The Whacky Waffle Cake

It was a whacky day, a whacky day, indeed,
As we celebrated the 6 years of life of our little prodigy.

A birthday, yes, a birthday for a girl learning to read,
Who discovered the magic of Dr. Seuss’s rhyming scheme.

So her Momma decide this day could not be ordinary,
But needed flair and fun and something quite extraordinary.

While papa sat reading Happy Birthday To You! at the family breakfast table,
Momma was in the kitchen baking waffles and getting syrup of the maple.

And while Papa read these silly, funny words of the Seuss,
Momma was preparing a cake quite obtuse.

Because a Seuss-ish celebration deserved more than a cake,
It deserved a whacky, wonderful waffle cake
That only a whacky wonderful Momma could make.

Okay, enough rhyming already!

Yes, it was birthday time at the Newquist household..yet again. We’d been celebrating since Sunday with dinners and gifts. My 6-year-old, who is learning how to read, has taken a liking to Dr. Seuss, so I thought a Seuss-ish celebration in order.

Side view of the Whacky Waffle Cake. The image is blurry because the cake is probably falling.

The best part was the Whacky Waffle cake I conceived–not well, I might add, because it kept falling over. But no one cared. It was made with frozen waffles (cooked, of course), whipped cream (from a can!), plus strawberries and pomegranates.

My read husband his childhood copy of  Happy Birthday To You! by Dr. Seuss.

The Great Birthday Bird came by…

The Great Birthday Bird has quite the hooked beak, you know.

And delivered a few gifts, such as a new pet. We didn’t have time to go to the Official Katroo Birthday Pet Reservation. Plus, with dogs and cats and fish and turtles, I really didn’t think we had the room to house a pet from the Katroo Birthday Pet Reservation, not the smallest nor the tallest. So instead we went for a new Littlest Pet Shop horse.

We didn’t make it through the whole story because the cake kept falling over and the kids really just wanted the whipped cream out of the can (I never buy that).

My 6-year-old thought the Seuss theme, plus her own digital camera (which is now making a living record of our lives) made it the “Best birthday ever!”

Honestly, though, I can probably save myself a lot of time and effort next year by giving her some gifts and a spray can of whipped cream to eat on everything!

Whacky Waffle Cake

Ingredients:

20 frozen waffles (yes, frozen. Save yourself the trouble of making them.)

4-8 wooden skewers

1 can whipped cream

fruit, such a s strawberries, blueberries or bananas (as garnish and to claim this breakfast is actually nutritious)

Directions:

Bake waffles according to package directions.

Stack a few waffles haphazardly.

Plunge in wooden skewers in different directions.

Pile fruit on top of waffles.

Slide more waffles onto skewers haphazardly.

Embellish with more whipped cream than necessary.

Quick! To the table! Before it falls over! Don’t impale yourself on skewers trying to save the cake. Better yet, trim the skewers if you have time.

Watch the whole thing topple over.

Eat off the table with hands like heathens (more whipped cream, of course)

Serves: A bunch o’ whacky waffle eaters from Katroo or Easton or Macungie.

*****And remember: Just a few more days for you to leave a comment to be entered to win prizes from Red-Tail Designs!*****

A few friends went in on bulk vanilla bean buy a few weeks ago, and I finally got around to making my vanilla extract. Here’s how you do it.

1. Start with some good Bourbon Vanilla Beans. You can also use Tahitian Vanilla Beans or whatever else you can get your hands on. Too bad they don’t have Smell-o-blogs so I could give you a whiff of how great my kitchen smelled today.

2. Split the beans down the middle with a knife, except for the last inch so they stay intact.

All those moist seeds inside, plus the outer pod, are what make the yummy vanilla taste.

3. Pour vodka into the bottle with the beans at a ratio of 6 beans to two cups of vodka. Hedge suggested adding a tablespoon of rum to make it a tad sweeter. You can also use brandy or rum instead of the vodka. Remember, all extracts retain their flavor because they’re preserved in alcohol.

4. Cap off and store in a dark place for 6 to 8 weeks. The darker the liquid, the strong the vanilla taste.

Just a few hours after I bottled the vanilla it was the color of weak tea. There’s a batch of chocolate chips make with this extract waiting for me in mid-June (if I can wait that long).

This really is as easy as it sounds, which probably leaves you wondering, “Why haven’t I tried this?” A bottle of vanilla can be pricey. And so can the beans. A local grocery store sells beans for about $5 for a package of 2. Find a good place online to order in bulk, and you can get beans for less than a dollar a piece. Keep in mind that a pound of vanilla beans equals about 100 pods, so sharing is good.

By the way, this bottle held a double batch of 4 cups of vodka and 12 beans. If you don’t put in enough beans, you end up with vanilla vodka instead of vanilla extract. Either way, you win!

******Update: My vanilla is dark, dark, dark and it looks great. I can’t wait to bottle it and give it as gifts to everyone! ******

Raise your glass to spring! The first day of spring was on Thursday and now it’s Easter (already!). Time to look forward to planting seeds and being outside 15 hours a day.

To help you with your toast, I have a wonderful Peach Wine recipe that’ll give you a taste of the summer to come.

Recipe:

Add 15 to 20 ounces peaches in simple syrup to any white wine. Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours. Drink. Yum!

In summer I freeze peaches in simple syrup (sugar boiled with water). Adding the peaches to the wine gives it a sweetness and a reminder of all the good fruits and veggies to come. If you don’t have frozen peaches in your fridge, I’m sure canned peaches in light syrup will work just as well.

Enjoy the day!