Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

By Chef Diane

Have you ever seen Bill Cosby do his Chocolate Cake for Breakfast routine?  It is the funniest thing I have seen by him....and this is how it goes....You can also watch the clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZlCPQur4hc

My wife woke me up 4:00 in the morning.

She said,

“I want you to go downstairs and cook breakfast for the children.”

And I looked at the clock and I said,

“Dear, it’s 6:00 in the morning.”

She said,

“Exactly. Go down and cook for the children. They have to go to school.”

I said,

“Yes, but to eat at 6:00, isn’t that bad for your stomach? I mean, they just ate twelve hours ago.”

My wife said,

“Bill, get out of that bed and go downstairs and cook breakfast for your children!!”

I said,

“Well, I don’t know what they want to eat.”

She said,

“It’s down there! Now you get out of the bed!”

And I said,

“But where are the pans? Do we have pans to cook with?”

She said,

“Bill, I’m not talking to you anymore! You ask another stupid question, so help me God, I’ll get the shotgun out of the closet and blow your face off!!”

I said,

“Well, there’s no need to become violent about this. You seem to be having trouble intellectualizing on where the cooking apparel is.”

So I fell back to sleep again. The next thing I knew, there was a bucket of ice water being shaken over my head, and this woman, that I’ve been married to for some 17 years, was standing over me like this. [makes angry face at audience]

“Now, you get up and cook some breakfast or you’re gonna wear this bucket of ice water!!!”

So I said,

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

So I got up. Needless to say, I was angry. And I went downstairs without putting on my robe. Standing there in my pajamas, and I’m talking to myself. I said,

“Get these, go down and cook breakfast, but it’s six o’clock in the morning,”

[angrily cooking breakfast] and I slam the pans down. Blam! On the stove. I slam them down and go to the refrigerator and look around and I get to the damn bacon and the sausage, cooking breakfast, six o’blam in the morning, and I grab the- you have to be careful with eggs.

“God! I have to cook breakfast! Boom!!”

I turn around. The first one down was the four-year-old. The child looked lovely. Cute little face, clean. Hair in little braids, little things, you know.

“Good morn’, Daddy.”

And I said,

“What do you want for breakfast!?”

The four-year-old has the ability to see through and find the wrong thing. The child saw through my body what was behind me. She saw the chocolate cake. She said,

“Can I have the chocolate cake?”

And I said,

“Chocolate cake, where?”

She said,

“Chocolate cake behind you.”

And I looked… and there was chocolate cake! The child wanted chocolate cake for breakfast! How ridiculous! And I said… and someone in my brain looked under chocolate cake and saw the ingredients: eggs! Eggs are in chocolate cake! And milk! Oh goody! And wheat! That’s nutrition!

“What do you want?”

“Can I have some chocolate cake?”

“Chocolate cake coming up.”

[imitates slicing sound] Sliced it for her and served it.

“Now, you need something to drink with the chocolate cake, something breakfast… grapefruit juice!”

[Woman in audience]

No-o-o!

[Cosby]

This is not your child!

So I give the child a glass of grapefruit juice and chocolate cake — nutrition. Eggs, milk, and wheat in the chocolate cake. And… I didn’t have to cook. And the other four came downstairs. And when they came downstairs… Those of you who have children, you’ve seen them come downstairs for school. [imitating sluggish children] And they got to the kitchen. [imitating sluggish children] They saw the four-year-old eating chocolate cake. And they said,

“Dad! Where did she get the chocolate cake?”

And they went to the child and said,

“How did you get chocolate cake?”

She said,

“Dad give me chocolate cake!”

And they looked at me and said,

“Father… could we have chocolate cake?”

And their father said,

“Chocolate cake coming up!!”

Four slices — [imitates slicing sound] — and grapefruit juice! And five children sat at breakfast and the morning music was playing [imitating bass guitar] and they were eating chocolate cake and singing songs to me:

“Dad is great! Give us the chocolate cake!”

