Gotta Love it & Things to be Counted on!

With the arrival of spring on Cape Cod I am able to get back to my favorite walking spot. Here is the view from the entrance of the path I like to walk at South Cape Beach.

One of the things that comforts me the most in life is that no matter what happens their are certain things that can and will remain constant.

For me-it's a good walk, good talks with trusted friends, baking a cake and the love and care I have for my children.

The kids are home this week. I am so happy for the added time I get to spend with them. I suppose I should add that even though I'm happy about them being around, I wouldn't say it's easy. Between the late nights of my teens and my early bird daughter Sophia I am tired. Although like those things I can always count on my love for them will remain constant.

The kids had fun yesterday playing with a cousin that is visiting from out of town. I am going to make them banana bread for breakfast later and cranberry biscotti that I need to add to a gift basket order.

Oh, And you gotta love it- The weather man claims that after the bit of rain we are getting this morning we are headed for five days of warm air and sunny skies!

Lemon Cake Compliments, Gardens & Signs of Spring

Sophia and I started our seeds indoors last weekend for an end of May planting. We are hoping that come summer we will have home grown cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, lettuce and a few herbs growing in the yard for us to pick and eat.
I have an excellent Summer Vegetable Tart recipe I will pull out over the summer.
I made a Lemon Cake for a friend as a thank you for something nice she had done for me recently. She has written me twice to tell me how much she enjoyed it.
Planning is underway to set aside some time to get my recipe collection complete this weekend.
Wish me luck! A few friends have said they are hoping for a copy when it's complete.
As for the Signs of Spring, they're everywhere. On a walk earlier today I saw crocuses and daffodils popping up all over the place. There were three adorable tiny sparrows sharing a snack from the bird feeder off the kitchen window.

Biscotti & Cake Balls

I have been working on my recipe collection this week. I hope to have it written and printed by Mother's Day. It will be offered for sale here as well as at the farm table next to my cookies.
I have written the introduction and lots of mini 'stories' to help introduce the recipes. I have completed the section on Cakes, Cookies, Quick Breads and Biscotti.
I added my recipe for Cranberry Biscotti.
I still have a section on Cheesecakes and 'Baking as Dinner' which includes my recipes for things like Empanadas, Quiche and Tarts.
What has been the most time consuming is a large portion of my recipes are primarily from memory or just the ingredients are scratched on a sheet of note paper.
As for Cake Balls, I made some for my students and my kids this week. It had been a while since I baked for my kids and they were asking for something.

What you Give & Life's Surprises

It was Sir Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister during World War II) who said "you make a living by what you get a life by what you give".

I don't know about you but these words inspire me. I love (adore) the restaurants around the country who have recently been inviting customers to pay what they can afford. Good for them and their customers!

I have a minor confession- my baking time has lapsed a bit lately. I remember a time where I baked each and every opportunity I could find.

In my effort to get back on the baking track, I have hired my older daughter to help me in the kitchen this coming summer to meet baking obligations. Lucky for me she was more than willing to help and make a little extra summer spending money. And, thanks to her willingness to help I see a completion to my recipe collection on the horizon!

As for Life's Surprises, recently I have been a bit betrayed by someone who should very much know better to give me not only the benefit of the doubt but also kindness to the very real fact that I have always been a loving and kind mother not to mention a very devoted and supportive wife.

I suppose though not every lesson in life is for me to learn. Sometimes, it might be the other person who has something to gain from the possibility of a 'new perspective'.

In the meantime, I will do my very best to heed Churchill's message and give what and where I can because that is where I 'gain' a life worth living.

Time Marches Forward, Cookies for Friends & Gardens!

I am online today because when I woke this morning it dawned on me that I have yet to post a baking update for March. I enjoy writing here but life often takes me to other places and on other adventures.
My baking business will get busier soon as I start to sell at the Farm.
My recipe collection is underway and will hopefully be ready in time for sale at the farm table or directly from me by summer.
Last Friday I baked an orange pound cake to remind my office mates of my love for baking. It's a refreshingly moist cake. I've included the recipe in my recipe booklet. I sent dreamy island cookies to an old friend for her birthday. Today I'd planned to bake Biscotti but have decided instead to go to a friend's book-signing cocktail party at Bleu in Mashpee. I will bake the Biscotti tomorrow.
As for gardens, I am planting my own this year. My youngest goes off to Kindergarten next fall and I want to spend as much time with her as I can so I have invited her to plant the garden with me. Who knows, maybe I'll create some new recipes from what we grow.

