Ch ch change....

Happy New Year Friends!  Hope your little break was full of all the goodness life has to offer...food, family, friends, rest, fun...and wishing you much joy in 2013!

I am so excited to usher in this new year, and all the changes that it has in store for us.

We've jumped back on the bandwagon, and are starting a 21 day anti-inflammatory cleanse today.  This should be an interesting challenge for us as it is the first one we have done as a family.  I'll keep  you posted on how it's going, and share some of the new recipes we've tried--some of this I expect to be very easy, some of this I expect to be a bit more trying (...like 21 days with no cheese...I think I can, I think I can...).  In the end, we expect we'll all feel so much better, have more energy and perhaps a clearer mindset to move on through the year.

I also will spend the first part of January working on a NEW WEBSITE!  I am really excited and hope to have things rolled out to you soon!  (...and if there is something NEW you'd like to see on said site, please let me know!  I do this for you, and I'd love to include some changes that you'd like to see!)  I eagerly await the day I can post the new site for you!!

My love affair with Chia Seeds continues...this is a new breakfast recipe I am eager to try this week.  I've adapted it from http://veganyackattack.com, and borrowed their beautiful photo as well!

Berry Chia Pudding

2 cups frozen berries-thawed (any combo will do)
1/4 cup water
3-4 tbsp honey, maple syrup or a handful of dates
1/3 cup chia seeds

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process on high until well blended.   Cover and let sit a couple of hours or overnight.  Stir well.  
Top with toasted pecans or almonds or use as a spread or oatmeal topper.  This would also make a wonderful dessert.

Enjoy!
 

It's like Summer in your mouth...

If you have been following me for awhile you will already know that I love pastry--but not just any pastry.

Sadly, I find most pastry to be dry, un-flaky, and flavourless--it just doesn't taste like my Grandma's...
Happily, I know how to make it just like my Grandma!!  ...how lucky for you!

Last week I made these tarts on a whim and sold every last one of them...Here is the recipe for you, in case you missed them...(but fear not, I will offer them again soon...or you can send me a note, and I will make you your  very own batch!)


Strawberry Jam Tarts
1 jar of your homemade Strawberry Jam


Pastry
5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 lb lard cut into chunks
1 egg
1tbsp white vinegar
cold water


In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.  With pastry blender, cut in lard until mixture resembles course meal with a few pea size pieces.

In a measuring cup, beat egg with vinegar.  Add enough cold water to make 1 cup, mix well.  Drizzle onto flour mixture a bit a ta time, mixing in with a fork, until dough looks evenly moistened and holds together when lightly pressed between your fingers.  You may not need to use all the liquid.

Divide into 6 equal balls (for 9 inch pie), 4 for 9 1/2 inch pie.  Wrap in plastic and pat into discs.  Chill for at least 30 minutes before using.  (at this point you can refrigerate for up to 1 week , or freeze for a few months.)

To make Tarts:
Roll on lightly floured surface.  If dough cracks while rolling, allow to sit at room temp. for a few minutes.  Using a round cutter (about 4" in diameter) cut out  rounds and place them in a muffin tin.  Roll up remaining dough, roll out again and cut more rounds....

Fill each pastry with a couple of teaspoons of jam, make sure you don't put too much in, they will overflow when baking...

Bake at 375 for about 15-20 minutes, until pastry is golden brown.  Once cooled slightly, remove from pan and cool on a rack. (if you have had some spillage from your jam, make sure you take those ones out of the muffin tin while it is still warm, or you'll have broken tarts on your hands :)


*need more tips on making pastry?  Go here.

My New Love

I have a new love...I can't get enough of it.  Small and unassuming it may be, but mighty it is.

 Ch-ch-ch-chia.

What?  Not sure you want to snack on your Chia Pet?   Not tried this before?  Not to worry, until last week, I had not either.  But let me assure you, Chia seeds are where it's at.  Love, Love , Love!

If  you are unfamiliar with Chia seeds, here is the low-down on this nutrition super-power:

Ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures treasured the tiny chia seed. From the Mayan word for ‘strength’, chia seeds are very nutritious, best known as a super rich source of protein. A member of the mint family, the seeds are bursting with Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids, fiber, and B vitamins.

