Key Lime Cupcakes

For a party, I was asked if I would make Trishia Yearwood's Key Lime Cake into cupcakes.  I made some alterations to her recipe and thought they were a hit!  The alterations are listed below in the recipe (mainly the glaze and slightly with the icing), but you are able to search the net for the original recipe for her Key Lime Cake that was featured in her "Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood."

Cupcakes (makes 36)

     Ingredients

• 3 ounce box of lime gelatin
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cup oil (IMHO I think that is too much though I still use it--I might try only 3/4 cup next time)
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (best way to obtain this is to squeeze over a mini-strainer to avoid seeds)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 5 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Either grease and flour muffin tins or line with cupcake liners.
3. Mix dry ingredients.
4. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
5. Bake 15 minutes.  (For sheet cake, 35-40 min.; For 3 round 9inch pans, 20-30 min.)
6. Pour glaze over cupcakes immediately after removing from oven.  Glaze recipe is below.

Glaze

     Ingredients (This is where Trisha and I definitely differ)

• 1/2 cup lime juice (zest first and then put through a good juicer)
• 2 cups powdered sugar

1. I zested each of the limes (3) and saved the zest for sprinkling over the iced cupcakes.
2. Put the 3 limes into a good quality juicer to get as much juice from it as possible.  It should equal 1/2 cup.
3. Mix the lime juice with 2 cups of powdered sugar to make a glaze.
4. WHILE THE CUPCAKES ARE STILL HOT, pour a little bit of glaze on top to allow it to soak down into the cake.
5. Be careful to reserve between 1/4-1/2 cups of glaze to add to icing.

Icing 

     Ingredients  (here I add some lime glaze for a slight bite to mellow the sweetness)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter at room temp
• 8 oz box of cream cheese at room temp
• 1 pound (16 ounces) of powdered sugar
• 1/4-1/2 cup of the reserved lime glaze

1. Cream butter and cream cheese until well blended.
2. Slowly add powdered sugar and lime glaze until well mixed.
3. Pipe the icing on top of cupcake and sprinkle lime zest on top for added decoration.

Fever

Mary Beth Keane paints the portrait of Mary Mallon in an amazing, heart-wrenching story that delivers her life and struggles in a graceful flow of words that will captivate your very soul and open your eyes to another side of this negatively plagued "Typhoid Mary," as she was called.  

Mary Mallon was a brave young woman when she left her home in Ireland to seek a new life in America.  New York was far from what she imagined.  It was filthy with horse manure, trash, and the stench of decay, but she was determined to make something of herself.  She started out as a laundress, but when the house cook became ill, she was given the opportunity to prove her cooking skills.  She did so with such ease because it was her passion to cook.  Mary enjoyed that cooking also furthered her advancement and pay more than the position of laundress ever would.  

From the first bite, she won the palates of many.  However, her reputation of creating wonderful food wasn't the only thing following her from one job to the next.  People around her began to contract typhoid fever; some even met their fate.  To Mary, it was simply an unfortunate coincidence--after all not all became ill, but to Dr. Soper, a "sanitary engineer," it was a medical fascination.  

Dr. Soper was determined to study Mary because she was the first asymptomatic carrier, and she was unknowingly inflicting those who ate her food.  After many failed attempts to talk with Mary and convince her to allow him to remove one of her organs he felt was creating the typhoid bacilli, he resorted to obtaining her by force.  Mary was transported to a hospital, unable to contact her friends or her boyfriend, Alfred Briehof, a German immigrant and alcoholic whom Mary had chosen to live with despite the scrutiny of others.   Still not receiving cooperation from Mary, the Department of Health quarantined her on North Brother Island from 1907-1910.   

During her time in quarantine, she yearned not only for her freedom but to be with Alfred.  Through all the uncomfortable tests and embarrassing samples she was required to give, she continued to plead for her release, stating she was healthy and had harmed no one.  

Her only companion on the island was John Cane who was the groundskeeper.  If not for him, the hope of seeing Alfred again, and the belief her lawyer, O'Neill would get her off the island, she might not have been such a strong woman through the ordeal.  

Upon her release, she learned her time on the island had come with a cost; her two passions were taken from her.  Alfred was hers no more, and she was to swear off cooking for anyone ever again.  She was thrust back into the dirty streets of New York with no money, living in a boardinghouse, and working yet again as a laundress.  Her spirit was nearly broken.

