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robert sabuda’s pop-up book ‘the wonderful wizard of oz’
. . . then Robert Sabuda is one because, because, because, because, because . . . because of the wonderful books he does!
I can’t believe I’ve never mentioned them before.
I bought my first Robert Sabuda book several years ago after watching a little segment on Martha Stewart Living about his Wizard of Oz
monkey bread muffins
That’s right—monkey bread, individually sized, with caramel sauce. These tasted better than I expected. And honestly, as much as I believe caramel sauce makes everything in the world taste better, this monkey bread was so good, you could actually skip the sauce, and still be filled with perfect joy.
This was a recipe we tried out on Friday. My kids were home sick (I can’t actually remember what was wrong with them), and my daughter had asked me to make bread. Rather than make just one loaf, I doubled the recipe, and went to town making up different kinds.
My daughter was still insisting on plain white bread, so I made that. Then my five-year-old insisted I make a cinnamon swirl bread, so I made one of those, and then I remembered how I was dying to make monkey bread, so I made that, too.
a day at the children’s museum
It was an Exedrin kind of day.
But 3:00 is my point of no return, and if I don’t pop a few by then, I’m on my own.
I was on my own today. With three kids. At a children’s museum.
I must have been temporarily insane. When I am in my right mind, I don’t volunteer to go to children’s museums—especially not on national holidays.
Of course, a day like today wasn’t about me. It was about the kids, and they did have a good time once we got through the line at the entrance.
vanilla almond granola
I’m curled up with my laptop watching The Prince of Persia. Somehow, seeing Jake Gyllenhaal on my TV screen makes me feel a little less lonely on a Friday night. When I first saw him in October Sky, I remember thinking, “Wow, I didn’t know they made them like that.”
Anyway, enough of that. I was going to talk about power foods, and granola.
This granola is not that different from the lemon scented cherry granola I posted a couple of years ago. I took out the fruit and lemon this time, and added in almond flour and flax meal.
As far as nutrients go, the almonds add protein, vitamin E, and calcium, while the flax meal holds a wealth of B vitamins and fiber. The oats, which are probably my favorite grain, have both insoluble and soluble fiber, which can help lower cholesterol and balance out the blood sugar.
perfectly easy french fries
A while back, I was on StumbleUpon (I think), when I saw my friend Julie’s recipe for easier french fries, which she learned from America’s Test kitchen. Basically, you place the sliced potatoes in a pot, cover them with oil, and bring them to a boil in the oil. Apparently, they’re supposed to absorb less fat. Whether they do or not—which certainly would be a nice bonus—they’re impossibly easy to make.
Actually, I had never even planned on making them anytime soon—it isn’t like I need french fries—but then, when I was heating up the oil for my fried goat cheese, I was thinking how much I hate waiting for oil to heat up. Then I remembered the fries that Julie talked about, so I chopped a potato up and tossed in the oil.
Within a few minutes, I had hot oil ready for making my fried goat cheese, and a whole serving of perfectly cooked, perfectly tasty french fries.
heart beets salad with fried goat cheese
I had a few minutes before the end of the night to add in one last Valentine’s post.
This is what I had for lunch. I roasted the beets a couple of days ago, actually, and was going to put this up on Friday for a “power food friday” post. But, you know me. I got busy. I wasn’t kidding when I said my kitchen was a mess.
Anyway, these cute little beet hearts have been waiting ever so patiently in my fridge, and I wanted to add something special to them. I remembered how well goat cheese goes with beets, so I thought I’d try a little idea I saw on the Food Network, which was goat cheese balls, coated in panko, and fried.
It was a great combination. The beets were sweet and earthy, and the goat cheese was warm and tangy. Perfect.
valentine’s day cupcakes with chocolate truffle frosting
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!!
It’s funny. As a blogger, I make all my holiday food on the days preceding the holiday, so on the day of, I’m usually left with a messy kitchen and jeans that don’t fit, but no treats in sight.
You’d think someone who has a blog called “sophistimom” would send their kids off to their Valentine’s Day parties with homemade treats in cellophane bags tied with ribbon. But sadly, no. We were just lucky to find a couple of boxes of Spongebob candy in the picked over Valentines at Wal-Mart last Saturday.
raised doughnuts with pomegranate glaze
Thank goodness for my friend Angie. She loves homemade doughnuts, and owns a fryer, so anytime I want to make some, she lets me go over to her house and stink up her kitchen with hot oil. She also lets me use her oil—I think it’s about time I bought a big container of it for her.
While we were munching on our doughnuts, yesterday, I told her that when I was a kid, I never admitted to anyone that I liked doughnuts—especially in high school. To me it seemed like people would think I was fat if I told them I liked them. Weird. I know. I don’t think it was until I started writing this blog, tweeting, and surfing through pages on StumbleUpon that I even started to be a public doughnut lover. But here I am.
My name is Jaime. And I love doughnuts.
cherry panettone with candied lemon zest
Panettone is one of mine and my kids’ favorite things to eat at Christmastime. When I was planning my posts for Valentine’s Day, I had a big bag of tart cherries from Costco that I wanted to use. I thought it would be really fun to make panettone with them.
Though it’s normally made in Italy at Christmastime, I couldn’t think of a better way to make it than with little bursts of bright red cherry flavor. To balance out the taste, I also added some candied lemon zest.
slow cooker black bean dip
The big game. I am writing this post specifically for Weight Watchers, so I don’t know all the laws about saying words like super and bowl in the same sentence. But you know what I mean.
My mother-in-law always made a big slow cooker full of this fantastic bean dip. I thought there would be no better thing to make with Weight Watchers Natural Four Cheese Mexican blend, especially for the big game. As healthy as the beans are, the recipe’s major downfall is the large amount of cheese you are supposed to add. So I have lightened it up, and used the Weight Watcher’s cheese for the perfect compromise.
