Harmony's Birthday!

I know, I know. I didn't post last week, but I have a valid excuse. I didn't go to class.

Thursday OR Friday.

*gasps of disbelief here*

I decided that being with my family was MORE important than going to school. And for the first time I hardly felt guilty. My daughter was turning 6 years old, and our schedules are so busy that the best time for the party was on Friday at 10AM. My husband's mother was going to be coming in Thursday around noon, and my brother in law was coming in Thursday evening around 7PM. I figured I could bake the cake Wednesday night, work on the cake Thursday and then go to class, and then finish Thursday night if I needed to. I probably could have handled JUST that and had things go as planned but, as usual, I just HAVE to make things challenging for myself. Marc's other brother was supposed to be coming up sometime Friday, and his birthday was the day before Harmony's, so I wanted to make him a cake, too. I also had a guest coming who is on a dairy and gluten free diet, so I wanted to provide her with a treat, too.

So, three cakes. Before leaving for class at 1:45. Right.

I decided on a flourless chocolate cake for the gluten/dairy free guest. This is best warm out of the oven, in my opinion, so I decided to wait and bake that off Friday right before the party. I baked Harmony's cake's, filled, and dirty iced them Wednesday night. I made the fondant and cut the base, covered and stacked, and added all final touches to Harmony's cakes Thursday morning. I finished around 1PM. Marc's mother got in fairly early, so she helped entertain the kiddos. Marc asked me to stay home from school, and I had so much to do that I finally, after several suggestions of doing so, stayed home from class. I made and baked Nick's cake Thursday night, then wrapped and put them in the fridge to keep until I was ready for them. When I learned that Nick would be in Friday evening, I decided to finish the cake the next night.

Friday morning I made the flourless chocolate cake. I substituted unsweetened, all natural applesauce for the butter in the recipe. It only required chocolate, sugar, applesauce, and eggs. It turned out wonderfully. I baked four of them in ramekins so she could just have her own dessert. I unfortunately didn't get a photo of these. :(

Harmony LOVES dinosaurs, and she has really been wanting the Ned the Brachiosaurus car for her Dinosaur Train toy she got for Christmas. Dinosaur Train is a show on PBS, for those of you unaware. I keep getting people without young children commenting on my photos on facebook going, "Cute cake, but why dinosaurs and trains? I don't get it." This video explains the premise of the show in a rockin' intro song. haha



So I used her toy train and tracks to surround the cake and added a gift of Ned the Brachiosaurus to the train as a surprise. The cake itself was the scenery from the show, places they visit, with the train station at the base of the cake. There is a volcano in the show, along with the "Big Pond" and a waterfall.

The interior of the cake was two flavors. The bottom layer was alternating layers of devil's food cake with graham cracker swirls, milk chocolate cake, and a layer of melted marshmallows mixed with graham cracker crumbs with mini marshmallows sandwiched between. The top tier was, upon Harmony's request, a mint chocolate cake with peppermint buttercream. It was SO. GOOD. A new favorite of mine, for sure. Here is a picture of the interior of the cake.

I also made her a birthday shirt with a brachiosaurus and a number 6 on it. She picked out the shirt that she wanted it made from. I decided to add a bow to the dinosaur and I LOVE how it came out!!! This was a HUGE week for Harmony, too. Grandma Carleen and Uncle Chris coming in, she lost her first tooth Thursday night, too, AND she finally saved up enough money by doing chores around the house and with her birthday money, to buy this GIANT T-rex she saw at Big Air when we went a few weeks ago. It was $39.99. That's alot of money for a little kid to save up!!! We were so stinkin' proud of her, and she was extremely proud of herself, too. Here she is, in her birthday shirt, lost tooth, with her T-rex.

This girl...this girl is my world. She is why I am doing what I am doing and why I am the person I am today. I love giving her a day where everything is for HER. She is such a wonderful kid and she follows the rules and is polite and SO sweet, I love being able to give her a day where she can eat as much sugar as she wants and can be spoiled by all the people that love her.

