Well Mr. Greg turned 36 this year and I baked him a Texas Sheet Cake for his birthday.
For those of you not familiar with this Texas treat, it is a chocolate cake that you make in a pan and then you poke holes in it after it has come out of the oven.
You quickly pour on the hot chocolate icing and it soaks into the cake making it a moist, gooey, yummy, thigh killing dessert.
In this video Greg tells a story about a cow named Liekki and the meaning behind the name.
It may not be that pretty but boy it sure tasted yummy!
Texas Sheet Cake
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, divided
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract, divided
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup fat-free milk
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Preheat oven to 375°. Coat a 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray, and dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Set aside.
Lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Combine 3/4 cup water, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/4 cup cocoa in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add to flour mixture. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended. Add buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and eggs; beat well. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 375° for 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack.
Combine 6 tablespoons butter, fat-free milk, and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in powdered sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla. Spread over hot cake. Sprinkle cake with pecans. Cool completely on wire rack.
Yield: 20 servings (serving size: 1 slice)
CALORIES 298 (30% from fat); FAT 10g (sat 5.5g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.7g); IRON 1.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 44mg; CALCIUM 25mg; CARBOHYDRATE 49.8g; SODIUM 188mg; PROTEIN 3.1g; FIBER 0.5g
Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2007
Friday, June 6, 2008
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
A quote from Humphrey Bogart in the movie The Maltese Falcon.
Bogart was referencing the Golden Falcon encrusted with rare jewels but if you ever get to visit Malta, I think you would see that it also describes this wonderful set of islands too.
Malta
Cheap, Friendly People, Great Climate, English Speaking, Mediterranean food; Oh yeah and I got to go here for a work trip in April.
A place that Greg has not actually been to (I had to mention that)....What could be better? Hmmm, maybe actually going here for a vacation instead of work would actually be better but I won't complain too much. This was my first work trip, heck I think this is my first trip anywhere by myself.
For those of you who don't know where Malta is (I didn't know either), it is just an archipelago of islands about halfway between the coasts of Sicily and North Africa
Consisting of 7 islands it is a popular tourist resort due to it's tropical climate, exciting nightlife, and a history dating back thousands of years.
I was ready for a break from the cold and rain and sometimes snow of Helsinki. Here is a picture from my apartment in Finland, a couple of weeks before this trip to Malta
Wouldn't you need a break too?!
The first day I arrived around 6:00 pm and decided to head out to see what was around.
The manager at the hotel told me for 25 cents I could take a bus into town. The buses are funky yellow and orange old looking things.
Even though the ride looked cute I was a little scared to venture off too far and so I went to a cute little bar right down the street from the hotel.
Unfortunately, it was closed as I soon found out from a lady that was near by. She asked me if I was thirsty and to follow her if I was since she knew another place that was definitely open.
She had a small child with her and so I figured
she wasn't going to hurt me and steal any money. Little did I know that the Maltese are very friendly and the crime rate is almost nil.
She left me at a really cute little bar/restaurant, where I went in a tried a local beer called Cisk.
The bartender asked me if I liked it and when I said yes (I was afraid to say differently) he took my beer and rearranged the words to tell me exactly
what the thought of the beer. HA!
The people in the bar were really friendly and when I left they picked up the bar tab!!! WOW, I was quickly starting to like this place. Ok, I found out that beers were 2 bucks but still.
Hey Greg, does Nokia have a branch here? Maybe you can set up shop here? Friendly people, mild sunny days most of the year, cheap prices...why not?
Ok, back from dreaming....
The next day our team went on a boat ride around the capital city Valletta, which you can see in these pictures
Oh it was sooo wonderful to be in the sun after leaving Helsinki which was cold and rainy.
Here is a picture of my team member, Sirkka. See how giddy she looks because she is also thrilled to be away from Helsinki and to be outdoors in the sun.
Besides the sun, the first thing I noticed was how friendly the people were.
Everyone had a smile on their face and actually said hello.
Now if you are reading this and are living in Texas you might say to yourself 'what is the big deal, doesn't everyone smile and say hello'?? .....
Well, if you have been living out of Texas or out of the south you would know that the answer is NO!
Especially in Finland where the Finns aren't very friendly to strangers and usually do not smile. In fact, they look at you like you are crazy or disturbed if you actually smile at them and so I have quickly learned to look at the ground when walking around town.
