Charleston Chocolate Cake just got better!

Carrot cake, red velvet cake and lemon cake!

Who doesn’t like cake? There is someone in Charleston, SC that makes THE BEST chocolate cake in all the land, her name is Christen Reese, owner of CHOCOLATE CAKE CHARLESTON. Fred and I went to a cake tasting a few weeks ago (yippee! I think that may be my calling!). The cake was DIVINE. The way everything was displayed was beautiful and I am thrilled to announce… there are more cake flavors that will be available and let me just say… each and every one of them is out of this world: a carrot cake so moist and delicious with just the perfect frosting, a red velvet cake that is as beautiful as it is tasty, and a lemon cake that is so light that it’s absolutely heavenly. I wish I would have turned this plate around and taken the shot from the top of the cake, pure beauty I’m telling you! Be sure to check out Christen’s website, get your cake order in early. Its nice that you can order a small 4″ two layer cake right on up to a 10″ three layer cake, as well as mini bites and medium cupcakes. Talk about flexible! We have our order in! For those of you who are out of town, shipping is available!!

Like I said, everything was so beautifully presented, in addition to the cake, there were little jars of local honey (Low Country Gold from Johns Island) that would make the sweetest gifts (for yourself as well). This picture doesn’t do it justice, I only had my phone with me… if you’re interested in this local Charleston, SC honey contact MORIAH WHITE, (M DESIGNS). (Email address: moriah_white@yahoo.com and phone is 843.637.4785). It would make a sweet hostess gift for sure! She also has her spiced pumpkin chutney available (fall harvest), so contact her while it’s still available…

M Designs - honey from Moriah White

Catch you back here tomorrow…

A cancer prevention tip that will make you smile!

Image: Prevention.com

Now this is a cancer prevention tip that makes me smile… it’s one that I don’t have to think about… one that I can do… one that I can OVER do, ha!

Dark chocolate (70%+) is more than a tasty morsel that you let melt in your mouth, it’s rich in so many ways…  uh, excuse me, had to jump up and grab a piece, don’t want to forget! (I heard you laugh… you’re right… like I would forget!)! Info from Prevention magazine . Click HERE for a fabulous article that has the list of foods we’ve been talking about over the past few months!

Cure It with Dessert

Enjoy antioxidant-rich dark chocolate

Chocolates containing over 70% cocoa provide a number of antioxidants, proanthocyanidins, and many polyphenols. In fact, a square of dark chocolate contains twice as many as a glass of red wine and almost as many as a cup of green tea properly steeped. These molecules slow the growth of cancer cells and limit the blood vessels that feed them.

How to Eat It: Enjoy about one-fifth of a dark chocolate bar a day guilt free. Milk chocolate isn’t a good alternative because dairy cancels out the cancer protection of the polyphenol compounds.

Next week is the last of this series…  but there will be more… I promise! Lets recap all the foods that can be fighting for our bodies to help prevent cancer, as long as we feed our bodies these nutritious warriors instead of say, those tart things you pop in the toaster (oh heavy sigh). It’s worth re-reading this list and adding as many to your day as you possibly can. Don’t ever stop!

BRUSSEL SPROUTS – BOK CHOY – CHINESE CABBAGE – BROCCOLI – CAULIFLOWER – GARLIC – ONION – LEEKS – SHALLOTS – CHIVES – WILD SALMON – ANCHOVIES – SMALL MACKEREL – SARDINES – ORANGES – TANGERINES – LEMONS – GRAPEFRUIT – STRAWBERRIES – RASPBERRIES – BLUEBERRIES – BLACKBERRIES – CRANBERRIES – DARK CHOCOLATE and next…. TOFU – MISO – TEMPEH – SOY MILK – SOY YOGURT, but that’s next week!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Ok mom! This is chemo #11, two treatments to go, WOOHOO!!

Love you lady! me

Quick, easy and delicious! KEY LIME PIE, perfect for a hot summer day!

