A Quest for Toddler Nutrition

November 16, 2011 at 11:34 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments
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I started out so well. I made Liam baby food with my blender and some simple recipes. As he grew older, I baked my own finger foods. I bought freeze-dried peas, corn, mangoes and bananas. I shopped at the farmer’s market every weekend and bought fresh produce – blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes.

But then as Liam approached two, I found it increasingly difficult and frustrating to toil in the kitchen making wholesome goodies just to have him heartily reject my creations. Cheddar broccoli balls? No. Mini turkey meatballs? No. Nana Cakes, which he had been eating greedily for months and months? Suddenly, no way, mama! (I found all of these recipes plus the baby food recipes here, in case you wanted to try them at your own risk!)

That’s when I resorted to Easy Mac, Chef Boyardee, and Tyson chicken fingers. Occasionally I could get him to eat what James and I were eating for dinner. But many of our favorite meals are either too spicy or too hard for him to chew. He still eats freeze-dried veggies and fruits, thankfully. But he won’t touch anything fresh. He’s even refusing grilled chicken in favor of the processed breaded kind.

Feeling we were in a dietary rut, I decided to try making these muffins I found on allrecipes.com. I’d made them once before with so-so results, so I decided to make the full recipe and enlist Liam’s help in the kitchen. He watched as I grated zucchini and carrots. He helped me pour the flour, whisk the eggs, and measure out the ingredients. He pointed to each container and asked, “What’s that?” He was having so much fun! Finally the muffins were ready for tasting – 48 mini-muffins in all. He took one look at it, spied a tiny piece of orange carrot, and insisted I pick it out. Great. I tried telling him they were orange sprinkles, but he wasn’t having it. Smart kid. After picking through all the orange pieces, he finally gave it a try…and then declared, “Mommy, I don’t like that.”

To his credit, the muffins were a bit bland. I had followed the advice of some of the commenters, taking out the sugar and using all whole wheat flour. I didn’t have quite enough honey, so the muffins weren’t terribly sweet. Kind of salty, actually. Ok, Liam. Fair enough. Mommy doesn’t like these, either. Into the trash they went.

The next day I decided to start over. I grated the carrots much smaller this time, then did my best to color them with food coloring. I figured green and orange would make brown…but evidently it makes green, ha ha. I threw in some blue, red, and yellow for good measure. Nope, still green. Liam doesn’t much like green food either, and these carrots were starting to look like dreaded spinach! Liam asked what I was up to. “I’m making you special green muffins, honey. With no carrots.” That seemed to satisfy him. I put the sugar from the original recipe back in, then used maple syrup instead of honey. Mixing in the green carrots turned all of the batter green…successfully hiding the veggies in with the mix, which is what I was going for in the first place. I only made a 1/3 of the recipe this time, just in case.

Finally, the new, green, carrot-less (not really, shhhh!) muffins were ready for tasting. So far he’s had four. Huzzah, we’ve got a hit! My son is eating carrots! Yikes, he’s asking for a fifth. Perhaps I’ll need to make another batch!

Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Nuggets totally rock

February 5, 2010 at 4:55 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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James came home early on account of the snow, so I spent my afternoon making these broccoli cheddar cheese nuggets while James entertained Liam. They were a bit labor-intensive, and by the time I had them finished Liam was down for his afternoon nap. But I just sampled a few, and if Liam doesn’t wake up soon, he won’t get to try any! Actually, this made a ton, so I’m sure there will be some left for him to try at dinner. But if he doesn’t like them, I won’t mind. More for me! I’m not even a huge fan of broccoli, but I could eat these all day.

Here’s the recipe from WholesomeBabyfood.com, great for toddlers and grownups alike! One note: best to eat them right away. We discovered they’re not nearly as good reheated.

Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese Nuggets

Ingredients:

1 16-oz  Package frozen broccoli, cooked, drained, and chopped

1 cup Seasoned bread crumbs (you could try using baby cereal if you want, we know it works well with “baby meatballs”)

1 ½ cups Shredded cheddar cheese (please use real cheese and not a “processed cheese food” product.  Try tomato & basil cheddar.)

3  Large eggs – Most pediatricians say it’s ok to use whole egg in a baked good when baby is over 8-9 months old without allergies. We would recommend that you substitute 5 egg yolks for the whole eggs if serving this to those under 1 yr.  Ask YOUR pediatrician.

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 and lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.

2. Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well.
*Add seasonings if you  like – garlic powder, pepper, extra basil & oregano for example

3. Shape mixture into nuggets or fun shapes such as squares or squigglies etc..and place on baking tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turn nuggets over after 15 minutes. Serve warm

Suitable for those who have had the ingredients and for those who can handle texture and mash foods with their gums.  Great for Moms & Dad too

New Year Randomness

January 4, 2010 at 11:24 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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I don’t have anything very coherent to write, so I’m just going to bulletpoint some random musings as they occur to me. Here we go:

  • I’m so, so glad it’s finally 2010. Not because I’m anxious for new beginnings, but because I’m tired of saying “two thousand nine” or “two thousand eight.” Finally, I can say “twenty ten” and be done with it.
  • Long John Silvers is celebrating 40 years…yes, 40 years of gut-wrenching gluttony that for some reason I crave on a semi-regular basis. I’ve been hankering for a chicken plank all week, but the closest LJS is 20 miles from here. I thought I had it made coming back from the Baltimore airport today right at the lunch hour — according to the website there was a restaurant not too far out of the way back home. But ever since I spent $70 to upgrade the maps on our GPS, I’ve found it’s actually worse at locating the things I want. It stubbornly refused to map out the particular restaurant I wanted, and it wasn’t worth driving 30 miles out of the way. Never fear, I say to my very sorry gut, which will hate me come tomorrow. Liam is such a good boy at restaurants, I’m planning a little field trip to Fall Church, VA for lunch tomorrow. I have a feeling I’ll be dreaming of hush puppies tonight.
  • Speaking of the boy, he really took to Grandpa Bob this week, despite hanging on my pants and fussing for me at almost every turn. We’ll be headed back East in February, and I’m hoping Liam’s stranger anxiety eases up a bit. I love my son, but seriously, it’s like I’ve got a growth coming out of my hip lately. One that weighs 22 pounds.
  • Liam’s been giving me kisses. Wet, slobbery, open-mouthed infant kisses. But my favorite part is the little smile and shoulder snuggle he gives me afterward. Makes it feel less dirty.
  • Tomorrow marks the first day I’m officially the Stay-At-Home Mom. I don’t count today because James had the day off. Although, I really should, since James spent the entire afternoon playing his new video game. The house is in desperate need of a scrub, and I’ve had to devise a plan of attack. Today during his afternoon nap, I tackled the bathrooms and the kitchen surfaces. Tomorrow morning I’m relatively certain I can dust between first and second breakfasts. We’ll see how vaccuuming goes — he’ll either sleep through it, or scream in his crib while I do the deed. I asked my mom how she ever got the house cleaned with a toddler running around the house. Of course, she can’t remember.
  • My New Year’s dinner turned out decently well — the CostCo ham was awesome, the green bean casserole delectable, mom’s sweet and sour carrots totally yummy, and the canned cranberry sauce was the same as ever. But I got a little creative with the stuffing, and it turned out more like croutons. James loved it, so I guess it was a hit. Next time, I’ll try adding chicken stock. Dessert was fantastic — we used our abundance of karo syrup from Liam’s bottles and the recipe we found on the back of the package to make a pecan pie. Actually, I should give James credit — he made it while I entertained the baby. And it was so good. So much better than store bought.
  • I’m reading Audrey Neffeneggar’s new book Her Fearful Symmetry. She wrote my all-time favorite novel The Time Travelers Wife. I’m enjoying her follow-up, although I’m befuddled by the British spelling and grammar rules and her use of ten-dollar words that I have to guess the meaning of by the context. That’s one of my pet peeves with some writers — feeling like I need to grab a dictionary every other paragraph gets annoying after awhile. I don’t remember having to do that with her first novel. The writing and story of this second novel are good enough, though, I’m willing to let it slide.
  • I hate New Year’s resolutions. I really do. And I’ve decided this year to pointedly ignore any attempt to eat better, lose weight, save money, or anything else that falls into the “resolution” category. If my actions just so happen to shed me a few pounds or save us a few bucks, so be it.

A trip to the zoo

October 11, 2009 at 9:44 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment
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Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! Actually, just the lions. And the Oh My! Liam and I had our first trip to the National Zoo this morning. We were supposed to meet up with one of my mom’s groups, but we were a little late, so it ended up being just Liam and I. We stuck to the big animals, seeing as Liam was mostly more interested in the people around us than the animals, lol. We saw two pandas, two elephants, two lions, a handful of gorillas, one high-flying orangutan, and a whole mess of gorillas. My favorite was the new baby gorilla, who was clutching onto her mommy’s fur as she circled their enclosure. I picked up Liam so he could see, and I said, “Look, it’s just like us! Except I’m less hairy.” There was one male silver back who kept chasing the others around. Quite a show! Also quite a show was the orangutan we saw climbing above the walkway on a rope they had strung across a line of towers. The apes could move freely from one enclosure to another above the park. Liam, of course, was too interested in clapping and blowing raspberries to look up. When we finally arrived at the prairie dogs, which I was sure he’d love (just like his dad), he’d fallen fast asleep! Being the thoughtful mom I am, I parked us at a nearby bench to let him sleep, and we got to see them when he woke up. I was like, “Loooook (pointing), he’s right there.” And Liam would look at my finger. And then the little boy next to us. When we got to the pandas, I got all excited because it was less crowded than I’ve ever seen it, and we had a wonderfully clear view of both of them. I pointed out, “Look, like Kung Fu Panda!” Some lady came up next to us to shoot photos, and Liam was way more fascinated with her camera. So, ok, I guess Liam’s a little too young to enjoy the zoo just yet. But James has promised he’ll come along next spring or summer, and I bet Liam will be more interested in the animals then.

In other news, James and I christened our new slow cooker today. We bought a wonderfully simple slow-cooker cookbook, something with “five ingredients or less” in the title, and we made a scrumptious cranberry pork tenderloin. I whipped up some instant potatoes, stuffing, and frozen corn in no time, and because of Liam’s late nap, we were actually able to fit in dinner before he woke up. Sweet! On Wednesday I’m headed back to Let’s Dish to try a couple of slow-cooker meals. We learned a lesson from last time — best to pick either the slow cook meals or the ones with the simplest preparation instructions. Dinner time is so hard with a baby! I’m sure it’ll get easier once he’s eating our food…maybe. We’re also incredibly lazy cooks, so that doesn’t help.

Grandpa Marvin turns 80 next weekend, and my mom and aunt have planned a huge family party. We’re headed to KC on Friday for the festivities. Liam will get to meet cousins, second cousins, third cousins, great-grandparents, great aunts, the whole shabang. And, best of all, he’ll get to sample some Kansas City barbecue sauce, now that he’s old enough. I’m sure that will make the most lasting impression, heh. We can’t wait!

Son of a Monkey’s Uncle!

September 30, 2009 at 9:27 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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So it looks like I won’t be breaking my mom’s record number of years before her first speeding ticket. Dammit. So stupid, too, because I saw the speed trap by Karen’s house yesterday, and I even thought, whoa, I better watch for that. But this morning I was running late for yoga class, and I could see I was going to make the green light if I just sped up a little, and, well, there you go. The cop was nice — I couldn’t find my registration, so he just gave me a verbal warning, and he reduced the fine for me, probably because it was my first ticket. I’d say 16 years is a decent record for no tickets….certainly better than James, AKA Speeding Ticket Magnet.

