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Love, Katydid

Snow

Saphira, our Great Dane, trying to catch a snowball

Time to relax!

The two biggest holidays are here! Well at least the seemingly most stressful ones. Everyone seems to go a little crazy trying to shop in the wee hours of the night, while working over time, and the kids are out of school! So a nice thing to look forward to would be...A MASSAGE! Not just a massage but an entire relaxation package!

Head on over to http://www.sassyscoops.com/spa-services/aveda-life-salon-and-spa-huge-giveaway

One SassyScoops.com reader is going to win a 30-minute massage, 30-minute facial, haircut and simple style and makeup application with eyebrow sculpting!

Giveaway ends December 10th!

Hurry and enter so you can relax before Christmas :)

The Learning Tower & Giveaway at Go Graham Go

Let me just start by saying my son is a climber and a helper. He loves to help me clean dishes in the sink. He isn't even two years old yet!

The downside is that if something is out of his reach, he goes for it! For example, we own a bar height dining table. One day while talking to a friend, I all of a sudden had this epiphany, its too quiet! I said wait where is he? My friend replies, "uh Katy, he is on top of your dining room table drinking a coke. He was fine but I on the other hand, never looked at my dining room table the same again. This was the beginning of Nowee's "if I see, I'm gonna get it" stage.

Which brings me to the Learning Tower. I don't mind if my son reaches for the sky, as long as he has a safe way to reach. The Learning Tower is a safe way for your child to feel like he or she belongs. Anyways, I had to post this giveaway! For more information about the Learning Tower go to www.littlepartners.com and you can also visit www.gograhamgo.com for more reviews and giveaways.

Please visit http://www.gograhamgo.com/2010/11/learning-tower-smartest-step-stool.html

This giveaway ends November 29th!

Part Two: Carrot Cake!!!

By far my first and best Carrot Cake ever!!! At least my sister thinks so!

And here it is!

Serving 10-15 slices or mini cakes

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrot

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

• In a mixing bowl combine Flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
• In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla.
• Gradually add flour to mixture, don't over mix!
• Then Stir in carrot, pineapple, and coconut.
• Now if you are making a cake use two 9in cake pans or really any size, this cake does not rise much so fill the pan :)
• In my case I was making this for a party and needed to make bite size mini cakes. SOoo I used two pyrex baking/ casserole dishes, lined them with a sheet of tin foil, and sprayed the foil with non-stick cooking spray. This was so I could lift the cake out without any problems and less clean up :)

Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean(that is my suggestion, since every oven is different). Drizzle Buttermilk Glaze evenly over layers; cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Buttermilk Glaze

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.

• For cake: Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Crush walnuts and apply them to the sides of the frosting.
• For Mini Cakes: Get a small 2-3in cookie cutter (I didn't have these so I used the top of a baby food jar, and knife) Cut out the rounds (each pan made 15 rounds with the jar top)

The frosting was extremely thick and the carrot cake very fragile so I piped the frosting in between the layers. I add more frosting to decorate the top. If you have a whipped cream cheese frosting that could be a lot easier, if you are trying to cover the entire mini-cake.

Frosting

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.

As for the walnuts on the mini-cakes, I forgot about them :( So be creative!

Engagement Party Part One: Dirt Cake

By request I had to make a dirt cake...Hmm Never heard of it before but thanks to google I found a few recipes. I made this average dirt cake a bit more complicated because I made my own oreos!! Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for the oreo recipe :) The dirt cake was delicious according to all party guests!

The night before I made the dirt cake beginning with the homemade oreos

http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/my-kingdom-for-a-glass-of-milk/

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

I did not make the filling but I'm sure it would be great if you added it in!

For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes (mine only took 7 minutes so watch em!), rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

Ingredients:
1 package (8 ounces) fat-free cream cheese
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup Pure Cane Powdered Sugar
2 packages (1 ounce each) instant vanilla pudding mix (I used one package of French Vanilla, to give it extra flavor!)

MILK! for the pudding mixes (see directions on package)
1 tub (12 ounces) cool whipped topping
All of the Homemade Oreos!! ground, crushed

Directions: In a large bowl, beat cream cheeses and confectioners' sugar until smooth. In a large bowl, make pudding mix according to directions. Gradually stir into cream cheese mixture. Fold in whipped topping. Spread 1-1/3 cups of crushed cookies into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. dish. Layer with half of the pudding mixture and half of the remaining cookies. Repeat layers. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Yield: 20 servings.

Update

Hello friends

Just to let you know I haven't forgotten about you :)

This week is my sister's and fiancé's engagement party! Yay! Now they have requested two VERY different dessert, so I'm not going to try and produce a miracle delicious combination, but keep it uniquely simple. Right now I'm trying to make a Carrot Cake and Oreo Dirt Cake into bite size desserts :(

Recipes coming soon!

I'll post pictures on Sunday and let you know how it TASTES!