Wordless Wednesday ~ Lost Parents

I couldn't help it...I just love this sign. (you know that's what the kiddles think)

View complete posting: Wordless Wednesday ~ Lost Parents

Cyberstalking….Are We At Risk?

"SafetyChick.com - Kathleen Baty is "chief operating chick" at Safety Chick Enterprises. The author, journalist, and motivational speaker was also the victim of a kidnap attempt at knife-point by an obsessive stalker."

My brother is always looking out on the safety front as far as the internet goes. Which is a good thing...which is something that a lot of us tend to forget about as we type our little fingers away throughout the week while posting on our blogs. And this just really caused me to take a moment and think, think, think. So, I just wanted to share this article with all of you to keep your guard up....
Article By: John Brandon

Published June 29, 2010

FOXNews.com

In the last few weeks, Christina DesMarais has lived in a state of fear.

The writer, triathlon runner and mother of four started a nutrition and fitness blog a few weeks ago and noticed someone kept posting nasty comments. Eventually, she started receiving hurtful e-mails as well. Last week, a letter came in the mail.

"I'm the middle-aged man in the turquoise junker or the teen in the silver Camero (sic) or maybe even the woman in the Suburban -- I wouldn't be caught running down my road again if I were you," the anonymous letter said....CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE

Have YOU had a cyberstalking encounter?

Is this something that has crossed your mind before as you're writing/tweeting/facebooking?

Fyrstekake ~ Norwegian Almond Coffee Cake (Royalty Cake)

This has to be my ultimate coffee cake...one that I grew-up having all the time at my grandparents' house. Looking at it you wouldn't normally categorize it as a "coffee cake", however let me assure you that this is perfectly paired with a hot cup of coffee.

It's packed full of almond goodness...and sweet sugar. But with two contrasting layers of delight, to me it is the ultimate coffee cake. You have this wonderful buttery bottom cookie-type layer topped with a sweet & chewy almond layer on top. Heaven!

This is really so simple that you'll be wondering why you haven't come across this recipe before. So let's get baking!

I like to make the bottom layer of the Fyrstekaker first. In a large mixing bowl I pour in my flour, baking powder and sugar. Turn the mixer on to low speed, just to incorporate all of the dry ingredients first.

Then it's time to add in the butter and egg yolks. Mix them in again on the low speed setting. Be sure to reserve the egg whites! We need them for the topping.

Your dough should look just like this once everything has been mixed together.

Prepare a large spring form pan, I like using a 16" round pan, by greasing/buttering the entire pan. There is no flouring necessary! Then plop our dough right into the center of the pan an begin pressing it to a 1/4" or so thickness.

Continue to press the dough up the sides of the pan, like forming a pie shell. Now that that's done, just set it aside. Give the mixing bowl a quick cleaning and get ready to make the topping.

Take 1 pound of raw almonds and pour those into a food processor. I like buying the 3 pound bag at Costco and just separating it into thirds...it's perfect when I'm making Fyrstekake and Kransekake (Crown Cake or Norwegian Wedding Cake).

You're going to want to grind them up until they are basically crawling up the sides of the processor and you can see that the oils have released.

Here's what your processed almonds should look like.

Then into the mixing bowl they go.

The next step would be to add the confectioners sugar and give it a mix on low speed. Please, don't try to rush it or you'll have powdered sugar everywhere...take it from me, it's not fun to clean up.

Add in the reserved egg whites and continue to mix on low speed.

Next add the cold water. Again, continue mixing on low speed. Take several breaks to scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure that everything gets well combined.

Here is your finished topping.

Pour the topping into the pressed dough shell.

Continue adding the topping making sure that it does not come up over the edges of the dough shell's walls.

Place in the oven and be very patient for 45-50 minutes. It's going to be hard, I know, but trust me...when you take this out and let it cool down, it's going to be worth every minute.

Once the Fyrstekake is finished baking, remove it and allow it to sit for 20-25 minutes before releasing the spring form pan. You may have to use a table knife around the edges of the pan to fully release it. Continue to allow it to cool for another 45-60 minutes. This will allow the almond filling to fully set-up.

Traditionally, Fyrstekake is plated on a large decorative serving dish for everyone to serve themselves and enjoy. I tend to leave it on the base of the spring form pan and just set it on a decorative dish...allowing me to place the spring form around it later to easily cover and store in the refrigerator.

Then once you slice into it, here is the beautiful greeting you are given. Your mouth is just about ready to sing you praises for your limited effort.

I hope that your family will enjoy one of my family's favorite traditional Norwegian desserts as much as we have.

 

Fyrstekake ~ Norwegian Almond Coffee Cake

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes (16" pan), 45-50 minutes (12" pan)
Level: EASY
Preheat oven 350° F

Cookie Layer:
Ingredients:
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 sticks Butter (or 1 stick Margarine & 1/2 stick Butter)
2 Egg Yolks (reserve whites for almond topping)
1 Tbsp. Cold Water

Directions:
Grease a large spring form pan. (12"-16" round) In a large mixing bowl blend together flour, baking powder and sugar. Add butter and egg yolks. Mix until incorporated. Add cold water and mix until incorporated. Place dough into the center of the prepared spring form pan. Press dough to cover the bottom of the pan and up the side walls. About 1/4" thick. Set aside.

