Cake Tips

I'm not a huge cake fan, but I like decorating them. Rob loves, them - so I am experimenting more with them and finding stuff we both like (as if I need the help finding good treats).

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If you like baking, hopefully these help. Oh, and soon I'll post my favorite chocolate cake recipe - it's kind of my catch all - and I don't think it's failed me yet.

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I'm a big fan of using dry cake mix, from a box, then I just add to it. There's actually a book called The Cake Doctor, and what it does is "doctor" cake mixes. That's where my favorite chocolate cake recipe comes from (via my sister, Bethany-thanks!), and it's where my quest to bake good cakes began.

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So, back to the tips:

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Every cake can use a little extra pudding - for a chocolate cake, add chocolate pudding - for every other cake, I add vanilla (unless you can find an box of instant pudding that matches your cake flavor). I just add a small box of pudding, and no changes need to be made to the mixing or baking instructions.

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Also - I add milk instead of water (to any mix)- makes things a little creamier. It's good.

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A baking tip (making decorating easier) - to make even cake tops

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When you bake with round cake pans . . . you know how they always round out on top, too? Well . . . if you get an old towel and tear off two strips (the long way), making them as wide as the cake pan is tall - - - wet the towels, then secure them around the cake pan with either a safety pin or even a push pin (won't melt in the oven at 350 - I tested it, personally). That helps distribute the heat more evenly, and the cake will rise, but stay flat on top. I'll try and post photos soon, just to explain. This beats cutting off cake tops (making them flat), especially because it minimizes crumbs that can potentially spread through the icing.

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Last tip - instead of using icing or frosting in the middle layer of cakes - spread some pudding - again, makes things more moist. You can make some instant pudding and spread about a cup, or just buy a pack of pudding snacks and use one - I've done both.

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Random things - hopefully something is useful to you. :)

Baking Frenzy. . . and a little cooking, too

This past few weeks I've had a lot of opportunities to bake - and remember some of my cake decorating skills (I took a class in grad school but haven't used it much since then). Here's what I've been making:

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For Faith's birthday (during our fam reunion), Amanda, Naomi, and I made these little cupcake bites (recipe/idea courtesy of Bakerella). I think they look pretty cute, but I don't know if I'll ever make them again - they are REALLY REALLY sweet, and lots and lots of work. And just not that wonderful. Disclaimer - I did make some recipe changes - Faith had a chocolate cake, too, so these were a side, made of strawberry cake - maybe the chocolate would have turned out better tasting.

Two days after Faith's birthday, it was my niece Abby's birthday. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she said, pink cake with pink frosting, so strawberry cake it was.

Next - it was the end of the month, and after calling my visiting teachees a few times, I never reached them, so on the 31st, I decided to drop something off. Really, I mostly just wanted an excuse to try making these:

The best part of these?

Yum! They turned out SO well that I'll definitely be making these again.

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Yesterday, was Rob's birthday - he requested that we make homemade calzones for lunch/dinner. I think it was a success. They looked great, and tasted wonderful, too. So good that we might just do a repeat for dinner tonight.
Also for Rob's birthday . . . I won't go into my failed attempt at a Spiderman cake - I'm just glad that out of the 2 cake mixes I made, there was an extra layer, not used for what became a little messy. Not as fun as a Spiderman cake, but pretty good, still--I cut the 9x9 cake into 4 pieces, stacked, and decorated it just for Rob.
I think he likes it.

Why Guy will never be a pilot

How cruel is that?

This Month

We've spent a lot of time with family . . . this week has been a family reunion with just my immediate family - that's now 31 of us (15 adults and 16 children). The week before that 2 of our nieces spent the week with us on their own (that means Guy, Amand, Naomi, and I did a lot of stuff together). I borrowed a lot of cameras to take photos at different times, but here are some photos from our camera.

Amanda, Naomi, and Guy outside the Provo Temple A couple of shots from Guy's first time in a swimming pool
He was really good at kicking and seemed to have a pretty good time the whole time. He cried just a little right when he got in, but warmed up to it pretty quickly - spending more than half an hour in there.
We hiked Ensign Peak. Rob carried Guy in a Baby Bjorn the whole time (thanks again, Bethany)and he was great--even though we woke him up from a nap to go.

14 of the 16 cousins at the top of Ensign Peak - with Papa.

