One of Max's favorite things in the whole world is Birthday Cake. He has told me "Happy Birthday" out of the blue on occasion, and then asked for birthday cake. He's a funny guy.
If you want a really great birthday cake, might I suggest:
Make a Guinness chocolate cake
Make some buttercream icing
Make some cherry topping
Frost the cake with the icing and add some cherries upon serving. It is a tasty treat.
Showing posts with label nom nom nom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nom nom nom. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, December 27, 2010
Recipe Time
This is an easy one, quite suited to a Monday morning, post holiday, where you just don't feel like cooking breakfast.
Tasty Muffins (I named them myself)
Ingredients
English Muffin
Salted Butter
Peanut Butter
Honey
Equipment
Toaster
Slice the Muffin in half if needed and toast both halves.
Butter lightly (you can skip this, but especially if you have unsalted peanut butter it will make a big difference)
Smooth on a nice coat of peanut butter
Drizzle with honey
Enjoy with your favorite breakfast beverage. I recommend cold milk or hot coffee.
Just make sure you have a napkin handy, because you can get a bit sticky.
You might be thinking, gosh why didn't she share this before I was done with breakfast? Well, I was eating mine. Just remember this for after New Years and don't say I never gave you anything.
Tasty Muffins (I named them myself)
Ingredients
English Muffin
Salted Butter
Peanut Butter
Honey
Equipment
Toaster
Slice the Muffin in half if needed and toast both halves.
Butter lightly (you can skip this, but especially if you have unsalted peanut butter it will make a big difference)
Smooth on a nice coat of peanut butter
Drizzle with honey
Enjoy with your favorite breakfast beverage. I recommend cold milk or hot coffee.
Just make sure you have a napkin handy, because you can get a bit sticky.
You might be thinking, gosh why didn't she share this before I was done with breakfast? Well, I was eating mine. Just remember this for after New Years and don't say I never gave you anything.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Mmmmummies
I am either a little late or quite a bit early with this illustrated guide to making Mummy Sausages. These are regular sausages, made to look like mummies, not some sort of disgusting science project. They were incredibly fun for Halloween, but you can have mummies any time in my book. So go ahead and bake some up tomorrow. I think these sausage wraps come out better than the ones I've had where the bread dough more completely covers the sausage. The bread has more golden yummy surfaces, the meat seems to cook a little better, and with little gaps for moisture to escape the inside dough didn't seem to suffer from being as soggy as usual.
You bake the sausages at the temperature and time according to the directions on your biscuit can. In my case I found they needed to cook a lot longer, but just go by looks. The sausages are fully cooked when you buy them, so you don't have to worry about food safety in that respect. Also, remember that these are similar to hot dogs, so if you would normally cut a hot dog for your little one make sure you cut these as well. With the smaller circumference I was able just to cut the sausage in half and Max handled it with ease. I actually cut them before wrapping and baking for him, and they came out just as well as the uncut.
That's it. I'd say it was as easy as pie, but it is a lot easier than baking a pie. For a festive presentation you can skewer the mummies after baking and stab the skewers into a pumpkin. We did this for a get together before Halloween and it was a big hit.
You bake the sausages at the temperature and time according to the directions on your biscuit can. In my case I found they needed to cook a lot longer, but just go by looks. The sausages are fully cooked when you buy them, so you don't have to worry about food safety in that respect. Also, remember that these are similar to hot dogs, so if you would normally cut a hot dog for your little one make sure you cut these as well. With the smaller circumference I was able just to cut the sausage in half and Max handled it with ease. I actually cut them before wrapping and baking for him, and they came out just as well as the uncut.
 |
| Get Some Canned Biscuit Dough |
 |
| And Some Pre-Cooked Sausages |
 |
| Roll Out a Piece of Dough So it's Thinner & Wider Then Cut Into Strips |
 |
| Wrap Around the Sausage, Leave a Gap |
 |
| Repeat Several Times |
 |
| Bake Until They Look Yummy |
 |
| Add Mustard (or Ketchup) For Eyes |
Monday, October 11, 2010
Trying New Things
Max was cracking me up at Pho Thaison this weekend. He was watching Jeff eat pho, eying each spoonful as it went into Jeff's mouth. So being the kind daddy that he is, Jeff let him try it. I think Max had 3 or 4 tastes, and each time made an interesting face. I'm not sure what he thought it was going to taste like, but I think that every sip caught him off guard.
Also, he absolutely hates vermicelli noodles. I wish I had video of him reaching in to pull them back out of his mouth and then vigorously shaking his hands to get them off his fingers. Granted, they weren't the best noodles, but they weren't that bad.
I know I recommended Pho Thaison recently, so I need to let you know about this visit. The pho must have been good because Jeff scarfed it down quick as he could while still having to feed Max. The noodle bowl left a lot to be desired though. Maybe I'm just spoiled after Jeff dragged me up north to Sunflower Cafe, but although there was a ton of beef on top, the rest was poorly cooked noodles, and 1/4 bowl of iceberg lettuce. No sprouts or anything, and hardly any flavor at all. The spring rolls were still excellent though.
I know I recommended Pho Thaison recently, so I need to let you know about this visit. The pho must have been good because Jeff scarfed it down quick as he could while still having to feed Max. The noodle bowl left a lot to be desired though. Maybe I'm just spoiled after Jeff dragged me up north to Sunflower Cafe, but although there was a ton of beef on top, the rest was poorly cooked noodles, and 1/4 bowl of iceberg lettuce. No sprouts or anything, and hardly any flavor at all. The spring rolls were still excellent though.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sunday Lunch
We had lunch today at the Lux Bakery & Cafe while getting new tires on the vehicle. By happy chance today was half price bubble drink day! Jeff got himself an Asian Pork sandwich and I had turkey, Max had a plain hot dog because it's easier.
