Every time I get on the phone, I turn into a Gazelle

My kids can be fully engaged in a project without me; and the key to this story is fully engaged without me. But once I get on the phone, it doesn't matter what they were fully engaged in WITHOUT me. They stop that highly engaging activity they WERE involved in and instantly turn into lions. And I of course become a gazelle. It is the phone that creates this magical vortex. And it doesn't matter if the phone rings and alerts them to the inevitable change that is about to happen to both them and me or if I quietly walk out of the room and make a phone call without any noise signaling the change. It just doesn't matter; it happens. What happens? Whatever they have been wanting to do that they are sure I will say no to. That is what they want to do. They are either all over me asking the same thing over and over again. And then I start to walk away from them holding my one hand out shaking it back and forth. And I continue to walk from room to room holding my hand out. Upon occasion, I have had to lock myself in the garage or the bathroom to finish an important call. Or perhaps the worse of the two situations is when they are off doing whatever it is that I am sure they would not be attempting if I were not on that phone.And that leave me with the choice of finishing the call in peace and dealing with the repercussions of my peaceful phone call later or going and seeing what they are up to while I am still on the phone call. Whatever the situation, answering the phone or using the phone always seems to have a price tag associated with it. I have tried to change the dynamics of this situation by altering the variables. So to those of you who are saying...have you tried or have you tried this. Yes, of course I have tried that and that too. It doesn't matter the kids can smell that I am on the phone. And no I am not on the phone all the time. Just today -- the situation that inspired this entry -- I literally talked on the phone once, and it was to my husband for under three minutes. The kids and I were playing a game together, having a pleasant time when the phone rang. I saw it was daddy, and I told the kids it was daddy. I said hello, and I was still sitting on the floor next to both of them, but that didn't stop the transformation from happening. I turned into a gazelle within 10 seconds of answering the phone. So what I am saying is... does this happen to others out there? Or is it just me? And lastly, I know this is something that drives me crazy, so I always tell myself in the moment when it is happening and driving me crazy .... one day this won't happen, and I will miss it. And that always helps to soften my heart. So to my lions...your mommy gazelle loves you even though...

Darth Vader Cake and "AMAZING ILENE Buttercream FROSTING"

My baby boy turned 5 years old.  He is into Star Wars, the original Star Wars with Luke, Han Solo, Princess Leah, and Chewy. And he just loves Darth Vader.  Because when you are little and innocent, you only see and understand what you know to be true.  So he says that Darth Vader is a good daddy. Because he only knows a world where daddies are good.  So he focuses on that last scene when Vader stops the Emperor from electric shocking Luke, his son.  Hence..... Darth Vader is a good daddy.

When he first decided on a Darth Vader cake for his 5th birthday party, I showed him pictures of  flat Darth Vader cakes.

Aidan immediately said, "oh, no Mommy I want the head to be a real sized head sitting on the table."
To which I responded, "you mean 3D?"
Aidan said," no not 3D.... I want Darth Vader... with his black helmet."
I said,"That is 3D .... that mean a 3 dimensional head." And I showed him with my hands what I meant.
Aidan was excited and his head started shaking up and down, "yes, that is what I mean a 3D Darth Vader."

He was satisfied that I understood my challenge, and he walked away telling me he couldn't wait to see his cake.  It felt a bit like a mob boss scene from a movie.  He set up the difficult challenge, and he walked away with confidence that the task he requested would meet the requirements he set forth. I was a bit sick to my stomach.  I was pretty sure this was going to be the first birthday cake I was not going to be able to make.

I did a bit of research on the internet.  All the 3D Vader heads I found were covered in black fondant, because it gives the cake that smooth perfect finished look.  The only problem is my family loves the frosting I make.  This frosting is amazing; it is not my recipe it is my dear friend Ilene's (Lene's) recipe.  She has used this recipe for year for all of her kid's birthday cakes.  As only Ilene would say, " this recipe is ancient."  Trust me that is exactly what she would say.  And I feel so fortunate that she shared this perfect recipe with me.  So thank you Lene.  Once you make this frosting, it would be totally appropriate for you to say "thank you Ilene"  aloud in your kitchen.  And when I say amazing.... that is only because I cannot think of another more spectacular word to use.

