Barking Mad

The EASIEST Cookies You Will Ever Bake

I know, I've gone all "Julia Child" on you guys!  In all honesty, Julia Child is probably rolling over in her grave that I've associated her name with something that is probably closer to Redneck/WhiteTrash cooking than anything else. 

I do have another post I'm working on, about a fart...but that's all I'm saying about that right now.  It was a special fart because...well because it brought Meaghan and I closer.  Oh wait, I wasn't going to say anything more about that, was I?

Where was I?  Oh yeah, these cookies.  They are so stinkin' easy that Gaby could have made them.  They are so easy that your neighbor who is not only hard of hearing but so blind they had to take his driver's license away, could bake them!  These amazing cookies that are incredibly tasty are so easy to make that the chimpanzee you saw last week at the zoo - the one who was flinging poo at his reflection in the glass (or that could have been at you...I'm being nice.), could make these.  Yes m'dears, they are indeed that easy.

Meaghan has been begging me to make these for her and she reasoned that I should make them tonight because my blog was "all pink and shit" and these cookies are pink.  Well, kind of.   There is no denying that there is a lot of pink in the cookies.

You know the craziest thing about these cookies?  They don't have to be pink.  They can be lemon, or baby-barf brown.  They can be Funfettilicscious. They can also be plain old boring white.  In the end, it's still the same cookie, well except it's not.  But we'll get to that point in a minute.

So let's make these together...or if that isn't going to happen, you can just sit there and scroll and I'll show you the pretty pictures I took of my oft beloved, Cherry Chip Cookies.  And seriously folks, these are the easiest cookies you will ever bake!

Here's what you'll need...

 

*not pictured - 1/3 cup of water 

Ingredients

I box of any cake mix (hence the reason they can be any kind of cookie you want)

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup water 

Preheat oven to 350F degrees

And now, here's what you're going to do with the above ingredients...

 

  

 

 

Bake for 15-17 minutes

 

You don't have to ice them.  Sometimes I just sprinkle with a little powdered sugar and call it good.  Tonight I went a little crazy with the icing and drizzled half with vanilla and the other half with chocolate icing.

 

  

See?  I told you they were easy. 

You should make these.  I bet you have a box of cake mix just sitting in your cupboard.  G'on, go have a look.  I'll be right here enjoying my cookies...

 

 

Don't forget, during the entire month of October, to support the fight against breast cancer, Barking Mad is in the pink!  For every comment left on each post, we'll donate a certain amount to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.  Read more about it here!

This is Why I Don't vLog

Did I even spell that right?  Vlog, vLog, VLOG, vlog.  Who knows?  Obviously I don't.

I set out with the best of intentions...to video my attempt at making homemade bread and butter pudding with raspberry sauce, also homemade.  Gareth has a special place in his heart for bread and butter pudding.  According to my hubby, his mum, (God rest her soul), used to make the best bread and butter pudding in the entire British Isles.  I've never really tried to make any of the British staples he grew up with because his memories of those foods are so closely attached to his mum and I don't want to tarnish them.  That said, I thought, "Self, what the hell, what's the worst that can happen?"

Not only did I fail miserably at the vLog, I somehow managed to delete most of the photos, save for eight of them, and those were taken with the point and shoot and not my DSLR's.  *sigh*

Yes, there was much gnashing of teeth and wailing.  The DSLR photos were great.  Probably my best food-photography to date.  The point and shoots?  Well, not so much.  Oh well.

So here, I present into evidence why I should refrain from ever making another vLog. Oh and for the record, yes my feet are fat, horribly so, but it just so happened on the day this video was made that I was retaining about as much water as the Titanic took on before she sunk.  The summer time always means fatter-than-typical-feet for moi.  Just sayin...

I ended up having to shut little miss "under my feet" and her accomplice, Geronimo, in my bedroom until I was done.  Otherwise certain disaster was lurking around every corner.

