Birthday Cake

Thing 3 had her birthday on Friday and I decided to bake her a birthday cake. I started baking birthday cakes a couple years ago after I realized that it was MUCH cheaper than buying one and usually tasted better too.

Well, not always, but I am certainly getting better at baking cakes!

I went with this sheet cake recipe from Ina Garten. It turned out far from perfect but tasted quite yummy. I even borrowed my MIL's stand mixer so that I could follow all the steps to a "T".

The actual cake part turned out fairly bumpy - I wondered if it was because the size of my pan was slightly smaller than what they called for (I assure you, this is a gigantic cake).

Then I whipped up the icing - which also tasted delicious but was a little liquidy when I spread it. It firmed up nicely after I put it in the garage for 30 minutes.

I wanted to add cute pink letters for her on top of the cake. Yeah, that idea went down the drain as I remembered how hard it is to print with ICING.

But, all in all, the cake was delicious and she had a lovely little birthday.

I don't recommend you bake this cake unless you are having an actual birthday party with many kids attending. It's one BIG cake. We will be eating for days to come!

Week of March 1, 2009

The crock pot chili I made last week ended up being spectacular. I altered the recipe a little bit, and added extra spices because we love our chili burning hot! It was the perfect cold (ok, freezing) night meal and I baked a loaf of whole grain bread to go with it (in my bread machine - I am not yet brave enough to tackle baking real bread).

I'd forgotten how much we all liked Dara's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. I found one last serving of frozen pumpkin puree in the freezer, so I whipped up a batch of these muffins a couple days ago and the kids have been devouring them.

Spending less on groceries is going okay. We are a big family and we like to eat. With all of us home we are all eating three meals a day at home, seven days a week. I am also watching another little boy right now, who boasts a pretty healthy appetite. I'm shocked at how quickly we go through milk, bread, fruit, etc. But we have definitely cut out extras, and I'm sure in the big picture that is saving us money. Our big saver has been drinks - I stopped buying orange juice and only buy apple juice for the kids and dilute it. I don't miss the orange juice too much, it is full of sugar and not good for us anyway. We don't drink Perrier anymore (which I do miss but am living without) or club soda, or other pop or fruit drinks. We also cut out beer and wine - and while THAT certainly hurts, it has to be saving us money.

My money saving venture for this week is to make Thing 1's birthday cake. I am not much of a cake decorator so I chose a recipe that looks manageable. He REALLY wants an Indiana Jones cake and the one at the bakery around the corner is basically $50. For a kid's cake!!!??? So we are having a small birthday party at our home, with Indiana Jones-themed games and ordering pizza. I hope it goes well.

I'm very excited to be trying Beth's Drunken Garlic Pot Roast tonight. I'm a big fan of her blog and her recipes, and Paul has yet to dislike something of hers that I've made. It looks like a delicious cold Sunday night meal!!

Here's a look at our menu for the coming week:

Sunday: Drunken Garlic Pot Roast
Monday: Leftovers (do something with extra meat from last night)
Tuesday: Fresh Pear and Curry Pasta
Wednesday: Sour Cream Noodle Bake
Thursday: Leftovers/Freezer Meal
Friday: Pan Seared Salmon with Avocado Remoulade
Saturday: Indiana Jones birthday cake for Thing 1's birthday party

With sick kids for the past few weeks, I've done a lot of sitting around flipping through old recipe books. I've rekindled my love for The Best of The Best of Bridge book. It's full of simple, flavourful and not-too-difficult recipes. The recipe below is adapted from here.

Fresh Pear and Curry Pasta

1/2 small onion, chopped
2 T oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T medium curry paste
1 tsp tomato paste
2 T honey
2 cups chicken broth
1 unpeeled ripe pear, sliced in thin wedges
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 T cream or milk
3 T chopped cilantro
Rotini, bow tie or shells pasta

In a frying pan over medium heat, saute onion in oil until soft. Add garlic and curry paste and stir 2-3 minutes. Add tomato paste and honey and stir another 2 minutes. Add broth, increase heat to medium high and boil gently, reducing liquid to less than 1 cup. (This takes about 15 minutes - now is a good time to start cooking the pasta).

