These brownies could only get better in one way: they are super easy to make. Thank you, Trader Joe’s for your high quality, no scary ingredient box mixes! You better cut these into small pieces or you will need a gallon of milk to wash away the sumptuous chocolate and peanut butter.

Sweet Black Hole Brownies
Makes 8x8x2 pan

Ingredients
1 box Trader Joe’s Truffle Brownie Mix
1 stick of unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 container Trader Joe’s mini chocolate peanut butter cups

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Melt 1 stick of butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute or until creamy. Add 2 large eggs and mix with the butter. Add entire package of Trader’s Joe’s Truffle Brownie Mix into the butter and eggs – combine until completely mixed. Add 1/2 container of Trader Joe’s mini chocolate peanut butter cups.

3. Pour batter into an 8x8x2 pan and bake for 25 minutes.

4. After 25 minutes in the oven, remove the brownies from the oven and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 container of Trader Joe’s mini chocolate peanut butter cups over the top. Return to oven for another 3-4 minutes or until the chocolate peanut butter cups are soft.

5. Remove the brownies from the oven and, using an offset spatula, spread the melted peanut butter cups over the top of the brownies to cover the top. This is the frosting.

And above all, 4 people tried Spam last night for the first time. And they liked it! Spam Musubis were the hit of the party.

Spam Musubi

We also have yummy chicken katsu rolled with spinach and Bull-Dog sauce. As well as beef bulgogi rolled with cucumber. Both were so delicious that Keldon had to make another round for people to snack on.

Katsu, Spam Musubi, and Bulgogi

The green salad with frisee and zucchini was overwhelmingly good. As were the cucumbers and green onions. I was pretty skeptical of the green onions, but I would definitely make them again.

And…. for the cake! For Keldon’s birthday this year, I made him a ukulele cake! (Please note: if you are clutzy like me, do not – I repeat DO NOT – attempt to use black food coloring.)

Keldon with his three ukuleles

the ukulele cake

Recipes coming soon for everything.

I made this cake a year ago for Keldon’s surprise birthday. Since he’s from Hawaii and loves Spam, what better way to shower him with birthday surprises than a Spam cake?

Let’s not be too judgmental when taking my decorating skills into account here. It’s the idea that counts, right? Right. I had some major challenges with the frosting.

In any case, this was a basic white cake blended with some red food coloring (although not blended all they way to give it the distinctive Spam look) with white frosting blended with red, yellow, and blue food colorings.

Talk about simple food being the best: this recipe has only 4 ingredients and it is packed with flavor. I think this would be pretty good over ice cream too…but I’m just sayin. Plus – it’s a super healthy salad.

Strawberry Citrus Salad

from Bon Appetit May 2009

Makes: enough for a small gathering (8-10 servings or so)

Time: 15 minutes prep + 30 minutes to marinade

Ingredients

2 packages strawberries, washed, cored and quartered

3 large navel oranges, segmented and cut into large chunks

3 T fresh chopped mint

1 T brown sugar

Combine everything together in a bowl, and let it sit for about 30 minutes to marinate and get mascerated goodness. I enjoy this salad by itself or as a simple dessert. In fact, it’s really good after a plate of fried eggs and turkey bacon.

This is a perfect side dish to Garlicky Green Turkey Burgers and Chili Lime Grilled Corn on the Cob for a complete quick and easy grilling meal.

I found some inspiration from epicurious.com for their Fig and Raspberry Galette recipe, but I didn’t want to make the crust (short on time and poor reviews) so I ran over to the store and purchased some frozen puff pastry.

I have to leave for book club in an hour. And I had just bought frozen puff pastry. I had no idea what I was doing, but I figured I make something work. Turns out…the how-to-thaw-frozen-puff-pastry on the back of the package works! WHY have I never tried this before? Essentially lay it out on the counter for 40 minutes.

I also didn’t want to make one giant galette, so instead I pulled out my Donna Hay cookbook (remembering seeing a galette recipe in there) and worked some magic into individual servings…

Fig and Raspberry Galette

serves: 12

time: 1 hour 30 min (includes puff pastry thawing time…exclude 40 minutes if it’s already thawed)

Ingredients

1 pound fresh ripe figs (about 10), sliced

4 T sugar, divided

3/4 cup fresh raspberries

1 large egg yolk beaten to blen with 1 t water (for glaze)

1 sheet puff pastry

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice figs and place in a bowl with 2T sugar. Toss together and let sit. Toss raspberries in another bowl with remaining 1 T sugar.

Roll out puff pastry to approximately 14 x 10 inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 12 even rectangles. Place on a jelly roll pan evenly spread out.

Put 4 slices of figs on each of the puff pastry pieces, leaving about 1/2 – 1 inch edge. Top with raspberries. Using a pastry brush (or your finger if you don’t have a pastry brush), brush the edges of the puff pastry. Sprinkle the remaining 1 T sugar on the edges.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the puff pastry is browned and the filling is bubbling.

ALTERNATIVE: I haven’t tried this, but I think soaking the raspberries in balsamic vinegar and honey instead of the sugar would give this some depth of flavor. Try soaking raspberries in 1 T balsamic vinegar and 1/2 T honey.

Either way, I came up with what I thought to be a hilarious birthday cake concept: a pirate and his bounty of treasures! How perfect, right? And then! I come to find out that the special saying of the word “bounty” came out of Pirates of the Caribbean. Who knew? And how perfect!

