Substituting Ingredients - A Book Review

I was asked to review Substituting Ingredients by Becky Sue Epstein, was eager to do so as I know that I sometimes find myself scrambling on the Internet to find substitutes and waste time trying to find a good site for the information. Now, I have a companion in the kitchen.

In her Introduction, Ms. Epstein reminds us of the all too common scenarios:
Rushing to make a quick and last minute meal (most nights right?) to find you are missing a key ingredients or when you find a great sounding recipe but know you cannot get all of the ingredients. Well, here is a book to help you out!

Chapters Include:
Substituting Ingredients A to Z:
1. The best feature of this section is that it is not simply a list of substitutions but also gives you other information such as, when you substitute chervil for anise, you need to use twice the amount.
2. Equivalents are sprinkled throughout this section contain great bits of knowledge such as, 1 pint berries = approx. 2 cups or 1 slice = ¼ to 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
3. Recipes are provided for Cajun Seasoning, Chili Powder and more.

Herbs and Spices at a Glance: This section is a concise section of only herbs and spices and is a quick six page reference but I am not sure why that is done as all of the herbs and species were listed in the large A to Z section.

Measurement Equivalents:
1. This section includes commonly used equivalents in cooking and baking including dry and wet measurement (¾ cups equals 12 tablespoons), metric and temperature equivalents.
2. Baking Pan Sizes can be extremely useful when you do not have the exact shapes or sizes that a recipe calls. Ms. Epstein does issue the reminder to adjust baking times when switching pan sizes.

Too Much, Too Little, Too Late: Remedies for Common Kitchen Disasters: This section includes cleaver tricks to help rescue you from ‘disasters’ when most of us would just toss the items. For the most part, they are quite useful but a few are a bit silly. Did you know that if you add to much alcohol to a punch or drink, you can float cucumber slices in it to absorb the taste? I guess that means, you will still get dizzy quickly but not know it is coming.

Household Formulas: This is a great resource as it can help you avoid nasty chemicals cleaners and save you money by using items you probably have at home.
1. Many of the formulas use vinegar, Borax, baking soda. I know all of these are readily available but have not tried any of the formulas yet. However, I do use an at home formula to clean windows that uses vinegar at it is amazing.

2. It did stop me in my tracks when I found a formula to clean black lacquer cleanser. Does anyone still have that furniture? If so, take it to the dump immediately and go shopping. Another outdated items was the Deodorant of rubbing baking soda under your armpits. If that does work, we all need to stop buying the conventional deodorants. Have any of you tried it? Does it work?

In summary, I love the concept of this book as it remind people to have fun in the kitchen and to use what you have and not panic. Also, when you substitute an ingredient, you often end up with new recipes and new flavor profiles

I think this book would be an excellent resource to have in your kitchen at home and would be a great (and affordable) gift.

Cold Cereals that The Kids Love

Many of us know that preparing a home cooked breakfast each morning does not always happen so we need some quality cold cereal's to count on. Now, many of you know that I am a big label reader so I have a few criteria for cereals: I look for acceptable sugar levels, the quality of ingredients and whether there are vitamins and minerals provided. Although many cold cereals are not the best nutrition you can choose for a breakfast, the cereals below are some of our favorites that I am not ashamed to serve.

Kashi: You can not go wrong with any of Kashi cereals really but these are the kids absolute favorites: Mighty Bites & Honey Sunshine.

Mighty Bites: My children call it the 'little people' cereal. They are quite affordable and I find them at Shaw's or Trader Joe's. These little guys are mighty indeed as they are packed with tons of vitamins & minerals!



Honey Sunshine: These are referred to as 'little pillows' in our house and I must admit, they are my little snack when no one is looking and I am craving some crunch and sweetness.



Cascadian Farms: The newest in their line of Organic cereals is Fruit O's. They state that their foods are 'grown without synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers or genetically engineered ingredients'. And no artificial flavors or preservatives. The O's contain 25% DV of Iron, Niacin, Vit. B6 and Folic Acid. The other vitamins & mineral levels are also impressive.



