Pages

July 7, 2015

Red Flag.

If you are from a beach town, you will understand my use of red flag. It's a warning of unsafe conditions.

Don't swim. Don't sail. Don't stand too close to the edge. 

Sometime the red flags flaps violently in the wind. Cracking and snapping, echoed by sound of the waves smashing the rocks and sand. The pier is coated in a sheen of lake water, small puddles form only to be desturbed and displaced by the next wave that crashes in. 

These are the obvious red flag days. 

Then there are days when the flag lays docile against its pole. Lack lusterly flutters in a brief breeze. The waves are calmly, ritualistically lapping at the beach. The pier is dry and crowded. The crowds thinking the flag was forgotten and should be ignored. These red flags give the warning of a hidden danger. Riptides. 
The snaking current that pulls you out and under. 

Tonight was an obvious red flag day.



The waves soaked Erika and I to the bone as we cautiously navigated the pier in a desperate attempt to get better pictures of the sunset happening beyond the chaos around us. 

Tonight was an obvious red flag day, not only on the beach, but in my life. 

The kind where everyone around you knows. The red rimed eyes give a subtle warning, but the waves of tears crashing against the table of a coffee house, the gasps for air, and sobs that rack my body, really drive the point home. 

God gave me a red flag day that was echoed in his creation. And yet. On that pier. I wasn't alone. I was standing with twenty other people who were there for the same reasons I was. 

We are willing to stand though something so miserable because something beautiful will follow. 

I will move past this red flag stage of my life, because God promised me a life of sunsets. That's what I am focusing on tonight. 


May 13, 2015

Blueberry and Maple.

Welcome to my first venture into food blogging.   Bear with me; I’m just a bug in the blogging world anyways so this is entirely new territory for me!

Since I have completed college and no longer have to cook for a grade (just a paycheck) I have felt a little constrained.  At school, we had creative freedom with the plates we presented, we got to play with color, texture, even sound of our food.  It was an amazing outlet.  There was always a great variety of fresh produce, herbs, different kinds and cuts of meat, exotic spices, and expensive alcohols to play with (not to drink).  I could go in every day for eleven weeks and never make the same dish twice.  I loved that part of school.  

At work, though since starting my new job, I feel so much more connected to the food that goes on everyone’s plates, I am not able to be creative.  I follow someone else’s recipes and plate according to someone else’s eye. *

*No, I am not planning on ever opening a restaurant. That ship has sailed.

What I find myself doing now, to release my creative frustrations, is night baking.   



I haven’t done any serious baking in a year, and I began to crave it.  Not the taste of the cookies or the cake, but the smell in the house, the sound of the mixer, the way the batter looks swirled around in the bowl.  It is different than cooking. It isn’t quick, hot, stressful, or loud.   It is slow, mellow, sweet, and comforting.

Last night’s baking adventure had me running to the closet for my old stand by pound cake recipe.  Which I promptly realized was totally, technically wrong.  So I tweaked it! (Thanks Chef Turner)

ATTENTION:  I did it wrong… I left out one ingredient and almost put it in the pans before adding the baking powder.  It worked, it tasted yummy and this recipe has been tweaked even more for your viewing pleasure!  

I am not a baker. I am not even a chef. I am just a girl who likes to have her fun by destroying her mother’s kitchen midnight.  



Blueberry Maple Pound Cake!

  • 4 sticks butter, softened*
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 6 eggs
  • ¼ cup almond milk (or regular milk. My brothers are lactose intolerant so we never have that in the house)
  • ½ cup maple syrup (The real stuff.  Do yourself a favor.  It is not only better tasting, but better for you)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I make my own... I should blog on that)
  • 3 1/3 cup flour, all purpose
  • 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 (heaping) cup of blueberries**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour loaf pan(s) or bunbt pan. Heck, do them in muffin tins, that would be awesome… why didn’t I think of that last night!

Cream together butter and sugars until they have reached the consistency of, wait for it, airy sand.  It sounds super weird, I know, I had a chef tell me that in school.  I didn’t believe him… then I realized, that is just how it feels.  Really.

