Nobody knows better than Celebrations that the most important part of any kid’s birthday are the birthday cakes that it features. From the cream in between each layer of cake to the fun you have with frosting decorations, creating the perfect cake is almost like a gift for your child.
Baking can be hard, but with the right recipe, you can create any style of cake you want. It can be themed or just full of frosting. Birthdays are a great way to show your love for your child, and we have the tips you need for creating delicious desserts your kids will love.
Birthday Sand Pail Cake
A sand pail cake a delicious addition to any beach or summer-themed party.
Sand Pail Cake
Purchase a small pail with shovels for each guest.
Bake or purchase a white or yellow cake.
Cut the cake into squares and fill the pail with these squares.
Cover the cake with white frosting.
Sprinkle plenty of graham cracker dust on top of the frosting for the sand effect.
Dump Truck Brownies
If you have Bob the Builder on your mind, dump trucks are the perfect way to go. Be sure to set out plenty of space for the kids to play with these brownies! Dump Truck Brownies
Bake or buy a sheet or two of brownies.
Once the brownies have cooled down, cut them into small squares.
Next, load all the brownies onto the back of a large toy dump truck.
Frost the brownies to act as a glue
Cover with crumbled Oreos cookies for a dirt effect.
For this recipe, I use either muscovy duck, a brazilian breed which is known for its incredible flavor and lean profile, or wild-hunted duck. Other breeds, such as moulard or pekin, will do fine, but be aware that the principal difference among these types of duck is the fat cap underneath the skin. With any breed of duck, to cook it properly, you want to render the fat from under the skin of the breast at a cooking temperature and time that will allow the skin to brown perfectly, once all the excess fat is rendered away. For all breeds, lightly score the duck breast, skin side, so that the skin is pierced (freeing the fat to render away), without going into the flesh of the breast. To do this, you will need a sharp knife. Score the breast at 45 deg. angles, so you end up with a diamond pattern on the skin side of the breast.
To prep the duck for cooking, score it and season it with salt and pepper on both sides. Allow the duck to rest for 30 minutes. When you are ready to serve, do not add butter or oil to your pan - just set the duck, skin side down, in the pan and cook over low to moderate heat. As the fat renders away, pour it off. You want to adjust your heat, and your time in cooking the skin side, so that most of the fat is rendered about the time your skin is browned nicely.
For 6
6 hen breasts, or 3 drake breasts (of moulard or muscovy), each portion being app. 8 ounces, uncooked.
Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add corn, salt and pepper and cover, cooking about 3-4 minutes and tossing through a couple of times. Process in food processor and cool. Once cool, add flour, eggs, milk, butter and nutmeg. Blend until smooth. Fold in minced chives. Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Prepare crepes with olive oil in non-stick per s.o.p. Cool and set aside. At service, take 3 crepes and reheat gently. Fold into triangles.
Sage-Sour Cherry Sauce
2 cups pinot noir or good burgundy
1/3 c shallot, minced
1 cup sliced, dried tart cherries
2 cups duck demi-glace, 4 cups (thin) duck stock, or 2 cups demi-glace (more than gourmet will work o.k.)
1 tsp minced sage
pinch of minced thyme
1/3 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
Simmer wine with shallots, cherries and duck sauce until reduced back to 2 cups. At service, bring 2 ounces of sauce (with cherries) to simmer and toss in sage, thyme and balsamic vinegar together and heat through. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
At Service
Pre-heat oven to 375F.
Fleur de Sel (top layer, harvested sea salt, if you have it)
Sear duck as above. Once skin is browned and fat is rendered, “kiss” flesh side approximately 1 minute and place in oven. Remove from oven when duck breast still has a good deal of easy “spring” to the touch - you do not want to go beyond medium (I prefer medium rare). Remove the duck from the cooking/roasting pan and cover loosely with foil, shiny side out. Meanwhile, reheat crepes in a pan with a touch of olive oil, fold in triangles, and place in overlapping mound at center of plate. You also want to saute some coarsely chopped rainbow chard, which adds some caramelized sugar, bitterness, and color to the plate (use organic if possible - it will contain more natural sugars). Thinly slice duck and arrange on either side of crepes; drizzle with warmed sauce (including cherries), and place a few crystals of fleur de sel over the meat (if you have it).
Homemade granola is one of my very favorite health foods for many reasons you will read below. It is something the allergic person can closely regulate by making modifications to the recipe. This recipe is perfect because it is cheap, healthy, can be organic and pure, makes a lot, and stores well. It’s a great food to stock in the house for hungry teenagers.
