! One was from Ireland and the other was from Manchester, England. I'm sure that's irrelevant, but they sure were cuties!!!

Here were the boys on Day 1 of camp.

And here they are on the final day with their coaches. The one on the left is Isaiah's, Coach Kevin. And the one on the right is Mikey's, Coach Mike. I know, same name! Neato, right?!

The boys getting their balls signed. Their SOCCER balls, in case I have to clarify for all you sick-minded people out there. haha!

Wouldn't it be so awesome if they were actually able to hold onto these very soccer balls for a long, long time and one day they will be all grown up and remember, "Hey, this soccer ball was from when we did soccer camp that one year. Remember that, Mikey"? heehee Ok, I know...I'm sure my kids won't be as sentimental as I am.

That's right, people. White with a grey stripe.

Last weekend, Isaiah was invited to the belt promotion ceremony at his academy so that he could be promoted one belt level. In order to be promoted they, obviously, consider his skill level and ability, but another huge factor is the number of stripes on his belt. Each time he completes 20 classes, he receives one stripe on his belt. In order to be promoted, a student has to have at least 4 stripes on their belt. So, 80 classes at 3 classes per week (sometimes only 2 if we are out of town on Saturdays)...do the math and you can see the time and dedication that went into this promotion. Not only dedication from Isaiah, who attended all the classes, but dedication from ME, who had to drive him to every single one and entertain two screaming little bros for an hour while we wait for him! What the hell do I get out of this?! lol Oh yeah...bragging rights. :)

Before they began handing out belts, the kids did some drills and a few rounds of sparring. Here are a few shots of Isaiah in action.

Arm bar on Opponent #1

Trying to get mount on Opponent #1. Nice, firm base, Isaiah!
Arm bar on Opponent #2.
In case you can't tell, the arm bar is Isaiah's submission of choice. It's a motion of getting his opponent's arm and hyperextending it. Not sure why or how this became one of his favorite submissions, but he is damn good at it. You can see the motion of his opponent's hand as he taps.

Cross choke in another round with Opponent #2.Getting his belt from Charles Gracie himself. Apparently, Charles Gracie is something big in the jiu-jitsu realm. He has academies all over the Bay Area, Central Valley and even Truckee/Reno. We are fortunate that his home academy is the one in Tracy, so Isaiah is able to train with him frequently.

The kids that were promoted at this ceremony. These kids come from ALL of the academies. So that's another reason why we are lucky Tracy is Charles' home base...we didn't have to drive far and wide to get to this ceremony! These kids had to come from all over the place.

See the little girl with the white gi with pink collar? That will be our little Charlie in about four years! haha!

Posing with Mikey and Isaiah's BFF, Jake, who came to support his friend.

We picked up a nice shadowbox to display his old belt and medals. Not bad for a 6-year-old!! :)

We are a year and a half into the sport and Isaiah has developed immensely. He's already a pretty scary kid...I can't imagine when he's a teenager who's been practicing for 10+ years. I really think that martial arts is such a great outlet for kids. It has built his confidence, self-esteem, and most importantly, his self-control. No matter how good he gets at this stuff...the only place he exercises it all is on the mat at his gym...or maybe on the mat in our garage...because that is his very own personal dojo. :)