Mr. Wiggly's Food

It was one of those nights when getting Mr. Wiggly's pj's on --- much less his diaper--- was a mega challenge. The kid knows how to moooove.

We recently returned from a vacation to Mexico to celebrate my dad's 75th birthday. It was, um, awesome. So awesome that I ruined my camera when the Mexican dude who acted like he couldn't speak English made me speak to him in Spanish and then later told me to jump out of his boat. I did. And then I went under, camera and all.

Thankfully, my mom sent me home with her camera until my new one arrives. Thanks to Amazon Mom and Amazon Prime, it will be here tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a photo of some of Mr. Wiggly's food, fresh out of the freezer tray and ready to go back in their labeled ziplocks.

And here is a prettier photo of what the rest of Mr. Wiggly's food looks like but that I'm copying a picture from the internet of because I have no desire to make his food "look pretty for a photo" photo.

Over the past few weeks I have been having so much fun making Clyde's food and introducing him to new tastes. He loves to eat and it has been no problem getting him to accept solids. Of all the things I've given him, the only thing he's rejected (read: vomited up every single bite) is avocado. We'll try it again later. So far in addition to rice and oat cereal he's had carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, bananas, apples, pears, papaya (in Mexico), peas (just today!), and of course the avocado.



Next up maybe some squash or broccoli. I think I'll start him in January on some yogurt and chicken.

It all started with the donuts

We've been eating alot around here over the past week. And I'm feeling a bit rotund.

Now just to set things straight, while I may be obsessed with exercise and running, I am not one of those weight conscious, calorie counting, buy-everything-nonfat kinds of people. I think it defeats the concept of enjoying food, as I can always tell the difference between regular vs. nonfat and the latter tastes ick. Artificial sweeteners? No thanks. Not only do they taste terrible, they play with my body and give me terrible headaches. But I digress.

This is not a post about fatness or diet plans, but rather a bemused post about how we've stuffed ourselves to the brim this week with sweets even though we are not sweets people.

It all started with the donuts. I was at the grocery store last week and I was probably hungry. Wait. I'm almost always hungry. Anyway, the donuts looked so good. And the bags had big red stickers on them that said "Buy one, get one free". So I bought 2 bags. One bag of powdered donuts, one bag of chocolate covered donuts.

I went home and ate one five of each. They were good. I then proceeded to bake a pumpkin-apple pie (I highly recommended this recipe). My parents were coming and I know how much my daddy loves both kinds of pie.

We ate pie for dinner after they arrived. And it was good. We had it with Blue Bell Spiced Pumpkin Pecan ice cream. And it was good. Later on in the week I had many more servings of the seasonal and limited time Spiced Pumpkin Pecan ice cream, Peppermint Blue Bell ice cream (another seasonal flavor and the very very best!), and Butter Crunch Blue Bell ice cream. Doh. Yes, I confess we have three half gallons of ice cream in our freezer. Something I don't think has happened to me in my almost-31 years of existence. In fact, we usually have ice cream in our freezer that never gets finished and stays there for 6 months or more. I recently (two weeks ago maybe) threw away a half-full half gallon of ice cream that I purchased during my pregnancy when I was having a hankering for chocolate ice cream... you do the math on how old it was. But it wasn't Blue Bell. If it were Blue Bell it would have been eaten. Just like the three half gallons in our freezer. Hm. Check back with us in a few months.

Around mid-week I baked a pumpkin cake for Nate's birthday, probably while I finished off the donuts. Recipe below. So easy and so good. I ate most of it. And sent the rest off to work with Nate -- except for half the pan--- so I wouldn't devour it all.

The simple fact that my parents were here is enough information to know that we had lots of food in the house. They come and they generously stuff our fridge and pantry full every time. And instead of the cookies that my mom promised to bake and bring, we were gifted with 4 McDonald's pumpkin pies. Nate ate all of those. I hear they were good.

Oh, and the candy. There has been lots of candy around here recently. What with Halloween and all the jumbo bags of candy on sale, it's sort of just sitting around the house. And someone has to eat it. Ever had Milky Way Simply Caramel? So good if you are a caramel lover like me.

Well, now that I'm done with my mug of creamer (with decaf coffee) and slice of leftover pumpkin cake smothered with cream cheese icing (mm mm good), I will go and ponder what to buy at the grocery store for this week... and perhaps schedule in a few extra runs to fight off the rotundity. That is, after I have a bowl of Peppermint ice cream.

