The Stash

This is our usual dessert:

Chocolate. Often with red wine shared with friends and family. Unless it is some kind of occasion (birthday, holiday, etc.) after dinner we get out our stash of good chocolate. Most of this is really Kyles from Christmas, but he is good at sharing. We like dark chocolate for the most part, at least 60% cocoa. But, I also like filled bars and truffles. It is amazing how satisfying a little bit of good chocolate can be as a sweet.
Do you recognize the bag? Gift bags always get recycled around here! Much classier than the plastic sack it was in!

One more...

I couldn't resist one last birthday post. Liam requested chocolate cake with vanilla frosting for his family birthday party, the end of his week long birthday! I made my favorite recipe for chocolate cake from Hershey (link for those interested). This cake is everything you could want in a good chocolate cake, moist, rich and very chocolaty! Valerie always wants this one for her birthday also and now refers to it as "her" cake. I almost always make a layer cake when baking for a special occasion, but Liam thought we needed more room for the guitar this time so I had to make it flat. We just had the last piece today and it was still good!

*image courtesy Cindy Swaim via e-mail

P.S. I have just heard that you guys check up on my blog as much as I do yours :) I will try harder to update more often(and boot Kyle in the behind so he will also!)

More birthday highlights

Liam's birthday week was lots of fun, and very filling!! His best buddy Wyatt came over to spend the night after school Thursday (Friday was conferences, so no school) We went to North Pole to drive indoor go-karts and then back home for Mom-made pizza and milkshakes. I have found my stick blender makes the best thick milkshakes. The boys requested frozen strawberries blended in theirs, the blender had a harder time with the denser frozen berries than the softer ice cream. But eventually they were all blended up and ready to slurp. Presents were opened and the nerf war commenced! Just about the perfect time for Liam, good food, good friend, video games and weaponry!

Birthday Treats

Liam decided today would be a better day to bring in his birthday treats to share with his class (they are exchanging valentines treats tomorrow). That meant I spent my morning frying doughnuts! Liam has only once taken cookies to share as a treat(kindergarten) and he has taken these doughnuts once before. These are my favorite recipe for spiced cake doughnuts, leavened with baking soda/baking powder instead of yeast. There is some yeast from the sourdough included but you don't allow them time to rise before frying.

Nice bubbly sourdough from the leftover yeast from a De Dolle Export Stout.

The cutting process, I made a triple batch of small ones. About fifty-five.

They went over really well, of course! Most people don't fry their own doughnuts anymore so I hear a lot of: "Oooooooo, just like my mom/gramma used to make!!" These things are still good the next day and not too greasy. Like I said my favorite recipe!

My Foodie Son

Liam chowing down on a Pav at Aussie night, they were so popular I have already had to make them again.

I spent an enjoyable evening last night watching Spain on the Road Again with Liam. We learned about what kind of fruit is grown in the southern region of Spain and about Spanish/Arabic food. How funny is that? I guess all our love for good food has worn off on our son. Not that he doesn't love junk food as much as any other kid, but given the choice he will take something good and good for him. His birthday is next week and he has some big plans for what we will have to eat. Liam wants Belgian style waffles, with real maple syrup and a glass of milk for breakfast; hot lunch at school, a cheese omelet, and I am supposed to bring in his favorite sourdough homemade doughnuts with cinnamon sugar to share with his class. He is having two friends over to drive go carts in North Pole and we are having pizza for dinner, made by Mom "Because pizza from a restaurant just isn't very good." With extra thick milkshakes for dessert. This is just for his friends birthday, for his family birthday on Saturday Liam wants Moms spaghetti. Grandma Cindy's focaccia with garlic and kosher salt (he likes Mom's better than mine!) and chocolate cake with vanilla frosting for dessert, not from a box. Liam nor Abbie will eat box or store bought cakes. Foodie children!! Liam has just informed me his is hungry for cinnamon rolls also, when I asked when he though he was getting those he said maybe the week after my birthday. I love to make birthdays special for my kids but I cook and bake for a week before their day! What else can I expect, they are our kids!!

I'm eat'n twigs eh........

We had three exciting visitors today, mama and two baby moose! One calf ate all the Siberian pea shrubs on the right of our house while mama was eating the wild shrubs at the bedroom end. The other baby was more adventurous and ate all my dead flowers from this past summer......OFF THE DECK! Note to self, don't leave flowers on the deck next year! After gorging themselves, they are all now bedded down around the swing set, chewing their cud.