So I missed yoga class…but just as well, as I’m feeling kind of nauseous this morning. Yesterday I tried Let’s Dish, and while I had loads of fun putting the meals together, I really didn’t like the meal we ate last night. It smelled good, and it even looked good. But James says he cooked it longer because he was afraid the rice wouldn’t be done, so the shrimp was way overdone for me. And apparently I’m not a huge fan of chick peas. However, James liked it, so he says he’ll eat the leftovers. Just thinking about it this morning made me queasy. Ick. Let’s hope our three other meals fair better.

Weekend Update

September 19, 2009 at 9:35 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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All week Liam’s been practicing his B’s, D’s, M’s and R’s, enough so that I even caught some video of it. But this morning while playing in our bed, he clearly looked up at James and said, “Da da!” Put a big ol’ grin on da da’s face. Our boy’s a talkin! We think he’s a teethin’, as well. Probably the top teeth, this time. Poor lil guy was all stuffy and slobbery today.

On Thursday I decided I needed a break from all my freelance business worrying, so I went to see the new Harry Potter movie. The Hench Aussie warned me there were a lot of changes from the book, but I still enjoyed it. It was nice to lose myself in a movie. And eat some buttered popcorn. James and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this Saturday, so we’re hoping Alice can come babysit. I’m sure we’ll do something thoroughly unoriginal, like dinner and a movie. We’re both too stressed and exhausted to come up with anything romantic to do. We’re both going through a tough time in our careers, and it’s times like these that I marvel at how truly lucky I am to have married my hubby. He fixes what’s broken, even when he’s not clear how. He calms me down when I get overwhelmed. He’s endlessly patient with me when I’m upset about something and I take it out on him. And while, yes, he drives me crazy with all of his book-buying, and he’s about the laziest cook I’ve ever known (I’m the second laziest, heh), I can’t imagine anyone else I want to grow old with.

Speaking of lazy cooking, I’ve decided it’s time we try out Let’s Dish, a service I heard about through one of my mommy groups. I first heard about this concept a few years ago, but it seemed lavish at the time. Now James and I barely have the time and energy to cook dinner each night, and we find ourselves eating out more than ever. At about $5 per serving, we’d be spending about as much as we do eating out, and this food is a lot healthier. I’m still a little unclear about how this all works, but as long as it means an easy, healthy meal each night without the hassle of planning, I’m willing to try anything.

Today I bought a day planner. Yes, I know, how 1994 of me. Blackberries kind of scare me, to tell you the truth. This is all part of my effort to Get Organized (triple underlined and taped to my desk.) I’ve langished the last two weeks over the multitude of things I’m trying to accomplish, and I think planning out every hour of my day will help keep me on track. I’ve been feeling completely ADD lately, easily distracted by incoming emails, IM, phone calls, other, less important, tasks on my list. This book has been immensely helpful so far, and I’ve also got another book all about pricing that will make a very handy reference. Contracts, billing, taxes….it’s enough to make your head spin! But one thing I’ve taken away from my reading is that a successful business isn’t built overnight. I need to take one step at a time. I need to focus on each task at hand and complete it before moving to the next. And while I’m facing the most challenging career point I’ve encountered thus far, I’m also facing an opportunity to attain that life balance I’m desperate to have. One where I’m a mother and a graphic artist, and I have the freedom to choose the time I spend in each of those roles. It might mean less money, but Liam will only be a baby once in his life, and you can’t put a price on that.

Salmon with a side of, erm, cookbook

February 11, 2008 at 10:04 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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So James very sweetly offered to help me cook tonight — Chef Gary’s Honey and Lime Baked Salmon with julienned zucchini and squash. Lacking counter space, I laid the cookbook on top of the stove while we gathered the ingredients for the marinade. Then I preheated the oven. Forty-five minutes later, as I was getting ready to pop the salmon in the oven, I noticed the smell. D’oh! I totally forgot that whenever we heat our oven, the back burner heats as well. Luckily, James heard my yelping and came to the rescue, armed with oven mitts and a wooden spoon. He managed to peel all of the melted plastic off the burner once it had cooled in the sink, while I attended to the damaged cookbook. Luckily it was just a binder full of hand-written recipes, so while the binder was freakishly melted, my recipes remained intact. Thankfully, that was our only cooking mishap of the night, and our dinner tasted delicious. So good, in fact, I’ll share the recipe. Enjoy!