Despite suffering a temporary plague of kittens, (how come this isn't one of the plagues mentioned in the Bible?  Because seriously, a plague of kittens is nothing to laugh at, I assure you!), Gareth proclaimed my first attempt at bread and butter pudding, "Just like me mum's!"  I could have wept out of sheer pride when he said that.  Seriously.

Putting the buttered french bread slices into the pan and then covering with a rich custard...

 

Top with raisins and set in a water bath, pop into the oven...

 

Prepare the raspberry sauce...

...and then, voila!  You have Barking Mad Bread and Butter Pudding!

 

No cats or kittens were harmed in the creation of this dessert...at least I don't think they were.

Flashbacks from the 4th

That's me, always after-the-fact.  I'm probably going to end up being late for my own funeral.  Funny that; being late for anything is one of my biggest pet peeves.

I actually have a good excuse for my latent 4th of July post.  I have recently started shooting in RAW (for those of you who don't give a rat's ass about photography, I don't mind that your eyes have already started to glaze over, vs. later on in my posts.) and not only are the image files ginormous, they take me forever to post-process.

To be blunt, the 4th of July 'round these parts of New England was pretty much a wash.  We were inundated with thunderstorms and downpours and it was wet and dreary; identical to much of the last six weeks.  So why should Independence Day be any different?  We certainly didn't gain our independence from the weather system stuck above us.

Earlier in the day, I had the hubby take the Little Imp on an adventure to go to the beach and get me some sand.  Notwithstanding the torrential downpours and the lightening slashing across the sky, they did!  He brought me back close to 30lbs of beach sand. Yeah, 30lbs.  Anyone out there in AZ want a little genuine Maine beach sand?

Why did I need some sand?  Because my luvlies, I wanted to make a centerpiece for my table. 

Voila!

Whilst I couldn't get outside to grill, I pinched a recipe from Noble Pig for sliders and despite my lack of culinary prowess, they turned out pretty damn good.  Actually, they tasted a lot like I remember the sliders from White Castle tasted.  If you haven't already checked out Noble Pig...go! Oh and don't forget to tell her I sent you!   I hate to admit that if it wasn't for her site, I'd have not gotten several last minute recipes and thus the inhabitants of the asylum would have been fending for themselves on several occasions - which equates having pizza delivered or someone getting takeout.

Sliders and fries...

Dessert was about the only thing that remotely resembled something patriotic.  Oh, and I came up with this by my very own self!  Yes, I'm proud...even more so that I didn't burn the asylum down when I lit it!

Add a sparkler and then light that baby up!



Crappy photography at it's best, but there you have it. An original Barking Mad Asylum 4th of July dessert.  You too can make this, all you need are these simple items!

I know that eventually my mom, whenever she gets back from Israel, is going to read this and say a couple of things;  "Audrey, where the hell did you get blue cake?"  and "Oiy vey! You are lazy, you could have made whipped cream rather than resorting to that crap in a can!" 

Thanks in advance mom for the helping of guilt!  Yes, I know I could have made homemade whipped cream.  However, I put this bad boy together at the last minute and I used what I had on hand.  As for the blue cake?  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!   My girl, Betty Crocker, hit me up with a white cake mix and some blue food colouring.  A little simple addition and you've got yourself a blue cake.  Smurfs everywhere will be proud.  Oh and your granddaughter was totally down with her patriotic dessert! 

Seeing as how it was pouring outside, we couldn't light any of the 50 packages of sparklers I have accumulated over the last 6 months.  Don't ask me why I have so damned many packages of sparklers.  Probably because anything more explosive than a sparkler is illegal in Maine.  I also managed to get my hands on a huge package of what I thought were "legal" fireworks here in Maine.  It also contained about another 30 packages of sparklers and tons and tons of other things I assumed were fireworks...like the kind that don't ever leave the ground, but alas, still legal in Maine.

