Party All the Time

   Today is the last day of summer vacation.  We could be sad about that, but fortunately we have something to celebrate.  This morning I was informed that today is Eva's first birthday and we need to have a party.  I have been asked to bake an actual cake that contains all of her favorite foods, which  basically include things like organic corn, and seeds, and nuts.   Eva is a hamster, by the way.  She belongs to  my 9 year-old daughter, who is taking this whole thing very seriously.  I've just spent the last 15 minutes googling "cake corn seeds nuts", and so far I've come up with a recipe for make-your-own Squirrel Food Cakes and this recipe, known as Sandra Lee's Infamously Gross Kwanzaa Cake.  It's actually made out of angel food cake filled with apple pie filling and frosted with canned chocolate-cinnamon frosting, and then the whole thing is covered with corn nuts, pumpkin seeds, and popcorn.  Hmmm, I wonder if a hamster would eat such a thing?  Would people?  Probably not.  I think I'll make Eva some cornbread and call it a day.  We can put a candle in it and pretend it's cake.  I'm sure she'll love it.

Today's menu has therefore been planned around cornbread, and here it is:

Turkey and Sausage Jambalaya

Roasted Cauliflower

Simple Green Salad with Creamy Buttermilk Dressing

Honey-Moist Cornbread  

    My grocery store sells turkey medallions which I will cut into pieces and brown with the oil and onion, instead of using the shredded turkey called for in the recipe.  I don't happen to have any shredded turkey handy right now.  I will also substitute lowfat milk for the half-and-half in the cornbread recipe (it still turns out moist as can be.)  And if I run out of time or motivation, I might use a bottled salad dressing.  Or a Jiffy corn muffin mix.  We'll see what happens.

    Now yesterday was Labor Day.  I think it's supposed to be a day of rest, but my husband took it literally, and we spent the day cleaning, re-organizing, assembling, disassembling, and visiting multiple home-improvement stores.  It was overcast and rainy, but my husband still wanted to grill, so we made the following Labor Day Barbecue Menu:

Brown Sugar-Brined Pork Chops with Peach Barbecue Sauce

Potato and Green Bean Salad with Bacon

Cucumbers in Sour Cream

I used little red new potatoes for the salad, because they're prettier and easier to find, and light sour cream for the cucumbers.  The pork chops are wonderful -- the ingredients for the sauce did seem like an odd combination, and I was little worried that it wouldn't turn out, but it was great.  I chopped the peaches into much smaller pieces than the recipe says to because I didn't want the sauce to be too chunky.  I would definitely recommend doing that.

Well, school starts tomorrow and we have to run out to pick up a few last-minute school supplies, as well as a present for Eva.  I wonder what every hamster wants for their birthday?