Lemon Blueberry Trifle

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Curd.*

What an unpleasant sounding word. Really, I do not care for it. Maybe it's because it rhymes with turd. Curd ranks right up there with the words luxurious and snacks.** I don't know why, but I don't like those words either.

Am I weird? Yeah, probably.

Why do I reveal this about myself? Well, I have wanted to make lemon curd for a long time now. I've read about it in books, watched people use it on TV, and seen in mentioned on multiple food blogs.

It really sounds incredibly yummy.

Costco had amazing blueberries for sale. I couldn't resist and bought a container. And since Costco sells everything in bulk, I needed to start using them up soon before they went bad.

What to do? Hmmm... Lemon goes well with blueberries, right?

That's it! This is my opportunity to try making lemon curd, and I'll find a way to combine it with blueberries.

But, I'm changing the name. From now on, lemon curd will be known as lemon butter (like peanut butter, apple butter, or honey butter).

I found this recipe online for Lemon Blueberry Trifle. With a couple of minor modifications, I made it for the summer party at work. It turned out to be a show-stopping creation earning rave reviews all around.

Since I made this dessert from scratch, I admit it took a while. However, you could easily use frozen pound cake and store bought lemon curd spread. Then, you'd have this spectacular dessert ready in about 30 minutes. Really. Give it a try, and wow the crowds.

*Some people have been known to affectionately call me Curd as a nickname. Yeah, I still love 'em anyway.
**A friend of mine wrote a funny blog post about this. Check it out here.

Ta-dah! And no, this is not a luxurious snack.

The one thing about trifles, no one ever wants to be the 

first to dig in. But once someone does...watch out!

Sunshine Boont (or Bundt)

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I've been away for a while. We went camping for a week on the beach in California, and afterward, it's taken me a week to get caught up in the real world. I made this cake before leaving but am just now getting around to posting it.

Late one night, I checked Facebook and saw that my colleague, Julie, was having a birthday the following day. I had to bake something because Julie is the one at work who always seems to remember everyone else's birthday. She probably even knows my kid's birthdays, and I wouldn't be surprised if she knew my dog's. Julie is also the kind of colleague who is there to lend a hand with everyone's projects. And, she's certainly helped me out on a number of stressful occasions at work.

Since it was late, whatever I was going to make needed to be quick and easy. After skimming through recipes, I found a citrus Bundt cake that sounded really good. It uses a cake mix, which is generally a major sin in our home, but when you're short on time, ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. I modified the recipe some according to the ingredients on hand, but it turned out great—very moist and a nice change from all the chocolate desserts I tend to make.

Everyone at work loved it, too. And, the scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding was quoted numerous times throughout the day.

Boont?

Bundt.

Boont?

Bundt.

BOONT?

BUNDT......

OH, ITS A CAKE.

"There's a hole in this cake."–Maria Portokalos.

Happy birthday, Julie! 

Boont? Bundt? Let's snarf!

S’More Cookies with Tomas

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Today, I was the sous chef, and Tomas, my six year-old, was boss. Give him a stool, and he loves helping out in the kitchen. We decided to make S'More cookies because we actually had all the ingredients in the house. And for the most part, it's a kid friendly recipe.


Tomas can now read the recipe mostly by himself and only needs help with some of the cooking terminology. We also had fun learning some math with the measuring cups. It looks like Tomas has inherited a math gene that didn't come from me.

While making the cookies, I decided to conduct an interview with the little head chef. My comments are in brackets.

So Tomas, when did you first begin cooking?

When I was 5 1/2, I think. I don't remember.

What kinds of things do you like to make?

I like to make eggs with my mom and stuff with chocolate with my dad.

What is your favorite part of cooking?

I like to crack the eggs. But, I also like to lick the beaters and bowl.

What is your favorite kitchen utensil?

I like the thing that cuts the tops off of [hard boiled] eggs. [Are you sensing a theme here?]

What advice do you have for the beginning baker?

Don't put the mixer on 10 with the flour. [He learned this from Dad's mistake.]

Why do you like this recipe?

I like marshmallow creme, and I love chocolate.

Why should people try this recipe?

Because they're so good I could eat the whole pan. And, I made them. If you eat them fast [meaning warm], the chocolate and marshmallow are still gooey.

Well, there you have it. If Tomas says they're good, they're good. So, try these out. And, I highly recommend involving a kid. It's much more fun.

Give this guy his own cooking show!

Chocolate Turtle Cookies

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Over the past few years, our family has had the tradition of the Blessing Basket. There are times that we are better about remembering to do it than others, but every night before bed, we each write down on slips of paper something we are grateful for that day and then place the papers in a basket. I just spent a good half hour reading through a bunch of them, and reminiscing. Here are a few.

• I'm  am glad our family can play card games together.
• I'm glad we have a really beautiful final memory of Grandma Lu.
• I am thankful for my friends, the stars, and for Halloween.
• I'm thankful for kids who make me laugh.
• I'm thankful I could take a long nap today.
• I'm grateful to live in a land where I can vote and not be afraid to voice my opinion.
• I'm thankful I didn't puke today.
• I'm thankful I can read and enjoy great books, and I'm thankful for the people who wrote them.
• I'm thankful for my cat, Chester, and my friends, Sebi and Jeffrey.
• I'm thankful for Jesus and his example for me.

This week, we changed the Blessing Basket to a Service Basket. I got the idea from a talk by President Monson titled "What Have I Done for Someone Today?". For the next little while, each family member will write down every night something he/she has done for someone else.