The hubby took one look at them once I'd opened the package and knew what they were.  I was still completely in the dark (gee, big shock there!).  He started to open one and I went through the roof, yelling at him to "Don't you dare light that Goddamned thing in my house! Are you on crack? Have you lost your ever-lovin' mind?!?!"

He smacked one of the long golden tubes across his hand and as I dived under the table in anticipation of the explosion, bazillions of tiny little pieces of  multi- coloured paper started to rain down all over the kitchen.

Those "fireworks" I bought?  Yeah, they weren't so much fireworks as they were tubes of confetti. 

I can't even begin to describe the mess that ensued, show I'll show you instead.

That crap got everywhere!

Once I'd gotten the mess swept up in the kitchen (that doesn't even begin to cover the couters, the windowsill, the stove.), and into a nice little pile, the unthinkable happened.  Geronimo and Godiva decied to pounce on the pile!

I am still finding pieces of confetti all over the house and in the most unusual places. 

I was hopping into the shower the evening of the 4th and took my bra off and lo and behold, resting there between the girls were about 25 pieces of confetti.  

I took a book off the shelves on the fireplace and opened it up and out came flying several pieces of confetti.  

I was watching Griffy saunter past me yesterday and there, stuck to his ass?  Yeah, confetti.  

Being that there were no local fireworks displays on the 4th due to the rain, the local display that is put on in conjunction with Bath Heritage Days was held on the 5th. 

Megawatt, the hubby and the Little Imp all begged me to go.  The hubby told me it would be good chance to practice my night shooting and have my first go at shooting fireworks with the new camera and lenses.  Then he plied me with enough Xanax to put down an elephant and I went along.   Although, I forgot my tripod and trying to shoot fireworks without a tripod always ends badly...my shots from the fireworks display are no exception to that rule.

I think I was using the wrong lens too.

My one surprising success of the night, as far as taking pictures was concerned, was getting a half-way decent shot of La Luna...the moon.  I'm doubly tickled about this shot because I did it without a tripod, or knowing what the hell I was doing with the new camera.

Framed, in part,  by the Bath Bridge...

I have never ever been able to get a shot of the moon that resembles anything more than a speck of light against pitch black, so this little gem is near and dear to me.  See, it really is the simple things in life like this that manage to make me smile.  Well that and the fact that upon seeing this on the computer, the Little Imp looked up at me and beamed and then said, "Mumma, you are the bestest pichure taker in the world. You rock!" 

No, Little Imp...you, my dear, are the one who rocks!

Weekends at the Asylum

This is the little placard that hangs in my kitchen above my stove.   Well, it will until I get off my ass and get the microwave and rack ordered that's supposed to go above the stove.  And then I'll have to figure out another place for it, which, with my limited brain capacity, won't be easy. And because I haven't yet scheduled the electrician to come in and wire for it, it's going to be put off even more, because hey, I'm a procrastinator like that.

I digress.

The little placard is significant because it's symbolic of how things roll around here now that Megawatt is home from college as are her friends.  Of course, this weekend was steeped in even more excitement due to Megawatt swearing into the USAF on Friday morning.  It goes without saying that Friday night, several of her friends hit the asylum for dinner...spaghetti, salad and garlic bread.  The Mt. Dew flowed freely as did the laughs.

I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure the video they were watching was this one.  It never fails to amuse me, even if it is a tad cruel.

All the You Tubage was followed by much mirth and merriment (Good Lord, where do I come up with this stuff? I think I just suffered a time-warp in which I went back to Dicken's London!), around the table. 

Megawatt proudly showing off her USAF t-shirt.

I need to note a few things about Friday evening.   Megawatt regaled everyone with her "MEP's Interrogation" tale no less than 42 times.  Honestly though, it never got old.  It was amusing to me because it was the Marine's who did the interrogations and exams.   I was afraid she was either going to laugh at them during her MEP's or yell back at them.  She did laugh a couple of times but thankfully the USAF still wants her.

