Yesterday was the epitome of a rainy day in New England. It did get off to a rockin’ start, however, when I got this in the mail right as I was posting yesterday’s blog entry:

Me And Goji Granola

I got the opportunity to custom build my own cereal from [me] & goji. Let me tell you, this was a ton of fun! I’ll go into the process more in my review of them on another day, but they have TONS of options for you to pick out and make your very own cereal. I ended up making a mix called “Chocolate And Berries” with vanilla granola, gojis, raspberries, blueberries, chocolate covered gojis, and chocolate covered peanuts–yum! Of course I was ready to dive in for breakfast.

Banana Oats With Chocolate Butter Toffee Peanut Butter, Chocolate Raspberry Yogurt With Chocolate And Berries Me And Goji Granola

Loved it! Thanks [me] & goji! There’s definitely not skimping on the mix-ins with them; this was like chocolate and berry overload(except that’s of course not possible). I think my favorite was the organic chocolate covered peanuts. The oats were so simple and yet hit the spot; a touch of sea salt on top really had the flavors placed. My morning was pretty lame, but that made it excellent. I was stuck home alone in the rain, and the highlight was showering and getting straight back in to pajamas Montana was clearly in the spirit, too, since he got out of his crate, went to the bathroom, and fell asleep under a blanket. I made lunch in time for Days.

Stuffing, Spicy Chicken Sausage, Broccoli, Grand Marnier Sweet Potatoes

Have I mentioned that I love leftovers? I never have them when I cook for myself, but I think it’s fun to play with them when they come around. Everything here was leftover except the broccoli, which I made because I wanted some green. I think I’ve taken in more alcohol from those sweet potatoes than I have since being at college(OK, that’s not saying much with me). I will never tire of Whole Foods’ stuffing; thank God we have 24oz left. After some soap opera and homeworking, I decided to transition to the kitchen.

Seasonal Music Channel

Oh yes, there’s a channel that only plays Christmas music, all day Sometimes you have to wonder what barrel they scraped the bottom of to get the renditions of carols by the people they do, but other times they’re quite festive. Anyway, I decided to make up a new recipe and hope and pray it came out good(and chocolatey!).

Double Chocolate Pillows

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Wet And Dry

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie trays with wax paper. In a large bowl, sift together the first five ingredients. Mix in the chocolate chips evenly distributing. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the oil and extract. Add in the pumpkin and sugar and mix until all is dissolved. Pour the wet into the dry and fold together until fully incorporated(batter will be very thick). Scoop into 24 mounds, flatten, and bake for 10-12 minutes, until puffed and firm to the touch.

Thick Batter

The batter was incredibly thick; I was thinking of maybe adding some liquid, but I’m glad I didn’t. They ended up taking 14 minutes in my oven, but smelt so good when they were done.

Double Chocolate Pillows

Hello, chocolate. These were so soft and light but with a heavy, rich cocoa smell. Of course, in order to truly appreciate one, I had to try it first over oats.

Pumpkin Oats With A Double Chocolate Cookie And Butter Toffee Peanut Butter

Much better. The cookie was delicious, with a very dark taste of chocolate. It wasn’t quite bitter, but also not sweet. Bittersweet maybe? I’ll definitely make these again, but I might swap the 1/4 cup oil for 1/4 cup cream or full fat yogurt to give it more of a milky flavor. I’m sure you could go the otherway and veganize this recipe fairly easily, too, but I was not feeling that creative. When my parents finally got home from the funeral, I took the chance to get out of the house.

Target

Thankfully, Target had died down 12 hours after it opened. And surprisingly the store wasn’t entirely picked over. Then again, there wasn’t much left. I found a good deal on a camera, which a, let’s just say aloof, salesgirl led me to believe they had but when the manager came and I tried buying it pointed out it wasn’t the right one. Well they supposedly had some at another Target, so we picked up some things and moved on. After that we hit up a natural grocery store and Stop & Shop and, lastly, the other Target. When we got there, however, those 11 cameras they supposedly had were no longer. Wtf? They assured us they’d get some overnight if we really cared to come back. I’m not sure I’m that invested in the purchase, so I’ll have to give it with more thought. In the end my shopping was a lot more modest.

Shopping Loot

I either got really screwed on some stuff or really good deals on the other, because the peanut butter chips were the most expensive item by $2+ dollars. It was also well past dinner by the time we got home from Target hopping.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts In Balsamic Vinegar, Catfish, Roasted And Mashed Butternut Squash

Who buys two types of fish the day after Thanksgiving when there’s well over a few pounds of turkey in the fridge? My mother, apparently. And yet I’m the one who gets the name for being a wasteful shopper. That pretty much rubbed me the wrong way for the night, but rather than try to pick a fight I just took a plate of food and removed myself from the situation. I hardly feel comfortable having meat once a day, and I don’t feel comfortable at all wasting it, so all of this is meat overload for me and has just made me feel tense thinking about it. To take my mind away, I had a delectable snack.