The turkey sandwich was incredibly plain. Jeff's pork was not plain, but I didn't really like it. The hot dog was quite tasty, and might be what I opt for if we ever make it back. I highly recommend the green apple bubble tea, and I wish it was what I had ordered. I got the spiced chai and it tasted too much like a ginger bread cookie for my tastes. The pearls could have been better flavor wise, but at least they had a good texture. The folks running the place were quite nice, and they have really pretty paintings on the wall. To end the meal we got a tiny cupcake with lemon icing that was awesome.
If you're at Firestone and need some food you might check it out, but I'd suggest Pho Thaison for food instead, and hit up Lux for some dessert on your way out.
The turkey sandwich was incredibly plain. Jeff's pork was not plain, but I didn't really like it. The hot dog was quite tasty, and might be what I opt for if we ever make it back. I highly recommend the green apple bubble tea, and I wish it was what I had ordered. I got the spiced chai and it tasted too much like a ginger bread cookie for my tastes. The pearls could have been better flavor wise, but at least they had a good texture. The folks running the place were quite nice, and they have really pretty paintings on the wall. To end the meal we got a tiny cupcake with lemon icing that was awesome.
If you're at Firestone and need some food you might check it out, but I'd suggest Pho Thaison for food instead, and hit up Lux for some dessert on your way out.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Who Knew
So I actually made tasty brussels sprouts today. I don't just mean that they are edible, they were actually good enough that we might want to make them again. The only change I think we'd make is to make more dressing for them next time. I like to use baby brussels because they are closer to bite size, and they are cuter. You could use big ones if you liked, but they might need to cook longer.
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Mustard Dressing
Prep 1 bag of baby brussels sprouts by washing, trimming cut end, and removing outer layer(s) of leaves. You want to get rid of any yucky looking leaves, torn, dirty, etc and reveal crisp pretty little sprouts. Cut each sprout in half lengthwise.
Cut 3 strips of thick cut bacon into 2" pieces. Cook bacon on medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon from pan and place on paper towels to drain. Don't discard any grease, if you think there is too much in your pan, pour it off, but save it. You will probably end up needing to add it back, the sprouts absorb a lot.
Turn heat down to low, and put brussels sprouts into pan cut side down. Cook on low for 10-12 minutes, while they cook chop your bacon into bits. When the sprouts are almost tender then crank the heat back up to medium and cook 2-3 more minutes. You want the sprouts to brown a bit, but not burn. They should be tender but not mushy. Use tongs to remove sprouts and hold in a bowl while you make the dressing.
Take the pan off the heat and add a spoonful or two of whole grain mustard and some sherry vinegar to the pan. Scrape the bacony goodness from the pan and get everything mixed up well. I didn't measure anything, mostly went by smell. This part only takes a few seconds.
Pour the dressing onto the sprouts, add 2/3 of the bacon and toss to combine. After serving add the remaining bacon bits on top of each portion.
Makes 2-3 servings.
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Mustard Dressing
Prep 1 bag of baby brussels sprouts by washing, trimming cut end, and removing outer layer(s) of leaves. You want to get rid of any yucky looking leaves, torn, dirty, etc and reveal crisp pretty little sprouts. Cut each sprout in half lengthwise.
Cut 3 strips of thick cut bacon into 2" pieces. Cook bacon on medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon from pan and place on paper towels to drain. Don't discard any grease, if you think there is too much in your pan, pour it off, but save it. You will probably end up needing to add it back, the sprouts absorb a lot.
Turn heat down to low, and put brussels sprouts into pan cut side down. Cook on low for 10-12 minutes, while they cook chop your bacon into bits. When the sprouts are almost tender then crank the heat back up to medium and cook 2-3 more minutes. You want the sprouts to brown a bit, but not burn. They should be tender but not mushy. Use tongs to remove sprouts and hold in a bowl while you make the dressing.
Take the pan off the heat and add a spoonful or two of whole grain mustard and some sherry vinegar to the pan. Scrape the bacony goodness from the pan and get everything mixed up well. I didn't measure anything, mostly went by smell. This part only takes a few seconds.
Pour the dressing onto the sprouts, add 2/3 of the bacon and toss to combine. After serving add the remaining bacon bits on top of each portion.
Makes 2-3 servings.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Mixed Bag
Lunch today was an experiment.
I went with a one pot quick-ish lunch. I boiled some chicken/prosciutto ravioli, edamame, and fresh green beans together in some water flavored with tomato/chicken broth. It was pretty quick, so that was good. And Max at his ravioli, so that was good. Unfortunately I don't think that I cooked the edamame or green beans for long enough. He seemed to like the taste because he kept returning to them and trying to eat them, but then he'd pull them out of his mouth and go back to ravioli.
Well, at least I didn't spend 30 minutes on something that he wouldn't eat. Which is good, because I've been bitten by a craft bug, and the other 20 minutes not cooking were minutes I could use making ridiculously cute little notebooks.
I've seen little folded paper notebooks online before, and even made one or two, although I normally cheese out and try to use tape to hold the thing together. For the record, that never works for me. Last night I made a pretty small one as a test and actually sewed the pages together, and learned a lot about how I want to do things differently. I've been taking notes in that notebook, on how to make new notebooks.
