Teddy Bear Cake and Other Adventures

I always bake the birthday cakes for my kids from scratch. It's just a memory that I want them to have, Mom's homemade cakes. Since they've been old enough to express their own opinions, I've let them choose what kind of cake they want. I thought they'd merely decide the flavor of the cake and frosting. Maybe they'd go wild and request ice cream cake. I was so naive then!

My forays into cake decorating started out simply enough. When my oldest turned one, I made rainbow colored cupcakes for his little, baby playgroup. The following year, I sketched an icing Elmo onto his cake. Eventually, between the various kids (and my husband) I made cakes with assorted superheroes, flowers, and sayings on them.

K-boy, as the oldest, was the first of the kids to begin unusual cake requests. He focused on flavor and texture, and I was happy to comply. We ate a cake with green chocolate chip cookies on the sides when he turned 11 (he was deep into his Percy Jackson phase). The cookies were supposed to be blue, but try adding blue food coloring to yellow eggs.

Somehow over time, my kids got the idea that I'm capable of the cake masterpieces that dominate Food Network shows.

For my daughter's second birthday, I made her a lovely, two layer cake with pink frosting and purple icing flowers. When M-girl turned three, she decided that she needed a pink, three tier cake....the third tier to reflect her advancement in age. I thought it was cute. Now every year she adds one more layer to her cake wishes. She's eight now. Frosting, it turns out, is not the best mortar for major construction projects. Yeah, next year I need to invest in some dowels to hold the thing up.

For three years running, D-boy wanted a cake shaped like Gordon the blue engine. They don't make cake pans for that. Did you know that Oreo cookies have hidden uses? Last year, Gordon was traveling up a mountain. I became an expert at train cakes.

D-boy turned six this week. I thought maybe he'd want a cake with some Lego Star Wars characters dueling on it. He had nothing so easy in mind. His birthday cake vision was of two Teddy Bears hugging. Not just any two teddies, but his favorites, Bob and Bentley.

In order to uphold my reputation I gave it my best shot. Despite my lack of time, professional equipment, and a small kitchen fire (hint: mini chips will burn much sooner than the regular size ones), the cake came out OK. Actually it looked pretty great, and it tasted delicious.

Now that I'm done wiping powdered sugar off most of my kitchen surfaces, all of the effort was worth it. The best moment was when D-boy looked at the finished cake and proclaimed, "It's amazing!"

Oops, I have to go. M-girl is already putting in her next birthday cake request. I've got to stock up on baking supplies!

linking to: Weekend Bloggy Reading

Birthday Fritos

I've read that traditions are important for children, and help them to feel bonded with their families. Sometimes these traditions are solemn and long planned, and sometimes they are accidental and lighthearted.

We've developed a new birthday tradition in our family this past year. It began quite by chance last fall. The kids and I were in the car, driving home from the library. K-boy's birthday was coming up, and he was listing aloud some presents that he hoped to get.

As the list grew rather long I commented, "Wow, you kids don't know how easy you have it. Birthday gifts used to be so much simpler than they are nowadays."

I went on to share with them a birthday memory of mine, from when I was about four years old. I went with my mother to visit a friend of hers. It was around my birthday and the friend gave me a present. I unwrapped it as we were driving home in our little, red, 1970 Volkswagen Beetle. Imagine my delight when I tore off the paper to reveal.....a pair of red tights, and a bag of Fritos corn chips! Yes, I really was happy about the corn chips!

I'd like to say that my kids were so impressed with my recollections of simpler times that they immediately downsized their own birthday expectations and grew an appreciation for the little things in life. I'd like to say that, but.....

"Mom," K-boy said, after a moment's thought, "I hope I get a bag of birthday Fritos this year!"

"Me too! Me too!", chimed in M-girl and D-boy, laughing. They were all laughing, so was I.

When it came time for K-boy to unwrap his presents, there sitting proudly at the top of the stack, was an oddly shaped present that contained Fritos. Every birthday since, someone reminds me to pick up a bag when I'm present shopping. It's become for us one of those unplanned traditions that is likely to go on forever, and will always give us a chuckle.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Bars

We had some rapidly ripening bananas to use up today. Lots of ripe bananas. After baking two loaves of banana bread, there were still too many bananas to for our family too eat. I found a recipe for Banana Bars, but like I usually do, I decided to make a healthier version. The result was a tasty treat that I can feel good about offering to my family.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup pasteurized egg product
3 medium bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15x10x1 inch pan.

In large bowl combine butter, oil, sugars, baking powder and salt. Mix until well combined.

Add eggs and bananas. Mix well.

Stir in flours until well blended.

Add oatmeal and chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cool before cutting. Yields 36 bars.

Little Girl Growing Up

M-girl made her First Communion the other day. I'd been awaiting the day for years, ever since I teared up at K-boy's First Communion.

Months of preparation went into it. M-girl and I went on a girls only shopping trip to find her dress. She took one look at the rows of white lace and flounces and was in her element. She must have tried on twenty dresses, but in the end she found the one that was just right for her.

We knew that family would be coming in from out of town to celebrate with us. The whole family worked feverishly to get the house looking its best. Projects that had been delayed were finally done. Walls were painted, new carpet was laid, and every room was shined and polished.

A celebratory meal was prepared. I loaded down a shopping cart with special foods, and later my hubby shopped for the items that I forgot. The whole house filled with delicious aromas.

M-girl studied hard and attended classes. I taught classes, both at home and at the church, to help her and other children to be ready to receive this sacrament.

