A Pinterest Win! Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake

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Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake - Mom Meets Blog

Like the sailors lured to their doom on a rocky reef by the sweetness of her song, I’ve been known to heed the siren call of Pinterest, the visual social bookmarking site chock full of crafts, recipes, and all manner of creative endeavors from well-intentioned pinners the internet over. I do my fair share of pinning, and while I’ve certainly learned a thing or three, channeling my inner Barefoot Contessa and perfectly executing that glossily photographed salted caramel dulce de leche flan does not come naturally – or at all. To soothe those rankling feelings of inadequacy, I head on over to Pinterest Fail for a little commiseration time-out. Billed as a place where good intentions come to die, it chronicles hopeful pinners’ valiant efforts at replicating those glossily photographed projects, which have met with disastrous results.  Communing with my fallen brethren in creativity gives me the courage to continue my own aspirational pinning, ever hopeful that I will chance upon a recipe I can actually pull off that bears some resemblance to the original.

Such is the case with this Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake recipe I pinned from Julia’s Album, which she adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

Armed with my computer, a pound of strawberries I bought on sale, and a sanguine spirit, I tackled this recipe with surprisingly successful results! Light, delicious and bursting with strawberry-chocolatey yumminess, I’ve made this cake three times so far and taken one to a potluck dinner, where it was met with rave reviews. It usually lasts about two days at my house, and I know it’s a recipe I’ll be making for years to come. Oh, and let me share this direct quote from my son:

“It’s like heaven had a baby, and its name is Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake”.

High praise, indeed!

Please note that the abundance of strawberries tends to make this cake extremely moist, so it’s best kept refrigerated (where it should keep well for about a week, if it lasts that long!). My son and husband prefer to eat it cold; I like to microwave it for about 10-15 seconds on high so the chocolate chips get a little melty. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.

Check out the recipe below. My low-tech photos were shot with my iPhone, using the under cabinet lighting in my kitchen. Yeah, I’m no photographer either, but, like the cake, I think they came out pretty good!

Ingredients

  • 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips plus more for sprinkling the top of cake (you can use milk chocolate chips or a combination of milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips)
  • 1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9×3-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the side of the springform pan or square pan with butter or cooking spray.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.
  3. In a separate large bowl, combine butter, Greek yogurt, and 1 cup sugar and, using electric mixer, beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy – no more than 2 minutes.
  4. Reduce speed to medium, mix in the egg, beat until light and fluffy. Then mix in milk, vanilla.
  5. Keeping the mixer speed low, mix in the flour mixture, gradually, just until combined. Do not over mix.
  6. Fold chocolate chips into the batter. Transfer batter to springform pan. Arrange strawberries on top of the cake, cut sides down and close together. Place chocolate chips in spaces in between.
  7. Bake cake for about 1 hour until the top is golden brown and the tester comes out clean. OPTIONAL (I skipped this step): In the last 5-10 minutes of baking, you can take the cake out of the oven and sprinkle some more chocolate chips on top, pressing them lightly into the top of the cake (the top of the cake will already be baked and a bit crusty) – it will make for a nice presentation. Return to the oven for 5-10 more minutes, to allow chocolate to melt a bit.
  8. When the cake is done baking, let it cool (still in the baking pan) on a wire rack. After cake has cooled for about 40 minutes, release the cake from the springform pan. At this point, if the cake is cool enough, slide your hand under the cake, between the parchment paper and the bottom portion of the springform pan and move the cake with the parchment paper attached to its bottom onto a cake plate.

 

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake - Mom Meets Blog

 Cake before baking

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake - Mom Meets Blog

 Fresh out of the oven. . . smells heavenly!

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake - Mom Meets Blog

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake –  it’s what’s for dessert! Thanks, Pinterest!

Visit me on Pinterest! What are your favorite Pinterest successes (or fails)? Let me know in the comments!

So An Owl Walks Into A Bar. . .

