19 Weeks

February 12

The belly is making progress. Yay! Even a few people that know me said they could see it. There was definitely a lot more stretching in the belly region this week. Sadly, we didn’t get around to taking pictures this week. For the 20 Weeks post, I’ll be sure to have some.

Things I’ve learned during pregnancy (so far):

• The good
  • I’m more and less self-conscious about my body. Less, because I realize I was doing pretty good pre-pregnancy. More, because the bit of weight I’ve gained with almost no bump just makes me feel fat. Either way, there’s a life growing inside me and that’s pretty amazing!
  • If I don’t feel like working out, that’s ok. My goal is no zeros (some sort of activity every day)  so even if I don’t get to the gym, a short walk or a few squats is good for both the baby and me. And, a bit more shut-eye isn’t so bad either.
  • Pregnancy is a good excuse for just about everything!
  • My original small ‘girls’ are nice, comfortable, and fit easier into clothes.
• The Bad:
  • Not everyone gets the pregnancy glow. Some get dry skin, breakouts, and dull, dry hair. Yeah, that’s me…thanks baby. Maybe it’s still coming?
  • Not everyone can do the hairband trick with their pants. The few pounds I’ve gained went to my hips and thighs so my jeans no longer fit around them even if I don’t button them. I also think my hip joints have already widened because I find it hard to believe 4 pounds can make that much of a difference.
  • Energy levels should increase in the 2nd trimester? I’m still waiting. Okay, it’s not as bad as it was but there are still some days I can’t make if off the couch once I’m home from work. Playing on the internet even takes too much energy.
  • My brain is mush. Pregnancy Brain? A myth or not, my head is in a constant state of fog and trying to clear it up has proven impossible.

Big day tomorrow!!! We find out the sex of the little one. What’s your guess? Boy or girl? Will the baby cooperate? Please cooperate, little one.

Mexican Chocolate Fudge-Pecan Cake

Here’s your new chocolate cake recipe. Yeah, it’s that good. It’s a rich, dark chocolate cake with a touch of cinnamon and sea salt and a beautiful, shiny chocolate glaze. It reminds me of a fancy Texas Sheet Cake.

I brought this cake to a family dinner on Sunday. Mom made a Hershey Bar Marshmallow Pie (I’ll have to get the recipe and post it. Yum!). Why choose one when you can have both? All of us had a slice of each…the best way to top off a heavy dinner, right?

Thanks Jen for hosting this week. You picked a good one. Check out the other participants over at Project Pastry Queen.

INGREDIENTS

Cake
1 cup unsalted butter
½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
¾ cup water
2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 C buttermilk (or put 1 tsp lemon juice in 1 cup container then fill remainder with milk)
2 Tbls vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp sea salt

Glaze
1 C pecans (optional)
½ C unsalted butter
¼ C whole milk
½ C high-quality cocoa powder
2  C sifted powdered sugar
1 Tbls vanilla extract
¼ tsp sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ tube pan or 10-12 C Bundt pan with non-stick spray or use Baker’s Joy. For cupcakes, line standard-size muffin pans with muffin wrappers and spray with non-stick spray.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the cocoa and whisk until smooth.  Add the water and whisk until smooth. Be careful not to boil the mixture. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
3. Add the sugar, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla to the warm cocoa mixture. Whisk until smooth.
4. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk until dry ingredients are completely incorporated.
5. Pour the batter into the pan. If using muffin pans, fill each cup 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 40-45 min; the cake is done when it has pulled away slightly form the sides of the pan and feels firm to the touch. For cupcakes, check for doneness after about 20 min.
7. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 min. cupcakes need only a total of 10 min cooling time.
8. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Arrange the pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast them in the 350 degree oven for 7-9 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic. Chop the pecans.
9. Melt the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add the milk, cocoas, and powdered sugar and whisk until glossy. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla, salt, and pecans.
10. Loosen the cake with a knife or spatula and overturn it onto a seving plate. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake, covering it thoroughly. For cupcakes, remove them from the pan, and peel off the paper liners. Invert each cupcake onto a small serving plate and cover with glaze.

NOTES

Adapted (very slightly) from Rebecca Rather’s The Pastry Queen’s Mexican Chocolate-Fudge Cake.

Cake will keep up to 3 days, covered, at room temperature. Unglazed and well wrapped, it will keep frozen up to 3 weeks. When frozen, bring the cake to room temperature and glaze just before serving.

18 Weeks

February 5

Here’s the bump! Ok, it’s still small,but it’s there! My mom predicts that by Week 20, it will be a real bump. Besides this being my first pregnancy, someone else told me that I’m probably carrying very low which is also why it’s taking longer for the bump to show.

It is absolutely amazing how differently women’s bodies handle pregnancy. Now that I’m experiencing this myself, I find it very interesting to read or talk to other women about how and when their body changed. You have so little control over it, which to me, has been the oddest (and most difficult) sensation.

I have a co-worker that tends to make awkward comments. For instance, he once told my coworker he liked the color of her “under blouse” (aka tank top or camisole).  He also once told me that my purple shirt looks very nice with my hair color. He really means well but the comments just come off so wrong. If he wasn’t such a kind-hearted guy that truly means the nicest thing, it would be completely inappropriate. I was walking down the hall and says “Oh well, it looks like you’re starting to show just a little bit.” I said “Yeah, just a bit.” His response: “Someday, it’s just going to pop out” while motioning like fireworks exploding. Then finishes it up with “Ya know, some women would love to be as svelte as you.” AWKWARD!! He also refers to my pregnancy as “my situation.”

