tunnel of fudge cake—a cautionary tale

as a general rule, i'm not a cake person (i like to save my calories for more important things, like hot pretzels and pie). but there are times when i make an exception, and mom's birthday is one of them.
mom used to make this recipe for aunt margy on her birthday, but now i make it for her on her birthday. it's totally rich and completely delicious. it's also really dangerous (do not keep this cake in your possession unless you have people around to help you eat it. because you'll want to eat it all. you'll try not to, and you'll fail.)

tunnel of fudge cake
cake:
   1 3/4 cups margarine or butter, softened
   1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
   6 eggs
   2 cups powdered sugar
   2 1/4 cups all purpose flour*
   3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
   2 cups chopped nuts (we use walnuts)**

glaze:
   3/4 cup powdered sugar
   1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
   1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons milk

directions:
heat oven to 350°F. grease and flour fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan. in large bowl, beat margarine and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. gradually add powdered sugar; blend well. by hand, stir in remaining cake ingredients until well blended. spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. bake at 350°F for 58 to 62 minutes.*** cool upright in pan on wire rack 1 hour; invert onto serving plate. cool completely.
in small bowl, combine glaze ingredients until well blended. spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. store tightly covered.

*last year i attempted to make this cake while watching sam, forgot to put in the flour, and had to do a total re-do after the inversion was an epic fail. do not forget the flour. it is not optional. this year i waited until the kids went to bed to bake and got it right on the first try. rock.

**nuts are also essential. do not omit. if you don't like nuts, make something else. also, you're crazy. if you're allergic to nuts, you're not necessarily crazy, but you should probably avoid contact with us.

***since this cake has a soft tunnel of fudge, ordinary doneness tests do not apply. accurate oven temperature and bake time are essential. prayers to the baking gods are good too. no burnt offerings.

makes 16 servings
nutrition (1/16th of cake): 540 calories, 8g protein, 58g carbs, 33g fat, 100mg cholesterol, 2g fiber, 300 mg sodium, 160mg potassium, 4% calcium US RDA, 10% iron US RDA

the lucy project—month 10

lucy at 10 months old:

• likes to snack on rice krispies. yes, plain old rice krispies. she's figured out that if she gets her fingers wet, they stick. so she'll put out her little pointer finger and catch one on the tip and then put it in her mouth. she'll sit and eat a whole pile of them this way. it's very cute. plus it makes a great distraction while i'm trying to get dinner made.
• is still eating like a champ. she consistently amazes me with her willingness to try just about anything i dangle in front of her little mouth. last weekend she ate a bunch of mom's three bean salad, despite the vingary dressing (i don't think sam would've done that at her age). and the tuesday before that she put a ginormous (well, relatively ginormous) piece of watermelon in her mouth before i could cut it up for her. i thought maybe she'd have a little trouble with it, but no, she handled it. and quickly too! her most recent favorites: chocolate chip cookies (duh), ice cream (double duh, and there might be some crying when it's gone), and raisins (i believe she would eat raisins all day long if i let her).
• is recently doing this yoga move where she puts her head down on the floor while sitting with her legs in front of her, and then gives a great big smile. my little yogi. it reminds me of sam tilting his head and giving his "i'm turning on my cuteness" smile.
• has discovered the "let's drop this on the floor and see if someone will pick it up for me" game. she loves it. me, not so much.
• has started to roll a ball back and forth with me
• can turn off her own light switch (as long as someone is holding her there to do it, of course)
• likes to brush her own teeth (she recently got her own real toothbrush)
• and speaking of teeth, is attempting to sprout a third one on top (though oddly, it doesn't appear to be one of the front two)
• every once in a while will make motions like she's going to go crawling across the floor, or pull herself up to stand holding onto the coffee table. i've never actually seen her do it yet though.
• will start clapping her hands when she hears me start to sing "if you're happy and you know it" and will click her tongue if she hears me sing the "bingo" song (that's the noise i make when i leave out letters)
• has actually been going to bed in her very own crib and will typically stay there until 1 or 2am, but i have to put her down on her side. i almost always find her on her back when she wakes up.
• will sit and play and play as long as sam is in the same room with her (he doesn't even have to be playing with her, just there making noises or describing the "game" he's made up in excruciating detail. that boy is magic. also his imagination is tremendous.)
• is overall such a sweet, charming little person. i'm still not sure how i got so lucky to have TWO amazing children. probably better not to question it, but just enjoy.

