Reunited and it feels so good!

This golden carrot cake was a total joy to make! It was a last minute request I received (a lot of requests I get are this way, and I usually don't do it because I think it's dangerous!!) and decided to take, since I love carrot cake. I made it using organic carrots (this is a time-saver read: no peeling!) that still have their greens and roots attached, (these I find taste the most "real" and sweet) toasted whole walnuts, chopped, and golden raisins. The icing was cream-cheese; my favorite version. I take my classic buttercream (this isn't a "powdered sugar" version) and add in enough cream cheese to where I can really start to taste it, but it doesn't totally block out the buttery-lightness and perfectly-sweetness of the buttercream. Oh, this cake is so good.

Benny is so funny; she always "begs" on this small stool I have in the kitchen:

Loved how the colors turned out:

I was pleased with the ease at which I was able to turn this cake out; plus it was so fun and went so flawlessly!

Fall is almost here: Shepherd's Pie season!

I make this great vegetarian Shepherd's Pie; mostly with a mixed assortment of nuts, vegetables and beans. I also came up with this fun way of serving it (pic below). Here's some pics I took while on the Shepherd's Pie baking journey: Walnuts and cashews, unsalted and raw until I toasted them. Ton's of carrots! Roasted and salted sunflower seeds Paired this meal with this beautiful asparagus I ran the potatoes through a ricer (of course!) Using a large muffin tin, and mini loaf pans, the pies came out looking as good as it tasted! Upside-down cooling off

There's nothing wrong with cookies in the morning

This morning, I decided that "There's nothing wrong with cookies in the morning!" (I made up this dorky little song using the above sentence, and I kept singing it over and over again to Aaron, who gracefully ignored me.) I baked up the sugar cookie dough I've had in the freezer (just cut it from the frozen square-ish log it was molded in, which is why the cookies have the shape they do) and added some great homemade cream cheese icing, which I also had on hand in the freezer, and these tastey little cookies were the result.

Images from my kitchen

Here are some images from my kitchen that make it fun and happy to cook in. I jar everything I buy in bulk to both preserve it and because I love the way it looks. Fish magnets I made. Love this glass piece from the 70's for my produce. (They have these kinds of things in every thrift store in Utah.) Bendy stomach man bought from a toy show. My tribute to Benny in cartoon form. Wub the Wubbs! I collect salt and pepper shakers related to all things food. These ones are sitting on an onion plate. Funny food-related stickers from Botan Rice candy. Porcelain hamburger soap dispenser. Love red in the kitchen, and this gumball machine matches my kitchen aid. Potholders my sister made me! Can't post without a picture of Benny.

Shameless Plug....

Hey! Long time, no see, eh? Sorry 'bout that... I am the administrator for the Study Design and Biostatistics Center at the University of Utah. This means I get to edit the website :) Muahahahah. I've added tidbits of "personality" to this otherwise, informational website, one of which is my shameless plug for my blog (and the whole cake-making-for-money thing). See website here Do you need help designing your funded study? Do you need statistical consulting for said study? Note: funding-agencies like to see that you've done your homework, and stats is a HUGE part of said homework. Ok, long story short, my shameless plug WORKED! I made this cake for a birthday from a coworker who saw the site. This was an AMAZING cake; it was a chocolate cake filled with vanilla icing, topped with a layer of velvety-smooth rich chocolate icing, and frosted with vanilla on the sides. Mmmmmm. Sooo goood. I was so proud of myself too; I'd written "Happy Birthday" on the cake in really good handwriting, except upon closer inspection, I'd written "Happy Birhday". I shit a brick, then picked it off with a toothpick. I haven't been the same since. Here is my sweet bug trying to get a piece of the action. Sorry bug, Cakes aren't for kitties!

What NED did...

Or Rather, what Fall brought.

Meringue Mushrooms and Ghosties!

Ok, this is an INCREDIBLY late post, but whatever. I made these beautiful, LIGHT, crispy meringue ghosts and mushrooms for fun, and to go atop my Halloween B-Day cake last October (my b-day cake was not really anything to really show off, so I'm not, except these first two pics are the top of the cake which was fun). I love meringue. I also love the warm light from lit candles on top of a birthday cake!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Yowza! Many sweet things have been made, but not documented. I made some beautiful cut-out sugar cookies last weekend (two batches) that have almost all but disappeared. Some went to neighbors to spread a little Christmas cheer, but most went down Aaron's belly. Anyway, I made this lovely cake for my lovely friend Joyce for her birthday. Coconut cake with coconut-cream-cheese icing.

Happy Mother's Day!

Lemon cake for my mom! The icing was a light lemon buttercream, filled with luxurious tart lemon curd. I made all the little flowers, the butterfly, and leaves too. 'Twas delicious. Click on the pics to get a detailed look!

Happy Birthday Mike!!!

This is the 2nd birthday cake for Mike that I have made! These cake designs happen organically; I always tell myself I need to plan the design, but I find it much more fun to just start and see where I end up. Anyway- I was thinking stars for Mike. I had original plans for the cupcakes on top, but ended up carving them into stars. And somehow the whole "happy birthday Mike" thing turned into a moon. And I put sparkle dust on the stars, and the top of the cake (don't know if you can tell, but it shimmered!)