Eat Like a Rabbit

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.

On my list for using up our Michigan apples was to try my hand at dehydrating apple slices into chips. I found an improved source of information for how to do so effectively at Seasonal Chef.

It takes about one small-medium apple to fill each jar with chips. (I used two larger Golden Delicious and two smaller Jonagold.) However, I'm warning you, they don't last long. My jars lasted about a week with Paul and his folks hanging around. I'm not complaining at all. After all, you cook for people to eat, and I still believe the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. But, you may find it's a lot of work for such short-lived pleasure.

Right next to Trader Joe's is a Great Harvest Bread Company that Leann introduced us to.This little shop has such a variety of bread that it has to follow a schedule to produce the different loaves on different days. When I walked in, they offered us a taste of three or four options. One looked more like a pan of brownies than bread. Having a sweet tooth, I would have been very happy to go for the brownie, but in effort to experience the new and to give a true opinion of the selection, I decided to try a slice of garlic cheddar. The slice was soft and white with complete, but not strong, flavor of cheddar and garlic bits. I was very impressed with my taste test. Leann bought a loaf of cinnamon bread, which has the same idea of a good quality bread recipe bits of flavoring stirred in at regular intervals. Leann and I had the same idea that the loaf of bread is done as soon as you open it. So, you just can't open it. You just have to sit and watch it on the counter while it's calling your name.

We didn't eat out in Spokane, but we did take advantage of a fabulous sweet-shop, which made the kids exceptionally happy at the end of our walking tour around town. You could call us care-free cause we were eating dessert before lunch. The ice cream shop did have an organic lunchroom attached, but I didn't pay too much attention to vegetarian items.

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.

I suppose in my writing I have neglected to point out that my mother taught me how to cook. She helped me get my cooking honor in Pathfinders and still watches over me in the kitchen. This is one of my favorite recipes of hers.

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.