Not Quite Ready and 4 Berry Crumble

I'm sure that you are waiting for a post about graduation.
I can't do it just yet.
Too many feelings still.
The day and the daughter were gorgeous
And that is as far as I can go right now...

Rubi graduated from Kindergarten
4 days later
Much less emotional
And far more hysterical. :)

This is Mrs. Sudbeck.
She was my teacher.
She taught all my kids.
She deserves a break. :)

Over the weekend I decided
My baking hiatus and exhaustion
From graduation readying needed
To be over.

I had berries in the fridge,
Rachael Ray's Mini Bubble and Browns,
And weather much too cool for
This time of year!

I love my Mini Bakers.
I wish I had Ray Ray's whole line
Of Bubble and Browns.
AWESOME!

This is your typical topping.
Adapted over MANY
Evenings of apple crisp.

1cup flour
1cup quick oats
1cup granulated sugar
1/2cup brown sugar
12 Tblsp COLD butter

Mix the first 4.
Add nutmeg or cinnamon
If you wish.
Then whisk together.
Cut in butter til crumbly.

4 Berry Crumble

Strawberries cored and halved.

Blueberries washed and drained.

Blackberries rinsed.

Raspberries rinsed.

Whisk together granulated sugar

And cornstarch and dump on berries.

Stir and set aside.

Line heavy duty sheet pan

with parchment.

Spray each mini baker

With cooking spray.

Fill each Mini Baker
With berries.
Mine were a little more than
1/2 full.

Add topping and bake

In a preheated 350 degree oven.

Bake for close to an hour or more.

Berries should bubble and top should

Look crispy.

My kids FIGHT over the "crumble".

Jeff ate 3 in an hour.

1 with Cool Whip and 2

without.

Next week graduation.

I promise.





What's Your Top 5?

Believe it or not I am not going to talk about my kids this time. It's too difficult right now. Everyone's fine, it's just the Biggest Baby is graduating and I'm struggling to deal with it.

I thought today I would tell you about my top 5 movies. You know those movies that it doesn't matter what point it is when you turn it on you watch it anyway? Those movies...

5. The Hangover - This was probably the first REAL date that Jeff and I had had in MONTHS and we saw this simply because there was nothing else to see. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. My older kids have seen this and quote it any chance they get. Jeff laughs so hard he suffers coughing fits. It's just plain, old, silly, fun. You can never have too much of that. We're waiting patiently for the sequel.

4. The People Vs. Larry Flynt - Weird you think? Yes - but I'm a junkie for anything historical and like it or not this definately fits the bill. Larry Flynt paved the way for MANY people to use Freedom of Speech for various reasons - good or bad. I am also mesmerized by Courtney Love in this film. I wish she could get herself together. I think she has the talent to do this again. Althea's death and their life together was a true Shakespearean tragedy.

3. New Jack City - I watch this EVERY time it's on. I found out a few years ago that this movie gets it's basis in a few true life, inner city happenings. I think anyone who's lives are affected by drugs - directly or indirectly - should watch this. It's a tragic story about how drugs take hold of even those that "know better". For those of us affected I think there is always the desire to know the history, where it came from and why it stays? Why are some lives destroyed and others survive? Wesley Snipes and Ice T? Fabulous. Chris Rock? Genious.

2. Boogie Nights - I'm a fan of the underdog. And Mark Wahlberg. Dirk Diggler? He earned the Oscar nomination. I can't really explain my fascination with this movie. All I know is that for DAYS I'm singing Roller Girl's theme song and that I even downloaded it onto my Ipod. If ever there was an underdog it was Dirk Diggler.

1. The Color Purple - I. Love. This. Movie. Here's another underdog. Here's some incredible acting. Whoopie Goldberg NOT winning the Oscar this year? That doesn't make sense. I loved Oprah before she was Oprah. Danny Glover played lost and sad amazingly. Margaret Avery as Shug? Tina Turner wouldn't have made sense. The rich history that African Americans have is incredible. I am moved by it. I finally read the book last summer and I thank Alice Walker for giving us Celie.

There are so many movies that I love but for me, these are my classics. What are yours?

The weather is getting nice here and my tulips are about a week from blooming. I'm not a green thumb so this excites me to no end. For those wondering about the kitchen addition we stopped for awhile to get through Christmas and birthdays and prom and graduation, hopefully we'll get back at it soon. Thanks for asking. I've still won NOTHING from the Pioneer Woman and my hopes of spending time on my Bestie Rae Ray's show seems to have ended. So I continue to bake for myself with my little hand mixers. I'm grateful for my friends Debbie and Maggie who are willing to deal with my neurosis and cart me around and listen to me whine about this graduation. Friends like them are few and far between and I'm so appreciative of everything they do for my and my kids.

Happy spring everyone!

Inspiration

HA!
Believe it or not
I heard from the Rachael Ray Show!
I kid you NOT!

Whether I was captivating enough
to warrant a visit to the show
remains to be seen.
However,

It did jump start me to
experiment a tiny bit.
I made more cupcakes.
They didn't go quite as I planned.

I started here.
Chocolate and peanut butter.
I started with a recipe off of 52cupcakes.
I used the Reese's hearts at the bottom of the liners.

I think they were a bit too small.

I would use mini cupcakes next time or

WHOLE regular peanut butter cups.

This is what I ended up with.

I ordered a bag of BABY peanut butter cups 

from Country Kitchen Sweet Art.

I also did a peanut butter buttercream.

The cake was awesome.

The hearts were too small and thus overdone.

The frosting was to die for!

Probably my most inventive to date.
And my least successful...

Yep those are Froot Loops you see in that batter!

My kids said, "WHY would you put Loops in a cupcake?"

I said, "Why not? The box was sitting there."

I started with this:

Now before you get your dander up.
I have MANY recipes that are not mix based.
However, when I see interesting flavors I buy them.
Mixes are good for gooey butter cakes and some cookies.

I doctored things up a bit,
Threw in 2 handfuls of Froot Loops,
Used orange juice...

I added orange buttercream.

I added crushed Froot Loops.

The cake was one of the best I've had.

The Froot Loops shrunk up and became tough and gummy.

I would NOT add Froot Loops to the batter again.

I think I can figure out how to make it work though.

The frosting was orange too.

Orange buttercream is dreamy.

I WILL make this again just the same way!

So Rachael whether you call me back or not

I'm gonna keep on experimenting.

There is so many interesting things you can throw

in a cake.

Thanks for thinking of me Rachael and pushing me

to keep baking. (Even though you're not a baker.)

Rubi has told everyone she's going to the Rachael Ray Show.

I love that girl...

And Rachael if you are listening...

I would LOVE to have a bright yellow KitchenAid Stand mixer...