Summer Projects (Pina Colada Scones)

Happy First Full Day of Summer!!  It's been a busy few weeks - I started my new job two weeks ago!  So far, I love it.  It's interesting and challenging, and I'm learning more from my preceptor than nursing school ever taught me.  The other nurses on the floor are extremely helpful and sweet, and I'm starting to feel like I fit in.  The twelve hour shifts have taken a little getting used to, but I'm loving the schedule of working 3 days a week.  Not having to wear bright yellow scrubs that scream "student!!  student!!" is pretty sweet, too.

We've also been organizing, cleaning, painting and moving furniture to get ready for Hennebaby's arrival.  I know we have plenty of time before November, but Hubby and I are too excited to wait any longer.  Our next ultrasound is scheduled for the first week of July, and we should be able to find out Hennebaby's sex then.  Then the real fun begins!!  :-)

In the midst of all this, I have been in the kitchen occasionally, but until today I haven't made anything else.  I had a craving for Pineapple Slush and Blueberry Tarts, which I indulged, but until today I hadn't made anything new.  This morning, I opened my fridge, pushed past the the milk, the half empty cartons of strawberries and the chicken leftovers to find these little guys:

Baby Steps... (Key Lime Cheesecake)

Hennebaby is 13 weeks!  We had our first ultrasound last week - it was incredible to see this tiny little life bopping around inside of me.  I can't wait until I get a bump and can start to feel the little guy (or girl) in there!  This itty bitty little person that we made.  That we're responsible for creating and growing and nurturing for the rest of its life.

And that is itself responsible for all the craziness going on in my body.  So far this week has been a little better, but I'm still scared to eat normal food.  I've been carbing it up since I got sick - toast, granola bars, scones, if it's flour based I eat it.  I'm hoping that this week I can get up the courage to eat a salad.  I never thought I would miss vegetables quite like I do now.   Our 2nd anniversary was on Monday, and when we went out to dinner I took a risk and had zucchini fritti for an appetizer - I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. 

The End, Finally (Homemade Samoas)

Well, folks, we did it.  My classmates and I are officially nurses!!  Last Saturday was our exit exam, and I passed with flying colors (not to brag, haha).  It was a crazy, wild ride, and while I can't honestly say that I enjoyed every second of it, I'm definitely grateful for the experience.  

So now that insanity is over, I'm recovering from a year of no sleep and mucho stress.  This past week has been blissfully relaxing.  I should start working in May, once I take the boards and get my license, but until then I have a few things going on that I'll share over the next few weeks.  I have some new ideas on where to take the blog, and I hope that my readers (all three of you, haha) will be excited.  More about that later.  On to the main event!

Put the lime in the coconut... (Coconut Cookies)

Sometimes, you have to step back from the textbooks and allow life in.  Last week was a busy week, and we needed something in my house to get us through.  Layla was sick, for the first time since we've had her.  She's much better now, but it was a little scary when she wouldn't eat anything!  Now, two trips to the vet and $700 later, she's taking her doggie Pepcid and seems to be feeling just fine.  Speaking of the pupster, I found a great pet blog, Pawcurious.com.  It's written by a vet and has some great information for doggies and their humans.  If you have a furry BFF, definitely check it out!

Also, we have a new tenant now, my younger sister who is in school in Philly.  She's decided to get out of the city and enjoy suburban life for a while, which means only one thing: another built in taste-tester!  To celebrate her move to Jersey, I made these summery sandwich cookies, using the recipe for coconut cookies and lime icing.  These little citrus delights are sweet and sour at the same time, and melt in your mouth.  Next time I would probably make the cookies a little smaller, or bake them while the dough has warmed up so that they flatten out a little bit, to make them more sandwich like, as opposed to coconut gobs. 

Hubby the hand model :-)

Mmmm, gobs.  That's a thought....

Anyway, back to summer.  As it dwindles to a close, this might be my last truly summer dessert to post.  I have a lot of things lined up as autumn treats, and some fun things to post this week.  But for now, put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up...

Coconut Cookies

1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1-1/3 cups shredded coconut

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl; set aside. Beat the butter and both sugars until creamy, then add the vanilla and egg. Slowly add the flour mixture until combined. Add the coconut. Drop by the heaping teaspoon onto a lined baking sheet, about 2-3 inches apart (they will spread quite a bit). Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. 

