Coconut & "Nut" Macaroon Torte...and Kubb

Last night we had Rebecca, Hans, and Destiny over for dinner. Andrew and I really enjoy spending time with them. There is no drama and while we have many things in common, we have enough not in common that it's fun learning from each other. 


Speaking of learning from each other...We also learned a new yard game from Rebecca and Hans called Kubb.  It's a Swedish game with blocks you knock down with sticks and then you knock down the "King" in the middle.  I wasn't very good but it was a lot of fun.  We're hoping they can bring it to Dylan's birthday party.


Rebecca and I aren't really eating wheat so I wanted to try a new recipe for dessert. I made the Coconut & Almond Macaroon Torte recipe from Molly Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest.  Of course I can never leave well enough alone though.  I decided because my other friend, Rebecca, had given me some pecan meal when I was down in Georgia that I would use that instead of the almonds.  I also didn't have chocolate chips so I used a couple Rice Dream chocolate bars for the topping.  Turned out well enough I'm telling you about it here today :)


Coconut & "Nut" Macaroon Torte


The Cake
6 eggs, separated and at room temperature
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 c finely ground almonds (or pecans)
1 c shredded coconut ( I use unsweetened)
1/2 tsp orange rind (I used almond extract)


The Filling and Topping
1/2 c raspberry jam
2 T butter (I used coconut oil)
1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips (I used two Rice Dream chocolate bars...probably quite a bit more than 1/4 c)
1 T cocoa
1 T powdered sugar (I didn't use this at all)
1/4 tsp orange rind (didn't use either)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan.


Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff in a large bowl.


In a different large bowl, without worrying about washing the beaters, beat the egg yolks, gradually adding brown sugar and salt.  When all is added, beat 2 minutes on high.


Stir the ground nuts and coconut into the yolk mixture.  Add the orange rind/extract.  Mix well.


Fold the egg whites into the mixture - carefully and quickly.  Transfer to the prepared pan.  Bake undisturbed for 30 minutes.  Cool the cake completely in the pan.


Once the cake is completely cool, remove from the pan, and cut in half, using a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion.  Spread the bottom half with the raspberry jam.  Replace the top half.


In a pan on low heat, met together the butter (coconut oil) and chocolate chips.  Stir in the cocoa and powdered sugar and orange rind (if using).  Spread this mixture, while still warm, across the top.  Put in the refrigerator to firm up.  


Tastes great served on a warm summer evening, on the deck, with decaf hazelnut coffee!

Healthy Banana Granola "Cookies"

I wouldn't exactly call these a cookie but they kind of are...Andrew thought they tasted good so I guess that says something :)

Healthy Banana Granola "Cookies"

3 c. oatmeal
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 T cocoa
1/4 c. coconut oil, melted
3 super-ripe bananas, pureed in blender
3/4 c. cashew pieces

Mix the oatmeal, cinnamon, salt and cocoa together. Add the coconut oil. Stir in pureed bananas and cashews. Using a 1/4 c. measuring cup, make 6 cookies on each of 2 cookie sheets (ungreased). Flatten the cookies with a spatula. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Take out, flatten some more with a fork, and bake for another 10 minutes.

More yummies over Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

The Speed of Life

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the speed of life.  Watching Dylan grow and develop and realizing he is almost a year old, makes me feel like things are just going too fast.  Right now, I’m on a plane heading home from a three-day trip to Savannah, Georgia and then I’m driving to Grandma and Grandpa’s to go camping for the weekend.  It is so amazing that I can fly across the country in a day but I’m really glad I don’t have to do this all of the time.  I question whether humans should really be living at the speed that we do. 

I’ve been taking Dylan on bike rides, pulling him in his trailer behind my bike.  We’ve rode with Bonnie; we’ve gone to pick up garlic in Keizer; we went to Walgreens right before I left.  That feels like a speed I can handle right now. 

I remember wanting everything to happen faster when I was in high school and college.  I wanted to hurry up with school.  I wanted it done so I could really live my life.  I guess that was a growth opportunity for me that I might have missed.  I should have been living my life then.  I don’t always live my life now; I still have times when I want things to hurry up so I can do x, y, or z but I’m realizing that hurrying up to do that means I lose sight of that which is right in front of me.  Being present in the here and now.  That’s life.  I’d like to think I’m done with the hurry up and wait syndrome.  I think I’d rather just plod along and deal with the great things around me now.  Take the great opportunities as they come, look forward to the future, but realize that I have everything I need right here.

And, as much as Grandma wants me to work (help-out) at Campout this weekend, I’m looking forward to a lazy weekend.  Enjoying family and friends.  Being close to Dylan.  And, sleep…trying to figure out which coast my body is on while my soul continues to work on being here, wherever I am! And maybe I’ll speed up just a tad, and take Dylan for a bike ride :)

Bees...Or A Crappy Spring

We thought the Girls were going to do okay when we popped the box open in April.  We didn't get back in there until the beginning of June. 

We thought we were going to need to put another super on because we had seen the Girls swarm a couple of times.  Turns out, they weren't swarming because they didn't have enough room.  I don't know enough to know why they were swarming but I do know they didn't leave us with a queen. There were no larvae and we had a ton of drones instead. 

Ken and I went and collected a swarm and dumped them in.  Not sure yet how they are going to do but it can't be any worse than getting in there and not finding any larvae!  So, with our new Girls, here's hoping!

Paddler Down

From Peace Dragon Warriors:

On June 9, 2011, while riding her new Harley (motorcycle) to practice, wearing her team colors (purple and orange) and with a bright orange paddle bag slung over her back, one of our paddlers, our beloved Jackie Lee Bell, was hit by a pickup, the driver of which ran a red light. Jackie’s now had her left leg amputated above the knee due to the horrific damage sustained in the accident. We know that no matter how badly we miss our Jackie on the boat, it can’t begin to touch how badly she misses her leg. Jackie and her fiancé, Doug (also a paddler) were planning to be married at the Portland races on September 10, 2011. That’s still going to happen, and we expect her back on the boat for next season, but it’s a long, hard road she and Doug are facing, even with the love, support and impressive skills of her Salem paddling family.

We are reaching out to the greater dragon boating community/family for help. A support fund has been established in Jackie Lee Bell’s name through West Coast Bank – donations can be made at any West Coast Bank branch. We will be hosting several benefit events over the next weeks and months, including a humble donation box at the Peace Dragon Warriors Paddling Club tent at the World Beat Races in Salem and the subsequent races in Kent, Washington, and Portland.

Any help you can give –

Weisha

Peace Dragon Warriors Paddling Club –

Peace Warrior Women

Pax Bellatoris (mixed)