Hot Dog-ish

Lunchbox skewers are so much fun, and are a great way to present something traditional in a way that is novel and exciting. Today's inspiration? The hot dog. Only, in this lunch, it's so much more than a hot dog! I forget sometimes that if I skewer the 'same old' ingredients, they are met with new enthusiasm. This was no exception.

'Ketchup and mustard' colored bell peppers with hummus, strawberry, Pirate's Booty cheese poofs, and skewers of turkey sausage, toast, dill pickle, and colby/mozzarella cheese.

In this lunch...

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Dahl-icious James & The Giant Peach

It's Roald Dahl Day and this year, a fantastic group of bloggers are hopping for the occasion. Since I'm a life long Roald Dahl fan, I had to join in, of course. If you missed it, last year's post contained a healthy mix of elements straight from several of his stories, including a 'Dahl-icious' vegetarian split pea soup in honor of one of my favorite books, The Witches. This year, I concentrated on one book, and since my daughter had just watched the movie last night, James and the Giant Peach had to be the inspiration! One of the things that I always appreciated about Dahl's books is the anticipation and wonder in them. This is a great quote from the book to illustrate both, I think.
"'Something is about to happen,' he told himself. 'Something peculiar is about to happen at any moment.' He hadn't the faintest idea what it might be, but he could feel it in his bones that something was going to happen soon. He could feel it in the air around him ... in the sudden stillness that had fallen upon the garden."
-Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach

Now, on to lunch. I went simple.. really simple.. for this lunch, and yes, you'll notice that I leaned on the movie version since the audience (my kid) is not familiar with the book yet (hey, she's 4). In the book, New York was where the group ended up, but wasn't really where James dreamed of going all along like in the movie. Still, the dream of 'escaping' and the idea that everything begins with something you dream possible, both very much existed in the book. Hey, the kiddo 'got' it and loved it, so score!

Peaches (of course), cucumber, grilled cheese with extra cheese accents.

Now, the fun part! Hop through the rest of the creative Roald Dahl Day lunches by clicking here or the button below. Next stop, Eclectic Lamb!

In this lunch...

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Recipe Review - French Vanilla Ice Cream

I love my ice cream maker. The more I use it, the more I love it. Most of the ice creams I've made have been egg free, therefore no cooking necessary, but this time, I had to just go for it and try a custard based ice cream. This was Vanilla after all. It had to be rich, and well, custardy. I found several recipes and sort of merged them into one, and it worked. It really worked. It was amazing. The richness, texture, and flavor are like nothing you can get from the eggless ice creams. That's my opinion, but that doesn't mean I'm going to create a custard for every ice cream I make, either. It definitely isn't as simple as just tossing the stuff in the ice cream maker, but when the mood strikes, it is worth every extra minute it takes! Delicious!

French Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients - 1 c whole milk, 1 c half and half, 3/4 c sugar, 8 egg yolks, 2 c whipping cream, 2 Tbsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp salt

In a mixer bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar on med-low until blended and slightly thickened. While still whisking, gradually add in half and half and whole milk. Transfer this mixture to a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until steamy and just starting to bubble, stirring constantly. Do not boil.Transfer this mixture to a bowl and stir in the whipping cream, vanilla, and salt. Cover the mixture and chill overnight.
Prepare the ice cream base in you ice cream maker based on manufacturer directions. Either serve immediately when it is done, or transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container to ripen for 3-4 hours. Enjoy!

Oh, and here's a bonus for you! That chocolate hunk of delicious on the plate with the ice cream in the picture above? The best chocolate cake ever! It's a Texas Sheet Cake. It is not a new recipe. It's one that's been around a long, long time. It is hardly ever altered or mucked with because it is perfect as is. While we don't put pecans in ours, the recipe we use is otherwise identical to that of The Pioneer Woman, so be sure and pop over there if you're in the mood for the best, yet super simple, chocolate cake you can make!

Busy Little Bee

We had a busy weekend with more birthday celebrations (my mom this time), some shopping with the ladies, typical errands, and lots of yard prep. It's hard to believe I'm already cutting back raspberry canes and planting mums. Seems barely a few weeks ago we were ankle deep in raspberries and garden tomatoes. Well, we still have tomatoes, bell peppers, and herbs, at least. Still, it seems that the summers are never long enough. Could be that Michigan weather. Could be there just never is enough time to do the things we thought we would do before the summer ended... not that it's over yet!
We're lucky to have a little helper for outdoor work, too. She may be small, but she takes her 'work' seriously whether it be pulling weeds, raking, picking up slugs (yup, try finding a bug or critter she won't pick up), harvesting, planting, pruning, etc, she is all in! Hey, I'll take all the help I can get!

