happy halloween...here have a turd.

yummy kitty litter cake.....enjoy a turd on me. happy halloween!

ps-yes it is really me and not a zombie. i am still alive and well, just been busy and with a lack of enthusiasm to blog. i will do a farmhouse update soon. i promise.

four minutes to chocolate pudding!

i know this is a horrible picture, but i assure you the chocolate pudding is not. i was craving chocolate today, jumped on the web and found this recipe for microwave chocolate pudding! it is delicious. it only took four minutes total to something yummy, sweet, smooth and decadent. this is tonight's treat. travis will love me forever. enjoy.

cook's illustrated carrot cake and cream cheese frosting

cook's illustrated  recipe for carrot cake and cream cheese frosting is my new go to, gotta have, can't do without recipe. i baked this for easter sunday and it was a hit! it was really a hit with my husband, so it is a true keeper in my book. it baked tall and moist, frosted with a delicate cream cheese frosting that is not overly sweet or thick. i just loved it....all. i just ate a piece for breakfast. shhhhhh. enjoy.



simple carrot cake with cream cheese frosting-cook's illustrated magazine 2003
makes one 13 by 9-inch cake

you can add walnuts and raisins, both or neither, if you do both, add about ten minutes onto your baking time. i added one cup of toasted walnuts. delicious!


carrot cake
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pound (6 to 7 medium) carrots, peeled

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) packed light brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups safflower, canola, or vegetable oil



cream cheese frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened but still cool

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 tablespoon sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar



1. for the cake: adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. spray 13 by 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.



2. whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside.



3. in food processor fitted with large shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. wipe out food processor workbowl and fit with metal blade. process granulated and brown sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. with machine running, add oil through feed tube in steady stream. process until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. scrape mixture into medium bowl. stir in carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. cool cake to room temperature in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.



4. for the frosting: when cake is cool, process cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla in clean food processor workbowl until combined, about 5 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. add confectioners' sugar and process until smooth, about 10 seconds.



5. ice cake and store in the fridge. i think it tastes best served cold. yum.

easy and creamy rice pudding

i have been on such a rice pudding kick lately, well that and jello salads! i grew up on the dry and sometimes not so tasty baked rice puddings, but really love the cold, creamy ones made on the stove top. this one is perfect. it is simple, quick, hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, not too sweet and chockful of raisins and dried cranberries.

 let me tell you how to make it.

beth's rice pudding

in a large saucepan, bring a cup and a half of water to a boil. add in 3/4 cup of long grain white rice. simmer covered for about 20 minutes. now add two cups of half and half, two cups of one percent milk and a half cup of sugar. once the sugar has dissolved, taste it and see if you want it a tad sweeter. if so, i would add it in a tablespoon at a time to get it where you like it. now let this cook for about forty minutes, over medium heat, stirring often. it will get thick almost like porridge. don't let it get too thick or when it cools, it will be a solid mass. now, the last ten minutes or so of cooking i add in a good shake of cinnamon, a few grates of fresh nutmeg, a big pinch of sale, a huge splash of good vanilla extract and about a quarter cup each  raisins and dried cranberries. you could do all of this, just some or none. i have even had rice pudding with pineapple tidbits folded in. i would that once it cooled. okay, take it off the heat when done, cool just for a few minutes, transfer to a bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap. place it directly on the pudding touching it.  this will prevent a skim as it cools. plunk in the refrigerator for several hours and then devour. it is great warmed slightly with some butter or ice cold topped with whipped cream!

enjoy! i know i am.

cheater's chocolate cake

cheater's chocolate cake is what i like to call this super moist, easy and delicious treat. cheater's because well, because you are simply taking a boxed cake mix to new heights and it will also blow you diet right out the water! chocolate, well, because you start with a devil's food cake mix and add chocolate pudding and dark chocolate chips! cake, well,  because it is cake! let me tell you this is sooooo good. i mean dang tasty, especially after sitting over night. it needs no adornment , no frosting, glazing, sprinkling, nothing, unless you have a dollop of good vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream. oh how that would be scrumptious.

okay, here is the stupid easy, but stupid good recipe. yes, i know it is full of not good for you kind of stuff, loaded with calories, not to mention fat, and so on, but what is your point?

cheater's chocolate cake

preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a bundt pan

in a bowl mix a devil food's cake mix( duncan hines), one cup semi-sweet chocolate chips(hershey special chips), one box of instant chocolate pudding(store brand, small box), one tbsp of instant coffee crystals(folgers), two eggs(backyard birds), one tsp of good vanilla extract and 1 3/4 cup of water. that is it. mix till mixed. pop into your pan and bake for about 45 minutes. if you do the toothpick test, don't be fooled by the melty chips in the cake, so don't over bake. use your nose to smell and look to see if it has pulled away from the pan.

