Living in a Cereal World

I think part of the reason I started this blog last Feb. 29th was to not be able to (technically) have a yearly observance. Yeah, I'm weird like that. But still, I've actually managed to stick with something for a whole year . Progress! It helps to blog about something you love and not force it. I've realized I can't beat myself up over missing a scheduled day. I write when I can, as much as I want, and then share it with whoever's out there. I think I might be ready for a new color scheme, though. We'll see. Thanks for reading!

I'm always trying out different oatmeal cookie recipes, and while this is really a chocolate chip cookie with oats, it's still a keeper: Oatmeal-Flax Chocolate Chip cookies. I have to admit I chickened out and did not buy the ground flaxseed; I honestly didn't know what I was going to do with the rest of the bag. Next time I will do my research first--these cookies are worth it. My cookies came out perfectly round and nearly flat, which was perfect for ice cream sandwiches (yeah, I made a couple). I also used the mini-size semisweet chips, just in case I didn't like them (also, I have other recipes for those chips--see, I was sort of prepared) but that wasn't even an issue. If you like a nice, chewy chocolate chip cookie, give these a try.

I interrupt what I was originally going to write about today to bring you... Gingerbread Waffles. I just had these about a hour ago. If you also want your house to smell like gingerbread, you need to make this recipe. Don't be alarmed by the amount of spices in the dry mixture; it all evens itself out once you add the wet ingredients. I will say, though, if you're not feeding a lot of people, you might want to think about halving the recipe. I managed to get nine round waffles out of the batter (the recipe says four large squares) and six of those are going in the freezer. No, wait. I guess I made ten round waffles, because there's actually six--no, wait again. Clearly math is not my strong suit in the morning. Okay, I made nine  waffles because there's five and a half in the fridge. There we go. I shouldn't even need to mention that they really do taste like gingerbread. I assume the pumpkin is just filler. You can't taste it at all. Th...

So...glass fragments in Special K > wire in Mini-Wheats? Ok, I know, it's really not something to joke about. Here's the specifics. Go check your Red Berries right now. At least Kellogg's is on top of things.

Well, that title's a mouthful. Like I said last week, I really wanted to open a new cereal. So I topped off the last of my Special K with this new product (which I will refer to as Tropical Blends for the rest of the entry). Upon opening the liner bag I immediately got a strong whiff of coconut. One for the plus column. Then I poured: oh, look, there really is a little bit of coconut in here. Then I tasted the individual components. Ok, coconut cluster...so the flake must be mango. But the first two flakes I tried didn't taste like anything... ...Which may turn out to be a good thing. Once I put it all together I thought to myself, what is that medicinal taste? I think that's the mango. Upon reflection, I think that's actually an accurate re-creation of the flavor of mango, but combined with the coconut doesn't really work for me. I hate to say it needs to be sweeter but maybe it does. Or maybe coconut/pineapple would've worked better. So, overall, not a...

No, I haven't abandoned the blog; it's just been a crazy week. So here's a successful dinner I made earlier this week: a garlic shrimp pasta that could have gone wrong in multiple ways. First, I hadn't touched shrimp since last November, when I made a dish that made me sick. Turns out I hadn't thawed the shrimp thoroughly. This was surprising; you'd think I'd never cooked with shrimp before (I have). So I was very careful with the shrimp this time. Second, I do have a tendency to not use enough garlic. The particular garlic bulb that I used this time had weird giant cloves so I wasn't really sure how much I wanted to use. I admit, I could've used more but it still wasn't bland. But it was tasty; even the leftovers were eaten this time. I guess I'll make this one again. ******* Next week I'm opening a new cereal. I just have a taste for something new.

I'm usually a stickler for following a new recipe to the letter, but sometimes, as you'll see, substitutions can't be avoided. Last week I made this Spicy Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Soup and everybody loved it. It was very filling and we didn't even miss the starch. Usually you expect a soup to have some pasta or beans or something. First off, I used all sweet Italian sausage--which the recipe suggests--because a lot of spicy flavor isn't really my thing. Then I had to find a substitute for the broccoli rabe, which I assumed would be hard to find around here (I want to put in more of a effort toward looking for it next time, though). I just Googled "broccoli rabe substitute" and kale came up, so I figured, hey, we like kale, let's do it. I prepared it like the recipe states and added it to the soup at the same point and it cooked down just fine. I also used the whole bunch and it wasn't overwhelming. Next, I cut back on the garlic--three large ...

As much as I love Quaker's  Vanishing Oatmeal Cookie recipe, sometimes you want something other than raisins, you know? So I came across these variations that build on the classic oatmeal cookies. This month I decided to try the toasted coconut and pineapple. First, I couldn't get my coconut to toast evenly (probably using the wrong apparatus) so I had to toss the burnt pieces and use what was left. Then I didn't chop up enough dried pineapple chunks so they probably didn't get spread out evenly in the cookie dough. Next time I'll use the whole bag. But when I did get a cookie with all of flavors coming together just right, it totally worked. And no, my toasted coconut did not burn when put back in the oven in the cookies. I was worried about that.

Success! I've already lamented the loss of Total Cranberry Crunch and pondered recreating it. It's been at least two years since I've had a bowl of the real thing but I'm happy to report that my reconfigured version is just as good. What you'll need: a box of plain Total, a box of Special K granola, and a bag of Craisins. If I didn't know how to make my own raisin bran , I never would've thought of this. You'll note that there are no measurements involved, just add whatever amounts you would like to mix together. Start with a bowl of Total. Pour some granola into a baggie, zip it closed and crush it (I used a large metal spoon). Add as much granola (this is your 'crunch'!) as you want--I just covered the surface of the cereal. Then add Craisins. I was thinking two tablespoons like the raisins in my bran but, again, I didn't bother to measure. The taste was nearly spot-on. I picked this particular granola for the mild flavor and the s...