Time flies when you're having fun!

So, April went by in a flash. Time was spent with family and friends and of course the much awaited arrival of Spring Break!!  I did a little baking (Gram's Best Brown Sugar Cake, Zucchini Bread & Biscottis) during my cousins visit and was happy to have company in the kitchen. :)  Here are a few recipes to share from then...

Here's the Zucchini Bread recipe (thanks to Jen K. for it!).  If you're thinking my kid would never go for zucchini in bread, lest you be assured that you can't really "see" the zucchini in it. And if you choose to use the chocolate chips, well then.... the little specks of green magically disappear! :o) 

3 Eggs, beaten
1 cup Oil
2 cup Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
2 cups Grated Zucchini

(if you're short on zucchini add grated carrot works just the same)
3 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
2 cups chocolate chips or nuts, or combination of the two

(after making it a few times, I've come to where I seperate the batter into different batches at this point - a handful or two of chocolate chips in one for the kid and just nuts in the other for us, once you make it you'll get an idea for what your family cares for)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat eggs. Add oil, sugar, vanilla, and zucchini. Beat with an electric mixer.
Mix flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add to egg mixture. Beat well and add nuts/chocolate chips.

Bake approximately 1 hour in 2 well greased and floured loaf pans.

I've made them in loaf pans, mini loaf pans and as muffins, they taste any either way.  :) 

Zucchini Walnut Bread

Gram's Best Brown Sugar Cake is a recipe I found sometime ago in a Kraft magazine. It's a moist and delicious party cake.  Unfortunately, it hasn't stayed intact long enough for a worthwhile picture (note to self: next time, picture first, serve later) ;)

Here's the recipe in any case because, if you make it, you will like it even without my picture. ;) Enjoy!

Which brings me to last week. It was a busy week at my house (I guess like all our houses these days!) Spanish presentation, Teacher Appreciation Week, Cinco De Mayo, and mundane household to do lists that were growing!

For my daughter's Spanish presentation she and a friend were studying Venezuela.  She asked if there was something she could take to class so that their classmates could sample Venezuelan food too. And I of course being me said, "well, let me see." :)  So, after a little bit of research and an apparent passing comment from her teacher, it was settled.  I was trying my hand at Arepas, Venezuelan Corncakes. :) 

Here's the recipe I used and it turned out well. We all liked it at home and a couple of kids in class told me they liked them too.  The teacher told me they tasted good and my attempt was good.  ;)  Apparently, they also make them stuffed with cheese. I will have to try that sometime.  :)

You have to use a special cornmeal for it, which of course (after much shop-hopping) I found only at my local Wal-Mart. So, if you'd like to try it, buy the Minsa brand, it worked. :)  Serve them hot!

Venezuelan Arepas

In honor of Cinco De Mayo and my intent to make something different for our meal with a treat (how convienient), we ended up with Mexican food; enchiladas, veggie "oven fries", and dessert. I had been wanting to try these little bite sized yummy cookies for a very long time. This was my opportunity.  ;) 

Mexican Wedding Cookies!! They're delightful; I wonder why I'd waited this long to try them. :) I've got a few ideas for variations and look forward to updating with them soon. In the mean time...allow your mouth to water or try making these! :)

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Happy Baking & Creating!!

Yikes! January's gone...

But...I'm back, after a few busy weeks which included sick kid, sick me, trip to visit my folks (who are all in Texas now), getting together with friends and remembering old times...it's time to get back in motion. 

February is here! It's still quite cold (Hello? What happened to my beautiful California weather??) and so hot cups of coffee/tea and cozy days at home are much more inviting.  :)

As many of my near and dear know, a hobby I've had for some time now is baking; hence the title of this blog.  Here's the full deal on it, in case you're wondering... it's a combination of the Wii Mii my daughter made for me some time ago, she calls me "Baker Mom" and her love for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series!  ;-)

Voila!       There we have it....   "Diary of a Baker Mom"  is born!

So, baking and I have had a long standing relationship.  I've always found it to be fun and it's a wonderful stress reliever for me too.  :)  I have many memories of my mom saying "It's finals time but, you can find Subha making brownies for her friends" - amongst other things. ;-)  I'm not really picky about what type of treat it is and am happy to try new things from scratch as well as semi-homemade.

If you're new to baking and creating and don't know what I mean by "semi-homemade," no worries.  Basically it means using a mix or other prepared ingredients as a base and then adding and incorporating other ingredients to complete the recipe. A simple example would be: purchasing brownie mix, following the directions on the box but, adding nuts or more chocolate chips to the batter before baking. :)

So, happy baking and creating from me to you.  :) 

Here's what I've made recently... Caramel Pecan Cheesecake, Rice Krispie Treats and Zucchini Bread (which is a yummy recipe from a friend of mine, Thanks Jen K.). Now to attack the blueberries I still have in my fridge!!

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Rice Krispie Treat

Hope you'll try some thing new too! :)

Until next time...