This afternoon's book is on the simpler side, mostly because Max was awake and all up in my grill wanting attention, and also because I don't quite have the supplies together to make it fancier. Not to mention that my raw material was part of a paper grocery bag, and the goal was a little notebook for grocery shopping lists. I am tickled with it.
The outside is an 8" by 4" strip of grocery bag with veggies on it. The inside is comprised of 5 strips that are 7 1/2" by 3 3/4". First I folded everything neatly together. Next I used a stapler (this is the less pretty way) and stapled the inner sheets together along the center fold. I put the sharp bits toward the outside, so that the center is snag free. The final step was to glue the first and last inner pages into the cover.
I should probably mention that I have a paper cutter, and didn't cut these by measuring with a ruler and using scissors. It isn't anything super fancy or large, but it makes cutting small pieces of paper a snap. It might be this model
, but I'm not positive. It looks about right, and is the right color. It's the same cutter I use when I pretend to scrapbook. Although I think a lot of scrapbooking paper might bite the dust in the name of little notebooks.
Also, I glued the insides in upside down so that one of my pages says FOOD, but not in the direction that I'd intended.
Well, at least I didn't spend 30 minutes on something that he wouldn't eat. Which is good, because I've been bitten by a craft bug, and the other 20 minutes not cooking were minutes I could use making ridiculously cute little notebooks.
I've seen little folded paper notebooks online before, and even made one or two, although I normally cheese out and try to use tape to hold the thing together. For the record, that never works for me. Last night I made a pretty small one as a test and actually sewed the pages together, and learned a lot about how I want to do things differently. I've been taking notes in that notebook, on how to make new notebooks.
This afternoon's book is on the simpler side, mostly because Max was awake and all up in my grill wanting attention, and also because I don't quite have the supplies together to make it fancier. Not to mention that my raw material was part of a paper grocery bag, and the goal was a little notebook for grocery shopping lists. I am tickled with it.
, but I'm not positive. It looks about right, and is the right color. It's the same cutter I use when I pretend to scrapbook. Although I think a lot of scrapbooking paper might bite the dust in the name of little notebooks.Also, I glued the insides in upside down so that one of my pages says FOOD, but not in the direction that I'd intended.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Lunchable
Pretty much every day I face the dilemma of what to feed Max for lunch. For dinner he almost always has what we had for supper the night before, so that one is easier. If by some fluke we don't have leftovers I have a few things stashed in the freezer. Breakfast tends to a rotation of egg, oatmeal, or pancakes with various fruits/meats as sides. That one I pretty much have covered, though the choice tends to depend on how awake I am at the time.
In my mind lunch is the domain of sandwiches and salads. Neither of which Max really knows what to do with yet. Add to the mess that I don't know a whole hell of a lot about cooking and you leave us up a bit of a creek, with no picnic. When he was a baby it was easy, lunch was yogurt time, with a side of some other almost liquid food. Once he found the joy of picking up food to feed himself those days were gone.
He will still eat some foods from a spoon, thank goodness. For instance lunch today was fresh strawberries and blueberries that he could pick up and eat, then some yogurt and applesauce that he let me feed him with a spoon. It's going to be fun* when he masters this spoon thing better and won't let me help him at all, but for now he is only interested in trying it as he starts to get full. When hunger is in full force he knows that it's more efficient just to let an adult handle that part for him.
My other issue is trying to get vegetables into him. Yes, that's already started. He has begun to reject even the green beans and broccoli that he used to eat with gusto. So far he will still consume large quantities of peas, but I worry that even that well might dry up. He hardly ever gets veggies at lunch, since he can't eat them raw yet, and breakfast veggies tend toward tomatoes and onions and such that I stash inside his eggs. We've been pretty good at making sure there is green on his plate at least once a day, usually at dinner, but we can't force him to eat them.
If anyone has some early toddler lunch ideas I'd love to hear them. Keep in mind that I'm kind of lazy, don't want to waste any of my time off cooking (unless it's cookies), and I'm not incredibly skilled in the kitchen. I will google how to do new things though, so hit me with your best shot!
*By fun I mean horrifying, as he becomes determined to do it himself a good bit before he has actually mastered getting food from bowl to mouth.
In my mind lunch is the domain of sandwiches and salads. Neither of which Max really knows what to do with yet. Add to the mess that I don't know a whole hell of a lot about cooking and you leave us up a bit of a creek, with no picnic. When he was a baby it was easy, lunch was yogurt time, with a side of some other almost liquid food. Once he found the joy of picking up food to feed himself those days were gone.
He will still eat some foods from a spoon, thank goodness. For instance lunch today was fresh strawberries and blueberries that he could pick up and eat, then some yogurt and applesauce that he let me feed him with a spoon. It's going to be fun* when he masters this spoon thing better and won't let me help him at all, but for now he is only interested in trying it as he starts to get full. When hunger is in full force he knows that it's more efficient just to let an adult handle that part for him.
My other issue is trying to get vegetables into him. Yes, that's already started. He has begun to reject even the green beans and broccoli that he used to eat with gusto. So far he will still consume large quantities of peas, but I worry that even that well might dry up. He hardly ever gets veggies at lunch, since he can't eat them raw yet, and breakfast veggies tend toward tomatoes and onions and such that I stash inside his eggs. We've been pretty good at making sure there is green on his plate at least once a day, usually at dinner, but we can't force him to eat them.
If anyone has some early toddler lunch ideas I'd love to hear them. Keep in mind that I'm kind of lazy, don't want to waste any of my time off cooking (unless it's cookies), and I'm not incredibly skilled in the kitchen. I will google how to do new things though, so hit me with your best shot!