Lime Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp

2 tablespoons lime juice
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lime zest

green gel food coloring

 Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add lime juice and mix until incorporated.  Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until the icing is at your desired consistency (I like mine to be able to hold its shape).  Mix in the lime zest and green food coloring as desired.  Spoon into a pastry bag and dollop onto the bottom of a cooled cookie.  Top with another cookie.  Store in the refrigerator.  

"But mom, cookies would make my tummy feel better!"

Keep it going... (Cran-Coco Oatmeal Bars)

Week 6 of clinicals, complete!   This nursing program is all about endurance.  Midterms weren't as bad as they could have been, and the little three day weekend was much needed.  It was hard to get up and go back on Monday, but I'm excited to see what we're going to learn for the rest of the quarter.  We're getting close to being halfway done.  It's weird to think about how much we've learned and how much we can do now, that we couldn't back in March.  It's also humbling to realize how much more we have to learn until we're even close to being nurses!

To keep my spirits and energy up for this marathon, I've been dreaming about some sort of oatmeal/cranberry bar type thing for a few days now.  In my mind, it incorporates my newly discovered almond flour and dried cranberries with chewy oatmeal goodness.  Preferably not dripping in butter or covered in white sugar.  So I set about finding a recipe for this idea of goodness, only to find...nothing.  Zip.  Zilch.  Nada.  So, in typical fashion, I decided, fine, I would do it myself.

These bars are pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.  Hubby and my carpool buddy agreed, so I'm satisfied.  You could probably add whatever dried fruit you wanted, but after much contemplation, I opted for my favorites:  dried cranberries and coconut.  A little sweet and filling without being heavy and overbearing.

 

(chewy goodness with no butter!)

Cran-Coco Oatmeal Bars
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 canola oil
3 egg whites
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 to 1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup flaked coconut

Beat together sugar, oil, egg whites in a large bowl.  Combine flours, salt and baking powder in a small bowl.   Add dry mixture to wet mixture until incorporated.  Mix in oats, then cranberries and coconut.  Spread in a baking dish (mine was 9x56) and bake at 350 for 25-26 minutes, until edges are golden brown.  Cool completely before slicing.

Coo Coo for Coconuts! (Coconut Drop Cookies)

The muffins that I made the other day were a big hit with hubby; I, personally, thought it was the coconut streusel that sealed the deal. I love coconut. Love everything about coconut. You can drink it, bake it, sprinkle it, roll iced things in it - there is nothing you can do with coconut that I will not adore. Aaaaaand, since I already had my oven on today for bread...coconut cookies it is!!

Coo Coo for Coconut Cookies
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1-1/3 cups shredded coconut


Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl; set aside. Beat the butter and both sugars until creamy, then add the vanilla and egg. Slowly add the flour mixture until combined. Add the coconut. Drop by the heaping teaspoon onto a lined baking sheet, about 2-3 inches apart (they will spread quite a bit). Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Try not to eat them all before you're done!

Turtles and Muffins (Strawberry Colada Muffins)

(Like the new look? I got creative today!)

So cute when they're little!

Hubby and I had a day off together yesterday, and we spent it at the shore. We found this little guy on the sand down by the water. Adorably awesome! I wanted to keep him, by Bob made me send him back to the sea...

Inspired by the turtle, I found my recipe for caramel-chocolate-pecan brownies, and I was all set to make turtles for turtles, but honestly...it's hot. It's not the kind of weather for 15 pound, buttery brownies. So I was instead inspired by the sand and the surf (OK, so we live in New Jersey, and the surf isn't like "surf", but well, ya know...) and I felt that we needed something tropical to nom on. Luckily, on the same page in my big blue binder o' recipes, was a muffin recipe. I pulled out my trusty glass bowl, grabbed the coconut from the top shelf of the cabinet and - voila - strawberry colada muffins!




Strawberry Colada Muffins
(This recipe makes the BEST muffins I've ever had, soft and moist and delicious, so sometimes I use it for other kinds of muffins. I used my new jumbo muffin pan and made 6, but you can easily use the standard 12 cup pan and have a dozen.)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
strawberry jam
1/4 cup coconut
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil


Combine coconut, 1 tbsp flour, brown sugar and 1 tbsp oil in a small bowl until thoroughly mixed; set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, combine egg, milk and oil, add at once to dry ingredients and stir only until dry ingredients are moist. Spoon into muffin cups to 1/3 full. Drop 1 tsp-1tbsp jam into the center, cover and seal with remaining batter until 2/3 full. Top with 1 tbsp of the coconut mixture, pat down into the batter. Bake at 375 for 16-20 minutes.

Nom nom nom! :-)