​"Common sense is not so common." Fortune Cookie

In my case, it was not a lemon but a can of guava nectar.  My daughter likes peach juice. When I was in the supermarket I grabbed a few cans but as it turns out one was guava nectar which no one wanted to try.  The can was hanging around for a while and so I finally  decided to do something with it.  

Now there were lots of yummy looking recipes on Pinterest for cocktails using guava nectar but I decided to steer  away from those.  I did find a lot of recipes for guava cake which apparently is traditional in Hawaii but they all looked very complicated and most required more guava nectar than my one little can.  I did learn that guava nectar pairs well with strawberries so I figured I would go from there.  This is what I came up with.

So here is how I made it:

For the cake:

• Box of white cake mix - your favorite or if you are like me what's on sale
• 3/4 cup of guava nectar - I used a  9.6 oz can of Goya Nectar so what was left over was used for the sauce 
• box of strawberry Jello
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil - I used canola oil
• 4 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.
2. Grease or use cooking spray on a 9 x 13 cake pan.
3. Combine all ingredients and mix until well blended. I use a hand mixer which works fine.  Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake 29 - 35 minutes.  Check the times listed on the cake mix box. Cake is done when tooth pick comes out clean. 

For the topping:

• 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 8 oz container of Cool Whip defrosted
• 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Beat cream cheese until fluffy,
2. Add  sugar and vanilla and beat again.
3. Mix in Cool Whip.
4. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

For the sauce:

• Guava nectar leftover from cake
• Strawberries, sliced - about a cup (I didn't measure but a cup seems right) 
• About a 1/4 cup granular sugar - again I didn't measure.

Directions:

1. Put sliced strawberries, guava nectar and sugar in a small sauce pan.
2. Cook until strawberries are very soft.
3. I used an immersion blender to puree the sauce. You could use a regular blender or leave it chunky.
4. Allow to cool before serving.

To serve the cake cut a slice and put a generous helping of the topping on.  Then pour some sauce over and enjoy.

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

"Trust is earned by many deeds" Fortune Cookie

The Bullet Journal
"The Bullet Journal is a customizable and forgiving organization system. It can be your to-do list, sketchbook, notebook, and diary, but most likely, it will be all of the above. It will teach you to do more with less."

This year, I decided to try to be a little more productive since I feel that last year a lot of things seemed to have gotten away from me.  I started looking for a way to help me keep track of things better and motivate myself.

I have always loved the "idea" of journalling.  Over the years I have many times attempted to maintain a journal.  I was always very enthusiastic in the beginning but inevitably my enthusiasm would fade and the journal would languish forgotten somewhere.  

I started to see a lot of refrences to "Bullet Journaling" on Pinterest and in crafty magazines but I had no idea what it was.  The things I saw looked very elaborate and pretty but aslo very time consuming.  Eventually though my curiosity got the better of me. I decided to do a little research and found the bullitjournal.com website.  

The website is very helpful in explaing in the system. At first it seemed complicated but the video explains it all very well.  For some reason, it reminded me of this system of jurisprudence I studied a million years ago when I was in law school.  They sell journal books on the site but  also makes it clear that all you really need is a note book and a pen.  

I have decided to give it a try.  I repurposed one of the many marble notebooks leftover ​ from my kids grammer school days and set up my pages.  They recommend trying it for 2 months before making any judgements so that is what I am going to do. I hope!

Wish me luck!
​
Have a fun day!
Cynthia

“Wherever you are is the entry point.”  Kabir

In looking back over my blog for the last year, I have to admit that it has been neglected. I will admit that my bout with Lyme Disease over the summer kind of took away my momentum for doing stuff. Then of course, I had a busy show schedule in the fall, then it was the holidays plus we had some home imporvement projects going on and blah blah blah one excuse after the other. 

Well no more excuses! It's a new year and time  to get busy! I'm going to be working on some new projects that I hope to share this year so Happy New Year and I hope to be back soon.

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia