Have a link!
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Easy Garlic Almonds
I LOVE flavored almonds, but I have trouble finding good ones (i.e. ones without ingredients I can't pronounce). So of course I decided the best thing to do was to ask my buddy Google for advice on how to make them.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Three Easy Steps to Perfect Pancakes (How not to treat pancakes like grilled cheese sandwiches)
Last time I had a guest over for brunch, I got the strangest “compliment”.
I could tell she didn’t mean it as an insult, and yet I had absolutely no idea what she meant.
I did my emergency-smile-and-nod, but she apparently expected a response, because she repeated the “compliment” a couple more times.
I’ve been told that I let my emotions show all over my face.
I apparently was looking confused enough by this time for her to add, “You know, usually when someone makes homemade pancakes, they don’t usually taste good.”
Another blank look from me.
“You know, when someone makes pancakes homemade, there’s usually something wrong with them. Like there’s a baking soda taste or lumps or something. There’s always something wrong.”
I’ve also been told I’m a food snob. And apparently that person (my partner in crime) was right on the money, because I tend to think there’s something wrong with pancakes that are NOT homemade. Unless you’re camping, in which case even box mix is an absolute luxury. But for normal breakfast, why eat something tough and chewy when you could dirty the same number of dishes and eat actual food?
Here’s how my mom taught me to make pancakes. You’re welcome.
1) Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately. Butter counts as wet. You melt it first. Lucky us, because when my mom taught me, people didn’t have microwaves.
2) Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, but only enough to get them wet. Huge, gigantic lumps should no longer be visible, but leave SOME lumps. If there are no lumps, it's over-stirred.
3) Only turn the pancake over ONCE when it is on the griddle or pan! The more they’re handled, the tougher and chewier they get. For a super delicate and delicious pancake, watch the bubbles that form on top. When they pop and don’t close back up, that’s when they’re ready to turn.
It’s okay to pop one of the bubbles if they don’t seem to be popping on their own, and it’s okay to gently lift an edge a tiny, tiny bit to make sure it’s not burning to a crisp.
But NO turning the pancakes over and over! That’s what a grilled cheese sandwich is for!
And now, since you asked, here is my mom’s recipe for pancakes:
“These pancakes don’t even taste homemade!"
I could tell she didn’t mean it as an insult, and yet I had absolutely no idea what she meant.
I did my emergency-smile-and-nod, but she apparently expected a response, because she repeated the “compliment” a couple more times.
I’ve been told that I let my emotions show all over my face.
I apparently was looking confused enough by this time for her to add, “You know, usually when someone makes homemade pancakes, they don’t usually taste good.”
Another blank look from me.“You know, when someone makes pancakes homemade, there’s usually something wrong with them. Like there’s a baking soda taste or lumps or something. There’s always something wrong.”
I’ve also been told I’m a food snob. And apparently that person (my partner in crime) was right on the money, because I tend to think there’s something wrong with pancakes that are NOT homemade. Unless you’re camping, in which case even box mix is an absolute luxury. But for normal breakfast, why eat something tough and chewy when you could dirty the same number of dishes and eat actual food?
Here’s how my mom taught me to make pancakes. You’re welcome.
1) Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately. Butter counts as wet. You melt it first. Lucky us, because when my mom taught me, people didn’t have microwaves.
2) Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, but only enough to get them wet. Huge, gigantic lumps should no longer be visible, but leave SOME lumps. If there are no lumps, it's over-stirred.
3) Only turn the pancake over ONCE when it is on the griddle or pan! The more they’re handled, the tougher and chewier they get. For a super delicate and delicious pancake, watch the bubbles that form on top. When they pop and don’t close back up, that’s when they’re ready to turn.
It’s okay to pop one of the bubbles if they don’t seem to be popping on their own, and it’s okay to gently lift an edge a tiny, tiny bit to make sure it’s not burning to a crisp.
But NO turning the pancakes over and over! That’s what a grilled cheese sandwich is for!
And now, since you asked, here is my mom’s recipe for pancakes:
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Friday, April 10, 2015
Fun Stuff to Do With Pizza Dough
Mom boring you to tears in the kitchen again?
Try this! Beg for a piece of the dough she's kneading so diligently. Seriously, there are better things to do with dough than knead.
4) Drop on the floor. Squish into floor. Announce intentions to bake and eat anyway.
5) Use as oven cleaner.
Try this! Beg for a piece of the dough she's kneading so diligently. Seriously, there are better things to do with dough than knead.
1) Use as earrings
2) Set on the windowsill to grow more pizza dough
3) MOUSTACHE!
4) Drop on the floor. Squish into floor. Announce intentions to bake and eat anyway.
5) Use as oven cleaner.
6) Dough makes a great STICKER!
I hope you have as much fun cooking with YOUR mom as I do with mine!
I hope you have as much fun cooking with YOUR mom as I do with mine!
Signed,
Your friendly neighborhood Head of Demolition, Chief of Destruction and Chief Content Provider
Thursday, April 09, 2015
Saturday, April 04, 2015
Mrs. Fee-mehn's Gluten Free Super Easy Passover Peanut Butter Cookies
When I told the Head of Demolition there would be no bread, cookies, or pasta during Passover, her previous excitement about "MOSES!" was suddenly replaced by a somber, "Passover be ah-done soon?"
Little does she know she's in store for more delicious treats. We've already made a flourless Death-By-Chocolate cake, and when she wakes up from nap, she'll discover these yummy cookies that her preschool teacher told me how to make.
They're SO easy that Mrs. Freedman just TOLD me the recipe out on the playground. And I remembered it! All the way home. And then I wrote it here because by next year, I won't remember.
Little does she know she's in store for more delicious treats. We've already made a flourless Death-By-Chocolate cake, and when she wakes up from nap, she'll discover these yummy cookies that her preschool teacher told me how to make.
They're SO easy that Mrs. Freedman just TOLD me the recipe out on the playground. And I remembered it! All the way home. And then I wrote it here because by next year, I won't remember.
Friday, April 03, 2015
Ms. Michelle's "Dinosaur Eggs"...which I think are better described as "Peanut Butter Treats"
Back in the late 90s I think it was, my kids were introduced to this delicious snack as "dinosaur eggs" by my daughter's preschool teacher.
I don't know why.
I do know they're easy to make, and that they can be adapted to many low carb diets.
The Head of Security around here likes to make a double or even quadruple recipe. You can see that here he's managed to use an entire jar of peanut butter.
I don't know why.
