#21 birthday recipes & lunches
Life is hard, food doesn't have to be [vol1., 9.1]
This week’s newsletter you’ll find a recipe for a panCAKE, decadent layered birthday dessert, roasted turkey and other lunch ideas. Because it’s the first of the month, I’m highlighting a charity.
Birthday
My oldest turned 16 this week and our lives are changing at a rapid rate. The best part is he drives his siblings to school which gives me 2 hours of my day back. I’m not usually a Nervous Nellie, but every time he pulls out of the driveway I’m praying hard for his safety...especially after our car insurance tripled!
It’s tradition in our house for the birthday celebrant to choose their dessert. John Isaac asked for this chocolate raspberry mousse cake. The recipe is well written and a beginning baker could make it…given enough time because of the layers. Pictured is when a friend made this (in a 6” pan) for another’s birthday. Mine was not so pretty.
Notes:
I used a 9” springform pan and didn’t need to build up the sides, though I did make a foil extension because I wasn’t sure it would be tall enough.
I halved the recipe for Alexandra Cooks brownie for the base (best ever brownie recipe - and we’ve tried a ton here.)
I didn’t make the top layer of mousse. The friend who shared the recipe used a no-bake cheesecake layer for the top. I knew we’d have more than enough with 3 layers so I didn’t make the top layer.
Breakfast for his birthday was bacon and this skillet pancake. You get yummy pancakes without standing over the stove frying each one. It’s not as eggy as a dutch baby. I used all frozen fruit. It’s not very sweet. My daughter enjoyed maple syrup over hers. The next time I think I will add a couple more tablespoons of sugar to the batter.
Lunches
Since school has started back, my grocery budget is busting from buying convenience foods I don’t normally buy. So this week I roasted a turkey breast (and posted how I did it on Instagram.)
For a deeper dive, here’s a great article by the Kitchn for roasting turkey breasts.
In stories on Instagram I’ve posted pictures of what I’m sending for lunch. Priority is protein and fat to fuel their brains. The oldest two also ate tuna salad this week with chopped Bubbies fermented pickles. My youngest could eat the same sandwich everyday (turkey or ham with cheese) and never get bored.
You’ll find a rotation of nuts, yogurt, hummus, cheese, fruit, and some kind of packaged bar.
Charity
One of the most fun things about having a side business: getting to give over and above what my husband and I budget. Each month I choose a charity to highlight.
John and I met Steve and Celestia when we moved to Phoenix in 2004. He is a professor in Theology and she is a counselor. They are the real deal and share a passion for justice and mercy.
We were transformed by reading their book and have watched the Lord transform victims of sexual abuse worldwide through their ministry: Mending the Soul. It provides biblically-rooted and psychologically-proven abuse healing curricula, and trains nonprofessionals to deliver them in community-based settings worldwide, at minimum cost to the participants. Their organization is doing a needed work in our world.
Labor Day
Plans for this weekend? I’m sure we’ll be at our neighborhood pool savoring summer until it closes Monday. If you need a book to read poolside, my husband wrote what he read in August here with several mentions of young adult books.
Have a great weekend,
Julie