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One Dad's Quest to Regain Control of his Kingdom

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A carrot cake for children hating vegies

January 25, 2016 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

 

A carrot cake is a wonderful example how vegetable, particularly carrots, can be hid and not recognized at all.

The question ‘How to feed children’ concerns all parents. Very often feeding your kids can be challenging. Children can utterly refuse eating healthy foods you try to serve them at times and you can be left pulling your hair out trying to be a great parent and keeping your kids healthy too.

Kids do not normally want to think of nutrition value. For them food’s main function is to taste great. I gave up explaining how important for well-doing is to get enough fiber, protein, vitamins, microelements and so on a long time ago and I am sure that you have too. After numerous failed attempts at feeding my kids with foods that were healthy but vapid in their opinion, I made up my mind to use some tricks. (Yes, raising children requires much ingenuity!) I guess most parents use them on a regular basis. My favorite one is to disguise foods they do not want to eat (Do you do this too?).

A carrot cake is a wonderful example how vegetable, particularly carrots, can be hid and not recognized at all. I recently found a great carrot cake recipe that was typical of what I mean here. The recipe I found from someone that I know that works for uk.cupid.com.  One thing that I liked about the recipe was not only all of the healthy things that were included but also that it was gluten-free. This recipe is a real godsend for parents whose children suffer gluten intolerance or the Celiac disease.

But before heating the oven and prepare all of the ingredients I recommend all parents get tuned-in to cooking. It means to get rid of all worries, bad thoughts and frustration. I have definitely noticed that a good mood is a secret of delicious baking.

The equipment you’ll need is as follows

  • An oven heated up to 350 degrees
  • A mixer
  • A 2LB loaf pan
  • A parchment

The set of products is unpretentious too.

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup sultanas (soak in hot water)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp gluten free baking powder
  • 3/4 cup gluten-free self-raising four

Heat the oven, line a loaf tin with parchment and grease it with some amount of butter. Beat butter and sugar to achieve creamy and soft texture. Grate carrots and add them to the initial texture. The next step will be to stir in the eggs and sultanas soaked in hot water. Chop nuts and mix them with cinnamon, gluten free baking powder and gluten free self- raising powder. Marry the mixture comprising of liquid ingredients and dry-goods mixture. Tip it into the pan and bake for 50 minutes. The carrot cake is ready when the toothpick is clean after being poked into the highest part of the cake. Take out a pan, let it cool for a 25 minutes and remove your work of culinary art.

There you go! Call your kids over and let them enjoy the fruits of your labor. Make sure not to mention that it is made of carrot. I bet they never guess!

Filed Under: fatherhood Tagged With: baking, Carrot cake, cooking, Recipe

Tuesday Talking – I Want Them To Remember Their Great Grandmother

April 7, 2015 by dadofdivas 3 Comments

Talking-Tuesday

I Want Them To Remember Their Great Grandmother

Josephine-VentoI remember growing up that I had very few great-grandparents. Thinking back on this now, I had three that were living at least until I was about eight years old. As I get older, I can reflect on these times and still have memories of these individuals and faint recollections of who they were, what they liked, and how they treated me.

Josephine-Vento

My daughters only had one great grandmother, as all of their other great grandparents had passed on before they were born. Luckily, their great-grandmother was someone that they were able to speak with frequently and see at least once or twice a year. She lived until she was 90, and passed on December 18, 2014.

Josephine-Vento

Since her passing, we have been planning a memorial service that will occur on April 12, 2015 in the town that she grew up in, Silver Creek, New York. My kids have never been to Silver Creek but their great-grandmother’s sister still lives in the home that she grew up in and I hope that we can have some time to be able to show my girls this house and let them hear from their great aunt some of the stories that she can still share.

Josephine-Vento

I want my daughters to remember their great-grandmother. I want to share her story is that I have with them, and I want them to remember her for the time that they had, but also the life that she lived. I know that my oldest will remember her great-grandmother as she had more time with her. I do worry at times that my youngest, who is only seven, will start to have less memory of her as she gets older.

Josephine-Vento

As a photographer I am happy that I took many pictures of my girls with their great-grandmother, as I do not have many pictures of myself with my own great-grandparents. Looking back on this now, I think this is a gift that all parents can and should share with their kids if they can.

