CuteKittyPunk

owl cake for my 34th birthday! The last couple of years I have done my annual New Year's Resolutions... I have looked back over some of them and found that some times I did well, but mostly not. This year I wanted to go back and do a Repertoire . It's something that my friend KP started. She put together a poster of all kinds of fun things to do in the year. Some challenges - but mostly just trying out something new and fun.  I've decided to do this in 2013. 1. I got a really cool "cook book" for my birthday this year - one that had been on my wish list for some time... the Juice Master's Funky Fresh Juice Book... in 2013 - try every recipe in the book - even the ones with garlic, tomato, and asparagus - this is my Funky Challenge! 2. Paint my toe nails once a month in a fun, glittery - colorful way. Paint Kailea's, Ella's and Siembra's toe nails the same way - it will be our girls thing once a month! This is my Cool Mom Challenge!

Traditionally people eat pie for Thanksgiving... but I wanted an excuse to make this cake and I didn't want to wait for someone's birthday to roll around... so I made it for Thanksgiving and I'd just like to say I'm thankful  for Kitkat Bars and for M&M's and for cake.  Several years ago I swore that I wouldn't make cake again because it's too much work and it's so difficult to make it look like the pro's make it look... that's why I mainly stick to cinnamon rolls - and cinnamon rolls are better than cake... but I digress. I made a cake. It wasn't so very difficult to make it look good. The first secret for making a messed up frosting cake look good is to cover it with strawberries or some other favorite fruit: see this post here . The second secret for making a messed up frosting cake look good is to cover it with candy!!  Also, when I walked out of the kitchen after everyone was already pretty much stuffed from eating Than

This recipe doesn't really need an introduction does it? I just felt like adapting one of my Paleo/Primal Cake recipes to a pumpkin cake with less sugar. I just want to snack on pumpkin food and feel healthy about it. 100 grams almond or cashew butter 60 grams 100% organic coconut cooking cream (oil) 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup honey 2-3 eggs 1/3 cup pumpkin, roasted pureed 1 Tablespoon cinnamon powder 1 teaspoon ginger, ground 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice/all spice 1/2 cup desicated coconut (finely ground coconut) 2 tablespoons soy protein powder ( soy is not a grain ) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Melt butters and oils and honey together over low heat or in the microwave. Let cool. Blend in eggs, vanilla and roasted pureed pumpkin. Mix together dry ingredients and add to wet mixture. Blend well. Pour into prepared pan ( I used a pie tin with a sheet of parchment paper) and bake in oven at 175-C (350-F) degre

I lost my long time friend Maxine last year in May. She was the most beautiful min-pin ever. She was so sweet and warm and I swear every time I met someone who wasn't a dog person - they took a real liking to her. I think it was because of her size and charm. She was a lot like a cat in many ways, too. The other night I dreamed of her. It was a nice dream. Since Maxine has been gone I have felt the need to have another pet in my life. But because I have got three kids to take care of I have felt the need to not have a full time pet. Dogs, especially small dogs, need a lot more attention. Especially when you live in a small apartment or house with a small yard. You really need to walk them several times a day. This is probably why they make such great companion pets for the Elderly and otherwise lonely folks.  After all, I got Maxine when I was lonely... and single. Things have changed a lot since then. Well, after much thought, I settled on getting a rabbit. I actually

Two days ago - and a long time ago - my grandfather William Marion York was born. He passed away more than 10 years ago but I shall never forget him. Every year on his birthday I try to make one of his favorite meals. Well, I recreate one of his favorite meals and make it my own. This year I learned that one of his favorite desserts was Lemon Meringue Pie. We have vlaai in the Netherlands and I didn't see how I could order any in the Lemon Meringue variety this time of year so I set out to make my own. After a quick Google search I decided to make Lemon Meringue bars - and I came across a nice looking recipe from Martha Stewart. But the amount of butter had me changing the recipe in no time at all. I recently baked some Lemon-poppy seed crackle cookies from one of my favorite vegan cook books - Eat, Drink and Be Vegan... and decided to make that batter minus the poppy seeds for the bottom of the tart. Then I just reduced sugar through out for the rest of the recipe. Here

