Somewhere in the Middle

Lemon, Lime, and Little C

Ever since Lil' C was wee little he has always preferred eating tart & sour foods. While other kids are licking sugary royal icing off of birthday cakes & cupcakes, my boy samples one bite and is done. It amazes me especially since S & I are huge sweet lovers.

Lately, I've been researching different recipes in search of the one dish that will become Lil' C's favorite dessert. You know that one dish you love so much you still ask your Mom to make even if your all grown up. Well, that's the one I'm looking for. As I searched the epicurious website, I found an interesting recipe for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. Unfortunately, I didn't have lemons nor did I have ricotta. So I improvised and used limes and yogurt along with the classic Aunt Jemima pancake mix (yes, I'm too lazy to make home-made pancakes).

For those tart lovers out there here are some photos of our Citrus Lime pancakes...

My family always adds an egg and milk to the pancake batter. My Dad thinks it makes the pancakes healthier. I mixed the egg with yogurt before adding the pancake mix, zest, and lime juice. Look how the batter grows after its all mixed up.

And, voila... Lil' C's Lime pancakes. I wasn't quite sure what the results would be but everyone in my house loved them especially Lil' C. Despite loving maple syrup I actually thought these were better without it... ok, well maybe a little powder sugar sprinkled on top is the perfect compliment. A girls gotta have a little sugar. ;) Enjoy!

Me + Rob = Gastronomy Adventure

After being in the house for 4 straight days I finally went out today.  That sounds awful. But it's true. With temperatures in the low to mid 60's and the constant cloudy rainy days, I'm not exactly motivated to go out. This is definitely not my idea of summer. Next year... Florida here I come! lol! But today the sun came out and it stayed out all day!

Last week my friend K went to Rob The Gourmet Market and raved about all the delicious food they carried. Of course when she mentioned they carried Pierre Marcolini chocolates I knew I had to visit Rob's.  And you know what? I was not disappointed. The selection of high end chocolates was very good. So good that S & I went a little crazy and spent WAY too much on CHOCOLATE! We are becoming quite the chocolate connoisseurs. We left Rob's with two small plastic bags filled with a nice selection of chocolate products from Valrhona, Pierre Marcolini, Dolfin, New Tree, Michel Cluizel, and Cafe~Tasse, a variety of cheeses, fruits, gourmet yogurt, A L'Olivier Provencal olive oil, Fauchon Strawberry with Rose Petals preserve, and 4 ounces (one scoop) of Movenpick & Pierre Marcolini ice cream. And it only cost twice as much as our weekly grocery visit. But we have enough goodies to keep this sun deprived girl very happy.

Food Adventure

Walking through my local grocery store is always an adventure. Since we live in an international community, small sections of the grocery store are dedicated to the various nationalities. I suppose these are items we miss most from home.

In the Italian section, you'll find various types of olive oils, pastas, and balsamic vinegarettes. When you come upon the different teas & jams you know you're in the British section. And of course, you can't miss the Greek section with the delicious variety of olives. The US section is pretty basic with condiments, cereals, and a few sweet treats. One of the items you'll find in the US section is Betty Crocker's Carrot cake mix for about $4/box. Can you believe that...the same cake mix goes for about a $1 in the US. lol!! But I'll admit I was lazy desperate and bought it last Fall.

Just last week I posted about the unique potato chip flavors I've found in Belgium. And it got me thinking... I need to get out and try new foods even if I can't read the label. So I've decided every week I'm going to buy 4-5 items that peak my curiosity. This week I purchased some jam, chocolate covered mini waffles, frozen pizza, and Thai Sweet Chili potato chips. It's mainly junk food but what can I say. I was craving it! ;P The chips were absolutely delicious!! I could have eaten the whole bag in one sitting. The mini waffles were a bit dry but they'd probably be good dipping cookies. And the minute I had a bite of the frozen margarita pizza I felt like I was back home eating my favorite Trader Joe's Pizza. Yumm.

Earlier this week I finally broke down and made a hair appointment. Having unruly thick wavy/curly hair makes it tough to find a good hairdresser. And forget flat ironing it... the rain & humidity will undue an hour+ of scorching hard work. It's just not worth it. I prefer curly locks over frizzy ones any day. Before I left the US, I had my hair cut shorter than normal so I'd have enough time to get some referrals. It's been 8 months since I've cut my hair. 8 Months! Wow, I can't believe I've held out this long. I'm nervous about tomorrow. I pray he's a master at cutting wild curly hair and that his English is as good as everyone says or I'm so much trouble!

The Little Things...

Photo taken by Lil' C

Lately, I've found myself thinking how capturing the little things in life are just as important as the big stuff. Sometimes even more important since the in's & out's of everyday life are easily forgotten compared to big life events.

