Anniversary Ginger Carrot Cupcakes

Anniversary Ginger Carrot Cupcakes
Made for my Grandparents 65th Wedding Anniversary. 65 years!! 65 years!! That is incredible!

They go together like carrot cake and cream cheese frosting! 

These ginger carrot cupcakes are dense and moist and topped with a smooth cream cheese frosting. The fresh ginger gives it a little different flavor from your average carrot cake and a nice change. 

Recipe here!

It is always a joy for me to be baking in the kitchen. Especially with the kids. As impossible as it can be at times, its all so much fun, and they just love it, as long as I continuously feed them! I only have a small window of time to bake from about 8am to 10am. After that there is nap time for the little one, then prep for lunch, eat and clean up, another nap and dinner prep eat and clean up. That pretty much takes care of the day until bedtime. That's when I do the decorating! So if I can get the cakes and frosting made, I'm good to go! 

Carrots: a bunnies favorite snack

 Daniels job is to line the carrots up in the food processor, then push the button. One of his favorite movies is 'the food processor movie'. The one that came with the FP. It has a chef on there making a bunch of different recipes using the 'prep 7 food processor' (that he, the chef, says about a hundred times!). Daniel would watch it every day, over and over if I let him. But he can tell me exactly how to make a pie crust using the FP! He's so visual.

Before doing anything else, get those walnuts roasted. They need to cool before adding them to the batter. The best way I found was to bake them at 320-350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until they start to crackle.

Daniel and I watched a few YouTube videos on how to roast walnuts. I knew how but wasn't quite sure how long and the temp, so maybe I didn't really know how. But again, this is a favorite thing for Daniel, to watch cooking shows. I think it's wonderful!

They will be light brown when toasted correctly. They smelled so good and toasting them really brought out the natural flavors.

 I ate about half of them! And then once the cream cheese frosting was done, I would take a walnut and pipe a little dot of frosting on it, then eat it. I don't understand how my Mom can bake and not taste-test anything. That would be pretty much impossible for me. 

 He has his own whisk.

Whisking eggs is a daily job around here. Every morning we make eggs for breakfast. Those delicious free range green eggs have such a deep yellow yolk. I think my Dad eats eggs every day too. And I'm pretty sure my brother does. Must be something we learned growing up on the farm. 

Dolly is my helper, or mess maker, whichever way you want to look at it! I think she's helping in her own little way. She has her own chair that she pushes over to the counter herself, she also pushes a short little bench over too so she can get up and down from the chair. Smart as a whip and oh so independent! Reminds me a little of myself.

Ginger, Sweet Ginger! 
Fresh ginger was the key to making this cake different. The smell of fresh ginger is irreplaceable. 


The recipe called for 2 tsp and that was plenty. Once the cakes were baking, it filled the whole house up with the smell of ginger. I happen to like ginger, but not everyone does. 


You can replace it with ground ginger which I think would make it a little less 'gingery' if that's a word. 

I only needed a few cupcakes so I made a little layer cake also.

And look at those cute little cupcake papers! My mom found these Wilton papers at Walmart! I also just saw them at JoAnne. Love them and want more!

Ahhh the cream cheese frosting. Num num. It took 3 batches of this to pipe the cupcakes and the layer cake. I had about 2c. left over.

 I have to admit, that every time I bake anything, the kids get a huge spoonful. They stand there begging me saying 'can I have some now?" over and over. I try not to let those little fingers in the bowl, but Lydia is so quick. Today I was making a marble cake and she snuck her little fingers right into the bowl, got a big huge handful! But that's the fun of being a kid AND the fun of baking!

I always use my Pampered Chef cookie scoop to drop the batter in. That way each cup cake is equal. But, you already know that trick. I wonder at what point my cookie scoop will end up in the sandbox?  

  Now it's time to decorate, my favorite part! I wouldn't mind having someone bake the cakes so I could just decorate them. But then, my Uncle Dick reminded me, that I could just use a shoe box if I just wanted to decorate something! Ha! he's right!

 Of course it has to have a carrot piped on it. Have you ever seen a carrot cake w/o a carrot on it?

I totally messed up and did not take a picture of the final layer cake. BUT here is a lovely picture of the crumb coat! So imagine this looking a lot like the cupcakes but in layers :D

All in a days work. Or maybe it was two days. I am for hire if anyone has a request ;-) The more tricks I learn the more fun I have. It's really just a matter of when there is time. Next month I'm learning how to play with gum paste and fondant!

