Happy Belated 4th of July

Good Afternoon and Happy Belated 4th of July! It has been a crazy fun weekend and I am feeling the effects right about now, I am exhausted. We ended up having my sister and her family come stay with us which was great fun. Originally, we just had my brother-in-law and cousin Henry stay with us on Friday night but we then talked my sister and cousin Charlotte into coming down from Fort Worth, TX. They have recently moved up there and are trying to make the adjustment of living there but let's just say my sister has not made the jump easily so it was EASY to talk her into coming down and celebrating the 4th with us!

So with that being said we have been all over the place this weekend and am finally home and ready to catch up. I promise not to give you the blow by blow but just some of the notable items of our 4th.

Number 1- I have made a new OATMEAL convert out of my brother-in-law! This is very exciting news because Oatmeal is absolutely my favorite food and no one besides Emmet likes it in my family.

Number 2- The first night we had an early birthday celebration for my son Emmet so that we could celebrate it with cousin Henry. I made Emmet's favorite Chocolate Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Icing. These are to die for and the recipe happens to come out of my favorite Perfect Light Desserts by Nick Malgieri and David Joachim. I have made these cupcakes a bunch of time and everyone loves these. The Brown Sugar Icing is killer and Zoe and I had a great time making them together. I made a few small tweaks to the recipe to make them a tad bit healthier! (I would not consider these healthy by any stretch of the means).



Chocolate Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Icing

18 Cupcakes

Cupcake Batter

2 cupcakes
1 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut into 1/4 -inch pieces
1 cup boiling water
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Fage 0% Greek Yogurt

Brown Sugar Icing

2 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract
Three 6-cavity standard-size muffin pans lined with paper liners

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Sift the sugar, flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl and stir well to mix.
3. Put the chocolate into a large mixing bowl and pour the hot water over it. Let stand for a minute or two so that the chocolate melts, then whisk smooth. Whisk in eggs, oil, vanilla and yogurt, one at a time, whisking smooth after each addition.
4. Whisk in the dry ingredients just until the batter is smooth.
5. Evenly divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake cupcakes for 25-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of one emerges dry.
6. Cool cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes and then unmold them and cool completely.
7. For the icing, half fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Combine all the icing ingredients in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer and whisk by hand just to mix. Place the bowl over the pan of the water and whisk gently until the egg whites are hot (140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer) and the sugar is dissolved. Place the bowl on the mixer with whisk attachment and whip on medium until the icing is cooled and increased in volume.
8. Use a small metal spatula to spread a generous amount of icing on each cupcake.

280 calories per cupcake.

Number 3- I feel in love with Heidi Swanson's
Lime & Peanut Coleslaw Recipe. This is MAYO-free coleslaw which was a big draw for me and everyone loved it! The peanuts make this dish pop and I can't wait to make it again. Awesome!



Lime & Peanut Coleslaw Recipe by Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com

Leave out the jalapeno if you like it milder. I also thought about adding shredded, baked tortilla chips (like the ones from the tortilla soup recipe). Also, I've mentioned this before - I try to seek out organic peanuts.

1 1/2 cups unsalted raw peanuts
1/2 of a medium-large cabbage
1 basket of tiny cherry tomatoes, washed and quartered
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon + fine-grain sea salt

In a skillet or oven (350F) roast the peanuts for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice along the way, until golden and toasted.

Cut the cabbage into two quarters and cut out the core. Using a knife shred each quarter into whisper thin slices. The key here is bite-sized and thin. If any pieces look like they might be awkwardly long, cut those in half. Combine the cabbage, tomatoes, jalapeno (opt), and cilantro in a bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt. Add to the cabbage mixture and gently stir to combine. Just before serving fold in the peanuts (add them too earl and they lose some of their crunch). Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt if needed.

Serves 6 as a side.


For Emmet's birthday meal we grilled out and made turkey bratwurst, chicken and hamburgers, served with red beans & rice (his favorite), Lime & Peanut Coleslaw and the cupcakes.

I indulged in a little chicken, beans, coleslaw and 1 cupcake! Trying to keep on track....



Besides eating this weekend, we went bowling, ate at Whole Foods, made Rhubarb Raspberry Pie and had a great 4th of July with family.

Last but not least, I discovered that I am a bit of a pyromaniac. I live in Texas and there is Fireworks stands all over the place here.... I took the kids and we loaded up with some fun stuff! I promised the kids a fun fireworks show and I think I delivered.

Fireworks!


Emmet and his sparkler!


Zoe and I.


Zoe and Charlotte


Pyro!


Today, the boys played golf and the girls went swimming. I got in an hours worth of swimming laps and we are going to celebrate my birthday tonight. I will be the big 4-1 tomorrow so they are making me a healthy meal for dinner and then I will be indulging in a piece of my favorite pie- Rhubarb Raspberry! I have been relatively good over this weekend holiday and am going to enjoy dinner and pie and not worry about what the scale says tomorrow! It is only a number and I just want to enjoy the celebration tonight!