Hunting, Gathering...the "Caveman" Diet

Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Grapefruit. All "popular" diets at one time or another, that many Americans have picked up. I personally, have never tried to be on a diet...until now. I introduce the Paleoithic diet a.k.a the "Caveman" diet.

My brother has been raving about this diet for months now. He swears by it. With the caveman diet, you only eat lean meats, fruits, lots of veggies and nuts. No dairy, grains, legumes, starches, processed sugars and processed foods and no alcohol.

The overall idea is, "If you can't hunt or gather it, you can't eat it." Slightly strict, but isn't that the point of a diet?

So now my diet consists of grilled chicken, tuna, veggies, fruits, and nuts. However, I am making a few minor exceptions. I still have the occasional alcoholic beverage and I still get my peanut butter, duh. And one, ok, two, alright three of these...

Oh my gooooodnesssss. Danishes, kolaches, whatever, I looooove them dearly. Growing up we had a bakery in town, run by some Mennonite women, that turned out these delicious pastries. So darn yummy. And I took a crack at 'em and succeeded! Set aside a day to make these, you'll be happy you did.

I think I've actually heard of wild Danish herds up north. Maybe they can be hunted? ;)

I love cherry...

and cream cheese is by far my favorite, but...

together, it makes my heart (& tummy) very, very happy.

Cherry Cheese Danish (Kolache)
adapted from pete bakes!

Dough:
1 package instant dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
4 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
3/4 cup shortening, divided
1 cup warm milk
3 eggs

Cream Cheese filling:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cherry filling:
1 can cherry pie filling

Glaze (optional-I just like a sprinkling of powdered sugar, personally)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla


In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, 1/4 cup shortening, sugar, 2 eggs, salt, lemon peel, vanilla and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth an elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour).

Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 24×16 inch rectangle. Dot half of the dough with 1/4 cup shortening; fold dough in half lengthwise. Dot with shortening and fold lengthwise into thirds. Dot with remaining shortening and fold widthwise into thirds.

Roll dough into a 16×15 inch rectangle. Cut into 8×3/4 inch strips, coil into spiral shapes, tucking end underneath the coil to form a bottom. Place on a greased baking sheet and cover and let rise until doubled (about an hour).

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Beat remaining egg, make a depression in the center of each roll and brush with egg. Fill each with the cheese filling, cherry filling, or both.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. While baking, combine the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla to form the glaze. Drizzle over the danishes while they are still warm.

Hooray! for May

Many May things to Hooray! for...

Hooray for...

Hiking

Freshly gathered eggs

Winning

Zombies...in China

Awards...for things I cannot explain

Hammocks

Graduations and a darn, good-lookin' family, if I do say so, muhself ;)

Chocolate cake...in a cup...made in the microwave...in less than 5 minutes.

Yes. It does exist! And oh goodness, is it GOOD.

I am definitely in for it. Oy vey. Apologies to my teeth and my waist line. And your teeth and your waist line.







Now, people, this is where you add some nice, cold ice cream to this piping hot treasure of a treat.

I am not a real big fan of the cold stuff, so I reached for this...

Yep, I went there with the moo-moo juice.

Holy yum.

Moist, Rich, Fudgy, Chocolate Cake in a Cup
adapted from Instructables

4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp. milk
3 tbsp. oil
3 tbsp. chocolate chips (Or, whatev you find in your cupboard at the time! I used chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.)
splash of vanilla (totally forgot to add this, but it was still delish)
(The original recipe calls for eggs, BUT by omitting them, you get a fudgier cake.)

Combine all ingredients in a big coffee cup/mug. Place in microwave for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Take out. DEVOUR.

For My Not-So-Little Sister

My little sister turned 18 a little over three weeks ago. Crazy.
And now she has officially graduated from high school. Surreal.

I constantly find myself thinking how fast time has passed the last 18 years.
It literally feels like it was yesterday my dad called my brother and I from the hospital to tell us we had a new baby sister. My poor brother, who was hoping and praying for a little brother (apparently, I wasn't all that entertaining as a baby girl) thought my dad was joking..."Really, dad, what's my new baby brother's name?" I, on the other hand, would have been happy with a boy, girl, cat, dog, whatever, I was just ecstatic to have a new sibling.

Once a rough 'n tough tomboy (eh, she's still pretty tough), my sis has blossomed into a beautiful, young lady accomplishing so much in a matter of 18 years.
Happy Birthday and Graduation, Hannah Banana! Love you and proud of you so much. Thanks for being the little sister I look up to. :)

The whole "-4" thing dates back awhile ago. We were celebrating her birthday in Lawrence at my place and I was cheap smart and reused my birthday candles.

Moist Lemon Cake
adapted from Family Circle

1 lemon
3 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 c. milk
6 oz. lemon yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 c. sugar
3 large eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line pans with waxed paper. Spray paper with cooking spray.
Zest lemon peel (about 2 tbsp). Juice lemon and set aside for frosting.
In medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a measuring cup, whisk together milk, yogurt and vanilla. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at at time, beating well after each.
On low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture in three additions, alternating with milk mixture. Beat well after each addition. Fold in zest. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
Bake layers at 350 for 35 minutes or until cake springs back when pressed lightly. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Carefully invert cake layers directly onto racks, remove and discard waxed paper and let layers cool completely.

Frosting

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
16 oz. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
yellow food coloring (optional)
(Note-this recipe for frosting did not yield near enough. I will double the amount the next time I make it.)

Once layers are cool, beat butter, 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar, the reserved lemon juice (about 2 tablespoons) and 2 tablespoons in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in remaining confectioners' sugar until good spreading consistency. Tint with a few drops of food coloring, if desired. To frost cake, place one layer on a plate or stand. Spread top of layer with 1 cup frosting. Stack second cake layer on first and begin frosting side of cake. Continue around side of cake, then finish top, swirling decoratively. Serve immediately or refrigerate before slicing and serving.

Sleep, Puppies and French Toast

There are many things that I will never grow tired of...

For instance, sleeping in. Oh dang, that extra 2-3 hours in my warm, comfy bed is a gift from the sleep gods.

Puppies, dogs in general and their ridiculously cute faces and wet noses. I wanna cuddle with this guy and this guy and this gal.

And breakfast food. Biscuits & gravy, pancakes, waffles, omelets, eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, breakfast burritos, muffins, danishes, must I keep going?

But you know what just really hits the breakfast spot? A couple of slices of good ol' french toast. Mmm...

And you know what makes french toast even better? Turning it into a giant casserole.


This casserole is top-notch. It's easy to prepare, cheap and delish. And it can feed a ton of people.

Slap some peanut butter (shocker, I know) on top and douse it in syrup and you are good to go.

Now perfect case scenario...sleeping in that extra 2-3 hours, cuddling with the puppy and then waking to this.

All from the comfort of my warm bed. Ah, now that would be the life...

French Toast Casserole
adapted from Frugal Upstate

1/2 c. butter

12 slices white bread

1 c. brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter & pour in a 9X13 pan. Mix together brown sugar & cinnamon. Whisk eggs, milk & vanilla together. Layer bottom of pan with half the bread. Sprinkle half brown sugar mix over the bread. Layer second half of bread. Pour egg mixture over all then sprinkle remaining brown sugar. Cover & refrigerate overnight. (Totally optional) Cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes (should be browned and set).