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As I was busy making dinner recently, my son sat at the kitchen counter with his laptop surfing the internet for ‘funny videos’ – feats of daring, epic fails, anything to while away the time before dinner was ready. He came across a video with an intriguing headline and read it aloud to me –
 A Popular London Bar Has a New Waitress, and It’s An Owl
“Puh-leeeze‘, he sneered sarcastically, “how can an owl be a waitress? What do they do, carry little glasses in their talons?’ At almost 14 he’s developing that snarky cynicism that’s part and parcel of being a teenager. Determined to get to the bottom of this curious claim, he clicked on it and watched the following video:

[aol-on id=518668408]

Just as suspected, the video didn’t feature any owls dive bombing bar patrons with chocolate martinis at some Hitchcockian happy hour.
His disappointment evident, he lamented, “Why is it they always make things seem soooo exciting and then you click on it and it’s not exciting AT ALL?!?!“
Upon hearing those words sail out of his mouth, I felt my parenting senses tingling.  As I stopped chopping peppers and turned around to face him, I heard a clarion call to action, an order to march forth into the minefield that is parenting a teenager and heed the following command –
{Insert Teachable Moment Here}
During these precarious teenage years, broaching almost any subject with your teen can be tricky. So in my most casual, non-judgmental, un-preachy, make-him-think-he-thought-of-it-himself mom tone of voice, I said “You know, you bring up a good point. Sometimes things aren’t what they seem.  I hope you can remember that when you’re, like, at a party some night and someone offers you, um, say {here it comes} a beer or a joint. . .” I trailed off, giving him what I hoped was a subtle prompt as I held my breath expectantly.
And with a requisite roll of his beautiful brown eyes, he continued my thought with, “Yeah, I know, it might look like fun but it really isn’t fun. I get it.”
“Okay then”, I breathed, and, with a smile on my face, continued preparing dinner. And made a mental note to send a donation to The National Audubon Society.
For the owls.

 

The National Audobon Society

Barn Owl – The National Audubon Society

 

Check out the more plausible story Owl-themed cocktail bar to open in London  from The Telegraph.

Snacking & Me: Not Perfect Together

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snacking

I saw this on Instagram today and it really resonated with me.  After being told by my doctor at my yearly physical that my alarming weight gain was probably not caused by my thyroid or perimenopause but by Entenmann’s, I’ve been forced to reexamine my eating habits.  Or more specifically my snacking habits.  I snack like a ninja on a rescue mission – silently, stealthily and without witnesses. And I’ll admit that this has led to my snacking getting way out of control.  So in answer to that age-old philosophical question, ‘if I open the giant bar of Toblerone hidden in the big stock pot at the back of the cabinet and sneak-eat in the laundry room, does it make me fat?’ – the answer is  yes.
To that end check out  A Parent’s Guide to Snacking on the Sly by blogger Jess Ullrich at The Momma Review and treat it as a cautionary tale.  While the reasons leading to sneaky snacking are totally valid, for the sake of my waistline I’ll be going through my home and purging all my secret stashes.  And fishing the Hershey’s Kisses out of my bra.
Do you snack on the sly?  What are your secret hiding places? Let me know in the comments!

If I Were Attending the Oscars, This is What I’d Wear

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black & white ball gown skirt

 

My favorite part of the Oscars (and for a lot of folks if Pinterest is any indication) is watching the celebrities walk the red carpet. Who wore what, how, and why is endlessly fascinating to me, I suppose because I will probably never be in a position to wear anything that fancy-shmancy. The last time I wore anything that might even be considered remotely appropriate on a red carpet was on my wedding day – and we’re talking appropriate for a red carpet in the 1980s. And chances are I probably won’t have the opportunity to wear anything that ritzy again until my son’s wedding, and that’s a loooong way off.

But if I were to end up somehow attending the Oscars I would be a) astounded – how the hell did  that happen?? and b) determined not to end up on some worst dressed list. My watchwords are understated, elegant and classic.