Add pear slices and cook for one minute. Add tomatoes and cream and stir another 2 minutes. Stir in chopped cilantro. Pour over pasta and toss gently.

If you insist on meat - serve with grilled chicken breast or pork tenderloin!

Week of January 25, 2009

Last week's meals were quite good. I was especially happy with the home-made pizza (although I made my crust in the breadmaker and not using the recipe I posted) and thought it tasted excellent. My boys, Thing 1 and Thing 2, were not as excited and thought "it tasted better from the store". Hmm. Interesting.

With my little girl turning one I took my first shot at baking an angel food cake. It's not that it was especially difficult, but you do need everything to be "just so" and perfect, or it won't turn out absolutely wonderful. My first one I made too late at night, I was exhausted and forgot two ingredients, so I ended up making one again the next day. It was very good, although not as light and fluffy as I anticipated. I think that was because I baked it while one child was around (two were napping, one was at school). He was a good helper, although I don't believe I whipped the egg whites long enough . . . perhaps the "peaks" weren't of the desired firmness. It was still very tasty - everyone loved it.

After not being able to find an icing recipe that replicated the ones my grandmother used to make for us when we were kids, I went with this Caramel Whipped Cream from Martha and frosted the cake with that.

Can you say TO DIE FOR?

It was the best whipped cream I have EVER tasted in my life. It was the perfect match to a light, airy cake (well, you know, the one in the picture was anyway).

I'm trying two new recipes in the crockpot this week . . . it's January and freaking cold and I should be using it more. I'm also trying Beth's version of the Chickpea and Beef dish below, it varies slightly from the original that I tried a few months ago.

Sunday: Crockpot Taco Soup
Monday: Pasta with Meat Sauce (from freezer)
Tuesday: Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Wednesday: Lasagna from freezer, salad, garlic bread
Thursday: Veggie Omelets
Friday: Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Olives
Saturday: Spicy Sauteed Chickpeas and Beef with Cilantro

Week of January 18, 2008

I tried to choose recipes this week that were not overly difficult as this will be my first week with four kids to watch all day. I anticipate supper time being a little more dicey than normal now, so I'll have to adjust my cooking expectations accordingly. I will be watching my friend's son as she returns to work this week, and he is almost 11 months old.

Sunday: Dinner at Granny's
Monday: Spinach Salad with Tomato and Bacon (now a favourite here)
Tuesday: Quesadillas
Wednesday: Penne with Tomato, Tuna and Lemon
Thursday: Home-made Pizza
Friday: Easier Baked Penne
Saturday: Out for dinner with friends

I found this and thought it was a great idea for my kids, so I'll give it a go this week:
Home-made trail mix

And since we have two very special birthdays coming up on Thursday . . . I'll give this Angel Food Cake a whirl.

Recipes . . .

From Anne Lindsay's New Light Cooking (this is a favourite of ours that I have been cooking for years thanks to my friend Christine who made it for me ages ago and I subsequently went out and bought the book!)

Penne with Tomato, Tuna and Lemon

8 oz penne pasta
1 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 can (19 oz) chopped tomatoes (or 3 cups fresh)
1 can water-packed tuna, drained
2 T drained capers
1/4 cup coarse chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Grated rind of half a lemon

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain well.

2. Meanwhile, in large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat, cook garlic, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes, stirring, until garlic is softened, about 2 minutes.

3. Stir in tomatoes, tuna and capers; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until thickened slightly.

4. Stir in cooked pasta, parsley, lemon rind, and salt and pepper to taste.

From Healthy Mum, Happy Baby

Even Easier Baked Penne

3 cups penne
25 oz pasta sauce or 3 cups (I'll use Beth's Quick Meat Sauce from my freezer)
1 cup ricotta
1 T fresh basil
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cup mozzarella, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly butter a 9x9 inch baking dish.

2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 8-10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine 2 cups pasta sauce, ricotta, and basil; season with salt and pepper.

4. Add the cooked, drained pasta to the pasta sauce mixture and toss gently to combine. Spread 1/2 cup of remaining pasta sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Spoon the pasta mixture into the baking dish and drizzle the remaining 1/2 cup pasta sauce over top. Sprinkle with mozzarella.

5. Cover baking dish with lid or foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes.