Money Cake

I wanted to make a cake to celebrate a friend's promotion. Here's how I did it:

I made a template out of construction paper and then I cut out the cake.





Then I made a ganache glaze. Here's how I did it.


Ingredients:

2 cups of heavy cream,
12 ozs (or one package) of chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt.

Heat the cream over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil, pour over chocolate chips and add salt. Let it sit for 10 minutes (do NOT stir or it will come out grainy) After the ten minutes, stir and pour over the cake while the ganache is still warm.

I'm a total NUTcase

Even though these nuts might look like alien seed pods


Pistachios are a Holiday Harbinger, at least in my house:

Every year, as fall rolls around, I pull out the nut bowl and fill it full...over and over again. I love to see pistachios hanging around the house (especially during the holidays) for a couple of reasons:

1) The FDA claims that if you eat pistachios you'll probably have a healthier heart. Here's their official statement:

"Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease..."

2) Pistachios contain something called phytosterols which fight cholesterol.

3) Pistachios have almost 90% unsaturated fat, or "the good stuff". So, next time you're craving a fat-filled snack (like potato chips or french fries) choose nuts instead--especially if they are pistachios.

4) Pistachios are packed full of different antioxidants, which support your heart and body.

5) Pistachios are a delicious way to eat dietary fiber and they're a naturally nutritious snack.

6) Researchers at Loma Linda University performed studies that found that, despite the fact that nuts contain fat, they didn't cause an increase in body weight.

So go a little nuts these holidays - maybe you'll end up a lot healthier.

And please share a little bit of your own holiday spirit by telling me what food can be found around your house at the holidays. I'm hoping it will give me a little "new" foodilicious inspiration.

Portrait of Portland

People talk about leaf hunting in Vermont and New England but, believe me, Portland is just as pretty. Just in case you don't believe me, I did a little digital leaf hunting.

Take a look at my pictorial portrait of Portland in the fall.

11.11.11 - Veteran's Day

A time to pause...

and remember . . .

all the men and women who have served

Thanks! to all the Veterans out there today.

Midnight Seduction

I usually read horror. My favorite writer is Stephen King. I also like Koontz, Saul and of course Poe. So when I won an Ebook called Midnight Seduction, I knew it probably wouldn't be my typical type of read. And, when I opened the book on my kindle, I laughed out loud because the cover was so...seductive. I thought, "Maybe this isn't my typical type of book but with covers like this, it just might become my favorite new genre."

So, I opened the story and started to read. And...an odd coincidence...the characters' names are Jakob and Kara. Now, Jacob might be a normal enough name - in fact, it's my oldest son's name. But, Kara...I thought I made that name up when I named my daughter. Okay, I realized I wasn't the first to name a kid Kara. But, my husband had wanted to name her Sarah and I took my initial from "K"im and changed Sarah to Kara.

Anyway, I've only read 3% (because the house remodel has been taking a lot of my time) but I've been hit by a few strange coincidences already...like the characters having my kids' names. Next, Jakob is a shifter, so this isn't just a romance novel...it might even be considered a thriller or a horror, I'll know more when I read a bit more. But isn't that odd? It has elements of my favorite genre in it and it has my kids' names in it. It seems like it was destiny for me to win this Ebook and, I'll let you know more, when I've read a little bit more.

How 'bout you, have you ever read a book that made you think...hum...a lot of coincidences here?

Walls and Roof - YIPEE

It's been a Looooooooooooooong week without windows, walls or a roof but thanks to Luke and Lars, we have them all back in place. There's still a lot of work to do. We want to replace these old windows with new ones - but that's going to have to wait a couple of weeks. We need a weekend to get that project done.

Plus, we're a little pooped from coming home from work to work on the house. Luckily, we've got the walls, windows and roof all back in place (before the real rains hit).

And, believe me, it's very stressful seeing my boys outside hanging over the house on a scaffold that weebbled and wobbled but it didn't fall down, whenever they stepped out on it.

Thank goodness that's over for now. And the house should feel a little warmer. . . until the next stage of this remodeling project.

Decorating for Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I wanted to start decorating for the holiday. So, first, I had to take down the Halloween decorations...well, most of them. I left up the orange Chinese lanterns and the fall colored decorations. Then I changed out the table linens and added some copper colored candles.

Here's a close up of one table topper I put together using peacock feathers and other foliage.

Let me know what you think of it.

Progress on the remodeling Project

This is turning out to be a bigger project than I'd planned on. Heck, I never planned any of it...really. And notice the section of the roof that's missing.

Oh well, we're lucky, my husband's brother came over to help out.
Here are a few photos of the progress they've been making this weekend.And, it doesn't hurt that he's a contractor with 30 years experience. With his help, the roof is back on over the room.


There's still a lot to do, including putting the walls back on and, since it's November, I hope it happens quickly. And, with my hubby working late into the night, I can't complain...too much. And, notice...he has a harness on - just in case.

Tis the Season - Almost

It's coming

Indivisible

For a little cash you can help a good cause - it's a way to create jobs for other Americans

I bought my band at Starbucks.

Remodel - Making Progress

Luke's bedroom had a super low ceiling. It seemed okay when he was younger...and shorter...but now that he's about 6'5" tall, he could sure use a little more height - at least in his room.

So, the boys pulled out their flat edges (small crowbars) and ripped out the lathe and plaster then they pulled down the boards, which was tongue and groove wood (which is usually used for flooring but here it was all over the walls and ceiling - hidden behind the plaster).

Now that they've got the room destroyed, it's almost time to start rebuilding...at least I'm hoping, after all, this isn't much of a room, now is it?