Here is the recipe for

Ilene's Spectacular Amazing Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup of Crisco (shortening) (I use the sticks -- so it is 1/2 of a stick)
1/2 cup of soften butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract (I use almond)

Cream shortening and butter until smooth.  Add sugar and cream again.  Add milk slowly and extract - beat on high for 5 minutes.  Frost or store in airtight container in the refrigerator.  Whip again before using.

I use this frosting to frost well, anything that needs frosting.  I dye it to suit my needs.  And for this cake I needed a little to be dark grey and a lot to be black. My mom found some dark black Wilton gel icing color.  It was perfect.  It didn't turn that typical grey color.  The frosting turned a beautiful strong black color.

Now back to my cake problem.  It seemed to me that I had two main problems.  First issue was making the actual cake --- carving and putting together a head.  The second problem was this fondant issue.  I don't know how to use it, and even if I did -- I want to use the AMAZING ILENE frosting.  In in the end, I knew if I failed I would have to submit to the local bakery and admit my son had pushed and found the end of my cake design talents.  But until I reached the end and realized I was defeated by Darth Vader, I was going to try to make this cake for my boy.  I mean if Aidan believed I could make this cake, why couldn't I have that kind of confidence in myself.

As far as the cake is concerned, I made a lot of cake for this one.  I made three 9 inch rounds, one 7 inch round, one bowl (for the top of the head), and one small ramekin (to cut in half for the eyes). Once all the cakes were made and cooled.  I put all the cakes in the freezer for an hour.  I needed them to be harder before I started cutting into them.

I put two of the 9 inch rounds on the bottom.  Then I put the 7 inch round on top of those two cakes, and I finished the top of the cake with the bowl. I used the last of the 9 inch rounds for spare parts.  I cut a small rectangle from the 9 inch round to make Vader's breathing apparatus / mouth piece on his helmet.  Then I cut about a 1/4 of an inch out of the depth of the rectangle to make the the two triangles on the sides of that breathing apparatus.  I tried to stick to shapes I know in order to create the helmet -- rectangles, triangles, and semicircles.  I cut the little ramekin in half and used those semicircles to make Vader's eyes.  I cut two curved pieces out of the remaining cake and attached it to the side of Vader's helmet (like where ears would be).  This was supposed to be the curve or flared out part of Vader's helmet.  Let me tell you, it looked rough before I put the crumb coat (think layer of frosting) all over the cake.

Lastly, I put a crumb coat (thin coat of frosting) all over the cake.

This is what it looked like with just a crumb coat of frosting.  A bit rough looking, but I had faith that once the black frosting was on and all the details were in place it would look like Darth Vader. Once the crumb coat was on, I put it in the refrigerator for an hour.

Now it was time to put the black frosting on.  I had to triple the above recipe.  For past cakes, I have only had to double the recipe, but Darth required a lot of frosting.  Once I frosted the cake, it was time to add some details.  My mom went out an bought me black fondant, which worked perfectly.  I was skeptical about using it since I never had used it before.  I figured I wouldn't be able to use it since I had no experience.  I was wrong, it was easy to work with -- well, for the small quantity I used, it was easy.  I used it to put details -- lines of definition on the mask, and for that purpose it was perfect and easy for a beginner.  I highly recommend trying it for details on your cakes.  I am so glad my mom bought the fondant because I wouldn't have, and in the end the details made the cake look so much better.  Thanks mom.

When my little boy saw the cake, he covered his happy smile with his perfect little hands, screamed in delight, and immediately said,"it is perfect, thank you Mommy."

My lesson learned -- 

Even when you think your child's expectations of you are too high, start reaching even higher. Happy Birthday Aidan, you are a Blessing.

