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What’s Up Wednesday

What’s Up Wednesday is a monthly compilation of

What’s Up

 posted on a

Here goes…

What we’re eating

I mentioned in this post that I could live on orange soda and rotisserie chicken.  Once upon a time, that was my diet.  But at the beginning of this year, I took part in the Daniel Fast for 21 days.  On the menu… Plants and Water.  Think BEANS, GREENS, POTATOES, RICE, and LENTILS.

This is mixed salad greens doused with my homemade chickpea dressing and a sprinkle of Tajin chili-lime seasoning.

Interestingly enough, I enjoyed the Daniel Fast and I am proud of my success.  Also, I like the way that I feel.  I am still following a whole food plant based diet.  LB is half following.

Now that the 21 days has ended, I’m drinking coffee in the morning again, but with almond/coconut creamer only. This one is pretty good. Hummus has replaced rotisserie chicken as my new favorite.  But I am once again enjoying my orange soda on the weekend!

~

What I’m Reminiscing About

The GOOD OLE DAYS.

I must be getting old.

~

What We’ve Been Up To

Last week I made a birthday cake.  A four-tiered birthday cake.  It took four days.

This was a learning experience that included cake boards and dowels.  I baked the ten inch layers on Wednesday, the eight, six, and four inch layers on Thursday, applied the crumb coat on Friday, and put it all together on Saturday.  Although the finished product was pretty ugly, the princess who ordered it seemed pleased.

~

What I’m Loving

Yes it was worth it!

~

What I’m Dreading

Four years of the Biden/Harris administration.

~

What I’m Working On

Trying to come up with content for my blog.  Now that I rarely go anywhere, it isn’t as interesting to post about what has been going on.

If I report my thoughts about politics any more than I already have, I may be cancelled 😆

~

What I’m Excited About

Daylight Saving Time

which begins on the 2nd Sunday in March.

Yes it is true that we are going to lose an hour, but I prepared for this and took the following Monday off.

~

What I’m Watching/Reading

With my 21 day Daniel Fast book came a devotional.

Since that 21 day experience ended, I have been reading my Bible every morning.  It only takes 21 days to form a habit.

~

What I’m Listening To

since I’m increasingly and overwhelmingly disgusted with MSM, I’ve been listing to alternate news, for example     AndWeKnow  on Rumble.

~

What I’m Wearing

I haven’t bought into the lounge-wear trend.  So I am currently wearing jeans.

Every.

Day.

~

What I’m Doing This Weekend

I absolutely will  NOT be baking LOL!

At the moment I anticipating sleeping in on Saturday morning.  Nothing has been planned at this point.  Going out isn’t as much fun as it used to be, mostly because I can’t breathe under a mask.

This is why I reminisce about the good ole days.

~

What I’m Looking Forward to Next Month

Spring!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Put the Lime in the Coconut

Occasionally LB will tell Alexa to play

Put the Lime in the Coconut

 

Me:

via GIPHY

It is a slightly irritating song.

But since LB likes “Put the Lime in the Coconut”, and he needs a cake today, I decided I would create a new recipe using lime and coconut.

Recently LB bought coconut thinking I added it to the grocery list (which I did not) and now I have 3 bags of coconut.  He has also made sure that we don’t run out of lemons and limes.  Some of the limes are starting to shrivel and need to be used for something good.

Now I have extra coconut, limes, and [I almost forgot] I have a can of coconut milk that was recently purchased just to support GOYA…So here we go!

 

Put the Lime in the Coconut Bundt Cake

is adapted from a recipe by Amber at Dessert Now, Dinner Later!  (Lime Bundt Cake) who may have adapted it from a recipe by Stephanie at Plain Chicken (Ritz Carlton Lemon Pound Cake).
I did my best to write the recipe in my own words, but alas, there are only so many ways you can list ingredients.

 

Lime in the Coconut Bundt Cake

  • Servings: 16
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Yield 16 servings

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, room temperature
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 cup canned coconut milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp coconut extract
  • 1 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • zest of 1 lime

Glaze:

  • 3 to 4 Tbsp lime juice
  • zest of 1 lime
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Spray or grease/flour a large bundt pan.
  2. Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl.
  3. In a stand mixer, cream together butter, coconut oil, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
  4. Shake the coconut milk then open and measure one cup.  Add extracts to milk.
  5. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and coconut milk to the butter mixture. Starting and ending with dry ingredients, mixing  just until combined.
  6. Mix in coconut and lime zest until just incorporated.
  7. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan.  Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then out onto a plate and cool completely.
  8. Make the glaze by whisking the ingredients together to desired consistency, adding more lime juice to thin, or more powdered sugar to thicken. Pour over cooled cake. Slice and serve. Store cake in an air tight container up to 5 days.

