Mine was....well I'm not sure how to encompass the past few days with just one word. How about we call my weekend "interesting" yes my weekend was quite interesting.
But I'm alive and healthy - which is pretty great if you ask me :)
I'm going to try and keep my chit chat fairly short today - only a few things to cover really....
Ginger says....
"Meet Jennas demands or else......
....I will attack with wild force and vengance!!!"
My requests/demands are the same as my previous post:
Would you please fill out a QUICK 10 question survey on my behalf? I'd really like to have a little bit of feedback from my readers - and seeing asNONE of you comment (shame shame shame on you) for whatever reason, I've decided to make a survey for you to quickly fill out! Just click on the link below. I promise it will only take a few minutes - I'd really really really appreciate it!!!!!
You were just going to skip my survey weren't you??
You should be ashamed!
Thinking I wouldn't find out hu?!?!?!?!
Scroll yourself right on up there and take the survey right this very second!!!!
....Please and thank you :)
Ohio is a beautiful Winter Wonderland.....
it's hard to believe that some of you out there have never seen snow in person!!! SOOOOOOO WEIRD!!!! Seriously - living in a place where snow doesn't fall in the winter time is such a foreign idea to me. I feel so happy and privileged that I grew up in a state where Christmas always looks like a winter wonderland!
This particular weekend I was lucky enough to have Friday and Saturday off work. This allowed me to sit on my couch all day long and just stare out the window at the first real snowfalls of the season:
My teeth are chattering it's so cold!!!
::Sigh::
This world is too beautiful of a place to be taken for granted.
Tis the season to make...
really cute cupcakes at work!!
As the chairman on 'Iron Chef America' would say- "Today's secret ingredient is......
APPLESAUCEEEEEE!!!!!!!"
Yes Applesauce. I had an unopened jar of applesauce screaming my name in the cupboard yesterday morning, saying "Jennaaa Jennaaaaaa quit neglecting me! Quit making recipes with stupid pumpkin! Ditch the pumpkin and use meeeeeeee!" So I decided to do what any mentally unstable person would do whose food is talking to them - I used it. Today I've provided you guys with not one but TWO recipes in which applesauce is the main ingredient!
First recipe:
Applesauce pancakes
Second recipe:
Applesauce cake
Both recipes are simple. Both recipes are delicious :)
Scroll to the bottom of this here post to collect your recipes!!
Well I suppose it is time I bid your fair well.
If you live in a place where the weather is snowy and cold make sure you: bundle up, drive safely, make time to play in the snow, and make sure you have enough hot chocolate to keep you warm :) If you do not live in a place where there is snow on the ground: I hope you enjoyed the little bit of weather I sent your way with my "Ohio winter wonderland" photos :)
I hope each and every one of you have an amazing/wonderful week - be grateful that you're alive to do so - I know I am :)
Let us begin...
[[Today’s music]]
(1) THE KILLERS – BOOTS
Sigh. Brandon Flowers is so dreamy.
His voice. His face.
This fella makes me swoon.
And I really enjoy this song ever so much.
(2) SIA – I’M IN HERE
(3) NAT KING COLE - THE CHRISTMAS SONG
This is one of my favorite Christmas songs EVER.
I love Nat King Cole.
[[Today’s restaurant]]
RANDY’S DONUTS – LOS ANGELES CA
[[Today's blog findings]]
While going through my daily "blog check" (which is where I peruse through the many blogs I follow) today I came across a lot of pictures that I find interesting, funny, cool, beautiful, and/or wonderful in one way or another:
[[Today's kitchen gadget(s)]]
(1)HOLIDAY COOKIE CUTTERS AND CAKE PANS
(2) CUISIPRO STAY COOL ROLLING PIN
(3) CHRISTMAS TREE CAKE PAN(S)
[[Today’s news]]
(1)CHEFS PREDICT RESTAURANT TRENDS FOR 2011: THE LOCAVORE ISSUE
“It's that time of year again, Anderson Cooper time, when everybody starts making lists from this year and predictions for next year. The Nation's Restaurant News is very fond of such lists, and has now polled chefs for their latest: the top 20 restaurant trends for 2011. The NRA (that would be the Nation's Restaurant Association, not the National Rifle Association) asked 1,527 chefs, all members of the American Culinary Federation, what they expected to trend up in 2011. Turn the page for the full list.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest predicted trends all have to do with the localization of food sources. Products that are sourced locally, food that is grown nearby or even in (or on top of) restaurants. Pretty soon every chef is going to have her own chicken coop and herb garden, it seems. Add locally produced wine and beer to the list too. So if you're a chef reading this, you may want to clear out your earthquake retrofitted basement for that beer-making experiment. Got a still? You may need one, not just to make your own gin fizzes from scratch, but to deal with what seems to be an increasing siege mentality. Cormac McCarthy would be proud, albeit hungry.”
