getting patriotic

I've been asked to come speak to DieselBaby's class on the 4th of July. Other parents have come to talk about their customs, culture, holidays. So this weekend, DieselBaby and I have decided to make Flag cookies. (Ok, not really decided as it is a tradition** so we had no choice...)

I used this recipe. Usually, I substitute almond extract for the vanilla. Not knowing if there were nut allergies, I chose to go with plain vanilla. The recipe really holds it shape when cooked and it's not too sweet.

Using take-out container lids as my guide, I rolled out the dough.

perfect width for the cutter

gotta flour the cutter or the dough gets stuck in all the stars

maybe I should have shaved my edges...

** Tradition being, my mom got this cookie cutter in 1976 - a free cutter to celebrate the bi-centennial of the USA. She made flag cookies that year...and every year thereafter.

There is a picture of me on my first birthday eating a flag cookie. On DieselBaby's first birthday, we got a picture of him with a flag cookie too.

In her will, I got the cookie cutter. My sister got the piano.

Makin' muffins

When I was little, my dad would make bran muffins for breakfast. I've started the tradition with DieselBaby. He's started waking up asking to make "cupcakes". I usually have him line up the muffin cups and sort them by color. He also likes to mix. We add chocolate chips and peanut butter. They are delish! Recipe from All Bran box, with adaptations...

Ingredients

2 cups Kellogg's All-Bran cereal

1 ¼ cups milk

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 egg

¼ cup vegetable oil (or coconut oil or applesauce)

cooking spray

chocolate chips, raisin, etc.

cinnamon and sugar

Instructions

In large mixing bowl, combine Kellogg's All-Bran cereal and milk. Let stand until cereal softens (about 5 minutes). Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs and oil to cereal/milk mixture. Beat well. Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined. [This is where I add the chocolate chips (~1/4 cup)] Pour batter into muffin cups coated with cooking spray (makes 12 regular or 6 jumbo sized muffins). Top with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 400 F about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Soup's on....

I love love love the corn chowder from Au Bon Pain. I'm sure it's laden with fat and clogs my arteries just thinking about it. We bought some organic frozen corn when we went to Costco, so I decided to try my hand at making chowder. I found a recipe at Epicurious.com and modified it. (Have I mentioned I don't follow instructions/patterns? no wonder my Architecture instructors hated me.)

I nuked 10-12 red potatoes for 5 mins until tender. Meanwhile, I melted 1T of butter in our large Le Crueset and added my minced onion (only had 1/2 an onion in the house would have preferred more onions). When the onions were translucent, I added 1/2 red pepper and a few diced carrots. Then I added 1T flour and cooked for a min. I added 3 cups boiling water and chicken bouillion, the tender potatoes that I cut in 4s, and a few shakes of thyme. Brought this all to a boil for ~10mins. then I blitzed (love my Bamix! it is the one my mom bought in the early 80's. if that's not EF....). I added 3 bottles (yes, DieselBaby's bottle) full of frozen corn, several carrots (diced), 2 ribs of celery, the other 1/2 red pepper (small dice), and 1/3 cup cream. I had no chicken in the house (and ABP's chowder doesn't have chicken in it). I added a dash of paprika, a couple glugs of Worchesterchire sauce, fresh ground pepper, and salt (kosher...of course!). Simmered for 10-ish minutes while my biscuits baked. can you say Carb-olicious?

I prefer my veggies a little al dente (DieselDaddy does not), which is why I added them towards the end. This was surprisingly good. I think the Worchestershire sauce added some nice flavor. DieselDaddy begrudgingly ate it. DieselBaby ate it (between bits of biscuit he shoved in his mouth). I will be eating it all week for lunch.

yummy (semi-quick) b'fast

i purchased a couple Pillsbury crescent roll packages a few weeks back, thinking i would make them with one of the crockpot meals. this morning i was craving a pastry, so i thought about making the rolls with some chocolate chips in the center (yummers). then i found a recipe for cheese danishes (knowing DieselDaddy would prefer cheese to chocolate). I modified the recipe slightly.

i opened the roll and cut it into 11 rounds (using thread to neatly slice). i smooshed the center slightly then added some filling. i used 1/2 the recipe for the filling (with some leftover). i put some preserves in some as well. it took about 18 mins to bake (longer than i had expected). once semi cool, i put some icing on mine.

they were very yummy and may become a staple of my weekend menu. also, not too caloric (used low-fat rolls, low-fat cream cheese, and low-fat sour cream)