enjoy!

japanese cheesecake

私はこれを愛する!

i love this!

this cheesecake is so good, so different, so easy, so, so, sew your buttons on delicious. it is light, slightly sweet, airy, spongy, custardy, eggie, lemony and soooo not like your typical heavy, dense fat, calorie laden version that we all are familiar. i am so making this again, but this time it will be soooo smothered in fruits, such as macerated strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and more. i hope you will give this cheesecake a try, but remember, it is not a cheesecake as you know it. here is the recipe. oh, i so added a splash of real vanilla extract to mine. enjoy!



one ingredient "ice cream"

the new year is here and so is the "diet" resolution for you, me and probably every other person on the planet. well, if you love ice cream and like bananas, this recipe is for you....banana ice cream! take two or three ripe, but not mushy bananas, slice, place on a plate in your freezer till hard. now then toss the frozen slices into your food processor  pulsing till you have ice cream or a close facsimile. this is actually good, granted that you like bananas. i was thinking that some chocolate syrup drizzled on top would be yummy as would a few chopped nuts or some peanut butter warmed in the micro. now we're talking. enjoy.

ps-i know, i know, way crappy pic, sorry. i didn't really try.

easiest peanut butter fudge evah

two ingredients is all it takes to make this yummy fudge. when i saw the recipe on the net i just knew i had to give it a try.

here is what you do:

butter an  8x8 pan, in a microwave nuke for one minute each, a tub of vanilla frosting and one 16oz jar of peanut butter, mix together till blended, spread into your prepared pan and then pop into the fridge till firm. you are done.  i am now thinking chocolate frosting and peanut butter? chunky peanut butter? almond butter? hmmmmm.....

enjoy. i know i did.

cappuccino fudge

caroline loves fudge and i usually make a simple recipe using  a popular sweetened condensed milk, which is pretty much fool proof, but the other day i stumbled across annie's eats  and her recipe for cappuccino fudge.  i knew i had to give it a try. i am so glad i did. it is delicious. it is creamy, smooth with big coffee flavor. caroline gave it two thumbs up, well, as she was licking her fingers, they flew up in the air, so i counted them. go whip up a batch today. it makes a great breakfast treat, well, in my house anyway. enjoy.

gingerbread snack cake

okay, so this is not a cookie, but it could be a cupcake, little loaf or even a small bundt cake for gift giving. i was in the mood this week for some gingerbread and guess what? i can not find my copy of martha stewart's gingerbread cake anywhere, not even the net. guess what, again? you may think i am joking, but her recipe is actually dang tasty. why the sarcasm? well, i tend to find that ms. stewart's recipes quite frankly, stink. i love her, but her recipes not so much. instead, i found a quick and easy gingerbread on the food network website. i made it. it is okay, but not as good as the queen's. it is moist, but not enough bite for me. honestly, i doubt i would make it again, but if you prefer an easy listening gingerbread as oppose to an heavy metal one, this is it. you can enjoy yours in the elevator and i will mine in the mosh pit.

you can find the recipe right here. enjoy

ps-a lemon sauce, caramel sauce, buttermilk syrup or even some vanilla whipped cream would have added a nice touch, but i didn't do it. my bad.

Week 6 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

crazy moist pumpkin bread

i was not planning on posting this recipe, but it was such a big hit last night, i though why not. this is a crazy moist pumpkin bread with great flavor thanks to a secret ingredient, instant coconut pudding. if you love quick breads, this is for you. enjoy

pumpkin bread

preheat oven to 325 and grease a loaf pan or 9x9 square

mix in one bowl 2/3 cup oil, two eggs and one cup pumpkin

in another  bowl mix one cup flour, one cup sugar, 1 regular sized box of instant coconut pudding, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t baking soda and 1/2 t of cinnamon

add dry to wet, stir to combine. bake for one hour  or so. check with a toothpick, you might need to go a bit longer depending on your oven and or pan size. i cover mine loosely with foil after an hour, so it doesn't brown too much while the inside it getting done. cool. slice. chow.

oreo truffles, so easy a five year old can make them

and he did with some help from mom. i had big plans for these goodies, but they were dashed with the crappy wilton food markers i bought. they would not write on the white chocolate,  no matter, travis had fun anyway.

oreo truffles

1 8oz cream cheese, room temp
one entire package of oreos killed in the food processor

mix the two, roll into balls, chill and then dip into white almond bark. buy quality food markers and have at it or not. enjoy.