Chef Gary’s Honey and Lime Baked Salmon

Ingredients:
Juice and zest of 2 limes
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp red pepper flake
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup canola oil
2 lbs salmon, cut into 4 pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together all ingredients except salmon in a large glass or stainless steel bowl to make marinade. Reserve 1/3 cup and set aside. Place salmon pieces in marinade and marinate 30 – 45 minutes in the refrigerator, turning several times. Remove salmon from marinade and discard marinade. Place salmon skin down on a foil-lined baking sheet or glass baking dish. Bake on middle rack of oven for 20 minutes, basting occasionally with reserve marinade.

Yummy cookies, an untimely death, and the frugal shopping habits of Our Lord and Savior.

December 20, 2007 at 10:28 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments
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Tuesday I headed to the Tivoli with Toast to see the much anticipated Morgan Spurlock movie, What Would Jesus Buy? We were delighted it finally opened in Kansas City, and were anxious to witness the activist exploits of Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping. Their basic message I totally agree with: our consuming hysteria has completely ruined Christmas. People bankrupt themselves, shove people to the floor and trample them, just for that overly-priced hot new toy. All in the name of Christmas Spirit. I remember reading this absurd John Grisham book Surviving Christmas, where the main characters decide to put the money they usually spend on Christmas toward a cruise instead. And I was simply floored by how much they figured they spent every year…6,000. Dollars. On Christmas. Holy Shit. The last time I even saw that much money was when I sold my first Honda for cash before we left for NY. And I would never plunk that down for gifts, decorations, cards, and general hoopla. What is wrong with people? Anyway, the movie was pretty entertaining, and a real thinker, although the jumpy camera angles made poor Toast lose her lunch. She missed the best line, “All across America, people are inside a car on their way to a television.” So true.

On a much sadder note, James’s grandma passed away last night. She’s had Alzheimer’s for years, and she had steadily been deteriorating, so it was somewhat expected. But her passing is hard on the family, so we’re driving to St. Louis next week for the funeral instead of visiting my in-laws in Texas. His grandpa is going in for hip surgery tomorrow, and being in his 80s, we’re all a little nervous for him. My heart and thoughts go out to them tonight.

And finally, my entire magazine staff and I have been gorging ourselves on goodies all week–we all agreed to bring in treats on Tuesday, and we just…can’t…stop…eating. I brought in my very favorite cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and they were a huge hit. So much so, I’m posting the recipe below. New Year’s Resolution #1 – get my lard ass into shape and out of the cookie jar!

Peanut Butter Blossoms
48 Hershey Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 TBSP Milk
1 TSP vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TSP baking soda
1/2 TSP salt
Granulated sugar for dipping

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove wrapper from kisses.
2. In large bowl, beat shortening and peanut butter until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to peanut butter mixture. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately place Kiss on top of each cookie, pressing down so cookie cracks around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cook completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Burgers Usurped!

December 15, 2007 at 11:48 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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I met grandpa Marvin for lunch today at Room 39 where I met the newest edition to the top 10 burger list (click here to see the most recent standings). A perfect blend of tender burger, absorbent bun, and crispy fries, this meal is definitely worth another try in the near future. I had a great time visiting with grandpa Marvin, who had recently (er, actually months ago) moved into a high rise downtown, and I had yet to see his new digs. His window overlooks that Catholic church with the gold dome, and it incessantly bongs on the hour from early morning to late evening. Chaps his atheist hide :) He’s always got the greatest stories, and every time I see him, I hear something new and hilarious.

Tonight, after a little Christmas shopping, I decided to try a new recipe I found at HyVee–cheesy potato soup. Sounds good, right? Not the way I make it, apparently. It turned out more like cheesy potato broth. I had two bowls which tasted okay, but shortly thereafter my stomach rebelled. James had three bowls, and he’s feelin’ the hurt. Now I’ve got like a 2 gallons of it in my refrigerator. Enough to feed an army…with a death wish. I guess I should have seen it coming when the recipe called for an entire pound of Velveeta.