Romance Mavens

Most of the time I feel like a bit of a loser - but not today! When I came home from work, look what I found in the mail.

For one day, thanks to the Romance Mavens, I was a WINNER!!!

And with a mug for my coffee and some chocolates, what could be better?

Happy Halloween with Creep Cakes

A cross between a Cyclops and a creep = creepcakes


I did a little baking this weekend and thought I'd share the creepcakes I made with you

I used green sugar sheets and white fondant then I used twizzlers for the mouth and jelly belly beans for the yetllow eyes


I hope you all have a Happy Halloween that's yummilicious

Rin Tin Tin

I went to the Hollywood Theater (Portland's Historic Nonprofit Theater) on Thursday night to listen to Susan Orlean speak about the Life and Legend of the Heroic Dog Rin Tin Tin.

I didn't remember much about him but I found out things that made me respect this animal actor even more than I did before. He was an amazing dog. No wonder Dogs are woMans best friend. Rin Tin Tin was found in France right after WWI in a bombed out dog kennel. An American solider was clearing the area when he found Rin Tin Tin in a pile with his mom and brothers and sisters. The soldier, Lee Duncan, adopted RTT and one of his sisters. He parceled out the other puppies to his soldier buddies and his captain.

I haven't read the book yet but I'll be working on that this weekend. After I finish, I'll do another post about my impressions.

If you're a dog lover or an animal activist, this might be just the book for you. It talks about the love and loyalty of animals and the legend of this one awe....mazing animal.

Halloween Cupcake Ideas

Here are some fun ideas just in case you want to do some baking this weekend to have a wickedly fun Halloween.

Movie Review - The Ides of March

The Ides of March was the movie of my weekend. I went with a gfriend and was hoping for a little bit of political humor or something caustically witty. This wasn't.

It was a very cynical (perhaps true to life) portrayal of the political arena and the people caught up in the game. I was left feeling . . . disappointed. I prefer to look for the good in people and this movie shatters that hope--at least while you're sitting in the theater watching everyone behave badly.

I don't mind horror - just not true-to-life horror stories.

Unfortunately, I've seen George Clooney in three movies I wish I'd never watched: From Dusk Until Dawn, Up in the Air, and now...The Ides of March.

This might be a perfect Halloween horror story, if you want to walk away depressed. I'd prefer to watch the New Underworld movie when it comes out, at least in that movie I expect people to suck.

A Ride in the Columbia River Gorge

Remodel Has begun

The boys wanted to raise the roof - literally so they started ripping the old one down and Lars nearly lost his head over the project ;)

This is going to be a big project and it's going to take a couple weeks - at least - I know, I'm being hopeful. So, I'm sure you'll be seeing some blogs, photos and videos about this project. I hope you enjoy watching the boys work together.

Luke told me to go away or come and help - so I went away ;)

Then I came back to take a quick picture...the camera was on moviemaker setting - so it wasn't so quick as my husband stood and waited for me to snap the photo (he's such a good sport) - this project could take quite a while at this rate.

Run Like Hell

My lil sis and I ran in the Run Like Hell fundraiser to help fight ALS . It was a lot of zombified fun and it helped raise money for a good cause while helping us get heart healthy - what better way than to spend the Halloween season?

It must have been running with all those scary zombies that made me Run Like Hell. I don't know . . . but I do know my time was better and there were no downhill portions in this race. I cut my time from my last run, which was the Pints to Pasta run in August. I shaved 31 seconds off each mile.

31 seconds...I know it doesn't sound like much, but I'm working to get my time down and my endurance up - not an easy task for an old lady who runs in her "spare" time-like there is such a thing.

Anyway, I was happy bettering my personal best. And at my age, that's all I'm hoping for :)

Happy Halloween

Turn the sound down and listen ...

ZOMBIES ARE THE HOTTEST

Zombies are hot right now. So for a green Halloween, why not go as a zombie? It's super simple to gear up for the apocalyptic aftermath and Halloween is the perfect time to get ready.

So, how do you zombify yourself?

Just add a couple spiders to your clothes, hair, and head. Use a little white face makeup and some black eyeliner for dark shadows (okay anyone who's as old as me knows about Dark Shadows and Barnabus Collins--I guess BC was my first fanpire love ;) but I digress)... So, some black eyeliner, white pancake makeup and some spiders.

How much simpler could a costume be? Plus, it will be a Green Theme Halloween costume ;)

I'll post some zombie photos this weekend to hell...p inspire you to new zombie heights, after I Run Like Hell - as a zombified old lady in the 10k Halloween Themed run here in Portland, Oregon.

Thursday Humor

Cupcake Wars

I love Cupcake Wars maybe because I love sugary treats so much. At least that's one of the reasons why I'm making my own cupcakes and challenging myself -- I want to be bake and make them better.

This edible glitter is such a treat. It's so pretty and of course it's tasty too. Of course these little devilish morsels aren't so good for my diet because I'm weak when it comes to holidays and homey food. I'm just going to have a run a little bit more or maybe a lot more.




These ones were banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and I used some sugar sheets and fondant to make my decorations...well, that and the edible glitter.

Writer's Retreat Weekend

I love retreats but they're expensive. So, the girls in my critique group decided to make our own. We all went to Roz's house early in the morning. We spent hours writing, eating and chatting. And it was all free.

Of course we didn't have any guest speakers so you might call it more of a workshop than a retreat. But when Mom's get away for a few hours and don't have to cook or clean or . . . do anything they don't want to do, I'd call that a retreat. How 'bout you?

Beautiful Food

We went to Sinju in the Pearl of Portland for dinner on Saturday night and it was yummy but more than that, it was beautiful.

Check out this artwork where food is just the medium. It was great Shashimi.