Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Think less, bake more.

Do you ever think about things so much you don't even know how to give your mind a break?  Call me crazy, but that's me right now!  Between thoughts of Rome, Barcelona, The Ring Dance, my social media campaign at work, and enjoying summer, I feel like asdkfjaslfjoiasdlkjoi....totally overwhelmed. There is just so much that is constantly running through my mind right now and the only thing that could take my mind off of all the madness in my life was obviously...

 Carrot Bread with Cream Cheese Icing
Bake at 350° for 55 minutes
Bread
2 cups all purpose flour [I used half whole wheat, half white]
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom or nutmeg
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups shredded carrots
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
Icing
Whisk together 2 T cream cheese, 3/4 C powdered sugar, 4 tsp milk, until smoothe and glazelike. Drizzle over Carrot Bread
Candied Carrots
In a skillet melt 2 T butter over medium heat.  Add 1 cup shaved carrots and 2-3 T honey.  Cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until carrots are glazed and tender.  Spread on paper towel or waxed paper to cool.
1. In a bowl stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, soda, and salt.  In another bowl combine carrots, eggs, milk, and oil; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. 
**I added 1/2 cup of chopped Walnuts to mine to give it extra texture**
2. Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 55 minutes.  Cool in pan 10 minutes.  Remove and let it cool completely on a rack.
3. Get fancy shmancy with the icing, add some candied carrots! Then wa-lah. Masterpiece.

MAKE THIS. It's amazing, easy to make, and looks like you worked hard on it. This bread totally rocked my socks and was the perfect remedy for an overthinker like myself. But now as i'm typing this my mind is beginning to wander.. hmmm maybe that means slice two is waiting for me in the kitchen! ; )

But before I go I want to know what are your thoughts on
???Barcelona vs. Rome???


euniece 

10 comments:

  1. Rome for sure!

    Your food looks delicious!

    I'm going to be out your way next weekend. I think you should totally make me something! ;)

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  2. Oh. Yum. Looks so tasty!
    Both cities are so fantastic, but I loved Barcelona. Rome is wonderful, of course, but such a young funky vibe in Barcelona that is so fun. Either one will be amazing!
    :)

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  3. Oh my, that bread looks fantastic. But then again, I'm up for anything with a cream cheese frosting!

    PS-You won my giveaway, please email me your address!

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  4. I loooove the looks of that. Baking always settles me :)

    I know nothing about either but I would pick Rome!

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  5. I totally understand the feeling of never being able to shut your mind off or slow it down. I went to a seminar the other day about mindfulness and it actually helped a lot. I blogged about it last week. Just try to slow down and think about one thing at a time. I was just talking to a friend the other day about Barcelona and she said it's amazing. Either way you can't go wrong!

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  6. This looks amazing! I love carrots. I'm actually going to start a new blog feature and the first one involves carrots, so you should check it out (I'm posting it tonight).
    I've never been to Rome, and I'm sure it's amazing, but I LOVED Barcelona. My mom didn't like Rome because she thought it was too dirty. I can not get over how amazing Barcelona is though. The architecture is so different and it has awesome beaches too. It's so unique and artsy and fun.

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  7. Oh this looks so delicious!! I agree it really looks amamzing

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  8. Oooooh, candied carrots? Yum!

    Barcelona vs. Rome. I wish I had this problem, haha! Honestly, I have no clue. I haven't been to either unfortunately, but I'm sure both are equally gorgeous! Maybe you can make a pro/con list? Although, I can't imagine there would be cons for either! Let us know what you decide to go with :)

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  9. This is awesome. I LOVE the candied carrots on top!

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  10. Euniece i'm just remembering i never responded to your message. I feel like such a horrible friend!!! I loved rome but somehow i feel like you would fit in in Barcelona really well. I think you would love it, in fact. I visited there and if i could, i would totally spend a semester (or any amount of time) there. actually... im super jealous right now that you can do it lol

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