Stop mixer, scrape down the sides.

In a separate bowl, crack your eggs and beat up.  If you feel like shouting some insults it can only help.

Slowly. SLOWLY! Add the egg mixture.  If you add it all at once like I did, (my chefs are just itching to fail me for this mistake) your mixture will curdle.  Which looks gross.  Don’t do it.

Combine milk, maple syrup, and extracts together and slowly stream into the mixture.

Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides.

While the mixer is off, add your flour, baking powder, and salt. It is preferred if you mix them together first, but if you are like me, you will almost forget the baking powder and omit the salt on accident.

Combine until just mixed.  Make sure there are no lumps, but don’t just keep mixing to be sure.  If it looks lump free STOP the mixer.  You can work out any hidden lumps with a spatula.

Pour in your blueberries and gently mix by hand.  I kept mine frozen so they wouldn’t break open during the mixing and turn my batter blue. Smurf cake anyone? If yours are thawed or fresh, just be very gentle.

Okay, you are done! Time to put them in the oven, set the time for about an hour, and lick the bowl.  I mean, clean up!



If you try this recipe, lets me know. Tag me on Instagram if you take a picture! @thatgeekyginger


*I always leave mine on the counter for a few hours, or stick them in the microwave on the lowest defrost setting turning them occasionally.   Please don’t melt… it’s not the same

** I used frozen blueberries.  Firstly, cause they are out of season in Michigan.  Secondly, because frozen blueberries don’t “bleed” in the batter the way thawed blueberries do.

April 18, 2015

20 By 21 List.

In celebration of my twentieth birthday I will be walking the stage in my college graduation.  Which is huge, and I thought, since two significant life changes are occurring on the same day, it would be appropriate to have a "life change" blog post.

I've never been good at life long bucket lists, but I got the idea for a birthday to birthday bucket list from Whimsy + Wild and loved the challenge of it. It's a list of twenty things I want to do by the time I turn twenty one, hopefully I didn't go way over board but I guess we will see next year!

Wish me luck?!




1-- Blog 12 times.
2-- Plan a dinner party for my friends.
3-- See AJ at least twice.
4-- Read 5 new books.
5-- Have 1 photo shoot a month.
6-- Go to the beach.
7-- Try 3 new coffee houses. (Lyon Street Cafe
8-- Create something beautiful.
9-- Roadtrip!
10-- Grow closer to my Heavenly Father.
11-- Spend more time outside (Michigan weather permitting).
12-- Try 5 new restaurants.
13-- Journal once or more times a week. 
14-- Develop my "big girl" wardrobe.
15-- Make 10 new friends.
16-- Develop and share 5 original recipes. 
17-- Organize my life / just make the bed!
18-- Dress up more.
19-- Explore my town.
20-- Follow my heart...

I left my last one open ended. A sort of note to myself to be happy, and do what makes me happy.

Alright, I am off to walk across a stage and shake some professors' hands, then eat some food! Whoohoo!

*The lovely watercolor is from my beautiful friend, Erika.

April 14, 2015

Happiness at the Bottom of My Mug.

My coffee addiction is not something I hide from you guys.  It's a serious joy (problem) for me. It runs far deeper than just my need for caffeine.

Coffee has a huge symbolism to me.  The smell is a comfort, it reminds me of early mornings with my dad, when I was little, we would sit and eat breakfast before he went to work.  It later became a way that we bonded when I was finally old enough to enjoy the drink itself.  There are still times, after a hard day, that I just want to make a cup of coffee to smell it, and hold a warm mug in my hands.

*not my hands*
Now that I am an adult, I find that coffee is my outlet for so many other things that make me happy.  I have reconnected with old friends at the bar of my favorite coffee house.  Memories stem from the worn booths and chipped mugs. Adventures are had by exploring new cafes and chatting with regulars about their favorite drinks.  These are things I thank my coffee addiction for. 

Latte Love. 
Coffee to me is happiness in a warm drink.  The end of every cup is the middle of a good conversation. So here is to celebrating a drink that brings people together. 

These pictures are from my adventure with Erika at Rowster Coffee with our sweetened lattes!