Before dinner I was trying to reach the sea salt in one of the higher cupboards and making some general moans and groans of discontent about other stuff falling on my head whilst trying to reach the salt.  In rushes Megawatt and proclaims, "It's OK Mom!  I'm in the Air Force now, I'll save you!"  To which I replied, "The citizens of our proud country can sleep well at night knowing you're on the job, saving your mom from being beaned by a box of cornstarch. I myself feel so much better."

The next time Megawatt bitches at me when I ask her to take the garbage out, I'm going to tell her, "Suck it up maggot!  You're in the Air Force now!" 

Maybe later on today or tomorrow I can get her to do a guest post about her entire MEP's experience.  I can't retell it quite as "colourfully" as she can.  In other words, she uses a lot of expletives but despite that, it's still quite funny.

Saturday I fooled around with my camera, begging it to give me a good reason not to switch sides and start batting for Canon.  After looking at the images I shot, of our lilacs in bloom and a couple of orange azaleas (I think they're azaleas.  This is the first year they've bloomed since we bought the house two years ago.), I'm even more undecided than ever.  In my eyes, the photos aren't as clear and crisp as they should be...not like they were when the camera was brand new anyhow.  But I'm glad I took the pictures anyhow because in the course of shooting the lilac bush and azalea, I realized that neither plant looks very healthy and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't produce blooms next year.

Considering my complete ineptitude when it comes to gardening, I'm reconsidering planting a bunch of hydrangeas.  Um yeah, I'm pretty worried that next year they'll be dead.  Perhaps I should just stick with the artificial ones that adorn my kitchen and front room?

Sunday was another dinner attended by Megawatt's friends.  For me it was bittersweet because we held it in honour of Michael Tecak who leaves on Wednesday as his Naval unit is deploying to the middle east.  He and Megawatt used to date and I still adore him.   I put together a huge Taco Bar for the kids and because Tecak loves strawberries, I made my mom's version of Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.

The guest of honour arrives...90 minutes late and drenched from playing a round of golf IN THE RAIN!

Dig in!





Oops!  Forgot to chop the tomatoes.  Oh well, I hate the nasty things anyhow!





Dessert!

Good luck Michael.  Take care of yourself over there...be safe, be well, and know that we're thinking about you and are so grateful for your service to our country!   We're going to miss you!

The Inmates Have Taken Over the Asylum

Champion Chowder...or, as the inmates are from New England, "Chowdah."

This is Megawatt and Paul coming at you live from the asylum. We just wanted to take this opportunity to share with you, the lovely readers, our delicious invention that is Champion Chowdah.

• Grill three onions and four potatoes (kick one potato into hallway for mom to find...see image below)
• Boil grilled veggies for approximately seven minutes 
• Throw in 10 pieces of already cooked bacon
• A whole stick of butter
• A decent amount pepper WITH whole pepper corns,
• A lot of Oregano
• Enough salt to cancel out the pepper
• Two cups of 1% milk,
• Three bags of three different cheeses
• And a dash of Mountain Dew.

Those are the makings of what we like to call Champion Chowdah. Oh yeah, none of this can be made on a kitchen stove, you have to *pioneer it like a champ…that’s why it’s called Champion Chowdah.

*That means you either have to cook it on your grill/BBQ or over a roaring bonfire if that's what it takes.

 ***Disclaimer***: If you are ready to gain 10 pounds of pure muscle instantly, Champion Chowdah is not for you. Also if you don’t want your ass to explode I highly recommend you NOT digest any Champion Chowdah. Basically if you’re not a champ/have no desire to become a champ, this is not for you.

Now I’m sure you’re asking yourselves, “How did these kids come up with something like that?”  To be honest we’re not sure…All we can tell you is to leave two 19 year olds home alone with a barbecue and I’m sure they’ll come up with a nice little treat of their own.

Megawatt and I thought we would share this life changing experience with you from two perspectives, the head chef (Megawatt) and the spectator/facilitator (Paul).  The spectator job was harder than it sounds. I had to make sure no harm befell the house…or us, as a result of harm befalling the house.  Megawatt's mom would have busted an entire can of "harm" on us had anything happened to her house, or her kitchen, which is why *pioneering the chowdah was important!

