2 birthdays

Since my poor kids have to endure made-from-scratch cakes and homecooked meals all year, they usually ask for cake mix cakes for their birthdays. I indulge them. Crafty Girl went to the store with us and picked out Duncan Hines vanilla cake and chocolate frosting. And a package of the most gruesome sugary cake decorations with a sealife theme.

Here's her cake plan. The writing was supposed to be green gel icing, all wriggly to represent seaweed.



February 21st: she gets her wish.

February 22nd: Dear Husband's birthday. He wanted homemade pizza and a chocolate cake.

Here's his pie (before it went into the oven. We have homemade whole white wheat crust, Newman's Own tomato sauce, mozzarella, chopped spinach, choppped onions, garlic, and cut up grape tomatoes tossed in some olive oil with salt, pepper, and basil, black olives, and feta cheese.):

After baking.

Here's my pizza. I can't eat any cow's milk dairy products, so I use goat milk gouda and chevre.

My toppings were chopped spinach, green and black olives, red peppers, chopped spinach, chopped onions, grape tomatoes. I always toss all the chopped veggies in some olive oil with basil and a little salt and pepper.

The kids had plain pizza with black olives, because that's what they wanted.

Yes we are having leftovers today!

Here's Dear Husband's chocolate cake. Believe it or not, it's vegan, sweetened with maple syrup and cane sugar, using fair trade cocoa powder...it is the most delicious cake I ever made. And you can have two slices and not feel awful.

It's from a cookbook called "More great good dairy-free desserts". Dorky title, but really, the recipes are divine. The icing didn't thicken as much as I expected, but ... who cares?

And how do you like my yellow formica kitchen counter?