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Lava Cake

Chocolate Lava Muffins

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

1 min

Cook Time:

11 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

1 dozen

Ingredients

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• Butter, to coat muffin tin
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl. Stir in vanilla.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Sift these into the chocolate and mix well with electric hand mixer. Add eggs one at time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next. Beat at high until batter is creamy and lightens in color, approximately 4 minutes. Chill mixture.

Coat the top and each cup of the muffin tin with butter. Dust with the cocoa powder and shake out excess. Spoon mixture into pan using a 4-ounce scoop or ladle. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Outsides should be cake-like and centers should be gooey.

While muffins are in oven, melt the ice cream in a small saucepan. Stir in the espresso powder. Serve over warm muffins.

I know it's been awhile....

I know that it has been far too long since my last update, for that I apologize. There is a bunch of stuff that has happened since my last update, all of it good. I will start with what everybody has been patiently waiting for...A update on Mikey.

Yesterday we had our follow up appointment with Mikey's team of doctors. We meet with his surgeon, neurologist, and oncologist, and things could not have gone better. Mike had an MRI on 10/23 and the results of that showed that the tumor was completely removed! All 3 doctors commented on how well he is doing. When you look back at what we were facing in early summer, and how it came out, there could be no better outcome.

We were given a 10 year treatment plan for Mike, consisting of serial MRI's for the next 10 years. That means for the next 2 years he will have an MRI and exam every three months, then every six months till year 5, and finally, just one per year until year 10.

Mikey did get a bit of sad news during our appointment yesterday. It was confirmed yesterday by his surgeon that unfortunately Mike's football career is officially over before it began. Tackle football is a definite No-No with his neck. I am a bit disappointed, but it is completely understandable and a very small price to have paid. Mom on the other hand was ecstatic! She was never a fan of him playing.

The other disappointment for Mike is that he will not be able to play basketball as soon as we had hoped. He is on a local team with his friends and has been practicing with them, but he has been unable to scrimmage or play in games yet. (Although I did cave last game and let him play for 2 minutes...please don't tell his mother.) Mike has been looking forward to the minute he could resume playing in games, and the first thing he asked when the doctor walked into the room was "Can I play basketball now?" Regrettably, he will have to wait a bit longer. The doctor wants to avoid any head and neck contact to give him more time to heal, and he is still experiencing left side weakness. It is more pronounced in his arm and hand, but it is also affecting his leg and foot, causing the ocassional stumble. Although he was not happy about the basketball news, he was cleared to resume PE in school, and he can now play homerun derby with his friends at our house.

In other news...

I participated in the Livestrong Challange in Austin 2 weeks ago. The weather was beautiful, dry and mid 70's. Perfect for this kind of event. My very dear friends Marc and Chris Applebaum came from Michigan to participate in the event. They have been highly active with LAF for several years, and have done the Austin ride a few times. It was great to visit and ride with them again. The ride was a tremendous challange for me, but I did complete it! I should have know that this would be a difficult route, after all, this is the area that Lance Armstrong honed his skill and helped to make him the rider he is today. The hills were relentless. I now truley understand why they call this part of Texas "Hill Country". Foolishly, I thought I could get ready for a ride like this with only a few weeks training, although I think I had a pretty valid reason for delaying the start of my training this summer. I am already developing my training plan for next year, and at a minimum, I will start training several months before the ride, as opposed to several weeks. I think it might make a difference. I wanted to send out a huge THANK YOU to all the people that supported me in this ride. Due to their generosity I was able to raise over $4,000 to go towards the battle against cancer!

I also want to send out an update on the happenings of our other two kids. They have both been extremely helpful and understanding during the past several months, and for that both Wendy and I are eternally grateful.

Shelby is in the midst of her diving season on the high school team. She enjoys the diving and her teammates, but she is not too crazy about the practice time. We drop her off in the school parking lot every morning at 6:10, so the bus can take her to the pool where they practice. She gets ready for school after practice, and rides the bus back to school to start her classes. Shelby got her driving permit this summer and has been bugging us to drive everywhere. What fun it is to drive with your daughter. A few nights ago she was driving and a skunk crossed her path. She was not to happy with the fact that she almost hit it. Being a big animal lover, the thought of almost killing a animal did not sit well with her.

