Category Archives: Kids & Family

Ice Cream Sand-Witch

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Has this ever happened to you?

You duck into the grocery store for one thing (something you need for a recipe and/or forgot from the last visit to the store). Once in the store you start thinking about other things you need, and soon you have a cart full of stuff. (And of course you didn’t bring your reusable bags in from the car because you were only supposed to be getting one thing.) All this, and by the time you get home you realize you forgot the one thing you went to the store for in the first place.

This just happened to me today, and not for the first time.  I think I should coin it “Grocery Store ADD”, and shopping lists are the only way to cure it. Unfortunately, I didn’t bother making a list because I was only supposed to be getting one thing – gruyère cheese for my cauliflower gratin. The cheese never made it home. Before I could get to the cheese aisle, I had to pass some Halloween displays and the ice cream aisle end cap display. This is what got me derailed:

I’d never noticed this product before, and instantly I had an idea that got me all excited (and forgetful, apparently).  The wheels were turning.

With a few store-bought products and the vanilla ice cream I had at home, I could quickly whip up some ice cream witches’ hats for after school snacks. By cutting down the cones, the portion of ice cream becomes just right for kids (or, ahem, moms).

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Deca-dent

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This seems impossible, but my baby girl turns 10 today.  A whole decade – whoosh! I know this time warp happens to all parents, but I still feel blindsided. Luckily there is a tiny bit of leftover birthday cake from this weekend’s festivities to console me.

Initially I had big plans for a Cake Boss-esque masterpiece – maybe a fondant-covered purse cake or something appropriately bling-y for a 10-year-old girl. But then I came to my senses! There was no way that was going to happen this weekend between soccer practices, soccer games and Grandma Jean’s 80th birthday celebration. So on to Plan B: this candy-embellished cake made a big impact and took less than 20 minutes to decorate, including the homemade frosting. Whether making a cake or savoring childhood, every minute counts.

10 years ago . . .

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After-ghoul Snack

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I promised my husband I wouldn’t get carried away with the Halloween blog posting, but the kids still need a healthy after-school snack, don’t they?

Orange bell peppers make festive (and edible) dip vessels, and are a lot easier to carve than pumpkins.

Cut off the tops like you would for a jack-o-lantern, then use a grapefruit knife (what do you mean you don’t have one?) or your hands to remove the inner membranes. Rinse out any seeds.

Carve a simple jack-o-lantern face. My nose and mouth were a little too low; try to keep the “face” on the flat part of the pepper, before it curves under. This will keep the filling from oozing out too much.

Fill with a dark-colored dip, such as black bean or a 50/50 mixture of hummus and olive tapenade. (The stuff Peyton Manning keeps talking about in his DirectTV commercials.) I used about 1/2 cup of store-bought hummus and 1/2 cup of store-bought kalamata tapenade.

For a better presentation (since I messed up the face), I elevated the pepper jack-o-lantern with an upside-down custard cup.

Serve after school (or at a Halloween party) with carrots and breadsticks. And don’t forget to eat the pepper afterwards, unless you’re wary of double-dippers. . .

 

Warning: 31 Days of Crazy Ahead

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There’s a whole spectrum of crazy when it comes to Halloween enthusiasm, ranging from “Appropriately Spirited” to “Get Out the Commitment Papers.” I like to think I fall somewhere in the middle – you know, having fun but keeping it real. Some of my nearest and dearest, however, think I’m a few slices short of a loaf. . .

In case you can’t tell, I’m a Ghoul Scout.

With 31 days to go until All Hallows’ Eve and the festive spirit building daily, I thought this year we’d try a Countdown Calendar Tree:

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Shortcut Cake Pops

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If you have kids or visit Starbucks on a regular basis, you know about cake pops.  They’re like Tootsie Pops, but made of mashed-up cake instead of candy (so therefore better for you?), dipped in a glossy coating and dressed up with sprinkles or other accoutrements.

(For some awe-inspiring creations, check out Bakerella.com or search “cake pops” in Pinterest.).

If you’ve ever tried making cake pops, you know that they can be TIME CONSUMING. First you have to bake a cake (albeit from a boxed mix) and let it cool. Then you crumble it up and mix it with a can of frosting.  This dough-like mixture becomes the base for the cake pops. After that you shape, chill, dip and decorate.

Doesn’t it seem crazy to bake a nice cake only to smush it all up? Some smart person though of using Munchins for the centers.  That’s definitely a shortcut (and a lot less messy), but if you’re looking for that gooey-cakey texture or want to shape the cake pops into something other than spheres, the donut holes just won’t do.

Well, hold onto your lollypop sticks, folks. I’ve come up with a trick that may forever change the way you make cake pops:  [cue drumroll]

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Love These

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We’re gearing up for the US Open around here. Look out, world – here come the Walter sisters!

