Sunday, November 27, 2011

Angel Food Cake

One of my favorite things about baking well is when someone tells me that they don't like a particular dessert, but that the one I made is really good. I've had that experience a couple times with angel food cake. Angel food cake can be a hated dessert. I blame store-bought and box-made cakes that taste like cardboard. And the fact that it is touted as health food turns people off.

Homemade angel food has small holes throughout that create a light bouncy texture. It should yield to a knife without getting smooshed when you cut it. I have a very cool knife that I use to cut angel food, chiffon and other light sponge cakes. It helps the slices keep their shapes.

This cake was served with creme fraiche and fresh strawberries. It was the dessert for a picnic at an orchestra concert at Blossom that was moved indoors (inside a car) because of rain.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Lake Erie Island

I visited some friends on Kelleys Island this summer and saw new things that I didn't see a few years ago like Inscription Rock and the Glacial Grooves.



Hey look! Glacial Grooves!


One of the scenic photo ops while walking around the Glacial Grooves.

Interesting rock formation in the lake.

View from the Jet Express.


Jet Express dock.

Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station.

Boats. Probably boat drinks.


View of Cedar Point from Lake Erie.


Hotel and rides.

Coasters, etc.



This is an awesome restaurant in Huron, Ohio.


LEMmy!


LEMmy's is named after the Lake Erie Monster. I like how there is a specific look to the monster. He's a friendly lake monster. Next time I'm in the area I am definitely stopping for a bite.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Applesauce Cake

I wanted to bake something without having to go to the grocery store so I used the recipe finder, which lets you search by ingredients, on Allrecipes.com to come up with Applesauce Cake. This cake was just about alright. Not too sweet, loaded with raisins and walnuts, but not so flavorful. I might not make this ever again, but it served a purpose.

Friday, November 04, 2011

Zucchini Nut Cupcakes

These were made for a co-worker's birthday. When I asked him what kind of cupcakes he wanted, he stated "something with cream cheese frosting." I came up with a couple of options (after vetoing his first choice of carrot cake cupcakes since I had just brought those in for another co-worker's last day of work), and he picked zucchini nut cupcakes.

I had taken a couple pictures of the cupcakes when I noticed this particular cupcake had a green strip of the shredded zucchini showing through the side. The cupcakes were light, but not airy, and had a definite cupcake texture (compared to the typical zucchini muffins). If you try the linked recipe check the cupcakes at about 20 minutes since the 45 minutes listed can't possibly be right. I believe this is the recipe I used. I forgot to save it when I made them. Maybe add a little nutmeg.

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Ohio Wine Trail

A few friends and I spent a weekend in Ohio wine country this past summer. We went on a tour of the wineries on the Lake Erie Vines and Wines Trail, which is east of Cleveland. I wasn't fastidious about taking pictures of every place we stopped but took enough to give the flavor of the trip.





Grape vines outside of our first stop, Tarsitano Winery and Cafe.





The place was cute inside and out. The cafe wasn't open since we got there kind of early, but we sampled some wine. Like a lot of Ohio wineries, the sweet ones were better than the dry.





Covered bridges dot the trail and are tourist attractions in their own right.





The next stop was the Old Firehouse Winery, which is in the resort town of Geneva-on-the-Lake. There was a wine festival going on in the park next to the winery so we had the benefit of being entertained while we drank. I got their Pink Crush Cooler, which is described as "a refreshing blend of wine, soda and cherry juice served in a souvenir pitcher with ice." It was a sweet delicious concoction that I would order again in a heartbeat. The ultimate girly drink.








Fun resort town tourist traps!





Authentic Hawaiian Shave Ice on the shores of Lake Erie!









Views from the deck of our next stop, The Lakehouse Inn and Winery.



Even on a cloudy day, the view was beautiful. The wine sampler here came with a souvenir glass.






We stopped for ice cream at Mr. C's, which was near our hotel. Then we ended the night at Laurello Vineyards & Winery, where some older patrons were in their cups. It was a decent place to hear live music and had fairly good wine.






The next day, we headed back to Geneva-on-the-Lake and wandered around a little. We stopped at Madsen Donuts where I personally purchased too many doughnuts.




We happened to drive through the quaint town of Ashtabula, which was holding their 3rd Annual Harbor Beach Glass Festival on the weekend we visited. The Harbor's Lift Bridge went up just for us!




I bought of bunch of jewelry at the festival, mostly necklaces made with the many colors of beach glass.


After lunch we hit a few more wineries. Here is the fountain on one of the outside patios of Ferrante Winery and Ristorante.



For a change of pace, we sampled beers at the Cellar Rats Brewery at Chalet Debonne Vineyards. The darker beers were my favorites.


Our last stop was Grand River Cellars Winery & Restaurant where we had dinner and more wine. We ate on the deck where we caught the end of a jazz band's set. I got the dry to semi-dry sampler because I wanted to get a glass of ice wine for dessert. It was really the perfect end of a great girls' weekend.