Alex is working with the theater department and their lighting system. They have already put on one play, and are working on two other plays that will start in a few weeks. He is starting to look at colleges and we will be doing visits to schools in the near future. Alex is enjoying the freedom that comes with having his drivers license. He is always asking if he can take the car to go here and there. It is also a big help to Mom and Dad to have another driver around to lend out a hand when one is out of town and the other can't be in two places at once.

I think this is a long enough update for now...I will try to post a bit more frequently. Thanks to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers! It has been a true blessing that we have come through this recent challenge in as good shape as we did.

Please support Mike and I

Now that Mikey is home and our lives have started to return to normal, I have decided to take part in the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin TX this October. The LIVESTRONG Challenge is the Lance Armstrong Foundation's (LAF) signature fundraising event inspired by the hope, courage and determination that exist in all of us. I have joined friends of mine, Marc and Chris, who have been working with LAF for several years. Marc recently rode his bike from Detroit to Philadelphia to raise funds and awareness for LAF and the battle against cancer. After riding 700 miles, he then rode another 100 miles, taking part in the Philly LIVESTRONG Challenge. He and his wife are headed to Austin to ride, so the least I could do is join them. Who knows...Maybe next year I might even join him for the ride from Detroit to Philly.

When we first found out Mikey was sick, people asked how they could help. Well...Now I am asking for that help. I would like to ask that everyone please consider making a donation on Mikey's behalf to the LIVESTRONG Challange at http://austin09.livestrong.org/4mikey. For the 2009 LIVESTRONG Challenge, I am trying to raise $3,000 to support cancer prevention, provide access to screening and care, fund research, and enhance the quality of life for cancer survivors everywhere.

Thank you in advance for your time and generosity. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions about the Challenge or my goals. I look forward to hearing from you and will be sure to keep you updated on my fundraising and training progress as I prepare for the event.

Back to school time

This week marks Mike's return to school. He started on Wednesday and will go 1/2 days for 2 weeks, then back to full time. He continues to do well, but gets tired during the school day. It will take him some time to get his endurance back up to what it was several months ago. We are all glad to be settling into our normal family routine. Several school meeting this week, followed by writing several checks for various booster clubs and activity fees, along with hounding all the kids about their homework. Good times!

Mikey is home today!

After spending the last month in 2 different hospitals, Mikey finally got home today! We are ready to get our lives back to normal, or at least our version of it. We already have several appointments for next week, but at least we get to spend the nights in our beds. To celebrate tonight we are either having a small pizza party or going to Mike's favorite restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings. He is excited to not have to eat the hospitals food anymore.

Mikey will be going back to school on Wednesday. He will have missed the first 2 weeks, and will only be going 1/2 days for another 2 weeks, but we are glad he is going back. Him--Not so much. It will probably take him some time to get adjusted to the school routine.

Thanks to everyone for there thoughts and prayers as we made our way thorough this ordeal. As bad as it was at times, we never lost faith that his outcome would be good. We were able to meet some wonderful people along the way, and some of the kids we meet have a long road ahead of them, so please include them in your prayers.

September is Childhood Cancer Awarness Month

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and September 12 is Childhood Cancer Awareness Day

Here are some things you can do this month (and ALL YEAR ROUND, for the most part!) to support Childhood Cancer Awareness. None of these things involves any financial burden of any kind (except for eating at Chili's ... but hey, ya gotta eat right??)

• Tell everyone you know (and even those you don't know) how you, or someone you love, has been touched by childhood cancer.
  
  
• Donate blood: givelife.org
  
  
• Dine at Chili’s on September 28, 2009, when they will donate 100% of profits from restaurant sales to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: createapepper.com
  
  
• WEAR GOLD FOR THE KIDS: cafepress.com/teamunite
  
  
• Register to become a bone marrow donor: marrow.org
  
  
• Offer to volunteer at a local childhood cancer center.
  
  
• Join Team Unite to become part of a unified voice against childhood cancer: teamunite.net
  
  
• Join People Against Childhood Cancer (PAC2) to learn of efforts being made around the country to find a cure, raise awareness, and lend support: curechildhoodcancer.ning.com
  
  
• Let a family that's been touched by childhood cancer know you STILL CARE and haven't forgotten about their struggles.
  
  
• Let a family of an angel know their child remains in your heart.
  
