If you want to join in with the fun please send a recipe to the first email in the list of two.

Then forward the email on to your friends taking the first email address out and making the second one the first and your own the second. 

It should be fun to see what kind of recipes that come to you!!

We are participating in a collective, constructive, and TASTY experiment. As such, you have been invited to be part of a recipe exchange concept. We hope you will participate. We have picked those we think would make this fun. Please send a recipe to the person whose name is in position 1 (even if you don’t know him/her) and it should be something quick, easy and without rare ingredients. Actually, the best one is the one you know in your head and can type right now. Don’t agonize over it, it is one you make when you are short of time.
After you’ve sent the recipe to the person in position 1 below and only to that person, copy this letter into a new email, move my name to position 1 and put your name in position 2. Only my and your name should show when you send your email. Send to 20 friends BCC (blind copy). If you cannot do this within 5 days, let us know so it will be fair to those participating. You should receive many recipes. It’s fun to see where they come from! Seldom does anyone drop out because we all need new ideas. The turnaround is fast as there are only 2 names on the list and you only have to do it once.

1) brenna.bahus@gmail.com

2) allasonboyce@knet.ca

Firstly, if a recipe calls for a 10 inch tin then there is a very good reason for that.

I don’t have a 10 inch tin and decided that what was an inch or two between friends and used my nine inch tin.

Yep…

It really needed a 10 inch tin.

While I was pouring the topping over the cake after the first ten minutes was when I learnt this lesson.

It was a bit like trying to pour the contents of a  pint pot into a half pint glass.  Maybe not quite as bad but there was some spillage.

Which cemented my conviction I was right to bring it out of the oven to pour the topping on, despite at first thinking I would just pull the shelf out and pour it on while it was still in the oven.

Which brings me to my second lesson.

Only a complete prat puts a fire/smoke detector right over the oven.

I am not that prat and neither is Allan.  We are the innocent victim’s of said prat’s decision as were my poor Babies who leapt to my aid (I am sure that is what they were thinking of doing as they lay on the bed surrounded by teddy bears) as the automated voice repeated “FIRE! SMOKE!” alternately with a shrill alarm.

But being the resourceful soul I am I fixed the first problem by just setting the tin on a baking sheet so it won’t mess up the oven.

See, not all blondes are dumb ALL the time!

And the second was solved by a smack from my Swiffer.

I think she was insulted as she promptly shut up.

She can stay insulted.

The cake was made about five minutes after I came home from being out in the car with Allan – I have the aim of being able to go out without a melt down by May when we plan to move.

I melted down on this outing even though all I did was sit in the car while Allan went to get some milk.

So, it was kind of appropriate that all the butter needed melted for the recipe.

A trifecta of melt downs.

Literally.

I had originally meant to make this cake way back in October, but seriously… Breathing was enough of a task back then so the fact I made this today despite my melt down really feels like a success.

Which brings me to the next success…

This cake!

It is so good I am sure it is illegal in at least five countries.

Even if it was made in a 9 inch tin instead of a 10 inch.

It isn’t just men who misjudge size it seems. O_O

This is just ooey-gooey and so amazingly rich and sweet that a small piece is enough for most people.  Some might want to eat it all though.

It would go really well with something to cut the sweet richness of the honey sauce which caramelises on the top, bottom and sides and just dribbles through the centre.

The cake is really light, but the sauce makes it very rich.

This is a winner.  If you are reading this, you don’t need to try it, you HAVE to!

Arabic Honey Cake

Arabic Honey Cake

Cake
1/3 cup butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup flour, all-purpose plus 1 tbl

Topping
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Butter a 10″ pan. Preheat the oven to 400F.

Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until it whittens. Add the melted butter and mix well.

Sift the flour and BP. and add to the previous mixture, mix gently.

Pour in the prepared pan and bake 10-12 min.

Meanwhile prepare the topping.

Melt the butter on med heat. Add the rest of the ingred. and bring to a boil stirring constantly.

Pour the topping gently on the cake and return it to the oven for another 15-20 min.

Arabic "Oh My Word, This Is So Good!" Honey Cake

I would love to credit the site I got the recipe from… however, it was October when I found it and for some reason I didn’t save the site with the recipe which I usually do.  So, apologies to whoever originally posted and shared this, for not crediting you, and a big “Thank you!” for doing so.

