Homemade Almond Joy

 I love time in the kitchen with my kids:

 My youngest stirred together the coconut centers, topped it with an almond or two,

then dipped them in melted chocolate

yielding a yummy pile of authentic tasting

Almond Joy.

The recipe is surprisingly simple, and equally delicious.

I could eat them all by myself. But I didn't.

Cupcake Wars

My youngest has a pretty serious interest in cooking.

He loves to watch Chopped and other cooking competitions.

After doing so, he absolutely must get in the kitchen and create.

He must.

I tell him the rule is he has to eat it!

Sometimes it's yummy.

Sometimes it's not and we make faces.

Mostly it's messy

but it makes him happy.

It makes me happy to see him doing 'his thing'.

I wonder how it will take shape in him as he grows into an adult.

So.

In leu of an appearance on Chopped
and in honor of his birthday,

we held a Cupcake War,

a timed competition with surprise categories.

Our grand event was great fun,

although I didn't have the heart to 'chop' anybody

and our facebook friends did the voting.

How could I choose?

I'm pretty sure another Cupcake War with alot more competitors is in our future.

thirty-three.  a beautiful day in the backyard with some pretty great kids!

Another Smitten Kitchen Day

We just had to have another Smitten Kitchen Day!

My husband is on a trip with our oldest son - a very long trip to the East Coast. The fog has rolled in to stay for a while - yes, it's actually cold here. One of my younger boys is not feeling well, and Smitten Kitchen keeps showing the most beautiful, yummy looking food! So it was time for another Smitten Kitchen Day. We needed a lazy day in the kitchen together.

I modified Deb's recipe slightly so both boys could share in the fun. They each made their own galette choosing the vegis they preferred. I don't know about your kiddos, buy mine eat more healthy stuff when they get to participate in the chopping and cooking. A little trick I know. Shh. Other than making individual galettes with an assortment of sauted vegetables rather than just zuchinni, I stuck to Smitten Kitchen's recipe. I wouldn't change a thing. Infact, you must go over there and read her post, for she is a lovely writer, also. Here is her recipe.

And by the way. This was one of the most amazing dishes I have made. Ever. Just like Deb said, it was croissant flaky.

I am now dreaming up other fillings. Like chocolate. Or ham and cheese.