Live.Laugh.Love.Create.

Yay!!!  Today is my 100th post! If I were cool, I might have planned this out better...  If I were cool, I might have something special to report or some amazing project to show.  If I were cool, I might have gotten together a giveaway...  Uhm, but I'm not.  Ha!  We all know I am not.

I actually just wanted to stop here to document one of my favorite recipes... and then I noticed that this will be my 100th post.  I LOVE FOOD!  I love to cook and bake and EAT, so I guess it seems fitting that this milestone would be captured and remembered by food :-)  I am not complaining about that one bit!

Today is rainy day number two in my city.  I am not complaining about that either.  For me, as a mom, I am not able to just sleep the day away, like I used to do when I was younger and single.  But the same concept applies, while we are home on spring break.  Rainy Day = Do Nothing Day.  I am letting my Little Darling and her buddy in crime, "Kiki" do their thing today, as I catch up on domestic responsibilities.  I thought I was caught up at one point...

Next thing I know, I look up, and HOLY MOLY!  I realized the load in the dryer had been in there since... how long?  Who knows, but the dryer full of towels, socks, and undies was almost empty.  That means, we have run out of clean things and have been using what's in the dryer so much that we have used an entire load without my ever having bothered to fold it!  So yes, laundry is so going to happen today.  I also have other things to do... Boring things.  Housework, to me, is so mundane!  I love having it done though.  I think better with a clean an organized space.  I just don't want to be the one to clean or organize! Why can't there be some trading system?  I love to cook, and in exchange for cleaning services, I will meal prep for a family.  Bam!  Problem solved.  Mystery Family is well-fed for a week, and my apartment is cleaned for the week.  I wish!!

Yesterday, was a play date.  That really translates into "Children, occupy yourselves with play while the moms gab for a few hours".  I loved it!!!  My friend *S* is literally one of the coolest, most intelligent, and hilarious people I know.  She's so laid back and down-to-earth. She and her family are truly a joy to have around, and so easy to spend time with. No make up, No dress up, No fuss, No concealing the hot mess you might truly be, and No judgment.  I love, live for, and CRAVE those sorts of relationships!!!

In honor of my getting to spend time with *S*, I made an apple cake...  I mentioned before that I love to bake :-)

This apple cake comes from a recipe that I found somewhere years ago.  I wanted to make it, but I didn't bother until about 6 months ago.  Since then, I have changed so much about the recipe to make it taste the way I want.  So, because of that, I will post how *I* make the cake, rather than the original recipe.  If you want to know about that original recipe, leave a comment or contact me, and I will give it to you.  So, without further babbling, here's my recipe for APPLE CAKE!

Ingredients
3 medium Granny Smith apples (I imagine you can just use for your favorite apple.  This is mine.)
2 tablespoons cinnamon (If this seems like a lot, use less.  Cinnamon is good for you!)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick mix
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon melted butter/margarine
2 eggs

(Optional) Streusel Topping
1/2 cup Original Bisquick Mix
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts and pecans
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tablespoons margarine

Prepare the batter:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° Farenheit
2. Peel and cut your apples
I slice my apples nice and thin after they're peeled.  I don't like apple chunks in my desserts.

3. Sprinkle the apples with the cinnamon and stir with a spoon to evenly coat the apples.  Set the apples to the side.

Make the Streusel (Optional)
Is it me, or do the walnuts appear to be in the shape of a heart?  Ha :-)  That's how much I love baking!!

After you have everything in a bowl, use a pastry cutter or a fork to further break down and combine the ingredients for the streusel.

Put It All Together:

1. Place a layer of apples on the bottom of the greased pie pan.
It doesn't have to be a perfect layer.  Over-lapping is fine. 

2. Pour the batter over these apples and then place the rest of the apples into the batter.  You will have much more apples than batter, and that's perfectly fine.

This way, the apples won't all be on the bottom, which makes it difficult to get a nice, clean slice of cake.  The batter won't all be on the bottom, which makes this pastry too "cakey" and the batter turns brown during the long bake period.  So: Layer of apples, pour batter, add the rest of the apples.  Perfect combo.