The morning of the ceremony was a flurry of last minute tidying and cooking. Then it was time to help M-girl dress and fix her hair. Before I knew it I was walking my daughter (who looked like an angel) into the church to meet her religion classmates. Then I had to let go of her hand and leave her, trusting that she would remember what to do.

I sat nervously in the pew with my husband and our boys. We watched the rows of immaculately dressed second graders enter the church, hands folded piously. At times, M-girl was able to sit with us, ever watchful for her cues to stand and join the other children.

Finally I watched as she received the sacred host for the first time. I saw the beatific smile that lit up her face. I knew then that she understood that that single moment was what all of the preparations had been for. My little girl is growing up.

Castle Book Review and Project

As part of our curriculum purchases this year we bought the book Castle, by David Macaulay. Published back in the seventies, it earned a Caldecott Honor for it's wonderful pen and ink drawings. The reader gets an inside view of the lifespan of a castle, from the initial plans, through its construction, daily life, and ultimate abandonment. It's a fascinating read that begs to be explored again and again.

Although my children are at different ages and grade levels, they each are able to learn from this book. History is brought to life in its pages, both in the storyline and in the minute, details of the illustrations. It's a purchase that I'm very glad that we made.

On a recent morning, D-boy was not settling down well to his schoolwork. Since he's a five year old boy, this wasn't too abnormal. Not wanting him to entirely disrupt my work with his older siblings, I decided to pull out something fun, but educational for him. I looked around on the toy shelves and found the castle blocks that he had received at Christmas.

One of D-boy's strengths is that he is very detail-oriented and will study directions to make sure he is doing a project correctly. I challenged him to build the castle, and left him to his work.

D-boy successfully constructed his fortress, and proudly showed me the results. We sat down to reread Castle together, making note of the similarities and differences with his block castle.

When clean up time came we decided to try for some authenticity. D-boy used a toy catapult to attack the castle. With its sturdy construction and clever design, the fortress did not fall easily to the enemy. However, like in days of old, it was eventually overcome.

D-boy's morning whim turned into a great, hands on history lesson.

Linking to Read Explore Learn

Waffle Love

So, I am a from scratch baker - always. I enjoy it. In moments of stress I turn to cooking. I bake when I'm happy too, and generally whenever the kids or my husband talk me into it. I've never really seen anything wrong with this. After all, it brings me pleasure, and I can make my family's baked goods healthier than the store bought alternatives.

The other morning gave me pause though. Could I have spoiled my family with my from scratch baking?

This is what happened. We had all had a busy day on Saturday. M-girl and I had a three hour long retreat to prepare for her upcoming First Communion. My hubby and the boys spent the day painting the Florida room, in preparation for our upcoming party to celebrate said Communion. Then in the evening, we all attended a teen event at the church to which families were invited. (In the interest of complete disclosure, K-boy urged us not to go and possibly embarrass him in front of his friends said he understood if we were too busy to attend. Ha! BadDad and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!)

Usually we like to attend Saturday Evening Mass if we can. It just fits our schedule. Last week there just wasn't time. We decided to get everyone up and ready in time to go to the 8:30am mass on Sunday.

My offspring aren't exactly morning people, so on Sunday morning I decided to help ease them awake by making waffles. The only thing was I felt pressed for time, as I still had to get myself ready and make sure everyone was ready to leave on time. "No problem", I thought to myself, "I'll just do what normal people do and use a baking mix to speed things up."

I happened to have a whole-grain baking mix in the pantry, leftover from a camping trip. I mixed up the batter for banana nut, semi-homemade waffles in no time flat. Once the first batch was sizzling in the waffle iron, I called the kids. "Look!", I exclaimed, "I made you waffles."

They began drifting into the dining room, just as I set a platter of steaming waffles onto the table. Once their waffles were slathered with butter and drowned in syrup they dug in. They ate a few bites, and stopped. Bear in mind these kids usually wolf down at least two waffles each, even the little one.

I urged them to eat, telling them they'd be hungry in church if they didn't finish breakfast. Finally M-girl spoke up. "Mom", she said, "these waffles aren't the same as usual. They weren't made with love. Where's the love, Mom?" Her brothers seemed to concur. D-boy just looked at me sadly, as if I'd let him down somehow. K-boy later termed them, "Yucky Waffles".

I have only myself to blame for spoiling my family. I've ruined their taste for convenience foods. The major brands have offered easy alternatives to homemade all these years, and I've still done things the hard way. I'll just have to suffer for my deeds. My poor children though. They're either going to have to learn to cook or adjust their taste-buds by the time they grow up.

Last Minute Patchwork Chili

Lately it seems that we have more crazy, busy evenings around here than usual. BadDad and K-boy are taking Jeet-Kune-Do, M-girl has been doubling up her ballet lessons, and then there's the various meetings that just pop up this time of year. The other night, after a busy day, I had to drop K-boy off at his lesson and then try to come up with a quick dinner that would keep until the boys got home.

I had some ground beef thawed, but no rolls made for burgers, and not enough time for meatloaf. A craving for chili hit me, but I didn't have the ingredients for my usual recipe. I scrounged up what I could from the pantry, and came up with this recipe for Patchwork Chili. To my happy surprise, it was delicious and not a spoonful was wasted!

Last Minute Patchwork Chili

1 pound ground beef
l medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 sweet, bell pepper, diced
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 package taco seasoning
1/2 package chili seasoning
shredded Cheddar cheese and sour cream for serving

Cook ground beef, onion, bell pepper and garlic in large pan until no pink remains and vegetables are softened. Drain beef, and add remaining ingredients, except cheese and sour cream. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with cheese and sour cream.

About 8 servings