Does it feel like yesterday that 2012 just started.  I mean just the other day we were all celebrating New Years and gearing up for all that 2012 has in store for us.  Now it’s February and I am literally watching time fly by… Where is it all going?  I know this isn’t a recipe or a knock your socks off take your breath away yummy treat, it’s just little ol me sitting down in my pjs on my bed thinking of all of you readers.

You see, I have been blogging for three years today.  Can you believe it, THREE years.  It feels like I started this blog just yesterday.  Even though there are days sometimes even weeks where I do not get a chance to fill you all in the most recent cooking adventures or recipes that I have don’t think that my mind doesn’t run across you guys.  See I almost forgot our birthday today… can you believe that… I looked at my calendar and said, “Hold on a sec… Feb 6th, that date is special to me… why…?”  Then it hit me… DUH!!!!!!!

Today we, ThatsSoYummy, are Three Years Old.  Even though we are still so young and have so much to learn I just want to give all of you, my readers, fans, and loyal foodies a BIG bear hug and say Thank You!  I also wanted to share a few comments I have been getting from fellow readers that have truly touched my heart…

From Angela:

“I am loving your site. I have bookmarked several of your recipes and can’t wait to try them. Your daughter is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!”

From Kim:

“Dear Tasha,

I was searching for a recipe for banana fritters and came across your website. I’m so glad I did! I have some several ripe bananas and was about to make my mother’s Jamaican Banana Bread (with my own twist: chocolate chips!) but wanted to make banana fritters. I haven’t had them in YEARS. Both of my parents are Jamaican and I am Canadian.  Baking my favorite ‘comfort’ foods always helps, living away from my home city.

Your website is warm, inviting and I really like the personal aspect of it. God bless you and your lovely family and thanks SO much for the wonderful recipes! I’ve bookmarked your site and I will share the link with my friends.”

From Savannah:

“I’m only 12 but i like your recipes and im reallly passionate about cooking and you have helped me be more confident.”

Woohoo!!!!!!

I am sooooooooooooooooooooo excited! and I just can’t hide it!

I know I sound like such a cornball, but when it comes to food and especially Thanksgiving I get so excited!

So, I wanted to give you all a little glimpse into what i have in store for Thursday’s Thanksgiving Feast, here’s the rundown:

Appetizers:

• Baked Artichoke Dip
• Jamaican Beef Patties
• Pumpkin Soup

• Roasted Turkey (of course) filled with ginger, garlic, oranges, onions, thyme, rosemary and brown sugar… Yummy!
• Homemade Stuffing (if confused between making dressing or stuffing read post)
• Honey Baked Ham
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Roasted Special Potatoes (family specialty)
• Over-the-Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese
• Corn Casserole
• Chinese Green Beans
• Buttered Rosemary Rolls
• Roasted Carrots with olive oil and thyme
• Caesar Salad

And for Dessert, drumroll please……………………….

• Rum Cake
• Sweet Potato Pie
• Chocolate Surprise

What’s on your menu this Thanksgiving???

Intelligent. Loving. Giving. Compassionate. Trustworthy. Passionate. Laid Back. Suave. Debonaire. Amazing.

These are just a few words that I think of when I think of my father.  You see I am the oldest of four, was the one and only for five years.  To say the least my father means the world to me and so many others.  He really is the center of my mother and my siblings world, without him we would all be lost.

This past weekend I surprised my father along with my siblings, mother, and family members in Miami to celebrate my father’s 50th Birthday.  The weekend was incredible.  At first my children and I had to hide ourselves from seeing him at the hotel so we ducked and hid which was quite funny.  Up to the very end my dad still had no idea what was happening right underneath his nose— and trust me if you knew my father you would know that was not an easy task.  But it all went smoothly and the night was a hit!

I know that this is something different on ThatsSoYummy but I wanted to share my wonderful weekend I had.  I found this poem online and instantly it touched my heart.  For all the daughters out there who love their fathers this is for you!

“A Daughter’s Love”

She sleeps, peacefully,

With her tiny hand wrapped around your finger

While you cradle her in your arms,

Protecting her from all harm

At the same time,

She is winning your heart with all of her charms

Soon

She will be learning to walk

Saying anything and everything in her talk

Getting into all kinds of mischief

Yet learning and laughing all the same time with little fault

In your eyes

Then

School will begin

She wants you to walk her in

With eyes that are teary

She is filled with worry

You are there to wipe her tears away

But you would rather take her and runaway,

Having fun for the day

You close your eyes

And that little girl is now your teenager

Who wants to say hello and good-bye

At the same time

Yet, she wants your love all of the time

Now,

Your little girl, your teenager, is graduating

She is dressed in a white cap and gown

With her eyes are sparkling

The memories of your life together fly across your mind

And you wonder where the time has gone

Suddenly, you notice that she is next in line

To receive her diploma with turn of her tassel

After the ceremony is done, she touches your arm

And with a glowing smile she says:

“I love you,

And thank you”

At that very moment, you realize

how special she really is

Then right before your eyes

This young woman becomes your baby again

The baby that you cradled, taught and loved

And there is nothing you hold more dear to your heart

than her love

For a daughter’s love is a priceless gift from heaven above

-Anita Carter

I would like to take the time this morning to wish all of the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and friends a Wonderful Blessed Mother’s Day!  I grew up being taught it takes a village to raise children and I am so grateful for the women who have been in mine.