Friday evening, we went to Nipper's for dinner. Then the boys went fishing and Marc's mom hung out with me while I finished Nick's cake...moments before he got there. Haha. I was SO tired and worn out and just OVER cake decorating by that time of day that this isn't my best work on the top. Plus I used the last bit of powdered sugar I had and ran super low on icing with no time or energy to procure more. Marc's brother ADORE'S Wicked, so in honor of that I iced and filled the cake with lime green buttercream with a "Wicked" top. A long time ago I saw a cake that was rainbow layers inside and I immediately wanted to make that cake for Nick. I love how it came out, and he was completely surprised and thrilled.

So that is why I missed class Thursday and Friday. In the end, family is much more important than a grade.

Fresh Fig Tart with Rosemary Cornmeal Crust and Lemon Mascarpone Cream

Fresh figs in the market reminded me to pull this tart recipe out of my file. I've had it for a while and I really loved the sound of the rosemary cornmeal crust. And I was right, it's easy to make and tastes marvelous. Of course, you could use the lemon mascarpone cream any number of ways...just spoon it over any fresh fruit and it would be lovely, but combined with the rosemary crust, the flavors just sing. If you're not a fig fan, any fruit will do. 

You could use a large rectangular tart pan or a 10 inch round one, but I do love individual servings. You can make the crust and mascarpone a day ahead, then assemble the tart and hold it at room temperature for an hour or so. The currant jelly glaze is the perfect finishing touch, but I've used red raspberry and apricot as a glaze in other tarts....works fine.


Fresh Fig Tart with Rosemary Cornmeal Crust and Lemon Mascarpone Cream
From Gourmet magazine, July 2003

Ingredients:

For crust

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground)

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

For filling

1/3 cup sour cream

1 cup mascarpone cheese (8 oz)

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons red-currant jelly

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 lb fresh figs

Method:
Use round or rectangular pans with removable bottoms.

Pulse together flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and rosemary and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 4 tablespoons ice water and pulse until just incorporated. (It took 5 tablespoons for me)

Gently squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition and continuing to test.

Press dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of tart pan with floured fingers. Chill crust until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Bake crust in middle of oven until center and edges are golden, 25 to 30 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack.

Whisk together sour cream, mascarpone, sugar, zest, and salt in a bowl.

Heat jelly and honey in a small saucepan until jelly is melted; allow to cool slightly.

Remove sides of tart pans and spread mascarpone cream in shells. Cut figs (or whatever fruit you're using) into 1/4-inch-thick slices and arrange over cream. Brush figs with honey glaze.

RECALL ALERT: Battat Key Toy

About 1,500,000 sets of toy keys with remote are being recalled by Battat Inc. after reports of keys and key rings breaking. No injuries have been reported. Details are below:
The metal toy keys and the plastic key ring can break, posing a choking hazard. CPSC and Battat have received 17 reports of keys breaking, and 14 reports of key rings breaking. No injuries have been reported.


This recall includes all B. FunKeys™ with factory code H58000-01 or H26300-01, and Parents® Magazine Electronic Keys with factory code H26300-01. The factory code is located on the back of the remote. The remote of the B. Fun Keys is olive green or red and the top of the keys are multi-colored. The remote of the Parents Magazine Electronic Keys comes in different colors and the top of the keys is a solid color. Both remotes have sound buttons, and the metal keys hang from a plastic ring.

Consumers should immediatelytake the recalled toy keys away from children and contact Battat to receive a free mailer to return the item for replacement keys. 

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Battat toll-free at (866) 665-5524 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.battatco.com.

Source: msnbc.com

When do patients require dialysis?

Patients usually require dialysis when the waste products in their body become so high that they start to become sick from them.

The level of the waste products usually builds up slowly. Doctors measure several blood chemical levels to help decide when dialysis is necessary. The two major blood chemical levels that are measured are the "creatinine level" and the "blood urea nitrogen" (BUN) level. As these two levels rise, they are indicators of the decreasing ability of the kidneys to cleanse the body of waste products.

