Blueberry Lemon Loaf and a Weekend at the Beach

This weekend the news reported that Saturday’s full moon would be the largest all year. The first thing that I thought of was how romantic it would be to say hello to such a moon under the stars, at the Redondo Beach Pier. Well, the moon was pretty, and bright, but not what I had anticipated. Although I’m a big fan, and sort of a goofy one at that, when it comes to the moon. Still, I knew I had to see it anywhere but my bedroom window.

Boyfriend and I got the pier a little early, and we decided to get a nice workout on the water. Pedal boating is the most fun, and most stressful thing I’ve ever done on the water. Not to mention the most exhausting. We had a few seals in our path a couple of times, and they were able to evade my camera pretty successfully. Aside from the seals, I believe we had a few pelicans fly a bit too low and almost wing us.

In any case, it was a wonderful thing that lasted for about 15 minutes, till we got seasick. I don’t usually get seasick, on an empty stomach anyway, however, weird turnings in the tummy are usually a sign to turn back and get on dry land.

Aside from the cold weather, I wasn’t able to take a lot of pictures, of the beach and the recipe. In both cases I was in too much a hurry to get to the fun stuff to record anything aside from the basics.

I hope you enjoy the shots regardless!

 

 

Now onto the recipe which was inspired by Sweet Pea’s Kitchen.

I wanted to make something fresh for boyfriend, something that would use up my blueberries left over from berry picking, (and I still have about  1.5 cups left over for muffins). He picked out the recipe out of a handful and I made it right away. Although I was in a hurry, which is the reason for the lack of photos, the loaf was perfect, and Boyfriend even went back for seconds. That’s a winner in my book!

For the Loaf

• 1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed

For the Lemon Syrup

• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze

• 1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.

While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely, (personally, I skipped this step and just used the glaze because I didn’t want the loaf to be too sweet).

To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff.

Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Bargains and Reviews

A while back I wrote on some new purchases that I made from Lush. In that post I also promised a review that would be forthcoming to make sure that what the products claimed, they did. So to recap, I’ll be reviewing their body butter: Aqua Mirabilis (although I originally mentioned having their Buffy bar on my wishlist), their shampoo bar: seanik, and lastly, their mask:  cupcake (available fresh only, in-store).

My Characterists: Ok, when I say characteristics I mean what my skin, face, and hair are like so you can know if these products will work for you. Firstly, my skin tends to be dry, although you wouldn’t know it by touching or looking at it. It’s more of a tightness that I, personally, feel. Next, the face; my face is oily, and very prone to breakouts. My hair does have an oily scalp, and I have thin-ish, and straight locks. I also have bangs, which doesn’t help my forehead in the battle against oil.

Now to Review:

I got this over the Buffy bar and I couldn’t be happier, it’s got bits of ground up almond in it so it smells amazing for me. It’s gentle on my skin and very soothing after I use a scrub or shower gel. Usually after using this in the shower I don’t need to use lotion till morning. That’s  an A+ in my book.

I have oily hair and scalp as I’ve mentioned. Usually I can’t go 24 hours without washing my hair, and dry shampoos only make the oil look like caked on dirt. I was told this shampoo, as a result of the seaweed it contains, draws moisture from the environment when it’s necessary to keep ends and other parts of hair moist when they have to be. Also, keep it balanced when it’s dry outside and when you’re nearing the end of the day and your hair is less than perfect. Surprisingly, this miracle shampoo does all that!

On my trip to Northern Cali for Valentine’s Day, Boyfriend and I stayed right on the ocean, meaning lots o f moisture to go around. My hair was wonderful for two days without washing because of the amazing seaweed “balancing” action! I’m in love. And I refuse to use anything else.

Added bonus: because it’s so hydrating, I haven’t used conditioner in months!

This mask is supposed to draw out the oils and toxins from your skin while keeping your oil glands in check. If used twice a week the coal in this chocolate concoction should act as a natural regulator (like the sulfur springs everyone is raving about) for oil, pore clogging debris, and toxins. This is what I thought: it reduced my oil on the forehead (which is the oiliest) by about 40% on a good day. I still had breakouts and my skin felt great only right after I used it. I’ll pass on this one next time and see if I can try another happy mask.

Finally, to mention the star of my skin routine: Ole Henrikson Truth Serum.

This thing helps to make my pores smaller, makes my skin brighter, and since I’ve been using daily it’s helped to brighten the dark spots past acne has left behind. Also heals current breakouts faster due to the vitamin C booster. I’m really happy I splurged on this item because I’ve been using for the past three months and barely dented the serum to half the bottle!

My title has in it also “bargains”, not just reviews. This part of the post is the reviews. Rite-aid reviews to be exact. A lot of great, and cheap, products can be found at drug stores, if people know where to look. My goal was not go over $30 and buy at least 5 items that dealt with skincare or beauty. Today was my lucky day as they had a sale going!

1. Pure Springs brand Bath and Shower cream in lemon and mint: $4.99
2. Julie brand nail polish, color unknown- stamp on bottom A26: $3.99
3. Yes to Carrots brand chapstick: $ 1.99
4. Revlon nail polish in Sassy: $4.99
5. Yes to Cucumbers brand face towelettes: $5.99
6. Cuticle Remover Cream by Sally Hanson: $4.59
7. c.Booth Walnut Shell Body Scrub and Cleanser: $4.49
8. c.Booth Deep Cleansing Volcanic Mud Mask : $7.49

I’m looking forward to testing all these products out and posting their successes (hopefully) soon! By the way, I purchased 8 items, not 5 as planned, and only went over budget by $10. Today was a good day~

Monterey Bay Valentine’s Weekend

Man did I have a great weekend. I can’t say enough about how beautiful  Monterey Bay was. Not to mention Cannery Row, the obessiveness of the people there over anything Steinbeck, and of course, the Aquarium!

I have some pictures to show you all, just for fun and I hope for enjoyment.