Foodie Fridays!

This is not my recipe, but it has become famous in the Pumpkin Patch. Nora started eating these a 1 year old, they are still the only bread/cake we can get her to eat

Mink's Pumpkin Muffins!

2 cups pumpkin (15 oz can of puree is fine)
1 c. cup brown sugar
3 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup flour gluten-free flour (or whole wheat flour if you are doing wheat)
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

bake at 375 for about 15-18 minutes, makes 12 muffins
these are really MOIST as the pumpkin quantity is double what is usually recommended....but i like them heavier on the veg for kids and less floury.

The Princess and the Pole

As promised from in an earlier post, more on my crazy child and her obsessions....that I might add, have us a little concerned.

It all started when we visited New York when she was ten months old. That city has a lot of poles.

Poles in museums carefully guarding exhibits, that mommy and daddy had to run and catch said child from touching.

Poles in playparks built in the 60's all coated in colorful lead paint I'm sure. I actually remember screaming, ''Don't put your mouth on that!'' (shiver! yuck!)

Poles in the subway, even more revolting than the playground.

There was no favoritism shown, if it was round and stood about 30" out of the ground Nora was there checking it out.

Our dear friends, the Kroboths, pointed out that poles might not be a 'good' obsession?

We all laugh.

Nora can also put back a bottle.

Throws her head back and just DOWNS it. You can not break her concentration, she will finish it without coming up for air. In most cases, she finishes gives a big 'AHHHH, that was good milk' then slams the sippy onto the table. More or less she's taking milk 'shots'.....Fantastic, she's going to be popular at college parties.

You can just hear...chug, chug, chug, chug!

We all laugh.

Nora is also obsessed with princess, ALL things princess.

Crowns in every color with lots of beads...and oh don't forget feathers.

Wands with stars and sparkles and beads that we twirl with. Around and around and around trying to perfect the move.

Tutus or totos as Nora calls them. I can't convince her it's not a small dog wrapped around her waist. We have them in SO many colors and she's requested another one for Halloween to make her Tinkerbell.

Slippers. Some have glittter. Others have heals the light up. Some have feathers across the toe, a very boudoir look for a 3 year old.

Let we not forget the final touches for any princess...jewelry and make up. Oh how we love the lip lips (lipstick). She finds it and goes wild. Lip Lips from ear to ear in every color mommy owns.

We all laugh.

Nora is obsessed with nakedness.

She is my hippy child, running through the house giggling little streaker.

Can't keep a pair of panties on the girl..(note: the 'naked walk' moment from a weeks ago?)

It started with potty-training. The time when all toddlers become fixated on their privates and how they work.

We spewed our drinks the night Nora was naked, looks up and says, ''DAddy! I have a hole! I have a big hole! I liiiiike my hole'' OMG! We just really didn't know how to respond to that and have discussions with her since about privacy.....

We all laugh.

The problem is, you put all this together....poles, drinking, feathers and sparkles, and nakedness...

You get stripper.....let's hope a few years down the road this all fades away.

Besieging the Cake.

Ahh...I don't think there's anything more stressful than kids birthday parties.

You work so hard to make everything just so. To make a special moment or memory for your child...that was last Friday for me.

I had it all planned. Drop Nora at preschool and drive to Kroger just down the street. Run through like a chicken with their head cut off quickly checking items off my list.

Get through grocery store in less than 40 minutes, having bought 50 items and saved 40%. YES!!! (Couponing on a time frame should be a sport or worth some commendation in a mommy Hall of Fame)

Drive in garage, look in back seat...Trent is asleep! YESSS!!!! Quickly unload the groceries, set up stand mixer. Complete mixing of first cake mix, start second one.

Did I mention the cake was going to be a two story castle with turrets?

Frantically start cleaning the house or at least the downstairs. It seems I've been doing this all week. Clean and turn around and MESS everywhere!....the plight of motherhood, always picking up a mess.

Cakes are cooled....um, not so much. Cake two sticks in pan. Blood pressure goes up a notch.

It is ok, it is ok....(mantra to keep me calm) I have plenty of time right?

It's only 12:30...oh no, gotta pick up Nora!

Remember that we need special purple dye from Michaels. Please, please everyone be happy. Trent happily erped down my cleavage while frontpacking him into the store. (Put shower on to do list)

Get home. Get Nora settled with lunch and a movie. Trent down for nap. Whew! Time to redo cake two and start on the turrets.