Why do I use the ingredients I use? Well, let me tell you…
• I use grains in keeping with Eat 4 Your Type (eating for your blood type.)
• I use wheat germ because it is high in selenium and zinc. Lots of my clients test they need this for their reproductive health.
• Celtic Sea Salt is used because none of the wonderful minerals have been removed from this particular salt and it has not been processed with high heat. High heat makes salt inorganic and difficult to bind to bodily fluids and tissues. This salt actually has a moist texture and is grey in color.
• I use sesame seeds (lots of them) because they are high in Tyrosine which helps with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Sesame products such as tahini, halvah, and raw sesame seeds help with the balance of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. When taken at about 1 tablespoon/day, it prevents depression.
• Whole flax seed acts differently than ground flax seed. Whole flax seed is very mucogenic. It swells and gets slippery helping the bowels to empty without strain.
• Pumpkin seeds are a wonderful seed for the reproductive system of both males and females. Something in it binds the breakdown byproducts of testosterone which cause Benign Prostate Hyperplasia. Pumpkin seeds also act as the base ring for progesterone and estrogen, so I often recommend the seed for perimenopausal women and great reproductive health. It gives the body what it needs in the form of hormones.
• Udo’s Choice Oil is the best combination of oils on the market. It has a perfect blend of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. I use the oil and the Wholesome Fast Food Blend.
• Blackstrap molasses is extremely high in bioavailable minerals and has lots of iron in it. These days I am seeing lots of people with tan chins which is an early sign of iron anemia.
Recipe: Granola
From the Kitchen of Denice Moffat
11 cups rolled Spelt, Kashi, or Oats (not instant)
2 cups shredded coconut (the organic kind may not have sulfites in it)
2 cups Wheat Germ
cup Spelt, Rice, Oat or Buckwheat flour
1 Tablespoon Celtic Sea Salt (it should be pink or gray…it it’s white there are no extra minerals in it.)
2 cups raw almonds or cashews
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw sesame seeds
cup raw flax seed
1 cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds
Mix the above in a large bowl then pour the following on top and mix in after first blending together:
cup almond, apricot, or Udo’s Choice oil
cup brown sugar
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
1 cups honey
cup water
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract
Divide mixture and spread onto two large cookie sheets. Bake at 250 degrees stirring every 20-30 minutes for 90 minutes or until edges start to turn brown. Turn off oven and let the granola sit in the closed oven overnight to finish drying out.
Add dried fruit of your choice before packaging. I use
Cranberries, raisins, dried apricot, dried cherries, banana chips or apple chips.
Store in airtight containers. I use ZipLock baggies. Makes 2 gallons.
Dr. Denice Moffat is a practicing naturopath, medical intuitive, and veterinarian working on the family unit (which includes humans and animals) through her phone consultation practice established in 1993. She has a content-rich website at http://www.NaturalHealthTechniques.com and free monthly newsletter.
So, you find yourself having been invited to a dinner party and decided to bring the host a bottle of wine. But which type of wine should you buy? I am sure you have seen people seemingly bewildered in front of the wine shelves at the local grocery or liquor store. You have seen them, staring dumbly with no idea what wine to pick out. After you read this article, you can be assured you will never be one of those people.
Choosing a wine can be a tricky decision. You want your selection to please as many people as possible including your host. If you know ahead what is on the menu, the choice becomes easier. The general guidelines are as follows:
- Light-bodied wines complement light food.
- Full-bodied wines are needed when pairing with hearty food.
However, in the situation where you do not know the menu, it is ok as there are a few other key items to consider.
Host Preference
It is very important to consider the host. If you know the host well, you may want to select a bottle that suits his or her individual preferences. If you’re less familiar with your host’s favorites, select a popular wine variety such as Chardonnay or Merlot.
You can further customize the choice by selecting a wine that matches the recipient’s personality or intended usage. Are they more likely to open the bottle soon or age it in their cellar? Will they savor it during an everyday dinner or bring it out to impress friends? Do they have a fondness towards a particular wine or growing region?
Price Considerations
Of course all decisions must be balanced with respect to its price. In the situation of having a budget of $25 and above, your selections choices are wide open. A favorite of mine and a crowd pleaser is a Cabernet, a well rounded and highly excepted classic.
Ok, now let’s take a look at the $15 to $25 budget range. My suggestion here is that you just stick with a traditional Chardonnay or Merlot. They are both widely appreciated and just a bit less costly than Cabernets.