Chia seeds have a very mild flavor and are easy to add to your meals. Sprinkle them in salads, cereals or blend them into your favorite smoothie. If you soak them in water, the seeds plump up into a thick jello-like consistency.

...which makes them perfect for this easy dessert.  ...and it is so good for you, you can even eat your "dessert" for breakfast, like I do!


Chia Vanilla Pudding

1/4 cup chia seeds
1 1/2 cup milk (soy, nut or regular--whatever you prefer)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients and let sit overnight in the fridge.  (give a little stir after the mixture has been in the fridge for an hour or so, to make sure they seeds don't clump up).  That's eat--superfood, made super easy!

Tips: 
* if it is too thick, add a little more milk before eating.
*Top it with fruit for a great breakfast.
*Warm slightly if you like a warm breakfast--then add nuts or top with a little yogurt.
*some recipes call for the chia to sit for only an hour-don't be fooled, it needs to sit for longer than that to have a chance to absorb all the milk...

Tarty Tart Tart

Yep, it's Rhubarb season--Yeah!  The first crop in Ontario--time to celebrate :)  I remember my Mom making this when I was a kid, I was too  young to appreciate it's tart deliciousness, but my Dad would eat it by the bowlful, until there was none left!

~and if you are looking for another GREAT Rhubarb recipe, try this: Rhubarb Cake

Stewed Rhubarb
6 cups chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup water
1/2-1 cup sugar 


Combine 1/2 cup sugar and water, bring to a boil.  When sugar is fully dissolved, add rhubarb and simmer about 10 minutes until it gets stringy.  Add up to 1/2 cup more sugar to taste, a little at a time--some rhubarb is tarter than others.


Serve over vanilla ice cream or yogurt.  Also nice over a slice of pound cake.

I pray for good cake...

I know that all of you who know me think I'm a little bit crazy about the cake.  I know it, and I can embrace it--because even I know that I am a little obsessed about good cake.  I don't want it to look fancy.  I don't want it to have fondant flowers or blue icing.  I just want good cake.  Just Cake.

That's one of the reasons that "Delicious-by Food-ivore"  will be offering "just cake" as one of the specialties of the house.  I figure--if I can't find a good "just cake" to buy, then you can't either...so stay tuned, it won't be long until this new venture is up and running too!

This one will make it into the rotation of Just Cake--old fashioned Coffee Cake--so good!!

 

I have posted this one before, but it deserves a second showing!  It is from Food that Really Schmecks--my favourite dessert book of all!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter
1cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 cup sour cream
1tsp soda
1 3/4 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans work great!)

Blend butter and sugar well.  Add eggs and beat with hand mixer.  Combine sour cream with soda (the cream should double in volume--but it's okay if it doesn't...)  add alternately with flour and baking powder to creamed mixture.  Spread half the batter in a greased 9x9 pan. Sprinkle with half the topping mixture.  Cover with remaining batter and sprinkle the rest of the topping on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Time is of the essence...

There are certain go to recipes I use when time is of the essence...like when  you need a quick dessert, or a special after school snack.  No matter how much I love to cook and bake,  there are always days when other things take priority... 

Here is a recipe for just such a day:

Oatmeal Raisin Squares

2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup brown sugar
half cup melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
half tsp almond extract
half cup raisins or currents or chopped dried cranberries


Mix all ingredients together (they will be just crumbs at this point).  Spread and press into a bar pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 17 minutes.  Take out of oven and cut in pan immediately and allow to sit in pan until cool.

Hot enough for ya?

Is it hot enough for ya?  Shall I remind you in February what it feels like to be this hot and sticky?  I seem to remember quite vividly how I would have sold you my right arm to feel this glorious heat as the winter was coming to a close...perhaps we should all practice a little bit more of "enjoying THIS moment", instead of wishing for another (perhaps less humid?) one.

That being said, maybe it will inspire you to remember how much the heat does for our Ontario produce, and how much we need it for our peppers to ripen, and tomatoes to turn that gorgeous red--all the way through-right to the middle!  How the corn needs it to be sweet and juicy, how the berries need it, how the herbs need it, how the--well you get the point...But, perhaps we could just, dare I say it, use a little bit of rain....