I found a recipe on bettycrocker.com for Pirate’s Hidden Treasure cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter cups inside. YUM! But mostly I liked the decorating, so I used parts of that recipe. The actual cake and frosting recipe is a mix of 2 other recipes too. I’ve made the cupcakes and the frosting before, but I’ll include the recipes here just in case (since this recipe is a conglomeration of 3 recipes).

continue reading for the recipe

Pirate’s Bounty Cupcakes

makes: 30

INGREDIENTS

Cupcakes (based off this recipe)

1 cup boiling hot water

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup whole milk

1 t vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 t baking soda

rounded 1/2 t salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups packed dark brown sugar

4 large eggs at room temperature for 30 minutes

30 mini peanut butter cups

Buttercream Frosting (based off this recipe)

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 T vanilla

pinch salt

yellow food coloring

Decorations

Red fruit by the foot (1 package)

M&Ms (1 bag)

black string licorice

chocolate gold coins (you can find these at a party store or halloween store)

DIRECTIONS

Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place gold foil cupcake liners in muffin tin.

Whisk together hot water and cocoa powder in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add flour and cocoa mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture (batter may look curdled).

Fill cupcake liners just under 2/3 full. Unwrap the peanut butter cups and place one on top of each of the filled cupcake liners. Push them down so the tops of the peanut butter cups are even with the cupcake batter. Then put another dollop of cupcake batter on top – just enough to cover the peanut butter cups.

Bake cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting & Decorating

Beat butter on medium-high speed while adding sugar until combined. Add vanilla and beat for 5-7 minutes until pale and fluffy.

Depending upon how many pirate cupcakes you want to make, frost white frosting on enough cupcakes for pirates. For the remaining golden treasure cupcakes, add enough yellow food coloring to get desired coloring. Top with a chocolate gold coin.

For the pirate decorations, cut a 12-inch piece from 1 fruit by the foot. From the rest of that fruit by the foot, cut 2-inch pieces – 1 for each pirate cupcake you’re making – and cut it into a crescent shape for the top of the kerchief; place on each of the pirate cupcakes.

From the reserved 12-inch piece of fruit by the foot, peel off backing and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cut in half lengthwise and twist the end and add to the side/bottom of the kerchief top for the tie of the kerchief. Do this for the remaining pirate cupcakes.

Add M&Ms for the eyes, using a brown one for the eye patch, and use the black licorice for the eye patch string and the pirate’s mouth.

Grilled Chile Pineapple

serves 8

1 whole pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced lengthwise into long sticks

1 T chili powder

1 T cayenne powder

Preheat grill to medium high.

Prepare pineapple by mixing the chili powder and cayenne together then rub onto pineapple. Grill for about 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through.

Peach Brown Betty

recipe from Simple Suppers, Moosewood Collective

serves 6-8

4 cups sliced peaches

1/4 cup butter

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk or cream

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 loaf, or about 8 ounces, crusty bread, cut in 1/2-inch cubes (slightly stale Italian, French, cinnamon or challah are good choices)

Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly grease a two-quart baking dish. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add peaches and cook, stirring, until peaches are hot and beginning to give off juice. Remove from heat.

Beat egg in a large bowl, and then mix in milk, vanilla cinnamon and half of the brown sugar. Add the bread cubes and mix well. Stir in peaches with their juice and melted butter. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown. Note: A cup of fresh or frozen blueberries may be added with the peaches.

Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake

serves: 10-12

For the cake:

2 prepackaged angel food cakes (the rectangle ones work really well)

For the berries:

2 pints strawberries, rinsed and hulled (about 4 cups)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1/2 medium lemon)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

For the filling:

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

For the frosting:

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 cups heavy cream

Directions

For the berries:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium nonreactive mixing bowl and toss to thoroughly coat strawberries. Let macerate at room temperature at least 20 minutes before using.
2. Strain macerated berries and reserve syrup separately.

For the filling:

1. Combine mascarpone cheese and heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the frosting:

1. Place the cleaned bowl of the stand mixer and the whip attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes. Combine vanilla extract, sugar, and heavy cream in the chilled bowl and whip at medium speed until medium peaks form, about 2 minutes.
2. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least one hour. (The frosting can be prepared up to 12 hours ahead.)

To assemble:

1. Using a long serrated knife, slice each of the cakes in half lengthwise (so you can fill the middle). Place cake rounds on a clean, dry surface and, using a pastry brush, brush 1/2 of the reserved strawberry syrup on the cut side of the first cake round; repeat on the cut side of the second cake round.
2. Evenly spread 1/4 of the mascarpone filling over the cut side of the bottom cake layer. Arrange strawberries standing upright, stem end down, over the mascarpone layer and trim as necessary to create an even layer. Cover berries with the remaining filling, being sure to fill in any empty space.
3. Place second cake layer over mascarpone and strawberries, cut side down, pressing gently to secure it. Using an offset spatula or a long, thin spatula, spread 3/4 cup of the frosting in a thin layer over the top and sides of the cake. Return remaining frosting and cake to the refrigerator until frosting on cake is set, about 15 minutes.
4. Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. Let sit in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serve this with fresh whipped cream. It’s delicious.

Rhubarb Cake

makes 9 x 13 cake pan

I finally found it-Meredith has written on a recipe card(go figure)that would be the last place to look!!

Bake 350-356 mins 9X13 pan

1 1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup oleo/margarine (I prefer Earth Harvest organic)

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups all purpose flour

1 t baking soda

2 cups diced rhubarb (about 2 large stalks)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and oleo on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add egg and mix in. Add vanilla and buttermilk – mix together. (You can mix by hand too.)

Add flour and baking soda and mix until fully combined. Don’t overmix. Add rhubarb and mix into the batter by hand.

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch cake pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake.