West Frederick Farmers Market

Over the weekend, Mark and stopped by the West Frederick Farmer's Market. We walked in not intending to buy much,,,but somehow left with an armful each of fresh fruits and veggies.

Those who know me know that I really truly intensely dislike grocery shopping. you go in the store everyone's in a rush, list in hand, cellphone in the other, blasting down the aisles with their shopping carts. But somehow, when you're hand-in-hand with your sweetie, walking under the sunshine, the heady scent of ripe peaches in your nose...That's definitely doable. (Not to mention this awesome fact: the produce is so much cheaper! And likely better for you, too.)

Do you like buying your produce at the farmers market? Which ones do you visit?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Some flavors, without fail, always go together excellently. There's tons of these famous food pairs out there, ranging the taste-bud scales : coffee and chocolate, cinnamon and sugar, wine and cheese, buffalo-chicken,  lemon-lime, tomato-basil.

One of these delicious pairs is peanut-butter and chocolate. Oh my word...so good!

You may recall this amazing peanut butter pie I made for Thanksgiving. I believe its still my reigning peanut-butter favorite, but I decided to try out the yummy combo again for Christmas. And what's better for Christmas than cookies? Or cookie bars, as the case may be.

I first encountered this recipe here while trolling Pinterest's unending inspiration boards. I will warn you... these bars are incredibly rich. The chocolate layer almost has the consistency and flavor-intensity of dark chocolate fudge. So one tiny cookie is enough for me; but hey, who doesn't like to splurge over the holidays.

Ingredients: 
1 package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used PeterPan)
2 eggs
1 (12oz) package chocolate chips
1 (14oz) can sweet condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 325*F
Combine cake mix, melted butter, peanut butter, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Press this peanut butter mixture into a greased 9x13 pan, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to use later as the topping.
In a small pot, melt together the chocolate chip, sweet condensed milk, and 2 tablespoons butter. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
Spread chocolate mixture over the peanut butter layer. Then, crumble the remaining 1 1/2 cup peanut butter mix on top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

Recuperating

The belly-stuffing and family time we all anticipated with such excitement and relish has finally arrived and passed. Short weeks and long weekends fill you with relief and satisfaction--only to fly by much quicker than you thought possible, even though past experiences warn you these things are gone almost before they even get here. We're left feeling blue to wake up so early again, smacking our alarms which gloat too loudly this Monday morning. But then, even as we all trudge back to work (or in my case, back to application processes), we still smile to remember the jokes shared, the unabashed and unending video gaming, the hearty helpings of pie, and our hands wrapped around steaming mugs of coffee. All those little, blessed things for which we are thankful. Little things that can somehow are inadequately reduced to a handful of syllables. Syllables that can do nothing to capture the love that swells in the curves and bends of each vowel or consonant.

Home, joy, family, hearth, health, smile, hug, love. 

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. And many hearty thanks to those who made it all possible. How was your Turkey-Day?

Let us now flip our calendars in anticipation of the next big holiday and gear ourselves for the rush and hulla-baloo at the shopping centers. And so it begins!  Allow me to wish you the first happy holidays of the season!

As I forgot my camera like a dolt this weekend, here are a few Instagram shots of the feasting and fun.

Coming across the Peaks of Otter on the BlueRidge Parkway

My mother-in-law's cranberry apple crumble-- such a pretty dish!

My husband expressing how we all felt after the feast: stuffed and tired

Have a happy Monday and new week, friends!

You're My Sugar Pie

In case you haven't noticed from my constant references to their blog or from my incessant pinning of their ideas...I'm mildly obsessed with the lifestyle blog A Beautiful Mess. (But I mean, come on, who isn't? These ladies are, number one, absolutely adorable and, number two, insanely talented and creative.) This blog, which documents the work and inspirations of sisters Elsie and Emma, consistently inspires me to keep writing, working, and perfecting my own creative work--be it home decor, creative writing, photography, cooking, or art. This blog literally offers something for every reader. Today, however, I decided to do more than simply read and admire their quirky handiwork. I decided to test out one of the recipes over which I so often gawk and drool. And now? Now I'm completely head over heels for this peanut-butter pie recipe . Yes, my heart has been stolen by a slice of pie. Sincere apologies to my dear husband, but really...when you taste this delicious little bit of sweet heaven... you will understand. I can't wait to test it out on our families at Thanksgiving this Thursday!