Yep, they are related! Guy with his cousin Jack (I love those blue eyes!)

We have a dream . . .

Rob loves cars. He's really into them - enjoys looking, and learning about them. The cars he's bought have pretty much been what I call "old man cars" - Lincolns and Cadillacs (I think).

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One day Rob and I are going to restore a classic car together. Since it will probably end up being a pretty big investment, we want to make sure that we both like it. Because our tastes vary so much we have to start “shopping” now (the last time we went shopping for clothes for Guy and me it wasn’t long before Rob said, “Do you sometimes wonder how we ever got married?”. . . sometimes, kind of).

Last Friday we drove up to Logan for a car show – it was the first one Rob and I have been to together, and of course we took Guy on our outing. It was a bit of a drive, but worth it, I think, because while it was a holiday weekend and we had a lot going on (putting over 200 miles on cars and the motorcycle combined), it was Rob’s favorite thing all weekend, and I enjoyed it too.

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We saw: the "Back to the Future" car in all it's winged glory (okay, not the actual one, but one like it), a very pink Cadillac, lots of Bel Airs (I kept finding that my eyes were continually drawn to them), a 1923 Model T, a few Chevelles (and I'm liking them more and more), plenty of Camaros and Mustangs, a couple Shelby GT 500s, and much much more.

The Camaro

One of the many Bel Airs (there was one with a matching trailer, too) -- I love them!
And a mustang (apparently the token car that wasn't red - didn't realize that 'til later)
This is what Guy could be driving in just a few years . . . if it wasn't $1800! Kind of crazy, right?
And lastly, a pretty neat looking motorcycleRight now I'm thinking maybe we should restore a Mustang . . . those are always fun.

Happy Fourth!

I've read some great blog entries and emails the past few days that have expressed so much gratitude and appreciation for our wonderful country. It really makes me grateful for what my mom and dad taught my siblings and me as kids--I think we all learned to love our country at a young age. I feel a bit sad when others I know don't have a great appreciation for our country, especially because I think that is mostly due to a lack of knowledge and understanding. So thanks, mom and dad, for teaching us..

Some things I found myself thinking this past weekend:

I know that the founding and establishment of our country was inspired on this dedicated and consecrated land. It is because of our establishment of government and religious freedoms that so much of the world is free to practice their faith of choice. I know that there are good things about other countries, but there's nothing like the good ol' U S of A anywhere. I'm grateful for the inspiration of the founding fathers and the sacrifices they made to give us the rights we have. It makes me sad to think of what politics have now become (mostly I consider my votes to be a vote for the LEAST harmful/corrupt - morally, ethically, and every other way), but I still recognize that our democratic freedoms are a blessing. Though I don't love some of what our system has become and even some of what it now stands for, I know I'm blessed to be born in this country.

I'm grateful for the 4th - while I know we should recognize and remember the privileges we have continually, it's a day/weekend that makes it easy to do so.

And here's one photo from the weekend - a classmate of Rob's took it. She's sending a few more our way later this week - I can't wait to get them all. :)

Laughing Guy

I filmed this the other night right before Guy went to bed, so the lights are low and it's kind of difficult to see, but it was pretty funny to hear Guy laughing so much--which started in response to Rob's hiccups.

Childbirth v. Kidney Stone

In terms of pain, I'm pretty dang sure that the kidney stone wins. Funny that I was talking about that with my parents one day not too long ago. Since I had experienced both but was remembering the pain of the kidney stone of December '00 more than the pain of childbirth I'd say the stone is worse (of course, that could just be because there's no overwhelming joy and celebration overshadowing all else when you pass a stone). And although I got an epidural, I'll choose to remind you now that the needle was in for over an hour before it was hooked up to the juice that numbs you. That wasn't fun at all as I felt labor pains and the needle in my back with almost every move.

However . . . I did get an epidural, and it did end up working. Right now I don't even have the option for an epidural, and I really wish I could sign up for one. After my first encounter with the stones I started drinking water like it's going out of style because dehydration is one of the known causes of kidney stones--actually it may be the only known cause.

Looks like all my water drinking didn't help.

I learned a new word today--Idiopathic. The Dr. told me it's a fancy word for unknown. Used in a sentence: Most causes of kidney stones are idiopathic. Lovely, isn't it? For some reason I already find myself disliking that word in tremendous ways.

