Aren’t these just the cutest little cakes you’ve ever seen? They’re Orange Blossoms, selected for this week’s installment of the group My Girl, Paula!

These are really delicious and quite addictive. They’re so little, you really need some willpower or you’ll never stop popping them right in your mouth. They come together really quickly and easily. The only problem I had was dipping them into the glaze without them falling apart. I eventually found my rhythm and got it down pat.

Give these a try, everyone will love them!

Orange Blossoms
(from Paula Deen)

For cakes:
1 package yellow cake mix
3.4 oz. package instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup cold water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
For glaze:
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 Tbsp. melted butter
3 Tbsp. water

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease one or two minature muffin pans. For the cakes, in a mixing bowl combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, and oil, and beat well. Fill the prepared muffin pans, using about 1 tablespoon of batter for each cake. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when touched.

2. For the glaze, mix the confectioners’ sugar, orange juice, butter, and water until smooth; set aside.

3. Dip the blossoms in the glaze immediately after removing them from the oven. Drain on waxed paper.

Makes about 4 dozen cakes.

We are visiting Germany for a little while this summer. For my “Welcome to Germany” post, I really wanted to show you a big ol’ plate of Rahmschnitzel with Spaetzle, or a grilled wurst of some kind, but both times we went out to eat here (and ate those things) I forgot my camera. Next time!

We have visited Germany once before; 2 years ago, and it’s great to be back in the land of Blumen, Erdbeeren, Schnitzel, Spargel, Kartoffeln, Marzipan, and Joghurt. We really like it here!

We have done a lot since we got here, but one of the first things we did was go to a huge park full of roses, all different kinds. This park was very scenic, located by a beautiful river, with a lake inside, and there were probably hundreds of different kinds of roses. They love flowers here. They are everywhere, even on the grounds of swimming pools, and they are well-tended.

Germany is a very clean country. In some parks, dogs aren’t even allowed to poop!

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

This is a great salad for summer! It’s great for barbecues because it isn’t a mayo based salad. It is different from the normal barbecue food. Also, is a great salad to make if you have a summer vegetable garden. You can use up those tomatoes and cucumbers. This is a recipe that comes from my mom. I made this to take to my summer work party. It makes a lot but you can easily half the recipe too. You gotta give this one a try.

Cucumber Salad

5 large cucumbers
2 Tomatoes
1/2 cup onion, minced
¾ cup vinegar
1/3 cup oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt or more
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp chopped parsley

In a 9 x 13 baking dish put half the cucumbers followed by half the tomatoes and onion. Repeat. mix together the remaining ingredients and power over layers. Let soak 6-8 hours in refrigerator stirring half way through.

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite…We call her “The Girl with Red Ribbons” and thought she was a fit subject for the Work of the Poet: Ruby Tuesday meme. She was a lovely child. The photograph was taken in an outdoor cafe in the Muslim quarter of Xi’an China. The call to prayer had interrupted her meal and she was fascinated by the stream of believers pouring into the mosque compound. Though the area was a Muslim enclave, the restaurants outside the mosque served an incredible array of food, including pork. Obviously, not all the merchants and visitors were Muslim, so it was only mildly surprising that red cooked pork was a popular item in the cafes. Today’s recipe is for an incredibly good version of red cooked pork. When this is made with pork belly or not-to-lean pork ribs you have the makings of an unbelievably easy feast. My friends and teachers, Lily, at Lily’s Wai Sek Hong, and Ning, at Heart and Hearth have wonderfully authentic recipes for this great entree. Here’s my westernized version of the classic.

Red Cooked Pork…from the kitchen at One Perfect Bite
1-1/2 pounds pork belly or boneless pork ribs cut into two inch cubes
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cloves of garlic peeled
3 whole star anise
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup Shaoxing wine, mirin or dry sherry
1 can (14.5-oz.) reduced sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
Garnish: chopped scallions

Directions:
1) Melt sugar in vegetable in a medium pot over medium high heat. Cook, stirring, until sugar is slightly brown, about 3 minutes. Add pork cubes to pan and cook in caramelized sugar until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes.
2) Place garlic, star anise, dark soy sauce, rice wine and broth in pot. Simmer, covered, over low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer meat to a bowl and tent with foil. Boil sauce to reduce by half. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to pan. Stir until sauce comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Return meat to pan. Toss in sauce until all surfaces are coated. Transfer to a platter, garnish with scallions and serve hot. Yield: 4 servings.