Well, maybe in a few years. In the meantime, we’ll get into the spirit of things by serving up these mini tennis ball cookies – simple sugar cookies with a shiny, glow-green glaze.

How’s this for hitting the sweet spot?

Yes, the cookies are a bit time-consuming to make, but I promise they taste as good as they look. And as Sophie (above, in the shades) will tell you, sometimes looking good is worth a little extra effort.

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Fresh Peach Fro-Yo

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Every summer it’s the same story: Swoon over perfect-looking peaches piled high in the produce aisle. Bring a bunch home to ripen on the counter. Start dreaming about biting into a juicy, sweet-tart peach.  Try to contain disappointment when the whole lot turns out to be mealy and bland.  Vow to never again buy peaches from the grocery store. Repeat.

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Lemon-Aid

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When life gives you 100-degree days, make lemonade. To do so you could squeeze a ton of lemons, strain out the seeds, boil some sugar and water to make simple syrup, mix it all together and make a mess of your kitchen in the process, OR – you could grab a can of MinuteMaid frozen concentrate from the freezer, add it plus 4 1/3 cans of water to a pitcher and end up with almost the same thing in less than one minute.  Sold!

I’m not sure why, but this tastes much better than the MinuteMaid premixed lemonade sold next to the orange juice. To make all-natural pink lemonade, add a few frozen raspberries to individual glasses or the whole pitcher. The more you add, the deeper the color and flavor.

During the course of this shoot we learned that frozen raspberries also make a great summer snack!

Cheers to summer!

A Happy Mother’s Day

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I’ve been saying this every year for the past 9 years, but This Is The Best Mother’s Day Ever! I was awoken nice and early – narrowly missing the Tooth Fairy’s departure but in time for sunrise – and presented with a custom-made Breakfast in Bed menu.

After making my selection, I fell back asleep while the Breakfast Fairies worked their magic (under Dad’s supervision). Soon the fairies were back, this time with a tray of goodies, fresh-picked flowers and my Mother’s Day favorite – homemade cards. Those get me every time!

The only thing that could make the day better would be to have my mother here to share in the festivities.  A phone call later will have to do, since she’s 2,401 miles away in University Place, WA. Sorry, Mom – I didn’t even get a homemade card in the mail this year! This post will have to do.

Mom gave me this vintage print years ago, after I had flown the nest and settled far from home (in the Garden State of New Jersey, via DC and Paris). I’m not sure she even remembers giving it to me, but I’m a sentimental sap and borderline hoarder so naturally I saved it. With both of us gardeners (she Master, me apprentice), the Goethe quote seems written for us. (Even though I know the term “garden” is meant figuratively; I take similar liberties when interpreting fortune cookies.) To run with the figurative angle, albeit in a slightly different trajectory – is it a coincidence that Mother’s Day is the unofficial start of Gardening Season? After all, don’t mothers plant the seeds, nurture the seedlings, protect them from environmental dangers, beam with pride at harvest time and delight in the cycle’s repeat?

Happy Mother’s Day to my Master Gardener/Mother, Karen, and to all mothers out there. I’m off to plant some bean seeds and tomato seedlings. (More on that soon!)

Noodle Nests

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Who doesn’t love a festive dessert? Better yet – who doesn’t love a festive dessert that requires no baking, comes together in minutes and keeps the kids from fighting for a blissful 10 minutes?

Enter Noodle Nests – salty-sweet little nests made from chow mein noodles and white chocolate chips. I didn’t invent this recipe, but maybe I’m the first one to fill the nests with pastel “M&M’s”® candies? (I swear I’m no longer on the Mars payroll, but – ahem – perhaps I should be?)

The great thing about no-bake treats like these is that you can get right to the fun part – decorating.  You can use anything you like to fill the nests – we opted for Peanut “M&M’s”® (because I couldn’t find any Almond) and JellyBelly jellybeans. Speckled malted milk eggs work well, or for a Martha-chic natural look you could go with unwrapped solid chocolate eggs (i.e., Hershey’s or Dove®).

Noodle Nests

  • 1 10-oz package white chocolate chips
  • 1 Tablespoon (splash) vegetable oil
  • 5 oz. (1 canister) chow mein noodles
  • Candy eggs

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium microwaveable bowl, add white chocolate chips and vegetable oil. Microwave on high in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until chips have melted and mixture is smooth. (These Trader Joe’s chips took about 1 minute total.) 

Add chow mein noodles and stir gently to coat.

Drop mixture by the spoonful onto parchment-lined baking sheets to form nests. If there is any white chocolate mixture left in the bowl, drop that onto the center of the nests to help the candies adhere.

Decorate the nests with candy eggs. Place baking sheets with completed nests in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to solidify. Store in an airtight container.

Makes approximately 18 nests.