Cleta's Baklava Cake

Cleta brought this to our Ceramics Class potluck, and it was a hit!

BAKLAVA CAKE

Keeps well at room temperature up to 3 days if it lasts that long!

350 degree oven.  Spray a bundt pan thoroughly.

BAKLAVA TOPPING: 1 cup nuts, chopped* 

1/3 cup brown sugar 1 Tbsp. corn syrup ☹

1/4 cup butter, melted 1 tsp cinnamon

CAKE BATTER: 1 box vanilla cake mix*

3 eggs 1/2 cup oil of choice

1 cup water 3 Tbsp. sour cream**

HONEY GLAZE:*** 1/4 cup honey 1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp lemon juice 1-1/2 Tbsp. warm water

Cake:  combine in a large bowl and mix according to pkg. directions.

Prepare the Baklava Topping and spread even in bottom of bundt pan.  Then pour the cake batter over.  Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack for 10 minutes. At the 10 minutes, invert the cake onto a platter.  Should the Baklava Topping not come out in one piece, with your fingers gently remove from pan and fit back onto cake. 

Combine the Honey Glaze ingredients.  Whisk together until you have a pourable consistency and drizzle over top of cake.

Notes:  * I used a mixture of walnuts, almonds and pistachio 

** or full fat, non-flavored yogurt 

         *** Using powdered sugar will give the glaze a whitish finish when dry. And thinking this could be overly sweet and I wanted a shinier finish, I used the glaze recipe below…

1/3 cup honey 2 tsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp. water 1/2 to 3/4 cup regular sugar

You may want to poke holes into the cake so that the glaze seeps in.

There are many similar recipes on Pinterest.

Ceramics Class

Here are our final pieces.  Next session begins in September.  Maybe I'll make more bud vases.  That was fun.

Kentucky Fried Chicken's Tuesday Deal

Landon picked up dinner for us yesterday.  He said that KFC has a Tuesday deal.  He got the 8-piece meal deal.

 

You get 8 pieces drums and thighs, 4 biscuits, 1 large mash/gravy and 1 large coleslaw.  Guess how much this costs on Tuesdays.

 

22 bucks!!  Good deal, right?!  Especially nowadays when one plate lunch could cost around that much. 

Cleta's Green Beans

I love this kind of old school dish from back in the day. 

Cleta made this.  She said:  Fry spam, add fresh string/green beans. I cover with a lid so that the beans cook faster. Then crack any amount of egg and stir until the eggs are cooked. Salt & pepper.

 

And here's another one.  Per Cleta: Boil string/green beans in salted water, drain and cool. Fry  scrambled egg, let cool and dice. Add to beans with salt, pepper and mayo. Chill.

Plant/Bake Sale on April 9 and 10 at the Kaimuki YMCA

This plant sale was originally scheduled for March 20th but was cancelled due to the severe weather.  Per Honolulu Aunty the plant prices will be reduced at this event.  

Thanks for the scoops, Aunty!

Ceramics Class

You can click on the photo below to see a quick video of our final bisqued pieces ready to be painted. 

Flour for Baking

 I thought this was interesting.

 

Bottom line:  They recommend these, especially for bread making.  

  

Kai Boy Keeps Me Active

No, I didn't want to go out into the cold and wind.  But the rain had stopped and Kai was bored and I had no excuse.  

Kai walks faster than at the leisurely saunter that I prefer, but I try to keep up.  Our walks down the street are short, around 1/2 hour.  Maybe good enough for him.  For sure good enough for me. 

Bird Deterrent

I saw a bunch of these very reflective, spinning things at Kahala Mall where Whole Foods and Jumba Juice are.  They must have a bird problem. 

 

You can click on the photo below to watch a video of one of them in action.

  

Wendell's Crispy Mayo Chicken

Wendell got this recipe from the FeedThePudge site.  It had a light, airy crispy coating and was really good.  But da splattah!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Chicken Thighs

• 1⁄4 cup Oil, for frying

• Marinade:

• 1⁄4 cup Kewpie Mayo

• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce

• 1⁄2 tbsp Mirin

• 1 tsp Garlic Powder

• 1 tsp Ginger Powder

• Salt and Pepper, to taste

• 1⁄4 cup Cornstarch

• Garnishes:

• Green Onion

• Lemon Wedge

• Black Pepper

Directions

• Cut boneless, skinless chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and trim off any excess fat
• Add chicken to a bowl and combine with Kewpie mayonnaise, soy sauce, mirin, garlic powder, ginger powder, salt, black pepper, and cornstarch
• Mix until all pieces are evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours
• Heat a pan over medium-high heat with a few tablespoons of oil. Add chicken in an even layer without overcrowding. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, turning as needed, until golden brown, crispy, and fully cooked through