How to Bake a Delicious Ricotta and Lemon Cake

Yum, yum, yum.  Have I got a batch of deliciousness to share.  I realized a tub of ricotta cheese was rapidly approaching its expiry date, so I scrambled for a quick recipe because I'd since eaten the other ingredients to make what I originally bought the ricotta for.  In the nick of time I found a delicious lemon and ricotta muffin recipe that I turned into a cake, added a twist to, and can't stop devouring.

Here's the recipe I pinned, from Healthy Food Living, with my tweaks:

For the muffin/cake:

• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup water
• Lemon juice (2 lemons)
• Lemon zest (2 lemons)

For the icing:

• Lemon juice (1 lemon)
• Lemon zest (1 lemon)
• 2 tbsp icing sugar

Make the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. In a smaller bowl, mix together the ricotta, oil, lemon rind & juice, water and egg.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir only until it's just mixed - don't over stir, this dough gets really stiff very quickly so watch out!
5. Pour into muffin cups or, if you're lazy like me, use an 8" by 8" lightly greased pan.
6. Bake muffins for 15-17 minutes, but if it is in cake form, bake for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned on top and a knife you insert comes out clean.

Make the icing (not in original recipe):

I had planned a thick, super rich icing like I made for my sugar cookies but it turns out we were almost out of icing sugar!  Probably a good thing.  I used what was left and made a very runny glaze by mixing together the zest and juice of one lemon and about two (maybe 3) tablespoons of icing sugar.  I drizzled in onto the cake when it was minutes from the oven, so it seeped in a little and also crystallized from the heat.  It's like the glaze on an apple fritter, but with more kick.  But honestly, this is also an awesome muffin without the sugar topping.

This cake is moist and rich, but light and fluffy.  It is sweet but also has a really zingy lemon flavor which balances the sugary glaze.  In case you're wondering, sugar-free me lasted about three weeks (a week shy of my month long goal) but then I fell off the wagon.  Now I'm trying to just eat less sugar.  She says with a straight face, as she stuffs her face with a slab of sugar coated muffin-cake. 

Breakfast of champions.

Say it ain't so . . .

Google Reader is going the way of the dinosaurs.  Do you use it?  How will you be following along with your favorite blogs?  Here are a few ideas, but is there anything I can do to make stopping by the townhouse a little simpler?  You can currently keep up with what's new a few different ways, including email subscription, linky followers, etc.  But let me know if there's something else!  I've heard bloglovin' is fabulous.  You can use it to follow your favorite blogs by clicking here.

I have to admit, Pinterest has become my first stop when I take my morning coffee break and troll the internet in search of eye candy.  I'm reading fewer blogs now than I used to (although I'm still reading lots!), and reliant on Pinterest for so much, from a daily giggle to crock pot recipes to decor inspiration.  I only washed our bedroom pillows recently because I read about it on Pinterest.  This is terrible, not just because our pillows had never previously been washed (I thought the stuffing would bunch!) but because Pinterest, as Emily pointed out, is an idea collector, not generator.  The idea generators need my support, and not just in the form of traffic from Pinterest.

Image Source

To ease the guilt, I'm going to start to clean up my Pinterest boards.  These days, most things I pin are from an original (or pretty good) source and I'm getting in the habit of checking the source before I repin too, but my Pinterest boards have lots of poorly pinned pics from when Pinterest was new(er) to me.  I'd like to tidy them up, so they all link back to original sources and give people credit where credit is due!  To help find the original source of an image, AV (from long distance loving) introduced me to this bookmarklet, which can track down the original source of an image.  Neat!

Image from Long Distance Loving

If you're going to spend a little time lazily ogling cleaning up your Pinterest account, here's a little mellow background music for you: an amazing cover of Weezer's Say it ain't so by Sarah Blackwood and Emily Bones.  These gals can sing!  I get goosebumps.   

 
Happy weekend!

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DIY Fancy Glass Trivet

Ages ago, before we moved in together, I bought Hubby a little glass trivet from a dollar store.  Recently the paper backing had started to peel (but damn, this thing has lasted a decade!).  He's kind of sentimental about stuff from me, especially because we don't exchange gifts anymore, so instead of saying good-bye, I gave it a little makeover. 

First, I soaked the trivet in soapy water to get the rest of the backing off, but you know how sometimes one end of something comes lose and then refuses to come lose on any other part?  Yeah.  A little goo gone, followed by more soapy water and some scrubbing did the trick.

