I haven't blogged very consistently in a while because there has been too much on my mind and I haven't known how to even begin to put it into words. I get a little weird when it comes to categorizing things...if there is too much of everything all together, it just feels wrong. There's a place for everything, right? :) So my brain has been a mess of a lot of thoughts, but one of the biggest things on my mind lately is FOOD. Yep. It's pretty well-known, to anyone who knows me even a little, that I like food. Specially sweet food. Specially brownies. If you sit down for a nice chat with me over coffee and brownies, you pretty much become my instant friend. It's that easy! Lol. Seriously, though, a lot of change has been happening in our household concerning food...including, no more brownies. WHAAAT!!?? Well, that's only partially true, because I discovered how to make healthy brownies that are pretty good and the best part...I can eat as many as I want because they're healthy! :)
So, back to having a place for everything...I've decided to start a new blog where I can write all about our family's food journey and adventures. I will still have this blog for those wife/mom/spirituality ramblings, but I want to separate the food topic because it's a big thing for me right now that is taking a lot of energy, thought, planning, and re-learning and I figure there might be others who could benefit from my own learning in that area. So what's this big change and what's all this about healthy brownies?? I guess you'll just have to hop on over to www.mynewapron.blogspot.com and find out!
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
At Grandma's
Currently I am sitting on the back patio of my parents' house, listening to old Adventures in Odyssey on CASSETTE TAPE with my husband and grown-up siblings. Yep, we are. :)
It's been a great week enjoying some time off with my family. Now that all four of us "kids" are no longer kids, it's only a couple times a year that we get to all be together. What has been specially fun for me is coming back to my parents' place as a mom and watching my own kids have as much fun as I remember having at my grandma's house as a kid. Unlike my grandma, my parents live in the city, but my mom has still managed to create (probably without even realizing it) the same kind of experiences for my kids that I remember having at my grandma's house. These are some of them:
Great food: Nothing like homemade Mexican rice and beans! And tonight my mom is making one of my favorites - banana pudding! When I was little, my grandma would always make homemade tortillas, fill them with a soft creamy cheese called "requezon" and roll them up for us kids. My mouth still waters every time I think of those!
The animals: My grandma used to have chickens, peacocks, turkeys, cows, dogs, cats, birds and deer...yes, deer. My parents only have dogs, which I'm thankful for...they don't need more animals! But the way my son begs to go see the dogs outside every time he hears them bark reminds me of us begging our aunts to take us to see the chickens. My brother also has several fish in a large tank...a favorite with my son as well.
The pool: Nothing like it in the hot Mexican summers. Last night we had so many inflatable mats and rafts in the pool (which isn't very big), you could hardly see the water!
Plants and flowers: everywhere! I remember following my grandma around her yard checking on the progress of her oranges, limes, avocados and coconuts. This year, my mom has grown a papaya plant, a grape vine, a lime tree, chili plants and many beautiful flowers.
The hammocks: endless entertainment for us as kids, and my grandma used to lullaby us to sleep in them. As I write, my kids are experiencing their first swings in my mom's hammock.
And some extras that my grandma didn't have:
The trampoline...not every kid has a grandma who likes to jump on a trampoline!
And the wall-to-wall bookshelf, full of all kinds of books for kids (young and old) to enjoy.
These and many more are the delights that we are enjoying together as a family this week. And more than any of this is the fact that we are so blessed to not just be family, but friends. It's not always easy to find like-minded friends and people who love and support everything you are...we are extremely blessed to have that in each other.
It's been a great week enjoying some time off with my family. Now that all four of us "kids" are no longer kids, it's only a couple times a year that we get to all be together. What has been specially fun for me is coming back to my parents' place as a mom and watching my own kids have as much fun as I remember having at my grandma's house as a kid. Unlike my grandma, my parents live in the city, but my mom has still managed to create (probably without even realizing it) the same kind of experiences for my kids that I remember having at my grandma's house. These are some of them:
Great food: Nothing like homemade Mexican rice and beans! And tonight my mom is making one of my favorites - banana pudding! When I was little, my grandma would always make homemade tortillas, fill them with a soft creamy cheese called "requezon" and roll them up for us kids. My mouth still waters every time I think of those!
