#1 Rocky Road

This makes me so excited!  

Okay, there is this blog, Mix and Match Mama , that I follow and she just completed a successful year of One Bundt Cake a Week.  Yep, that's 52 different bundt cakes!  I had so much fun checking in weekly to see what new cake she had baked...

Well, the whole thing inspired me.  For one, I love to bake, obviously.  Two, bundt cakes are soooo easy to make.  And three, there are hundreds and hundreds of bundt cake recipes out there.  How much fun is it going to be to see what my taste buds are calling for each week and making a bundt cake to satisfy those buds!!  Whether it be lemon, chocolate, key lime, peanut butter, etc...  The options are endless!   

With that being said, I started my 52 Bundt Cakes in a Year challenge today!

Bundt Cake #1 - Rocky Road Bundt Cake

See, my favorite ice cream flavor is Rocky Road.  I never pass down a scoop (or two) of Rocky Road at the local ice cream joint.  

As I was searching bundt cake recipes, I came across Rocky Road.  Yes, please!!!

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25-ounce) package chocolate cake mix, mixed according to package directions
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, divided
• 1/2 cup marshmallow creme

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan with cooking spray and lightly flour.
    
2. Place cake batter in a large bowl and stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup walnuts. Pour into prepared pan.
    
3. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool about 20 minutes. Invert cake and remove from pan; continue to cool thoroughly on a wire cooling rack. Place cake on a serving platter when cooled.
    
4. In a small saucepan, melt marshmallow creme over low heat, stirring constantly. Pour over cake and top with remaining 2 tablespoons each of chocolate chips and walnuts.
    

Chocolate + walnuts + marshmallows = Rocky Road Heaven!

Back to School Treats

Today was Ashlan's first day back to school, and this year as a third grader!  

A fun tradition we started in Kindergarten is that each year, on the first day of school, Ashlan comes home to a special treat made especially for her.  In second grade I made these.  I have no idea what I did or where my post is from her first grade year.  In kinder, I made these.   

This year I had cupcakes in mind again, but wanted to do a variety.  It would involve lots of candy, cookies and sprinkles!

My first attempt was the book and apple.  I found the idea online to use a fig newton and use black gel to make it look like a book.  I made History, English, Science and Math books.  Then a sour cherry ball with some green taffy to resemble an apple.

 When I was at the store browsing, I found a box of SpongeBob gummy burgers and another box of gummy drinks.  That's when I had a lightbulb moment "Hey, some of the cupcakes could have lunch trays on them"  So I grabbed those gummy's, then grabbed a flat cookie to resemble a tray.

And of course, the traditional apple using a tootsie roll stem and taffy leaf!

I was curious as to which one Ashlan would eat first......and as I thought, she ate the lunch tray first!

A successful first day of third grade and a successful day of baking in the kitchen!

Kauai Slideshow

Want to see a 210 picture slideshow of the trip?????  If you have 10 minutes to do nothing, you can enjoy it below!

Photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon, on Kauai's West Side, is described as "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific."  Stretching 14 miles long, one mile wide and more than 3,600 feet deep, the Waimea Canyon Lookout provides panoramic views of crested buttes, rugged crags and deep valley gorges. The grand inland vistas go on for miles.

This was an important thing on Brent's 'to-do' list while on Kauai.  He wanted to see the Waimea Canyon.  Brent, nor the girls, have ever seen the Grand Canyon in Arizona so this was going to be exciting for them. I visited the Grand Canyon as a kid and remember it vividly.  It was so massive and breathtaking.  Knowing the Waimea Canyon wouldn't be anything near the size of the Grand Canyon, I was not as excited. Honestly, you can't beat the Grand Canyon as far as canyons go!   But in the end, I was pleasantly surprised with the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific".  The views were not as massive as the Grand Canyon obviously, but they were just as stunning!

I wish the pictures did this Canyon justice.  It's just so cool to reach the lookout, walk over to the railing, and look straight down!  The peaks within the Canyon, the deep valleys....it was very peaceful, stunning...