Lunch for the busy bee - Buttered pearl couscous, cheddar jack cheese, romaine lettuce, carrot matchsticks, grapes, and mini candy flowers.

Snack box - Babybel cheese, Trader Joe's roasted, salted cashews, watermelon.

In this lunch...

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First Day of Preschool

And, she's off!

Well, the day has finally arrived. Today is the first day of Preschool at the Montessori School. I have been the sole educator for my daughter up to this day, and entrusting someone else to share those duties is both scary and exciting. I'm proud of where she is at, and I know she will excel, but letting go is so hard. I feel like I'm being hurled into this experience since preschool will be 5 days a week, however, we opted for half days only, so once we get used to a whole new routine, I hope it will go well. And by we, I really mean me since the kiddo just takes it all in stride and is super excited to get away from mom go to school. Speaking of new routines, though.. this mama does not handle time management schedules very well. I'm an all nighter, staying up most nights until 3 or 4 in the morning, so the idea of having to haul myself and kiddo out of bed at even 9 (the horror) for breakfast is a frightening thought. Don't think I haven't thought about home schooling for no other reason than sleeping in. At least, the half day options allow us to do afternoons this year, but for a child who is usually finishing breakfast around 11am, it will be a trick to figure out how to make this work since she has to be at the school at noon. Why don't they have night school for young'ens? They certainly should!

Hopefully I'll come up with a new way to get breakfast in early and quick, so there is time to have lunch before school. Not only are we late risers, which brings it's own set of challenges, but the kiddo is a super slow eater, so we'll just have to see how this all plays out, and I'll have to make some changes to help the transition be as smooth as possible for all of us. I foresee some creative quick breakfasts in our future. Totally up for ideas, too, folks!

Romaine lettuce rolls, grapes, cheddar and Swiss cheese cubes, yellow bell pepper, pretzels, ranch in the container, and turkey pepperoni.

In this lunch...

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'Snack Box' Lunches

You'll notice if you make frequent stops that we often do 'snack' boxes or DIY lunchables. I do this for many reasons. First and foremost is that there is a preference from the one eating lunch to things like this over sandwiches, wraps, or any of the traditional 'breads', but of course we still make those too. I've found that these are some of the easiest lunches to put together for me, too. Literally, they take only a couple minutes and I'm done. I can get lots of variety into meals this way, too. Not only through the day, but also through the week, we are able to get different grains, fruits, veggies, proteins, etc. And, yes, I'm noticing the ones I chose to post today have more similarity than differences, but I promise it isn't always so. In this case, it was a good way to clear up odds and ends, too. Also, the kiddo is a very light eater, so this is plenty for her. I've actually found myself feeding her less and less as she is getting older because I am able to understand a bit better what volume of food she will actually consume. It's still a struggle sometimes, but we have overcome heaps of issues with regard to her not only wanting food at all, but enjoying it too. That makes for one happy mama, for sure!

Pretzels, cheddar/mozzarella cheese chunks, Trader Joe's roasted, salted cashews, cucumbers, and grapes.

Grapes, cucumber, colby jack cheese, Goldfish crackers, Boar's Head ham, and chai-spiced yogurt raisins.

In these lunches...

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Happy Birthday ... To Me!

Someone at some point said to me that once you reach a certain age .. ahem.. you don't really need to 'do' something for your birthday. I am choosing to disagree. I still want my special day, even if the only special part is an enthusiastic "happy birthday" wish and big kiss from my daughter. Oh, and an excuse to make a dessert! This year, I made a Blueberry Peach Buckle and homemade French Vanilla Ice Cream, both of which I have to share! This Blueberry Peach Buckle is so good, but it is not excessively sweet like some desserts since the fruit is really where the sweetness is, so if you skip the ice cream, it makes an exceptional breakfast or brunch item too. I had a slice for breakfast, myself!

Blueberry Peach Buckle
Ingredients - 1 3/4 c AP flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 8 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temp, 1 c packed brown sugar (I use light), 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 c sour cream, 4 peaches (each cut into 16 wedges), 1 pint fresh blueberries, 1/3 c sliced almonds, powdered sugar for dusting

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Add half the flour mixture to the wet and mix on low. Add in sour cream, mix, then add the last of the flour mixture, combining well. Fold in the peaches and blueberries by hand. Transfer your batter to a 8x8 backing dish and sprinkle with almonds.
Bake for 90 - 105 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean (but good luck missing the fruit when you poke it). Let cool slightly, and serve warm or room temp. Dust with powdered sugar to serve or, if you prefer, you can serve it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!