Tippy Tuesday: Chocomint Cake

Yeah, that's the working title of the recipe... Devilmint Cake?  Pepperlate Cake? 
Other suggestions welcome.  :-)

I like peppermint.  I like chocolate.  I like cake.  I like experimenting with cake.  I like festive desserts!  Sounds like a great recipe for coming up with a recipe!  After doing some research, I put together the ideas I found to form a really great cake for holiday parties or wintry events.  I made one for post-Christmas caroling and froze the extra layers to make another cake for New Year's Eve.  The best part, other than the taste, is that it's pretty simple but is far from just an ordinary cake!

The first time, I added peppermint extract to canned vanilla frosting per my husband's "refined (sugar)" taste.  The second go-around I made peppermint whipped cream frosting.  Wow.  Do I ever prefer the real whipped cream!  But, you choose whatever suits your fancy, skill level, and time!  That's why I love cake-making.  You can experiment in so many ways!  And by using cake mixes rather than scratch, you save time and money.  You just "kick it up a notch" as Emeril would say.  Make it "semi-homemade" as Sarah would approve.  It's just fun 'n easy!


You'll need...

2-4 round cake pans

parchment paper

butter

1 box white cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 cup buttermilk (1 cup milk, 1 Tbs lemon juice - let sit 5 min)

1 Tbs peppermint extract

Red food gel/coloring

1 box devil's food cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 cups buttermilk (1 cups milk, 1 Tbs lemon juice - let sit 5 min)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 tsp+ peppermint extract

1/3 cup powdered sugar

*If you don't have four cake pans, prepare each cake flavor at different times.  You can save a layer of each and freeze for the future.*

Cut circles of parchment to fit in bottom of round cake pans.  Using a paper towel, butter paper and sides of pan.  Preheat oven to 350 (325 for dark pans).

For devil's food cake, combine devil's food cake mix, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, and 1 cup buttermilk.  Mix according to package directions.  Pour into 2 prepared cake pans and bake as directed.

For peppermint cake, combine white cake mix, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, and 1 cup buttermilk.  Mix according to package directions.  Add 1 Tbs peppermint extract and mix well.  Divide in half.  Add red food gel/coloring to half and mix well until desired color is achieved.  Pour half of the white batter into each of 2 prepared cake pan.  Dollop red batter on top of each and swirl gently with a butter knife.  Bake as directed.

Cool cakes 10 minutes in pan.  Remove to cooling racks and cool completely.

When cakes are cooled, prepare frosting.  Using a cold bowl and beaters, beat heavy whipping cream until it starts to thicken.  Add 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1+ tsp peppermint extract.  Beat until stiff peaks form.  Place chocolate layer on platter.  Spread with frosting.  Place peppermint layer upside down on frosting.  Frost entire cake.  Decorate!

You can get the checkered look by cutting a circle out of the middle of each cake layer and swapping them.  You have to frost the sides of the circles to make sure they stay put -- sorta tricky, but worth it if you want the look!  After doing it both ways, I think I personally prefer one layer of peppermint and one of chocolate rather than checkered.

Tippy Tuesday: Therapeutic Tea

A while back, my lil' Sis told me she likes to put cough drops in her tea when she isn't feeling up to par.  I don't really prefer cough drops, so I tried what I do love: Ricola (original flavor).  Oh my goodness!

Not only does it make for a great tasting tea, but it soothes everything it touches.  And to breathe in the steam from a Ricola cup of tea is just amazing to my sinuses and well-being.  I've found that Lipton tea is a great backdrop, and I let the Ricola drop melt about half-way.  It's easy to adjust the flavor of both tea and Ricola by simply removing each when you desire.  Try it!

Tippy Tuesday: Homeschool File System

Last week, I showed you my notebook system for keeping track of all the paper stuff homeschooling throws at you (which I'm sure I've only seen the tip of that iceberg...).  This week, I'll show you the beginning of what I hope is a filing system that will work for years to come.

As I took time to thank my Home Ec professors for instilling in me a love of (read: dependence upon) notebooks, I need to take time to thank the Engineering Department at Union University for the opportunity to learn what a good filing system looks like.  When you are the secretary of a department that is working towards accreditation, you work with files.  Lots of files.  Engineering had 13 areas in which it wanted to document achievement.  So each student had to have a file for each of the 13 areas in which various copies of their work could be stowed away for the people who were to come view the department for accreditation approval.  The entire back wall of my closet-office was file cabinets!  It was hard work to set that kind of a filing system up; but once it was finished, it ran seamlessly and served its purpose well.  The department received accreditation!

So, fast-forward from newlywed secretary to homeschool mom of three.  I have one big independent file box for homeschooling.  Thank you, Crayola, for providing colored markers -- because I'm a woman of color!  :-)  (See previous post...)

The first set of files are for adult purposes.  There is an unlabeled file in front to hold labels for notebook divider tabs and Sonlight's sticker label sheets (see previous post...).  Legal for things dealing with state requirements.  Hope Academy for our church's oversight group and Co-op information.  Sonlight to archive information, receipts, and such from them.  Archway Academy -- because that's the name Matt and I chose for our home school!  In each of these folders, I paperclip together all the information for one year and put a labeled post-it on the front.  Tips & Advice for random information I receive that will help us in our homeschooling endeavor.

Adult Files

Labeled post-its for each year, including which student was in which grade.

The second set of files are for archiving purposes.  I could easily be a pack rat when it comes to things my children do...if space allowed.  But then, I really don't like a lot of excess either.  Makes me feel cluttered.  So I've decided this is how it will work.  Throughout the year, each student's completed work will be kept in that year's notebook (again, see previous post...).  At the end of that year, Matt & I will go through the notebook with each student and choose several worksheets and projects that were favorites.  Those will then be placed in the "archive" file for that student in that grade.  Enter color!  Judah's favorite is red.  Elijah's blue.  Eden's purple (well, her mom's fav...).  So I used that color to label their files so it's more at-a-glance friendly.  I started with the Toddler folders because there are things I like to keep from the toddler years -- especially the first time they used a crayon, etc.

All this not to say "I will never change the system" or find ways it could be improved... But for our family, I really think this will work for many years!

Tippy Tuesday: Homeschool Notebook System

I'm a newbie to homeschooling.  So what is contained herein may be ridiculously elementary to some of my more seasoned readers (pun intended).  But I truly believe that keeping organized when it comes to papers, records, and such is a HUGE help to a woman's stress level and enjoyment of whatever tasks are allotted to her.

I would like to first say thank you... a HUGE thank you... to all of my college Home Ec professors for instilling in their students the idea of "notebooks."  As grueling (and sometimes silly) as it seemed to put together notebook after notebook for every single class, some of them even being the final for the class, it was a priceless lesson in keeping information organized in a way that sets you up for smooth sailing and easy recall.  I still reference several of my Home Ec notebooks for various things in life, and it is so wonderful to just go to a shelf, immediately locate the subject I need, and then quickly turn to the information I want.  About as fast as a real-life Google machine!  ;-)

Some of...MANY

So for those who are not familiar with a "notebook" system or the curious who just want to see pictures of mine, here ya go.

1) Purchase a clear-view binder in the right size for all the areas you need.  For example, I am teaching two children this year in two grades.  I know I need a notebook for unfinished worksheets to pull from as we go through lessons.  I know I need a notebook for completed work.  I also need one for Judah's official co-op work as well as one for his attendance record since Kindergarten is official.

2) Create spine labels and title pages in Word (or whatever you use, Mac people).  I like to have the school, subject/contents, and the year.  It can be tailored to whatever you wish!

3) Print.  Carefully cut the spine labels and gently slip them in the spine.  It can be frustrating, but patience is key.  Then slip the title pages in the front cover.  Include labelled tab dividers for what you need.  Judah's "Completed Work" notebook has tabs for Handwriting and Math as those are the two subjects he has worksheets/papers for this year.  I also have the same dividers in his "Kindergarten Worksheets" notebook. When tearing out and hole-punching the worksheets (now I know why "Teacher Work Days" exist...), I like to also tear off the front cover and title pages of the workbook.  It makes the separation nice and also allows me to have the workbook information for whenever I want to reorder that book (for Elijah and then Eden in a few years).