3. Cover with the (optional) streusel topping

It will look like this.  Sorry, no cute food play pictures with this one!  I was in the middle of having talks with friends when I noticed... that the cake was gone!  Ha!!! 

Everyone really enjoys this apple cake.  Either that, or I have VERY GOOD FRIENDS!  I am sure it's the latter, but that doesn't mean the first statement is any less true.  So this is for all the friends who have asked for the recipe :-)

Have fun with this and GOOD LUCK!

Good Afternoon!?  How's life these days?  For me, it's going...  rather well, for the most part.  In my city, around this time of year, we experience all four seasons in one week.  Sometimes this will happen once or twice and then we transition into the new season.  Sometimes, the "all for seasons in a week" trend will go on for weeks.  For example, we had 3 days of snow, then 40s, 50s, 70s, and snow again.  That was just the past week... Needless to say my joints are achy and my sinuses are killing me.  But what's a girl to do, right?  My Little Darling happens to feel just fine.  Energetic as ever, which means, aside from the occasional nap to get my bearings, I need to be up and at'em, working full throttle to take care of her.  Funny how stay at home moms find this sort of superhuman strength to preserve through any ailment when it means taking good care of her babies.

So I am almost done with all the color combos for this granny square quilt pattern... and then I will stop boring you to death, I promise!!!  OK, that's silly.  I might still be a little boring, but that can't be helped!  This is a combination of colors I like to refer to as "Little Boy Blue".  I think it fits.  I am obsessed right now with making things for little boys!  They are such a mystery to me, since I am raising a little girl.



My next quilt will be featuring these colors/yarns above.  The squares will be outlined in a brown.  I am on the hunt for some interesting borders for boy items.

Right now, I am considering baking something...  I can bake almost any sort of fruit-related pastry!  Apple cakes, Lemon cheesecake, Raspberry bars, Banana bread...  So today, I figured I would share a recipe with you...  I've never done this before, so it may be the worst recipe you have ever tried to use, but I need to live a little and step up to the challenge of sharing more food adventures, since that is a passion of mine.  In the spirit of this Little Boy Blue blanket, I will share my recipe for BLUEBERRY MUFFINS! 

Ingredients:
3/4 c each  - whole wheat flour & all purpose flour
1/4c - wheat germ
2 1/2 tsp - baking powder
1/2 tsp - salt

2/3 c - sugar
4 tbs - oil
3 tbs - butter (melted)
1/4c - lemon juice
2 eggs

2tsp - lemon zest
1 1/2 c - fresh blueberries

(Optional - streusel topping)
1/3 c - whole wheat flour
2tbs each - wheat germ & brown sugar
2 tbs - diced, cold butter
2/3 c - chopped walnuts

Prepare the batter:
1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Prep your muffin tin with liners, or grease thoroughly
3. Whisk together your first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and set aside


4.  Beat the butter, oil & sugar until well mixed with a hand-held electric mixer
5. Add the eggs, lemon zest, & lemon juice; mix well




6.  Stir in the dry ingredients, mixing by hand thoroughly
7.  Add the blueberries and carefully mix by hand


When you are finished with all that mixing, your batter should look something like this:


Notice, I didn't smash any blueberries.  I feel that they maintain so much more flavor when they're not smashed prior to baking.

8.  Divide into your baking cups

9.  THIS IS OPTIONAL:  Prepare the streusel topping:

Mix all the optional ingredients together.

Use a pastry cutter to further break down the walnuts and to blend in the butter better.  If you don't bake as much as I do or if you don't hoard rarely utilized kitchen items, then just use a FORK!  It works about the same :-)


Sprinkle this mix evenly amongst the muffins and bake for about 20-25 minutes , or until a toothpick is inserted in the center and comes out clean.

.....  Because I am a Foodie, and I like to play dress up, sometimes I even play with my food....


My finished muffin in a handmade cupcake holder/decoration and some blueberry acai berry tea.  But this is just playing...  When I am ready to eat these babies for breakfast or for a mid day snack, it looks like this:


NOM!! NOM!! NOM!!

Yes, I have made myself hungry and crave sweets...  I'm about to raid my pantry and see what I can throw together for a dessert tonight.  It's going DOWN!

Happy Monday 💋 💋 💋