Curiosity Journal: June 29, 2011

June 29, 2011 By 17 Comments

Each Wednesday I’m recording a Curiosity Journal, a recap of the past week. Tag words are: reading, playing, learning, reacting and writing.

:::

Some of you have mentioned that you may begin posting a Curiosity Journal, as well. Leave your link in the comments so that we can visit and enjoy your weekly review.

Reading

I finished The Day I Became an Autodidact: and the advice, adventures, and acrimonies that befell me thereafter, by Kendall Hailey. With satisfaction (it was a good read) and melancholy (but now it’s over), I’m moving on to The Happiness Project. [Read more...]

Filed Under: creativity, Nutella, self-discovery, tea Tagged With: ,

Food on Fridays: Europe Comes to America

April 14, 2011 By 19 Comments

(small button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—though we love to try new dishes, your post doesn’t have to be a recipe.

If you want, you could simply tell us how many M&Ms you would eat if left alone with nobody watching. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Food on Fridays, Nutella Tagged With: , , , ,

Food on Fridays: Whole Wheat Honey Bread

March 18, 2010 By 21 Comments

fof(smaller button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—it doesn’t have to be a recipe. If you just want to post photos of your knife sharpener, that’ll do just fine.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Please note: I return when possible during the day and update this post by hand to include a list of the links provided via Mr. Linky. If I can’t get to the computer to do so, you can access them all by clicking on the Mister Linky logo.

Food on Fridays with Participants

1. Self Sagacity

2. Kristen (mexican chicken)

3. Stretch Mark Mama (Sausage Rice Casserole)

4. Breastfeeding Moms Unite! (Vegetarian Family Menu for a Week)

5. Alison @ Under the Big Oak Tree (week of food)

6. Comfy Cook – Cabbage, Carrot, Potato Muffins

7. Chaya – Comfort Food Potatoes

8. Alison @ Hospitality Haven (Spiced Chinese Fish Fillet)

9. April@ The 21st Century Housewife (Special White Cake)

 10. Aubree Cherie @ Living Free (Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream)

11. Tara @ Feels Like Home (Irish potato candy)

12. Shirley @ gfe (Healthy Flourless Brownies)

13. ITWPF {Black Forest Cake}

14. Mrs. Jen B’s Scandalous Banana Bread

15. Mrs. Jen B’s Tangy Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

16. Raw Thoughts And Feelings

17. Laura @ Frugal Follies (Banana French Toast)

18. Sara (oatmeal caramel chocolate bars)

 19. Esther@ Outward Expression (Chili Smoothie)

20. Marcia@ Frugalhomekeeping (Tuna and White Bean Salad from Italian Cook Book)

21. Nancy’s Daily Dish ~Grilled Chicken Rio Grande

22. Tammy @ The Sabourin Family (Clam Chowder)

23. Newlyweds (Fish Cakes)

24. Jill @ Love From the Kitchen (Cinnamon Applesauce)

25. Easy To Be Gluten Free – Beef Florentine Casserole

26. Hoosier Homemade{9 Springtime Desserts}

27. Kate @ modern alternative mama (Sun Dried Tomato Sauce)

28. Fancy Frugalista! (Coffeedoodle Donuts)

Food on Fridays with Ann

The other day, we ran out of store-bought bread.

Instead of running out for a plastic-wrapped loaf from Kroger, I decided to make some whole wheat bread at home. I tried one of the first recipes that came up with the search terms “whole wheat bread recipe moist soft”:

Whole Wheat Honey Bread

We tried it and loved it. It really is moist and soft, just like I hoped for when I typed in those search terms.

We ate the whole loaf in record time.

Next day, I made another loaf that turned out as fabulous as the first. Set a new consumption speed record with that loaf.

The day after that, I made a third loaf that was just as good as the first two, quickly snapping a photo before it, too, was gobbled up.

I’ve never had great luck with bread. Until now.

This is officially our bread.

I altered the recipe ever-so-slightly, so click on the hyperlink to see the original. My tweaks are indicated below.

