Sweet and Sneaky Ways to Eat Your Veggies: Beets
aka “And The Beet Goes On…”
I saved the best for last!
I thought beets were weird. Sure, they looked sweet and innocent from far away, but as soon as I mixed them into my salad, they turned my feta cheese hot pink. Hot pink. Strangely, I don’t find neon-colored dairy products very appetizing…
So while my mom swore by them, I picked those pesky beets out of my food. Continue reading for recipe.
Sweet and Sneaky Ways to Eat Your Veggies: Pumpkin
aka “The Best Thanksgiving Vegetable”
At Thanksgiving, I usually serve myself a two-bite slice of turkey, a tablespoon of mashed potatoes, and three green beans. (Okay, slight exaggeration.) Then, while everyone else complains of stomach cramps and food comas, I still have plenty of room for dessert and get first dibs on the pumpkin pie! Continue reading for recipe.
Peanut Butter at a Dinner Party
I was invited to my first-ever dinner party! Somebody actually wanted to have dinner with me! Never mind the fact that it’s virtual and I can’t actually eat any of the food… (Well, maybe I could try to lick my computer screen. But that wouldn’t taste very good.)
Valerie at Atlanta Mom of Three extended an invitation to participate in her potluck next week, and I wanted to cook the perfect dish to share. Something kid-friendly but classy, something fast but flavorful, something easy but healthy… Continue reading for recipe.
Jars, Just in Time
Two days before Christmas, my guy scrambled to think of gifts for his little cousins. All four of them loved Angry Birds, but their parents had already bought every toy and game that Walmart stocked. With the sky-high prices to FedEx online orders overnight, my guy was ready to wave the white flag and wrap each of them a paperclip.
As I prepared the adults’ presents, cornbread-in-a-jar, I nearly knocked over a box of Rice Krispies while reaching for the sugar, which caused the light bulb above my head to flicker.
What about making Rice-Krispie-treats-in-a-jar for the kids? Continue reading for recipe.
Fudging Through a New Tradition
Every December, various family members bake large batches of gingerbread cookies, fruitcakes, and buckeye balls to share and mail. But not once, in all of my sugary Christmas seasons, can I remember a single relative sending fudge our way. We surely didn’t make our own—the chocolate would have disappeared before Mom pulled out the recipe!—so any fudge came from the store or a neighbor. Continue reading for recipe.
He Knows If You’ve Been Bad Or Good!
My popcorn kernels, peanut butter, and nutella all bully each other around on their crowded shelf in my pantry. When I pull the peanut butter down, he knocks the nutella over, and when I grab the popcorn kernels, they push the peanut butter off of the ledge. They just won’t play nicely or give each other any personal space!
When I mentioned the predicament to Rebecca at Crave, she encouraged me to create a snack that combined all three. Although tempted to stick them in hour-long timeouts in separate corners of the kitchen, I decided to try her suggestion and get the three to cooperate after all. Continue reading for recipe.
Bending the Rules
I’m not allowed to keep bags of popcorn kernels in the house. It’s a safety-comes-first type of rule. The temptation is just too great to pour them into a pot, heat it uncovered on the stove, and watch as the fluffy white morsels explode out and rain down on the kitchen floor.
Instead, I’m required to have adult supervision whenever I make a popcorn snack. No picking super small pots or hiding all of the lids. (Yes, I’ve tried…) Continue reading for recipe.
Death By Flour (And Chocolatey Nutella)
My mother nearly killed me a few weeks ago. She drove up to visit, and as I munched on my afternoon snack, she dropped this on me: “I’m giving up flour!”
Choking on my carrot, I barely spluttered out, “W-w-what?” as I reached for my water glass.
“I’m giving up flour,” she repeated.
“Forever?” My mind was racing… How could my mother, my one and only mother, omit flour from her diet when her daughter dreams of becoming a baker??
She reassured me that no, this was a temporary diet-change-for-weight-loss thing, and she still enjoyed the occasional English muffin or fudgy brownie… In moderation. Limited moderation.
(You can call the ambulance driver back; I’m not going to die from a heart attack after all.) Continue reading for recipe.
Pumpkin Pie for Breakfast!
Last Friday morning, my internal alarm clock buzzed a little earlier than my electronic one, so I hopped out of my steamy shower with some extra time to spare. After the chilly weather that blew into town, my bones begged for a hot breakfast to warm them up. I nixed my usual bowl of oatmeal and reached for milk and flour instead.
Within 10 minutes, my skillet of pancakes filled the house with their toasty sweet aroma, encouraging my guy to stumble into the kitchen rubbing his eyes and ask for the leftovers. Since I only mixed up enough for me (he rarely wakes up before I leave in the mornings!), I promised him another batch over the weekend before riding off to work. Continue reading for recipe.
“Dairy” I Try Gluten-Free Baking?
Last month, I invited a friend to dinner at a local Indian place, only to cancel on him two hours before the meal. My stomach had contracted an oh-so-lovely 24-hour bug, which left my lying pitifully on the couch all night, the remote dangling from one hand and a glass of Sprite in the other.
As an apology, I wanted to bake him some sort of tasty treat. At our rain-checked dinner three days later, I finally dragged it out of him: he’s a sucker for a good peanut butter cookie. Perfect! Easy as pie cookies, right?
Not so fast… Turns out he’s allergic to both dairy and gluten. I checked around my kitchen: white, whole wheat, and cake flour sat in the pantry, while butter and milk chilled in the fridge. Oops. Continue reading for recipe.
Foods for the Soul 