Friends that Cook

Friends that Cook – Ashley’s Maw Maw’s Cake with Chocolate Icing

Published on by carol lou

I was in Atlanta recently at our daughter’s and the buzz on her street was “Ashley made the cake”! No, I think the comment was “Ashley made two cakes”! You all know that I was immediately interested in this cake. After hearing rave reviews from everyone and how amazing the cake with chocolate icing is, I was hoping to be able to get a taste during our visit. Just as I mentioned it, everyone said, come over on Sunday to try her cake. To make a long story short, this cake is amazing and worth every accolade that Ashley repeatedly receives. I have to admit, I was not prepared for the ingredient list when she told me, but trust me on this one, this cake is delicious. I am so happy she shared her recipe with me and she gave me a thumbs up to share this recipe with you.

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Maw Maw’s Cake with Chocolate Icing

Ingredients

  • CAKE
  • 1 box Duncan Hines Deluxe Yellow cake mix
  • 1 small box, instant vanilla pudding
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup Wesson oil
  • 10 ounces Sprite
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • CHOCOLATE ICING
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons light Karo syrup
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

Instructions

  1. Cake

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees

    Mix eggs and oil and beat slightly. Add cake mix, and pudding mix. Blend, then beat and add 5 oz. Sprite, beat, add 5 more oz. of Sprite. Stir in vanilla extract.

    Grease and flour, three round cake pans. Pour batter evenly into pans, bake at 350 for 25 – 30 minutes. Press fingers lightly in the middle of the cake, if it springs back, it is done. Frost with Chocolate Icing

  2. Chocolate Icing

    Mix sugar and cocoa well in a heavy saucepan. Add all other ingredients, EXCEPT vanilla. Stir well. Turn on heat to medium high, let the mixture come to a brisk rolling boil and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. Add vanilla, beat mixture with spoon until it is thick enough to spread. Work quickly!

Friends that Cook – Jocelyn Hsu’s Veggie Tacos

Published on by carol lou

I have many friends that are amazing cooks and love to entertain. I decided to add a new feature, Friends that Cook, I hope you enjoy reading about their cooking adventures.

I am excited to feature Jocelyn Hsu in my first segment of Friends that Cook. Jocelyn is an avid cook and creates marvelous recipes.

Jocelyn Hsu has loved cooking since she was in high school. She has worked a “day job” as a government contractor since 1993 but on the weekends, she loves to host multi-course dinner parties, using her best friends as guinea pigs with mostly good results. She has accepted many cooking challenges over the past 30 years, including making Peking Duck from scratch in college, catering a wedding for 50 people, and teaching cooking classes for her local Whole Foods Market. She was a co-founding board member for the non-profit Real Food for Kids www.realfoodforkids.org where she volunteered for ten years with other parents and chefs to bring healthy choices and nutrition education to school children. Along the way, she has cooked thousands meals for her husband and two children who are both now in college, leaving her more time to experiment and work on her cookbook.

Jocelyn’s Veggie Tacos –

At the end of the summer, the squash and eggplants are so beautiful at the farmers market but I’ve already made ratatouille a few times. So I used the same veggies and some different spices to make veggie tacos. This is an easy weeknight meal but also makes a great addition to a taco bar party.

5 from 1 vote
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Jocelyn Hsu’s Veggie Tacos

Ingredients

  • 3-4 small eggplants, mixed varieties, diced
  • 1 large zucchini or similar squash, diced
  • 1 large bell pepper, any color, diced
  • 2 large Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 small red or white onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • fresh oregano, minced (optional)
  • olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons coriander powder
  • salt and pepper
  • corn tortillas
  • Cotija or Monterey Jack cheese
  • your favorite hot sauce

Instructions

  1. Dice the eggplants first and put them in a colander over a sink, sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and toss to cover with salt. (This helps to remove some of the bitterness from the eggplants. Dice/mince remaining veggies, onion, garlic, and oregano, if using, Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and lightly coat the bottom with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook about 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant. Add the oregano if using. Rinse the eggplant with water and shake well to remove as much water as possible. Add eggplant and other veggies to the pan and still well to combine. Sprinkle with the spices; add salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the veggies are soft, about 10 more minutes. While the veggies are cooking, warm your tortillas in a dry skillet over medium low heat until they are soft – about 20 seconds per side. Place veggies in a serving bowl and serve along
    with tortillas, cheese, and hot sauce.