The head chef, me Megawatt, was out on a lovely day, sitting in a lawn chair looking at the BBQ. I mean it was a beautiful day so I decided I would pioneer the hell out of some onions. I then got the brilliant idea to boil them on the side burner. Then I remembered that onion soup was better out of a Lipton soup packet. I thought for a moment and looked at Paul and the idea came to my mind, potato soup! I grilled away because I needed to prove to Paul, the male figure here, that I, a woman, can grill. What better way to do it than with potatoes?

 

 I realized then that we had a great invention. Champion Chowdah.  After putting a stick of butter in the pot, Paul told me he would no longer “eat the effing onion soup”. Oh but he eventually did. He was a champion! I proceeded to add the rest of my ingredients in and let it bubble away on the grill. 

I dished up Paul, my mom, and me a huge bowl of chowdah each. My mom didn’t like it at all and I think there might even have been some gagging on her part, but Paul and I ate it and are therefore complete champions. My mom? Not so much.

There were only two things that came to mind for me, Paul the spectator, during the creation of this lovely dish. “I fucking HATE onions!” and “seriously Meg? A whole stick of butter?”

 

Paul trying to choke down some chowdah...

To conclude this post, we'd just like to say that the Champion Chowdah did not taste as good as it smelled.

Megawatt and Paul

Post Script: A Mother's Observations

Oh.My.God. 

So this is what they get up to when I'm not around. 

I walk into the house after a doctor's appointment to find a lone potato in the hallway (see above photo) and both kids out on the back deck (Paul is here so much that we are claiming him as a dependent on next years taxes...not that I mind or anything!), cooking a pot of "something" on the side burner of the grill.  Megawatt notices the perplexed expression on my face and says, "Oh hey mom!  We're cooking some chowdah out here and we're totally pioneering the shit out of it!"  To which I reply, "Yeah well, you know, we have a stove, electricity, hot and cold running water INSIDE the house?" 

Megawatt brushed off my questions and continued in her attempt to prove to Paul that Girls Can Grill.

Long story short...I give them both 5 stars for the effort and a big fat 0 for taste.  The only way I can describe it is to tell you that the potatoes were dreadfully undercooked and that the onions overpowered EVERYTHING.  Well OK, the taste of bonfire smoke overwhelmed everything, because that's exactly what their concoction tasted like...a bonfire!

Oddly enough, feeling the need to one-up each other again, the two of them set out to out "push up" the other. 

Geronimo coached each kiddo along...well OK, he annoyed the crap out of them, batting at their heads and trying to grab a nose here or there.

 

 

My arms hurt just watching all of this...

 

Resting afterward, Paul telling Megawatt that he was sure he out pushed her by 2...

 

I have no clue how many push ups each of them actually ended up doing.  I had dry heaves just watching them try to one-up each other.

A word to Paul and Megawatt...next time use one of the damn cookbooks!

BBQ's, Bonfires, and Bugspray...the Ingredients for a Perfect Memorial Day Weekend

This is yet another one of my posts where there are far more photos than words.  So sit back, make yourself comfortable and give the page some time to load.   I'll let most of the photos tell the story of our weekend.

Saturday Megawatt had a "Welcome Home" BBQ/bash for her friends coming home from college and a couple of her Navy friends about to deploy out of the area.   Among those deploying out this summer are Katie and Anthony; Katie (don't be shy, surf the asylum archives and get to know Katie and Anthony!)  is one of Megawatt's BFF's and Anthony is her hubby who serves in the US Navy.  Katie also attended St. Joe's this year and over the past two years has become like a daughter to me.  To say I am going to miss them is an understatement.  The Little Imp also adores Katie as you can plainly see...

Here are some of the other ingredients that went into making this weekend a blast!

