Teacher Appreciation Cupcakes

It's Teacher Appreciation Week at my son's school. Darn Internet and the dissemination of American culture. Now I have to go bake stupid cupcakes for a hitherto unknown celebration. Seriously though, teachers these days get such a bad rap that it is a sweet idea to show my children's teachers some love for the great job that they are doing.

Again thank you Martha's people for sucking me into

Farine

Porridge was not eaten in this house a lot, dare I say it, before kids. What really made it a regular addition to the breakfast menu was a high cholesterol result on my hubby's medical test. A lot of people talk about it being comfort food. I totally get how a bowl of something warm might appeal to those in colder climates but I just think it's gross. Babies apparently love it and it is one

A Perfect Ending

Growing up, dessert was not a tradition in my home. As such, when dining out, I will usually end my meal simply, with a cup of coffee. I am of the ( not popularly held) opinion, that cloying sweets, heavy pastries, cheesecakes, towering cakes and the like are meals onto themselves, deserving of having my full attention on their decadent surfeit. Such treats just cannot be fully appreciated on

Delectable Gruel?

I fall into the category of folks who hate porridge. Hate might indeed be a somewhat mild word. Fortunately I was a child of the 70's, a time of economic wealth for my country, so Kellogs cornflakes featured more often on our breakfast table than bowls of porridge. My dad often talks of farine and the cornmeal porridge of his childhood yet strangely these things were never prepared for me. The

When life throws you breadcrumbs...

...make bread pudding. Okay, so it was really bread crusts and ends of breads that were left over from making sandwiches for Marley's party. It seemed such a waste just to throw them out. As you know, bread pudding is a good way to use up stale bread. Well I got to thinking that it might be a good way to use up my left over crusts. What? You say, surely I am crazy since most recipes for bread

Monkey's Swan Song

M no longer sucks his thumb. I am soooooo proud of him. Early on I introduced the pacifier hoping it would replace the thumb. It never entirely did. If he did not have his 'sucker' he'd revert to the thumb. He was pretty much contented one or the other.

Around 3yrs, I noticed that excessive sucking was precipitated by his 'lovey' Mikey Monkey. He'd be fine playing, watching TV whatever- no

Chocolate HeartBeet Muffins

I made these muffins because I became bored with banana muffins. Before kids, muffins were not something I ate a lot. Now they are a staple in my home simply because they are quick and easy to prepare. They are the working mom's answer to having breakfast on the table in under 2 minutes. The process is simple, measure wet ingredients, then the dry ingredients, dump everything in one bowl. A