5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

I must admit that I am really looking forward to the movie, The Hunger Games. I'm not the only one. It premiered this weekend and has already brought in revenue of $155 million. Steve and I bought Keely the trilogy for Christmas, and I read them myself in January. The story is set in the future in a nation that consists of a rich Capitol and surrounding, poorer districts which cater to the Capitol's needs. Each year, one boy and one girl from the poor districts are selected by lottery and forced to participate in the "Hunger Games." This is a televised event where the participants must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains. The heroine in the movie is 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers in place of her younger sister, and she kicks butt.

As I read these books, I couldn't help but think how I would soooooo be the first one out in this kind of a competition. Seriously. I'm the one who panics in pretty much any situation much less a dangerous one. But in the spirit of The Hunger Games, I am going to give you the most dangerous cake recipe in the world. That's right. And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now all of us are only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of day or night! Now that's my kind of danger.

I first got this recipe from my cousin in Texas. (Thanks, Janie!) I instantly thought I would love it, and I was right. In addition to the minimal time requirements, I love the fact that you can satisfy your sweet tooth without having to make an entire cake. Since it doesn't have icing, I think it tastes more like a chocolate muffin (which I love, too) rather than a chocolate cake. If you want to raise the danger level, you can make your own individual mixes ahead of time with the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, and chocolate chips. Then, you'll be only 4 minutes away from chocolate cake any time of day or night! Hmmmm . . . maybe I have a little bit of Katniss in me after all?

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (The original recipe states that these are optional. I always take those kind of statements as a joke.)
• Small splash of vanilla extract
• 1 large coffee mug that is microwaveable

Directions:
Add dry ingredients to mug. Mix well. Add the egg, milk and oil. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla extract. Cook in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed. (Come on, you can do it. We're coping with danger here.) Allow to cool a little. Either eat straight from the mug or tip out onto a plate if desired.

Buttermilk Pie

Will you be celebrating National Pi Day? This is one of those mostly unknown holidays that us math geeks look forward to. I will be conducting a Kaizen Leader class on that day, so I had a plan. I approached our administrative assistant:

KK:  Holly, do you mind if I make a very nerdy request? Are you familiar with "Happy Pi Day?"
Holly:  No . . .   ??!!??!?
KK:  Well, pi is one of those constants in math. You know. . . 3.14 and a bunch of other numbers. Well, 3.14 is March 14. Get it? And that's when we're holding the Kaizen Leader class. Although pi is actually spelled p-i, I think it would be fun to serve a variety of pizza pies for lunch along with a variety of other pies for dessert. What do you think?

Remarkably, Holly didn't roll her eyes. In fact, she went above and beyond and actually researched this holiday, finding something that I didn't even realize. It is also Albert Einstein's birthday!

I love that! It turns out this small celebration has expanded to include our whole division. You just gotta love working with a bunch of engineers. I really do!  :)

Now Steve is a different story. He is the complete opposite of your stereotypical nerdy math geek. I still giggle each time I recall him saying, "I'm OK with numbers. Really. But when you start putting letters with numbers, I'm outta here!"  But, I know my husband. He'll gladly celebrate any holiday with me if it means that I'll be making him his favorite buttermilk pie:

 
Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 frozen Pillsbury pie crust

Directions:
Mix first 7 ingredients well. Pour into frozen pie crust that has been wiped down with egg white. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Energy Bites

One of my favorite new memories happened just over a week ago. Keely and I ran in Disney's Princess Half Marathon! What a blast! After training for 18 weeks, we flew to Orlando and ran on Sunday, February 26. We woke up at 3:00 a.m. to make sure that we were at the park at 4:00, then herded into the corrals by 5:00, and we started running at 6:00. Needless to say, I was already worn out before we even started. It was such an emotional morning. Out of nowhere, I began to cry before the race even began. I think Steve thought it was fear. It wasn't. Yes, I admit I was afraid the day before. Afraid of not finishing. Afraid of failure. Keely just grinned and said, "Boy, Mom. You're just a little ball of nerves, aren't you?" Yes, that's true. The uncontrollable tears, though, came out of an unbelievable sense of accomplishment. Gosh, I was so proud. And even though I came in 13,688th place (ha!), I did indeed finish. And in this case, finishing is winning! Oh, by the way, I did beat a few people. There were close to 20,000 participants.

The very next day, we visited Islands of Adventure. Keely has been wanting to see the Harry Potter World for quite some time. Although I could barely walk, it was a great day. After flying back home on Tuesday, we loaded Keely's possessions on Wednesday and then moved her to Nashville on Thursday. Steve and I then spent the whole weekend helping her get settled into her new apartment. What an exhausting week! I sure could have used some of these energy bites.

I first came across this recipe on the internet. What first caught my attention was the claim that this was "basically a healthy version of my favorite no-bake cookies" . . . without the 2 cups of sugar and stick of butter. I couldn't wait to try them. I'm glad I did since they are now one of Steve's new favorites. They're great for breakfast, snacks, or even dessert.  I modified the original recipe by not using ground flaxseed. Instead, I substituted extra chocolate chips. No brainer, right? Also, I didn't think the energy bites looked very appetizing in the end, so I made one other modification: I rolled them in toasted coconut. Yum!

Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry oatmeal
• 1 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1 cup chocolate chips (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup chocolate chips + 1/2 cup ground flaxseed)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Once chilled, roll into approximately 1" balls. Roll in extra toasted coconut. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated. Makes about 2 dozen energy bites.