Old Friends, New Beginnings, and Delicious Coffee Crumb Cake

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back! We've been having lpts of fun in my little corner of the world.

Like painting all the kitchen cabinets. Ok, this it really wasn't fun. Seriously NOT fun. Especially since the cabinets were handmade by a not-so-professional amateur carpenter and reallllly don't fit well together at the best of times. When you take the doors off their hinges and the drawers out, it takes a miracle and a half to get them back on right.

 Anyway, we also had this happening in our house. BABY TOES. Oh my goodness, best thing EVAH. 

 And whose toes are those? (Dr. Seuss would know.) Julianne's toes! Does she look familiar? No? I'll give you another hint...

 There's her big brother on the left. (See how she adores him?)
                                 
He's got the touch. You stick your face right in there and pretend to eat her fat little cheeks.

 And she laughs her head off! Nothing sweeter than sibling love. But you still can't guess whose baby this is? OK, I'll give you another hint... Remember that post about Artisan Savory Pumpkin Rolls? Our babysitter, Cassey, is magical with children and had been fighting off single dads across the state.... Until one day, she met a cellar rat (his words, not mine!), fell in love and married him. Here's a picture of their little family then...

And now beautiful Julianne has joined Cassey, Noe, and Robert! 

So, we had some baby lovin' the other day and I tried out my new camera on her. Basically, shooting baby pictures is A LOT harder than I figured. I did get this one...

She's just chillin' in the backyard. (I giggle every time I see this picture.)

                                 
So, I've also been juicing several meals a day (that means, fruits and vegetables, not juicing hamburgers, although that sounds pretty good right now). I've kicked the caffeine habit and it wasn't that bad, which probably means I wasn't drinking as much coffee as I thought. But Edna isn't really impressed with the juicing. She needs to create and bake... not liquify.
                                      
I got this great coffee cookbook from the library and she said there was more than just drinks in there.
                          
I try not to look at this picture too closely. *gnaws on own hand*
                             
    And this looks especially delicious!
But in the end, we decided the Coffee Crumb Cake would hit the spot.

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Ingredients:
  Topping
2/3 cup flour
5 TBS butter
1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/2 tsp espresso, ground
1/3 cup sugar
  Cake
4 TBS butter, softened, and a little more for greasing
 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbs strong espresso
                                   
 The crew, all assembled.
 
I know this shows four eggs, but I just love our Americuna chickens! The eggs are SO PRETTY.

 I ordered this off Amazon. A great espresso ground and works prefectly in my latte maker!

 I found this little vintage Pyrex at a yard sale. So cute! So tiny! So yellow!

 Ok, mix all the topping ingredients into a bowl, cutting the butter into the flour mix with a pastry tool. You can use a food processor but Edna was giving directions and if it's good enough for Edna, it's good enough for me.

 Set aside the topping. In a bowl, mix the cake ingredients, beating until smooth. (You like my wooden spoon? My sister was scandalized to hear I DID NOT OWN A WOODEN SPOON. Disregarding the question of how I beat my children without one ((kidding!)), how could I cook? Every good cook must have a wooden spoon. And it's true! She got me three. So, now I cook three times as well. :)

 Pour into the greased pan.

 Add topping. Pop into oven.

 Oooo, this frosting smelled SO GOOD.

 The recipe said to leave the cake in for 35 minutes or until a toothpick came out clean, but it it took much longer. Maybe my oven is off. but it didn't start to puff until about 45 minutes and then the toothpick inserted didn't come out clean until close to 50 minutes. Let it set for about ten minutes before cutting. (I forgot this part and the pieces were a little squashed.)

 Gratuitous dripping frosting picture.

 It really was a good recipe, nice and fluffy. Very aromatic but not overwhelming with the allspice and the coffee.

 I'd like to say this is my piece, but I think I ate two... or more... So, saying "my piece" is a bit of a lie! "One of my pieces" is a better term.

 Ok, leaving you with some pictures of the lunar eclipse. It was freezing cold and I was shaking like crazy, but the new camera still was great!

 I love how the color begins to change...

 Almost completely eclipsed...

Just a sliver left! At this point, my camera wouldn't figure out what in the heck I was trying to shoot, and just whirred, unable to find the focus. But I was thrilled with what I got!

 Ok, everyone, have a wonderful Holy Week and I'll see you back here after Easter! Doesn't that sound good? EASTER. It feels like Lent has been exxxxtrrrrrraaaaa long this year. I couldn't help but put out our pysanky a little early.

I ordered these from a wonderful company called Monastery Icons. My girls are taking a class on Russian Imperialism and they were so excited to see these arrive! I forgot to order stands. Hence the ink bottle stands, haha.

(I'm not Russian, or Russian Orthodox, or have a drop of Russian in me, but I DO have a soft spot for Eastern Europe after studying Eastern Euro languages for so long. Attending the Warsaw School of Economics in Poland also might have had something to do with it, but then again, maybe not. All I remember is cabbage and snow.)

 Until next time!