Before adding the peanuts and chocolate chips garnish

It actually looks like it should! I'm so proud!
Also- aren't those little white pumpkins adorable? 

Recipe from A Beautiful Mess, as stated above. 

Pie Ingredients: 
graham cracker crust (I went the easy route and bought a Keebler Ready Crust)
6 oz dark chocolate chips (plus some extras for garnish!)
2 cups whipping cream
8 oz package cream cheese
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
chopped peanuts and chocolate sauce for garnish (optional)

Instructions: 

• In a small pot, melt together your chocolate chips and 1/2 cup whipping cream. Stir until just melted and no lumps remain. Remove from heat. Pour over the graham cracker crust. Set aside and let cool while you prepare the next layer. 
• In a mixer, combine peanut butter. brown sugar, cream cheese, and 1/4 cup whipping cream. Mix until light and fluffy
• Add in the vanilla extract and remaining 1 and 1/4 whipping cream. Continue to beat until the peanut-butter mixture forms stiff peaks. Spoon over the chocolate layer. Cover and freeze overnight.
• Be sure to allow the pie to soften slightly before serving. Garnish with chopped peanuts and remaining chocolate chips and drizzle with chocolate sauce. Enjoy!

I highly recommend making this pie. Its so yummy and very easy to make. It only took me a few minutes and was a good new-wife-new-cook recipe. That means it caused me no stress and no panic whatsoever. I'm sure I'll be reusing this recipe in the future. (Finally my constant reading of A Beautiful Mess has a practical result; and my hubby can't tease me about my blog obsession anymore because he likes the pie as much as I do. He gave the pie an eyebrow raise and "hmm" of approval. That's volumes for this man of few words.)

This will be my last post until after the turkey holiday. Tomorrow brings some exciting opportunities, as well as a nice, long car trip down to Virginia. I can't wait for the long weekend of family, food, and friends. I'll return on Monday! Have a wonderful rest of your week and eat lots of yummy food!

Smooth & Jolly: A Post about Food + Frederick

Some decorations from the weekend

This past weekend consisted of jingle bells, nutmeg-sprinkled eggnog, a little Christmas shopping, a little Christmas wishing, peanut-butter-pie planning, Panthers cheering, and a frothing glass of Dunkel Weizen.

Saturday night, my hubby took me on a date to Brewer's Alley, a fantastically yummy restaurant in downtown Frederick. We've strolled past its doors several times and have been meaning to get in there. Thank the starry heavens we finally did! Undoubtedly, its the best place we've dined so far in our new hometown.

The restaurant site originally operated as Frederick's townhall. That was in 1746. Since then, it has morphed from office spaces, farmer's market, opera house, movie theater, and now this fantastic restaurant and micro-brewery where they generously pour tall, frothing glasses of nutty-dark beer. Now, Mark and I aren't really beer drinkers and rarely drink in general. But when you step into a place like this and smell the spice of good food cooking and have a stained glass king-and-stein staring down at you.... you have to try something new. And let me just say, one sip will make you sit up and take notice. It'll be the smoothest, richest flavor that's ever flowed over your tongue.

You're probably thinking "yea, but its probably an expensive glass." Well, you would be wrong, my friend. The homebrew was as economically priced as (and we honestly think perhaps even cheaper than)  the drink menus old standbys. And why you would want grocery-store-quality BudLight when you could have a tall glass of amazing I don't know. At one point during the evening, Mark and I glanced across the room and saw a lady ordering just that. We both felt the urge to raise our glasses and cry "Sacrilege!"

Obviously, we didn't. But still.
Ah well.  To each her own. Everyone has a favorite flavor,  I suppose.

I have now waxed eloquent for long enough about this restaurant. Time to move on to the rest of the day's tasks: more job applications, Christmas wrapping, and laundry to prepare for holiday packing. Woohoo! Only three more days until Turkey Day! Which means hitting the treadmill a little harder in anticipation.

Until next time,
Abi.

Day 19: Today I'm thankful for a relaxing weekend of fun and laughs-- a perfect way to prepare for the short, holiday week ahead.