*By fun I mean horrifying, as he becomes determined to do it himself a good bit before he has actually mastered getting food from bowl to mouth.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Portrait of a Potato
I gave Max some sweet potato "fries" yesterday. They didn't really crisp up in the oven, but that's okay because he still likes food he can squish.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Anniversaries
Thanks to a good friend being available to babysit and to family for providing a gift card to ease the financial sting, Jeff and I were able to go to a swanky restaurant downtown last night for our wedding anniversary. Since we spent our honeymoon in Hawaii it may become a habit to try and get Hawaiian food for our anniversary. We've done it the past two years, and this year was much better than the last.
We went to Roy's and being a Monday night there was no shortage of tables. There were a few other people there though, so it didn't feel desolate. The little steamed edamame dish they serve as you are seated was kind of odd, but not bad. The wait staff was pleasant. Considering the menu prices, the wine prices weren't terrible. And either they serve really cheap sake, or they have awesome sake prices. But it's not a cheap place to eat and we'll definitely not be going there multiple times a month like one of the reviewers I saw online.
I ordered from the Prix Fixe menu and I was not disappointed. The beef potstickers were actually fried dumplings not potstickers, but I suppose most people don't know the difference anyway. Despite the somewhat flawed labeling of the dish the taste was excellent, just keep that kim chee cucumber away from me. Next up was the lamb chops. The menu lists them as "Herb Grilled Lamb Chops - Port Wine Bordelaise Sauce" and that does not do them justice at all. What I got were huge delicious grilled lamb chops with tasty sauce, on top of fabulous green beans, with a side of awesome cheesy scallop potatoes. I suppose it's either not fashionable to list what the sides will be or they want to leave wiggle room to use different ingredients, but I was quite happily surprised to find all that extra yum on my plate. I ended up bringing about half my meat home because I also had a dessert coming. The molten chocolate souffle was SO GOOD. My only complaint was the ice cream that was served with it. The boring vanilla bean ice cream would have seemed fine if we hadn't also ordered the raspberry pineapple upside down cake. The cake came with mascarpone ice cream that was out of this world. I think they should serve it with the chocolate souffle instead of the vanilla bean. Mmmm, I bet it would make a killer shake.
I tried the yellowtail sushi that Jeff ordered, and I thought it was okay, but the texture still kind of creeps me out. I have decided to continue trying it when he orders some. Who knows, maybe someday I'll like it, and then I will no longer be the world's cheapest sushi date. For dinner Jeff got Roy's trio, which is salmon, ahi, and butterfish. I tried the salmon and thought it was okay, and so I also tried the butterfish but did not like that even one little bit. As I mentioned we got the raspberry pineapple upside down cake for the second dessert, and it was not very good. Jeff felt that there was too much pineapple, and didn't even notice the raspberry because you couldn't taste it. My complaint was the dryness, it was so dry stuck in my throat in an unpleasant way. If you go I'd steer clear.
After our lovely dinner we came home and helped get Max back to sleep, because he had been a little difficult, and then bid our lovely babysitter good night. We curled up on the couch, had a beer and watched House before shuffling upstairs to sleep. It was a really great night, and I'm so glad that Jeff arranged to make it happen.
Happy Anniversary to us, and here's hoping for many more!
We went to Roy's and being a Monday night there was no shortage of tables. There were a few other people there though, so it didn't feel desolate. The little steamed edamame dish they serve as you are seated was kind of odd, but not bad. The wait staff was pleasant. Considering the menu prices, the wine prices weren't terrible. And either they serve really cheap sake, or they have awesome sake prices. But it's not a cheap place to eat and we'll definitely not be going there multiple times a month like one of the reviewers I saw online.
I ordered from the Prix Fixe menu and I was not disappointed. The beef potstickers were actually fried dumplings not potstickers, but I suppose most people don't know the difference anyway. Despite the somewhat flawed labeling of the dish the taste was excellent, just keep that kim chee cucumber away from me. Next up was the lamb chops. The menu lists them as "Herb Grilled Lamb Chops - Port Wine Bordelaise Sauce" and that does not do them justice at all. What I got were huge delicious grilled lamb chops with tasty sauce, on top of fabulous green beans, with a side of awesome cheesy scallop potatoes. I suppose it's either not fashionable to list what the sides will be or they want to leave wiggle room to use different ingredients, but I was quite happily surprised to find all that extra yum on my plate. I ended up bringing about half my meat home because I also had a dessert coming. The molten chocolate souffle was SO GOOD. My only complaint was the ice cream that was served with it. The boring vanilla bean ice cream would have seemed fine if we hadn't also ordered the raspberry pineapple upside down cake. The cake came with mascarpone ice cream that was out of this world. I think they should serve it with the chocolate souffle instead of the vanilla bean. Mmmm, I bet it would make a killer shake.
I tried the yellowtail sushi that Jeff ordered, and I thought it was okay, but the texture still kind of creeps me out. I have decided to continue trying it when he orders some. Who knows, maybe someday I'll like it, and then I will no longer be the world's cheapest sushi date. For dinner Jeff got Roy's trio, which is salmon, ahi, and butterfish. I tried the salmon and thought it was okay, and so I also tried the butterfish but did not like that even one little bit. As I mentioned we got the raspberry pineapple upside down cake for the second dessert, and it was not very good. Jeff felt that there was too much pineapple, and didn't even notice the raspberry because you couldn't taste it. My complaint was the dryness, it was so dry stuck in my throat in an unpleasant way. If you go I'd steer clear.
After our lovely dinner we came home and helped get Max back to sleep, because he had been a little difficult, and then bid our lovely babysitter good night. We curled up on the couch, had a beer and watched House before shuffling upstairs to sleep. It was a really great night, and I'm so glad that Jeff arranged to make it happen.