Mom's Best Naturals: Now, I was actually planning on writing these folks to see if I could get some samples when they wrote me asking if they could send some to me. In fact, they sent me two full boxes. I had been interested in trying them as they promised no artificial 'junk' and had a great price point. So, why do I like these? They are made with whole grain wheat and rice, no artificial ingredients, no added hydrogenated oils and no high fructose corn syrup. They taste great and I found them at a generous 'family size' box at Walmart for a great price. I do not have anything negative to say about the two options I tried so these are staying on our list of cold cereals that I will buy. I am planning on trying their oatmeals next.

Toasted Cinnamon Squares


Oat and Honey Blend

Photoworks Photo Books by American Greetings : A Father's Day Gift

I am usually the one who starts thinking about special occasions and gifts early on yet ends up scrambling at the last minute. In an effort to avoid that situation, I agreed to create an American Greetings Photoworks PhotoBook as part of a review (with Father's Day in mind). I realized afterwards that I was really supposed to create a baby book but I will take poetic license as my littlest was only a young 3 when we took the trip to Disney.

I have created photobooks in the past on a different website so I knew that they can be time consuming however, so is creating scrapbooking pages. However, you do not need any supplies and you can do this without anyone knowing.

Pros:
*Sign up was quick and easy (no need to go to email to activate etc.)
*Easy to customize colors and themes and edit them later as well.
*Generous book with 20 pages and since you can 1-4 pictures per page, you can fit like 80 photos and stay within budget.
*There was a code for free shipping.
*I appreciated that they let you know at the get go that this process takes 60 plus minutes.
*The Upload was rather quick but I would expect this to vary based on connection speed and photo size.
*Love that you are given a preview as you load each photo so you can double check that you selected the correct one.
*Enjoy changing layouts on each page if you do not like the way it looks.
*Each time you use a photo, a little yellow dog ear appears on the upper left corner so you know which photos you already used
*Easy check out
*Reasonable prices
*Love that they call the book my 'masterpiece' when they send the confirmation email.
*Live chat available to assist you during the process
*You can edit the photo via Picnik after you have loaded it.
*I truly enjoy making photobooks and am excited to receive it in the mail next week

Neutral:
*You may need to download Java
*I just ordered the book so I can not comment on the quality, only the process



Cons:
*Defaulted to 'create new album' whenever I wanted to add more photos which can cause you to upload to the wrong album and have to reload.
*Wish I could customize the layout even more or if you can, I did not find how.
*Wish there was an edit undo feature. I had changed the layout on the wrong page and went to change it back but the photos and wording was gone.
*For some reason, some of the photos did not have the dog ear after I placed them on a page.
*Love that you can use a photo more than once but think a window should pop-up simply to verify you want to use it again.
*Wish it had spell check as caught some typos. and it would be disappointing to receive the book with misspellings.
* The name of photo file showed up in caption on some of the pages.
*Wish there was a quicker way to change the cover color after you create the book as it loads the entire book contents each time.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of American Greetings PhotoWorks and received a free photo book to facilitate my review

A Year to Savor the Thyme Tip #13 : TLC bars

EatingWell Wednesday - Parmesan and Butternut Squash Pancakes

My mom is visiting and loves to try all sorts of different recipes. She mentioned making some type of potato pancake so while browsing ideas on EatingWell, I found this one called 'Parmesan and Squash pancakes and I knew it was one to be tried.

The only change I made was to use Butternut Squash instead of Summer Squash. Although I tried to squeeze out the excess water and felt I did a good job, I did notice water building as the mixture sat a few minutes. I was a bit concerned but plowed ahead and there were no ill effects.

I enjoyed the flavor but my husband did not enjoy the texture so I think the way to address that is to make 6 thinner pancakes instead of the suggested 4. I also think this could be a fun party appetizer if you made them mini -sized (shorten cooking time)

Let me know what you think if you give this a try.