And we had a ball until… she came down like this. [makes angry face at audience] And when she saw what the children were eating… [when his wife sees that he has given the kids chocolate cake for breakfast] I’ve always heard about people having a conniption, but I’ve never seen one. You don’t want to see ‘em! My wife’s face… split! The skin and hair split and came off of her face so that there was nothing except the skull! And orange light came out of her hair and it lit all around! And fire shot from her eye sockets and began to burn my stomach! And she said,

“Where did they get chocolate cake from?!?”

And I said,

“They asked for it!!”

And the children, who had been singing praises to me, lied on me, and said,

“Uh-uhh!! We asked for eggs and milk, and Dad made us eat this!!!”

And my wife sent me to my room, which is where I wanted to go in the first place. So you see? We are dumb, but we are not so dumb. It takes great thinking and work to keep from working.

Today is Ice Cream for breakfast Day.  While it may not be chocolate cake, you can still use Bill's reasoning that Ice Cream has eggs and milk.  You can dish it on a waffle for the wheat.  So, have a little fun today...and start off with some creamy ice cream!!!

National Chocolate Cake Day – Oh yummy!

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By Chef Diane

Recently the boss celebrated his 29th birthday (again!) and for his celebratory cake his lovely wife baked his favorite - a delicious chocolate cake using his grandmother's recipe.   I was unable to squeeze this secret family recipe from him; however, chocolate cake is the number one in cakes.  It is also my father's favorite cake, and one year I attempted to make one, like the one pictured on the front of the cake mix box.  They never turn out the same as the picture though.

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In 1948, Pillsbury introduced the first chocolate cake mix.  Today, the most popular kind of cake is chocolate. There are many different types, including Black Forest, Devil’s Food, Flourless, Fudge, Ganache, German Chocolate, Lava, and much more.

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Today is National Chocolate Cake Day.  I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to bake a delicious cake, or buy one from your local bakery.  You can buy a chocolate cake mix, and whip one up in no time, but for a tasty homemade cake, I found this recipe on momswhothink.com.  So treat your family to some delicious cake today!

Triple Layer Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

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Cake Ingredients:

1 cup cocoa powder

2 cups boiling water

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2-1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans.

2. In a medium bowl, stir the boiling water into the cocoa until smooth, and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and set aside.

4. At medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. Turn mixer down to low speed. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

7. Stir in the vanilla, and do not over-beat.

8. Pour an equal amount of batter into each of the three prepared pans.

9. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

10 Cool in pans set on racks for 10 minutes. Invert pans on racks, remove pans, and allow layers to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:

1 6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup half-and-half

3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 sticks)

2-1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Chocolate Frosting Directions:

1. Combine the chocolate chips, half-and-half and butter in a heavy saucepan.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate chips melt. Remove from heat.

3. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, stirring well.

4. Set the saucepan in a large bowl filled with ice, and beat at low speed with an electric mixer until frosting begins to lose its gloss and holds its shape. If necessary, add a half-teaspoon or so of half-and-half to achieve perfect spreading consistency.

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Got Milk

National Chocolate Milk Day

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By Diane Forrest

I have never been a milk drinker.  Just watching someone drink that white liquid makes me nauseous.  However, chocolate milk is a different story.  Just by adding a few spoonful’s of chocolate powder, or some chocolate syrup, and I could drink it all day long. 

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Recently in the news there have been reports that Chocolate milk is no longer allowed in schools, because of the sugar content.  In my opinion it’s hard to weigh which is worse.  Not having necessary calcium and Vitamin D, or 8 grams of sugar.  According to one study I read on ABC, the extra sugar would add 5 pounds per year, but what they fail to mention is the calories these kids burn off in a day.  I’m assuming those 5 calories per year are for inactive children who can't move.  However the loss of vitamin D and Calcium would be detrimental to the formation of bones and teeth especially during the growing years.

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Then there are the people like me who cannot drink plain white milk.  I know there are others besides me.