A few friends, chillin' inside before everyone else gets here...



A certain kitten with a penchant for being where your feet are about to be - IN THE WAY!



Plenty of condiments for burgers and dogs!



Chips and dips...



Lots of corn on the cob...



...And lots and lots of these, simply because they are Michael Tekac's favourite thing on the planet (he's Megawatt's ex, and I still happen to adore him!) and he's about to deploy out to the hot, arid, desert of the middle east.

Toss in...

Megawatt's boyfriend, Kevin, helping string lights around the deck...



Food, friends, and song around a roaring bonfire...



...and more fun and songs...







...and a surly toddler who is bound and determined to NOT miss a single thing going on, especially after her mommy tells her it's time for a bath...



Once the fires have died down, you bring the ingredients inside. 

A little "male-bonding" time is important...





Toss in a female...







Of course, some of us prefer a story before bed...



A good time was had by all.  Full tummies, lots of laughs and memories. And for two certain furballs, enough snuggles and scritches and scratches behind the ears to send them both off to dreamland.

You know it's been a damn good weekend when you crawl into bed, utterly exhausted, but happy, and your hubby turns over to kiss you goodnight and he tells you, "Luv, you smell of wood fire and bug spray."  How's that for romance?

Finally, For Katie, here's the recipe you asked for.  It's super easy and as you can tell, it's hardly a recipe.

Asylum Salsa

Ingredients...

Olive oil
corn
black beans
good salsa
cilantro for garnish

It's as easy as 1,2,3! 







I always make sure, when I make this, that I brown the corn a little.



I tend to use a better quality salsa, Gringo being one of my favs.

Add everything together...



Garnish with cilantro (I forgot this time) and voila!

Tomorrow I'll post a bit more from Memorial Day itself.  We packed up the fam, dragged Zach B., (another of Megawatt's BFF's) with us and went out to Pemequid Beach.

Eggs for Idiots

My husband, well, in a word, he's brilliant.  The man thinks of everything. Here, I'll even give you a perfect example.

Last week I was cleaning out the fridge and pulled the carton of eggs out so that I could clean the shelf they were on.   For some reason I happened to notice there was a "Use Before" date on the carton.  Now, a certain person, who shall remain nameless, says that me noticing that this date even existed was an act of God -- there can be no other explanation for it and that I most probably would have left them in there and used them, potentially giving everyone food poisoning. 

Anyhow, I have never before noticed that eggs had a "Use Before" date on the carton.  Don't get me wrong, I am aware that everything eventually goes bad, and that includes things that shoot out of a chickens underside. I just never really thought about it actually applying to eggs in the fridge.  Frankly I have always been of the opinion that hell, if they didn't hatch, they were good to go!  And honestly, eggs really don't last that long around here.  We're either baking them, scrambling them, poaching them or deviling them...and when we're really desperate we throw them at people we don't like make souffles that always fall flat, with them.

However, I honestly have never given any consideration that eggs did indeed have a shelf life. To date, not one single person has ever been made ill by my cooking.  I think it's important to throw that out there. 

So I stood there, looking at this carton of eggs; staring at the "Use Before" date -- the hubby says I was looking at it the way someone from 1452 might look at a cell phone, and I called to him:

Me:  Hey hun, have a look at this. These eggs have a "Use Before" date on them.  I have never ever noticed eggs have this.  Hmmmm.

The Hubby:  *mouth hanging open*  You're joking me, right?  Luv, of course they have a "Use Before" date.  You don't think something that comes from a chicken's bum is going to last forever do you?

Me:  Don't look at me like that.  I know they aren't exactly Willy Wonkas Everlasting Gobstoppers.  But I honestly had no idea their shelf life was so short.  You know, I think I've even baked cakes and cookies with eggs that had been in the fridge a good two months.

The Hubby: *turns a grayish/green colour and shakes his head*  Right, you're spot on that they have a "Use Before" date.  Good thing for all of us you finally discovered this.

Me:  Yeah, OK.

