Crustless PB & J…cheese stick, grapes and cherry tomatoes…
and a little note with hearts and happy faces on it…since she can’t read yet.
Hearts and happy faces still get the point across, anyway.
what’s in the lunchbox
homemade vanilla extract
I am a vanilla girl. Not to say I don’t adore chocolate…I just have a certain fondness for vanilla. I think it’s in how it is portrayed as such a “plain” flavor, yet it’s compounds produce a complexity all it’s own.
For instance, vanilla beans as we know them in their pods come from a type of orchid that must be pollinated by hand.
If humans ceased to exist would vanilla also?
I doubt it- I am sure there is some area where nature does it.. but most of the vanilla beans we get as consumers were a-hem artificially pollinated. (ie; by hand)
Vanilla works really well in spicy dishes, believe it or not. And, even in wine.
Same way chocolate loves chile and cinnamon.
Trust me.
I finally got around to making my own vanilla extract, my friend Kira inspired me. Next is butter. She totally made me want to do that, too.
Vanilla is amazing. And it makes a great perfume. Remember back in the 1990’s when vanilla was hot? That was also around the same time everyone was “into” angels. Just after the “grunge” period….I think vanilla and angels were the ultimate counteraction of some marketers out there.
Everything was vanilla.
And people wore angels and decorated their homes with them…
mmm, vanilla angel cakes.
There was never a chocolate perfume rage….
at least not yet…
chocolate would have worked well with grunge, I think.
But I think that was when coffee got trendy.
Food trends.
I’m still waiting on sun tea to make a comeback.
As I said, I love vanilla and have a collection of it. Now I’m going to finally make it.
the actual vanilla beans look like tiny specs of dirt… can you see them?
while I made this, I also added to my vanilla sugar jar…. that was something I made back when angels and vanilla were hot…
you can see a recipe using that here (mmm, vanilla sugar tea cakes )that’s a EARLY post.
Homemade Vanilla Extract
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Recipe: Homemade Vanilla Extract
Summary: how to make your own vanilla
Ingredients
- 3 vanilla bean pods
- 1 cup vodka
Instructions
- Slice each vanilla bean lenghthwise down the center and place in an 8oz sterile glass jar with a tight fitting lid. (brown glass preferred) Top with vodka. Allow to age in a dark place for 8 weeks, shaking every few days. Top with more vodka as needed.
Cooking time (duration): 5
Microformatting by hRecipe.
[/print_this]
spiderweb pizzas… and (gasp!) a video
Well, if you know me on twitter and facebook, you know I got a bit ballsy yesterday and decided to make a video. Not sure why… I think I wanted to see if I could do it. It was something I was scared to death of when I was in Project Food Blog-I decided to conquer my fear of that challenge, even though I didn’t make it that far. (sniffle,sniffle)
Now-I have to tell you- I did two takes. Because I started to crack up laughing.
Next time, I will post the outtakes.
I also still took some pictures. Because I thought I would chicken out.
aren’t they spoooooky?
I went all pre-made on em’, too.
Because there are times when you just can’t be all “homemade-betty-martha-crocker-stewart”.
Sometimes you have to be an “astronaut food mom”.
And, you know what? That’s okay, too. 🙂
I think I am rambling to stall….I am still a bit nervous. I have no freakin’ idea why.
So…. what are you going to make for Halloween dinner?
These are easy and fun.
Here’s how to do em:
Woah- doesn’t it look like I am yawning-or yodeling? Paused videos are funny that way.
Let me know what you think. 🙂
wormy apples
This is just so cute. And I totally stole it from somewhere- I can’t remember where… (online…I think, although I do have a stack of fall magazines….)
It’s not like me to not give credit-so I will try and hunt down the creator of these cuties.
And, except for the worm they are healthy.
Yippee, soccer moms unite! We can bring these when it’s our turn for snack at games. Oh yeah. Make all the other moms call you “Martha”, come on, deep inside we know they’re just jealous…and being called “Martha” is really a compliment- weather we admit it or not.
I’d much rather be called “Martha” than Lindsey any ol’ day.
Which ex-jail bird would you want to be?
Now, to make these you will need a strong straw to bore the hole… you know the accordion super thick ones kids get at restaurants with their drinks? The kind that whistle when you blow them. Yep. Those.
Poke a hole in each apple, then cut in half. Scoop out the middle:
and… what goes awesome with apples?
Peanut butter, of course.
It also acts like paste to hold the apples together.
There you have it- you are officially a rockin’ Martha soccer team mom.
Or, a hit at your office .
These just instantly make you cool.
best buttercream icing
Mmmm, is it icing or frosting? I am sure there is some sort of technical difference, and more than likely I am calling it the wrong one- but, you know either way just what it is, so who cares? Oh! If you came here looking for something to do with used coffee grounds….keep reading. You will love it. First my frosting-errr icing…hmmmm.
