Double Deckers, and more...

Here it is... my Bento supplies order! The prices at Ichiban Kan are SO excellent. I even got a fun little gift assortment for a good buddy of mine... I think she's going to like it. I got all this stuff for the price of one regular sized or or two kids' Bento boxes from Uwajimaya. Crazy...Also got the Bento boxes with the little bands to hold the double-decker layers in place. Very cool... Madeline even helped pack her lunches this week, and quite enjoyed it. The "green stuff" is spinach souffle (Stouffer's frozen... both kids LOVE it, and hey, it's veggie matter and E will eat it!), and the brown blob-like "bear" is smashed black beans.

Chili Sundaes

Yes, that's right. Chili Sundaes. Joel introduced me to this fun entree at Farrell's long ago, and it's been a staple in our household ever since. Maybe once every couple months we do chili like this (and did pre-kids too). Kids love it, it's easy (your favorite chili, dressed up), and you can accompany it with whatever you want. Salad and bread, tortilla chips, or homemade tortillas (which is what we did tonight).

It was excellent having four helpers, and while they made a bit of a mess, it was totally worth it. G stirred, then G & E pressed the tortillas while M & S formed a team that shaped the masa dough into balls to be pressed. And, I of course manned the cast iron pan. Pretty fun for all of us.

Lunch Time!

Madeline's teacher pointed me to this site to buy more Bento supplies... oh, the fun is just beginning! These lunches are so easy, and take about 5 mins (or less) to pack. It's interesting to see what she eats and passes on (she ate everything except the butterfly crackers and applesauce yesterday...)

Happy Birthday, Ro!

A big happy birthday, in dark chocolate cake, fondant and buttercream, no less... to our fabulous friend Rochelle! Ro digs knitting, can you tell? I'll post the fondant recipe when I get a chance because it was pretty easy to work with, and it tastes great too! Off to party...

Doing The Splits!

Banana Splits were the order of the afternoon, and we set out the whole DIY bar! Neapolitan to scoop, bananas to splice, and toppings galore: homemade strawberry preserves, crushed pineapple (just can't do the store-bought "fruit" toppings... fruit-flavored corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup and sugar), chocolate syrup to squeeze (TJs has a great one), butterscotch caramel (Mrs. Richardson's of course), whipped cream to spray, "nut mix" to sprinkle (from among the nuts in the baking aisle), and the ever-important Maraschino cherries to top 'em off (which M ate a plethora of)!

I Love Bento!

All Packed Up

A fun few Bento lunches this week (Madeline chowed every bit of her lunch every day) and I even managed to pack lunch for Joel, and E & me one day... Also, finally got around to successfully making layered Finger Jello — it's delish!

Recipe (for that) coming soon...

Feast of The Three Kings

Epiphany, Feast of The Three Kings, The Twelfth Day of Christmas... basically, today marks the event of Balthazar, Gaspar and Melchior (the Three Wise Men) visiting Baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

We barbecued tonight (even in the high winds) — chicken and pork with Finnish grill seasoning, roasted potatoes, tossed a rocket (arugula)/blueberry/almond salad with fig white-balsamic vinaigrette, and Ro brought a delicious chocolate King's Cake. No one found the pinto bean baked inside, so we'll have to wait to see on that one... It was a nice relaxing dinner with Shane (Jess is in London on business), and all the Luceros on a very blustery, cold evening.
No recipes, but we had a great Red Leicester aged cheddar, and an excellent "No Woman" Jamaican cheese (Jerk seasonings and caramel tones) from Beecher's Cheese of Pike Place Market fame, sun-dried tomato stuffed olives, Gorgonzola Crackers from Trader Joe's (YUM!!) on our appetizer plate — and, blood oranges! Yeah for delicious citrus!