The animals: My grandma used to have chickens, peacocks, turkeys, cows, dogs, cats, birds and deer...yes, deer. My parents only have dogs, which I'm thankful for...they don't need more animals! But the way my son begs to go see the dogs outside every time he hears them bark reminds me of us begging our aunts to take us to see the chickens. My brother also has several fish in a large tank...a favorite with my son as well.
The pool: Nothing like it in the hot Mexican summers. Last night we had so many inflatable mats and rafts in the pool (which isn't very big), you could hardly see the water!
Plants and flowers: everywhere! I remember following my grandma around her yard checking on the progress of her oranges, limes, avocados and coconuts. This year, my mom has grown a papaya plant, a grape vine, a lime tree, chili plants and many beautiful flowers.
The hammocks: endless entertainment for us as kids, and my grandma used to lullaby us to sleep in them. As I write, my kids are experiencing their first swings in my mom's hammock.
And some extras that my grandma didn't have:
The trampoline...not every kid has a grandma who likes to jump on a trampoline!
And the wall-to-wall bookshelf, full of all kinds of books for kids (young and old) to enjoy.
These and many more are the delights that we are enjoying together as a family this week. And more than any of this is the fact that we are so blessed to not just be family, but friends. It's not always easy to find like-minded friends and people who love and support everything you are...we are extremely blessed to have that in each other.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Brownie Pudding!
I never need chocolate. That's too simple. I need brownies! And some days, like today, I actually wake up in the morning with brownies on my mind. Sadly I forgot that I'm out of butter. However there is an amazing recipe called Brownie Pudding that doesn't call for butter or eggs! It's my savior when I don't have those key ingredients or a way to get to the store. Slightly similar to bread pudding...but all chocolate! And so easy...here you go:
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water
Directions:
Grease an 8x8x2-inch baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl stir the flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder and salt. Stir in the milk, oil and vanilla. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
In a small bowl mix the brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Stir in the boiling water and slowly pour mixture over batter.
Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes. Cook on a wire rack for 45 minutes. Serve warm, pouring sauce from pan over the cake. Best served with vanilla ice-cream! (6-8 servings)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
With Love From Scratch
This is the name of my new gourmet cafe, where everything is homemade from scratch. Ok, it's not really open to the public, but it exists in my house! And my most faithful client is my husband. :)
I've been married three and a half years now and to say the truth, I don't really remember what I used to make for dinner in that first year of marriage. This is probably because there isn't much to remember! I think I heavily relied on boxed pasta, quesadillas and banana bread...I did know how to make that! Slowly I started experimenting with new recipes out of our desperate need to eat something different and soon I discovered that I loved the kitchen! Still, by their very nature, experiments don't always turn out right and my poor faithful "client" endured many bland, over-cooked, under-cooked meals before I started becoming more confident and capable.
I remember wishing I could get to the point of being known for certain dishes, like my mother and my mother-in-law are. There are certain things they make that people keep coming back for again and again. That's how I wanted to be. But it has taken over three years to feel even close to this goal, especially since my growing love for experimenting in the kitchen often keeps me from repeating and perfecting recipes that turn out well. Slowly but surely though, I have reached a point where at least in my little "cafe", we have some of our own favorites...not just hand-me-down recipes from our mothers (which are awesome), but our very own!
So my project today is to make my official menu. Maybe I went a little too far with naming my cafe and everything, but it helps inspire me and it's fun. My goal is to categorize on a menu, just like in a restaurant, all of the food I feel I can make really well. Why? Because even after so many experiments and successful meals, I still stand in front of my pantry wondering what in the world to make for dinner! Maybe it's my pregnant forgetful brain at the moment, but I still end up relying on boxed pasta and canned sauce, simply because I can't think of anything else! In my opinion, this is due to a lack of planning ahead and establishing a variety of things I feel confident making. Also, the more I make them, the easier and quicker they will be even when I forget to plan ahead.
