Thursday, April 16, 2009

Happy Birthday Times 5

These are our most recent cakes, they were all done this past week, but I am just now getting around to posting them. We have been busy trying to get the house back in order and a little bit of spring cleaning. Not to mention going to Dr. appointments, working in the garden and just simply not logging onto the internet. Anyway, these were all fun.
The first was a Handy Manny themed cake.
The next set of cakes was for a birthday extravaganza, this family had four birthdays all in April and decided to celebrate them all at once, what a good idea! The large cake was decorated similar to the napkins used at the party and the smaller cakes were camo, Hello Kitty, and a present cake.



Wednesday, April 15, 2009

What's Cookin Wednesdays- Tea Anyone?

In honor of the tax day tea parties that are going on all across our country today I decided I would make tea the subject of today's post. I typically drink tea in the afternoon, right after Little M lays down for the afternoon siesta. Occasionally I will swap a cup of tea for my morning cup of joe, just depends on how lazy I am in the morning, because it is bit easier to just use some of the water Tip has already heated and just make some tea, as opposed to making coffee. Tea reportedly also has numerous health benefits, none of which I heavily buy into, I think yes it might help some, but I skeptical of what some of the "experts" studies about it. I drink it because I like it.
      As previously alluded to, I like to drink tea while it is still hot, in a coffee cup, however as we all know tea is extremely popular, sweetened and cooled, especially here in the south.  In my opinion the best type of sweet tea is sun tea. Where you let the sun steep your tea and then you bring it in and mix it as usual. However, I have read that this approach also lends itself to some pretty nasty bacteria reproduction in your drink of choice, so you have to be careful when making sun tea, and they say if you see strands floating around in your tea, then you shouldn't drink it, me, I think that would just be common sense, but Mcdonalds does have to put warnings on the coffee, warning the consumer that the contents are hot, go figure. Alot of people also like a bit of honey in their tea and milk is also very popular. I have never been fond of putting either in mine. I consider it to be a lot like putting sugar and cream in your coffee. My mom always says that if she wants coffee, then she is going to drink coffee, not that I think all 'coffee' drinks are bad, I used to commonly enjoy those machiattos(spelling?) from starbuckles.
       There are several different types of tea, black, green, red, white and herbal, which really isn't tea, because it is not usually made up of tea leaves, but of other various plant particulate. Black tea is what we typically drink, and is what is commonly used to make the southern treat sweet tea, but the experts tell you that the greater health benefits come from green and white tea. I don't care for the green variety, I think it tastes a bit cabbaggy, if you will.  However, while I am typing this blog, I am enjoying a cup of white tea. One downside is the catechins in tea stain your pearly whites quite effectively according to Food Detectives, and of course drinking more fluids means more pit stops!
     Just a quick note about the tea parties today.  We certainly are blessed to live in a country where like-minded folks can peacefully take a stand to show their opposition to out of control government spending. Long live liberty!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Resurrection Day

Today is no day to be silent. Today more than other days we celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior. No matter what life brings, we can always remember that our Lord is alive and in control. We do not serve some god that we can hold in our hands, but the God who holds us in His hands. The weather could not be better here today, so let us remember and reflect on His sacrifice that gives us life.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

What's Cookin' Wednesday- Southern Scramble

Sigh......sorry I missed posting last week. I just got too busy and didn't manage to get a post up last Wednesday. Today I am posting the recipe I would have posted last week. I had planned to do breakfast recipes this month, and I still will, I hope to make up last week's post some other time this month, perhaps next week.
This is what I eat for breakfast, when I am not overly lazy and just pour up a bowl of cereal. I don't particularly like eggs, scrambled is about the only way that I will fix them, and I try to put alot of other things in with the eggs, so I can hardly taste them in the end.
I remember making this when we lived with Tiff's parents and getting some strange looks from my mother in law, but hey don't knock it till you try it. I think it is pretty good and the chips gives me that crunch that plain old scrambled eggs just doesn't have.


Southern Scramble
2 Eggs
Seasoning- I use Tony Cachere's, the container says that it is great on everything, and the container is not wrong
Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Salsa
Shredded Cheese- I typically use Colby Jack, however, I have used Mozzarella or cheddar with great results
Tortilla Chips- I prefer Santitos, no trans fats and I haven't gotten around to making my own yet

Method
I like to have my eggs sitting out for about thirty minutes or so. This allows them to expand just a little, and I think it gives you a fluffier scrambled egg, I read this in a cookbook regarding another recipe so I can't take credit for it.
Next scramble your eggs, I like to use a little olive oil, like Rachel Ray with that stuff I guess, I don't call EVOO though, that annoys me. After your eggs are cooked, go ahead and add your seasoning and sprinkle your cheese on top then throw it in the microwave, or cover it, to let the cheese melt a tad.
Finally top with your chips and salsa and enjoy.
I do sometimes add a little cinnamon, but that is strictly for diabetic reasons, I don't think it really effects the taste either way, but cinnamon does obviously help blood sugar levels.