Almond Topping:
Ingredients:
1 pound Raw Almonds
1 pound Confectioners Sugar (Powdered Sugar)
2 Egg Whites
1/2 cup Cold Water

Directions:
Pour almonds into a food processor. Grind until it becomes fine granules and climbs up the sides of the processor's container. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add confectioners sugar and mix until incorporated. Add egg whites and cold water. Mix until fully incorporated. Pour on top of dough in the spring form pan. Make sure that the almond topping level does not go above the edge of the pressed dough walls. Place in the center of preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. (depending on the oven and size of the spring form pan used) Cake is done when the top is golden and the center no longer jiggles when pan is moved.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes before releasing the sides of the spring form pan. Use a table knife or small decorating spatula around the edges if necessary. Allow to cool an additional 45-60 minutes before serving, allowing the almond filling to set-up. Cake then can be carefully removed from the bottom of the spring form pan and plated on a large decorative serving plate.

 ENJOY!

Snapfish Savings! Summer Clearance Sale!

If you have a Snapfish account, or need to find a great home to house your digital photos...here's a great opportunity for you!

Snapfish is holding it's the annual Summer Clearance Sale and you can save from 40% - 60% when you shop now. Grab the best savings ever. Use coupon DEALS40 to save 40% on great photo gifts in their Summer Clearance Store .

Don't wait – shop now and save because this offer expires June 29, 2010.*

* U.S. customers only. Must use coupon code DEALS40 at checkout to save 40% on items in the Summer Clearance Store only. Must use coupon code DEALS60 at checkout to save 60% on 8"x10" Puzzles, Calendars, 8"x10" Photo Panel and Single Photo Mousepad in the Summer Clearance Store only. Navigation Links are not part of the store. Offers apply to mail-order purchases only and cannot be used for in-store pick-up. Taxes, shipping and handling charges apply. Offers may not be used in conjunction with any other offer. Each coupon may be used only once per customer account. Coupons expire 06/29/10.

Week 6 ~ Taking A Scale Break

Alright...I've decided that I'm not weighing in this week...perhaps that darned scale is causing a mental block which is causing a fat loss block. I don't know, but I'm going to give myself one week off of weighing in...and just continue to push on toward a svelter me.

When I weighed in last Friday, I was not a happy camper. That darned scale let me know that I was at 224lbs. Not what I wanted to see...but probably totally accurate since we indulged in some Chinese food the night before. I was a good girl though, said no to the appetizer and ate small portions of my favorite orange chicken & sesame beef...no rice and very little chow mien...

View complete posting: Week 6 ~ Taking A Scale Break

Social Parade Follow On Fridays

Alright, I'm heading over to join a new Follower Friday Blog Hop...and I hope that you'll come join us too! I am talking about Smart and Trendy Mom’s Social Parade! If you haven’t heard of Follower Friday Blog Hop – it is a great blog hop designed to help you find new blogs to follow and help bring your blog new followers.

It's easy to join. Simply click on the Social Parade image which will take you straight to the blog hop. Create a post similar to this, then add your link to the linky at Smart and Trendy Moms. Follow as many blogs as you would like. See, super easy!

PLEASE leave a comment so that I know that you stopped by and so that I can come pay you a visit too! I love finding new blogs that share my interests...and I hope that you enjoy your time here at The Chatty Mom.

Fun Friday Follow

Welcome to Fun Follow Friday hosted by Simply Stacie and My Wee View. This is by far one of my favorite things to participate in throughout the week. The goal of this hop is to get new Google Friend Connect Followers for your blog and be introduced to new blogs to follow! The Fun Friday Follow keeps it fun and easy so all you have to do is add your blog link and start blog hopping and following away! You aren’t required to write a post for your blog for Fun Follow Friday unless you want to (but why not? it's a great way to help get the word out).

When you visit a blog that you like and want to follow, leave them a comment with your link telling them you are following from the Fun Follow Friday. Stop by both hostesses blogs, Simply Stacie and My Wee View, and let them know that you participated in the Fun Friday Follow. If you do follow decide to follow them, just leave them a comment and they will follow you back.

To bring even more fun to the table, each week one blog from the previous week, will be chosen at random to be put in the #3 spot. The #3 spot will be chosen by Random.org! This week’s Fun Follow Friday blogger of the week is Tatum’s Family Reviews. She takes the #3 spot. Next week’s blogger of the week will be selected from this weeks entries.

View complete posting: Fun Friday Follow

The Keys' Key Lime Scones

I am a ridiculously huge lover of scones...so far there hasn't been a scone to cross my path that I haven't at least liked, if not loved. But sometimes I like to have a little *zing*...so I decided to have some fun with key limes. So, if you like limes, key lime pie or just some *zing*, then I think you're going to love these little goodies too.

View complete posting: The Keys' Key Lime Scones

Wordless Wednesday ~ Chicano Park, San Diego, CA

A few pics from Chicano Park in San Diego, CA (Right by the Coranado Bridge)

View complete posting & pics: Wordless Wednesday ~ Chicano Park, San Diego, CA