4 Oranges = 1 Cup of OJ & 1 Happy Boy

Ever since my son saw the movie "Because of Winn Dixie," he's been wanting to make his own fresh-squeezed orange juice.

We needed to use up some aging oranges, so the opportunity was ripe this morning.

He had fun discovering a few things:

No. 1: It takes a lot of muscle power to squeeze all the juice out of an orange.

No. 2: Four oranges (at least with the four we had) are not enough to serve four people.

No. 3: Don't forget to squeeze out the extra juice from the pulp. Every drop counts.

No. 4: Fresh-squeezed orange juice, especially when you do the squeezing, is the best ever.

Sensual Tour of the Farmers Market

For beets and veggie lovers, this is a not-to-miss column from my foodie friend and culinary inspiration Melissa Elsmo.

She does what I'd love to see every chef do when they come to the Farmers Market to do a food demonstration on Saturdays: scouts out the market, buy what's in season and whip up a simple, yet restaurant-quality dish. 

Well, there were two in this case. Then again, there were two shoppers and cooks in this Veggin Out episode, where the Farmers Market was, as they say on Iron Chef, the secret ingredient.


Even without the printed recipes (which may be available in the print versions of the column), these dishes seem easy to replicate. In fact, I think I'll give one or both a try this weekend.

An Omi Plate Kind of Evening

There's one thing I treasure more than anything else we inherited from my mother-in-law's estate.

She had some lovely things. And we ended up with several really nice pieces from her home after she passed away in 2007. But somehow we also ended up with her everyday Pfaltzgraff platter. It's chipped and doesn't match anything. Yet this piece more than any makes me feel like she's at the table with me when I'm serving my family.

Her presence was especially appreciated tonight. Both my boys lost their soccer games today - in the pouring rain. That's how Sim started the day with an 8 a.m. game and it's how we all ended the day with Dylan's game along the lakefront at 3:30 p.m.

By the time we made it home - soaked to the core - we were all in need of a little comfort. Our menu of smoked Gouda scalloped potatoes, ham steak & rolls fit the bill.

I was about to load plates and let everyone cuddle up in front of the TV to eat.

Instead, I reached for the Omi platter. It was a cue for Sim to set the table and call the kids in for a real family meal, talking about the day and sharing our happy things.

Even on days like today, we always seem to be able to find something that made us smile.

Food Expression

We had a much-too-short visit from the Playful Spirit Potter last week.

It was a Hell week of sorts and she was a godsend during a particularly busy period.

I barely got to spend time with her, but she was there for the kids and they all enjoyed those moments.

This was her goodbye note, made from some of the food she brought from The Farm.

Fresh Roasted Supper

Check out the steam rising off that tomato.

It's been a long few days and it's not over yet. But this is the first semi-normal night of the week.

I know this is a close-to-normal evening because I've actually had some time to look at the food I have in the house. When I looked around, I realized I have an overabundance of tomatoes and peppers that will go bad if I don't start using or preserving them soon.

This is my first start...roasted CSA tomatoes, red pepper and jalapenos (from The Farm), which I skinned, chopped up and will enjoy later this evening...after curriculum night.

The heat is just right with this mix. I only seasoned with a little salt.

Only 8 Once: Webkinz v. Angry Birds, Plus Pastapalooza

Can't resist the Angry Birds cake.

For my daughter's 8th birthday, she couldn't quite settle on a single theme. She's currently fascinated by Webkinz (she and her brother have an embarrassing number in their collection) and Angry Birds.

They're both games you can play online. But that's pretty much where the similarities end. So melding the two into a party was a little bit of a challenge.

We opted to focus overall on Webkinz for evites, an activity and two games, but had an Angry Birds game and an Angry Birds activity worked in. Then, the big surprise, an Angry Birds cake that was practically playable.

The cake was the star of the party. I actually hated to have to cut into it. But I did, before the kids started to dig in on their own. As it was, I counted at least five spots where eager kids couldn't resist swiping a fingerful of icing.

The cake, the creation of my good friend Jen, was a surprise to my daughter, and even to me. I'd seen some of the characters develop on Jen's blog. But I had no idea she was going to recreate an actual game set. It was awesome. The look on my daughter's face when she ran in to take a look was of amazement.

She was even more amazed later when she realized that Jen made all the birds and pigs out of edible gum paste. Jen warned that those pieces wouldn't necessarily taste good. But that didn't stop kids from biting down.

Highlights from the Webkinz/Angry Birds Pastapalooza:

Make Your Own Treat Bags

I made treat bags out of old t-shirts then the kids used fabric markers to decorate. Throughout the party, the kids "earned" the treats for their bags.

Draw Your Own Webkinz

We set up a table with templates for four Webkinz and let kids draw their own.

Evakinz Scavenger Hunt

Kids were given a list of eight Webkinz, each of which were hidden throughout the house. Once they completed the list, they were to turn it in for a lollipop.