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Pumpkin Cake

2c. Sugar

1.5c. Wesson Oil

4 eggs

2c. Flour

1.5c. canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons baking soda

1. Mix all ingredients together and into a smooth mixture.

2. Cook at 350 for 45min.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8oz. cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 lb. powder sugar

1 tablespoon Vanilla

1. Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth

2. Spread on cooled cake.

Whoop!

I'm not an Aggie, but I almost was, and it felt right.

I couldn't be happier. Moorhead's blueberry farm opens this weekend. I won't be in town this weekend, but you can betcha I'll be picking blueberries the following weekend!

Hello, blueberry bliss!

Berries

I was tipped off by reading a blog post from our friend and talented painter, Sarah Hazel. For the rest of the day, all I could think about was blackberries, just within walking distance from our condo along the buffalo bayou trail. I can't believe in all these years, in all the countless times I've run past this field, that I've never seen these wild blackberries. Well, better late than never!

Here are the results from an approximately 1-hour picking. What to do? Maybe a pie.

Blueberries will be ready for picking soon! This will be our 4th annual blueberry picking extravaganza! Can't wait!

Winning the lottery

So in follow-up, maybe yesterday's post seems a bit random. And short. But we were on our way out the door when I read the article. A co-worker brought the merger to my attention yesterday, and as I've had my head in a hole for past couple of weeks, I haven't been keeping up with the news. The merger is kind of a big deal locally since Continental is currently headquartered in Houston and employs many Houstonians. If a merger is necessary, I just can't understand why it would be with United. Let's just say I've had bad experience with United and O'Hare airport, and would rather pay an extra $50 to fly on another airline.

Moving on, it's been a productive morning. Since I sent Nate off biking, I have gone running, made and eaten 3 fried eggs, a bowl of 7-grain hot cereal, and a banana, and currently am enjoying a tall glass of sweet tea after a successful trip to the grocery store. Sometimes, when I get home from grocery shopping, I feel like I've won the lottery. First of all, the blackberries were 10/$10. Yum! And more impressively, I purchased cereal for 99 cents... at a sale price of $1.99 plus $1.00 off coupons attached to the box, I saved $4.00 per box! What a steal. Have you tried this stuff? It is de-lish. And at 99 cents per box, how can you go wrong?

Chinese-Style Caramel Apples

When out of popsicle sticks, use chopsticks for an Asian flair!

Milk Maid Caramel Candy Corn

Nate and I hit the clearance Halloween candy aisle on November first and stumbled across Brach's Milk Maid Caramel Candy Corn. I admit, I am not a candy corn person (or a candy person in general). I can manage to eat about two, and then I'm on to something else. But oh man, these things are good. Perhaps it's partially due to my love of hard, chewy caramel. It reminds me of Caramel Krispie Treats, which I'll have to make very soon.

Caffeine-free

I gave up coffee/caffeine near the end of 2007. It was the best decision I ever made.

Ok, not really. But it was a good one. I've decided I don't really like the taste of coffee... it was really the flavored dairy creamers that I liked so much.

Even though I have avoided caffeine for 2 years now, that doesn't mean that I never have caffeinated beverages. Once in a while I'll treat myself while I'm out or in social situations. Often I will ask for the decaffeinated version if it's available. But if not, I prepare myself for a racing heartrate, more energy than I really know what to do with, and a sleepless night ahead.

Here are some of my favorite occassional drink substitutes to coffee:

1) Iced sweet tea. I could drink a gallon of this stuff in a week. Decaf option: No.

2) Coke. Of the Dr. Peppery variety. Decaf option: Yes.

3) McDonald's Vanilla Iced Coffee. A must-have on any road trip which Nate and I embark on. This makes for a hyper passenger to travel with. Decaf option: No.

4) Herbal teas or decaffeinated black teas. Decaf option: Yes.

5) Starbucks alternatives: Decaf vanilla soy latte, Calm Tazo tea with lots of honey, and recently, Caramel Apple Spice Cider, and Decaf PEPPERMINT MOCHA (can't wait for this to be available!). Decaf options: Yes.

6) Plain iced tea. I have to be in the right mood, but I could certainly down this stuff in a hurry. Decaf option: Not that I know of... is this served anywhere?

And that, my friends, is how my body has remained virtually caffeine-free for two years. And I feel great.

After 6 years, the search is over

I was so excited to find lychee at the Asian supermarket this weekend! I have been searching everywhere for it ever since I arrived in Houston, although I am sure I haven't quite been looking hard enough, because while I was at Kroger today, there they were in the regular produce section! YUM!

My life is complete.

Bread Bowls Plus!

I have had a recent interest in soups- they are so hearty and tasty and easy. Even though it's summertime, my taste buds have not ceased to crave them.

