A New Low

Peanut m&m's: it's what's for dinner.

Wah

The Meltdown is out of ice. And aged cheddar. I settled for gouda and gruyere.

Having a Meltdown

If you know me well, which of course you do (Mom), you'll be impressed to hear that I left my things on the beach for the hour it took to fetch this grilled mozzarella, tomato and basil. I returned before the beach patrol carted off everything, and am now enjoying my rather rubbery, but yummy, sandwich as the sun sets.

Road Trip

All I need now is some Hunt's pop top snack pudding, preferably butterscotch, and I'll be set!

Query

Would it be excessive for me to eat two grilled cheese sandwiches a day for three days in a row, if I walked 1.3 miles each way (for each sandwich) to obtain said sandwiches?

Food Pyramid

Every well rounded breakfast includes chocolate.

This Week in Auntie K Land

Sunday: Taught my last adult Sunday School lesson. In two weeks I start teaching the four year olds.

Monday: Mowed the lawn for the first time this season, and lived to tell about it.

Tuesday: Finally got serious about my agenda for the library conference I'm attending next week in Indianapolis. First decision: Where to eat Thursday night (grabbed the last spot at a pizza restaurant dinearound). Yes, wherever I go in this country, I'm always on the lookout for good pizza. Suppose I now ought to focus on the sessions I plan to attend. Well, maybe I'll check out local shopping and sightseeing options and THEN focus on the sessions I plan to attend.

Wednesday: With a start like this, who knows where Wednesday will take me!

Supper Time

Pizza, Diet Coke and Shamrock Shake, consumed to the accompaniment of NCIS.

I self medicate because I can.

On Being an Adult

Being an adult (who lives alone) means you can eat cinnamon rolls for supper.

In my case they were Cook's Illustrated Quick Cinnamon Buns with Buttermilk Cream Cheese Frosting. I'm still contemplating dessert.

Friends for Life

What does it say about me when the party who most often texts me is my local Sonic?

Tasty

It turns out that candy cane Peeps dipped in chocolate are quite good. Wish I'd known that in time to snap up a few more after Christmas!

Be Prepared

This is the reason for keeping a plastic spoon in the car: impromptu visit to the antipasto bar at Fresh Market.

Sacrifice, as in Brownie

Today is the annual Christmas luncheon at work. I abandoned my usual Fish Eye Salad (which no one ever eats except me) in favor of BYU Mint Brownies*. This is the first time I've made them, and I'm sorry to report that the brownie itself is less than special. 

I think that with all the frosting, however, few will notice the inferior brownie.**

*The recipe I have includes the specifics for the chocolate frosting, which is essentially the same as the mint frosting, with the addition of 1/3 cup of cocoa and the deletion of the mint extract and 1/3 cup of sugar.

**While cutting the above sacrifice piece in my office, I learned that you can't cut these with a plastic knife. Fortunately, I have sturdier implements I'll use to cut the rest.

Holiday Eating Tips

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare.. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate and wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Recipe of the Week

I branched out from the tried and true white flour recipe and made King Arthur Flour's recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Bread. This one is a keeper!

Batter
2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed; about 4 or 5 medium bananas
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup King Arthur Premium Whole Wheat Flour or King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts


Topping
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.

2) In a large bowl, mash the bananas, then add the oil, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla, stirring to combine.

3) Mix in the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and chopped walnuts. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to thoroughly combine the ingredients.

4) Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the batter.

5) Bake the bread for about 60 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

6) Remove the bread from the oven. Cool it in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

Yield: 1 loaf, 16 slices.

Soup's On

Tonight I made this recipe that came in a Kroger grocery store mailer last month:

Spiced Apple & Butternut Squash Soup
serves 6-8

1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 large onions, diced
2 large Granny Smith apples
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 each butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced into one-inch cubes
3 quarts chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste.

Halve and peel butternut squash, remove seeds and dice into one-inch cubes. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onions and apples, cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the spices, cook for 1 minute and then add the squash and chicken stock. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until the squash is tender, about 20-30 minutes. Puree and serve. Add additional stock to desired thickness. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

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I omitted the nutmeg because I didn't have any. I ate the soup with grated sharp cheddar, and it was quite tasty. The leftover soup, added to penne pasta, will make a nice lunch tomorrow. I'll also note that the squash is naturally sweet, and makes me think that soup recipes calling for added sugar would be overly sweet. I can't comment on the addition of brandy some recipes include.

Advice Concerning Another Immutable Law

If you feel prompted to taste your drink before leaving the drive through window, you should also check your sandwich order. That new guy at Sonic may be very polite, but he probably didn't catch on when you said "junior burrito, egg ONLY."

Food Safety

Even my mother, scorner of many expiration dates, would discard the egg burrito that's been sitting in my office, unrefrigerated, since Saturday, wouldn't she? Either way, the accompanying mint is safe for consumption, thank goodness.

Naturally

The yard needs to be mowed and the house needs to be picked up blown up so I can start over again (the pest control man is coming Friday).

So I did the only logical thing in such circumstances--I made Scotcharoos. Want some?

Safety Announcement

When television and radio ads warn you of the dangers of leaving children or pets unattended in a hot car, they usually forget to warn you of another vulnerable population: gummy worms!