To my own Mother, I would like to thank you for all that you have taught me and for showing me the path on how to be the mother I always wanted to be.  To my husband thank you for your love and for the two beautiful children we have.  To my darling pumpkin and princess, thank you for all the joy you bring into my life… everyday is an adventure and I am so happy to be your Mommy!

Wishing you all a fabulous Saint Patrick’s Day and lots of luck and little pots of gold!  Make sure to be wearing green today to stay away from all of those pinchers out there.

So I leave you all with a liittle inside peek to what I made to celebrate St. Patty’s day… if the picture doesn’t say it then I will, Green Velvet Cake but thats not all it’s topped with cream cheese frosting.

Yep…. it’s mmm mmmm good too.

Oh… don’t worry my recipe for my Green Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting will be up in no time… so enjoy!

Wow!  I feel as if my child is celebrating it’s FIRST birthday today!  That is what ThatsSoYummy has become to me, one of my offsprings.    Although I cannot brush its hair, feed it, change it or even drop it off at school, it is still my baby.

I can’t believe that just a year ago I was sitting in my little cubicle at work in Atlanta, pondering the idea of creating my own food blog.  At the time I was a little taken back when I was told that I should write and express my love for food and all things related.  It has been an amazing learning experience this past year… I have met and befriended some amazing bloggers out there, not just food related but family, business and etc., and I feel that there is somewhat an unspoken sanctuary out there in the blogosphere.  I am just so tickled pink that ThatsSoYummy has been able to be embraced amongst such incredible talented people.

I guess I would like to thank all of my readers for making ThatsSoYummy a place where all my hard work is appreciated and loved. Although it is still a work in progress I am so happy to be able to share with you all a little piece of me.

I hope you will continue to follow me on my culinary journey and then some.

So I leave you with a little chocolate overkill, my Nutella Brownie Surprise…

To many more years of ThatsSoYummy!

(Step-by-step photos to come…)

Nutella Brownie Surprise

Brownie Batter

1 cup butter, unsalted

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

4 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup of cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup Nutella

1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping

Nutella

White chcolate chips

Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.  Then set the bowl aside.

On low heat, melt the butter sticks in a small pot.  Then add the vanilla and sugar while stirring the mixture until well combined.  Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool.  I poured the butter/sugar mixture into a medium bowl to cool.

Once the butter/sugar mixture is completely cooled add the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix each time.

Add the cocoa/flour mixture to the egg mixture gradually, until completely mixed together.

Heat a nutella container in the microwave for a bout 40 seconds.  You want the nutella to have a runny consistency which will allow the nutella to pour easily.  Add the nutella to the batter and mix well.  Lastly add the chocolate chips and fold into the batter.

Pour your batter into a buttered square pan… I like to parchment paper to my pan before pouring my brownie batter inside.  This makes it easier to take your brownies out after they bake and cool.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool completely.  I placed my brownies in the fridge after they cooled to make sure that they came together and was not runny.  Due to its chocolate amounts the brownie may be sticky and fudgey inside, which to me is the best way to eat them but to make sure they were not falling apart.  I left mine in there for a few hours, but you could always leave them in there overnight and decorate the following day.

Take the completely cooled brownies out of the fridge and cut in squares.  Then pour a tablespoon of nutella on each brownie square.  Then sprinkle the mini chocolate chips and white chocolate chips on top.  I did not have white chocolate chips but had a white chocolate bar that I just chopped up in small pieces.  Either way it works.

Enjoy!

Did you ever own an Easy Bake Oven when you were a child?

I know I had always wanted one and for some reason I never got on when I was younger.

I guess when I baked with parents I always just assisted them in the kitchen.

So when my daughter received one for Christmas this past year I was so excited to share with her what it feels like to bake something from scratch and see the end result.  She was completely ecstatic, especially after I explained to her that it was her very OWN oven.

She looked at me with her big brown eyes and asked “Now I can bake like you mommy?”

I looked at her with tears in my eyes, (I know I’m a real sap) and said “Yes, baby just like mommy!”

Here are a few pictures of my princess baking her very first Easy Bake Oven cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

(You can also read my post at my darling friend Michelle’s site.. What’s Cooking!)

You first must start off with your trusted Easy Bake Oven.

Then prepare the cake batter.  In the packet you are given a small pouch of cake mix.  All you need to do is add water.

She is really mixing it up.

Then place in the Easy Bake Oven.  Allow it to cook for about 10 minutes or so.

Then prepare the chocolate frosting…

Do you see her checking her temperature… Too Cute!

You see how the cake rolls right through the oven… pretty cool.

You see the little gadget that comes with it to allow you take the cake pan out.

