Breakfast for dinner

I just love breakfast for dinner. Who says pancakes, waffles and sausage can't be enjoyed anytime of the day? Obviously, it wasn't me, because that's exactly what I made for our Thursday Night Raw this week.

I served it all alongside a big bowl of fresh fruit and some sliced strawberries and bananas for topping the pancakes and waffles. I even made chocolate, blueberry and raspberry sauces, since I was running a little low on the grade B maple syrup (Matthew didn't seem to mind; I think he preferred the chocolate one over the traditional maple).

I wasn't quite sure which sauce to chose, so I opted to try them all. By the looks of my plate, I think I went a little overboard (but it still tasted great).

Matthew liked the pancakes, which he ate sans sauce. He followed them up with some waffles drizzled in chocolate and some fresh fruit. A little hesitant to try the sausage, he saved them until last.

He was surprised by the flavor, which was a bit stronger than he expected. It reminded him of a Slim Jim, so he quoted this wrestler.

He was never a fan of the processed sticks, but did admit that they tasted a lot like meat (scary).

Jacob, my pickiest eater, had no desire to try any of the mock meat or the waffles/pancakes. At least he sat down to eat with some cooked pancakes (I didn't photograph them; the ones in the pic are raw) and fruit, mostly apples and cantaloupe (his favorites).

In the end, I have to say it was another successful meal. Matthew put it on our list of menus we should do again, but most importantly, everyone ate dinner together at the table. Isn't that what really matters?

Burger Wars

(Surprise, this plate of food is actually all raw)

"Jacob Strikes Back" with yet another guest photo op on a Friday post (third time is a charm, and he's quite the charmer). This time he captured the constant battle between "Friend and Foe" in the fast food market. Plankton is always planning his next move when it comes to stealing his childhood friend Krab's secret krabby patty recipe, and it looks like he's at it again.

Little does he know, but this patty is really an impostor, "rawified" by yours truly with the aid of my trusty "I Am Grateful" uncookbook (I've been meaning to try some more of the recipes from it; I finally got a chance to sample an "I Am Cheerful" sun burger) and Alissa Cohen's idea to turn jicama into fries.

I made this happy raw meal, since my son and I were going on a play date to none other than the local McDonald's (hey, a kid's gotta be a kid, right?).

He had a great time playing with his friends, and when we got home, he helped set up this photo shoot. This time it was a collaborative effort, although he had the final say and his finger on the trigger (the button on the camera, that is).

The rest of the evening was dedicated to family time and Thursday Night Raw. As usual, you'll have to wait until the weekend to get the details.

And, if your getting the hang of my new schedule, you're probably wondering what's in my smoothie today. Well then, I'll tell you. It's definitely packed with greens, but I also added some walnuts and pumpkin seeds, like in this "burger" and another "meaty" food I made for last night's dinner.

As for the fruit, I put in banana, orange, peaches, pineapple, grapes and berries, similar to the fruit served during our Thursday meal. And, just like last week, I used Java Teeccino for the liquid, since it went so well with the menu.

Oh yeah, while I was reminiscing about last night, I also added a touch of sweetness with a little maple syrup. Now, that's a breakfast smoothie :-)

Wonderfully wild and naturally zingy

I am so anxious for spring to arrive. No, make that summer. Well, actually I'm just looking forward to warm weather.

Can you believe I've already got a new bathing suit this year? Just a few weeks ago, I tried one on, but neglected to purchase it due to the fact that it was still freezing outside. I thought, who would be crazy enough to buy it this far in advance? I think it was even snowing at the time.

Well, call me crazy, because I went back for it. But, when I got there, the rack was bare, or at least the one that held the style I had wanted. There wasn't even one in the wrong size or perhaps a spare top or bottom (they never seem to all match up in the end).

I was beach bummed, so I spilled my pity story to Matthew's mom. Her response was that I should have picked it up while I had the chance. I took it as a sign that it wasn't really meant to be mine.

Lucky for me, I have an awesome mother-in-law, who found the bikini I spoke of at another location. She surprised me with a top and bottom in the exact sizes I needed (Thank you; I know she reads my blog). It fit beautifully. Now, I really can't wait for summer.

Once the weather warms up, I can start going to the boardwalk near my house and eventually the beach. My son, father-in-law and I like to spend our weekends hanging out on the sand and putting our toes in the water. I usually bring a book and a snack, like this bar I got from NaturalZing.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet (I'm really bad about holding on to special treats for just the right moment). Therefore, I'll probably take it to work with me on Friday, since I'll be going to one of their events on Saturday with my raw buddy, Rawbin (who sent me this cool link tonight).