For a new backing, we picked out a fun scrapbook paper together.  It sounds all cute, us at the craft store pondering paper, but it was agony because the selection was too big and we kept trying to force the other to pick.  I traced the glass trivet on the back of our (painfully selected) paper, cut it out and . . . guess I'm having an off week, huh?

Crap.

No worries.  I remembered I had some pretty wrapping paper leftover so I cut a circle from that with no problems.  Horray for little successes!!

I used spray adhesive left over from when I used it to (temporarily) affix the poem stencil to my antiqued mirror.  This stuff is so versatile because if you only spray one side, it remains moveable for ten minutes, but if you spray both things you're trying to stick together, let it dry to tack (about a minute) and then smoosh them in place, it has a super strong hold right away.

And voila:

It won't be dishwasher safe, obviously, but it's still wipe-able and perfect for holding Hubby's mug of tea with lemon, situated on the little table beside our tweed chair, far, far away from me because the last thing I need is his cold too!

Much better!

P.S. I spotted (and pinned) a tutorial from Better Homes and Gardens, for the same kind of craft, but using a decoupage medium instead.

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The Kitchen and I, We're Cool Now

Since adding the vintage Hungarian posters, the kitchen is a fun place to be.  They are HUGE and (fashionably) fill up the whole wall with saturated colour.  I love the statement they make against our relatively plain kitchen.  Although there are elements of the kitchen I love (the herringbone tile backsplash we installed, the teak chairs we re-upholstered with houndstooth fabric, the funky black and white floor), if you've been reading for awhile you know there's lots I don't love (the wood cabinets Hubby loves, that we refinished, but still aren't my cup of tea, the awkward layout, the windowlessness).  But now I'm at peace with the whole package and am committed to this art (as opposed to version one and version two). 

In no particular rush, I am finally accessorizing the kitchen with a direction, using the posters as my guide.  When I can, I like to pick art for a room first, and then pull inspiration for colours and textures from it.

My new (to me) FAB trays look fun in the space, especially because the retro fabrics really bring to life the vintage attire sold in the posters.  I'm using one to corral the hand soap and dishwasher pods I like to keep at arm's length (I'm officially too lazy to bend over and retrieve the pods from the cupboard under the sink).  The horn dish is from Hungary.

I also have a beautiful new tea towel, sent all the way from Berlin!

 
This graphic black and white (Zebraria) tea towel is from La Kattun, handprinted fabrics.  It's hand-printed on organic cotton by a Berlin-based artist, Eva Reisinger.  I'm in love with her fresh and modern designs (available in her etsy shop).  I knew this crisp pattern would look perfect with my punchy posters (especially the one with striped parcels), and black and white floor!  She has also makes pillows with the same design and I am smitten with those too.

Next up: MORE COLOUR!  But summer is coming and with it, yard sale season!!  I know I'll find some great accessories, for a great price, if I'm patient (my Krenit bowl was last year's sweet kitchen find).



Our counters do get a daily dose of colour courtesy of my growing Pyrex, Anchor Hocking and Federal Glass collections, which we use for fruits and snacks every day.

P.S.  Eva is thrilled that I'm so enamored with her hand-printed textiles, so she's offered to host a giveaway for Dans le Townhouse readers!  She has sewn something gorgeous, just for you, so stay tuned next week for details on how to win.  I also asked Eva a few questions, so we can snoop inside her design process as well.  If you can't wait, take a look at her lovely blog, peek inside her studio, or check out her etsy shop, La Kattun.

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DIY Bubble Bath Bomb

Because I was sick over the weekend, I was really craving a hot bath in a our deep soaker tub, but I didn't have any bubble bath or bath oil at home.  Unwilling to crawl out of the house for even food, I certainly wasn't going to leave in search of bath products. I had pinned a recipe for foaming bath soap from Paul Deen, so I gave it a whirl.  Because we shop at Costco, we have always have huge quantities of the ingredients needed, so I had high hopes for this.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup olive oil (substituted for the almond oil recommended; the recipe says olive is okay too)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 liquid hand soap
• 1 tbsp vanilla (which I doubled)

First, my honey bear chillaxed a little in a hot tub of its own (I warmed a pot of water to help soften my crystallized honey - it works!  And stays soft again for a long time):

When the honey was soft, I poured the water out of the pot and mixed the ingredients over really low heat, for a couple seconds.  I only stirred it in the warmed pot to ensure my honey really was liquid again.

