Pictures of "Christmas in July" Cake

Here are a few pictures of the cake I made for my family's Christmas in July celebration.
The pictures are by LaVonne Anderson as posted on Smugmug. She has LOTS of pictures so check them out by clicking HERE

Tada! Here is the cake. The theme was everything "Christmas in July" throughout the years. The cake itself is shaped like a big hill since the cabin we stay at is on a hill. The green frosting is the "grass".

The topper is a pond with a canoe and sand (graham crackers) and a zip line. At the cabin there is a pond that we frequently go swimming and canoeing in, and one year they had a working zip-line that we would ride down and fall into the pond. Very fun and of course super safe ;)

The rest of the cake had random decorations made of fondant and/or scrap-booking paper. Theses are cards since my family have always been fond of playing card games such as 500, Pig-it & Hog it, and Hearts.

In this shot is a "plate of food". We always have an enormous amount of delicious food at any of our family gatherings, so it was only fitting to make a "steak, peas, and banana" out of fondant.

The LOVE decoration is based on our synchronized swimming routine (see picture below). We have floating "noodles" and sing while we dance (or flop) around in the pond. This is a common formation that we use. You can also see some happy fish, a candle, and a soccer ball in this picture. I had a little help making those decorations.

I promise this spells "Love" and the letter on the right was an "e"... it was just a little hard to float while singing :)

Other decorations on the cake were a butterfly, snowman, sun, flower, golf club and golf balls. This was a fun cake to make and it was even more special because of all the family touches.
Yay for warm fuzzy feelings (and happy mouths when we ate it)! :)

Frustrations...

So I will apologize in advance, but I need to vent for a minute...

I have been working out and trying to lose a few pounds/get in shape for a while now. I started with Turbo Fire in April which is mainly cardio for about 45 min-1 hour,  about 5 days a week. No problem... In addition to the cardio workouts, I tried to run about 2-3 times a week because I have always wanted to run a 5K (I used the couch to 5K app). I did that until mid June and didn't really see any results. I didn't feel different, weight was hovering at the same level as when I started, and I only lost an inch around my chest (not exactly the results I was looking for, but whatever). So I talked to Brandon about it since he is my coach (I guess he is my husband too... minor detail though) and he said that maybe cardio isn't what I need, and that I should try weight training instead. Per his recommendation, I started P90X and I am currently on my 6th week.

Here is where the frustration comes in...
These workouts are between 1 to 1 1/2 hours 6 days a week. This leaves me no time to run because by the time I get home, work out, shower, and eat, it is time to go to bed. There is a lot of pushups/pullups which I currently struggle with, so I feel like I am not doing very good when I can only do 5 "girl" pushups while the other people are doing 30+ regular pushups (I know they are professionals and are supposed to be awesomely fit, but still... I am venting here). I have really been working hard at the workouts and I truly give my best effort every time even when I don't like it (aka: yoga). I have also been trying to eat healthy which I do pretty well at, minus the occasional splurge on pizza or a beer (not really that often, but it happens).
Well today I decided to weigh myself and see if I made any progress. Turns out I gained 6 pounds and I have a tricep... on my right arm (not the left).
I tried to run again today since it has been over a month since I last ran... and my pace was almost a 12 minute mile... I used to be able to run a 10:30 minute mile. (granted it was 102 degrees out when I ran, but I don't want to make excuses, I am simply out of "running" shape)

So in my head, by working out I have slowed my running pace, gained weight, and have become lop-sided. All this being said, I am still going to finish P90X and give it my best effort. I don't know if it is the best option for me, but I want to be able to say I finished it and that I tried my best. It just makes it hard when you don't see the results you are working towards, and I just want to feel good about myself.

All in all though, I know this is a small drop of water in the ocean of life and it really isn't that big of a deal. There are much bigger problems/obsticals out there and if this is what I am frustrated about, I think I have a pretty good life. Sorry to be a debbie-downer, but I just wanted to vent to get it out of my system.

Now I am going to blog about baking again and be happy :)

Cake Recipes

Butter Cake

10 oz butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs (room temp)
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup milk

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 inch round cake pan.
2) Using electric beaters, cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla, then eggs (one at a time) beating well after each addition.
3) Sift flours together in mixing bowl. Add combined flours alternatively with milk into the butter mixture and fold until smooth.
4) Bake for aprox 50-60 minutes (I would check it around 40 minutes though) or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.
5) Leave in cake pan for at least 5 minutes before turning out onto rack to cool.




Carrot Cake

2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbs oil
1/3 cup milk
5 oz apple puree (I used homemade apple sauce with no sugar)
10 oz grated carrot
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional, I left them out)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 7x4 inch loaf pan (I used a 6inch round pan and had some batter left over for cupcakes)
2) Sift flour, baking soda, and spices into a large bowl. Stir in sugar (and raisins, optional)
3) Mix the eggs, oil, milk, and apple puree into the dry ingredients. Stir in carrot.
4) Spread into baking pan and smooth top. Bake for aprox 1 hour or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.