A chain of historical events continued to unfold shortly thereafter: the Triangle Waist Company tragedy; the Titanic; even the less known woes between Mary and Alfred.  Just when life started to seem as if were settling down--Mary and Alfred were living together again and Mary was offered a good paying job as a cook at the Maternity Ward in a hospital--the life of Mary Mallon would come to a sudden halt.  She was cooking again.  People began to get sick.  

In one clean sweep Mary realized she could actually be the cause of the fever, Alfred died of drug abuse, and she was taken again by Dr. Soper to North Brother Island.  She didn't put up a fight this time, not even when she was taken before properly burying Alfred.  

It was at North Brother that Mary served out the remaining twenty-three years of her life.  Though she died in 1938, her legacy of spreading typhoid fever lives on.  Mary Beth Keane's book Fever allows Mary Mallon to live beyond the whispers, judgment, and news headlines.  She looks beyond the fever to the story of a woman and pens her beautifully.

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley, but in no way has my judgment of this book been influenced.  My opinions are that of my own.  

Dragons in Our Midst? Bring on the Dragon Adventure!

Every now and then I find a book that my children and I can enjoy and share together.  We discuss our likes, our dislikes, and whether the book left us wanting more.  Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis is one of those books that left us wanting more.  It is an action-packed, nail-biting adventure for all ages.   

Billy Bannister was an average teenage boy, or so he thought.  His life begins to turn upside down when he has strange dreams and symptoms of scalding hot air coming from his lips.  The kids at school gave him a name, "Dragon breath," and it was closer to the truth than any would have imagined.  

When Billy accidentally sets off the fire systems at school and gets suspended, he sneaks into his own home to avoid being caught by his parents.  In doing so, he overhears their conversation that explains everything.  In one clean swoop of eavesdropping, he learns his dad is a real dragon cloaked in human skin.  That would make Billy half dragon!  He instantly feels betrayed, wondering why his father has kept such an important detail about his life from him all these years.  

If that wasn't enough information to take in, Billy learns he isn't the only child of a dragon, the secret of who they are is out, and a band of dragon slayers is after them.  The leader of the dragon slayers is evil in the worst way and will do anything necessary to achieve his goals.  Can Billy, his dad, and others survive the wrath of the slayers?  And in the heat of it all, can Billy learn to trust again?

From the very opening, I was thrown into the world of mystery, dragons, and Arthurian tales. The book kept me captivated until the very end.  Davis does it with such ease by allowing the story to continue its flow and yet still allowing for those "AHA" moments when a clue or detail is pulled to light from earlier in the reading in order to further the plot. 

The book was a fantastic read for all ages, and the best news is that the story doesn't have to end with the last page.  There are three more books in the series, Dragons in Our Midst.  The Dragon Adventure can continue.

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley, but in no way has that altered or influenced my opinions of this book.  

Chocolate-Covered Baloney: Confessions of April Grace

I don't know about you, but I miss the 80s.  I miss the simple nature of not having everything at my fingertips.  Today, with the internet, cellphones, texting, emails, Google searches, nothing is left to the imagination.  I covet the days of waiting excitedly for the phone to ring and having to guess who the caller was on the other end before hearing their voice.  I miss using my imagination to figure something out or waiting to visit the library in order to rummage through the encyclopedias for information.  

One day I was writing letters to friends or family in another state, and the next, I was facebook messaging them.  What happened?  Everything changed, and it seemed to happen overnight.

I'm not a huge fan of change, and neither is April Grace Reilly, a sixth-grader from Cedar Ridge.  
April Grace's life turned upside down in such a short time, and it all started with a simple warning in church.   It was almost as if the sermon Pastor Ross gave that Sunday morning in 1987 was meant specifically for April Grace and her family.  He simply said, "Things are gonna change." (pg 1)  And boy, oh boy, things surely did change!

Simple things occurred at first.  Isabel, the Reilly's uppity neighbor from California became April Grace's gym teacher.  Isabel wasn't just any ole gym teacher; she was teaching them dance the Proper Way.  