Soy Yogurt With Peanut Milk Chocolate

This candy bar definitely had me with “caramelized peanuts with a touch of sea salt”–could somebody please adapt that and put it on my gravestone? All Stop & Shop had was flavored soy yogurt, but it was also on sale for a dollar, so good enough. I think there’s a bit of irony topping soy yogurt in milk chocolate that I never appreciated until now… I also watched this week’s Modern Family, which was more than fantastic. Can Fizzbo please come to my party? It’s OK if the comb sheaths aren’t there, though.

Green & Black Organic Peanut Milk Chocolate

I didn’t like this chocolate bar at all. That must be why it followed me upstairs and into my room After a while I had trouble sleeping. Hmmm, maybe sugar isn’t a better night time snack than oatmeal? Fascinating. I had a pretty genious thought, though.

Free-Range Turkey With Salt And Rosemary

Tryptophan! I’ve heard it’s also in legumes(and thus peanut butter) but I’m sure in greater amounts in turkey. I salted and seasoned 3oz of leftovers. While that was good, it didn’t do the job, so I did another 2oz. After that I good have fell into a food coma, and was asleep soon enough.

This morning I slept in until; I think vacation is making me lazy, haha. Isn’t that the point of Thanksgiving? It’s not looking like running weather and I could always use rest(I just never take it) so today will probably be a sans running day as well. Maybe I’ll work up a sweat at Target or a Whole Foods–we’ll have to see.

So I’m posting this mostly for the benefit of the people who did not get a chance to see Singapore during their short trip to and from AFA, for those who want to know more about Singapore, and also for those Singaporeans who are expats, and miss home. (Yes, you chun!) Considering that Singapore is the next most proliferant anime hub this side of the english internetz community, it makes sense to know more about Singapore’s people, and its infrastructure and land. I’m not going to delve into the history or its culture. You can find all that on wikipedia or something. I’m more interested in covering the more important aspects… the food, and the shopping!

A typical morning breakfast traditional amongst the Chinese group, you get various forms of deep fried dough, or Chinese doughnut, some with fillings such as red bean paste, or crushed peanut. Served with a side of sweet soy milk. (warm).

A pancake! Very similar to Tayaki, this one contains a delicious chocolate filling.

A typical food court in Singapore. This one is located at Changi Villiage. Changi is where the airport is located, which is the eastern side of Singapore. Each food stall is privately owned, each stall renting from the people that own the entire complex. Typically, the owner of the complex is also the stall that sells beverages. Beverages make the most money in the complex, charging nearly 40% more for their drinks. Everyday, these people toil, day in and day out, while the patrons are local regulars with their own jobs and problems. This kind of cycle has been ongoing since forever.

More of the food court. This particular one is a massive pyramid-type building, with stalls lined all around, and more stalls filling the center.

Just outside the food court is a sort of open restaurant. It’s too early for dinner at the moment. But these kinds of restaurants function exactly as it would a typical asian restaurant, with menus, servers, bus boys, etc. Since Singapore weather is hot and consistent all year around, this type of business is sustainable.

Just outside the food court, you get a nice view of some trees. This is combined with the residential blocks around the area. Nothing really special except it shows what the edges of Singapore are like.

Lots of motorcycles. Purchasing cars are very expensive in Singapore due to import taxes and such. The total is typically TWICE the cost of buying a car in North America – the price of a luxury sports car like a Porche Boxter would get you a crappy Kia in Singapore. Motorcycles are a cheaper alternative. But even though there his a high price luxury for cars, there are still a lot of them in Singapore.

The central area of the food court. The one in pink with the bag is my wife! The photo isn’t clear, but there is a lot of smoke in here. It’s incredibly hot with everyone cooking their food. There is no air conditioning. Couple that with the extreme heat, and you’ve got a recipie for a headache.

A stray cat. Stray cats are a lot more typical in Singapore. They’re like the rats of Singapore so to speak, so as such, there aren’t many rodents around.

They were out of chicken rice, and everything else was either spicy, or unappetizing to me, or it was fish. Mostly fish. I made the mistake of settling for western food, and was also given this strange cakebread. That part isn’t white. It’s green. And that part in the middle isn’t chocolate. It’s bread. I don’t know why it looks like that.

The fries were decent, but the porkchop tasted like nothing. The good thing about it was it was a screaming deal.

Sugar Cane drink. Freshly squeezed! It’s incredibly refreshing and delicious! First time I’ve had one! Doesn’t top the Bandung though.

The back side of the food court. This is not a storage area. These are actually retail shops. It’s a huge reality check of what life is like for these people who share the same 42km wide island with other Singaporeans who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on merchandise. No offense meant by that statement.

Further along outside of the food court, we get to the beach. This is an inlet on this side actually.

Shot from the other side of the inlet. I wish I had brought my DSLR.

Yeah, the effects of a point and shoot just don’t do this area any justice.

Walking further we get to the beach proper. Lots of transport ships and things happen around here, so it’s rarely a peaceful horizon, but the breeze is cool, and the air is clean. The sand is also quite white and fine. It’s very relaxing here compared to the bustling life of Singapore’s downtown life. Many people purposefully travel out here to escape the busy lifestyle once in a while.

