Update

Hi everyone. So there are a few things to update you on. I have made some fantastic things and slipped on a few others.

Last Friday, I signed up for the 90 Day Challenge at my gym. I started on Saturday and already I have not been on the ball. I'll get on the ball tomorrow morning. But I have bought Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown, and I am here to tell you that she is amazing. It's only thirty minutes, but it's a very hard core workout. I only do the beginner right now, and it's a challenge. My shoulders are sore, but I know I need to up the ante on it. I have to lose this weight. While I am still below the weight of when I stopped the class, I have gained a couple from my lowest point.

Anyway, I'll get back on my track and make this happen.

But I will take a moment to go over the wonderful treats I have made the last couple of weeks.

First thing, I had a wonderful class on canning. It was quite a relief to know I've been doing it right. We made a strawberry jam, peach jelly, and we pickled green beans. I have finally learned the difference between jam, jelly, preserves and marmalade. So, a jam is where there are physical chunks in the jar. You will see bits of fruit.

A jam is where you get the fruit and squeeze the juice from the pulp of the fruit through a cheese cloth. We made a peach jelly. No, I have not tried either of these yet, but they smelled amazing.

Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of the pickled green beans, but after the Pepper Festival, I had a ton of sweet peppers, so I pickled those. I did that just this last weekend and used a recipe from David Lebovitz.

It was fairly easy save the peeling of the peppers. That took forever.

It was worth it though because I made some really amazing pickled peppers. I must say, again, I have not tried them, but they smelled amazing. And once I got the vinegar smell out of my apartment, I started on Red Velvet Cupcakes.

I made some very traditional red velvet cupcake, but a) I forgot baking soda and b) I've never been a fan. I thought that Red Velvet was like I don't know what. I'm tempted to compare it to something in Hollywood. Where something is glittery and fancy, but it's actually quite plain. It's just a red cake. It's very simple.

So what I did to dress this up was added pumpkin spices. I added nutmeg, cloves, and ginger to the recipe with a couple of hits of cinnamon. Then instead of the cream cheese frosting, I put a good 1/4 cup of chocolate powder. So while this picture is not them (they are the traditional version), they were both delicious, but I am partial to my souped-up version.

I took both of them to the office. The girls loved them. I plan on making some ice cream soon before my cream goes bad. But until then, I have to go to bed so I can get back to the gym. Tomorrow is FIT. I have to go. I will lose this weight.

The last thing I made was a Peach Salsa. I had to throw that list bit in. :)

3rd Annual Chili Pepper and Salsa Festival

I can remember a handful of days that I would consider the best of my life. One was when I met David Milch and Ian McShane at the Austin Film Festival. I sat in the front row to hear Mr. Milch talk about Deadwood. Then the star of the show walked in. The whole room gasped. Mr. Milch also gave the front row lottery tickets. I won a whole $5, but it paid for my parking that day.

Another one of my favorite days was when my boyfriend and I went to LA to screen his film at the DGA theater on Sunset Blvd. That whole vacation was really amazing. But that was one of my favorite experiences.

Another one of my favorite days was when I was a flower girl at my aunt's wedding in San Francisco. My cousin and I ran around like crazy eating chocolate and taking pictures from cameras on the tables.

Another weekend was the weekend of the UFA conference. My boyfriend and I had been dating a couple months and he ran the festival as I ran the conference. We lucked out and had a private hotel room since a guest backed out at the last minute. It was a remarkable night.

I have another day to put up with the list. That day was yesterday at the 3rd Annual Chili Pepper and Salsa Festival in Fredericksburg, TX.

I went with my co-worker/new best friend and we had so much fun. We first got there a little early, so went to have brunch at The Herb Farm. I know I have mentioned that place before. I had some remarkable crab cakes will dill and I had the peach feta dessert again. It was a little different because they used goat cheese this time. It was really good, but I missed the edgier bite of the feta.

It was about noon when we headed back. It was really getting set up and we first walked around the festival so we could get an estimate of what we were dealing with. We made it about halfway across when we had to stop for some amazing Mint Limeade.

It was so refreshing. We also got some German Roasted Nuts. Almonds, cashews, and walnuts roasted with brown sugar. They were heaven.

We continued to walk around, now getting hydrated in the 95 degree heat. But then I saw the Olive Oil and Vinegar stand. I seriously gasped. They gave us little pieces of bread and were able to sample the various flavors. I couldn't resist the bottle of Jalapeno Oil. Move over olives.