Then, April Grace's sister, Myra Sue starts acting very sneaky.  For a dumb fourteen year old, Myra Sue was acting more dumb than usual according to April Grace.  She became suddenly interested in the mail and homework, which April Grace highly suspected was just a cover-up for something else.  After all, Myra Sue never did her homework and was too accustomed to making Cs to start studying now.  Even more peculiar, Myra Sue became overly fascinated in the phone--way more fascinated than her average teenage, soap opera-loving self.

Still trying to figure out what Myra Sue is hiding, another stick is thrown in the road when a long-lost relative suddenly appears.  April Grace has reached her limit of change, but the boulder won't stop.  What was Myra Sue hiding?  Who is this relative, and Why is this person in her home, her life, expecting to be part of the family when they haven't been before?

Problems of change come in all sizes, but the biggest comes towards the end.  I won't spoil it for you (you have to read it for yourself), but the Reilly family as a whole learns to listen and forgive right smack in the middle of a crisis.  Most of all, April Grace learns to treasure her sister, Myra Sue, and that sometimes, being a big-fat tattletale is the right thing to do.

I have to say, I really enjoyed this book.  Katherine McCrite's Chocolate-Covered Baloney: Confessions of April Grace took me back to the time of phone cords being stretched as far as they'd reach for privacy, solving problems without the internet, and entertainment of days long ago.  This book is perfect for a young girl of today who needs a different perspective (after all the 80s are back in style).  It is also for us adults who as a child of the 80s can relive those moments all over again.  

Change isn't easy.  I can say I wish some things were still the same as they were in the 80s...except BIG HAIR.  That is one thing that definitely needed to change!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Beer Anyone?

It is amazing how quickly time can get away from us.  We can easily get so caught up in our daily lives that the little things get swept under a rug.  

I must apologize to any of my readers out there who have been waiting for me to create another blog story.  I'm sorry I have failed in keeping a constant flow of words.  

However, life is so important when we have family.  I admit I set the blog aside to spend those precious moments with my children and husband.  I don't regret that time spent with them, but I want you to know that I haven't forgotten you.  

I recently came across this story (you might have heard it before).  Not only is it a life lesson to live by, but it has a great ending.  I loved it and thought of you.

A meteorology professor stood before his Meteorology 101 class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty glass mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a jar of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open spaces between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar and of course the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous yes.

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and then proceeded to pour the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things -- your family, your partner, your health, your children, your friends, your favorite passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

"The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. Play another 18.

"There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers." 

So I say, "Cheers to you in the New Year!  I hope each of you have a fantastic year ahead of you!"

Side note: I have to argue that from the beginning the jar was never empty.  This would be the educator and hopefully optimistic side of me speaking.  Air filled the jar.  You may look at air (invisible but still there) in any way you like.  Just keep in mind that your life is never empty.  

Creating Space

Homeschooling is an amazing gift to give your children.  Many will tell you they enjoy the time spent with their kids, and I completely agree.  The best thing in my opinion, however, is watching the light go on in their eyes that says, "I get it!"  

So, where should this home school take place in order for the light to go off?  Everyone is different; everyone will have their idea of what suits their family best.  For us, creating a space solely for the purpose of our homeschool education was ideal.  We have a room upstairs that we planned on making our theater room, but after much thought, I decided it would instead be our classroom.  

I take more of a School-to-Home approach in our Home School.  I went by a local school and asked if there were any desks they were throwing away.  I snagged two student desks and a teacher's desk.  I bought shelves for our books, a desk for the computer, and posters from the local teacher's supply shop.  We hung a dry-erase board and maps.  We even created an art area.  Our space was suddenly looking less like a theater room and more like an authentic classroom.  

While this option may not be available to everyone, any space whether it is a dining room or spare bedroom can be easily transformed with a few bookshelves and posters.  Creating an area used only for education leaves less room for distractions and wandering minds.  

If you homeschool, I'd love to see what you've done!

To see other homeschool classrooms around the nation, click below.

All About Vases

pic from paulagracedesigns

Vases date back to over 5,000 years ago and are still being used today.


They can be old or new, shiny or rustic, colorful or plain...whatever their properties, they are beautiful and versatile.   





Display them with flowers or plants as usual to brighten a room.  


I really enjoy a table with fresh flowers.  Don't you?

pic from frostmeblog

Clear vases can show the beauty of petals, shells, stones, wine corks, or buttons and beads.  


Fill them with all sorts of show-and-tell decor.  

