Sweetsome Sundays...Argentinean Ricotta Cake

Happy Palm Sunday everyone!

(This piece looks more flat because it broke in half while my brother was taking a picture and he just kind of squished it back together: the actual cake had a more rounded top)

The recipe for this cake came from a good friend of ours in California (Hi Faby😜!), and I would have made it a while ago if my new spring form pan had not taken over *three* weeks to get here...I'd never even heard of a normal ricotta cake, let alone the Argentinean version, so I was pretty curious to see how it would turn out, and, people, this cake was deeelicious! Imagine blending a cheesecake with doughnuts and then dusting it all with powdered sugar...and it happens to be really simple to make, so double win! We ate half this cake for my brother's feast day on Saturday and then the rest of it on Sunday (I actually ate my piece for breakfast😊); it just keeps getting better the longer you refrigerate it.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 cups Self Rising Flour (for grain-free version, use 11/4th cup Almond Flour, 1/2 cup Arrowroot Flour, 1/4th cup Coconut Flour, and three tsp Baking Power)
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 10 Tbs Butter
• 1 Egg plus 1 Egg Yolk
• 2 Tbs Milk/Cream

Filling:

• 35 ounces Ricotta Cheese
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 2 Tbs Milk/Cream
• Zest from one lemon
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Butter a spring-form pan.  Combine the dough ingredients in a food processor and mix till combined.   If it is too dry, you can add a little more cream/milk.  Take half the dough mixture and spread it out over the bottom and up the sides of the spring-form pan to form a sort of bowl, then set aside.  Mix all the filling ingredients together in a glass bowl with a hand mixer (or a fork; it works just as well) until combined.  Pour filling into dough.  Roll out the remaining dough into a circle and use it to cover the rest of the cake, sealing the edges as best you can.  Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes, until top is golden brown.  Once done, dust the top with powdered sugar and refrigerate before serving.

Have a lovely week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope you all had a blessed feast day! We went all out on the decorations this year...tulle, bows, leprechaun hats, shamrock ears; even Mishka had a sparkly bow.

Every year we have a party to celebrate with our friends and take a short break from our Lenten Fasting...my brother's Shamrock Punch is always one our traditional beverages, along with corned beef, guacamole, and brownies...mmmmm...

Our new kitchen is perfect for parties; there was plenty of room for everyone to get their food without stepping on each other for once...

As always, the trampoline was immensely popular =).  We had several new additions to the "Munchkins" this year, and while they were all a little shy around each other at first, there's something about bouncing on a trampoline that makes instant friends.

Between the hay ride, campfire, delicious food, conversation, playing pool, and spontaneous dancing, everyone had a lovely time...I got to spend the whole day surrounded by all my little friends, so, yep, I was one happy lady =P...

Have a lovely weekend! =)

Sweetsome Sundays...Paleo Blueberry Pound Cake

Happy Laetare Sunday, everyone!

This Sunday we (once again) had some friends over for dinner and dessert.  Somehow there was some miscommunication about who was providing dinner, because we both did...and we both made roast chicken! It was a good thing, though, because we were all pretty hungry and did the meal full justice =)

For dessert, I made a Paleo Blueberry Pound Cake from AskGeorgie.com...the original recipe had lemon extract in it as well, but I didn't have any so I just skipped it =).  I also found the batter to be too dry, so I added about 1/4 cup of water to it, and baked it for an extra fifteen minutes to make sure it cooked all the way.  This cake disappeared so fast off the platter that I only got one small bite, and that was only because I stole it off my brother's plate.  It was one the most delicious Paleo desserts I have ever made and I will definitely be making more! I think it would be delicious in muffin form as well, so I may try that next time...

Ingredients:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons almond flour

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water

1-1/2 cups blueberries

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or oil the inside of a loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine almond and coconut flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Whisk to mix well and break up any lumps.

3. In a second bowl, combine lemon extract, vanilla extract, eggs, and water.  Stir to blend.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until uniformly moist. Spoon 1/3 of batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Sprinkle 1/3 of the berries on top. Repeat layers two more times.

5. Bake for 35 minutes. Cool before slicing into 8 slices.

I managed to keep everyone away from the cake long enough to take this one photo...half of it was already eaten by the time I got my phone out =).

If you try this recipe, let me know in the comments how it turns out!

Have a lovely week =)!

Sweetsome Sundays...Magic Lemon Custard Cake

Happy Sunday, ya'll! =)

Can you believe we're already halfway through Lent?! It seems to go by faster every year...

This week we had some neighbors over for Sunday dinner, so for our dessert I made a Magic Lemon Custard Cake.  I've made plain Magic Custard Cakes before (they're so easy to whip up and taste amazing!), but when I saw a recipe on jocooks.com for a lemon version I had to try it.  I love pretty much anything lemon, and when you mix it into a custard cake it's twice as good =).  For those of you who don't know what a Magic Custard Cake is, it's a cake made from one batter that "magically" separates into three layers while it's baking; a meringue top, a custard middle, and a crust.  I tweaked the original recipe a bit to make it grain-free, but if you don't have a problem with grains, you can just replace the almond and arrowroot flour with all purpose flour.