EatingWell Wednesday : Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon

Since I have been running around to many appointments this week, I had already planned on having Salmon and relying on EatingWell for my Wednesday main dish. All I had to type in was 'Vinegar Salmon' and up popped this Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon. I bet you are thinking 'that is a strange combination of words'. Well, this family loves vinegar so I figured a tangy recipe would pop up.


I am guessing that most of you have a bottle of vinegar, some honey and soy sauce in the house so give this a try. It honestly takes 1 minute to prep, 15 minutes to marinate and then a few minutes to broil. Toss some tomatoes and leftover grain on the side and you are done.

EatingWell Wednesday - Toasted Sesame Noodles

We all had the craving for some sesame noodles so I decided this would be a perfect opportunity to use some whole wheat noodles. I love this recipe from EatingWell.com but note, the full recipe will make a lot of noodles so this would be a very affordable dish for company.

My dish did not come out as pretty because I had bought angel hair instead of spaghetti but it tasted just as good. Make this now.

By the way, it is very simple to toast sesame seeds: Use a wide pan and heat the sesame seeds on medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally until they darken and become fragrant. Store in a jar at room temperature.

The Holiday Pak - Great Gifts & Products

Products Featured: Build-a-Bear Workshop, BOZ, Temple Touch Thermometer, California Olive Ranch Oil, and PlayMobil. Courtesy of MomSelect.

Stop & Shop Luncheon at UpStairs on The Square

My favorite local 'megamart' grocery store is Stop & Shop and I am a big fan (in particular their Nature's Promise line), so I was thrilled to be invited to their Holiday Luncheon.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by the lovely ladies of 360 PR and was invited to do some flower arrangements with some S&S employees . The next station was chocolate covered pretzel rods which I enjoy doing for baby showers in pinks and blue pastels. My favorite station was the Soup mix in a Jar. What a thoughtful gift idea.

During lunch, the lovely Andrea Astrachan then told us about some great programs including the new offerings for the thanksgiving spreads from the deli and my favorite three: the Holiday Rewards Program and the new magazine 'Small Victories' and the Adventure Guide.

Before I get to those, I want to talk about the restaurant: UpStairs on the Square. As soon as I walked in, I smiled. It was quite a funky and ecclectic place and had a super fun vibe. I was intrigued and excited to try the food.

The passed appetizers included chicken satay, cheese puffs and pizzas. I spent my time with the satay-yum.

We were then offered a Spinach Cannelloni or Grilled Spiced Chicken Salad. I thought the Manicotti was good but needed a bit more flavor. I can not speak for the salad as we had a choice of either. We then given a bread pudding dessert which I thought was fabulous however, I do not see these items on the regular menu. I am definitely planning on going back for a special meal soon.

Back to the programs:
Holiday Points: By simply doing your regular shopping. you gain 1 point for every $1 you spend. There is no limit to the number of Holiday Reward Coupons you can earn and the discount you earn is based on the number of points you accrue until December 10th and you can then redeem them through Christmas.
250 Points = 5% off

450 Points = 10% off

600 Points = 15% off

800 Points = 20% off Holiday Reward Coupon

Store Explorer Adventure Guide: A new program where school students go to a local Stop & Shop and go on a healthy store tour. They also get a 'goody' bag at the end that I am told is full of healthy items. I am waiting to hear what are in the bags (hoping it is filled with all the right things.)

Small Victories: A new mom-focused magazine filled with tips and coupons. Love the first one.

Disclosure: Flowers, Lunch, Soup Mix and Gift Card were all provided. I was not asked to post.

Organic Grass Fed NY Strip Steak & Organic Chicken Breast Salad featuring POM Juice

I feel it is a great opportunity when you are making your meal, recipe, snack, baked good, etc. to try to up the nutritional value. With that said, we love drinking POM in its’ raw state right out the bottle (try to grab it away from my son) so when POM wrote me asking if I would try using it in some recipes, I thought, ‘man, why haven’t I thought of that?’