No idea how grass is growing out of the sand, but it’s very cool.

Feels like Singapore. Changi Village is situated near the Changi Airport, so every so often, you’ll see an airplane fly across the horizon from behind these trees. Like so:

Switching gears, here I am at one of Singapore’s countless shopping centers. I tell you, there is a shopping mall in some form at virtually every MRT station. MRT is Singapore’s “monorail” transit system (it’s not really a monorail, but it’s the most common descriptive I can think of at the moment. Singapore’s malls are just as proliferant as Singapore’s anime fandom blogging on the internet. I absolutely love shopping in Singapore. This is a shot of a restaurant called Long John Silver’s. Perhaps you’ve got one of these where you come from, but not me. As such, I haven’t had LJS in like, 4 years or something!

One of the many Kopitiam food courts. Kopitiam is sort of a franchise food court. It works similar to the rural food court where stall owners rent the stall from the building owner, but Kopitiam is on a much larger scale, with franchises in malls everywhere. I’m under the impression that Kopitiam also does some sort of quality control on the food they allow.

Watermelons. I’ve never seen a watermelon that’s yellow inside. Never in my entire life. From what I know, these are actually quite commonly found in Malaysia. Unfortunately, these unusually colored melons don’t taste as refreshingly sweet as their red counterparts.

Hand-pulled noodles with chicken cutlet, and a side of chicken broth with egg. I must say that it’s the best chicken cutlet I’ve ever had. Very crispy, not at all made soggy by the noodle sauce. The noodles were just the right consistency with a nice “bounce” to the chew. The savory sauce was just right, not too salty, and not too dry or wet. The veggies were also very fresh and tasty. All this for like, 5 bucks!

Fish soup. Piping hot from the “I sell fish type food products!” stall. It’s interesting how each stall specializes in one thing.

A true traditinal Singaporean breakfast. You can’t say you’ve truly lived in Singapore without having one of these – Kaya Toast (Kaya is like a kind of marmalade) Kopi (Singlish for Coffee!) and half-boiled eggs.

When I mean half-boiled, I mean very runny. Pour some soy sauce on it, stur it up, and drink! Mmmmmm!

Unfortunately, nobody seems to carry Orange Qoo anymore. Grape is an unworthy substitute.

Typical Singaporean mall design – lots of floors up. What I find absolutely incredible is that this used to be a double floor, totally ignored hole in the wall shopping center with a Value Village type of clothing store coupled with a low-end electronics store. Less than 4 years later, it’s now a bustling shopping mall featuring the latest and greatest merchandise, food, and even a two storey upside down xmas tree!

Singaporeans truly amaze me in terms of their constant updating, expanding, and augmenting. Heck, one of the department stores I used to go to (Metro) was torn down, and converted into a gauntlet of specialty boutiques! I couldn’t recognize it anymore – it was like a whole new mall!

zero percent “alcoholicity”. I found this product quite interesting, as what’s inside wasn’t alcohol, or even a beverage…

… but an umbrella. Innovative because you don’t need to place your wet umbrella into an umbrella stand, or hang it on your chair dripping wet. And you don’t have to wrestle and put it into a flimsy wet sleeve either. Just roll up, and put it into the plastic container. Done.

Cute asian products are cute.

This is an arcade “dress up your doll” game, where children can create an avatar, and literally buy clothes for it. The data is stored on the card. Thanks for ruining the young generation, Sega.

A new DJ Max of some sort. The entire thing is touch screen based with a bar that swipes over. There are prompts to tap, slide, and make patterns. I’d say this game is a combination of Project Diva meets Ouendan/EBA.

The latest new LG Chocolate. I believe it’s targetted towards the female market, as the adverts feature runway models. It’s got an ultra-wide screen for you to video capture those ultra-wide cat-walks. Honestly, I think it’s a very slick and sexy phone.

This ends my first post of Singapore. I apologize for my crappy photography, as most of these were taken in the spur of the moment, and mainly to remind me of what to write about. It gives you a general idea of what Singapore is like, but it most certainly doesn’t beat actually being here and living and breathing it (humid air and all).

But before I go, Singapore is an interesting balance between different worlds, different lives, and different goals, yet it all coexists together on this small island. It’s moments like these that are magical:

Stay tuned for my next post, as I visit Vivo City and other places!

I’m sharing my sundeck with a very hot blackbird.  Whenever the sun is out he is there, flat on the ground, wings out and mouth gaping open.  I threw a peanut out for him yesterday, but it scared him away.  Just spotted him pecking away at it this afternoon though, so threw out a couple more for him.  As long as he doesn’t poo on my washing that’s on the line it’s all good.

I have finally managed to pump up my bike tyre.  Went to a different bike shop, as I was too embarassed to go back to the one round the corner.  Have ended up with a better pump which does the trick no problem.  I also treated myself to a delicious cherry ice cream from the italian ice cream parlour up the road… it’s quite a glam neighbourhood here! 

