Peanut Butter & Jelly Cake

The boy’s birthday was earlier this month. He’s a Leo, that explains everything or nothing, whichever way you look at it.

One thing is for certain, he’s a picky eater – an extremely picky eater. I can write an entire post about how it has affected our lives. And I will one day but for today -

I came across this recipe for peanut butter and jelly cake on One Perfect Bite and it sounded so delicious that I decided to make a version of it for the boy’s birthday. He could eat peanut butter and jelly every day of his life and be just fine. I find myself rationalizing that this cake has some peanut butter in it, which has some protein in it, which perhaps will find its way to the boy’s muscles. Please – just let me be happy in my disillusion.

I don’t have many photos of the cake-making process but it’s quite easy, I assure you.

I took a regular white box cake mix, (I think it was Betty Crocker) and substituted a heaping tablespoon full of peanut butter for one egg. The cake mix called for three eggs in the recipe – quite easy. If you really are Betty Crocker and you make your own cake batter, then I suppose you would substitute the same way. As you can readily see, I’m not Betty Crocker.

I piled the cake four tiers high and put raspberry jelly between the layers. I used almost an entire jar, 18 ounces worth.I used raspberry jam between the layers because I think that tastes best in sweet confections. I suppose you can use another kind of fruit jam but I would suggest you don’t use jellied jelly, but rather, jam or preserves. I think these have more texture than jelly which can make a difference in the cake.

And now for the frosting.

I found this frosting recipe here at the Taste of Home website and I think it’s one of the yummiest recipes I’ve ever tried. I’m not a “frosting person” in that I find most cake frostings cloyingly sweet. I love this frosting though, maybe it’s the peanut butter in it.

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon peanut butter

1-3/4 tablespoons vanilla extract

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

4 to 6 tablespoons milk

I doubled the recipe for a cake of this size (four layers is a big cake) and had some left over.

The boy loved it so much that I made it again last week for the hurricane party. You should try – I hope your picky eater will like it as much as mine did.

For Designs By Gollum.

Shower Him With Milk & Cookies

I’ve been to many baby showers, but the baby shower I went to last month for Neighbor Kiaisha was hands down the cutest one I’ve ever attended. The theme was Milk & Cookies and it was (pun intended) incredibly sweet.

The theme was the brain child of Neighbor Kiaisha’s sister, Avi, and was based on the children’s book, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.

There were cookies galore – most of which were home made.

These were my favorites. The cookies were moist and cream cheese filling was to die for. I could have eaten ten more but I had to show restraint – great restraint.

Because I wanted to save room for these…

And the everyone’s perennial favorite – chocolate chip. Yum!

There were other sweets and sweet accessories besides the cookies. Avi made these lollipops out of styrofoam by herself.

And she melted these white chocolate mustaches in a form.

I like to think she hired umpaloopas to make this cupcake tower for her – either that or she’s super human, one or the other.

The best part was this – we could take sweets home with us. How sweet! Avi’s such a sweetheart but there’s more – !

See these milk bottles?

They were filled with bubble bath for a party favor. Isn’t this the most adorable idea that you have ever seen?

This is the milk part of the milk and cookies theme.

I adore the name tags. It was the perfect touch and detail.

The cake was precious. There were sugar milk bottle cut outs on the side. The photos came out blurry so you’ll have to trust me…

This was at Neighbor Sue’s home so of course besides all the incredible cookies and desserts, there was a fantastic buffet of delicious food. Everything was perfect.

Baby Jackson is destined to have a life of fun, love and good food. It’s what we want for him.

Can’t wait to see you when you get here Jackson!

Milk & Cookies

Went to the cutest baby shower for Neighbor Kiaisha last weekend. I can’t wait to show you the photos. The theme was “Milk and Cookies” – felt like a mini-sweet wonderland it did…

I want to post a quick cupcake photo for Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday – just because she’s so fabulous.

Don’t these look to die for? I used Kim’s Scripted Edge texture in screen blend mode, just as she suggested.

Too die for – both the cupcakes and the texture. Have a sweet evening!

Cucumber In Vinegar Dressing

If you are overwhelmed by cucumbers in your garden, like I am, here is a really quick recipe and easy cucumber side dish.

