Category Food

A Wishing Well…

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Sometimes we get LUCKY! I was in Michigan at a fair. They had an historical center with different log cabins.

A I explored the buildings, I came across this Wishing Well. I’ve always wanted to see a Wishing Well up close, throw a coin in and make my wish. Of course, I was a bit disappointed when I got closer. Turns out it was a “fake” Well, no water, and you can probably see from the photo a plastic container inside that was very shallow for a plant maybe.

So, I could not make a wish. It would have been ridiculous. Throwing a penny in, would have felt like throwing my penny in the grass – no meaning. Sigh, but from a distance, the visual of the Well was GOOD!

When I got home, I did a search for Wishing Wells. Amazon sells quite a few, people buy them as a decoration for their garden. I had no idea. I know, it sounds silly, but I live in a city, we don’t put Wishing Wells on our roof tops. I think of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairly Tales when I think of Wishing Wells.

On to my next adventure. Blueberry and raspberry picking. Take a look at this. A field of raspberries, it was amazing. They are a thorny bush, so next time I wouldn’t wear shorts. Your legs can really get scratched up.

I met some really nice people who were picking. There was an older couple in their 70s, who have been coming to the same farm for years. They said they pick about 8 lbs each time. Their grandkids love the blueberries. There was one mother who said she had been coming for 22 years with her daughter. She was sad, because this summer her daughter could not make it. Kids grow up, but she was picking some for her. Keep the tradition alive.

I got to say, it was wonderful to get out of the city and be on a farm. Smell the fresh air, hear the farm animals.

Oh, guess what, while I was getting gas, I found TWO Lucky pennies.

So, the Wishing Well DID WORK — in a round about way! Don’t you enjoy coincidences like that!

Baking – Put the masks back on?

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It looks like our mask freedom was short lived. Back to wearing masks indoors even if we are vaccinated. So, with that in mind, I thought I might as well brush up on my baking skills. Fall is coming, who knows what will happen in September. If we are house bound again, back to cooking/baking at home.

I haven’t made peanut butter cookies since I was a child. I’m not a vegan, but I saw this recipe on The Simple Veganista. So easy, seven ingredients in one bowl. Mix and bake.

If you live where there is hot weather, you should let the cookie dough set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes; otherwise, when you put the cookies on the cookie sheet, and into the oven — they melt and all blend together.

I would have been so dismayed, if I looked in the oven window and saw a sheet of peanut butter cake, instead of individual cookies. Another tip, I used a cookie scooper, so cookies look uniform. However, my cookie scooper is medium size and even though I used a fork to press the cookies down, they were chunky and took longer to cook.

Final Result — Excellent!

BONUS – so fast to make, little cleanup!

MUSHROOM coffee, oh yeah!

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Just when I thought we couldn’t get any healthier. My daughter introduces me to Mushroom Coffee. Yes, you heard that right – M U S H R O O M – coffee. I immediately thought of magic mushrooms, isn’t that a drug that is illegal. I got on Google.

The Four Sigmatic site says none of the mushrooms they use are illegal. Mushroom coffee will not make you hallucinate. Phew! It’s a combination of normal coffee and mushroom powder. You’d have to go to the site to learn more specifics.

How did it taste? Light, earthy (not like mushrooms) coffee taste. Not strong, mild. Definitely did not feel like I had a caffeine buzz of any sort. Light on the stomach, not acidic.

Would I drink it again. YES, but it’s expensive for every day drinking. Still need to learn more about it. Good to try something new. I cannot drink normal coffee anymore, too acidic, gives me stomach pains. So, trying to find that NEW favorite drink… lemon water seems BORING.

If you have tried it, share your thoughts.

IKEA – New Cookbook -> The ScrapsBook; Recipes using scraps / leftovers…

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The weekend is coming, maybe you have some leftovers from the week and don’t know what to do with them. I think you’ll enjoy this new cookbook from IKEA, The ScrapsBook. Different Chefs from North America create recipes out of kitchen scraps and leftovers. Enjoyed seeing some fresh recipe ideas.

They actually fry banana peels, they look like bacon. Trying to wrap my head around whether they would be tasty, they say they are. There are some interesting recipes in this e-book.

Oh, I loved the veggie pancakes they made with leftover stems from different vegetables.

HAPPY COOKING!

Quinoa Macaroni – really good!

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I came across these quinoa noodles and thought I would try them. I like quinoa, so in a noodle form they should be good, right. I made a mistake though. I didn’t read the cooking instructions. Thinking they were like normal pasta, I let them cook for over 6 minutes.

BIG MISTAKE! They went from al dente to super inflated and mushy. I looked at directions – 4 minutes for al dente. WOW – that’s fast cooking time, but it made sense, because normal quinoa cooks in 5 minutes. I would not have known they were quinoa noodles, very good.