I have managed to get myself into a pickle today… too much glooming over the past and worrying about the future.  Gotta live in the now, that is what everyone is telling me.  Apparently my visa is still in a pile at the Manukau City immigration office waiting for processing.  Being a lady of leisure is good fun for a while, but it’s not really why I came to Auckland (it is why I am going to Australia though!) and I’d quite like to do something useful and interesting now.

Eat your way to the information

Rubber band business card for the Slovenian Graphic Designer Eduard Cehovin

Edible business card for Arigatou company.

To view the rest of this article please visit Lorenzo de Medici Scuola Graphic Design Blog.

I can remember the first moment when I first realised the connection between eating meat and eating an animal. I was in Year 5 and our Social Studies unit was on food. Each week we had to research a particular food and create a project on it. Always the academic achiever, I jumped into these projects with great gusto. One week it was peanuts, and I learned that Kingaroy was the peanut capital of Australia. Another week it was pineapples, and another macadamias.

I remember going to the local newsagent and buying information packs on these foods as well as coloured pens and pencils to make my project really shine. (My love of stationery stores began early…) I would take these info packs home, absorb everything that I read, then cut out the pictures to glue onto my project sheets. (And I can only imagine how inconvenient that must have been for Mum, a single mother on a tight budget.)

Then the week came when I was required to research beef. There, inside my project information pack, were photos of cows. Dark brown beef cattle stared out at me, huddling together in feedlots. Although I must have known it on some level, it was the first moment I remember of having such a strong, visceral reaction to the connection of cows and the steak that I ate.

The information focused on the number of head of cattle and the major farming areas in Queensland. It didn’t even mention the act of slaughter or butchery, but I turned each page with an ever-increasing mortification: I had been eating cows.

Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and websites – everywhere you look are recipes or stories about Thanksgiving sides or The Best Turkey. I’m guilty, too having sent out recipes for winter greens and winter vegetable gratin just last week.

But, I was talking to some folks this past weekend at Mistletoe Market in Perry, GA and we were talking about making breakfast for a crowd. I suggested they try my recipe for French Toast Casserole. It’s great. (If you click on the photo you can see it featured in Paula Deen’s magazine.) I’ve shared it before so excuse the redundancy, but it’s perfect and I don’t think you’ll mind because it tastes soooo good.

Breakfast can get the short shift on Thanksgiving. There’s so much food later in the day, but the morning can be hectic. When my sister and I were young, our favorite mornings were when Mama would prepare French toast for breakfast. The smell of butter, kissed with cinnamon, combined with the heady scent of sizzling egg was a most welcome greeting as we bounded down the stairs.

Sounds great – but nothing to make with a full house of people and lots of cooking still left to do. So, instead of another side dish to compete with Mama’s Sweet Potato Casserole or dessert to compete with Cousin Kathy’s Buttermilk Pecan Pie, I am sharing a couple of recipes for breakfast or brunch. (I will admit however, I have served the cassserole before as a dessert, but that’s neither here nor there )

My French Toast Casserole is made the night before, so you won’t find yourself camped in front of a hot griddle in the early morning, groggy and in need of caffeine. Make it tomorrow night and then, Thanksgiving morning remove it from the fridge to take the chill off. Grab a cup of coffee and pop it in the oven. Turn on the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, give many thanks you aren’t in that crowd lining the streets of NYC, and basically, breakfast is ready. It’s a sturdy dish, nothing to fuss over, and responds well to being kept in a low oven while family members emerge for the day.

If you want to go for an even more simple way to start the day, try Sauteed Pears with Vanilla Yogurt and Honey Peanuts. The pears can be sauteed the night before and even microwaved in individual servings on Thanksgiving morning. I love the flavor combination of the peanut and the pear.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I have so much to be thankful for – no, not everything is perfect by a looooong shot – but I am so grateful for what I do have. I have my health, my family, good friends, and love in my life.

Bon Appétit, Y’all!
VA

SAUTEED PEARS WITH VANILLA YOGURT AND HONEY PEANUTS
Serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 large Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of fine salt
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup low fat vanilla or plain yogurt
1/4 cup honey roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Melt the butter in a large heavy bottomed sauté pan over medium high heat. Add pears and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until softened. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, ginger and lemon juice. Season with a pinch of fine salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Keep warm.

In a small bowl combine the peanut butter, honey, and yogurt; stir until smooth. Set aside.

To serve, place the pears in a shallow bowl. Top with yogurt mixture. Sprinkle over peanuts. Serve immediately.

I enjoy watching movies with people in them BEFORE they got really famous. Watched Platoon today. Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, John C. McGinley , Forest Whitaker…all brilliant in gritty, realistic roles. The movie itself is brilliant too. Once dinner is done, I think I’ll take a look at the special features. But more on that later.

Meatloaf for dinner tonight. Just finished it, and shoved it into the oven to cook. I’m especially proud of it because it’s so symmetrical. Things like that bug me. Used extra garlic, and less tomato. Let’s see if the family even notices. I’ll guess no.

Until dinner is ready, I’ll be picking on a bag of peanuts I picked up yesterday. I’m rather fond of peanuts. I don’t care if they’re technically legumes, in my mind they’ll always be nuts. Legumes don’t taste that good.