If you're going to be in the area this weekend, you might still have a chance to reserve a spot. My advice is to drop them a line asap, because the deadline to place discounted orders to be picked up at the event is tomorrow.

Here's all the info you need:

Spirit Bliss Lecture and Raw Food Lunch,
sponsored by NaturalZing
with author, lecturer and raw food gourmet chef Paul Nison
Date: Saturday, March 1
Time: 3-7 p.m.
Location: Spirit Bliss Farm
1851 Florence Road
Mount Airy, Md. 21771
Cost: $20 for lecture and raw food lunch
Schedule: 3 p.m. lunch created by Raw Chef Bliss, 5 p.m. lecture by Paul Nison

For more information, call 301-703-4116 ext. 112 or e-mail helen@naturalzing.com

Pull out the red carpet

The writer's strike is over, so you know what that means; we had an excuse to get all dolled up again for Oscar Night.

As you may recall from my Golden Globes post, award show nights are worth celebrating in my household. It's like a family tradition, and last Sunday was no exception.

The ladies in the house (the men would prefer to wear their usual casual attire) pull out the old formal stash from my mom's closet (dresses my sisters and I wore in the past to homecomings, proms, weddings, etc.) and pose for a picture on a stretch of fabric we like to call our red carpet.

Unfortunately, my sisters were camera shy for fear of ending up on my blog (what would make them think that?). But, my husband came through in this pic (like I said before, the males have absolutely no interest in putting on a tux or a suit for the occasion).

Now, I can see why they might be hesitant to put their photo up on this site for the world to see. In retrospect, I could've taken a tip from the celebrities and wore some Spanx underneath my gown, or at least opted to have the photo shot before I ate my fill of dinner (it's very reminiscent of the photo from the year I was pregnant with my son, except I had bleached blond hair and a fake-and-bake tan. No, I did not know I was expecting at the time).

Speaking of dinner, we always have an h'orderve theme for our award night meal. It's nothing fancy, just something to suit everyone's tastes. For instance, the little ones like chicken nuggets and tater tots, while the older folks prefer mozzarella sticks and quesadillas.

Thank goodness, my mom always picks up fruit and veggie trays, and I also bring my own contributions to the spread. This time, I made raw crab cakes (or crabby patties, as my son would say) with cashew-based tarter sauce and marinated/dehydrated asparagus spears. I also whipped up some more chocolate fondue for dipping the fruit (my new favorite treat).

After our meal (although we continue to snack throughout the evening), we fill out our official Oscar ballots to determine who gets to decide what we will have for dinner next Sunday (we have a family meal together every weekend. I wish more people had time to do this). I didn't do so well this year, so there goes my hopes of an all-raw meal for everyone.

But don't worry about me; I'll just bring along my usual "rawified" version of whatever the winner choses.

The rest of the evening resulted in the grownups watching the awards while the kids acted out scenes from their favorite flicks (in this case, movies from the "Star Wars" prequels). My son even dressed up like a young Obi-Wan Kenobi (this is his favorite scene) for the occasion.

In my opinion, he looked like a little "Karate Kid," especially when my nephew would set up the Jenga blocks for him to knock down. He was so quick that I was unable to get a shot of it.

However, I did snap this pic of his kiss goodnight. It really was a good night :-)

A day of play

The sun is out, the snow is gone, and I'm finally blogging about our day of fun. Oh well, better late than never. Sometimes I have so much to say at once, that I try to spread it out to avoid overly lengthy posts (admit it; you just skim it if it looks like a doozy).

So, back to the snow. We didn't get much, but it was enough to get my son excited about going outside in it. He even set up his photo shoot on our snow-lined steps.

He had to get the pic just right, meticulously setting up each element, shifting them around until they were in their proper place. He even added some extra snow in strategic locations. He was so proud of himself.

Once he felt he had taken the perfect shot, Jacob and I finally got to play in the white stuff, which was melting fast. We made snow angels, shaped snow balls (and threw a few, too) and took silly pictures of the two of us and our pink noses and cheeks (it was really cold out there).

Then, we needed to warm up inside. Jacob insisted on having hot chocolate (according to him, it can't be a snow day without it), so that's what I made for him.

I, on the other hand, opted for some chocolate yerba mate tea, served in the very same mini teacups and saucers my grandmother used to give me hot cocoa in when I was little. Lucky for me, she let me have them when she moved.