Happy Anniversary to us, and here's hoping for many more!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Ashley is Right
The other day @themagicash declared that everyone should eat Greek yogurt. I expressed hesitance and was told not to be scared, that it was tasty. I'd always been a little curious so it didn't take much convincing for me to pick some up at the store. I still wasn't sure if I'd eat it or not, but I'd taken the first step of at least getting some into my home fridge. It didn't last too long in there though, I ended up grabbing it last night when my sweet tooth had me digging around looking for a snack.I concur with Ashley that it is good stuff. I don't know if all Greek yogurt is created equal, but the stuff I picked up rocked my world. The texture reminded me of mascarpone cheese. It was thick, rich, dense and creamy. The cherry stuff on the side was superbly sweet like the best cherry pie; it paired very well with the tangy yogurt.
I picked it up at HEB and it was not cheap. $2 for a single serving of yogurt is a bit steep in my opinion, but I think it's good enough to warrant buying again. I just can't afford to make this my go to yogurt every day. It was extremely satisfying last night as a dessert. So now I will investigate other options, maybe I'll find something more economical. Even if I stick with this brand it may be less expensive to get it without the added toppings, one of the options was honey and a honey bear is cheap. My comparison to mascarpone also has me thinking that it might be tasty with some brown sugar and nutmeg, which then led me to perhaps adding some cinnamon to the honey...
Thus begins my new infatuation with Greek yogurt. Ashley was right, it is good stuff.
I picked it up at HEB and it was not cheap. $2 for a single serving of yogurt is a bit steep in my opinion, but I think it's good enough to warrant buying again. I just can't afford to make this my go to yogurt every day. It was extremely satisfying last night as a dessert. So now I will investigate other options, maybe I'll find something more economical. Even if I stick with this brand it may be less expensive to get it without the added toppings, one of the options was honey and a honey bear is cheap. My comparison to mascarpone also has me thinking that it might be tasty with some brown sugar and nutmeg, which then led me to perhaps adding some cinnamon to the honey...
Thus begins my new infatuation with Greek yogurt. Ashley was right, it is good stuff.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Movie Noms
For a food theme Sean picked Ireland vs Belgium. For my part I made Guinness cupcakes again, but used the icing from the cake recipe. The cake icing has less sugar in it, and a little more cream cheese flavor. Jeff made ice cream with Belgian ales, one a double and the other a triple.I used mini cupcake pans, and so I ended up bringing a lot of cupcakes. I packed them into a bamboo steamer just to be able to get them all over to the Larson residence.
Jeff made 3 quarts of ice cream all told, and it was a big hit. Tasty cold treats tend to go over pretty big in 100 degree weather. The cupcakes also went over pretty well, but I cheated. I put them out on the table in front of everyone as we watched In Bruges. Hard to resist little bite sized cupcakes when they are right in front of you. I should know, I think I may have eaten a dozen all on my own.Another fun movie night! I think we'd all seen the movie already, but it's so good that we enjoyed seeing again. Max was fairly well behaved for a little guy; Jeff and I were able to stay through the entire movie. We took turns walking off to calm him or feed him as needed, but he hung in there like a champ and I don't think he disrupted the movie too much for everyone else.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Island Cakes
Normally when I make pancakes "from scratch" I use a mix. From scratch means that I didn't pull them out of a freezer box or something. This morning though I really scratched them out. I mentioned that I had a coupon for free yogurt, the catch was that I had to buy a bag of granola. Now the granola was on sale so we went ahead and did it. Perusing the flavors revealed a Hawaiian mix (with ginger toasted macadamia, coconut, and pineapple) that sounded tasty to both of us, so I grabbed a bag. Since I didn't purchase any plain vanilla yogurt I was trying to think what else I could do with the granola. I decided that I wanted to turn it into tasty tasty pancakes, since I am all about pancakes lately. In the end I think these only merit one tasty, there is room for improvement. (see the end of the post for the recipe I used today)
My complaints today are: The batter was too thick and resulted in a very dense cake, not light and fluffy like I get with my store bought mix. The granola was not prominent enough, and the pancake in general lacked flavor. The bit of texture from the nuts and oats was quite good though. The pineapple did not stand out, but might be more noticeable with the increase in granola. Also, I need a topping of some sort with my pancakes, but these didn't taste right with maple syrup.
The next time I think I would reduce the amount of flour, maybe to 3/4 cup, and increase the amount of granola to 3/4 cup. The amount of milk may have to be adjusted to get a better consistency but I couldn't say without mixing it up first. The mix does need to be a hair thinner though, this one did not pour so much as glop onto the pan. I bet a dash of vanilla would help the general cake flavor as well.
As far as toppings my first instinct is to get some coconut syrup. We had this in Hawaii and I love it. It would be a match with the coconut shavings in the granola. Another possibility would be a fruit topping, maybe mango? Mango would compliment them well, but I'm not sure about how to go about a mango topping.
I definitely want to try this again, so I'm including all my notes here. Hopefully next time I'll get all the way to tasty tasty.
My base starting point was The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, griddlecake recipe. I added the granola mix and increased the amount of milk because the batter was way too thick.
3/4 - 1 cups of milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Udi's Hawaiian granola (chop large pieces of macadamia & pineapple before adding to batter)
Beat milk, butter & egg lightly in mixing bowl. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar & salt and add all at once to the first mixture, stir just enough to combine. Add granola mix, stiring in gently, do not over mix.
