Deanna's Daughter

The girls received a planting kit at a birthday party so Brock decided it was time for a little review.  ‘What do plants need to grow?’, he asked.  ‘Water!’, yelled Wavey.  ”Sun!’, shouted Marlow.  ‘Anything else?’, he inquired.  ‘Anchovies?’, questioned Waverly.  Where the heck did she get that from?

It ’s birthday week in our house and so a lot of cake is required.  Being the planning ahead personality that I am, and in great thanks to Brock’s brilliant idea (and personal need for homemade icecream), we ventured to make the girls a homemade icecream cake.  We have a machine to do the real work, but I’m making notes here because it was so tasty, it may become an annual tradition.

I lined my big lasagna pan with Saran wrap and then over the course of a week, proceeded with making first a raspberry layer, then vanilla, and lastly a chocolate layer.  When all was well frozen, we flipped it out onto my cake platter, basically drilled holes in it to place the candles and then covered it in the greatest chocolate sauce of all time.  The recipe was discovered by Mom and is from the Mud Pie recipe in the Best of Bridge.

Chocolate Sauce

2/3 c. sugar

3 T. butter

1/3 c. cocoa

1/3 c. whipping cream

1 t. vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, combine the first 4 ingredients over medium heat and whisk constantly.  Turn the heat up slightly and while continuing to whisk, bring the mixture to a boil.

Once it boils, remove from the heat immediately and whisk in the vanilla.

Obviously, if you’re topping an icecream cake, allow the sauce to cool completely – but definitely keep in mind how tasty it is when used as hot fudge…

Cuteness from yesterday – Brock wasn’t moving fast enough for Waver in getting to the dinner table.  ‘Hurry up slow-mo!’, she yelled. – We were a tiny bit rushed in getting out of the house for swimming lessons and when we finally got in the car and started driving, Marlow was very excited, ‘Yay! We’re blast-offing!’.

This is an easy recipe from Mom that she traditionally used for topping off stove-top beef stew.  Last night I made Chicken Pot Pie, but used leftover roast pork, and added the dumplings.  Yum.  The pot pie part is similar to Beef Pot Pie – saute some onion, carrots and celery until softened, add a couple of T. of flour and stir until it’s blended in.  Stir while adding a couple of cups of broth and milk, season with salt and pepper and add in your leftover meat.  Then make dumplings.

Dumplings

3/4 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 T. butter or margarine

1/3 + c. milk

Stir together the dry ingredients and then use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the mixture is evenly crumbly.  Add the milk and mix well (if it’s too dry, you may need more, it should be sticky).

As your saucy dinner is simmering, drop the dumplings on the top in tablespoon size, trying to space them out so they aren’t touching to start.

Continue to simmer for 10 minutes uncovered and then put the lid of your pot or skillet on for about another 20.  Dish up and enjoy!

We were in the middle of dinner when Waverly paused and got a funny look on her face.  She stopped eating and announced, ‘I’m not sure about this meat Mom, I don’t like the chew of it!’.

I found this recipe on the internet and even though I don’t remember where it’s from, I wanted to keep it – so here it is…

Cranberry-Orange Loaf

2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/4 c. butter, softened

zest from 1 orange

3/4 c. orange juice

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 1/2 c. frozen or fresh cranberries

Spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan and preheat the oven to 350.  Combine the 5 dry ingredients in a large bowl and use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until it’s evenly distributed and the mixture is crumbly.

Add the egg, zest and juice and stir until just combined, then fold in the cranberries, being careful not to over mix.

Spread the batter in the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 55 minutes until the top is springy and a cake tester comes out dry.  Allow the loaf to cool in it’s pan for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.