Dinnertime antics

I'm sure avocado is great for your face and hair so at least he has that going for him!

Our little eater (and drinker)

For the most part Luca is a good little eater. He enjoys most things we give him but definitely favors fruits and vegetables over proteins. We mostly just let him feed himself by hand but he is learning how to use a fork. And he's got drinking through a straw and sippy cup down...still working on drinking from a (shot) glass though!

Hoags in Europe - Brussels Part 2

Of course, you can't go to Brussels and only sight-see, there is some important eating and drinking to be done too!

Belgium waffles! Now we didn't actually get them form that van but that shows how they were literally everywhere. And of course, Belgium waffles are well known for a reason, they are delicious! They're baked with sugar in them so they are sweet and more of a treat than waffles you have in the US.

French fries, oh the french fries. Contrary to what the name implies, Brussels is THE place to get french fries. They are double fried for a little extra crunch and often served with mayo. And dangerously good! As you can see from the line, this is one of the two most popular places to get them in Brussels (and conveniently located right around the corner from Brian and Jen's place).

That's the best picture of the fries I have. Because like fatties we had to eat the fries as fast as possible and couldn't be bothered to take a picture.

BEER! Everyone knows you can't go to Brussels without sampling Belgium beer.  My favorite was a Kriek, a beer made with cherries so its got a good fruity tang to it. Since we've been back I've been craving it and pick some up at specialty drink stores/bars every chance I get.

 

Matt drinking a Oval

Chimay - easy to find in the US too.

This was actually an Irish drink that was so interesting I had to try it. Called a Black Velveteen, it was half Guinness and half cider. Not my favorite but not bad either.

Last but not least, CHOCOLATE. Thanks to my sweet tooth, this was my favorite Belgian food. We brought a ton back with us, and still haven't finished it all (I just took this picture today!). The chocolate is so tasty that one or two bites is enough to satisfy you so a little bit goes a long way.

And I forgot to include this picture in my first Brussels post. One of the most well known sites to see is this little guy, Manneken Pis. He's always dressed up in different costumes made just for him and it was by far the most crowded places we visited in the city.

Next stop: Athens!

Do the Mashed Potato!

Mashed potatoes are my favorite food. I love them so much that I could make up a giant batch and sit with a spoon and eat the entire pan full--if only they weren't packed full of butter, cream, cheese, etc. So when I saw a recipe that used mashed potatoes as frosting, I couldn't resist.

Conveniently Gina's Skinny Recipes shows up in my Google Reader feed so I don't have to go hunting for a recipe, it just appears in front of me. When I saw the Skinny Meatloaf Cupcakes a few weeks back, I immediately put it on the menu for the following week.

The results are in and they were GOOD. Now, don't even try to compare my food presentation to the pictures on the original recipe. While I love the look of piped mashed potato frosting, I went with the glob method because I'm just not that fancy.

Shhhh. Don't tell anyone, but those are instant mashed potatoes because I'm lazy.

 I also love that these could be made in advance and then reheated in the oven. They'd be easy to prepare and share if you're providing food for a family with a new baby, death in the family, etc.

Give 'em a try and let me know what you think. I just love the cupcake meatloaf concept and I'm sure you could adapt it to any meatloaf recipe.

How far would you drive for a donut?

So it's Sunday morning and we're watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network and this particular episode is everything Bacon. They started talking about these:

Pictured borrowed from www.delvious.com.

And now I'm officially craving one of these babies: apple, bacon and maple donut. Yes please. Then we find out that this drool-worthy donut is from Dynamo Donuts which just happens to be in San Francisco. A mere hour and a half drive from our house. I suggested to Matt that we drive there right now to get some. He dismissed the idea thinking I wasn't serious. So it's not in the cards for today but you better believe I'll be finding a reason to go here in the near future. And I'll be sure to report back with the verdict.

And check out all the flavors they offer. Banana de Leche, Molasses Guinness Pear, Candied Orange Blossom. Yum. And get ready to crave donuts, they all look and sound delicious!)

A slice of childhood - a new take on fluffernutters

 

I saw a picture of a fluffenutter cupcake and it was downhill from there. I couldn't stop thinking about them and finally caved in to making my own version this weekend. Mine aren't nearly as pretty as my inspiration, but they definitely taste good! Actually, they taste just like a fluffernutter sandwich, only richer.

