Cake with sweetened condensed milk. Ube.

We used ube sweetened condensed milk for the frosting and it worked out marvelously. 

We used regular sweetened condensed milk for the cake parts. The cake itself will be thin and flimsy, but can be assembled in a yummy form. Ours is definitely not very pretty, and next time, we would spread the batter more evenly or in a different form for better layers. 

 Nick made the cake topper! 

Ingredients:

For Cake: 

300 g sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs

1 pinch salt

180 g flour

10 g baking powder

spray to spray silicone mats or cake pans

For Frosting: 

500g whipping cream (about 2 cups)

80 g UBE sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla paste or liquid

Directions:

Make the batter: 

Preheat oven to 350 F 

1. In the stand mixer with the whipping attachments, beat eggs with a pinch of salt until fluffy. 

2. Without stopping mixing, add in the 300 g condensed milk

3. In a separate bowl combine flour with baking powder. Slowly, in parts, add in to the egg mixture. 

4. Use silicon mats and pour batter on sprayed or oiled mats directly. We used two mats and made them the same size. We made two rectangles. 

5. Bake for about 10 minutes. We suggest baking each layer separately. We find they cook differently on different layers. 

Make the Frosting: 
1. Beat cold whipping cream with vanilla. When whipped, slowly add in the ube condensed milk

Once the cake is cooled, assemble. We cut each layer in half both width wise and lengthwise, resulting in a total of 8 layers of cake. 

Assemble cake spreading the frosting evenly between all layers. Put frosting all around the sides and top. Put in the fridge to sit for at least 2 hours. We left ours overnight. 

Decorate with chocolate or berries. 

What we liked:

It was really fun to make and eat. 

What we didn't like:

The layers were very thin and would do something differently next time. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He liked it, so did Brenton

Next time:

Use different forms or spread them thinner or perhaps do a different batter altogether. 

Crawfish and Andouille Sausage Etouffee

This was fairly quick and easy to throw together for a dinner, as long as we had the crawfish. We always have long grain rice (we used basmati and it worked out, was very fluffy). We added andouille sausage the second time we made it and it was fabulous! 

This recipe does make a lot, halving it might be more reasonable for a smaller group. 

Ingredients:

6-8 cups of long grain white rice, we used basmati. We usually have rice left over for various things too. 

4-6 cups  turkey or chicken stock depending on how concentrated it is and your tastes

4-6 cups water 

1.5 cup butter

2 large onions, chopped

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

4-5 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup flour

2 cans crushed tomatoes

2 lbs crawfish tails

1 package andouille sausage

green onions - chopped for garnish

salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp Cajun seasoning

Old Bay seasoning to taste 

Directions:

1. Set rice to cook in rice cooker. We love our Zojurishi, it really makes a difference

2. Make the roux with about half the butte rbutter and flour. We used a cast iron pan. Melt butter, gradually add in the flour and stir constantly until flour is cooked and mixture is thickened. 

3. Take the other half the butter and fry onion and celery until softened. Add garlic until fragrant, about one minute. 

4. Add in tomato sauce and stock and water. 

5. Add in the roux

6. Mix

7. Add in crawfish tails and andouille sausage and bring to a simmer

8. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes

9. Serve etouffee over cooked rice and garnish with green onions. 

What we liked:

It was easy, fun and yummy. 

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was great. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

Brenton actually loved it and at 2 years old ate three whole bowls! 

Next time:

Nothing, these are great. 

Chocolate cupcakes

It was Kaspian's Birthday, so we made some chocolate cupcakes with white frosting. 

They were all approved by kids and adults alike! 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup  cocoa powder

1 teaspoon espresso powder or very very finely ground coffee

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup  brown sugar

1/3 cup oil - we used sunflower

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup plain white yogurt

frosting is buttercream and sprinkles for decorating

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F . Line 2 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners. 

2.  Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until combined. 

3. In bowl of stand mixer whisk the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla together until smooth. Pour half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Then half of the yogurt. Mix. Then add the rest of the dry ingredients and the rest of the yogurt. 

4. Fill cupcakes about 1/3-1/2 full. Just distribute the batter evenly among the 24 cupcakes. 

5. Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

6. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frost cooled cupcakes with chocolate buttercream or frosting of choice. 

