Beach Bubbles and Raspberry Buckle Recipe!

So, last week Elliott was very sick- the kind of sick that keeps everyone up at night/causes a 3 year old with a very short attention span to sit and do NOTHING for over an hour/causes same 3 year old with a normally huge appetite to not want anything to eat- sick.  That kind of sick.  And as any parents know, ill kiddos equal double work and double the exhaustion.  SO.. I was so proud of my ever-delicate immune system for staying strong all week so I could help out since the bug got to Dean as well.  I made soup, read 'Green Eggs and Ham' 4 times, popped medicine (not the red one.. the PINK one peeease!) and tried to help make my sick boys as comfortable as possible.  Poor Dean, I wasn't around much because of work and he got stuck with the majority of the sick chores.  Then.. low and behold, on Sunday afternoon Elliott woke up and after staring into space silently for about 20 minutes he quietly said "I want to go the beach please."  YAAY, he wanted to get out and do something!  So off to the beach we went, it was about 5:00, my favorite time to go because the sun is setting, the breeze is cool and the bubbles are more fun to blow:

He was feeling much better :)

Anyhow, Elliott went back to KY Monday and almost immediately I started feeling ill.  Long story short, here it is Saturday and I have called in sick once, slept over 15 hours in each day, filled up on fluids to the point that I think I might explode... and I still feel terrible.  Whatever this virus is that's going around, it's a STRONG one and it really stinks.

This morning, after lying around all day yesterday and being absolutely stir crazy- I decided to try out a recipe I found.. somewhere.  It might have been Marthastewart.com but I can't be sure.  Now please take note- I do not share recipes easily.  I know I know, it's not nice to keep delicious things from other people when you can spread the joy by sharing.  BUT.. cooking and baking are my 'soul hobbies' if you will- and sharing the pieces and parts of what I put into perfecting a recipe just doesn't interest me!  Sorry.. I know.  I'm bad.  I'm going to baker's purgatory or something.  Oh well :-D

Selfish kitchen habits aside- I am sharing a recipe here.  It was super easy to make, uses staples you probably already have in the house, and it's yum-o!  Here it is:

Raspberry Buckle

Serves 6

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for baking dish
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 containers (1/2 pint each) raspberries (2 3/4 cups)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart oval or square baking dish. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to combine. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder; with mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture until incorporated.
2. Spread batter in baking dish. Scatter raspberries on top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean and top is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes; dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. With a large spoon, scoop out onto serving plates; serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.

Mine was very beautiful.. I really wanted to take a proper picture to share but I was running late for work so all I managed was this measly shot from my iPhone:

Make it!  It's yummy!
-Jess

PS: I added half a teaspoon of vanilla extract to mine too.  Ouch.  Sharing baking secrets hurts.

Insert Last Thailand Blog Here..

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks since we got back from Thailand!  We have some pics from our iPhones I want to post- I'll put mine up but the other phone is out of commission at the moment so I will have to update this post at some point.
The last 4 days in Thailand were spent at one of my favorite resorts ever, the Ratilanna in Chiang Mai.  Even though it was in the middle of the city, it felt so secluded and peaceful.  It sat right on the river and our room was just beautiful- I am apparently the queen of finding the best suites for the lowest prices so if you ever need help with a trip, let me know!  Here's some outside pics from the Rati:

This was the view from the balcony..