Grain-Free Magic Lemon Custard Cake

Ingredients

• 4 eggs (separate yolks from whites) at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick or ½ cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup Almond flour
• 1/4 cup Arrowroot flour
• 1¾ cup cream
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• zest from one lemon
• powdered sugar for dusting cake

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F degrees. Grease a 8 inch x 8 inch baking dish or line it with parchment paper.
2. Separate eggs and add the egg whites to a mixer and mix until egg whites in a glass bowel until they are stiff, then set aside.
3. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until light. Add butter and vanilla extract and continue beating for another minute or two after which you can add the flour and mix it in until fully incorporated.
4. Add lemon juice and lemon zest then slowly start adding the cream and beat until everything is well mixed together. Add the egg whites, a third at a time and gently fold them in using a spatula or a whisk, repeat until all egg whites are folded in, but there should still be white bits of egg whites floating in the batter.
5. Pour batter into baking dish and bake for 40 to 70 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and the cake is firm to the touch. The baking time could vary greatly depending on the oven, so take a peek at around 40 minutes and see how it looks.
6. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top after cake has cooled.

Notes:

The batter for this cake is very liquid-y, so don't give into the temptation to bake it in a spring-form pan...you'll regret it =).

When you fold in the egg whites, be very careful not to over-mix them; fold until just combined.

I hope you all have a very blessed week! If you try out this recipe be sure to let me know how it turns out in the comments!

Mother Earth News Fair...

This was certainly the most eventful trip I've had in a long time! And by eventful I mean stressful, disaster-ridden, spontaneous, and sleep deprived.  But aren't those the best =)?

I wasn't even supposed to go (my mom and I were staying home to unpack more boxes) but two days before the boys were leaving I suddenly decided I'd really like to go help out at our booth and see Texas again.  So on Friday we packed up our old suburban and trailer, and headed to the Mother Earth News Fair in Texas...

It's been three years since we've been back to our home state and everything looks so different! We all took a gazillion pictures, of course...

Everything went well on the way (except for leaving an hour late, our kombucha exploding on us *THREE* times, telemarketers calling me literally every seven minutes, and waiting nearly half an hour to find the letter "Q" so we could finish the alphabet game) and we got everything set up in the expo center just before they closed down for the night.  Just as we pulled into the hotel parking lot, though, my mom noticed smoke coming out of our car.  We all jumped out (just earlier that day we had seen the remains of an eighteen wheeler that had caught on fire and that image was still a little too fresh in everyone's memory) , Dad checked the problem and we found out our brakes were glowing red! It's a miracle we made it to the hotel and the car didn't catch on fire while were on the highway! We let them cool down and spent the night calling around for mechanic references.  I made some Tuna Tare-Tare for dinner and we tried to relax somewhat...but we were all pretty stressed out.

 Early the next morning Mom drove Dad and the boys to the expo (veeerrryyy slowly) and then headed to the mechanic while I stayed behind in the hotel room and put together a lunch to bring everyone when she got back.  Several hours later the car still wasn't fixed, so a dear friend of my mom's gave her a ride back to the hotel, picked me up, and then brought me over to the expo to help the boys out.  When I got there I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of old friends had dropped by to keep us company! We hadn't seen them in a while so it was great to catch up and it definitely helped us keep our mind off our tired feet (we didn't bring chairs and the expo floor was concrete)... plus it made our booth look a lot more inviting with all the laughter and smiles going around =)!

Our booth turned out beautifully thanks to the talent of my artistic brothers =).  The expo didn't end until seven P.M., and we had a lot of business, so we were all pretty worn out by the end of the day.  I love going to shows like these and actually getting to meet our customers!  Several of the other vendors came by to chat and exchange information about our products, too, so we really enjoyed ourselves.  Mom picked us up when the car was (FINALLY) working again, with the cheerful news that one of our tires had something wrong with it and could very well fall off while we were driving home the next day.  We decided to risk it and started back home early Sunday morning.  As soon as we got on the freeway, we started hearing a grinding noise...which gradually grew louder and louder, then other various noises began to alert us that something was NOT RIGHT.  By sheer Providence, this all happened right as we reached a small town  and pulled into a hotel parking lot, but since it was Sunday, all the mechanics in town were closed...it was straight out of an Andy Griffith episode! The staff at the hotel were really sweet and found us a room, so we unloaded the car and prepared to spend an extra night away from home.  We were really disappointed, though, because we were unable to make it to Mass in Irving like we had planned...After about an hour of being in the hotel room, Dad came in and said he was pretty sure he had fixed the car! Thankfully, the hotel gave us a refund for the room, so we re-loaded the car and got back on the road...annnddd right as we left town, the noises started all over again.  The next town with a mechanic who was open was thirty miles away, so we just kept driving and praying rosaries until we got there...I don't think we went over forty-five mph the whole way.  While the car was being repaired a second time, the boys and I walked around the shopping center by the mechanic (I nearly bought myself a pair of gold earrings, but my inner Dave Ramsey voice reminded me that I really didn't need them, I was just buying them to make myself feel better =)) until our poor feet were even more sore .  By the time the suburban was back to driving condition, we were all tired and REALLY HUNGRY, so when another old friend wanted to meet us at Chipotle for dinner, we said "yes, please, as soon as possible!" This particular friend happens to be a very talented photographer(as well as a hilarious and beautiful lady) so after we scarfed down our burrito bowls as politely and quickly as possible, we all headed outside for a quick, but fun photo shoot.  It was drizzling and getting dark, but we all couldn't stop giggling (or at least I couldn't; my brothers were more of just laughing =p).