I didn’t style the end product – I was trying to get it on the table so we could eat. I know – amateur. We had this with steak and potatoes. We needed a fresh side to counter the protein and carbs.

Then we went for a family jog after dinner – not really.

Peel two medium sized cucumbers and cut them like so. I sliced the cucumbers about a half inch thick and then cut them again quarters. I left the seeds in the salad. It’s a chunky cut but I wanted something with a more robust texture to go with the steak.

It just felt heartier.

Then I chopped a red onion into small but something thicker pieces and put those the same bowl. The pieces are about 1/4 inches thick.

Set the veggies aside and lets start on the dressing.

Put rice vinegar in a bowl.

Add the sugar. Stir and until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Depending on how much sugar you put in, it may not dissolve all the way – but it’s alright. Cooking is an art, not a science. It think that’s my new motto.

Put in the juice of a quarter of a lime.

Spoon the dressing over the cucumbers. As you can see, my sugar didn’t dissolve all the way – and I’m not worried about it. You shouldn’t be either.

There we go – just another thing to do with my massive cucumber harvest this year. I’m going to have to put on my thinking cap and think of other cucumber recipe ideas. It would be horrible for them to rot on the vine.

Ingredients -

- Two medium sized cucumbers
- Half a medium sized red onion
- 1 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 3/4 cup sugar (put in one tablespoon at a time and taste as you go. This is important.)
- Juice of half a lime

Stay cool, it’s hot out there!

A Cucumber Harvest

We planted just two cucumber plants in our garden this year and these two plants could feed a small country. They have been prolific in producing fruit – or cucumbers as it were.

I was just in my garden again this morning and picked another large batch. We’ve been eating them as fast as we can. So far, we had Thai cucumber salad at least twice a week. I’ve made cucumber in my favorite cucumber vinegar. I’ve served them raw and with Thai dipping sauce.

I’m running out of ideas how to serve them. I know there are worse things in life so I would understand if you don’t feel sorry for me.

I just don’t want to waste them . . . I’ll have to start giving them away. Hopefully someone will have room at their dinner table for a cuc or two.

What’s For Dinner Tonight

I’m nursing a little summer cold that won’t go away today. I do hope to put a little dinner on the table tonight though.

What’s the easiest thing to do?

Steak – marinaded with this easy and delicious marinade.
Thai cucumbe salad – again. We have a lot of cucumbers from the garden. So nice!
Rice – the staple in our home.

Oh – and Nyquil, after 6 pm . . .

Thai Cucumber Salad

The husband and I – we have a little garden. It’s our pride and joy. And last week, we had a little harvest.

Five cucumbers. We were so proud!

I decided to make a Thai cucumber salad with them. I wasn’t quite sure if they were edible but they came from the ground in our yard and my hands weeded and tended the little garden myself. I was determined to eat them.

First you peel the skin off. Peeling the little one was fun. I actually ate this one in two bites after I peeled it.

This next step takes a little bit of practice. After peeling the cucumbers I used a,shredding technique that my mother taught me as a little girl. I take a sharp knife and using short chopping movements I hit the cucumber so that it creates small, almost julienne pieces. Make the cuts long and rough.

Once I make enough cuts, I thinly slice the pieces off cucumber, being careful to slice just as far as the cuts.

I know this may be intimidating. You can come over and we can practice;) No drinking wine until the chopping is over though. We need all of our faculties so we don’t hurt ourselves.

What you want are pieces of cucumber that looks something like this. As you can see, they are not uniformly cut.  It gives it a much more interesting texture.

Or you can just use a shredder. It’s up to you.

Here’s an important tip – use just the “flesh” of the cucumber. Don’t put in the seeds. They have too much water in them and the seed really detract from the salad. Discard the above.

Garlic – it’s the key to youth. I peel two cloves per three cucumbers. That’s two cloves per three cucumbers. I wanted to reiterate the more you use, the hotter the salad.

Put the garlic and some crushed red peppers (to taste) in your mortar and pestle so you can crush the ingredients together.

Or you can use a blender on pulse mode.

Once the garlic and peppers are crushed, put in the cucumbers and use the pestle to once again carefully crush the ingredients together. Just press down with slight pressure, don’t pulverize the ingredients.

I don’t have a photo of this for some reason…

Now add a roughly chopped tomato and the juice of a half a lime. I showed you how to cut a lime here . . .