 4) Admire your shelf of neatness and ease of use.  :-D

As an added tip, I've always been a woman of color.  I used it for high school research papers, undergraduate thesis, home decor, Bible marking, organizing, classification, you name it!  How lovely it was when I discovered that Sonlight knows how well color can help one organize!  With each core, they send a sheet of colored label paper so that you can mark each book if you choose.  So far, I've learned that preschool is orange, and Core A is pink.  Easy to tell at a glance which books go with which grade.  Especially once we retire the books to our family shelves until the next round of homeschool begins with Eden!

Next week, I'll show you my homeschool filing system...

Tippy Tuesday: Life Saver... literally.

Each minute we spend is life right? Well, thanks to my sweet friend, I now have many minutes of life saved for other things!!!

She came over a couple weeks ago to do some cleaning because my back was ka-put. One of her generous ideas was to let me borrow her Swiffer Vac until my back feels better because, let's face it, sweeping with a broom does involve the back quite a bit.

Oh. my. HEAVENS!

The Swiffer Vac has done two amazing things for me:

1) DRASTICALLY cut down on time spent sweeping my downstairs. There is no carpet in any room, so dirt and debris adds up faster than my daughter bites a cookie. If I use the broom to sweep my downstairs, it can take about a half hour. Swiffer Vac = 5 minutes MAX. That's not to say I will never use a broom again. As my friend noted, it won't get every last bit a broom can. But that's not what bothers me. It's the bigger bits you can feel and see, not the dust particles. (A good broom sweep and mop every week or two should suffice.)

2) DRASTICALLY cut down on the annoyance I get with my hard floors. Don't get me wrong. I love having hard floors downstairs! But uuuuuugh... I can't believe how jaded we are into thinking vacuuming our carpets gets them clean. If you saw what piles up daily on my hard floors.... But with the Swiffer Vac, I can pop that puppy out after EVERY meal without dreading the chore and have non-crunchy floors in a couple minutes.

BONUS: I finally found what I've been looking for -- the little simple swiffer cloths my mom used to give me to dust our home. Guess which 5 and 4 year olds are about to take over the dusting chore...

So today's tip if you have sizable hard floors in your home: BUY A SWIFFER VAC!

I gotta get me a coupon so my sweet friend can have hers back... ;-)

Tippy Tuesday: Sweet Taste of Independence

I would like to share with my readers what is now a new family tradition for us -- a real flag cake! I'm not just talking about the typical strawberries and blueberries used to decorate a cake as a flag. I found the idea here. Props to this young lady for having a practical passion and pursuing it -- she's even been featured on the news! Seemed simple enough and very unique, so I had to try it! And as an added bonus, I'm breaking down and giving you all my secret to souping up boxed cake mix to be an incredibly moist, tender cake. Non-readers might be sorry! ;-)

2 boxes white cake mix

2-3 cans cream cheese frosting

1 tube red food coloring gel

1 tube blue food coloring gel

6 eggs

2 cups buttermilk*

1 cup vegetable oil

Parchment paper

Butter

*If you don't have buttermilk (who does?), use 2 tablespoons lemon juice and add enough milk to make 2 cups. It's a 1 Tbs to 1 cup ratio. Let sit 5 minutes.

Line the bottoms of 2-3 round cake pans with parchment paper. Using a paper towel, lightly coat the paper with butter. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 (adjust to 325 for dark pans). Combine the cake mix, eggs, buttermilk, and oil in a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium 2 minutes. Use a 1 cup measure to evenly divide the batter into three separate bowls, being careful to get it as exact as you can. In one bowl, thoroughly mix in all of the red gel. In another bowl, thoroughly mix in all of the blue gel. Leave the remaining bowl white. Pour each batter into a cake pan. Bake as directed on box, about 30 minutes. Remove to wire rack; cool for 10 minutes. Turn out of pan onto extra sheets of parchment paper; cool completely. Gently peel off parchment circle.

Level tops of cakes to make each layer the same height. (Here I rabbit trail -- I "splurged" on one of those cake leveler things. If I had known years ago it was only $4 at Michaels, I would have been lovin' cake baking a lot more over the years! It makes QUICK and easy work of leveling tops of cakes and splitting layers! GET ONE! End rabbit trail.) Then, split ONLY the red and white layers evenly into two layers each.

ASSEMBLY:

1) Spread some icing on one white half, top with one red half. Place on center of cake plate.

2) Spread some icing on the remaining white half, top with remaining red half.

3) Find a small bowl or coffee cup that, when placed in center of cake layer, will leave about a 2 inch ring. Use either a serrated knife to cut around the object or if the dish has no handle, gently press the object down into the cake to cut a circle. Do this for both the blue layer and one red/white layer.

4) Spread some icing on the red/white layer on cake plate. Place the blue ring on top. Do your best to gently ice the inside of the blue ring (ha! that was the hardest and most-failed part of making this cake). Gently push the small red/white circle into center of blue ring.

Use remaining icing to finish off the cake! I EEKED out using 2 cans. Three would have been much less nail-biting. :-) I used a toothpick dipped in icing to gently drag in towards the center to create the firework effect.

The thing I love about this cake is that it looks so simple on the outside, unobtrusive and not so special. But then when you cut into it... HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, AMERICA!

Tippy Tuesday: Pockets 'n Pants

Could someone please explain to me why infant (or even young toddler) pants have real pockets? Really...what infant is going to stick their hands in their pockets while they lay around? All the pockets do is bunch up and get in the way. So I decided to remedy this non-necessity on Eden's jeans. It's very simple to do and can be done with or without a sewing machine!

First, turn the jeans inside out. Smooth the denim and pocket as best you can and pin through the layers to make sure it will stay flat on the right side when you are finished. Snip the pocket away from the side seam, but do NOT cut through the manufactured curved line of stitching that attaches the pocket to the denim.

Next, whether by hand or machine, sew a curved line ONLY through the two pocket layers and below the manufactured curved stitching. If you sew through the denim, you will see the stitching on the right side of the jeans. Cut off the excess pocket fabric (pinking sheers help with fraying).

Repeat on the other pocket. When you turn the jeans right side out, you will have nice, smooth FAKE pockets. Now when I put Eden's jeans on her, there's no digging down inside tiny pockets to smooth them down her legs. No bunching -- just quick cuteness!

Life Ring

This is the poem my hubby wrote, referenced in the previous Tippy Tuesday post...

When the towels are needin' foldin',

And there's kiddies runnin' round,

I'll toss me wife a life ring,

To ensure she doesn't drown.

But who would get a life ring,

In the middle of the sea,

Throw it back onto the ship

And say "You didn't toss like me?"

Tippy Tuesday: Hubz in the Kitchen

My Hubby once wrote a really cute poem for me that was a call for me to accept his help even in things I want done my own way. It's been in the back of my brain on several occasions since then, and my own mother has brought it up to me when I needed to be reminded of the principle. The push of the poem is for me to accept a life ring -- help -- when it is offered, whether it is thrown my way or his. I'll post the poem when I can find it...

I know for stay-at-home-moms (and even most working moms), one of our "realms" is meal management and our main office is the kitchen. Some husbands are 5-star chefs, others don't know what a spatula is used for -- or even what it might look like. Then there are those husbands that are Renaissance men. These men can be taught just about anything or are just creative enough to at least semi-successfully do what they put their minds to. My Hubz is that kind of a man. I know that if he had more experience in the kitchen and learned a few things, he would be a great chef (including the creative bent he has). Actually, there are a few dishes he's been better at than I. Usually the simple things like a fried egg. It must have taken me a year or more to figure out how to do it just right! Quite frustrating to one who holds a Home Ec degree. :-P Anyway, what happens when Chef Mom is unable to cook dinner? Some use it as an opportunity (or excuse) to have pizza, Chick-fil-A, or whatever. But for those who are trying to watch the budget carefully (and trying to buy a house), Hubz has to step up to the plate.

And Chef Mom needs to let go and take that life ring.

Good things happen when my Hubby gets in the kitchen. And I'd never know it if I didn't "let" him every once in a while. (Be sure to check out this weeks T.G.I.F.)

So my tip for today is to remember that you and your husband are partners in life. Yes, we each have our roles in the family -- bread winner, home manager, etc. But marriage is a partnership in which the roles have the ability to be fluid. So let it flow! Help your husband in his "roles" when he is unable; learn from him how to do his jobs. And let your husband help you in your roles...and be willing to teach him how to do it. To that I will add... be patient. ;-) And, in the end, be willing to let the t-shirts be folded "wrong" until you do the laundry again or to let your kids eat scrambled eggs made without milk for once.

Take that life ring when it's thrown to you...and say "Thank you!"

Tippy Tuesday

Today's tip is short and sweet. And will give part of the reason I haven't posted in a bit. Holidays and then ill health. Yum.

Things I've found that dramatically help a really sore throat:

-Campbells old fashioned chicken noodle soup (not the new chunky kind) and saltine crackers. Oh, the warmth and the salt!
-Chamomile tea. Feels so warm and soothing going down, almost like it lubricates your throat. Too bad I ran out of my high quality straight-from-England tea bags. Matt said he can get me more soon... ;-)
-Ricola's honey herb cough drops. Tasty and quite soothing, also a lubricating feeling.

Turns out, the natural ways do work. Chicken noodle soup, hot tea (esp herbal), and honey/herbs. God knew what He was creating back in the day! But if I do end up needing meds, I'm thankful He gave man the knowledge to come up with them. :-)

Tippy Tuesday: Bacon!

Mmm, bacon. I have a love-hate relationship with it. Smoky, salty, meaty goodness. Splattery, burny, greasy clean-upness.

Enter: Alton Brown. One of my culinary heroes.

Bake yer bacon, folks!

That's right. Slap an oven-safe cooling rack in a shallow sheet pan. Lay those bacon strips right on top. Crank 'er up to 400 degrees. Stick 'em in. Turn occasionally. Remove when nicely darkened and crisped to your preference. Takes about 10-15 minutes.

AMAZING! Smokey campfire bacon smell will waft through your kitchen -- delicious! NO greasy grime on your above-stove microwave. NO grease freckles on your stove or kitchen floor. NO pops and forearm stings or grease pricks on your shirt. Simply glorious. Bonus 1: the fat renders off into the sheet pan rather than your bacon drowning in its own grease. Bonus 2: your bacon stays flat (so long as you turn it a few times) which makes for easy use in my family's favorite bacon dish...

Breakfast burritos! Back at TMC, the student center's lil' restaurant would make the "California Burrito." We're talkin' one HUGE breakfast burrito stuffed with scrambled eggs, cheese, bacon, and tater tots. Those cafe ladies sure knew how to start your day! I remember Matt always trying to get one of them to smile -- and it worked on a few occasions.

Anyway, you really should try your hand at a hearty breakfast burrito at home. Tortillas, eggs, bacon, shredded cheddar, and tater tots. That's it! I've gotten it down to a science thanks to my two new sheet pans (I'm becoming less of a stone person by the minute...). The great thing about baking bacon for your breakfast burritos is that you can bake your bacon AND tater tots at the same time WHILE making your eggs atop the stove. No baking your tots, frying you bacon, then attempting to use the same (or another) pan for eggs. Scrambled eggs go down the center of your tortilla, cheese, a few strips of bacon, then a nice line of tater tots (salted if desired). Roll up gently so there is no breakage. Let sit to allow the cheese to get all ooey-gooey. In the fashion of Emile on Ratatouille, HORK IT DOWN! (Personal Experience Note: they taste just as good without cheese for my fellow can't-have-dairy-right-now people.)

Ok. Now I want one. Good thing it's on the menu for this week! And last week...and the week before that...