Tuesday, August 30

Weekend Recap ~ Last Swimming of the Summer

Our wonderful, gracious landlord let us come over to go swimming again this weekend.  It was most likely the last of swimming for the summer, as the weather is starting to cool.  We will be gone all of next week, so by the time we get back, the pool will no longer be refreshingly cool, but disturbingly cold. 



























Sigh. 

I am very much ready for fall, but the change in seasons is always a little bittersweet.  Ya' know? 



























Peanut has had SO much fun this summer at our landlord's.  I love it too because it wears her out SO much and Peanut just crashes at bed time after we come home from spending the afternoon at our landlord's.  Plus, we have cold winters here so I am not looking forward to finding things to do that don't involve frigid temps and still use up Peanut's enormous amounts of energy. 



























Anyhow, this weekend was hot, hot, hot and Peanut got to swim her little heart out.  She has made so much progress too.  At the beginning of summer she was scared to be in the water without hanging on to mommy or daddy.  Fast forward three months and she is now completely confident with just floaties.  Of course, one of us is in the pool with her at all times, but she is no longer a barnacle.  In addition, this girl got over her fear of jumping in the pool holding on to our hands and is now completely confident to jump to us--with no hands required!



























Me?  I got to sit back and watch the loves of my life play while sipping my favorite drink and plan my menu for the week.

I don't think it gets much better. 




Monday, August 29

Limeade

So this will be the last of my lime posts.  Having just a few limes left, this is what I came up with for my final creation.  I wasn't in the mood for something big and time consuming and Peanut was wanting to go outside and swim in her little pool.  Plus, I had a new magazine that was calling my name, so time was not on my side.

This was super easy, super refreshing, and there is no sugar added!  How about them apples limes? 



























Summertime Limeade

5 cups water
2/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
4 teaspoons Stevia powder (I get mine in a big container from Trader Joe's)

Stir all ingredients together.  Add additional Stevia if more sweetness is desired.  Enjoy!



♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at Premeditated Leftovers

La Bella Vita's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday 
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday
 


Sunday, August 28

Menu Plan Monday












Can't believe we are already on the cusp of fall once again.  The forecast is for a few more hot days this week and then it starts to cool down.  Then, next week we get to go back to Hometown for our second annual birthday/fantasy football draft gala. Oops.....hopefully Hubs doesn't read this.  Gala and fantasy football being in the same sentence might be against "man rules."   Anyhow, by the time we get back the hot weather may be over for this year.  Possibly.....but we always seem to get an Indian Summer, so we shall see.  For this week we will be having:

Sunday-BLTs with garden fresh tomatoes (it really doesn't get any better than this.....), green salad with ranch dressing

Monday-Pappardelle with Corn (didn't get to this last week)

Tuesday-Salisbury Steak (didn't get to this either.....I know), mashed potatoes, green salads

Wednesday-Nachos with chicken and black beans

Thursday-Burgers, oven fries

Friday-Grilled Cheese, macaroni salad

Saturday-Leftovers


For other great menu ideas, visit the Organizing Junkie

Saturday, August 27

Tried It & Loved It: Almond Poppy Seed Muffins














Yet another one to add to our muffin repertoire.  When I asked Peanut what she wanted for breakfast the other morning, she quick response was, "Muffins."  What can a mom do, but make muffins?  And she is pretty easy to please--she doesn't care what kind of muffins, so as the baker, I got to choose.  I have made these for a couple of years now and they are definitely a keeper. 



























Almond Poppy Seed Muffins ~ adapted from papergoddess at food.com

3 cups flour (I used my soft white wheat)
1 1/4 cups sugar (I used sucanat)*
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups milk  (I used whole)
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup oil (I used coconut oil)*
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon sliced almonds

Spray muffin pan(s) with non stick spray (or butter/grease bottoms of muffin cups) OR line with muffin liners and set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Pour in milk, beaten eggs, and almond extract and start to mix.  When the mixture is half way mixed, pour in melted coconut and finish mixing until dry ingredients are just moistened. (If you use standard cooking oil, you can add all your wet ingredients at once and mix.  I do the coconut oil last because it can turn back to a solid very quickly when mixing with cold milk and eggs. I found this works way better!)  Fold in poppy seeds and fill muffin cups two thirds full.  Sprinkle with sliced almonds and bake for about 20 minutes. 

