Sneaky Mommy!

Again, the voting for Iron Cupcake:Summer Berries is open! My two cupcakes (Strawberry Balsamic and Alien Blueberry) are about half way down the page. The voting box is on the right hand side of the page. I will love you forever if you click here and go vote for me!!!



We have this crabapple tree in our backyard that I hate, hate, hate. I don't want to spray the darn thing for bugs, so it just drops tons of wormy little apples on the ground. These mess up the lawnmower and are painful to sit on. (We like to spread a blanket out under that tree.) So, yesterday as it was nearing snacktime I had a brilliant idea! Take advantage of free child labor!!


I gave them a couple of baskets and told them that I'd trade one goldfish (cracker) for each apple they picked up off the ground. Score! There are now about 100 crabapples less in the grass rotting and being infested with flies, and I've got two little kids who had a ball picking up crabapples and munching on goldfish! Lia told me 'it's just like Easter!' Yeah kid, except for the lack of chocolate!


And one more tip that's really saved my sanity. I took the kids to a pool party a while back and instead of having water balloons for the kids to play with, one of the brilliant women in charge filled up a bunch of zip top sandwich bags. No more standing for ages at the sink with that awful little spout dealy trying to fill up impossible little balloons just to have them burst all over you when you try to knot them! Plus, most of the time the sandwich bag doesn't actually burst when you toss it at someone so you can reuse it over and over.

Works for me!! Head on over to We Are THAT Family to see what works for everyone else!

And if you're hungry, please give my scones a try! They are just my favorite things to make when I have guests, they always impress! And they come together in about 10 minutes, doesn't get any better than that!

Cherry Lemon Scones

½ cup of dried tart cherries
zest of 1 lemon
2 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of butter, cut into pieces and chilled
1 egg
¼ cup of cream
½ cup of milk

1 egg + 1 tablespoon of water
Crystallized sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Set out a baking sheet lined with parchment.
In a food processor, sift the dry ingredients together.
Grate in the lemon zest.
Cut the butter into the dry ingredients and pulse until your mixture looks crumbly.
In a medium bowl, combine wet ingredients.
Add to flour/butter mixture until just combined.
Add in the cherries and pulse until combined.
Pour out onto lightly floured surface.
Sprinkle more flour on top and pat into a large circle.
Using a sharp knife cut into 8 pieces and lay onto a baking sheet. (For smaller scones, split dough in half, pat into two cirlcles and cut each into 6 wedges.)
Beat the remaining b with a tablespoon of water and brush eggwash over the scones.
Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the scones are golden and delicious.
Serve with lemon curd. Enjoy!

And this is my favorite fresh lemon curd recipe!

Lemon Curd
Adapted from Martha Stewart

3 egg yolks
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces and chilled

In a medium pot, massage the lemon zest into the sugar.
Whisk the egg yolks into the sugar until light.
Add the lemon juice and set pot over medium heat.
Stir with a wooden spoon for about 7 minutes, until it mixture coats the back of the spoon and holds it's shape after you draw a line across the spoon.
Remove from heat.
Stir the butter in, waiting until it's melted to add the next piece.
Pass through a strainer into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. (push the wrap down onto the curd so it doesn't form a skin.)
Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Enjoy!

Did you vote yet?