Fudgy Brownies

Yikes! Loonies for Lindor registration opened this week and its been Cra-Cra!  SOLD OUT within hours with our biggest group yet. I'm excited yet a little stressed. The support is incredible and I can't wait to lay out our raffle table.

In the midst of all this, I was asked to make a few squares plus I'm starting to bake for the wedding of this special girl.

So I pulled out a reliable brownie recipe that I've been using for years. Sometimes I use the Company's Coming recipe which is a really popular post on my blog but I like this recipe as well.

Fudgy Brownies
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
2/3 cup cooking oil
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine flour, sugar and cocoa,baking powder and nuts. Set aside. Combine oil, eggs and vanilla.
Add to dry ingredients. Do not overmix.
Spread in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until pick is clean.

Hint - I find they look slightly undercooked but when you take them out they tend to firm up, while remaining fudgy in the middle.

Frost with chocolate frosting if desired.

July Card Swap

We had our cards done right on time and swapped but I'm only getting to posting now. It's been so long, I couldn't remember which cards we made so I had to ask Keri. And I just titled it the AUGUST card swap but its really from July. It's been a crazy month and the prep for our Loonies for Lindor fundraiser is kicking into high gear. It's so fun seeing the prize donations come in. It's going to be spectacular this year!

 So back to the cards. Keri used the adorable Aquarium stamp from Your Next Stamp that we had been eying for awhile.

And here is her card. The pop up creatures just makes the card.... and the hardwood floors. I can't even...

And there is a little doggie on it so its a WIN.WIN.

My card was fairly simple. I wanted to use the new scalloped border die that I got from Simon Says Stamp and I think my dog stamp was from Penny Black but I can't be sure....

I know the sentiment is a Penny Black sentiment. I love it and the words ring true.

We are going to double up our cards in Sept and miss August because we are both too busy to focus on our swap. So check back later. That doesn't mean we don't keep ordering new supplies. LOL.

Lemon Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

It seemed like a lot of frosting when I was slathering it on the cake but it turned out to be just the right amount. This cake was a hit at a recent dinner party that I was invited to, at least with one of the guests who also ate it for breakfast the following morning. It's nice and light and lemony and you could put this frosting on a piece of cardboard and it would be tasty.

Lemon Bundt Cake
1 package of lemon cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 3.4 ounce package instant lemon pudding mix (just the dry)
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp lemon extract
1 Tbsp lemon rind

Frosting
1 package cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tsp lemon extract
3 1/2 to 4 cups icing sugar
1-2 Tbsp of milk
1-3 Tbsp of lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon rind

Prepare bundt pan by greasing and dusting with flour. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Beat cake ingredients together and pour into bundt pan. Bake 50 - 55 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Prepare frosting and spread on cooled cake. Enjoy. 

Simon Says Stamp August Card Kit

I finally broke down and subscribed to the monthly card kits at Simon Says Stamp. They are a little pricey with the US exchange but I thought it would push me to try a few different products and techniques. Well, the last kit was certainly NOT in my wheelhouse and did I really like it. NO, not one little bit. But I'm frugal and the deal that I made with myself was that I had to make at least 6 cards with each kit or cancel.

So my friend Corrina and I got together and we each made 3 cards using the kit. I will copy hers and she will copy mine and this kit is history!

I also used a sketch from this week's Freshly Made Sketches so its a win! win!

This is one of the cards that I made and I know exactly who I'm sending it to...

Here's the other 2 cards that I made with the kit...

Mission ACCOMPLISHED!

Zucchini Fritters

I just harvested my NINTH zucchini from my community garden plot. I think its absolutely incredible that you can look one day and they are too small to pick and the next day they have grown exponentially. So I've been trying some different recipes and uses even though zucchini is best in baked goods. (at least that's what I believe)

This recipe uses 4 zucchini and best of all the fritters can be frozen on wax paper on a cookie sheet and then transferred to a ziploc to be reheated in the oven at a later date. They were very tasty but personally I might add a bit of garlic or a little more onion.

Zucchini Fritters
4 medium zucchini
1/2 medium onion
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup flour
2 eggs
Pepper- freshly ground
Oil for frying ( I used olive oil )

Grate zucchini and onion and place in a bowl. Toss with salt and let sit for 10 minutes.
Wring the mixture out by wrapping it in a clean tea towel and twisting over the sink. Try to get out as much water as possible.
Mix together other ingredients and drop small scoops of zucchini into a heated fry pan. Fry until golden brown. Cool and eat immediately or flash freeze for later enjoyment.

I'm off to check the garden again. Maybe it will be time to find a NEW zucchini recipe today.
PS. Just spotted the first change of colour to orange in the cherry tomatoes. Once they hit, its going to be an avalanche.

Canada Day 150

I always like to do a little entertaining to celebrate Canada Day and the beginning of the summer. It's nice to put up some flags and show some appreciation and gratitude to live in such a beautiful and respected Country. It was a small gathering but I enjoyed making some good summery food and I was gifted this lovely bouquet...

I've been wanting to try to make a giant cookie for some time so I just grabbed a recipe off the Internet and gave it a try.

I loved the Canada Day M and M's. So festive. I put the dough on a pizza pan and held my breath as it crept closer and closer to the edges while it was baking.

I narrowly avoided a baking disaster and overall the cookie turned out pretty well but I found it a touch dry. I wanted to make sure it was thoroughly baked in the middle so maybe I left it in a little long. Once it was decorated up and accompanied with ice cream, it turned out pretty well...

Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie
1 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips (I substituted some M and M's)

Mix as per usual for cookies then spread on a 14 inch pizza pan. Bake at 375F for 20 to 25 minutes.
(I might try turning the oven temperature down a bit to avoid the overbaking)

Lindor Gets her CKC Title

We recently participated in a Dog Show down in Vanessa. This was a new venue to both myself and Lindor. We had two trials and after a stressful start (had to change collars just before we started our test), Lindor did amazing. Working the best I've ever seen her work. Excellent heel position and attentiveness.

 The Judge was super picky but we were still able to get great scores and earn our SECOND CKC title in Rally Obedience Intermediate. Super happy with how Lindor did. Not sure if we will continue to the next level or not. After all my girl is turning 9 and she doesn't have the spunk she once did but as long as she enjoys getting out, I think we will keep going.