On another note, I’ve got a new invention. Maternity jeans are awesome and so comfortable. Why the heck do we not have regular jeans with these type of waistbands? Just think, there would be a decrease in muffin-tops, the bump from your jeans button wouldn’t stick out from your shirt, and really, we’d all just be a bit more comfortable. Just a thought! Anyone want to go in with me?

How to Cook a Perfect Steak

Are you making steak for your honey (or yourself) this Valentine’s dinner? Here’s an easy no-fail method, especially if you don’t have a grill.

Andy says it’s the best steak AND meal he’s ever had. Woohoo!

INGREDIENTS
2 10 oz. NY Strip Steaks, thicker is better
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Compound butter (my recipe below), butter or olive oil

Compound Butter
¼ C unsalted butter
½ tsp salt
6 cloves, roasted garlic
2 tsp chives, finely chopped

Make into log and roll in wax paper. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Brush steak with olive oil.
3. Season steak with plenty of salt and pepper. (Probably a bit more than you think is necessary.)
4. Heat a cast iron or oven proof sauté pan until very hot.
5. Place steak in skillet and sear on one side (about 2 min), flip, then move pan to pre-heated oven.
6. Cook until desired temperature. Depending on thickness, about 5-7 for medium-rare to medium.
7. Remove from oven, top with slice of compound butter and let rest for 3-5 minutes.

NOTES

I’ve also used this method to cook Rib eyes and it would probably work for a few other types of steak you might cook on the grill.

Wild Mushroom Soup

Mushrooms anyone? If you’re a mushroom fan, you’ll love this soup. It’s a hearty mushroom soup with a touch of cream. Perfect for this cold snap we’re having in the DC area.

Even better on the second day. Andy’s dad and brother want to open a restaurant. A restaurant serving second-day soup. Has a nice ring to it, right? While it may not be the best way to entice patrons, they’re so right. Think about it – how much better does soup taste next day?

Same goes for today’s Wild Mushrooms Soup post. It was good the first day, but by the second day, oh my!

Since it’s my week to host Project Pastry Queen, I want the recipe to be the same as the cookbook, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t tweak it a bit.

• First, lesson learned (again) – read the entire recipe before beginning. If I had read through the entire recipe, I would have realized we weren’t going to blend the soup and would have cut the mushrooms into much smaller, bite-sized pieces.
• Second, even if I had cut the mushrooms smaller, I would still like to blend some of the soup. I put half of the soup into another pot and used my emersion blender to make a very thick broth to add back to the yummy chunks of mushrooms.
• Finally, next time I may add garlic along with the onions. Garlic never hurts anything.

Also, don’t miss today’s other fun post!

INGREDIENTS

¼ C (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ lb. cremini or white button mushrooms, sliced
½ lb. shitake mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbls all-purpose flour
4 C chicken or beef broth, preferably handmade
¼ tsp. freshly ground white pepper
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tbls. freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ C dry sherry (optional)
¼ C heavy whipping cream
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt
chopped fresh chives, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in large sauté pan. Add the onion and cook until medium soft and transparent.
2. Add all the mushrooms and cook on medium heat about 10 minutes, until they give up their liquid and the absorb it.
3. Remove the sauté pan from the heat and stir in the flour, 1 Tbls at a time.
4. Return the pan to low heat and gradually pour in the broth, stirring constantly.
5. Add the white pepper, nutmeg, lemon juice, and sherry. Simmer the soup over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
6. Add the cream and stir until the soup is hot.
7. Add the cayenne and season with salt, if needed.
8. Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with chives.

NOTES

4 servings.

Recipe from Rebecca Rather’s The Pastry Queen.

5 Weeks – How We Found Out

November 5

For some strange reason, I woke up in the middle of the night with an inkling to take a pregnancy test. There was a line but it was faint. I left it on the counter and went back to bed. Of course, I didn’t sleep the rest of the night. Didn’t all the books and websites say that any line, faint as it might be, is still a positive? Andy also got up in the middle of the night, saw it on the counter, then came back to bed and fell asleep. We must have been REALLY tired. His brother did get married the day before…

Once we both woke up that morning, I said to Andy, “Ummm, we might be pregnant.”
“Yeah, I saw that on the counter but you didn’t say anything so I thought I was reading it wrong.” I told him I didn’t want to get too excited because it was still very early. You see, I’m fairly certain we had a very early miscarriage earlier in the summer. Of course, I’ll never know but it still put a fear in me that this wasn’t going to ‘stick.’ I decided we’ll take another test on Tuesday and if it’s positive, I’ll call the doctor.

Sure enough, two days later it was positive! I called the doctor, got an appointment for the same day. They just drew blood then sent me on my way. Two more days of waiting. I just wouldn’t believe the home test. Yep, they called us back on Friday and congratulated us.

I’m not really feeling too much different body-wise. Just a bit of bloating. Pleasant huh?  The girls hurt but not too bad. It’s kind of like what they’d normally feel like this week.

Emotions? Nervous. I’ve only had little moments of excitement. I’m quite the anxious type, so I am expecting the worst. Andy keeps trying to keep me calm.

Pre-bump at  5 Weeks.

A Different Kind of Cooking

We’re talking a very different kind of cooking today! Bun-in-the oven kind of cooking.

Andy and I are expecting our first baby, due July 17. We’re already 18 weeks but don’t worry, I’ll catch you up on what you’ve missed.

So, what have you missed? The first trimester. Sick, tired, feeling fat and bloated. Sick, tired, etc. Sounds fun, right? Really, I have been documenting each step, so I’ll be adding multiple posts per week to catch you up.

We’ve even taken a few pictures of the non-existent bump. We were sorta waiting for a bump to show before we started the baby blog since that all people really want to see on the blog.

To get you started, visit Week 5; the week we found out we were pregnant!