JJ's Manilla clams

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One of my favorite things about the cuisine in the Pacific Northwest is Manilla clams.....everyone who knows me, knows I love Manilla clams! Did you know you don’t have to go to Manila to get manila clams? We have them right here!!

Funfetti Sandwich Cookies

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Can you believe July is here! What are your plans for the 4th? These cookies would be the perfect treat to bring along if your going to a BBQ or hanging out to watch a firework show. They are festive and the perfect size for a little something sweet. This is another kid-friendly recipe, so get them into the kitchen this week and have some fun whipping these up!

Red, White & Blue Funfetti Cookies
-adapted from two peas & their pod

Roquefort Tart for Wee Bear!

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Sometimes it’s just easier to grab a puff pastry from the store and put something on a top of it. It’s fast, you don’t have to make dough and the effect may surprise you!

Lil' Monster cupcakes for the Kiddo's!

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These were one of the cutest cupcakes we have made to date! We got the idea from a very creative blogger, Hollie, over at The Seven Year Cottage. We are vacationing with 22 family member's in Lake Chelan, Wa. and made these for the kids at a family BBQ. It goes without saying that these were a HUGE hit with not only the kids, but the adults loved them too. Your kids or grand kids could easily help with these in the kitchen. It would be a great way to spend a Summer afternoon with them! One of the kiddo's said, "You are the best chef in the world!" We all got a good laugh, but, other guests where we were staying came to have a look, wanted the blog address and asked for a cupcake......Yay!

June SRS -Red Velvet Cake!

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Today Amy and I are involved in the SRS, Surprise Recipe Swap!  We are involved once a month in this fun swap! We love doing it because, it introduces us to other food blogger's, build's blogging friendships and is a lot of fun for our readers too! It's also a great way to add more exposure to your blog - increasing your traffic by getting link backs from others, being mentioned on social media networks, simply finding new followers.  Jutta over at Hungry Little Girl, started a "Surprise Recipe Swap", where we make a recipe from a blogger who I am assigned to and post it on the 20th of the month. Someone else get's my blog, chooses a recipe and posts it on their blog. If you are a blogger who would like to join in on the fun, just pop over to Hungry Little Girl.

This month our partner is Sarah, from Sarah Lynn's Sweets.  To say she loves to blog about sweet's is an understatement!! She has just about every sweet tooth covered!! When she first started blogging she only blogged about cupcakes, noting that she didn't get much traffic, she has expanded to pies, cookies, bars and most recently she has added some savory dishes. I had a hard time deciding what recipe to make and blog about, so, I asked Amy to take a look. Amy was so quick to say, " Nate's Birthday is coming and Holly says he would like Red Velvet Cake!" We were planning to make the cake together, however, Wee Bear and I were called on for a friends wedding in Las Vegas. So, Amy made the cake! Oh my, was it delicious! We had a lot of fun with family and Nate was surprised by his delicious Red Velvet Cake and his Mother's surprise visit from her new home in Eastern Washington!

New York Cheesecake with local fresh strawberries!

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There are foods that bring me back to my childhood. Foods that my grandma’s, aunts and my mom would make for family gatherings. I can close my eyes, and can picture myself there. The dining room table filled with food, and a train of relatives carrying plastic trays and paper plates making their way around the spread. Our family gatherings were always large, with lot's of laughter and fun.

It’s the late 1960′s. I can see the harvest gold shag carpet. I can feel my too short bangs, which were freshly cut by my Mother. My uncles and dad will soon retreat to sitting in the living room watching stock car racing on the TV, while the ladies gossip and swap recipes in the kitchen. My cousins and I would play "kick the can" and "King of the Haystack" out around and in the barn. Good memories and good times!

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes!

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Grandma Dorothy celebrated her 93rd birthday this past weekend and we all gathered at her house for a family BBQ! The cousins kids loved my Cookie Monster Cupcakes, I made for them at her 92nd birthday, that I wanted to treat them to another fun cupcake this year. JJ found a great ice cream cone recipe and immediately sent it to me. I had every good intention of transporting these to Grandma's house but had an incidence of top heavy ice cream cone cupcakes that I decided there was no way they would make it over in one piece. I was really bummed because they were so cute! I decided to make some regular cupcakes and decorate those to take over for the kids. Good thing there was extra batter, otherwise, I would have arrived empty handed!

I'm glad I was able to get some pictures of these cones to share with you all. A word of advice would be that if you make these for a birthday party or special occasion or just because...make sure you intend to consume them where you made them!