Using 1/4 cup scoop drop mix onto medium heat non-stick skillet. Cook about 1 1/2 minutes per side, until lightly browned. (My mix was so thick that I did not see much bubbling like I normally would with a pancake. Instead when they were ready to turn the cake would start to get taller.)
I got a yield of 9 (3 1/2 inch) pancakes.
My complaints today are: The batter was too thick and resulted in a very dense cake, not light and fluffy like I get with my store bought mix. The granola was not prominent enough, and the pancake in general lacked flavor. The bit of texture from the nuts and oats was quite good though. The pineapple did not stand out, but might be more noticeable with the increase in granola. Also, I need a topping of some sort with my pancakes, but these didn't taste right with maple syrup.
The next time I think I would reduce the amount of flour, maybe to 3/4 cup, and increase the amount of granola to 3/4 cup. The amount of milk may have to be adjusted to get a better consistency but I couldn't say without mixing it up first. The mix does need to be a hair thinner though, this one did not pour so much as glop onto the pan. I bet a dash of vanilla would help the general cake flavor as well.
As far as toppings my first instinct is to get some coconut syrup. We had this in Hawaii and I love it. It would be a match with the coconut shavings in the granola. Another possibility would be a fruit topping, maybe mango? Mango would compliment them well, but I'm not sure about how to go about a mango topping.
I definitely want to try this again, so I'm including all my notes here. Hopefully next time I'll get all the way to tasty tasty.
My base starting point was The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, griddlecake recipe. I added the granola mix and increased the amount of milk because the batter was way too thick.
3/4 - 1 cups of milk2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Udi's Hawaiian granola (chop large pieces of macadamia & pineapple before adding to batter)
Beat milk, butter & egg lightly in mixing bowl. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar & salt and add all at once to the first mixture, stir just enough to combine. Add granola mix, stiring in gently, do not over mix.
Using 1/4 cup scoop drop mix onto medium heat non-stick skillet. Cook about 1 1/2 minutes per side, until lightly browned. (My mix was so thick that I did not see much bubbling like I normally would with a pancake. Instead when they were ready to turn the cake would start to get taller.)
I got a yield of 9 (3 1/2 inch) pancakes.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Emmi Muesli
With my Central Market coupon I got free yogurt. It was Emmi "Swiss Premium" lowfat yogurt, and because the coupon was 5 days old they only had 2 flavors left*. I tried the Muesli flavor, and it was interesting.The first thing that struck me was gratitude that the yogurt had muesli in it, and not just a flavor of muesli. The second was that the flavor seemed familiar. After musing on it for a bit I've come to the conclusion that it reminds me of apple Hi-Chew candy. It's not that surprising since the candy is yogurt and this yogurt has apple in it.
Back to the yogurt, it has all sorts of stuff in it. Apple, pear, oats, nuts, including some rather nice pieces of hazelnut, and 1 huge raisin. It was pleasant, but too sweet for me. It's sweet in a fruity way, but still really sweet. If you like to add all sorts of stuff (like muesli) to your yogurt, then this is one stop shopping for you. Everything is already there and in a nice proportion to save you a step.
I would get it again for free for sure, I've definitely done worse. I might even try it again once in a while for kicks depending on how much it costs.
*I got one of each for curiosity's sake. The other flavor is pink grapefruit and I'm a little scared. At least now that I've had this sweet muesli I have hope that the pink grapefruit will also be sweet, and not some scary sour bomb.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
More Yogurt
I think I need to review some food products that aren't yogurt, but for now what you get is more yogurt. Sorry, but I don't eat much prepared food that I think is worth a mention. I do try some pretty strange yogurt though.The last flavor adventure I took was Brown Cow's Chocolate yogurt. I would classify this under "special". Basically it was chocolate pudding under a tart vanilla yogurt. When you mix them together the pudding doesn't blend entirely so you're left with little pockets of pudding that burst into chocolate flavor (not unlike Jello brand pudding) in the midst of yogurt bites.
The yogurt part was good, and the pudding part was good, and I ate the entire portion. However I don't think I want to eat it a second time. I think I prefer to keep my pudding and yogurt in separate bowls.
Other Brown Cow flavors that I've tried and really like are vanilla, blueberry, and cherry vanilla. I like the fruit that they put in them (well you know the flavors that have fruit). The only other flavor that I've tried so far is raspberry and I didn't enjoy it. There are too many seeds, and it just gives it a bit too much texture. I don't like gritty yogurt.
Just a heads up here, I have 3 other strange (to me) flavors of yogurt waiting in the fridge. So you'll probably be hearing more from me on the subject, especially since one of them is "seasonal".
The yogurt part was good, and the pudding part was good, and I ate the entire portion. However I don't think I want to eat it a second time. I think I prefer to keep my pudding and yogurt in separate bowls.
Other Brown Cow flavors that I've tried and really like are vanilla, blueberry, and cherry vanilla. I like the fruit that they put in them (well you know the flavors that have fruit). The only other flavor that I've tried so far is raspberry and I didn't enjoy it. There are too many seeds, and it just gives it a bit too much texture. I don't like gritty yogurt.
Just a heads up here, I have 3 other strange (to me) flavors of yogurt waiting in the fridge. So you'll probably be hearing more from me on the subject, especially since one of them is "seasonal".
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Cake Cake
We celebrated Jeff's birthday this year with a bash that started with pints at Opal Divine's on south Congress, where people ate drank and were merry. Jeff had a blast, and that was the important thing, but everyone else seemed to have fun too and that's bonus. We managed to wrangle a few folks back to our place to have some birthday cake and I've been told that it was delicious. I like it enough that I plan to have a slice every day until it's gone. Thank goodness it was more than half gone by the time the gang left Sunday night.
