Where have I been?: Birthday bonanza

     Life has been a little hectic at my house lately, thus a blogging break.  My kids recently had a birthday, so I have been busy preparing, baking, hosting, and cleaning for family and friends.  I love putting my Martha Stewart game face on and getting creative for special occasions. I always try new recipes and rarely make the same dish twice unless it is REALLY good.  Life is too short to be boring, you know? Well, here is one of my favorites from the party.

Lavender lemonade (Recipe from Taste of Home, April/May 2010)

Yield: 4 servings

2-1/2 c. water
1 c. sugar/or substitute
1 Tbsp. dried lavender flowers (organic)
2-1/2 c. cold water
1 c. lemon juice

     In a large saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil.  Remove from heat; add lavender.  Cover and let stand for 1 hour.  Strain, discarding lavender.  Stir in cold water and lemon juice. Serve over ice.

     I have never made any food with flowers before, so I was instantly attracted to this recipe.  It is really refreshing and aromatic.  I doubled the recipe and found myself adding more water; it seemed strong for my taste.  My husband loved it, so it made it into my file.

     I have made a homemade cake every year for my kids.  This year, it was Pablo from The Backyardigans. Because I hate adding food dye and all the artificial gunk into my food, I decided to try some different food coloring I found at Whole Foods. It is called India Tree and comes in a box of red, yellow, and blue.  They aren't cheap, so use sparingly.  These are natural decorating colors made with vegetable colorants.  The blue is made from red cabbage, the red is from beet juice, and the yellow is from curcumin.  They contain no corn syrup or synthetic dyes.  They do have a different smell and will lend a slight taste if you use a lot-or at least my super sensitive taste buds could taste it in the plain icing.  That is why Pablo didn't reach his true blue.  I just couldn't bare to keep adding dyes and I didn't want the taste to interfere with my icing.  I will say that when we ate the final cake, NO ONE could taste anything vegetable-y.  They will not get you the bright intense colors, but they work for jewel tones and pastels.  Hey, at least I got rid of some artificial crap and learned an alternative way to color my food.

     It was another successful celebration and my kids had a blast.  This last picture is of one of my kids going through the balloon tunnel we made.  It's simple: tape balloons hanging from string underneath a table.  The kids have a fun crawling and bumping into the balloons underneath and you still have use of your table on top!