Food and Furthermore III

Coming Tomorrow....Memorial Day Menu and Shopping List
Years ago, a little baby girl was born. Pink, pretty, and sugary sweet. But as of last week, she is seven. Pink, pretty, and sugary sweet-with a little bit of independent spice. We're just crazy about her. Even though she made that big mess on the counter.
Because we bake almost everything from scratch, for an extra special birthday treat, she USED to ask for a boxed cake mix. It practically killed me. She wanted a colorful funfetti cake, just like all the other kids (and grown-up, kid-at-heart Uncle Jack). But now she is seven and she knows better. For the first time this year she asked pretty please for homemade chocolate cupcakes with homemade chocolate frosting. It was a proud moment. I used the Devil's Food Cake recipe from The New Joy of Cooking. Make them only if you have more than an hour and you don't mind washing numerous bowls and dishes AND you love seriously, seriously good cupcakes.

Notice the tennis themed cupcakes for the party. We used the colored vanilla melts and piped the shapes onto waxed paper. These ones were for the grown ups.

This is what my little girl wanted for her birthday.

A Hawaiian, Don Ho, pearly shells, pineapple princess, purple ukulele. Now I can't keep my hands off of the darn thing. It's so fun and so easy to play and I can pretend I'm at a luau. Why am I paying money for violin and piano lessons? Forget it kids! Take up the ukulele and let's all be beach bums together.

Furthermore and speaking of expensive lessons, both of my children had a violin performance at an old folk's home.

During the performance, one of the spunky elderly gentleman shouted out, "Is that little boy for sale?" Nope. He's mine and you should have heard him play "Orange Blossom Special." On second thought, I think I really am getting my money's worth.
Furthermore...

It's time to pass the baton for the Arte y Pico Award

Leah at A Corner of My Kitchen. I don't just envy her kitchen. I also want dinner at her house every night. I could even bring my kids! The food is fabulous and family friendly.

Veronica at Supermarket Serenade. Take a look at her blog before you buy something new at the market. She'll let you know what's best to buy and what to do with it when you get home.

Lisa at Jersey Girl Cooks. Lisa shares thoughts, insights, tips, and recipes in her creative cooking adventures.

Jenny at Picky Palate creates yummy and easy original recipes guaranteed to please even the pickiest eaters
Camilla at Enlightened Cooking. Her brilliant ideas for healthy cooking are bright, fresh, and original. You'll be making mousse, ganache, cheesecake, and cookies-and you're still going to fit in your jeans.