Aint No Thang

Football season is coming to an end, but not with out the game of all games. What makes the Superbowl so epic that even non football people throw outrageous parties and eat all sorts of dips and chips? I was a Bronco's fan for all those years they made it the big game and lost. After that I sort of tuned out and moved to a state that I never really cheered for. I used to love working during the Superbowl because the shop was a ghost town. The grocery stores are always pleasantly empty and any restaurant without a TV has a very short wait during the game.

Now you can find me back in front of the TV, intermittently yelling and dipping and snacking. I decided why would one skip an opportunity to lounge about with family and it's more than acceptable to nosh for 2 hours. Plus, my son has taken to football and has only lost one game so far.



His playing has taught me much more about the game than I have ever gleaned from all those years of half watching men crash into each other, a bit of gabbing, and to honest here I usually thumb through a magazine during all those replays and analysis of each team. Check out his scowl. That would be one intimidating guy if he was coming at ya.

What I'm really in the game for is the food. I won't lie to you. That's the reason I show up to a lot of events. The Superbowl to me is the pulse of what people REALLY want to eat. So called 'low brow' food is desirable and sought after, and if you want to fancy something up it better still have soul. I took one of our favorite football foods and gave it a little change up. The family thought they were good enough to keep in rotation, and I thought I'd post them here incase you are still searching for that perfect game day meal.

Citrus Spicy Wings With Cilantro Dip

Wings
2.5 lbs chicken drummets and wings (you can buy the whole wings, cut off the drummet and remove the little end and use as stock) This has good pics for processing the wing.
juice and zest of one whole orange
1/3 cup soy sauce (Tamari sauce for gluten free)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 inch piece of ginger grated
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
1 scallion chopped (optional garnish)
1 Tablespoon cilantro chopped (optional garnish)

Dip
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 large scallions chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper

In a large soup pot that has a steamer place water in the bottom until it hits the steamer basket. Add all the chicken pieces to the steamer and place over high heat and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer to steam the wings.

While the wings are steaming add remaining wing ingredients (except garnish) into a large bowl and stir. After 15-20 minutes remove the wings from the steamer and place into the large bowl with the sauce and stir to coat. Heat the oven to broil around 425º. Now you want to crisp the skin and glaze the sauce over the top. Place the wings evenly on a baking sheet. Place on the second shelf under broiler and watch closely. After 3-4 minutes remove from the oven flip over and brush more sauce over the top. Broil again and continue this process until the skin is crisp. I like to place all the wings back into the bowl of sauce and coat them before placing on the serving tray, but this isn't necessary. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and scallions to garnish.

To make the dip place all ingredients in a small bowl and stir. Taste for salt and pepper and add as desired. Serve with the wings.



These wings had a nice heat to them, and some sweetness from the orange to balance it out. If you're feeling adventurous you could serve them with this beer punch that sounds interesting and I just may give it a try this year. Or my favorite beer lemonade, or if beer is not your thing this cucumber lime cocktail may do the trick. Another perfect pairing for this Super menu would be this spicy popcorn. If you want to go a completely different route and serve some awesome sammies may I recommend some over the top mayo to go with?

I'm still nailing down our menu, but this is what's in the works -

• Sliders (anyone have any suggestions for the best?)
• Some form of deviled egg - this is my all time fav
• Fried fingerling potatoes with homemade dipping sauces (recipe to come)
• Home made ice cream - flavor to be determined
• Drinky drinks - beer punch and a fruity peachy non alcoholic drink for the kids

So what are you plans for game day? Shopping, hiking, reading, watching, noshing, all of the above?

Cook The Kids Book

The other day my boy came home from school with his usual chatter box ways. Now, I love that he talks to me, and there will come a time when I will beg him to talk to me. I will drop little questions trying to scratch at his life and he will give me short answers in the form of grunts. I'm hoping for more, but this is what I've prepared myself for. But now, his 10 year old self can go on and on about nothing more than how EXACTLY he jumps off the swing, or which Pokemon game his friend just beat, and how much he loves Naruto and what would it be like to live in Florida. I'm the first to admit that just to focus on my daily tasks his sweet voice can turn into background sounds. White noise if you will. This is not a mean statement, I know how precious this time is. This is about retention of sanity.

