It's Starting to Look a Lot like Christmas

I'm starting to think of ways to decorate on a budget for Christmas. I'm pulling out old nick-nacks and repurposing them.

I bought some Christmas Tree balls at Ross for $3.99 and put them inside the Hurricane I had sitting around the house.

It turned out pretty for a very paltry bit of money.


How 'bout you? Have you been thinking of ways to decorate without spending a load of money?

Checkerboard Cake

I wanted to make a fun cake for a birthday. Here's how I did it. I made a banana chocolate checkerboard cake.

First I baked one layer with chocolate in the center and the outside rim and yellow cake in between the two chocolate areas.

Then I baked a layer with yellow in the center and the outside rim with chocolate in between the two. And then I baked another layer just like the first.

I stacked them with the two chocolate layers on the top and bottom and the yellow double rim layer in the middle, using cream cheese raspberry filling to glue them all together.

It created a checkerboard effect. My theory is Food should be Fun :)


Plus, I used the extra batter to make cupcakes - Mom always used to say, "never let anything go to waste" - now if I could only learn how to never let anything go to my waist - that would be a real trick

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?