Reaching Out

One of the first things I learned about food bloggers was, that they were a generous and compassionate group.  They banded tightly together in times of need and freely gave of themselves.  A recent example of this was when Monica blogged about a dear blogger friend that passed away.  Monica never meet Jeanette but still felt a strong less of loss at her passing. The supportive comments Monica received were amazing.  Going a little further back, another example was when  Ericka, a fellow blogger and her family were lucky to escape a fire that took her home and all her possessions.  The out pouring of support she was given was incredible.  I didn’t know her but soon felt like I did after reading about her and her story on many blogs.  Those are just two examples.  There are many others and I’m hoping that same supportive spirit will continue on and be bestowed on the family of another blogger. 

This afternoon I received an email from Michelle of One Ordinary Day.  Michelle’s sister Bea and her family lost their home on Saturday morning to a fire.  Thankfully everyone made it out alive.  However, Bea’s husband did not escape unscathed.  Given what could have been, they’re very thankful but it’s hard to ignore the fact that their home and all their possessions were lost.  Yes, they can be replaced but it’s so hard when it’s everything.  Michelle has a short post about it on her blog.  She doesn’t go into many details but does ask for your prayers and good thoughts.  I hope you’ll take a few minutes to visit Michelle and extend Bea’s family good wishes.  I know times are tough and I hate to ask but if you are able to, please consider making a small donation, every little bit helps. Thank you!

A Little Late

I know the holiday party season is long gone but if you don’t know or haven’t already tried Hickory Farms sausages and cheeses you might be missing out.

I was a lucky recipient of a small Hickory Farms gift pack through Food Buzz’s Tastemakers program.  I actually received it just before Thanksgiving though it wasn’t until New Year’s Eve that we sampled it.  We loved it especially the kids.  They gobbled  it up faster than I could cut it.  I’m not one to blog about savory foods (Kudos to you guys that do!  It’s tough getting good photos!) but I thought it worth mentioning.  And really you don’t have to wait for a party to serve it.  You can do like I do and feed it to the kiddos as an after school snack.

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I want to thank you  for sticking with me these past few weeks.  I know I haven’t been around and my commenting has been sparse.  I’d like to say that I’ll be better but it may be a few more weeks before I’m back into the swing of things. 

Now for the reason I’ve been MIA.  As most of you know I got a dslr back in July, well I’ve been teaching myself how to use it.  In order to do that I have to read,read, read, and practice, practice,practice.  At the same time I’m trying to master my camera and the manual setting I still have to work fulltime, “keep house”, raise three children, and juggle all their activities.  It isn’t easy and I don’t know how the rest of you guys manage but it’s tough juggling act.  It’s a poor excuse for my neglect of our friendship but it’s the only one I’ve got.  :)  You know, it’s partially your fault too.  All your  lovely comments on my photos and how I’ve improved is what encouraged me to really dive in and learn more. 

I didn’t intend to share as I’m kinda nervous about what you’ll think but I’m participating in a Project 365 and post my daily photo here if you’re interested.  (Please, don’t feel like you need to visit or comment.)  Thanks!

Wanna Bite?

Come back tomorrow for the whole cake and giveaway info!

Flourless Chocolate Cake With Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Did you do a quick double check to see if you were on the right blog? lol Yes, you read that correctly.  Chocolate, here on 3B’s.  :)  It doesn’t happen often but it does happen.  See here and here.   I know that for some of you it doesn’t happen often enough.  And that is why you are now seeing a flourless chocolate cake. (Naomi, I made this cake before I saw your/my tart.  Had I seen it first I would have been ALL over it!)  I’m trying to keep my chocolate lovin’ peps happy. For those of you that are  raisin lovers don’t hold your breath for them as it ain’t happenin’!  Sorry.  :)

So about this cake.  I’d like to say that it changed my opinion on chocolate but it didn’t.  That’s not to say you chocolate lovers wouldn’t go crazy for it;  just that it didn’t have me or the kids rethinking our position of chocolate.   (94% of the 259 reviewers would make it again)Because we found the cake super rich and chocolatey we topped it with whipped cream and Faith’s delicious spiced (and tart) cranberry jam.  Once we did, the cake slices were quickly eaten with no complaints of it being too chocolatey.

The flourless chocolate cake recipe is from Epicurious and the spiced cranberry jam/sauce is from An Edible Mosaic.  If you haven’t been to Faith’s blog yet you need to stop and click here.  She has a wonderful variety of recipes and lovely photos to go along with them.

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Here’s Babygirl in her Halloween costume.  She was a Hogwarts's student.

Everyone meet Jeter the newest member of our family. We’ve had him for almost a month and needless to say Babygirl is beyond thrilled!

Please Excuse the Mess

As I try to shake things up here! :)
~ingrid

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has a safe candy filled day!

I’m back!

Hiya!  I’m back! Sorta.  :)  I’m trying to get the kids ready for school so I haven’t done any baking.  (I am working on a challenge with Monica and Michelle but more on that at a later date.) Along withback to school shopping we’re also finishing up our summer reading and projects.  Any thoughts on required summer reading?  Mine will not only be taking a test on their book the first day of school, but the twins also have a massive project! Why, oh why does the school district think that summer projects need to be turned in on the first day of school?  Can you imagine?  Your first day of school, you’re struggling to find classes, and you have to carry around a huge tri-fold project board?  Yeah, I don’t think that was well thought out.  LOL, thanks for letting me vent!

Here are some photos of our visit to North Carolina.  The town my parents live in is so small it doesn’t have a post office or police station!  There are only 302 people that live there. Btw, there is also no cellular service.

Bears in the woods.

The view on the way up to my parents’ cabin on Yellowtop Mountain.

Butterfly in the butterfly plant.  There are probably a 100 butterflies and bees in it.

My dad, Papa!

I love these guys!  Jalen, Joe, McKenna, & Devon!

My parents’ cabin on Yellowtop Mountain.

The sign leading up my parents’ very steep driveway.

My raspberry recipe lovin’  Mom, Linda!

A farm we pass driving into town.

McKenna, Joe, Jalen, Mom, Dad, Joe’s brother Butch, his Dad Sonny, and Devon.  I’m behind the camera.

I LOVE this tree!  The whole scene is kinda surreal looking. This was at the cabin Joe’s dad, Sonny rented while we were there. 

The fire pit where lots of s’mores would have been made had it gotten the slightest bit cool.

This photo was taken with the camera on Joe’s phone the rest of the photos were taken with my new camera.  

See these guys?  They are what keep me from baking, blogging, and reading as much as I want! :)

I’m submitting this post to Household 6 Diva’s Mamarazzi Monday!

Thanks for sticking around! I know this was a little long.  I’ll be back soon with a yummy recipe. Oh, and before I forget MANY, MANY thanks to my guest bloggers Michelle and Monica! Both of whom shared some delish recipes with you. Ones that you wouldn’t normally get here; cookies and chocolate!

Some News & A Crisp

Hi!  Before I tell you about this super yummy blueberry crisp that I adapted from Jonna’s recipe at Get Off Your Butt And Bake I have to tell you some news.  Good news!

First bit of good news.  I was contacted a week or so ago by Rebecca at Frigidaire’s online store inquiring about my interest in submitting a recipe to be featured on their site.  After mulling it over for a few days I responded with a happy yes, so be on the look out for more information on my recipe submission.

Last Tuesday was my birthday and for my birthday I convinced my honey to let me get a fancy schmancy new camera.  I pulled one of the kids’ tricks and called him while he was distracted at work.  LOL  Here’s the one I got.  With the camera I also, ordered two “how to” books.  A Dummies one (Thanks for the recommendation, Ann Marie!) for learning how to use my particular camera and one for learning how to use Photoshop Elements. It was time.  I’ve had the program for a so long they’ve come out with a new version.    :(  Hopefully over the next several months you’ll see a gradual improvement to my photos.  Along with the camera I got a few other gifts, one in particular was from a sweet friend who gave me 4 mini Le Creuset pie plates.  They’re absolutely lovely and will be putting in an appearance here at 3B’s in the near future.

Next up.  It’s vacation time, baby!!  (10 glorious work free days. Well, 2 driving and 8 of rest.)  This coming Friday we’re hitting the road and heading out of Florida to visit our parents in the mountains of North Carolina.  Normally I would not post anything while I was gone but this time I asked Monica and Michelle if they would write a guest post and they both agreed!  Aren’t we lucky?!  You’re in for a treat and from our email exchanges I think that they even have plans to load you up on some chocolate goodies.  Please make them feel welcome and say hi when they visit.  :)  Now for that blueberry crisp I promised you!

I found this terrific crisp recipe at Get Off Your Butt and Bake and as soon as I saw it I got off my butt and baked!  This was crazy fast and so easy to put together.  I even baked mine in my toaster oven on the bake setting.  I did have to improvise a bit as Jonna’s was a peach and raspberry crisp and I didn’t have either fruit.  What I did have was some blueberries but not enough to make the full recipe. I had to cut the filling recipe into thirds but I only halved the crisp topping.  Pretty smart of me, huh?  Crisp topping gooood!  :)  Instead of giving you the recipe I’m going to send you over to Jonna’s.  She whips up some good looking food that is sure to get you off your butt and into the kitchen. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!  I appreciate the time you take to do so.  Unfortunately I won’t be commenting much on your blogs while I’m on vacation and maybe not at all.  I’ll catch up with you guys when I get back after the first of August and please, this would be an ideal time to post all your chocolate and raisin filled posts!  HA! :) See ya!

Where have I been? What have I been up to?

A dessert table for my brother’s wedding reception! I made everything except the flan. I made 11 different desserts for the table and a small wedding-ish cake for my brother and his bride. That’s TWELVE desserts baked in less than a week’s time! What about the rest of the time I’ve been MIA? Recipe research. For the past 7 weeks I’ve been trying out different recipes to see what ones would work. I even made cookies, twice and two different kinds! Macaroons and monogrammed sugar cookies.

I’m happy to say the reception was this past Saturday and was a yummy success! Things here are getting back to normal. My kitchen is anyway. Sunday I cleaned it, put everything up and even organized my pantries and cabinets. Now I’m going to take the next few days to catch my breathe and try to get over my temporary dislike of sugar and flour. :) I just wanted to let you know what’s kept me away from my blog and yours for so long. I hope to be back posting and commenting more regularly.

Many thanks to the following….Michelle, Monica, Julia, Shelly, Jonna, Jamie and my parents ! Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it!

The Yankee Win! The Yankees Win! The Yankeeees WIN!

How about dem Yankees!? 2009 World Series Champions!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day. It's gonna be a good day here! :)

Psssst, Lisa, Lori? You girls tired?! I'll be glad to get to bed before 12. I don't know if my tired nerves could have handled a game seven.

Out Sick....

Okay, so things finally slow down this week and don't you know I've been sick the past few days! Just my luck. :(

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Independence Day!

~ingrid

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Banana Caramel Cake

Yes! It tastes as good as it sounds!  Better really!  This is another one of those recipes that was so good I made it twice within a two week period.  As a matter of fact I bought bananas that were past their prime so I could make this again.  As I’m typing this the photos are taunting me.  I had no intentions of baking tonight but find myself  eyeing up the the bananas on the counter and checking out the clock. 

I have to tell you. This is my favorite banana cake.  All of the ones I’ve made (except this one) to date I have been very good but for me, this is it.  While I won’t stop trying other recipe this is the one I’ll turn to when there’s bananas that need using up and no new recipe to try.

I found the recipe on Technicolor Kitchen after seeing a photo of it on Tastespotting.  The cake on its own is moist but the homemade caramel that is soaked in makes it even more so.  And, I just love the warmth of the cloves, cinnamon, and fresh grated nutmeg that are added to the batter.