Josephine-Vento

As my kids get older I hope to be able to share with them the research that their mother and I have done on our own family histories. J-Mom and I have spent a lot of time over the years using online search engines as well as genealogical libraries and more to gain better insight seemed to where we came from and the stories of the families that came before us. We have a lot more research to do, but history is important and we want to share this with our own kids.

Josephine-Vento

As I get ready to say goodbye to my Grandmother, I had been asked to write a Eulogy that I will give at her memorial. Below is what I wrote. I hope that this will let you get to know her a bit more and that her memory will live on forever in the minds of all of you, her friends and her family.

Josephine-Vento

Pep, Jo, Josephine or how my wife, I, and my daughters knew her, Nana. My grandmother was a woman of faith, love and strong convictions, and one of the strongest women I knew. She was passionate about her family and anyone that ever went into her home would see her pictures that adorned her refrigerator, her walls or other places throughout her home. It always brightened her day and put a smile on her face to stay connected with all of you. After her passing, we found this book (Hold up the book) that was her daily prayer book. Inside the book we found not only pages and pages of prayers and devotions that were important to her, but also, we found notations on every day of family birthdays, deaths and so much more. Whether you all knew it or not, she was always praying and hoping for the best for all of her friends and family.

She was a devout Catholic and this spirituality filled her entire life. She knew that her God was with her and that Angels were all around us. She drew on this faith throughout her life to get her through both good and challenging situations. She prayed diligently for family and friends. She had both small and large devotionals that were dog-eared and we know how well-used the many rosaries were that she had throughout her home, and you could always depend that she would have at least one with her whether she was sitting in her apartment or walking through her neighborhood.

While my grandmother did not have an easy life, she never complained. I can honestly say that I never heard her say a mean word and though I know that there were probably those who could have used a tongue lashing from her, it never came (unless it came through prayer).

She was the mother to two amazing ladies, my mother Rosemary and my Aunt, Cathy. She was my grandmother and the great-grandmother to Juliana and Paige. She loved to tell us and others how proud she was of our accomplishments and how much she loved us. A great example of this was in her most recent trip to visit us in Michigan, she cherished the time she had with her great-granddaughters, and whether she was coloring, walking hand-in-hand with them or talking, the end of the visit would always conclude with an “I Love You.” Outside of immediate family, she was always thinking of all of you, her extended family and friends. I know so many of you have favorite Aunt Pep stories, and though we do not have time during the service now, I hope that during the luncheon this afternoon that all of you will share these with all of us.

My grandmother lived very frugally. She washed plastic bags, straightened aluminum foil, re-constituted leftovers, visited resale shops among other things. I was always in awe at how she lived on her meager social security allowance. However, even though this was the case, she was SO generous with her gifts, whether she baked her delicious breads or carrot cake (my personal favorite) or purchased something for that special family or friend.

She had a funny way of rolling her eyes, pursing her lips and shaking her head if she didn’t like what you said. She wouldn’t say a word, but you knew she was disappointed.

My grandmother was a hard worker all of her life. She prayed hard, she loved with all her heart, soul, body and mind and I am sure that all of you were recipients of this throughout your life whether you knew it or not.

We all are saddened by the loss of this wonderful woman, but in our hearts we know that she has gone home to her God and is now with all of the friends, family and other loved ones that went before her, and we know that we will see her again. I’m sure that God is celebrating her return to his loving arms. I’m sure that she is making things ready for all who come in the future.

She will definitely have the carrot cake ready, the sauce simmering and coffee ready (with hazelnut flavoring of course).

I want to close today with a prayer that was prayed at All Saints Day: “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scathing heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Josephine-Vento

Also, for any of you that love Carrot Cake, I will share with you my Grandmothers’ Amazing Carrot Cake Recipe!

NANA’S CARROT CAKE RECIPE

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. bakng powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon

 

Put the above ingredients in a bowl and use a whisk to stir ingredients together.

