Category Archives: An Ode to…….

An ode to the Neti Pot

Posted by suzyhomebaker in An Ode to......., health and beauty and tagged with , , , , , ,

20121229-212702.jpgI have been putting up with a nasty cold and cough for about two weeks now. It started right before Christmas, was passed onto the kids and my husband and won’t seem to leave my body. Thanks to my buddy Felice, I was introduced to the Neti pot. I only used it once through her recommendation and it worked that time. So I finally gave in and bought my own at the natural food store.

After a recommendation from the store clerk I purchased a ceramic neti pot made by the Himalayan Institute and a 4 oz. container of an infused salt rinse. The salt rinse is by Baraka and is infused with several essential oils. It smells really good, very refreshing and earthy. You can also use simple sea salt or non oxidized salt but this one just seemed a little sexier.

Here’s how it works: You add a 1/4 tsp of the salt to your pot and add 8oz. of warm water, mix till the salt is dissolved. Standing over a sink, turn your head to one side, keeping your forehead at the same height as your chin. Insert the spout into the upper nostril. Raise the pot so the water begins to pour into your nostril while breathing out of your nose. If your forehead is too high you’ll get water in your mouth. It’s not the worst but its not the best feeling. Kinda like swallowing ocean water but I the back of your throat. Just spit it out and try again. I do a potful on each nostril and if you’re very mucusy, like I was, you’ll watch all that mucus run out of your nose. It’s gross. I didn’t post a picture but I’m sure you can find some on other sites. Blow your nose a few times too to get it all out.

I felt so much better after this neti pot experience. My nose was clear and I wasn’t hocking up nastiness anymore. I’m hoping this cold will finally leave for good, I’m getting real tired of coughing all night. For more info check out this site: Himalayan Institute

261 days Pinned Challenge

Posted by suzyhomebaker in An Ode to......., Craftacular, Holiday recipe, I'm loving this right now......., kid friendly, savory and tagged with ,

After the kids go to bed I find myself scanning through pinterest for several hours. The TV is on in the background, I’m curled up on my living room chair covered in a soft blanket with my ipad on my lap. I should be writing on my blog or being slightly more productive, maybe reading a book, but instead I find myself pinning craft projects and recipes that I may someday take on. I won’t lie. I have completed several of my pins, of which include easy crock pot recipes, kids crafts and all natural beauty tips. Most of them are successful with only a few being disappointing and sometimes painful ie: the make your own black head mask with unflavored gelatin. OUCH! I actually feel very accomplished when I do complete a pin. Almost productive. And it got me thinking.

I have so many things pinned that I have not attempted to utilize yet. And I know there are people out there who simply pin, get excited, and never visit that pin again. So I have decided to challenge myself by making, creating, or using one pin for every weekday in 2013. Here’s how it will work, aka here are my rules set by myself for myself:

1. I must make, create, use a pin each weekday of 2013 from the pinterest website starting January 1. I think I stated that above. I wanted to do one every day of 2013 but my husband reminded me that we have two kids and that I need to be a little realistic. Good point.
2. The pin can be a new pin or something I pinned a year ago. It has to be found on pinterest.
3. A picture must be posted along with a blog entry to prove the pin was used.
4. Pins can include anything, from making a muffin recipe to buying an outfit seen on pinterest. If you follow me you’ll find I pin recipes, craft ideas, kids stuff, beauty tips and holidays ideas. Either way, the pin has to be used in some way.
5. I can use my own pins. In other words, if I find an interesting website with a cool cleaning tip I can pin it and do it.

I think that just about covers it. Wish me luck and I hope I gather some followers on the way.

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Ode to Pinterest…..and Chocolate Chunk Cookie Monsters.

Posted by suzyhomebaker in An Ode to......., cookie, Craftacular, Holiday recipe, kid friendly, Party Time!, Uncategorized and tagged with , ,

So now that I’ve found you, I can’t stop checking you out. You post so much deliciously beneficial information that I could almost spend every waking hour on you. Just seeing what’s new and what I’ve missed. You make it possible to keep all those awesome magazine clippings about what’s the best way to clean a stove top or how make a glove out of converse sneakers, but in a more environmentally friendly way. I thank you. For making me realize how annoying and unentertaining Facebook has become and how much more useful information there is out there. So I raise a glass and post this for you. It is your site that I found this idea to create such crazy and delicious monsters out of simple chocolate chip cookies for a friends pumpkin carving party. And may I add, it was a delightful baking experience that my daughter took part in as well. Cheers Pinterest! I hope you never bore me.

 

Want to make this recipe even easier? Get some Pillsbury cookie dough, a tub of icing, and some candy and go to town. These cookies are pretty damn good though.

Recipe courtesy of Lee Bailey’s Country Desserts

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sifted all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 Tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 9 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use Ghiardelli 70% chocolate chips)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars until smooth, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and mix well. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the vanilla, then fold in the nuts (if using) and then the chocolate.

Drop in 2 Tbsp clumps onto an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving several inches between for expansion.

Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, rotating once, or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat with remaining batter until used up.

Makes approximately 30

Icing

Ingredients

  • 12 Tbsp  unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or other flavoring)
  • gel food coloring

Directions

Put the butter in a bowl and beat until fluffy. Add sifted sugar and beat together until we mixed, add the milk and vanilla extract.

Separate icing into bowls and color to desired shade. I made orange, purple and green. I put my icing in three pastry bags for easy, controlled assembly, but you can also use a spatula.

Assembly

Use whatever candy you like. I used M&M’s, sour cherry balls, semi-sweet and white chocolate chips, fruit roll ups, large and small marshmallows, and those candy dots on paper.

