{splatter} cheetah souffle cake

cheetah souffle cake
by a seven year old tomboy with a flare for fashion


In a big mixing bowl mix:

2 t. sugar

10 T. cake mix

6 eggs

mix with whisk

18 T. of sprinkles

bag of m&m's

whisk

turn oven on 350

butter cake pan

pour on baking cake pan

40 min in oven, checking

remove from oven with oven mitts

Results are in: DO NOT MAKE AT HOME. This was a child-made disaster, first bite actually spit out by chef 01 onto kitchen counter. Successful in that it was a blast, yes! Please make this recipe at your own risk.

Lesson: we read recipes and start experimenting with flavors and measuring with more practice in the kitchen.

{grabbing greens} roasted beet and potato salad

Every once in a while you eat something while you are out and it just stays with you. I had a knock-out, fabulous salad last week with my girl friends and my mom. Maybe it was that we were having so much darn fun, maybe it was that I was actually relaxed and didn't need to push that day, maybe it was the glass of white wine I had. Hmmmm a little of all three I would say. Food always is better when you enjoy the people you are eating with. We had a blast and the salad I had I could eat every week!

So I immediately set forth to recreate this salad. Did I do it? Well, no, but I liked what I came up with so I am going to share it with you....

Roasted Beet and Potato salad by ann west

This salad has many wonderful little things in it. In fact when serving this as a side it takes care of your starch and your greens - how great is that? I didn't try to make everything at once. I used leftovers and prepped ahead to make it more manageable.

roasted beets - chunked (roast beets whole with olive oil in a 375 degree oven until tender. remove skin. I made these the day before.)

roasted new potatoes - cut potatoes in half (roast potatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper in a 375 degree oven. These were leftovers from the night before.)

pickled onions - see recipe from dollop here!

blood or regular oranges - sliced

then add:

avocado chunks and mixed greens. Arugula is a great choice too and I think I would add a hard boiled egg if I had it. Toss with shallot-sherry vinegarette - see below. Serve as a side or a meal all on its own. enjoy!

shallot-sherry vinegarette by ann west

shallots chopped very fine

1/3 cup olive oil

1-2 tsp dijon style mustard

1 tsp sugar

1/4 c sherry vinegar

salt & pepper

squeeze of lemon

photo by ann west



photo by amy twomey

photo by amy twomey

photo by ann west

{rise 'n shine} whole wheat muffins

Healthy? yes!
Easy? yes!

Kid approved? ... YES!!!

I was actually planning on posting about a salad that I was inspired to make, (beets, potatoes, salmon - look for it next week) ... but volleyball, basketball, homework, feeding the dogs, cleaning got in the way. So, I had tucked away a recipe for whole wheat muffins and decided to give it a go with my own special spin!

The great thing about these healthy little treats is you can add just about any fruit to make them yours - its easy. Did I mention that my kids loved them. I think the quote was, "hey, those are actually good." Big score! Trying to work whole wheat into the diet can be difficult when there is so much bleached flour products out there. Now my kids know that whole wheat can be tasty too!

as always we start with a little butter and a little sugar...

whole wheat (add-in) muffins by ann west

1/2 c butter melted

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c honey

1 c banana mashed. I think you could use pumpkin or sweet potato too!

1 egg

1/2 c. buttermilk (plus 2 tbls if needed)

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup blueberries or other berries. Or 1/2 cup dried cherries, cranberries, coconut, nuts - you create it!

Heat you oven to 375 degrees and line your muffin pan. Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the butter, sugar, honey together. Mash your bananas and add them. Mix the egg into the buttermilk and add to the wet ingredients.


Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just incorporated. (don't over mix or you are sure to have a brick of a muffin!) Fold in your fresh berries or dried fruit. about 1 cup. makes 12-14 muffins. Bake for 20 -25 minutes.


I think I will try pumpkin with coconut next!

{delightful} Gluten Free Apple Pie

There is nothing like my man strumming a little Elliot Smith to get me in the mood to bake an apple pie. So, while he strummed...

I peeled, cut and sliced my Macintosh and Empire apples in thin slices

And turned my oven to 450 degrees while adding the following ingredients to a mixing bowl:

1 egg white, whisked

3/4 white sugar

1/2 brown sugar

3 T. gluten free flour

1/2 lemon juice, squeezed fresh

1 T. lemon rind

1/4 t. salt

3/4 t. cinnamin

1/2 t. nutmeg

Mix all together and pour into your gluten free pie crust. I get mine at Whole Foods, frozen.