Also, I am fed up with basic tomato sauce with ground beef.  So, anytime I find a new pasta sauce recipe I try it in the hope it will get approval and be repeated rather than schlopping some pasta sauce (yes, he prefers the premade stuff to the sauces I spend hours making for him) into a pot with some ground beef.

This, was also a bonus as I have stewing beef I had no notion of what to do with as the idea of stew seems foreign to my pasta loving Canadian born-half Scottish husband.

I guess playing football for so many Italian teams for so many years had more of an impact than just knowing how to swear fluently in Italian!

Slow Cooker Beef and Rosemary Pasta Sauce

Slow-Cooker Beef and Rosemary Pasta Sauce

• 1/2lb lb(680 g) beef stewing cubes
• 1 small onion , chopped
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 can (28 oz/796 ml) diced tomatoes , with herbs and spices
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Trim fat from beef cubes; cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces. In Dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil over medium-high heat; brown beef, in batches. Transfer to plate; set aside.

Drain any fat from pan. Add onion, rosemary and 1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper; cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 minutes

Transfer onion mixture to slow-cooker. Pour 1/4 cup (50 mL) water into Dutch oven; bring to boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan.

Pour into slow-cooker along with beef, tomatoes and vinegar. Cover and cook on High for 4 to 6 hours or until beef is tender. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: January 2003

Perfect topped with just a little parmesan...

I don’t know what resolutions anyone has made but one of mine is to spend time doing things I love that will help me feel better about myself and hopefully, in time, help me heal.

So, I am BACK!

And, of course, what could I come back with, but a pancake recipe?

I was thinking about it and being low on energy I decided that standing flipping pancakes just wasn’t going to work, but oven pancakes?

Perfection.

And the memory of that great apple grilled cheese sandwich popped into my mind and this is what happened…

Apple Cheese Oven Pancakes

Apple Cheddar Oven Pancakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 medium unpeeled tart cooking apples, thinly sliced (2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (1 oz)

Heat oven to 450ºF.

Butter a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In medium bowl, beat flour, milk, salt, sugar and eggs with electric whisk until smooth; pour into baking dish.

Slice apples thinly and arrange on top of batter.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until puffy and golden brown.

Sprinkle with cheese. Bake about 1 minute longer or until cheese is melted.

Served with some homemade apple sauce and maple syrup...

Of course, it had to be served with maple syrup and I reckoned a spoonful of homemade apple sauce never goes astray…

So good to be back!

Clever Ideas to Make Life Easier

Why didn’t I think of that?!  We guarantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems.

Hull strawberries easily using a straw.

Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes.

Remove crayon masterpieces from your TV or computer screen with WD40. (I don’t know about removing crayon but I use WD40 to remove gunk from glass and to clean fingerprints off stainless steel appliances and to leave a great shine)

Stop cut apples browning in your child’s lunch box by securing with a rubber band.

Overhaul your linen cupboard, store bed linen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.  (I do this, not that I have piles of sets, but it does make life easier!)

Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone & iPod in a bowl.  The concave shape amplifies the music.

Re-use a wet-wipes container to store plastic bags.

Add this item to your beach bag.  Baby powder gets sand off your skin easily, who knew?! (I knew! My mom used to do this!)

Attach a Velcro strip to the wall to store soft toys.

Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls against the ceiling, rather than cluttering up the floor. (I have a long box I slide under the bed for this.  But in class I used wire to make a hanger from the huge rolls of white paper we used to colour and paint on or to cover the long table for any reason.  So much easier than having to measure and cut each time and just pull until you have enough!)

Find tiny lost items like earrings by putting a stocking over the vacuum hose. (My Nannie taught me this one but do I ever remember when I need to?)

Make an instant cupcake carrier by cutting crosses into a box lid.

Forever losing your bathroom essentials?  Use magnetic strips to store bobby pins, tweezers and clippers, behind a vanity door.

Store shoes inside shower caps when packing to stop dirty soles rubbing on your clothes.  And you can find them in just about every hotel. (Great idea, I used plastic bags but this is a good idea too)

A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy.  Magnets hold the plastic cups down to make them tip-resistant.

Bread tags make the perfect cord labels. (This one would have saved me so much time and hassle in the past…)

Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones, so much more fun and easier for kids to eat.

Microwave your own popcorn in a plain brown paper bag.  Much healthier and cheaper than the packet stuff.  (This works?! I have to try it now I have a microwave.)

Install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles.

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough over the top and voila, you have cookie bowls for fruit or ice-cream.

Freeze Aloe Vera in ice-cube trays for soothing sunburn relief.

