Putting Out Fires

Nate has super powers. Every day he will ask "what is your super power today?"

Today Nate was a super hero fireman. He even has the super hero pose down!

I Want to Ride...

My bicycle!

Our neighbor brought over a hand-me-down bike that her grandsons have out-grown. She thought that it was the perfect fit for Nate and it is! Nate loves his new big boy bike! He's parked his tricycle, I think permanently, and hasn't looked back.

Jim's a proud papa. Though I don't know if it's the bike riding or the fact that Nate sings Queen's "I Want to Ride My Bicycle" while riding!

Raspberry Coffee Cake

I knew that last Thursday was going to be a tough day so Wednesday night I pulled out my baking things and started making a Blueberry Crumb Cake. I had everything except the blueberries so after digging through the freezer I found some raspberries from last year. They would have to work.

First up, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add in the egg.

Then add in the milk.

Right over the top of this batter, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix.

Fold in the berries. The batter might get tinged with the berry juice but it looks great after it is baked! Spread in a well greased 9" baking dish.

In a small bowl, add the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter to make the streusel topping.

You can use a for or pastry blender but I prefer to use my fingers. Squish. Squish. Squish. Until...

combined but still crumbly.

Sprinkle on top of the cake and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. If you are using frozen berries your baking time might increase a bit.

Cool, cut and serve!

The raspberries were perfect. They added a bit of tartness that I really enjoyed. I will definitely make this again once raspberry season is in full swing! Nate LOVED this. In fact, on the top picture those are his little hands grabbing the piece. He couldn't wait for me to finish taking the picture!

Here's a picture of the blueberry version of this recipe.

Raspberry Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

Bread:

4 T. butter, at room temperature

3/4 c. sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

1/2 c. milk

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 c. fresh or frozen raspberries

Topping:

1/2 c. sugar

1/3 c. flour

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

4 T. butter, cut in pieces

Directions:

For Bread: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, beat to combine, then mix in the milk until blended.

Sift over the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir just enough to blend the ingredients. Add the blueberries and stir. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.


For the topping: Place the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter in a mixing bowl. Cut in with a pastry blender until mixture resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan.

Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Happy Father's Day!

A very Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!

Love,
Rice Pot Mama

Where's Gabby?

Where's Gabby? It's not quite camouflage but it's close!

A Need for Chocolate!

 

My life has been chaotic lately. When life gets chaotic, I need chocolate. I got Nate to help me whip up these tasty morsels: Rolo Pecan Turtles. He's always game for making dessert!

The ingredients are simple: small pretzels, Rolo candies, unsalted pecan halves.

Start by laying the pretzels down on a lined (either parchment or a Silpat) baking sheet.

Get some little hands to help you unwrap the candy.

(Cute pic I had to include but my focus was a bit off. Oops)



Place chocolates on top of the pretzels. Place the tray in the oven at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes or until the chocolate look like they are starting to soften. Take the tray out of the oven and squish the pecans down on top.

Cool. I find that it's best to stick the entire tray in the refrigerator for a few minutes for the chocolate to set.

Caution: These are so easy to make and highly addictive. Not a good combo during swimsuit season!



Rolo Pretzel Turtles

Ingredients:

Mini Pretzels

Rolo chocolate candies

Pecan halves

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Unwrap your Rolos. Place pretzels on a lined baking sheet (either parchment paper or a Silpat) in one layer. Top each pretzel with a Rolo. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes, until the chocolate begins to melt. The Rolo candy should be soft but not completely melted. Remove from oven. Immediately squish the Rolo candy with a nut.

Wait until cooled before eating.


Banana Bread

Banana bread was a staple in our house growing up. Toasted with butter for breakfast or plain for a snack anytime. Today we go through spurts of banana bread making. Some days the kiddos have the banana munchies and there isn't a banana in site. When they are past their banana cravings and we have a few around to get brown and speckled I get baking.

Typically I alternate between 3 or 4 tried and true recipes depending upon my mood. This one is from my mom and the recipe I use when I decide to bake at the last minute. It doesn't call for softened butter so it's possible to make when the mood strikes!

The kiddos have recently been in a no-banana eating phase so I have a stock pile of bananas in the freezer. Have you ever frozen your bananas? No? It's great! I use them to thicken and freeze up smoothies and for baking as they come out nice and mushy so there is little mashing to do! Any, I digress...

So first things first, peel the cold slippery suckers. Mash and let stand at room temperature.

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs and oil. (Like my new green spatula? I LOVE it!)

Stir in the mashed bananas.

Sift the flour and baking soda on top. You don't really have to sift if you have lump free baking soda. The box I have has been open for a while so sifting is a must!

Stir until flour is well incorporated. Pour batter into a well-greased bread pan and bake for 45-55 minutes.

When toothpick inserted into bread comes out crumb-less the bread is done. I love it sliced warm. Yum!
Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. oil
2 bananas, mashed
1 1/4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
pinch of salt

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bread pan and set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the sugar, eggs and oil. Add in the mashed bananas. Stir well.

Sift on top of the banana mixture the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir until well incorporated. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until tester comes out clean. When cooled, slice and enjoy!

Growing Up

Lately I feel like I turn around from one of my kiddos and look back and they've grown up. My big boy's vocabulary is growing daily and my baby girl is looking more toddler than baby. On Wednesday she said "Mama" for the first time.

 Now that I am a parent I know the truth behind the idiom "time flies."