Also, while attending Blogher, I was approached by a blogger who asked me if I have ever tried Greensbury Market Organic Steaks & Chicken. I had not and was willing to accept some product to give them a try. I was not asked to do anything but enjoy them and enjoy them we did.

So, time to put on my kitchen thinking cap and get to work. For the chicken, I made a Pomegrante dressing and the salad below.

Pomegranate Dressing:
1/3 cup POM pomegranate juice
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Organic Grilled Chicken over Baby Spinach Salad
Organic Baby Spinach
Toasted Pine Nuts
Dried Sweetened Cranberries
Red Onion, slivers

Organic Chicken Breasts-marinated in dressing , grilled and sliced
Pomegranate dressing

I grilled the chicken when grilling the steak, prepared the salad (first 4 ingredients) and then topped with the chicken and dressing

Organic Grass Fed NY Strip Steak
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
½ shallot, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Mix the ingredients well and toss with steak.


pre-grilling

I marinated the steaks for about 30 minutes and then grilled them to medium. I let them rest about 10 minutes and then we devoured them. Now, we do not eat NY strip often so I can not say whether these we much better than conventional steaks, but I will say, these melted in our mouths and tasted clean. Does that make sense to you? Granted, we can not afford to eat organic grass fed meat or chicken at every meal however, the food we consume is very important to use and quality over quantity reigns when possible.


post-grilling

Check out my Whrrl story featuring POM and, foodies will recognize the dreaded photo in slide#9

Feeding Babies 'Real Food' : eebee's Mix & Mash Adventures

I am all warm and fuzzy inside. Why? You know I love finding a show, publication or educational material that aids to teach parents and children about the importance of eating real & nutritious foods. So I was thrilled when I was sent a draft of the eebee's Mix & Mash book and DVD. The DVD is fantastic and here are the reasons why:

1. eebee: The little ones can watch eeBee having a blast in the kitchen with the 'mommies'. eeBee is engaging because he makes all kinds of noises and is animated. eeBee also helps to prepare the food and is excited to eat it . eBee does not look like a human baby but kids love puppets, as we all know from watching Sesame Street.

2. These folks are flexible: I personally appreciate it when a recipes suggest substitutions: What if baby does not like tofu? Use bananas instead.

3. The recipes: simple yet full of variety: tofu, curry, fruits and vegetables and they even delve into spices, such as curry.


4. Game Playing: The mommies and eeBee play peek a boo, crush Cheerios, and teach shapes with sweet potatoes. I share one of my 'fun' techniques in this post.

Now onto the real value of the book & DVD and some food for thought from the Every Baby Company:
“The growing awareness that “unhealthy food = kids” is changing attitudes and behaviors about how and what we feed our kids, and how and when we educate them about healthy choices.”

Also (and apply this to children, not just babies): “When you feed your baby you are doing a lot more than providing the nutrition to support her physical growth. You are also nurturing her social, emotional and intellectual growth.”

The websites description of the Mix & Mash Adventure Book & DVD:
*The first-ever cooking with your baby book
*Inspired by the playful idea that if you can mash it, smash it, oosh it, goosh it, shake it, coat it or stir it, your baby can participate in the process of preparing meals
*More than a collection of mealtime ideas
*6 nutritious, simple, hands-on recipes
*Written in playful rhyme
*Tasty, tactile, and interactive “cooking” activities and discoveries with real food
*Deliciously color-coded
*Oversize baby board book
*INCLUDES: “how-to” DVD co-produced with Parents TV!

I can see the baby loving to watch the DVD with mom while they try the recipes and yes, even chewing on the board book.

Full disclosure: The Every Baby Company wrote me asking if I would like a copy. Naturally, I am sure they wanted a review but they did not ask nor have they paid me. I am happy to say that I think this is great enough to share with you.

