Per Executive Order by the federal government you are hereby ordered to place all jars of salsa and send them to me as soon as possible for taste testing and general consumption.

That is all.

Thank you.

*sticks her head in*

I've been talking to some members a lot about birthday cakes lately since my birthday was last month. I just got into decorating cakes a few years back and I've been meaning to share them in here since then, so here I am! So a little background... I've always been fascinated by beautiful cakes. I always tried to buy a pretty one at the store when it came time to buy my birthday cake. If it had flowers, roses, or fancy borders, I got it!

Unfortunately, I got diagnosed with celiacs and multiple other food allergies at 16 so I had to trash the idea of ever having a store bought cake again. My 17th birthday was during the time my family was still trying to figure out recipes and such so that cake was just a plain chocolate chip cake with not even frosting on it so that's nothing to talk about.

My 18th birthday I told my dad that I wanted to decorate my cake that year. My first time ever decorating. I had no clue what I was doing so I decided to just experiment and see what would happen. Here's the end result:

It turned out better than I thought. Not the best but still. I kept underestimating how much frosting I would need so there was never enough.

So the next year I decided to do something similar, only with vanilla-bean frosting since I wanted to use food coloring. The frosting was terrible because my dad put the wrong butter in it. I wanted to make flowers but those failed and ended up turning into rose-globs. The food coloring also was too pale. Oh well, lol. I mixed up some green frosting to make some leaves, loops and random dots because I thought it was pretty.

Fast forward to this past June. I really have been getting interested in cake decorating now and I wanted to try something new. I also wanted a purple birthday cake, so I went online and Googled "purple birthday cakes". I browsed for several weeks until I came upon the perfect cake; an ombre rose cake!

My dad (who can't decorate cakes but tries... lol.) told me it was too hard. I said I didn't care, I wanted to try it anyway. You don't get anyplace unless you try, no matter how ugly it may be! The frosting was actually pretty easy for me until the very end. My dad ran out of butter again and decided to use the pre-whipped stuff. The icing was like water and the lightest purple layer on top ended up being gray-purple. I'm lucky those roses were on the top of the cake, they would have been running down the side! The end result? Please forgive the terrible picture. It was taken at night as opposed to the other ones. Sadly. I have a better view of the colours from the next day:

I have to say, I'm having a great deal of fun decorating cakes. I'm looking to sign up for classes now. I love all the decorating possibilities I could have if I learned some more. Changing things up every year helps too. The only thing that never changes is that my cake is chocolate with chocolate mousse filling.

Gosh this was long. Sorry about that! At least you all have cake pictures to make up for it.

Oh, those look so tasty. You'd never know that that top layer had any problems. Good thing it was on the flat! You must have a lot of patience to be able do that amount of work. Plain icings for me, and even then they tend to slide off.

My grandmother was really good at decorating cakes. She usually leaned towards doing wedding cakes, which is a slightly different style, using royal icing.
The story which got passed around the most was an infamous 25th wedding anniversary cake--fortunately a family one. I don't know what went wrong, but when they went to cut it, they couldn't make any impression on the icing. There were several suggestions, including a machete and an axe. At last they resorted to a hacksaw, as being the least likely to ruin the cake entombed inside. I was quite little then; I think I remember having a piece of it, and sucking on the chunk for a long time.

Mmmm, Gen, those are so pretty! Thank you for sharing those pictures with us! If only the internet had smellevision.

Lol, thanks for sharing that neat story about your grandmother, aileth! It sounds like the royal icing turned into cement.

I've been trying to cut grains out of my diet again (I've followed the primal diet off and on over the past few years and usually feel my best when I'm on it), so I've been making a lot of meals with potatoes in them. Lately I've been working on a one pot meal that's supposed to have the same flavor profile of chicken pot pie, except without the crust. My first few attempts have turned out really well, and if I ever get the recipe ironed out, I'll have to post it on here!

Do you guys have any favorite meals with lots of potatoes or yummy casserole recipes that steer clear of grains?

Do you guys have any favorite meals with lots of potatoes or yummy casserole recipes that steer clear of grains?

I've posted this one here before. I guess technically it's a casserole of sorts. We don't even really have a name for it, it's just something my Maternal Unit came up with years back or saw in a Good Housekeeping back in the day and rolled with it.

1 x Kielbasa or Polish sausage
4 x Russet potatoes
1 x large white onion
1 x green bell pepper
1/3 cup of vegetable oil (or thereabouts...we always eyeball it)

Put the oil in an electric skillet and set to 325 degrees F. In the meantime chop that onion up into little bits and dump it into the skillet. Do the same with the green bell pepper. While the onion and bell pepper are cooking take the potatoes and peel them good and cut them into bite size chunks and put them in the skillet. Now so far that's basically Potatoes O'Brien, except it gets better. Cut the Kielbasa (you can use smoked sausage if need be, substitute at will) into thin discs and dump that in the skillet. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, whatever you want to your heart's content. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, and stir occasionally because if you don't the potatoes and sausage get burnt, of course. When it's turned off what we normally do is take and dump a bunch of shredded cheddar or colby/jack cheese on top and melt it good for 5 minutes. I eat mine with Texas Pete but Wifester eats hers straight. She's a very picky eater and absolutely loves this dish.

