Roaring Run Trail Hike

Well, hi there!

This is a trial run of posting about hikes and other shenanigans as I live out life in Virginia. Because life is so much more than delicious food, right?

Maybe not so much. But it sure can be beautiful.

 I spent the Christmas holiday alone this year (sucks, I know). So in the spirit of Christmas and just wanting to get out and do something for myself, I went solo hiking (I know, Mom...) at Roaring Run Trail in southwest Virginia.













 It was stunning. For my first solo hike, it was an easy trail, out and back, with little to no chance of me getting injured and stranded for hours in the Virginia wilderness (jackpot). Note to self: Pick a day when more people are out and about. I only spotted one family on the trail that day; instead of visions of sugarplums and whatnot, all I could think about were serial killers, black bears, and whether mountain lions had ever made their way back to Virginia. DON'T THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS.

Especially when solo hiking. Focus on the positives, people, focus on the positives. Like waterfalls and immersing yourself in the history of the area.

It's an easy out-and-back trail that is about 1.5 miles in length (3 miles total if you take the trail I took). It's pretty flat and well traveled, which makes it a good hike for those who want to see gorgeous scenery, enjoy the Virginia landscape, and not over-exert themselves.

Plus you get to see a natural water slide (see above), the falls (check out the left), and an old (now defunct) iron furnace-- all of which make the hike worth the trip.

I hear that there is a pretty good craft brewery not too far from the trail, which is something I intend to check out the next time I'm out that way. I'm crossing fingers that winter weather will soon be here so temps will drop and the falls will freeze over. It would make the hike that much better in the winter. Oh, and a good snowfall. Because snow hiking is the best. We'll see!




Until next time...

Note: All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Savory Bread Pudding with Roasted Vegetables

It's feeling a bit blustery around these parts. And by blustery, I mean a balmy 40 degrees (so warm for mid-November). Bring on the sub-zero temps and snow!

Because you know what that means...

It's time to bulk up for hibernation with ALL THE CARBS. How could one resist? I mean, look at those delicious morsels of yeasty goodness above. (And for those of you who loathe carbs, well, deal.)

 Don't worry, I'll balance it out with some veggies (peppa, zucchinis, shrooms...)

(Can we just note for the record that indoor lighting is AWFUL for pictures. Do you see these pictures?! Awful. Natural light is the way to go people... but being at school from o'dark thirty to o'dark thirty kills the ability to get said light. This is my life's struggle. Le sigh.)

But, let's make up for the sucky stunning pictures. There are carbs to be eaten! And cheese to be melted all over the bread morsels! Oh, the comfort of it all! And then there are veggies (to keep the scurvy away... or was that fruit?).

To be honest, I was super tentative about this recipe at first. Actually, backtracking 15ish years, I was appalled at the very idea of a bread "pudding." I mean, who makes a dessert out of a loaf of bread. Who makes a pudding out of bread? Weirdos.  Just eat the damn baguette. Plus, my mom liked (likes?) bread pudding the best. 

For any teenager out there:

(Does anyone else love those skits? ...Bueller? ...Bueller? Just me? I have no life, people, no life.).

But I have seen the light! The glorious, delicious light (that is so obviously not present in these pictures). And I became "cultured" to the world of exotic foods, like bread pudding! So, naturally, the next best thing is to make that sweet dessert bread pudding as savory as possible (salty fo' life) and really trash it up with cheese and whatever else I can find.

(Ugh, this lighting.)

This was probably one of the easier meals that I have made as of recent. And I LOVE easy meals (and any excuse to eat an entire baguette among me, myself, and I). Oh, and there was wine. Yeah, that happened, too.

The flavors are amazing. I loved the rosemary but think I went a bit over the top (Note: Do not use ALL THE ROSEMARY for ALL THE CARBS. It's a bad idea. Did I mention the wine? That may or may not have been a factor in my excitedness).