*I decreased both the sugar and the oil from the original recipe and they turn out beautifully every time.  I really don't think the amount of sugar or oil called for in the original is even necessary.  But that's just me.  ;)



Monday, August 22

Cilantro Lime Rice

I mentioned before how much I love the lemon parsley rice.  Well, I love it even more now, because it's just. so. versatile!  I made enchiladas with the homemade red sauce and thought, how about switching out the flavors in the rice for a Mexican flavored dish?

It works.  And it's good. 



























Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup uncooked brown basmati rice
2 1/4 cup chicken stock

Juice and zest of one lime
1/4 cup (loosely packed) cilantro, finely chopped

In a medium saucepan, bring chicken stock to a boil.  Stir in rice and bring back to a boil.  Immediately turn down heat to a low simmer and cover saucepan.  Simmer for 45 minutes to one hour, or until all the moisture is absorbed.  Fluff rice with a fork and stir in juice and zest of one lime and chopped cilantro.   Serve along with enchiladas (white or red) or any other Mexican inspired dish.



♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at Premeditated Leftovers

La Bella Vita's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday 

Life As Mom Ultimate Recipe Swap
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday
 

Sunday, August 21

Menu Plan Monday












I was blessed with a subscription to Food Network Magazine (yum!!), so I am trying out several new recipes this week.  I am so excited as they all sound SO good!  For this week, we will be having:

Sunday-Italian Sausage Pizza, green salad with ranch dressing

Monday-Tuna Bagel Nicoise

Tuesday-Sesame Pecan Chicken Strips, Lemon Parsley Rice, green salad

Wednesday-Pappardelle with corn

Thursday-Eggplant & Sausage Pasta, green salad

Friday-Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes, green salad

Saturday-Leftovers


For other great menu ideas, visit the Organizing Junkie


Saturday, August 20

Tried It & Loved It: Kiwi Boats














These are a fun little treat....and fairly healthy too.  I saw these in one of my recent Rachael Ray magazines and knew they would be a hit with the Peanut.

They were. 



























Kiwi Boats ~ from Every Day with Rachael Ray

Kiwi
Vanilla Yogurt (I mixed up some plain whole milk yogurt with a little honey and vanilla, as commercial yogurt is usually FULL of sugar)
Granola

Slice kiwi in half, length wise.  Scoop out flesh of kiwi, leaving the skin in tact.  Slice up kiwi flesh.  Fill kiwi shell with vanilla yogurt, and top with kiwi slices and a sprinkle of granola.  Enjoy!


Friday, August 19

A Trooper in Triage

Sadly, we had to take our precious little Peanut on her first trip to the emergency room last Tuesday night.  Just to reassure all our family, everything is fine now.  However, whether it is a cut on the face (as was our case) and something much more severe, it is a scare that no parent ever likes to endure. 

So back to last Tuesday night.  It was a normal night like any other.  I was making dinner and plating food and taking pictures for the blog.  The Hubby was supervising Peanut upstairs in picking up her toys before we sat down for dinner.

I heard the Peanut come down the stairs and Hubby calling after her to come back upstairs to finish picking up her toys.

(Sidenote: Obedience has also been a prevailing theme around these parts lately.  Or at least getting Peanut to do as we ask and not as she pleases.  Ahem.)

Peanut made it down the stairs just fine. From Hubs view from the top of the stairs, he saw her trip on the living room floor, but didn't see exactly how she landed or what she hit her head on on the way down.  I heard Peanut start crying (but it didn't sound like one of those crys.....hopefully I am not the only parent who determines the seriousness of the situation by the sound of the cry) and I set my camera down to see what was the matter.  Hubs did the same in calmly walking down the stairs.

I turned the corner to see Peanut holding her forehead and blood streaming down her face.  Being the spastic I am, I panicked immediately.  Thankfully Hubs quickly took control of the situation, pulling Peanut into his lap and directing me to get some wet cloths. 

