Pancakes

Pancakes, flapjacks, griddlecakes, whatever you call them, they're yummy. And when it comes to breakfast, I think about pancakes a lot, but they're not my "go to" breakfast food. They're delicious and yet somehow wrong. As in, the deliciousness is tempered by how not healthy they are. Does that make sense? If pancakes were full of vitamins and minerals and cancer fighting properties, I'd eat them every day. But alas, they're not.

So I thought, maybe somebody out there in blog land has a healthy pancake recipe. It could happen, right? Hence this post. If you have a delicious, healthy pancake recipe, lay it on me.

The syrup is waiting.

Watermelony Goodness

I'm over at Fictionistas today talking about my favorite summer vegetable, watermelon. Yes, you read that right. Vegetable.

Come on over and chat!

What's for dinner?

When my folks were here about two weeks ago, I made bolognese and served it over one of my all time favorite pastas, bucatini. Bucatini is like really fat spaghetti with a hole in the center, like a pasta straw. It's perfect for a really thick, rich sauce like bolognese. Here's my recipe:

1 pound each ground beef, turkey and pork
2 lg white onions, chopped small
5-6 carrots, chopped small
2-3 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 lg cans peeled plum tomatoes, chopped
1 can tomato paste
1/2 bottle white wine
1-2 cups chicken stock (beef would be fine too)
2 cups milk
olive oil and/or pancetta fat
nutmeg, salt, pepper, oregano, rosemary, basil and thyme

In a large stock pan, add some olive oil and some pancetta fat (I always save the fat from pancetta because it has a great flavor - if you don't have that, you could render down some fat back.) Add the onions, garlic and carrots and saute on med until they start to soften. Turn up the heat and add all the meat and a little wine and stock. Stir to break up the meat while it cooks. Then add both cans of tomatoes, the can of paste and more wine. Add your seasonings to taste. *Note - the nutmeg may seem like an odd seasoning, but don't be shy with it. It really makes this dish. Stir often as it cooks down (I sometimes cook mine for as long as 4 hours or more), periodically adding the milk and wine until it's all in.

Serve over your favorite pasta with good grated Parmesan. Remind your family how hard you worked. You can add bread and salad too. This is a very rich meal and the leftover sauce freezes nicely, which is why I make so much at once.

Guilty Childhood Pleasures

I'm over at Fictionistas today talking about one of my favorite childhood treats. Come share yours!

Where's My Hassenpfeffer?

Of course this comes from the same people who brought us Hello Kitty. Why wouldn't it? Check out what I'm talking about over at Fictionistas today.

Eat at Jimmie's

That's what we're doing this morning. And by we, I mean my mom, dad and brother who just got a wild hair and decided to drive down from Maryland on Friday. Hotrod will be headed off to work like a good worker bee.

Jimmie's is sort of a legendary spot around here, especially for breakfast. I've taken my parents there, but not my brother, so today I'll be fattening them up then taking them to Lowes for some home improvement type purchases. Both my dad and brother are home builders, so whenever they come down, I have chores for them. What? That's what family is for.

I'll take pictures of the massive breakfast and report back tomorrow. (You can actually friend Jimmies on Myspace. lol) What are you doing today?

Just like grandma used to make

I was talking to my friend, Louisa, yesterday about recipes, which made me think of one of my all time favorites, my Grandma B's rice pudding.

When I think of her, I think of several dishes: the rice pudding, this Italian beef she used to make, her pies (crusts were amazing), and these lekvar cookies that I tried for years to duplicate. For some reason, that recipe wasn't in her recipe box or any of her cookbooks, all of which I inherited when she passed.

There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her. She was a great woman and I actually credit her with my gift of storytelling, but that's another tale for another day.

Is there a dish you make that reminds you of someone special?

Food Rocks

You've only got one meal left to eat. What will it be?

Come tell me over at Fictionistas!

I'm sweating, but I don't like it

I'm back to working out and counting calories. Not my favorite combination of things, say like shopping and sipping a chocolate milkshake, but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do if she doesn't want to end up in a bigger size. I find that no matter what diet or change of eating I try, limiting calories and exercise are my surefire solution.

