Horny Melon!

Today's the day you've all been waiting for! Here are the pics of the Kiwano, or horned melon. (Or jelly melon if you are my husband.) This is the most fantastic fruit I have seen in a while! The brightness of the green seed pods on the inside was a surprise. And it tastes like a not exactly ripe yet banana. The internet tells me that if you eat it when it's not ripe, it tastes sort of like a cucumber/kiwi. I love it!



Also, I finally have the coffee cake recipe ready for you all! And seriously, you have to make it. Now I got the base of this recipe for www.allrecipes.com, but i made some of my own changes. And the great thing about coffee cake is that you can basically add whatever you want, and it'll taste great.


Best. Coffee Cake. Ever.

For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
3/4 cup milk, or as needed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the streusel topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
pecans or other nuts, to taste.

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Make the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon (for topping). Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Crack an egg into a measuring cup and then fill add milk to make 1 cup. Stir in vanilla. Pour into crumb mixture and mix just until moistened. Spread into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with half of the streusel.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with the remaining streusel. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm and Enjoy!! :)

D.I.A.N.A

Just a quick update, kids, on what i've been doing this weekend! I spent most of the time playing nintendo (haha) but when not doing that, I've been working on some things for my father-in-law's website. He owns and operates a driving school called Driving in a New America, Inc (DIANA). It's named afer his daughter, Diana, who passed away in a car accident when she was a teenager. Now, he is dedicating his life to helping other teens learn safe driving techniques. He does behind the wheel and classroom training around the Butler Count, PA area. You all should definitely check out his website, www.dianaschool.com.

So far, I've combined a couple photos together to make a banner for the top of the home page. The 'sky' in this photo was taken by Kevin (my FIL), on the day that Diana died. Can you spot the angel in the clouds? The rest of it is my creation, and I have to say that I'm pretty proud of it. Even though I thought of this project over a year ago, and am just now getting around to actually putting it into action. :)



And to go with the banner, I'll have to change some of the colors and layout of the website, which I've also been working on. I really hope Kevin likes one of the options I give him!

And with that, it's monday. So I guess I should get into the shower and get myself to work at some point. ooh, also! Tim and I were grocery shopping on saturday night (oh yeah, we're that exciting), and he spotted the "Kiwano", which is an orangish-yellow horned mellon. I had to have it! So we bought one and pictures to come of it, because it's fantastic!! yay!

Spot the Faker

I just stole this link from another blogger, but click the link to take the test to see if you can tell the difference between fake and real smiles. Apparently, most people are surprisingly bad at it. I, however, scored a 17 out of 20. Cuz I Rulz. See how well you can do!!

Spot the Faker!