Heather Bakes

Is it just me, or has 2008 flown by??

*FRIDAY*

Class as usual (twice baked potatoes, scalloped potatoes, lentils and mushroom risotto), then hurried home to straighten up and get ready the Halloween festivities. By “festivities” I mean answering the door for little trick-or-treaters while eating pad thai and Halloween candy. Speaking of, look at Micky and Minnie… aka Gabriel and Molly.

I was kind of obsessed with Molly’s shoes… a girl’s gotta start early with the heel collection

We also had a visit from a very scary Vampira and a very cool Speed Racer but I forgot to get a photo Chloe kept her costume on for about 30 very sulky minutes and then we gave in and let her be Naked Pug for Halloween instead.

*SATURDAY*

Saturday we slept in and then set about the really fun total beat-down job of flea bombing our house. We’d dosed both pets with Frontline and STILL found flea dirt on them, so we ended up having to buy a few foggers. While that was going on at home we took Chloe and Piper to my parents’ house to bathe them. Have you ever bathed a cat? Ask Brian how that went.

While Bri wrestled the animals, I made cupcakes for Katherine’s Halloween party: Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Spiderweb Icing…

I’d never worked with crystallized ginger before- it’s so cool! It adds just a kick of ginger, and I like the chewiness it gives the cupcakes. We found it pre-chopped at Williams Sonoma.

The party was fun! It was way North (Frisco) and we definitely got lost on the way (stupid Google Maps). Katherine had the best costume: a Stepford Wife, complete with wind-up key:

Can you tell what I am? This might give you a bigger hint…

No, I’m not (that) fat… I’m Juno! And Brian was Paulie Bleeker, although I don’t know what’s up with the face he’s making here. The belly was a bike helmet tied around my waist, and my “bump” kept dropping during the party. I guess I was carrying low.

Katherine’s cookies were cute AND delicious:

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAT!

We ended up leaving the shindig around 11 to get some rest for…

*SUNDAY*

The big half-marathon! It was pretty warm today- about 65 degrees when we started running and probably close to 75 at the end. Despite the heat I was happy with my time: 1:51, so about 8:28-8:29/mile. That’s 7 minutes shaved off my half marathon PR from 2006. For all you runners: I’m officially a convert of the Gu brand gels now. I used the Orange flavor at 45 min and the Triple Berry at 90 min and they helped a LOT… maybe it’s the caffeine? They actually taste pretty decent, too.

The rest of today was spent having brunch with my brother at Dream Cafe (MIGAS!!) and then taking a loooong nap with Chloe. For dinner we grabbed a rotisserie chicken at Sam’s and roasted some brussels sprouts. The best part were the twice-baked taters recreated from the recipe from class on Friday. Despite having cooked baked potatoes in foil for my entire life, I’m now obsessed with just rubbing the outside in olive oil and sprinkling with kosher salt. The skin gets super crispy and delicious. The insides are mashed with a couple of Laughing Cow wedges, some Brummel & Brown, light sour cream, garlic salt and some chopped green onions. Scoop back into the potato skins, top with cheddar and bake until cheese melts. YUM.

My sweet hubby just poured me a glass of $3 Wal-Mart wine and there’s a new South Park on, so I can’t miss this hot date Don’t be jealous.

SURVEY TIME!

What’s your favorite condiment? And do you put it on anything weird?

Mine’s boring: ketchup. It goes on everything, though- potatoes, eggs, green beans, tamales. Second favorite would probably be vinegar.