Once we got her cleaned up enough to access the situation, we both knew we needed to take her to the doctor.  Unfortunately, it was just before six o'clock and her doctor's office was already closed, so that meant going to the emergency room instead.



























So Hubs bandaged her up and I quickly put our uneaten dinner in the fridge and we made the trip to the emergency room.

(Sidenote #2: I only remembered to grab my camera because I just had it out taking pictures of our dinner.  The primary reason for taking pictures of this ER visit?  Not for the blog as some might think, but for her photo books I have been diligently making for her.  The blog was just an added "benefit".) 

For the record, Hubs still thinks I am sick.  

But honestly, if the one thing I was able to document was what a trooper she was?  It was worth it.  I can't even begin to explain what a big girl she was.  And it wasn't just me thinking that, but the ER nurses and doctor said as much as well.  Please don't get me wrong.....I am truly not trying to brag.  Had she been crying the entire visit and been unpleasant during the whole episode, I wouldn't have given it a second thought.  She's not even three yet and that would have been completely understandable.  Had this happened to me?  I would have been crying during the entire thing, but our Peanut puts on a brave face that is much beyond her years. 

All that to say, she is still very much two years old (almost three) in other areas.  Not even ten minutes after sitting down in the ER waiting room, she was wanting to get down and play.  Of course we didn't want her doing anything remotely rambunctious, so keeping her still was a battle in and of itself.

ER waits are always long and it seemed to be even longer with a near three year old.

Sigh.  

Yes, Big Dolly made the trip with us. 
































Her cut was about a quarter of an inch in length, which honestly isn't huge, but it is on her face and she is a girl.   (Boys tend to be more proud of scars don't they?)  They cleaned up the cut and stitched her up and she didn't cry once during the whole visit.  She sat completely still through each exam and procedure from the nurses and doctor.   For her "stitch" they used Dermabond, which essentially is a super glue for the skin.  I guess it's ideal for facial wounds as it minimizes scarring.  After they glued her up, they sent us home, telling us that the glue would essentially scab off like a skinned knee. 

Not so much when you are two.  We came home that night, had a late dinner and put her to bed.  She fell asleep almost instantly and then went all day Wednesday without so much as messing with her "stitches."  We put her to bed Wednesday night and Hubs went to check on her a few minutes later and she hands him her gob of glue stitch.

Yes, she picked it right off. 

The cut wasn't gaping open, nor was it really bleeding.  It was kind of weeping though.  I called the ER as we were trying to determine yet again if we should make another after hours visit.  Come to found out, since it had been more than 24 hours after the initial cut, they won't re-stitch/re-glue due to risk of infection and so forth.  We cleaned it as best as we could and she had a big ol' princess bandage across her forehead.  At least that's cool to a two year old.  We admonished her several times not to touch it and literally checked on her every two minutes as she fell asleep to make sure she wasn't messing with it. 

Thursday morning I called her pediatrician and they got her in soon after to Steri Strip her up.  Those things are like stickers, but in order to toddler proof, the doctor glued them on as well.  And as of 5 pm Friday, so far, so good.

These past four days have been long.  Really long.

Hopefully these strips will last.  Between wound monitoring, rambunctious minimizing, and obedience training....I don't think I can handle much more.  All that to say though (and I've said this before), this was so minor compared to what other parents have to endure and I am so thankful it wasn't worse.

Regardless of the challenges we have faced this week, God has blessed us so much.

.....and we are grateful. 



Tuesday, August 16

Dolly Classifcations

Our girl LOVES her dollies.  Each dolly has a special purpose.  One is her bath dolly.  Another is her dancing dolly (as in Peanut dances with that dolly--the dolly doesn't dance on it's own).  The list goes on and on.  Please keep in mind that these jobs are not mutually exclusive to each dolly, it is merely their primary job function. 

They each have a special name too.  But, as my father-in-law said, Peanut calls things like she sees them and there is no reason to reinvent the wheel in naming dollies.

1.  Meet Big Dolly.
Primary Job Function:  Swimming face down in the pool.  Tries not to appear in danger when floating face down in water.  It's a little creepy, but some dolly has to do it.  Hubs Nickname:  Big D



























2.  Meet Pink Dolly.
Primary Job Function:  Peanut's Partner in Crime.  aka Peanut's most frequent sidekick in all non water related activities.  Except dancing-see #4.



























