Easy Coconut Cream Compliments Cake

 Dessert
Apr 282010
 

If you don’t like coconut you can stop reading right now. If you like coconut, brace yourself.

Simple ingredients (almost idiot-proof, I’d say): cake mix, cool whip, coconut are combined to produce an AWESOME tasting, melt -in-your-mouth cake. This one is so good, I take it to potlucks in a star pan. The cake, shown above, was my contribution to an Easter brunch a couple of years ago. I bought the chocolate decoration at Charlie’s Chocolate factory in Burnaby.

Let me know if you make it. I hope you like it.

Coconut Cream Cake

Ingredients
1 yellow cake mix
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flaked coconut
1 container of Cool Whip (4cups or 1 L)

Directions

  1. Prepare cake as directed and bake in a 9″ x 13″ pan.
  2. Cool 15 minutes and prick holes all over cake
  3. Combine milk, sugar, and 1/2 cup of coconut in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute
  4. Carefully spoon over warm cake and cool completely
  5. Fold 1/2 cup of coconut into Cool Whip and spread over cake
  6. Sprinkle remaining coconut on top
  7. Refridgerate overnight

Courtesy of  Winners More Recipes from the Best of Bridge, page 191

Kate Gosselin’s Monkey Munch best left for Monkeys

 Snack
Apr 262010
 

Don’t laugh…

Yes, I have watched a couple episodes of Jon & Kate plus Eight in my time. I must admit, I was fascinated by the show when I was pregnant. It seemed unreal….and by all accounts, it looks like it was, but let’s not go there.

In one episode she made the kids “Monkey Munch”. I’d never heard of the stuff. Is it just me or is this a common kiddie treat? That episode was ages ago but I’ll admit, I was intrigued. Fast forward to last week, I stumbled on the recipe (don’t you love the Internet) and decided to make it.

Last night, I tested it out on a couple of friends. Part of the attraction was using up the box of Rice Chex Cereal I had been trying to get rid of for a couple of months (the cereal box that never ends, you know the one).

It took maybe 10 minutes to make. Then I spread the coated cereal on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper and stuck it outside for 10 minutes to harden and Voila! The perfect dessert for my dinner party…too funny…

What did people think, you ask? They actually liked it. They actually liked the “chocolatey, peanut butter, powdered sugar, coated” mess….unbelievable. One man said he reminded him of a snack you’d put out in little bowls at Christmastime (Ryan, are you nuts? I know you’re reading this…lolol).

My take on this snack was a little different than the rest. I think I’d eat a Rice Krispie Square any day over this stuff. Let’s just say I’m not a huge fan. On the bright side, there’s more room on our cereal shelf now…YEAH!

p.s. For someone who wasn’t that enthused, I just ate half a bowl of the stuff…and hate myself. It’s addictive but that’s a sugar thing. Please keep this away from me…lolol

Results of Monkey Munch Poll:

Liked 75%
Neutral 25%

Monkey Munch Recipe

Ingredients
9 cups Chex cereal  or any variety or  Crispix (I used 1.5 cups of Cheerios as I ran out of Crispix)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1 tsp.  vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions
1.  Measure Chex and place in large bowl

2.  Place chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in a quart size microwavable bowl

3.  Stir the ingredients together

4.  Microwave the mixture uncovered for a minute on high.  Stir the mixture again and continue to zap in 15-30 second intervals until mixture is smooth

5.  Add the vanilla and stir

6.  Pour warm chocolate mixture over the cereal while stirring

7.  Put mixture  in a large  ziploc freezer bag

8.  Add powdered sugar, SEAL, and shake the bag until the powdered sugar is evenly distributed

9.  Spread coated cereal on waxed paper to cool and dry

10. Store refrigerated in airtight container

More info on Monkey Munch Recipe

Kerrisdale Carnival Days or as we call it “Balloon-fest”

 Entertainment
Apr 242010
 

Yesterday at noon, we hit the first day of Kerrisdale Carnival Days. Auntie Clare, me and my little guy walked or shall I say strolled through the streets of Kerrisdale taking in the sites. Many of the stores had tables outside their stores, (which is fantastic when you have a stroller). We leisurely walked and shopped without having to navigate through tight, crowded aisles.

We saw street musicians, face painters and a clown making balloon animals. All entertaining but a bit beyond Caden (I’m sure he would have tried to eat a balloon animal to a catastrophic end). One thing made his face light up “over and over” and that was balloons, balloons and MORE BALLOONS. There were random bunches lining the streets at tables and doorways. Every time he spotted a new bunch, his hands would point desperately and his legs would kick frantically (not to mention the shrill squeal that was heard up and down the block). I seriously thought the poor kid was going to have a heart attack with all the excitement.

We spent an enjoyable hour and a half walking the streets and grabbing a little lunch. Even though the majority of the activities (parade, contests, musicians, play palace, inflatable slide etc…) happen on Saturday, I recommend going on Friday if you have small kids with even smaller attention spans. There were less people and the line-ups at the face painter and balloon animal “artist” were only 4 kiddies deep. Sweet!

Kerrisdale Carnival Days are on this Friday, April 23 and Saturday, April 24. Highlights include:

  • Community Parade with Marching Band
    Saturday at 10am
  • Horse and Carriage rides
    Saturday starting at 11:00am
  • Pooch poetry contest
    Saturday at 12 noon

Links

Kerrisdale Village

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