Eat Like a Rabbit

I'm sorry to say this is not the best photograph I can take. Moreover, I'm sorry to say I didn't think about taking a picture of it when we first made it. It was a huge pile of covered fruit in the middle of a glass 9 x 13 pan, and I wondered if it would all stay in there. But it did, and it was magnificent.

This dessert followed gumbo for a large family gathering just after Christmas. My mom and I used flash frozen cranberries (which I was slightly nervous about at first) and the flash frozen apples I had laboriously peeled and cut myself back in October. The great thing was how the recipe focused on the natural flavors of the fruit and had exceptionally less sugar than you would expect from a dessert of this nature. I suppose it made a difference that we used my mom's pie crust recipe--that is generally more salty--instead of the one in the magazine. We were already making the crust for another project and just decided to keep on with the same recipe for the crumble. We doubled the recipe to fit the 9 x 13 pan and ate on it two more times after the big meal.

Our pictures from New York are up! They aren't all in order, though. Some pics from Paul's trip to San Francisco are mixed in. Simply click on a photo above to take you to Paul's flickr.com page.

One of my EMTs moved from New York about a year ago, and before we left for our trip, I asked her about a good bagel joint recommendation. She said she didn't have one--all bagels in New York are good.

My reading sources led me to Es-a-Bagel as being number one with H&H Bagel (where Paul visited with his sister after I had returned to record high temps in Florida) right behind. However, we weren't near either of those options. Instead, our hotel, was near Bagels and More at the corner of Lexington and 39th. We went there every morning and could not get enough of it. One night at 10:00, I wanted another one (the excuse, of course being the pregnancy), but they were closed. I also wanted to acquire a big bag of them to bring home with me, but alas, we ran out of time for that.

Click on the photograph to go to Paul's Flickr page for a closer-up view of the monkeys. There's nothing like sitting in a boat having a picnic lunch and watching the monkeys watch you and wonder how they can get across the river to partake, too. We had quite a show. One of the best times was when a piroux came by with a dog and three adults. The dog watched us 'til he saw the monkeys. He got in really big trouble for barking and scaring them. Thanks, Connie and Jack for a great day!

Eat Like a Rabbit celebrated its ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY while we were in Seattle! We were so excited and as a reward to ourselves, we agreed to go on a shopping spree to Trader Joe's, an unusual grocery store that has locations where everyone else we know lives--except there's none in Orlando. We did a lot of testing with our product selections and hope to have a set grocery list for any future visits. Perhaps they will go faster in the future, but I doubt they will be as much fun. Thanks to Leann and Jeremy who shuttled us around and waited patiently while we filled up our basket. In fact, I don't know the last time I've ever made a grocery cart that full! But honestly, a good bit of it was purchased for gifts, and we ate a good bit of it while we were still in Seattle, too.

Nothing about this tart was on sale or cheap, but it was beautiful and tasty. I divided the tart into 8 slices, but probably should have kept it at 7 so everyone had enough. I gave ice cream and vanilla yogurt as options for the side.

We had a fantastic and enjoyable Christmas Eve Dinner.

In a floundering market consumers are looking for good food that is as cheap and nutritious as possible. I hope this post will be the first in a continuous series that focuses on time-saving dishes that don't break the bank while they impact your menu.

I have previously mentioned that applesauce is a annual tradition at our house. The following is my process.

After a long plane ride home from Texas, we called my father to meet us at this restaurant. This visit was far superior to the previous one (not that the last one was horrible).

So, now the cat is out of the bag. We do like sweet foods. We just know how to eat them in moderation and with as little additives as possible. The muffin recipe came out of "Moosewood Cooks at Home". It's a good recipe because the base batter does not change. You simply add a choice of apple and nuts, bananas and nuts, or zucchini. I chose the apple because I had a couple apples that appeared too mealy to eat off the core. I used a regular cheese grater to grate the apple, peel included, and nearly shaved my finger a couple of times, too. The muffins came out very pretty and tasted really good. Blueberry muffins are always my favorite, but these are running a close second.

Wagamama is fairly new to the United States. Paul has been to the one in London. His previous experiences have been good as well.

The French Toast recipe comes from my mother and is as follows:

• 1 egg
• Equal parts ground cinnamon and brown sugar to taste
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix. Dip both sides of toast. Cook on medium skillet until browned.

Yields three slices French Toast. Leftovers can be refrigerated and toasted another morning.

Note: White sugar tastes sweeter than brown sugar. You may wish to use less white sugar.