The cake will not win!!

One of my coworkers and I put ourselves in charge of buying a cake each month for all the employees who have birthdays in that month. So last night I picked up the cake and this morning it's sitting on my desk right next to me.

It seems to be willing me to open its container and take a swipe at its frosting. I can almost hear it whispering, "Come on, you know you want to...no one will even notice."

It's an evil cake. With an evil little whispery voice and evil mind manipulating powers. You can hear its little evil song, too, can't you?

But it doesn't know that I am a super hero. This receptionist gig is just my mild mannered alter ego. I'm really Ms. Power, Ms. Willhelmina Power, Will for short. That's right folks, Will Power is here to save the day. I, with my cape billowing in the breeze, will stop that evil cake!

Take that, evil little cake!!

*no actual cakes were harmed in the making of this post.

One of my resolutions

Ok, let me start by saying that I stopped making new year's resolutions when I was around 20 because I never stuck to them and I figure why set myself up for disappointment on an annual basis. So instead of resolving to stick to my resolutions I resolved to make no more resolutions.

This year, though, I decided to make a couple, ones I know I can stick to. The first is to cook more, eat out less. So tonight I made myself dinner (yakisoba noodles with soy steak stripes, garlic, and corn - we're low on groceries right now) and dessert, this dessert...

I call it Cinnamon Pear Crumble. I've never made this before or actually anything like it, I'm more a cake/cookie person so it was something of an experiment. It came out rather well, I must say. That's why I decided to list the recipe (or what I think ended up being the recipe :) ) I hope you enjoy it!

Cinnamon Pear Crumble

Filling:

1 can quartered pears

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Topping:

3 or 4 tablespoons brown sugar (I used light brown but it would probably be even better with dark brown)

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter

Heat oven to 375 degrees (Farenheit).

For the filling I drained then divided the pears into two ramekins then divided the cinnamon and sugar between the two and made sure the pears were well coated.

For the topping,melt the butter and mix together with the brown sugar, cinnamon and flour until all flour has been mixed in. Crumble on top of pears. Cook for 20 minutes.

I'm not generally a cooked fruit lover but pears are one of my exceptions to that rule. They're just yummy!!

Yellow

I have not been known to be a fan of yellow in the past (mostly because I look like I'm jaundiced when I wear it), but lately, I seem to be drawn to it. I love all these shades of yellow...

From the buttery to the lemony, I can't seem to get enough of this color!

Photo credits: 1. Jois Handmade on Etsy Cashemere sweater
2. Anthropologie's Sylvan Scene Cardigan
3. Leaves from outside my office
4. Lemons from my lemon tree.

This is...a favorite recipe I'd like to share

It doesn't look like much in the picture but if you like maple then this is the dessert for you!

I made this last week for a potluck but I didn't quite follow the directions right and it didn't set so it was more the consistency of lemon curd or an ice cream topping than pie filling so if you're gonna make this, make sure you follow the directions and measurements exactly.

Maple Cream Tart

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c pure maple syrup

1 c whipping cream

1/4 c cold water

1/4 c corn starch

1 ready pie crust

In a bowl mix together the water and cornstarch until smooth, set aside. In a sauce pan mix together the syrup and cream and the water/cornstarch mixture. Over medium heat bring to a boil. Let boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Remove from heat. Pour into ready pie crust. Let cool so filling can set. Refrigerate before serving

As far as the pie crust goes, I don't have that in the recipe because I usually buy the kind at the grocery store that you just have to roll out into your pan then toss it in the oven. I haven't tried this using a ready made graham cracker crust but I would imagine it would be really good. Basically, what I'm trying to say is the crust is up to you...if you like making it from scratch, by all means make your own, I'm just too lazy to do that.

As always, check out Three Buttons to find more yummy recipes.

FALAFEL!!!!

Last week I posted about a food obsession of mine, frozen yogurt. I'd like to share another...falafel. I'm so addicted to it! I could eat plates and plates of them. The best here in my berg is at the Oasis Grill, a little mom and pop operation. His falafel aren't over fried and they're spiced just right. My sister and I usually share a plate of the appetizer falafel plate. It comes with 5, you do the math. We almost come to blows over the last one cuz neither of us want to split it. But, of course, we do in the end.

If I were to become a vegetarian, this would be the main staple in my diet. That's how good they are.

Photo courtesy of www.jerusalemrestaurant.com

Paninis Kill

I was at a local cafe today and ordered a panini. It was delicious!! However, they should come with a warning label that tells you there's a chance that your uvula, tonsils, esophagus, etc are in danger of impalement upon the razor-sharp, strong-as-steel crusts which will become lodged in your throat stabbing you repeatedly with every cough, swallow or spasm!!! OWWW!! My poor tender throat parts will never be the same. (Do they make ninja throwing stars out of panini bread cuz that could probably save those ninjas a lot of money...just invest in one panini grill and bam you have yourself a ninja star factory.)

Anyhoo, I'm sitting there having lunch alone thinking "Dear God in Heaven, please do not let me choke on my ninja star panini here in this cafe filled with skinny women!! Will they have the strength to do the heimlich? Will their teeny tiny arms be able to wrap around my gut to administer the heimlich?" And just as my panic reaches its peak, I'm able to get the demon bread all the way down. Now I just sit there quite embarassed at my tear-filled eyes and all the hand waving that I was unaware I was even doing. The only reason I know I was flailing is because my hand, with a mind of its own, is still doing a sort of pathetic twitchy wave which I promptly stop because as my blurry vision focuses I see a woman I don't know at the door waving back at me with a very puzzled look on her face.

I think next Friday I'm going to stick to my usual Taco Bell fix and a really long nap.