Look at this lil beauty.  Allow it to cool for 5  minutes and then frost.

Frost the cake and add a little colored sprinkles.

Kayla’s Easy Bake Creation!

Who would ever of thought that one of the poorest caribbean islands in the world would be in complete chaos this week.  Haiti, my little beautiful Haiti has been a victim of one of the world’s worst earthquakes in time.  If you have been watching the news and surfing the internet you are all aware how this tragedy has destroyed Haiti, how families upon families have lost loved ones, how children have been taken away, and homes have been completely turned to ruble.  I sit here with my head in my hands shaking back and forth asking myself “How?” “Why?”

Although I do not talk about Haiti as much, my heart and love still resides there just like it does for Jamaica.  Even though I have not traveled to Haiti in almost 18 years I have always wanted to take my children to visit one day and show them a part of their culture and where part of their mother spent summers and where their grandfather grew up.  From the moment I was told what happened my heart sank and needed to contact my family that still live there.

For days so many could not get word of who was hurt, taken away, or even living still.  Talking to whom ever we could to see if friends and family were safe, unfortunately some were not.  As I wipe the tears away and pray for all of the ones that were taken away from the world so early I pray for my Haiti.  I pray that people will find it in their hearts to give as much as possible to all of the wonderful non-profit orgnizations that are coming together to help.

For those of you who want to donate but are having trouble knowing where let me help.  Any one of these are great organizations to donate to.

The Red Cross

Yelé Haiti

CARE

Doctors Without Borders

World Vision

If you live in the Orlando are like myself or want to donate any supplies such as medical supplies, canned foods, water, clothing, blankets, or anything else you can think for all of the men, women, and children without a place to lie their heads or food to eat.  You can send them to me for I am collecting all of these and more to send to my fellow Haitian brothers and sisters.  Just email me for details at tasha at thatssoyummy dot com.

Besides myself there are so many other blogger friends that are willing to donate to Haiti through different means… the wonderful Ree drummond from The Pioneer Woman is having a different kind of giveaway, where if you leave a comment on her post, she will donate a dime for every comment.  She will also donate $500 each to two Organizations from the comments left on her post.  Besides Ree, there is also the sweet Alice from SavorySweetLife, where Alice will be donating $1 to every comment left on her post up to $1000.

From the bottom of my hearts I want to thank you all for your support and time to read this post.

I ask you all to lift up your hearts and your hands and to please keep Haiti in your prayers!

Tasha

(Image: cafemama/Flickr)

When you cook, do you follow a recipe?

Now if you do, let me ask you this… Do you have any recipes memorized?

If so, how many?

I started to think about this little question after making my grandma’s banana bread… and that is just something I could actualy make with my eyes closed backwards.

Just one of those recipes that I have been making for so long it has become imbedded in my memory.  Now for other different recipes, a cookbook is need to be whipped out for a guideline.

So let me ask again, “Do you have any recipes memorized? and if so which ones?”

Do you ever wake up and just have this huge sense of feeling overwhelmed?

Like maybe you start doubting yourself and start to question your path?

Or maybe you come to find out that your immense passion for one thing in your life has subsided and all of a sudden a deep longing to step into a field that is so obscure and out there, and completely and utterly risky, but keeps calling your name.

I know that feeling….

I’ve had that feeling…

Let me let you all in a little secret, ssshhhhh just between me and you…

I used to dance!

Yep, for real… I did, for 16 years!  I danced jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, contemporary, and ballet, though my ballet years were only done due to not having a choice, but my most passionate was contemporary and hip-hop.  From dancing and learning in the States to being taught ballet in France and traveling all around was one of the best times, I can say in my life.

I know, you may find it hard to believe… you may even be chuckling right now.

I was also very good at it, (I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but just saying)!

I guess what I am trying to get at is, although my love for dance and the arts is enormous and will never go away, I found that my love in the kitchen was just as great and I knew I had to follow it.

One day as I was making my rounds visiting all of my different fellow food blogging friends, I came across a food blog that instantly pulled at my heart.  Kari, is her name and she writes at Anticiplate.  Before venturing into cooking gourmet food, which Kari says is her most favorite, she was a ballet dancer at Pacific Northwest Ballet.  If any of you are strangers into the ballet world this is a huge deal for a dancer, especially a ballet trained dancer.

As a child you work so hard and so many grueling hours to be given an opportunity to showcase your love for the art, and be asked to be part in a notable ballet company, that when I read that Kari quit dancing with Pacific Northwest, to jump into cooking I was shocked and instantly proud of a fellow ballerina.

You may think that this is not a big deal, but it is a Grandiose Big Deal, especially when you are promoted to corps de ballet.  So big that I am sure Kari agonized over her decision for quite sometime.  If you read her blog and her journey that she has been going though since August of 2009, where she wrote a food blog called Summer Spoon that documented her internship in a restaurant kitchen that undoubtedly led to her quitting the Pacific Northwest, you would automatically welcome her into the land of the cooking world.

I know I have, and I cannot wait to hear more about her journey!