Everyday Whole Wheat Honey Bread

Ingredients

  • 1 1/8 cups warm water
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour (I used 2 1/2 C whole wheat flour; 1/2 C white whole wheat flour)

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon dry milk powder
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons shortening (I used canola oil, but several people reported using olive oil with great success, so I’m trying that next time)

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • (Ann’s addition: 2 or 3 teaspoons of gluten)

Directions

The allrecipes.com directions rely on the bread machine to handle everything from beginning to end, but I only use it to mix the dough and handle the first rise. My steps follow:

  1. Place ingredients in bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select dough setting, and then press Start.
  2. When the machine beeps, turn out the dough to a flat surface and knead a few times.

  3. Form into a loaf, place in pan and lay a clean cloth (dampened with warm water) towel on top. Set in warm place to rise.
  4. When it rises to almost full size, place in oven and bake at 350º 20-30 minutes, until tapping on the top sounds hollow.

  5. Turn out of loaf pan and cool on rack.
  6. Check the time and see how long it takes your family to consume the entire loaf by cutting thick slices and slathering them with butter, jam, honey or Nutella. Great for sandwiches.

fof

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book.

Filed Under: family, Food, Food on Fridays, frugality, home, Nutella, simplicity, slowing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Food on Fridays: Christmas Day

December 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

fof

(alternative button below)

Merry Christmas!

If you happen to have a food-related post you’d like to include in today’s Food on Fridays, by all means, link it up.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Please note: I return when possible during the day and update this post by hand to include a list of the links provided via Mr. Linky. If I can’t get to the computer to do so, you may access them all by clicking on the Mister Linky logo.

Food on Fridays Participants

1. Never Fail Pie Crust, Awards and Giveaway

Food on Fridays with Ann

You are absolutely welcome here and I’m glad to share this space with you on Christmas Day.

What’s your Christmas breakfast like?

In the morning we’re having cinnamon rolls from a can.

We were going to have Trader Joe’s chocolate croissants like this:

croissant.jpg

But we made a mistake and bought “mini croissants” instead (with no chocolate).

Once we realized our mistake and shed a few tears, we agreed we would be fine with plain croissants—perhaps with a bit of Nutella spread on them while warm—and cinnamon rolls from a can.

While enjoying the Nutella-smeared croissants and rolls, we’ll light the Christ candle in our Advent wreath, read some Scripture, pray, and then exchange gifts … all while dealing with a sugar high first thing in the morning.

I hope we can keep our focus.

Small traditions help keep our focus.

The Christ candle (which was, by the way, the unity candle at our wedding) is placed in the center of the Advent wreath as a reminder.

It reminds me that’s right where He belongs in my life, as well … in the center.

fof

Get ready … Mega Memory Month returns January 2010!

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book.

Filed Under: family, Food, Food on Fridays, home, Nutella Tagged With: ,

Food on Fridays: Nutella Commercial

September 24, 2009 By 13 Comments

fof

(alternative button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can write about swallowing a bug on a recent bike ride or the Nutella commercial you just saw on TV.

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Please note: I return when possible during the day and update this post by hand to include a list of the links provided via Mr. Linky. If I can’t get to the computer to do so, you may access them all by clicking on the Mister Linky logo.

1. Kristen (maple pumpkin muffins)

2. e- Mom (Round Challah Bread)

3. Twirland Taste

4. Newlyweds (Chinese Hot and Sour Soup)

5. Pamm @ Leftovers On Purpose (Mac N Cheese Pie)

6. Geri@ heartnsoulcooking ( Spam and Potato Pie )

7. Elaine (PB M&M Cookies)

8. Alea @ Premeditated Leftovers (Easy Sugar cookies and Buttercream Frosting)

 9. Alea @ Premeditated Leftovers (Easy Sugar cookies and Buttercream Frosting)

10. Prudent and Practical (Projects and Potato Soup)

11. Hoosier Homemade( Caramel Apple Smoothies)

12. Kitchen Stewardship (Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing)

13. Sara (beef with broccoli)

14. Ashleys Busy ( Raspberry Sour Cream Muffins )

15. Sarah @Beauty in the Mundane (Grace’s pizza)

16. Steph @ My Country Haven (Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

 17. Frugalhomekeeping( Frozen Cheesecake)

18. Breastfeeding Moms Unite! (Alternatives to Fruit Tree Waste Pear Crisp)

19. Sarah @Beauty in the Mundane (peach smoothie)

20. Mother Hen (Feingold Program)

21. Christy @frugalcrunchychristy (things I wish I knew then)

22. Jana @ The Summer House( homemade artisan bread in 5 minutes a day)

23. Butter Yum

24. Amanda@ Coping With Frugality (Asian Ramen Noodle Salad)

25. Andrea@ Hopeannfaith’s Hope Chest (Chicken Cacciatore Crock Pot)

Food on Fridays with Ann

nutella-jar.jpg

I couldn’t believe my eyes—the other day I saw a Nutella commercial on American television! It’s a pretty boring commercial, but still.

