Butcher's Bunches and Cox's Honeyland: Logan

So I was reading an article today in the Herald Journal about a woman who makes sugar-free jams here in Logan. Supposedly, these jams are amazing and are starting to be recognized around the nation. The brand is called Butcher's Bunches. After reading this article in the newspaper...

 Butcher's Bunches Article

...I had to go see what this hype was all about. Liz Kennard's jam, owner of Butcher's Bunches jam, is sold at Cox's Honeyland, which, lucky for me, is only about five minutes from my apartment. I have driven past Cox's Honeyland tons of times going in and out of Logan, but I have never thought to stop there...that was a mistake. I walk in and ask the woman - who was super nice - where the jam was. She showed me to an entire wall of locally made jams. 

Just a little bit about me: I am probably one of the most indecisive people you will ever meet. An old lady once told me it was because I am a pisces... I think that's a good argument. 

So I am standing in front of these jams and they all look delicious... which one am I going to choose? Naturally, I choose the one bottle called "French Kissed" :) Here it is: 

Here is the Butcher's Bunches Website, if you want to take a look at some of their flavors:

Butcher's Bunches

After I was all jammed out, I turn around, and there is an entire wall of of honey! There is cinnamon, vanilla, orange, raspberry, almond, and so many other kinds. I then see a type of honey I have never seen before called Cream Honey. I ask the nice lady what it is and she says it has the exact same ingredients as regular honey, but it crystallizes differently, so it is thicker than regular honey and has a buttery consistency. She then led me to an area where I could try a bunch of different types. After trying a few, I decided to start safe and go with the Cinnamon Honey, knowing that I will be back to get other kinds another time. Here is the Cinnamon Cream Honey:

Finally, there were a bunch of honey sticks of all different flavors, and they were only 25 cents! I got 4 different kinds: vanilla, original, pink lemonade, and strawberry. My favorites were pink lemonade and vanilla. Here is the strawberry one: 

The strawberry honey stick tastes like those gel candies that come in a tube that I used to eat when I was a kid. 

After tasting all that honey and eating two honey sticks, I went home and tried both the cinnamon honey and "french kissed" jam. They were delicious. The "French Kissed" jam was really, really, really sweet . I probably should have expected that, since the bottle said, "white chocolate strawberry"- and it was named french kissed :). Needless to say, it was awesome, but don't eat too much or it might make you sick. Butcher's Bunches has another flavor I really want to try called "Monkey Bizzness". It is a chocolate-banana spread - like nutella and bananas? mmm.

The cream honey was also really good. It is hard in the bottle, so you microwave it and it becomes thinner so you can spread it, and then once it cools off, it hardens again- this is my new favorite type of honey! I was expecting it to taste like the cinnamon honey butter at Texas Roadhouse, it doesn't. I like Texas Roadhouse's butter better than this, but the cream honey is better for you than honey butter. This honey tastes more like christmas than the Texas Roadhouse butter, and it is sweeter. I still want to go back and try some of the other kinds, though, they all looked really good. 

Here is Cox's Honeyland, it is just a cute little place on the right hand side of main street before entering Logan. They also have homemade fudge! 

Here is where it is located: 

Mexican Bakeries: Logan

There are two Mexican bakeries in Logan that I have been wanting to go to for a really long time. The first one is on 1000 North across from Walgreens. It is called La Chispita or "Little Spark". I pretend I am good at Spanish, but I actually went to these two places with Trevor, who told me it meant "little spark". The second one (the better one) is called Rita's Bakery and it is located on 300 North and 25 West, right across the street from the car dealership and the police station.

La Chispita:

Trevor went on a mission to Mexico and said La Chispita reminded him a lot of Mexico in the way the bakery was set up. On one side was the baked goods, where you get a tray and put the food you want on it and then bring it up to the register and they put it in a bag for you when you pay for it. At the register, there are all these authentic mexican candies- like chili powder lollipops! - That was pretty cool. On the other side of the bakery there were spices and peppers hanging everywhere and a refrigerator that had mexican sodas. There was also a place to sit and a place to order real mexican food around the corner.


Another good thing about this place is that it is super cheap! Our bread only added up to be about $2!


Here is what we got:

I would tell you the name of the bread we bought, but I have no idea what either of them are called. I would compare this bread to a ginger snap cookie. Sorry that it is half eaten. We forgot to take pictures until we had already started eating. Late is better than never I guess, right? It was really good, but extremely dry. Both Trevor and I concluded that it was like eating a saltine cracker. We both started talking funny because the bread was stuck to the roof of our mouths. 

