I have two words for you. Dorm. Room. This is totally a recipe I'd like to send to my dear cousins off at college as soon as it gets cool enough that these wonderful items don't melt or fall apart before they get there. And if you're lucky enough to have a fridge in your room (we did, even in high school), you can totally make this recipe in your dorm room and be a hit on your hall.
I've created a monster! No, I'm not talking about the food face. I thought it was pretty cute. But I have pushed myself into a corner where Nora seems to only like peanut butter when it's made into a sandwich with Cherrios. Do you know how small Cherrios are? Do you know how messy creamy peanut butter can get if you goof and it oozes through the hole of the Cherrio? And she eats them as fast as I can make them. There must be an easier way! But I can't complain because she really is a good eater.
We dined out in Nashville at The Wild Cow, a vegetarian restaurant that came well recommended. Crazy name aside, this restaurant has a pretty good menu and a decent steady flow of patrons. We had quite a hard time choosing items from the two page menu. There's also a great kid's menu that I kind of wanted to order off of myself.
Mary Sheehan has done it again! Just two weeks ago, I was looking for a peanut sauce to top our stir fry and couldn't remember where I had gotten the recipe before. This wasn't it, but it was even better than the last one! So simple and so good.
I did use crunchy peanut butter because that's what I had opened and mixed instead of the creamy peanut butter she recommends. I suspect it made the sauce a bit more challenging to mix, but I don't think it hurt it.
Peacefood Cafe was recommended to us by Leigh at Marvelous Kiddo. She certainly has good taste! We loved our experience at the restaurant. It was amazing that there was always a line for a table during our entire lunch. Maybe that doesn't mean much in crowded New York City. Still, I've always maintained the belief that people being willing to wait for a table is a good thing.
Well, this isn't necessarily about cooking, but it is vegetarian. This happens to be an idea for a rainy day (ironically, it is raining in Orlando right now) that I want to store for future reference. I will try not to bore you with many like this, but you will learn quickly that I want our new daughter very involved in the kitchen. I want her to see what fun it is.
Recipe for Peanut Butter Playdough
Mix 1 cup natural peanut butter (You know, the kind with the layer of oil on the top that you have to stir before using.) with 3/4-1 cup dry powdered milk. The recipe isn't specific, but I would recommend the creamy variety of PB. Put on wax paper to keep the stickiness confined. I've also heard of using jelly roll pans to protect play areas. To stay within the kitchen theme, allow cookie cutters, spoons, and forks to help shape designs.
This cake was such a hit, people have been nagging me for the recipe. Therefore, I've skipped my desired schedule of posting and bumped this one up in the list.
My dilemma for this cake was the fact that it was for a bridal shower at which the guest of honor, the bride, is allergic to a certain aspect of dairy. The Duncan Hines Cake Mix fits into her diet. Also, there are some icings that are acceptable, but instead of taking my chances, I chose a dairy-free cake option.
Recipe for Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Glaze
For the cake, cook according to package directions and pour batter evenly into two 8- or 9-inch cake plans for baking. Once completely cool, put one cake on the serving platter. Spread 1/4 jar of creamy peanut butter onto cake (We only use natural with nothing but peanuts and salt.) with a miniature spatula. Top with the second cake. Cover tightly with saran wrap to refrigerate. I actually made the cake a night in advance and let it warm to room temp about 1 hour before serving.
Raspberry Glaze
8-10 oz. frozen raspberries, pulsed slightly in food processor
1 Tablespoon and 1 teaspoon corn starch
1/3-1/2 cup brown sugar
Pour berries into small saucepan over medium heat and stir until berries defrost. Mix sugar and corn starch in the measuring cup and pour over berries. Stir fairly consistently until the glaze thickens and is clearer in color. Cool glaze and remove to glass storage if not topping cake immediately. Pour glaze over cake just before serving.
Here's a few fun comments to share that are in no particular order and have no other purpose, but to make you smile as they did us.
Paul had a birthday in July, and our dear friend, Garrett Nudd, still provided him with a birthday present even though he's about to lose his room to Baby Rabbit. The card and gift were perfect as Paul's most favorite food in the world is Peanut Butter (well, maybe on par with bananas). The card (See photo.)said "Happy Birthday from the Peanut Gallery."
For my birthday, Paul bought me a "deck" of soup and stew cards from the Moosewood Restaurant collection. It was such a clever idea, and luckily, it was cold enough to take advantage of them before we left for Paris when my kitchen was nearly empty of food.
Eat Like a Rabbit is home from a fabulous field trip to study food across the Atlantic. The experience was incredible, and I invite you to stay tuned to the entire story of the trip with specific reviews of restaurants. Unfortunately, we are suffering from jet lag and are trying to get back into the swing of things both at home and at work. ELAR prides itself on sharing pictures of food and other experiences and therefore will delay in posting stories about the trip until the photos and/or videos have been edited. Please forgive the delay.
This is a great snack or dessert option. On occasion, Paul and I will have a breakfast item for dinner, especially if we had rich lunches and were still a bit full from a late lunch. This night, we had small smoothies with peanut butter toast. Certainly, if I can get a concoction that I really like and can remember, I won't want to make so many trips to Planet Smoothie. This recipe makes 16 ounces of smoothie, which is perfect for us. Sometimes, if I make more than that, it goes to waste.
Recipe for Smoothie
8 frozen strawberries
2 bananas
1 cup plain yogurt
2-3 Tablespoons peanut butter
Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.