Food For Thought Friday: Current Events

I have emerged from deep within the hermit cave to post some food for thought and an update on current events.  It's been so long!  I've been working hard on my manuscript and haven't had much time for reality lately.  A few exciting things have happened since I dug in to the last act of my book:

First of all, I had a mind-blowing epiphany about the POV in my story and after changing it, I've found the story is not only telling itself, but it's much more crisp and clear this way.  Hooray for clarity!

Second, my little 11 month-old monster started WALKING!  Very exciting stuff here, people.  My husband and I both were of the mind that she would likely crawl until she was middle-aged, but she has proven us wrong, once again.  Since she took her first steps and proudly smiled at me, she seems to have no desire whatsoever to do it again and gets exceedingly disgruntled when I try to get her to perform on command in front of other people.  Alas, I fear she will not have the successful performance career we had hoped for.

Third, my eldest has turned the ripe old age of 6 and I am in complete denial about it.  I swear he was just my sweet baby boy when I put him to bed the night before his birthday.  When he woke up the morning of the big day, it was like a scene right out of the movie "Big".  A grown little man emerged from his bedroom and proceeded to say grown little man things like, "I'm 6 now, mama... I'm too OLD for that."  Excuse me???  Where in the parenting contract does it state that your little ones will grow so fast?  It must be somewhere in the fine print, along with 'Hobbies will be a thing of the past,' and 'Don't expect to be able to go to the bathroom by yourself until you're 40.'

So that's what's going on in our neck of the woods.  While I continue to blubber about my babies not being babies anymore, why don't you enjoy this super delicious recipe, courtesy of Mountain Mama Cooks.  Her blog is awesome and has provided me with oodles of yummy recipes adapted for high-altitude baking.  This is one of my favorites:

Blueberry Poppy Seed Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
2. Prepare two standard loaf size pans with butter and flour or cooking spray.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
4. Beat milk, vegetable oil, eggs, poppy seeds, and almond and vanilla extracts in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until combined. Gradually beat in the flour mixture until well combined. Fold the blueberries into the batter with a rubber spatula.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the two pans and bake until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Transfer the pans to a rack and let cool about 10 minutes before removing the bread to the rack to cool completely. 

(P.S. Remember, this recipe is suited best for high-altitude kitchens.  For the regular recipe, go here.)