happy monday—a few videos to perk up your day

i know i've posted this one of sam on facebook, but i want to spread it around because it's awesome.

and here's one of sam speeding off on his bike. i want to remember him with his legs pumping like crazy. every time he goes zooming off, i think it's the cutest thing ever. (i don't usually worry about the zooming because he's been trained to stop at the corners and wait for a grown-up. sometimes he gets off his bike and stands with his arms out waiting for a hug.)

and here are a couple of videos of lucy being lucy. i love how she does that hop and slide thing in the jumpster. she doesn't get a whole lot of time in there much anymore (i even took it down last week so we could build a tent in the doorway).

salad days—black bean and corn salad

this is another salad i like to throw together regularly. it's got a lot of my favorite things in it, and again, it's made with things that i usually have on hand.

ingredients:
1 can black beans (i like goya best) drained and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen corn lightly zapped in the microwave (if i had real corn, like corn on the cob that i've cooked and is left over from another meal, i'd totally use that, but normally all i've got is frozen, so that's what i use)
1 plum tomato, chopped with seeds removed
1/2 cucumber, chopped with seeds removed
about 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (green is what i normally have, but sometimes i'm fancy and i buy a red one)
2-3 green onions, chopped
handful of cilantro, chopped (i would consider this optional because i don't always have it on hand, but when i do you bet it's in there)
baby spinach

for dressing (i don't really have measurements for this, i just eyeball it):
olive oil
lime juice (fresh if you have it, bottled if you're me)
cumin
garlic powder
dried oregano
green tobasco (if you're into that kind of thing. i totally am.)
salt
pepper

instructions:
1) chop your veg
2) put in bowl with beans
3) mix up your dressing, pour into bowl
4) toss with spinach
5) eat!

salad days—bulgar and lentil salad

the weather here has finally been warming up a bit, which means instead of soups i've been making loads of salads. this is one that i make a lot because it requires things i usually have in the house, it's quick to throw together, and it's tasty. it might even be healthy (though my portions probably negate the "healthiness" factor).

anywho, on with the ingredients:

1/2 cup bulgar wheat (i use bob's red mill bulgar) + 1/2 cup water for cooking
1/4 cup lentils + 3 cups water for cooking
1/2 cucumber, chopped and seeds removed (i usually get a pretty big cucumber so that there's some to snack on)
1 plum tomato, chopped and seeds removed
1 green onion, chopped (optional, i don't always remember to put this in)
garlic powder
salt
pepper
lemon juice (fresh is probably best, and if you've got lemons in the house, more power to you. i don't.)
olive oil
baby spinach

and the instructions (for people who follow instructions—i.e. not me):
1) cook your bulgar wheat (i've forgotten what it says on the package, but i just cook it about 1:1 like i would couscous—bring water to a boil, pour in wheat, cover, remove from heat—by the time i'm done with everything else, it's ready to go)
2) cook your lentils (bring water to a boil, dump in your lentils, turn heat down to a low boil and let them cook away for about 20 minutes, drain and rinse)
3) chop your veg (don't forget to test your cucumber, or have your taste-tester help with this part)
4) once everything is chopped and cooked, throw it all in a bowl (well, not THROW, but dump carefully so that you don't get your counter all messy like mine)
5) sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste
6) drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil (i don't measure, but i'm guessing about a tablespoon of each)
7) give that mess a big stir to make sure it's all mixed up and thoroughly confused
8) serve over baby spinach

i could totally go for a big bowl of this right now. i'm kind of obsessed.