Minnie Mouse Cake

I am going to flashback to a little over a year ago when my daughter wanted a Minnie Mouse theme for her second birthday.  She sweetly refers to Minnie Mouse as MeeMee.  This was an easy cake to make, and she loved it.  So I thought I would share this successful birthday cake. I used one 9 inch round cake pan and two ramekins. The hardest part was making sure I filled all three pans to the same height.  I used a toothpick to measure the height of each. The second difficulty I had was getting the icing to be BLACK BLACK and not sort of black grey.  In the end, it wasn't as black as I wished it could have been.  But my sweet little two year old daughter didn't even notice.  She squealed with delight when she saw it and yelled, " MeeMee .... MeeMee I love you.... thank you Mommy... thank you."  I got a great big wonderful hug that melted my heart. And honestly..... the way I choose to remember this cake .... is the way my daughter remembers it .... as the perfect Mee Mee cake.  Here it is ......

The BEST Rolled Sugar Cookies

These are my go to cookie for birthday parties, special occasion-guest-take-home-gift, anytime sugar cookie recipe.  They are easy, you can make them into any shape or cut out cookies you want, you can make them ahead of time (they keep beautifully), and oooooh I almost forgot the best part --- they are super yummy and soft.  I have made these cookies into dinosaures, trains, butterflies, flowers, crosses, firetrucks, and monkeys --- just to name a few.

Here is the Golden Cookie Award winning recipe -- I received this award from the Academy of OUR Family.  This Academy has members in it ranging from age 2 to 80.  All have selected this cookie recipe as the favorite.  The question is will your family agree?  This recipe came from allrecipes.com

Best Rolled/Cut Out Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

powdered sugar for rolling surface


Directions:

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine flour baking powder, and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture in three different batches.  Do not over beat.  Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap, cover and wrap tightly for at least an hour or even for overnight.  Take the dough out and cut off a chunk that is manageable for you to work with. Once the dough gets too warm from your hands, it is becomes difficult to work with -- hence keep the dough pieces you cut manageable.  Sprinkle your counter with some powdered sugar.  I use powdered sugar instead of flour because the extra flour makes the dough tough.  Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch in thickness and then use the cookie cutter of your choice. When you have extra dough, but there is not enough to cut into more cookies or it has become too warm from your hands, put it back into the refrigerator to get cold again.

Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 6-8 minutes. The cookies stay pretty light in color. It may take a few times to figure out the exact time for your oven;  8 minutes is perfect for my oven.   Remove them from the pan and let them cool.  Decorate or leave plain they are wonderful any way you choose to eat them.  If you keep the cookies in an airtight container, they save well.  When I make these for party favors, I put one or two in a small clear baggie and tie a ribbon on the top.   You can make these cookies 5-7 days before your party, the guests will never know -- the cookies are that good.

I have decorated these cookies using M&Ms; I did this when I decorated butterfly, flower, and dinosaur cookies.  Mix a bit of water and a bit of powdered sugar into a paste. Use this paste to "glue" M&Ms onto cookies. I have used Royal Icing to decorate these cookies too.  I have also served them plain.  No matter what you choice, you cannot lose with this cookie.

I have also put together cookie baskets for those who I love so that they can give cookies out at their special occasion.  For example when my dear friend, Kristen, had a Baptism for her little boy Carter; I made a cookie basket for her to give out cookies to her guests as a thank you gift.  I also made a similar basket for Nel, a friend of mine, who recently got married.

So no matter how you choice to use this recipe.  Know that it will be a winner. And people will ask you if you are serving your yummy sugar cookies.
Buon Appetito!

No Lettuce Salad with an easy Vinaigrette

It is summer and the veggies look so wonderful in the grocery store.  And like every mom I am always trying to put veggies on the table in a new way to entice my kids and husband. Here the story of The Mommy, a bunch of veggies, and her two hungry kids.

When I was dating my husband he used to make me dinner.  And one of the salads he used to make me was his No Lettuce Salad.  Cute concept, right? A salad without leafy greens, just the crunchy parts. Anyway, we haven't made it for years.  So the other day when I was thinking about how to get my kids to eat more veggies, I made this salad.  I was thinking that some of the veggies in it they love and some not so much.  But it would offer me an opportunity to talk about these veggies and everyone can sample small bite sized pieces of each variety.  Plus the salad is so colorful and pretty, it makes you want to try it.