mini pumpkin muffin bites

i am not sure where i got this recipe, but it must be off the net. i have it jotted down on a piece of paper and stuck among a pile of recipe print outs and rip outs stuffed into my kitchen cabinet. you know, open the door and a downpour of paper showers on your head or open the door with one hand, as the other holds the papers, stacked cook books back! got one of those yourself?

anyway, i guess you could call these pumpkin muffin bites or something like it. i was calling them doughnuts, but they are not, really. i baked them in my mini muffin tin, not my doughnut pan. oh wait,  i don't have a doughnut pan like this one. it is on my wish list, a girl can dream can't she? oh, dreams do come true. i got the microplane and a whirly pop to prove it. anyway....

these little babies turned out great. they are quick, easy and taste yummy. my entire family liked them, but caroline loved them. they are that good. i do think next time i might up the spices a tad. i would like a bit more of a bite myself. here is the recipe that i used and feel free to call them whatever you like, pumpkin holes, pumpkin balls, pumpkin rug balls, pumpkin porch balls, etc....

mini pumpkin muffin bites

preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray two mini muffin tins

sift together the following:


1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
heavy pinch of cloves
heavy pinch of ginger

in another bowl whisk the following:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon good vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned or cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup buttermilk

Mix the dry into the wet ingredients. fill you tins just to the top. bake for about 10 minutes or so. you can check with a cake tester, toothpick or your finger. let cool a few minutes.

now melt a three or four tablespoons of butter in a bowl.  in another bowl mix sugar and cinnamon together to your taste. i go heavy on the cinnamon myself. dip the tops of the bites into the butter, then into the sugar mixture. you are done. easy. enjoy.
 
ps-these were fab-u-lous with a hot cup of coffee. oh yum.

EDIT-i just thought i would take a second to explain the suggested names of pumpkin rug balls and pumpkin porch balls to you, so you would not think that i was too nuts. years ago my sister in law's late mother made a batch of meatballs for her large family. it was a holiday gathering, so lots of folks. she dropped the entire pan on the carpeted floor, picked them up, washed them and fed the crowd. every year after, her kids requested her famous "rugballs". she is my hero.

the porch balls, well actually, it was basically the same thing, but on my front porch and different sister in law. they were dang tasty.  enjoy.
 
Week 5 Twelve Weeks of Christmas: 

nutella brownie bites

it is week four of the 12 weeks of christmas cookies and i made the simplest little treat for which i can take absolutely no credit. i made these....

i call them nutella brownie bites. i saw the recipe over at tracey's culinary adventures, one of my favorite places to visit. she is always up to something good over there. i have been eyeballing her flat roasted chicken, but that is another post. anyway, she calls them simply nutella fudge brownies and they are all of three ingredients! they are so easy to make, bakes in a flash, moist, flavorful and would be a delicious addition to any christmas cookie tray. i know they were a great addition to today's cup of coffee. you can find the recipe here. thanks tracey for sharing with us this nutella infused gem. now if you want to get technical....

four ingredients, if you count the whole hazelnut i stuck in half of my bites. yum. enjoy.

ps-off on a decade overdue trip to ikea today. check back in later. go make these, now!

Week 4 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

cake pops, i need to practice

because i suck at them! oh my gosh, i though it would be easy, but nooooo! i made my cake balls too big, the sticks feel out, the chocolate was too thick and not enough. ugh. i need to try again.

i hate the flat tops or bottoms, however you want to see it. i need a piece of styrofoam to stick the pops in as they cool. they taste good, but just plain ugly. you can find a recipe for them anywhere on the net.

this looks likes "the monster" going through puberty, a flat, square head with pimples. yikes!

i might try again, soon. enjoy.

apple spice cake with buttermilk syrup

we went riding around in gloucester on sunday, in the rain. we were prowling around on six hundred acres of the most beautiful farmland adjacent to the york river. it kills my soul everytime we visit because it is not mine! we ran into the caretaker, a friend and co-worker of jamie's. he told us to go visit the red apple tree over by the old plantation house for a treat. gosh, i wish i had my camera, so you could see it all. anywho, in the pouring rain,caroline and i filled the only thing we had, our shirts and an old baseball cap, as jamie and travis watched from the dry pickup. .i have no idea of the type of apple, but it was just fun watching caroline jumping for highest ones possible. now, what to make?

i scoured the web and found a recipe for an apple spice cake and buttermilk syrup. i have never visited this lady's blog before, but both recipes just sounded delcious and easy. i was right. the cake, it's moist and flavorful, not overly spicy and no nuts. jamie loved it. the syrup, oh my gosh, pure carmel-y goodness. it would be fantastic on anything from waffles to ice cream. let me tell you what though, it was heaven on the apple cake, but most divine on my spoon.



