I am so done.

I have made it to 41 weeks and 3 days.  My ultrasound showed low amniotic fluid levels, but it was a wait and see, but since I will be 14 days over due when my appointment is scheduled I didn't really see a point to coming in on Monday for another non-stress test which might lead to being induced which might happen anyways if I'm still pregnant by Tuesday.

Here is a picture of me at 39+ weeks, although I am sure I am bigger now but I don't have a new picture.  

So my plan for now is to rest, hydrate and hope for the baby to make an entrance soon.  I have been drinking my raspberry leaf tea, I don't know if that is helping at all. Tomorrow, the kids have a Raffi concerts in the afternoon and on Sunday Ladybug has a birthday party to attend.  

My Mum's Brownies

Growing up we had sweet occasionally, but when we did have them they were awesome.  Now these brownies are a bit strange, they taste bland the first day.  You have to let the brownies sit over night for them to reach their ultimate deliciousness.  As my mum says, "set aside overnight to mature."

BROWNIES

4 oz. Unsweetened Chocolate
1/4 lb Butter (mum's recipe calls for unsalted but I prefer salted butter)
1 1/4 cups plus 3 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
3 large Eggs
3/4 cup All-purpose Flour

For a 9x9 pan increase recipe to:

5.25 oz unsweetened chocolate

5.25 oz butter

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup flour

FROSTING

1 1/2 oz. Unsweetened Chocolate, melted
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Evaporated Milk, at room temp
16 pecan halves, optional

-Preheat oven to 350°

-Line with parchment or butter an 8" square pan.

-In a double boiler or in a glass or metal bowl over a pot of simmering water, melt together chocolate and butter, once melted allow to cool for 5 minutes.

-Beat together chocolate mixture and sugar, 1-2 minutes or until the  mixture is completely combined.
-Add Vanilla.

-Add lightly beaten eggs and mix to combine.

-Add flour and beat to completely combine and has a shiny velvety look, about 1 min or less.

-Spread batter evenly over prepared pan and bake 20-25 min, until a very thin crust forms on top and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean or with a moist crumb.  DO NOT OVER BAKE.

-Cool in pan to room temp.  Cover when cool and set aside overnight to mature.

Frosting:
-In a blender, combine the melted chocolate, sugar, and evaporated milk. Process 3-5 minutes, until mixture is smooth and shiney.  The sound of the blender changes when the mixture is ready.

-Frost the brownies with a thin layer of icing, cut into 16 pieces and top with pecan halves, if desired.

NB. If using unsalted butter or if you like salt, you can sprinkle the icing with flake sea salt. 

Ladybug turns 6.

Ladybug turned 6 in September.  I decided that I wanted to make a rainbow cake, and since I didn't think many of the parents would thank me for a heavily dyed cake so I served it to the adults instead.  

It had to be 7 layers since Munch knows that there are 7 colours in a rainbow.  Red, yellow, orange, green, blue, indigo and violet.

Pumpkin Time Again

October is Thanksgiving time in out neck of the woods, so since I love pumpkin things I have to make my own pumpkin puree.  Once you start making your own puree, it is hard to go back to canned pumpkin, it just taste too tinny.  I have also found out recently that my mum does not like pumpkin as a dessert, especially pie.  I may have known this but didn't want to give up my pumpkin pies.  As a result I decided to try something different for dessert for our family Thanksgiving dinner.  

The result of my experimenting has led to a pumpkin pie cheesecake, with dulch de leche topping.

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

Dulch De Leche:

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

You could just make 1 can or you can make 3 at a time, like I did.

-Remove the paper from the can and place in a pot and cover water, covering by about 3 inches of water.  

-Bring to a boil and boil covered for 4 hours.  (Covering makes it so the water doesn't evaporate to quickly, but make sure that it covers the whole can.  You don't want the can to explode, which would be bad.) You can always make a few extra cans to keep them on hand for later :)

-You will need to cool the can before you open it, so if you are in a hurry place it in an ice bath

Crust:

1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumb

1/3 cup melted butter

1 tbsp Sugar

-Preheat oven to 350.

-Mix all ingredients together and dump it into a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan.

-Using the back side of a spoon, press into the spring form pan, covering the lip between the bottom and the sides of the pan.

Cheesecake Filling:

3-250g Blocks of Cream Cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

4 Eggs

2 cups Pumpkin Puree

2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice*

-In a bowl cream together cream cheese, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla.

-Add eggs, one at a time, making sure that they are completely incorporated before adding the next egg.

-Add the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice, stir to combine.

-Pour cream cheese mixture into prepared spring form pan and bake 50-55 minutes.

-The center of the cheesecake will still be jiggly, but still have a bit of structure.  If your puree is thinner it will take a bit longer to bake.  So keep and eye on it.

-Once it is cooked enough, turn off the oven and place a spoon in the door and let it cool down for at least 30 minutes.  You should be cool enough to be able to pick it up with your bare hands.  Let the cheesecake cool completely and then top with the duche de leche. 

*I make my own pumpkin pie spice since then I know what is in it and I can modify as I see fit :)

Pumpkin Pie Spice:
2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Freshly Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Ground Allspice
3 Cardamom pods, Freshly Ground

-Blend all ingredients together, remove as many lumps as possible.  Use what you need for this recipe and store the remaining spice blend for your next pumpkin pie or latte, Yum.

39 Weeks

Fall is upon us, which means variable temps and chilly mornings.  Tested was a perfect example it was cold in the morning so I wore pants and I layered 2 shirts, which was great but I walked the kids the school and was hot and sweaty all morning after that.  I'm carrying my own personal heater so the temperature differences between inside and outside is making it hard to maintain a comfortable body temp. 

Yesterday I was looking for some kid gloves that I packed away in the spring and in the process of searching for those I found a pair of maternity pants, yippee.  Plus, I also found a whack load of nursing tops.  I don't now if they will fit yet but it was nice to find them. All quite worn but still they should make winter nursing easier.  Now. Just need to find a home for all the gloves and winter gear I found.

Baby keeps getting bigger, I know not much of a surprise. But moving around is still uncomfortable and will continue to get more and more uncomfortable until the baby arrives. Then after little man arrives I will be a different uncomfortable for a while.

On a completely different note, we lost out on a other property the other day.  Our ceiling price and his floor price just didn't meet.  We were the only offer he has had in 70 days on the market, so we are planning to wait til November and make an offer again, maybe he will be more willing to bring his floor closer to our ceiling price.  For us the house is a tear down since it is quite chopped up with the latest reno from the 70's.  But we understand that the owner sees it as a family home and probably doesn't want it torn down, but the property allows a lot of options.  For us right now there us very little on the market that fits what we want, but it is a buyers market and we don't need a place right away since we have our house still.