Mounds Cake

We had a potluck at work today, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use my coworkers as guinea pigs for a new recipe. I found this recipe in Penzey's ONE magazine. It made me realize that I don't often make cakes completely from scratch. I usually do a doctored cake mix (such as Midori Cake--using the melon liquior). Anyhow, I digress.

This was made with a rich chocolate base. The batter was light and fluffy and somewhat thick.

While that is baking, you make the coconut filling of marshmallows, milk, sugar, and a bag of coconut. You cook until the marshmallows are melted. THis is poured over the warm cake.

Finally, the frosting is simply more butter, sugar, milk, and a bag of chocolate chips.

It really did taste like a Mounds! It got good reviews at school, though there was a small bit left. It calls for 9x13, but all I had was an 11x7. I would like it better in a 9x13, as it was a bit too deep for my tastes, but otherwise this recipe is a keeper.

I got a picture of the last pieces--so you can see the yummy coconut layer. I'll try and post later. I'll also be back to post the recipe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Holidays are coming!

A girl friend came over today and we got busy doing some holiday candy making.
Clockwise from top--
Cocoa Tassies with Peppermint Creme Filling--with a better picture at Culinary in the Dessert, Chocolate Chai Spice Snickerdoodles, Mixed Nut Spiced Toffee, and Creamy Fudge.
Mixed Nut Spiced Toffee, with recipes for both at the bottom of this entry.



I wanted to try the mint tassies to compare them to the Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies I made last year. I like the sandwich cookies better. This are good, but a little too gooey. Joe's (from the blog linked to above) looked much better. If I had a piping bag, I don't think they would have held their shape. Good and nice presentation, but not one I'll repeat.

The Chai Spice cookies are yum! I made them bigger this time--thus the irregular shape as the spread out and ran into each other on the cookie sheet. Maybe that was because they were the last thing we made and we were ready to be done!

The toffee and fudge are old standbys. It wouldn't be the holidays without them!

There was one more item I attempted to make--they are called Gold Nugget Bars. I cooked the 'cake' part for 5 minutes longer than it called for and it was looking as if it was done. Turns out it wasn't and when I went to get it out of the pan, it fell apart. I'm going to try them again this week. It involves a light yellowish bar being rolled in a powdered sugar/milk glaze, and then rolled in peanuts. You then drizzle it with melted chocolate and peanut butter chips. I also hope to make some gingerbread cookies for the freezer soon.

Until next time...

Friday Funny

Conversation w/ a parent of a student today:

Parent: They make these vibrators that he likes; his outside therapist uses it with him.
Me: (thinking, do not look at TA or else you'll burst out laughing. Not that my mind is in the gutter or anything.)
Parent: Oh, that didn't sound so good (looks around).
Me and TAs: Burst out laughing, along with parent.
Parent: He likes it around his mouth.
Us: More laughter.
Parent: SOme of them even have smiley faces on them.
TA: Wow, that's even better!
Me: More laughter.

Thankfully, the parent was laughing with us. Not the kind of conversation you'd expect to find in front of a school. We all got a kick out of it.
You probably had to be there. :)

Chai Spiced Chocolate Cookies

ETA: 12/13/2008--I got 52 out of the recipe this time.

Oh my goodness, these cookies are WONDERFUL! I found the recipe on the CL Bulletin board when I was looking for a recipe for a healthy apple muffin. Go figure.

My notes: I made closer to 5 1/2 dozen out of this, so mine were a little on the small side. The sugar mixture that your roll the cookie in would be good with some cocoa and milk for a chai spice hot cocoa. My camera is at school, or else I'd share pictures.

2 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup butter -- softened
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

In a large mixer bowl, combine sugar and spices; reserve 1/2 cup of mixture in shallow bowl. Add cocoa powder to mixer bowl; stir to blend. Add butter; beat at medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat at low speed until fluffy. Stir in flour and baking powder until combined.

Shape 1 tablespoon of dough into ball; roll in reserved sugar-spice mixture. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, placing balls 2 inches apart. Bake in 350 F oven until edges are firm, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.