Daylily stalks

Going for something more unusual?  They can also be decorated with sticks, feathers, or daylily stalks.  
Yes, I said daylily stalks.  


Daylily stalks are something I thought of last year, and I love it.  


Once the daylily dies and the stalk dries, pull it out of the plant.  Then, you can cut it to the desired length.  


Using what ever is around the house will surely save some money and create a beautiful space at the same time.

Fried Fish

There are two versions to this recipe.  One is crispy while the other reminds me of having my fish coated in hush puppies.  While it was done by accident, it is just as yummy as the crispy version.  Enjoy both below!

Crispy Fried Fish

     Ingredients

• fish fillets (I prefer tilapia)
• flour for coating
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs (find them in a can at the grocery)
• 1 Tbsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried lemon peel

1. Preheat your Fry-Daddy.
2. Coat your fish with flour
3. Dip the fish in a mixture of eggs and buttermilk.
4. Then, dip the fish in the mixture of seasonings (Lawry's, garlic salt, pepper, and lemon peel)
5. Fry them until nicely brown.  Drain on paper towels.

Hush puppy covered Fried Fish

     Ingredients

• fish fillets (I prefer tilapia)
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (or perhaps a little more)
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs 
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1 Tbsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp lemon peel
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 cup finely diced green bell pepper
• 1/8-1/4 cup cream-style corn (optional)

1. Preheat your Fry-Daddy.
2. Mix eggs, buttermilk, and all other ingredients.
3. Thickly coat the fish in the mixture
4. Drop in the oil and fry until nicely brown.  Drain on paper towels.

Green Thumb?

There was a recent discussion on a blog community about whether or not any of us had a green thumb.  I had to be honest and admit (with my tail between my legs) that I, unfortunately, do not have a green thumb.  In fact, some may argue that I have a black thumb...as in the thumb of death, the black plague.

Many times my husband has brought home a plant to surprise me: miniature roses, an African violet, and bamboo that was beautifully intertwined in an Asian decor pot.  I killed them all.  

This past Christmas/Holiday Season, he brought home a poinsettia for our dining room table.  Within a matter of days, it was dead.  My children were a bit disturbed by this.  They kept saying over and over, "She killed it.  It was so pretty, and she killed it.  How can she forget to water it?"

As a joke, earlier this year, my husband bought a collection of cacti for me.  "Even you can't kill these."  He said with confidence that we may finally have some greenery in our home.  The kids laughed along with their father and cheered at the thought that their mother wasn't going to kill this plant...or so they thought.

Within a few weeks' time, all but two of the cacti were dead.  You should have seen my husband and I trying to fish out the dead cacti.  OUCH!  They still hurt even when they are dead!!!  Little, barely visible, needles were coating our hands and arms where the towel did not protect us.  The kids looked on with a combination of horror and amusement.  "Plant killer!" my children called me.  They had obviously reached a point where they realized I may be able to cook, but I can't grow anything, inside nor outside the home.  

I've tried to grow a garden, but with the hard, solid clay we have as a yard, even weeds have a hard time thriving.  I have tried and tried to grow a decent tomato, but the soil (cough) -I mean cement- isn't giving up and neither am I.  

I continue to try every year to grow a garden.  Though after a few weeks or months, or perhaps sometimes even days, I'm left with nothing except an occasional weed that my daughter picked and stuck into the ground on purpose to make up for my loss.  She feels sorry for me, I'm sure.  

My mother recently gave me a plant for our breakfast table.  It was part of my birthday present.  She returned a month later to find the leaves shriveled and crisp under her fingers.  They crumbled to the table as she touched them.  She gave me a look of, You are still killing plants, I see.  You definitely do not get the gift of gardening from me.  She is talented at growing...everything, while I am talented at killing all things green.  Poor plants.

Again, my children pointed in my direction with an accusing tone, "Plant killer!"   Zach, my son, said I didn't have a green thumb, but instead, I had a black thumb.  "She turns all green plants black because she kills them, so she must have a black thumb."  He wasn't being mean.  He was simply being matter-of-fact.

So, to explain the green plants in our house to any who shall visit, they are taken care of by my daughter who is sparing their lives.  To explain the weeds in our yard...well, that wasn't me either.  

Green Monsters

Wow!  That is all I can say when I drink a Green Monster.  