Today is National Chocolate Milk Day.  So to keep your calcium level up and your calories down, drink a nice glass of Chocolate milk, then take a long walk around the block or a nice bike ride in this cool fall weather.

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National Chocolate Cupcake Day

By Akindman,

Cupcakes first emerged during the 19th century in the United States. There are two theories about how they got their name. One claims that the miniature cakes were originally baked in cups. The other suggests that the name comes from the recipe, which was measured out by the cup—one cup butter, two cups sugar, three cups flour, four eggs, one cup milk, one spoonful baking soda.

Cupcakes are now made with a variety of flavors, ingredients, and decorations, but simple chocolate cupcakes remain a perennial favorite. Bake, frost, and decorate a batch today to celebrate National Chocolate Cupcake Day!

And to go along with that chocolate cupcake ...

National Chocolate Milk Day

By Diane Forrest,

I bet you thought I forgot about chocolate huh?  Well not hardly!  Today is National Chocolate Milk Day...a great day to celebrate.  Chocolate milk was invented back in the late 1680's by a man named  Hans Sloane.  Today you can buy it premixed or make it at home with either a powder or syrup.  There are many different brands to choose from and can be served either hot or cold.    When it begins to spoil it give the odor of coffee.

Chocolate milk has been given a bad rap lately in the school system.  Some have banned the drink from their schools insisting that it leads to childhood obesity.  Well you can imagine the trouble this stirred up.  Kids stopped drinking milk all together, parents complained. They also received letters and petitions from a slew of nutritionists and influential special interest groups.  Thankfully reformulated chocolate milk was introduced to the cafeterias and almost everyone was happy once again. 

Personally, I can tell you Chocolate milk is the only milk I drink.  I can't drink regular milk, can't think about regular milk...can't watch someone else drink it, and Im even having a hard time writing the words.  If I didn’t have chocolate milk, I would never get my calcium and vitamin D requirements. 

So today, on National Chocolate Milk Day, celebrate by having an ice cold one!

Drink Water and Eat Dairy!

The story goes something like this, folks were standing around complaining about so much rain they were getting and one of them asked the Pope what he thought about the rain.  The Pope responded with just one word, “Life.”

March in the National Nutrition Month and I have been writing a series of articles about Healthy Habits as they are part of our foundation of life.  Without them, we handicap ourselves in all area’s of our lives.

Today’s article is Healthy Habit 10 Drinking Water and Eating Dairy.  Both are essential to our bodies being healthy and functioning properly. 

Glass of Refreshing Water

• Your blood is over 80 percent water and needs water to make healthy new blood cells.
• Your bones are over 50 percent water and, you guessed it, need water to make healthy new bone cells.
• Drinking more water actually helps lessen pain in your body by getting your lymphatic system moving. The lymphatic system is a network of nodes, tubes, vessels, and fluid that move waste out of your tissues. It requires water to function properly.
• Water helps to eliminate wastes and toxins from your body through the lymphatic system, kidneys, and intestines.
• Water lubricates your joints and helps reduce joint pain and protect against wear and tear.
• Water regulates your metabolism so if you’re overweight chances are you may need more water.
• Water balances body temperature.
• Water helps to ensure adequate electrical functioning so your brain and nervous system function properly. 
• Water alleviates dehydration .
• Every cell and organ in your body requires adequate water to function properly.

Dairy Products

March is National Nutrition Month by improving your bone health and adding protein, potassium and vitamin A and D to your eating plan, all be eating dairy.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that the average adults eats 3 cups of dairy each day, and the healthiest milk group choices should be fat-free or low-fat and should be a good source of calcium, such as:

• Low-fat cheese in a sandwich
• Yogurt dips with vegetables
• Low-fat shredded cheese on soups and salads
• Evaporated low-fat or fat-free milk in recipes that call for cream
• Prepare instant oatmeal with low-fat or fat-free milk in place of water. Top with dried cranberries and almonds