Image: Amazon.com

Nellie and Joe’s Key West Lime Juice… it makes a tasty and tart Key Lime pie. What’s more perfect for dessert when the weather makes you want to melt?? I was making dessert to take to some friends who were having us over for dinner… I needed something nice and cold and refreshing… Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Pie recipe is a hit on all counts… It couldn’t be quicker to put together and toss in the oven for 15 minutes, let cool and refrigerate. Then serve topped with whipped cream (or meringue) which you need to cut some of the sweetness. It looks a little flat in the graham cracker crust, but it’s leaving room for the whipped cream, so before you serve it, pile it high, then add a little lime zest/lime slices! Ok, here’s the recipe, it’s also on the back of the Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Juice bottle! You can find their key lime juice in most grocery stores, usually with the bottles of drink mixers (margarita mix, etc.) OR in the juice section… photo of pie served on friends pretty green plates is below the recipe…

Oh and don’t do like I did… DO NOT USE THE EGG WHITES. I separated the eggs and tossed the yolks, that’s right… apparently I’m in a caffeine deficit right now, heavy sigh! Luckily I hadn’t yet poured it into the crust… so I just needed to go back to the store for another can of sweetened condensed milk…

Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Pie 9″ graham cracker pie crust 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk 3 egg yolks (whites not used) ½ cup Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream, or meringue, and garnish with lime slices.

Oh no, now I’ve got keylimepieonthebrain…ugh! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Blueberry Pie… FULL of antioxidants, right??

Oh what a beautiful sight this is! Don’t you agree? I read an interesting article from the Blueberry Council (www. Blueberrycouncil.com) regarding all the good things that blueberries do for our bodies… after reading this and after walking through Whole Foods and seeing that blueberries were on sale I took it as a sign… A sign to make a nice “healthy” blueberry pie… ok, not sure about the healthy part, but I’m thinking it couldn’t have been too bad? First some blueberry facts, then a quick and easy blueberry pie recipe… Oh, I’m telling you that pie was so good… it’s almost time for another! I feel like my antioxidant level is low (hee hee)… unfortunately, I took a picture of the pie BEFORE I cut it, but never got around to snapping a photo afterwards… darnit! Live and learn… hmmm, a sign to make another pie?

 First the facts:

Blueberries have only 80 calories/cup, and are virtually fat free.

They’re an excellent source of Vitamin C.

Blueberries are a great source of fiber.

Blueberries contain substances that have antioxidant properties… antioxidants help neutralize free radicals which are unstable molecules linked to the development of a number of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease and other age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease. According the USDA database of antioxidant activity of selected foods, blueberries rang among the highest on a per serving basis. Substances in blueberries called polyphenols, specifically anthocyanins that give blueberries their blue hue, are the major contributor to the antioxidant activity of blueberries! Thank you Blueberry Council for your information!

Now… on to the recipe. I tried a simple recipe out of Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I used more blueberries than it called for which was why mine was a tad on the runny side. These were sweet blueberries, so I could have used even less sugar. I don’t care for cinnamon in my blueberry pie, it’s a deal breaker… so I used a tiny bit of lemon zest. I like it pure… just blueberries! I didn’t have time to make a pie crust, so I used a Pillsbury pie crust that you buy in the refrigerated section at the grocery store. It’s closest to homemade, I won’t use any other. HOWEVER, if you have a good crust recipe and the time… good crust always trumps store bought, even if it is close…

Because mine was a tad runny (and partially because I couldn’t wait for it to cool, hee hee) I went ahead and scooped out about ½ cup of juice, put it in a container and the next week we had a small scoop of vanilla ice cream with heated blueberry sauce on top… YUM!

Ok, ok… quit talking… now the recipe!

 BLUEBERRY PIE

1 double crust pie crust (store bought or homemade)

5 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

2/3 – 3/4 cup sugar (depending upon how sweet the blueberries are)

3 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons (I used maybe one if that) finely shredded lemon peel

 Directions…

Prepare the pie crust. Line a 9” pie plate with half the pastry.

In a large bowl combine the sugar and flour. Stir in blueberries and lemon peel. Gently toss berries until coated. (If using frozen blueberries, let mixture stand for 45 minutes or until fruit is partially thawed but still icy.)

Transfer berry mixture to the pastry lined pie plate. Trim bottom pastry to edge of pie plate. Now place top crust on filling and seal. Crimp the edge together. Cut slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake in a 375˚oven for 25 minutes (or 50 minutes for frozen fruit). Remove foil. Bake another 25-30 minutes (watch it closely, mine doesn’t take this long), OR until filling is bubbly and pastry is golden brown. (Always a good idea to place it on a foil lined cookie sheet in case it bubbles over).

