favorite eats // lemon strawberry yogurt cake

What do I do when it's chilly and rainy and we've turned our heat off for the season? I bake. Which I actually enjoy now that I don't have morning/noon/night sickness. The grocery store had strawberries on sale this week and you better believe that a little crate of them was the first thing in my cart...that along with about 27 other kinds of fruits and vegetables. Baby Miller is craving stuff that's fresh, fresh, fresh.

So there on the counter sat 2 pounds of big, juicy strawberries just begging to be baked into something delicious and spring-y. Then I came across this recipe that I had saved on Pinterest awhile back: Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Cake. Done. And let me tell you, it is one of the most beautiful little cakes I've ever seen. And if spring had a flavor, I think it'd be a combo of lemon+strawberry.

via

Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Cake
from A Spicy Perspective

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt (I used vanilla & it was delish)
12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

the mystery of the empty bird feeder

Ever since moving into our little neighborhood, we have discovered that we have quite the community of birds, both big and small. There are several cardinals (my favorite!), many little wrens and chickadees, and we've even seen large hawks and eagles. For Christmas, Tim received a bird book encyclopedia from Grandpa and Grandma and we've really been surprised how into bird watching we've gotten.

So when the snow began to melt, like last week, we went to Menard's and picked up a new bird feeder and song bird feed. I was so excited to get it up on our big tree in the backyard - the perfect viewing spot from the kitchen table, the window above the sink, and the sun room. It took a couple of days, but slowly the little birdies started showing up and circling the feeder. Yay! And then it happened...

One morning we woke up and the feeder was completely empty. Our first thought: squirrels. Nasty little animals. We started talking about ways to keep these unwanted critters out of the bird feeder - everything from a guard to electric shock. But in the meantime, we went out, filled the feeder back up and watched the birds gather again.

But guess what? This happened 3 more times - we go to sleep at night the feeder is full, we wake up in the morning and it's totally empty. Seriously?! After talking my bird experts (mom and Grandma), we've determined that it is not squirrels, but something nocturnal, i.e. a raccoon or possum. It is such a mystery! It makes me want a trail camera and/or live trap. Maybe we should just pull an all-nighter camped out in the sun room with flash lights, waiting for the hungry critter to reveal himself...

spring is here!

I'm almost afraid to utter those words for fear that I'll scare it away, but with the snow almost completely gone and 70s in the forecast, I think spring is (finally) here to stay. Other signs that spring is here:

• the sunroom was toasty warm this afternoon
• cardinals can be heard from morning to evening
• the frisbee golfers are out in full force
• garage sale signs litter the corners of busy intersections
• greenhouses are filling up with flowers and potting soil
• everyone in the neighborhood is going for an evening stroll

Tomorrow's high is sunny and 65 and it's a little bit ridiculous how giddy that makes me feel. Bring on the sunshine!

Take me out to the ball game

A few days ago Tim came home from work and told me not to plan a meal for Tuesday night because he had dinner plans for us. I thought maybe sushi or Thai at one of our favorite local restaurants, or dinner in Minneapolis with a Groupon he scored. Wrong and wrong. When I got home yesterday from work there were 4 Twins tickets laying on the counter for the game last night and a note that said, "How about a dome dog for dinner tonight? We are meeting Matt and Marji at 6:00. Dress accordingly." At that point I was so excited that I started dancing with Callie. At one point we thought it might get rained out, but just before the game the clouds departed and the sun came out. What a great way to spend a Tuesday night!

Springtime

Happy May! Feels weird saying that already but I am not complaining. Between all the rain we've had and the few days of sunshine, it seems that every tree is now in full bloom, sporting new leaves or flowers. I never used to like spring, probably because spring in the Midwest usually meant slushy and sloppy piles of leftover snow that had been coated with a thick layer of dirt and always left a muddy mess of debris and grocery bags behind. Not a pretty sight. But this year spring came a little early, due to the mild mostly-snowless winter. And I like it.


Along with spring comes wedding season. Jenna, one of my good friends from college, is getting married this fall (woot! woot!) and I've been working with her on designing wedding save-the-dates and invitations. Her wedding is going to be nothing short of gorgeous. Think classy with a vintage twist. Mmm...lovely. And today when I opened my little mailbox, there was the save-the-date postcard waiting for me! I really love how they turned out.

In other news...

• Tim and I are packing up tonight to head to South Dakota for the weekend to watch my little sis graduate from nursing school. So proud! Watch out world, you're about to inherit one fantastic nurse.
• I went for a run today after work. Yikes. First run since...who knows when. Let's just say, even Beyonce wasn't enough of a distraction to make it seem fun.
• Grandma M. has been wanting me to paint something for her for over a year now. And for the past year, the two blank canvases have been staring at me. Until today. I just finished two bright and cheery paintings that include the verse Psalm 3:3.
• I've decided I'm not going to read "The Hunger Games."
• Tomorrow's Friday. Booyah.