So I was really shocked when every face I met in Malta had a huge smile and a friendly hello coming my way. It made me fall in love with the place even more...I was definitely not missing the coldness of Finland; that is for sure.
Our tour guide told us some history about Malta, and how Malta's history has a little bit of everything from the Stone-Age and Bronze-Age people, Romans and Phoenicians, Arabs, Normans and Carthaginians, Castilians, French and British; from whom Malta became independent in 1964.
Napoleon Bonaparte did unutterable damage in an only six-day occupation; and Malta stood firm against Hitler despite massive bombing during World War II, deservedly earning the nation the George Cross medal from King George VI (April 1942).
Next, our tour guide took us to a shipping village where tourists and locals alike idle in harbour-side cafes.
These lovely villages seem removed from the hustle and bustle of the island.
I really was taken with the fisherman's colourful boats called luzzus (pronounced loot-su in Maltese) .
Traditionally, they are brightly painted in shades of yellow, red, green and blue, and the bow you'll see the Eye of Osiris, the Phoenicians' god of protection against evil.
Next we headed to the old city Mdina.
Mdina (pronounced em-dee-nah) means fortified place in Arabic and was first created as such by the Romans when they separated it from the rest of the town which became Rabat (which means Suburb) and fortified it. This walled city sits on a hill in the middle of the island, giving commanding views.
The streets are very narrow and the buildings are tall and made of stone.
The sad thing about our guide of the city was that it was done in off-peak hours so all the stores were closed. In Malta stores close at 1pm to 4pm for lunch/siesta, and then open again from 4pm to 7pm. By the time
we got to Mdina it was after 7:00 and so nothing was opened and the place looked deserted but still very beautiful.
Bet this would of been a cute place to get a souvenir
The next day we put on our walking boots and headed out from the village squares onto the narrow farmers' tracks.
Even though Malta is a small island and densely populated, we were taken to a remote area of the island.
FYI....Malta's land area is just 122 square miles (316 square kilometers) (about twice the size of Washington, D.C.) and Malta's population density of 3,000 per square mile (1,160 people per square kilometer) compared to the United States has 21 people per 55 per square mile (square kilometer) . That's a lot of people crammed into a small space, kind of like mine and Greg's apartment except they have more than 1 bathroom :-)
The island of Malta seemed to be made up of rock and limestone and flowers that I am use to seeing in the countryside of Weatherford, Texas.
Along the way I came across lemon trees, lime trees, and grapefruit trees. Here is the proof!
I saw this lonely looking chappel off to the side and remembered that the day before our tour guide told us that Malta has 365 churches on the island!
The next day we had to spend most of it in doors and I was really sad that I had to leave at 2:00 pm. When I found out that the 5 star hotel was only 65 euros a night, I was really tempted to stay over the weekend but at last I had a plane to catch and a cold, wet Finland awaiting me.
The only thing that put a smile back on my face was that a warm friendly husband would be waiting for me at home.
Bye Bye Malta...maybe I will see you again someday
Bogart was referencing the Golden Falcon encrusted with rare jewels but if you ever get to visit Malta, I think you would see that it also describes this wonderful set of islands too.
Malta
Cheap, Friendly People, Great Climate, English Speaking, Mediterranean food; Oh yeah and I got to go here for a work trip in April.
A place that Greg has not actually been to (I had to mention that)....What could be better? Hmmm, maybe actually going here for a vacation instead of work would actually be better but I won't complain too much. This was my first work trip, heck I think this is my first trip anywhere by myself.
For those of you who don't know where Malta is (I didn't know either), it is just an archipelago of islands about halfway between the coasts of Sicily and North Africa
Consisting of 7 islands it is a popular tourist resort due to it's tropical climate, exciting nightlife, and a history dating back thousands of years.
I was ready for a break from the cold and rain and sometimes snow of Helsinki. Here is a picture from my apartment in Finland, a couple of weeks before this trip to Malta
Wouldn't you need a break too?!
The first day I arrived around 6:00 pm and decided to head out to see what was around.
The manager at the hotel told me for 25 cents I could take a bus into town. The buses are funky yellow and orange old looking things.
Even though the ride looked cute I was a little scared to venture off too far and so I went to a cute little bar right down the street from the hotel.
Unfortunately, it was closed as I soon found out from a lady that was near by. She asked me if I was thirsty and to follow her if I was since she knew another place that was definitely open.
She had a small child with her and so I figured
she wasn't going to hurt me and steal any money. Little did I know that the Maltese are very friendly and the crime rate is almost nil.