Cool on wire rack (good luck to ya!)

Hope you enjoy! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Death by lemon squares…

Image via www.myrecipes.com Oxmoor House photo - Cooking Light

Everyone loves a good lemon square. Normally when I post a recipe I post it as I’ve made it with some changes, additions or subtractions. But this my friends is PERFECT JUST AS IT IS. It’s a Cooking Light recipe, click on this EASY LEMON SQUARES link to get the direct link to the recipe on the MyRecipes website, you have a variety of options for printing and saving. Or you can copy and paste the recipe below… Beware, this is “16 servings” which is really like “4 servings” in my book, so the calories, etc. do go up… but it’s worth every bite! Really…

EASY LEMON SQUARES – Cooking Light

 For the crust:

¼ cup sugar

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup flour

In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add flour to sugar mixture, mix on low until resembles fine crumbs. Gently press into the bottom of an 8” square baking pan. Bake at 350˚ for 15 minutes; cool pan on wire rack.

 For the topping:

3 large eggs

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1/3 cup FRESH lemon juice

3 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs at medium speed until foamy. Add sugar, lemon rind, lemon juice, flour, baking powder and salt. Beat until well blended. Pour mixture of partially baked crust. Bake at 350˚ for 20-25 minutes or until topping is set. Cool on wire rack.

 Before serving:

Sift 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar evenly over the top once it has cooled.

Nutritional Information:

Calories 118, Fat 3.2g (sat 1.7g, mono 1g, poly 0.3g), Protein 2.2g, Carbs 20.5g, Fiber 0.3g, Cholesterol 47mg, Iron 68mg, Sodium 68mg, Calcium 16mg

Sugar fix… Whew, take a peek!

The other day I told you about a neat bakery near us aptly called SUGAR BAKESHOP… Step inside the small but oh-so-cool shop and your senses explode… Ohhhhh the smells, the sights, then bite into one of those precious cupcakes and oh la la… Happy day! I know yesterday I talked about moving more and eating less… We had to move a lot for this cupcake but it was worth every step! Here’s hoping you have a sweet day! Until tomorrow…

Apple crisp recipe… heat your house and your innards at the same time!

My version of APPLE CRISP

You know how it is when you’re chilly… the house feels chilly… it’s hibernating time and you want something sweet, but semi-healthy (ha ha)… well I’ve got the recipe for you! APPLE CRISP! I used almost a full 3# bag of granny smith apples AND there is oatmeal involved… therefore… HEALTHY’ish… Enjoy, it’s best topped with a little vanilla ice cream! Remember it’s a recipe, which is simply a guide, use more of what you like and less of what you don’t… the apples however are essential!

This recipe does more than make your house smell divine… it helps heat it up, and when you eat it… ahhhhh, finally warm! It’s better than vacuuming to get warm, hee hee…

APPLE CRISP (recipe adapted from Novia Scotia Apple Crisp that appeared in the Post & Courier newspaper years ago!)

Apple portion:

1- 3# bag of granny smith apples – PEELED AND SLICED

cinnamon, nutmeg and a little sugar – if you use sweet apples you may not need sugar!

 Topping:

1/3 cup flour

2/3 cup rolled oats (use the regular oats, not the 1-minute kind)

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter (or whatever you have that resembles it)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Peel and slice apples. Arrange apples in a buttered baking dish (lasagna size pan or large casserole if you don’t have lasagna pan). Although I used 11×17 and it worked fine!

Sprinkle apples with cinnamon (I use quite a bit, use how much you like) and just a light sprinkle of nutmeg (it’s stronger). Then sprinkle a tablespoon or two of sugar over top of the apples.

In a medium bowl mix the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar together. Cut in the butter (can use two knives and cut it up in small pieces while mixing in with flour, etc.), until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs (it was cold when i made it last so they were bigger hunks, it’s OK).

Spread this mixture over the apples.

Bake at 375 F until apples are tender (poke with fork) and topping is lightly browned (35-40 minutes).

Serve with ice cream…. ooohhh la la!