Chris's Coconut Cake

Chris requested coconut cake for his birthday today, so I went in search of a new recipe. I found one by Ina Garten and followed a few tips from the reviewers and voila...a beautiful, made from scratch cake! I toasted a bit of coconut (first time I've done that - nearly burned it!) and mixed it with some regular coconut and spread it all over the top and sides - on top of the cream cheese frosting. Amazing stuff - it turned out really good.

Banana Cinnamon Muffins

I made these muffins this morning for Chris's birthday. Banana Cinnamon. Oh my. They are delicious! I got the recipe from a blog I stumbled across: www.apastryaffair.com

It's officially summer!

It's been summer here in Nashville for weeks already, but now it's official! I know y'all have birthdays, wedding showers, VBS programs, daycare parties, family reunions. and I'm sure that you need cupcakes, cookies, cakes, etc. I am available all summer long (except for July 23-31...on vacation!), so please let me know how I can help you!

And - 4th of July parties! :)

Auction win

Here's a shocker - I bid on an auction basket at a recent event that included a cake mix, sprinkles, cookbook and wooden spoons. My main draw was the fact that it was one of The Cake Mix Doctor's new all-natural cake mixes. (I have all of her books!) I hadn't bought one of these mixes yet, as they are a bit pricey - like 7 times more expensive than a regular Duncan Hines/Pillsbury mix. But the other bonus in this basket? A $50 coupon for any Viking Culinary School class. We've got a school in Franklin and I've always wanted to take a class out there...now I just have to decide which one! Now if I could just talk my husband into letting me take the 4 week Viking University: Baking Classics course! :)

New tools & veggie garden!

One of my 1-cup measuring cups mysteriously disappeared and I really missed it. So I went in search of a nice set of stainless steel cups. Thanks to Sur la Table, I ordered these FABULOUS measuring cups a few weeks ago. They were seriously expensive, are seriously heavy and seriously sturdy - Chris said I could use the 2-cup as a weapon! I'm just thrilled to have a 2-cup measuring cup - so handy! Best baking investment I've made in a while!

(And guess what? I found my missing 1-cup in the wheat flour bag from the last time I used it, about 3 days after these came in the mail. Figures!)

Haven't been baking much the last couple of weeks, but we have been growing a few veggies. These are Chris's tomatoes and peppers. We actually have 8 tomatoes on the vine that are starting to turn - we didn't even get 8 tomatoes out of last year's plants!

And these are my babies...cucumbers! I planted 8 plants because some never grow. Right. Not this year - they ALL took and we are about to be inundated by cucumbers - so excited!

X's and O's

I made 120 of these babies last week for a co-worker who was having a wedding shower/engagement party for her nephew. My biggest job yet! They turned out great & she said there were only a few left at the end of the night!

And then I just had to play around with the rest of the icing & the leftover cookies. :)