Some things never change...and some things change a lot.

I haven't posted a recipe in about 21 months. I admit it: I abandoned this blog. I've thought about coming back. I've thought about never coming back. I've settled on the former. I don't really know if I could explain why; I don't really know if a psychologist could explain why, but I'm here and I even have a recipe to post later.

So, 21 months is a long time- Let's talk about some things that have changed since my last post.

• I don't buy margarine or shortening anymore. Let's face it, butter tastes better anyway, and it is actually healthier for you (I'm not saying you should eat a crap ton of butter. I'm just saying it is better than eating a crap ton of shortening). I also use coconut oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, etc. for my fats, as well as substituting out for fats when appropriate.
  
  
• I've had a kitchen upgrade! Look at that cute red wall (or well, the sliver of my cute red wall)! We bought a (town)home, so I got to paint my kitchen, yay! My appliances are much better now too, but I still don't have a gas stove. Someday, I will have a gas stove.
  
  
• My skills have gotten much more refined. I admit it, I'm a better cook than I was 21 months ago. I have a larger skill set and I do things better than I did then. I practice, a lot, and I take on more challenging recipes. It's really pretty awesome. I hope to continue to get better and better.
• I've learned to laugh at my failures. About a year ago, I made this amazing chocolate cake for a family party. It was four layers of cake (four!), filled with one layer of ganache, and two layers of beautiful (hand whipped) mousse. It was also frosted with a rich chocolate butter-cream, and it looked amazing! On the way to my in-laws house, my mousse layers started to melt, and the cake was sliding apart. I cried the entire 40 minute drive, and for about 20 minutes after we arrived. It tasted amazing, and once it cooled enough I was able to stack it back on properly, but I was still so devastated.
  
  Fast forward to last week. I was making a cake for my mom's birthday. Chocolate, because that is her favorite. My plan was to make a semi-sweet cake, fill it with dark chocolate ganache, top it with some milk chocolate butter-cream and finish it off with a bit more (thinner) ganache. My frosting turned out well, my ganache turned out great, and my cakes stuck not only to the pan, but also to the cooling rack. As I was trying to assemble my crumble cake, a large chunk flew off the cooling rack and into the trash can. My sister rushed to find the piece and help me salvage the cake.When she found out part of it was in the trash can, I just started laughing. I laughed the entire time I was putting the mess together. My cake was a huge mess, but it was okay, it was hilarious even. Good bakers have bad days, and I've learned that is okay. We ended up throwing some lion and dinosaur sprinkles on top and calling it good. Sprinkles make everything better.
• I have got some cool new kitchen gadgets! A knifty knife rack (see what I did there?), a food processor,  and adorable chalk board label canisters. I'm sure I have gotten other things too, but I don't have pictures of them.
• I won a cupcake contest! It was a small town contest, and I wasn't competing against that many other people, but hey, I won. I feel a bit more legit saying that I am a good cook when I have won a contest. Though this doesn't mean I support the cupcake craze (which happily seems to be dying down). If you are going to have a bakery, sell me more than cupcakes, the end.
  
• This:
  
  
  
  Has grown into this:
  
  
  I honestly don't know when this happened. She can actually do somethings in the kitchen that resemble help now.  She is a really awesome kid and she loves "being a maker in the kitchen" with mommy.
  
  The blog, overall, will probably be getting a few changes in the near future as well. I've been gone 21 months- it's probably time for an update. Some things will stay the same. The food will definitely still be tasty.