Spring :)

Hi everyone! So today is the last day of spring break, and there has been lots to do. The whole week forecast was supposed to be rainy, but instead, it turned out to be very warm almost everyday!Easter is right around the corner, and I cannot wait for our annual Easter egg hunt! Well, I hope the rest of our flowers pop up, that way it will be permanently spring time. I got a new camera for my birthday, that was on March 8th (I TURNED 16!); and I took some pretty pictures for ya'll. Hope you guys are out enjoying today, get some sunshine in you!

Makin' Dessert

Hi guys, this post will be short. I was in Tim Horton's with my mum, and I discovered that all of the donuts they make cannot be guaranteed nut free. So I went home, and looked up a recipe for my favorite, apple fritters <3 I made them, and I thought you guys could try to make them! Also included is a recipe for jelly filled donuts, and a link to my Allrecipes.com channel! Happy baking :)


Easy Apple Fritters

Ingredients:

1 + 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil, plus more for frying
3 cups apple, diced small or in small matchsticks

Glaze
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Instructions

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. In a separate, large bowl combine eggs, milk and oil; stir in flour mixture and apples all at once mixing just until combined.
Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a large saucepan or cast iron skillet to 365 degrees F. Drop tablespoons of batter carefully into the oil frying until puffy and golden, turning once, about 3-4 minutes. Remove to paper towels and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and/or dunk in glaze.
Glaze:
In a medium saucepan over low heat combine milk and vanilla; heat until warm. Whisk the confectioners’ sugar slowly into the milk and continue whisking until well combined.
Remove glaze from the heat and set over a bowl of warm water. Dip doughnuts into the glaze and set on a wire rack or right into your mouth!

Jelly-filled Donuts


1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm 2% low-fat milk
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
vegetable oil, for frying
Fillings and Toppings
fruit preserves (or pudding, cream filling, etc)

Directions:

1 In a small bowl mix the yeast with the milk and sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flour and salt. When yeast is ready, add that to the mixing bowl.

2 Add the egg and butter. Begin to mix the ingredients into a soft, but not sticky, dough. (Add a little extra milk or extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed). Knead dough until smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

3 Punch down the dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few seconds. With a lightly floured rolling pin, gradually roll out the dough to about 1/2-inch thick. (When rolling dough, let it rest periodically to relax). Cut out into 3" rounds with a lightly floured biscuit cutter. Re-roll the scraps to make more rounds.

4 Place the doughnuts on lightly floured baking sheets, spacing them apart, and cover lightly with a dry towel. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.

5 Using a deep fryer (or fill a heavy pot with 3" vegetable oil) and heat to 325°F Fry the doughnuts, a few at a time, until golden and puffed, 4-5 minutes, turning frequently using a slotted spoon.

6 Lift the doughnuts from the oil and place onto a cooling rack. Once cooled, fill a pastry bag using your filling of choice. Insert the tip into the end of each doughnut and pipe approximately 1-2 tsp filling into them. Dust with confectioners' sugar, coat with chocolate icing, or dip in glaze. Best eaten the same day.

http://allrecipes.com/cook/187284461/profile.aspx


Have fun cookin' ;)

Love,
Danae
xoxoxo

Looking At Things In A Different Perspective

Today my semester two started. I had P.E.: which was easy because we didn't have to do anything. Then I had English Honors: which was fun because we have 22/ 25 students that are girls, and we have a fabulous writing assigned tonight. After lunch, I headed down to Math Foundations: which was pretty easy review with an annoying teacher. Then I trotted down to Art: which was the best part of the day, and the main reason why I'm posting this!


Art isn't my strongest area of expertise... but I highly recommend taking a course in that direction. The reason being is, you can relax, and you do learn a lot about the world, not just art history. Mrs.W was very welcoming to us, and sat us down. Our first assignment was to close our eyes, relax, and open them again in a different light. She told us to go outside in the bitter wind, and take a section of ground, and take a picture of detail. This opened up my view of the world because I could definitively see that there was so much I hadn't seen. Laying on my belly, I could see that ants were collecting food, that there were different shades of dirt, and the beautiful swaying clover. Of course there was way more, but we only got to pick a small section. Now we have to look at our photograph closer, and see what we've missed, and sketch it out on paper, then paint.