''Mommy, watcha doing? You make me Tinkerbell castle? I help?'' Ummmm, yeah sure that will be time efficient. Chant, your making a memory, your making a memory.

Darn it...Trent not so much down for nap. Walk around with him, make him happy...oh...back to sleep.

Get new cakes into the oven. Realize that because cake two stuck we are now short one box mix....Trent napping, can't go to store.

It is ok, it is ok... I have plenty of time right?

That's ok, I'll make the icing!

Get out hand mixer. Start icing. ''mommy I help? Mmmmm, that good icing!'' Three year old on a quick ride up the sugar high train. This always leads to fantastic tantrums later on.

Crazy sound coming from hand mixer, beaters lock. WAIT, what's that smell. Oh crap. Motor burned out. (Blood pressure going up yet another notch) I'm pretty convinced the universe is trying to tell me something at this point.

It's ok, it's OK! I can do this, laugh, this should be funny right? Great story later on, character building and all.

Purple icing complete. Apply icing to watch it run. down. the. cake. ''Mommy, I put Tinkerbell on cake'' (We bought a Tinkerbell at Michaels) ''No, not yet Nora''

Call Rich, tell him to go buy many more bags of confectioners sugar, eggs and box cake mix. Complain about just getting frustrated and wanting to start over, icing looks like melted wax. Not the vision of a fairytale castle I envisioned.

Loving husband assures me he will take care of the cake. He has experience, he used to make cakes at Baskin Robbins as a teenager. I think GREAT, I'm off the hook.

Same loving husband assesses the damage to cake upon arrival home and calls in reinforcements...i.e. the grandparents to corral the troops.

It's ok, it's ok...we have time to fix this right?

''Hon, I don't think my icing skills translate to this?'' WHAT! Notice icing running down cake.
Time for another plan. Turn down air conditioning to 70 degrees. Surely an artic blast will make the cake behave?

I'm running out of manuevers in my plan of attack...having lost my second leutinant to the Battle of the Clean Office.

It is ok, it is ok.... I have plenty of time right?

Lots of sugar added to mixer. Ah ha! I will defeat the cake, it will not beat me. Make icing so stiff I think I could almost roll it. Did I inadvertantly create fondant or tasty spackle? Quite possibly.

Green icing into squirting bag. Squeeze. Squeeze. Squeeze...did I just sweat? Squeezing icing just made me sweat?! The battle is heating up. But I do like the first details on the turrett.

Time to finish up the edges of the cake. Blue little flower, blue little flower, blue little flower has become my battle chant. Ah....success, the walls have been completed. husband walks through and gives kudos to forward progress shift in the battle.

Back to assailing the turrets. Oh crap. Icing squirts do not stick to cake without thin underlayer....scrape, scape the previous green detail off. Thin icing on, and start over.

Checking the right flank...icing tight and secure. Check the left, nooooooooo! Butress failure! Heavier, spacklesk icing migrating down side of cake from walls.

Retreat! Retreat! ''Hon, I'm done. I give up the castle has won.''

And so, we the parents failed to create a Tinkerbell Castle upon Nora's 3rd birthday.

In the morning, Nora asked where her cake was. Rich sighed and told her ''Daddy broke your castle, it was an accident. BUT, mommy went to get you a new cake!'' Big kudos to him for taking one for the team.

After $30 in baking supplies, we spent $30 to get a new cake. To erase the feeling of failure, to create a memory, to create a smile on Nora's sweet face.

And because I'm convinced I will win the next cake battle, today I googled 'Publix Icing Recipe' and found this.

Publix Icing

2 sticks butter
2 cups crisco
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp butter flavoring
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 lbs confect. sugar (made from cane sugar)
1/4 tsp salt - (You may want to add salt to taste)
1 tbs. meringue powder ( I use Just Whites)
1 tbs milk (if needed)

Mix butter, crisco, and salt together on low speed for 5 minutes.
Add - vanilla, butter flavor, and almond extract. Mix well.
Add- meringue powder and 1/2 of the sugar, mix well.
Continue to mix adding sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Beat until smooth and creamy (about 5 minutes). Add milk a tsp at a time if mixture becomes too stiff.
This will be as close as you'll ever come to the Publix brand buttercream.

Funny enough, there's a family saying....''When all else fails read the Instructions'''.....duh!