Last night we were out in Pearland, and stopped in at a Barnes and Noble, where I happened to pick up a cookbook in the bargain aisle. A recipe for a breadbowl soup caught my eye. I have always enjoyed the breadbowl soups at Panera, but it had never crossed my mind to actually make it myself. Salivating, I memorized the soup recipe, canceled the original spaghetti dinner plans, and off we went to the H-E-B across the street from Pearland Town Center. Nate's first H-E-B experience, and my first H-E-B plus! experience. (Did you know that you can buy furniture in H-E-B plus?!). This is pretty much now my favorite grocery store in the Houston area, hands down. It's like a cheap grocery store on steroids, and a clearanced Central Market. Anyway, I could go on and on about how awesome this store is, but I'll cut to the chase.

We restrained ourselves from buying out the entire store and arrived home with this:

Here is the final product. So easy. And... Yum!
Obviously, these bread bowls are about 3x the size of the breadbowls Panera uses, but Nate ate his entire bowl, and although I made a valient attempt to eat all of mine, I just couldn't. However, I will finish it... no food goes to waste in this house!

Blueberries

As promised, here is evidence of our blueberry picking adventure. Despite the freeze that the farm experienced a few months back, there were enough blueberries to keep the farm open to visitors like us. Together, Nate and I picked 12.5 pounds in about 3 hours or so. Needless to say, we've been eating lots of blueberries. We've frozen a good portion of them which should last us a while. I plan to make some blueberry jam when we get back from Colorado.

Between the four of us we picked at least 20 pounds, I'd guess.

Of course, we made blueberry pie.

This is a yummy blueberry coffee cake. The recipe calls for yogurt. Anything that calls for yogurt and blueberries has to be good! And it is.

Baby, it's hot outside!

A week or so ago, my friend Carey introduced me to the concept of "cold soup" so I decided to give it a whirl this past weekend. Saturday night I made some gazpacho (from the Joy of Cooking). There are a few variations, but briefly, it is a mixture of fresh tomatoes, cucumber, green bell pepper, onion, garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, parsley (in my case, cilantro!), salt. Chop by hand or in a food processor, chill, and serve cold. On the side I made some tuna salad- tuna, boiled eggs, celery, pickles, jalapenos, mayo, and ate in warmed tortillas. A delicious dinner on a hot night!
We had some of the leftover soup and tortillas the next night with a cold shrimp salad dish I threw together with whatever ingredients we had on hand: celery, cilantro, garlic, olive oil, garlic salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper.

Yum. We ate well last weekend, and kept the kitchen cool in the process.

Berries, Blue

I'm dying to get back out to the blueberry farm. This has become an annual tradition in this household. Last weekend was out because we were in San Antonio. This weekend is out because we will be in Dallas. So, June 13 it is. I can't wait to be surrounded by thousands upon thousands of fresh, ripe blueberries. But especially, to eat them. We go through these things so fast that we plan on bringing home more this year than ever before. Thankfully Nate is tall enough to reach all of the blueberries that no on else can reach... that is a blessing from the blueberry fairies. Blue lips, blueberry smoothies, blueberry pies, breads, cakes, cookies, pancakes, etc etc etc.... here we come!

How to stay healthy, satiated, and fulfilled

At my mom's request (she has great taste!) we lunched at Pei Wei this afternoon for Mother's Day before she and my dad got back on the road after a wonderful weekend with us.

In continuation of my previous post about fortune cookie "fortunes," how about these pieces of advice/wisdom from our very own cookies:

He who grabs the last lettuce wrap is the least hungry.

A crab wonton a day keeps the doctor away.

Reach for your dreams. Start with the spring rolls.

Aside from the fact that these are comically and assuredly not fortunes, I like that they all refer to eating. I like to eat.

Just what the Doctor Ordered

Dr. Pepper

Just makes you want to bounce

Or perhaps you prefer the Spanish version, hm?

Food, part II

Ok, so where did I leave off?

We've covered the Central Market Adventure.

On Saturday we drove out to Chinatown (about a 25 minute drive from us). We go out there a few times a year to refill on our 20-pound bags of rice and some other random Asian necessities. If you're wondering what two people do with a 20-pound bag of rice, well, we eat it. And we go through at least 3 bags a year, which means that between the two of us, we consume at least a half pound of uncooked rice every month. Whoop! (We would never do well on the Atkins Diet).