She left me at a really cute little bar/restaurant, where I went in a tried a local beer called Cisk.
The bartender asked me if I liked it and when I said yes (I was afraid to say differently) he took my beer and rearranged the words to tell me exactly
what the thought of the beer. HA!
The people in the bar were really friendly and when I left they picked up the bar tab!!! WOW, I was quickly starting to like this place. Ok, I found out that beers were 2 bucks but still.
Hey Greg, does Nokia have a branch here? Maybe you can set up shop here? Friendly people, mild sunny days most of the year, cheap prices...why not?
Ok, back from dreaming....
The next day our team went on a boat ride around the capital city Valletta, which you can see in these pictures
Oh it was sooo wonderful to be in the sun after leaving Helsinki which was cold and rainy.
Here is a picture of my team member, Sirkka. See how giddy she looks because she is also thrilled to be away from Helsinki and to be outdoors in the sun.
Besides the sun, the first thing I noticed was how friendly the people were.
Everyone had a smile on their face and actually said hello.
Now if you are reading this and are living in Texas you might say to yourself 'what is the big deal, doesn't everyone smile and say hello'?? .....
Well, if you have been living out of Texas or out of the south you would know that the answer is NO!
Especially in Finland where the Finns aren't very friendly to strangers and usually do not smile. In fact, they look at you like you are crazy or disturbed if you actually smile at them and so I have quickly learned to look at the ground when walking around town.
So I was really shocked when every face I met in Malta had a huge smile and a friendly hello coming my way. It made me fall in love with the place even more...I was definitely not missing the coldness of Finland; that is for sure.
Our tour guide told us some history about Malta, and how Malta's history has a little bit of everything from the Stone-Age and Bronze-Age people, Romans and Phoenicians, Arabs, Normans and Carthaginians, Castilians, French and British; from whom Malta became independent in 1964.
Napoleon Bonaparte did unutterable damage in an only six-day occupation; and Malta stood firm against Hitler despite massive bombing during World War II, deservedly earning the nation the George Cross medal from King George VI (April 1942).
Next, our tour guide took us to a shipping village where tourists and locals alike idle in harbour-side cafes.
These lovely villages seem removed from the hustle and bustle of the island.
I really was taken with the fisherman's colourful boats called luzzus (pronounced loot-su in Maltese) .
Traditionally, they are brightly painted in shades of yellow, red, green and blue, and the bow you'll see the Eye of Osiris, the Phoenicians' god of protection against evil.
Next we headed to the old city Mdina.
Mdina (pronounced em-dee-nah) means fortified place in Arabic and was first created as such by the Romans when they separated it from the rest of the town which became Rabat (which means Suburb) and fortified it. This walled city sits on a hill in the middle of the island, giving commanding views.
The streets are very narrow and the buildings are tall and made of stone.
The sad thing about our guide of the city was that it was done in off-peak hours so all the stores were closed. In Malta stores close at 1pm to 4pm for lunch/siesta, and then open again from 4pm to 7pm. By the time
we got to Mdina it was after 7:00 and so nothing was opened and the place looked deserted but still very beautiful.
Bet this would of been a cute place to get a souvenir
The next day we put on our walking boots and headed out from the village squares onto the narrow farmers' tracks.
Even though Malta is a small island and densely populated, we were taken to a remote area of the island.
FYI....Malta's land area is just 122 square miles (316 square kilometers) (about twice the size of Washington, D.C.) and Malta's population density of 3,000 per square mile (1,160 people per square kilometer) compared to the United States has 21 people per 55 per square mile (square kilometer) . That's a lot of people crammed into a small space, kind of like mine and Greg's apartment except they have more than 1 bathroom :-)
The island of Malta seemed to be made up of rock and limestone and flowers that I am use to seeing in the countryside of Weatherford, Texas.
Along the way I came across lemon trees, lime trees, and grapefruit trees. Here is the proof!
I saw this lonely looking chappel off to the side and remembered that the day before our tour guide told us that Malta has 365 churches on the island!
The next day we had to spend most of it in doors and I was really sad that I had to leave at 2:00 pm. When I found out that the 5 star hotel was only 65 euros a night, I was really tempted to stay over the weekend but at last I had a plane to catch and a cold, wet Finland awaiting me.
The only thing that put a smile back on my face was that a warm friendly husband would be waiting for me at home.
Bye Bye Malta...maybe I will see you again someday
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