**NOTE** My cake was very thick and heavy, it took a while to bake, and it didn't have too much flavor. The only things I did differently was use apple sauce instead of puree and omitted the raisins. I ended up buying a box carrot cake mix and using that for the Xmas in July cake just so it would be a little fluffier and more moist. Since I am using it as the top layer of the cake I didn't want to use the really heavy one from the recipe above. I am still going to bring it for people to eat though. :)




Aunt Lois' Cake

Cake:
1 yellow box cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 can mandarin oranges (11 oz) with juice

Topping:
1 tub cool whip
1 can crushed pineapple (20 oz) with juice
1 instant vanilla pudding mix

1) Crush oranges with electric beater and add oil and the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.
2) Add the dry cake mix and beat until combined and smooth. Place batter in a greased 9x13 inch pan.
3) Bake at 350 for aprox 25-30 minutes or until golden brown
4) To make topping: Dissolve pudding mix in the pineapple and fold in whipped cream. Frost when cake is completely cooled, store cake in refrigerator. 

X-mas in July Cake

This weekend will be my family's Christmas in July celebration with the majority of my Dad's side of the family. We all gather at my Aunt and Uncle's cabin and stay for the weekend. It is always a good time, lots of food, relaxing, card games, and even some synchronized swimming. Each family that comes is "in charge" of a meal, so my contribution to the meal my family is in charge of is....a cake. Go figure right? I am using the same pans that I did for the Seussical cake, but this time I am tailoring it more to our family's get together.

The layers are:
Top layer- Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
2nd layer-  Aunt Lois' Cake (a mandarin orange cake with a light pineapple frosting)
3rd layer- Butter cake with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting
Bottom layer- Fudge brownie with vanilla buttercream frosting

I originally wanted to do all light fruity flavors like lemon, raspberry, strawberry, orange, etc since it is summer and going to be HOT. However my mom said I HAD to do at least one chocolate layer. Then I asked my uncle (the host of the weekend) what his favorite kind of cake was, and he chose carrot. Aunt Lois' cake is one of my dad's favorite and has been in my family for a while, so that was a given. The butter cake with raspberry filling was one of the flavors at Brandon & I's wedding, so that is why I chose that flavor.

As for decorations... I am not quite sure how I will tie it all together yet... I was thinking of green frosting to look like grass all over the cake, then have little sculptures of summery things that remind me of Christmas in July. I guess we will see how it turns out!

I will do separate posts for the recipes of the cakes.

Suessical Cake

In June Brandon was the mayor of Who-ville in Seussical the Musical at the Rose Theater. For the last weekend of the show I made a cake (by the request of some of the cast members). Each layer is a different form of chocolate.

Topper: Chocolate coated chow mien noodles (nest), fondant egg, and pretzel/fondant/frosting Truffala Tree
Top Layer: Devils Food cake with white chocolate chunks and red fondant
Second layer: Marble cake with yellow fondant
Third layer: Chocolate cake with mint filling and mint buttercream frosting
Bottom layer: Fudge brownie with blue vanilla buttercream frosting

 

Beef Stew

Tonight for supper I made beef stew and it was pretty darn tasty. As with all my soups, I never use a recipe... I just dump and stir until it looks (but more importantly tastes) right. I can tell you most of the ingredients I used, but just not the quantities.

I had leftovers from a beef roast I made earlier in the week with rosemary and fennel, and I also reserved the broth/stock. I threw that in a dutch oven on the stovetop and let it start to simmer. I also added a little canned beef broth, tomato sauce, and a little water for more liquid volume.

The veggies I used were potatoes, celery, carrots, corn, garlic, and onion.

The spices/seasonings I used included garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed, paprika, bay leaves, a seasoning salt blend, and black pepper.

I am sure I added something else along the way, but this is what I could remember :) We do have a bunch of leftovers, so I am going to try to freeze some to use later. 

PS- if anybody knows a good way to take a picture of soup so it doesn't look gross, let me know!

Easter Yummies

For Easter dinner Brandon's parents and sister's family came over to our house. Six adults and 3 children. Here was the menu:

Baked Ham with a Spiced Honey Glaze
Au-gratin Potatoes
Pasta Salad
Coleslaw
Green Bean Casserole
Deviled Eggs
Fresh Fruit (pineapple, grapes, strawberries, oranges)
Buns
Lemon Meringue Pie and chocolate cakes in the shape of Easter eggs

 

Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Argo® OR Kingsford's® Corn Starch
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 baked (9-inch) pie crust
• 3 egg whites
• 1/3 cup sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine 1 cup sugar and corn starch in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Stir in egg yolks.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice and butter.
3. Spoon hot filling into pie crust.
4. Beat egg whites in small bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in remaining 1/3 cup sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form.
5. Spread meringue evenly over hot filling, sealing to edge of crust.
6. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire rack at room temperature for 30 minutes; refrigerate for 3 hours before serving. 

 

The cheese sauce got added later, but I forgot to take a picture then :)