Looking back it's interesting to see how everyday life changes through time. Because of this fascination I just can not part with my old calenders or daily planners. In some strange way, I enjoy seeing what I was doing years ago. Most of my calenders are all packed away but recently I found a little Hallmark calender from 1997. On March 1, 1997, I bought my first Miata, had dinner at Nichi Bei Chi and was getting ready for S's change of command . Little did I know that 10 years later I'd be living overseas again with a 4 year old and my everyday life would be completely different.

So here are a few things I want to document about my current everyday life this week:

+ Received new lab results and my glucose & iron levels are normal. And yes, I verified that the results really did belong to me.

+ Second session of French started. Same wonderful teacher but the class dynamics have changed since they combined the two morning classes. Secretly, I'm hoping a few students drop out making it more intimate.

+ Gave Lil' C my old Sony digital camera. I get so much enjoyment in seeing how Lil' C is capturing his everyday life through photographs. It's fun to hear the comments he makes after taking a photo... "'this one is a little blurry" or "Mommy, give me a real smile". Wonder where he learned this from. ;P Here's a collage I created with a few photos he took.

+ Researching future travel spots. There is so much information it's making my head spin. There's an entire world out there ready to be discovered.

+ Working with Lil' C on word recognition. We've started with colors since he's absolutely fascinated with colors.

+ Booked a Spring trip to Holland.

+ Cooking with Lil' C. Used 5 packages of basil to make enough pesto to last a month or two.

+ Watched "Little Miss Sunshine" and loved it enough to watch it twice before mailing the DVD back.

Pretty & Pink

A day where love is celebrated with special cards, pink & red hearts, beautiful flowers, and romantic dinners is my kind of a day.

I couldn't let Valentines slip by without making something fun for Lil' C's classmates. It's the wanna be Martha Stewart coming out in me. lol! We spent the afternoon making these sweet treats. Putting little hearts on top of the cupcakes was completely Lil' C's idea. It was cute to see how serious he was about making sure each & every cupcake had a little heart. He's my little Top Chef. ;)

Coquito... a Holiday Tradition

This morning I'm planning to bring Coquito to my French class. A few weeks ago, our class assignment was to share (in French of course) some of our Christmas traditions. One of our family traditions is to mix up this wonderful holiday concoction we call Coquito. It's a big tradition among Puerto Ricans. And there are many variations to the recipe. With lots of time & energy, you can actually make it with real coconuts but the process is quite intense. It can be really fun if you have friends & family to help. My Mom came up with this quick version that is just as tasty! So if you like Pina Coladas or sweet drinks you'll love Coquito! Enjoy!

• 3 cans of Evaporated Milk
• 3 cans of Coconut Milk
• 2 cans of Coco Lopez
• 1 can of Sweeten Condensed Milk
• 2 Tbls vanilla
• Cinnamon to taste
• 1/2 qt of Rum (you can use more or less depending on your preference)
• 1 cup of water simmered with cinnamon sticks

Sand + Apples = Sand Apples

A while back TypePad spotlighted a blog called Cream Puffs in Venice. Normally, I continue onto my account but when I saw the name of this blog I was intrigued. Loved the name; sounds so cute and yummy. Last night I read several of Cream Puff's entries and was completely inspired to cook. Check it out and you'll understand why.

While preparing for our move, I remember going through my cookbooks trying to decide which books would follow me to Belgium. In the end, I decided to bring just a few of my favorites. You know the cookbooks filled with recipes marked with butter/oil markings or the pages that look wrinkled because you spilled some kind of liquid onto the pages. Several of my cookbooks however don't experience this type of love and are forgotten and left to gather dust in my kitchen. But after reading Cream Puff's blog, I'm inspired to gather all my cookbooks & food magazines and start experimenting.

I enjoy cooking but mostly I love sharing my dishes with the people I love. It's a great feeling when my husband asks me to make his favorite...Chicken Parmesan or when a friend recalls the exact details of a brunch I cooked over a year ago and when my Mom or sister ask me for a recipe so they can create the dish for their friends. It's all about sharing what you love.

Today at the beach Lil' C experienced his own culinary adventure by creating what he calls Sand Apples. It's a very simple recipe really. Take a slice of apple, dip your finger in a little sand and smear it onto the apple. And viola! Sand apples! LOL!! Even though Lil' C loved this little creation, I'm not so sure I'll be serving these for dessert anytime soon.

With my cast iron skillets, Kitchen Aid mixer, Cuisinart food processor and other favorite kitchen gadgets packed away nicely in a crate somewhere over Europe, I'm beginning to imagine all the new recipes I'll try.  I think a dessert from "Cooking With Julia " will be my first challenge. Thanks Ivonne for the inspiration!