That aside, this is a definite brunch dish (love me some brunch #basicwhitegirl). Also, it is highly versatile, and I would love to vary it by adding in Gorgonzola or maybe some Jarlsberg cheese. (Side story: I once had a roommate who hated Jarlsberg and another who stated that Gorgonzola was only "okay." #whydoyouhatecheese #unamerican #howdidieverlivewiththem).

Maybe some baby bella mushrooms would go well with this in place of the standard white? #teamjacob #absfordays #notafterthiscarbfest #allthehashtags

And, I'm done (being obnoxious that is).

Savory Bread Pudding with Roasted Vegetables
adapted from Carolina Girl Cooks

1/2 of a day old baguette (or more, because you know you want to)
1 red pepper, cut in bite size pieces (green works just fine, for the budget savvy)
1 medium zucchini, cut in bite size pieces
1/2 large sweet onion, sliced
8 oz package of sliced mushrooms (baby bellas!)
1 Tbsp of fresh chopped rosemary (do not add more, I repeat, do not add more)
1 Tbsp of olive oil
6 eggs
3/4 cup cottage cheese (feel free to use slightly less here)
1 clove of garlic, roughly minced
1/3 cup of fresh grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat yo oven to 400 degrees. On a big baking sheet, lay out the pepper, zucchini, onion and mushrooms in a single layer.  Drizzle the olive oil over the veggies and toss to coat. Top the veggies with the chopped rosemary and then sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the vegetables have cooked down and are browned.

While the veggies are cooking, cut the baguette into cubes and place it in a baking dish.

Place the 6 eggs, cottage cheese, garlic clove and another sprinkle of salt and pepper in a food processor (or blender, whatevs). Blend until smooth. (Seriously blend the bejeebers out of this. Otherwise stuff gets weird. Seriously, weird.)

Put the cooked veggies over the baguette in the baking dishes. Stir together. Pour the egg mixture over the veggie mixture. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the bread pudding. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the eggs have set and the top of the pudding is browned and crisp.

Omgosh #carbs

Apple Pie Cake

Soooo....

Time to enter my new life phase of "getting it together." I'll be honest with you: stuff got hairy for a while, between finishing grad school, moving (again), getting a job, and attempting to make friends/connections in my new place. A lot of things (that I really enjoy) got lost along the way. So now, I'm finally in a place where I am ready to rearrange my life to make time for things I enjoy. This blog is at the top of my list, along with making/investing in friends. Oh, and hiking. Hiking, a lot.

(This is my backyard. I repeat: this is my backyard. MOUNTAINS!)

Example 2:

Example 3:

Needless to say, with everything that's been going on over the past 1.5 years, the little place where I hang out with all of my invisible internet friends has been.... neglected.

But, I'm back. [cue music]

Why? Because he was flipping through my pics the other day and started laughing (really hard, I mean, hysterics) at the pictures of my recipes (that I've been stockpiling for a year. Hello. My name is Jil, and I hoard pictures of food.). Pictures that he claimed "would never see the light of day."

I punched him. Hard. And then began working on a post, slowly working on a post. Because like before, life gets busy and cooking is a luxury for the weekends.

But, I found time to make cake! Well, pie. Cake? Apple pie cake?

It was gone in 3 days. Ugh, I need an intervention. #helpme

It's a flaky pie crust with a homemade apple pie filling, which is standard and whatev. But then, you go and POUR CAKE BATTER over the top, which seeps into all of the airy crevices and literally turns what would have been a pie into a CAKE... that is now inside of a PIE. It is literally CAKE in a PIE or maybe PIE in a CAKE. Semantics. Whatever it is, it's genius.

This cake-pie changed my life. The possibilities are endless! I mean, what if I poured pumpkin cake inside of an apple pie? Or pumpkin cake inside of a pecan pie? My tastebuds would be in basic girl heaven #PSL
This dish is perfect for fall. I actually plan on making it for Thanksgiving this year (and there goes any surprise). It's moist, carb-filled, and perfect for those crisp fall days. Just be sure to throw on some caramelized apples. And ice cream. Because trashed-up food is the best food. #nojoke

Apple Pie Cake
(adapted from Diethood <--Ha!)

