Carrot Cake. Just because it's delicious.

Plenty of carrots make this cake extremely moist and dense.

Carrot Cake. Who doesn't like the cinnamon, nutmeg and chewy goodness that a carrot cake provides? Especially when accompanied by a thick cream cheese frosting. Not too sweet, just enough tang to couple the sweetness of this cake.

Carrot cake always reminds me of summer. This happens to be a particular favorite of mine--and my husband's and my grandpa's. In fact, this particular cake we made as a date whie we were still engaged. We went on a hike together and then came back to my apartment to have dessert. I've always been a huge advocate of just making desserts, since I prefer homemade ones to ones that I have had when out to eat. He had started to agree at this point in our relationship. (He agrees even more now, since I make desserts regularly.)

Since it was spring, and since he adores carrot cake, we landed on this one. I'm so happy we did.

Strawberry Shortcakes

Do you remember that TV show from when you were a kid? Well if you weren't a girl, and you weren't born in the 80's (I just barely made it myself), the probably not. Well, this cartoon has made a reappearance to the toy scene for young girls. According to strawberrycentral.com Strawberry Shortcake is no longer infatuated with sweets and prefers talking to friends on her cellphone, wears less make up and would rather eat fruit than candy. This sounds like a case of the cookie gone Veggi-Monster.

Isn't it interesting the way media is in affecting a kid's future decisions? Here I am, 22 years old and I LOVE cookies. But I also love vegetables, thanks to my dietitian mom raising me to love them. So here's what I think. Turn off the TV and give the kid a ball and a stick and send them outside. Then bring them back indoors a few hours later and give them a huge dessert.

What does all this have to do with Treat Fairy? Well this weekend I had dinner with my fiance's extended family. I met 5 of his dad's siblings and all their kids. If that doesn't call for some serious treating I don't know what does.
So, in a pinch and wanting to make something delicious, that reminded me of summer and huge family gatherings I made STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE. It was a huge success, and even the kiddo's liked it.

The secret: douse those berries in sugar so they get nice and juicy. And whip the cream by hand, don't spray it out of a can. That extra touch makes all the difference.

Mmmmmmmmmm YUMMY!