Hitting the Road!

     Ya would have thought I just did this a couple of months ago...oh wait, I did! That’s ok, because this time, it should be like 3+ years permanent. Woot! That is why I am not on enough right now to compile an actual good food read. Give it another week or two and we’ll see what we come up with!

Even More Busy Days to Come

     It is already tuesday, can you believe it? And we now have no couch. I know, that is a random little piece of information. It just adds to the overall reality of what life is really like right now trying to move for the upteenth time. Meals at our house right now are definitely back to the home cooked staples that get you through the crazy times. In other words, nothing new and no new experiments (which the kids and I am sure hubby are grateful for) but isn’t that what makes a family so great? Think back on all your own years of eating in someone else’s home and lets take a trip down memory lane. Post a favorite food or quick recipe from your youth that reminds you of family get togethers, holidays, or even just summer... (to fit the season we are in). 

     Mine? Fruit salad. It was always a special treat (honestly) to afford all the different fruit that goes into making a really good one. We would do it for dessert every once in a while, or if we were really lucky, breakfast with some amazing homemade bread, muffins, or even cinnamon rolls. Can’t beat that even if you tried, in my opinion. The best way to serve it? A sweet splash of fresh lemon and tablespoon of sugar to really get those sugars going. Or better yet, some whip cream. Try it tonight, and feel free to share your favorites this week!

Another Busy Day

     And not too many successful recipes either unfortunately! At the very least, they were filling and semi-nutritious...but I will have to work on some flavor kinks (a chicken spaghetti pie that didn’t turn out as fabulous as I thought, and a simple bean chili to top a potato saute, which was good but relatively boring....) Anyhow. Life goes on. Yesterday being a most productive day, in terms of finding plenty of busy activities for the kids to spare my sanity, ended in a most eventful and surprising way. I thought I would share because, well, you have to laugh so you don’t cry right?!  

So, in case you can’t tell the details here....my middle son had to fall asleep on our bed since they (meaning my two oldest boys) were playing so much at bedtime. Apparently there was a brand new bottle of baby powder in close vicinity to him while he was settling down and....well...you get the picture! Let’s just say that the entire bedroom was covered! He came up looking like a little white snowflake...and some of the bedding (including his jammies) would just not recover with out being taken off and washed! I love it. We even filmed it, just so we wouldn’t "take it out" on him...

he was just curious right?! 

Sorry for the delay

     So blogger has been down the last 24 hrs. Sorry for the delay. Between the craziness of adding a new writing pal, an apparent allergy to olives (yes my youngest... olives + allergy=an enormous potty mess at naptime, don’t ask!) and a few other snags, I am behind. But no surprise there! At least I got a new posting up, and soon enough there will be more to come....

An Announcement

     I am so excited to share this with ya’ll (see, Texas is rubbing off a little!) After weeks of toiling over the idea, and much procrastination on ours parts (trying to get time to talk in between all our rugrats can be hard...) I have decided to take on another writer. Yup. My dear friend..... Jessica Ramirez will be joining our blog reel of fantastically superfluous stories of home life, the joys of raising lots of little boys (she is due with boy #3 in 6 weeks and the oldest is only just turning 3 as well!)  and trial and error cooking feats sure to continue to tantalize your taste buds, and tickle your funny bone all in one complete and delicious family style dish. 

Another Glorious Avocado Recipe

     And it is paired again with chocolate too! One can NEVER loose there... This is also a recipe I had found some time ago while researching for that healthy baking class I held. The cupcakes are absolutely delish believe it or not. Quite moist and light even (but rich if that isn't too much of a contradiction) ANYWAY... enjoy! Also, check out Jessica Seinfeld's Book, Decepetively Delicious (Deceptively Delicious on Amazon) for another fun version of Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes. This is the one I just love to use and re-use though!

Glazed Chocolate-Avocado Cupcakes

(from the Sept. 08 Vegetarian Times)

Cupcake;

1 ½ c. white wheat flour

¾ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. Baking Pwdr.

¾ tsp. Baking soda

¾ tsp. salt

1 avocado pitted and peeled

1 c. pure maple syrup

¾ c. plain soymilk

1/3 c. canola oil

2 tsp. vanilla

Glaze;

¼ block soft silken tofu (from 14oz container) drained and patted dry

3 Tbs. pure maple syrup

½ tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

4 oz. semisweet chocolate melted

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking pwdr., baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Puree avocado in food processor until smooth. Add maple syrup, soymilk, oil, and vanilla, blend until creamy. Whisk avocado mixture into flour mixture. Spoon into prepared cupcake pan (w/liners works better) and bake ≈20 min. until toothpick comes out w/few crumbs. To make the Glaze, blend tofu, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in food processor until smooth. Add chocolate to tofu mixture. Transfer to a bowl and dip cupcake tops after cooling.

AVOCADOS

     And what is not to love about them? If you are not one of those green California mild fruit lovers, then I am determined to find atleast 1 recipe that would appeal to you. After all, according to http://www.allaboutavocados.com/ they are not only loaded with nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, magnesium, and folate, they even contain 60% more potassium per ounce than bananas and are high in rich oil content, namely vitamin E. One last important note, if you are on the mediterranean diet... otherwise known as flat belly diet...avocados are a practically a must!
     I found this recipe quite some time ago when I held a healthy baking class for some friends, and quite like it as a fun treat for my kids once in a while. I  much prefer it as a fruit dip though, so get your fresh cut fruit ready, and serve at any get together and I think you will be quite pleasently surprised!




     Chocolate Avocado Pudding

(from http://rawfoodrightnow.blogspot.com)


2 avocados
½ cup raw carob powder (or raw cocoa or raw chocolate powder)
1 cup dates (Medjools ideally)


Blend all ingredients until mixture is smooth and creamy and no lumps. Taste first, Add more avocado if you’d like it richer and/or creamier; add more dates for extra sweetness or add more carob for a stronger chocolate flavor.


Check out http://www.recipezaar.com/Avocado-Pudding-164833 for an addt’l pudding recipe variation