  
• Sign the CURE CHILDHOOD CANCER petition (and ask your friends and family to sign, as well!): thepetitionsite.com/1/CureChildhoodCancer

Weekly update

Mikey had a very good week at OCH. He continues to do well with his therapy, although he does not like (hates) wearing his cast during the day on his right arm. He is constantly trying to negotiate with me and the therapist about when he has to wear it. When 4:00 rolls around, he can't wait to take it off. But, the cast has helped. I see his left hand get stronger week by week. When I think back to what that hand could do 3 weeks ago vs. what it can do today, I am amazed. He is still on schedule to be discharged next Friday.

Last week Mikey and several of the kids at OCH went on an afternoon field trip to Bass Pro Shop. It was a chance for them to get away from the hospital and have some fun. Everyone enjoyed themselves and are looking forward to next weeks outing, a Texas Rangers baseball game Wednesday night. Wish I could go!

Mikey has turned into quit the little card shark during his stay. He has organized a nightly Texas Hold 'em poker game with himself and 2 of the other boys on his floor. They play each night with a bunch of Skittles. It is a lot of fun to watch these 3 shooters playing cards. When he is not trying to be a World Series of Poker Champion, Mikey enjoys playing Yahtzee and rummy with mom and dad and grandma.

Speaking of grandma (my mom), I will be forever thankful to her for coming down to Texas and staying with us. She was a tremendous help, both around the house, and at the hospital. It was a God send to have someone around to help with the other kids at home, and stay with Mikey when we had to be somewhere else. Thanks Mom!

2 more weeks

We got the word yesterday that Mike should be released from OCH on Sept 4th, which is 2 weeks from today. That was some good news. He continues to make progress, but still has a long way to go with the left hand. Once he is released he will return to McKamy Middle School and start 7th grade just a few weeks late. After he is released, he will need to continue his therapy on an outpatient basis 2 - 3 times a week.

Last post I mentioned that Mike had to have an EEG done to rule out that a seizure was causing his left hand to twitch. Well the results came back and it is just like we thought, he is not having any seizure. It is most likely just part of the healing process and should go away at some point as his spinal cord and nerves continue the healing process. His neurosurgeon says that we should expect some different things to happen to his arm and hand over the next 6 months as his cord and nerves work things out.

Mike is in good spirits most of the time, he still can get frustrated with his hand, but when we look back at the progress he has made over the past 2 weeks, it is amazing. I am sure he will continue to make good progress because he always works hard when he is with his therapists and improves with each session.

Mikey also had a follow up appointment with Dr. Swift, his neurosurgeon, yesterday. Dr. Swift was at the tumor board meeting yesterday and they decided that Mikey will not require any additional treatment for his tumor right now. YEA!! Based on the MRI that was done the day after surgery, the radiologist, surgeon, and the rest of the team are pretty confident that the entire tumor was removed. They are going to have another MRI done in about 3 months to set the new baseline image for his neck and to confirm that the tumor is gone. After that there will be MRI's every 3 months for several years to keep an eye on Mike and compare each new MRI with his new baseline.

Mike also got to get his stitches removed yesterday and he was very happy about that. When we meet initially with Dr. Swift, he applied some numbing cream to his neck and told us it takes about 40 minutes to work and that we could go get something to eat and come back to his office, then he would remove the stitches. So we go to the food court and eat and on our way back Mikey states that he is glad that Dr. Swift, instead of one of his helpers, is taking his stitches out "because I have confidence in him." I was cracking up! I would hope he had some confidence in him, since he had Mike on the operating room table digging around in his spinal cord for 11 hours.

Now for just a brief shout out to Dr. Dale Swift and the rest of the team treating Mikey. This team has accomplished something amazing. Considering what we were told after the first operation in Detroit, it is an under statement to say that I was more that a bit nervous going into the second operation, but Mikey came out of it with as close to flying colors as I think was possible. Dr. Swift knew from our first meeting with him that he would be able to get this. I now know why God brought us to Dallas. It was to get us close to Dr. Swift and the entire team at both Children's Medical Center and Our Children's House at Baylor. We heard about Dr. Swift's reputation before the surgery, but during our stay at OCH the past week we have come across several people that also had him as their doctor, and they have had equally amazing results. We are eternally thankful to have meet Dr. Swift, I hate to think about what the outcome might have been had we not.