Trader Joe's Rice & Bean Chips with Adzuki Beans

Happy Snacker. That was me a few weeks ago. It was a super long day and I found myself dropping in to Trader Joe's to grab some nitrate-free meats for sandwiches and I was hungry. A piece of fruit would not stop this crunch & salt craving. So, I wondered wide-eyed down the chip aisle wondering if I could quell this craving and find something exciting.

The red bag jumped out at me with a photo of spiced tortilla chips and so I grabbed the bag and flipped it over to examine the ingredients list and nutritional information. Here is what it said: Rice flour, corn flour, adzuki and/or black beans, sunflower/safflower oil, rice meal, sugar, rice bran, salt, red chilis, cumin powder and garlic powder. 7 g fat, 2 g protein and 1 g sugar per 20 chips.



What to think? I am happy because there is nothing 'enriched' or 'modified'. Is there a good amount of fat, sure, but I expected that and it did not deter me. Sugar was low and all real ingredients so I went for it. Plus, it is gluten-free.

Conclusion: Sweet and salty. Yes! Nice texture? Yes! Unique? Yes! A bite to them from the chili. cumin and garlic? Yes! Good for entertaining? Yes!

EatingWell Wednesday: Avocado & White Bean Wrap

Many of you may have seen my Emmy award nominated (not really but it should be right?) vlog on safely pitting an avocado. Well, I was then left with a cut avocado so besides my 'best dip ever', I was not sure what I was going to do with it. I turned to my reliable resource of EatingWell online and choose this creamy avocado & white bean wrap to take to the beach today.

I loved this recipe and the only deviations I made were as follows: to use sweet onion instead of red and the chili's I had were not chipotle. Also, since I was making this a few hours early, I did not use shredded cabbage but instead, used a leaf of romaine lettuce and placed the mash on top of it. I found the chili's perfect but I think the red onion would have given the perfect bite. My son also tried this wrap as he will try anything in a wrap.

I swear that I have not made one recipe from EatingWell yet that does not deserve an 'A'.

EatingWell Wednesday: Mexican Grilled Corn on the Cob

Forgive me for skipping EatingWell Wednesday last week but I was out of state and out of sorts. At any rate, I had a number of corns on the cob that I needed to use up and was not sure what to do with them besides the old boil and butter. Although I do love my corn that way, I took a quick trip to EatingWell.com and guess what? The image of grilled corn was right in front of my eyes with the title 'Mexican Grilled Corn'. Sold.

I knew immediately it was meant to be since was already going to be grilling some bison burgers (I will share the new recipe once I perfect it). I must admit that I was a bit thrown by a recipe with mayonnaise as part of a corn topping but I had everything we needed and I was intrigued by sprinkling cheese on the corn. Please note that I used non-fat Greek style yogurt in lieu of the regular type.

Although the kids stuck with the buttered version since they were already thrown off by the grill marks, my hubby and I enjoyed this Mexican grilled corn treat. I found that we did not need to sue a tablespoon of the topping as the recipe dictated and and remember to be light with the cheese since we are all watching our figures. Wink. Wink. Oh, this recipe will definitely impress guests..

Pork Loin with Mandarin Orange Salsa, Roasted Eggplant over Penne & Chicken with Poultry Seasoning

Sick. Sick. Sick. My entire chest was sick. Luckily, two thing came to my rescue: my husband and the packets that Amazing Taste sent. It all began Friday as I began to feel bad and steadily got worse and the meals went from some energy to no energy. I had already taken out the pork loin to thaw and so it was waiting for TLC. I went to work quickly before things got worse. But before I give you my recipes, I first want to thank Amazing Taste for their generous samples and for making a nice product to enhance foods with. My favorite so far is the poultry. For the chicken, I used it as a marinade as suggested on the packet. I can tell that the fajita (used on the eggplant!) has lots of cumin (which I love) and the spices in the pork seasoning are nicely balanced although some of the salt could be removed and I think it would be perfect. Give some a try yourself and let me know what you think. There are also some great recipes featured on their site. Please note that I only express my honest opinions on product reviews.

Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Mandarin Orange Salsa

1 lb. pork tenderloin

2 Tablespoons Amazing Taste Poultry Seasoning

Marinade:

1/4 cup pear juice from the can of mandarin oranges

2 Tablespoons lime juice

1 clove garlic, chopped

Salsa:

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Mandarin oranges from 11 oz. can, drained, juice reserved

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1 Tablespoon pear juice

Directions:

1. Whisk marinade ingredients until well combined. Place marinade and seasoned pork into a plastic bag and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare the salsa.

3. Cook pork until temperature reaches 160 degrees (took us 40 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes. Slice and serve with salsa.

Roasted Eggplant

1/2 lb. Eggplant

1 Tablespoon Amazing Taste Fajita Seasoning*

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 jar (25 oz) organic marinara sauce

1/4 teaspoon fajita seasoning

Box whole wheat organic penne

First of all, this idea was on my mind to try due to a post that Rebecca of Chow and Chatter did last week. So, thank you Rebecca!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Chop up eggplant into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces and mix them in a bowl with the seasoning and olive oil. Place onto baking pan and bake for approx. 20 minutes or until tender.

3. Boil penne per box instructions. Place sauce in a pan, add seasoning, mix and heat thoroughly.

4. Place some penne, eggplant and sauce in a bowl, mix and enjoy.

*Are you wondering why I would use a fajita seasoning mix on eggplant and in the sauce? I wanted to add some flavor as the sauce was quite bland and since I am a cumin lover, I went for it and was glad I experimented.

Chicken with Poultry Seasoning

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 Tablespoons Amazing Taste Poultry Seasoning

1/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon

Directions:

1. Combine seasoning, water and oil and mix well. Place marinade and chicken into a plastic bag and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Bake chicken for approx. 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Monday night: Still in bed and have no idea what the hubby made for the kids. I ate carrots with hummus and some of my favorite organic cereal.

FlaxPlus Pumpkin Organic Granola Bars

My favorite cereal by Nature's Path is now in bar form! I was so excited to find these during my dreaded trip to Walmart. I ripped right into one and am quite pleased. As with most bars, they could stand to lose a little sweetness.

This one has 11g of sugars (invert cane syrup) but could easily drop 2g off and still be super tasty. Otherwise, this is a perfect snack to keep in your bag and full of yummies like oats, rice flour, pumpkin and flax seeds and a much better alternative to some of the junk that is out there.

Where oh where did my Tropicana go?

Daughter at Gymnastics. Check. Mental list of groceries. Check. Son snapped into cart. Check. Ok, off to the orange juice section. I am there….but where? Where? WHERE is the Tropicana, pulp-free, family sized jug?! Look again Jen. Calmly. Any standard sized cartons? Nope, I just see a ton of some new generic company. Did Stop & Shop sell out decide to only sell their generic? Look for employee. Don't bother, just look again. Oh my goodness! All those generic bottles ARE the Tropicana. Why would they do this? I am no designer but I do not like the new design. I will slowly adjust but I miss my orange with a straw-it stood out before and now their cartons just blend in. I guess they are going for the minimalistic look. Thank goodness the taste did not change. What do you think?

Trader Joe's is Sweet

Let me start off by saying this: I love sweet potatoes and enjoy them in different forms (baked, fried, mashed etc.) so I was ecstatic, yet a bit pessimistic, when I saw frozen ‘Sweet Potato Frites’ at Trader Joe’s. Normally I am disappointed by the few frozen varieties I have had from other stores. We baked them the other night and we love them (even the 2 and 4 year olds). Although you will never be able to crisp them up like a fryer can, I baked them (on foil) a bit longer that the recommended time and was pleased. The best part is that they are cut to a good width so when you bake them a bit longer, they aren’t hard sticks. These are a tasty and affordable contribution from TJ’s….I picked up two more bags today.