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| Zowie!! |
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Chocolate Pudding for Dinosaurs (and your kid, and you.)
Our friends just gave Isaac a book called Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. It's a super silly remake of the classic; a story you can giggle at while your kid looks on, a little confused. For example, the (sort of) smart and scheming dinosaurs tempt the sweet (and a little ditzy) Goldilocks to stay in their house with 3 bowls of chocolate pudding, of varying temperatures. Goldilocks eats all the pudding because it's so yummy, and then gets a tummy ache and wants to take a nap, poor thing.
This inspired a pudding making day and for this I thank you, you three dinosaurs!
*Dinosaur Pudding
In a thick pot combine a little more than 1/3 cup cocoa with 1/3 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Add 1/3 cup warm water and stir, or let your little one stir, until you get impatient and need to stir it yourself until its smooth and sort of like mud.
Turn on the burner to medium high and add 1 3/4 cup milk and stir a little more.
In a separate bowl or cup, mix 3 Tablespoons cornstarch with 1/4 cup milk until it's smooth and then pour that into the cocoa milk mixture and marvel at how quickly it becomes thick and yummy looking.
Turn the heat down and stir for a little longer.
Turn the heat off, add some vanilla extract, or if you are feeling daring, maybe some orange extract (I love a choco-orange combo) and pour into ramekins to chill. If you don't want a skin on top, immediately cover the pudding with plastic wrap. Though I would definitely advise a nice skin rather than hot plastic molecules going into the lovely pudding.
I know I have gone on and on about recipes being easy, but this one! Oh, this is seriously easy. And seriously delicious. Just check out the pics below as proof :)
A note for parents: Be careful when you plan to make your pudding! Isaac requested it today after lunch. It was still a little early for his nap, so I thought the timing would be perfect. I thought we could make it together, and he would nap while it set. Then he would wake up hours later, and we would have a nice snack. Noooo way. He was so dang excited about the pudding that there was no napping at all. When I finally gave up and retrieved him from the crib, his first words were, "Is the pudding ready!!??"
*Adapted from the Joy of Cooking. I used their recipe as a guide, but with less sugar (it was still sweet!), and whole milk instead of half and half.
This inspired a pudding making day and for this I thank you, you three dinosaurs!
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| Oh Goldilocks, doesn't this pudding look good!? |
*Dinosaur Pudding
In a thick pot combine a little more than 1/3 cup cocoa with 1/3 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Add 1/3 cup warm water and stir, or let your little one stir, until you get impatient and need to stir it yourself until its smooth and sort of like mud.
Turn on the burner to medium high and add 1 3/4 cup milk and stir a little more.
In a separate bowl or cup, mix 3 Tablespoons cornstarch with 1/4 cup milk until it's smooth and then pour that into the cocoa milk mixture and marvel at how quickly it becomes thick and yummy looking.
Turn the heat down and stir for a little longer.
Turn the heat off, add some vanilla extract, or if you are feeling daring, maybe some orange extract (I love a choco-orange combo) and pour into ramekins to chill. If you don't want a skin on top, immediately cover the pudding with plastic wrap. Though I would definitely advise a nice skin rather than hot plastic molecules going into the lovely pudding.
I know I have gone on and on about recipes being easy, but this one! Oh, this is seriously easy. And seriously delicious. Just check out the pics below as proof :)
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| La di da! I've been waiting hours for this moment! |
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| Maybe if I put it on my face, I'll get more? |
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| What!? I don't get another bowl!? |
A note for parents: Be careful when you plan to make your pudding! Isaac requested it today after lunch. It was still a little early for his nap, so I thought the timing would be perfect. I thought we could make it together, and he would nap while it set. Then he would wake up hours later, and we would have a nice snack. Noooo way. He was so dang excited about the pudding that there was no napping at all. When I finally gave up and retrieved him from the crib, his first words were, "Is the pudding ready!!??"
*Adapted from the Joy of Cooking. I used their recipe as a guide, but with less sugar (it was still sweet!), and whole milk instead of half and half.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Why do Kids Love Construction Sites?
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| What's in there!? |
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Making Yogurt is Fun and Easy!
To begin, find yourself a:
Pot. A thick one is nice. I use a Le Creuset pot, but I think any biggish pot would be ok.
Heating pad - This is what turned me into a yogurt maker. Before, when I read yogurt recipes, they said to put the yogurt-to-be into an oven with a pilot since it's warm, and leave it there for 8 hours. The problem is hardly anyone has ovens with pilots that are always on anymore (Arggh, technology!) and there aren't many places that are consistently warm for 8 hours at a stretch. I had thought my yogurt making would have to wait until I had space for a big cumbersome yogurt maker, so this heating pad advice has made me (and my belly) so happy and changed everything!
Thermometer - I guess you don't have to have this - there is a method where if your finger can stay in the hot milk for 10 seconds without it hurting, then you are at the right temp, but my obsessive compulsive side loves to (try to) get it exact.
Little bit of plain yogurt. I keep having to buy new little tubs for this purpose, but if you have more willpower than I, you can save a little bit of the yogurt you made previously and use that. You should use about 3 - 4 tablespoons for a 1/2 gallon of milk.