I use a variation of a recipe from vegweb which is one of my most favorite online vegan/vegetarian recipe sites. Check it out. Anyway, the recipe I use goes something like this: Preheat oven to 350-F (175-C) degrees. Prepare baking sheets with baking parchment paper (makes for real easy clean-up!) In the bowl of a food processor or one of those expensive standing mixers (sure wish I had one) blend together 2 cups brown sugar, 2 cups canned or roasted pumpkin, 1 cup vegetable oil, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Now the original says to sift together the dry ingredients then to add to the wet mixture... but I'm a lazy cook and I've never had a problem with just adding each ingredient and mixing a little with my mixer/food processor. So, add in 4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon ginger . Mix well. Last add in chopped up dark chocolate or milk chocolate candy bar. Or use choco

I used to be into blogging a lot but that was probably because we didn't have any cable subscription and now we finally decided to get Netflix because we heard you could get it with a simple subscription to a service called unblockus and since we did that life has changed a lot. I used to want to go out on dates with my husband, and that costs quite some money from our monthly budget but now, I'm content sitting at home watching stuff like Teen Wolf (the MTV series) and Life on Mars (the US version) and we also found out recently that we can switch to unblock us UK and then we get to see the UK netflix shows - and there are a lot more movies on that side of it. Wow, that was a long sentence...  Anyway, I just wanted to say that I still bake quite a lot and cook yummy food and I post most of those photos on my facebook or Instagram... but to sit down and blog it is not as much fun as watching Psych - commercial free! But in the next few days I will post the recipe I used

I like this salad because it has a nice presentation, it's easy to make and it's so delicious. I made it for a church potluck - but I'd totally make a smaller one plate version for myself on a daily basis - it's so yummy and a good way to eat tomatoes in the raw - which is something I don't normally do... so this one was a good way for me to eat my greens (reds in this case). Tomato Salad for 4: 4-6 ripe tomatoes in thin slices about 100 g black or green olives (pitted) 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced thin juice from 1/2 lemon 1 garlic clove, pressed 75 ml extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed Pinch ground cumin Salt and Pepper to taste 1 small red onion, thinly sliced in rings 2-3 stems parsley, finely chopped or 1 teaspoon dried parsley Preparation: Arrange the tomato slices in a circular pattern on the plate - two to three layers thick. Place the olives around the tomatoes one by one. Make a dressing from the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and sa

So, I'm not really one of those people that watches a lot of TV. I don't even really like most of the programs on there. One of the biggest problems is - I watch a pilot and a few episodes and I think - this show is genius and then after one season, they've lost me... or I've lost interest. Then along came Jane. I was totally hooked on this show. It's true that it was a bit soapy - and I couldn't stand India.... but I loved the chemistry between Billy and Jane and between Rita and Ben. I was watching it on Netflix and almost half way through the first season when I googled it for more info. and found out within days that ABC family would not be re-newing it for a second season.  I was totally bummed. I still watched the entire first season, knowing that I would never see Billy and Jane kiss. I thought about writing a letter to the execs at ABC... and I thought about starting an online petition... although, if I do a quick search, I could probably already

This is one of the recipes from my grandmother. It comes from her Santa Monica Relief Society Cook Book p. 90. And it was a long time ago that she lived in Santa Monica, California. Probably from the 1960's. So, someone has been making this recipe for quite a while. It's good. I remember the first time having it. Oh yum. Cheesy, spicy, good. Yes, it's good, I know I'm repeating myself a bit, but it's good and easy to put together.  I had a friend from Mexico that liven in my area that would go to Utrecht sometimes to this Spanish-imports market and she got me a can of green chile poblanos. I had that can for two years, saving it for the day I'd make these stuffed green chiles. I was hoping to have a nice Mexican feast - maybe do it for Christmas or something. But that day never came so I just decided to bake them for myself one day and then I ate the leftovers over the course of a week.  I love this recipe but I live in a house full o picky eaters. So, I