I let the girls walk CAREFULLY near the edge of the canyon where there was no rail.  I didn't allow them to get any closer than 12 feet from the edge of the cliff, so stop holding your breath!  But yes, that edge behind them drops straight down, far far far down!  Brent was about 50 feet away from us saying "I'm really nervous. Please walk back here. Please come back. This is really making me nervous"   Honestly, Brent is probably the smartest person in our family.  He really has to keep an eye on me and the kids....because we do some silly, crazy stuff sometimes.

There are so many lookouts along the road to the top of the valley, and near one of the top lookouts was a fresh fruit stand.  Kate loves mangos, so when she saw the fruit stand she immediately asked for $$.

Devouring the fresh mango!

A beautiful view of the valley dipping right onto the Pacific Ocean

After our day at the Canyon, we ventured over to the most westward beach on the island.  We had researched that this beach was 17 miles long, almost deserted, and the sand would fry your feet!  Yes, yes, and yes.   A VERY long beach, practically no one in sight, and the sand was HOT HOT HOT!  That sand didn't stop us though.  We made a bee-line for the water!

17 miles of beach to ourselves!

The due west side of the island is all cliffs...The Na Pali Coast.  This beach ran right up against the start of the Na Pali Coast.  So beautiful!

What a fun day that was!

Hatch Chiles

Each year Brent really looks forward to the Hatch Chile Fest at our local Central Market.  

He buys bags of hatch chiles and comes straight home to roast them.  We freeze quite a bit of them so we can have them all year long to cook/bake with. 

Here is Brent roasting the chiles in 2011 and 2012

 It always amazes me how many things you can use a hatch chile for.  Seriously!  The recipe options are ENDLESS!  Just look at a few of the recipes I grabbed below: Hatch Chile Crab Dip, Hatch Chile Veal Meatballs, Hatch Chile Queso, Hatch Chile Lasagna, etc...

Each year the first thing Brent makes with his hatch chiles is a Fruit and Hatch Chile Salsa.  It is always so good!  We bought some swordfish at the Market and Brent topped it with the salsa.

I also made a Hatch Chile Apple Cobbler for my in-laws 51st Anniversary!

Here I am mixing the roasted hatch chiles with the granny smith apples, along with some cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar

Pour your mixture into the baking dish, make your topping of flour, sugar, butter, etc...and press it firmly on top of the apple/chile mixture.

I didn't taste it personally, but man it smelled SO GOOD when it came out of the oven.  My mother in law tasted it immediately and gave it a thumbs up!  Guess I'll need to make another Cobbler for myself now!

What should I cook/bake next with the Hatch Chile??  

Also, here is a trivia question: Where is the home of the Hatch Chile?  Hint: It offers the perfect growing climate for chilies: rich in volcanic soil, hot days/cool nights with little rain in the summers...

Mesilla Valley, New Mexico! 

 The Hatch Chile was originally cross bred (by crossing a chili Colorado with a chili Pasilla) in 1921 by the New Mexico State Horticulture.  It remains the home to the Hatch Chile today!

Luau

You can't go to Hawaii without going to a Luau, right?  There are a few places on Kauai that do luau's but we had heard and read that this place called Smith's Tropical Paradise was the BEST luau on the island.   

When we arrived we were each given a shell lei and then led to the tram ride that gives you a tour of the property.  The property is gorgeous and populated with different bird species and what seemed like a million peacocks!

Kate set up this photo-op.  There was a cute little structure in the middle of some trees and Kate wanted Dad and I to act like we were getting  married with Ashlan officiating.

Blowing into their shells is how they bless the pig.  

Digging up the pig that had been cooking in the earth oven for 12 hours

I wish I had taken pictures of the food.  The food was fabulous!  Alongside the pulled pork (pig), they had salads, beef, fish, several side dishes and desserts.  It was buffet style so you could go back as many times as you wanted.  I have never seen Kate eat so much in one setting.  She went back through the buffet three times for more pulled pork.  We kept joking with her that by the end of the night she would have consumed so much pork that she would be oinking!

The evening concluded with an awesome show complete with an erupting volcano!  I just couldn't get good pictures at all from where we were sitting.  This is the best one I got.   The show was over 90 minutes long and our eyes were glued to the stage every single second!  What a great memory!

Shark Week Cupcakes!

Do you watch Shark Week each year?  We look forward to it, and when it's on (24hrs/7days/2weeks) we are watching it.  From the shark research to the shark attacks, it never gets boring.  Although, any time shark attack stories come on, Ashlan darts out of the room screaming "I don't want to have nightmares!"

Yesterday I was checking one of my favorite baking blog sites and came across Shark Week cupcakes! Cupcakes with shark fins and some with fish..  If you know me well enough, you know I LOVE to bake when there is a theme in mind!  These cupcakes looked relatively easy, so I got all my ingredients and began!

Here is what I was going for...

I even did the raspberry preserves in mine, too, so it seemed like you took a nasty bloody bite! Genius!

And here are mine.  I made 24 total (12 with fins, 12 with fish)  The kids loved this treat!

Thank you, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, for such a great idea.  If you want the detailed description on how to make these, click here

Peach Coffee Cake

When I think of a dessert incorporating peaches, I only think of peach cobbler.  Cobbler is the only thing I've ever made using fresh peaches.  But the other night my MIL told me she made a Peach Cake.  Cake using fresh peaches??  That sounded so good to me.  I wasn't on a mission to run home and bake a peach cake, but as I was reading through the baking blogs that I follow, the most recent post on one was Peach Coffee Cake.  It was a sign.  I must bake a peach cake.  Here is a picture of the Peach Coffee Cake I wanted to attempt.

Peach Coffee Cake

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 45 to 55 minutes

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1½ cups granulated sugar, divided

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large, ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

½ cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined, using a rubber spatula to fold in any flour that needs to be incorporated.

4. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ½ cup sugar and the cinnamon.

5. Spread half of the batter evenly into the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the cinnamon sugar. Drop the remaining batter on top of the peaches in small mounds, then use an offset spatula to gently spread it into an even layer, covering the peaches. Arrange the remaining peaches on top and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar and the pecans.

6. Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

And here is mine! I wish I had taken a picture of a 'slice' as well, but I didn't.  This was so good!  I used fresh peaches (not canned).  I still don't understand why they call it a Peach COFFEE Cake because there are no coffee grounds or anything of that sort in it.  Odd.  Maybe the sour cream makes it a coffee cake???  Either way, this was a taste bud success!

Trail Ride

The one thing Ashlan wanted to do in Kauai was horseback ride.  I was so excited she wanted to do this because I wanted to do it just as bad as she did!  In fact, horseback riding on the beach has always been a bucket list item for me.  Yes, we have visited our fair share of beaches over the years but typically it's just Brent and I and getting that man on a horse just doesn't happen.  One of his LEAST favorite things to do is ride a horse.  He finds it uncomfortable, but mainly it's because his past experience with horses weren't good ones.  But he was such a good sport on this trip and opted to do the trail ride with Kate, Ash, and I.  

We chose a 2 hour ride with this description:

This scenic journey takes you through the historic Maha‘ulelpu area. You’ll experience a variety of scenery and terrain from coastal and mountain vistas to agricultural ranch land. Cross over a sand bar and stream near one of the most spectacular beaches in Hawaii. View native plants and wildlife.

It ended up being the best 2 hours EVER!

Ashlan rode a horse named Sweetie

Kate rode a horse named Nick (funny since her brother's name is Nick)

Brent rode Buckles (and I rode Flash)

And we are off.....

Straight down to the beach....Amazing!

Through wooded trails...

Stopped at some beautiful scenic overlooks...

Even rode through a cattle ranch...

Through streams...

These views made it the best 2 hours!

Even the Stables had great views!  I highly recommend anyone who visits Kauai to take a horseback riding adventure with CJM Stables!  A+