"Mom, aren't you going to make something for our Halloween party at school today?"  my daughter asks.

"I wasn't planning to ..." I reply.

"Oh, you don't have to but it would nice.  The teacher said to bring healthier snacks and treats." giving me the look of please, please, pretty please.

"Ok, I'll swing something by at lunch time."

Thank goodness for the internets!!!  Morning walk to the grocery store to pick up bananas and voila... a healthy alternative to all the sugary treats we will be feasting on in the coming days.

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving.  I didn't do any hosting this year but attended not one but TWO dinners!  I think I could really get used to that.  The overeating part though, can't get used to that and I have never heard anyone not say "I'm so full" after Thanksgiving dinner.  I believe it's an unwritten rule, that everyone knows but no one speaks of, that one must eat enough turkey and stuffing to potentially pop the button of their pants. Then they must have dessert after that.  The smart folks know not to wear tight pants while others, like me, hope that by wearing tight-waisted pants, I will stop once I feel pressure.  Please, don't say it, I hang my head in shame, and next year I'm wearing a large elastic-waisted skirt.

My last post I wrote about my garden harvest and today I have a recipe for you and your surplus of tomatoes:

Tomato soup.

Roasted tomato soup.

If you have good memories from your Campbell's Soup childhood days, this will obliterate them, kicking up a dust storm of red labels and tin cans. Those cute pudgy Campbell's kids will beg to never have to hear another can opener.
...

I have been walking my children to school every morning, waving them off and continuing on to enjoy the crisp morning, and taking in the changing colorful leaves.  I feel so fortunate to live in a neighborhood that has a community school, where I can wave to my neighbors as I walk by, and greet folks with a good morning and a smile.

With the weather becoming cooler, we have been focusing on the garden and harvesting our produce.  I have dried more peppermint, as well my large batch of oregano.  I also prepared plenty of oregano pesto, which I divided into smaller containers and placed in the freezer for use during the winter months.

 

My son has been talking about his birthday coming up soon and I realized that I never posted about my daughter's birthday cake!  I always ask my children what theme they want their parties to be and this year she had mentioned Barbie.

My daughter loves pink and everything girly though I consider her to be somewhat of a tomboy.  She had taken to playing with Barbie just a year or so ago which took me by surprise.  I was a bit of a tomboy as a child too and remember grudgingly having to play Barbies with my friend next door.  She had a basement full of every Barbie thing you can imagine, most little girls dream come true, and I remember purposely undressing the doll and having her streak throughout her deluxe home and skinny dip in the Barbie pool/hot tub.  I am sure my Barbie made Ken blush several times too.  I was fortunate that I had an understanding friend.


As with all the cakes I make, I conceptualize it first and then put it to paper.  I had a picture of a long-legged Barbie in a beautiful pink dress adorned with silver pearls and billowing fondant layers . I came close but lost out on a couple of inches. I had baked the cake in a bundt cake pan and placed the Barbie in the center and realized the cake didn't rise as high as I expected.  Since I had no time to bake another cake I came to the conclusion that Barbie's long legs would have to go.  She would have to become more like me, long torso and short legs, and I laughed at the realization.

I don't think anyone noticed the height discrepancy but  I joked that Barbie was merely kneeling or sitting on a stool with her dress fanned out. My daughter loved the cake which signaled a job well done.  As we sliced away pieces of cake to serve, slowly undressing Barbie, I giggled to myself.  I guess some tomboys never grown up.