Quite some time ago - in 2010 to be precise I did a blogpost about some favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that my brother makes - and they are really good - like really, really good. But, since then I haven't baked cookies in a while - I've been mainly doing healthy stuff and sweet rolls when I get the chance, and every once in a while I do make some oldie but goodies - favorite family recipes - but since going healthier - I like to re-vamp the oldie but goodies using healthier ingredients like 100% organic coconut cooking cream (oil), and honey or apple syrup or raw sugar and less of it than is normally called for in most recipes. And I've been cooking with fresh ground whole wheat and stuff like that. So, yesterday I got in one of the moods and that's what I done! I re-vamped my brother's cookies.   And not only that - I'm not even sure he is still a "Sargeant" - he might be a something up from that? Okay, because I made changes to the re

Happy Pioneer Day! I should be preparing a special Pioneer Day feast... but we are eating something else tonight. Something that I have been reading about the Pioneers though is that they ate lots of fruits and vegetables and lived in harmony with the land. So you could say that the meal I am preparing for dinner tonight would be right up their alley. I'm making this meal from the Forks over Knives website . I will be making some changes to it though. I'm using spinach in place of collards and butternut squash in place of yams. If there had been any native African people crossing the plains with the pioneers - they would have loved it.  Seitan I read somewhere that seitan was popular among Mormons. I don't know how true that is because most Mormons that I know are particularly happy with eating lots and lots of meat and dairy. That's probably because a lot of Mormons are Americans and Americans eat the standard American diet.  Anyway, I wanted to know a litt

I never thought I would say these words: I look forward to cleaning up. I have really never cared for cleaning. I don't like messes either, but I can live with them for a while. With children comes many many messes. I actually sing a little song for them - "mess maker mess maker make me a mess..." (in the tune to match maker - from Fiddler on the Roof). Anyway, lately, something has happened. I'm not sure what snapped inside me... but I like to clean. Maybe it's because I'm pretty tired of sitting around on the couch watching Dora the Explorer with the kids.  Now every chance I get... when there is a break between cartoons, I turn off the TV and say it's clean up time. And I vacuum. I think part of it might be because we got a new (used) area rug from the thrift store (originally from Ikea). And I really like it and I like it best when it's clean from clutter and little pieces of paper and crumbs. Here's a picture of it.  I love th

Muffins says: Eat Me! I used to love baking cookies - and one of my favorite cookies to make was Monster Cookies ... but if you make the original recipe it's loaded with sugar - which is part of the reason why they tasted so dang good. Now I've reduced the sugar and used a sweeter sweetener: honey! And I've got coconut oil instead of butter or margarine. When I first tried this alternative recipe as a cookie - it was a bit crumbly and the bottoms burned. When I tried it as a muffin - it was a success! Fresh and hot from the oven! 1/2 cup organic extra virgin coconut oil 1 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter (or alternative nut/seed butter) 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 eggs 4 1/2 cups quick cooking oats 2 teaspoons baking soda 75 grams extra pure chocolate bar, chopped fine (70% cocoa) 100 grams M&M chocolate candies In a food processor cream together:      coconut oil, peanut butter, honey and sugar. Blend in

So, I just updated my about me page because it needed updating. I started out at the beginning of the year with this goal to go 100% Primal Blueprint and change my diet and lifestyle food good... and then... there was bread! I did go Primal for about 15 days and lost weight effortlessly and  then, I slipped. And then I did manage to maintain my weight for the last 6 months or so. And all the while, I've been eating loads of butter, more meat than I ever have before - a bit more vegetables and still some sugar and bread products now and again. But I've been eating full fat yogurt and kwark, full fat milk and mostly honey in place of sugar. And I have had not much energy. I've been sleeping a lot. And every morning, despite have 9 hours sleep, I'm still not ready to get up. I've been watching a few documentaries in the meantime which have helped me redirect my diet for the better. The first one I watched was Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead . Pretty good, a little slow i