Then you put in some fish sauce. This is also for taste. I like it salty and after years of doing this I added just the right amount. If you are new at this, added a little bit at time, mixing and tasting as you go.

Then gently crush all of the ingredients together again in your mortar and pestle. You can also just put it in a bowl and mix well with a big spoon. However, there is something about that crushing motion that just makes the salad.

Please buy a mortar and pestle today… I use mine all the time as you can see.

So here we go . . . Thai cucumber salad.

We eat a variation of this salad almost every week, sometimes twice a week. Next time I’ll show you how to do this with carrots! Enjoy!

Ingredients –

1. Three medium sized cucumbers
2. Two cloves of fresh garlic
3. Two tablespoons crushed red peppers (or to taste)
4. One medium tomato
5. Juice of half a lime
6. 1/8 cup fish sauce (or to taste. I usually put in more, tasting as I go.)

Keep you taste buds alive!

Posted on Foodie Friday.

Father’s Day Meal

Recently we have hankerings for hamburgers that we just can’t kick. Speaking of kicking, we had a Father’s Day get together with the neighbors last night and I could kick myself for not bringing my camera. The kids were shucking corn. It was too cute.

We had hamburgers last night too and I brought the following toppings to share -

Portobello mushrooms
Avocados
Blue cheese
Bacon (cooked it all day, the dog was going crazy)
Tomatoes
The husband’s hamburger relish

It was hamburger delight.

So today, the kids were “starving” so on our way home from church, we stopped and bought some more hamburgers.

And I made my favorite hamburger – a bacon, avocado and blue cheese hamburger. I can’t get enough. Well, yes I can, one is enough but I could have eaten more if I could fit it in.

Put it with a side of sesame Asian noodles and we were good to go.

By the way, this side dish and my Adriatic balsamic pasta salad are my two favorite dishes to bring to a party to share. I will be sharing those recipes this summer!

I’m thinkin’ that we were not the only household to make hamburgers this weekend. Happy Father’s Day!

Mojito Days

About a month ago I ate at my favorite Thai restaurant and on a whim I ordered a lemongrass mojito. Along with the mojito ingredients it also had pieces of lemongrass and ginger. It was incredibly good. I could have ordered another – but well – I didn’t dare.

It was the first mojito I’ve had since – I can’t even remember when. It started me on a mojito kick.

So while on my little anniversary trip, I ordered a mango mojito. It was also really yummy. Just one per meal please. Not because I was tipsy – because I wasn’t, but because they are about $100 a piece.

The water was free though.

Then last weekend, I saw this cucumber mojito on the menu. Really? Cucumbers? I had to try. There were cucumbers and some sort of cucumber liquor. I never knew there was such a thing.

Ignore that boy in the background.

There were also cucumber seeds in it.

Did I like it? Not so much. But I’m sure someone else would. Just not me. Cucumber liquor? At least I can say I tried it.

So if you are ever at the establishment I was at this weekend and you happen to see on the specialty menu, let me save you $100 and recommend getting something else.

Where you ask? Well, I really don’t like to do a negative post so I’ll just say, you can boat to it. And it’s in Southern Maryland. And the name is similar to “Rock’s.”

But they have really good crab cakes. I would recommend those:)

What’s in a regular mojito?

• 1 1/3 oz. Rum, light
• Fill with Carbonated Water/Club Soda
• 1 oz. Lime Juice
• 2 wedges Lime
• 12 pieces (leaves) Mint
• 1 1/2 oz. Sugar Syrup

I’m on the hunt for other fabulous mojitos. This is going to be a fun summer!

What’s A Little Zucchini Between Friends?

This little guy is so innocuous. At least to me. The kids would not think so.

But put it in their brownies and they don’t find it as offensive.

They now know to always ask, “What’s in the brownies?”

And I’m always truthful, they have enough food aversions to not trust me on this point.

Directions:

1. Store bought box of brownie mix – any type.
2. Boil a small zucchini and then blend it.
3. Mix the brownie mix but use a little less oil or water than the mix asks for.
4. Place blended zucchini into the brownie mix.

Bake according to the directions on the box.

They’ll never know, but if they ask – just tell the truth. They may ask for more zucchini brownies next time!

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