This was the bread Trevor ordered. He said it was something he ate all the time when he was in Mexico. It is cooked with cinnamon sticks and orange zest in the dough so that once it is baked, the cinnamon and orange flavor are subtly in the bread. The top of the bread is a vanilla frosting that has been hardened. This bread was a lighter bread. It had a light flavor. However, it was just as dry as the ginger bread we tried. 


Unfortunately, I wouldn't go back to La Chispita because their bread was too dry. It may have been that we went there on a bad day, when the bread was old, but there is another bakery - Rita's Bakery - that is much better than La Chispita. The people are very nice at La Chispita, though, and I do still want to try the food because it looks like authentic Mexican cuisine. There were quite a few people eating there when we bought the bread- so it must be pretty good, right? 


Rita's Bakery:

Location of Rita's Bakery

I went to Rita's Bakery the day after I went to La Chispita so I could compare them. Rita's isn't as nice as La Chispita, but it is bigger and there is more to choose from. Also, Rita's has vegetables and fruits for really cheap and meats and other Mexican foods you can buy, as well as cooked food like tacos and enchiladas in the back of the store. 


Here is what we got:

Again, I couldn't tell you what this is called. It is the same type of bread Trevor and I ordered at Chispita but with strawberry frosting instead of vanilla. It is a light, fluffy bread with bits of orange zest and cinnamon cooked inside. This bread was MUCH better than the bread from La Chispita. It was a lot softer and more moist than the vanilla one. 

I know this bread doesn't look like much, but it was my favorite out of the four we tried. If you like Angel Food Cake, you would for sure like this bread. It tastes exactly like cake. It is spongy and sweet. 


I have never been to a Mexican bakery before, so I didn't really know what to expect. The food was decent, but I would say going there was more for the experience. It is definitely worth it especially because each item is only like $1. I felt like I was in a different country walking in. I wouldn't say I would make a special trip to get any of these again, but I do want to go back to try other pastries to see if there are others that are good. So, if you want to try something new here in Logan, Utah, go to Rita's Bakery. You won't go wrong with the Angel Food Cake, I promise. Also, if you are looking for some Mexican spices or ingredients, go to Rita's because I bet you they will have something you can use. 

Le Nonne: Logan

As you know, I am attempting to go to every single restaurant in Logan. One of the first places I was suggested to eat at in Logan is a little Italian restaurant called Le Nonne. It is located in a small house on 129 North and 100 East.


I went to Le Nonne with two girls on my team, Ashlyn and Molli. We were the only ones in the restaurant at the time. Le Nonne is a little on the expensive side, especially for a college student, so we decided to go for lunch when it is only about $8 a plate instead of $15. Even though it was lunch, the portions were still huge! Here we are :) 

First they brought us out bread with balsamic vinegar and oil. The bread was good, but it wasn't anything spectacular. Macaroni Grill and Cheesecake Factory bread are still at the top of my list. 


The service was really fast; before we could finish the bread, the food was already out. 


Spaghettini Del Ortolano ($8.45):
  Menu description: 'From the garden' this Tuscan version of primavera, uses Jullian-style carrots and celery, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms and onions that are sauteed with white wine and then added to our homemade tomato sauce. 

I am not a huge pasta fan (except mac and cheese) but this was the best angel hair pasta I have ever had. The vegetables were soft and perfectly seasoned and the noodles weren't soaked in tomato sauce like some dishes are at other restaurants. I am a big eater and probably only ate about a quarter of the plate. But don't worry, I took the rest home and finished it in the course of two other meals. I actually forgot my leftovers at the restaurant and went all the way back to get them because it was THAT good. 

Paillard Di Pollo ($8.25):

Menu Description: This simple style of pounded chicken breast is grilled and seasoned with fresh rosemary. This is a flavorful, low calorie dish. 

Molli ordered the Chicken and Alfredo. In the menu description it says "pounded chicken" and let me tell you, they did a wonderful job at pounding that chicken. It was the flattest piece of chicken I have ever seen. I didn't try the dish because I do NOT like Alfredo, I am not a very picky person, but Alfredo is one of the foods I will not eat. However, Molli said she thought it was really good. The chicken was really flavorful and the pasta didn't have too much sauce on it. The only downside was that, as you can see in the picture, the entire bottom of the plate was filled with oil.. that was a little unappetizing. 