After our goodbyes, we got back on the road once more...and this time we made it all the way home without further problems.  Our animals were all very happy to see us and we were glad to finally be able to sleep in our own beds again.  

This week we'll be busy moving the rest of our stuff from the rent-house, packing all the orders we got while we were gone, repairing some more plumbing damage, and I'm going to start working on a bridal shower I'm hosting for a friend who's getting married after Easter.  I have to say, even though the trip WAS a lot of fun, there really is no place like home! =)

Sweetsome Sundays...Chocolate Mocha Frozen Torte

Happy St. Valentine's Day, everyone!!!
I can't believe it's been a year since I last wrote one of these posts...it feels like just yesterday! To be honest, Lent is my favorite time of the year; I love the liturgy, praying the Stations, special Sunday treats, and of course our St. Patrick's Day party! This year it will be a sort of house-warming party for us because it will be the first time we've had friends over in our new house.

This past Sunday we were invited to a friend of mine's home to have dinner with her family...it was a sort of group effort between all of us; I made the main course (lasagna), my friend made a salad, her sister made cookies, my brother Avery provided moral support and comedy to entertain us, and my brother Blaise made a Chocolate Mocha Ice Cream Torte for dessert.  I had asked him to make some simple chocolate chip cookies, but Mr. Gourmet couldn't just make something quick and simple, he had to make something that took two days to put together and looked like something from a William's Sonoma magazine =).  And let me tell you; IT WAS GOOOODDDD...

This is the recipe he used...he made his own macaroons, and some snicker bars instead of the toffee.

Chocolate Mocha Frozen Torte

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups crisp coconut macaroon cookie crumbs
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 4 cups chocolate ice cream, softened
• 4 cups coffee ice cream, softened
• 4 ounces chocolate-coated toffee candy bars, coarsely crushed
• ½ cup hot fudge sauce, cooled*

HOT FUDGE SAUCE

• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350° F. Stir together butter and cookie crumbs. Lightly press into bottom of a 9- to 10-inch springform pan. Bake for 8 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool completely.

Spread chocolate ice cream in an even layer over cooled crust. Drizzle ¼ cup fudge sauce evenly over ice cream. Freeze until firm. Spread coffee ice cream evenly in pan. Sprinkle evenly with crushed toffee and drizzle remaining fudge sauce on top. Cover with plastic film and freeze until firm.

* Use fudge sauce recipe or your favorite brand or recipe

Fudge Sauce

In a saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, and half and half. Continue cooking until thickened. Gradually add condensed milk. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keeps well refrigerated for several months. Reheat before serving. 

 

Have a lovely week!

Just Another Boring Day On the Farm...

Monday morning I was in our library sending an email, when I glanced out the window, and, weeellll... 

Yeeeep, last week we had burned a small pile of trash, and thought it was all extinguished, but apparently the wind ignited some sparks, and next thing you know we had Mordor in our back yard...just a few yards from our new house.

My brothers and I ran out with our one puny water hose and several buckets to try to contain the disaster as best we could until the volunteer fire department got there.  Thankfully the wind was blowing away from our house or else we would have had a MUCH more serious problem on our hands.  Our dog, Lottie, followed me all through the inferno like a good guard dog, and when we moved back to the house to make way for the V.F.D., she started jumping all over me, as if to say "WE MADE IT! WE SURVIVED!"

After the fire was contained, things calmed down....until my brother stopped by a friend's house and was attacked by their two dogs.  He wasn't hurt too badly (they tore his jeans, bruised and scraped his shoulder, and left a pretty deep gash in his leg), but mom and dad took him to a clinic to get checked out to be safe.  And people think we have a boring life, devoid of excitement.  I wish. =)

On the bright side, everywhere the fire burned is now well fertilized, all the brush I didn't like is gone, Mom was able to pick up some treats for Mardi Gras since she was already in town, and I got to add "Fire Fighting" to my list of things that you can do in a long skirt.  

I hope you all have a very blessed and penitential Lent...and I hope mine will be very calm, boring, and uneventful =p.