I’ll probably have more to say later tonight. For now? Enjoy your evening, internet.

 

Peanut left a little note next to my laptop.

* She might be my favorite today.

This recipe makes A LOT of cookies. At least 3 dozen. It’s a great holiday basic you can divide into thirds and add different chips to each third so you have a wide variety of cookies on your buffet.

1 stick softened butter

1 1/2 Cups sugar

3/4 Cup plain yogurt

4 eggs

1 TB vanilla

2 Cups tapioca flour

3 1/2 Cups brown rice flour

16 oz chips, nuts, dried fruit, or candy bits

Whip butter and sugar until fluffy. Whip in yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Blend in flours completely. Unlike wheat flour cookies, gluten-free cookies will have a better consistency and bake more evenly when the flour is fully incorporated into the wet ingredients.

Stir in chips, etc.

Drop in cookie sheet in 1 inch balls spaced 1-2 inches apart. Bake in 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes until the edges are golden brown.

Dough can be made up to 10 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Cold dough may need an extra 2 minutes to bake.

Here is a photo of the bang bang chicken.

November 22, 2009

This is the most popular thing that I have cooked thus far. However, Mateo and I had friends in Uganda that made this regularly so I already knew that it would be delicious. It seemed like it was a sign to cook it for myself when a friend at church gave us fresh organic broccoli from their amazing farm. (Thanks Dale, Jo and Riana!)The final result was a peanut buttery sauce, delicious chicken and crisp broccoli.

First off, I’m ecstatic to say I’ve affiliated with Amazing Grass. Something about that grass really is amazing because it has me hooked(especially those bars!) and I’m definitely happy to endorse them. You can now click on the pretty photo to the right to check out and even order some of their products. Simple, right?

Well yesterday, as I predicted, I tore myself off the couch for a nice little run. First I grabbed a snack.

Apple

I decided to do a short little route around town. It’s weird to think once that was my long run and yesterday it was practically my rest run. It reminded me of what’s fun about small rural places, case in point a man wearing green overalls and a red plaid shirt on a riding lawn mower. Santa, much? Well I thought it was 5.4 miles but when I got home it was 5.3. I was a tad disappointed and ran a bit further(as in 1.3 miles “bit”). Overall it was a nice but hilly 6.6 mile run. There was an offer of lentils for lunch but I really had one thing on my mind.

Banana Oats With Smart Balance And Chocolate Chips

After runs I’m a carby carb carb kind of guy. For this bowl, I used a 3oz banana mashed till all the fiber was gone, cinnamon and vanilla stevia, then my standard oat mix with 20g oatbran, 20g steel cuts, and 2/3 water. It was so thick! I could hardly believe I didn’t put flax in there. It definitely hit the spot. After lunch we went out and tagged our Christmas tree!

Our Christmas Tree

What a better way to say “we’re Christian” than sticking a tree in our house, right? We used to have my grandfather cut a giant one from New Hampshire and haul it down. Then he started just giving us money to buy big ones. Then we went through a phase of buying “Charlie Brown trees”, and now we go with moderately sized ones and pocket the rest of the money. This is also good because the tree farm is right near our house(near as in, if it’s a nice day when we cut it down, we could walk it home).

After that we went to Whole Foods. Like you all, I thought my haul last Sunday was a bit big. Well did anybody but me notice I didn’t go back once during the week? I ran a little low on Nog and pumpkin towards the end, but I convinced myself I could make it till Friday. Needless to say, though, there was tons to replenish and new sales to discover. There was plenty of good sopping, but a BIG disappointment when they were out of Snickerdoodle soy ice cream I suppose that’s for the best because it wasn’t on sale nor did I have a coupon like for most of the other items. After that, I was hangry for something protein(!). I don’t know how, but I know that’s what I wanted. I broke out a mighty protein bar.

Amazing Grass Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar

I was kind of hoping this would at least make it from the store home. Apparently, that wasn’t meant to be. But it did the protein trick for the time. It was great walking around Price Chopper when we stopped there to see the NuVal stores Tina and Melissa mention. I think I’m pretty established on what I think is “good” food, but most of America seems to need a little guidance, and it’s good Nuval is there to help. When we got home I laid out my loot.

Groceries Part 1

Groceries Part 2

Again, it looks like a lot, and it was, but I went in with the mindset of buying for what I’ll need at home since I’ll be on vacation Tuesday through next Sunday. I got both tofu’s on sale for 2.25(that’s together, not apiece). All the sausages were on sale and something I’ve been craving. The yogurts and cookies were also a good deal, and I needed the milk and pumpkin for a recipe. this recipe, in fact.

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Ingredients

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a water bath in a large baking pan which will surround your pie tin half way up. In a bowl, combine sugar, flour, eggs, evaporated milk, and pumpkin. Mix well. Add the vanilla as well as the spices to taste. Once ready, pour into the pie tin, and bake for an hour, or until top looks firm but not burnt or cracking. Carefully remove and let sit until the water cools and is safe to handle.