lookie, lookie, doesn't that look goooooood? you can find the cake recipe by clicking here and the syrup recipe by clicking here. go make this, now. i'm serious. enjoy.

german chocolate cake, simple, quick and unbelievably delicious

and i can not take any credit for it. jamie mentioned the other night he would love a good german chocolate cake. i have made them in the past, both from scratch, boxed and canned, nothing special. this one, this one is special. i got the recipe from my food blogger buddy barbara. over at barbara bakes. i have mentioned her a few times in the past on this blog. her recipes are simply wonderful and no fail. she does have a concern regarding a recent pie crust episode of mine using her recipe. take heart barb, it was strictly operator error.

 i think what i like best, no, i positive what i like best about her german chocolate cake recipe is the frosting. apparently it is a hand me down one from her mother in law that uses sliced almonds rather than pecans. oh my gosh folks. it is to die for. maybe, barbara needs to rename her cake death by german chocolate cake. i know that may not sound so politically correct, but do you know that german chocolate cake has nothing to do with germany? it the last name of the gentleman who developed the specific type of chocolate generally used in the batter, sam german. if you are curious, you read more about sam and the cake's history here.

oh yummy....this had totally ruined my diet and i am giving barbara full credit for that, too.

can you see the almonds? the frosting is not as dark as your typical pecan frosting. the cake, a doctored cake mix is so fluffy and moist. i am not a big cake fan at all, but this has become my all time favorite. you can find barbara's fantastical recipe here! enjoy.

happy birthday randi

today is my sister-in-law's birthday! i won't tell you how old she is, but i will tell you that she is older than me. grin. to celebrate i made a big ol' lasagna dinner capped off with a white chocolate strawberry swirl cheesecake. i don't like cheesecake and besides i am dieting, so none for me. i am told it was delicious, creamy with flavors of both strawberry and lemon. i guess i will have to take their word for it. all i can add is that it was easy to make. oh, i did serve the extra fresh strawberry sauce on the side.

the recipe came from an issue of cusine at home and is really long, not hard, but long. i am feeling lazy tonight, so here is where another fellow blogger made the cheesecake, subbing oreos for the crust. oh yum. i like that idea. pretty cool how are cakes look so similar. enjoy.

low carb flourless chocolate cupcake

i am still on my low carb diet and i am craving sweets something terrible. i have seen quite a few recipes for low carb desserts, but mostly crap involving ricotta or cream cheeses. forget that, i need chocolate, dark chocolate. when i hit phase two i will be able to have a tiny bit, but that is another whole week away. i want it know. i hit upon martha stewart's recipe for flourless chocolate cupcakes and attempted to make it low carb. there is no flour in the recipe, hence the word
"flourless" in the title, so that is easy enough. i subbed unsweetened chocolate for the bittersweet and xylitol for the sugar. xylitol, packaged under the name of ideal is a natural sweetner and sugar replacement. the cupcakes where pretty good, not great. you bake with ideal and sugar one to one, but since i started with unsweetened chocolate i should have used more than what the recipe alloted. i also may have baked them a tad too long. they were not soft and moist in the middle, but dense and fudgy. all in all, they are definitely good enough for a redo, like maybe tomorrow. enjoy.

the little squirt of whipped cream help cut the bitterness of the dark chocolate. i ate two.

blueberry mochi cake

when i saw the recipe for blueberry mochi cake over at the food librarian's site, i just knew i wanted to give it a try. i bookmarked it. i had never had any type of mochi before, but was familiar with it, so off to hunt for the sweet rice flour. we have a local, rather large, asian supermarket here, but i had never stepped foot in it. oh my, what have i been missing? i was a like a kid in a candy shop or more like a seaweed and noodle shop. it was so neat, well not reall, but it was fascinating. it would have been amazing if i wasn't continually distracted by travis taking every item off the shelf, almost doing a header out the basket, or hollering that he wanted "that" not grasping that "that" was a vacuumed packed bag of chestnuts not chocolates. nasty. anyway, i did find the boxes of sweet rice flour, grabbed two and headed home to make the cake. i am going back there soon, childless.

i made the cake and well, i am the only one who liked it. mochi is not real sweet, but is sticky, buttery and chewy. it is very textural. travis tried to eat a piece with a fork and it was not happening. he did better with the fork acting as a "holder" and just biting at the cake. for him, that wasn't happening either. he gave up.

overall, this blueberry mochi cake is definitely different. i think it would be delicious served with coffee or tea. it is nothing like your typical american style cake. i do have another box of sweet rice flour to use and i plan to, but this time i am thinking a chocolate or coconut mochi cake might be good. hmmmm..... i hope you will try the recipe for yourself. it would be a food adventure. enjoy.