What is a Green Monster?  

It is an amazing concoction of fruits and vegetables created by Angela on her site Oh She Glows.  She is responsible for the Green Monster Movement (a great place to find different recipes).


It is called a Green Monster, or green smoothie, because it is usually made with spinach or kale, giving it a brilliant green color.  You might be thinking Yuck!   Well, try it first.  

You will be saying "YUUUUMMMMY" the moment the drink hits your lips.  

I, too, was wary in trying this drink.  I first heard about it about a year and a half ago.  I rejected it and rejected it again.  Then, finally I caved back in May, and I fell in love with it!!!  What is even better is so did my children.  They LOVE drinking Green Monsters.  I've even caught them stealing mine when I wasn't looking.  This is rare because it is hard to put down once I start drinking them, but they work together as a team to distract me.  Sneaky little kids I have.  :) 


These smoothies are so healthy, filled with vitamins and nutrients, and great for your skin and hair.  They improve you from the inside out.  Oh, and if you are like me and crave sweets...this will curb those cravings because it tastes like dessert.  SERIOUSLY!   

They are sooo good!

This is my favorite recipe so far:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1 handful of kale or spinach
• 1 cup of milk, soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, or coconut milk  *(my favorite is vanilla or chocolate flavored soy milk)
• 6 ice cubes

1. Put in a good blender and blend till smooth.
2. Enjoy!  

You can change this recipe to add more fruit variety, flax seed, wheat grass, a scoop of cocoa or carob powder....the ideas are limitless.  Play around with it to find your favorite.  

Join the Green Monster Movement and 

Get your Green On!

Martina's Zucchini Tart

I came across a FANTASTIC recipe while watching The Chew on ABC.  Martina McBride was on the show providing her family's favorite recipe, Zucchini Tart.  It looked delicious, so I wrote the recipe down to save for a rainy day.  Well, today was rainy and I decided to make it.  Ooooooh I am so glad I did!  Try it and you will love it too.  Though I did make a couple of tweaks.  My alterations are listed below, but the original recipe can be found by clicking the link above (where it says Zucchini Tart).

     Ingredients

• 1 Thawed, DEEP dish pie crust (not graham).  
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 3 Tbsp goat cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup oil packed sundried tomato, drained
• 1/2 cup fresh basil
• 1/4 cup green onions
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 1 zucchini thinly sliced into rounds
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup half & half
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Pour egg/milk mixture over zucchini

1. Preheat oven to 400.  
2. Cook pie crust for 5-6 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to 350.
4. Put in food processor = 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, basil, green onions, oregano and process until everything is chopped and mixed
5. Sprinkle in the bottom of lightly cooked pie crust, 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese
6. Spread the mixture from the food processor on top of the mozzarella cheese.
7. Top with thinly sliced zucchini.
8. Mix in a bowl = 2 eggs, half & half, salt, and pepper.
9. Pour over the zucchini in pie.
10. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
11. Bake for 35 min.
12. Serve warm.
13. Enjoy!!!

Here is mine!  Sooo cheesy on top!

Life of Books and Movies

Every time I read a book or watch a movie, I get sucked in.  I get so involved in their story that it becomes my own.  I become engulfed on their journey as they live the life of fantasy.  I follow them through their sorrow, pain, and woe into the light of love, romance, and joy.  I laugh with them.  I cry with them.  I ooh and ahhh when they fall in love.  Hardly ever an unhappy ending befalls on the sweet and hero-bestowed characters.  Just for a moment, or for the duration of the story, I wish I could switch places or perhaps at least be there in person to witness the life of perfection where everything seems to fall right in place when expected.  It is when the paper or film has ended that I sigh heavily with a bittersweet sensation.  On one hand, I wish the story could continue; that I could continue to follow the characters on to the next chapter of their lives.  On the other, I feel let down that the story is just that...a fictional story and not my own reality.  Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my family and the life I have with them in it, but to take them with me on the journey through the pages of someone else's script, where the sun never clouds, where smiles never fade, where trouble and heartache cease to exist....  Life of books and movies are just not reality, but we can always pretend.  Maybe I'll ask Justin later if he's ready to pack the kids up with me and move far, far away.  Perhaps Hawaii or Australia or Italy or even France is calling our names.  Or maybe I'll just go read another book.  :)