Angry Birds Parachute Toss

The idea was to keep one of the Angry Birds in the air as long as possible. I think the record may have been three seconds. It wasn't the best executed game. But the kids enjoyed being outside. My daughter didn't much like this game and ended up absconding with the stuffed birds a couple of times.

Balloon Darts

This is a physical recreation of a game kids play online with Webkinz. In the real-life version, we used plastic-tipped darts. If a player popped a balloon, they could reach into a grab bag for a prize. No looking. If they didn't like their prize, they could trade. Those who didn't pop a balloon got a piece of candy for their effort.

The kids had a great time with this one. My daughter would have had more fun if she'd been able to pop a balloon. But one of her sweet friends kept playing until she won something for her.

Make Your Own Angry Birds

We set out a few core Angry Bird colors of polymer clay and let the kids fashion their own birds, pigs and other game pieces. I didn't have time to bake them. And I'm glad. (Some of the figures were really thick so I had to bake them for an hour. Longer baking times mean more fumes.) Instead, I had each artist write their name on a piece of paper and place the figures on a tray. I baked them this morning and will distribute them this week.

This was my daughter's favorite activity by far and seemed to be a party favorite.

Pastapalooza

My daughter's favorite food is lasagna. She had a couple trays of it last year for her Garfield party and wanted it again this year. But she also wanted her guests to have spaghetti and meatballs, and the option of cheesy spaghetti (which is our version of mac-n-cheese with spaghetti noodles instead of elbow macaroni).

So her finished menu, in addition snacks on tables:

Lasagna; spaghetti with marinara sauce and meatballs (all separate to accommodate finicky eaters and vegetarians); cheesy spaghetti; bread; grapes; salad (which no one touched); and sliced heirloom tomatoes (which no one touched).

I agreed to the pastapalooza before I realized how distracting it would be mid-party to finish the pasta. Also, it was a challenge to serve all the kids on my own. I'm thankful Jen and Sim pitched in for that part too.

We had hoped all the kids could eat outside since the weather was perfect. But by mealtime, we had a sudden infestation of small flies outside. I have no idea where they came from but the kids were not going to eat outside, so we switched gears, quickly cleaned up the Angry Birds clay and they chowed down.

The Cake

The cake was fantastic. There's little doubt Jen is actually a game fan because she had gamer attention to detail that had the kids oohing, ahhing and gasping as they examined the cake from every direction.

That was after they called out and laid claim to each birds, pig or element they wanted on their respective slices of cake.

Best part was that the cake wasn't just for show. It tasted delish. Chocolate with chocolate frosting on about 3/4 of the cake and white cake with vanilla frosting on the stone mound where Pig King reigned (before he was eaten).


All around, it was a great party...or in my daughter's words, "my best birthday ever."

What Can I Pickle Next?

One recipe at a time, I'm overcoming my fears. I have yet to give canning a try. But I'm well on my way to small-scale pickling on a regular basis.

It's so amazingly easy, especially if you're planning to eat what you make within a week or so.

I got over my pickling fear because I was literally handed a recipe and jar of pre-measured spices as swag for attending a NoMI opening a few months ago. I finally broke down when I had an overabundance of cucumbers and needed to get the NoMI box off my counter.

I'm kicking myself for not trying this sooner. Out of the gate, I made pickled cucumbers. You know, pickles. Only with a gourmet twist thanks to NoMI.

This time, I tried long green beans with some small, pickling cucumbers for good measure. Is there a reason not to mix them in the same jar? I guess I'll find out.

Next up, maybe when I'm overrun by red onions, I want to try the Quick-Pickled Red Onions I found in this 2007 NPR story. And I have to say I'm intrigued by the idea of pickled grapes.

I'm going to keep hunting for good pickling combos, but I admit, the red onion recipe had me at quick. 

Edible Cartoons for Parties (or Just Because)

Angry Bird babybel.

This is the official start of my daughter's birthday countdown, with her party right around the corner on Saturday. That means I've been spending more time than usual looking for party food ideas.

Her menu is pretty much already set (pastapalooza), so I'm only looking for extras and finger foods to go with her mixed theme of Webkinz and Angry Birds.

We have the cake well in hand. (Shhhh. It's a secret.)

Phineas & Ferb bentos.

There are some really creative moms and dads out there dressing up their kids' lunches and party trays.

Here are a few of my favorites, second only to the Phineas & Ferb bento lunches I saw on Steph's Random Access Memories.

Mini Perry sandwiches from Pam's Party and Practical Tips.

Angry Birds fruit faces from babble's family kitchen.

Angry Birds babybel cheese snacks from Cute Food for Kids. 

The ultimate, as seen in this video, showing the making (and destruction) of an edible/playable Angry Birds cake, was actually my very first introduction to Angry Birds, even before I saw the game. It's incredibly creative.



It's doubtful I'll make any of these for this party because we already have plenty on our plates. But it was fun doing the research.