It’s Nutella!

In the USA!

The mom in the commercial tries to make it sound sort of healthy:

“As a mom, I’m a great believer in Nutella, a delicious hazelnut spread that I can use to get my kids to eat healthy foods. I spread a little on all kinds of healthy things, like multi-grain toast. Every jar has wholesome, quality ingredients, like hazelnuts, skim milk, and a hint of delicious cocoa. And Nutella has no artificial colors or preservatives. It’s quick. It’s easy. And at breakfast, I can’t use all the help I can get.”

Her narration made me laugh. They’re trying awfully hard to make it sound good for you.

We’ve loved Nutella for years. My husband grew up in Belgium familiar with Nutella. I married into it. From our honeymoon on, I sought out Nutella and enjoyed it in and on many things.

We like Nutella in crepes.

We like Nutella on French bread.

We like Nutella as a dip for apples or bananas.

We like Nutella on “all kinds of healthy things, like multi-grain toast,” like the Nutella mom says on the commercial.

We like Nutella with just about anything.

And believe it or not, in spite of what this list suggests, we eat Nutella in moderation. A little goes a long way.

I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I will soon: Nutella pound cake.

(a slightly smaller Food on Fridays button)

fof

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book.

Filed Under: Food, Food on Fridays, Nutella

Happy World Nutella Day

February 5, 2009 By 4 Comments

Seth at the Mother Letter Project sent me a comment, wishing me a happy World Nutella Day!

button2009

Today’s the day–February 5, 2009!

I almost forgot. Can you believe it? How could I, after my recent nuts-about-Nutella post?

The creamy, hazelnutty, chocolate-y spread deserves to be celebrated.

If you haven’t tried it, hie thee to the nearest Target! Super-Target seems to carry it most reliably, but my regular-sized Target offers it, as well. The cost should be about $2.99.

If you don’t like it spread on a slice of French bread or as a dip for apples, you can scoop some into a bowl, heat it in the microwave, and offer it as an ice-cream topping option for friends.

Someone will eat it.

Or, of course, you could ship it over here…we’ll be happy to take care of it for you!

lone nutella

Happy Nutella Day, world!

Filed Under: Food, Nutella

Food on Fridays

January 22, 2009 By 17 Comments

fof

 

I write about some aspect of food often enough that I decided to dedicate a day to it.

The only logical choice?

Fridays, of course, for that great “F” alliteration. I like saying, “I host a carnival on my blog called ‘Food on Fridays’.” It’s fun!

Anyway, if you write about food fairly frequently, why not make it on Fridays, too, and join me here?

Food posts don’t have to be a recipe–anything remotely related to food is great: You could take a pretty picture of muffins to post, or you might read and review The Omnivore’s Dilemma or Green Eggs and Ham. Anything that mentions food–bring it on! Post it! Link it!. 

Use Mr. Linky and/or the comments to link-in, and I’ll go back in later and post links the old-fashioned way right here in the text to ensure maximum search-engine-exposure.

 

 

Food on Fridays Participants

1.  Sara/shepherdsgrace at Beauty in the Mundane (Homemade Convenience Food!)

2.  Edie at LifeInGrace (Beef Enchiladas with step-by-step instructions!)

3.  Ann Kroeker and her Nutella obsession, as demonstrated by manic linkage (see below)

4.  Tammy at This Pilgrimage (Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies)

Ann’s Food on Fridays contribution:

I love Nutella.

nutella-jar.jpg

My family knows it, so I was given Nutella for Christmas.

My friends know it, so I was given two giant jars for my birthday.

My blog-readers know it, because I have a category dedicated to Nutella, which I created after publishing this post back in January 2007.

Nutella is European–Italian, to be precise.