All cakes I decorate are done in the wee hours of the night. I cant think straight when I have kids glued to me. Guess that's another reason why God made me a night owl. Oooh, how about an owl cake....there I go dreamin again.


Happy Anniversary Oma und Opa!

Your family appreciates every minute of those 65 years spent together! Thank You!!

A Diabetic Brownie

Every month or so, the kids and I go to the elderly apartment downtown. We visit Mrs. Larson, a woman of God. She always showers me (and the kids) with her wisdom.

Through conversation I learned that Mrs. Larson is diabetic and because I love to bless others with food, I wanted to find a quick, simple diabetic dessert for her.

 I found these nummy little brownie bites called 'Cant Tell They're Low-Fat Brownies' (recipe here). I substituted half of the sugar with agave, applesauce for the prunes, added about 20 chocolate chips and baked them 26 minutes to keep them gooey, topped them off with sifted powdered sugar. Mmmmm

These low-fat brownies were delicious! Best of all,  Mrs. Larson enjoyed them, especially with our cup of hot cocoa!

Chocolate Candy Cake

I first fell in love with this cake at a baby shower. The recipe is flawless and simple. The cake is moist and thick. The frosting is decadent and delicious. It's a beautiful marriage!

Recipe for Cake:
1 package devils food cake mix (yep, serious cheating!)
1 1/2 c. Milk
3 eggs
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1 (3.5 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
Combine ingredients and mix on medium speed for 4 minutes.
Use 2 - 9" cake pans lined with parchment (or 3 - 8" pans).
Bake at 325 for 25 minutes.
Let the cakes cool completely IN the pan on cooling racks. When completely cooled wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 1/2 hour and up to a week in the freezer.

Recipe for Frosting:
I doubled this and enough leftover for cupcakes the next day
3/4 c. shortening
1/4 c. water
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. clear imitation vanilla (or use real vanilla, it just wont be white frosting)
1/8 tsp. butter flavoring
4 c. confectioners sugar
1 c. pecans, chopped (substitute nuts for skor bar or toffee bits)
2-4 (1.5 oz) milk chocolate candy bars, chopped (try substituting candy bars with oreo cookies)
Blend until well combined

To curl the white/dark chocolate:
Use Bakers chocolate bars (they are thicker and easier to shave). Warm the squares up (20 seconds) in the microwave. Shave with a vegetable peeler. They will curl nicely. I used 100% cocoa, unsweetened, dark chocolate. It tastes terrible alone, but with the sweetness of this cake, you would never know it!

After the cake is completely cooled, layer the cake with a nice thick layer of frosting. Add the top layer and put a crumb coat of frosting on. Refrigerate for 15/20 minutes then frost the rest of the cake. Lightly press the chocolate curls into the sides and top of cake. 

Slice and enjoy with ice cream!

Lefse

Do you have leftover mashed potatoes? It's amazing what you can do with them. This day we made lefse.

It's best to use a potato ricer to make your potatoes light and fluffy. Lefse is hardy recipe and you really only need a few ingredients. My recipe includes salt, heavy cream, sugar, butter and lots of flour. Since I already had salt, whole milk and butter mashed into the potatoes, I just added a little sugar and enough flour to make them like dough, then rolled them into walnut size balls.

Once we rolled them out REALLY thin, we threw them on my griddle and cranked the heat to 400. Once they browned and bubbled up a little, I flipped them and cooked the other side for about 1 minute. They cooled nicely on a damp towel. I covered them with another towel.

A little History about Lefse

It's hard to say when lefse originated but Norway suffered from the effects of the potato famine in the mid-1800's, which is about the time that many Norwegians came to the United States. They brought their knowledge, griddles, mashers and rolling pins. The result is a delicacy that's part of a special tradition replicated in every Norwegian-American town for more than 150 years. A tradition that you can be part of once again. Here is a version of Lefs's history by Jim Berg from Albert Lea, MN. Now Den, vot you know bout dat.... Did you know that lefsa was invented by the norweigen Vikings... Von day, dey vent and was going to raid Ireland..... Vell they got over der, but they couldn't suprise dem Irish people cause they were making too much noise coming across the Nort Sea from Norway. When they got to the shores of Ireland, they tried to land But couldn't. You see the Irish heard them coming and began throwing their potatoes at them darn vikings so dat the cud not land. Vel by golly, do you know vat. They load that ship with all the potatoes dat got trowed at dem, pulled out their oars and finally got back to Norway. When they got there they played aroung with those potatoes and came up with a bread, and called it LEFSA. They had a big party that night, day got out that old foul smelling fish and put it on Lefsa and that is where the Lutefisk Supper vas born...........My Grate, Grate, Grate, Grate, Granfodder was on that ship that raided Ireland. I'm sure glad they brought it to America other wise we would not have Lutefisk Suppers Today. My Lena makes the best darn lefsa in Minnesota. Corse I have to help otherwise she'd eat it all up while she was cooking it and we would not have any for supper that evening.... I'm sure glad they have Lutefisk Suppers around Thanksgiving and Christmas every year. My mother Palma, made all the lefsa by herself. They wern't very round, but then she always said you could not taste the round...... Your Friend.......... Ole Story taken from lefsetime.com where you can find recieps and equipment to make your own!

