Celebrate It! Blog Party #10

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What have you been celebrating lately? Here at The Freshman Cook we have been celebrating this week with the air turned off and the windows open.  Fall is here in North Carolina and I am loving it! It is my favorite time of year!  We lived in the southwest for most of my married life, and fall was usually late to get there, and didn't stay very long. So this is truly something to celebrate and enjoy!

 

Carmelized Apple Spice Cake

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Here in North Carolina, fall dropped by today! So, to celebrate my favorite time of the year, I have a Carmelized Apple Spice Cake for your dessert time pleasure. Today, I'm participating with over 40 other bloggers in a LorAnn Oil and Flavors Recipe Round-Up! Do you know LorAnn Oil ? They produce an incredible variety of oils and flavorings, and have done so for over 50 years. They also offer other items such as candy making and baking supplies, making them your "go to" company. Check them out! But check out my Carmelized Apple Spice Cake first! 

I used a special cake mold to make a spice cake, carmelized some apples,
melted some caramels, put it all together, and tasted fall! 

Carmelized Apple Spice Cake

Celebrate It! Blog Party #9

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It's time for Celebrate It!

Dessert Sushi!!!

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Today, I am visiting over at Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo, and I brought something special with me. Kind of a faux dessert, really. I call it Dessert Sushi! It looks like sushi, but tastes like candy, and it is lots of fun!

Chocolate Caramel Apple Bundt Cake/#BundtBakers

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This month the #BundtBakers cake was a lot of fun! How does Chocolate Caramel Apple Bundt Cake sound? I know, sounds good, right? The theme this month was Autumn Harvest, so my brain immediately went to apples. But I wanted to add a little decadence to this treat, so I stuffed the cake with chunks of apple, and then I topped it with chocolate fudge sauce, apple pie filling, and caramel sauce. Definitely, decadence elevated!

Blogland Tour!

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Today I am taking part in The Blogland Tour. Thank you to Shannon from Bohemium Junktion for including me in this fun and interesting activity. The Blogland Tour is a great way to learn about who I am and why I am a blogger, and then I will link you to another blogger so you can learn more about her also. It's a lot of fun and so interesting, plus you get a lot on insight into other blogs and what makes them tick! So here we go:

1. What am I working on right now?
    For the last few days I have been working on several fall posts. I have a seasonal Bundt Cake coming up, and I have been baking a lot for an event happening in a couple weeks. I also am half way through some fall cupcakes, some bar desserts, and I have a list of about 20 things to make, of which only half will ever happen. I love making seasonal items and autumn is my favorite, so the blog is loaded with them. In past years I have made this Apple Cinnamon Creme Brulee that is one of my favorites.

Celebrate It! Blog Party #8!

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 Welcome to "Celebrate It" Blog Party!

I am so glad you are here! This blog party is all about celebrating our everyday lives.

 Link up anything you want that shows how you celebrate life. 

Maybe it's a special recipe for dinner, or a little something special for your child's lunch box! Did you make a great craft that you want to share? We would love to see it!! Did you write a blog post about something important to you? Share it here so we can read it too!What about that great picture you took?

We want to see it! Link up with us and celebrate the everyday things we do that make up this wonderful life!

"Celebrate It" Blog Party! #7

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What are you celebrating today, tomorrow, this week, last week? I hope you will share what you are celebrating at this weeks "Celebrate It!" blog party! Link up what you cooked for dinner, something special that happened at work or school, an exciting picture that you took, a craft that changed a room or a tabletop, a special treat you created, a favorite DIY project. Anything that shows how you celebrate the everyday days that make up this wonderful life.

Caprese Pasta Salad

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This Caprese Pasta Salad is cool and refreshing. Now, that is something I would think I would be writing in July, for sure. But it is September and it is very hot and terribly muggy here in North Carolina. This salad is just the thing to help you cool down. It has the traditional caprese ingredients, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil. I didn't do it here, but you could add some shredded chicken and make this salad a meal! Enjoy and try to stay cool!

Caprese Pasta Salad

Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons Tarragon Vinegar

2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

Salt and Ground Pepper

1/4 teaspoon Confectioner's Sugar

6 tablespoons Sunflower Oil

Salad

Whole Wheat Pasta

Cherry Tomatoes

Fresh Basil thinly sliced

Mozzarella Block

Vinaigrette

Start by putting your vinegar, mustard, 

and salt and pepper in a bowl.

Add the confectioner's sugar.

Mix ingredients with a whisk.

Drizzle in the oil, whisking gently until smooth and blended.

Taste test to check if additional salt or pepper is needed.

Wash your tomatoes and......

roll your basil leaves together and then chop thinly.

I used a block of mozzarella because that is what I had on hand.

I used this very small scoop to make mozzarella balls.

They were the perfect size. You could also use mozzarella 

balls that are already round when you buy them. They

are very tasty and some are marinated.

Place everything but the vinaigrette together in a bowl.

Toss together with just a little vinaigrette and add more

if you need.

I hope you enjoy this simple, refreshing salad!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Here are some other recipes you might enjoy:

Seaside Pasta Salad

Super Simple Spaghetti Salad

Strawberry and Avocado Salad 

Waffle Crusted Apple Pie Parfait / #Foodie Extravaganza

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September is National Waffle month and along with a bunch of other bloggers we are having a Foodie Extravaganza all about Waffles! You can see all of the delicious recipes at the end of this post. #FoodieExtravaganza

Welcome to the Foodie Extravaganza!

So today, I made Waffle Crusted Apple Pie Parfaits! I love waffles, so this was a fun and tasty challenge for me!! I wanted a little bit of fall in my recipe, even though it is not officially here yet, so I chose apples, which led me to apple pie, which led me to using the waffles as the crust in the apple pie that is not really a pie, but a parfait. Yep, that's how this brain works. 

Anyway, I hope you like this Waffle Crusted Apple Pie Parfait with Whipped Cream!

Waffle Crusted Apple Pie Parfait