Recipe: Corn and Wild Rice Cakes with Hot Maple Syrup

Corn and Wild Rice Cakes with Hot Maple Syrup
(Dinner Pancakes)

I have been making this recipe for 12+ years, since I moved to Colorado. I saw it in the Anchorage paper right before moving here. The boys like them a lot too.

Hot Maple Sytrup (recipe follows) - optional (can use just regular syrup too)

1/2 cup wild rice, cooked
2 ears corn, cooked and kernels cut off - or - small can of corn
4 or 5 green onions, cut into 1/8-inch slices, white and green parts

2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp dried thyme, crushed (I just crush it between my fingers as I put it in the bowl)
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk or half-and-half
butter for the pan

- Prepare hot maple syrup and set aside, if using (see recipe below).
- Cook wild rice according to package instructions (1/2 rice to 1 cup water), but stop cooking rice while it is still chewy. Drain well.
- In medium bowl, combine corn, rice and green onion.
- Then, add in order given, the eggs, sugar, thyme 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Stir together flour and baking powder and add to corn mixture. Stire in milk to form a batter.
- Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet. Drop in batter to make 6 medium cakes. Cook until firm on the underside, about 7 minutes. Turn over and brown second side, about 3 minutes.
- Serve immediately. Makes about 6 small to medium pancakes (enough for 2 - 3 people).

Hot Maple Syrup

6 TBS maple syrup
2 (1/4-inch thick) fresh ginger root slices
1 large jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded and minced (about 2 tablespoons)

Combine syrup, ginger and jalapeno pepper in small pan and simmer 10 minutes. Remove ginger slices. Serve syrup hot. Makes about 1/3 cup.

Luka's Teachers

Luka's teachers for PreK1, where he has been since August, are Miss Heather and Miss Erika, and Miss Sara (who is also the movement teacher). They rock! They really are attached to the kids and have really great lessons and activities. Their room is decorated really great too for each season. Luka learns a lot of fun songs from them too and he loves that. He adores going to school to be with them and his friends. We will miss them when we go to the French school.

Recipe: Limoncello

Mona and Charlie had made some limoncello this past summer and it was inspiring. Angela and Steve made the recipe below and had some tasty orange, lemon and lime limoncellos to share at Thanksgiving. We are hoping to give it a try too.

LIMONCELLO
source: Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello

You can make this with any citrus. The key is using the best and freshest citrus possible. Fruit that has been in storage a long time gives a muddy taste to the drink.

12 Meyer lemons, or a mixture of lemons and limes, peel only, no pith
2 liters light rum or vodka
6 cups sugar
3 cups water

Put the lemon peels and rum or vodka in a container and let stand for 6 weeks.

Strain the mixture into a decanter.

Mix the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool before adding to the rum/vodka mixture.

Serve in small aperitif glasses.

Store in the freezer for up to 1 year.

Angela notes: we fermented the citrus rind in a couple of growlers that we got from various breweries. Once they were completely done (with simple syrup) we bought maple bottles to store them in.

Recipe: French Toast Casserole

French Toast Casserole

Angela made this for our Thanksgiving visit. Very tasty and no one has to stand over the hot stove top! She says: "Tastes good for breakfast, just like French toast. It's easy to make too! Serve warm with maple syrup on top. I usually double the recipe and make it in a 9x13."

Prep Time: approx. 30 Minutes.
Cook Time: approx. 50 Minutes.
Ready in: approx. 1 Hour 20 Minutes.
Makes 1 - 8x8 inch pan (6 servings).

Source: Allrecipes.com

5 cups bread cubes
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon margarine, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Lightly butter an baking pan.
- Line bottom of pan with bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and vanilla. Pour egg mixture over bread. Dot with margarine; let stand for 10 minutes.
- Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.
- Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes, until top is golden.

Recipe: Applesauce-Raspberry Salad

We made this for Thanksgiving after a salad Mom had tasted at the church Thanksgiving get-together and it was very yummy and tart, despite the Jello. :)

APPLESAUCE-RASPBERRY SALAD
source: COOKS.COM


1 (3 oz.) pkg. raspberry Jello
1 cup boiling water
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen raspberries
1 cup applesauce

Dissolve Jello in 1 cup boiling water. Add frozen raspberries. Stir until thawed. Stir in applesauce. Chill until sauce.

Thanksgiving

We had a fun trip to see Steven and Angela in Omaha, and as an added bonus, Grandma/Mom was visiting them too! Steven took a picture of us all and made a funny mini movie of Luka. Click here to see the crazy Luka video! (you will need QuickTime).

First outing of the season

Axel and Luka at the first outing of the season - at Butler's Gulch on November 4th. It was snowing, but they were cozy in their little home.