We kept lunch simple, because we still had a lot on our agenda. I had zucchini topped with dehydrated herb "cheese" slices, tomato, red onion, sea salt, freshly ground pepper and dried basil. Jacob had cheese and apples.

Then, it was back to playing again. We did the usual lightsaber duels and acting out scenes with Legos (okay, maybe not this one, but I thought it was cute), and then, we calmed things down a bit with some reading from his Nickelodeon magazine. This issue came with 3-D glasses, so we took turns looking through them at the comics inside. To my surprise, the pictures really did seem to pop right off the page.

Next, we snuggled up on the couch to watch "The Mr. Men Show" we taped earlier in the day. This episode was all about night and the scary things associated with it. Jacob and I got a kick out of how Little Miss Scary would pop up and startle one of the men. He thought it was so funny, that he paused it to take this picture for you.


Thanks for letting us share our day of play. Hopefully, you're having fun, too.

A spread fit for three

So, now you get to see what happened to that lovely pineapple in my son's photo. It has taken almost center stage in this pic of our latest Thursday Night Raw spread, or in this case, fondue night.

As simple as it was, it may have been one of the more successful raw family nights in our house. Matthew said he would do that one again, and it even brought a smile to my son's face (if he would stay still long enough for me to capture it with my camera. But, I can't complain, because all that movement was just him chewing his food).

How could I have given birth to such a picky eater? Oh, yeah; he gets that from his dad. It's so hard to come up with something they will eat (whether it be cooked or raw), so I always make sure to offer a lot of variety.

Maybe that's why I ended up with a party-sized spread for just the three of us. We had both a classic "cheesy" fondue with veggies and a chocolate one, served with fruit.

To please everyone, the veggies included cauliflower, broccoli, celery root (I had to throw something new in there for them to try), red bell pepper slices, sugar snap peas, carrots, mini zucchinis (I couldn't resist; they were so cute), yellow squash, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, celery and asparagus (hey, I forgot to put that out. Oh well, I think we had enough options). My hubby tried most of it, while Jacob stuck to the carrots and celery. I, on the other hand, had a little of everything, of course.

Now, the best part was the fruit dipped in chocolate (the boys love chocolate ... I guess I can include myself in that statement, too). Again, to make sure everyone had their fill of what they liked, I set out bowls of apple cubes, thick banana slices, mango chunks, whole strawberries, cut up pineapple (there's our star, again), nectarine slices and orange segments.

To my surprise, my husband had never tried a nectarine. According to him, he only tasted it because he mistook it for a peach (no wonder my son is so bad about trying new things). When I asked him if he liked it, he responded, "I guess so; it tasted like a peach."

He definitely ate his fair share of the fruit and chocolate, leaving the table with a full belly. Who says you can't satisfy your man with a diet rich in fruit and veggies? I just did.

I was feeling a little full myself when I left the table. It's so easy to overdo it with the dessert fondue. It was worth the clean up in the end (we had a lot leftover, so I had it for lunch and dinner yesterday. But, I'm not complaining).

Jacob takes another pic

Last week was Jacob's debut as a guest photographer for my Friday posts. Here is his contribution this week. I hope you like it.

As you can see, he's still on a Spongebob kick, which I think was reinforced by all the pineapple I've been buying lately (He does live in a pineapple under the sea).

The two of us spent our afternoon, celebrating our long awaited snow day (I'll give you the details this weekend). As part of our wintery fun, we decided to set up his photo shoot outside. He picked out everything in the photo and carefully positioned each item on our front steps.

Check it out. It's Spongebob and Patrick in the crabby patty getaway car, being chased by some other character on a motorcycle, in front of a pineapple house in a snow covered dessert, complete with a rock formation and the cactus he made at school. Oh no, it looks as though the cactus is in danger of being burnt up by the campfire. I guess I need to teach him a few things about fire safety.

But, back to the pineapple. It became part of last night's dinner (as usual, I'll tell you more about it tomorrow), as well as being added to my breakfast this a.m. As you know, I've taken a break from the donuts for a while in exchange for more green smoothies.

Today's smoothie is a tribute to all those donut Fridays of the past. I made it out of ingredients from Ani Phyo's donut hole recipes, including almonds, pecans, coconut, bananas, pineapple (I told you it would be in there) and dates, as well as the traditional greens, etc. And, to make it more like a "coffee" and donuts kind of morning, I substituted Java Teeccino in place of plain water. Definitely an interesting combination. Cheers!