This sunny day he came home and in between his rant on what his friend Sam said during P.E., or maybe after he told me about what guns are available on Call of Duty, he said something about an author visiting and they talked about a book where the little girl is scared of thunder so her granny has her bake a cake. For some reason my little ears perked up and I dove right in with the questions. "The author was at your school? How cool? What's the book called? What kind of cake? You said the recipe is in it? Did you check it out?" He looked almost scared, probably what I look like after 10 minutes of the kids in the car.

The author is one we are very familiar with, Patricia Polacco. We have My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco and it is a favorite.
She writes about her child hood and the best way to explain her stories are just comfort. Thunder cake is equally wonderful.

The little girl is afraid of thunder and her Bubby helps her overcome her fear by planning to bake a cake. They gather ingredients and reveal the 'secret ingredient' - tomatoes. I was hooked with tomatoes and he told me the recipe for the cake was in the back. We got in the car, rode to the library, then to the grocery store to gear up for a Thunder Cake.



The book is great, a good story, good illustrations and even a small hint of some Russian culture. The kids were excited to make a cake with tomatoes. I changed her recipe so we could make it gluten free, and everyone was pleased.

This is my adaptation of Thunder Cake, but I highly recommend reading this book, especially if you have kids. I love that not only did they get excited to read, but to make it their own experience by baking the cake.

Thunder Cake
Adapted from Patricia Polacco's Thunder Cake

1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, separated
1 cup cold water
1/3 cup pureed tomatoes
2 cups gluten free flour mix (I tried King Arthur's new multipurpose gluten free mix)
1/2 cup tapioca starch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350º and prepare baking pans. (I used a sheet pan, but 2 8inch rounds can be used). Cream together the butter and sugar until light. Add the vanilla and the egg yolks one at a time. In a separate bowl beat the whites until stiff peaks form and set aside. In a small bowl mix together the tomato puree and water. Sift together the gluten free flour blend, starch, gums, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Pour 1/3 of the flour mix into the butter mixture and blend until just combined then add 1/2 of the tomato water blend. Repeat with another third of the flour then the water and end with flour. Fold in the egg whites to the batter. Add the batter to prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely and frost.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup butter softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons milk

Beat the butter to soften and slowly mix in 1 cup of the sugar. Mix on medium high for a few seconds. Turn mixer to low and add 1 tablespoon of the milk and the cocoa. Mix on medium high to get the cocoa thoroughly blended in. Turn down to low and add the rest of the sugar. Mix and add the remaining tablespoon of milk only if the mixture is too stiff. Beat on high for 20 seconds. Frost cooled cake.



Being that her favorite book is Fancy Nancy the girl thought the cake was not complete without sprinkles. Whatever gets them in the kitchen and their noses in a book.

Do you know of any other good kids books that involve cooking, or has a good recipe?

The Whole Shebang

January for our family is a smorgasbord of celebrations. We have 3 birthdays and one anniversary along with the usual daily grind of school, sports, other humans we know, and trying hard to work off the little bit of holiday weight that may or may not have been gained.

With all that goes on in January, it's still my favorite month. The wave of 'busy' just keeps going and I think I find it sort of like a challenge to stay on top of it.

That being said, I still find that a relaxing little breakfast is most often not in my daily January routine. I am a breakfast person. I'm only good for about 45 minutes in the morning before I really need something to eat. I love cereal with bananas, or waffles, and let's not forget how fond I am of yogurt with fruit and honey. Oh, and tea or coffee. Except I don't care for these close to my workouts for some crazy reason.

Some mornings I'm shoving everyone out the door and really need something to shove in my mouth, accompanied by a generous serving of caffeine. One day I just put all of my favorite morning items in the blender and whipped up my leisure breakfast and toted it out the door in a to go cup. I felt like January could now be conquered.