Luka Wants a Hippopotamus for Christmas

For his Christmas program at school, Luka is very excited about learning Jingle Bell Rock and I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, and the motions that go along with them. I dug out Jingle Bell Rock on one of our holiday CD's, but looked on the web for the hippo song. We played it about 20 times (no kidding) using the QuickTime player and the words found at this site.

http://www.minibite.com/christmas/hippo.htm

Cute song and cuter with Luka singing along with the motions they are learning in class.

Recipe: Axel's Loves this Tomato Soup

Axel opens his sweet little mouth wide and gets all excited to eat this soup! And it is quick (just cook the rice ahead of time).

oil for sautéing
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 TBS whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups cooked (brown or white) rice
One 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
Salt to taste
freshly ground pepper
1 tsp each of oregano and basil
3 cups milk
1 TBS butter

Heat oil in a heavy pot and sauté garlic, onion, celery, and carrot until onion is translucent. Add flour, stirring until toasty. Then add tomatoes, salt, pepper, herbs and cooked rice and cook all together at least 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add milk and butter and more salt and pepper if needed. Heat through but do not let boil.

We serve it with warm bread and chunks of cheese.

Adapted from Diet for a Small Planet via Auntie Laura

Ainsi Font Font Font....

Last Friday, Axel wasn't wiggling around on the floor on other side of the kitchen island, so I looked over to see what he was doing. He was doing the motions (for the first time, on his very own!) to the song Ainsi Font Font Font, les Petites Marionettes. Tonight he was really into the motions as I was getting ready for bed.

Mommy Read a Book!

The first book I have read in 1 year and 8 months! It was The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri for the new book club I just joined (picked out by yours truly). The book jacket describes it as about "the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, the tangled ties between generations." It was about an Indian family's experiences in the Northeastern US. Very compelling.

The last book I read before this one, it was March 2005 and I was 4 months pregnant with Axel and it just took too much time to get in any more from then till now! That book was The Effects of Living Backwards by Heidi Julavits. That book was very different and sometimes hard to follow, but I recall liking it overall.

Ding Ding Ding Ding! Climb on!

At Luka's and my climbing class today, I climbed the top of the wall (above the second floor) and got to ring the bell! Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding - go, mommy!

Avocados in Alaska

Here is evidence of my random thought process:

I was wondering earlier today what an avocado cost in Alaska in the mid-70's. And, in today's dollars, what would that be? I was thinking about having them in my lunch in 7th grade and then play catch with Michaella using the pit in the lunch room and getting in trouble. What did it cost my mom to buy that avocado back then?

Native American Names

Luka has been studying various Native American cultures at school this week. They made feather bands to wear, "pottery", painted their faces, and also got Indian names at school. Luka's is Slippery Fish. We discussed and he came up with names for the rest of us too:

Mommy - Sitting Beaver
Dada - Talking Beaver (yes, these should reversed, but Luka picked them - ha ha)
Axel - Screaming Bear (okay, I came up with that, but Luka agreed--due to Axel's favorite pastime lately).

Update: Talked to Luka's teacher, Miss Heather, today after school. She said that the kids mistook her suggestion of the name "Stalking Beaver" for "Talking Beaver". Ha ha. That is where that comes from. Well, in that case, I guess it fits Papa better than it fits me (?).

Royal Icing Recipe

I have not made it yet, but want to save it for future reference (cookie decorating for gingerbead men or sugar cookies). Source: Parents magazine. This is supposed to be a smooth, hard-drying icing that works well for making cookie decorations that last. It can also be used as a "cement" to fasten decorations together. (It is not recommended for icing cakes.)

Royal Icing Recipe

1 box (16 oz.) xxx sugar
2 TBS egg-white powder
6 TBS water
assorted icing colors

In large bowl, with mixer on low, beat xxx sugar, egg-white powder, and the water until well combined. Increase mixer speed to high, and continue beating for 5 minutes. Divide icing among 5 blows. Tint 4 of the bowls with various icing colors such as red, pink, yello and green. If icing is too thick, think out with a few drops of water before decorating cookies.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Icing.

Halloween Night

Luka as Spidey and Axel as a little Elephant. It was a cold night! Brrr. Spidey did a good job telling people "Trick or Treat" and had fun ringing the door bells. Axel was a little bewildered and after we trick or treated in the neighborhoold, he stayed home with Papa to welcome other visitors while Luka and Mommy went to visit Jenni and Stuart a few miles away, to show off Spidey's powers.

Luka as Spidey

Axel

Mommy's Pirate Pumpkin

Birthday, Halloween and Fall Fun

Click here for more recent pictures (Oct 2006) at our Flickr account (link is also repeated below).

Luka's birthday party with his friends on Saturday, october 21 was at Gymboree Play area and it was a lot of fun. The kids had a good time and the adults did too. We even helped when they got to play with the big parachute. Mommy's monkey cupcakes were a big hit and really looked like monkeys! He received very nice presents from family and friends and has had a goog time playing with them. There are so many, we stil have to find time!