~I sometimes need a reminder of how the simplest things are often the most delicious, and often the ones that have the most emotion and nostalgia tied to them--so here is a reminder for you, because there isnt' anything better in the world than fresh local raspberries and a bit of fresh cream....

Raspberries and Cream (sometimes during raspberry season, I eat this for breakfast--makes me feel like I am 8 again!)
raspberries
whipping cream

1.  you can pour the whipping cream over the berries and eat it just like that (heaven!)
2.  you can whip up the whipping cream and serve it like that too...if that is what you would like to do, here are a couple of tips for making perfect whipped cream...

*make sure the beaters, the bowl and the cream are very cold (leave them all in the fridge for awhile before whipping)
*add a flavour--like a tbsp of grand marnier or a tsp of almond extract, mmm
*add 2-3 tablespoons of icing sugar about halfway through whipping, it will help to stiffen and help to sweeten in up...

Sidetracked

I find myself starting to get sidetracked by summer...sunny days, the gardens, the BBQ, the beach etc...  Not a bad thing--a great thing, but it sure is slowing things down (....like blogging...and house cleaning...).
I LOVE summer!!

Here is a great quick and super easy summer dessert trick my Mom shared with me this weekend...Thanks Mom!!

Summer Fruit and Berry Dip
(you can make as much or as little of this as you like--just adjust the amounts!)


2-3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream


Mix thoroughly and let sit for 20 min or so before serving with cut up fruit and berries. ...so delicious with those fresh Ontario Strawberries we are enjoying right now!

What is this trying to tell me??

4 computers:
*2 with fatal errors are recycle bound
*1 with a fatal error and is now back at the store
*1 now working -finally!

This has been a real test of patience this week for sure--we are still trying to piece together exactly what the universe is trying to tell us--with all these "fatal errors"...?  Any thoughts?

In any case, it has left me with a couple of extra non-blogging days to research and to cook--both will eventually be to your benefit, of that I am sure :)


Here is one of my sunshiny favourites--bet you can't eat just one bowl!!

Fresh Meringue with Raspberries

3 egg whites at room temperature
3 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
fresh raspberries

In a large mixing bowl, whip egg whites with a hand mixer until thick and will form peaks.  Add sugar and almond extract and mix in well.  Serve with raspberries or any other fresh fruit.  Mmmm...


TIP: meringue will set best when all materials (bowl, beaters and egg whites) are at room temperature.  they also benefit from a bowl completely clean of any/all oil residue  (to clean,  wipe bowl with a vinegar cloth--wipe totally dry after)

Are you buying it?

So, are you buying it?  Are you buying the marketing messages of  "You don't have time to cook.", "You don't have enough skill to put together a meal", "You aren't smart enough to figure out all this nutritional information on your own"?

I can tell you, I'm not buying it, and I don't think you should either--because when something is important and is made a  priority in your life (...like eating well), you DO have the time, you DO have the skills, and you ARE smart enough to filter through these marketing messages.

Don't buy in to the food industries marketing tactics--because that's all they are.  Think before you buy and put your money where your mouth is...

~as you may remember, I made pastry last week (so yummy--if it wasn't so bad for me...I could eat it every day!) I froze enough for 2 pie shells, and had enough left for 1 pie in the fridge.  So, today Madeleine and I decided to make dessert with it as it needed to be eaten up.  Fast, easy and not "so bad" for you as it contained lots of fruit, and lots of love!!

Apple Gallette (Tart) 
(this is a free form pie of sorts--rustic and delicious!)


pastry for 1 pie shell
4-5 apples, peeled and sliced
2-3 tbsp flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter


Roll out pie crust.  Place on a baking sheet.  Mix apples, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl and toss until well coated.  Pour apples into centre of pastry. Dot with butter.  Loosely fold pastry up around apples--use a little water to bind it together where it has folded over itself--the centre will be open as the pastry will not be big enough to cover.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes--turn down to 350 if pastry is browning too quickly.  Tart is done when a fork or knife easily pierces the apples.

