Paint Splatter Cupcakes

Did you have a nice weekend? Anything exciting happen? My sister and I made these cupcakes for my nieces birthday party. My niece requested these cupcakes. These were a lot of fun to make. It was like having a food fight. We were really surprised we didn't hit each other since we were on opposite sides of the table. Since I knew we would be the ones cleaning up, I placed newspaper down on the table before we started flinging the frosting. We made a lot of cupcakes.

Paint Splatter Cupcakes
24 cupcakes cooled
3 cups of white frosting
black and other color food dye

Directions:

1. Place the cupcakes onto a cookie tray.
2. Microwave 1 cup of frosting for 20 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 10 seconds.
3. Separate half of the frosting into a separate bowl.
4. Add black food dye to one of the bowls and stir well.
5. Dip the cupcakes into either the heated white or black frosting.
6. Set the dipped cupcakes onto the cookie tray to allow the frosting to set for 30 minutes.
7. Once the frosting has set, microwave the rest of the frosting as before.
8. Separate the frosting equally into other bowls for the different desired splatter colors. 
9. Add several drops of dye to one bowl of frosting to create several different colors.
10. Using a different butter knife for each bowl, dip the knife into the bowl and fling the frosting onto the cupcakes. 
11. Alternate colors to create the splatter look.
12. Allow the frosting to harden before serving.

Recipe inspired by Coco Jo Cake Design.

One year ago.............................I made Flag Cookies.
Two years ago...........................I made Sweet Cakes.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful niece!

Did you already know.....................
-Janet Sobel was one of the first artist to create drip painting.
-Jackson Pollock influenced the American artist Jackson Pollock.
-Last year, Jackson Pollock's No. 9, 1948 sold for over $58 million dollars. 

Steak Stir Fry with Mizuna

I have been receiving my CSA share for the last couple of weeks. The best part about receiving the fresh vegetables from the farm is the introduction to new vegetables. I received mizuna in my share. The sign recommended a stir fry so I thought it was a great suggestion. Besides the chopping, a stir fry tends to be a quick supper. The kids loved it but anytime we have a dish with steak then it is a winner.

Steak Stir Fry with Mizuna
8 oz. sirloin steak tips, sliced thin
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped small
2 cups mizuna leaves
1 cup snow pea pods
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Season the steak with salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium high heat. 
3. Cook for about 5 minutes or until desired doneness. Set aside on a plate.
4. Add the ginger, garlic, and the green pepper. Saute for 30 seconds.
5. Add the mizuna leaves and snow pea pods. Cook for 1 minute.
6. Stir in the teriyaki sauce. 
7. Add the steak to the vegetables and toss.
8. Serve with noodles or rice.
9. Top with toasted sesame seeds. 

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago................................I made Radish and Potato Soup.
Two years ago..............................I made Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes.

Mituna? Spider Mustard? What?

Did you already know......................
-Mituna is a Japanese mustard green.
-Mituna is also called spider mustard, Japanese greens, and xue cai.
-Mituna is similar to arugula but not as strong. 

Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce

Kohlrabi is such a strange looking vegetable. I figure the best way for us to eat them are in a spring roll. My kids think it is cool. My son's friend wasn't going to be fooled into eating his vegetables. All the kids liked the dip. I asked my husband how I could get the dip thinner. He suggested that I should microwave it. I actually think the dip became thicker. It didn't affect the taste. I think the main problem was that I didn't want to measure the peanut butter so I estimated. I probably overestimated in the kids favor.

Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 Tbsp water
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp ginger, minced

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients until well incorporated.

Recipe adapted from Aaron McCargo, Jr. 

Two years ago.....................................I made Mini Fruit Crostatas.

Did you already know................
-Kohlrabi originates from wild cabbage in Europe.
-It can be eaten raw or cooked.
-It can be grown in less than 60 days.

Lime Pie

Did you have a nice weekend? This is the first time this year we went to the beach. We almost forgot to bring chairs and sunglasses but we did remember the packed lunch. I would have brought some of this pie but I wanted to share some with my Mom. She appreciated it. My sister said she liked it since it wasn't so tart. It wasn't so tart because I had ran out of limes. I had many lemons but I didn't know how the citrus mix would turn out so I opted for less limes. Since I didn't use key limes, this is just lime pie. This is a fast and delicious dessert.

Lime Pie
3 Eggs
2 cans (14 oz. ) Sweetened Condense milk
3/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
pinch of salt
1 graham cracker or vanilla wafer pie crust

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until fluffy.
3. Add the condense milk, lime juice, lime zest, and a pinch of salt. 
4. Mix until incorporated.
5. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
6. Bake the pie for 15 minutes. 
7. Remove the pie and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
8. Chill the pie in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago............................I made Steak Stir Fry.
Two years ago..........................I made Icebox Dessert.

Did you already know..............
-Limes turn yellow as they ripen. 
-Limes are native to Malaysia. 
-The Crusaders introduced limes to Europe.

White Chocolate Ice Cream

My husband loves ice cream. He could eat it with every meal. If he could, he would top his ice cream with some cereal and call it breakfast. He picked this ice cream. It is exceptional and creamy. My son said he doesn't like white chocolate but loves this ice cream. If you are making homemade ice cream this summer, this is the ice cream to make. Yes, we will be having ice cream this weekend.

Memo to self: do not photograph ice cream on a hot day unless you can eat it fast!

White Chocolate ice Cream
8 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
5 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half & half cream
2 oz. white chocolate, chips 


Directions:

1. Place the white chocolate in a large bowl and place a strainer over the top. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, and salt. 
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. 
4. While whisking, add one spoonful of the heated milk into the egg yolks.
5. Slowly, add additional heated milk to the egg yolks while whisking.
6. Combine the egg yolks to the heated milk and add back to the saucepan. 
7. Continuing to stir the mixture until the temperature reaches 170 degrees F.
8. Pour the mixture over the white chocolate.
9. Stir the white chocolate until melted and the mixture is smooth.
10. Add the heavy cream and the half & half cream. Mix well.
11. Refrigerate the mixture and allow to chill over at least 1 hour.
12. Once chilled, freeze the mixture according an ice cream maker's manufacturer's instructions. 
13. Stir in the white chocolate chips.

Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop. 

One year ago...................................I made Cheese Crackers.
Two years ago.................................I made Macaroni Grill Bread.

Did you already know...........................
-White chocolate does originates from the cocoa plant and contains cocoa butter.
-White chocolate does not contain any chocolate liquor or chocolate solids.
- White chocolate contains very little caffeine.

I hope everyone has a Happy Father's Day!