Hiking the Pinnacles

I am not exactly the most "outdoorsy" individual. I'd like to be, but it just never seems to happen. So when some friends wanted to hike the Pinnacles with me before I left for school, I jumped at the chance. I thought it would be a lovely, gentle hike. I was so wrong.

The trail starts out as a nice, flat, paved path, and then quickly becomes a path of torture. That being said, it was amazing. We decided to hike up the West Pinnacle. From the nice, paved path, the trail becomes a steep up hill climb, flattens out again, and then goes steeply uphill. There are tree roots in the paths that you have to avoid, but the trails are exceptionally well-kept.

The trail to the West Pinnacle is a beautiful hike. It is heavily wooded path that shows you some absolutely beautiful countryside. At one point, the trail goes from sandy-dirt path to rocks. We climbed over the rocks, not with ease, but with a lot of laughter. Sometimes, it's just funny to watch your friend fall. You go up, up, up the mountain, and pass huge rocks.

Speaking of the rocks, it's a good thing that I went with friends, because the first large rock we come to I was convinced was the Pinnacle. I was also convinced that the second rock, and the third, and maybe the fourth were the Pinnacle. When we finally actually got to the Pinnacle, I was slightly disappointed because I was so excited about the other rocks. Anyways, the view from the West Pinnacle is absolutely breathtaking. I makes the whole hike worth it. I could just stay there looking at the Kentucky countryside for days.

Just gorgeous. 

Even though the hike was quite grueling, the view was so worth it. Hiking the Pinnacles is definitely a wonderful way to spend an afternoon with your family or friends. Take lots of water, and don't try to go fast. Overall, it was a great way to spend one of the last Fridays of the summer.


Love and Happy Reading,


Gayle

Chocolate Mini-cakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Recently, my mom purchased a brownie pan from Pampered Chef:

 I'm not a huge fan of brownies, and I couldn't understand having a pan for only one recipe. So my brain started thinking of everything that I could possibly make in this darling little pan. Cheesecake, quiche, breakfast casserole! The possibilities are endless. Tonight, I decided to use my chocolate cake recipe. 

This is the ultimate chocolate cake recipe. It's quick, easy, and delicious! Anytime I need to bake a desert, I immediately reach for this recipe. I'm obsessed with Ree Drummond, this is originally her recipe, but I've used it so much that I've made a few changes to it. The peanut butter frosting recipe is mine. 

Have patience with me, dear reader. This is my first recipe tutorial, and my first time cooking with my camera around my neck. I promise, picture quality will get better. Just hang in here with me while I figure this out. Here we go: 

Here's all the ingredients you'll need: 

                     

Mostly, you'll just need your basic baking supplies. The only thing that might trip you up is the buttermilk. 

First, you'll want to add your flour, sugar, and salt 

Combine them together in a sieve. This is really important. If you don't sift your wet ingredients together you will end up with lumps in your cake.
                     
Next, combine buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla in a separate bowl.

 Your buttermilk measurement doesn't have to exact, but try and keep as close to half a cup as you possibly can.

 This is the first time in years that I've had to bake with store bought eggs. It makes me sad! We're getting ready for the new chickens; hopefully, it'll only be store bought eggs for a little while.

 Because I'm using organic eggs, it's important to crack the eggs into a separate container before adding them to the buttermilk. You wouldn't want to accidentally crack a bad egg into your buttermilk and ruin it.

Heaven.

Scramble it up with a fork. The smell is heavenly. Set both these bowls aside and move towards your stove. 

Melt two sticks of butter over medium heat. While that's melting, put a kettle of water on to boil. 

Add four heaping, and I mean HEAPING, tablespoons of coco powder. Give it a stir, and then add one cup of boiling water. Let the mixture bubble on low heat for a minute or so. Turn it off and drizzle the chocolate into the dry ingredients. 

Give it a mix to cool the chocolate mixture off. 

Yummy! Add the wet ingredients.

Mix well. It should look like this:

Grease your pan. Life is too short to butter and flour.

 I used the brownie pan from Pampered Chef, but you can use anything you want. This recipe will fill two regular sized round cake pans, and make about a dozen cupcakes. 

Bake at 375 degrees until the centers are completely done and the tops are spongy. They'll look a little like this:

For the Frosting:

In a mixer, cream together butter and creamy peanut butter. It's really important that you use creamy peanut butter here. 

