A Side of... Rainbows

Rainbow chard has been my fave veggie this summer, and I created a really easy recipe that is delicious and a power-house of nutrition!

Rainbow Chard Saute

1/2-1 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 large bunches of Rainbow Chard, ribs removed
1 can S&W Pinquinto beans (pre-seasoned with cumin, garlic, etc.)
4-6 oz. of crumbled goat cheese

Chop the chard into small pieces (maybe 1/2-inch square), then toss in preheated olive oil - in a saute pan. Wilt it down fairly well, then dump in the can of beans. Toss and cook a couple minutes more, then remove from heat. Sprinkle goat cheese of top and toss once. Serve immediately.

Dough Nuts

The kids love messing with dough — bread dough, biscuit dough, cookie dough, play dough and salt dough. This week I made three batches of play dough (red, yellow and blue) for color mixing, and a batch of salt dough so we could create some fun shapes to bake, paint and keep!

We often made salt dough ornaments at Christmas time when I was a little kid, so the smell of salt dough takes me back. The kids loved it, and we had enough to send some of each kind home with our little friend Alexandria, who came over to play today.

Playdough Recipe
(from Playtime - it's a great, soft dough and easy to make!)
1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1 c. water
1 Tbs. oil
2 tsp. cream of tartar
food coloring (several drops per batch)

Mix and stir over medium heat. The mixture will begin to clump. When the mixture becomes a thick dough, remove from pan to cool a bit, then knead on a lightly floured surface. Store in a Ziploc bag or sealed container.

Salt Dough
3 c. flour
1 c. salt
1.5 c. water
1 Tbs. light corn syrup (I used Agave syrup though...)

Knead the dough by hand until it has an elastic consistency. Roll and cut or shape as you wish, then dry by baking at 250 degrees for more than an hour for flat shapes and longer for 3D shapes. Once they are cool, paint with acrylic paints then varnish with clear coat.

Work In Progress...

My version of Trophy's Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes... the recipe needs a little tweaking (a different cake base, and maybe something different with the frosting...) it's a WIP, but I'm sharing two batches this weekend with a few of my favorite folks!

Princesses, Mermaids, and Rainbows... she's 4!

Madeline wanted a "castle cake just like Malaika's" for her birthday, and I very nearly bought one from QFC, but... we make cakes for everyone else, and Mad has the best time helping, so I started brainstorming. And, then a little closer to her birthday she wanted, "A castle cake with all the princesses, and Ariel and all her sisters. And the ocean."

Yeah, OK. I can do that. Two figurine sets from the Disney Store, brown fondant, sugar cone towers, Wilton white chocolate candy melts, seashell truffles from Trader Joe's, Little Debbie peanut butter sticks "stairs," sugar paste Little Mermaid decorations and letters/numbers, and Nerds for decor, we were done. Well, plus one waffle cone tower, chocolate, vanilla and rainbow cake, and a lot of buttercream. Phew!

Literally the day before I baked the cakes, I stumbled upon a recipe for "Rainbow Cake" online. Now, our rainbow-loving girl really needed that too, so I did it, she helped, and she adored it. Actually, all the kids at the party ate the rainbow ocean pieces, exclusively.
There are $18 worth of princesses and mermaids on the cake, and they were worth every penny (and then some). She plays with them all the time, and they work very well with the kids' treehouse/dollhouse.

It's a good thing I'm not a perfectionist because there were a lot of things about this cake that were so very imperfect, but... that's what gives it character! And, it was delicious, by the way!!
I used Magnolia Bakery's recipe for vanilla buttercream to frost the entire cake - just dyed blue for the water:

Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1 c unsalted butter, softened

About 7 c powdered sugar

1/2 c milk

2 sp vanilla

Cream the butter in the bowl of your Kitchenaid mixer, then add 4 cups of the sugar, the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 mins.), until the icing is of desired consistency.

Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Sweet Sixteen??

Happy Birthday, Gramma/Mom/Lora/Freebo!! Today is Lora's birthday, and we decorated her cake this morning. As Mad was putting on the carrot nose, I asked her how old she thinks Gramma is; "Hmm... Um, like about sixteen?" she ventured.
So, Happy "Sweet Sixteen," Gramma! We did a (Cooking Light recipe) Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Cardamom Frosting (and Praline Frosting for the owl) and an owl design, since Gramma loves 'em!

Grampa Makes The Best Cakes...

Hmm... Mad made this declaration tonight about Steve's Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake, that I made with the kids' "help."

