Spring/ Summer 2014

We had a beautiful, gorgeous spring and summer. The spring was surprising not bad for the terrible long brutal winter we endured. We started some DIY projects..I have so wanted a backyard deck for the longest time and this year I was rewarded for my patience. We asked around for quotes and got some ridiculous prices..seriously? 10K for a few days of work?..anyways, we decided on DIY project, basic and simple. How naive we were...the project took all of 10 weeks as we had to undo and redo until my husband thought it was perfect. We celebrated Kimberly's 5th birthday on our deck. FINALLY!!. We had a kiddies party which started at 2:00 p.m where we all walked a few minutes to a small wading pool just behind our house. The weather couldn't be better..it was a hot day and kids squealed and splashed water on one another, tagging and chasing each other while we moms sat beneath the shade of a nice big Willow tree and chatted. We came home to Dominos Pizza for the kids, spanakopita rolls, greek cheese rolls, I think it is called Tyrokopita and juice. We also had home made Guacamole with tortilla chips and hot cheese dip for the adults. For the adults, which included my childhood friends and cousins, we had Grilled lamb chops, Kababs, Tandoori Chicken (courtesy Lancy Pais) and Bean Salad. Anyways, the highlight was the Castle Cake I made for Kimberly's birthday. Recipe and pictures coming soon.

Yohann's 10th Birthday, we celebrated at 'The Ex'..It was Thursday, August 28th. This is a 3 week event that comes to Toronto every year and a must-do for Torontonians...lots of  fried food, rides, and shows. We watched the Wallenda Family tight-rope show which was AMAZING!. We sat and watched, not daring to breath or swallow lest the legendary Wallendas fall off...We watched the Dog Show too which was cute but uneventful. The kids loved it and took a lot of coaxing to finally leave...I had a throbbing headache and couldn't wait to get out..Fairs are not my thing, but we do these things for our kids and that is why precisely I am writing it here, so nobody forgets :-). On his actual birthday, we had a small dinner for family. I tried Greek ribs which was a completed flop. We had Peking Duck which was awesome.

Kyren's 13th birthday sadly was uneventful.. He did not want to do anything and we were very busy with our DIY deck project, that we were relieved..but my darling sisters did come home in the evening with presents and I think we ordered food in.

The highlights of summer was we did a 12 Km bike ride at the Don Valley Parkway. We parked at the Ontario Science Centre and rode upto Pottery road and back. Kimberly was being bike-carried (is that a word even?) by Keith and it was kind of strenous (which he does not admit to) as the DVP has some hills. We also went to Balsam Lake for camping this year with the group (my sisters, my cuzz, our friends). All in all it was a great summer. This is the year that we went out on date nights (prefer to call it fun nights). I am proud to put it in writing, I have wonderful and responsible kids. They encourage us to go out alone and they take care of Kim, reading her a bedtime story, tucking her into bed and staying by her bedside till she falls asleep.

Thanksgiving 2014, we went to Ottawa to celebrate the holiday with my cuzz and her family. My sisters and their families drove up too. It was beautiful as expected. Everyone talking at the same time and no one listening. We also left 10 kids at home unsupervised and went for drinks at Kelsey's.The neighbours did come and ask us to tone it down a bit...

As we head into Winter, I give thanks for my family, my friends and all the abundance of love that we have in our lives. If this is not blessings, what is?

Cookies and Cream Cake for Yohann's 9th birthday

One Saturday in August while walking to the library with Yohann, whose birthday was a few weeks away and Kimberly, my vivacious 4 year old who is full of ideas, I asked Yohann to decide on the cake he wants for his birthday..we went back and forth with a few options, chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, vanilla cake with chocolate frosting etc but couldn't really decide so we moved on to other topics knowing it would come to us..It is a big deal in our house..what cake? is the mother of all questions :-). On our way back from the library, they wanted to stop at the local metro and get some popsicles because it was so hot that day. While walking back, Yohann said,I wish I actually had a cold glass of milk with some Oreos, I just love Oreos, the perfect cookies and cream combination and that was that..I suggested a 'cookies and cream' cake. I looked at lots of recipes but settled on the 'Hersheys perfect chocolate cake' recipe that I could do with my eyes closed and which was always a hit...I made the cake and boy!! everyone loved it. Here is the recipe I used. I skipped the fudge frosting and instead doubled up on vanilla cream filling and used that as frosting as well.

Fudgy Cookies and Cream Cake

Adapted from confessionsofacookbookqueen.com

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Special Dark)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water 

Filling:

• 2 cups heavy cream, COLD
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 15 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
• 1 tsp vanilla 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour two (8 or 9 inch) round cake pans and set aside.
2. In the bowl of your mixer, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tops of cake spring back when lightly touched in the center. Let cool in pans for about 5 minutes, then remove to cool completely on wire racks. Once cakes are room temperature, wrap and chill (preferably overnight).
4. Prepare filling:
5. Place the metal bowl of your mixer, along with whisk attachment, in the freezer for 5 minutes. Remove from freezer and add heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Beat on high until you have whipped cream that forms stiff peaks (keep an eye on it....it can turn to butter if you let it go too long). 
6.  
7. Level your chilled cakes, then split each layer in half. Fill each layer with cream filling, add crushed cookies, add more cream to sandwich the cookies . If possible, stick in the freezer for about an hour, so the filling will firm up and not make it difficult to frost.

I used cream cheese frosting from www.Glorioustreats.com


Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup (1 stick/8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter (set at room temp about 10 minutes, but should still be cool)
8 oz. cream cheese (directly from fridge)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use pure vanilla extract if possible)
4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
1 to 4 Tablespoons heavy cream, heavy whipping cream (or milk- although I do like the richness that cream adds)

Directions:

*Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until fully combined and smooth, about 30 seconds.
*Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
*Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don’t add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.)
*Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
*Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)
The recipe above will produce a delicious VANILLA flavored frosting, here are a couple of other options to try…
For a Stronger Cream Cheese Flavor: Use an additional 4 oz. (½ block) of cream cheese. This is good for any cake/cupcake recipe that is traditionally topped with Cream Cheese Frosting, like Carrot Cake, or Red Velvet Cake.

Notes

Cake portion adapted from Hershey

Whipped Cream Filling Carefully cut 6 Oreo cookies in half; set aside. Chop remaining cookies into 1/4-inch Place reserved whipped cream in pastry bag fitted with star tip (re-whisk if necessary). Pipe 12 whipped cream rosettes around perimeter of cake and garnish with reserved Oreo cookie halves. Serve.