Here is what you do:
Pour the milk in the pot and turn it up to medium, or medium high if you are daring. I am an impatient cook, so I usually turn it up a little too high, but if you have a thick pot that should be ok.* Clip the thermometer to the edge of the pot. I use an old metal bulldog clip, but I think you can find special candy thermometers that are made for this that have their own clips. Also, if you are a super careful type of cook, or don't want to have to scrub the bottom of your milk pot, you can also use a double boiler for a gentler approach.
Put your 3 - 4 tablespoons of yogurt into a bowl/pyrex measuring cup, so that it has time to get a little more room temp-ish while you wait for the milk to heat.
Stir the milk once in a while and wait until it reaches 185 degrees. This is to help the yogurt to be thicker in the end. When it reaches 185, turn it off if you are using a big heavy pot that will hold the heat for a while, or turn it way down if you are using a thinner pot.
When the milk temp comes back down to 110 degrees (this usually takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to cool down in a Le Creuset pot) and ladle some into your awaiting plain yogurt to temper it (warm it up). Then pour the yogurt with a little milk back into your pot of milk and stir.
Turn your heating pad on a medium setting and lay it out on a wood cutting board or counter. Place your pot, covered with it's lid, on top, and then a bath towel on top of that, like a tea cozy.
Go to sleep! Honk shoo...honk shoo...honk shoo...
Wake up, look under the lid and celebrate the miracle of yogurt in there!
Put the yogurt into containers, or just put the whole pot in the refrigerator and let it chill for a while before eating. This will help it to thicken even more, and be even more impressive.
Why do all this? Well, as I said before, you will feel amazing. Almost like you baked a loaf of bread. But the other, perhaps even more important reason is that it is crazy good. It tastes seriously fresh, because it is. Also, you can know that your warm yogurt has not been sitting around in plastic pots absorbing scary chemicals. Instead it's been becoming it's delicious self all cozy, in enamelware or whatever you choose, right there in your own kitchen.
*You may need to do a bit of scrubbing of the bottom of the pot if you get too carried away with a high temp. Some people use a big double boiler to prevent this from happening, I just don't have one (yet)!
Pot. A thick one is nice. I use a Le Creuset pot, but I think any biggish pot would be ok.
Heating pad - This is what turned me into a yogurt maker. Before, when I read yogurt recipes, they said to put the yogurt-to-be into an oven with a pilot since it's warm, and leave it there for 8 hours. The problem is hardly anyone has ovens with pilots that are always on anymore (Arggh, technology!) and there aren't many places that are consistently warm for 8 hours at a stretch. I had thought my yogurt making would have to wait until I had space for a big cumbersome yogurt maker, so this heating pad advice has made me (and my belly) so happy and changed everything!
Thermometer - I guess you don't have to have this - there is a method where if your finger can stay in the hot milk for 10 seconds without it hurting, then you are at the right temp, but my obsessive compulsive side loves to (try to) get it exact.
Little bit of plain yogurt. I keep having to buy new little tubs for this purpose, but if you have more willpower than I, you can save a little bit of the yogurt you made previously and use that. You should use about 3 - 4 tablespoons for a 1/2 gallon of milk.
Here is what you do:
Pour the milk in the pot and turn it up to medium, or medium high if you are daring. I am an impatient cook, so I usually turn it up a little too high, but if you have a thick pot that should be ok.* Clip the thermometer to the edge of the pot. I use an old metal bulldog clip, but I think you can find special candy thermometers that are made for this that have their own clips. Also, if you are a super careful type of cook, or don't want to have to scrub the bottom of your milk pot, you can also use a double boiler for a gentler approach.
Put your 3 - 4 tablespoons of yogurt into a bowl/pyrex measuring cup, so that it has time to get a little more room temp-ish while you wait for the milk to heat.
Stir the milk once in a while and wait until it reaches 185 degrees. This is to help the yogurt to be thicker in the end. When it reaches 185, turn it off if you are using a big heavy pot that will hold the heat for a while, or turn it way down if you are using a thinner pot.
When the milk temp comes back down to 110 degrees (this usually takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to cool down in a Le Creuset pot) and ladle some into your awaiting plain yogurt to temper it (warm it up). Then pour the yogurt with a little milk back into your pot of milk and stir.
Turn your heating pad on a medium setting and lay it out on a wood cutting board or counter. Place your pot, covered with it's lid, on top, and then a bath towel on top of that, like a tea cozy.
Go to sleep! Honk shoo...honk shoo...honk shoo...
Wake up, look under the lid and celebrate the miracle of yogurt in there!
Put the yogurt into containers, or just put the whole pot in the refrigerator and let it chill for a while before eating. This will help it to thicken even more, and be even more impressive.
 |
| Yogurt, lazing about on the windowsill, waiting to be eaten. |
Why do all this? Well, as I said before, you will feel amazing. Almost like you baked a loaf of bread. But the other, perhaps even more important reason is that it is crazy good. It tastes seriously fresh, because it is. Also, you can know that your warm yogurt has not been sitting around in plastic pots absorbing scary chemicals. Instead it's been becoming it's delicious self all cozy, in enamelware or whatever you choose, right there in your own kitchen.
 |
| Yogurt everywhere, over the summer in Seattle. |
*You may need to do a bit of scrubbing of the bottom of the pot if you get too carried away with a high temp. Some people use a big double boiler to prevent this from happening, I just don't have one (yet)!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The Terrible Twos Have Hit, Hard.
