Yummy Cake!

 

 

I mentioned in Tuesday's post that I'm not so good on decorating cakes.  While I definitely don't claim to be the world's best baker either, I'm happy when I can make a cake from scratch and it come out pretty yummy. 

 

 

I tried a white cake recipe a few years ago for Ryan's birthday and I wasn't that pleased with the overall taste.  It seemed heavy and just kind-of blah.  I hadn't been searching a new recipe out, but came across a recipe through a good source, on Pinterest of course, a few weeks before Colin's birthday and figured I'd give it a go. 

 

 

 I was a little nervous.  I didn't have some of the things that she says you needed or highly recommended.  IE Cake Flour, a sifter, a mixer with a paddle attachment, a scale, or a cooling rack.  I didn't even know there was even such a thing as Cake Flour, and/or what a paddle attachment was.  I have an electric mixer, but it doesn't work on the stand very well, so normally I just hold it.  And even though it says there are 7 speeds, there is pretty much fast, faster, and crazy fast.  So when the recipe says beat at a low speed, that doesn't really work for me.

 

 

I read through the recipe carefully, and her notes on the bottom, and it still seemed doable.  Which, by the way, just in case you don't have Cake Flour on hand (they don't even sell it at the Commissary here), she has a link at the bottom to one of her other posts with how to substitute it.

 

 

On the same post she also has her recipe for Whipped Vanilla Frosting.  It was simple; but again I was a little nervous as I don't have a sifter.  It seemed to turn out just fine though.  I just had a lot left over.  I'm assuming it's because I didn't have as many layers to put icing in between.

 

 

Just about the only thing I did differently was I used my large springform pan, about 10" I think, to create a wider 2-layer cake, opposed to her suggested 8" 4-layer cake.  That alteration in itself made me nervous.  All her instructions and calculations seem to be perfectly thought out.  I wasn't sure if there was a reason behind the 4 layers.  The recipe also states it serves 10, but I was able to get much more than that.

 

 

So, without further ado....

 

 

Sweetapolita:  How to Make a (Perfectly Delightful) Vanilla Birthday Cake

 

 

 

 

Considering it's late Monday night as I'm typing this, and there is only a tiny sliver left I would have to agree that it is Delightful! 

 

 

I love me some sweets.  The best way to not eat them it to make them disappear.  And of course the best way to make them disappear is to eat them.  Hehe.

 

 

If you scroll far enough down on her page she has a few personal notes on the recipe and she claims that the icing tastes like ice cream.  I didn't really make the connection, but Ryan did.  He stated today after eating a piece, "Mom, the blue icing tastes like ice cream!" 

 

 

I honestly wasn't sure how I felt about it while eating my first piece (almost seemed too sweet), but after having a few more (hehe) I will be permanently adding this to my recipe book!  If you try it, let me know what you think!



Homemade Donuts!

 

We had our first attempt at some homemade donuts a few weekends ago.  They weren't anything like Top Donuts (in TX); which we miss our monthly Saturday morning trip too....but they're still donuts!  And donuts are GOOD!

 

 

 

We even had a few friends come over and join us!

Tim skipped on the donuts and enjoyed some fried Oreos for breakfast instead!  (If you haven't ever had a fried Oreo you need to put that on your To Do list ASAP!!!)

 



Tim did 99% of the work that morning, plus cleaned up the kitchen while Marque and I chatted it up in the other room and when we came out of the room we found this....

 



 

{Love.} 

Homemade {Strawberry Lemonade}

If you remember about a week or so ago, we went to a local Strawberry Field to pick some of the amazing goodness right off the vine!  To be perfectly honest, we aren't HUGE strawberry eaters.  (Don't judge!)  I knew we would eat some of them, but probably not all.  I had plans to make a jam.  Finally got the pectin I needed, and a recipe from a friend, but then realized I had no jars to put it in.  I'll be working on that these next few weeks! 