You know I'm one of those people that likes to make lists. And one of my favorite things to make lists of - is names... baby names lists. Okay, I've been thinking back to some of my old lists from high school... there are some more "out there" names on the list... I guess you could say, they are more punk. GIRL Zeegus (First saw it on a list in the temple... but I never really knew how to pronounce it... or where is comes from - Dutch maybe?) Shelby (It's a rad car... a unisex name; I like it better for a girl... only problem with this name... it reminds me of this song - "she'll be coming around the mountain when she comes" - she'll be sounds like shelby - see the problem?) Belly (Just because - it's cuter than Belle) Olive (Just because - it's cuter than Olivia) BOY Moby (Why I liked it - Moby ...still like it) Trekiev (Why I liked it - sounds Russian... Why I stopped liking it - sounds like trachea) Kelso (Not becau

Dutch Bitterballen - the snack of snacks ... as in the king of the snacks! Not just a meatball - it's what I describe to my family and friends as deep fried breaded gravy balls. These would probably be really popular in the southern states. Fried Bitterballen - the finished product! I've been wanting to make these on my own for some time, so I went on the web and found a pretty good step-by-step tutorial and video of how to make some. Then I just replaced wheat flour for almond meal. They turned out to be really filling and time consuming to make - but it was a labor of love. The entire process takes about 3 days. Would I make them again? Yes. But with some changes.  "raw" bitterballen - just rolled them - still need to freeze them, then fry them. I would prefer more "gravy" and less meat. And I'd probably not make them primal because I'd go with that 80% rule. Yes 80 percent of the bitterballen is primal (beef and butter) - why

Sometimes I post recipes to Food.com - just to see how many calories or grams of protein a recipe has, etc. And in the past I've shared some recipes live - because that's what I do. Anway, it's always really exciting when I get an email in my inbox that says someone has reviewed one of my recipes... and I'm even more excited when I see they gave it 5 stars. Woot! So, here in my vanity I gotta post a screen shot of my reviews :) Only 3 reviews... but they all gave me or my recipe rather, 3 stars. Yes! This is one of our family favorites. I have also Primalized this recipe. To do it, use sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter. I also sometimes add extra spinach... but I like to follow the 80% rule of the primal blueprint - and I often use home-made peanut butter and pita bread when I serve this meal - that's just the way I like it. Here is the original recipe on my blog - African Peanut Soup . And on food.com - it's here .

I highly recommend you follow my gallery on Instagram *. I post almost daily. The thing I like about Instagram is that you can easily edit and upload food photos. It's much faster than blogging your recipes. So, I have a small group of followers to my Instragram "gallery" if you will, and mostly I get a lot of comments through what I also post to facebook - and this one particular photo I posted, I got a request that it be blogged. In other words, one of my fans (okay, she's my sister-in-law) requested the recipe to one such photo: I guess it does look pretty good. I'm gonna go ahead and meet her request. Because not only does it look pretty good - it tasted pretty good, too. This is a recipe that I've been playing around with for quite some time. And it seemed like every time I made a version of primal ginger bread - it was too eggy or too soggy or too something - but not quite cakey enough. Well, I finally decided to make this version - which is a vari

What do I like to do for fun? Look at my stats on blogger... for example you can see what search terms bring people to your site. The top 4 search terms which bring people to my site are: 1.  speculoos hagel    ~very understandable - I did a post about these when they first showed up in the supermarket by my house. They are pretty good - but not nearly as good as crunchy speculoos pasta - which I avoid buying because it's that good... it's like that saying - an ounce on the lips - a pound on the hips ... well yeah - that's about right! 2. cutekittypunk.blogspot.com -    ~mmmm - self explanatory 3. spumoni cake    ~ ahh, yes - delicious. .. or as they say in Italian:  delizioso ! The original post can be seen here .  4. punk baby names    ~um, yeah, I've probably talked about baby names in the past. Let me do a quick search on my site to see what comes up...yep... 3 hits - 3 times I talked about baby names in past posts. But to say punk baby names - no - not reall