Coco-Nut!

You know those days Momma said there'd be?

These rich and decadent babies will make those days disappear!

I've had mad love for the almond-coconut-chocolate combo for years. This trio is the same you'll find in an Almond Joy bar (my Dad's favorite).

For the cupcake batter:

Prepare cake mix following directions on the box, but replace half of the water with mayo.

MIx on medium speed until smooth, fill cupcake tins halfway and bake. Remember to preheat your oven!

I like to use Betty Crocker's Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix.

For the icing:

2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

In a separate bowl combine butter, evaporated milk & vanilla extract and mix until fluffy.

Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

For the topper:

1/2 a cup of shredded coconut

1/2 a cup of crushed almonds

1 tablespoon of butter

1/2 teaspoon of granulated sugar

Heat a medium size skillet over low heat. Add butter and sugar.

When the butter has melted add the almonds, stir occasionally for 2-3 minutes.

Add coconut flakes and stir until the flakes are light brown.

Careful not to burn your flakes.

Let your topping cool completely.

Once the cupcakes have cooled you'll ice them and sprinkle them generously with your crunchy topping.

Enjoy!

This one is for you Dad!

Think Green

My husband & I decided to have a meat free week. We have some beautiful homegrown tomatoes and about three pounds of broccoli...What to do?

The hubby pitched in with a healthy, velvety smooth broccoli soup, garnished with an herb goat cheese and raw almonds. It is a Gordon Ramsay recipe that takes no more than twenty minutes prepare. http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/161419/broccoli-soup-gordon-ramsay

It was delicious as is, but for a bolder flavor I suggest adding 1 garlic clove in the blender & chopping fresh tarragon and chives into the goat cheese.

This salad is light, tangy and easy to prepare. Right up my alley.

It is a basic caprese salad over greens.

In a medium salad bowl combine 2 finely minced garlic cloves, 2 large chopped tomatoes, 6 chopped basil leaves, 1/4 cup of chopped mozzarella cheese, a splash of balsamic vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Serve over a bed greens, no dressing necessary. You can also have it over some nice crusty bread.

Like a bite of sunshine

I made these cup cakes for my sister in law's birthday, she is partial to lemon cake so I made them as lemony as I could.

To make these I used a box of store bought lemon flavored cake mix, but I added the zest of two lemons and substituted the water with mayo.

For the frosting I combined

1 1/2 packages of creme cheese (room temp & softened)

3/4 cups of butter (room temp & softened)

1 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar (sifted)

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

the zest of 1 lemon

MIx creme cheese, butter, lemon zest & vanilla then gradually add the confectioners sugar.

Wait for the cupcakes to cool before frosting then them garnish with fresh raspberries. These turned out better than I anticipated. They were a crowd favorite, but most importantly the birthday girl was very pleased. They were reminiscent of a tart raspberry lemonade.

Mid-Summer Day Snack

Who needs a grilled cheese truck?

If you want a mac n' cheese grilled cheese sandwich I can't help you.

But bread & cheese, I can do!

I've tried many different types of bread. Wheat, whole grain, squaw, potato, organic etc.

My favorite to use for a grilled cheese is a san fran sourdough or sarah lee's white bread.

For the kids I go for the white bread. They like an american/provolone combo.

These creepy little smiley face taters are a fresh n easy find. The kiddos love em'!

Super simple. Super delicious.

Just a pleasant afternoon grilling.

No kidding, we got into a heated Madonna vs. Lady Gaga debate. Four against one. Sorry Hector.

Key ingredients for said afternoon:

Good company

Creative taste buds

Cold beer

A sparkling cocktail

MUSIC

These bad boys are courtesy of my dear friend Stephanie, aka Peacock Social.

They are super delicious & easy to prepare.

Take your pick of pepper (try saying that out loud).

We have tried pasilla, anaheim & poblano to name a few. Slice the pepper in half and you are left with a little boat of a pepper. You can stuff them with either creamy goat cheese (like chèvre), cream cheese or combine both cheese's if you'd like. You can grill them right on the grill or over foil paper.

