Cafe Latte's Chocolate Cake

This is all Cafe Latte's triumph.  I have nothing to add or take away.  This cake is moist and rich and decadent.  I am just bragging that I can make it too.  And so can YOU! :)

Here's the recipe, straight from Cafe Latte's Website:

Café Latte’s Famous Turtle Cake 

Cake Ingredients: 

• 1 Egg. 

• 2/3 cup Vegetable oil. 

• 1 cup Buttermilk. 

• 2 cups Flour. 

• 1 3/4 cups Sugar. 

• 1/2 cup Good quality cocoa. 

• 1 tsp. Salt. 

• 1 tbsp. Baking soda. 

• 1 cup Hot coffee 

Frosting: 

• 1/2 cup Milk. 

• 1 cup Sugar. 

• 6 tbsp. Butter 

• 2 cups Good-quality semisweet chocolate chips. 

• 3/4 cup Caramel. 

• 1 1/2 cups Toasted pecans. 

Prepare oven and pans:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 3 (9-inch) cake pans. 

Cover each bottom with disk of parchment paper. 

To make cake:  In bowl, combine egg, oil and buttermilk.  In large separate bowl, mix 

together flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking soda.  Gradually add wet ingredients to dry 

until well mixed.  Gradually add hot coffee.  Scrape batter into prepared pans. 

To bake cake:  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes 

out clean.  Let cake rest in pans for 10 minutes.  Turn out onto wire racks to cool. 

To make frosting:  Mix sugar and milk in saucepan.  Add butter.  Bring to a boil. 

Remove from heat.  Add chocolate chips to pan.  Using wire whisk, mix until smooth. If 

frosting is too thick or grainy, add 1 or 2 teaspoons hot coffee. 

To assemble cake:  Place one cooled cake layer, top-side down, on cake plate.  Spread 

with one-third of frosting, pushing it out gently from edges to make a petal effect. 

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans,  Drizzle with 1/4 cup caramel.  Add next layer, again 

top-side down.  Repeat frosting and sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans and drizzle with 1/4 cup 

caramel.  And final layer top-side up, frost with petal effect and finish with remaining 

pecans and caramel. 

Call your friends and enjoy!

  And it's even more exciting adorned with birthday initials for family celebrations...

Another Gardening Idea Involving Recycling...

Minnesota has had a late start to this gardening season, but I am not going to let that stop us from attempting to grow some good veggies!  I have started several batches of tomatoes, cucumbers, and summer squash in many different pots.  This idea just dawned on me one day and I was kicking myself for not thinking of it earlier!  We buy a large pack of organic eggs at Costco, and the container is a perfect little seed starter - with it's own built-in green house effect (the cover).

Just poke a little hole in the bottom of each "pod" and then fill with a little dirt, place a seed in, and cover with more dirt.  Water a bit, and place in the sun!  It's perfect for being able to place them outside on warmer days and then bring them inside at night, if the temps will be dropping.

Check out this post for more gardening ideas: Simple Gardening Ideas

Creative Toys for Creative Play: WEDGiT's

It's been a long winter for us here in Minnesota.  In fact, spring just started for us last week.  No kiddin'. We've been couped up inside for so long, we forgot there is this jubilant feeling called running-barefoot-in-the-grass.  Finally we remember.  I will be posting a series of creative toys that have helped bring creative fun and learning into our house even when we are stuck inside.  There is a whole chapter dedicated to selecting these kinds of toys for children in Simplicity Parenting, a book I highly recommend, and can only wish I were able to follow precisely. :)  But the point is...let's limit the toys that flash the lights and sing the songs and the screens that dim our attention and our creativity.  Most of all let's encourage our kids to enjoy creating.  Because every child IS creative.

First up, we are loving WEDGiTS, introduced to us by my friend, Katy.  They are a series of square nesting blocks that can be built into many different creations.  Our whole family builds with them, including the mom and the dad.  They are that enticing.  You can purchase a deck of design cards with pictures of ideas to build, or you can just go...

Mostly I just like taking pictures of my kids having fun.  So may we suggest the WEDGiTS... (And take note, they also come in pink and purple!)

Easy Homemade Bubble Mix

There are many recipes out there for homemade bubble mix, but this one is my favorite.  You don't need glycerine or corn syrup, and the bubbles are awesome!  I recommend using an old laundry soap container with a dispenser on it, and attaching a bag to the side with the bubble wands in it.

Ingredients:
12 cups water
1 cup dish soap (blue Dawn is the best)
1 cup cornstarch
2 TBSP baking powder

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, I put HALF of this recipe in my mixing bowl, stirred it a bit, poured it into the laundry soap dispenser, then made the second half.

