Life is Sweet...Eat the Cake

Wednesday, February 8

Feelin' Crafty ...

So I get a picture and text from my good buddy, Wren, who lives right around the corner. She has an excellent sense of humor - a happy mix of cynical and sarcastic and just down right knee slappin' goodness. Her text says, "I'm a crafty bitch today ..." with a picture of a wreath that she made to hang on her front door. This, of course, gets me all excited (and makes me laugh hard enough to require a Depends Undergarment too, I might add.)

In my excitement, I decide to make a heart garland - in celebration of Valentines Day ...

Yes, I am sure that this might seem a bit elementary to you (it did to me too), but cutting and pasting has a calming effect on my high-intensity brain. Even the piles of paper cuttings didn't freak me out until the very, very end.

This is what I used to make my grade-school garland...

I love paper clips and twine - don't you? They make me happy ...

Even just one is cute ...

But a few more are even cuter ...

Love ...

Now who made this big mess? (Pretend you don't see the tea cup. Sheesh!)

And for the finale - Wren's fabulous and highly crafty wreath! Love!

Lotsa projects going on at the Murphy house...

Pinewood Derby Car Fabrication & Design...

For those of you that do not have a resident boy scout up in da house ... The Pinewood Derby is a race of the fittest and finest of boy scout and parent fortitude.

Boys and their Dads (or Moms, Grandpas, Uncle Doug-Bob-Joes) spend some quality time together designing, cutting and painting a regulation car to eventually race for the prize against other boy scout contestants in their pack or den.

For some, this is crazed competition and tension is high. We are sort of middle-roaders on this. I know that we Murphys can become fierce
(S-O-C-C-E-R, ya'll), but this is a much more calm sport and that is, of course, the way it should be, after all. I mean - ya can't run head on at everything like a lunatic banshee jacked up on Red Bull & Starbucks ... right? Right? Right.

This is Miles' car...

and Owen's ...

These are the early stages, of course. Soon they will be macked-out with all sorts of Pinewood Derby regulation bling - both to win and to wow the spectators. Standby for updated shots of these fantastical cars.

Sunday, January 22

Week-long Frittata

Most Sundays, I make a breakfast frittata to last me through the week.

This helps to keep my brain from getting creative ideas for breakfast (always a bad thing) while sluggishly and brainlessly meandering into the kitchen at 5:30am each weekday morning. When I am half-awake, it is not the best time to try to decide what to eat. Usually, the final choice ends badly and I blow through entirely too many empty calories before I even start my day.

Here is what I usually toss into my frittata - and don't laugh until you try it for yourself!

On-the-fly recipe:
10 eggs - whole eggs (I know - probably bad, but it is what it is.)
1/4 cup 1% milk
Salt & Pepper
1 can Margaret Holmes Hoppin' John (don't you turn your nose up!)
Couple handfuls of crushed Cheez Its (yes, you read that right.)

Turn your stove dial to medium, Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a large L-A-R-G-E, oven-safe skillet with Pam Spray - or if you have high maintenance Calphalon pans like I do, pour a glug of olive oil into the pan and wipe around the bottom and edges. Curse your pan for the 1000th time for being high maintenance.

Once pan is warmed up, add in the slightly drained can of hoppin' john, add in the crushed cheez its. toss around with a spatula (because that is my tool of choice - it is hereditary - I get it from my mama "Helgene.")

Quickly whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Add in to the pan. Spread everything around evenly and let the frittata cook for about 7 minutes - until the bottom is set.

Carefully move your pan to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. When timer goes off, check the frittata by pressing on the center - if it bounces back, your frittata is done. Pull out of the oven WITH OVEN MITTS. Can you tell that I have burned myself over and over again by not using mitts?

Let frittata cool completely, slice into triangles and toss into a tupperware container for next week's breakfasts.

To reheat, place a slice onto a plate, warm at 50% power for 1 minute or so. Enjoyed best with a side of homemade guacamole and a slice of wheat toast! YUM!

More Birthday Buzz...

Two peas in a pod - Owen & Malachi ... Best buddies since kindergarten.

And the aftermath...

Mama's Information Station ...

What with all of the flyers, notices and reminders that come home from school and in the mail, we needed a place to house them all - in plain sight and not in stacks. Stacks never work for me because I forget to sort through them - and anything on the counter in my kitchen is fodder for the trash can!

And so began Jim's latest project ... a bulletin board for the wifey.

First he had to build a frame from trim, mounted onto a bead board backing...

Next, he painted the trim black ...

After drying, I distressed the edges, but sadly didn't take pics of that part... Then he added a clear gloss to the frame.

The ceiling tiles were then covered with burlap ... (this sounds simple and easy peasy, but boy it wasn't! The ceiling tiles were 2 x 2 and my bulletin board was going to be much bigger - so Jim had to connect the brittle ceiling tiles together so that we could stretch the burlap across. Not fun.)

But finally, it all came together and here it is! Love, love!

Friday, January 20

Update: Owen's Birthday Cake

While I know this cake looks luscious and dreamy ... it wasn't quite so - at least in my opinion.

Everyone else said it was great, but to me, this is actually two cakes in one - and I mean that on two completely different levels.

Sure, I made two recipes of Barefoot Contessa's "Birthday Sheetcake" for this double-layer cakeroo - plopping one on top of the other, but this cake was more than that - it was a lemon pound cake with chocolate fudge icing.

Let me explain ...

The cake is dense - and has a full lemon's worth of zest in each layer. Each layer has 6 extra large eggs, sour cream, etc. etc. Heavy.

The icing is that of a thick, rich fudge. Luxurious, deep and dark - and a bit sticky, like fudge. Divine, right? Not on a lemon pound cake, at least in my opinion.

So, this is where I am - after having promised to give you the recipe - I am not so sure that I can recommend the cake - or making two entire recipes of it like I did.

Barefood Contessa Birthday Sheet Cake

For the cake: 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 lemon, zested
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting: 24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until smooth. Finish mixing by hand to be sure the batter is well mixed.

Pour evenly into the pan ...

Smooth the top with a spatula ...

Bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan to room temperature.

For the frosting, place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chips are completely melted. Off the heat, add the corn syrup and vanilla and allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the chocolate mixture and softened butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until it's thickened.

Spread the frosting evenly on the cake. Have the birthday boy decorate the cake with chocolate candies.