Baking, Cooking, IKEA, Oh My!

It's been really busy most days. We've been off with the kids on their extended mid-term sort of break. They really just took the days from the February break and added them onto the May break, thinking that the weather would be nicer and so it has been.

We've had gloriously warm, sunny days for May. Upper 50's and low 60's. Some how, it just seems and feels a lot warmer than that. Maybe I'm getting use to the cooler weather.

Anyway, DH had a birthday and the cake requested was the traditional Coconut Creme Pie. The "Queen of Pies" is what my father has called it and so the name has come to live at our house as well.


Coconut custard with piped creme and toasted coconut pieces on top. There was a bit left over, so I fulled the the little cups as well.










Tamales. In honor of Cinco De Mayo on the 5th of May, I made sweet corn tamales. I make them every so often. Not as hard as I remember. Of course I didn't tie the ends into cute little tassels like last time. Just folded all the sides in and there you have it.

Great for our Gluten Free kiddies. Corn meal, sweet corn, cheddar cheese and some sweet red pepper. Blend, heat and put into corn husks and steam.

Yes, that's right. Recycled corn husks. Of course, mine were lovingly brought for the local Hispanic grocery store to Ireland on the last visit of my parents. I'm really surprised they weren't confiscated, but happy they weren't.




Here is a close up of the bundles after they've come out of the steamer.















OH YEAH!!!













Went up to Belfast to take the kids to the W5 Children's Museum. Had a great time. We were nearly the only ones there. Occasionally there was a small creche worth of school children that would arrive in uniform and then leave shortly there after. We managed to ditch them most of the time. Whew!

Pulling into the parking lot, we notice the fuel tank was beyond low. We had just put in some petrol in the last town. Not to freak out, we were optimistic that there wasn't a hole in the tank. We went on the hunt for the closest petrol station. Following the directions given by the guy at the museum, we promptly got lost and ended up going in the wrong direction. By the time we found the next station and could actually get off the motorway, the was IKEA glowing in the distance. It was like a mirage. STUFF MART, here we come!! After the petrol, of course. We had a good time as well. The children loved all the rooms and shortcuts. We loved the prices and brought a few things home. I do mean a few!! Nothing crazy, like a new kitchen for the rental house. Anyway. We would love to go back.

Funny thing was, we were going to ask for directions at the petrol station on how to get there. Ha! No need!