What we liked:

These came out super cute especially with the toppers :)     

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was fun to try a new recipe

What Kaspian thought about it:

He liked his birthday cupcakes! 

Next time:

No changes necessary. 

The GREAT WHITE tomato!

We grew some great white tomatoes this year. They are pretty much AMAZING. They are HUGE. We ended up planting them by accident, we thought our seedlings were not going to make it (they did!) and we rushed to the local nursery and purchased some heirloom tomatoes. One of the varieties was the Great White. The other really good one we got from them was a pear shaped yellow tomato. I don't remember the name of that one, something something sun or sunshine or something like that. But, the yellow tomatoes were the first to ripen. Then, they stopped in the summer, and now that it is cooler are back to producing. They must like the colder temperatures. Very interesting. 

Astrid's absolute favorite though is the chocolate PEAR. They are so sweet!
But, anyways, back to the great white. It is actually yellow once it ripens. It is huge and pretty awesome all around! 

Tomatoes stuffed with Egg Salad

We have an abundance of tomatoes this year. They were late getting started but are now overflowing our kitchen. We have explored some creative ways to eat them :) 

This is a tomato stuffed with an egg and cheese and garlic mixture. Yums 

Ingredients:

Whole tomatoes

6 eggs - hardboiled

1/2 cup of hard cheese - we used white cheddar

4 cloves of garlic minced

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

parsley

dill

whatever fronds you have for decorations

Directions:

1. grate the cheese on a small grater

2. Combine minced garlic, grated cheese, whatever greens you have that are finely chopped, sour cream and mayo in a bowl. Mix. 

3. Grate the eggs on the same grater as the cheese - add in to the mixture. 

4. Take off the tops of the tomatoes and scoop out the insides. 

5. Fill the tomatoes with the egg cheese garlic mixture. 

6. Decorate with fronds!  and Enjoy!

What we liked:

This was a really fun use of the tomatoes and eggs

What we didn't like:

Nothing. But this would likely not save well at all. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He doesn't do tomatoes. Astrid, however, loved it. 

Next time:

No changes. 

Ginger Ground Beef Donburri

This is quick, easy and yumsy. 

Make some sushi rice and this meal is done in about 10 minutes overall. I don't have the final picture...this was just our leeks sauteing first, will add more later! 

Ingredients:

cooked sushi rice - we usually make 8 cups, not all gets used, but makes for great fried rice later

1lb ground beef

1tbsp ginger, we use the lemon zester, but can be chopped or minced, whatever works

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

peas, green onions, or whatever you want to mix in!

Directions:

1. Zest/mince fresh ginger

2. Combine soy sauce, ginger and sugar in a bowl and mix

2.5 If using onions or green onions fry them first with oil/butter until softened, then add ground beef. Else, go to step 3. 

3. Add ground beef to skillet, break it up- add in the soy sauce mixture and cook for about 5 minutes until done. 

4. Add in peas if you have them and cook for another few minutes. 

What we liked:

This is so quick and easy. Everyone loves it. 

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it is great

What Kaspian thought about it:

All the kids love it

Next time:

No changes necessary 

Korean Tomato Salad

WOW. We have had a lot of tomatoes this year, specifically cherry and Cherokee purples and chocolate pear. This salad is absolutely marvelous. It is reminiscent of kimchi/carrot salad but very different and might be the best tomato salad yet! Yum! 

The kids did not like it very much - perhaps because of the slight spice factor, but this is controllable. 

We have also made this with leeks added and it is yummy that way as well! 

Ingredients:

about 3 Lbs of tomatoes

50g olive oil

50g vinegar

50g sugar

2 bell peppers - very very finely chopped

1 jalapeno - very very finely chopped

a splash of toasted sesame oil

1 head of garlic - finely chopped 

2 tbsp salt

optional - chopped leeks

Directions:

Combine oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, chopped peppers in a bowl and stir. Quarter the tomatoes and add in. 

Stir. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for 24 hrs. Enjoy!

What we liked:

Such a fun good way to eat tomatoes and it's pretty quick to make. 

What we didn't like:

Nothing - it was great!

What Kaspian thought about it:

He does not do tomatoes. 

Next time:

Nom Nom!