Once I was finished with the salad, I left it sitting in my kitchen. Not realizing what a temptation I was leaving on my counter, I went upstairs to fold laundry. Can you believe I just called my salad a temptation.  But it was a temptation! It is so beautiful with a wide variety of colors.  When I came downstairs, they both were sitting in the family room watching TV with a bowl of vegetables in front of them.  I yelled in my frantic funny mom voice, "are you kidding me? Are you two eating mommy's dinner BEFORE dinner?  I cannot believe it!"  They both busted out laughing and started telling me the story about how my son got the little bowls out and both of them started picking through the veggies and sticking them in their bowl.  And I also hear how hungry they were.  "Mommy, we are starving!" my son says to me.

I have to say I was very pleased to see them eating vegetables at 4:30.  I figured they were just having their first course (veggie course) a bit early for dinner.  And how perfect to have the majority of their vegetable consumed while they are "starving" for dinner.  Instead of having the first thing they put in their mouth be a piece of bread, like we are served in most restaurants.  We usually have dinner between 5:00 and 5:30, so in the end I didn't think of the No Lettuce Salad as a snack, but the early start of their meal.

Obviously the colorful bowl that was left within their reach was a temptation, but I also think an important key to this story is the NO SNACK rule that was put in place about one month ago.  I used to give the kids a lot more snacks throughout the day.  I have cut that back significantly.  I used to give them a snack between breakfast and lunch.  Now if they get hungry around 10:30, I give them some carrots and call it pre-lunch --- and give them their lunch at 11:00.  Then since it is a longer stretch until dinner at 5:00/5:30, I give a small snack at 1:30. This makes them good and hungry for dinner. Hence at 4:30, the  kids were "sneaking" some veggies off my counter.  I only see a win - win in this situation.

So what is the moral of the story of The Mommy, a bunch of veggies, and her two hungry kids?  Don't snack your kids until they are no longer hungry for the good food you put on the table and leave fresh attractive food within their reach. The End.


There were just a few changes I made to my husband's original recipe.  I changed the dressing from a store bought dressing to my homemade dressing --- this was a healthy change.  And he used to steam the broccoli until it lost it's raw texture and had a little give to it and shocked it cold to keep its pretty green color.  I decided to roast my broccoli, but either way works.

Here is the recipe ---

No Lettuce Salad

1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
some broccoli florets (steamed and cooled or roasted in oven at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes)
2 -3 carrots
1 seedless cucumber
1 small zucchini
1 small red onion
some  shredded cheddar cheese

Start by working with the broccoli if you want to cook it in some way.  We prefer cooked broccoli to raw, but if you like raw... leave it.  I placed my broccoli on a cookie sheet with salt and olive oil and roasted it in a 400 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes.  My husband used to steam it until he achieved the texture he was looking for, then he put the broccoli in the freezer to stop the cooking process and preserve the green color.  Whatever works for you--do it.  Then chop the rest of the vegetables into bite sized pieces and add the amount of cheese or no cheese that best fits your family.  Only dress it when you are ready to serve on the amount of veggies you are going to eat, or it will get soggy in the refrigerator.  The leftovers I leave in an airtight container.

Italian Vinaigrette

4 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
some chopped garlic and/or chopped shallots (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mix vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper.  Add the optional garlic and/or shallots at this point.  Slowly drizzle in olive oil while continually whisking.  At this point you should have a perfectly emulsified dressing.  Brava!

Try leaving your No Lettuce Salad on your counter with hungry kids in the house and see what happens.

Peach Cobbler

My mom and dad were visiting with friends who shared with them "the BEST peaches" they have eaten since being in Italy.  I guess there is this man who drives a refrigerated truck filled with peaches and blueberries from Georgia, parks in a parking lot, and sells the fruit right out of his truck.  I am not sure how people find out about the location, but they do.  I guess his business mantra is, "deliver the peaches, and they will come."