Here is where this recipe for chocolate turtle cookies comes in. I thought I'd make some cookies to welcome a new family to the neighborhood for my act of service. And of course, I'd make enough for my family to enjoy as well.

I haven't had these cookies for a long time. My mom made them when I was young, and I loved them. They're really easy to make, and kids love to help out because it's like making little chocolate waffles.

So, if you want to do a good deed and put a smile on someone's face, make a batch of these.

Here they are before the frosting. Another great idea would

be to serve them like this with ice cream and hot fudge sauce.

The finished turtles. What a fun cookie!

Blackberry Apple Pie

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Wow, I can't believe this blog is already six months old.

My original goal was to post one recipe each week. Since this is post number 32, I'm actually a little ahead of schedule. I'm slowly learning the ins and outs of food blogging, and I finally moved up in the world and got a decent camera. As I browse around through other food blogs, I see I have much to learn about baking, writing, and taking good photos. But, I'm pleased with my progress so far.

For most of this past half year, I could count on one hand the people who looked at this blog. Then, it suddenly happened. Boom! Almost overnight, I had ten followers. And, I don't even know half of them. I'm still slightly bewildered that anyone would take an interest. However, I'm also very pleased, and I thank all ten of you. If I'm not living up to your expectations, let me know, and I'll get it in gear.

Now all this leads up to why I'm posting a pie recipe. One of my followers, Ms. Humble, has one of my favorite food blogs. She is seriously the queen of food blogging. She's entertaining, posts great recipes, and takes beautiful photos. Plus, it has happened more than once that I have been sitting in front of the computer with my jaw dropped in amazement at her absolute precision in cutting cakes, pies, and brownies. Seriously, it's like she's performing delicate surgery on the food. I must say I was quite honored to one day see her photo in the followers box.

Well, Ms. Humble is holding a pie contest, and I thought I'd give it a shot. I've never entered a baking contest, and I don't really have the best track record of winning anything. But hey, you never know.

But, what to make? I searched through all my cookbooks looking for inspiration and not finding anything that screamed, "Bake me!" It wasn't until I was walking through Costco, the only store in my area of the country where you can purchase fruits and vegetables that rival those found in the produce markets of Europe, that I spotted some of the most beautiful blackberries. So big. So plump. Yum. I knew I had to make a pie with blackberries.

I think I'll eat blackberries till I'm purple.

One of my favorite autumn pies is a cranberry apple. (Look for that post around Thanksgiving.) This is a version of that pie. Give it a try yourself, or wish me luck. But really, thanks for reading. I appreciate it.

Right out of the oven. If only you could smell this through 

the computer.

One final note: From Ms. Humble's blog, I learned the word "nom". She uses it quite often, and I finally googled it. Urbandictionary.com defines the word as "the sound made when someone is eating or chewing something and really enjoying it". Totally fitting for her blog and for this recipe.

You should let the pie cool completely if you want your piece of 
pie to hold its triangular shape. If you just can't wait, realize 

it will be more like cobbler. As you can see, we couldn't wait.

Nom, nom, nom, nom!

Caribbean Banana Bread

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If you read my last post, you know I've got a lot of ripe bananas that need to be dealt with. Banana bread is an obvious choice, but I wanted something different. Katie and I both came across this recipe in the Cooking Light Cookbook. Banana bread with a twist—sounds intriguing.

I wanted to try this recipe because until recently I have always hated coconut. Now, I love it and want to try baking with it more. Toasted coconut is especially yum. I guess my taste buds are maturing. I wonder if I will start to like fish.

Katie, I'm guessing, was interested in the rum flavoring used in the bread. She loves anything with alcohol or coffee flavoring. However, you can probably guess from my blog that we're Mormon, so she's only ever had flavoring and not the real stuff. We often joke that she would be a lush on a constant caffeine high.

So, I baked a loaf and used up two more bananas. The recipe is totally easy, and the result is fantastic. The bread was so moist. The lime, coconut and rum flavoring go so well with the banana. My favorite part of the bread is the top crust with the topping. I could easily take a serrated knife, slice off the top of the loaf, and just eat that. Hey, that gives me an idea! I also love muffin tops. I think this recipe could be turned into some dang good muffins. Next time, I'll try that. Or, if you get to it first, let me know how they turned out.

That's a mighty fine lookin' loaf if I do say so myself.

I brought this to share at work. Didn't take long to disappear.

You know, the entire time I've been typing this, I've been 

singing that "lime in the coconut" song. I think it's going

to be stuck in my head for a while.

Banana Fudge Muffins

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We eat an inordinate amount of bananas in this house. It's one of the few fruits we can all agree on. However, I don't know what happened, but we've got so many they're coming out our ears. Katie must have bought some, I bought some, and then we got some from the Co-op. And, they all seem to have gone bad overnight.

It's time to break out the banana recipes. While I love banana bread, I'm in the mood for something different. Banana cupcakes with chocolate frosting? Sounds yummy, but I don't have any cupcake liners and I don't feel like making a trip to the store. How about chocolate banana muffins with chocolate chips? Ooooh, yes!

These muffins are chocolatey, bananaey, and amazingly moist. So easy to prepare, too. Next time you've got some bad bananas, whip up a batch of these.

Oh. So. Good! But, I don't know how they are at keeping away
alligators.

Wait, you don't have to snarf it down in just two bites!