Rockin' At The Barbeque

Yesterday's song:
Hummingbird - Seals & Croft, George Winston, Wilco, BB King & John Mayer, Jimmy Page, Leon Russel, Les Paul & Mary Ford, etc... - Barbie2be, Run-DMZ

PEACE

Hummingbird

It's hard to believe that the little guy in the photo is going to be 5 in a couple of weeks. I dug out this photo because Bisous is looking for a cake recipe for her daughter's first birthday. I immediately thought about the Hummingbird Cake recipe, which is what that bunny cake up there is made out of. (I miss the days of bunny cakes. Now it gets more complicated because that little guy in the picture now wants a Lexus birthday cake. How do we manage THAT, other than putting a Matchbox or Hotwheels version of a Lexus on top???)

Here's the recipe:

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE
From recipezaar.com

Ingredients

• 
  

Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 cup chopped pecan
• 2 cups chopped bananas
• 1/2 cup chopped pecan

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 (16 ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs, and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened.

2. (Do not beat) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans, and bananas.

3. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9" round cake pans. (I used 2 )

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

5. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

6. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake; sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top.

7. Store in refrigerator.

8. Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed, with an electric mixer until smooth.

9. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until light and fluffy.

10. Stir in vanilla.

11. Yield: 3 cups

Calories - a gazillion

Since the cake was for a one year old, I left out the pecans. The first time I had this cake it was in three layers, but it has the density of a carrot cake, so you really don't need to layer it. I made the bunny head using two round pans, cutting out the two ear part, then using the left over part for the bow-tie. I also used store bought tube decorating frosting and confections to decorate.

Most importantly, he loved it...


Yesterday's song:
Hot Dogs and Hamburgers - John Mellancamp

PEACE

Hot Dogs and Hamburgers

All is silent on on the Western front. Not much to report on, other than I was actually able to spend some time re-potting some pink zinnias and get in a few loads of laundry. Yes. I lead an exciting life.

In keeping with the July nablopomo theme, I'm supposed to post something about food. I thought this would be an easy theme to keep with, but after a busy couple of days, food is the last thing on my mind. HOWEVER... I just spoke with a friend on the phone and he happened to mentioned that the advertised specials for hot dogs are already sold out at 3 stores. There we go. Hot dogs. Are hot dogs a part of your 4th of July celebration, or do you opt for something else? We have friends who usually have an annual 4th of July bash, and it's always a pot luck and the foods are always exotic. Yes, hot dogs do make an appearance, but Ethiopian, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Polish and other various ethnic cuisines show for the feast as well. Just about every type of meat, poultry and fish is represented and barbecued. Hamburgers are surely to be grilled. Tofu even makes an appearance. There's also a bounty of exotic fruits and salads, various desserts to tempt any sweet tooth craving, along with every beverage you can think of. It's quite the party. I haven't heard if they're having a party this year, but I'm sure a barbecue will be a part of my 4th of July holiday, and I can be certain that at least one pack of hot dogs will be grilled.

Here's a link to the Dead Hub that has pictures and a write up about the Robert Plant & Allison Krauss concert we attended on Monday.

Yesterday's song:
Everybody Have Fun Tonight - Wang Chung - Heffer Blog (AKA Alice)

PEACE

Everybody Have Fun Tonight

June ended with a bang. My husband and I went to the Robert Plant/Allison Krauss "Raising Sand" concert (Featuring T Bone Burnett) last night. We purchased the dinner/hotel package and it seemed like a mini vacation. Dinner was fantastic, and we were upgraded to a full suite -- I'm not sure why we ended up with an upgrade, but I'm not complaining. For the concert we had 3rd row, center. I don't ever think we've had seats that good, anywhere. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, and I wasn't sure how the different styles of Robert Plant and Allison Krauss would mix, but this concert ranks up there with one of the best shows I've ever been to. My husband and I are more Robert Plant fans, and we knew little about Allison Krauss, but now we're in awe of her talent. Their voices melded well together, and the on stage chemistry between everyone was amazing. They did a blues-y, slower version of Black Dog and The Battle of Nevermore that knocked our proverbial socks off. They also did a very haunting version of Down to the River to Pray from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? ~ as well as the collaborative songs from the new CD.



Our son went with his friend, and their seats weren't quite as up close as ours, but with a venue that seats 1400 people, every seat is a good seat. Long story, but my son and his friend were given signed copies of the Raising Sand CD... They almost got back stage by accident -- a security guard thought they were a part of the crew, but they were honest and told the guy they were just trying to get to their seats.

We also sat next to a couple who seemed very indifferent to the concert. When I was seated, I made a comment about the great seats, and they just looked at me, and didn't say a thing. During the concert they sat quietly and kept looking at their watches. Everyone else there was dancing, singing some of the songs, clapping, and having fun. Right before the encore, the lady said something like "I gotta get out of here." When they left, the couple that sat on the other side of them said something about that couple being a definite joy kill. We ended up chatting with the other couple and ended up going to the hotel club for a couple of drinks and to talk about the concert, and laughing about the dead-pan couple who weren't enjoying themselves. Third row center seats were wasted. If they didn't like it, they could have given their tickets to someone in one of the back rows who and left. Sheesh. Perhaps they were given the tickets and that type of music wasn't their thing. I dunno.

My husband needed to get something out of the car right after the concert. Our car was parked near the tour bus. A couple of guys saw my husband walking away from our car near the bus and asked him "Dude! Are you the bass player with the band?" Heh. I wonder what would have happened if he said he was? Hehehee.

This morning we took advantage of the hotel swimming pool. I quickly discovered that I need to build back up to swimming, and it wasn't as effortless as I had anticipated. I couldn't do a crawl or breaststroke what-so-ever because of the kicking, but I could do a version of a back stroke and water walk. Water walking simulates running, so I might have to check more into that, and what I need to do to get it right.

Yesterday's song:
Killing The Blues - Robert Plant & Allison Krauss - Barbie2be

PEACE