Alley Cat Cakes

Our good friends have started to embark upon Cake Designing. They are doing a FABULOUS job so far and I thought I would post their site so you could see some of their work.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alleycatcakes


If I was to have a Wedding Cake....this is what I would order. Plain and Classy....This is my favorite. Although they are all sooo good and hard to choose from. They taste mighty fine also.

Off to the Gulf

I am off to the Gulf of Mexico today.............I may or may not check in. Just and fyi so those of you that do read didn't think I bit the farm. Wish me Happy Seafood Eating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


BBQ Chicken Pizza from the Big Green Egg with fresh Cilantro from my pots.

Food Quirks......AND You Thought I Was Done

41. I have no budget for groceries.
42. I DESPISE leftovers. I can no way shape or form eat the same thing 2 days in a row for supper/dinner. I eat the same thing everyday for breakfast and lunch and that does not bother me in the least. I guess I feel dinner is my reward for eating so well during the day.
43. I once bought a yellow heirloom watermelon at Whole Foods for $12. It was THE BEST DAMN WATERMELON I ever had.
44. I so want to like wine. I hate it. It all tastes like cough medicine to me. Plus you have to sip wine. I am NOT a sipper.
45. I also can't drink a glass of milk. I think milk is disgusting. I can dunk a cookie in milk and I can eat a bowl of cereal but I CANNOT drink a glass of milk.
46. I used sugar corn pops for Holy Communion one time while pretending with my friend B.Q. when we were younger. B.Q.'s mom was the head honcho to the priest at the church we attended. B.Q.'s mom was NOT impressed. Apparently I did not get extra points for blessing the corn pops prior to imaginative play. Some people are so hard to please.

These are herbs from my window boxes on my deck. Basil, rosemary, Italian flat leaf parsley.

Very Simple Dinner...Grilled a NY strip steak and sliced it over top Penne pasta tossed w/herbs from my window boxes and sundried tomato pesto, topped off w/shaved parmesan.

Vermont Cheddar Bread from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. This book has changed my baking life.

40 Food Quirks

1. I loathe BANANAS. I like banana things, ie: pudding, bread. If I was a CIA spy and I was captured by the enemy and they wanted me to "talk", all they would have to do is threaten me with banana torture......I would sing like a newborn bird for a worm!
2. I like MAKING homemade ice cream BUT I DON'T like eating it. My favorite ice cream is Blue Bell. I love it!
3. Hot Fudge disgusts me in every way.
4. I don't really drink. I didn't even have a margarita at my own Cinco De Mayo party.
5. I eat a Luna/Cliff bar every morning for breakfast with a small coffee and 16 oz. of water.
6. I drink a flaxmeal smoothie almost everyday for lunch.
7. I don't like yogurt.
8. I don't really care for lasagna....I like ALL of the ingredients in lasagna BUT I don't really like lasagna.
9. When I was younger I use to take the cheese off of my pizza and reassemble the
toppings back on the bread MINUS the cheese.
10. I don't like fresh mozzarella.
11. I don't really care for tomatoes anymore. I used to LOVE them. I like sauce,
salsa, canned tomatoes in my soup etc. but just don't really care for fresh tomatoes anymore.
12. I could wear cinnamon as perfume everyday. I never get sick of it. I could rub my body down w/King Arthur Flour's cinnamon filling.
13. My favorite food is Mexican.
14. My favorite Italian food is Pizza.
15. I never want popcorn or toast unless someone else makes it first, AND THEN I want it.
16. I LOVE LOVE LOVE spicy food. I lOVE Jalapenos but they don't love me.
17. I miss really good Baja Fish Tacos.
18. California Pizza Kitchen is my favorite chain restaurant.
19. I can't bring myself to eat eggplant because it is purple and oblong. It is purple and oblong but yet they call it an egg-plant. It just freaks me out.
20. I make the worlds WORST potato salad. I have tried gazillions of recipes and it is always horrible. Maybe it is because I don't really care for potato sald. I don't know.
21. I think sushi is gross and tastes like it is wrapped in black electrical tape.
22. My favorite juice is Cranberry.
23. If I never ate meat again I would be alright with it.
24. I miss going to Panera on Saturday/Sunday mornings with my hubby and kids for coffee and pastries (no Panera in LR:()
25. I love Taco Bell but NEVER eat it.
26. I love Dr. Pepper but NEVER drink it. I actually craved Dr. Pepper when I was pregnant and peanut butter but not together.
27. If you put a piece of shaved parmesan on a mini pretzel twist and put the whole thing in your mouth.....you can pretend you are eating combos when you have no combos. I love combos BUT I never eat them.
28. I hated ranch dressing when it first surfaced years ago. I still feel the same way.
29. I don't like hot drinks except for coffee. I especially dislike hot tea.
30. I love Iced Black Tea and could drink it from sun-up until sun-down, BUT I don't.
31. I like mayonnaise on hamburgers and in macaroni salad and tuna/chicken salad. Other than that it disgusts me. Miracle Whip is for losers!
32. I sooo love "everything" bagels w/cream cheese.
33. A really good crusty bread, cheese and fresh fruit is one of the best meals!
34. I am more of a "thin crust" girl.
35. I will only eat an orange if it is sliced like a wagon wheel and then you cut the wagon wheel in 1/2.
36. If I never had to grocery shop again, I would be the happiest person on the planet.
37. I salt EVERYTHING. Kosher, of course!
38. I never really ate cheese until I married my husband almost 20 years ago.
39. I used to hate cheesecake. Now it is "ok". Okay enough to eat once in awhile anyway.
40. I love Ho Ho's. I haven't had one in years. When I am lucky enough to eat a Ho Ho, I always take off and eat the chocolate coating then proceed to unroll it as best I can and then eat it.


I call this one: Man frantically trying to roll chocolate waffle cones before ever reading directions on "How To Make Waffle Cones".


Ooompa Looompa enjoying a Mother's Day Homemade Chocolate Waffle Cone filled with Blue Bell Century Sundae Ice Cream.

The Bling Bling of the Cooking World

Aaaah yes, the signature green ribbon and pineapple wrapping paper.....it MUST be from Williams Sonoma.

Did you know??Because pineapple was somewhat of a luxury item for early American colonists, the pineapple became a popular symbol of the ultimate in hospitality, and was painted on walls, furniture, doors and paintings as a “Welcome!” symbol


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


A 9 1/2 Quart Oval Le Creuset Dutch Oven. This is the equivalent of a 9 1/2 carat diamond ring (in an obsessive foodie's world), and much better than anything I could put on my finger. I never even asked or hinted or even threatened any family member for this. TOTAL surprise. After almost 20 years of marriage my husband DOES know me......that in itself is even better than the gift (well, not really but shhh he may be reading this so I have to give kudos, you know how men are....they HAVE to have praise everytime they do something good, kind of like a doggie....so I will throw him this bone).


DAMN, I got nice legs!!! (yeah, so the attire could be a bit more desirable but I just got back from a 3 mile trek pushing the kiddos, I clean up nice, I swear I do).