Peace, Love and Hippiness, mixed in with a cranberry upside down cakeI

It's good to be back. I went to my new doctor's office and joined a yoga studio.
The prenatal yoga class I am taking is great. There are candles lit on this big brick wall, the lights are low, music is playing and we danced and sang in a circle at one point. I was totally into it!
All the ladies came in with their Berkeley haircuts and clogs. Except for me. I still have Jersey hair and I'll never give up my converse. I will definitely be changing the Jersey hair as soon as I can get someone to cut it.
It was funny to listen to the girls talking about their doulas and midwives. There were three of us who were going to deliver at the local hospital.

My new doctor's office is cool too. Very "Bay Area." The registered nurse said to me, "I'm sure you're used to the fast pace of NYC but here we like to be a little more low-key and relaxed."
I wanted to hug her. When I said "no worries, it's all good." She just smiled and let out a little laugh, like she understood what I meant. When I would do that on the east coast, everyone would look at me like I was speaking another language.
While I did like going to ST. Vincent's in the city, I kind of felt like things were a little sterile.
Anyhow, Babycakes is progressing nicely. The nurse predicted it was a boy. I'm still undecided. I really don't care what it is as long as it's healthy.
My belly looks like a basketball and the clothes I packed to wear here when we were still in NJ barely fit now!
It looks like I have gained about 23 pounds so far, give or take a few. I was hoping to only gain 20 total but I suppose that was just a hope and a wish. I am just hungry all the time! I suppose eating burritos every chance I get doesn't help either.

Yesterday, I went into SF to do a little shopping. It's amazing how much has changed since we left 3 years ago.
During the dot com boom, people came from all over the world and just started taking over SF.
When the crash happened they left as fast as they arrived leaving the city in shambles. I think it's finally starting to rebuild, which I am so happy about. People either give SF a bad rap or overlook it entirely.

I find it funny that NJ is the largest producer of Cranberries and I am just now baking with them. I made a delicious Cranberry-upside down cake the other day.
I guess you could say it's low-fat because I used rice milk and fat free yogurt instead of milk and earth balance instead of butter.
The cake was a nice blend of sweet and tart. The recipe suggested serving it with whipped cream, but I didn't. I think you can go either way. The cream probably just compliments the tartness.

CRANBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
Serves 8-10
You will need:
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter (earth balance)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 pound cranberries, fresh
11/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, yolks separated from whites
1 teaspoon plus a few drops vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk (1/4 cup rice milk + 1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt, whisked together)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup heavy cream (optional)
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar (optional)
1- 9-inch cake pan

Preheat oven to 350*F
Place 4 tablespoons of the butter and the brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat stirring until the sugar is melted, 1 minute.
Pour melted sugar and butter into pan
Place the cranberries on top of the melted butter and sugar. Set aside.
In a bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Cream the remaining 8 tablespoons butter and the sugar together in another bowl.
Add the egg yolks to the creamed mixture, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and mix well.
Add the milk alternately with the dry ingredients, folding well after each addition.
Beat the egg whites to soft peaks.
Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until the peaks hold their shape. Fold the whites into the cake batter.
Spread the batter over the fruit in the cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and run a small knife around the edge of the pan.
Let the cake cool for 15 minutes.
Invert the cake onto a serving platter and let it sit for another 5 minutes with the pan on the top.
Remove the pan.
Whip the cream to soft peaks. Add a few drops of vanilla and the confectioners’ sugar and mix.
Serve slices of cake with the softly whipped cream.
Serves 8 to 10

enjoy!
xoxoxo