Wait till cookies are completely cooled to assemble. Flip over cookie so that bottom is up. Spread or pipe icing on cookie, giving one side a more than the other. Rest another cookie (right side up) on top. The side with more icing will be the mouth opening. Now, decorate to your heart’s content. This is a great kid craft since its messy and edible and the monsters look much better when they are far from perfect. Have fun.

SMILE!

 

 

Ode to the Jersey shore

Posted by suzyhomebaker in An Ode to......., kid friendly

We just got back from another enjoyable vacation at the Jersey shore, LBI to be exact. Every year we spend a week at the shore, with the exception of last year (I was 9 months pregnant). So this is my ode to you, misunderstood and under appreciated Jersey. Even though I know I will hit some crazy, slow-moving traffic to get to you, I still get in the car and endure the drive. I know I’m almost there when I ride over the bridge in Edison, see the busted looking movie theater on the left and boats in the bay on the right. Only an hour and a half to go. Should I go express or local lanes? Always local. Jersey drivers zoom by doing 90 but I don’t mind. Bruce is singing about Wendy as we pass the Arts Center and see Foreigner, Night Ranger, and Journey are playing tonight. Night Ranger? Didn’t they sing Sister Christian? I love that song. We are definitely in Jersey. But on we go……getting closer to exit 70 something.

Our house this year is just three houses from the bay (see view above) and across the street is an amazing multi-million dollar home. Who can afford these places? Doesn’t matter that our duplex has ants and ancient air conditioners. We are at the shore and the beach is just a short walk away. Yes, the beach. Soft, white-ish sand, hot as all hell and leading right to the water. The waves aren’t too rough and the water is a warm 72 degrees. The jellies are washing up but that’s okay. Riley collects them in a bucket and keeps herself busy while mom and dad relax by the water’s edge. I see two teenage girls lying by the lifeguard chair, listening to music on a portable ipod player. I remember being that teenage girl, a long time ago, singing, quite loudly, to Red Hot Chili Peppers. Except that was at Seaside. The beach is much different now. Not really the beach but the experience at the beach. It was so nice to nap on the beach, read a magazine even. Instead you’re on high alert and napping is for night-time. You can read your mag on the toilet.

Now its all about winning your kid a stuffed toy. Keeping them busy all day so that they pass out early at night so you can enjoy a glass of wine and an episode of Dateline before you pass out from too much sun and too much fun. I think I may have strayed a bit from my ode but I’ll get back there……Like the food at the shore. How you can I forget the food. All I got to say is 4 lobsters, 2 soft shell crab, 6 crab stuffed garlic clams, 3 corn on the cob, a load of fries….did I miss anything? Slaw too. So good, so fried, so flavorful. Tastes like the beach or the bay or Jersey. I don’t know, it just tastes like vacation. Did I mention the fudge? Yes, of course fudge. No taffy here. Taffy is for people without cavities. Soft, sweet and chocolatey. I could eat the whole 1/2 pound box but instead I share it with the kid. I guess I have to. That would be the nice thing to do.

How can I wrap this up without missing my point? The point being that the Jersey shore is friggen great. Or should I say just okay. I don’t want all five of you reading this to start booking your vacation next year at my potential beach house. If so, go to Seaside. You’ll love it there, I promise. No, leave me LBI with its nice beaches, not too wide, not too narrow. The summer beach house families, friendly and unpretentious. Delicious pizza, a bit pricey but thin crust non the less. Long Beach Blvd, mini golf, liquor stores, and the best breakfast place on the island. But don’t you go there. You stick to Seaside. I promise, you’ll love the clubs there. And they have a boardwalk. You’ll love it.

An Ode to Irish Oatmeal

Posted by suzyhomebaker in An Ode to......., breakfast, low-fat and tagged with

Dear McCann’s Irish Oatmeal,

I’m writing this letter to let you know how I truly feel about you.  Each morning I wake up, I feed and change the baby. I help myself to a cup of coffee that my husband so generously prepared. Riley wakes up and I fill her sippy cup with apple juice. She usually asks for a pop tart or some cereal in a cup, dry. I feed the baby again, baby food this time. Riley watches t.v., usually Sesame Street or something on Nickelodeon Jr. I make her something for breakfast, a small bagel or more cereal. The kids are finally settled as I prepare my 1/2 cup of you, Irish oatmeal. I pull all the necessary ingredients out of my pantry and line them up on the counter. Oatmeal, check, Craisins, check, protein powder, check, skim milk, check, cinnamon, check, bowl, check, spoon, check. I add skim milk, eye balling the measurement to a 1/2 cup of you, oatmeal and heat you in the microwave for 1 minute. I add some milk to my shaker, add protein powder and proceed to shake. I add this to you, oatmeal, stir, and cook for another 30 seconds. I grab my bird oven mitt, put it under the bowl and rest it on the counter. I give you a good stir, add a handful of craisins and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I sit on my couch and I dig in. You are super creamy, thick, with a light sweetness and with each bite, I get a tart dried cranberry. I relax, watch kids t.v., eat you until I’m scraping the bowl clean. I love you oatmeal. Every bite of you. I will admit, I have strayed from you in the past. I’ve purchased your nemesis, rolled oats in the bulk section of the natural food market. I thought he was a good substitute and at only $.50 a pound, it was an economical choice. But after preparing it, I found there was no substitute for you. You are the best Monday through Friday breakfast food out there. There’s nothing else I’d rather have during the week. Cereal? Nah. Toast? Are you kidding? Irish Oatmeal. You are my one true love.

Look how you glisten in the morning sun......ahhhh oatmeal.