For Jeff's birthday cake he requested that I bake him a Guinness Cake. I decided to add cocoa to the top, because it looked so pretty on the cupcakes and so very plain without it.
I think that I like the flavor of the cupcake better than that of the cake, but the cake is definitely a denser more cake like food. The texture of the cake is a lot nicer I think, although maybe not for a cupcake. I liked the icing recipe with the cake much better than the cupcakes, it has more cream cheese flavor and less just SUGAR flavor.
The cupcake recipe was a bit easier, since it didn't involve melting things together on the stove, but all in all they are both pretty easy and worth it. So far they've both been a big hit, even with folks that don't enjoy Guinness.
The other thing that we did Sunday was throw out our broken down couch. It's been good to us, but the wooden frame was giving out, and seeing as how this is our last bulky trash day before we move it seemed like a good time to get rid of it. Once the beast was outside you could see a place where the wood frame had broken and punched a hole through the back of the couch fabric. It's really a miracle that we never lost someone inside that thing. So it's gone now and today we picked up a temporary replacement. I'll have more on that later.
For Jeff's birthday cake he requested that I bake him a Guinness Cake. I decided to add cocoa to the top, because it looked so pretty on the cupcakes and so very plain without it.
I think that I like the flavor of the cupcake better than that of the cake, but the cake is definitely a denser more cake like food. The texture of the cake is a lot nicer I think, although maybe not for a cupcake. I liked the icing recipe with the cake much better than the cupcakes, it has more cream cheese flavor and less just SUGAR flavor.The cupcake recipe was a bit easier, since it didn't involve melting things together on the stove, but all in all they are both pretty easy and worth it. So far they've both been a big hit, even with folks that don't enjoy Guinness.
The other thing that we did Sunday was throw out our broken down couch. It's been good to us, but the wooden frame was giving out, and seeing as how this is our last bulky trash day before we move it seemed like a good time to get rid of it. Once the beast was outside you could see a place where the wood frame had broken and punched a hole through the back of the couch fabric. It's really a miracle that we never lost someone inside that thing. So it's gone now and today we picked up a temporary replacement. I'll have more on that later.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Two Socks and Some Cupcakes
Sock Madness 3 is upon us now. It started last Thursday, and so I haven't really had time to post. I've taken time to read blogs (while I knit) and I've twitted a bit, but a full post would have taken too long out of my knitting schedule, not to mention when I did take breaks from knitting I had to try and give my wrists a break, not more of a work out.
The round 1 pattern is called Tropical Mertini, and was a pretty hard easy knit. The pattern itself wasn't terribly difficult, but I had to learn an entirely new (to me) cast on method, and then it was written with an afterthought heel. This means that I knit all of the sock except the heel first, which left me with socks like this until today.
On Thursday morning I started with this:
After four and a half days (plus about an hour) I ended up with:
Not bad, but definitely not the best time I've ever made. Last year I managed one of the pairs in just two days, but this one did have several challenges for me in learning new techniques. The socks are very baggy on me, so they may end up being gifted. First I need to see what happens to them after they are washed. There is a metallic strand in the yarn that is a bit scratchy, and if it's too uncomfortable then they will turn into some house socks for me. My feet are always cold, so it's not like they won't get used.
A non-knitting reason these took so long to knit is that we went to San Antonio to visit some of my family this weekend. Since my cousin (the over worked Houston doctor) and I were both in the same place at the same time all sorts of people came out of the wood work. It was a blast. I really need to not wait so long before the next time I go to visit. We finished the weekend by heading out to lunch with just my cousin and her husband. We went to Jacala's which has been a family tradition as long as I can remember. It was a lot of fun and Kathy and I were both glad to get a chance to go while we were in town.
Last St Patrick's Day I found a recipe for Guinness cupcakes. They looked great, but I never got around to making them until this year. Jeff loves Guinness so I figured they'd get eaten by someone, even if I didn't care for them. I was really impressed with the recipe. I was concerned because it made a very runny batter, but it baked great and stayed fluffy and moist. The thing I was really shocked about is that I followed the directions and ended up with a cupcake that looked like the picture advertised or maybe even better. You can be the judge of that. I can tell you that it makes a tasty cupcake, and although a Guinness drinker may like it more than other folks it is plenty yummy even if you normally hate the taste. The beer adds just a hint of bitter really, more than a complete Guinness flavor. I hate Guinness, so that's okay by me.
That picture is just a crappy iPhone pic. You will just have to imagine how much better they look in person. I'd love to share, but I'm afraid the remnants are going to work tomorrow and I don't think they'll survive the day.
The round 1 pattern is called Tropical Mertini, and was a pretty hard easy knit. The pattern itself wasn't terribly difficult, but I had to learn an entirely new (to me) cast on method, and then it was written with an afterthought heel. This means that I knit all of the sock except the heel first, which left me with socks like this until today.
On Thursday morning I started with this:
After four and a half days (plus about an hour) I ended up with:
Not bad, but definitely not the best time I've ever made. Last year I managed one of the pairs in just two days, but this one did have several challenges for me in learning new techniques. The socks are very baggy on me, so they may end up being gifted. First I need to see what happens to them after they are washed. There is a metallic strand in the yarn that is a bit scratchy, and if it's too uncomfortable then they will turn into some house socks for me. My feet are always cold, so it's not like they won't get used.A non-knitting reason these took so long to knit is that we went to San Antonio to visit some of my family this weekend. Since my cousin (the over worked Houston doctor) and I were both in the same place at the same time all sorts of people came out of the wood work. It was a blast. I really need to not wait so long before the next time I go to visit. We finished the weekend by heading out to lunch with just my cousin and her husband. We went to Jacala's which has been a family tradition as long as I can remember. It was a lot of fun and Kathy and I were both glad to get a chance to go while we were in town.