So when I saw this Carolina Herrera ball skirt paired with a simple white shirt, I knew it was made for me.

Understated? Yes.

Elegant? Absolutely.

Classic? You betcha!

Safe and boring? Perhaps, but I prefer to think of it as timeless. And the fun part is I get to snazz it up with accessories!! Red carpet-worthy accessories. . .

I’d add a pop of color with this ruby and diamond necklace from Harry Winston:

harry winston vintage

With such a statement necklace I’d keep the earrings simple, again with Harry Winston:

harry winston micropave earrings

I’ll forgo a bracelet in favor of a ring, like this antique beauty circa 1915 via Sotheby’s:

diamond ring circa 1915

Some Jimmy Choo shoes:

Jimmy Choo Tinga

and a Marchesa clutch; something small because the skirt has pockets!!

marchesa stringray purse

So what do you think about my Oscar wardrobe choices? What would you wear? Let me know in the comments!

RIP Michele Ferrero, Creator of Nutella

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Nutella RiP

Michele Ferrero, Italian entrepreneur, chocolate manufacturer and creator of Nutella, the chocolate hazelnut spread beloved the world over, passed away quietly at the age of 89 on Valentine’s Day.  Many a scrumptious recipe has been developed (not to mention a blog post written) and a diet hastily broken by this delightfully sinful concoction.  Some of my favorite ways of indulging in Nutella are spreading it on a rice cake topped with raspberries, or swirling it on pancakes, sliced strawberries or English muffins. Of course, spooning it straight out of the jar works too.  And although I’ve never baked with Nutella, this Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction might get me to put down the spoon and get out the baking sheet.
Rest in peace Mr. Ferrero; regardless of how I get my Nutella fix, my spoon salutes you.

 

nutella with raspberries

Looking for more Nutella recipes? Check out Nutella: The 30 Best Recipes. Do you have a favorite recipe involving Nutella? Let me know in the comments!

“Born In The Wild”? My Teen Says No, Thank You!

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Have you seen the ads for the new Lifetime reality series “Born in the Wild”? According to their website, in this new series “families take one step beyond homebirth and make the powerful choice to experience childbirth in the great outdoors. No inductions, no epidurals…just expectant mothers facing and giving birth in the arms of Mother Nature. They’ll take on the unique challenges of their natural environment, tackling every obstacle the wilderness can dish out in order to realize their dream of an outdoor birth.”
Okay.
Quite possibly the best birth control video ever, my 14-year-old son thought the commercial was pretty graphic, which depicts a woman laying in “Mother Nature’s arms” (aka the dirt), with the baby literally bursting out of her vajayjay (the action was blurred but it was pretty obvious what was going on). “I can’t unsee that!!” he moaned, covering his eyes with his hands and worrying aloud about the possibility of retinal scarring. Unable to hide my amusement, I quipped, “Hey, what goes in must come out, right?”
Clearly horrified that perhaps I was about to launch into yet another TED talk (Terrifyingly Embarrassing Discussion) about human sexual reproduction (and all its attendant responsibilities and consequences), he deftly dodged the conversation by profusely apologizing for any pain and suffering he caused me during his birth. Considering that he was born into the arms of a fully licensed medical professional in a nice clean hospital and with the assistance of an epidural, his apology was accepted. He is however trying to figure out how to block the Lifetime channel from our TV lineup. And taking mercy on the poor guy, I tabled any further discussion on this topic for another day.
The show premieres on Tuesday, March 3rd at 10 pm on Lifetime.  My son won’t be watching. Will you? Let me know in the comments!

