Ingredients:
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
Cooking Directions:
Measure equal amounts of each of the dry spices into a container.
Stir to combine.
Spoon out 1/2 teaspoon of the spice blend per salmon fillet, chicken
breast or lamb chop, being careful not to contaminate leftover spice blend
by touching it with raw fish or meat.
Leftover spice blends can be used to season soups, fish, chicken and lamb.Restaurant Recipes at http://secretrecipes.blogspot.com
I've made 3 Bundt cakes in the last three days and didn't take pictures of any of them. I've discovered that bundt cakes are better when stirred together by hand rather than by the mixer. Why? I've found if I use a mixer it beats the cake batter so it's really full of air and rises really high. Sounds like a good thing right. No, not for a bundt. Once released from the pan it falls quite a bit. It still tastes great don't get me wrong it just doesn't look as nice. The sides get quite wrinkly making them the Shar Pei of the cake world. I've found a bundt needs to be a little denser. Mixing by hand still gets a good rise just not as high. The cake keeps it's beautiful bundt shape which is the whole reason for using a bundt pan.
I have to admit that the name of this recipe I find quite unappealing. Especially in this day and age where people like Katherine Heigl are launching websites called IHateBalls.com. All for a good cause in spaying and neutering pets and the adoption of pets that have been rescued. But come on I'm really getting sick of talking about balls in the media. My daughter and I threw a few name ideas around. Her suggestion was Butterscotch Monkey Balls, which elicited a good natured chase around the kitchen and spanking with a spatula. We still haven't come up with a name we really like, but we did really like the recipe.
Once all pretzels were used up I placed sheet of Peanut Butter filled pretzels in freezer for 15 minutes. Then I removed tray to fridge until I was ready to dip in chocolate.
The only thing I'd do different next time is I'd use maybe have as much filling. The delicious peanut butter filling overpowers the pretzels. They are merely a crunch. Don't get me wrong these are still delightful.
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In my pre-baby, pre-grad school life I worked for a product software company, and now and then I would have to travel for work. The company made software for financial institutions, so I always traveled to big cities like New York, Houston, Paris, Tokyo and Seoul. I love traveling, so I always tried to make it a point to stay the weekend and see a bit of the city I was in.
Love the volleyball culture!
This is a scene straight out of Baywatch (if you don't know what Baywatch is, you are definitely from a younger generation!).
I could have stayed all day and listened to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.
The Hermosa Beach Pier has a lively cafe and bar scene.
It was a hot day, so I ducked into a store for some shaved ice!
Business travel can be brutal, but hey, someone's got to do it :)
The American Girl Cafe is located on the second floor of the American Girl Place in LA's The Grove Shopping Center. The dining room is decorated in pink, black and white; it's pretty, fun, and whimsical; just walking in and knowing you're going to have lunch there makes you feel girly and special -- a bit too girly for 3Po and Jammy, who opted out of the meal ("There's no way I'm eating lunch at American Girl!!"), leaving just The Pea and I. Men were definitely in the minority -- there were several families, and one father having lunch with his little girl (adorable!), but for the most part the place was filled with moms, aunts and grandmothers having lunch with their girls. 
The two lucky American Girl dolls chosen to accompany us were Marie-Grace and McKenna. They were given their own doll booster chairs, and we were seated on the veranda. It was fun to watch the shoppers wander around outside The Grove!
Our first course was mini cinnamon buns that melt in your mouth. I managed to get a photo of one of them, but The Pea had already stuffed hers in her mouth. While munching on the rolls, we ordered our entrees from the menu (which also had a story about the inspiration behind American Girl Place -- a night on the town with a fancy dinner and show that Pleasant Rowland, founder of the American Girl Company, enjoyed with her mother). By the way, the napkin holders are actually hair ties that The Pea got to take home. 
Our appetizer plate had veggies and ranch dip, fruit-and-cheese-kabobs, and pretzels with honey mustard dip. We also ordered pink lemonade to drink throughout our meal.
Our dishes arrived at a fast and furious pace (frankly, I would have preferred more time between courses to stretch out our time at the Cafe), but we kept ourselves amused between bites of food with the box of Conversation Starters on the table. Each little slip of paper had a question we could ask each other, like What is your favorite book?, What would you bring to a dessert island?, or If you could have 100 pounds of anything except cash, what would you ask for? (my answer was airline tickets).
For my main course, I chose a grilled vegetable sandwich with sweet potato fries. It was sooo good! I simply must learn how to make sweet potato fries at home.
The Pea had a grilled salmon fillet with roasted vegetables and potatoes. I'm so glad she's past the usual chicken tenders/buttered pasta/burger kiddie fare!
Dessert was chocolate mousse in a flowerpot (The Pea got to keep the daisy), a flower-shaped cake and a star-shaped cookie. So pretty!
Our server asked if anyone was celebrating a birthday, and since technically this was my birthday celebration, she put a candle on my flower cake and sang Happy Birthday To You. I had the best time with The Pea; it was the perfect end to the perfect meal, and the perfect end to the perfect trip!
The sheaf toss was harder than it looked; the bale of hay kept falling off the pitchfork before the kids could toss it, but 3Po managed to hit the target and win a prize (a Merida wig!).
The archery was by far the most popular station. Even grownups wanted to try it! An archery expert was on hand to fit participants with bows and arrows and give them a crash course in archery. Everyone had 3 attempts to hit the bullseye in order to win a prize (a Merida wig). Merida must have been watching over us, because Jammy shot the bullseye on his third try, and Alfie did it twice!
Everyone who completed all four activities received their choice of a set of Brave postcards, or a Brave paper fan. To add to the festivities, there were performances by a group of young Scottish Highland dancers, accompanied by a live bagpipe. It was a fun way to spend a few hours and a great way to get everyone excited about the upcoming Brave movie (as if we aren't excited enough already!).