TheGentleWarrior, They are much better than my attempt would be. My sister is into decorating cakes and made me a zelda one for my 18th which turned out well considering she was only 11 at the time.

I am all right cooking by myself with a recipe, but I would likely be the type Gordon Ramsay would yell/swear at in a professional kitchen.

I oddly like a lot of the vegetables that are known to be hated. Asparagus in creamy pastas is the best. Broccoli along with cauliflower and cheese sauce can't go wrong. Zuchinni should not be left out of any creamy or tomato based pasta(well with in reason). Also boy-chok with soy-sauce, salmon and rice.

GentleWarrior, those are amazing! Someday I would like to take a class on baking and decorating cakes, because I'm awfully jealous of those who have that skill.

Rose, out of curiosity, does your diet exclude Rice? I'm guessing so as it's considered a grain, but I know others who just avoid wheat, barley, oats, etc and still eat rice.
For me personally, I tend to try to keep things low-carb, high protein because of my own personal health issues (though my pregnancy has completely thrown that out the window ) and what I often tend to do is cook a protein like steak with grilled vegetables and things like that. Keeping it simple!
American Kababs are pretty awesome! I don't know my mom's marinade, but she puts marinated steak, potatoes, bell peppers, onions, pineapple, and mushrooms on skewers and then grills them. (The potatoes will need to be partially cooked ahead of time.) Obviously, you can sub in and out whatever you want!

Yayh! A thread on food!

Valia, I can't believe you gave away the very, very secret family recipe.

TheGentleWarrior, nice job on the cakes!

The Rose-Tree Dryad, usually I think of side-dishes (eg., fried potatoes ) when it comes to potatoes, but you can make venison/other meated stew (if you like meat) that is heavy on potatoes for a main dish. Other than that, I grew up with the occasional baked potato night where you would pile chili, cheese, and other toppings on a baked potato.

The town I live in has a bunch of food trucks and I've been longing to try them! Have any of ya'll had any experiences with food trucks? What are your thoughts?

I've posted this one here before. I guess technically it's a casserole of sorts. We don't even really have a name for it, it's just something my Maternal Unit came up with years back or saw in a Good Housekeeping back in the day and rolled with it.

1 x Kielbasa or Polish sausage
4 x Russet potatoes
1 x large white onion
1 x green bell pepper
1/3 cup of vegetable oil (or thereabouts...we always eyeball it)

Mmmm, that looks really delicious! I'll have to see if I can get my hands on some of that sausage and give it a try. I'm not surprised that it would taste great with hot sauce. Yum!

I oddly like a lot of the vegetables that are known to be hated. Asparagus in creamy pastas is the best. Broccoli along with cauliflower and cheese sauce can't go wrong. Zuchinni should not be left out of any creamy or tomato based pasta(well with in reason). Also boy-chok with soy-sauce, salmon and rice.

Same here; I tend to genuinely like most vegetables. I seem to eat broccoli just about everyday, though I think that might be more of a habit than an abiding love story. I think my fondness for vegetables might be due to the fact that my family ate veggies pretty religiously when I was young. Even so, I've never been a big fan of okra, but perhaps I just haven't had it prepared right.

Rose, out of curiosity, does your diet exclude Rice? I'm guessing so as it's considered a grain, but I know others who just avoid wheat, barley, oats, etc and still eat rice.

I usually try to avoid it, although sometimes it's hard to resist. I've heard that white rice is probably one of the least problematic grains, though, so having a bit now and then certainly isn't the end of the world. Still, all of those reports about arsenic levels make you think twice. I think wild rice is recommended for folks on the primal diet in particular. It's actually not a true rice, but a kind of grass seed, apparently. It can be rather expensive, but it's really pretty:

For me personally, I tend to try to keep things low-carb, high protein because of my own personal health issues (though my pregnancy has completely thrown that out the window ) and what I often tend to do is cook a protein like steak with grilled vegetables and things like that. Keeping it simple!
American Kababs are pretty awesome! I don't know my mom's marinade, but she puts marinated steak, potatoes, bell peppers, onions, pineapple, and mushrooms on skewers and then grills them. (The potatoes will need to be partially cooked ahead of time.) Obviously, you can sub in and out whatever you want!

Mmm, that sounds great! I don't think we've ever even tried to make kebabs before at my house. Sounds like we need to remedy this very quickly. Looks like they're very easy to make, too!

The Rose-Tree Dryad, usually I think of side-dishes (eg., fried potatoes ) when it comes to potatoes, but you can make venison/other meated stew (if you like meat) that is heavy on potatoes for a main dish. Other than that, I grew up with the occasional baked potato night where you would pile chili, cheese, and other toppings on a baked potato.