Last St Patrick's Day I found a recipe for Guinness cupcakes. They looked great, but I never got around to making them until this year. Jeff loves Guinness so I figured they'd get eaten by someone, even if I didn't care for them. I was really impressed with the recipe. I was concerned because it made a very runny batter, but it baked great and stayed fluffy and moist. The thing I was really shocked about is that I followed the directions and ended up with a cupcake that looked like the picture advertised or maybe even better. You can be the judge of that. I can tell you that it makes a tasty cupcake, and although a Guinness drinker may like it more than other folks it is plenty yummy even if you normally hate the taste. The beer adds just a hint of bitter really, more than a complete Guinness flavor. I hate Guinness, so that's okay by me.
That picture is just a crappy iPhone pic. You will just have to imagine how much better they look in person. I'd love to share, but I'm afraid the remnants are going to work tomorrow and I don't think they'll survive the day.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The Follow Through
After talking about gelato yesterday, and continuing to think about it longer than I should have, I became a woman obsessed. Luckily for me traffic was especially yucky yesterday and it was not difficult to persuade Jeff that we should pull off MoPac and go take a break at Teo's.The flavor that immediately caught my eye was passionfruit. I'm always on the look out for the new gelato flavors because most of them don't stay long, and I've had a thing for passionfruit ever since Hawaii last year. It's some crazy sweet yet sour tang and every time I find a new way to enjoy it I pounce. The gelato was not a disappointment, and went quite well with my salted caramel.
I had intended to show you a picture of some delicious gelato, but it was too good. By the time I thought of it all that was left was a half murdered bowl that didn't look appetizing at all. Instead I share all that was left of the two bowls we ordered yesterday.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
TEO Tuesdays
I love sweets, and so it should be no surprise that I am on Teo's mailing list. I like to make sure that I keep up with any limited time flavors and any specials that I want to take advantage of. Teo's gelato is something that I always enjoy and makes for a nice treat on the way home from work. I used to get a latte there on occasion, but that's been switched to a caramel apple cider since I don't drink much coffee these days, both are delicious options.
If you aren't on Teo's list then you need to be told about the Teo's economic stimulus plan that is currently in effect. They've crafted some sweet deals to encourage those of us that are pinching some pennies that we can still afford to indulge our sweet tooth.
Mon, Tues, and Weds all medium espresso drinks are only $3. (lattes,macchiatos, mocha, etc)
The special Tuesday all day (12-10pm) is a small gelato for only $2.
Whether you are new to Teo's or not this is a great time to go. Especially today since for $5 you can get a warm beverage and a cool treat. When you look at that small gelato cup it may not seem like a lot, but take it from me, it's usually enough. I heartily recommend the salted caramel if it's available when you go.
If you aren't on Teo's list then you need to be told about the Teo's economic stimulus plan that is currently in effect. They've crafted some sweet deals to encourage those of us that are pinching some pennies that we can still afford to indulge our sweet tooth.
Mon, Tues, and Weds all medium espresso drinks are only $3. (lattes,macchiatos, mocha, etc)
The special Tuesday all day (12-10pm) is a small gelato for only $2.
Whether you are new to Teo's or not this is a great time to go. Especially today since for $5 you can get a warm beverage and a cool treat. When you look at that small gelato cup it may not seem like a lot, but take it from me, it's usually enough. I heartily recommend the salted caramel if it's available when you go.
Monday, June 23, 2008
No Go Yogurt
I decided to give Rachel's yogurt another try today. I figured that I'd give it a fairer shake by doing several things differently.
1. I bought something with a flavor name, instead of an "essence".
2. I searched for something with the furthest out possible expiration date.
3. I kept it colder, to prevent texture issues from slight warming.
I have concluded that this is a thinner yogurt than I tend to eat. I don't think it's too runny when cold, but even slight warming makes it too thin for my taste. I prefer something closer to a custard than a smoothie. It is also much more sour than I like. This time I got a mango, pineapple, passion fruit blend and I could tell that it was tasty, but it was just too sour for me personally. I don't even eat candy that's very sour. I will eat cherry sours and lemon drops, but not anything that most candy eaters would consider a "sour" candy (warheads, sourpatch kids, strips with sour powder whatever those are called).
So I give up, and I won't be buying anymore of that yogurt. They have interesting sounding flavors, and pretty packaging. If you like sour yogurt then you should give them a try, just be ready for a bit of a pucker.
1. I bought something with a flavor name, instead of an "essence".
2. I searched for something with the furthest out possible expiration date.
3. I kept it colder, to prevent texture issues from slight warming.
I have concluded that this is a thinner yogurt than I tend to eat. I don't think it's too runny when cold, but even slight warming makes it too thin for my taste. I prefer something closer to a custard than a smoothie. It is also much more sour than I like. This time I got a mango, pineapple, passion fruit blend and I could tell that it was tasty, but it was just too sour for me personally. I don't even eat candy that's very sour. I will eat cherry sours and lemon drops, but not anything that most candy eaters would consider a "sour" candy (warheads, sourpatch kids, strips with sour powder whatever those are called).
So I give up, and I won't be buying anymore of that yogurt. They have interesting sounding flavors, and pretty packaging. If you like sour yogurt then you should give them a try, just be ready for a bit of a pucker.
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