It is a tasty recipe, and I used both light sour cream and cream cheese in it with no ill effects, so it's lighter, and still delicious! And, I must admit, I also didn't have enough maraschinos, so I used about 10 oz. of Montmorency cherries (in the jar) from Trader Joes that I had in the fridge - they were great.
Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake (or "Grampa's Cheesecake" according to M, no matter who makes it!)

CRUST (mix in a 9-inch springform pan with hand, and press into bottom - bake 3-4 minutes and cool while mixing up filling) :
1 1/4 c. chocolate cookie crumbs (about 20 Famous Chocolate Wafer cookies)
3 T. melted butter

FILLING (beat first 5 ingredients in Kitchenaid mixer, then add the eggs one at a time - scrape down sides and bottom of bowl often):
4 boxes cream cheese, softened (I used 3 light, and 1 regular)
1 1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbs. cherry brandy
6 eggs

Then remove 1/3 of the batter to another bowl and add:
3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted, to 1/3 of the batter, and
One 10-oz. jar maraschino cherries, drained (reserve juice) and quartered to the other 2/3 of the batter.

Pour half the cherry batter onto crust, then the chocolate batter, then the remaining cherry batter, and marble with a knife. It's ready to bake!

Bake at 350-degrees F for 80 minutes (the last 5 minutes, remove from oven and add the topping, then return to oven to finish baking). Cool completely before chilling overnight in fridge before serving.

TOPPING: 2 c. light sour cream 4 Tbs. sugar 4 Tbs. cherry juice (reserved from draining maraschinos)

Share this dessert with people you love.

Buh-NON-Uh Goodness... Mmm...

I've found the ultimate in banana nut muffins... healthy, delicious, yummy, good-for-you... really! The recipe is from O magazine this month (the only issue I ever buy of O - the summer reading special one...) anyway, there was a recipe from The Tassajara Bread Book for Spiced Banana Walnut muffins that inspired me to make my own version (even healthier). They are utterly divine!
Spiced Banana Pecan Muffins

1/2 stick softened, unsalted butter (1/4 c.)
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1 c. (3 medium) smashed, ripe bananas
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
zest from 1 medium orange

1 c. white whole wheat (or whole wheat pastry) flour
4 Tbs. ground flax
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cardamom (finely ground)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 c. toasted, chopped pecans

+plus, a handful more nuts to sprinkle on the tops of the muffins before baking

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Cream butter and sugar, then mix in the rest of the "wet" ingredients.

Mix the dry stuff in a medium bowl, then gradually add it to the wet in your mixer. Scoop into 8-10 standard-sized muffin tins, lined with paper muffin cups (8 generous muffins, or 10 smaller ones).

Nutrition per muffin (8/batch): calories-200, fat-10g, protein-4g, carbs-24g, fiber-4g.

You Are My Sunshine...

Aura turns 4 this weekend, and she wanted a "sun cake" — very fitting since she's a Summer Solstice baby! So, here it is: triple chocolate fudge cake with double vanilla buttercream, Skittles and M&M's rainbow and marshmallow cupcake clouds for fun! Happy 4th, sweet A — we love you!!

BLD

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner... (inspired by Rachael Ray's BLD features)Today also included a Fuze Empower (low sugar) juice beverage, a lot of water, one small vanilla cone from McD's, and an evening cup of decaf with skim milk and a serving of Famous Chocolate Wafers (super thin, chocolately cookies usually used in recipes...)

Better Than Store-Bought

I really dislike the store-bought tortillas. Sort of puffy, chewy, doughy, with a weird taste (is it from the plastic bag, or preservatives?)... they're my last resort. The Mexican restaurant near us makes divine tortillas (but very spendy to buy), so I've been wanting to try homemade. And you know what? Quick, easy, delicious! And, Madeline LOVED helping. She helped measure, mix, knead, divide, and roll. Did two all by herself, then I did the other 14 because she needed to go outside to play in the sprinkler.
We didn't have lard, so I used butter, and they came out just dandy. I'll also try dividing the dough into 9 balls next time (instead of 8) to see if I can get them even thinner.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. butter, firm (or lard, as the recipe calls for)
3/4 c. water water

Mix the flour, salt and b.p., then add the butter and cut into the flour with a pastry blender (like you would for pie crust or biscuits). Cut in until you have a course-meal texture, then stir in the water to make a soft dough. Knead on a floured board until smooth and elastic, about a couple minutes. Divide into 9 balls (or 8), then let rest for about 15-20 under a damp paper towel. Roll the dough flat and cook on a hot cast-iron griddle (over medium or medium-low heat, but pre-heated). Don't cook them too long or they'll get tough.