As a kid I always loved fluffnutter sandwiches so this definitely brings me back. If you've never experienced the fluffernutter deliciousness, you are missing out! The sandwich is pretty simple, peanut butter and marshmallow cream. Not healthy, but very yummy!

I definitely recommend giving these a whirl. I used this recipe but saw quite a few others when I googled "fluffernutter cupcakes." These were vanilla cupcakes with marshmallow filling and peanut butter frosting.  This was my first time doing a filled cupcake so that was a little interesting, especially since marshmallow cream is sticky and a little messy. But with a make-shift piping bag and tip I made due.

But other varieties used peanut butter cupcakes and marshmallow frosting. One recipe even had a peanut butter cupcake, a layer of melted chocolate chips and topped with marshmallow frosting. They all sound good, I might have to give the others a whirl sometime.

I think my coworkers will thank me as I have to get these out of the house so Matt and I don't eat all two dozen of them ourselves!

Vegan Mac N "Cheese"

If you read my old blog then you know that Matt and I love mac n' cheese. One day I stumbled upon a Mac N Cheese of the Month Club and realized all the possible varieties we could try. Rather than pay way too much for the club, I periodically try a new recipe. I'm hoping that one day we can meld together our favorite recipes to create our own signature Hoag Mac n Cheese.


So when I came across a a vegan recipe I thought, heck, why not!? I'm a very curious person and this was such an interesting concept that I couldn't resist whipping it up! Plus I'm lactose intolerant (though I still eat cheese and take my chances with an upset stomach, it is just to good to give up!) so a vegan recipe also means a non-dairy recipe!

I felt fairly skeptical that a recipe without any cheese couldn't possibly taste like cheese. I even promised Matt that I'd got get takeout of his choosing if it was gross. I think he had already figured out where to go and what to order before I even got started with the recipe! But I forged ahead and about halfway through the steps I was in total awe. I frantically called Matt into the kitchen to take a look. I blended all the ingredients together to make the "cheese" sauce and as soon as I pulled the blender lid off I got a whiff of "cheese" and it sure looked the right orangish-yellow color! Amazing. And for the record, Matt agreed.

Here it is before adding breadcrumbs and before baking. Looks cheesy, right?

After baking and eating some. Yum!

And all served up.

I keep telling people about the amazing vegan mac n cheese, hopefully I'm not singing it's praises too high. But it really is good! And the leftovers were good too. And again, for the record, Matt agrees!

You can follow the recipe over at Veg News or take these steps with my (picky eater) variations noted:
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 8 ounces macaroni (I used the small noodles but actually prefer the big elbows)
• 4 slices of bread, grated into bread crumbs or torn into pieces
• 2 tablespoons + 1/3 cup non-hydrogenated margarine (since we aren't vegan, I just used the butter we had on hand)
• 2 tablespoons shallots, peeled and chopped (we aren't fans so I omitted)
• 1 cup red potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1/3 cup onion, peeled and chopped (we aren't fans so I omitted)
• 1 cup reserved cooking water
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions

1. Cook macaroni al dente following the box directions. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
2. In a food processor make breadcrumbs by pulverizing the bread and 2 tablespoons margarine to a medium-fine texture. In our case, we used a cheese grater and then added the margarine afterwards,
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion, and water, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft.
4. In a blender, process the cashews, salt, garlic, 1/3 cup margarine, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne. Add softened vegetables and cooking water to the blender and process until perfectly smooth.
5. In a large bowl, toss the pasta and cheese sauce until coated. Spread mixture into a 9 x 12 casserole dish, sprinkle with prepared breadcrumbs, and dust with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the top has turned golden brown.
6. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lots to be thankful this year! Matt and I are both so happy to be back on the West coast. We feel extremely blessed to have great jobs that challenge and fulfill us, and give us the funds to live a very comfortable life. We are missing all our wonderful family and friends, especially since this is our first year to have Thanksgiving just the two of us. But there is also something very special about celebrating the holiday as a couple.

This morning we took part in the 17th Annual 5K Run to Feed the Hungry, along with about 30,000 other people. We had so much fun and hope to make it a tradition every year we are in Sacramento for Thanksgiving. So if you want to come visit us for Turkey day, bring your tennis shoes! The starting line was about eight blocks from our house so it really couldn't be more convenient for us. The course runs through the neighborhoods near our house and people hung out in their front yards to cheer people on. Some houses had bonfires, others had bands playing for the runners. Lots of people walked with their kids, pushed strollers, etc. so it was a very casual walk/run. We should have started with the timed 5K but started with the Fun Run group so we spent a lot of the time weaving in and out of walkers. I bet we ran an extra quarter mile from all the weaving we had to do! While we were grateful to burn a few extra calories before we consume a ton, the event was actually focused on raising money to help those less fortunate in our community. What's not to love about that!