3.  Meet Tiny Dolly.
Primary Job Function:  Bath time dolly.  Enough said. 



























4.  Meet Rora. [the only dolly with a "real" name.  It's Aurora, the Baby Princess Sleeping Beauty doll]
Primary Job Function:  Dancing Dolly.  Often dances to renditions of Do-Re-Mi, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and Peanut-written original songs. 



























5.  Meet Lellow {Yellow} Dolly.
Primary Job Function: Back Up Dolly.  When all other dollies have been confiscated due to lack of obedience, Lellow Dolly surfaces and provides all needed functions of aforementioned dollies. 





















































Me and Hubs?  Well, we just love watching every minute of her personality grow.  Except when she is trying to assert her independence being disobedient.

We don't love that.

Ahhh, the joys of a {near} three year old.  


Monday, August 15

Lime Sorbet

This is another one of those things I came up with to use up all those limes.

And it's refreshing and mouth puckering in a pleasing sort of way.

It's funny too, because Hubs reminded me that this would be a good one to remember when I get pregnant again.

No, I am not hinting at anything. 

But it's a a good one to remember.....  When I was pregnant with Peanut the only "strange" craving I had was for all things lime.  Do you know how hard it is to find lime candy?  Practically all green candy is green apple.

But I didn't want green apple.  I wanted lime.

So poor Hubs was left with boxes of Mike and Ikes that were clean picked of any lime ones, 'cause that's all I would eat.  This all of course was before I found out I had gestational diabetes, but that's a whole other post.

So I will leave you with this refreshing little number....



























Lime Sorbet

1 cup water
1 cup sugar (I used dehydrated cane juice/organic sugar--no dark colored sucanat this time)

Zest of 5 small limes
1 cup + 2 Tbsp fresh, squeezed lime juice (this was probably about 7 limes for me, but they were on the smaller end)

In a medium sauce pan, dissolve sugar in water over medium high heat.  Remove from heat and pour  into small mixing bowl and store in refrigerator until mixture has completely cooled.  Once cooled, mix in zest and lime juice and process in ice cream maker according to manufacturers directions--mine took about 25 minutes to process to a soft serve consistency.  Several more hours in the freezer after that and the mixture will be much more solid--like sorbet!

Serve on a warm summer night for best results.  :) 


♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen 
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at A Moderate Life

La Bella Vita's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday 
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday




Sunday, August 14

Menu Plan Monday












We are supposed to be having a *small* reprieve in the heat this week, so a little more usage of the oven than in previous weeks.  This week we will be having~

Sunday-Beef ribs, leftover summer pasta salad

Monday-Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, sauteed Swiss chard

Tuesday-Coconut chicken and rice, green salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Wednesday-Tuna pasta salad

Thursday-Mac and cheese with ham (found some ham in the back of my freezer-so cool!), steamed broccoli

Friday-Italian Sausage Pizza with homemade crust and homemade sauce, green salad

Saturday-Leftovers


For other great menu ideas, visit the Organizing Junkie



Saturday, August 13

Tried It & Loved It: Homemade Tortillas














This is a recipe I have been using for several years now--one I started using when I first became a stay at home mom.  Making tortillas at home was initially a financial need (they are so much cheaper to make at home!), but now it's just as useful because I know exactly what's in the tortillas we are eating.  No hydrogenated oils, no preservatives, you know, that whole gig.

Are they more work?

Why, yes--yes they are.  Don't get me wrong--it is tempting to just pick up a bag of tortillas when I am doing the grocery shopping for the week.  I mean, in my mind quesadillas should be an easy and fast meal, since it is typically a "leftover" night and I am using up leftover meat from a few days before.  But then I am in the tortilla section at the grocery store and the "healthy" wholegrain tortillas are  nearly $5 for 10-12 soft taco sized tortillas and I know I can make them at home with ingredients I already have on hand for less than $1.00.  So I trudge along without any tortillas in my cart, berating myself on why I ever started this whole foods thing anyway....    And then I remember, it's for Peanut and it's for us--so what we eat can be more nourishing to our bodies.