Pumpkin Oats With Cinnamon Frosting And Mighty Maple

Eventually I tried having more of a meal instead of snacking. A couple readers noted that I’ve been making “frosting” for a while now but no longer say what it is. Well, it’s actually just 1-2oz greek yogurt with a flavor like jam, cinnamon, or maple, and sweetener to taste. Super simple and super delicious. It adds a creaminess to the roof of the oats, and because I salt them before cooking so much a great contrast.

I normally don’t remember my dreams, but last night’s were too weird to forget. one was about Patrick Swayzee. I don’t remember the message much past that, but it had me hungry for some maple almond butter weirdly.

Bread With Maple Almond Butter

While I ate this, at 3:33, I discovered 3’s Company on TV Land. Do you think somebody came up with that timing or it’s coincidence that they show 3’s Company at 3am? Another dream involved someone taking everything out of my dorm including my Beanie Babies and submerging them in the pool because they didn’t like me. I don’t keep beanie babies in my room, but let’s hope my nut butters are safe. This morning, I woke up, turned on the coffee, and slept for another hour. Oops. After realizing I’m overwrought with things to do the longer I stay in the warmer it will be for a long run, I decided to have breakfast first.

Oatmeal With An Egg And 3 Lightlife Breakfast Sausage Links

Protein mess, anyone? For oats with an egg, I cook them for 2 minutes without the egg, then crack it in, swirl it about, and cook it for another 90 seconds. These sausage links were great! I couldn’t tell from texture they weren’t meat, though the flavor didn’t have much of a spicy kick. It went well with a drizzle of maple syrup, though. Now I plan to finish breakfast, let it digest(though probably not really) and do a 10+ run. There are so many more decisions when you don’t go to the gym! Should I do the neighborhood 9 ties, or head out on the road? And should I listen to heart pumping songs, seasonal Christmas tunes, or a movie? Decisions, decisions.

Click here to win some tofu!

Nature’s Path giveaway! Yum! I love me some granola

And a Newman’s Own Organic giveaway! Let this be my lucky day.

This DIY peanut figure brings back memories of seeing Mr. Peanut on the boardwalk when I was younger. I think I would have to make him with a monocle.

http://toshwerk.etsy.com

Every year 10.6 Million kids die before their 5th birthday. Malnutrition accounts for about half of that number. Finally, we may have a solution which addresses both caloric and micronutrient deficient diets: Plumpy’nut.

The old adage about being able to live off of only beer and peanut butter is almost true in this case, although since we’re talking about kids – it’s peanut butter and powdered milk. The mix also includes powdered sugar and several vitamin supplements including zinc, Vitamin A and E, iron and protein. It can add an astounding 1kg (2.2 lbs) per week to a hungry child’s weight.

CBS News ran a special on it back in 2008 but unfortunately WordPress does not support their embedded video.

It’s been used successfully in Niger by Medecins Sans Frontiers and is now being recommended by UNICEF for use across Africa and the world.

Plumpy’nut does not need to be cooked, or refrigerated, or boiled, it does not need to be mixed with water (eliminating potential contamination as has happened with powdered milk formulas), it has no parts which could be a choking hazard, it comes pre-packaged in an ideal amount, it can be eaten directly out of the packaging; making it an ideal meal for undernourished children in the developing world who may not have access to electricity or safe drinking water.

The following YouTube clip is an excerpt piece by Anderson Cooper from the longer CBS video I’ve referenced above.

- Sarah Topps

Letzten Dienstag war ja die U3 für Zwergie. Wir waren schon total gespannt, wir würden erfahren, wieviel Zwergie tatsächlich gewachsen ist seit der Entlassung aus dem Krankenhaus. Gefühlt hatte er einiges zugelegt, und auch die ersten Strampler und Bodys haben wir schon aussortiert, weil sie bereits zu klein gworden sind. Wir hatten extra noch kleine Strampler in 50/56 nachgekauft, weil er in den anderen Sachen meistens etwas verloren aussah. Knapp 4 Wochen später sind die schon zu klein – der letzte Druckknopf im Schritt ist da schon mal aufgegangen *lol*.

Die ersten Bodys werden zu klein...

Und die amtlichen Daten: Zwergie hat 5cm zugelegt (56cm), und bringt jetzt knapp 5.000g auf die Waage. Kein Wunder haben wir manchmal schon Muskelkater vom Rumtragen! Der kleine Dickschädel hat nochmal um 1,5 cm zugelegt, damit dürfte die Mütze mit seinem Namen zu klein werden. Auch ansonsten alles in Ordnung: Hüfte, Füsse – alles dran und alles da, wo es sein soll. Und die momentane Säuglingsakne wird auch verschwinden.

Was ja echt brutal aussieht, sind diese Reflex-Tests, bei denen das Kind durch die Gegend gewirbelt wird. Bei ihm führt das zu Protest-Geschrei, bei den Müttern zu Schweissausbrüchen und dem Wunsch, dem Arzt das Kind zu entreissen.