With a tear in our eye, and joy in our hearts...

We gathered with some old friends yesterday afternoon. It was a chance for us to say goodbye and offer best wishes to one of the families as they depart on a new adventure in their lives.  They are moving to Sweden for a year or 2--oh what a wonderful experience for them !! (and I can't deny that I have a tinge of envy over their upcoming excitement!)  Happy and sad at the same time, will miss them while they are gone!
Bon Voyage Jeff, Kellie, Owen and Carson!

~as we were celebrating Jeff and Kellie saying goodbye to Canada, and hello to Sweden we indulged in some Canadian and Swedish specialties...here is the recipe for the Swedish Cookies I made...fancy looking, and easier than you may thing to make...

Swedish Lace Cookies, from Homemade Cookies 1971
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1tbsp flour
dash of salt


Melt butter and pour over rolled oats. Mix.
Beat egg until light, then beat in sugar.  Stir together baking powder, flour and salt to blend.  Add to egg mixture, then add rolled oats.  
Drop by tablespoon 3" apart onto a greased and lightly floured baking sheet (..don't be tempted to skip the greasing/flouring step...).
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.

Place on a cooling rack and let stand about 1 minute--cookies should still be hot and pliable.  Lift cookies off quickly with a wide spatula and place over wooden spoons propped across cooling racks (or a broom handle covered in foil, propped on coffee cans...is what the original says..)  Gently press cookies to make them the shape of a saddle.  Work fast.  If the cookies get too cold, they break in shaping.  You can return the baking sheet to the oven for a minute if they cool too fast.

My Little Love Muffin

I finally bought a new muffin tin.  I think...no, I know I am in love.  I have made more muffins in the last 2 weeks, than in the last 2 months.   It is the answer to all my Muffin Dreams...

It amazes me how much easier a good kitchen tool/gadget can make kitchen work.    We all have our favourites--things we cannot do without in the kitchen.  Here is a short list (in no particular order) of my fave's for kitchen work:

1.  Good quality, sharp knives--balance is everything!
2.  High Grade (18/10) stainless steel, heavy bottom pots and frying pans
3.  Non stick cookie sheets (not jelly pans...cookie sheets have no sides, jelly pans do)
4.  Non Stick muffin tray (...my new love!)
5.  Pampered chef large batter bowl/measuring cup
6.  stainless steel whisk
7.  Tupperware Quick Chef (food chopper)
8.  Silicone spatula
9.  wooden spoon


Here is a new muffin recipe..yummy!

Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup sour milk (add a squeeze of lemon to your milk and let sit for 10 min to sour)
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup pecans


Topping
1/3 cup br sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped pecan
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter


Combine dry ingredients.  Mix wet ingredients and combine with dry.  Stir until just combined--don't over mix.  Fold in pecans. Divide into muffin tin.


Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter.  Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

How Often Do You Fake It?

 I have seen some of this info before, but this video does such a great job of exposing the FAKERS once and for all.  If for no other reason, this is why you should read your ingredient listings...know what to look for, and know what you don't want to feed yourself or your family...Just be aware...

FAKE Blueberries

Blueberries are a "superfood"--highly delicious and nutritious..so good for you!

Blueberry Coffee Cake (from Blueberry-recipe.com)
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries


ICING:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. almond extract
3-5 tsp. milk

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 375. Grease a 13x9 inch pan. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon peel. Using pastry blender or fork, cut in butter. Add milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir well. Pour 3/4 batter into greased pan.

Top with blueberries. Spoon remaining batter over blueberries. Bake for 35 minutes. Cool 30 minutes. In small bowl , blend icing ingredients. Drizzle over warm cake.

Cake Day

I am all for good, healthful eating...most of the time.  But sometimes, my soul craves a good cake.  It lightens my spirits, warms my heart and spreads the love around.  Baking  (and eating-ha!) old fashioned, simple ingredient cake and cookie recipes brings me closer to spirit and allows me to be more present than anything else I do...that makes it good for my soul,even if it isn't good for my body...