You can visit the Nutella USA site for additional info. For example:

  • Did you know that Nutella, which is sold in the peanut-butter aisle in America, is marketed in over 75 countries and outsells all brands of peanut butter worldwide? 
  • The creator invented Nutella in the 1940s when cocoa was rationed during the war. He added hazelnuts, which were plentiful in Italy, to extend the chocolate supply.
  • And their recommended usage is to spread it on various bread products. They’ve photographed and published examples on this page (be still my heart!).

Facebook users? Apparently there are numerous Nutella fan groups you can join.

Our Top Personal Nutella Applications:

  • Spread on fresh French bread
  • Dip fruit into it
  • Spread in crepes
  • Spread in crepes with bits of banana cut up with it

lone nutella

But the most impressive Nutella news of all? 

World Nutella Day is coming up on February 5, 2009 !

Seriously! They have a button and everything:

button2009

So, what about you? 

Write about food and tell me all about it–right now, for Food on Fridays!

And if you love Nutella, write about it, publish your post on February 5, and tell the lovely ladies hosting World Nutella Day so they can include your wonderful Nutella thoughts. 

While you’re waiting, why not experiment with Nutella? Check out these fabulous Nutella ideas from people around the world:

Nutella 2007, pt. 1

Nutella 2007, pt. 2

Nutella 2008, pt. 1

Nutella 2008, pt. 2

If you’re not into food and you’ve tired of my Nutella-talk, you can check out some of the other Friday Carnivals that I’m aware of:

Julia at Hooked on Houses is hosting Hooked on Fridays

Anne Glamore at My Tiny Kingdom is hosting Flashback Fridays

The Inspired Room is hosting A Beautiful Life

Amber at the run-a-muck is hosting Friday Funnies

Filed Under: Food, Food on Fridays, Nutella

Christmas Crepes

December 19, 2008 By 2 Comments

Somebody in our family is having a birthday and requested my famous Kroeker crepes for breakfast.

Then I got to thinking how delicious crepes would be for a holiday breakfast or brunch and decided to recommend them to you.

Because so many of my friends were too intimidated to try making crepes at home – and were forking out ridiculous sums of money for a single restaurant crepe — I published a long post back in 2007 with the recipe(s) detailing, step-by-step (with other people’s YouTube videos), how to make them at home.

In case you’ve never seen this heavily trafficked post, here it is:

Crepes? Mais, Oui!

Crepes.

At home.

It’s so affordable, so easy, so fun, so delicious, and so French!

You can do it. Certainment!

I hope you try.

Check out the story of a successful first-time crepe-making experience posted as a comment at my original instructional post:

Wow!!

I got a little ambitious and made your recipe for my wife (breakfast in bed) because everytime we go to IHOP, she orders crepes!

They turned out SO GREAT!! yippee! Big brownie points this morning. Thank you!!

I took strawberry and raspberry yogurt and mixed them, taking one spoonful and lightly coating the crepe’s inside once out of the skillet.

BTW. Pam on Teflon was Awesome! not one stick at all. In fact, my stove is slightly tilted (old) and when the crepes were ready to flip, the started sliding on their own a wee bit. )

Also, I took a peach and grated it into the batter before cooking. That was a nice little treat in each one too. Sprinkle a little cinammon on one side, add some powdered sugar on top and oila!

I didn’t quite (probably being a male who doesn’t cook often) understand your instruction to rotate or turn the skillet while ladelling (sp?) the batter into it, so after trial and error, I picked up the skillet and as I was pouring the batter from the ladle I would turn the skillet in the air making the batter go as far out from center as possible. The more I did it the thinner they got!! Thanks!

Your recipe, by the way, came up on top of the list of google searches for “how to make awesome crepes”. Way to go!

Many thanks,

Rob

Birthday (and Christmas!) breakfasts will never be the same.

Below: Because the batter-pouring and twirling of the skillet seem to be the most confusing steps in crepe-making, I am posting this riveting home video showing how to pour batter and twirl skillet to form a thin crepe.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUu6Isue-6o]

Below: Apparently, even placing the filling into the crepe and rolling it up can be a new and intimidating experience for the crepe- novice. Therefore, I’m presenting even more riveting home video wherein the birthday girl demonstrates how to roll up a crepe.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kESFvW7-xDs]

The comments at the original Crepes, Mais Oui! post offer many suggestions on fillings.