My Praline Pony

I needed a brown sugar buttercream to match the color of my niece Katie's favorite plush pony, so I went searching on the good old answer box. Sure enough, the Cupcake Queen at 52cupcakes.blogspot.com came through with a "Pecan Praline Frosting" that was the perfect recipe!

The frosting smooths out easily, frosts like a dream, and tastes divine! Happy Birthday to beautiful Katie Bug!!

The mane is chocolate buttercream and melted dark chocolate (and some black sprinkles) to match her pony, and the sunflower cupcakes are inspired by the book "Hello Cupcake."
Praline Frosting (adapted from 52cupcakes.blogspot.com)
1 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. whipping cream
1/2 c. butter
1 Tbs. vanilla
3 c. confectioners sugar

Put brown sugar and heavy cream in saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool so that is still warm, but do not stir while it is cooling.

Pour frosting into a mixing bowl, add powdered sugar, about a 1/2 cup at a time, until you have spreading consistency. You can also add chopped pecans to the frosting, or on top. Use your offset spatula dipped in hot water, to smooth out the frosting.

Kids in the Kitchen

Strawberry Rocket Salad (Arugula, sliced strawberries, ground Flax (3 Tbs.), and apple cider syrup, olive oil, balsamic, and S&P.) Madeline loved helping (and LOVES Rocket)!

Chocolate Jello Instant Pudding divided between two quart-sized Ziplocs for "mixing" - fridged for 30 mins while reading stories, then "Voila!" dessert!!

No way...

For obvious reasons, I've not attempted this recipe... really - Chocolate-Dipped Kettle Chips???

Two of my greatest eating-healthy weaknesses (OK, dark chocolate is slightly healthy), but leave it to Rachel to come up with the temptation!

Maybe they'd be horrible? Yeah, I know. Not bloody likely. Hence, the not trying of them...

Three Minutes, Flat.

With some new sea life cookie cutters from Sur La Table, this fun bento lunch took three minutes, start to finish.

While the Octo-dogs were in the microwave (cut one hot dog in half, then cut eight "legs" in the bottom of each half-dog, toss them into hot water and microwave for about 2 mins or until legs curl), I cut out the cheese shapes, layered with "Rocket" (Arugula) "seaweed" and tossed in a handful of washed cherries. Rinsed the dogs in cold water when done and added them to the box. Done!

Tasty Shrimp, and nearly perfect Vanilla Cake

Karen and I had her favorite Bonefish Grill appetizer last week, and it was pretty good. It wasn't as tasty as when it was a regular on their menu, she said, but I tracked down the recipe so we could make it (tastier) at home. I also found an excellent — not-too-sweet, moist and light, vanilla cake recipe this week that I used for my birthday cupcakes. Yum!
Saucy Shrimp appetizer (or dinner - great with a Rocket salad!)

1/2 c. rough-chopped sun-dried tomatoes (dry, rehydrated are best)
1/4 c. lemon juice
Juice of 2 fresh-squeezed limes
1/4 c. fresh chopped or pressed garlic
1/2 c. white wine (optional)
5 Tbs. sugar (or agave syrup)
1 c. whole milk or half-and-half (the recipe calls for heavy cream, but not tried it that way yet)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper (or to taste, optional)
2 Tbs. unsalted butter cut in small pieces (the recipe calls for 1/4 pound of butter, but... yikes)
1 1/4 pounds small gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined (50/60 count optimal)
24 (or more, to taste) kalamata olives
Olive oil for pan
3/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
Italian Parsley for garnish

To make lime garlic sauce, place sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, wine, sugar, salt, and white pepper in saucepan. Place on medium heat and reduce by half. Add half-and-half or milk, reducing mixture until thick and bubbly. On medium to low heat, slowly add butter until incorporated. Keep warm.

To prepare shrimp, pour a little olive oil into saute pan, coating entire surface. Saute shrimp and olives together until shrimp are tender; remove from heat. Add 2 cups lime tomato garlic sauce. Stir the sauce in with shrimp thoroughly; do not put back on heat. Pour all ingredients onto a large round serving platter. Top with feta crumbled evenly over dish, and garnish with parsley. Yield: 4-6 servings. Source: Bonefish Grill


Simple White Cake (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1 c. organic sugar
1 cube butter (softened)
2 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line muffin tins with paper liners.

Use your Kitchenaid to cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add and mix well. Last, add the milk and blend to make a smooth batter. Scoop batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 30-40 minutes, or 20-25 minutes for cupcakes. Frost and enjoy!