Sigh. 

And honestly, the tortillas aren't that much work, but when you compare it to opening a plastic bag, well, then it seems like it.  But it's not--not really.



Homemade Tortillas ~ from Getting Freedom from Debt

4 cups white or whole wheat flour or half each (I use my soft white wheat flour for all of it)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I use aluminum free)
1/3 cup shortening (I use palm shortening)
1 to 1 1/4 cups water

Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Cut shortening into flour mixture until it is coarse crumbs.  Add in just enough water so the dough is no longer crumbly--whole wheat will use more water than all purpose flour.  Knead about 20 times on a well floured surface and let rest in bowl for 10 minutes.  Split dough into 10-12 even portions and roll out using a rolling pin or tortilla press using lots of flour for dusting.  (I use a rolling pin, however mine don't look nearly as uniform as the ones from the store....I stink at rolling things out and I actually have gotten better over the years....think how bad I was to start with!).   Cook over a hot skillet until just starting to brown on each side.  Serve as quesadillas, tacos, or any other dish using tortillas. 


Friday, August 12

The View From Here


My poor, sweet, innocent girl has no idea that normal people don't take pictures of their food before it is eaten.  She has an old digital camera of ours (no battery for it, so it's a play camera for her) that she runs and gets every time she sees me pull out my camera to take a picture of some new creation.  And then I am almost always requested to take a picture of her plate before we sit down.  Hopefully therapy won't be too costly....

Please ignore the she-just-had-a-nap-shortly-before-this-picture-was-taken hair. 



























She is obsessed with her cell phone lately.  It's a toy one, lest anyone think we are those people.  Anyhow, Daddy made a phone call as he was sitting down to dinner the other night and she had to run and get her pink princess phone. And she proceeded to have a one sided conversation that included, but was not limited to, "Um, yeah [listens] mmmmm, no [listens again] 'kay, bye!"  Followed by a quick shut of the phone and then tossing it on the table.

Really, do I do that?  

Apparently I do.

Ouch. 




























Oh, and check out Hubs' new goatee in the background.  I finally got him to grow one on our trip.  Corporate changed the rules at his work and now employees are allowed to have facial hair.  Verdict?   

Me likey.  

A lot. 

Nearly one year after she got her glamorous dress up trunk from Grandma and Grandpa, she is finally fully "into it."  She comes up with all sorts of new and interesting fashion combinations. It's a blast to watch.


Guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

She is very much into the markers I picked up for her.  She draws nearly every day.  She's not naughty with them at all, but sometimes she gets a little um, over zealous.  Some got on the table (which is what happens when you color over the same exact spot on the paper 462 times and the ink bleeds through) and she got some on her hand, which she promptly wiped on her shirt.  Oops.  But it washed out no problem.  God bless the chemists that came up with washable ink.



























Have a happy weekend everyone!


Monday, August 8

Onion Dip

I had a hugely weak moment a couple of weeks ago.  The forecast was for the high nineties and pork chops were on the menu for that night.  Ughhh.....who wants pork chops in 90 degree heat?  Not me.  Then in addition, our landlord called us and invited us to go swimming (again!).  Well, we couldn't be rude and tell her no (wink, wink!).  Knowing we would be gone all day I definitely wasn't going to want to lounge by the pool and then come home and cook dinner.  I mean, what a kill joy right? 

So I went to Costco and bought lunch meat (turkey, no added preservatives) and Kettle brand potato chips (better than most). 

I know, I couldn't believe it either.  I mean, what has the world come to?

Having this Costco size bag of potato chips to use up, I thought, why not add insult to injury and make some homemade onion dip? 

Oh, yes I did. 

But of course I had to draw the line somewhere and I made the dip from scratch.  (Insert sigh of contentment here.)

It was so good.  And not really that hard or involved either.  Do try! You'll love it!























