Wedding Cake

Let me start with a little disclaimer, the next several postings will be me indulging my inner foodie, but I'll still add a little spork-full of nutrition info in.  

Ryan and I packed ourselves into his car about 2.5 weeks ago and started driving North to Iowa for the wedding.  On the second day of our journey we stopped at a St. Louis Bread Company (aka Panera);  I was happy to see that they now have the calorie content of just about every item posted clearly up on their menu boards.  This doesn't mean their products have gotten any healthier; but at least for those who want to know, the info is there.

Incase you happen to travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa; let me recommend a couple restaurants: 

Sub City: Like a Subway but with fresh meat and cheese sliced right in front of you. It's amazing.

The Brown Bottle: It may not be 'authentic' italian, but it sure is good.  The lasagna is fabulous.

Cup O' Joe: The most retro cup of coffee you'll ever get.  Also has a great view of the Cedar River.

Now for the important stuff...CAKE!  I love cake and refused to have one of those extravagant cakes covered with fondant that is dry and flavorless in the middle.  So I enlisted the help of my aunt who is quite the cook and baker.  She made us the most wonderful carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut.  The cake also had pineapple and walnuts in it.  Our cake may not have been the most elaborate, but it was definitely the best tasting.  Even our DJ who said he never eats the wedding cake couldn't resist a slice.  For a history on carrot cake as well as lots of other cakes check out this website.  My other aunt and grandma made a little over 400 cream cheese mints, which must be a midwest thing since no one here in GA knows what I'm talking about.

Why carrot cake?  Because it's my favorite.  Also, when Ryan and I were freshmen at MnSU we were watching food network and someone was making one.  I looked at Ryan and said "when I get married I'm having carrot cake at my wedding."  Ryan replied, "I'll marry you just to be there and eat the cake."  Little did we know he'd be the groom.

If or when the recipes to the cake and mints are revealed to me, I'll be sure to post them here.