I feel like a crazed little being has possessed my child. This little being starts whining and crying approximately 5 seconds after my son has asked for something. Often it starts whining and crying while my son is asking for something. It is so loud, I can't even hear or understand what the both of them want.
It's nuts. Today he wanted to hear "the ding dong song" (frere Jacques) on the radio. I told him that we didn't have it, but that we could sing it instead. His answer was "NO!!! I want to hear the Ding Dong song on the RADIO!!". So I told him again that I wished I could play it for him, but alas, not possible, and he freaked out even more. I tried doing what The Happiest Toddler on the Block author, Harvey Karp advises and repeating back to him loudly exactly what he wanted "ISAAC WANTS TO HEAR THE DING DONG SONG ON THE RADIO!" I yelled that maybe 5 or 6 times, until I felt like a complete crazy person myself, gave up, wrestled him into his stroller and threw us both outside.
The crying stopped before we were up the stairs, and he was pretty much fine, except with a few tear streaks. I, on the other had, was completely exhausted and spent.
He did miss a nap on Monday, and didn't get enough sleep Sunday night either. I'm hoping that's a big part of this, because if this only signals the arrival of the terrible twos, I want to run away.
It's nuts. Today he wanted to hear "the ding dong song" (frere Jacques) on the radio. I told him that we didn't have it, but that we could sing it instead. His answer was "NO!!! I want to hear the Ding Dong song on the RADIO!!". So I told him again that I wished I could play it for him, but alas, not possible, and he freaked out even more. I tried doing what The Happiest Toddler on the Block author, Harvey Karp advises and repeating back to him loudly exactly what he wanted "ISAAC WANTS TO HEAR THE DING DONG SONG ON THE RADIO!" I yelled that maybe 5 or 6 times, until I felt like a complete crazy person myself, gave up, wrestled him into his stroller and threw us both outside.
The crying stopped before we were up the stairs, and he was pretty much fine, except with a few tear streaks. I, on the other had, was completely exhausted and spent.
He did miss a nap on Monday, and didn't get enough sleep Sunday night either. I'm hoping that's a big part of this, because if this only signals the arrival of the terrible twos, I want to run away.
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| Happily standing in a puddle 15 minutes later. |
Sunday, October 7, 2012
The Two Flower Child
Isaac has moved through some very intense phases in his two years. He had a garbage phase that lasted way too long; it went on for months and months, seemingly forever. There was a biting phase; that's over, thank goodness. There was a phase of bananas ("ba!") and then raisins; he just couldn't get enough. And a belly phase; he wanted to see everyone's belly. He's still sort of in that one.
What he's most into these days though, are flowers, or "Feeowers". He needs two, pretty much at all times whenever we are outside.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Flowers are beautiful and amazing, and he knows it.
What he's most into these days though, are flowers, or "Feeowers". He needs two, pretty much at all times whenever we are outside.
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| At camel park, in the bouncy bunny |
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| At Ft Greene Park with Daddy, photo c/o Lena, photographer extraordinaire! |
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| Picking! |
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| Two yellow flowers on the trail |
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| Flower examination |
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The Best Brussel Sprout Recipe Ever
I know that's a big statement, but seriously, these are the best, and (sort of) the easiest brussel sprouts I've ever made. I learned how to make them today from my friend Micaela. I had been complaining that I had to go home and make Brussel sprouts taste good, and she said "Hey! I have a great recipe for Brussel sprouts!" I said, "Really?" I was expecting a long complicated process, but she surprised me! The recipe is so totally simple, it will thrill you; the only thing you gotta do is a bit of chopping.
Micaela's Recipe:
Take your brussel sprouts and slice them as thin as you can, so you end up with little brussel sprout ribbons.
Put them in a pan on top of heated olive oil. Add salt, and a little peper, and red pepper flakes if you like, and saute for about 5 - 10 minutes, or until you think they are done.
That's it! Glorious!
The secret, Micaela explained to me, is that usually the outsides of Brussels get overdone, so that the middle will be cooked; here the sprouts cook evenly and yummily..
I was thinking it might be nice to add some toasted walnuts or almonds, but alas, we were out. Next time!
Micaela's Recipe:
Take your brussel sprouts and slice them as thin as you can, so you end up with little brussel sprout ribbons.
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| These are gonna be good! |
Put them in a pan on top of heated olive oil. Add salt, and a little peper, and red pepper flakes if you like, and saute for about 5 - 10 minutes, or until you think they are done.
That's it! Glorious!
The secret, Micaela explained to me, is that usually the outsides of Brussels get overdone, so that the middle will be cooked; here the sprouts cook evenly and yummily..
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| so simple and sweet |
I was thinking it might be nice to add some toasted walnuts or almonds, but alas, we were out. Next time!
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