And of course, Nationals are coming up and don't we all try to trim down for that? So, I need to stop blogging and get my booty on the elliptical. Hopefully in a few weeks there will be less of it to haul up there.

Are you working out? What kind of exercise are you doing?

Welsh Cookies

Also known as Welsh Cakes and Griddle Cookies, these raisin cookies are a true childhood memory for me. With my folks being here, I got to rummaging through my late grandmother's recipe box (one of the best things I could have inherited, let me tell you) and lo and behold, there was the recipe.

My mom, dad and I immediately added the necessary ingredients to our shopping list. This afternoon, we made the cookies. I was in charge of the cooking, which is basically like making pancakes. I've never been in charge of that before. Guess I'm finally old enough, huh?

The taste is probably more scone than cookie, but if you've ever lived in an area that had Pennsylvania Dutch, there's a good chance you already know what these taste like. If not, try them. You will nom with pleasure, I assure you.

Here's the recipe for these awesome, addictive little cakes. Enjoy!

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/4 cups raisins
• vegetable oil, for griddle
• NOTE: some recipes also add nutmeg or cinnamon, and I've seen other add ins like orange and lemon zest. You be the judge on what you do there.
  

Directions

1. Heat griddle until medium hot. (I wouldn't heat the griddle until you've got the dough mixed.)
   
2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
3. Cut in butter like for pastry.
4. Combine milk and egg; add with raisins to dry mixture.
5. Stir until moistened and mixture holds together.
6. Roll dough out onto floured board to 1/4-inch thick and cut with 2-inch round cookie cutter. (Or a juice glass. lol)
   
7. Oil griddle lightly. (If you use a non-stick griddle, you can skip this step.)
   
8. Place cookies on griddle.
9. As bottoms brown, top will get puffy.
10. Turn and brown other side.
11. Serve hot or cold.

Something Different

Yesterday after church, we went to a Chinese buffet for lunch. It turned out to be one of the nicer ones and they had one of my favorite flavors of ice cream - green tea! They also had banana, which is one of Hotrod's favorites, and coffee, which is one of my mom's.

Have you ever tried green tea ice cream? It's kind of perfumey, but not in a bad way. What's your favorite flavor?

Something To Think About

It's not unusual for most of us to reassess our health and fitness at the start of a new year. I know for me, it usually means recommitting to a healthier way of life. Most of you know I started out with a 17 fast this year called the Master Cleanse. Unfortunately, our trip to New Orleans yanked me off the health wagon pretty hard. However, I'm back at it and really striving to incorporate a lot of raw foods (fruits and veggies) into my diet. For those of you counting calories, here are some interesting comparisons:

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Pretty interesting, huh? Personally, I'd rather eat more than eat less. What are you doing health and fitness-wise this year?

Gumbo Fabulous!

Between Hotrod being under the weather (read sick and in need of constant care) and the actual weather being rather cool, I decided to make gumbo yesterday. At the last minute, I left the shrimp out since we'd had shrimp the night before and just went with chicken and sausage.

This was the first time I'd made it and wow, it was tasty! Now I've got massive quantities of it to keep us going through the week. (The Italian in me doesn't know how to make small batches of anything.)

In other news, I wrote a scene in my WIP yesterday and then realized it didn't accomplish what it needed to do so I think I have to scrap it and start over. I hate deleting words. It's almost painful. But it needs to be done. I'll probably save the scene in a scraps file in case I can use part of it later. Do you do that or do you just send it into the ether?

You ate what?

I'm blogging at Fictionistas today about the crazy food concoctions born out of college life and no money. Come tell me about your strange combos at Fictionistas!

Addictions

I have a very addictive personality. I know that about myself. I become addicted to things easily. For example, I had to uninstall Sims from my computer because I played it constantly. Five to six hours straight at times. Finally, I came to my senses, said enough is enough and uninstalled it. That's really the best way for me - cold turkey. There are some addictions I have no intention of giving up, however.

1. Shopping - Love it. Even if I don't buy anything, I love to see what's new.
2. Shoes - A subset of shopping really, but it's enough of an addiction that it deserves mentioning.
3. My cats - I adore them. I'm addicted to taking pictures of them, addicted to their silliness, their cuteness, the need to groom them like I'm their birth mother.
4. Reading - I would quite often rather read than write. It's true. Reading is an escape and one I crave.
5. Food - Okay, this is one I could do without. It's a constant battle. Why could I be addicted to working out? I know, I know, everything in moderation.
6. The Internet - Good or bad, depending on how you look at it. I love web surfing! This is probably why I'm not addicted to exercise. lol

What are you addicted to?

