Train Cakes and Automobiles

It was his first lick of frosting, ever!

It really was about him. I don't care what anyone says about first birthdays being all about the parents. Come on. When do babies get to shake parachutes, play with bubbles and shove frosting in their face? Yes, on their first birthday.

The cake was a train. He celebrated with two of his buddies so I figured that a train would be something that all the little boys would agree on.

I got the instructions from Betty Crocker. I had to adapt the decorations a bit since the babies were very young and I didn't want any tiny candies for babies to choke on. I also used India Tree natural food coloring which I found on Chef Shop.Com .I went to pick them up since they are located in Seattle. They also have other hard to find spices and imported food products.

I tried to limit the use of artificial flavors except for the licorice, jujubes and mini Oreo cookie wheels.

 I love party sandwiches but wanted something a little different and healthy since I knew the babies would be eating too.

I made three different spreads for the sandwiches the night before. This morning I went to Macrina to pick up 6 loaves of bread and I assembled the sandwiches.

The three types:

Tahini-eggplant yogurt sandwiches with roasted peppers

Cilantro-basil pesto with goat cheese
Olive tapenade with mozzarella and arugula

I will leave you with the recipe for the tahini-eggplant sandwiches. It was a hit with the babies and parents. Yogurt adds a special creaminess to this Baba Ganoush.

I used ciabatta but you can use any bread.

The tahini spread recipe is from a Hebrew Cookbook called " The Healthy Kitchen" . "The Healthy Kitchen" is a compilation of recipes from "On the Table" which is a Hebrew food magazine.

Ingredients:

Ciabatta

roasted peppers in a jar

Recipe for spread:

1 eggplant

2 tablespoons of tahini

1-2 cloves of garlic

6 tablespoons of yogurt (I used low-fat)

juice of half a lemon

salt

1. Roast Eggplant (I poked holes in it and put it in oven at 450 for one hour)

2. Scoop out eggplant and mix well with all the other ingredients. Season with salt.

This spread can be kept in the fridge for up to one week.

3. Spread on Ciabetta with roasted peppers.