Banana Caramel Cake

Cake:
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
1 ¼ cups (300ml) vegetable oil (or canola oil as in the original recipe)
1 ¾ cups (350g) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (75g) coarsely chopped walnuts (omitted)
85g (3oz) dark chocolate, broken into small pieces (size of chips)(omitted)
3 ripe bananas, diced (I pureed them in my mini food processor & mine were small)

Caramel:
½ cup (88g) firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Butter and flour a tube pan or a bundt pan that can hold 12 cups*; preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. (I used a tube easier for me to get out)
Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and baking soda.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, oil and sugar. With the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that the sugar has been incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds. (I added in the pureed bananas)
With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients a bit at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then to ensure everything is incorporated.
Once the dry ingredients have been added, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the walnuts, chocolate and bananas. Gently fold them in with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Don’t over mix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes and then test the cake to see if it’s done by poking a toothpick or cake tester into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, bake the cake for another 5 to 10 minutes. In Ivonne’s oven, this cake took 55 minutes; in mine, 1 hour. (Mine was done in 45 minutes, I find more often than not everything is done sooner rather than later in my oven.  Adjust accordingly for yours.)
About 5 to 10 minutes before the cake is done, make the caramel by combining all the ingredients in a small pan. Bring to the boil and stir occasionally to ensure that it doesn’t burn. Let it boil for about 5 minutes and then turn off the heat.
Once the cake is out of the oven, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer. Immediately pour the caramel over the cake, stopping every now and then to let the caramel sink in. If the caramel pools in spots, poke more holes to allow it to sink in.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once it’s cool, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and then unmold it onto a plate.

The Twins have been out of town playing baseball in Cooperstown, NY since last Saturday which is why you haven’t seen me around.  I thought I would have a break but except for Sunday’s games all of their other games have been broadcast over the internet on the Cooperstown site! Of course that meant instead of having a baseball free week and blogging (& commenting) I’ve been watching and cheering on the boys and their team. 

They just lost making it their last game of the tournament. It was also their third game of the day.  A day which started off with warm ups at the field at 7:30am (after winning and finishing up last night at 9:30pm) in cold rainy weather.  Though they lost they have a lot to be proud of.  Out of a 102 teams they made it to the final four and were seeded third!  Not too shabby.  It’s back to work next week as they have the Elite 24 at Disney in July!  Go Fire!

Technorati Tags: bananas,caramel,cake,cinnamon,news

This is a test...

Okay this is a test. The computer (????) kicks keeping back my post with the response below...

The remote server returned an error: (403) Forbidden.

whenever I try to publish a new post written through Windows Live Writer. What the heck does that mean? Help! Juuuuuuliiiiia! Somebody, anybody?

Update: This posted so it must be that individual post! Rats, I guess I'll need to mess around with it!

Cinnamon Roll Cake

This isn't what I originally was going to post but it was so good and so easy I bumped it to the top of the list! I've made this twice in four days and had ever intention of making it again tonight but came up three eggs short.

I found this cinnamon roll cake on Abby Sweets early Thursday afternoon. Abby starts off her post claiming that this would be "the easiest, quickest, and yummiest desserts" I would ever make. Well, she isn't far off the mark. I'd have to say that its tied with monkey bread and the mb muffins for quick and easy. It is though (IMHO) one of the yummiest. Besides being easy, quick, and yummy this cake is also moist, light, and wonderfully cinnamony. I didn't make any changes to the recipe though I've been thinking chopped nuts might be a tasty addition. Mmmmm.

The first time I made the cake was Thursday night for Babygirl's teacher and classmates.It was teacher appreciation week and what better way to show our appreciation than with cake. Babygirl came home from school with the message that everyone loved the cake and wanted seconds. Lucky for us she came home with a bit of the cake leftover otherwise I/we might not have realized how amazing this cake was. I only got to sample the crumbs but my parents who were in town got to try a piece and loved it. So much so I decided to bake another one instead of the Oreo cake or the raspberry swirl tea cake I had intended to make for our Mother's Day luncheon.

Cinnamon Roll Cake
Yellow Cake Mix
4 eggs
¾ cup oil
1 cup sour cream
Mix by hand and pour in 13 x 9 greased baking pan.
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
Mix and pour over cake batter. Swirl into batter with knife. (this was not easy to do as the batter is thick)
Bake @ 325 for 40 minutes. (Mine was done in 30 minutes.)Let cake cool 10 – 15 minutes before icing.
Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp milk (I used heavy cream and had to add more to get the consistency I needed)
Pour over warm cake.

