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. 

Spiced Oatmeal Cookies

Finally, Fall is upon us and it's time for sugar and spice. We all know that and the beautiful colors are what make the season nice. 

Over the past few months I've been working on putting a family cookbook together. While doing so I've been looking over a few recipes. Doing so has lead to rediscovering dishes I had forgotten about and some I've never seen. Along with remembering certain dishes has come some great memories. It's in these moments that I realize food is so much more than a means of living, it's become a passion. From time to time I'll catch myself in a conversation about food and realize that I am just rambling on and on. It's like I'm in a trance or something. Crazy, but a very good crazy. 

I used cookie cutters to make these for a daily photo event on Instagram.

Anywho, back to the topic. When I was going through the cookie recipes I came across one titled Spiced Oatmeal Cookies. I knew instantly I would have to make them. I usually spice oatmeal cookies when I make them, but never thought about really adding spices to amplify the flavor. I LOVE a good oatmeal raisin cookie and what better way to have them than a family recipe! However, after reading through ALL of the recipe I realized it was titled as cookies, but was in fact a cake recipe. In time I think I'll try the cake recipe but for now I just wanted cookies. So, I decided I'd write up a recipe that combined the cake ingredients that I wanted and the traditional oatmeal raisin cookie recipe.

Yes, they do look like hamburgers. haha

In the first recipe I made (I decided to call them Dark and Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies) I added a bit more molasses. When I put in the molasses I thought about ginger and I couldn't resist but add some to the batter. They turned out delicious and chewy, but they weren't quite what I was looking for. The recipe below is for the Spiced Oatmeal Cookies, but I added a note on how to make them Dark and Spicy.

Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Dough

In the second recipe I adjusted a few more ingredients. I added another egg, changed the ginger to coves, and added a little more oats. They turned our GREAT. Soft, chewy, and spicy! 

Enjoy!

Spiced Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter - softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs - room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons molasses

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1 1/2 cups oats

1 cup raisins

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350º

1. In the bowl of a mixer beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

2. While butter and sugars mix, in a separate bowl whisk the flour, soda, powder, salt and spices. Set aside.

3. Add the eggs, vanilla and molasses to the egg mixture.

4. Slowly add the flour mixture.

5. Fold in the oats and then the raisins.

6. Drop on by the Tablespoon on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 10-12 minutes.

To make Dark and Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies:

Add 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 2 more Tablespoons molasses. 

Welcoming Spring! (Lady Bug and Butterfly cookies)

Today I bring you a post to, hopefully, help ring in Spring!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake!

     

Sugar Cookie Cutouts!

I sat down today going through my drawer of recipes and decided to start getting a list together for Christmas Cookies this year. I know I'm like way ahead of schedule, but I wanna be ready to go. There will be the traditional cookies, like these sugar cookies, but I want to try a few new cookies. If I get some ideas I can test them out instead of waiting until baking day with my Mom and Grandmother. I had every intention of having a totally lazy day since I was off work but for some reason, I just can't do it. I was up early and ready to go, well after a few Vanilla Bean Lattes (post coming soon). Anywho, I decided that since I have yet to make sugar cookies this year, I usually do for every holiday, it was time! I've been craving them for a few days so it was perfect that I was off today. I'm ready for the holidays and can't wait to try out some new cookies. Here are some photos I took along the baking way today. Enjoy...