This has made me look at the world at a different perspective because, I see that things are growing, and others are prospering. Our world is so beautiful, thank you Lord for all of the earth. So, class, your assignment is to lay down on the grass, and concentrate...can you see something you haven't before? Stop and smell the roses :-)


Love, Danae

xoxo

Painting From My Soul

Hello everyone! Lately I've been super stressed, because of recent events, including provincial exams. I've been praying and trying different things to relieve my sudden migraines...but I finally realized I had to start drawing and painting again. My friend Caitlin is an amazing painter, and I know many others that are reaaally good at it, so I thought, "Why not?" :-)

Painting for me has expressed the pain, anger, and loneliness I have been burying inside, and I'd like to share them to you. You should try it ;-) <3

Love you guys, take care!

Long Weekend :D

So I've had a pretty bitter sweet weekend. I had a doctor's appointment, hung out with my boyfriend, and had sleepover with Caitlin and Mikeila :D We were all sick, but we had a blast. It's kinda funny how we go to the same school but we barely see each other D: (Ps: I'm addicted to making scrapbooks now :D There goes all of my money)

Heres a random picture of me:

Take care guys <3

School Photos, Pepsi, and Youth Group

My School Photo :-)

So today was a very good day because I got to meet the Pepsi guy that fills our Pepsi/ water machine at school. He was very nice, and let me actually take a Pepsi from the inside of the machine! Sounds dumb, but I thought it was pretty cool :-P Youth group is tonight and I'm very excited because we have small groups, and finally I get to be in the grade 10- 12 girls group! Senior High! Makes me feel a lot older then when I used to say Middle School. So my photo turned out decent ( thank you Lord ) I spent 32 dollars of my own money, just so I could get a photo for every single year until Graduation. Then I could put it into a scrapbook, and have memories of high school.

For a while, I have been feeling quite down lately, lots of stress with school work, trying to maintain straight A's, so I can get a scholarship in grade 12 for University. Career day really made me think of my future. People thought it was a dumb day, but I think it helped me out quite a bit. When I went to the Columbia Bible Collage course and the University of Fraser Valley course, I felt a calling to do at least 1 year of Columbia when I graduate, and then some U.F.V classes to become a Drama/ English teacher. I feel quite better now that I have a life plan, so now I just have to save up money.

Well, I'm off to do homework! Bye!

-Danae Charlebois

The High School Normal

So as you all know, I started high school almost a month ago. I had nerves, new books, and I was excited. New teachers, new friendships, and new lockers...how much new things could you handle at once? Well for me it was rough. I mean, fitting in wasn't too bad, since I had friends from grade 9 to cling to, but I met new people. New people that did make it a struggle to enjoy certain classes.

Then the old friends kinda changed. I mean, I know everyone changes, but it was disappointing. Sure I made new ones, but I finally realized I changed a lot too, over the summer.

Everything changes, the seasons do, foods do, and fashion does. I really dislike change, but it's how we grow, and learn. As for the people that don't like me, there is always going to be haters. You just have to push on, because they aren't worth it. Enjoy school. It's not just there for you to flaunt your see through clothes, or fancy shoes. Education is important. I'm not trying to sound all teacher-like, but it's true.

Even though it has been a bumpy road, I finally feel as I've been accepted. I still felt insecure about how I looked. But then one of my friends who I'm going to keep Anonymous, (you know who you are :-) ) said I was beautiful the way I was. Now this is a very hard compliment to swallow, because I do not believe a word of it. But he was very persistent. Inspiration is what he has given me, to share this with you.

Confidence is one of the qualities I haven't gain yet, but I wish to. I think the sexiest thing in a man is confidence. Even if I can't feel beautiful, I can still feel confident about who I'am. Thank you Anonymous, you've really helped, more then you'd know...

Everyone has views about themselves, and high school is tough. But keep telling yourself that everything is going to look brighter in the future. At least once a day, go up to some random person, and say "Hi". You could really change someone's day for the better.

I love you all,

Danae Charlebois