Even at $15 and under there are some really enjoyable choices. For $10 you can get Veramonte Cabnernet Sauvignon from the Casablanca Valley, located in Chile. Another great selection is the Australian Shiraz or the Sauvignon Blancs, both of which may pleasantly surprise the recipient.
Many people know that the quality of tea leaves is very important for brewing a good cup of tea. However, not many people realize that the water that they use to brew tea is as important, if not more important, for brewing a good cup of tea. Mr. Zhang Dafu of Ming dynasty wrote in his Mei Hua Cao Tang Bi Tan that “Tea leaves need water to be brewed into a good cup of tea. 100% quality water can brew 80% quality tea leaves into a 100% quality cup of tea. On the other hand, 80% quality water can only brew 100% quality tea leaves into an 80% quality cup of tea.”
Lu Yu had detail discussions about tea brewing water in his famous tea book Cha Jing (Tea Bible). Generally speaking, hard water is not good for brewing tea. Water with PH value of greater than 7 may darken color of tea liquor and lighten taste of tea.
After selecting the right type of water, boiling water is the next important step. Cai Xiang of Song dynasty said in his tea book Cha Lu that “To boil water is the most difficult task. Foams will show up if water is not ready. Leaves will fell to bottom if water is over boiled…” When boiling water for brewing tea, people should use high heat to bring the water to rapid boiling. Over boiled water is not suitable for brewing tea.
For more tea related discussions, please visit our site at www.teahub.com
About the Author
www.teahub.com, your trusted source for high quality green, black, oolong and Pu-erh teas.
Wednesday April 30th 2008, 6:14 am
Filed under: Food + Nutrients
Perishable food must be kept cold while commuting via bus, bicycle, on foot, in a car, or on the subway. After arriving at school or work, perishable food must be kept cold until lunchtime.
Why? Harmful bacteria multiply rapidly in the “danger zone” (the temperatures between 40 F and 140 F). So, perishable food transported without an ice source won’t stay safe long. Here are safe handling recommendations to prevent food-borne illness from “bag” lunches.
1. Perishable food, such as raw or cooked meat and poultry, must be kept cold or frozen at the store and at home. Eggs should be purchased cold at the store and kept cold at home.
2. Transport perishable food as fast as possible when no ice source is available. At the destination, keep it cold. Food should not be left out at room temperature more than 2 hours (1 hour if the temperature is above 90 F).
3. Prepackaged combos that contain luncheon meats along with crackers, cheese, and condiments must also be kept refrigerated. This includes luncheon meats and smoked ham which are cured or contain preservatives.
4. At lunchtime, discard all used food packaging and paper bags. Do not reuse packaging because it could contaminate other food and cause food-borne illness.
5. Pack just the amount of perishable food that can be eaten at lunch. That way, there won’t be a problem about the storage or safety of leftovers.
6. It’s fine to prepare the food the night before and store the packed lunch in the refrigerator. Freezing sandwiches helps them stay cold. However, for best quality don’t freeze sandwiches containing mayonnaise, lettuce, or tomatoes. Add these later.
7. Insulated, soft-sided lunch boxes or bags are best for keeping food cold, but metal or plastic lunch boxes and paper bags can also be used. If using paper lunch bags, create layers by double bagging to help insulate the food. An ice source should be packed with perishable food in any type of lunch bag or box.
8. Prepare cooked food, such as turkey, ham, chicken, and vegetable or pasta salads, ahead of time to allow for thorough chilling in the refrigerator. Divide large amounts of food into shallow containers for fast chilling and easier use. Keep cooked food refrigerated until time to leave home.
10. To keep lunches cold away from home, include a small frozen gel pack or frozen juice box. Of course, if there’s a refrigerator available, store perishable items there upon arrival.
Copyright (c) Terry Nicholls. All Rights Reserved.
Terry Nicholls is the author of the eBook “Food Safety: Protecting Your Family From Food Poisoning”. For more tips like these, and to learn more about his book, visit his website at http://tinyurl.com/3fr2t
This recipe begins with refrigerated biscuits, so you are not making the dough from scratch. While there are many steps involved in making this bread, it’s actually a recipe that even young children can help with.
The bread is very sweet. You can substitute Splenda for some or even all of the sugar. The nuts are optional.