I love the idea of a potato-heavy stew! Yum. I also really like the idea of baked potatoes... if you subbed plain greek yogurt for the sour cream, they probably would have a decent amount of protein, too.

The town I live in has a bunch of food trucks and I've been longing to try them! Have any of ya'll had any experiences with food trucks? What are your thoughts?

I've never had a chance to give one any business, but I've always wanted to! I hear that they're a way for chefs to start their own mobile restaurant and try their culinary wings while avoiding the expense that comes with opening a brick and mortar establishment. Some of them are really talented, too. If you ever try one, let us know what you think!

Gen, those cakes look fantastic. I'm a sucker for lots of icing, so ... yeah.

In the Cultural Curiosities topic, we were talking a bit about peanut butter, and I can't believe I forgot to mention one of my favourite pb complements! I adore whole grain buns smothered in smooth, natural peanut butter with a thick leaf of crisp lettuce laid in the sandwich. The contrast is wondrously yummy, mmmm!

Mmmmmmm, that sounds really good, Jo! It reminds me a little of peanut butter and celery; that's a really nice snack when you're on a low carbohydrate diet. Sometimes if I really want a PB&J sandwich, but don't to eat the bread because of the calories or because I'm avoiding grains, I'll just mix together some peanut butter and jelly and eat that. I know that grape jelly is the classic choice, but I really love peanut butter and strawberry jam. So good! I also love just spreading it on apple slices.

Peanut butter has always been one of my weaknesses; sometimes I'll just eat it by the spoonful. I'm especially fond of Reese's Cups, though. I try to not even bring them into the house because I know I won't be able to resist them. I've also always loved a Snickers (which contains peanuts) with a glass of milk... ahh, Halloween can't get here fast enough! That's just about the only time of year I let myself have that sort of thing anymore.

Jo, I saw you mentioning peanut butter with olives over on the Cultural Curiosities thread... being someone who adores both, you've got me really curious. I'll let you know what I think after I can get my hands on some olives.

Mmm, I love peanut butter and strawberry jam (especially homemade!) as well. Or pb and raspberry jam.

Reese's Cups, especially cold from the fridge ... glorious! Yes, indeed, Rose, how is it that chocolate and milk go together so very well?

I encourage you to try peanut butter with the sliced green olives. Very unusual and very tasty. Let me know!

Black cherry season is pretty much over here, and now we're champing at the bit until peach season begins (in mid-late August).

We're in the thick of peach season right now, jo. There is so much fruit to deal with, and even though, so far, it has all been free, it feels wasteful to let any spoil. It's also too hot to want to do much processing, so we've been throwing most of it into the freezer to be done into jam and such in the fall. That means that we have to do our utmost to empty out the old stuff.

So I found this recipe for red currant tart. It was a little doughy in the middle, because I made a few mistakes, some of them being measurement conversion mistakes. Even so, it tasted very good, and I will definitely be making it again. It would also be good with other sorts of fruit.

Mmmm, peach season. Yum!

Wow, I don't think I've ever tried chilling a Reese's Cup in the refrigerator before, Jo. I really need to try that! Hopefully sometime sooner than October, too.

That red currant tart recipe looks amazing, aileth! (I love how they decorated it with the flower; so pretty!) I find myself looking at the recipe and wondering how I can make it grain-free, but that little, sensible voice in my head says, "Rosie, just make it the way it says and enjoy it."

Speaking of healthifying recipes... we had cheeseburgers on the 4th of July, and I've been trying to come up with a way to have something that tastes similar while sidestepping grains. I'm thinking of trying to roast some potatoes cut into chunks, and then put them in a casserole dish, sprinkle hamburger liberally on top with pickles and cheese, and then add ketchup and mustard to finish it all off. The flavor profile ought to be there, and you'll get some nice nutrition from the potatoes, too. (Not to mention it might be easier than trying to assemble a bunch of cheeseburgers; that can get tiring after a while. ) But who knows how it'll really go until I try it. I'll keep you guys posted.

I was wrong about our peaches. They do start the beginning of August, coming straight from the Niagara region close by, so we have had one rather unripe basket so far, but this most recent is full of juicy and succulent fruit.

I used to can dozens and dozens jars of peaches ... but those are by-gone days. Maybe again at some point??

so we've been throwing most of it into the freezer to be done into jam and such in the fall.

Yep, been there; done that especially in strawberry season.

Your non-grain hamburger sounds tasty, Rose! A beloved restaurant of ours in the city offers a non-bun hamburger, on which they sprinkle delicious amounts of feta cheese. It is way too tasty. *smacks lips and rubs tummy*

A favourite snack of mine these days is straight-out peas from the pod. Ours in the garden are nearly ready, but for now, I'm buying them locally and downing them. Oh man, soooooo goooooood! The only thing is ... it takes a fair bit of time to pod them all before eating. Anything worthwhile is worth working for, I guess.