I like to take bits of my baking to my trainer. Yep, nothing like corrupting the healthy person with lots of butter. In response to my last treat, I received this email.
"Your cookies were great. I assumed that they would be heavy, but they were really light and moist. Thanks for sharing. I think I still like the flourless cake the best though. That was mind altering, because I just didn’t know that flour in cake was just getting in the way of all the good stuff. I hear that learning new things wards off Alzheimer’s, so thank you for that too."
Now who wouldn't love getting an email like that!
So why am I corrupting my poor trainer with Flourless Chocolate Cake? Well, I blame my son's teacher. Hey, someone has to take the blame and it sure isn't going to be me! My son (and soon my daughter) attend a wonderful Montessori school near my home. Like most schools, this school has an annual auction. As I racked my brain for ideas, I struck on one that shows up at our United Way auction every year, desserts. I put together Six Months of Desserts, menu created between the winner and myself. And shockingly, someone wanted them. My son's teacher to be exact. This auction was packaged with Six Months of Pies provided by the head of school. Yes, there's a reason I love my son's teacher. She loves desserts, who couldn't love her. In April we began our journey into desserts and as it was also her birthday month, I felt a chocolate cake was in order. But Crazy Woman that I am, I can't go with just a chocolate cake. Nope, must go flourless.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Beans, beans, the magical fruit...
Some days you find that you really are never more than six years old. This happens to me whenever I make beans. That song must go through my head. Unfortunately, Sean is also six years old and it must come out his mouth. Such a wonderful thing when you have two little people who love to sing daddy's silly songs.
Tonight I was scouring the pantry looking for some tomato paste and I noticed I had some pork and beans sitting there. Ah, what a great side to go with the mini-meatloaves I'm making for dinner that I know Lucy will turn up her nose and say, "I no like meat". Lucy is my little fruititarian. She has yet to meet a fruit she won't devour. If you'd see her near fruit at preschool, you'd think we starve her. Some days we think she has a hollow leg! But show her meat and she turns up her nose.
Baked beans are my way of getting some protein into her. I try to keep the pantry stocked so I can make them up regularly. Lucy and I both love these baked beans and they are so simple. It is a combination of two recipes from my old copy of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, the 1981 copyright.
Tonight I was scouring the pantry looking for some tomato paste and I noticed I had some pork and beans sitting there. Ah, what a great side to go with the mini-meatloaves I'm making for dinner that I know Lucy will turn up her nose and say, "I no like meat". Lucy is my little fruititarian. She has yet to meet a fruit she won't devour. If you'd see her near fruit at preschool, you'd think we starve her. Some days we think she has a hollow leg! But show her meat and she turns up her nose.
Baked beans are my way of getting some protein into her. I try to keep the pantry stocked so I can make them up regularly. Lucy and I both love these baked beans and they are so simple. It is a combination of two recipes from my old copy of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, the 1981 copyright.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
New Year's Resolution or Planned Failure?
Some people are wise and give up New Year's resolutions. My husband is one of those people. He convinced me that they were silly, and I gave them up as well. Then two years ago, after eighteen years of marriage, my husband announces that he has a New Year's resolution. Well, la-di-da. His resolution? To play poker once a month. Well, isn't that interesting? Then last year the resolution was to play twice a month, once in a home game and once at the casino. Well, what's a girl to do, especially a girl with her own vices, namely scrapbooking and cooking.
This year, I embraced my husband's new world order, and set a resolution for myself. My resolution was to prepare one meal a month using my cookbooks. Now, I'm not saying that I don't try out new recipes. Oh goodness, do I try out new recipes! But I have taken to getting those recipes from the internet. Yes, a simple search can give you so many great ideas. And you can spend hours salivating over new combinations and twists. I know, I have. In the process, my poor cookbook collection has been ignored. And my cookbook collection is by no means small. I have a full size book case of just cookbooks. I am not lacking in any way. It's not as if I have only one or two, so the internet ensures I have more choices. No, I have plenty. I just got lazy. The bookcase is in the basement. The laptop is in the kitchen. Nuff said.
January started out lovely. I pulled out an Omaha Steak cookbook and prepared Swedish Meatballs, something I was sure the whole family would love. I do have to remember the audience. They weren't loved. Kids wouldn't touch them. Yes, the kids who love bleu cheese wouldn't touch meatballs. Go figure. Then work got busy, and you guessed it, the planned February and March meals were ignored. So now we're into May, and I decided, it's time to work on that resolution. Ok, so it was broken, no reason I can't try again, right?
Today I received my bi-weekly basket of produce from Full Circle Farm and it included a pound of roma tomatoes and a pound of Italian link sausage from Heritage Meats. The answer seemed clear to me, make some tomato sauce and have Italian for dinner, and I announced that after dinner this evening. Then, at 9 PM I remembered I have a meeting at 4:30 tomorrow at my son's school. So cooking sauce after picking up the kids from school isn't an option. So you guessed it, at 9PM, I started a batch of tomato sauce. Yes, I'm that kind of crazy. And rather than hit the intertubes looking for a recipe, I trekked to the basement in search of a sauce recipe. There was my trusty Pasta cookbook, and the game was on!