The Top 20 Trends for 2011:
1.Locally sourced meats and seafood
2. Locally grown produce
3. Sustainability
4. Nutritionally balanced children's dishes
5. "Hyper local," such as restaurants with their own gardens and chefs who do their own butchering.
6. Children's nutrition
7. Sustainable seafood
8. Gluten-free food and being food allergy conscious
9. Simplicity/back to basics
10. Farm/estate-branded ingredients
11. Micro-distilled/artisan liquor
12. Locally produced wine and beer
13. Smaller portions for smaller prices
14. Organic produce
15. Nutrition/health
16. "Culinary" cocktails, for example ones that have savory or fresh ingredients
17. Newly fabricated cuts of meat such as the pork flat iron and the beef petit tender
18. Fruit and vegetables as children's side items
19. Ethnic-inspired breakfast items, such as Asian-flavored syrups, chorizo scrambled eggs and coconut milk pancakes
“Mothers may crave everything from chocolate to pickles during their pregnancy, but their children may not always thank them for their food fetishes. New research in mice has found what females eat during pregnancy may affect their offspring's preferences for certain smells and flavours by altering the structure of their brains. The findings highlight the importance for females to eat well during pregnancy.”
Researchers from the US and Israel fed a group of pregnant mice bland food, and other groups one of two varieties of flavoured food during gestation and nursing. After the females gave birth, their pups were exposed to different foods, including those given to their mothers.
Those offspring whose mothers had eaten flavoured food, either cherry or mint, preferred the odour of that food over any other, while those pups whose mothers had eaten plain food showed no preference.”
“Japanese artist Iori Tomita takes a colorful approach to highlighting the complex compositions of marine life creatures with his collection entitled “New World Transparent Specimens." Tomita was first introduced to the creation of transparent specimens for the scientific purpose of examining minuscule bone structure as an undergraduate student majoring in fisheries.
The specimens' flesh is made translucent by a method that dissolves the creatures' natural proteins. The artistry of nature and man-made design converge when vibrant dyes are introduced to the delicate skeletal system. Selectively injecting red dye into the hard bones and blue into the softer bones, Tomita underscores the other worldliness of aquatic life.”
(make sure you use REAL pancake mix, not that "just add water" nonsense)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup milk
::Directions::
-In a large bowl stir together the pancake mix and cinnamon.
- Make a well in the center of the pancake mix and add the eggs, applesauce, lemon juice, and milk.
- Stir until smooth.
- Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat.
- Pour the batter onto the griddle - about 1/4 cup per pancake
- Brown on both sides.
-Serve & enjoy!!!
(2) MOM'S APPLESAUCE CAKE
My mother acquired this applesauce cake in her middle school Home Ec class in 1973. It was my grandma Katie's favorite cake, and she would request my mother to make it for her birthday and other special occasions. I will definitely be making this recipe for years to come, so I suppose the tradition has been passed on to me - almost 40 years later!
The cake is moist and delicious and just flat out amazing!
::Ingredients::
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup applesauce
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
::Directions::
- Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F
- Cream shortening and sugar in a large bowl
- Add egg and beat well
- In a separate bowl mix the baking soda and applesauce together thoroughly
- Add the applesauce to the egg mixture
- In a separate bowl mix together the cloves, cinnamon, flour, and salt.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture thoroughly.
Jenna is the name blogging about food appears to be my game. Self declared funny gal, and budding chef-to-be. I prepare food for a living at @olivedive . Click the 'About Me' tab to learn more!
"Meet Jennas demands or else......
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Great post Jenna! I'm one of those people who has never seen more than an inch of snow on the ground.
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