Ansonsten erweitert der kleine Mann grade seine “Sprachlaute”: neben einem freudigen Laut hat er mittlerweile ein echt gepisstes Weinen, wenn es mit dem Essen mal nicht schnell genug gehen sollte. Was das Sehen angeht, sind alle starken Kontraste toll, so dass er unsere Gardinen und die Gardinenstangen sehr faszinierend findet. Sein erstes Kuscheltier ist ein kleiner Tigger, dem er dann manchmal schon Geschichten erzählt, was mit einem wilden Gefuchtel der Arme unterstrichen wird. Musikalisch pendelt er zwischen Rock und Pop, aber Hauptsache Musik, da darf es auch eine schräge Melodie mit einem unsinnigen Text sein, die ihm seine Mammas vorsingen.

Memory #146: Someone has made art involving conkers. They have collected one conker short of a million and each one is encased in a small glass cabinet and is named: It makes me feel like it is impossible to ever collect enough conkers.

Memory #147: There is also a display of old pictures of the clouds from down below. They look so innocent. Remembering looking up at them and also travelling through them makes me feel very …

Memory #148:

Memory #149:

Memory #150:

Memory #151: Vixen McGogh is only one artist still working at this end of the spaceship and she looks after the galleries too. Her medium is smells.

Memory #152: I think my brain may still be tangled from my journey but McGogh’s smell pieces are truly amazing. She shows me seemingly endless rooms, each of which features one of her works. She blends different smells together which combine to create a picture in your head. It is truly remarkable. The smells seem to hang in the air indefinitely.

Memory #153: My favourite piece of smell art is one which somehow manages to conjour up an image of a young farmer boy staring up into a vibrant blue sky and watching his red balloon drift off as though it is the only thing he has in the world. Do not ask me how it works for I do not know, I will just tell you that I think it is beautiful.

Memory #154: I go back to the crash site and sit with Rusty. It really is a remarkable collection of crashed buses. It seems like practically everything here is art. Three days after I arrive another bus comes hurtling down and mangles itself into the landscape.

Memory #155: I am glad I brought food with me as there seems to be nothing to eat here. Engine parts have never been my favourite.

Memory #156: It is a long walk back. Even though I know that there will be no traffic for three days I still prefer to walk on the pavement. There seems little point in having pavement on this road but then it also has hedges and street lamps.

Memory #157: The long walk has eroded the soles of my shoes away so that there are big gaping holes in them. They used to have a map of the world on them but that too has gone. It was always easy to see a picture of home with them around.

Memory #158: Now they are a constant reminder that home has gone.

Memory #159: I put them in the bin and consign them to an eternity floating around the space ocean. I will have to go barefoot from now on. This place could really do with a shoeshop.

Memory #160: Instead of a shoeshop a new restaurant has opened whilst I was away. It is called Cashew’s. I am not sure who owns it but it certainly has a lot of cashews.

Memory #161: The Edward Woodward clan are gathered around a table eating thirty-one different varieties of cashew nuts from thirty-one bowls in the middle of the table.

Memory #162: From the four hundred-strong menu the clan have chosen the following types of cashew nuts: garlic, honey, rosbif, capuccino, toothpaste, earth, beer, orange, richter scale, lime, pepper, fruit pastilles, cajun, seaweed, cajun seaweed, conker, paper, cumin, thyme, peanut, pineapple, hip-hop, ink, dew, tomato, cobweb, revenge, dystopia, onion, dandelion and chocolate.

Memory #163: Thirty one? Yes, there had been a new addition to the clan – Ebjarb Joobjarb, the bouncing baby son of Ebwarb Woobwarb, father, and Ejwarj Woojwarj, mother. I congratulated them and contemplated the stitched-together name.

Memory #164: I envisage generations and generations of oddly named children until the name Edward Woodward is completely lost, the years carrying it further and further away until it is all but burnt in a huge wicker effigy.

Memory #165: Back in the here and now they all seem to be enjoying their cashew nuts so I glance quickly at the menu which also includes: mango chutney, pesto, plastic, story, vanilla essence, sweat, asparagus, old rope and absinthe but, deciding I am not in the mood for cashew nuts I leave it for another day.

Memory #166: The opening of Cashew’s has affected the trade of the the space-ship-shop-shippitity-shop-ship-shop-open-non-stop (to give it its full name) and so I go there to show my support and buy some whisky and another toblerone. Chocolate, like cheese, just seems better in triangles.

Memory #167: It is nice to see out of the window into space again. The fish peer in at me as if we had a casual relationship like perhaps we meet at bus stops and since they had not seen me for a while they had wondered where I was. They had no idea where to start enquiring about me. Of course we do not know each other but we exist on the fringes of our respective memories.

Memory #168: I curl up on my rounded plastic seat and enjoy falling asleep in it. Soon though I slide off the seat again. I think it has been polished whilst I was away.

Memory #169: Now seems like as good a time as any to try out Cashew’s. My stomach seems to be revolting at just being fed endless toblerones.