Onto the next best thing...Strawberry Lemonade!!!  I have been using Pinterest more as a "Google" lately and after looking at a couple links I was able to find this great, yet very simple, recipe.

What you need:

A small container of fresh strawberries.  (I just filled one of our bigger breakfast bowls full.)

1 cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice. (I used 6 lemons to get 1 cup of juice, but they were LARGE lemons.  I would also buy one or two extras just in case you have any....uhummm..spillage...uhummm)

1 cup of white sugar

6 cups of cool water

Wash the strawberries and cut off the green part.  In a blender add the strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar.  Blend till nice and smooth.  (I don't own a blender..again..no judging, but I do have a Bullet so I just did half at a time.)  Pour into a pitcher and add 6 cups of cool water.  Mix well and pour over ice to enjoy!!

This recipe makes a little over 1/2 gallon.  As I have never made homemade lemonade of any kind, I was a little nervous with how "frothy" it looked, but it tasted delicious!  Just make sure you shake/stir well before each serving as it tends to separate in the pitcher.  In our pitcher there is probably only enough left for one more glass, and we made it yesterday!  It's a perfect summer treat!

The only thing I would like to do different next time is find a use for all the lemon peel/meat I threw away!  I felt like I was wasting something that could have been put to better use.  If you have any great recipes/ideas to help me with that I'd love to hear!

That Was Easy {Breakfast Granola}

Once again, another recipe I put off for no reason really.  I'm SO glad I finally did it!  It's super cheap, fast, and oh so yummy!  I used a recipe that my friend posted on her blog.  Here's what you need:

 

1 cup Quick Oats

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup shredded coconut

3 TBls Vegetable Oil

2 TBls Honey

 

Preheat to 350.  Mix the Oats, almonds, and coconut in a bowl.  Mix the Oil and Honey in a separate bowl and pour over the oat mixture.  Stir it around to coat all the oats.  {I have been mixing my oil and honey in a small measuring cup.  I have also been using local honey which seems to be thicker so I'll pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to make it easier to blend with the oil.}

Pour onto a baking sheet with sides.  A jelly roll pan works well.  I have also been lining mine with Parchment Paper just in case.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Stir it around, then bake for another 8-10 minutes until browned.  Let it cool and store it in an air-tight container.

 

I doubled this recipe the first time I made it..with a little less almonds since that's all I had.  It was amazing!  The boys and I have been eating this for breakfast with Stonyfield's French Vanilla Organic Yogurt (the only yogurt you can buy in the "bulk" size at the Commissary, but I'm not complaining!)!  Ryan even requested it for breakfast the other morning, finishing off the little we had left!

We already made a second batch, and we tripled the recipe!  Honestly, the hardest part is not to eat all of it off the tray when it comes out of the oven!  SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!  (Thanks again Krystle for another great, simple recipe to use!!)  Just typing this up is making me hungry and I think I might go eat some right now!

That Was Easy! {Homemade Laundry Soap}

There are a few things that I have tried lately that leave me saying, "Well, that was easy!  Why didn't I do that sooner?!  Why did I put that off for so long?!"

Perfect example...Homemade Laundry Soap.

I didn't have the need to make my own for a while as we had gotten a large supply of soap "free" when we purchased a water-softening system for our home in Oklahoma.  I had run out shortly before we left Texas, but knew the movers would not move any liquids, so I just did store-bought the last few months. 

I was hesitant to try it since moving over here.  Not to mention that they don't even carry all the ingredients you need at the Commissary (and there's only 3 to choose from!)  My friend, Marque, though had already ordered what was needed and she shared the wealth!  I went out in search for 5 gallon buckets and was only able to find 2.5 gallon buckets.  But, it actually worked in our favor since we don't have a lot of extra storage space for a 5 gallon bucket and I can pick up the 2.5 gallon bucket!!!

I had previously marked my friend's blog for her recipe to use when I was ready, but since Marque had all the ingredients, she just measured out what I needed, wrote down her recipe for me, and I did the rest.

