LUNA'S LOVES

Now I am not a baker. I repeat, I am not a baker. So when I was gifted Florida Crystals® Organic Sugar I was racking my brain to bake something that A, I loved, and B, was easy enough for us non-bakers to do. I had a beignet at a foodie event that Andrew and I attended and it was the perfect mix between sweet savory and even had a kick to it. It was so delicious that I went back for seconds and even thought about it for days. This is my interpretation of that beignet but instead of fried, I baked mine. Fried food tends to hurt my stomach if I have too much of it, so I didn't want to go the tradition route. But trust me, nothing is lost in this dessert. Also, you might be hesitant about a cayenne whipped cream, but there is so much sweetness between the honey and powdered sugar that it is exactly what it needed to make this dish perfect. Originally I served it on the side, but then my brilliant husband started to stuff the beignets and our mind were blown just how good it was! Honestly, these really are just as good as they look.

Ingredients:

Beignets

4 cups flour (plus extra on hand)
1/4 cup of Florida Crystals® Sugar
1 1/2 cup of milk (lukewarm)
1 package of fast activating yeast
1 egg
4 tbs of melted butter
2 teaspoons of salt
Extra milk and melted butter for brushing dough
Extra powdered sugar for sprinkling on top
Honey to drizzle on top

Cayenne Whipped Cream

1/2 cup of Florida Crystals® Powdered Sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp cayenne (plus more if you want more spice)
1 tsp paprika

Place milking yeast in a bowl and let it sit fro 2 minutes. Then mix in sugar, eggs, and butter.
Slowly mix in flour and salt. Place the (sticky) dough on a floured surface and knead until it is no longer sticky. You might need to mix in a little bit more flour.
Transfer dough in a large bowl with a damp warm cloth and let rise for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
After dough is done rising, remove excess air and roll out. Cut out dough in 2 inch rectangles.
Place on a non stick pan and brush with milk. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
While beignets are still warm, brush with melted butter.
In a medium bowl add powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, cayenne, and paprika and mix with an electric mixer until it starts to look more like whipped cream. Note: keep tasting and adjusting until it is to your likeness.
Put whipped mixture into a piping bag and stuff beignets (it can also be eaten on the side)
Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and drizzle honey on top.
Enjoy!

Luna

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I knew our baby girl Francis was going to come early. Ryan-Kate was and somehow I just felt like Francis was going to be the same way. She is such dream and these past few days our whole family has been all heart eyes for her. She is peaceful, sweet, beautiful, and so so perfect. Even though I knew she was coming early and had ben anticipated her birth for months, Andrew and I were still both surprised when she made her arrival.

On Thursday morning, September 27, I went in for my 38 week appointment. My doctor said I was already 4 cm dilated and 70% effaced. I thought that was encouraging but knew that women can sit there for a while too, so I tried to take it with a grain of salt. On Friday, we went on with our normal routine: getting Rk to school, grocery shopping, and spending some family time. We even started planning out our weekend and work commitments. It's such a strange place to be: in-between expectancy and waiting, knowing that things could change in an instant.

That night, around 11am I woke up with contractions. At this point, I'm not sure if I am ready to call them contractions. Like once I say it I can't take it back and we are really doing this. I even debated on waiting until morning to tell Andrew. Once I woke up Andrew, we start to track my contractions. 7 minutes apart. So we start making arrangements for someone to sleep over with Rk so we can go to the hospital. On the way to the hospital I feel nauseous and I have Andrew pull over so I can throw up. Not pretty and it was miserable.

At the hospital, we get set up in the triage room where I am monitored for an hour to confirm that I indeed am in labor. It is now 1:30am and I am 5cm now each contraction only getting stronger. I get transferred to the delivery room, answer questions, get iv's, and request an epidural. My body was shaking so bad because of the contractions and I've about had my limit. At 2:30am and I get an epidural and it works almost instantly. I am now at 7cm and my water still has not yet broken.

After the epidural, things start progressing a lot slower but I don't mind. I just let me body rest and both Andrew and I try to get some sleep. I wake up around 5am and I remember the room feeling so peaceful and I am overwhelmed with such much joy. I begin to bless my labor, my new baby girl, and the new life that is about to enter this world. Birth is such a beautiful, spiritual experience.

At 7am I can start feeling pain despite having the epidural and still pressing to delivery more pain relief. I am 9cm and my water still hasn't broken. My delivery doctor tells me that she wants to wait a little longer then she will break my water and I can deliver. My pain level is increasing and I start to feel so much pressure and I am pretty sure I need to push soon. Around 8am, I ring my nurses and tell them I feel like its time and that I need to start pushing. They seemed surprise but start preparing everything. The epidural is only sort of working and I can feel everything. People are coaching me and encouraging me and I am sure that I won't be able to do it. But then she was here and she was perfect.

Andrew and I were both so happy and overwhelmed. I remember him being so emotional and I being so happy. Francis Promise Nemeth was born at 8:26am. I cannot wait to see who she will become. She carries so much peace and joy already and I am honored to be her mother.

xx
Luna

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