  • 2 c. sugar  ( Nana wrote she used 1 3/4 cups of sugar)
  • 1 1/2 cups salad oil
  • 4 eggs beaten

 

Mix in a bowl and ADD:

  • 2 cups finely grated raw carrots
  • 1 – 8 1/2 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts

 

 

Add flour mixture to sugar mixture in small amounts and mix thoroughly together.

 

Pour into 3, 9 inch round layer cake pans that have been sprayed and floured lightly.

 

Bake 350 degrees, 35 – 40 minutes (check to make sure the center is cooked)

Remove from oven, cool

Frost with cream cheese frosting

 

 

 

NANA’S CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • 1/2  cup of butter
  • 1- 8 oz, cream cheese
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

 

Mix these ingredients well, then add:

 

1 lb. confectionery sugar, beat well . If too thick add a little milk

 Josephine-Vento

How have you as parents helped your own kids remember loved ones that have passed?

Filed Under: fatherhood Tagged With: Carrot cake, dads with daughters, death, genealogy, grandmother, grandparents, great-grandmother, history, memorial, memories

Blog Pop Bake Me a Wish ( @bakemeawish) #giveaway #bpopevents

April 9, 2014 by dadofdivas 3 Comments

 Bake-Me-A-Wish
 photo disclaimer_zpsaa1cb05b.jpg

 

Blog Pop spring fling, #bpopeventsSpring is upon us and that means that it is time to celebrate with the Blog Pop Team’s Spring Fling Event! Between April 9-12 the 11 bloggers from Blog Pop are working together to bring you some awesome giveaways! So go and check out the following blogs for some other great prizes, and remember to come back here a lot over the next few days to enter for some great prizes! The seven blogs that are a part of the Spring Fling event include:

 

Daddy Mojo Still Blonde After all These years Dad of Divas Being MVP Makobi Scribe
Momma Told Me
My Life with Rats Keenly Kristen Blessed Elements Modly Chic Andrea’s World

Bake-Me-A-Wish

My next giveaway is Below!

Bake Me A Wish offers gourmet gift cakes, baked exclusively in their award-winning New York bakery and can be delivered nationwide and are guaranteed to arrive on the date you request. Each cake delivery and bakery gift arrives in an elegant gift box and includes a greeting card that includes your personal message to your recipient. With a variety of occasions to choose from, you can make your loved one’s next birthday, anniversary, holiday or event an occasion to remember by sending a gourmet cake from Bake Me A Wish! Or you can send a delicious set of cookies and brownies to make their day a real treat! In addition to shipping cakes nationwide within the United States, they also offer their Operation: Birthday Cake program, through which they deliver cakes to deployed US service members anywhere in the world, all year round!

Bake-Me-A-Wish

My Take on the Cake

The carrot cake that was sent to me arrived exactly on time in a perfectly padded in a styrofoam cooled container. The cake was so well padded that I had a hard time even getting it out of the box but when I did I found a very nice box that the cake was enclosed and even a birthday note to wish me a happy birthday. This was perfect timing as my birthday was on April 7, so I got to celebrate with my favorite kind of cake, carrot cake.

The cake tasted great and was a perfect size for my family (there even was some left over for the next day). What was so great about this for me was that no matter what the occasion, I could easily send a wonderful gift to share with a special person, and for me this was important.

In fact, I have a few friends with BIG birthdays coming up and this would be a great way to share in the special day with them even though I know that I will not be able to be there in person.

I highly encourage you to check out what Bake Me A Wish can offer you!

Giveaway

How would you like to win a copy of this book? All you need to do is fill out the below form to enter. The contest will run for one week and will end on April 23, 2014.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

      • Enter any of the giveaways below

 

Winner must be a resident of the U.S or Canada.

Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

As required by the FTC: Blog POP! received no monetary compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are those of the writer’s alone.

THE FINE PRINT: All entrants must be 18 years of age or older. Please read each giveaway’s directions carefully as entry methods may differ, and giveaways may be open to different world areas. Please make sure you leave a way (valid email address) with your entries to be contacted if you win. Please note that Dad of Divas, Blog POP! or the Blog POP! bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. We will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you. Good luck!

 

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Filed Under: Blog Pop, giveaway Tagged With: #bpopevents, birthday, birthday cake, Carrot cake

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