Onion Dip

2 large yellow onions, finely diced
4 Tbsp butter
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Pinch of cayenne pepper (or more if you like it hot)
Salt and pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and saute onions for 15-20 minutes.  They should just be starting to caramelize.  Remove from heat and cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl, cream cream cheese with beaters until soft and pliable.  Stir in sour cream and mayonnaise and mix until well combined.  Fold in cooled onions. Add cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with potato chips or with fresh veggies if you are feeling guilty.  ;)




♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at A Moderate Life

La Bella Vita's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday 
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday



Sunday, August 7

Menu Plan Monday












I have just been feeling uninspired in terms of menu items lately!  I think it's the hot weather.  At least that's my excuse this week.  Our landlord keeps extending the invitation to us to come over and swim (I know, how spoiled, right?!?!) and the last thing I want to do is come home and cook after sitting by the pool for several hours.  And seriously, this is the tannest I have been since Hubs and I got married.  Just for the record--I don't tan, I burn.  However, with exposure to the sun every day in short increments, apparently I can tan.  Who knew? 

Anywho, for this week, we will be having:

Sunday-Roasted Chicken, potato salad, green salad with ranch dressing and lots of garden fresh tomatoes

Monday-Tuna Pasta Salad (recipe to come!)

Tuesday-Grilled hamburgers, leftover potato salad

Wednesday-Summer Pasta Salad

Thursday-Black Bean and Couscous Salad

Friday-BLT Chicken Salad

Saturday-Leftovers


For other great menu ideas, visit the Organizing Junkie!


Saturday, August 6

Tried It & Loved It: Coconut Lime Bundt Cake

This will be the first in a three part series on limes.  Or in other words, the-things-I-have-made-to-use-up-a-big-ol'-bag-of-limes-from-Costco.

I saw this recipe a few weeks ago and knew I had to try it.  We all know what a fan I am of all things citrus and coconut.  I thought this cake sounded like a match made in heaven, but I needed some limes to make this little gem.  And when you need four limes and the grocery store is selling them for about $0.85 each and Costco has a big bag for less than $5.....well, then you better start scouring to find other recipes that utilize those extra 18 limes you have on hand. 

But let's start with this one, shall we?  It is just divine and every bit as wonderful as I thought it would be.

And every time you see/hear the word bundt does anyone else think back to My Big Fat Greek Wedding like I do?  Or is it just me? 



























Lime Coconut Sour Cream Whole Milk Yogurt Bundt Cake ~ slightly adapted from My Baking Addiction

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I used organic sugar, so it's not white-white, but it's still not like the dark sucanat I normally use)
zest of 3 medium limes
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used about 1/2 cup freshly ground soft white wheat (just some leftover from that morning), and the rest all purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream (my bad, I thought I had enough sour cream but I so wasn't going to the store in the middle of mixing this up, so I improvised and used whole milk yogurt instead--for the full cup)
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I used unsweetened coconut)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a bundt cake pan and set aside.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth.  In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and lime zest until zest and sugar are evenly mixed.  Add sugar mixture to butter and mix until fluffy, about three minutes.  Add in vanilla and mix to combine.  Add in eggs and mix thoroughly, about two minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda.  Alternate adding portions of the flour mixture, then the sour cream/yogurt, to the butter mixture, allowing each portion to evenly combine before adding the next.  When all the flour and sour cream/yogurt are mixed evenly with the butter mixture, fold in coconut.

Pour cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and spread out top evenly.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Note: my cake only took 40 minutes, so if you know your oven "burns hot," watch closely and pull out early if necessary.  Cool cake for about 45 minutes (original recipe says 20 minutes.....go a little longer....trust me.....but don't ask how I know.....) and invert to wire wrack and remove gently from pan.  Cool cake completely prior to glazing.

Lime Glaze

Now I totally did my glaze a bit different, but I am sure Jamie's would be absolutely wonderful.  I really loved the glaze from these scones, so I used that idea for the glaze. 

Jamie's was this: 

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons heavy cream
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 medium lime

but I did this:

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of 2 medium limes

Mix together sugar, lime juice, vanilla and zest.  If glaze is too thin for desired consistency add a bit more powdered sugar.  If it is too thick for desired consistency, add a dash more lime juice.   Once desired consistency is achieved, drizzle over cooled bundt cake. 




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