First into the blender 1 cup of some sort of milk. I usually use hemp or almond, but regular old milk is fine. Next up, all the making of a wonderful little breakfast. 1 banana, just like on my cereal (if your's is frozen it will make the smoothie nice and frosty). 2 heaping Tablespoons of peanut butter, one of my favorite after work out ingredients. 1 teaspoon instant espresso or maybe something like a Via packet or some other comparable brand. I was just looking for something instant and coffee. 1 heaping Tablespoon of cocoa powder. Before you tell me that it's breakfast, not dessert, just think mocha. I'm not the biggest fan of Mochas in the a.m., but this works, and the antioxidants are good. I think this needs a touch of sweet so I often use a bit of stevia, or even a small amount of honey, but it's entirely debatable. 4 or 5 ice cubes and a good purr of the blender and my day is now right.



I may be running around town picking up pinatas and streamers without my makeup, but I'm not missing my breakfast or my morning perk. It's a happy birthday season for everyone!

It's My Party, And I'll . . .

HAVE PIE IF I WANT TO!

Cake is good, don't get me wrong. But I much prefer pie. Banana cream pie made by mom is my favorite of all pies. This birthday she didn't disappoint and I forced everyone to watch me blow out candles from a creamy oozy pie. Then most of them watched me eat it, they do not like it.

But it's my party, my birthday pie, and my breakfast pie! I'm a year older dang it! I can have pie for breakfast.

So tell me, am I the only one to throw out the cake for their birthday and put in a request for something else? What do you all crave for your birthday? Flan? Bread pudding? Ice cream? Cheese?

We Have A Winner

I entered the numbers into the Random Generator and we have a winner!

Silver Strands
No suggestions. I just have to say that I have never seen SUCH A CUTE list!
oxoxo
Denalee

Thank you Denalee! Enjoy shopping and thanks for stopping by!

Everyone else, keep stopping by and I'll have more opportunities soon! Have a good weekend.

Making Your Own Positves

The positive is getting underway thanks to CSN and their tremendous supply of goods. They have over 200 online stores to find fantastic items like modern dining room furniture, salt and pepper shakers for everyone, and even sleeping arrangements for your pooch.

This new year has started off with some rather negative first steps. I can't say that these events have me very excited, or even optimistic, but I do believe we make our own change and I'm ready for the good stuff to come rolling in. I was super blessed to be contacted to have a sweet little giveaway here, and I'm ready to share with you what's in store for 2011.

Before the details of the giveaway I wanted to lay out some ideas I have for this little place here in the coming year. I'm a sucker for a list, but once I start plotting things on paper new ideas just keep rolling in. This is my list I have for Life Is Still Sweet.



I have some very specific items that I want make gluten free. I've tried a few versions of some of these and just am not satisfied. This year I really want to get the kids in the kitchen and maybe even let them commandeer a post or two. In an effort to really branch out I am planning an exotic section of the blog once a month (more to come). I have another game that I want to test out but I'm not completely sold on my own idea yet. I also am so flippin' excited to give something away today, that I've set up some goals and came up with some ideas for more giveaways.

Some things are staying; Edible spa is only just begun and I have so much more on that list to share. I'm still trying making things gluten free for my love, but as usual this blog is not entirely gluten free (yet).

As I doodled my ideas I became very curious as to what other people would like to see here. If you have any thoughts on the subject I'd love to hear.

Now on to the LOOT!

CSN online stores has so very graciously offered to give one lucky reader a $25 gift certificate to use at any of their 200 online stores. You can purchase some super cool stuff for your kitchen - I have my eye on these scales to start baking by weight. Or how about something for the big game? Anything from here would do just fine!

This is available to anyone in the US and Canada, and all you have to do to enter is leave me a little comment telling me what you are doing to make your 2011 positive? Are you running, doing yoga, eating more cookies, relaxing, or taking a fun class?

Comments will be open until noon on Friday and the winner will be announced Saturday. Good luck!