Even after having it handed over to me like that, I put it off for probably another week and a-half/two weeks.  I like to take my time on projects...especially when trying something new.  I'm always afraid I'm going to miss a step and mess something up.  I had other projects that required my full attention during nap time/after the boys' bedtime, so this one kept getting put off.  Finally, one Monday morning I told myself I'd just do it.  It probably took me about 15 minutes total!!!  Leaving me saying, "Well, that was easy!"

Here's the recipe we used (Keep in mind this is for 2.5 gallons!! So if you have a 5 gallon bucket just double it, or use the other recipe I listed)....

1 bar soap, grated  (A lot of other recipes will say Fels Naptha, but they don't carry that here so we used a bar of Ivory soap.)

1/2 cup washing soda  (they don't have that here either.)

1/2 cup borax

Easy enough...

1. Melt all your ingredients in a pan in 3 cups of water over medium heat
2. Pour into bucket and add water to make 2.5 gallons.  Stir.
3. Let it sit overnight to thicken.
4. Stir.  Fill empty bottle half full with detergent and half full with water.
5. Shake bottle well before each use.
6. Use 1/2 cup per load.

Makes about 180 loads!!!!

I've used it for the last two weeks and it seems to be working great! 

Homemade {All-Purpose Cleaning Solution}

I finally did it!!!  I have mixed my own all-purpose cleaning solution!  I originally saw the idea just over a year ago when my friend posted the link on her blog here.  I have used straight vinegar water for cleaning in the past, but I loved the added benefits of the lavender and thyme. 

(Photo credit)

I had bought a bottle of all-purpose cleaner from the Commissary soon after we arrived here.  It was supposed to have a lemon fresh scent...but to me it seemed to resemble urine.  Gross.  I was ready to make this happen!  The original recipe is found on Herb Mentor News here.  I took the article's suggestion and ordered what I needed here from Mountain Rose Herbs.  My husband has never been fond of the vinegar scent and I wasn't sure how he would feel about the other two scents I would be adding, but I decided to go ahead and order some Lime Peel Extract as well to add to it.  I also loved that on Mountain Rose Herbs they gave explanations of the uses of each of the extracts as well as what other scents they blended well with.

I received the box about two weeks after I made my order.  Not too bad for shipping overseas.  The recipe states that you need 1 cup of the lavender and thyme, but I wasn't 100% sure on how much to order from Mountain Rose Herbs.  I ended up ordering the 8 oz bag of each and it was plenty!  I can easily get about five more rounds out of them (I think).  (I'm assuming they will last that long.  I have no idea if they come with an "expiration date".  I'm new to this.)  I paid right around $25.00, including shipping.  I'm sure if you look around your area you could find what you need local.  There are some things though where my time is more valuable than my money.  For me, paying the shipping was worth it!  For future use though (as long as it doesn't expire), I would probably even order the larger bags.

I have been using the cleaner for everything!!!  The vinegar smell was still super strong for Tim, so I watered my mixture down a bit and it still does a great job of getting all sorts of messes up.  I have already come to love the smell and easily associated it with my house being clean!  To be easy on my husband though I try to do most of my cleaning during the day when he is gone that way it doesn't bother him.  There are some times that I can't avoid it when he's home, but I'll just try and crack a window in the room and the smell doesn't linger long.

I was having trouble with major streaks on our bathroom mirrors using this solution though.  I'm not sure I strained the liquid well enough before putting in the spray bottle, which might be the problem.  I didn't want to fret over it though, so I just picked up another small spray bottle and just mixed some plain vinegar water and I've been using that for our mirrors/windows. 

One other thing I love about this is that it is a great encouragement to ideas realized!  Seriously.  I marked this ONE YEAR ago as something I wanted to do!  There are still many things on my list of things I want to try...homemade laundry soap, homemade bread, wood projects, vegetable garden, etc.  Not all of them will be accomplished tomorrow, but hopefully, over time, I will get to them.