And this is four

I think the birthday weekend was a success. The little lady is so happy that she is 4 years old. We celebrated in style with her friends from school. My little pony, ariel, a teepee, birthday cake, baloons, decorations, lots of cards and an ungodly amount of candy were all part of her celebration. What more does a 4 year old want. Tomorrow I will post pictures of her birthday celebration, for now some pictures showing what a goofball this little lady is.

Zero, one, two, three......

Day 1: holding dad's finger

Time flies. Looking at my littlest one and seeing my almost 4 year old teenager, I can't believe how fast they really do grow up.  Here is a picture of Sas when she was first born, when she was 1,2 and 3. On Monday I will update you with pictures of her birthday and you will be able to see what 4 looks like! 

One: At the coast, hiking on the beach

Two: picture taken by the very sweet and talented Hannah Nielsen. Hannah D. Photography

Three: loves to crash weddings

Somewhere over the rainbow

I am taking advantage of the fact that I have some time to actually built a cake from scratch. The my little pony theme is on its way and will be topped with a rainbow made out of fondant. I decided to make a marshmallow fondant so the kids can eat it as well. It is the easiest (but messiest) recipe ever. You mix 1 lb of powdered sugar together with 8 oz of melted miniature marshmallows. You get a sticky mess and knead it like you would do with bread until it is silky smooth. You can then take small parts of it and mix it with various colors (I used wilton's food coloring).  The rainbow will dry out and harden a bit over the next couple of days and I will add it on top of the cake with some tong depressors dipped in candy coating to keep the rainbow together and hopefully it will stand up. Keep checking back soon for a final "cake" picture.

layer cake

Cinnamon toast crunch 

I am planning out the birthday cake for the little lady. I have to manage to get M&Ms. chocolate cake, cinnamon toast crunch, chocolate chips, pink frosting, and sprinkles all into one cake. This could potentially taste horrible.  I decided to make a triple layer chocolate cake and add layers of sprinkle crunch and M&M's.  I haven't decided where the cinnamon toast crunch comes in, it may have to be served on top of the vanilla ice cream or it might have to be an entirely different cake with apples and cinnamon (apple jack cake? thanks Paul for the tip).

Here are the recipes of what I have made so far. These are modified recipes from the Momofuku milk bar cookbook.  If there is one thing I have learned from reading Christina Tosi's milk cookbook it is layers, texture and intense flavor combinations are the best.

Cinnamon Toast crunch*:

170 g of Cinnamon toast crunch

40 g milk powder

40 g sugar

4g kosher salt

130 g melted butter

Heat for about 25-30 minutes at 275F after mixing all the ingredients. Let cool and store until needed.

Chocolate Birthday Cake Crumb*

100 g sugar

25g light brown sugar

90g cake flour

2g baking powder

2g kosher salt

20g rainbow sprinkles

1 1/2 teaspoon chocolate powder

40 g grapeseed oil

12 g clear vanilla

Heat for about 20 minutes at 300F after mixing all the ingredients. Let cool and store until needed.

Chocolate birthday cake crumb

*these recipes have been adapted from Christina Tosi's cornflake crunch and birthday cake crumb.

Feeding the littlest

Yes, the time has finally come. The wee one can start eating solids. I remember I was super excited when this time rolled around when Sas was little. However, you don't quite start off with a gourmet meal most of the time. I say most of the time because the first thing Sas ever ate was foie gras, courtesy of her grandpa who said "she seems to like this quite a bit, has she had this before"? where we replied "Uhm, no this is her first food ever". She turned out fine but this one's first meal was good ol' rice cereal.  YUM!

Fall clothes for the little lady

Photo credit. Printed Cardigan with zip

I flipped through the lookbook for Zara and am loving the prints I am seeing for the next season. The flowers and checks and warm darker colors are what I would go for (not sure if this is what Sas would pick since she is always on the lookout for anything pink).

photo credit:  printed dress

Dinner with little ones

Sas is going to be 4 years old soon. Old enough to help around the kitchen- as she has been for a while now (this post shows her making pizza). She can now crack eggs, use a whisk, cut veggies and layer items in a pie dish. All the requirements for making a simple but delicious quiche. It does take a little longer to get the final product but at least it kills 2 birds with one stone- have an occupied toddler and dinner ready at the same time.

Cutting the button mushrooms