Hello.....

So, I sort of abandoned this blog for a period of time.  Life just sort of happened and got in the way.  It's been over a year since I last posted, but that also means I have a years worth of parties, crafts, events and fun to share with everyone.    I am hoping to post more and pick up where I left off.

Thanks for taking this journey with me!

Wearing Many Hats...

I am not exactly sure where the summer had gone, but it's almost over... The kids have been having fun and enjoying camp.   The days they enjoy the most are Fridays, which are theme days.  Their most favorite had been crazy hat day.

During the school year, my daughter had not one, but two crazy hat days...So I took the easy route and reused both of those.  Her girlfriend at camp needed a hat, so it worked out perfectly.  I just made a new hat for my son....

This is the hat I made for my daughters first crazy hat day.  I only found out the night before that she needed a hat... So with Pom-poms, pipe cleaners and googly eyes on hand... This was the best I could come up with....

 

*I had to add this one, because it just shows my daughters personality and totally makes me giggle when I see it! 

Then later in the school year she needed a second crazy hat.  It was a quick trip to the dollar store on the way home one day that produced this hat.  I basically hot glued flowers all over and some grass... Then added some butterfly's and done....

So that left me with making one new hat for my son.    I used a plastic pith hat I had and sprayed glue and added moss I had left over from the Alice in Wonderland topiaries I made for my daughters birthday.

Next I added some of the grass I used for my daughters hat and then I used a bunch of plastic toys I picked up at the dollar store.

Here are all three kids ready for their crazy hat parade.

Cakapolooza...

 I am a little late in posting this, but the end of the year was a busy time making cakes and treats for various events and then well...summer set in (and you know the drill)...  Here are some of the things I made recently....

This is not the best picture, but it's an earth shaped cake I made for my son's teachers retirement.  She is very green and loved it!  (excuse the mess... this picture was taken midway through my baking extravaganza that day).

 

I even made the inside of the cake look like a globe! 

 

My nephew's 7th Birthday was up next... He had an angry bird themed party.  I loved how the cake turned out.

I made the birds and the blocks and sling shot first and let them dry a bit so that they would stay on the cake.  I used rice crispy treats to make the blocks and covered in fondant and it worked well. 

 

Next, my daughter had a luau themed teacher appreciation dinner.  I wasn't able to attend, but sent along some tiki and pineapple cake pops!  

 

I bought these cheap containers from the dollar store and put foam in the bottom.  I added some grass from a grass skirt inside and hot glued a lei outside to add to the presentation. 

 

Polka Dot Surprise

This past week was my birthday and my cousin gave me a cake pop pan.  I was so excited... It was something I have been eying for awhile but just haven't pulled the trigger on buying it for myself.

Of course now that I had it I couldn't wait to make something.  I decided to jump on the new trend of cake within a cake and make a special Fourth of July cake.

I haven't cut it open it up yet... I will post an update after I do, but here is the process...  

I started by making a white cake and turning half into blue and half into red batter.

 

Then I scooped it into the cake pan... I found that you have to fill it slightly above  the level to get a full round circle.

 

After they were all filled, I closed up the lid and hoped for the best...   But I was pleasantly surprised at how they turned out! 

 

After they were all done, I layered them in a cake pan.  One I did random and one I tried to do in a pattern...when I poured the batter in, they moved a lot though...so we shall see when I cut it open. 

  

Not going to lie, when I pulled them out, they looked pretty bumpy and not so pretty...but when I flipped them out of the pan it doesn't look so bad.  I think once they are iced they should be fine. 

 

I will be serving the cake this week so I will update with a picture of the inside when we finally cut it open!!

Update.... We cut open the cake as it worked!!!!  It was a big hit with everyone.

CSA Fun Continues...

So far so good... I have not wasted any food, but this week was a lot of lettuce and there is a limit to how much salad a girl can eat.... So I fear, this may be the week I don't use it all... but I am trying.

So this is what I got for week two and week three...
 Spinach - 1 bunch Red Romaine Lettuce - 1 head Green Boston Lettuce - 1 head Red Boston Lettuce - 1 head Strawberries - 1 quart Swiss Chard - 1 bunch
 Lettuce Mix - .5 lb bag (not washed) Salad Turnips - 1 bunch Bok Choi - several pieces Red Kale - 1 bunch Arugula - 1 bunch Romaine Lettuce - 1 head

 

I had an extra bunch of spinach and some arugula, so I blended it together with some toasted walnuts and lemon zest and fresh squeezed lemon juice... and it was yummy, zesty and so fresh tasting.

As you can see, I tossed it over whole wheat pasta the first night.  The next night I had some extra chicken cutlets around and I layered the pesto on that with some sliced mozzarella and toasted it and it was even better!

 

I have never in my life cooked a radish...in fact, I never ever thought you could.  But this has been part of the fun of getting the CSA shipment each week.  I cut the radishes on my mandolin and then sauteed them in a little bit of olive oil and some dill from my yard.Then at the last minute I added in the greens to wilt.  I was surprised how much I liked them.  Cooking them mellowed out the bite and actually brought out a sweetness. 

