A special treat

Shatto, a local and family owned and operated dairy farm, released a limited edition candy corn flavored milk last week just in time for Halloween. Only 4000 bottles have been released so you better run out and get one before I buy them all. This flavor in theory should not be good but it is simply amazing. The bottle at our house is almost empty. The best way to drink the milk and enhance the flavor is to pour it over a bowl of rice krispies. Sinfully delicious. Shatto is letting people vote on their specialty flavors that were released this year (chocolate cherry, mint chocolate, blueberry, apple pie, birthday cake, cookies and cream and candy corn) so that the favorite can be part of their ongoing production. Please vote CANDY CORN!

Gourds and Kittens

We visited the cutest pumpkin patch out in Missouri this weekend, called "pumpkins etc.".  We were the first ones there and found amazing pumpkins, gourds in all shapes and sizes, corn, a maze out of hay bails, a corn maze as well as a ton of tiny little kittens that were too cute for words.

Superheroes, old school style

Image by Fab Ciraolo Via Empty Kingdom

I just came across a link on Facebook via my brother in law's friend of these images and I just can't stop staring at the illustrations. I love the colors and the 90s characters hit home. The artist is Fab Ciraolo based out of Chili. These illustrations would look great on our walls.  I have a feeling our daughter wouldn't mind some of these either (she is after all a fan of She-ra). He has some other great and edgy illustrations on his website as well- make sure to check it out.

Image by Fab Ciraolo Via Empty Kingdom

 More of my favorites after the jump (note: NSFW)

Let there be CAKE!

This cake made me happy. The soft pink outside, the colorful ponies and the gooey chocolate inside. A few of you have asked about the recipe.  It is a mix match of 4 recipes that I have either found online or in my cookbooks. Here we go!

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