Pretty much once you hit Chinatown, there is an endless selection of Asian supermarkets, restaurants, stores, and offices, etc. We have generally always gone to the same one, as we've become the most familiar with it, but we decided to scope out a new one this time. As we pulled into the parking lot, I marveled at how lucky I am to have a tall white husband who will accompany her short asian wife to Chinatown, where the chances of seeing a white person (or even aperson above 5' 5'') are about 1 in 100. I still remember the time we were out shopping there when a white man spotted Nate and scurried up to him exclaiming, "Not too often you see another white boy around here!" He proceeded to engage Nate in lively conversation as though he were the first of his kind ever to cross his path.

We enjoyed the "new" supermarket. One of my favorite aspects of the Chinese supermarket is the large variety of fruits and vegetables. You can pretty much buy every possible fruit and vegetable that exists, and it's all incredibly fresh. It's Whole Foods/Central Market times 10, except for the fact that it's not organic.

There is unfortunately one fruit I have not been able to find anywhere. Over my last trip to Taiwan, I probably ate my weight in Lychees. I can's find them here in the states unless they are frozen or canned. And that's just not the same. I did, however, find a similar, smaller fruit this time: Longans. Not quite the same, but still tasty.

The Chinese Supermarket is a definite treat. Need a rare piece of flesh or some pig tongues? They've got 'em. Anyone could walk in and become googly eyed with all the oddities of the store. For one thing, the classic "smell" could blow you away. And the vast variety of foods could either make your mouth water or make you hurl. For me, I'm like a kid in a candy store.

However, it is always a challenge getting around the crowded aisles. Don't be surprised if you get shoved out of someone's way, or if someone swipes the last box of tofu from under your nose. Fend for yourself, because the concept of "ladies first" and making room for others is not a standard. Oh, and if you're not Asian, prepare to be stared at!

I'd say with our new supply of rice, tofu, red bean buns, fish balls, soy milk, dried black fungus, preserved lettuce, etc etc etc, we're all stocked up for the next few months. Houston gets my thumbs up for its proximity to such exquisite groceries. Even Nate has been hoarding his plentiful supply of fresh peanuts which we bought by the pound.

Great Food/Blog

I don't know this local blogger, but I think her blog is de-lish.

Food, part I

This is a post about food. I like food. It makes me happy. My sidekick and I enjoy it greatly. We like to eat. We find it tasty. And satisfying.

Last night we decided to spend our Friday evening looking at food. That's right. We piled our plates high and just sat across from each other thoroughly inspecting our respective plates.

Just joking. You would never find us doing that.

Back to the point, we stepped out of our comfort zones last night to peruse the aisles of Central Market. We regularly shop at more affordable grocery chains such as Kroger and Randalls, but every once in a while we like to treat ourselves to the fresh produce and mouth-watering displays of meats and cheeses. So, we gave each other a $3.00 budget, and set out on our food adventure. We spent a good hour in there, just perusing each aisle and taking note of the gargantuan onion bulbs, peanut-sized potatoes, and exotic hybrid fruits and aged cheeses, and hm-ing and ha-ing about the varieties of this and the varieties of that. We're not quite sold on the organic food craze but the sheer fact that organic produce turns out to be bigger is a definite perk. Bigger is better, especialy when it come to edible things ;).

I expected myself to walk out of there with a pint of plump, organic blueberries, but due to my limited budget, I walked out of there with a power bar, and tiny bagged samples of "blueberry almond granola," "seaweed peanuts," and "cajun party mix." Nate made out with a jar of "mediterranean salad," a zesty blend of pickled baby corn, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, and roasted red peppers. We're dying to rip into that one.


More Food Talk, to be continued...

Cranberry Coffee Cake

I bought a giant bag of fresh cranberries around Christmas-time and didn't end up using any of them, so I threw them in the freezer. A month or so ago I used about a cup for some apple-cranberry crisp, but that's it. Yesterday, as I was digging out some chicken from the freezer, the cranberries had to be shifted around several times and I decided it was time to use some more of them.

I found a recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook which was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law, Bekah. This recipe is so easy and the end-result is to die for. I thought I would share it here, even though you probably don't have cranberries lying around in your freezer... do you?

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk (I used soy milk because that's all we ever have in the house anymore)
Optional garnish: confectioners' sugar

Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Pulse cranberries with 1/2 cup sugar in a food processor until finely chopped; do not puree. Transfer to a sieve and let drain while you make the batter.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Combine butter and remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and mile alternately in 3 batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just incorporated.

Spread one third of batter evenly in loaf pan. Spoon half of drained cranberries evenly over batter, leaving a 1/2-inch border on all sides. Top with another third of batter and remaining cranberries, then cover with remaining batter.

Bake until golden brown and wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, about 50 minutes to 1 hour (It took my oven at least 1 hr 20 min). Cool cake in pan on rack for 30 minutes.

Invert cake onto rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

YUM YUM!