First Day of School, an Earthquake, and Peach Cupcakes

My seven-year-old-son, Jonathan, started second grade yesterday.  At 7:50 he climbed aboard his brand new yellow school bus and was whisked off to school.

I was left to a relatively quiet day with this guy.

So, of course I made cupcakes.  After all, it is a tradition in our house to celebrate the first day of school.  I made these wonderful peach cupcakes with brown sugar cream cheese frosting.  (Did I tell you we picked TWENTY pounds of peaches last week?  Have you noticed the peach postings are multiplying here?)

And then, while the cupcakes were chilling out in the refrigerator, we had an earthquake.  That's right.  An earthquake.  Did I tell you I live in Maryland?  Not California.  Maryland.Having lived in California, I did actually know what was happening.  It was surreal.  The buildings were waving back and forth and the trees were shaking their leaves.  And then it was over.

Jonathan thought it was great.  Kind of scary too.  But so awesome.  And because the earthquake caused delays in getting home, he got to have a popsicle at school!

I gave him a cupcake too.

Follow this link over to Smitten Kitchen where she'll give you all the information you need to know to make these fabulous cupcakes!

Roasted Peaches with Vanilla Bean Yogurt

Here's my new favorite dessert.  I literally lick the bowl when I'm done eating the peaches.  I want to get every last bit of vanilla infused creamy goodness and caramelized peach syrup.

Don't get me wrong.  I love peach pies and cobblers and crumbles.  I've made peach cake and peach shortbread already this year.  But this dessert is so easy.  And it just shouts SUMMER!  You can easily break it down into a one-person dessert too.  That's what I've been doing with my husband in Bahrain.  Then every night, when I've finally wrestled the boys into their beds, I flick on the oven and get ready for delight.

Don't miss trying this recipe while peaches are still perfectly in season.

Roasted Peaches with Vanilla Bean Yogurt
Inspired by Cooking Light


Note: To make this dessert for only one person, go ahead and make the full amount of yogurt.  Roast only one peach, though, with 1 tablespoon brown sugar, pinch of salt, and a splash of vanilla.  Dollop with some of the yogurt.  The remaining yogurt can be used for something else - breakfast granola, a quick snack - or for another roasted peach the next night.


For the Vanilla Bean Yogurt:
1 (2-inch) piece of vanilla bean split lengthwise
1 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
pinch of salt


For the Roasted Peaches:
4 ripe peaches, halved and pitted
4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon course salt


1.  Scrape seeds from the vanilla bean into a medium bowl.  Combine seeds, bean, yogurt, sugar, and salt.  Stir.  Refrigerate at least one hour.  Discard vanilla bean when ready to serve.
2.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3.  In a small bowl combine brown sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
4.  Place cut peaches either in individual baking dishes or altogether in a larger 8x8 pan.  Divide the sugar mixture among the peach halves and gently spread it on the cut side.
5.  Bake peaches for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Serve with yogurt and caramelized juices.

Pink and Yellow Pops

What do you need on a HOT day in August?  Something you can hold in your grubby fingers.  Something cold and sweet and sour all at once.  Yup!  You need a Pink and Yellow Popsicle!

These popsicles are the easiest thing in the world to make.  It's a great way to use of the last of that watermelon that you are so tired of eating.  Why did you buy that big thing anyway?  

Add some lemon juice, some sugar, and you've got yourself a perfect treat on a hot summer day.  Better hurry because summer's almost over.

Pink and Yellow Pops (Makes 10 pops)


Watermelon Layer:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water
2 cups cubed and seeded watermelon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice


Lemon Layer:
7 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup hot water
2/3 cup lemon juice


1.  First make the watermelon layer.  In a blender combine sugar and water until sugar is mostly dissolved.  Add watermelon and lemon juice.  Blend until smooth.  Divide among 10 popsicle molds.  Watermelon layer should only fill half of mold.
2.  Freeze for about 1 and 1/2 hours.  When almost set, remove from freezer and push a wooden stick into the mixture.  Return molds to freezer and freeze until hard, at least another hour.
3.  Next make the lemon layer.  Combine hot water and sugar in a bowl or large measuring glass.  Stir until sugar is almost dissolved.  Add the lemon juice.  Refrigerate lemon mixture until chilled.
4.  Remove popsicle molds from freezer.  Divide lemon mixture among molds.  Freeze until completely frozen, at least 2 more hours.

Thai Peanut Chicken Pitas

I confess that lunchtime at my house is pretty boring.  We have the usual rotation of sandwiches, mac and cheese, or canned soup.  Once a week we get spunky and make hummus.  But usually I am just itching to go out to eat where someone else will put more creativity into my meal than I will.

But then I found this sandwich.

And I thought . . . I can make a delicious, creative sandwich.  

And what's even better this sandwich uses leftovers.  Leftovers, I tell you!

Served with a few sweet potato chips and a fruit skewer, you'll be leaving yourself a tip!

Thai Peanut Chicken Pitas

Adapted from Cooking Light

1 cup shredded or chopped leftover chicken

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup thinly sliced bell pepper strips (I used orange pepper.  Use whatever you have.)

1/4 cup julienned carrot

1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley

1/2 cup bean sprouts

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons peanut satay sauce

1 teaspoon chile paste with garlic

2 whole wheat pitas

1.  Combine the chicken, onions, pepper, carrot, cilantro, sprouts and salt in a large bowl.  Toss with hands to combine.

2.  Spoon the peanut sauce and chile paste into the mixture.  Stir well to combine, making sure the sauces are evenly distributed.

3.  Cut pitas in half.  Stuff the four pita halves with the chicken mixture.  Serve.

Note: My pitas were not the freshest so they didn't want to separate into neat pockets without tearing.  I microwaved them in a towel for 20 seconds.  This softened them up just enough that I could coax them open without tearing them.

Martha Monday: Drink Umbrellas

It was my turn to choose our Martha Monday project and I was a bit tired of cooking.  I wanted to try my hand at something crafty so I chose these cute drink umbrellas from Martha Stewart's website.

This craft was so easy to do.  Cut a circle out of pretty paper.  Use a soup can for a guide.  Or a tuna can.  Or a small jar.  I did a few different sizes to match my different sized glasses.  Cut out a wedge from the circle, about 1/8 or 1/6 depending on how you like your umbrellas to look.  Tape the edges together so a kind of a cone is formed.  Pierce the center with a skewer or long toothpick.  Use glue to secure the skewer.  (I used hot glue so that if it got wet it wouldn't end up in my drink.)  And that's it!

I used a thicker paper than I probably should have so  you can see where my edges join on my umbrellas.  That was my only complaint.  These were super cute.  My boys both loved having them in their lemonade.