Naturally Dyed Pink Frosting

We decided a week out from my daughter's birthday that we were going to do a little party with two of her friends.  The problem is that I don't know how to do anything 'little'.  Our playdate turned in to a full fledged Pinterest inspired party complete with tissue poms, tulle chairs, a Barbie 'theater', yummy food, and a Barbie cake!  

I struggled with the cake at first.  We try to keep our treats naturally sweetened, usually with honey or maple syrup.  I knew that I wanted her cake homemade and I found a lot of recipe possibilities.  The problem was that I didn't have a lot of time to experiment and see what would or wouldn't work in terms of baking it in to a tall Barbie cake.  I ended up making the King Arthur's Tender White Cake recipe using all organic ingredients. 

The one thing I didn't want to compromise on was our desire to keep artificial food dyes out of our food.  We've witnessed first hand in our family how Red-40 can affect a child's behavior and it was not pretty.   How would Barbie's skirt be pink though?!  Easy.  Beet juice!  I made a basic buttercream frosting out of butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract (soooo much sugar, eek!).  After it was all blended together I added in 1 tsp of beet juice from a freshly juiced beet.  It worked perfectly!  Thank goodness too since I finished frosting it 10 minutes before the party started.  Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator...

With Valentine's Day coming up this would be a perfect way to tint frosting without using artificial food dyes! 

My cake decorating skills might need a little work but my now 5 year old thought it was the best thing ever and that's the opinion that matters most! 

Pink Buttercream Frosting
8 Cups Sifted Organic Powdered Sugar
1 Pound Organic Unsalted Butter (4 sticks), softened to room temperature
2 Teaspoons Organic Vanilla Extract (check that the ingredients are only alcohol & vanilla beans!)
1 Teaspoon Beet Juice (I used our Jack LaLanne juicer to juice one peeled beet and it was plenty)

1. Add butter to stand mixer and beat on medium speed for a 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy
2. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated.  Scrape down sides after each addition.
3. Add in vanilla extract and beat on medium-high speed for a few minutes.  
4. Add in beet juice 1 teaspoon at a time until desired color is achieved.  I wanted a light pink so 1 teaspoon worked perfect.  Scrape down sides and mix well.  
5. If you're frosting is too thick for your needs you can add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.  

*This recipe makes a lot.  I had some left over after giving Barbie a thick coating to even out her skirt.  If you're doing a smaller cake or cupcakes you could probably get by with half of the recipe above.  

Our Favorite Popcorn Maker

We love popcorn around here!  Unfortunately, I spent way too many years eating microwave popcorn out of a bag.  Most of it is high in sodium, high in fat (hello, 'movie theater butter' anyone?!  eek!), and there are chemicals in the lining of the bag that I'd rather not chance vaporizing in to my food.

Luckily, I came across a great deal on a stove-top crank popcorn maker this year.  (Our is similar to this one) We have gotten so much use out of that thing and the kids love helping me make popcorn!  We heat up 1-2 tablespoons (a.k.a. a big spoonful) of organic coconut oil over medium heat with a few kernels of popcorn.  Once the kernels pop we add in 2/3 Cup of kernels, close the lid, shake a little, then crank away.  We like to do family movie night at the house so this popcorn maker makes an appearance fairly often.

Right now our favorite popcorn is the Amish Country Purple.  I think I'll order this variety pack next time so I can try the Ladyfinger and Baby White as well.  Yep, now I want to go make some popcorn....

Disclaimer - The product links on this web page are Amazon affiliate links.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

We love muffins around here.  My children would live off of my homemade bread and muffins if I let them.  And these muffins, they're one of our favorite!  They have definitely been a staple around lately.  Sometimes I double the recipe to make extra for the freezer....except they never make it there.  

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Adapted from this recipe

1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Coconut Palm Sugar
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 Teaspoon Cloves
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil, melted
1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare muffin pan with liners or grease with coconut oil.
2.  In a large bowl, combine flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves (you can also substitute 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice for these 4 spices), baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3.  In another bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin puree, honey, applesauce, and coconut oil.
4.  Pour wet mixture in to dry and gently stir just until moistened then fold in pecans.
5. Fill muffin cups almost full. (I like to use a stainless steel scoop like this one)
6.  Bake for 22 minutes or until muffin is set and cooked through.

Disclaimer - The product link on this web page is an Amazon affiliate link.

Homemade Crackers

I tried out a new cracker recipe tonight and my kids love them (no surprise there though!).  I love that the recipe uses basic ingredients that I keep on hand and they're fairly easy to make.  They're not too sweet, a great basic cracker.  You could also have some fun with these...top with a little coconut sugar & cinnamon, add sunflower seeds, or add a little maple syrup if you prefer a sweeter cracker.

I made the recipe exactly as listed so visit MyWholeFoodLife to view the recipe.  Don't mind that they're titled 'toddler' crackers.....I will gladly devour this dish full!  Tip - bake just until golden.  They will crisp up a little more after cooling.  Enjoy!

Breakfast Sandwiches (with biscuit recipe!)

I woke up this morning feeling a little daring and decided to whip up some breakfast sandwiches.  Oftentimes we'll opt for an egg and cheese sandwich on whole grain sprouted bread but today I decided to take it up a notch......with homemade biscuits!  I've never made biscuits before but I picked up a new rolling pin last week and was excited to use it again.

Homemade Biscuits
Yield: 9 biscuits (depending on thickness) 

Adapted from this recipe

• 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 Cup Bread Flour
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt
• 1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place butter in freezer.
3. Add vinegar to milk and put aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk whole wheat flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Use vegetable peeler to slice pieces of butter in to flour mixture.  Alternately, you can slice the butter and use a food processor to pulse the flour mixture or cut in with a pastry cutter.  Do not over-mix as you want to keep the bits of butter in tact.  
6. Pour in milk and fold to combine.  Do not overwork.  
7. Turn dough on to a floured surface.  Pat in to a rectangle and fold in to thirds.  Turn a 1/4 turn and repeat until you've completed 3 turns.  
8. On a floured surface, roll dough out to a 1/2" thick and use a biscuit cutter to cut rounds (I used these egg rings or you can use a glass if you don't have a biscuit cutter). 
9. Place biscuit rounds on baking sheet or stone. 
10. Brush tops with melted butter and bake for 15-18. 

While the biscuits were cooking I prepared the bacon and used egg rings to cook the eggs then topped with cheese.  Once the biscuits were done cooking it was sandwich making time.  They turned out yummy!  My 4 year old already asked if I'd make them again tomorrow.

Disclaimer - The product link on this web page is an Amazon affiliate link.

Open Face Egg Sandwich

Today I was in need of a quick lunch.  I started to reach for a piece of bread to make toast and then remembered how quick, easy, and filling an open face egg sandwich can be!  We've had a great supply of lettuce in pots on our deck so it's nice to find uses for it other than salads too.

Side note, if I can grow lettuce in Alaska then surely you can grow it where you are!  We had good luck with Black Seeded Simpson, Cut & Come Again leaves, & Spinach.  Try it, it's fun :)

Ingredients:
1 slice of whole grain sprouted bread
1/2 tablespoon organic butter
1 organic egg
1 slice of organic cheese
1  leaf of lettuce
salsa or slice of tomato

Directions:

1. Toast bread in toaster
2. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat
3. Crack egg in to skillet, break yolk, season with salt and pepper
4. Cook until mostly set then flip to finish cooking on other side
5. I sliced off a little organic cheese and placed on top to melt
6. Place lettuce on toast, add egg, top with salsa or slice of tomato

Voila!  A quick and healthy snack or meal.