Small town Wyoming

Dueling Barbie cakes. I really thought we needed to put these two cakes on the blog. After all if it hadn't been for LuLu's genuine delight at her 2nd birthdays Snow White cake (last year) I wouldn't have attempted the Barbie cake for Sofie's 5th birthday this year. Sofie's was a strawberry cake (duh) and Dave thought it one of the best cakes he'd ever had. I thought it was good but then nothing can beat the red velvet. LuLu's cake? Well let's just say her outer beauty exceeded her inner beauty. I'm still learning.

Today started out OK. Didn't sleep a wink as Sofie is still quite under the weather and I was up

with her sick, sicky, sick. Initially we thought she was dehydrated so we pumped her up with some gatorade. But she still has a very high fever and has thrown up 3 times now. When she peed she said her wanna hurt so I then moved on from dehydration to her having a urinary tract infection. I was thinking maybe we should take her to the emergency room today. We called Ron and he thought no on the UTI from her symptoms she would be peeing a lot and she isn't. Yes, he said your initial diagnosis is probably right and she may just have a touch of the flu along with dehydration . BUMMER. She has been so lethargic today, she has slept a lot and is incredibly fragile--that being a nice word for cranky. It's so sad to see. She doesn't even want to be held, she just wants to sleep on the sofa. Sam is tired of her being sick. He wants to work/play with her. Too much pressure for our little princess. We'll give her tonight then maybe we'll need to head to the emergency room. Yikes--in small town Wyoming.

This was taken during Christmas break at Mom and Dads. This is exactly how she looked today.

No new pics today. Sam did the same thing as he does everyday. Worked a little and rode the 4 wheeler a lot and Sof just alternated between bed and sofa. It was a hot one today too with no afternoon wind relief. We thought of rafting down the Salt River but with Sofie out we couldn't make it work. Tomorrow perhaps. Dave and I went for our daily run up Webers Canyon. Gorgeous. Sam earned a dollar for watching Sofie. She was asleep so that worked out well for all parties.

I did want to tell you about a yummy (summer) dinner we had tonight though--wish I had taken a picture. I bought some couscous with spinach and lemon we then topped it with a roasted dish of tomatoes, olives, feta and dill. I assembled all those together in a baking dish (not the couscous), sprinkled with some olive oil and baked at 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. DELISH! I would have used basil initially but the grocery store didn't have any. We are, after all, in small town Wyoming. It is however, pleasantly surprising what they do carry at the Valley Market. They do have a small, pretty well stocked organic area. Some items they carry are not too surprising at all. Like for instance--pigs feet. I don't get that either but my Uncle Harris loved those things. But then he is from small town Wyoming.

Friday night too I made this new take on a "grilled cheese" sandwich. Dave loved it! Rather than using Cheddar cheese spread bread with your favorite goat cheese then top the goat cheese with an olive tapenade. Butter both sides of bread and grill it. Can't be beat and its pretty to look at as well.

So again no new pics of family or friends but of some past cakes and a delectable flavored popcorn.
I LOVE this citrus flavored popcorn. I make a kettle corn initially

KETTLE CORN:

3 TBS coconut oil

3 TBS sugar

1/2 C popcorn

Salt to taste

I then pour the citrus sauce over it. After pouring the sauce on the popcorn sprinkle with some lemon zest for a bit of an extra umph.

CITRUS SAUCE:

Juice of one Orange

Juice of 1/2 lemon

4 TBS cold butter

--Put all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until butter is melted. Sauce will thicken slightly. Let cool. This sauce is delicious over a roasted halibut or most incredible over a slow roasted salmon.

This is my 45th birthday red velvet cake. I thought it turned out well--because let's face it this cake is a crap shoot. One never knows if it will turn out or not. I gave some to Barbara, our cleaning lady to be nice but also to get rid of it as my will power is zilch when it comes to this cake. She said it was really good for a homemade cake. :-) I know I thought it was supposed to be said the other way too. ("This is pretty good for a box cake") She's a funny one that Barbara. But let's be clear not all red velvet cakes are created equal. I do not like cream cheese frosting on this cake, carrot cake yes, red velvet cake a resounding NO! I will take a light, well made, buttercream but that's about as much bastardization I can handle.