Eventually I also want to add "prices" to my menu. Don't worry, I will not charge you for being a dinner guest at our house! It will be a way for me to plan my weekly menu based on the cost of each meal, so that I can manage my grocery budget better. Yes, I know I'm a planning fanatic.
So why do you care about all this? If you don't, I'm sorry you read this far. (ha ha) But if you also love cooking, or maybe don't love cooking but are trying to learn to make good food anyway, creating your own menu is a fun inspiring way to give yourself a plan and some variety to choose from. Think of what you would order at your favorite restaurant and dare to find a similar recipe online to try out at home! If it's great, add it to your menu. It's kind of a hobby of mine to make things at home that you would normally only get at a restaurant, and usually they turn out even better! It's not as hard as you think and it makes you wonder why people don't make these things at home more often. Like what? Molten Lava Cakes. Chicken Marsala (just like Olive Garden). Cheddar Biscuits (Red Lobster). New York Cheesecake (Cheesecake Factory)You name it...you can usually find it at www.allrecipes.com Who wouldn't want to eat this stuff at home for a fraction of the cost?
My point? Be bold, make a plan, try new things, have fun. You'll be surprised and you are sure to wow whomever you live with... they will become your most faithful clients. :)
I've been married three and a half years now and to say the truth, I don't really remember what I used to make for dinner in that first year of marriage. This is probably because there isn't much to remember! I think I heavily relied on boxed pasta, quesadillas and banana bread...I did know how to make that! Slowly I started experimenting with new recipes out of our desperate need to eat something different and soon I discovered that I loved the kitchen! Still, by their very nature, experiments don't always turn out right and my poor faithful "client" endured many bland, over-cooked, under-cooked meals before I started becoming more confident and capable.
I remember wishing I could get to the point of being known for certain dishes, like my mother and my mother-in-law are. There are certain things they make that people keep coming back for again and again. That's how I wanted to be. But it has taken over three years to feel even close to this goal, especially since my growing love for experimenting in the kitchen often keeps me from repeating and perfecting recipes that turn out well. Slowly but surely though, I have reached a point where at least in my little "cafe", we have some of our own favorites...not just hand-me-down recipes from our mothers (which are awesome), but our very own!
So my project today is to make my official menu. Maybe I went a little too far with naming my cafe and everything, but it helps inspire me and it's fun. My goal is to categorize on a menu, just like in a restaurant, all of the food I feel I can make really well. Why? Because even after so many experiments and successful meals, I still stand in front of my pantry wondering what in the world to make for dinner! Maybe it's my pregnant forgetful brain at the moment, but I still end up relying on boxed pasta and canned sauce, simply because I can't think of anything else! In my opinion, this is due to a lack of planning ahead and establishing a variety of things I feel confident making. Also, the more I make them, the easier and quicker they will be even when I forget to plan ahead.
Eventually I also want to add "prices" to my menu. Don't worry, I will not charge you for being a dinner guest at our house! It will be a way for me to plan my weekly menu based on the cost of each meal, so that I can manage my grocery budget better. Yes, I know I'm a planning fanatic.
So why do you care about all this? If you don't, I'm sorry you read this far. (ha ha) But if you also love cooking, or maybe don't love cooking but are trying to learn to make good food anyway, creating your own menu is a fun inspiring way to give yourself a plan and some variety to choose from. Think of what you would order at your favorite restaurant and dare to find a similar recipe online to try out at home! If it's great, add it to your menu. It's kind of a hobby of mine to make things at home that you would normally only get at a restaurant, and usually they turn out even better! It's not as hard as you think and it makes you wonder why people don't make these things at home more often. Like what? Molten Lava Cakes. Chicken Marsala (just like Olive Garden). Cheddar Biscuits (Red Lobster). New York Cheesecake (Cheesecake Factory)You name it...you can usually find it at www.allrecipes.com Who wouldn't want to eat this stuff at home for a fraction of the cost?
My point? Be bold, make a plan, try new things, have fun. You'll be surprised and you are sure to wow whomever you live with... they will become your most faithful clients. :)
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