Memory #170: The food at Cashew’s is quite expensive and so I must go to a cash machine on the way. I take my bank cassette out of its plastic case and insert it into the hole. The machine fluuurrps it in. The cassette is a modern space invention which stores information on miles of magnetic tape. This space age invention is not without its problems – the tape often becomes tangled and can completely confuse your important finance details.

Memory #171: Today it is happy to give me money and so I take some out and at Cashew’s I order the autumn leaves flavoured cashews for my stomach and a portion of chewing gum flavoured cashews for me.

Memory #172: I like to think whilst I eat. I think about floating in space. Have I always been floating in space? I can’t remember. I can’t remember not floating in space and I can’t remember getting on the spaceship. But then, I have a memory of a home. Once. A long long woolly way away. Away from where I am floating in space. I must have always been floating in space.

Caros leitores do meu blog, este é Jeff Dunhan, um humorista que trabalha com bonecos. Vejam o talento dele em alguns vídeos e comentem, se gostarem!

ACHMED O TERRORISTA MORTO

WALTER (duas partes)

1

2

PEANUT (tres partes)

1

2

3

To continue with yesterday’s post…. I need to talk about the elusive Peach Cobbler. My obsession started earlier this year when I went down to FL with the BF for a family thing…. on a cruise…. where you can get two of anything!

Every night we had a prix fixe style dinner. That first night I had peach cobbler… I had two. I thought that they’d have it again later during the week. Alas! Noooo! They did not.

I came back to NYC with a craving for Peach Cobbler. I don’t need to tell you twice.. I haven’t eaten a peach cobbler since that cruise. #1: because I can’t find it. #2: it needs to be awesome and preferably a large enough portion for satisfaction to set in.

Right now, I have some ideas. And so the search goes on….. Here is a listing of some restaurants serving Peach Cobbler.

1. Walter Foods, 253 Grand Ave (Williamsburg) – (site) Just look at that picture…. oh, goodness.

2. The General Greene, 229 Dekalb Ave. (Williamsburg) – (website) A review of the peach cobbler can be found on Serious Eats NY.

3. The Pink Tea Cup, 42 Grove St. (btwn Bleeker & Bedford, 1 train to Christopher St.) – Serving Southern food. Reviewed at Cheap Ass Foods. Cheap? I think that’s exactly what I need if I’m gonna be eating it every week. Peach Cobbler is $3.25!

4. Mara’s Homemade, 432 E. 6th St. – Peach Cobbler is $7. All desserts btwn $6 – $10. Their whole dessert menu looks good…. Red Velvet cake! Key Lime Pie! Chocolate Souffle! Pecan Pie! I’m gonna have to check this out. They serve Southern and Creole.

5. The Shark Bar Restaurant, 307 Amsterdam Ave. (UWS) – Reviews look lackluster for the restaurant. I haven’t read anything about the desserts, though. Peach Cobbler $5.50.

6. Virgil’s Barbecue, 155 W. 44th St. (Midtown) – Another restaurant with holding a stellar looking dessert menu. Banana Pudding, Key Lime Pie, Peanut Butter Pie, Warm Chocolate Chess Pie, Rice Pudding, and of course, Peach Cobbler. I think the cobbler changes to whichever fruits are in season. All desserts are $6.95 and a dessert sampler is available for  $14.95.

I originally wanted to have noodles in chicken soup for lunch today but when I walked to the restaurant, I spied some undesirable characters therein and so I did an about turn and headed for some where else.

Then I ran into The Bollywood Star and had a rather nice chat with him while walking through the underground. We parted near the trains and I found myself wandering to my regular lunch place; that is before the coming of Nut 2, a place I haven’t visited for the last two months or so. I ate a smoked salmon and mozzarella salad drenched in pesto dressing, a cup of piping hot french onion soup, and a can of coke light while reading my book (book du jour being English Music by Peter Ackroyd). On my way back, I stopped at the fruit shop and to my absolute delight, found that pomegranates were in season again.

It’s really comforting. I feel normal eating the food that I normally eat before Nut 2 came about and screwed around with my appetite. It also reminds me of this time last year when I ate more or less the same thing for lunch every day while waiting for the arrival of Peanut.

It’s been a really good year.

And I really hope that this normalcy experienced today is back to stay.

As told by one of my instructional asssitants:
Loves the fact that one of my students wears an ‘Amerian Grandpa’ sweatshirt. I am sure he has no idea thats what his sweatshirt says, not because he can’t read but because he HASN’T bothered to read it!

Between 1st and 2nd period I usually eat some trail mix as a snack since I don’t eat breakfast. I got to 2nd period, finished my snack and then started helping my ‘American Grandpa’ student in math. All of the sudden, he lifts the collar of his sweatshirt up above his nose so that all that could be seen were his eyes. At first I tried to ignore it but thought it was so dang odd that’d he would sit there in class with his sweatshirt sitting halfway up his head, that I finally had to stop and ask why he was covering his nose/face with his sweatshirt. Of course he looked at me like I was the one that was stupid, and said, “it smells like peanuts!”

Apparently, he doesn’t like peanuts!!! Must have been just too sensory for him!!!

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