ENJOY!

Homemade Peppermint Patties

Yes, oh yes, these are the most delicious, SIMPLE, amazing bites of minty-heaven.  

You only need 5 ingredients...and you may already have them in your kitchen!  This is a recipe I found on pinterest - all the credit goes to the one who created it: Oh!Nuts   THANK YOU!  You have brightened my day since I found you!  Check out their link - it is very nicely documented with pictures and directions.   But here's how I do it:

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

2 TBSP softened butter

2 tsp peppermint extract

2 TBSP cream (any kind)

12 ounces chocolate chips (any kind)

Directions:

- soften the butter, but don't melt it completely.  

- In a mixing bowl, mix the powdered sugar, butter, peppermint extract, and cream.

- Mix until it begins to for a creamy mixture...if it looks too dry after a few minutes, add a TINY bit of cream...that can help make it creamier.  But be careful, because you don't want it to be too moist and sticky...if it is, add more powdered sugar.  

- Cut a large piece of plastic wrap, and put the mixture in the middle of it, form a log.  

- Mine never look perfect...but if you really care, you could work a while to make it really round.  

- Place it into the freezer for 20 minutes or the fridge for an hour

- Remove the plastic and slice into small pieces (roughly 1/4 inch thick).

- Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl; heat for 1 minute, stir, and then continue heating for 30 seconds at a time until it is melted.  

- Here comes another part that I don't do well; spread the chocolate onto each piece...(put parchment paper onto a baking sheet)...I smear a blob on one side, place it chocolate-side down onto parchment paper, do that to all of them.  Then, spread more chocolate onto the tops of all of them.  

- Refrigerate the entire tray for a few minutes, and they should peel right off the paper.  

- ENJOY

Creamy White Sauce

This recipe started from my mother-in-law, who uses the sauce with her recipe known in my husband's family as "Cream-Dried Beef and Cornbread."  I think it's a Minnesota thing that I may never quite understand.  But I LOVE this sauce, and I pour it over tortellini, rotini with chicken, or just plain spaghetti with a sprinkle of parmesan.  Occasionally, I use a pinch of nutmeg too.  I hear there's a fancy word for it that rhymes with "shoe" called a "roux".  Roux la la.  It's easy, and you ALWAYS have these ingredients.  No, it's not fat-free.  Just make sure you serve it with whole wheat pasta and some green veggies and you're good!

Ingredients:
6 Tbs. butter
6 Tbs. flour
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp. salt

optional:
1/4 tsp. nutmeg OR
1/2 tsp.  dried basil or pasta seasoning
1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Directions:

1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  
2. Whisk in flour and stir until mixture is of even consistency. 
3. Then quickly add milk and stir until mixture is combined.  
4. Add salt.
5. Continue stirring with spatula scraping bottom of pan until sauce boils.
6. Remove from heat and add nutmeg OR basil and parmesan if desired.
7. Sauce up your pasta and ring the dinner bell. :)

Tips...from a tired but grateful Mama

Sometimes we just need a hand.  Everyone has times when they are strong for others...and then they need someone to be strong for them.  I see it like a roller coaster.  We are all on a roller coaster ride called "life."  Maybe your life is more calm than mine...it's actually very possible.  But everyone likes to know they can help someone and then also feel that help from others when they need it most.

So, here's my random post about ways you can bring some relief to those around you (from the view-point of a stay-at-home-mom with small children):

- Going to the grocery store?  Text a few friends who live nearby (especially stay-at-homers who might be dreading the trip to the store for a gallon of milk) to see if they need anything.
- Offer to plan a playdate with a friends's kids so they can just have some time alone.
- Making a dinner that is easy to double or triple?  Make a few extra batches to deliver to friends.
- Going through the Starbucks drive-through for a much-needed caffeine boost?  See if you can bring a drink to a nearby friend.  (THIS IS HUGE - for me, thanks to a dear, sanity-saving, friend on many occasions!)
- In need of a date but don't have a budget for a babysitter on-top of the date activity?  Arrange a date-swap with a friend...put your kids to bed, the friend comes over, have a snack and glass of something delicious and return the favor!
- Spring is almost here - a walk or run in the fresh air does wonders!  Have a playdate and take turns going for a walk or run alone while the kids play.

Above all, I want to encourage you to have a good attitude.  Our attitude is everything.  If we let ourselves have pity-parties in times of trial, it can only lead to a downward spiral.  Pray for strength to look up, take a deep breath, put on the armor of God and LOVE.  I try to challenge myself to think of others when I might be wanting to think of myself.  Who could use a hand?  Or a cup of coffee?

Press on...your kids are watching you.  Bless you.