They are really healthy, free of eggs, nuts, gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts and GMO. The GoGo Quinoa brand is Canadian. On their website they have other quinoa products.

On a side note, I also found Banza chickpea pasta. Have not tried them yet. One new pasta at a time. If my Italian grandmother was alive, I wonder if she would embrace these new pastas.

Pizza in a MUG? Breakfast Burrito in a MUG? Cooking just got easier.

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Recently, I was doing a search for mug cakes. I found this site by Irish Chef & Baker Gemma Stafford, Bigger Bolder Baking, that had a pizza in a mug recipe. I watched the video of her making the mug pizza, it sure was quick and easy. I admit, I would never have thought of that. In fact, she has 100 different mug recipes. So many creative ideas.

She had one video where she was making pancakes with her husband. He was doing the video taping. She’s definitely a perfectionist and was bossing him around, that was funny. The pancakes looked yummy too.

So, if you are still stuck at home and need some fresh cooking/baking ideas, mosey on over to Bigger Bolder Baking. Chef Gemma will dazzle you with healthy exciting spins on old recipes. Also, she just started a Knead to Know podcast. When I go walking, I’ll listen to that.

Happy cooking! (Isn’t that what Chef Pepin says. He has good videos too.)

Baking/cooking – BEST mixing bowls

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Years ago, I had white mixing bowls like these in the photo. They were wonderful. They came in three sizes and were very durable. Having small children, I didn’t have to worry that the bowls would break. I mixed everything in these bowls from pancake/cake/ brownie/cookie batter to meat balls, mac ‘n cheese to… you get the idea. These were my “go to” mixing bowls.

Tragedy struck. I lost my bowls. One day I went to get a bowl and couldn’t find them. I searched HIGH and LOW, they were no where to be found. I felt like a little kid who had lost the favorite pair of shoes. So, I thought — HOW could this have happened. Then I remembered, I had moved. Somehow in the move, bowls were gone.

Those bowls had been old, true, but they still worked. Now, I was forced to use other bowls. I tried using glass bowls, metal bowls, ceramic bowls… ahh, it just wasn’t the same. I longed for my white bowls. When shopping, I looked for these plastic bowls, they weren’t the same.

UNTIL, I walked into Crate & Barrel the other day, looking for a loaf pan.

Suddenly, my eye caught this pretty green moss color. Walking over I couldn’t believe it!  MY bowls — my bowls — I found them! Prettier in pale green, shinnier than my old worn out bowls.

My gosh, COVID worked a miracle! Without COVID I would not have shopped for a loaf pan, which brought me to my mixing bowls.

MORE GOOD NEWS!

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The reason I liked these bowls so much was because they were named after Danish Princess Margrethe. Now, I understood why I felt like a Princess using these bowls all these years…

SURPRISES — MIRACLES — THEY DO HAPPEN!

Are you a Mentos fan? Make a friend, share an “emoticon” Mentos

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492DE216-BC7D-426D-AC09-8FE61A3F4392Gee, I guess I haven’t had Mentos in a while. I got a pack and was eating them on the plane. Since the lights were low, I wasn’t paying attention and dropped one into my lap. Unfortunately, I had to turn my light on to find the darn thing. When I did, I looked at it TWICE wondering if that was indeed my Mentos. On a plane, who knows what you can find.

7D0FDB36-D606-46C2-98BB-785DD0AAADD7Sure enough, it was my Mentos, but it had a funny smiley face on it. I found that weird, so I took ALL the Mentos out of the package to assess the situation. Turns out they ALL had some sort of a smiley face or “emoticon” on them. Next, I looked at the outside of the packaging… aha, some “Say Hello” campaign going on.

So, while I didn’t share a Mentos sweet treat in person with someone, I am sharing this message with you, so you see what they look like. They are cute and funny.

It’s “almost” like sharing the real treat, right?!

Feeling hungry, look for the CUPCAKE truck in Chicago

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905F0F75-5893-4FB3-930D-252D005604A2Look what I found at lunch recently. “A.Sweets Girl,” cupcake truck. I asked the lady if I could take her picture, she was cute and smiled beautifully as you can see. Turns out the University had hired the cupcake truck to come at lunchtime and give FREE cupcakes to their post doctorate researchers as a “thank you” for hard work.

EAD00C2E-FD2D-46D3-9696-CA8CB6B8A2F4So, passerby’s got good photos, while researchers got their choice of cupcakes!  LOL

Anna Wu, founder and creator of “A.Sweets Girl,” is an experienced pastry chef who decided to bring her cupcakes to the streets of Chicago. Her truck is beautiful and easy to spot. She can be hired for events and supports a lot of community causes.

I’ll be on the lookout for her, so I can try one of her cupcakes. If you see me chasing after the truck, you’ll know it’s “Brilliant Viewpoint,” trying to get a cupcake, so I can do a follow up review!