It’s already Spring. Where did the winter go? (Did we really even have one?) Clearly, I’ve failed in my blogging responsibilities – I’m sure you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the next recipe, so I will get on with it.
But first, a quick news flash from Community in the Garden. IT’S ALIVE!! A huge THANK YOU to Steve Henning, Dane Johnson, and Tom Tracy for spending their Saturday installing the drip system, timer, and pressure tank on the well. With the beds, drip, and timer all installed, we are ready to plant! We purchased numerous seedlings today that include both heirloom and “other” tomato varieties, cucumbers, watermelon, several kinds of squash, cantaloupe, and banana peppers so those of you that have already signed up for plots can contact me to get started! You are also welcome to select a few of your own plants to add to your plot. We still have a few plots left, so if you didn’t already sign up, it’s not too late (remember, they are free!). Just let me know, and I will get you pointed in the right direction. Please note these plots are available to anyone in the greater Lincoln/Newcastle/Loomis/Rocklin area – you do not need to be a member of Emmaus Church Community to take a plot.
Moving on … I was asked a few weeks ago to teach a four-week children’s cooking class as part of our children’s ministry at Emmaus. As I thought through what we might do, I came across the blog of a woman who had done cake push-ups. Have you heard about these? I’m already wondering how someone didn’t come up with them sooner! They are super cute, super easy, and oh, so many ideas for what to put in them …. I immediately decided they would be the first class in the series. So, if your kids are signed up for the Emmaus Elective series cooking class, here is what we’re doing tomorrow!
Looking around, the push ups really only came in larger quantities. The smallest I could find was a flat of 100 for around $50. Considering all of my upcoming uses for them, that was fine with me; but if you don’t want 100, grab a couple friends and split the lot. Here is what they looked like – I love that they had the caps. Makes them so easy for transport, freezing, etc.!
To give you an idea of the process for the cake, here is what I did. I took a single cake mix, and baked it in four 8 x 8 pans, as shown below, so the cake pieces wouldn’t be too thick.
Once they were finished, I needed a way to cut the circles out. If you had a small, round cookie cutter, that would work. Since I didn’t, I used one of the push-up containers (also shown below). I got roughly 13 circles from each cake pan, for a total of about 50 pieces. Each push up takes about 3 pieces, so you can get a lot of these from one mix.
Once they were cut out, I decided to play with one to see if they were really as easy to assemble as I thought they would be. They definitely were. I layered mine with three pieces of cake broken up by a layer of frosting, and a layer of fruit. Again, sooooo many directions you could go with this, but how cute are these?!
