Mini vacation to Madison Indiana

If you haven't heard of Madison, IN you are certainly not alone. It is a gem that many don't seem to know about. Madison is located in the southeast corner of Indiana right along the Ohio River bordering with Kentucky. It's a little historic town full of charm and a very relaxed vibe. I highly recommend checking it out. Today I'll share some photos, must visit shops/restaurants/locations, and local food from my trip this year. 

This is "Hanging Rock Road" where you can drive under the rock and waterfall. If you wish to visit this spot the road name is Cragmont Street.

This year was my second trip there to spend a weekend. After visiting Madison for two years in a row, I almost want to start making it an annual mini vacation. During this visit we managed to eat at only local restaurants and we ventured out to discover more of what the area had to offer. In our adventures we found some good food, genuinely nice people, a twisty (slightly scary) road through some forest covered hills that had some amazing views once you made it to the top, and some decent wine. That's just the short story of what we discovered this weekend. Again, I highly recommend checking out Madison. 

When you visit Madison (I know you will!) I recommend a few strolls down Main Street. It's full of historic buildings and great shops and restaurants. I highly recommend you check out Hinkles Hamburgers. They are perfect little sliders for a late evening meal or a lunch snack. The Downtowner offers a good atmosphere, service and delicious food (they're famous for their large cookies). I stopped into Galena Garlic Company this time around and I can't wait to test the ingredients I purchased there (more on that later). In a short drive out of downtown you can find a decent winery (Madison Vineyards) and a few fun places to visit. I purchased two wines, one to drink and one for a dessert, from Madison Vineyards. They offer free wine tasting and their prices are reasonable per bottle. I will be working on recipes this week that include the ingredients pictured above. I'm most excited to create both a savory and a sweet recipe out of the Chocolato pasta! Check back soon for those recipes.

One of many waterfalls in Clifty Falls State Park.

The highlight on both trips for me has been the time I spent in Clifty Falls State Park. There are numerous trails through this beautiful park. The range in difficulty and views. On our visit this year the weather was PERFECT for hiking and photos. Below I will share some of the photos I took along the hike. Enjoy and check back soon for new recipes inspired by my trip!

You can actually walk across this small waterfall. 

There's nothing like standing at the edge of a cliff/waterfall and taking a picture. haha

As a true foodie I couldn't help but have my photo taken next to Cake Rock.  Yes, I was working a weird face. 

While it's still early Spring there were flowers popping up here and there. Beautiful. 

Trail 8. It was so nice to see the start of color popping up all over the park.

One of the coolest paths. It dead ends now as the rock has fallen, but it leads to a good lookout point to a waterfall.

Thank YOU!

Thank YOU, thank YOU! 

I can't thank the viewers enough for stopping by and checking out Creandé.

I've been a bit quiet this week because I've taken some time off to address some things on the home front AND I took a mini vacation to Madison, IN. A much needed weekend away with my dear Best Friend to relax (maybe a little celebration of my upcoming birthday) has led to some great photos and recipe ideas that I'll be sharing. Tomorrow I'll be bringing you some of those photographs taken this weekend. I will also tell you a little about a few places I ate and shopped that have inspired me to work on some new recipes. I can't wait to share and get back in the kitchen! Stay tuned. 

As always, feel free to leave comments/suggestions/share stories here on the blog or over on Facebook. 

Adventures in Donut Making

Last week I bought some clearance donut pans and I couldn't wait to try them out. Baked Donuts have been on my mind for a while, I just never bought the pans to make them. Now that I have them, let the baking begin!

I snapped a few pictures while I was baking some Very Vanilla Donuts yesterday. I'm still recipe testing so there is no recipe to share in this post. Once I come up with one I love, I'll share. I promise. 

Very Vanilla Donuts w Chocolate Glaze and Toasted Coconut

Very Vanilla Donuts w Chocolate Glaze

This is the milk, vanilla, and vanilla bean mixture (YUM!) and the browned butter (double YUM!)

Recipes coming soon. I've also been working on an ice cream! Excited to share some new recipes and adventures with you all.