R and I decided to make a mess of the kitchen the other day and made carrot muffins together. I used an adapted version of a recipe from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. I feel so silly about these little changes I make to recipes - this one I decided to do without sugar, but kept in the 1 1/2 cups of oil. So, not only are the muffins not really that good for you, they don't taste that great either. Oh well. R doesn't mind one bit

R is somehow, miraculously, really into green vegetables lately - broccoli, zucchini, peas. Whenever I have a salad in front of her, she begs for a bite of my lettuce! Needless to say, we've been cooking a lot of asparagus around here and I recently learned a great trick for getting rid of the tough, woody base. Instead of trimming off the ends with a knife, gently bend the stalks, with one hand at the base and the other at the tip, it will naturally break right at the point where it becomes tender, leaving the woody base behind. Brilliant, right? Not to mention really fun.

 

As I get older, my perfect birthday plans have gotten pretty mellow. Dinner at home (takeout, of course) with E & a good friend, followed by cake and ice cream (some things never change). This year, I decided to re-instate another family birthday tradition: the chocolate cake. For all the birthdays I can remember, my mom always made the same cake for us: a chocolate cake layered with canned cherries and whipped cream frosting, always with the same signature red heart on top. My sister made the same cake for E's birthday when she was visiting last month and it inspired me to make it for myself. At my sister's recommendation, I replaced the canned cherry layer with a spread of jam mixed with fresh strawberries and used the same strawberries for the iconic red heart. No matter how old you get, I think there should always be at least one birthday treat that makes you feel like a kid again.

My mom makes the best banana bread. I think it's from her old Betty Crocker cookbook. It's moist and sweet. Really sweet. Whenever I make it, E insists on calling it banana cake instead of bread and will take his for dessert rather than breakfast. I decided to try a sugar free version to suite his palette and to make it baby friendly for little r. It could probably use a few minor tweaks, but mostly I think it's a pretty delicious alternative. 

Preheat the oven to 350.

Starting with soft butter, beat until creamy. Add the eggs and beat until mixed. Then add the banana and applesauce (you may want to add a little water here too). Add remaining ingredients. Beat until combined.

Cook in a small bread pan for 1 hour. 

Easy as cake.

 I tried to get a picture of little r eating her piece, but by the time I came back with the camera, this was all that was left.