Cadbury Popping Mini Eggs

Easter weekend is finally over and my girlfriend has returned home. I'm crashing down from a sugar high...all those chocolate eggs...all that sugar...now I'm craving more! I still have one more bag of these Cadbury Popping Mini Eggs.

This is the first year I've had them and my goodness are they addictive. They have a crispy candy shell, a creamy chocolate centre and then the surprise at the end, popping candies that snap, crackle and pop in your mouth. It reminds me of when we were little and we would buy little packets of rocket candy. Ah...the memories...

Lemon Pistacio Cheesecake

My girlfriend is here for a visit and we had a potluck dinner at home. I made primerib which was the rave but my favourite of the night was the Lemon Pistacio Cheesecake from Costco. It was divine. It was tart...sweet...nutty...creamy...making my mouth watering good...

Family Birthday Dinner

It was my son's 10th birthday this week. I usually have a big family dinner to celebrate the kids' birthdays which means cooking for about 27 people. The star of the evening was my Prime Rib roast. It was the rave...plus my dad makes the best gravy. It was only four ribs this time. I usually buy seven but Costco didn't have the entire roast for sale. I usually rub it with some vegetable oil, montreal steak spice and pickling spice and the bake at 350F for three and a half hours. I usually pour 3 cups of water over the roast after an hour. It was medium which was perfect for us.

I usually serve one main meat dish and then a ton of sides. Tonight we had asian coleslaw, fried vermicelli, sticky rice, mash potatoes, zucchini loaf, steamed rice, samosas, and pizza for the kids.

Here are the cupcakes I made. I couldn't decide what to make for my son's 10th birthday. He's getting too old for Power Rangers and army men. I could have done better if I had planned a bit better but not bad for what I had on hand.

I also attempted to make a coconut cream pie. It tasted great but I think it could have been a bit firmer. I'm not sure why it didn't set properly. If anyone can help me I would appreciate it.

Vanilla Yogourt and canned fruit...YUM!

We had to gulp down a quick dinner tonight and rush off to the rink for skating. I don't usually have a late night snack but since I had a healthy dinner of salad and chicken I was starving. I fixed myself a bowl of Vanilla Activia Yogourt and topped it with some canned peaches and mandarin oranges. It was delicious! I could have eaten more but I'm testing my self control.

Super simple banana bread

The kids were home sick today so I thought I would make them a treat. They love my banana bread. Actually it's my best friend's recipe but it has become one of my favourites. Whenever my friends come home for a visit they always ask me to make my banana bread. It's super simple and I love that I always have the ingredients in my pantry. Some recipes call for mayonaise or sour cream to make it moist. This is more like a cake and is so moist. You can find the recipe here. http://www.screaminmama.com/Recipes/supersimplebananabread.html

Chinese Bakery

One of my favourite no fuss lunch for the kids is buns from the Chinese bakery. I love going there and smelling the freshly baked breads and buns. My favourite is actually the egg tart...a sweet egg custard in a flaky pastry. There are so many different kinds of buns to choose from...curry beef, bbq pork, hot dog, spam and egg, ham and egg, tuna, and even plain. My kids love the hotdog buns. I'm partial to the curry beef or tuna.

Today I saw these pastries all wrapped up and looking so pretty. I'm not sure what they are called but I'm guessing they are "wedding" pastries. They usually have lotus paste, red bean or wintermelon. It's a bit too rich for my tastes.

Comfort food

This morning was rough! Lots of whining...lots of crying...and a whole lot of screaming! By the time I dropped the kids off my head was pounding and my hands shaking. I needed a coffee bad!! My best friend and I headed off to the mall and we splurged on a danish along with our coffee. YUM! The flaky pastry and the sweet apple filling melted all the morning stress away. Whoever says food can't or shouldn't be used for comfort has never experienced that first mouth watering bite of yummy on a stressful day.

Afternoon Cupcakes

I promised my daughter that we could open her new Easy Bake Decorating Sensation Icing Pen. She had received this for Christmas but because I never found time to buy batteries it kind of got lost in the hustle and bustle. It's actually a pretty good little tool for kids. She had so much fun decorating her cupcakes. There are 4 different tips and it's battery operated so she doesn't need alot of effort to squeeze the icing out.

Not a bad job for a five year old...even the boys had fun decorating their cupcakes. It was a great afternoon activity. Now cleaning up is another story.

Doggie Cupcakes

I am so proud of my doggie cupcakes I had to add them to this blog! My best friend asked me to make some cupcakes for her daughter's birthday and if possible, with a doggie theme. I searched high and low on the internet and finally found something easy. I changed the decorating tip to one that piped out strings. The final product is absolutely adorable. You don't even want to eat them they are so cute. I've also made them for my nephew's birthday and both times they were a big hit.

Cheap Chocolate

Even cheap chocolate taste better if you make the effort to make it special...

I received some drugstore bought chocolates this Christmas and finally opened the box last week. I popped a few in my mouth...nothing special...it's chocolate...but today I decided that it was unfair to this poor box of chocolate and to the the sender to dismiss it just because of it's price. So I decided to stick a fork in it and you know what? It actually tasted yummy. Of course, even in my wildest imaginations, it didn't taste like Godiva chocolate...but it tasted sweeter...creamier...than I remembered. I guess it's all about presentation and perception...maybe I'll be eating my chocolates with a fork from now on...