Sometimes life and circumstances beyond my control collide in such a way I’m left feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and anxious. This pretty much sums up the last two weeks spilling over to this week, too. Last Tuesday my youngest sister gave birth to her second son and I was busy caring for my nephew for a couple days. Then, my husband with our kids left for Ohio and Michigan for a family reunion while I stayed behind. Initially I stayed behind because of my sister’s pregnancy but then, my sister stationed in Germany was able to fly home and my other sister from Spokane is also arriving soon. This will be the first time my five siblings and I have been altogether since my dad passed away six months ago. For those of you who have been following my journey of having my mom move in with s on Everyday Alice, then you know it’s been a difficult transition for me. And if this week wasn’t already busy enough, we decided to unexpectedly make an offer on a bigger house to accommodate our growing family better. With mom living here now, one bathroom will not do for a family of six people, not to mention we are a bit cramped. As a result I’ve been spending practically zero time on my computer and all my time working on clearing blackberry brambles, laurel bushes, de-cluttering, and cleaning the house. Who knew getting a house ready to sell was so much work!? [click to continue…]
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Last year I posted my recipe for
Classic Vanilla Buttercream. It’s the recipe I use for decorating cupcakes and birthday cakes, especially if I know kids will be the ones eating it. For wedding cakes I like to use a more silkier type frosting that I’ll share with you in the near future. But for everyday cake frosting, the vanilla buttercream is what I use. From that post, I received many comments and emails requesting a chocolate buttercream frosting which could also be used to frost cakes and for piping decorations.
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Fall in Seattle is absolutely stunning right now. You can not drive anywhere without seeing leaves in shades of deep reds, bright oranges, golden yellows, eggplant purples and everything in between.
A few days ago I took this photo while walking with my sister-Janice, and our sons. Even though residential and commercial development has changed the landscape of the city, Greenlake remains the same. I’m so thankful for this and the beauty Fall brings during this time of year.
Last November I posted a detailed, step-by-step cake decorating tutorial on how to make these beautiful Fall gum paste leaves. Inspired by my walk, I thought it was worth re-posting for anyone who wishes to take elevate their decorating skills beyond shell borders.
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A few weeks ago I had the privilege to be one of three judges of the Kirkland Uncorked food and wine event. Two other judges and myself sat on a platform overlooking Lake Washington on a beautiful Seattle summer day. Three of Seattle’s top female chef’s competed against one another in front of several hundred onlookers. One of the elements the chefs were being judged for were how they incorporated the use of prawns and red wine in the dishes they prepared. One of my favorite dishes from the competition was Chef Angie Robert’s grilled pound cake with cherry compote. So last week I decided to make a quick version of her dessert except using store bought pound cake. The end result was an easy dessert which would be great to serve guests. Using homemade pound cake would be best but when the temperature inside the house is almost 100 degrees the last thing I want to do is bake and store bought cake suddenly becomes very attractive. [click to continue…]
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I love blueberry muffins. I don’t know if it’s possible to love them too much but nevertheless, nothing beats homemade blueberry muffins – wouldn’t you agree? Last Thursday my baby boy, Eli, turned two years old. Because we had just returned from a week long trip days before his birthday, we decided not to have a birthday party. Instead, I made these yummy blueberry muffins for his birthday and stuck a candle in it.
What I love about blueberry muffins is the denser texture and how less sweet they are compared to cake. I used frozen blueberries and all the other ingredients I typically have on hand. I love spreading a little pat of butter on them before biting into it with bursts of sweetened berries to savor. This recipe also has a little bit of lemon zest and juice. The lemon flavor is subtle but enough to compliment the blueberries in the most delightful way. I also add a little bit of turbinado (raw sugar) on top of each muffin before baking for a nice little crunch. You could easily substitute white sugar crystals. [click to continue…]
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