Anyway, my parents decided to meet this trucker and buy some of his Georgia peaches and blueberries. My parents are very generous people.  They bought this wonderful fruit and shared it with my brother and his family and me and my family.  There is nothing like spending a wonderful day at the zoo and coming home to a kitchen counter filled with perfectly ripened fruits and a note from your parents explaining the gift that was left for you and the family.  And those are some of the Blessings in my life.
So after eating several of the peaches, the baker in me decided to make something perfectly summer like with them.  Funny thing is, I called my mom to tell her what I was going to do with some of the peaches only to find out that her and my dad did the very same thing the night before. I guess this only stands to reason, I was raised in her kitchen.

The following recipe I am about to share is a variation on a recipe I found online at myrecipes.com.  I looked up many cobbler recipes and the basics of this cobbler recipe can be found all over. Here is the recipe I used with the changes I made.

Peach Cobbler

peach part

7-9 peaches depending on the size or about 5 cups (pealed and sliced)
1/2 - 3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice

Start by blanching your peaches (quickly boiling your peaches) to get the skin off.  Unless you prefer to keep the skin on the peaches; that is just a personal preference. To blanch your peaches, bring water to a rolling boil.  Use a knife to place an X on the bottom side of your peaches (to help the boiling water loosen the skin).  Place the peaches in the boiling water for about 45 seconds -- to 1 minutes if they are less than perfectly ripe.  Take the peaches out and put them immediately into an ice bath; this stops the cooking process.  Once the peaches are cool, it should be easy to take the skin off.  Now cut the peaches into bite sized pieces.  Place the peaches, sugar, water, and lemon juice into a pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Set aside and cool.

cobbler part

1/2 cup of butter

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons of baking powder
1/2 - 3/4 cup of sugar
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of skim milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
some cinnamon

powdered sugar for garnish
pecans for garnish (toast nuts in a dry pan)


Heat oven to 350 degrees.  This recipe can be made in one 13 x 9 or one 7 x 11 and one loaf pan.  Melt the butter the baking dish with high sides you chose to use.  While butter is melting, make cobbler part.  Mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Once blended, slowing add milk and stir making sure you don't get any lumps.  Lastly, add the vanilla.  Once butter is melted, add cobbler mixture to baking dish, but DO NOT stir mixture into butter; just let it sit there.  Lightly, add peaches and liquid on top of cobbler mixture.  As the cobbler bakes it will rise to the top and pass up the peaches .  Trust me it is worth the wait. If you want, this is the point I added a dash of cinnamon. Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Keep checking your cobbler; it should be light brown on the edges.  Take out of the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes.

While cobbler is cooling, heat pecans in a dry pan.  Once you smell the pecan, they are done.  Don't warm them for too long or you will burn them.  Serve your cobbler warm, garnish with some powdered sugar and warm pecans.  If you are looking to make this perfect dessert even more perfect, serve it with a bit of vanilla ice cream.

After you make this the first time, don't be surprised when your family starts requesting it -- I know mine did.

Thanks Mom and Dad for your generous gift of the perfect summer peaches -- what a treat!

Buon Appetito! 

My Romantic Anniversary Gift

The most romantic gifts aren't diamonds and emeralds.  Don't get me wrong jewelry is always a big hit, but it doesn't go in the romantic category.  Yesterday was my husband and my 8th wedding Anniversary.  My husband came home from work yesterday with this..........

Now although anyone looking at this flower arrangement may say,"oh that is pretty."  It would end there.  Flowers are always a nice treat, but they usually don't invoke tears.  But this flower arrangement put tears in my eyes.  As I was starring at it speechless, my husband asked, "do you recognize this arrangement?"

"Of course," I say, "it is my wedding bouquet."  And I continue to stare at the flowers as my heart is rushed filled with memories of that sacred day. My wedding bouquet was a tight ball of red roses with highlights of white stephanotis flowers.  It was beautiful. Here is my bouquet.

The florist told my husband that the stephanotis flowers are used for weddings, but they really don't last for more than one day. So she used some filler flowers in the flower arrangement she made so there would be flowers present when the stephanotis withered.

I am very Blessed to have such a wonderful thoughtful husband.

I live "La bella vita" -- the beautiful life