Last call for Popcorn!

Boy Scouts across the country are selling popcorn to help their packs afford to do cool things. My kid is working hard selling popcorn, too!

If, somehow, you have managed to escape the numerous kerchief-clad boys and actually do want popcorn (they have savory kinds, sweet kinds, yum!) then please check out the following!

For local people you can save a little bit of money by checking out this price sheet here: http://www.moheganpopcorn2013.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Mohegan-Trails-End-Product-Selection-2013.pdf and emailing me your order. Payment isn’t due until delivery.

An option for you out-of-towners is through this link:

http://trails-end.com?scout=2c90cafb71816a9

You do have to pay shipping and it looks like they upped the prices by $5 – if you’re opposed to that I could work something out with the local form and I can figure out shipping which should be cheaper. The smaller items (not the boxed gift sets) I can priority mail for about $6 cross-country.

THANK YOU!

Fat Be-Gone!

I love making chicken soup, and I find it comes out best when I use a whole chicken.  But oh, the chicken fat when you cook it with the skin on!  Even taking most of it off you’re still left with a lot of fat.

A trick I was taught while working in a nursing home kitchen – place wax paper down on top of the HOT broth, and once it cools, the fat magically peels away.  Don’t believe me??  See here:

hot, naked soup!

I know it seems very OCD, but if you match the wax paper up exactly to the bowl you get much better results. If you try and fold the paper down and scrunch it and stuff you get a mess!

 

cut inside your line….and try to keep your soup sharpie-free!

hot soup covered with waxed paper

COLD soup covered with waxed paper – see what’s stuck to it?

blech!!!!!
but, it’s going in the trash, not in you!

Whenever I’m too lazy to do this I always am cursing myself the next day as I try and scoop fat off of the broth.  It really works!

It’s that time of year….

I realize that there are tons and tons of school fundraisers out there, so I understand if you’re already overwhelmed.  If you have room in your life for more popcorn, holiday pies, or coupon booklets, though, Toby (and I!) would appreciate you taking a look!!!!!

First up – popcorn sales! 

Boy Scouts across the country are selling popcorn to help their packs afford to do cool things.

There are a couple of ways to go about this – personal or online sales. For local people you can save a little bit of money by checking out this price sheet here:  http://www.moheganpopcorn2013.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Mohegan-Trails-End-Product-Selection-2013.pdf and emailing me your order.  If you have a paypal account you can pay me that way or by giving me a check.

An option for you out-of-towners is through this link:

http://trails-end.com?scout=2c90cafb71816a9

You do have to pay shipping and it looks like they upped the prices by $5 –  if you’re opposed to that I could work something out with the local form and I can figure out shipping which should be cheaper.  The smaller items (not the boxed gift sets) I can priority mail for about $6 cross-country.

Next up is the Special Education Parent Advisory Council Pie Sale.This is a huge hit – saves a lot of baking time around Thanksgiving!Here’s the link to the order form: SEPAC Pie Order Form

Again, you can paypal me or send me a check, or send it to Lori directly with the instructions that I will pick it up for you.  Yes, I will clean out my freezer just for you!

And lastly, to support Boylston’s PTO, is a fundraiser offering coupon books:

In Massachusetts you can save money at Toys“R”Us ($5 off $25 4x a year), Shaws ($5 off of $50 x2), Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sears, Loft, Children’s Place,  + more! Our school is selling KidStuff Coupon Books for $25! KidStuff ships all editions to our school and I can coordinate it so you get it! See all 20 editions in PA, NY, NJ, MD, OH, MA, CT, IL, MN, TX, and DE at http://www.kidstuffcouponbook.com/kidstuff-coupon-book-editions

Thank you for hearing me out – I know that everyone is bombarded with fundraisers so I appreciate your time!

Baking day

Yesterday was baking day. I heated up the kitchen on a nice, crisp autumn morning with
“Health Nut” Blueberry Muffins which really don’t taste healthy at all. Probably not so healthy when I can eat about 6 mini muffins at a go.
Then I experimented with Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Chips which were delicious….unfortunately not so crispy the next day.
Finally, I finished up with my all-time favorite, “Infamous” Neiman Marcus Cookies.
And, I didn’t leave the kitchen a disaster!

Apples, apples, everywhere!

We have this gigantic apple tree in our front yard which has been pruned by inept pruners throughout the years (myself included!) We have a coddling moth problem so some years we get no usable fruit and other years we’re covered in apples. This year is a fruitful one! 🙂
Sometimes I can only use 1/3 of the apple because of damage from the moths (we have sprayed with natural superior oil in the past, but it’s a teeny window of opportunity to spray and it’s always at a busy time of the year, so we tend to miss it) but 1/3 of a treeful is still a lot.
You know what this means?
Unlimited apple crisp!

S’mores dilemma

This never posted last night
I had to make a big decision – do I use mini marshmallows or a jumbo marshmallow for my s’mores? I know, life-changing decisions. I didn’t have any regular marshmallows, sadly.
I opted to go with the jumbo, which aren’t my favorite because it’s hard to get perfection, but it beats lining up a bunch of teeny marshmallows on the stick.
I don’t really know what I was worrying about – any combo of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker is pretty damn good!

First world problems indeed!

Don’t Mess With Perfection

After a frustrating night with Max (which is coming on top of a frustrating 2 weeks – is he teething or sprouting a tail and devil horns?) I self-medicated with crêpes, which really just means I needed a way of eating a lot of nutella without making it look like I was just eating nutella.
I always make my Don’t Mess With Perfection Crêpes as I’ve tried modifying the recipe and really, it is just too good. It’s from when I stayed with a family in France while in High School and it’s just awesome.
But what I found is you really need the right pan. I love, love, love my Green Pan

– it makes the crêpes the perfect size and even though I do butter the surface you don’t have to – it’s super nonstick.

I have an Orgreenic pan, too, and it works well, but I did find the grey-coated Green Pan my fave.
So yeah, I eat when stressed, and since I have kids, I’m stressed a lot!

Home cooking….from a bottle

For dinner tonight I wanted to make a mix of  Allrecipe’s Peanut Noodles” and Lilias’ Sesame Noodles but with Max’s screwed up naps today I didn’t have time to go out and buy green onions.  No problem, I thought, I’m used to substitutions.  It won’t be ideal, but I figured I could use plain white onion.  Until I discover that I must have tossed my sesame oil since it was old.  How the hell am I going to do this without green onions or sesame oil?

I found that, while racing through Stop & Shop and apparently not label-reading, I grabbed a bottle of this:

It has all of the ingredients I needed to add – garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil – with the added bonus of MSG, caramel coloring, and natural flavors.  Whoops!  Yeah, I don’t normally add those, but it came out great, and in a pinch it works!

As an aside, James and I loved it.  Toby told me it was a crappy dinner.  Delightful!

 

Parents say the strangest things

Things to add to the “Things We Never Thought We’d Have To Say” List:

R: “No, no, don’t brush your penis!!!!!!!!”

     R: “Okay, the brush can’t go in your mouth now!!!!!”

J: “Never, never make that noise unless you’re being attacked by a pack of wolves!”

     T: “What about a bear?”

T: “Why, because you think I’m stupid?”

   J: “No, because I think you’re annoying!”

 

Okay, it’s funnier in person, but we never imagined saying them!

Marshmallow-y

I wouldn’t say I’m drunk….but I’m warm….and tingly…and my fingers keep typying the wrong keys.