It’s hard to believe that this post is #100. What started off as a side project to distract me from lengthy testosterone-filled Football Sundays, transformed into regular weekend adventures and Sundays filled with delicious meals. Looking back on 2+ football seasons; I have decided that I got the best of both worlds!
This weekend, I let them eat cake! For my birthday [way back in July] Mike gifted me with a certificate for baking classes at Le Dolci; a bake shop on Dundas West. I was torn between which of the classes to take. My mom + aunt + cousin, in Winnipeg, have been decorating cakes for last couple years and I have always left the cakes up to them. However, seeing as we are now in different cities, the opportunity for an impromptu lesson is no longer a realistic possibility. So, I signed up for a cake decorating class and, unintentionally, timed it perfectly for my 100th post!
[and this is the cake I made in class…JK! This is the cake that my mom + aunt + cousin made for Mike + me for our wedding]
In a class of about 10, we were taught the basics of cake decorating with fondant; a medium that I have always been apprehensive to work with. From cutting the cake to the crumb coat to the fondant surface we were guided step by step.
Once our cakes were covered, we learned how to make a bear cake topper. While some branched off and turned their bears into an elephant, Ninja Turtle, and snowman, I was nervous to stray and made a plump little blue bear.
I was thrilled with how my 1st attempt at a fondant cake turned out. I was able to achieve a nice smooth surface [for the most part]. Now, the challenge is to remember the instructions and replicate the results at home, in my kitchen, without the guidance of a trained professional.
As I was cake-ing, Mike was prepping one of my fave dishes for dinner; cabbage rolls!
C A B B A G E R O L L S
- 1LB ground beef
- 1LB ground pork
- 1 onion | diced
- 4 cloves of garlic | minced
- 1/4C tomato paste
- 1C sauerkraut
- 2Tbsp oil
- 1 head savoy cabbage | leaves pulled
- 2C cooked white rice
- salt + pepper
heat oil in a pan over high heat | add meat + onion + garlic and cook until caramelized
add 1/8C tomato paste | mix | remove from heat | add white rice and combine
place cabbage leaves in boiling water for 2mins | remove and place in ice water until cooled
on a clean work surface, lay a cabbage leaf flat “spine” side down/cupping upward
depending on the size of your cabbage, add 1/2 to 3/4C of the meat-rice mix onto the centre of the leaf
fold in the sides and do your best to roll and enclose the mixture within the leaf
place rolls in a deep oven-safe dish
once all the rolls are made, spread the remaining tomato paste + sauerkraut +tomato juice over the rolls
bake @ 350ºF for 1.5hrs
To round out this Polish affair, Mike made mushroom, potato + cheddar, and sauerkraut pierogis. I love pierogis -another one of my fave foods. [I’ll save this recipe for a future post]
Thanks for following along over the last 2 football + off seasons; through Dallas Cowboy wins [but mostly losses] and through macaron batches after batch. Ringing in 100 with cabbage rolls + pierogis + cake; here’s to the rest of season 3 and to the adventures of the next 100!!!
SO IT'S SUNDAY 