Surgery

So I had my surgery on September 7th. Everything seems to have gone well. After surgery they put a cast on my ankle and could NOT put any weight on it. All I could do was sit with my ankle elevated... it was quite boring. No working for 2 full weeks, doctors orders!

Ten days after my surgery I had my follow up appointment. The nurse removed my cast, took out my stitches and suture, and I got a walking boot. Funny thing was I still couldn't put any weight on my ankle. No weight on it until 2 weeks after surgery.

It's now been 2 1/2 weeks (18 days) since my surgery... I started putting weight on my ankle this week and even was able to walk a little bit yesterday. It's going to be a long process to be all the way healed, but so far everything looks good.

Below are a few pictures of my ankle after my cast came off... it's kind of cool.


More to come as my recovery continues. I start physical therapy on October 5th! Yay!

Another Adventure in Baking

Okay... so my surgery is in 2 days and I have to get as much done as I can. Today I made more Chocolate Chip Almond Zucchini Bread and I ventured into making a homemade Carrot Cake. So here's the Carrot Cake recipe. I hope it turns out!

Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour (I use Powdered Sugar) a 9" cake pan or 2 - 9" pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in almonds. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake. Top with a small handful of slivered almonds.

Recipes

Well I've been on a baking kick... it's become my obsession. I've baked something every week for about the past 4 weeks. I've made Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes, Black Bottom Cupcakes, French Vanilla Coffee Cupcakes, Zucchini Bread... I love it!

People keep asking me for the recipe to all baked goods I've made. So... I've decided to start posting them on my blog. Today I made Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread.

Here's the recipe!

Mallori's Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon 3 eggs	1 cup vegetable oil 2 1/4 cups white sugar 3 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups grated zucchini 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1.	Grease two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2.	Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl. (Or just mix them together using a fork)
3.	Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. It will be VERY thick. Fold in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4.	Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until butter knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

It's a recipe I found online, but I altered it to make it my own! Hope you like it!