Ingredients:
2 cans (7.5 oz each) refrigerated biscuits
cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
cut butter or margarine
cup chopped walnuts
additional sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cut each biscuit into quarters
3. In a large disposable bag, combine cup sugar and one teaspoon of the cinnamon.
4. Drop in biscuit pieces a few at a time, shake and coat.
5. Layer pieces without crowding in a greased 9×5x3 inch loaf pan.
6. In a small sauce pan combine butter or margarine and one teaspoon of the cinnamon.
7. Measure your dry ingredients and add enough sugar so that you have one cup total.
8. Add dry ingredients to sauce pan and boil, stirring constantly.
9. Remove from heat and let cool 15 minutes.
10. Stir in nuts and then spoon mixture over biscuits in pan.
11. Bake 45 minutes.
12. Let cool in pan 5 minutes.
13. Remove from pan.
14. Pull off portions as desired.
Audrey Okaneko is mom to two girls, all of whom love to cook and entertain. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.scrapping-made-simple.com
‘Olive oil’, ‘Virgin’, ‘Extra Virgin’, ‘Light’, ‘Pure’ - Is there a difference? If so, does it matter? Which is better? Are all olive oils ‘extra virgin’? What is ‘extra virgin olive oil’? Are all products sold as ‘olive oil’ essentially the same thing? Here are some answers in plain English:
What is ‘Olive Oil’
A. Olive oil is olive juice, plain and simple.
What is ‘Virgin?’
A. Virgin means mechanical extraction. The oil or juice is extracted by machines with no chemicals used in the process.
What is ‘Extra’?
A. Mechanically extracted (virgin) olive oil is not all the same quality. ‘Extra’ is the highest quality and is thus classified because it goes through a battery of tests, both laboratory (analytical) as well as ‘taste’ (a cutting by an olive oil master similar to the way wines are taste tested). Virgin olive oil that is judged to have ‘no defects’ is classified as extra. So ‘extra virgin’ means - mechanically extracted olive juice that passes laboratory and taste testing with no defects.
Olive oil with slight defects, but that is still good for human consumption is classified as ‘Fine’. Low quality oil with numerous defects is classified as either ‘Ordinary’ or ‘Lampante’ (lamp oil). This oil is either used for industrial purposes or is chemically refined.
What is ‘refined’ oil?
A. Olive oil that is not suitable for human consumption is refined by a heat and chemical process. Chemically refined oil is totally insipid (0% acidity) which means it is flavorless and no quality standards stated or implied. Refined oil is mixed with virgin for color and flavor.
What is ‘pomace’ oil?
A. Pomace is produced by a heat and chemical process from the waste of the ‘virgin’ olive oil after the virgin olive oil is extracted. It is also insipid (0% acidity) with no flavor and no quality standards stated or implied. Pomace is used as a cheap alternative to ‘refined’ oil in order to lower the product cost of the packers who mix it with virgin and refined oils.
What is ‘pure’ olive oil? What is ‘light’ olive oil? What are ‘olive oil blends’?
A. ‘Pure’, ‘Light’, ‘Extra Light’, etc. are not olive oil classifications. They are mixes of refined and/or pomace with virgin oil. Mixes (or blends as packers like to call them) are generally 90-95% pomace/refined with 5-10% virgin oil. Some packers mix in seed, soybean, hazelnut or other oils.
Is there a difference between extra virgin olive oil and the refined oil mixes?
A. Yes. They are two entirely different products. Refined mixes are cheap to produce. Because they are sold at a premium price the mixes benefit the seller more than the consumer.
Extra virgin olive oil is an entirely natural product and is more expensive to produce. Extra virgin olive oil is much better tasting than the refined mixes and provides all of the health benefits that are associated with olive oil.
Antonio Celentano Extra Virgin Olive Oil is extracted from locally grown olives, bottled on site in Crdoba, Spain and most importantly 100% real extra virgin olive oil. Please visit: http://www.antoniocelentano.com for product and contact details.
(Yes, even the cucumber sandwiches.) Tea sandwich recipes are
savory fare, not sweet, often prepared with scallions, garlic,
spicy mustard, pepper or hot sauce. For fun, serve a variety of
tea sandwich recipes or a combination of sandwiches and
appetizers. Here you will find a large assortment of sandwich
recipes including tea sandwiches and chicken salad sandwich
recipes. His Now the meditator should take mistress by such as
chains, whereas betraying my and inclined the tea sandwich
recipes dining-room too.
100 great homemade sandwich recipes to share at your next
picnic, backyard party or tailgate party. 100 different sandwich
recipes ebook! Here you will find a large assortment of sandwich
recipes including tea sandwiches and chicken salad sandwich
recipes. The recipe has a twist with the usual chicken salad
sandwich recipes using pimentoes, sour cream and fresh ginger.