The last time we had these I concocted a drizzle for them.

1 tablespoon of honey

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1/2 the zest of on lemon

salt to taste

Enjoy!

The drizzle for rizzle.

This is my go to cocktail glass, I bought a set of four at the antique swap meet.

I'm not sure what to call this, it's kind of like a mojito. But not.

I started with fresh mint, muddled with a long wooden spoon in my glass. Next I added ice (a little more than halfway up the glass), a shot of sapphire gin, the juice of half a lime, sprite and stirred.

It was magic:)

You can play with the proportions of this drink depending on what kind of day you've had;)

We also grilled blue cheese burgers, which I posted a recipe for prior. And had fresh berries and grilled pineapple for dessert.

The final ingredient to this sweet afternoon was the music.

Big Pink, Late of the Pier and The Pixies to name a few.

Taco Night

To say that I enjoy Tacos would be an understatement.

Tacos are a family friendly meal because you can build them any way you want and cause dang it, tacos are fun!

These particular tacos are al pastor. I usually marinate the meat myself but I thought why not give Northgate a shout out on the ol' blog.

I bought 2 lbs of their carne al pastor.

First I cooked a small amount of meat to test the taste and found it needed a kick.

So I added..A splash of orange juice, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/4 teasppon of cumin, juice of half a lemon, chopped cilantro (as much as you like) and finely chopped pineapple (about 1/4 cups worth). That sat in the fridge an marinated for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Then in a nicely warmed skillet I heated 1 tablespoon of canola oil & 1 crushed clove of garlic. Once the garlic was translucent I added the meat and cooked it (stirring occasionally) for about 20 minutes.

I like to serve tacos with black beans or refried pinto beans, the rice I could do without, but my kiddos were in dire need for it on this particular occasion. They just had to have it. Anywaaay...I topped the tacos with a homemade salsa and chopped cilantro & onion.

If you want to make the salsa..

Take 2 tomatoes 1 garlic clove whole and wrap them in aluminum foil. You can roast the tomatoes and garlic in you broiler or right on the stovetop, I use a griddle and turn the package so every side has exposure to the heat. Once the tomatoes are roasted I remove them from the heat and let them rest until they cool off a bit. In the meantime I toast (right on the griddle) about 10 chiles piquin for no more than 3 minutes. Next I toss everything in a blender, but not the chiles, I add those to taste little by little. Once I reach a salsa heat I'm comfy with I pour the salsa into a bowl and finish it off with chopped cilantro and onion and salt to taste.

Mother's Day Brunch

My mom, sisters & I were treated to a delicious Mother's day brunch yesterday courtesy of our beloved Uncle Manuel.

The table was set adorably. The menu was an array of savory goodies. Crispy chilaquiles with perfectly seasoned scrambled eggs (thanks Danny!) smothered in a tasty tomatillo sauce & topped with crema fresca and queso cotija, velvety refried beans, crispy bacon & polish sausage. For dessert, courtesy of Will, we had a delightfully moist applesauce cake, a zesty refreshing orange cake that made me feel as if I were biting right into a juicy sun kissed orange and farm fresh strawberries straight from the farmer's market. Ooh the icing on the cake was too die for! And my hubby brought the kiddos muffins (bless his heart), it was a group effort;)

The Momma's

(aka my sisters and our mom)

From left to right-Teresa, Mari (standing), Ampro, Mom & me.

We had brunch at my sister & brother in laws house. Their backyard is easily one of my favorite places, they have a vast & beautiful assortment of flowers (including plumeria and chocolate orchids that really smell like chocolate!) and fruit trees. Heavenly!

Pictured below, the grownies grubbing.

From bottom corner left-My sis Amparo, Mom, me, my hubby, my sis Lucy, Will, Tio, my sis Mari, my bro in law Danny & his lovely wife Teresa.

It was great to spend time with the family. The Mom's were spoiled, wonderful food & roses from Danny. What else could we ask for? I love my family!