The next day the hubby and the Little Imp went grocery shopping and one of the things on the list was a dozen eggs. When they returned home, the Little Imp comes running in and says, rather enthusiastically, "Mumma, daddy got you sumfing good!"  I couldn't help but get excited too.  She was smiling from ear to ear and jumping around on one foot.  Something worthy of a one-footed jump had to be awesome! 

I dig into the groceries and the hubby points to these...

 

Me:  Wow, organic, cage free eggs.  We've had organic cage free eggs before though.  Are these what Imp is so excited about?

The Hubby:  Oh but these are special eggs.  Have a look at one, luv.  G'on.

I open the eggs and at first glance they appear to be ordinary, large brown eggs.   I look at them again, turn one over in my hands and for the hell of it, shake it.

The Hubby:  No no...here, look right here, see what it says?

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, Idiot Proof Eggs.

My husband, like I said, thinks of everything.   I also think he's thinking about self-preservation in the event that I don't happen to notice the "Use Before" date on the carton, that I'll certainly notice the "Use By" date on the damn egg itself, thereby avoiding any potential food poisoning.

Such a thoughtful soul.

Well Slap My Ass and Call Me Paddy O'Rourke!

Yeah, I know St. Patrick's Day was yesterday.  I didn't want to bump the Extreme Twilight Giveaway post so I waited until today to post my silly tribute to all things green, Irish and in my case, cooking disasters.   Oh and I learned a HUGE lesson about beer yesterday too.  Food colouring does something to the taste of beer...good, imported Belgian beer.  My last bottle of good, imported, Belgian beer no less.  That'll teach me to use Belgian beer on an Irish holiday.  

Despite feeling like ass (and looking like one too!), I dragged my ginormous behind out of bed, tossed some spices and bay leaves in with the pot of water and set the corned beef brisket to boilin' on the stove.  I was literally drooling in anticipation of the heavenly aroma filling the kitchen and the rest of the house. I was also very grateful that my sense of smell and taste finally came back yesterday. 

 

Next on my menu was creating my interpretation of a St. Patty's Day cake.  I originally called it a Leprechaun Cake, however once it was baked and frosted - if you can even call what I did to it, "frosting it", I realized it was worthy of another, more suitable name, but I don't know what that is because what do you call a baked concoction that looks like a leprechaun exploded from the center of it?   I'm totally open to suggestions at this point.

Ladies and gentleman, I present you with..."It"

 

 

Despite outward appearances, it was pretty tasty.  However, I'll never get all that green food colouring off my hands and especially my fingertips.  It looks like my hands have begun to mold.

Moving on to the evening's beverage.   It sure was pretty, but I will never, no not ever in the name of another ethnic holiday, add food colouring to good beer ever again.  I ruined my very last Stella Artois and that stuff ain't cheap!

Once the brisket was done boiling I added my yummy glaze (pineapple juice, brown mustard and light brown sugar) and popped it in the oven whilst the potatoes, carrots and eventually the cabbage went for a dip in the boilin' pot!   At this point the house smelled....WONDERFUL!

 

Get in mah belly!

 

All in all, regardless of the fact that St. Patty's Day landed on the heels of me being monumentally ill, it was a pretty tasty day.

Now, what the hell can I do to a cake for the Easter holiday? 

 

P.S.... If our St. Patty's Day culinary adventures haven't already bored you to sleep, don't forget - especially for all you die-hard Twilight fans, that I'm hosting an epic Twilight giveaway! Well, OK that's a slight exaggeration considering the fact that for it to be called "epic", I'd have to be giving away Edward Cullen himself.  And believe me, as much as I adore you all, and despite my intense crush on Jasper Hale, if Edward Cullen found himself in my home for whatever reason, he would not, under ANY circumstances, be leaving. 

P.S.S....Oh and tomorrow, as in Thursday, my own "Betcha Didn't Know" goes up!  Oiy!

