Big Ol' Bump

So, it's getting there. It's really getting there.

Will's Birthday Cake

Well, I made our buddy Will Russell a birthday cake this past weekend for his 32nd! The chocolate cake was perfect but I totally got the consistency of the Coffee Butter Cream Icing wrong. It was too thick and wouldn't spread with any kind of flow. They, as in Will and Hillary, assured me it was tasty. But I'm still throwing out an IOU to them. I can do better and they deserve better!



On a side note, Will did tell me that Ace of Cakes is doing a cake for his Lebowski Fest this year. Unfortunately the Louisville Lebowski Fest is on July 11th and I'm expecting to have a little baby by then. But I'm sure there'll be lots of pictures and maybe they'll do an episode of Ace of Cakes devoted to this cake. We'll see? How exciting!

Help A Friend: Emergency Parfait

I recently read something that said if you wish for positive things to happen to you, you should do positive things for others. This is not a new revelation, I try to live by this mantra. It's just nice to be reminded of this. I mean, I can't complain about not getting phone calls if I don't pick up the phone, you know. I believe that you should put good vibes out into the world so they can come full circle. If you haven't noticed, I cook/bake and give a lot. I do this because I love to share. But I have to say that I am a little worried that my 'cook and give' time is closing in on a long pause when this baby comes.

But for the mean time, I had a wonderful 'cook and give' experience this week. My friend Sam Whitaker, who is also a new mom, made a 8am remark about an empty fridge and a appetite. She was calling to borrow some sugar so she could bake the only ingredients left in the house into delicious Chocolate Chip Muffins (which would have taken at least an hour). So, I packed up the Vegan Cane Sugar and made her a Granola Parfait in an old jar.....something to snack on while baking! I thought it was cute so I took a picture.

The Strawberry Cake Incident

So I called a few friends to let them know to expect some delicious treats later Wednesday evening. I had bought the ingredients to make my Grandmother's Strawberry Cake recipe. My Dad had made a birthday request for the cake so I decided to make some extra cupcakes to share with friends. I made the cake, success. I made the cupcakes and the events following led to some disappointed friends and no company to play scrabble with! I swear, I can't keep my word even when I actually try....we are destined to be flakes.

The cupcakes were cooling on the porch railing.




And then they were on the cement. So I went to grab our camera so I could blog about this. And while backing up to take a picture...




My barefoot stepped on this poor dead bird.

Acai & Flax Smoothie

So, my friend Lindsey Dobson wrote me about a month ago asking if I had a good smoothie recipe. In true Brooke form, I was excited to share but flaked on writing her back. Lindsey, I have created many great smoothie recipes. In fact, I even have a great juice and smoothie book you can borrow too. But there are two Brooke-created recipes that I use most frequently: Vegan Strawberry Smoothie and my Acai & Flax Seed Smoothie. We make the Acai & Flax Seed Smoothies about five times a week. Acai is a superfood and is ridiculously rich in antioxidants; I use the frozen smoothie packs available at Whole Foods. And Flax Seeds, freshly ground and found in the refridgerated portion of the herb and vitamin section at your local health food establishment, are amazing in regards to nutritional qualities (especially for pregnant/nursing women).

Recipe: (not exact measurements, I just throw it in)

1 cup frozen organic berries
1/2 cup frozen organic peaches
3/4 cup organic vanilla yogurt/vanilla soy yogurt
1 package of frozen Acai
5 tbsp freshly ground flax seeds
1/2 -1 cup unsweetened organic cranberry juice
2 bananas

Just blend. Recipe yields 2 large ass smoothies seen below. Enjoy!

It Pays to be Right

So, you know how I predicted that the Kansas Jayhawks were going to win the NCAA Final Four? Well, I forgot that I entered a contest for free ice cream based on the outcome of the last team standing. Awesome!

Puzzle

So, I am certain that I married the perfect man for me. We had never committed ourselves to doing a puzzle before, but we were in Florida with time to spare so we bought a 1000 piece puzzle. And I'm pleased to admit that the both of us are so compulsive that we finished it is less than 8 hours. I am proud, very proud.