Crust
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
• 2 ounces Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese (<-- This stuff is amazing.)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons cold water

Filling
• 6 Honeycrisp apples, cored and thinly sliced (or about 5 cups of apple slices) [<--Note: I'm an apple snob. Honeycrisp. It's the way to go. Feel free to leave the skins on. The texture was perfect.]
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2-cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg, to taste (I added at least a 1/2 tsp.)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

Topping
• 1/2-cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Prepare Crust
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, whole-wheat pastry flour and salt.
• Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in butter and cream cheese; cut until the mixture is crumbly.
• Stir in oil; stir until mixture is completely moistened.
• Add water and toss with a fork to combine.
• Lightly flour your work area and knead the dough for 30 seconds.
• Shape dough into a ball, press into a disk and wrap in plastic-wrap.
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  
Prepare Filling.
• Place apple slices in a mixing bowl and toss with lemon juice.
• Add light brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; toss to combine.
• Sprinkle with flour and toss to combine; set aside.
• Remove prepared dough from fridge.
• Lightly grease a 9-inch pie dish with baking spray and set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 14-inch circle.
• Transfer dough to prepared pie dish; press dough firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the dish.
• Prick the dough in several places with a fork.
• Place back in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  
Prepare Topping
• In a small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder; whisk until combined and set aside.
• In your mixer's bowl, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla; beat for 1 minute or until pale yellow and fluffy.
• Add flour mixture to egg mixture; set mixer on low and continue to mix until combined, about 15 seconds.
  
  Final Steps
• Preheat oven to 425.
• Remove prepared crust from fridge.
• Spoon previously prepared apple-mixture into the crust.
• Pour cake batter over apples.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is lightly browned and set.
• Remove from oven and let cool at least 20 minutes.
• Serve.

 All of the apples.

Mint Chocolate Muddy Buddies

Let's talk about mistakes.

Like when you take a "forever" email address, create a blog, and then are told that the domain is changing. And so you're like "Oh, I have a year; I'll copy my posts to a new blog later and everything will be great." And then later shows up sooner than expected and everything is not great but gone.

Oops.

Or that time you make muddy buddies (or puppy chow, whatevs) and it comes out as a chunk of chocolate with some chex thrown in and sprinkles of powdered sugar on top. Not the same as momma makes, my friends, not the same. Note. That experience was back in college, and I totally subjected my friends to the disaster and made them eat it. Poor them.

So, this past week, I spent a few hours of my spring break re-creating my blog and playing around in the kitchen making muddy buddies with mint chocolate. Best thing ever!

I also did a bit of relaxing and refueling, in between writing papers, of course.

Needless to say, schtuff got done.


Confession: I totally made the muddy buddies for the boy. But he was late coming home because of an exam (ew.) and had to deal with having a few less than when I started. I was hungry, he was late, these things happen. #SorryI'mnotsorry

Mint Chocolate Muddy Buddies
From Shugary Sweets

• 8oz chocolate Baker's Chocolate (or chocolate bark)- I used semi-sweet
• 2/3 of a 3.5oz Mint Chocolate Bar (Endangered Species or Green & Black) - I just broke the bar
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 5 cups Rice Chex cereal
• 1 bag York Peppermint Patty Candies (the ones like M&Ms)

In microwave, melt chocolates together for one minute, stir and continue melting in 30 second intervals until smooth. (It took about 2.5 - 3 minutes total). 

 

In a large mixing bowl, combine cereal with melted chocolate. Folding with a large wooden spoon until all cereal is coated.

 

In a large, gallon sized ziploc bag, add powdered sugar. Spoon in chocolate cereal mixture. Seal bag and shake until powdered sugar is coating all the cereal completely. Pour onto a large piece of wax paper and allow chocolate to set. 

 

Combine candies with chex. Indulge!

 

Note. I halved the original recipe because it was just for the boy and I. For the full batch, double the above.

 So minty. So chocolatey. So good...