Today was a good day

A day I am so thankful for, to be able to do things I love to do. Spending time with friends and building relationships. Hiking and being outdoors. Shopping at Whole Foods. Spending hours in the kitchen. Celebrating a friend's birthday. A day worth blogging about :)

To start off the day, delicious homemade iced coffee (another post soon!) and I walk up to Monticello with my mentor from church.

This month's Food Network Magazine came in the mail yesterday. And on a whim I gathered the two missing ingredients to make cappuccino knots. No thinking and planning for a week about when/what I could make them for. I had most of the ingredients and would find people to share them with.

Cappuccino Knots

For the knots: - 4 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
                      - 2/3 C sugar
                      - 1 Tbs instant espresso powder
                      - one recipe Basic Sweet- Roll Dough (without nutmeg)

For the glazes: - 1 1/4 C confectioners' sugar
                       - 1 Tbs instant espresso powder
                       - 1/4 C + 2 Tbs heavy cream

1. Make the knots: Put melted butter in a bowl. Whisk the granulated sugar and espresso powder in another bowl.

2. Butter a muffin pan. Divide the dough into 12 pieces; roll each piece into an 8-9 in rope. Dip 1 piece of dough in the butter, letting the excess drip off, then roll in the espresso sugar. Tie the dough unto a knot. Place in a muffin cup.

3. Let rise, uncovered, in a warm place until doubled in size. (I forgot this step, but they still worked!)

4. Bake the knots until puffed and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan then transfer to cooling rack.

5. Make the glazes: Whisk 3/4 C confectioners' sugar and espresso powder in a medium bowl; add 1/4 C cream and whisk until smooth, adding more cream if necessary.

6. In a small bowl, whisk remaining confectioners' sugar with the remaining cream until smooth.

7. Dip tops of knots in the espresso glaze; let set 5 minutes. Drizzle white glaze over top of knots.

 

                                                    

I was able to take these to Lizzie's birthday celebration tonight!




After that, Lanna and I went to pick up our first CSA box. Each week we will receive a box of local produce, depending on what is in season and growing at the farm that week! Today our box was filled with: spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, honey, frozen strawberries, and wheat berries!

Megan and I were able to discover a new hiking trail close to our houses today. I underestimated how tough of a hike we could find 15 minutes from my house! But I worked up quite a sweat.

That didn't stop me from heading to Whole Foods to pick up a couple ingredients for dinner with Kathleen. I don't do the majority of my shopping at Whole Foods, only when I need special ingredients or really want a higher quality product. Today's finds: short ribs for dinner, fresh mozzarella for salads, and freshly ground peanut butter. I'm determined to enjoy little things, even if it's just a trip to Whole Foods.

Then it was home to start dinner... I'll save that for the next post, but if I had 3 hours to devote to dinner more often, this is the meal I would make!