1. It’s delicious.

2. It’s fun to make.

3. It’s quiet.

4. It gives me an excuse to be in Denise’s kitchen.

5. It makes people happy.

6. You are what you eat, and I want to be sweet.

7. Cake doesn’t lie; people do.

8. Cake is easy to make.

9. Cake is comforting.

10. It’s a part of who I am, so I love it, because I love me.

Why I love to cook:

1) food is delicious

2)It’s relaxing

3)When I cook dinner, I don’t have to do the dishes afterward.

4)People admire people who cook well.

5)It gives me something to do

6)People like my food.

7)I like to make people happy

8)It makes me proud whenever I make something well.

9) Cake doesn’t bake itself, you know!

10) Because cooking is part of me, and I love myself.

Butterscotch-Banana Cream Pie

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 c. milk

3 slightly beaten egg yolks

3 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 9-in. baked pastry shell

Meringue (recipe follows)

3 bananas

Filling:

In saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and salt; gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over med.-high heat till bubbly. cook and stir 2 mins. Remove from heat. Stir a moderate amount of hot mixture into yolks; immediately return to hot mixture; cook 2 mins., stirring constantly. remove from heat.

Meringue:

3 egg whites

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

6 tbsp. sugar

Beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar till soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating till stiff and glossy peaks form and all sugar is dissolved.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice bananas into cooled pastry shell. Top with hot filling and meringue, in that order. Bake for 12-15 mins. or until meringue is golden. Cool.

Hope you like this recipe!

We have something of a tradition: we eat (a lot) and we make fun of the inane commercials, and when the actual football happens, we mill about, or play pokemon, or glue ourselves to our computers. Anyway, this year we are going to eat cream puffs, 7-layer dip, spinach artichoke dip (made by my brother, remarkably. He cooks very well, he just doesn’t do it often), Swedish meatballs, green cheese balls, jalapeno poppers, and Philly cheese steaks. Yum.

All in all, a very acceptable way to pass a Sunday.

Ghiradelli Grand Fudge Cake

I suggest puree-ing raspberries and spreading them between the layers. Chocolate and raspberries…yum!

Carrot Cake

Cream Cheese Lemon Zest Frosting

(It’s actually two recipes, so click both links)

Anyway, I hope it turns out well. Does anyone have a birthday coming up?

Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

It’s quick, easy, suitable for picky eaters and absolutely DELICIOUS!!! (Not to mention it has so few ingrediants.)

This one was inspired by this year’s Language arts teacher. She had me write a letter to my self about goals and school and everything, but I ended up loving the exercise and pouring my soul into it. I loved it and will post my letter if you want to read it. Stating your goals, your ambitions, what you feel is like a blog post or a journal entry, but I think the fun in it is re-reading it after a long time to see how things have changed, how much you’ve grown. It’s therapeutic and I left the experience feeling relaxed if emotionally vulnerable, the way I always do when I spread my heart out in words. I suggest writing about your fears and ambitions and things you love. To write them down is to make them more tangible, making the fears easier to face, the ambitions easier to reach, the loves easier to hold on to.

11. Read a book without even looking at the title.

This may sound crazy, but sometimes favorite things are born out of taking a chance. Books are so hard to judge by whats on the outside, so don’t let that bias you and just jump in.

12.Make a spur-of-the-moment dessert.

Use what you have in the house, find an easy recipe and get cooking! Being spontaneous is fun and invigorating and all this costs you is time. Plus dessert is fabulous and delicious! Baking is relaxing, and has great end results. So, why are you still reading this? I’m expecting cookies to be in progress!

For now, let them eat …cookies!

So often cleaning house is in preparation for something: a visitor, an event. But cleaning is kind of therapeutic if you do it to please nobody but yourself. It doesn’t have to be a chore. After you’re done and everything is sparkling with cleanliness, then you can sit down on your couch and savor it. You can think, “I did this. I made order of chaos. I made this place beautiful.” Even if it’s just fleeting and the next second, your seven year old decides to trash your kitchen, having a clean house by your own hand shows that you have power over something, the ability to pull something neat out of  a disaster.

8. Splurge on something you want

We all do it. We all desire something that, rationally, we shouldn’t. We have to pay the bills, feed the children, buy gas for the car. And even though I have no bills to pay, children to feed, or cars to gas because I’m 13, I still have things to save up for. Such as Blogher ’10. I have a lot more to save up, so, no, I can’t go buy that book the first day it’s out in hardcover. But sometimes, it’s all right to be a little selfish, to do something for you and only you. Responsibility can sometimes be unpleasant, but it will make the moments when it doesn’t govern your life all the sweeter.

9. Have a popcorn fight

The eternal foe of the vacuum. The dreaded enemy of carpets everywhere. The terrifying, horrifying, mess-creating…POPCORN FIGHT!!! Yes I know we are all quaking in our seats, wondering how I could suggest such a hideous crime. Heres my reason: It’s fun. Lots of fun. And harmless. A night full of laughter is worth clean up in the morning. Just let go of the instinct to keep the house perfect, and build a cherished memory with your friends, family, coworkers, whoever.

More things to do next time, but for now: let them eat (and throw) popcorn!