Source:
"Dierberg's Everybody Cooks, September 2006"
"42 cookies"

Finally...a Balanced Meal and a Bottle of Wine

Stopped by the liquor store today and got a corkscrew! I tried a new wine last week--A Cabernet from Bulgaria called Veni Vidi Vici (I Came, I Saw, I Conquered) and the Vineyard is Vini. I had several glasses at a get together and really liked it. At $8/bottle, this is a quality wine at a bargain price.

I'm finally getting back on the cooking track. Last night, I made pork potstickers from a tried and true Epicurious recipe. I deviated from the recipe a bit, but the basics are the same. I love making a batch of these (it only takes about an hour including assembly--maybe a little less) and freezing them. I pan fry them in a little bit of sesame oil until partly thawed and brown on bottom, then add chicken broth (@1/4 cup) and put the lid on. I cook them until the broth has evaporated. I then eat them over rice, or in chicken broth for a quick and easy wonton soup. Last night, I ladled chicken broth over brown rice and added 4 dumplings. Heaven!

Tonight was just a pork chop and veggies--nothing fancy, no recipe, but rib sticking good! Tomorrow will be a pork stir fry.

Bits and pieces

4 big nuts and bolts

4 medium nuts and bolts

12 shelf pins

Wine opener

The above are among things I haven't found again since I moved. The first goes to my dining table. No biggie, my dad just measured and bought some more.
The 2nd are to attach my the rails to the headboard on my guest bed. I bought replacements.
The 3rd are to a shelf I have in my office. I found some that work at the local hardware store. No biggie. I'm sure they'll turn up sometime, perhaps when I move again?

Now the last. Dammit! I was ready to have a nice, relaxing bottle, oops I mean glass, of wine along with a relaxing bubble bath and a good book. Lo and behold, my opener is nowhere to be seen. Same for the little cheapo ones that you get in liquor stores. They are gone. I'm ticked. I liked that opener. I think it once belonged to an ex-boyfriend. It's irreplaceable.

So, I guess I'm going to go have a snakebite--Guinness and cider. Not the same, but it will do. Cheers.

Ever wonder?

What happens when you roast beef jerky over an open fire? It gets even tougher. But, if you dip it in beer periodically as you roast, it's not bad. Of course, if you've been drinking a bit as you do this, it's much better. :)

Also, what happens when you put whole pumpkins on a fire? Nothing really. They don't explode. You don't get instant roasted pumpkin seeds. But you will get cold once the fire burns out.

Just in case anyone was wondering. Ya know.

Oh, the girls were in town a couple weeks ago. We had fun. They are in Cancun now, along w/ a friend of mine from Dallas. No fair. Think about it--they are in Cancun and I'm learning what happens when you put a giant pumpkin on a fire or you roast beef jerky. Which would you rather do?

We froze our tails off at the OU/Colorado game. It was the first in 3 OU/CU games I've attended where OU won! At least I'm not the bad luck charm. :)
Getting ready for a night on the town. OK, so we went to one of my old haunts (In Cahoots, though now it is Club Rodeo) to do some country dancing. It sucked. Not the company, but the club. It's changed for the worse, or maybe I'm just getting old?

We at least had some kickin' boots to wear out. I think we had to have the best looking boots in the place. Mine is on the right. The big one. They were my early Christmas present to myself.

Election Time

I hate elections. I hate having crap shoved down my throat about a person's opposition. Wouldn't it be much nicer if people running could focus on what they are going to do to make a difference, and let us inform our own opinions about the opposition without all of the mud-slinging?

To that note, I had out of state company here a few weeks ago. One did comment on an ad for the current governor, Brady Henry. She said it was a nice ad, focusing on him rather than his opponent. If only they were all that way.

Anyhow, I'm still registered to vote in TX. I missed the deadline to register here because I was working late. I intended to go in that day, but got engrossed in what I was doing and before I knew it, it was 6:00 pm. Who says teachers don't work long hours? So, I'll be watching the returns Tuesday night, but know that without voting myself, I have no right to bitch! Fortunately, I think the incumbent for governor will win and he would have had my vote.

The Evolution of . . . Me

13 years ago, I thought I wanted to grow up and work at a computer crunching numbers, with little or no people interaction. I was a math nerd. Still am in many ways. While I realized that that wasn't what I wanted to do after all, I still harbor some of those same personality traits that you'd imagine a math nerd having. I'm somewhat shy (my opinion), introverted. I'm non-confrontational to a fault. I don't have the best people skills, but that's not true across the board. I am generally good with the parents of my students. Anyhow, lately I still have times where I wonder if I got it right yet. I love working with the kids I do; while I could never have the patience to work with 'typical' children, I can be the most patient person you've ever met when working with children with exceptionalities. I still wonder if I'm the best person for the job. Is it normal to have these periods of self-doubt?

When I try and picture what I'd be doing if I weren't doing this, I definitely do not picture myself in my old world of banking/finance. That much I know. I can't picture myself in administration--again, those people skills aren't a strong point! I think more and more the answer is another degree, the initials PhD after my name, and a career as a consultant/professor. That makes sense. I just don't know if I have what it takes to get from here to there.

When I look at what got me from where I was to where I am, I'm continually amazed at the answer. Because of one child, my nephew Dakota, I realized I wanted to work with children with exceptionalities day-in day-out. One person changed the course of my life. There have been others along the way, of course, but none with the impact he had. I remember getting the phone call telling me he'd been born. I was hoping for a girl--he was my 4th nephew. I remember taking the phone call in my office of employment at OSU--9/11/97. I had a moment of disappointment when mom said it was a boy. Then she told me that he was med-flighted to OKC because of problems and my heart sank. I went to the bathroom and locked myself inside a stall and cried because this child I didn't yet know was not well. Little did I know then that it was the first of many tears I would cry over this precious child. But without him, without all those tears, would I have found my way thus far?

School Days...and a picture

Here is our chili cook-off picture. Woohoo! 1st place won $100 and 2nd was $75. We are both donating the money back to Santa's Workshop in memory of a long time friend of dad's who recently passed away.

I just finished spending $1,500 last night. It was more difficult than I imagined it would be! I got to buy things for my classroom, courtesy of the district. My classroom is HUGE and there is a ton of stuff in there, but it's mostly a potpourri of hand me downs (so it seems). Some is not appropriate for 3-5 year olds. Some is not appropriate because it's so old and worn out! So, I'm looking forward to reaping the benefits of this little spending spree. From what I hear, the opportunity won't likely happen again in my time!

That being said, I've been thinking a lot about the discrepancy in the school district I am in vs. the one I came from. It's actually more of a state to state thing, though I was in a 'tax rich' district in Texas (Plano). I'm in an old building. I just had original pipes replaced in my room today-lots and lots of rust. Our school is about 40 years old? I don't think it's ever been updated. My former school is 26 is was updated around year 24 and feels brand new. It took me 9 weeks to get a ballast replaced (hence, part of my room was dark) at my new school. My student computers are still running on Windows 95. Granted, I did have some old Macs at my former school, but they had some great software for the level of students I teach. My room smells like funk most of the time. It's just sad. Then I think further back to my days in the banking world. We had art (photography) in our bank that had about a quarter million dollar price tag. It was beautiful to look at, but I think of what that $$ could do for a school! Wow.

OK, so it's not all that bad. We have a wonderful and active PTA who are very supportive. Our principal takes the time to listen and is a strong leader. We have some very caring, giving staff. We even have OU athletes give time out of their already busy days to come volunteer with our students. Of course, the most important reason I am there is for the kids. I'm up to 14 now. Some still try my every day. Some have families that don't hear enough positive about their kids. Some amaze me with the little glimpses they show me every now and then. And all of them now have a little piece of my heart. Poor district or not, high paying job or not, I'm right where I need to be.

Now, does anyone have a working computer they'd like to donate? Need a tax deduction? Have some old dolls that you want to get rid of? Old dress up clothes? I know where you can send them!