Create a window-box veggie patch using guttering.

Just one slice...

Thanks for sharing this, Janet.  I always love recipes that friends share with me.

“Cheesecake.

Get some digestive biscuits, put them in a plastic bag and whack with a rolling pin while thinking of your ex. Melt butter in a pan, stir in the crumbs then push into a flan dish, or a loose bottomed baking tin, whatever you have really. Put in fridge to set.

You need a small tin of evaporated milk and a tub of Philadelphia type cheese. Whisk the milk until it thickens then stir in the cream. It’s best to have it at room temp. When it is suitably blended pour onto the set base and chill again.

When it is set add your topping. I like tinned mandarins (the fruit not the Chinese ones), or use tinned fruit pie filling. Blackcurrant is nice because it is tart. Chill again, then eat the whole thing yourself with double cream after you lock Bob in the bathroom and before Allan gets home.”

My interpretation is:

• 1 1/4 cups graham crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• small can of evaporated milk
• tub of philadelphia cheese
• 2 tsp sugar (I felt it was a little too cheesy for Allan)
• whatever topping you prefer

Mix melted butter with the crumbs.  Press into flan tin and chill to set.

Heat evaporated milk until thick, add in philadelphia cheese and whisk until it melts.

Pour into set crumb base and chill to set.

Top as you choose.

Topped with mixed berries

And it was so good I will definitely be making it again.  Quick, easy and tastes great.  Perfect recipe, Janet! Thanks!

I have decided that Part One will be redone this afternoon, once I can get my husband to take me out to buy some matching baskets.

So, you will have to suffer it again.  I do, so why shouldn’t you, is my thinking!

This is today’s challenge.

Before – Mount Laundry.  Which is on my normally pristine dining table.  I am so darned fussy about that table you have no idea.  Not because it is great quality but because it is space!!  My husband dumped this on the table looking for something.  I don’t like him looking for anything.  It always ends badly for me.

After – my table!!

And the empty basket, which remained empty for about three minutes until I found his jeans and some socks hidden in the bedroom.

But it lasted for a few minutes and the table is back!  Though, I have now decided to move that tissue box too.  So only the chargers and candles will be on the table.

It feels good.

One member suggested we support each other with posting before and after hotspot pictures.

Here is my first post…

I have since decided that new baskets are needed.  I got two suggestions – one to make liners for the plastic boxes – but seeing as my sewing machine is buried under Allan’s things (*glare*) I have decided a couple of new baskets are in order as if nothing is peeking out or can be seen it will look so much better!

So, hopefully, tomorrow we will be getting some new baskets!

______

Inspired, or is that shamed, by chanda_m I took her up on her challenge to photograph before and after hot spots.

It is the evening so I decided to take pictures of all the hot spots I wanted to work on in the kitchen, half of the downstairs and then choose two.

I can’t get the LJ cut to work so will limit to one hot spot per day photograph wise, though I hope to get more done!

Literally in this apartment (which my darling husband chose declaring it had lots of storage) we have three drawers – so we hit up Walmart for a hutch and larder.  This is the top of the hutch.  Yes, that is the ceiling!!

Before.  Laziness meant that the pup’s brushes and treats aren’t in the right baskets and the laundry supplies are all over the place.

After. Not much difference… I wanted it to look “pretty” and it DOESN’T! (Having a sulk here as I conquer Mount Laundry).

Any suggestions to make it look nicer?  I guess I could move the pup’s papers from there…

This is take 2 of after. I swopped the treats to the smaller basket and moved the HUGE bag of treats upstairs where they get their bedtime treats anyway. (In other words I put it off, hoping it would be finished before I get to upstairs!). Plus I moved the papers.

I am a transplant from the UK to Canada and if one more person says “Oh, the houses over there are sooooo much smaller!” I will have a fit!  We are living in a tiny 2 up 2 down here and before I left the UK I had a 5 bedroom detached house to myself! And it had storage!! Everywhere!!

/rant

If you are interested, or bored and want to laugh at a crazy lady, then please feel free to visit it:

http://musinghappeningsandotherstuff.wordpress.com/

It is my happy blog, usually! Full of silly stories and memories and thinks.

And I got into the final (okay all the entrants do) but I am counting it as a success and woke Allan up to see it when I found out last night.

Poor man!

Currently I am third (though there are three joint in second which really means I am fifth, but I am counting it as third!)

I have six votes!!!

http://bakebakebake.livejournal.com/3452348.html