Doctors use a urine test, the "creatinine clearance," to measure the level of kidney function. The patient saves urine in a special container for one full day. The waste products in the urine and in the blood are estimated by measuring the creatinine. By comparing the blood and urine level of this substance, the doctor has an accurate idea of how well the kidneys are working. This result is called the creatinine clearance. Usually, when the creatinine clearance falls to 10-12 cc/minute, the patient needs dialysis.

The doctor uses other indicators of the patient's status to decide about the need for dialysis. If the patient is experiencing a major inability to rid the body of excess water, or is complaining of problems with the heart, lungs, or stomach, or difficulties with taste or sensation in their legs, dialysis may be indicated even though the creatinine clearance has not fallen to the 10-12 cc/minute level.

Read More

Knick Knacks

Different? Wrong?
By William Woo, Kapolei

Dancers are not the smartest people in the world but we are a fairly bright group of human beings. Most of us are not interested in rocket science, but we do have our own ideas and perspectives on this thing called dancing.

“There is nothing more genuine than breaking away from the chorus

to learn the sound of your own voice.”

We are often surprised to find that there are dancers out there with different ideas from ours. Is it possible that they are wrong? We are learning little by little that they are not wrong, only different and we also know that we have a perfect right to be different too. We don't have to bash anyone. We can only point to our way as being what we want. Won't you join us?     ******

What is Dancing?
By Enio Cordoba, California

Many would have us believe that it is simply keeping time to the rhythm of the music. If that were the case, then there would be no "fancy" steps, no turns, no shine-ups. Everybody would do the same steps all night long. Of course that is not the answer.

What is annoying is to see those that complain the most about "ballroom" dancers attempt to do many of the same moves. Everyone thinks that what they do it the appropriate level for social dancing and if anyone does anything slightly more difficult, they are showing off.

"Con Sabor Latino" by Xavier Gonzalez

Dancing is not only an expression of your rhythm, but also of your personality ... your being. Just like people are introverted and shy at a party and others are loud, boorish and extroverted.

I remind my students that there are no dance schools in Latin America. People learn the rhythms from listening to years of the music. Eventually they go to a club and copy what the next guy is doing. This is a form of steet dance, there are no rules. You go to one club and everyone is dancing quick, quick, slow and in another club they dance slow, quick, quick. What is that we dance to? Ha!

Versatile Blender Pie (Salty and Delish)

This recipe is one of my favorites: delicious, versatile and wholesome. You can change the filling each time, and it only takes a few minutes to prepare! Can't get any easier....


Versatile Blender Pie (Salty and Delish!)

Servings: about 10 slices


Crust

• 1 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons oregano or parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F. In a blender, mix the oil, salt, pepper, milk, eggs and parmesan cheese. In a separate bowl, mix other ingredients. Add the liquid mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix it really well with a spoon.
Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray and flour. Pour in half the batter, distribute the filling, then cover it with the rest of the batter.
Oven for 30 minutes, or until golden color.


Suggestions for fillings: chicken with cream cheese, sauté vegetables, fish with vegetables, or ask your children what they would like to eat!

Source: Based on recipe from receitas.com

Bug Annoyance

I really hate bugs and bug repellents! The idea of spraying DEET on myself or kids is just wrong to me. But DEET-free versions are acceptable, as long as the smell is not overwhelming.
The Daily Green posted two great formulas for homemade (and most important DEET-free) bug repellents. They are very easy to make. Alternatively, there are very good versions available in the market (links are listed below):

Homemade Insect Repellent Recipe:
10-25 drops essential oil. Try lavender, rose geranium (for ticks), coriander seeds, peppermint, cajeput and citronella
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon aloe vera gel (optional)

Combine the ingredients in a glass jar; stir to blend. Dab a few drops on your skin or clothing.

Homemade Insect Repellent Recipe 2
25 drops essential oil (see above)
1/4 cup water or organic apple cider vinegar

Combine the ingredients in a glass jar. Shake to blend. Dab some on your skin or clothing.

Click here to view a list of DEET-free products available in the market:

California Baby - US$12

Bite Blocker - US$11

All Terrain Kids Herbal Armor - US$6


Sources: Daily Green