As all my great cake recipes, this one comes from Food that Really Schmecks--it is the perfect white cake base for birthday cake, upside down cake, you name it.  Flavourful, but simple enough to perfectly balance a super chocolatey butter cream frosting--it is perfection! Make this one in a 9x9 square or a 7x10 rectangle for a nice thick cake...

Perfection Cake (White Cake)

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla (optional--I only put it in if I am using white butter cream icing too)


Cream butter, add sugar and continue creaming until light..  Add eggs and continue to mix until well blended and fluffy.  Mix flour, salt baking soda together and mix alternately into the creamed mixture with the milk.  Beat until well combined.  Pour into well buttered pan and bake at 350 approx 45 minutes (depending on the weather, this one can cook up to 55 minutes).


Today we topped this with Chocolate Butter Cream Icing--yum, my soul is happy!

What is in that Yogurt?

I have finally found a yogurt worth eating!  Yeah!

Until recently, I rarely bought yogurt--and shuddered at the thought of having to sift through all the different brands at the store.
It seems that they are all "low-fat", "no-fat", "sugar free", "low sugar", "pro biotic this" and "added that"...you get the point.  It has been virtually impossible to find JUST yogurt.  No crap, no aspartame, no additives or preservatives.  Just yogurt.  (What's in your yogurt anyway?)
I don't mind the fruit, in fact I don't even mind the added sugar so much, but I can't handle all the chemically derived additives that end up in the yogurt.
(..which by the way, if  you have not had REAL yogurt, you won't know, but most of the store bought stuff doesn't even taste like yogurt, look like yogurt or feel like yogurt in your mouth--the same can be said of  Sour Cream...but I digress...)

So, let me share my revelation with you.  Liberte--an artisan yogurt made in Montreal.  No additives, no preservatives, no crap--JUST yogurt and all the goodness that a cultured dairy product has to offer.  So delicious, so rich--good enough for dessert and you don't even have to feel guilty. Amazing!

(...as a side note, Western Dairy, a partner of Liberte-located just outside of Toronto-has the most delicious Sour Cream...a topic for another day)

I love to eat it it this way--for breakfast or dessert!

Yogurt Berry Cups (make as many of these as you need--maybe keep a little extra, you might just want seconds!)


Lemon Liberte Yogurt, stirred well
Fresh Blueberries or Raspberries
Granola or Roasted Pecans or crumbled Oatmeal Caramel Cookies

Layer berries, yogurt and topping. Repeat. Enjoy!

Meh...

March is the worst month of the year for produce.  Too early for fresh local, too late for local fall harvest  (like turnips, carrots, potatoes...), and just plain blah for anything coming as far as Mexico, Costa Rica and other sunny regions.  Uninspiring to say the least--but soon there will be hints of spring and all that our growing season has to offer.  I for one can HARDLY wait!

Here is a good one to make with frozen berries--if you are lucky to have any left in your freezer from your own harvest, or a package from the freezer section at the grocery store--either will work, and I promise will leave you longing for warmer days!

Berry Cobbler
5 1/2 cups mixed berries (any combination will do)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1tbsp butter


Toss these ingredients together in a  9x13 pan and dot with butter.


Mix:
 1 1/2 flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch nutmeg.

Cut in 6 tbsp butter (just over 1/4 cup, but not quite 1/3...) with pastry cutter until crumbly. 

Add 1/3 cup milk and mix until just combined.  Spoon over berries.
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

I Heart Butter

I admit it.  I love butter--the Capital L.O.V.E. kind.  Cold butter on fresh Bread.  Brown Butter on vegetables.  Butter Shortbread.  You name it...if it has butter in it,  it just is better.  I suppose I come by it honestly, my Grandpa used to own a creamery, where the slogan for  Cutter's Butter was "It's better with Butter!".


Butter vs. Margarine.
Butter wins, I think, hands down--for lots of reasons.  It tastes better.  It offers cakes and cookies better texture.  It is closer to a natural state, not chemically extracted .  Butter contains some nutritional value--like fat soluble vitamins like A,D,E and K, margarine on the other hand is virtually nutritionally void.

