Sistah Sistah!

I love you sisters!  Heidi my little sister just sent me this awesome photo of us when we were little.  Check out how well it captures our personalities.  And if you have seen Horton Hears a Who then you know how well Kelly my youngest sister looks just like Katie that weird little fluffy kid that was in Horton's class.  Ha Ha how perfect, thanks Heid and thanks for the shot up your skirt!  woo hoo!

Hey you Valentine's Day Pathetics!

So, it was brought to my attention that people have crappy taste in movies.  Jenny and I didn't want to think for ourselves tonight and thought, "Hey, lets see what movies other people recommend for Valentine favorites." This is what was recommended, Cinderella, Sleepless in Seattle, Kate and Leopold and other such ridiculous movies.  Gag me.  So this is a list comprised of movies that Jenny and I think make the cut for worthy Valentine's Day movies in no particular order, except alphabetical.

- Amelie

- Chocolat

- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

- Garden State

- Love Actually

- A Man and a Woman

- P.S. I love you

- Pride and Prejudice

- The Princess Bride

- Stranger than Fiction

Boo Yah!

Some Recent Artwork

Ralph and I are sick at home the last few days... one of the downsides of being a new teacher is that you get to catch everything goes around the school.  Luckily for Ralph his immunity will be built up too.  So I decided to post some of my recent artwork, most of these have been given as gifts to all my wonderful Dad's but I was hoping by posting this I will be inspired to actually paint more, if only I had lots of time and inspiration.  Most of these are inspired by special places, Lake Powell, Capitol Reef, and Toquerville.  The barn painting is of the Toquerville barn built by Scott's grandfather.  

Bye Bye Star Valley Cabin

I ditched Ralph last weekend and went up to our Star Valley Cabin with my fam for the last time ever.  We are selling our cabin which is hard we've had so many wonderful memories there.  But we had a great time this weekend, extreme sledding, cross-country skiing, reading, snuggled up with hot cocoa and a warm fire.  More than anything it was great to get away from the inversion in the salt lake valley, yuck!

sledding with the sistahs!

Wahoo!

Stirrup Pants....thats all I have to say.

Chocolate Blackout Cake

Chocolate Blackout Cake

serves 10 to 12

Pudding:

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 cups half & half

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cake:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pans

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 cup brewed coffee

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE PUDDING

1. Cook the granulated sugar,, chocolate, half & half, milk, cornstarch and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat, whisking occassionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture begins to buble, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Transfer the pudding to a large bowl and refrigerate, with plastic wrap pressed flush against to surface, until cold and set, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

FOR THE CAKE

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 8"inch cake pans. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off the heat, whisk in the coffee, buttermilk, and sugars until dissolved. Whisk in the flour mixture. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and smooth with a spatula.

2. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers come out clean, 30 to 35 mintes, rotating the cake pans halfway through baking. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. Cool the cakes to room temperature before frosting, at least 1 hour.

TO ASSEMBLE

1. Using a large serrated knife, slice each cake into 2 even layers. Crumble 1 cake layer into medium crumbs and set aside. Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or cardboard round. Spread 1 cup of the pudding over the cake layer and top with another layer. Repeat with 1 cup more pudding and the last cake layer. Spread the remaining pudding evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the cake crumbs evenly over the top and sides of the cake, pressing lightly to adhere the crumbs. Slice and serve.

Where things can go wrong: make sure to give the pudding and the cake enough time to cool or you'll end up with runny pudding and gummy cake.

This cake was a huge hit at our recent Family Christmas Party but be warned it is very rich and SO fantastic!

Christmas Tree Cutting

We got a Christmas Tree permit while we were in Capitol Reef at Ralph's Family's cabin this weekend.  It was great, we found a cute little guy that is the perfect size for our little apartment.

Ralph and his silly brothers

Hiking to Hickman Bridge in Capitol Reef