Try it!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

It has been 3 weeks since I published a blog post!  I have drafts that I’ve started and not found the motivation to finish.  Even my Friday Favorites, which is a fairly easy post, has been missing.

I wonder if it is because every day feels like the same day?

via GIPHY

Occasionally it is a bit depressing.  There are moments when I know that ‘I’ve got this’ but  sometimes it gets me down.  Typically on Mondays.

But today is Friday and I don’t have to work for TWO days so I’m going to celebrate!  Starting with

Favorite # ONE

another

CAKE

I’ve made several recently, but this cake was for a special occasion

Favorite # TWO

Lydia’s birthday celebration

She came to Florida so her extended family could celebrate her. There we are… social distancing.

~

Glammy got some extra celebration time when Lydia and Rory came to spend the night; we FINALLY got to have our long awaited Barbie pool party!

~

Before bedtime we watched

Favorite # FOUR

Trolls World Tour

(also Lydia’s favorite)

via GIPHY

It was actually Lydia’s idea.  And a very good idea… such a cute movie!

~

Favorite # FIVE

Sleepovers

LB and I pulled the mattress off of the bed in Richard’s old room and set it up in front of the television to watch Trolls World Tour.

The sleepover began like thisAnd ended like this

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

The first full week of November began with a challenge from my November 1st  Birthday Girl

Stephanie

She sent me a pin on Pinterest which was a link to the current birthday cake of her dreams.

This qualifies as one of my Friday Favorites!

 🎂

Favorite # ONE

The Birthday Cake Challenge

I’m always up for a baking challenge and I’d likely be more successful if I’d follow the recipe.

The Frosted Animal Cookie Cake with four layers of cake, three layers of filling, and white chocolate buttercream frosting topped with pink ganache (pause to catch breath) took me three evenings to complete.

For the most part, I followed this recipe from lifeloveandsugar.com, however in order to finish quickly, I used a box white cake mix:I think she likes it!

Bonus information: 1,088 calories in 1 slice of a 14 serving cake

😱

Favorite # TWO

A

Birthday Dinner

with three of my favorite ladies

The family was scattered on Stephanie’s birthday and we weren’t able to gather together to celebrate.  In an attempt to make her day special, I had Mama, Stephanie, and Amanda come to my house for dinner.

We had something I never imagined I would include in my blog

🍟

Favorite # THREE

Poutine

It sounds weird and it is weird, but it was Stephanie’s request.

The meaning of the word poutine is from a Québécois slang word meaning “mess”.

It is fries with gravy and cheese curds and MUST be eaten with a fork.

THIS RECIPE is a good one!

~

Favorite # FOUR

Face-Time

While we were together, Emily and the baby girls face timed Stephanie to wish her a happy birthday.

We all enjoyed a teeny little visit together.

It is essential to stay in touch with family!

Moments after I left for work today, LB received the news that his Dad passed away early this morning.

For the past few years LB has made regular visits with his Dad, typically on Friday afternoons.  Although this is a heartbreaking time for him, LB is happy for making time to visit and maintain a close relationship with his Dad.

We have attended church with him on Father’s Day a few times and it was on one of those occasions that I snapped this photo

Favorite # FIVE

A picture is worth a  thousand words but the memories are priceless!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites Valentines Day Edition

Today has been a GREAT day.  Not only because it is Friday, but because it is a day away from the office!

This week my Friday Favorites are all about

Valentine’s Day

 

Favorite # ONE

Conversation Hearts

While conversation hearts candies are cuteAnd Conversation Hearts donuts are a real treat

A Conversation Hearts Cake is a work of art!

Last Saturday, I made one!

Favorite # TWO

A Work of Art

Found on Pinterest and commissioned by my daughter-in-law for her Valentine’s Day baby’s first birthday.

It is a heart shaped chocolate cake [Duncan Hines] covered in the best homemade buttercream frosting ever and “decorated” with red sprinkles!

Favorite # THREE

Flowers and Chocolate

Who wouldn’t want flowers and chocolate on Valentine’s Day?

LB always makes sure to let me know that He is My Valentine and I am His!On Valentine’s Day LB sent me a beautiful arrangement of daisies and roses!

Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flowers?

In addition to the flowers, LB surprised me with a box of Pecan Delights.

I’ll be hiding these in my closet.

 

Favorite # FOUR

This

Red Blouse

that I FOUND in the back of my closet.

Although I look like a toy soldier in this photo, I was happy to find something red to wear on Valentine’s Day.

Favorite # FIVE

This Valentine’s Day Baby

Rory was born on February 14, 2018.  We celebrated her birthday on Saturday.

Hey Girl!

This is a photo of her enjoying her very own pink cake…

with a special photo bomb [under the highchair] by Levi.  Not sure what that was about, or if anyone else noticed, but I thought it was too cute and worth sharing!

Thank you for the cake Glammy!

Here’s some for your face!