Now, I am not suggesting that you should consume pounds of butter every week--because it is high in fat and calories...but I am suggesting that everything in moderation is okay in your diet...I am suggesting that you do a little bit of research and decide for yourself--there is much to debate these days!

Which side of the fence are you on?  You know which side I am on--the side that substitutes butter in every recipe that calls for shortening and margarine .
...I heart you butter...

Butter Squares
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips


Mix all ingredients and press into a square 9x9 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  While they are still warm, cut into squares.

Scavenger Hunt

When I am looking for a new recipe I often feel like I am on a scavenger hunt.   I will first check my favourite cookbooks to see if what I am looking for (or something similar) is there.   If I don't find it, I will check online.  Google is my best friend for recipe searches!

Here's were things get a little bit off the beaten path...I will sometimes look up 10-20 different recipes for the same item...find what I like the best about each (or a few) and combine them into a new recipe. 
That's what happened this weekend while searching for a Lemon Cake recipe...Here is what we created--so yummy!

Lemon Pound Cake

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk

Glaze
1/3 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup (maybe more) icing sugar


Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and cream some more.  Add 2tbsp lemon juice and continue to cream.   In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, zest, baking powder.  Add alternately to creamed mixture with milk.  Mix well.
Pour into well buttered and floured loaf pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 min.  


While loaf is cooling, mix lemon juice and icing sugar (you may need to add more icing sugar to make it thick enough, you want it to "ribbon" off the spoon)

When loaf is almost cook pour glaze over.  (If you like, you can "re-spoon" the glaze over the loaf a few times allowing it to create a thicker crust of glaze--that way it doesn't pool all at the bottom of the plate...)
Enjoy!

Oh, this is such a good one!

Surely you must know by now that CAKE is my favourite thing to eat!  But good cake, not store bought, not fluffy icing, not from a box.  A good solid homemade cake with butter cream icing is for me--for me, there are many "food rules" about cake (...so much for bending the rules, huh?).  I know that I am fussy about it. I can admit it, and I can be proud of it--it is one of the things that makes me such a good baker (See, you can always find a positive perspective if you change your outlook!

My favourite cake is Banana with Almond Butter cream Icing, Madeleine's is Chocolate with Chocolate Icing, and Bil's is Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Icing...here it is.

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
2 cups flour
2tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp each nutmeg, baking soda and salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup canned pumpkin


Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and continue to cream.  In another bowl mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and cloves.  Combine alternately into creamed  mixture with milk and pumpkin.  Mix until thoroughly combined.
Pour into 2 well greased round cake pans and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.


Cream Cheese Icing
1 block of regular cream cheese softened (do not use light or any variation thereof)
2 tbsp butter
2-3 cups icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

With a hand mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter.  Add the extract and slowly add the icing sugar until it is fluffy and fairly stiff. Whip the mixture to get a little volume and then spread it evenly on your cooled cake.


TIP:  I usually make my cakes in a 9x13 pan, but this one is really a lot better as a layer cake--don't know why, it just is.  Trust me :)

Yummy Deliciousness...

I've been working a lot this week...I'm getting tired, and perhaps a little bit cranky--can you relate??!! :)
I think I will make this for dessert tomorrow..sometimes you just need a little bit of old fashioned yummy deliciousness in your belly to make you feel better!

Creamy Rice Pudding ( straight from Food that Really Schmeks)
1/2 cup rice
2 cups milk
2 eggs separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
cinnamon


Put the rice, salt and milk in a double boiler and cook until the rice is tender,about 3/4 hour. (you can also use a heavy bottom saucepan if you don't have a double boiler--but watch it carefully, you don't want to burn the milk, or have it stick to the bottom....) At half time, add the raisins.
Beat the egg yolks, and add the sugar, stir some of the hot rice into the mixture, then add to the rice int the double boiler and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring all the time.  Remove from the hear and stir in the cinnamon.  Add more milk (or cream), if its dry.


Let it cool a bit--but not too much, serve it warm.
If you feel fancy, serve it with a meringue made from the egg whites beaten stiff, with 3 tsp of sugar and a couple drops of almond extract. 
Enjoy!