World's Best Chocolate Cake

I discovered a recipe for an amazing chocolate cake. I've shared it with friends in Virginia and made it for my dads's birthday and now, I feel obligated to share it with the rest of the world. I can't take credit for it - I found it on Allrecipes. If you need an easy but AMAZING chocolate cake try this one :)

ngredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened


• 3 cups white sugar


• 5 eggs


• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract


• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water


• 1 cup buttermilk


• 2 cups all-purpose flour


• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder


• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder


• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.


2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the dissolved coffee and buttermilk. Pour batter into prepared pan.


3. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Some notes: I didn't use coffee, I just added 2 extra teaspoons of cocoa and mixed it into the boiling water. I also used the Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa (LOVE this stuff - seriously, never buy the regular again). I have a policy of not buying buttermilk since half the container goes to waste, so I use regular milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice - let it sit for 5 minutes. I found that it has to bake for 70 minutes in my oven - I made 2 under baked cakes back to back (I'm also the only person alive who doesn't like slightly under baked cake). Also, I had trouble getting it out of the pan when I used regular cooking spray but the baking cooking spray is amazing stuff. You can dress it up with mini chocolate chips in the batter or raspberries in the center. Or just dust with powdered sugar and eat :) This cake would not have been possible without my amazing sister Danielle giving me a bunt pan one year for Christmas or my friend Pheobe asking for a chocolate pound cake for her birthday - so thanks ladies!

Fears

Yesterday, I faced one of my fears. In order of most scary to least, my top five fears are as follows:

1. Spiders


2. Childbirth (to a lesser extent, pregnancy)


3. The dentist


4. Being horrible maimed in an accident (mostly the pain involved - in case you can't tell, I'm kind of weak)


5. Not having a good book to read (mostly a joke, but being without a book is kinda a big deal to me)

Yesterday, I faced one of my fears - the dentist. The news was not good - how could it be when I haven't gone to the dentist in YEARS and I eat candy like its my job?? And while it will be a small fortune to fix my cavities/have a root canal/get my wisdom teeth removed, I'm hoping that I'm able to keep my fears in check and keep going to the dentist for regular checkups. And a shout out to my new friend, nitrous oxide - dang, it was awesome being high as a kite!

I have no plans to conquer my fear of spiders anytime soon, just FYI or childbirth (trying to come up with a different plan for that since I hear I can't be on drugs for the nine months leading up to it).

Uninspired

Do you ever go through a period where you feel completely uninspired?  Story of my life at present moment. As of next week I will have both of my kids in school and I want to find things with which to fill my time. without feeling like I've wasted hours on some useless poo.

My personal Pinterest page is full of lovely and incredible ideas but I am left in a panic and feeling very anxious about my lack of awesomeness.  Pinterest is the devil of things that one will never accomplish in a lifetime.

Hopefully my trip out East next week will give me the inspiration I need in my life.  Coutdown t-minus 7 days!

 

~trixie

My mom is cool

I have a cool mom. She even reads our blog! Today I called her on my way to Target, and before I got off the phone, she tells me something really neat. By way of background, my mom is one of the most thoughtful mothers I know. Not just that she thinks about other people but she thinks about what she is doing and evaluates her decisions. Even though she was so very young, she thought long and deeply about what kind of mom she wanted to be. I admire that about her. So today she told me that when we were little, she wanted to raise us to think. To think about issues, to think about the world around us. And she did. Evidenced by the fact that my dad called me on the way home from work and I wanted to yell at him because how I think the world should be is different from how he thinks the world should be. My dad is awesome too. But my mom thought me to think so we sometimes disagree :)

Trending.....

Friendships post college is now a popular discussion!  Check out the link to this interesting article from the NY Times.  Man, they should have given me credit for this....

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/fashion/the-challenge-of-making-friends-as-an-adult.html?_r=1

We have MOVED!

Hey everyone! We have moved! We now blog at kumquatnjunebug.com. Please come check us out at our new home. :)

Why I no longer eat Chick-fil-A

Part of my job is to read the local newspapers, to get a feel for what and how they write in an effort to help my organization use the media to share our events. Today I came across some stories in my local paper talking about Chick-fil-A appreciation day. Apparently, gay marriage opponents are using today to show support for Chick-fil-A and for their very public stance  opposing gay marriage. And individuals that disagree with this stance are using today to demonstrate outside of the restaurants. I also follow local family event blogs, and some have posted questions on their facebook page, wondering if they should include Chick-fil-A events on their calendars. Sometimes the discussion has been polite and respectful, other times it has not.

When I heard a few weeks ago about the stance the owner of Chick-fil-A took on gay marriage and the fact that he gives money to organizations like the Family Research Council (an organization I believe spreads misinformation and causes harm) I decided that I would no longer eat their food. I mentioned this to Josh, who then jokingly said that he was going to lock me in a room for a few days with nothing but Chick-fil-A sandwiches - funny husband I have. But I choose to not eat their food not because they publicly made statement that I disagree with, but because I don't want my money going to certain causes/organizations. They have the right to feel the way they do and spend money the way they choose. I likewise have the same right. I make similar choices in other aspects of my life. I purchase products from The Body Shop because I support their fair trade/community focus. I purchase cosmetics that are not tested on animals even though they are more expensive.  I try to avoid clothing brands that have a history of using sweat shop labor.

Regardless of where you fall on the issue, I don't think we should use this as an opportunity to proudly post pictures of our Chick-fil-A sandwiches, or call those who are patrons of Chick-fil-A bigots and hatemongers. There are real people behind the issue - people who hold deeply held beliefs and have feelings.