Sharing Recipes & Unexpected Afternoons!

I love getting tried and true recipes passed to me from my friends. My most recent newly acquired recipe is a perfect pumpkin bread from a good friend out in California.
I often think about her enjoying sunny skies throughout the year.
When you live year round on the Cape you have to put up with gray skies and cold temperatures now and again. Except in the summer when this is truly the only place in the world to be.
Although, today is not one of those dreary days. It's bright and sunny-close to sixty!
So I don't have much time now for blogging or baking- I'll get back to that when the weather unexpectedly turns cold again as we are expecting a sudden storm this weekend.

'Fun'-due with a Four Year Old!

Our Ski trip to North Conway, NH got put on hold because my sons basketball team made it to the finals. They won 17-0 for the season then all four of the championship games.
One would assume that with the season championship behind us basketball season would be over for now. Although we now head full swing into 'post' season tournaments. Next weekend we go to Basketball City in Boston. It'll be good to get to go into the City.
In the meantime, I want to have fun with my youngest daughter while she is home over break. Yesterday we decided to make fondue which she calls 'fun'-due.
We melted a bowl of chocolate. We cut up fresh apple slices, bananas and grapes. She decided to try everything she could find in our pantry. We used large marshmallows and small and a handful of pretzels too. After awhile as I noticed the large ring of chocolate around her mouth it was all about the chocolate.
I'm into this 'fun'-due too. It's perfect if you end up with last minute dinner guests and don't have time to bake a more formal desert.

The Results are In!

Throwing a chili cook-off super bowl party not only turned out to be a lot of fun, but it was also a smart move on my part! We had a ton of food to share with guests but the best part is I didn't have to make it all!
I did make a delicious beer bread. It's kind of like a banana loaf bread or a pecan bread but I made it with a bottle of beer. Adding the beer just gives it a unique texture and flavor. It went great with all the chili.
I am pretty certain that over the summer I will up the ante for my friends a little and throw a summer salad and cocktail party!
As for the results, each entry scored pretty well. One entry was especially tasty because the maker put cumin and all spice which gave it a sweet taste. The prize turned out to be very simple-a sterling silver ladle, a cookbook and some tasty crackers that go well with the chili.
Although as I pointed out to the winner--it's the title of "best chili" that really matters.
My entry didn't actually win but I will say that the large pot of it that I served in my Crock pot through out the night was completely empty!

Super-Bowl Sunday & Chili Cook-Off

We've decided to throw caution to the wind and pull together a little bash celebrating the Super-Bowl. It's not that I am especially excited about any of the teams that are playing- the way I see it is most people are going to be hanging out watching the game anyways so mine as well get together and stuff our face with food and drink.
We can laugh at the commercials and cheer on our team of choice. We've decided to make it a chili cook-off contest. Guests have been asked to bring their best batch of chili and we will provide the 'fix ins', appetizers, drinks and desert. My kids like to make a squares chart and contend for candy bars as prizes.
Which leads me to my dilemma-what will I bake for super bowl Sunday? I could bake a cake in the shape of a football or a field. No, that is just not my style.
I think I'll keep with tradition and make dreamy island cookies, jumbo chocolate chip cookies and a batch of my cake balls. They're always a hit and so easy to pop in your mouth while sitting around watching the game.
As for the Chili cook-off I'll have to come up with some sort of prize for the most original and best flavor.

Lucky Me & Where Have the Days Gone?

I can't believe it is January 15th already. The past two weeks have been a mix of running the kids around town, cleaning up after the holidays and getting a fun writing project under way. I am in the process of putting together a select collection of my favorite recipes into a booklet just to have on hand because so many people ask me for different recipes.

My love for baking has brought me so many cool blessings. I often get to visit my kids classroom with some aspect of my baking.

About a month ago I stopped by to read "Eight Animals Bake a Cake" to my daughter Sophia's preschool class. At the end of this charming tale the animals drop the cake on the floor and end up eating a pineapple upside down cake. I baked an upside down cake of my own to share with the kids for snack.

Today I am heading to Bella's Spanish Class. She wants me to make empanadas for her classmates. The teacher is letting me come with a batch ready to pop in the oven and then the kids will do a small demonstration themselves.

As for being lucky, how many mom's get to stop by their kids junior high class to see what goes on while they are away each day?

It must be something about the food that draws people in. Because my son, an eighth grader at the same school, someone who often shies away from any type of public contact with his parents because it's just not cool said he'd stop by the school kitchen to say hi.