Monday, September 20, 2010

rice krispies bars

I've been trying to perfect a rice krispy bar that doesn't use marshmallows, or corn syrup, and includes lots of unsweetened shredded coconut and toasted almond slivers. I'm using honey as a substitute for marshmallows, but it's requiring a bit of experimentation to get the consistency right. my favorite thing about the real rice krispy treats recipe is that it's chewy and buttery tasting. what I don't like about them is that they're made with kraft marshmallows (which contain artificial flavors). my last batch used a vegan caramel recipe as the binder. I'll post a photo of it tomorrow. last night when I tasted them, I was floored by how sweet they were (I'm a bit slow on the uptake because most of the recipe was honey and sugar - duh, what was I expecting?), and I didn't get the ratio of goo to stuff just right, so the bars were too gooey. I salted the bars to help with the sweetness, but then re-read the recipe for the dessert I cribbed the caramel from and saw that it featured sesame seeds, so I ended up cutting the bars, and coating them with toasted sesame seeds. I was convinced that they would still be horribly sweet, but I brought one to work, and just finished DEVOURING it. I still have a lot of tweaking to do, but this has been my favorite iteration so far.

which brings me to my next topic - holiday gift baskets. I swear that I am NOT A SCROOGE, but I do dislike buying stuff for people just to have something to give. I've decided that this year I'll do a homemade treats gift basket for anyone I get stumped on. btw, I'm not Christian, and the holiday I celebrate during the "Christmas Season" is Circleness (I know, I know, I know, but still, it feels wrong to me to celebrate Christmas when I'm not Christian. I do celebrate it with my in-laws, and don't shun Christmas parties, or anything, but just want to do what feels right in my own home, with my nuclear family. Circleness incorporates a lot of the pagan portion of the Christmas traditions - stuff like the tree, eating food, getting together, giving presents & etc. It's just that I don't have to pretend about caring about the birth of baby Jesus - I hope that I'm not offending anyone! I wholly believe in everyone's right to believe in and celebrate anything they deem worthy!).
but I digress.

what I meant to discuss here is my next test recipe, which is the first thing I decided to put into the basket: salted caramels. so there was a whole 'fad' that I missed, but anything that blends salty and sweet appeals to me, so I haven't made these yet, but can't wait. I'm not going to go as far as bacon caramels, but I'm really excited to make them...

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

everything this blog is not

you can't tell from that blurry photo, but it's one of the cutest blog banners I've seen (ever). please click here to go to an awesome website! if you haven't purchased the book, or hate broth and noodles (a-hem, Zab?), TRY AGAIN!

last night, John was working late, so Henry and I shared a bowl of instant ramen. we've been indulging in the kind that comes with fresh noodles, and a saucy (rather than oily, or powdery) soup base. when we use instant (i.e. not a planned meal), we add whatever we have on hand to jazz up the packet. last night I figured out that everything goes more smoothly for Henry if I provide him with noodles and broth in separate bowls. much less mess...I've never seen a kid who likes broth more than Henry. he actually gets excited about drinking broth.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

it's a BOY!

I just got off the phone with John, and he's a little disappointed (and I'm sad that I won't get to see him with a daughter, but c'est la vie).

BUT I'm happy that there were no signs of neural tube defects, trisomy, missing chromosomes, or anything else that portends difficulty for the fetus/baby.

and, my plans of forcing the kids to share a room for as long as possible just became more simple...

Friday, September 3, 2010

oh yeah, and -

and add FLAKEY to the list of pregnancy attributes I'm currently exhibiting. I swear that I'm normally NOT flakey. just now, due to the parasite I'm hosting in my uterus. honestly. flakiness was actually the first thing I'd meant to put on the list, but my brain lapses into fogs so dense that I sometimes have no control over what I'm doing/saying/feeling.


this salad cost $1.56 at my work cafeteria!

there's at least $1 worth of blue cheese on there...which brings me to my newest food obsession: spring mix with blue cheese, other stuff, and Brianna's Home Style Blush Wine Vinaigrette salad dressing. mmmmm. I'm eating it right now, and I'm SO happy with it. the dressing has just the right mix of sweet and acid for a pregnant lady. sorry homemade caesar dressing, even though you are so delicious, you've been pushed out by store-bought vinaigrette.

the funniest part of my current salad thing is that for the past few years, I've been really sort of down on spring mix/baby field greens. even though I'd eat them, I've been more enamored of crunchy greens. mostly I think that I'd gotten sick of frisee. or, maybe it was that I felt like baby field greens (bfg) had become overplayed. they began to feel so 1995 NYC. anyways, I am happy to say that bfg are the perfect leafy substrate for my the blue cheese/blush wine vinaigrette combo.