The First Annual Harry Potter Party

December 15, 2007 at 9:52 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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To commemorate the release of The Order of the Phoenix on DVD, Jessaca, Jill, and the Hench Aussie descended (by broomstick) for a night of Harry-Potter-inspired fare. And it was all wonderfully delicious! I made Quidditch Pie with lamb instead of hamburger (who knew Hyvee would carry ground lamb!?) at the suggestion of the Hench Aussie, who I figure being from Australia would know this sort of stuff. (In my mind Australia is almost England…heh) Everyone pitched in, and it turned out great. Even James finished his plate, which is almost unheard of. Jill brought Snape’s Stuffed Toadstools, in which she used some of dad’s famous Amish sausage, yum! The Hench Aussie brought butterscotch schnapps and cream soda to experiment with making Butterbeer, and the results were pleasantly sweet (and a little alcoholic, yeah!). We even broke out the big beer mugs, and we all felt like we were in the Three Broomsticks sipping a pint. Jessaca made some wonderful Cauldron Cakes, and when dripped with honey, they made a perfect end to a wonderful dinner. We watched the movie, plus the 17 minutes of additional deleted scenes–some of which were amusing, but they didn’t leave any major plot points on the cutting room floor. I’m still disappointed they didn’t include the mirror Sirius gave Harry.

Thanks to everyone for coming, and I’ll see you again next year for movie six!

Here are the recipes we used:

Quidditch players pie

Recipe By :Silvia Rieman
Serving Size : 6

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or lamb)
1 packet onion soup mix
1 3/4 cups water
1 tablespoon flour
2 ounces half and half
1 package frozen peas and carrots
1 1/2 pounds Russet Potatoes
4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon White pepper
1/4 pound shredded cheddar cheese

Filling: Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium heat. When cooked, remove beef from heat, drain fat and set aside.

Take the same skillet and add water and onion soup mix. Cover and cook for 8 minutes.

Melt the butter and mix thoroughly with the flour. Add the cream to the skillet and then add the flour mixture.

Cook this mixture, stirring constantly until a thick gravy has formed. Then return the cooked beef to the skillet and add the vegetables.

Butter a 9×9 (we used 9×13) baking dish and place the beef mixture in the bottom of the dish. Cover with Saran Wrap, let cool and refrigerate until the beef has set.

Crust: Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks. Cook in salted water until the potatoes are fork tender.

Drain water. Mash potatoes until smooth with a potato masher.

Beat in butter, milk and add salt and pepper to taste.

Spread the potatoes over the beef mixture and bake for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Cover with shredded cheddar and return to the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Source:
“Let’s Get Cookin’ Harry Potter kids cooking class January 2002
http://www.letsgetcookin.com”

Snape’s Stuffed Toadstools

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

2 lb. Large Mushrooms
2 cloves garlic finely diced
1/4 cup butter
8 oz. bulk pork sausage
1/2 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley (finely chopped)

Remove stems from mushrooms, reserve caps.
Finely chop stems and saute in butter with garlic until both are golden.
Add sausage and saute until brown.
Stir in bread crumbs, cheese and parsley.
Stuff each cap with mixture.
Place in broiling pan that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick spray.
Broil 3-5 minutes until mushrooms are bubbly and brown.

Butterbeer

1 cup butterscotch schnapps
7 cups cream soda (almost one 2 liter bottle)

Carefully mix just before serving, adding the schnapps to the soda then stirring gently to mix well, or the fizz will dissipate too soon.

Cauldron Cakes

35 min 10 min prep

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix eggs, sugar, butter,cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla in large mixing bowl on whip for 2 minutes.
3. Mix other solid ingredients and milk in gradually in the large mixing bowl.
4. Put batter in muffin tins (DO NOT FILL TO HIGH THESE CAKES SHOULD BE SEMI-FLAT). Bake 25 minutes.
5. Decorate with sprinkles and frosting if desired.
6. These cakes go well with honey.

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