Pennete Al Pomodoro ($7.45):

 Menu Description: This quick and simple dish of pennette pasta is sauteed in our homemade tomato, basil, and garlic sauce. This sauce is found throughout Italy.

Ashlyn ordered the penne pasta with tomato sauce and fresh parmesan on top. I caught her right as she was about to take the first bite so I could take a picture :) I didn't try her meal either, but she said it was really good. There wasn't a ton of sauce on her dish either, but she said it was still very flavorful. I haven't tried any of the other dishes, but i'm guessing the "less is more" theme as far as sauce goes, is how most of the dishes at this restaurant are. 

Overall, the service was okay for being the only people in the restaurant. However, they were putting up shelves in the kitchen while we were there, which may have been the reason the waiter didn't come around very often. The environment is awesome though. I love how the restaurant is in a house. It has a fancy, homey feel to it. I would definitely return to Le Nonne and definetely recommend it to those who love Italian food. I have never had anyone talk bad about this restaurant. I have never been to Italy, but I have talked to people who have, and they said Le Nonne tastes like authentic Italian food, which is hard to find in Logan, Utah. 

Here is a link to their website if you want to check out their menu and see what the restaurant looks like: 

Le Nonne Website 

Frozen Pink Lemonade

Frozen Pink Lemonade is the second part of the treats I brought for my soccer party. The party was for two girls on my team (Nano and Hailey). So, my best friend Justine decorated the treats with their names and we put a candle in each pie tin at the party.


Shout out to Aspen and Ashley, two of my roommates my freshman year of college. They would make this pink lemonade dessert ALL the time and, no joke, every time anyone walked past the freezer, we took a bite (or five) out of it. It is so easy to make, and extremely cheap. This was our go-to dessert at 1 in the morning, when our sweet tooth usually set in. All you need is four ingredients: a tub of vanilla ice cream, a can of frozen pink lemonade mix, a little butter, and a box of Nilla Wafers. 


Step 1: Crush about half the box of nilla wafers and mix them will a little butter - until they stick together- and put 1/2 of them in the bottom of a pyrex or pie tin. 
Step 2: Mix the pink lemonade and vanilla ice cream with a hand mixer. 
Step 3: Pour the ice cream/lemonade into the pan on top of the nilla wafers.
Step 4: Pour the remaining nilla wafers on top of the ice cream. 
Step 5: Put in the freezer for about an hour - or if you can't wait that long - it is still delicious to eat right after you are finished making it. 

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookies

About a month ago I had a soccer party and was in charge of bringing the treats :) so I made two different recipes. The first one was chocolate chip salted caramel cookies. Recently, when I was in New York, I discovered that adding salt to the top of cookies brings out the flavor! Who knew! So, I found this recipe and thought it looked delicious, and it was! So this is for all of my teammates who asked for the recipe. Sorry the picture isn't great,  I added homemade whipped cream to the top after it was finished (not completely pictured) -my best friend had a little fun decorating it with my name at the beginning :)

Recipe:

Yield: 16 Cookie Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
10 ounces caramel candy squares, unwrapped
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Sea salt, for sprinkling over caramel and bars

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 2-quart baking pan (which is an 11 X 7 pan-I used a glass Pyrex dish) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the melted butter and sugars together until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the caramels and heavy cream. Microwave caramels on High until caramels are melted, stirring every 20 seconds. This will take about 2 minutes, depending on your microwave.

5. Divide the cookie dough in half. Press half of the cookie dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Pour hot caramel over the cookie dough. Sprinkle caramel with sea salt. Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough over the caramel and spread dough with a spatula until the caramel is covered. Sprinkle the bars with additional sea salt.

6.Bake cookie bars for 30 minutes or until the top of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan. Cool bars on a wire rack to room temperature. Cut bars into squares and serve.

Four Layer Funfetti Cake

So, I owed a friend a cake for practically saving my life almost a year ago. I felt bad because it had been so long and I kept forgetting to bake him a cake. So, I decided to go all out to make up for my forgetfulness. I baked him a four layer cake. His favorite kind of cake is funfetti, so I just made two cakes out of the box, and baked them in four round pans. Then, I stacked them on top of each other, layering rainbow chip frosting in between each cake. Finally, I made homemade vanilla frosting for the outside and added pink sprinkles to make the cake look pretty. It was a success! I am so happy it turned out! It took me almost 4 hours to bake, but it was totally worth it! Here it is...