October Baking Adventures

New season, new foods.  

S'more cupcakes.  I can't believe it has been a year since I made these last.  I blogged about these last October.  Just as good as ever.  Also made them for some friends that came into town.  A crowd pleasing dessert.

Chocolate for breakfast?  Chocolate chip scones.  Jacob discovered chocolate chip scones while we were on vacation.  Micheal doesn't like chocolate for breakfast, so I made these for Jacob and I when he was out of town.

I wanted to make these owl cookies last year but I didn't get around to it so I was determined to make them this year.  Cut out cookies are a messy job especially when you have junior help.  Jacob did do a great job decorating them.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/owl-cookies-10000001110264/

Cranberry orange cornmeal cake has become a new favorite in our house.  I have had this recipe for 4 years and I can't believe I waited this long to try it!  It reminds me of Thanksgiving and I can't wait to make it again.  http://www.latimes.com/features/la-fo-sos29-2008oct29,0,2405072.story

Tadpole Memories

The Hoff family was down visiting from Washington and we were lucky enough to all get together.  A big thank you to JT for organizing us all.   For those of you that were not here can you recognize all these kids?  My how they have grown.  

We still look the same, right?

A trip down memory lane.  This one is from Zoe's visit in 2008. 

But we still look the same, right?  Near or far we fondly remember our Tadpole days.

Battle of the Vegetable Tarts

I discovered that you can get your kid to eat anything if you promise an ice cream sundae for dessert.  Excellent parenting, right?  I managed to make two different vegetable tarts this past month.  I have kind of  been on a new food kick lately.

Tart #1 from Bon Appetit, a Roasted Vegetable Tart.  http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/01/roasted-vegetable-tart  It included yummy vegetables of peppers, tomatoes, sweet potato, eggplant and fennel.  Also included decedent items like goat cheese, eggs and heavy cream.  We liked this one very much.

Tart #2 from Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger, Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart.  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/cornmeal-crusted-roasted-ratatouille-tart-recipe/index.html.  This one was layered with eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes.  It had mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  I enjoyed it even though it was way healthier.  Michael thought it tasted like pizza.  Stayed tuned for more food adventures.

So Long Summer

I finally finished my last summer dessert, Plum Knuchen, on the Fall equinox, is that timing or what?  I managed to make everything that I wanted to this summer, I have lofty goals huh.

As a sign of a true professional, I forgot to take a picture of my cake.  This is from the Cooking Light website where I got the recipe  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/plum-kuchen-50400000113763/ .  We had our priorities correct, we ate the cake first.

On Sunday we took a family bike ride with our synagogue on the Ballona bike path to the Ballona creek.  In total we went about 8 miles but if felt longer for me due to the heat and humidity. Jacob took no notice of such things and said "let's go faster".  Most of the ride I was by myself.

Wigwam Resort Vacation

Our first vacation of the summer.  We stayed at the historic Wigwam in Litchfield Park, Arizona.  http://www.wigwamresort.com

Jacob enjoyed spending every day in the pool.

He was a pro at the slides.

Mom and Dad went down the slides too.

We met up with relatives Steven and Janice Rothschild who live in Surprise, Arizona.

Jacob's first golf cart ride.

Wall of sports memorabilia. Steven had decorated his garage with all sorts of memories.

On the advice of a co-worker we went to a down home steak house called Rustlers Rooste in Phoenix. Big food and big portions but was a fun experience.  http://www.rustlersrooste.com/

Nothing like seeing your meat before eating.

Local wild life sighting.

I learned that it takes forty years for one arm to show up on these cactus so this is an old one with 4 arms.

One of the vintage pieces from the Wigwam.

Where our room was located.

They turned a dead palm tree into a totem pole.

Wheel chair.

In case there wasn't enough pool time there was running threw the sprinklers.  A good time was had by all and we look forward to going back someday.

Happy Birthday Jacob

Jacob enjoyed his cards...

Lego Mindstroms books...

Presents...

and Shrinky Dinks, which have been used already.

The piano has been played.

Who doesn't love cake!

And the 1000 piece puzzle was finished in a week, a group effort.  Thank you all for your generous gifts.

Classic Fresh Fruit Tart

My latest creation using the best of  summer fruits.  I have never made a tart before and was determined to make one before all the summer berries were gone.  We made a trip to Surfas to buy a tart pan which was an adventure and Jacob even had a good time.  I used Cook's Illustrated recipe which is my go to magazine when I haven't done something before.  They have really good and specific instructions. 

After we cut into our beautiful creation, the custard part oozed out.  It was not thick enough to hold shape but it tasted good.  If I made this again I would use half the amount of custard.  I liked the crust and thought it came out good.

I am hoping to make a peach cobbler and corn ice cream before summer is up.  Happy eating!