Monday, Monday...

It's been chillyish in FL lately. And by chillyish, I mean I wore my fabulous (faux) fur to church last night. Yeah, that cold. Today I'm making soup - a lovely chicken & barley stew to get me through the week. I love soup (and chili)! Not only does the house smell great, but it's good for you. I could eat soup every day. Sometimes, I do.

Writing-wise, I'm hard at work editing the first book I ever wrote in hopes of giving it new life. I love the story, but I worry I'm too close to it. Fortunately, two fabulous divas volunteered to beta read it for me. My goal today is to edit 70 pages. It's doable, I just need to get on it.

Lastly, I need to get my booty back into exercise. My goal for that today is 15 minutes on the elliptical. Not much, I know, but still better than nothing. Maybe I'll throw in some abs and some push-ups. If it were warmer, I might go for a walk. Do you try to squeeze exercise into your day? What kind do you do?

Five Servings A Day

Since the start of the new year, Hotrod and I have been really trying to eat better. Yeah, I know a lot of people make that a resolution, but we've really been doing it. Of course, I'm doing all the cooking. Shocker.

We've been eating oatmeal and fresh fruit for breakfast every morning - something Hotrod really grumped about at first. Lunch is a big salad, or a veggie & bean soup, or like yesterday veggie-stuffed portabella mushrooms and brown basmati rice. Dinner is usually something similiar. Last night, for a treat, I made brown rice pudding with soy milk. Hotrod not only ate it, but liked it. Wow!

I'm doing my best to buy organic when I can, to make sure all our grain products are whole and to keep the fridge stocked with fruits and veggies for quick snacking. I'm also buying free-range and/or meats raised without antibiotics. Which basically means we're not eating that much meat any more, and when we do it eat it, it's chicken, shrimp and occasionally buffalo (I've found some safe beef but not that much). I do still buy fish, because I think for the most part the benefits outweigh the bad.

Anyway, it's been interesting. Hotrod and I both agree we feel better, although the weight loss has been a little less than I'd hoped for. Ah well. At least we'll be healthier. Have you kept up with your New Year's resolutions? What were they?

Huh?

This is what I feel like today. It's raining (been raining since around 4 PM yesterday afternoon) and gray and just altogether one of those icky days. Lara Santiago and I are supposed to do something today, like lunch, but I think I will have to use my powers of persuasion to lure her to my home instead. Then I won't have to go out. I could make a lovely basil Parmesan orzo for lunch. It's actually a super easy dish and so comforting on a day like this.

Of course, the real reason she and I are getting together is because I insisted she read C.L. Wilson's Lord of the Fading Lands and now she's completely jonesing for the sequel, Lady of Light and Shadows (which I managed to snag an ARC of). And with good reason. Lady may actually be better than the first book in this series - which is staggering, because LOTFL is an AMAZING book. Best of all, it's out now!

I got a signed copy of LOTFL when I was at the M&M conference. It's going on my keeper shelf. Where it belongs. Have you bought a copy yet? What are you waiting for? You will NOT be disappointed.

Everything's Bigger In Texas

Even the soup.

Is that not the biggest bowl of soup you've ever seen as a single serving? Oddly enough, the waitress felt compelled to tell us it was heavy when she handed it over. Ya think?

According to Lara Santiago, the orderer and eater of this soup, it was tasty and delicous. But not by any means the small bowl she anticipated. She ordered it because she wasn't that hungry! And it came with that huge pile of rice!

I had tamales that night - one of my favorite things - and thanks to Deidre Knight, another chica at dinner with us that night, my foot somehow ended up on the table. I know you're going to ask so let me just say I was demonstrating my big toe's mouse-clicking technique.

Shout Out To My Peeps

It happens every year. People come down decisively on both sides of the issue. Families are split over it, friends mock each other, children find themselves going without because adults have removed the articles in question for their own use.

The question remains without any black or white answer.

Peeps - fresh or stale, which is better?