Homemade Noodles

It's almost too easy. We received a pasta machine for Christmas - $20, TJ Max. Cheap investment for what it can create. Great for soup fans or Moms who make noodles at least once a week for the kids.

 

Recipe:

2c. wheat flour

5 eggs

1. Pour the flour into a bowl and the eggs into the middle of the flour. Mix the eggs with a fork until they are blended with the flour. Knead the mixture with your hands until smooth. If it's too dry, add water. If it's too soft add flour. 
2. Cut into small, fist sized balls. Roll out on a floured surface. 
3. Pull through pasta machine. 
4. Hang over chair or drying racks to dry a bit before adding to boiling water  

Tips:

• A good mixture shouldn't be sticky. You can't really hurt the dough by adding too much flour.
• Do not use eggs straight out of the fridge, best at room temp. 
• Noodles will keep in the fridge uncooked for up to a week. 
• All purpose flour can be substituted. 
• If you do not have a pasta maker, roll out dough really thin and cut into strips with a knife.

I used these noodles in our chicken noodle soup, also just cooked a few up to eat for snacks with red dipping sauce.

Flour Power!

Baking bread really shouldn't require so much clean up, but when kids are involved, time is the essence of cleanup.

The kids were great until it got a little out of hand. Really? Did you have to put it in her barely-there hair? Now when I put her in the tub it's going to make a beautiful creamy paste on her head! Oh and it did, she was a pasty mess in the tub. Took extra bubbles to get that out.

You can barely see my nice bread dough on the counter. This was my first successful attempt at making my Grandmothers sweet rolls. I used my mixer for 1/2 the job then did the mixing manually. That seems to be the key. I think the mixer mixes too much (if that makes any sense!).

Oh he looks so proud of how well he buried his sister in flour! She had a great time too - slapping her hands in the piles of it on her highchair. Crazy kids!

Being Frugal

Check out this great website for frugal idea's and coupons galore!!
http://thefrugalgirls.com/

Staying Up Past Dark

It was such a beautiful night that we just had to enjoy it. We roasted hot dogs and made s'mores! Daniel loved it. Not to mention he slept great that night. Maybe keeping him up later is the key? Maybe it was that cool fresh air?!

"What? I get to stay up late!! Oooh I'm so excited!!"

"Thanks for the special snack Dad!"

"Mmmmm. This tasted great but I only had two bites because I was so busy making 'parking lots' with my sidewalk chalk". 

"Oh no! MOM, I need a napkin!"

Raspberry Cheeks

We took a trip to the farm on Monday to pick raspberries and raid the garden. Although we were contending with the honey bees who were busy at work, we picked a pretty nice amount of berries.

Little miss raspberry cheeks!

We also found a bunch of celery! That was fun, I've never picked fresh celery before. Smelled so good!

Lydia chomped on the celery, along with a fresh carrot. 

Daniel loves giving Lydia kisses! She giggles. 

Happy Birthday

Yea, so where did those last 3 years go??

Mmmm, best cake ever. I found a really good recipe a few years ago. Makes the perfect, super moist, heavy, chocolate cake! Secrect ingredient - coffee (decaf in this case).

Spent the day at the zoo

Nice kitty, nice kitty

Such a great game!

Duplo

Cake and ice cream with friends.

Fun day!

Freezing Corn

Every year we freeze about 50 bags of fresh sweet corn. It's enough for about 1 bag per week. This year my parents grew enough corn for us to freeze what we needed. It's one of those 'family fun' things to look forward to in the fall.