This year, I embraced my husband's new world order, and set a resolution for myself. My resolution was to prepare one meal a month using my cookbooks. Now, I'm not saying that I don't try out new recipes. Oh goodness, do I try out new recipes! But I have taken to getting those recipes from the internet. Yes, a simple search can give you so many great ideas. And you can spend hours salivating over new combinations and twists. I know, I have. In the process, my poor cookbook collection has been ignored. And my cookbook collection is by no means small. I have a full size book case of just cookbooks. I am not lacking in any way. It's not as if I have only one or two, so the internet ensures I have more choices. No, I have plenty. I just got lazy. The bookcase is in the basement. The laptop is in the kitchen. Nuff said.
January started out lovely. I pulled out an Omaha Steak cookbook and prepared Swedish Meatballs, something I was sure the whole family would love. I do have to remember the audience. They weren't loved. Kids wouldn't touch them. Yes, the kids who love bleu cheese wouldn't touch meatballs. Go figure. Then work got busy, and you guessed it, the planned February and March meals were ignored. So now we're into May, and I decided, it's time to work on that resolution. Ok, so it was broken, no reason I can't try again, right?
Today I received my bi-weekly basket of produce from Full Circle Farm and it included a pound of roma tomatoes and a pound of Italian link sausage from Heritage Meats. The answer seemed clear to me, make some tomato sauce and have Italian for dinner, and I announced that after dinner this evening. Then, at 9 PM I remembered I have a meeting at 4:30 tomorrow at my son's school. So cooking sauce after picking up the kids from school isn't an option. So you guessed it, at 9PM, I started a batch of tomato sauce. Yes, I'm that kind of crazy. And rather than hit the intertubes looking for a recipe, I trekked to the basement in search of a sauce recipe. There was my trusty Pasta cookbook, and the game was on!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Co-workers are evil
I think we all have that one evil co-worker. Let's call mine "Lisa". Yes, that seems like a good name. For a number of years, "Lisa" has put ideas into my head to see what will pop out later. She quickly realized that she could mention something in passing, and later I'd come back with solutions to make that happen. My husband uses the same tactic, and yes, he's evil as well.
A few weeks back, "Lisa" mentioned Ezra Pound Cake. She told me how she found this great cooking blog and how she was addicted to reading it on her crackberry during her commute. And no worries folks, she takes the vanpool, so she's not reading and driving! She's evil, but she's not insane.
The next day she emailed me a link, and at first I ignored it, much as I often ignored her subtle hints of things she'd like to see done to our system. But the idea of a good cooking blog that was both funny and full of great recipes ate away at the back of my brain, the same way her passing comments on ideas for system did. Eventually I broke down, and I looked. Oh my, the goodness.
And it did not stop there. Ezra Pound Cake is part of the Tuesdays With Dorie blog. I was completely sucked in. I needed to get my hands on that cookbook. There were so many great looking recipes. I wanted to try them all. Thus began the threat of being cut off the internet from the husband.
The trick became justifying purchasing another cookbook. Baking: From My Home to Yours looked so amazing. So I decided to check it out from the library and try out a few recipes to tempt Sean into letting me purchase it. The first recipe was Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops. And Ezra says they are better after a few days. I'm not sure we'll ever know in my house, I don't think they'll last that long. Lucy helped me make the cookies after school today, and the child was covered in cookie dough from licking the paddle. She could hardly wait until they were done baking to have one. I kept hear, Me Like, Me Like. Yea, I got it.
And Sean seems very interested in a number of the recipes from this cookbook, so I may soon own a copy. Wish me luck. And that evil co-worker. I'm not sure yet if I'm giving her a cookie and admitting that once again she can work her evil upon me.
A few weeks back, "Lisa" mentioned Ezra Pound Cake. She told me how she found this great cooking blog and how she was addicted to reading it on her crackberry during her commute. And no worries folks, she takes the vanpool, so she's not reading and driving! She's evil, but she's not insane.
The next day she emailed me a link, and at first I ignored it, much as I often ignored her subtle hints of things she'd like to see done to our system. But the idea of a good cooking blog that was both funny and full of great recipes ate away at the back of my brain, the same way her passing comments on ideas for system did. Eventually I broke down, and I looked. Oh my, the goodness.
And it did not stop there. Ezra Pound Cake is part of the Tuesdays With Dorie blog. I was completely sucked in. I needed to get my hands on that cookbook. There were so many great looking recipes. I wanted to try them all. Thus began the threat of being cut off the internet from the husband.
The trick became justifying purchasing another cookbook. Baking: From My Home to Yours looked so amazing. So I decided to check it out from the library and try out a few recipes to tempt Sean into letting me purchase it. The first recipe was Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops. And Ezra says they are better after a few days. I'm not sure we'll ever know in my house, I don't think they'll last that long. Lucy helped me make the cookies after school today, and the child was covered in cookie dough from licking the paddle. She could hardly wait until they were done baking to have one. I kept hear, Me Like, Me Like. Yea, I got it.
And Sean seems very interested in a number of the recipes from this cookbook, so I may soon own a copy. Wish me luck. And that evil co-worker. I'm not sure yet if I'm giving her a cookie and admitting that once again she can work her evil upon me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)