Now, on to food! Fortunately making a big feast for two is really pretty easy. Last night I got the orange cranberry sauce, pumpkin ice cream pie and fruit salad out of the way. Now the turkey is in the oven, the green bean casserole is in crock pot and the sweet potato casserole is waiting to go in the oven. The table is set and we're sipping on cold beers, watching football.

And the dogs are keeping each other busy. Yes, you read that right, dogS. We are puppy sitting Cali, my coworker Jessica's dog. She and Bounce are about a month apart in age and very similar in size. They played together a few weekends ago and really couldn't get along any better. Don't be fooled by the picture, they are a lot of energy and can't figure out how to calm down while the other one is around. Hopefully they figure it out soon, as Cali is staying with us until Saturday afternoon!

So that's our Thanksgiving so far! Hopefully all the food turns out. (You never know with me, I have plenty of failed attempts at cooking...just last weekend I butchered pecan pie and had to throw the whole thing away. But I gave it a second try and got it right.)

We are thankful for all the loved ones in our life (That's you!).

Adventures in being domesticated

Today marks a milestone in the Hoag household. Our very first poached eggs! I may be late to the party, but I had no idea you can poach an egg using simply boiling water and vinegar in a saucepan, but sure enough, you can! Thanks to the internet, we have a new egg cooking technique! My guide? E-how.

Once I had a pot of boiling water I added some vinegar (didn't bother measuring) and then stirred until I had a little whirlpool going. Then simply poured the egg (already cracked and hanging out in a small bowl) into the eye of the whirlpool. While it was cooking Matt and I stared at it wondering if this method really worked. Hard to tell as you can see below.

But after 3-5 minutes I used a slotted spoon and found this:

Mmmm! Success! (This was Matt's second, as you can see the remnants of egg #1 on the plate.)

Okay, maybe I shouldn't feel so accomplished as it was really easy. But I just love learning new things. Matt got to listen to me sing "I poached an egg, I poached an egg, I poached an egg" on and off for about thirty minutes this morning. What a great Sunday morning!

So tell me, am I late to the party? Did you know you can poach eggs like this? Have you done it before?

Pumpkin this, pumpkin that

Fall is my favorite season. I just love so many things about it. Today we took Bounce on a walk through the neighborhood and I just couldn't get enough of the leaves on the ground. I love to drag my feet, seeing my shoes swim through the leaves. I love stepping and hearing the crunch below me. I love the smell of leaves on the ground

Oh, but this blog post isn't titled leaves this, leaves that, now is it? I also love all things pumpkin. In fact, I am sipping on one of these as I type:

Pumpkin recipes are definitely some of my favorites. I have my standby pumpkin muffins that I make every year. And this year I couldn't help but try out a few other recipes. So far I've made my muffins plus:

• pumpkin scones (cheated and used a boxed mix but they were good!)
• pumpkin crepes (seriously delicious, but aparently crepes are hard to make...my presentation was not pretty!)
• pumpkin butter (yum yum yum - and check out the many ways you can use pumpkin butter, including the pumpkin crepes above.)
• pumpkin granola (really enjoyed this, but found that I needed to bake for longer than the recipe called for.)
• pumpkin bars (this recipe was from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and umm, I messed them up by accidently omitting baking soda, but I bet they would have been good!)

And though I haven't made one myself, I've been enjoying plenty of Soy Starbucks Pumpkin Lattes. Mmmm. Since there is pumpkin season is still upon us, I'll be baking up a few more pumpkin recipes, like pumpkin oatmeal and pumpkin ice cream pie. Plus at least one more batch of the muffins! Here's the recipe for the muffins. I got it from a fellow WSU grad student back in 2005.

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon dry ginger

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup water

1 cup canned pumpkin (I actually used the whole 15 oz can)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, stir together wet ingredients, then add to the dry, stirring until batter is just combined.  Pour batter in a greased, floured loaf pan. Put approx. 2 tablespoons in cupcake liners and bake for 18-20 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting (optional).

I definitely recommend the muffins. And pumpkin spice lattes. And the pumpkin crepes. And the pumpkin butter. Okay, so I recommend them all, all but the pumpkin bars without baking soda!