Officially 9 Months

Whew. I've officially made it through to the ninth month of pregnancy! I am due in exactly 4 weeks. Eeek! So much to prepare still, with Thanksgiving, reunions, and my niece's first birthday in there too! My to do list just keeps growing longer and longer, instead of crossing things off I just keep adding them.

But, besides all the mayhem, I am so excited. I had another ultrasound this week... baby is doing a lot better. For those of you who didn't know, about a month ago my doctor was a little concerned that my stomach was so small still. Not "so small" but, smaller than average, and not growing consistently. So she sent me for an ultrasound; turns out Raspberry was actually averaging larger than normal... but mostly due to her ginormous head. :/ I was 33.5 weeks at the time, and her head was measuring around 36, with her body just lagging a little at 32.5. My ultrasound this week showed that her head only moved up to 37 weeks (still ahead of schedule), but that her body has caught up significantly and is just under 36 weeks. And at this point they are no longer concerned, it could be genetics (my father has a huge noggin'), or it could be error (her head is actually really low in my abdomen, so low its hard for them to get a measurement, which is also why my stomach isn't as big as its expected to be... she's hiding. :P). But all in all she's healthy, she's moving like mad, and still pulled a million and one faces for the ultrasound pictures... but didn't give anyone the finger this time.

As for me... I'm doing good. Cooking up a storm, I have a couple recipes I'm going to try out today... and a cookbook I'm dying to get into. And I have a super secret project that I think would be really cool if I decide to do it. More on that later. My back is being pretty achy though, but that's to be expected, right? I just have to be careful how much I stand in one spot - walking seems to help though, in small amounts.

Anyways, I'm going to go make some London Fog Cupcakes! I'll let you know how that goes.

Chocolate Mousse Cake with Chocolate Toffee Crust

Taken from The Gourmet Pregnancy by Leah Douglas, from the Desserts section.

Ingredients
Crust
- 1 pkg chcolate sandwich cookies (with chocolate filling)
- 1/2 cup Skor bits
- 1/4 cup butter, melted

Chocolate Mousse
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups whipping cream
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grind cookies in a blender to medium-fine consistency: pour into a large mixing bowl. Add Skor bits and melted butter, stiring to mix well.
3. Press crust evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 4 - 5 minutes. Cool on cooling rack.
4. In a large saucepan over low heat, warm chocolate chips, vanilla and 1 cup of the whipping cream, stirring gently until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and let cool in refrigerator.
5. In a separate large bowl, add remaining 2 cups of whipping cream and sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in the cooled chcolate mixture and spread evenl over crust.
6. Let the cake cook in regrigerator or freezer for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve cold.
   

Comments
This was an amazing cake, the mousse is absolutely heavenly (as Leah describes it). When you freeze it before serving it's almost like an icecream... but it is also great just out of the fridge. I baked the crust the full 5 minutes, and it was a little hard, so keep a close eye on it, and don't be afraid to 'underbake' it slightly, especially if you're going to serve it frozen. It's better to have a crumbly crust than one that you can't get through. Highly recommended!

Spiced Caramelized Cauliflower

Taken from The Gourmet Pregnancy by Leah Douglas, out of the Lighter Fare section.

Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into sliced florets
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper


Method

1. Preheat oven to 500 F
2. Combine cauliflower, melted butter, brown sugar, paprika, cinnamon and cumin. Season with salt and ground pepper. Toss to coat.
3. Place cauliflower on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Serve cauliflower warm.

Comments
The recipe is actually "Spiced Caramelized Cauliflower and Candied Curry Pecan Salad", but the way the cauliflower is spiced makes a fantastic side to your meal on its own. Make sure to keep them in the oven until they look very brown in spots, I thought I burnt them the first time, but the darker ones were the best ones! This even won over non-cauliflower fans. Enjoy!