Marmite Bites and Curry Cusses

Last week, right before the new year, the hubby and I hosted a "British Night" at our home and Megawatt invited some of her friends over...well, who am I kidding?  These kids are here all the time and at this point, I could probably declare them as dependents on our tax return.  Anyhow Megawatt had been asking me to make curry again and I decided I'd plan an entire menu around common food you'd find around the table in England.

And yes, I planned on making a fairly HOT curry.  A Vindaloo.  I also had the hubby go down to the local British shoppe and get some other little odds and ends to complete the evening...like British candies, biscuits (cookies) and some Ribena which I promptly forgot about.  Oh well.  At least the little packages of Minstrels made it to the table.

I made little place cards for each setting and even put something else on the table which I thought was kind of funny!

Yes m'dears, that is a fire extinguisher in the background.

The evening wouldn't have been complete without appetizers consisting of this stuff on toast points...

I made sure we had plenty of this stuff as well!

In the interest of full disclosure I think I should mention that I abhor both curries and marmite.  But far be it from me to enjoy watching others eat it.  And enjoy it I did!

Here's the video of the kids trying the Marmite.  Please excuse the shakiness of the video.  I was laughing so hard that it made it damn near impossible to keep my hands still.  And the laughing...good Lord I had no idea what a horrible sound that is...COMING FROM ME!   Just the same, it's pretty hilarious!

Zack post-marmite

Abby - trying to be brave post-marmite

Megawatt about to barf, post-marmite

Paul was trying to man-up after eating the toast point! Yeah, I know what you REALLY thought!

Sadly, all I have as far as the curry goes is this lovely picture of it bubbling away on the stove.  I don't know what I did to the video I uploaded, but I managed to screw it up.  You're not surpised are you?

Surpisingly, the kids loved it.  I broke out some chocolate milk and pineapple to cool off burning tongues but whether they were being nice or not, they all said they'd come over and eat if I made it again. 

Desert consisted of a fresh raspberry crumble that I threw together at the last minute, served with hot English custard (another British shoppe fav of ours that we always have tons of, in the house!) that the kids devoured!

For the most part, I pulled this recipe out of my ass and it turned out awesome!  Nothing more to it than three bags of frozen raspberries covered in 4 tablespoons of sugar with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.  The topping is 1 cup flour, 2 cups oatmeal, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 sticks of butter and 1 tablespoon white sugar.  Bake at 400 for 45 minutes.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Because I Know No One Wants to Know What Colour the Kitchen Is...

When life gives you snow....11+ inches since 11AM today with another 10-14" more predicted...

(You can't see it very well, but if you click the image it will enlarge just enough to show how hard it's coming down - this was at 10:30AM this morning.)

...what's a mom to do?

Make chili! Tailgate Chili to be precise!

And we all know that chili without a little heat (OK, that's more than just a little heat...two jalapenos!), isn't really chili at all!  Of course I'll probably be bitching about it tomorrow.

Ofcourse, one of the best parts of the chili is comin' right up!

I LOVE making chili this time of year.  The colours are festive and the house smells wonderful whilst it's bubbling away on the stove.

I added a few more ingredients and now I have lovely thick, deep red chili goodness cooking the afternoon away atop the stove. 

I know a couple of people (one of which is learning to use a snow blower for the first time ever and being dragged down the driveway by it!), who will appreciate it!

Photos are fuzzy due to being taken through a window and screen

Like I said, the blower was literally pulling her behind it!  I don't think she minded too much.

There, that's better!  She's got control of it, finally!

So, are you bored silly yet, or just thankful that you aren't sitting under almost 2 feet of snow (from the last two days worth of snow) and having to deal with clearing your driveway and walkways only to have to do it all over again two hours later?

This certainly had to be better than being bored stiff by photos of three teenagers painting my kitchen and then themselves and then MY HAIR (yes there are pictures, no, I don't know if I'm going to post them! And yes, you can see the new colour of the kitchen in the pictures above), didn't it?