After it cooled, I decanted a small amount into a washed out eye makeup remover bottle and slapped on a half-hearted label (I'm sick, I'm too tired to make nice labels, but I wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally rub this into my eyes). 

The Verdict?

I almost died.  I put a cap's worth into a super full tub (remember, mine's extra deep), which I thought was a modest amount.  It made the tub so slick I almost mugged out.  Getting out of the tub, I must have looked like a newborn fawn my legs were so unsteady!  Plus, it was so oily I felt like I was marinating.  I needed a follow up shower.  And a nap from all the effort.  I tried another bath with half the amount and while it wasn't as oily, it wasn't that special either because all of the yumminess was seriously diluted.  The sweet almond oil must make all the difference!

Although I get an A+ for effort, for DIYing with a nasty virus, I think this classifies as a DIY fail (it's not my first, and won't be my last!).

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Knock Outs

Hubs and I have been given the one-two punch by two different illnesses.  On Thursday I became violently ill with what we're pretty sure was the Norovirus, while poor Hubby has had brutal congestion and fever for days.  We spent the end of last week and the whole weekend lazing around, catching up on The Americans (our new favorite show), and warily watching each other, hoping to heck we don't get what the other has.  The only commonality our two illnesses have had has been being super exhausted for days and days, which is so frustrating.  I'm feeling loads better, while Hubby is only a little better, but we're both still pretty tuckered out.  This stinks, because there are a ton of fun projects, calling my name . . .

DIY Painted (!) Satchel from Wrapped up in Rainbows

DIY Industrial Light (in Turquoise!) from Merry Thought

DIY Geometric Paper Patchwork Art from The Red Thread

DIY Cord Bracelet from Thanks I Made it

DIY Painted Wood Magnets from Swoon

DIY Cellphone Sleeve from Dog Under My Desk

DIY Rock Rings from Swell Mayde

DIY Gold Scissors from Little House Blog

DIY Living Thing Ring Dish from Doe a Deery

DIY Faceted Clay Planter from Merry Pad

DIY Book Covers from Radical Possibility

Now you know why I was painfully slow approving comments last week.  I hate spammers for forcing me to do that in the first place - I  know it's annoying for you.  Tell me: did you have the strength to do any DIY magic this weekend?  Share.  Let me live vicariously . . .

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Treasure Hunting Report: A FAB New Collection

My newest (still modest) collection happened accidentally.  See this tray?

It's a FAB Originals tray.   FAB trays were manufactured in the 1970s using "carefully chosen decorator's fabric" (so says the label), sealed in a clear polyester composition. 

The surfaces are mark proof, stain and alcohol resistant - durable, but not unbreakable.  Best of all, they were handcrafted in Barrie, Ontario by Hardy - Glenwood Products, with very little mechanization in the production.  I have read that they were produced in the 1960s but other sources say 1970s.  This quite detailed history of the company indicates 1970s.  Apparently they stopped production during the oil crisis in the mid 1970s because the resin became too expensive to produce.  With bold, retro fabrics trapped under a clear surface, they seem like little time capsules to me. 



I found the one above on a dusty shelf at a thrift shop, during my recent visit to my hometown.  Some of the FAB trays are a touch . . . tacky, but I thought this one was quite pretty and on-trend.  I photographed it, researched it, but dawdled when it came to listing it in the shop.  Then I saw these photos of a FAB collection on SF Girl By Bay:

I started to have that creepy, antsy "I want it, I want it" feeling.  The next day, I found this at a Value Village in town, and I may or may not have dove for it:

I was so giddy to find a second FAB tray and was officially, embarrassingly, overcome with greed.  With a Gollum face, I scooped the first tray from the etsy pile (which actually meant asking Mom to send it from Thunder Bay).  They are officially mine and I want more.  Although there are some designs I might pass on, I think this will make for a cheery collection!

Etsy

Etsy

Etsy

Source

Caren, the gal behind the ambitious collection above, says that at the height of production, Canadians were churning out 1000 of these per day, for domestic sale and export to the US.  Here's hoping that means I can grow my collection easily (and inexpensively!).  I'm still so surprised that the colours and patterns of my two trays grabbed me because, to be honest, they don't really jive with the townhouse, but there's just something inexplicable about them that makes makes me smile a goofy grin when I see them.  What is it??  In any case, I think the retro fabrics will look perfect with my 1960s fashion posters from Hungary.  It's fun to throw a little something unexpected into the mix sometimes.

Is there anything that you collect or love that just completely surprises you?

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