For the ‘Sandwich Generation’ – What to Consider When Choosing a Nursing Home

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Like many across the country, my family is part of the ‘Sandwich Generation’. According to a 2013 Pew research report, “nearly half (47 percent) of adults in their 40s and 50s have a parent age 65 or older and are either raising a young child or financially supporting a grown child (age 18 or older).” Being in that position means that sometimes difficult choices have to be made. After much consideration, my mother-in-law, who suffers from late stage dementia, was recently placed in a nursing home. Up until that point she was receiving care in her own home, but a recent illness sparked the realization that she would be better cared for in a nursing facility. After that conclusion was reached  another wrenching decision had to be made: where would she go? The Alzheimer’s Association has an excellent checklist of questions to ask and things to look for when choosing a facility. For example, in the section regarding services provided at the nursing facility, questions include:

  • Do you have an Alzheimer’s program? If so, is it designated as a Special Care Unit, which means the facility is specifically licensed by the state as a special unit?
  • What types of behavioral issues are you able to handle?
  • Do you keep documentation of all the behavior interventions you use? (Interventions are those things the staff should try in order to change or handle Mom’s behavior BEFORE they suggest medication as a solution.)
  • Are there written materials that explain the types of care provided at the facility and the associated costs?
  • Is there an active resident and family council that Mom and I can participate in?
  • Do you offer transportation services to doctor’s offices, dental appointments, etc.?
  • What services are available without leaving the building, such as dental care, vision care, podiatry services, hearing services, hair/beauty salon? Who pays for these services?
  • Are rehabilitation services available, such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy or recreational therapy?

Other sections with questions and things to notice include:

  • The building and environment
  • Resident rooms
  • Resident appearance
  • Dining and meal service
  • Activities
  • Costs
  • Staff
  • Family responsibilities

Please bookmark this checklist for future reference.  The Alzheimer’s Association has a wealth of information regarding care and support, research, and advocacy.  If you have Alzheimer’s in your family (family history can be a risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease), consider having a discussion about the type of care you would like to receive if at some point it becomes necessary. Having a plan can be helpful during an incredibly stressful time.

Watch “The Nursing Home Decision – Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease” from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine:

 

alzheimers-association-logo1Are you part of the Sandwich Generation?  How are you handling it – do you have any tips or suggestions? Let me know in the comments.

 

 

 

I Drive a Volkswagen, but I Love the Acura RDX Commercial (Thanks to Blondie)

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Blondie collageIf you were a teenager in the 1980s then you’ll remember Debbie Harry, the platinum-haired songstress known as Blondie. Her waifish prettiness and punk chic edge made girls want to be her and boys fall in love with her. As a medium skin toned, curly-haired brunette there was no way I could imitate the Blondie look, but I copied her signature red pout whenever I could (which means when my mom wasn’t looking). Even my husband has confessed that Blondie was his first celebrity crush.
Call Me, One Way or Another, and Heart of Glass were among the songs that made up the soundtrack of my teenage years. So when I heard the hit Rapture (performed by Chelsea Ranger) featured in the Acura RDX car commercial I felt A) old and B) delighted. I love this song and the commercial is fun (featuring Fab Five Freddy in the boardroom!) Of course I know all the words so singing is mandatory whenever the commercial airs despite my teenage son’s protests (‘Just don’t sing, Mom. Please.’) Here it is, feel free to sing away!  I know I always will.
I love my Volkswagen Passat, but when my lease is up maybe we’ll talk, Acura. Because there’s always room for more Blondie, check out the original Rapture:

‘Uptown Funk’ Goes To School – How an Assignment Turned Into a Viral Video

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This week my son had a project due in his music appreciation class. His subject was British musician Mark Ronson, whose collaboration with Bruno Mars resulted in the wildly popular hit ‘Uptown Funk’.  It’s a good thing I love this song – because of his project, I’ve heard it about 50,000 times in the past few days! Apparently Dallas high-school theater teacher Scot Pankey thought it was pretty popular too, because he assigned the song to his students, and the result is a video that’s gone viral (my son and his buddy did a PowerPoint presentation that got an ‘A’ but did not go viral). Here’s the joyous performance by the teacher and his students:

And the video even got a shout-out on Twitter from none other than Bruno Mars himself:

 

 

Pretty cool, huh? Break out your Chucks and Saint Laurent and check out the original video performed by Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson – you’re welcome. 🙂