Isn't this adorable? From Parents.com. Use a mixture of M&Ms - mini, regular and peanut - to decorate. Visit Parents.com to get other ideas: http://www.parents.com/fun/birthdays/cakes/easy-birthday-cakes/

Yesterday I purchased some huge organic blueberries from the market and I have to tell you, I felt like I was eating candy for breakfast this morning. I told my sons, “Back in the “olden days” these blue “babies” were like candy! You should try them.” Before I knew it, they were playing catch with large blueberries, popping them in their mouths, like “goals” at a hockey game! With boys, nothing surprises me, but what does surprise me is how delicious this Food Flirt Friday Banana-Blueberry Mini Muffin recipe from The Stevia Cookbook is. With blueberries abound at every farmer’s market, take advantage of it-there’s nothing like locally grown fresh blueberries. Purchase extra pints and freeze them right away to capture their freshness for your wintertime recipes. You’ll thank me later! *Important point about cooking with Stevia: The most important thing to remember is not to use too much, which can result in excessive sweetness and an aftertaste. Always start with the exact amount called for in a recipe, or even a little less, then taste before you add any more. Stevia is delicious in almost any recipe using fruit or dairy products, but does present a bit of a challenge when used for baking, since it lacks sugar’s abilities to add texture, help soften batter, caramelize, enhance the browning process, and feed the fermentation of yeast. On the other hand, one of the excellent facets of stevia is that high temperatures do not affect its sweetening properties. Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour (organic if available) 1 tablespoon baking soda 2 ripe, medium-sized bananas 1/4 teaspoon white Stevia Powder (can be purchase online or at most natural foods grocery stores and markets) 1 cup buttermilk, or kefir 8 tablespoons unsalted (sweet) butter, melted 2 large egg whites 1 cup fresh blueberries (or 1 cup thawed frozen blueberries) 1 cup chopped walnuts Method Preheat the oven to 400*F In a large bowl, sift together the four and baking soda, and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until they reach a lumpy consistency. Add the stevia to the buttermilk, and combine with the bananas. Gently stir in the melted butter. Using an electric hand-held mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the banana mixture. Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Do not over stir. Gently fold in the blueberries and walnuts . Scoop the batter into a lightly oiled or papered mini muffin tin. Fill each cup with a heaping tablespoon of batter, and bake for about 12 minutes. When toothpick comes out clean, muffins are done. Let cool and ENJOY! Makes about 24 muffins Check out my new website, RealMomsLoveToEat.com

The Brownie That Will Change Your Life Thanks to StumbleUpon, I came across this recipe. My family is going to LOVE this!!! Here's the link to get all the instructions and beautiful photos for delicious caramel brownies: http://zestycook.com/the-brownie-that-will-change-your-life/ Ingredients * 1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) chocolate cake mix * 1 cup chopped nuts ( Optional ) * 1 cup Evaporated Milk * 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted * 35 (10-oz. pkg.) caramels, unwrapped * 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels Method 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 2. Combine cake mix and nuts in large bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup evaporated milk and butter (batter will be thick). Spread half of batter into ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. 3. Bake for 15 minutes. 4. Heat caramels and remaining evaporated milk in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Sprinkle morsels over brownie; drizzle with caramel mixture. 5. Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoon over caramel mixture. 6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. 7. Cool in pan on wire rack. 8. Dive in!!!

Last Bites of 'Gourmet': 'The Gourmet Cookie Book' As a summer '09 intern under special projects editor Jacqueline Terrebonne, I remember eyeing trays and trays of cookies in the photo studio, all that glorious sugar and glaze bouncing natural light from the room's seemingly mile-high wall of windows off 42nd Street. Each tray held the weight of a generation like an old album. At its core, The Gourmet Cookie Book (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $18), released today, just in time for the holidays, presents a historical account of the ways Americans took their sweets over the years, featuring the best cookie recipe from each year of the magazine's existence. That's nearly seven decades of cookies from World War II to the era of molecular gastronomy. There's even one that would have appeared in the December 2009 issue, had the magazine not shut down that October. (Its final issue was November 2009.) http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/11/last-bites-of-gourmet-the-gourmet-cookie-book/65544/

I adore dessert, but I think I draw the line at breast milk ice cream. So does Lady Gaga, apparently. What do you think? _____ Lady Gaga gags over breast milk ice cream, threatens legal action: Report Lady Gaga is none-too-pleased with a store called The Icecreamists in Convent Gardens, Central London that has been selling human breast milk ice cream flavored with lemon zest and vanilla branded "Baby Gaga" -- something the singer described as a "nausea-inducing" product. She threatened legal action this week and wrote the store owner, Matt O'Connor, demanding it be pulled from the shelves, according to British newspaper the Guardian. O'Connor didn't seem too put off by the possible pending litigation. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2011/03/06/2011-03-06_lady_gaga_gags_over_breast_milk_ice_cream_threatens_legal_action_guardian_report.html

Guess who is baking like a fool? http://applesinwonderland.blogspot.com/2011/06/whats-ball-count.html

5@5 - The five C's of dessert Eatocracy - 5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe. "C" may be for cookie - but that's certainly not good enough for us. Before her several year stint at The French Laundry and the opening of her own sweet venture, Platine Cookies, Jamie Cantor was taught at the Culinary Institute of America to build a dessert menu around the five C's: chocolate, citrus, coffee, cheese and caramel. Incidentally, she was also taught "desserts" is "stressed" spelled backward. But who wants to stress about making fancy, involved desserts during the long, hot, carefree days of summer? Here are some simple, delicious ways to incorporate the five most popular dessert flavors into your summer entertaining. The Five C's of Dessert: Jamie Cantor 1. Chocolate "The chocolate dessert is probably the most popular one at any restaurant. Go big and bold with this one - focus on good quality chocolate and you can turn a simple dessert into one with a ‘wow’ factor. For example, make a tasting of chocolate puddings with a high percentage single origin chocolate. I am really into Pralus chocolates these days; they have some great single origin bars that are fun to try. Use some really cute individual-sized dishes for each type and create a conversation starter for your foodie guests. Take a simple, old-fashioned recipe and turn it into something more sophisticated with the right technique and proper ingredients." 2. Citrus "I find that the people who aren’t chocolate lovers tend to be fans of citrus. In the summer, citrus is so refreshing so go ahead and make a grown-up creamsicle. Make your own fresh orange sorbet and vanilla ice cream and layer them in fantastic popsicle molds; or take the easy way out and buy the sorbet and ice cream, layer them in Dixie cups and stick a popsicle stick in the middle. What are the other 3 C's? Find out here: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/07/07/55-the-five-c’s-of-dessert/?hpt=hp_bn8