After pouring all into crust, use the second pie crust and ball it together crumbling the dough on top of the pie as a topping. I use about 3/4 of the dough and toss the remaining. Add a handful of brown sugar on top of pie and bake it on 450 for 20-25 minutes on pre-heated baking pan. Then reduce heat to 375 for about 30-40 minutes.

Must serve with vanilla ice cream. yummy. Then serve a plate for your loved ones.

Best to cool and serve at room temperature...

but I can never wait.

Smile.

photo by amy twomey

photo by ann west

photo by ann west

photo by amy twomey

{grabbing greens} spring salad

Spring is in the air, well we thought it was until they said snow again this weekend, seriously? loud sigh... Last week I actually heard the birds singing for the first time in a long time. I can not wait for this cold to pass through and be gone. I love Texas heat, and really I should not be complaining because our weather here is absolutely lovely most days. So onto the salad. I am digging salads these days. I am eating greens daily. Can't get enough, just love them. We are busy with life and as that happens less cooking is happening in the kitchen and more salads and veggies are being eaten. Easy, healthy and what I am into at the moment. I did buy a gluten free pie crust today and look forward to seeing what that evolves into this weekend.

Tonight is my daughters real birthday so we will be eating salad with her favorite "Sheppard's pie" and a special dessert that I better start making if it is going to be ready by dinner tonight!

Spring Salad by amy twomey

ingredients

organic mixed greens

walnuts

sunflower seeds

strawberries

goat cheese crumbles

poppy seed gluten free dressing

Mix all ingredients to your liking. easy as can be. fresh and absolutely delicious.

{delightful} Whoopie Pie

Whoop it up for valentines Day!

I first had a whoopie pie when my husband and I lived in Pennsylvania. We would go to the best farmers market there. Unbelievable! They had all flavors of whoopies - traditional chocolate, red velvet, pumpkin. The traditional whoopie is made with a more cake type cookies. But the 10 year old's didn't seem to mind my switch.

There is nothing healthy about this. But a treat now and then is good for the soul I say. So butter, sugar and chocolate chips it is. These treats go right to a kids heart. Sweet fluff sandwiched between two yummy cookies. And we have a few extra cookies to boot.

soft and delicious chocolate chip cookies by ann west and sue whiteside

(this recipe is one that sue and i perfected when we had our catering business - sweet classics! I can't even guess how many chocolate chip cookies we made???? too many to count for sure!)

4 1/2 cup flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cups sweet butter - soft

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 tbls corn syrup

3 eggs

2 tbls vanilla

3 cups chocolate chips

cream your butter and sugars. Add your eggs. Mix your dry ingredients and add them. Fold in your chips. Bake at 375 degree oven on parchment paper for 11 - 15 minutes depending on the size of your cookie. let cool.

Whoop - cream filling - The All American Cookie Book, by Nancy Baggett

1/3 cup shortening

1/3 cup butter - soft

1 cup powder sugar

1 1/2 tbls corn syrup

2 tsp vanilla

2 pinch salt

1 7 oz jar of marshmallow creme

With a mixer beat the shortening, butter, sugar and corn syrup, vanilla and salt until fluffy. Add the marshmallow creme until blended. Fill your cooled cookies.

note: This isn't my favorite whoop. I think I would prefer a traditional butter cream. But this one is easy and the kids LOVED it!

happy valentines day!

photo by ann west


photo by amy twomey

photo by amy twomey

photo by ann west

{delightful} rustic blackberry almond pie

by now you know I am a pie fan and I adore blackberries. Is it that darn color again (like eggplant?) I don't know. When blackberries are fresh I just love the way they pop in your mouth. Like each individual bubble bursts. They are sweet and luscious. I love the hints of blackberry in wine, the sweetness in jam, and the color ooooh - all the time. They are just beautiful!

This rustic pie is a fun way to wrap up your favorite fruit. Here I combined the blackberries with some almond paste just to see what happened. It was great! Enjoy some pie this weekend!

rustic blackberry almond pie by ann west

1 round flaky pie dough (from dollop here).

1 tube almond paste

3 cups fresh blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

squeeze of lemon

2 tbls butter - melted

Toss your berries, sugar, lemon and butter and set aside. Roll your almond paste between two sheets of wax paper into a thin round.

Roll your pie dough out into a large circle. Place the almond paste in the center. ( you may need to cut it down a bit). Mound the berries in the center of the almond paste (which is on top of the dough). Fold the edges one by one until your pie is partially covered. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a 375 degree over for 35- 45 minutes.

enjoy!