The suggested remedy after this kidney stone diagnosis: Come back in two days for xrays . . . if it still hurts.

I love that I had to pay for that.
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. . . An extra big thanks to Eden and Dad today - Eden came and got Guy today so that I could do the drs visit and lab work without dragging Guy everywhere. Thanks Eden! And thanks Dad, for waiting for her.

Early Father's Day

Well, Saturday I'll be working all day, and Rob is always off on Friday, so the only time I could do any sort of surprise for him for Father's Day was yesterday. So I spent all day in the kitchen (and amazingly - didn't eat ANY part of the treats) yesterday, and this is what I made:

This hamburger and fries is dessert - made out of a cupcake, brownie, and sugar cookie fries - with some dyed frosting for the hamburger toppings.

I copied the idea - after my friend Maddie told me about a a fun blog called Bakerella (bakerella.blogspot.com). I looked it up, and since then, I've spent a LONG TIME salivating. The site is basically all food art, and I love it! This idea even came with a pdf to download to print out the food tray, the tissue paper, and the fry holder - I already had all the different kinds of paper (from all my art years at BYU), and crazy enough, I also had all the mixes to make this stuff, so I didn't even have to go to the store to get a thing - it was the best kind of project for me. She did use sesame seeds for the bun--I skipped those because I didn't have them.

Bakerella has all sorts of fancy stuff that she uses (gradiated circles for cutting is the first thing that comes to mind), and I'd love to have and use fun stuff, but I don't have the budget to spend $ in that way right now, so I found things around the kitchen that worked (like the top of a can of spray oil for the perfect brownie size).

Honestly, I knew it wouldn't be the best tasting dessert I've ever made (I used all mixes to hugely cut down time), but it was really fun, and I think it looks pretty neat.

What We've Been Up To

It's been a little while, so I'm finally updating a little. Though I did share my favorite bread recipe for the sake of breaking up what could seem monotonous to others (aka photos of Guy).

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So, lately we've been learning that one finger in Guy's mouth isn't enough (he does this feeding, too - but we don't take photos of that). . .. . .we've been taking lots and lots of photos . . . . . . hoping to find the PERFECT one . . .

. . . spending some quality time on dad's feet . . .

. . . taking many many walks (yes, sometimes sans clothing) . . .

. . . deciding which superhero Guy should be for Halloween *. . .

. . . and learning how to fly.

Oh yeah, AND enjoying EVERY roll on this little boy - they (the rolls) are so cute on babies - I love 'em!

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* That "mask" is actually the cover up he had under the bililamps right after he was born - Rob amazes me with what he can do with a pair of scissors and a Sharpie. :)

My favorite bread

Well, one of my favorites (I'm a bread lover!) . . . it's wonderful on it's own, or cut into squares then sliced through the middle for sandwiches - either a great vegetarian one with sprouts, tomatoes, avacado (for those of you who like it), cucumber, lettuce, etc. or with a little deli meat and cheese added to all that good stuff, too. Either way I make the sandwich, I top it off with Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinegar Dressing - my very favorite dressing.

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Rosemary Focaccia Bread

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2 c water

1 Tbsp yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

1/3 c freshly chopped rosemary

3 minced garlic cloves

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp freshly cracked pepper

5 cups flour

2 tsp salt

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For the top:

extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

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1 - In a large mixing bowl combine water, yeast, sugar, freshly chopped rosemary, garlic, olive oil, pepper, and 3 cups of flour. Mix together and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

2 - Add the salt and enough of the remaining flour to pull the mixture together into a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes.

3 - Spray a large bowl with olive oil

4 - Shape dough into a round and place in the bowl tha thas been sprayed with olive oil.

5 - Spray the top of the bread with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Allow bread to double in size (About 1.5 hrs).

6 - Once bread has doubled in size, remove from bowl and place on a counter top. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.

7 - Spread dough into a well-oiled cookie sheet - dimpling it with your fingers

8 - Brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt

9 - Allow bread dough to double in size again.

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Bake @ 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

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**This recipe actually came as a hearth bread recipe, if that's your preference, use steps 1-6 and follow these:

7 - Divide dough into 2 equal portions

8 - Shape each portion of dough into rounds and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.

9 - Brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle each top with kosher salt.

10 - Allow bread dough to double in size.

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Bake @ 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

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I could REALLY use a rosemary plant of my own.