You can add any of the sandwich recipes you like to your recipe
box by clicking on the link in the upper right corner. Find a
sandwich your family will enjoy with recipes that include a
baked puffy cheese sandwich and saucy sloppy joes. Beeton’s hors
d’oeuvre and savouries, including cheese and egg dishes,
sandwiches, salads and dressings: 350 recipes Mrs. 1,101 great
homemade sandwich recipes to share at you next picnic, backyard
party or tailgate party. This book contains recipes for a bounty
of utensil-free foods including…Did you mean: finger
sandwichResults 1 - 10 of 28 for finger sandwiches. In addition
to these sandwich solutions, many other delicious recipes can be
added to enhance your family gatherings and summer festivities.
All online sandwich recipes will be judged on the same contest
criteria: creativity, taste, nutritional balance, ease of
preparation and appearance. Creativity in filling and assembling
sandwiches continued to flourish and in 1936, one cookbook
included 1,000 sandwich recipes. (Yes, even the cucumber
sandwiches.) Tea sandwich recipes are savory fare, not sweet,
often prepared with scallions, garlic, spicy mustard, pepper or
hot sauce. Though sandwiches are usually thought of as lunchtime
fare, these recipes proved delicious and satisfying as the main
entrée at dinnertime, as well. Hundreds of peanut butter
sandwich recipes from across the U.S. If you are tired of peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches, then Great Sandwiches is the
sandwich recipes Ebook for you! His Now the meditator should
take mistress by such as chains, whereas betraying my and
inclined the tea sandwich recipes dining-room too. You’re bound
to find your favourite sandwich recipes and new sandwich recipes
that you didnt know about inside this fabolous ebook! This page
lists sandwich recipes (vegetarian-meatless) with nutrition
facts included. salmon sandwich recipes blood. My aim is to
learn everything I can about sandwich recipes and related
topics. Cut each knuckle sandwich into 4 pieces on the diagonal
and crunch away.Yield: 4More recipes using pears… For fun,
serve a variety of tea sandwich recipes or a combination of
sandwiches and appetizers. Includes healthy sandwich recipes,
hamburger recipes, tofu burger recipes, and other easy lunch …
Cuban Sandwich This is my personal favorite of all the sandwich
recipes at my site. Quite frankly, I simply can’t envisage
anybody not taking to these wholesomely savoury sandwich recipes
like a duck to water. In honor of this special month, I’m
sharing four of my tasty sandwich recipes with you.
Have you ever wondered if there was a healthful alternative to the sugar and preservative filled ice cream you buy in the supermarkets?
If you have or if you would truly like to try homemade ice cream then this is for you. I have a recipe for vanilla ice cream, that will knock your socks off when you taste it.
The first thing you need to know is how to make your own 100% healthy and natural vanilla extract which is a basic ingredient in almost any ice cream.
You might buy this from a good quality store if you can find an unadulterated brand. But to make your own you’ll need about a quart of milk, a vanilla bean (available at most health food stores), and a teaspoon of honey.
You pour the milk in a saucepan and heat on high while you slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and in half.
Then put the halves of the vanilla bean into the milk. Boil for around 15 to 20 minutes, then cook on medium heat for a half hour or until the milk has a thin sheet of film on top.
Stir the mixture constantly as it cooks to prevent burning. Cool the extract and freeze in several small plastic bottles or containers.
This extract will last you for quite awhile since recipes call for only a few teaspoons each. You should-if you plan to make the ice cream anytime soon- save a half cup of the extract in a container in your refrigerator.
Whenever you want to make more ice cream just get the extract out of the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator until a few tablespoons or so are thawed, then refreeze the rest before it thaws out.
Now I’ll give you my vanilla ice cream recipe, follow the instructions carefully and you’ll get wonderful results.
Vanilla Ice Cream
You’ll need: 3 eggs, with the egg whites and yolks separated, 1/2 cup honey, 4 cups light cream, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
1. In a medium size bowl beat the yolks until smooth. Gradually add honey, beating until well-blended and thick. In a different small bowl beat the egg whites until stiff, stir beaten whites in with the yolk and honey.
2. Then add the cream and egg mixture together in a saucepan, cook on medium heat, stirring constantly for 15 minutes.
3. Stir in vanilla extract, and either process in an ice cream maker or just freeze in a bucket container overnight, stirring the ice cream every few hours at first and then allowing the ice cream to freeze on its own.
Serve with an ice cream scoop.
This ice cream is rich, creamy, natural, and very healthy I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
About the Author
For more amazing recipes and baking how-to’s visit E-Cookbooks Or learn to bake your own Bread