The stand right next to it was a Pasta Stand. Homemade pastas with all kinds of flavors. I bought four: Cajun Spice, Jalapeno Garlic, Habanero, and Chocolate. I have seen them use Chocolate Pasta on Iron Chef America so I had to give that a shot. I haven't cooked them yet because in order to keep it for a while, I want to cut it with regular pasta.

These two wonderful stands came together when the gentleman at the olive oil stand said I could get a sample of the pasta and sample the jalapeno oil. He would pour it on if I brought it over. It was a little bite size of heaven. Pastamore was the stand of the oil and vinegar, and the pasta was from Gourmet Texas Pasta. The latter is here in Austin, so go and grab some pasta for yourself.

After that, we made our way to the butterfly haus. We got free admission with our festival admission. It was amazingly beautiful. The colors and fragrance was overwhelming. We didn't stay in there too long since it was a pretty small area, but I must say, I was anxious to leave. When we walked in they had an option to buy a bag to pick your own peppers from their garden. I had to jump at that chance. Granted, yes, they were already picked over pretty well, but I got a decent amount of peppers.

We then made our way back to the grounds. It was getting so hot. My friend had to sit out the pepper picking. But we did another round, but I got immediately captivated by the cooking demonstration. He quickly whipped up a rustic pico de gallo and then made a Jamaican Jerk Shrimp and topped it with the pico. Of course, we all got a sample. I wanted to faint. Whether it was from the heat or the amazing flavors bursting in my mouth, I will never know.

I noticed my friend was getting a little antsy, and I was also getting to my threshold for heat. I finally spotted a chili pepper stand. I bought a basket of sweet peppers, serranos, and El Joe's -- the biggest jalapenos on earth. I threw one of those in with my dinner tonight. Unbelievably fresh.

One more walk around the circle, and I wound up buying 3 tiny jars of cranberry pepper jam, raspberry pepper jam, and Austin pepper jam. Then I bought a jar of super hot salsa from 2 Brothers. It was very good and nice to hear that they will soon be selling here in Austin.

We finally left. The heat was really getting to us, but since we were in Fredericksburg, we had to stop by the Bariloche Farms. I had been dreaming about the Peach Pepper Jam and Jalapeno Jam available. The man who runs the farm recognized me from the last time we were there. I did also buy a jar of Amaretto Whipped Honey. I swear it's like sin from heaven. So tasty and delectable. Move over Nutella.

Anyway, we made it back to Austin and we both crashed. We were so hot and sweaty. But now the weekend is over and we have to get ready for the week.

Peaches, Figs, and Feta--Oh My!

I did not go to the gym today. Sad panda. But the wonderful thing of being a girl kept me bend over at my desk for the last hour at work.

But, I'm also here to report on what I made over the weekend.

A couple of weekends ago, I went to Fredericksburg with a friend of mine. I'm pretty sure I mentioned this. We had brunch at The Herb Farm. It was spectacular as usual. I am dying to go when they have the Tomato Basil Soup ready.

My parents took me there several years ago now, and I had that soup. It was so amazing, it's the only thing I remember from that trip. But the last two times I've gone to The Herb Farm, it's not there yet. The last time, they had a wonderful Creamy Tomato Soup. Tasted so creamy I would have thought it was melted cheese and tomatoes.

Well, the dessert in season (being Summer in Fredericksburg) was a Peach and Feta Cheese dessert. Of course I was intrigued because who knew peaches and feta cheese, let alone cracked black pepper, would go together. I am here to tell you, they do.

It was amazing. Very light, refreshing and easy to make. That night, with my three pounds of peaches, I made it for my boyfriend. Again, I was amazed. The recipe was to put peaches in a bath of peach schnapps and honey. Chill and then serve with feta cheese and cracked black pepper. It can't get easier than that.

Of course, it was a Sunday, so I didn't have an ability to get the schnapps, but I used Amaretto instead. It was a little heavier on the palate, but it was still incredible with the aroma of almonds mixing with the freshness of the peaches.

Just last weekend, over Father's Day, I found some local figs. My father brought in the last of the peaches from our three beautiful trees in the backyard, and I made the dessert again. This time, I did use the peach schnapps, but I added figs to the mix, and I have to say, wow. Peaches, Figs, and Feta--oh my!

My parents were blown away by the flavors. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone. It's so easy, so light, and so flavorful. No need to eat a heavy dessert before bed when something like this is at your fingertips.

Happy eating.