Here's how we do it:

• Find 2 huge stock pots and start boiling water
• Husk about 6-7 dozen cobs of corn
• Add 8-12 cobs per stock pot, let water come to a boil again and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Take cobs out with tongs and put them in ice cold water (well water is great for this)
• Add 8-12 more cobs of corn to the boiling water before it begins to cool
• After the cobs have chilled for a bit (about 10 minutes) put them on the counter to cool down and rest.
• Continue the process until all cobs are cooked and cooled.
• Next, cut the corn off the cob. A corn cob peeler saves a lot of time and effort.  
• Measure about 2 cups per 1/2 gallon zip lock bag
• Label and freeze
• Will keep in the freezer for 1 year

The finished product, bagged up and ready to freeze.

I usually lay them flat in the freezer and spread them out for a day so they can freeze properly. Then I'll stack them in a pile.

Decorative Painting

My little man loves to paint and since my husband, the talented woodworker that he is, had a few extra shelves that he didn't want, we decided to splash them with color.

Because we would be using acrylic paint I decided it would be best to do this outside. It was a lovely day anyway! I covered our miniature picnic table with an old plastic table cloth and taped it on underneath so it wouldnt blow away. I used an old egg carton to put puddles of paint in, an old black bowl filled with water to wash out the brushs and one of Dad's old t-shirts to protect clothes.

 The day before, they painted the board white. This was a good idea so our colors would show up really good. I had some makeup sponges to dabble on paint with and we found some wooden circles to use as stamps. But the brushes were the most fun of course!

The finished product! We waited a couple hours for one layer of paint to dry before we added a few more colors. The colors end up matching my kitchen wall so I think that's a perfect place to hang it up!

Egg Allergies

When I went to have coffee with my friend, I brought the nummy fruit salad (previous post) because her son has an egg allergy. He is also allergic to peanuts and some dairy.

No eggs for you!

When her son was born she nursed him until he was a year old and that entire year he had a slight rash and hive like bumps, but her pediatrician assured her that he was fine. Since Mommy knows best, she got a second opinion and took him to an allergist. Results showed that he was allergic to egg, peanuts, wheat and dairy!! This turned her world upside down!

Travis, now 6, has been able to have some dairy and wheat but is still deathly allergic to egg and peanuts. He eats a lot of fruit, vegetables and meat. She said it has been a blessing because it has forced her family to create much healthier meals. The day I was there, he had the fruit I brought and corn on the cob for a snack! Now, if all kids would do that, they could have vending machines in schools again!!

But wait, you CAN have dessert!

So back to having coffee - I always like to bring a dessert or pastry when I visit friends but I had the hardest time finding a cookie, bar or cake recipe that did not have a single egg in it. I learned that there is egg substitute that you can purchase to replace eggs in any recipe! Who knew!

And even cookies for a snack!!

My friend showed me what she makes when she bakes. From Cherrybrook Kitchens, these Arthur chocolate chip cookies are super soft and delicious! She said they are expensive so it's a treat when they can have them but look -- they are peanut free, dairy free, egg free and nut free!! That covers all allergies for her!! I was totally amazed that they make something like this. Cherrybrook has a huge variety of baking mixes that are all peanut free, dairy free, egg free and nut free. I thought for sure she ordered them online but she told me they can be purchased in the organic foods section at the local grocery store.

I'm so thankful for the allergies that God gave to the people who created Cherrybrook Kitchen - I'm not so sure they are thankfull, but they are able to help out everyone else with the same problem.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." Romans 8:28

Fresh Summer Fruit Salad

nummmy nummy fruit in the tummy!

I went to have coffee with a friend the other day and decided to bring fruit rather than a pastry like I usually do. I opened the fridge and used any fruit I could find. This was a great way for me to use up fruits that were losing their freshness. So here's the simple recipe:

Summer Fruit Salad

1 baby watermelon - seedless, diced

1 cantaloupe, seeds removed, diced

1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled, sliced

2 cups grapes, sliced

1 pineapple, diced

2 apples, diced with 1TB fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup mint leaves if you have them on hand

Add: kiwi, blackberries, raspberries or any other fruit you have on hand. 

**The orange juice was the key to making it extra sweet and juicy! 

Mine held up for 2 days in the fridge. 

A couple spoonfuls of this fruit salad twice a day and you will have eaten your days worth of fruit. The food pyramid suggests 2-4 servings of fruit each day. One serving can be: 

• One apple, orange or banana 
• A 1/2 cup chopped fruit 
• 3/4 cup of 100% fruit juice 

Although it's expensive, we need to have it in our diets to stay strong and healthy so eat up!!