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

It has been a less than satisfactory week.

Even Friday was a disappointment.   Nevertheless, I DO have

Friday Favorites

to share.

Favorite # ONE

Groundhog Day

was a good day.

Groundhog Day is a celebrated tradition that is based on superstition.

Observed in the U.S. [and Canada] on February 2nd and originating with the Pennsylvania Dutch, it is said that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day sees a shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its burrow and winter will persist for six more weeks.  However, if it is cloudy, and no shadow appears, the spring season will arrive early (source).

On February 2nd, the groundhog predicted an early spring.  It was the 19th time in the past 133 years that an early spring has been predicated by the little furball (source).

Instead of celebrating as the good folks of Punxsutawney do, LB and I gathered with some of my favorite people to celebrate a special birthday… which brings me to

Favorite # TWO

Mama’s Birthday

Although we celebrated this special day on February 2nd, her birthday is January 31st. She appeared to be having a good time.See that cake???

Favorite # THREE

Lemon Pound Cake

I made two this week.

The first was a special request by my coworker and friend Wendy who celebrated a birthday on January 29th.  The recipe I used came from Add A Pinch which you can find here.

It was so good, I made one for Mama.

Favorite # FOUR

Birthday Selfies

Everyone needs a photo-bombed birthday selfie.  You haven’t been shown adequate love without one.  In my family, we are experts at bombing the birthday selfie…and it is fun…

Favorite # FIVE

A Concert

starring two Princesses (Thea and Lydia) and the Dinosaur Whisperer (Levi).

With a special solo by the littlest Glammy’s Girl (Rory).

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Chocolate Lava Cake 101

Chocolate Lava Cake is a dessert that I decided I wanted to learn to make.  A google search that began with “how to…” lead me to “how to learn something new everyday”.  I decided that learning something new everyday sounded like a good idea.  Do you know how much information you consume every day?  Today I read that we are constantly consuming information in amounts that can be measured in gigabytes.  In case you didn’t know, one gigabyte is 1,000,000,000 bytes. Click here for a more detailed explanation.

To put this into perspective, 1 gigabyte equals an entire pickup truck filled with paper (source).  According to this site, we consume 74.92 gigabytes of data every day. That’s enough to fill 74 pickup trucks filled with paper (source).

Wow.

For LB the number is likely doubled.

“Boy Genius”

 

 

What does this information have to do with the [blog post title] Chocolate Lava Cake?

Nothing.

But it may appeal to any technical enthusiast that happens onto my blog.

 

Also it has everything to do with learning something new.

That said, welcome to

Chocolate Lava Cake 101

What you’ll need for class:

•             no stick cooking spray

•             cocoa powder (for dusting)

•             8 Tablespoons butter

•             2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

•             2 ounces semisweet chocolate

•             1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

•             3 eggs yolks

•             2 eggs

•             1 teaspoon vanilla

•             1/2 cup all-purpose flour

•             Recommended for topping: vanilla ice cream, berries, whipped cream

Here is how it is done

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Spray four ramekins with non stick spray and place on a baking sheet.

 Dust ramekins with cocoa powder.

Microwave the butter, bittersweet chocolate and semisweet chocolate in a large bowl on high for about one minute, until the butter is melted.

Stir until the chocolate is also melted.

Stir in the powdered sugar until well blended.

Mix in the eggs and egg yolks. 

Add the vanilla…

and the flour…

and wisk.

Divide the mixture among the ramekins.

Bake until the sides are firm and the centers are soft, 11-13 minutes.

Let cool 1 minute. Invert onto plates or serve in the ramekin while warm…

 with one or all of the recommended toppings.

And now you know about chocolate lava cakes as well as gigabytes.

We’ll be well rounded in more ways than one.

 

 

Chocolate Lava Cake

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

•             No stick cooking spray

•             cocoa powder (for dusting)

•             8 Tablespoons butter

•             2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

•             2 ounces semisweet chocolate

•             1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

•             3 egg yolks

•             2 eggs

•             1 teaspoon vanilla

•             1/2 cup all-purpose flour

•             Recommended for topping: vanilla ice cream, berries, whipped cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray four ramekins with non stick spray and place on a baking sheet.  Dust ramekins with cocoa powder.

Microwave the butter, bittersweet chocolate and semisweet chocolate in a large bowl on high for about one minute, until the butter is melted. Whisk until the chocolate is also melted. Stir in the powdered sugar until well blended. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolks.  Add the vanilla. Stir in the flour. Divide the mixture among the ramekins.

Bake until the sides are firm and the centers are soft, 11-13 minutes. Let cool 1 minute. Invert onto plates while warm and serve with recommended toppings.

prettyis.me

 

 

 

Special thanks to Lacie at easypeasypleasy.com for the lesson on “How To Add And Embed A Printable Recipe To Your WordPress Blog”.

 

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

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