Friday, September 30, 2011

Cereal

Every single day, Gary has cereal. Two bowls when he comes in from the barn and then two bowl right before bed. That is a lot of cereal. I have estimated that one large box, lasts about 1 1/2 weeks. I should clarify, he only eats Bran Flakes. There is no substitution. No Honey Nut Cheerios, no Shredded Wheat, no Honey Bunches Of Oats. Just Bran Flakes. 
 I do not like Bran Flakes. I will eat them if you make me, or if I decide for 5 minutes I want to eat healthy breakfast. Blah. You have to eat them sooo fast or else you have soggy bran-y mush and that is a consistency that I just can not swallow. 

Back 11months ago, when Gary and I got married, I knew this about him. What I didn't know was how this was only a glimpse into the crazy things he does. (crazy in the most loving way of course) 
I think in the past two weeks, I have said to him " you are just insane!" so many times...I can't even count. 
I usually laugh, shake my head, and then wonder what our kids are going to be like. 

When ever I tell Gary he is insane, his most common response is " hahaha honeyyy, its not that bad, your forgetting about how good I am to you hahaha, remember last night we went out for quality time and I bought you ice cream, you should blog about this. You are sooo funny when you are frustrated, your hair just bops around and you say funny things" 

ps. Quality time when he bought me ice cream was going across the boarded to look at cows and we stopped at a dairy store so Gary could go to the bathroom and I bought myself ice cream and then we looked at cows for 2 hours and then came home. Obviously, this was a date night...
Seriously, he says my hair "bops" around. and then he can't stop laughing.  I usually laugh too. It makes it hard being frustrated. 

Anyways. Gary's strict cereal  preferences are a metaphor for his life...unexpected, strange and a little over the top

And if cereal is a metaphor for Gary's life...
Maybe it is for mine too...
I bought Halloween Captain Crunch. Its like candy for breakfast. 
I would be lying, if I said the fact that the ghosts turn the milk green wasn't a selling feature. 
Marketing companies really know how to suck me in. 

My Cereal shelf also contains Mini Wheats

Honey Puffed Kashi ( Basically Sugar Crisp...with a little less sugar) 

Apple Cinnamon Cheerios

 I also have instant chocolate oatmeal and 2 varieties of granola. Unfortunately I do not usually eat cereal or yogurt or anything like that for breakfast. I much prefer pie. 

I am not sure what this says about me other then the fact the I like to eat sweet stuff. Perhaps that I am a bad decision maker? 

I really just wanted to show you my Halloween Captain Crunch. Its tasty. 















Thursday, September 29, 2011

A Whipped Cream Disaster

The other day I made Gingerbread Scones. They were so amazing, and perfectly spiced and sweet, but not too sweet. I was impressed with myself and Allrecipes for another tasty dessert.

[gingerbread scone in limited day light]

I couldn't just eat a scone and be happy though. I wanted to improve my skills or learn something new. I decided to try caramelizing pears. Sounds easy enough. And it totally was. I didn't take any pictures, but basically you melt butter in the frying pan, throw in your pear quarters and soften a bit then add some brown sugar and cook till the sauce is thick and the pears are tender. Easy peasy.


Then this happened...
I just wanted to whip a little bit of whipped cream to top my tasty dessert. 
Apparently my container was a bit too small. 
My computer is still sticky. So is my phone.


Facebook is open...yes. 
Messy hair, grade 12 PE shirt, disaster kitchen...everyday life. 



It looks kinda gross. 
It tasted really good though! mmm

So finally, here is the recipe for the scones. Add pears, add whipped cream, or just eat with some butter and a pumpkin spice latte. Mmm. 



Gingerbread Scones, adapted from allrecipes.com 

2 cups Flour
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Ground Ginger 
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt 
1/2 tsp Cinnamon 
1/4 cup Cold Butter
1/3 cup Molasses 
1/4 cup Milk 
1 egg
Sugar  for sprinkle over top 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. 
3. Cut in cold butter until it is the consistency of course crumbs. 
4. In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients until smooth. 
5. Add to flour mixture and stir till just moistened. 
6. Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed a couple of times. If the dough is way to sticky, add a bit more flour about 1 tbsp at a time. 
7. Pat out into a circle about 1/2 inch thick and cut into wedges. ( I pat into a rectangle and cut with a biscuit cutter to get round scones. ) 
8. Place onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush with milk then sprinkle with sugar. 
9. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes and then take directly to preheated oven. 
10. Bake for 10-15 minutes until they bounce back slightly when touched. 
 * serve warm with whipped cream or butter, cream cheese icing on top would also be amazing* 


Friday, September 16, 2011

When "Bake Zucchini Cake" is on Your To-Do List, Your Bound to Get at Least One Thing Done

I need lists. I am probably the biggest procrastinator you know. I can waste too much time on Facebook, Pinterest , and blogs that I get nothing done for hours!

So I make lists. Every morning while I eat breakfast and check Facebook, I make my list of things that need doing that day. Usually there is at least one house cleaning item, dinner, some yard work and some impossible task that getting written down day after day and never actually gets done. ie. paint the living room, clean the fridge, go to the bottle depot ( I hate going to the bottle depot...is like...wahoo I am going to bring in all these bottles and cans I have been saving all this time and get some money and then I can feel awesome...and then you go and empty out the sticky bags and take all the lids off the bottles and sort all the different sizes and then bring them up to the counter and they ring it through..."and you get $4.67 back today, don't spend it all in one place!" gee...thanks...)  . Anyways, that was a little side note.

So yesterday I started my day by making a list...

 Yeah, its messy...but really who else was supposed to read it? For about 30 seconds I considered making a nice neat one and fakin' it for the picture...but this is real life. 

I like how I felt the need to clarify that I only "sort of" needed groceries. Meaning, of course, that I only needed eggs and cinnamon sticks. 

By the end of the day, I had completed all of the things on my list except cleaning the upstairs bathroom, and reprocessing my unsealed pears. 

I did find it funny that I added "Bake zucchini cake" to the list. Because really...since when did I need to remind myself to bake? It probably would be better if I forgot once in a while. Haha..not likely. 

Anyways, I made the zucchini cake. This was my second time and my oh my..its just so tasty. Just a little chocolatey, and a little zucchini-y and perfectly soft and tender and moist and really really great for breakfast. (But really, what cake isn't?)  Um on the topic of eating cake for breakfast, just the other day, somebody was quite shocked that pie is a regular breakfast item at my (and my parents!) house. I think I have a dessert problem. 

Ugh I keep getting off topic! So I made the cake. And its really really good. And you should totally make it. 

This is what it looks like. Kinda plain, I know. The actual recipe says to top it with chocolate chips, but you know me..always trying to cut down on the sugar, so I left them out. 
Actually I just forgot. And I found it totally tasty this way. 

This recipe I found through Tasty Kitchen  and is actually from another girl/lady's blog, so when that happens I don't generally like to post the recipe on my blog. So here is the LINK . I have not spent too much time on this blog yet, but it looks interesting! She even took step by step pictures! Yay. :)