In summary, you can make sweet, dessert-style crepes for breakfast, brunch, or dessert; or, you can make “savory” crepes (leave out the sugar and vanilla) for a simple, elegant dinner option.

Filed Under: family, frugality, home, Nutella Tagged With: , , , , ,

Monster Nutella

October 9, 2008 By 14 Comments

A friend of mine gave me a gift. A big gift. Perhaps a near perfect gift.

Check it out:

For the photo, to provide some perspective, I placed an ordinary jar of Nutella next to the dynamic duo she bought at Costco. Can you see and appreciate the dramatic difference? Each of the big jars contains twice the little jar.

That’s a lot of Nutella.

I can get the regular jar (that will from this point forward be considered mini) at Target for about $2.99. It’s one of our splurges. 

She got these two shrink-wrapped together at Costco for about $8.00. We compared weight and price. If you bought the same amount in the mini size jar, we figured it would only cost $2.00.

So run, people! Run to Costco with a friend and plunk down your eight bucks, split the pack so you each get a mega-jar of Nutella of your very own, grab a loaf of French bread, and head home to enjoy le gouter. It may be the last small pleasure we can afford during these volatile economic times.

Filed Under: frugality, Nutella Tagged With:

A Taste of Belgium

June 23, 2008 By 7 Comments

We awoke to a breakfast table including this (quick–cover your keyboard to avoid shorting it out from drool):

A bowl full of chocolate croissants!

I love this country.

Also, we were offered some of this Belgian bread:

We had some of both, of course, because you know what they say…when in Belgium, eat as the Belgians eat.

Shortly after, we saw yet another pleasant sight:

The luggage arrived! Merci beaucoups “Euro-Sprinters,” for the timely delivery. Just the right moment for us to have clothes to change into for a little driving tour of the area near The Belgian Wonder’s sister’s house.

We saw some old buildings, like this church:

It’s not that spectacular, especially with the construction in the foreground, except that it holds the distinction of being the oldest church in Belgium. History buffs, knock yourselves out:

Here’s a shot of the crypt mentioned in the information placard:

It was dark and cool in the crypt, as a crypt should be. It also included this piece of art depicting, I assume, Saint Ursmer:

Outside the church, The Belgian Wonder and I looked down and realized that a shot of the cobblestones might be nice for the blog. Here we are in our very American shoes. Are you proud of me for painting my toenails?

I feel bad for cute shoes, after being such faithful traveling companions. They were left at home.

He and I also agreed that this random doorway was very typical of Belgian homes:

Not far from the church were the ruins of an old monastery:

And you know what monasteries (abbeys) are known for?

*hic*

Even though beer-making monks aren’t as plentiful as they used to be, did you know that there are still over 450 varieties of beers in Belgium? This particular abbey is known for its cherry-flavored beer:

Here’s a random view, very pretty:

Here I am blocking the view:

Speaking of views, here’s the view from the room where we shower at The Belgian Wonder’s sister’s house:

It has everything–the Belgian rooftops, the little courtyard. The only thing missing today was the typical Belgian rain, which we didn’t miss at all.

Stopped by a grocery store to pick up some items for dinner and saw this:

Dreamy….

The weird thing? The smaller jar costs no less than the same-sized jar at Super-Target in the U.S.

Back at the house, we made a salad from Belgian endives (known as “chicon,” which sounds kind of like: “she-cone”):

 

Here’s The Belgian Wonder’s niece, who gave me permission to post her picture, chopping chicon:

I know you foodies are wondering about the Belgian endive salad. Okay, chop it lengthwise [EDITED: sorry, I wrote that wrong--not lengthwise, but the other, short, direction] so that it forms little rings, but don’t use the hard part in the interior. If you start at the tip, it’s about 2/3rds of the way toward the bottom of the stem. You can pick off the exterior leaves, however, as you near that core, and still chop the entire leaf.

Then add a can of corn (drained), some mandarin oranges (the sweetness cuts the bitterness of the endives), and a dressing made of mayonnaise (she added some no-fat creme fraiche, to cut calories and fat, so in the States we could use yogurt or no-fat sour cream, I suppose), a bit of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a bit of curry powder. Toss. Serve. Taste a little bit of Belgium.

It’s time for bed.

Bonne nuit.

Filed Under: family, Nutella, travel Tagged With: ,