I also baked Monica's Mom's Tres Leches Cake for another teacher but she told Devon that she wouldn't be in on Friday so it never made it into class. I had mixed emotions about this cake. I liked it (loved the three milk mixture) but I didn't like the boxed cake mix (the recipe called for one) that I used to make it. Everyone who tried it said they liked it but I could really taste that it was made with a cake mix. I'm going to try it again but with a different brand of cake mix. I'd also like to try a homemade version of it.

I've been meaning to tell you guys that I made Artisan Bread in Five Minutes' Olive Oil Pizza dough. Babygirl and I made it two Thursday's ago for a pizza-fest that she and one of her friends were having at the house. To say that it was easy is a huge understatement. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the stickiness of the dough. Once again, being the dopiest bloggers out there, I neglected to take any photos of the girls and their pizzas.

Bad news one of the Twins, Devon, got hit in the mouth with a ground ball. He's going to live but will be in pain for several days and may (I hope not)lose one of his front teeth. I'm going to try to get him into the dentist tomorrow. I should know more afterwards. Wish us luck!

Technorati Tags: news,cinnamon,cake

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope your day is filled with good food, family, and friends!

Sorry I haven't been around much.  I've been trying to keep up with reading by I know the commenting has been light.  The Twins have had three or four weekends (lost count) in a row filled with baseball.  That means I'm up earlier and out later on the weekends than I am during the week for work.  In other words I'm tired. This was my off weekend but my parents ( I love you, Mom & Dad!) have been in town from North Carolina so there's no catching up.  :)  See ya guys next week!

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You want cake? You're gonna get cake!

Two cakes!

I baked two cakes today after work and I'm beat so no post just a tease of what's to come. I'll have the first cake post up late tomorrow night and the second cake will follow sometime later in the week. I'll give you a hint on the first one, just one word.........
snickerdoodle. :-)

Not more cake.....

Yes, more cake but this is the last one for a few posts.  I actually made this cake before I made the Double Layer Chocolate Cake and the Red Velvet one.  Monica at Lick the Bowl Good called it Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Coca-Cola Cake.  That's a mouthful. I made this for the Twins' baseball coach's birthday and just called it Old Fashion Coca-Cola Cake. 

I have to tell you I much prefer this "chocolate" cake over the double layer one.  I don't think this is a true "chocolate" cake.  It's more along the lines of a red velvet.   You may find this shocking or not.Especially after reading my last post but  the frosting made the cake for me. It was a chocolate one but following Monica's suggestion I added a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to it and oh, man I was scraping the pot clean to get the last little bits if it.  I usually have no problem walking away from anything chocolate especially chocolate cake but not this time I actually ate two and half pieces of it in two days.   While all the kids liked this and some actually ate two (Will three, :-)) pieces the parents I think enjoyed it more.  In the car ride home the Twins mentioned that their teammates said it was good but it wasn't the best thing I've made.   

On another note:  Thanks for your letting me know what books you have read that have been good.  I'm starting a list, so that next time I go to the bookstore I'm not wondering around like a big dufus.

Baseball update:  The Twins played four baseball games this weekend two on Saturday and two on Sunday.  We won all four games! One was a come from behind (by four points)in the last inning to tie the game and then win it in the tie breaker inning.  Jalen drove in two runs to tie the score and Devon was supposed to sacrifice bunt to move the runner over but instead he beat out the throw and later scored the winning run.  Yay, GO STING!  I'm going to try and get a current photo of the whole team and the twins to post. 

Hope everyone had a happy and green Irish  food filled St. Paddy's Day! 

Daddy, I love and miss you. Hope you had a WONDERFUL birthday!!!!

Technorati Tags: cake,chocolate,frosting,news

Sick...

I've been sick but I'm finally feeling a bit better. I'm hoping to catch up on my reading, commenting, and posting in the next several days. Hope everyone else is doing well!

Happy Valentine's & Mother's Day to me!

Yay, my Honey ordered me  a new Dell laptop!  While he didn't say it was for any special occasion other than I've been "hogging" the computer I figured it could be my Valentine's & Mother's Day gift.  I'll need to remember I agreed to that when he shows up with only a card!   :-)

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