Maybe I will just call it fricing. Note: spell-check is mad.
Fricing:(noun): [frI-sing] A word created for creamy sweet substance by ignorant blogger who didn’t want to find the proper definition of both frosting and icing.
There. It’s a word now. I need to call Mr. Webster.
Drum roll, please.
It’s fluffy. It’s buttery. It’s sweet.
Cake, as I have mentioned before is one of my all time favorites. I don’t make them much, though. Why? Remember- my hubby tends to like desserts you eat out of hand.
Back to butter cream. Or buttercream. Or fricing.
It’s similar to my other recipe here. But….not exact.
1/2 c salted butter-softened but not too soft. Let’s aim for a “perfect” banana “softness”
1/2 c butter flavor crisco (I know that stuff is unhealthy- sometimes you just have to live a little!)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract (use the real stuff)
4 cups shifted powdered sugar
3-4 teaspoons cream (or half and half)
To make:
cream together the butter and shortening until they are fluffy, add in the vanilla and almond extracts.
Fold in the sugar and cream slowly by hand, when it is incorporated, return to mixer and continue to beat until fluffy.
I can’t wait to make homemade cream filled cookies with this fricing. Gotta finish the cake first.
Y’all want to see some highlights?
My mom got her Pillow Pets. She loves them. Why didn’t I invent that?
These are treasure rocks. Something to do with leftover coffee grounds.
To make them, take 1 c leftover coffee grounds, 1 c flour, 1/2 c salt and enough water to make a dough. Hide little trinkets inside and bake at 150 for 15-17 minutes. Or, set them out in the sun all day. Cool, huh? Have a rock hunt. If I were a guy, I would hide a diamond in one. How cool would that be?! A rock in a rock. So clever.
* the craft “recipes” have been adapted from a DVD called “Kid Concoctions”
buttery onion chicken
This recipe is not my own. My mother in law was telling me how good it was, and when I went to make it-“BAM!” The recipe was right there on the container. I really need to read labels more. There are some tasty recipes there. Of course, with all recipes I find, I add my own ooomph. (spell-check is mad right now.)
With this? Mmmm….melted butter. Oh yeah. Nothing beats that. Garlic. That’s up there, too. Butter-garlic-onion. Okay, use some extra Scope or Listerine before bed. It’s worth it.
I put some chives there, too.
I made a garlic-honey-Dijon sauce to put on top.
You can, too. Keep those vampies away.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s chicken breasts coated with those french-fried onions. You know the ones that show up every Thanksgiving with green beans? Yep.
But… I dipped my chicken in a melted butter garlic mixture, then in flour, then in a beaten egg… and finally into the crushed onions.
Bake em at 400 for 25 minutes.
You can do the dipping early in the day, or the night before. Pop em int the oven, pop open a beer and chill. Yes- it’s beer food. Down-home food calls for beer.
For the garlic-honey-dijon sauce:
3 tbs honey
1 tbs yellow mustard
2 tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs sour cream
mix together, add salt if needed. Serve as a dipping sauce.
GUESS WHAT ELSE I MADE???!!!!
Doesn’t that look delicious? please say no.
It’s homemade glop! Or, noise putty, slime, putty, goop, glob, what-ever-you-want-to-call-it.
And sooooooooo easy. If you have kids, this is a must make! I have several little craft things I have made for this week. So… watch for a craft post. But, don’t worry- there will be food, too. That’s my nature.
ice cream sandwiches
What happens when you go out of town for the weekend and leave your cookies behind? You know the ones- the chewy lime sugar cookies? Yep, they weren’t so chewy anymore. I am not a fan of crisp cookies. Unless they are macarons, which are crisp and chewy…but, that’s another post.
So I came home to stale cookies…
I made ice cream sandwiches.
Do you need a recipe?
It’s easy. Soften some ice cram and stick it between two cookies. I know-genius. I didn’t think of it, though. I’m sure you know that. If I told you I invented them would you believe me? Didn’t think so.
I have, however been very busy inventing “things”. See, I am in the “Real Women of Philadelphia” cream cheese recipe contest. Anyone can enter- and it’s a whole big “sisterhood” of food lovers there. As I was saying … I invented a few new items for the contest. I am waiting to share them here, because I am not sure if I am permitted to yet. But, I will share the “food porn” with y’all.
Check out my fancy-schmancy drizzle- I was feeling very “Jackson Pollock”
This was dinner last night. OMG so good. Easy. Less than 10 ingredients. Another keeper, I promise.
But, I am done for now with “un-postable” recipes.
Today I will be making something the will appeal to the masses. Curious?
No oven required.
Chewy-sweet-goodness.
You’ll see…… have an awesome day.