Archive for the ‘Food We Like’ Category

is that a banana an octopus, or do you like me?

March 15th, 2010
Tear a banana peel into eight strips for an instant octopus that kids will love.

Tear a banana peel into eight strips for an instant banana octopus that kids will love—and eat!

Ok, this banana looks more phallic than oceanic, but does transforming a banana into an octopus compensate for allowing my son to eat Fruit Loops? He had a glass of milk, too, and we are on vacation. (Since becoming a mom, I’ve become a big fan of hotels, like the Hampton Inn and the Residence Inn, that include buffet breakfast with the room.)

Of course, just last week, I got a direct mail piece from Consumer Reports telling me all the wonderfully helpful things I’d learn—if I subscribed. Like the fact that Cheerios is one of the best cereals for you—and Fruit Loops is one of the worst.

I’ll keep that in mind for future reference.

sweets post-holiday questions

January 6th, 2010

1) Why did Santa stuff my stocking up with every variation of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (I highly recommend the new Select Clusters) and bring me a Wii Fit, which that says I should lose 5 pounds? Not that I don’t want and appreciate all of the above.

2) Can I legitimately call myself a baker if I didn’t bake a single Christmas cookie? I kept (keep) meaning to. I even bought cookie cutters over Thanksgiving weekend.  Considering question #1, though, maybe it’s better that I didn’t…

Carter: “Mommy, We forgot to put out milk and cookies for Santa!” We won’t be skipping baking cookies next year.

buttered-up beer bread and boys in the kitchen

November 16th, 2009

To make Trader Joe’s beer bread, add a bottle of beer to the mix and pour melted butter over the top. Lucky for us, Jeff read it as 1/4 lb (full stick) of butter, instead of  1/4 cup of butter (half of a stick). While it’s exceedingly unusual for Jeff to misread anything, the bread tasted twice as nice, with a delicious crisp crust. We had the bread fresh the other day and the leftover toasted (spread with yet more butter) today.

Yesterday, Carter helped me make breakfast. I was so proud when he got out the vanilla and said we should add it to the pancakes. Of course, he also wanted to smell it! Osmosis at work: vanilla isn’t in our current favorite pancake recipe, but he’s heard me talk about/adding it to other pancake recipes. (I put in 1 teaspoon.)

When we didn’t have enough blueberries to make all blueberry pancakes, Carter said we should make strawberry pancakes. (Fold diced strawberries into the batter before ladling onto griddle. Coating the strawberries with batter helps prevent them from getting overly browned. Don’t worry, though, if the fruit gets pretty dark brown; it doesn’t taste burned. Note: It works better to sprinkle the blueberries on top, rather than mixing them with the batter.)

Just like Jeff (albeit unintentionally) made a good call on the butter, Carter made the right call on the vanilla and the strawberries. And I got to enjoy the results. I wonder what the boys will cook up next….

Wasabi mayo

August 3rd, 2009

I have a feeling some of my tangental posts will be odes to Trader Joe’s, my de facto grocery store. Tonight’s topic: Trader Joe’s Wasabi Mayonnaise. My friend Amy of Cooking with Amy turned me on to it years ago, and she’s a mayo snob who makes her own!

Me: Love it.

Jeff: Meh.

Carter: Ketchup, anyone?

Try it for yourself and let me know what you think.

spinach and/or pepperoni pizza?

July 29th, 2009

rolling pizza doughpizzaUsing Trader Joe’s pizza dough to make pizza, instead of cinnamon rolls. Can you guess which side is the boys’ side and which one is Mommy’s?

Shhh! not-from-scratch brownies

July 24th, 2009

Costco is a great source for essential emergency stashes, say, for example, Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate brownie mix. Perfect for fulfilling a craving quickly. Like the one I had tonight.

Have you seen the muffin mom?

July 23rd, 2009

last two muffinsCarter has been watching me take pictures of his baking and the results, so he decided to get out his camera and record the evidence for himself: the last two Finnley’s Super Muffins. 

This morning, Carter said “No thank you” to a muffin offer. Tonight, after he heard that our neighbor Paul, who’s also a 4-year-old boy, ate three of them, he decided to try one after all. And then another one. And then take Daddy the last one—so he wouldn’t “miss out.”

Bottom line: Made 18 muffins last night. Distributed to family, neighbors, colleagues. All gone tonight.

Cooling bliss

July 19th, 2009

Having milk delivered to our house every week is a good thing. Having a milkman who delivers Eskimo Pies even better.

Degrees of pie

June 30th, 2009

Jeff took us on another run for Marie Callendar pies on the way home: Kaluha cream cheese for Mommy and French apple for Daddy. Jeff reports the apple is “very sweet.” (Read too sweet. Please don’t choose again.) Carter loves to go in and pick out the pies, but he has yet to eat them.

Update: The next day, Jeff asked Elyse how much pie she would like.

“A medium slice,” she said
“How many degrees?” Jeff asked.
“15.”

That’s the first time I’ve ever heard a pie slice measured in degrees. Is it just me?

Staying cool

June 28th, 2009

Too hot to bake. Perfect day for Burger King $1 value chocolate shakes. 12 ounces of coolness.

Carter and I hit the drive-through after hanging out at the air-conditioned Hiller Aviation Museum, where we’re members. It’s a favorite weekend field trip.