project sam—update

sam and lucy playing airport

sam singing "itsy-bitsy spider" to lucy

sam's also had some new developments as of late:

• he's now started doing a little basic math with mike (mostly addition), which he seems to enjoy. he's also reading more every day and looks forward to words that mike will sometimes leave on the white board for him before leaving for work. we've also started regular letter writing practice, and before sam is allowed to play with the ipad each day he has to practice letters. he's able to write his name, so enjoys doing that more than anything else. we've started to introduce other letters, and he's doing pretty well with most of them.
• he's becoming a bit more adventurous when it comes to foods and is now asking for celery and even tried some sweet red pepper recently (though he didn't really like it). he's had kale chips (like) and cucumber (like), and requested broccoli as his vegetable last night. perhaps i'll make him into a veggie-lover afterall.
• he's been honing his drawing skills and has done some impressive drawings of "angry birds" recently. he's also been doing a lot better at coloring in the lines when he's asked to (i don't normally give him things to color in, i prefer to just give him blank paper, but we do have some coloring books around).
• this week he had two days of preschool screening to be a "peer model". yesterday they said we would find out by the end of the day monday if he was accepted, but they called earlier today to let us know that he was. we're pretty excited, though this will mean a drastic change to our daily schedule. sam was very enthusiastic when we picked him up both days, and i think it will be good for him to experience what classes are like, and it will be fun for him to meet new kids and make new friends.
• on tuesday i finally pulled out the fisher-price airport toy that i've been holding in reserve. sam has commented over and over again how much fun it is, and i'm having a blast watching him and lucy play with toys that i had so much fun with when i was younger. 

i'm sorry that i haven't had time for more posts lately, but if you want to see what we're up to daily, feel free to check out my instagram feed. there are new photos almost daily.

project lucy—month 9

9 month stats for bitty bean: 14lbs 15oz (5.4%) and 26.75in (18.02%)

lucy, despite her bitty stature is shaping up to be just as big a personality as her big brother. bullet points for the little miss at 9 months:

• eats like cah-razy. seriously. even our daycare provider has commented on her ability to pack it in. and she is still eating anything and everything. each day is a taste adventure, and she is totally in. she has had guac and beans from chipotle, and decided they were awesome (we train early). i'm amazed at what she can manage with her one, lonely, little tooth.
• and speaking of eating, she has discovered how to stuff her own face in the last week or so. her favorite finger foods are cheerios, bread, pieces of waffle, cinnamon teddy grahams, and pieces of pear.
• she has discovered that she can scoot around on her bottom on the hardwood and linoleum floors by pushing with her hands or grabbing onto things and pulling, so she's slightly more mobile these days. i am trying to curb her enthusiasm for harassing the plants. she has also tried pulling up to stand using the coffee (and ended up bonking her head, silly little bear).
• she still loves to be sung to, and will do some of the motions to itsy-bitsy spider on occassion (see above photo).
• she's a hot sleeper. she wakes from naps with a sweaty little head, my "sweaty spaghetti".
• is just getting over her first bout of croup, which has left us all a little more sleep deprived than normal (except for sam, who is as rambunctious as ever).
• does a lot of talking and makes lots of sounds. we frequently hear "dada", "mama", "buhbuh", "goodgood", and something that sounds a lot like sam's rocket noise (she likes to use this noise when flying transformers around, or just about any other toy).
• lucy also can wave hi and bye, though she rarely does it on command. she usually reserves this skill for sammy, daddy, her mirror friend, and occasionally grandparents. smiles are also a little bit reserved, but she passes out curious glances by the ton (lots of people comment on her "big eyes" as she examines the world around her).

lucy is such a wonderful, curious, cheerful little person. a little sunshine in a rosy-cheeked package!