Add the powdered sugar

 Mix on the highest speed until light and fluffy.

If your frosting turns out like this, worry not! Add a few tablespoons of water and then mix. The peanut butter is really thick, so it's hard to thin it out enough to make it fluffy. It should eventually look like this:

Yum! Good luck not eating that with a spoon. I may or may not have failed at that.

Here's your finished product!

Enjoy!




Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients:
For the Cake:
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Buttermilk
2 Large Eggs
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 sticks o' Butter
4 to 5 Heaping tablespoons of Coco Powder
1 Cup Boiling Water
For the Frosting:
1/2 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
2 Cups Powder Sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add coca powder. Mix. Add boiling water, and allow to bubble for a moment.

Drizzle chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir to cool the chocolate. Add the wet ingredients, and stir until well combined.

Add batter to a greased baking tin. Bake until the center is done, and the tops are spongy.

In a mixer, cream together butter and peanut butter. Add powder sugar. Whip at highest speed. Add water to frosting until it is light and fluffy.

Once cakes have cooled, frost them and enjoy.


Pampered Chef Brownie Pan: https://www.pamperedchef.com/shop/Bakeware/Metal/Brownie+Pan/1544

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Cake Recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/05/chocolate-strawberry-nutella-cake/


Love and Happy Reading!


Gayle

Review: Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

When I heard that Harper Lee was releasing a second book I cried. To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my favorite books, and the idea of getting more of Ms. Lee's genius was so exciting to me. So I waited with baited breath for the release to be announced. I sat quietly through all the controversy, hoping that the publisher wouldn't pull it, and I was rewarded with the early release of the first chapter. It was magical! I immediately pre-ordered it. The book finally found itself in my mailbox Saturday, and I spent half that night reading it. Needless to say, I absolutely loved it. It's one of the best books I've read in a while. Still, I have been shocked to read just how many people are not impressed with Watchman.

Many people were expecting it to be a "true" sequel to To Kill A Mockingbird. It isn't. To Kill A Mockingbird is the story of a little girl's father through her eight-year-old eyes. Yes, I suppose it can be classified as a "coming of age story", but, when you really get to the heart of it, it's about how much Scout loves and admires Atticus. Watchman is not a seamless continuation of that story. The story is no longer about how Scout sees Atticus; instead, the story is about Jean Louise. This isn't Atticus's story. This is hers. I think this is the true "coming of age story". 

Watchman is truly Jean Louise's story. It is the story of a young woman being forced to open her eyes and see the world around her. She is young, naive, headstrong, and full of fight. With these things in her arsenal, she sets out to see the people and place she knows best with the eyes of a fledgling adult, and she doesn't handle it well. Full disclosure, there were times where I was completely appalled at how Jean Louise was acting, but it felt real. Ms. Lee writes Jean Louise's story with realness that you can't ignore. Jean Louise isn't perfect. She isn't a philosopher. She isn't a poet. She's a feisty Southern gal living through difficult times, trying to deal with it as best as she can.

The book has left us with many questions at then end, but the one that most people are asking is "Is Atticus a racist?". Maybe. Is that important? Personally, I don't think that he is, but that's not important. Atticus's own personal feelings on race relations are obviously not that important to the overall plot of the book; otherwise, they would have been better explained. The important thing to remember is that, unlike Mockingbird, this book is not so much about race relations as it is about seeing people for what they really are.

Bottom line:  Go Set A Watchman is an interesting read that poses many questions. It is not a "true" sequel to To Kill A Mockingbird, and I don't encourage you to read the two right after each other. I highly recommend Go Set A Watchman.



Love and Happy Reading,


Gayle  

Welcome

Hey y'all! Welcome to Delightfully Chaotic!

This is a new journey for you and me. I'm a new blogger and you're my readers. So, I'll need lots of constructive criticism from you guys.

I'm not really sure what this blog is going to be about. I envision book and movie reviews, recipes, and just stories about my life. I guess it's going to be a little of everything. That's why it's called "Delightfully Chaotic", hopefully that's just what it will be.

So stick around as we figure this out together. We'll get to know each other, and you will get to see a little bit of what my life is like!



Love and Happy Reading,


Gayle