Monday, May 24, 2010

Christopher's Graduation

Eddie's son Christopher graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with a Masters of Fine Arts degree last weekend.



Here is some of his art on display at the final graduate art show.



He took Eddie on a tour of the city.





Banana Muffins

Another great recipe from Cassie....

Follow the link for the recipe. The blackberries didn't work with the bananas for me personally, but the banana part of the muffin was so good! Really, really good! Next time, I'm making plain banana muffins.




Friday, May 14, 2010

Funny Food!

This are from a fun website called My Food Looks Funny. Go there to see some more.







Southwestern Corn Salad

This is a quick and easy summer side dish. Just needs a little chilling time after it's put together.



SOUTHWESTERN CORN SALAD

2 (15 ounce) cans corn kernels, drained
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon sugar
salt
pepper

Place first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add oil mixture to the rest and mix well. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.
Note: Very easy to change proportions of ingredients to your taste.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Diet Ice Cream

A couple of weeks ago, Eddie finally bought us a new TV, after watching TV in the basement for a few weeks. I think he felt guilty spending so much, so he spent some more and bought me a present - which is really for him (the real ice cream lover in our house)...... An ice cream maker attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer.

We decided to use it this past weekend while my mother in law was here. She is diabetic and we wanted to make something she could eat. It turned out pretty good. Good enough to share here and good enough to make again in other flavors.

I didn't remember to take the picture until it was almost gone!



DIET ICE CREAM

1 (4 ounce) package sugar-free fat-free instant pudding (you pick the flavor)
1/4 cup granulated Splenda
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk (I think they make fat-free, I used regular this time)
1 cup fat-free milk (I used 1% this time)

In a medium bowl, stir together the instant pudding and Splenda.

Add the evaporated milk and fat-free milk and stir until blended.

Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the maker’s directions.

Optional: Add fruit or other ingredients as desired. (I added fresh strawberries and sugar-free strawberry syrup.)

This is such a basic recipe. Adjust to suit your tastes and dietary needs.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Caramel Flan

This is how I celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I love Flan. It's one of my favorite desserts of all time!



CARAMEL FLAN

2/3 cup sugar
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 can (from the condensed milk) full of whole milk
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

To make caramel: Heat the sugar in a skillet over medium heat. When it begins to melt, reduce heat and continue until it has completely dissolved and browned. Stir constantly. As soon as the sugar has browned, pour it into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish or flan pan. Tilt the dish so that the caramel spreads evenly over the entire bottom of the dish.

Put remaining ingredients into a blender and mix well. Pour into the dish that you coated with the caramel. Cover the dish lightly with foil. Set the dish in a larger pan with water halfway up the sides of the flan dish. (Also known as a water bath.)

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Watch the water level of the pan and fill if necessary. Cool for two hours at room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.

To serve, run a knife along the outside edge and invert onto a serving plate. Let it sit a few minutes so the caramel can drip down, then remove the flan dish.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Eddie's Plants

Eddie's mom bought a tomato plant kit similar to those you see on TV, with a plant that comes out of the bottom of the pot. This one was from WalMart. Her husband Nick said it would NEVER work, so she gave it to us.

I admit, we cheated a little and bought 2 small plants instead of starting with the seeds that came with the kit. We have Roma tomatoes on the bottom and I can't remember what's on top.

We've had it planted for about 3 weeks. It doesn't look as healthy as it could, but it is growing and has one little tomato on each plant.



First tomato on the top plant.



First of the Roma tomatoes on the bottom.



And, Eddie's growing watermelons, too! He started these from seeds. I think he has 3 different varieties. He's going to plant them on the side of the garage when they are ready to go in the ground.