best. wreck. ever!!!!!!!

it's my birthday in 5 days. my mom is here right now, but she won't be on tuesday (the 22nd... my birthday... hint hint), so she and the kids made me a b-day cake today.

and i have to say....

best. cake. ever!!!

 after i blew out the candles, blithe said, "wow! it smells like smoke in here!!!" um... i'm not that old... i'm turning 33. not 133!!!

 the proud wreckorators. note that the bottom of the cake is square, and the top is round. and note the crazy angles of some of the candles. 

there it is, in all it's wrecky glory. including, "mome" instead of "mommy." {sniff} it's just... just... so beautiful! {wipes tears}

could i be more proud?? could i be any happier???

nope.

'cause the kidley-winks made me my very own wreck for my birthday. i have the best. kids. ever. 

oh! it just occured to me that some readers might not know why i'd be so excited about a hideous, misspelled cake. check out this website, Cake Wrecks, and you'll understand. :)

SNOW CREAM!!!!!!!

well, it is yet another snow day around here. that's right, the last day of school before march break, and we get a snow storm. i'm not joking.

and so... what do you do when school is cancelled and you're exhausted and low on funds and low on groceries and therefore also low on snackables? you find an easy recipe online and open the back door. {wink}

i looked up a recipe online, and since there were four ingredients, and there's four of us, we each had to remember one ingredient:
blithe: 1 cup sugar
bram: 1 tbsp vanilla
asher: 2 cups milk (although when i asked him what he was supposed to remember, he said, "2." "two what?" i asked. "too much!" so helpful. thanks. haha)
me: 3L (1 gallon) snow

basically, mix it all together in a bowl. dish it out. enjoy. :)

the verdict? from the mouths of babes....

this makes my mouff freezing!

this tastes good!

this tastes like outside!

this makes my taste buds freeze!

dat's why it is snow!

diss makes me shiver why it's so good!

and i would add, it tastes like christmas. you know... if christmas was, um... edible?? is that right? somehow i don't think so... please tell me you know what i mean, though. haha

that all means it's good. :)

gotta love snow days!!!!

snow day = kitchen day!!

the menu for today:

breakfast: oatmeal chocolate chip muffins. yes, from a mix, but they were yummy!

lunch: split pea soup. (see recipe below)

snack: peanut butter nuggets. (see recipe below)

supper: probably potato pancakes. le yum!

i made the muffins myself, and added a bit of cinnamon, as i mentioned in my previous post. they were good!! i also made the soup on my own, but it would have been very easy for blithe to help with it. probably not the boys, but definitely blithe. the PB nuggets will be made by the kids and me, though mostly them. the potato pancakes, i will likely make those myself. here are the recipes:

Split Pea Soup with veggies
split peas. i don't know how much. just throw them into the pot.
chicken broth. i just poured until it covered the peas.
water. added just a little bit, not much. enough to make it about an inch higher than the peas
some chopped carrots.
half a small onion, chopped.
garlic, salt

seriously, toss it all into a pot, turn on the stove, and walk away. easy peasy. once it's done cooking, use a hand blender to... um... blend it. and then enjoy. it will be nice and thick (but not too thick). it's good with crackers, though i suspect croutons would be even better.

Peanut Butter Nuggets (from allrecipes.com)
2/3 cup crushed cornflakes (or rice krispies... because that's what i have on hand)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey

1. mix 1/2 cup corn flakes, coconut, peanut butter and honey together.
2. shape into small balls and roll them in remaining cornflakes.

*these cookies can be put in the fridge to firm up.
**these cookies freeze well.
***yield: 2 dozen

UPDATE: the kids loved making these, and we all loved eating them!! we rolled them in icing sugar instead of rice krispies, and they were wonderful!!


Old-Fashioned Potato Pancakes (from allrecipes.com)
3 cups shredded peeled potatoes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cups grated onion
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley. (obviously, you would need more if you're using dried... which is what i have)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Rinse potatoes in cold water; drain thoroughly. in a bowl, mix potatoes, eggs, onion, flour, parsley, salt and pepper. pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto a greased hot griddle. fry 5-6 minutes on each side or until potatoes are tender and pancakes are golden brown.
*yield 2 servings
**i usually shred 3 to 4 potatoes and then just eyeball the quantities from there. always turns out deliciously! :)
***mmm... potato pancakes with syrup... le drool!!!

the only thing better than chocolate treats... is homemade chocolate treats.

blithe and i spent the evening together tonight, and i have to say, it was such a special time. we don't often get time together without the boys, so this was truly wonderful.

i will post in a little while about the why's and what's about the evening on blithe's blog, but here is what i want to post about here:

WE MADE CHOCOLATES!!!!!

we decided that chocolate would be a perfect treat for two ladies, so off we trekked to Bulk Barn and picked up some melting chocolate (milk and dark - i might be indecisive... i'll let you know when i figure it out) and some skor bits. mmm... skor bits...

so we came home and melted said chocolate. blithe threw some of the pieces into the pot and stirred it up, and then she tossed in the skor bits. together, we poured the melted goodness into these little cups and left them to set.

i'm about to try one now... unwrapping it...putting it into my mouth... savouring it as it melts in my mouth (well, the chocolate is melting. skor bits don't melt)... stroking out from the goodness...

oh, i don't think i should share these with blithe. i'm going to have to save her from them. they're just no good. [wink]

alright, alright. i'll let her have some. after all, i promised that she could take some (1 or 2 pieces) in her lunch tomorrow. and we're going to give the boys each a piece, too, because they will love it.

we have never made chocolates. usually i just buy a twix or kitkat or something... occasionally, i indulge in dark chocolate with red chili (which is beautiful, by the way). but the chocolate blithe and i made tonight... these are wonderful, and beyond easy, and we are sooooooooooooooooo making this again!!!!

i still have the dark chocolate pieces. i just need to find the right je ne sais quoi to put in it. so tomorrow, i will be adventuring in a couple shops i know. what fun!

chocolate salami?? WHA-?!?!

once again, i'm watching Taste Budz with the kids. and today they are making... get this!!... chocolate salami!! as a lover of chocolate AND salami, i'm intrigued!! here's the recipe:

3.5 oz dark chocolate
3.5 oz milk chocolate
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 lady finger cookies
1/2 cup almonds, chopped, skin on, toasted
1 cup Rice Krispies
1/2 cup dried cherries, cranberries or apricots, finely chopped
fruit, for serving with salami (try strawberries, kiwis, pomegranate or raspberries).

Directions
Melt dark chocolate, milk chocolate and butter over a double boiler.

when chocolate is melted, stir in honey, cinnamon, salt and vanilla.

crush lady fingers in ziploc bag. you need about 1 cup of rough, coarse crumbs.

add lady finger crumbs, almonds, Rice Krispies, and dried cherries to the chocolate mix. stir to combine. let cool 10 to 15 minutes. this will make it easier to roll the mixture.

roll in parchment paper to form a log. then wrap tightly in saran wrap, tapering ends so they are rounded like a salami. refrigerate until set, about 2 to 3 hours.

cut chocolate salami into 1/2" to 1/3" slices. serve with small dollop of yogurt cream. store in refrigerator. makes about 20 slices.


i wish i could show you a picture, but i can't find one. you'll just have to believe me when i say that it looks amazing!!!! if you want to find the recipe for yourself, check out Taste Buds.