Reggie's First Birthday Party and the Recipes.

We celebrated (a little early) Reggie's first birthday. Reggie is Oliver's good friend. Since they were going to be out of town for his official birthday this was his pre-birthday celebration with local friends. We had a great time at Eppleman Park.

Here are the mommies with babies.

Here are the daddies with babies. 

So here are the recipes for the food....

                             

Tahini Dressing:                                           1/2 cup of Tahini, 3 tbsp Soy Sauce, 3 tbsp lemon juice,  3 tbsp vinegar, 2 garlic gloves, handful of parsley, 2 tbsp agave syrup, salt to taste, 1/4 cup olive oil, and water to thin. Blend everything and serve with various vegetables. 

                                                                                         Fruit Skewers: Slice various fruits and use cookie cutter to make assorted shapes.

Open Face Sandwich #1: Typical Czech Style Spread: Cream cheese, minced Gouda (left over from making heart shapes), paprika, garlic powder, dried mustard, salt and pepper. Whip in standing mixer.                                        Top with salami, hard boiled egg, dill pickle, and garnish with parsley

Open Face Sandwich #2: Turkey/Guacamole Spread: 2 avocados, stick of butter (room temp), minced garlic, mince onion, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Whip in standing mixer.                                        Top with cheese, turkey breast, barbecue sauce, and garnish with cilantro

 Open Face Sandwich #3: Smoked Salmon Spread: Cream cheese, minced dill, minced capers, dijon mustard and salt/pepper. Whip in standing mixer.                                        

Top with smoke salmon and cucumber, garnish with dill. 

These were made with the left over cucumber, salmon, egg and dill spread. 

These were made with the left over salami, cheese and guacamole spread.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Beets! (No Food coloring!)

Ingredients

• FOR THE CUPCAKES:
• 1 whole Large Raw Beet
• 2-½ cups Cake Flour Plus 5 Tablespoons
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cream Of Tartar
• 2 sticks Butter, Softened
• 2 cups Sugar
• 4 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Vinegar (white Or Apple Cider)
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• FOR THE FROSTING:
• 1 stick Butter
• 4 ounces, weight Plus 1 Tablespoon, Cream Cheese, Softened,
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. It’s beet time. Note: this will stain your hands, clothes and anything it touches. You can hold the beet with a paper towel, get some food safe gloves, or just have light pink hands for a day. Be sure to wash your beet well, they’re pretty muddy. Peel the beet and then grate it (using the really small holes on your box grater) until you have about a cup. Then add the grated beet into a food processor and blend a bit longer until ground into even smaller pieces. The beet will add coloring and you’ll see specks in the batter, but you don’t really want the taste. Set aside.

3. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, and cream of tartar in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.

4. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix. Now add the beets, vinegar, and buttermilk. At this point mine looked like a curdled mess, ignore your urge to throw it all out and keep going!

5. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring after each addition. Be sure to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl.

6. Put your cupcake liners in a 12-count muffin pan and fill the batter to the top. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 2 minutes and then remove cupcakes from pan and let them cool on a wire rack.

For the frosting:

Cream the butter and cream cheese together in a large bowl. It helps to soften the cream cheese a bit with the butter. You can either set it out beforehand or pop it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.

Add the sugar and vanilla and mix well on high.

Scoop frosting into a piping bag, using whatever tip design you like and ice those cupcakes!

Fun time in an Ancient Place with Young People

Today Oliver and I spent a great day with some friends at the Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach. We had a great time sharing and wearing (our babies). Here are the pictures to highlight our day. You can check out the history of the monastery here. This is a great place to take toddlers since it is pretty much closed in and they really is nothing they can break.

Healthy Addiction Recipe - Chocolate Truffle Balls

Ok these are my highly addicting AMAZIN-BALLS...lol  If you crave sweets and/or chocolate, this is for you! These are guilt free and can be made to be gluten free, GMO free, PALEO, and Raw Vegan. I use oats in this recipe but you can substitute with something else. 

I made these to help nursing mommas have more nutritious snacks that could help increase their milk production as well. 

However these are great snacks for anyone. 

All you need is a food processor and the ingredients listed below. 

You can add or subtract ingredients with what you have at home. This is just what was in my pantry so I am trying to use it up. You can also add your favorite protein powder/meal replacement powder into the mix and have some energy/protein snacks. This recipe is pretty flexible as long as you get a consistency you can roll into balls at the end.

1. Put 30 pitted dates into FP (food processor).

2. Put 2 large tbsp of Hemp Seeds in FP.

3. Put 2 large tbsp of Unsweetened Dried Coconut in FP.

4. Put 1 large tbsp of Chia Seeds in FP.

Put 2 large tbsp of Goji Berries in FP.

5. Put 1/2 cup of Oats in FP. (You can use nuts instead)

6. Put 2 large tbsp of Cocoa Powedr in FP.

7. Put 2 large tbsp of Agave Syrup in FP. (Could use honey, maple syrup, or molasses)

8. Put 1 tsp of vanilla extract. (or any other extract)/ you can add spices too, like cinnamon. 

9. Put 1 large tbsp scoop of Coconut Oil in FP.

10. Process Away... for about 1-2 minutes, you can stop and pulse it too.

11. Should come together like a dough. 

12. Roll into balls.

13. I got 26 balls from this batch... so a roughly 2 dozen yield.