Axel has been growing so fast. His new big acheivement is climbing our two flights of stairs by himself. He is so focused and makes a little noise as he puts out all the effort to accmoplish this task. At the top he celebrates with big smiles and happy noises. He is also very vocal (getting into the toddler stage!) if he doesn't like something and his ear-splitting shrieks make his will known! But, most of the time, he is our mild-mannered, laughing man.

Luka is having a great time at school. Today was their big Halloween party and I made "goblin cookies" for it. Reynald took some of the extras to his office.

We have been having fun with Halloween. Luka has a cute monkey costume and Spiderman and has been switching between them. We went to the Ghost Train at the CO Railroad museum with friend Connor and a very fun Halloween costume at church. Tonight is the big Trick or Treating night and we will do our neighborhood and our friend Jenni's as well, after visiting her and Stuart. Axel has been a pumpkin and an elephant. Tonight it supposed to be cold, so for Trick or Treating, I am thinking he will be an elephant since that costume is warmer.

Click here for more recent pictures at our Flickr account - select the October 2006 set - click the slide show in the right hand corner of the Flickr page to see them in a slide show. Nice - no extra clicking for each photo!

Monkey Cupcakes

Monkey cupcakes! To make your very own monkey cupcakes, go to:
http://entertaining.about.com/od/cakebragbook/ss/monkeycupcake.htm

They have great instructions. I modifed it a bit because it was hard to find think licorice for the mouths. I used that new canned, decorator frosting. It is under pressure like canned whipped cream and has several tips you can use. It worked perfectly. You can buy it in the decorating/baking section at the grocery store.

For the frosting, I made a butter cream and added some cocoa to make it brown. It was easy (thanks, Jenni and Karen!). I had originally bought canned frosting, but it tasted really bad, so I made it myself and it was quick, easy and looked and tasted good. Here is a picture of the monkey cupcakes I made for Luka's party:
See the posting with more about his party here:

http://bodeux.blogspot.com/2006/10/birthday-halloween-and-fall-fun.html

Happy Birthday, Luka!

Today is Luka's 4th birthday! He had lots of fun. First, Mommy took mini pumpkin muffins decorated with yellow frosting and halloween sprinkles for morning snack at school and everyone sang happy birthday to him. His teachers said he even took a nap (!) and had a very good day overall.

Then, at home, after dinner, we had a cake (see below photos for recipe) and four candles. He had fun blowing them out (twice - once for "happy birthday" in English and once for it in French) and eating his name off the cake. He liked the cake and frosting too - yum, yum. Then, time for presents! Two games from Cranium that Mommy thought looked like fun--Cariboo Treasure Hunt and Hullabaloo, and a scooter! Can't wait to play the games and try to scooter!

And, last night, he received a package from his grandparents and got new clothes and games from them, plus some madeleines de commercy (yummy little cakes).

He told me today that he gets three "parties:" one at school, one with Mommy, Da-da and Axel, and one on Saturday with his friends (big monkey-themed blow out at Gymboree).









I have brainwashed my family to eat "healthy" cakes and like them. Hee hee. Here is the recipe for Luka's family birthday cake (on Saturday, we will be eating monkey banana cupcakes!).

Pumpkin Bread

2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour (original recipe calls for all-purpose)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp ground cinammon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger or cloves (I used ginger)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening (I used non-hydrogenated)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans in a separate bread from what we used as the birthday cake)
1/2 cup raisins (optional - I personally do not like raisins in this type of bread)

In large bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, the brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger or cloves. Add pumpkin, milk, eggs and shortening.

Beat with an electric mixer on low speed till blended, then on high for 2 minutes. Add remaining flour; beat well. Sitre in nuts and raisins, if using.

Pour batter into a greased 9x5x3-in loaf pain. (I use two and make the breads thinner and cook them less time. That stretches it a bit farther and the pieces are not so high then when you cut a slice.) Bake in a 350 degree preheated over for 60 - 65 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean. (If you use two pans like I do, check them at about 20 minutes and they will likely be done in no more than 30 minutes for sure.)

Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly before wrapping.

Frosting
(this is not healthy, but it worked in a pinch for the pumpkin muffins and his birthday cake after supper--I found it on the Internet last night)

1 package of instant pudding mix (I used French vanilla)
1 cup of milk, very cold
1 regular size container of Cool Whip
sprinkles

Mix milk and pudding mix together, till well blended; about 2 minutes. Then, gently mix in Cool Whip. Frost cupcakes and/or cake and refrigerate till ready to serve (though that stuff is not really dairy (!) so don't worry too much about the refrigeration part if you have to transport it). Decorate with sprinkles. I also cut this in half, and it worked fine.

Axel: these shoes are made for walkin'

As I mentioned in a post below, Axel loves to "walk" with our shoes on his hands. Here, I caught him in the act! (Two different pairs of Luka's represented here!)