On Father's Day I decided to use up the beets I had roasted earlier in the week.  I paired them with sliced ripe avocado and layered it on a bed of arugula.  I also had these baby arugula micro greens, which just looked so pretty.  I put a light lemon vinaigrette over the top, which not only helped from keeping the avocado from turning brown, but brought out the earthiness of the beets. 

 

For our Father's Day BBQ I also decided to make the rainbow Swiss chard as a side dish. I started by sauteing the stems first (since they take longer to cook).    When those were tender, I added in some toasted pine nuts and golden raisins and garlic.  Then I added in the leaves of the Swiss chard and covered and let it meld together and wilt down.  I took it off the heat and then added just a splash of balsamic vinegar.  It was DELICIOUS!

The finished product- it was so good and it looked so pretty too!

 

And of course I used up some more of the lettuce (did I mention there was a lot of lettuce in this weeks box?!) and made a salad.  I got fancy and cut the carrots into hearts... but I tossed it with a vinaigrette that I made with the chive blossom vinegar I made from the first batch from the CSA.  

 

Up next... white salad turnips... I know these are meant to be eaten raw, but I actually roasted them in the oven to bring out the sweetness.  I just coated with olive oil and pepper and let it roast in the oven while I was roasting some beets for the boy.  At the end, I added in the turnip greens to wilt.  It was a huge hit in our house- in fact... my daughter who will NOT eat a vegetable, declared it was delicious... she is all on board with trying new veggies now... of course her "trying" is taking a very teeny bit and making faces, but it's a start! 

I also made yummy radish sandwiches.  I made a quick dill butter, slathered that on some crunchy bread and added sliced radishes.  It was crisp and delicious. 

And last, but not least, I made Brazillian collard greens.  We go to a great Radizio place by us that has this as a side dish.  I thought I would give it a try and I was surprised how easy it was and how good it was!  I started by cutting the collards into thin strips (removing the stem).  Then I made a paste of minced garlic, and good sea salt.  Then I heated a pan super hot with olive oil, added the garlic paste I made and then added the collards.  Tossed to coat and covered with a lid to wilt.  They were yummy and such a bright green. 

 

Can't wait to see what is in this weeks box! 

Winding Down the School Year...

I cannot believe that an entire school year has gone by!!!

My daughter is finishing up kindergarten and my son finishes nursery school this week.  I know it is cliche but it does feel like we just started the year!!  I made a goal to try and do my daughters hair each day... she was a willing participant for much of it, but there were many morning she just wanted to wear a simple headband... that was no fun.  But she did say she loved the attention she got, especially for super fun hair styles like when I made her hair into a shamrock for St. Patrick's Day.  I will post a bunch of the highlights of the year later.   I also set a goal to make fun lunches for her each day.  She LOVED them and quite a few moms made fun of me for it, but they thought it was cute too.  My daughter got more adventurous as the year went on and she actually bought lunch more than I thought she would... but it was fun coming up with ideas each day.  I will also post some highlights of her lunches at some point.

Anyway... As the school year winds down, the end I the year festivities pick up.  So far I have successfully made luau inspired cake pops for the PTA installation dinner and an earth cake for a teacher appreciation/retirement party for my sons school.... That was quite a week, in a heat wave no less!

Now I have been switching gears to end of the year gifts.  I wanted to do something fun and cute for each of their classes and this is what I came up with...

For my son's class I found these cute Crayola coloring book rolls at Target.  I made up a little tag that reads "Have a colorful summer!" and wrapped them up for the kids.  

For my daughter's class I found these cute colorful high bounce balls at Five Below.  I made a tag that reads "Have a Ball this summer"  I added the tag to a heavy stock and had her sign it.  I think they came out adorable.

What's Behind Box Number 1?

It's been a busy few weeks , especially with the kids winding down their school year... But I wanted to share quickly that yesterday we picked up our first box from the CSA we joined.

Just staring at the box was like Christmas morning for me.  I loved the anticipation of what was inside and it didn't disappoint.
  This week's shipment is a "pre-week" so it seemed a little light, but it was still full of fun things... 

This is what I got:

Lettuce Mix - 1 bag (not washed) Spinach - 1 bag (not washed)
Mustard Mix - 1 bunch Radishes - 1 bunch
Collards - 1 bunch
Chive Blossoms - 1 bunch
Oregano - 1 bunch Toscano Kale - 1 bunch

**isn't it SO pretty!

 

Now the fun begins...what to make?  I haven't made anything yet, but I decided to make a chive blossom vinaigrette right away.  I wanted to get that going, because it is best to let it sit for a few days.  I am thinking that will be delicious over the salad greens and some sliced radishes!

Since there wasn't a ton of blossoms, I only used half of the jar size of vinegar.   I snipped off the blossom and added them to the vinegar.   Then I closed up the lid and will leave it in a cool place to sit for a few days. 

Update....This is day three of the vinegar...it's getting a really lovely purple color.