I am writing this perched on my sofa, listening to the veritable army of jackhammering rats in my kitchen walls. Apparently Rat the First had friends and family.
I am deeply distressed about this.
*************
I am searching for recipes for stuff to bring to various holiday get-togethers. The von Trapped family has a number of food allergies (we are a bundle of fun to host for dinner! Invite us over so I can give you the long list of stuff you may not cook with!) and so I try to bring a dish that ensures that there is at least one thing we can eat wherever we are.
I am undecided on Christmas Eve desserts; I would like to attempt a flourless chocolate cake because I love to eat them, but anything involving a water bath sounds finicky and prone to easy ruination, and I am doubtful that skim Lactaid milk will be an appropriate substitute for heavy whipping cream. Still working on that one.
I have seen various "substitute a can of pumpkin for eggs and oil in a box cake mix" recipes floating around blogland, and I made one today. It was.....ok, I guess. It was moist (yes, to all the people in my life who have rules about the word "moist", I just used the word "moist" and might do so again, because truly, this cake was MOIST). It was also dense and....I dunno, just thicker and wetter than a regular cake, although not with the delightful texture and taste of a brownie. It was just moist. It was not horrible but I do not feel the need to make it again.
One thing I will probably be bringing to my grandmother's on Christmas Day is an apple/butternut squash/sweet potato....thing. Casserole? It is super delicious, easy to make, and also moist, but in a deliciously good way.
I like to buy bags of cubed butternut squash and cubed sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's, because I am all about lazy cooking. I toss half a bag of each into a 9x13 baking pan, and freeze the rest (and usually make a second batch later in the week). I chop up two or three apples (this recipe is going to annoy the hell out of my sister--"why can't you use precise measurements, for pete's sake, what the hell is a pinch and is it two apples or is it three apples, how do you know which is right, TWO OR THREE???")
Right, so you have a pan full of chopped up butternut squash, sweet potatoes and apples. Toss in half a stick of butter, and some cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and whatever other spice you might toss in a pumpkin pie. I would use nutmeg if we had any. I sprinkle about two heaping spoonfuls of brown sugar over top. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour. At the half hour, take it out and stir it around a bit, then pop it back in.
The finished product looks, I will admit....brown. But its a delicious brown! A gluten free, nearly lactose free, nut free brown!
I am not a food photographer, but I promise, if you like sweet potatoes and butternut squash and apples, this is delicious. Truly. Although my kids won't eat it.
*************
My kiddos have been sick for the past week. Perhaps we could just skip the November to May sickfest we have every year.
Princess has a tougher constitution, and while just as sick as the other two, plus she has molars coming in (sigh), she is steadfastly refusing to nap or sleep, ever. This is a joyous occasion. I should probably set her loose on the rats; she'd kill them in no time.
Girlfriend does like her band-aids. Don't worry, they are merely decorative, placed by Princess herself, no boo-boos underneath.
Girlfriend is also suddenly obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake (note the band-aids), to the detriment of all the Minnie Mouse stuff I bought for Christmas.
I am deeply distressed about this.
*************
I am searching for recipes for stuff to bring to various holiday get-togethers. The von Trapped family has a number of food allergies (we are a bundle of fun to host for dinner! Invite us over so I can give you the long list of stuff you may not cook with!) and so I try to bring a dish that ensures that there is at least one thing we can eat wherever we are.
I am undecided on Christmas Eve desserts; I would like to attempt a flourless chocolate cake because I love to eat them, but anything involving a water bath sounds finicky and prone to easy ruination, and I am doubtful that skim Lactaid milk will be an appropriate substitute for heavy whipping cream. Still working on that one.
I have seen various "substitute a can of pumpkin for eggs and oil in a box cake mix" recipes floating around blogland, and I made one today. It was.....ok, I guess. It was moist (yes, to all the people in my life who have rules about the word "moist", I just used the word "moist" and might do so again, because truly, this cake was MOIST). It was also dense and....I dunno, just thicker and wetter than a regular cake, although not with the delightful texture and taste of a brownie. It was just moist. It was not horrible but I do not feel the need to make it again.
One thing I will probably be bringing to my grandmother's on Christmas Day is an apple/butternut squash/sweet potato....thing. Casserole? It is super delicious, easy to make, and also moist, but in a deliciously good way.
I like to buy bags of cubed butternut squash and cubed sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's, because I am all about lazy cooking. I toss half a bag of each into a 9x13 baking pan, and freeze the rest (and usually make a second batch later in the week). I chop up two or three apples (this recipe is going to annoy the hell out of my sister--"why can't you use precise measurements, for pete's sake, what the hell is a pinch and is it two apples or is it three apples, how do you know which is right, TWO OR THREE???")
Right, so you have a pan full of chopped up butternut squash, sweet potatoes and apples. Toss in half a stick of butter, and some cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and whatever other spice you might toss in a pumpkin pie. I would use nutmeg if we had any. I sprinkle about two heaping spoonfuls of brown sugar over top. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour. At the half hour, take it out and stir it around a bit, then pop it back in.
The finished product looks, I will admit....brown. But its a delicious brown! A gluten free, nearly lactose free, nut free brown!
I am not a food photographer, but I promise, if you like sweet potatoes and butternut squash and apples, this is delicious. Truly. Although my kids won't eat it.
*************
My kiddos have been sick for the past week. Perhaps we could just skip the November to May sickfest we have every year.
Princess has a tougher constitution, and while just as sick as the other two, plus she has molars coming in (sigh), she is steadfastly refusing to nap or sleep, ever. This is a joyous occasion. I should probably set her loose on the rats; she'd kill them in no time.
Girlfriend does like her band-aids. Don't worry, they are merely decorative, placed by Princess herself, no boo-boos underneath.
Girlfriend is also suddenly obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake (note the band-aids), to the detriment of all the Minnie Mouse stuff I bought for Christmas.
Oh! I meant to say ick to the rats. Sorry to hear that :(
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